The K3 protein of a human tumor‐inducing herpesvirus, Kaposi's sarcoma‐associated herpesvirus (KSHV), down‐regulates major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I surface expression by increasing the rate of endocytosis. In this report, we demonstrate that the internalization of MHC class I by the K3 protein is the result of multiple, consecutive trafficking pathways that accelerate the endocytosis of class I molecules, redirect them to the trans‐Golgi network (TGN), and target MHC class I to the lysosomal compartment. Remarkably, these actions of K3 are functionally and genetically separable; the N‐terminal zinc finger motif and the central sorting motif are involved in triggering internalization of MHC class I molecules and redirecting them to the TGN. Subsequently, the C‐terminal diacidic cluster region of K3 is engaged in targeting MHC class I molecules to the lysosomal compartment. These results demonstrate a novel trafficking mechanism of MHC class I molecules induced by KSHV K3, which ensures viral escape from host immune effector recognition.


Coated conductors are promising material for the construction of high field magnets, but the slow propagation velocity of the normal zone makes the protection against quenches a critical issue. The quench protection system for a small insert coil under development at CRPP has been studied. The voltage drop and the hot spot temperature during the quench have been estimated using analytical expressions; the cross section of the copper stabilizer, the voltage threshold and the time constant were set as parameters. Detailed calculations have been carried out using the Cryosoft code THEA. The copper cross section available from the tape manufacturer is enough to ensure that the hot spot temperature remains below 200 K, but only in conjunction with a sensitive quench detection system (voltage threshold lower than 100 mV) and a fast dumping time (time constant shorter than 100 ms). These requirements can be fulfilled in the small insert coil under construction, because the inductance is about 50 mH and because the coil can be quickly discharged independently from the main magnet. The passive protection circuit consists of dump resistor and diodes. In case of longer time constants (few seconds), a larger copper cross section (comparable to the one used in low temperature superconducting magnets) is required in order to maintain the temperature within safe values.


This thesis examines the discourse of intra-national charitable giving in the UK. I combine a rhetorical discourse analysis of Children in Need (CiN), a popular charity telethon for 'disadvantaged' British children, with that of six focus groups carried out with people who have different relationships with charities (student volunteers, a local Amnesty International group, bereavement counselling volunteers, non-charity related office workers, employees of different charities, and academics). Although the focus group discussions all included some consideration of CiN and its methods, they were primarily concerned with broader issues to do with disadvantage, fairness and, where relevant, charitable giving more generally. Boltanski's (1999) seminal idea of 'the politics of pity' holds that relationships between those who suffer and those who observe their suffering are radically altered by distance. Seeing suffering people face-to-face is not the same as seeing them via the mass media because of the actions that are or are not possible in relation to them. This idea has been utilised in numerous studies of international charity, but so far no one has applied it to situations in which the viewed are in the same country as the viewers. I argue that the sort of (social, perceived) distance that may exist between citizens who live in the same country has similar consequences for their relationship as actual physical distance has. Indeed, representing others as if they were distant means that charity comes to be seen as the only way to relieve suffering, even though in this instance there are, in fact, many other available options. The central tension I highlight in the CiN data is that, on the one hand, British beneficiaries of charitable aid are represented as socially distant from the rest of the population, which makes the mediation that CiN offers seem necessary, while on the other hand their experiential closeness is constantly being highlighted by appealing to a particular (nostalgic) ideal of Britishness. This tension is also reflected in the focus group data: although the recipients of intra-national charitable giving are typically talked about as members of the speakers' own in-group, there is also a lot of scepticism regarding the truthfulness and reliability of the spectacle of suffering that is presented on television screens and that does not always match up with people's own experiences.


ABSTRACT Next generation sequencing is one of the most significant technological advances in the biological sciences of the last 20-30 years. These recent advances have brought a paradigm shift in how medical researchers investigate both rare and common disorders. The ability to generate enormous amount of sequence data in a short time at an affordable cost makes this approach ideal for a wide range of applications from 1) sequencing a panel of genes associated with a particular disease, 2) all coding regions (« exome sequencing ») to 3) the entire human genome. However, while the technology promises to reduce the cost of sequencing an entire human genome to less than US$1000, one must question the diagnostic utility of complete genome sequencing for routine clinical testing, given the many interpretive challenges posed by this approach. Knowing that in 5-6% of the breast cancer patients analysed for the coding regions of BRCA1/2 variants of unknown clinical significance (VUS) are identified, several thousands of VUS are being found by whole exome sequencing whereby the coding region of more than 20,000 genes are investigated. These, individually rare, VUS potentially have a negative impact on the individual concerned as they create greater uncertainty. Currently, large scale implementation of functional assays is not a realistic option in diagnostic settings. Therefore, at present, to our opinion, for familial cancer syndromes, it appears that next-generation DNA sequencing may provide the greatest benefit to routine clinical testing by enabling comprehensive multigene panel sequencing. This should provide an advantage over traditional Sanger-based sequencing strategies while limiting the total test output to sets of genes with known diagnostic value. The finding of a deleterious mutation in such genes guarantees the patient the possibility of adequate clinical management and follow up according to (international) established guidelines. During the presentation we will discuss the current and near future state of clinical testing approaches for the best known and most frequent familial cancer syndromes and explore what (bioinformatic, quality control metrics and other) challenges must be addressed in order to extract diagnostic value from whole-exome and whole-genome sequencing for hereditary cancers. Disclosure The author has declared no conflicts of interest.


In this study, we developed a method of liquid chromatography with fluoresce detector (LC-FLD) and online mass spectrometry identification (MSI) using 2-[2-(7H-dibenzo [a, g] carbazol-7-yl)-ethoxy] ethyl chloroformate (DBCEC-Cl) as pre-column derivatisation reagent for determination of the amino acids
(AAs) in Potentilla anserina L. Separation of the derivatised AA exhibited a good baseline resolution in combination with a gradient elution. All AA derivatives give excellent linear responses with correlation coefficients of >0.9992. The detection limits of each AA were 2.60–24.3 fmol. Eighteen AAs, involving seven essential AAs, were detected in Potentilla anserina L. Quantitative recoveries of the AAs from the Potentilla anserina L. were 84–107%, and the relative standard deviation values were <1.45%. The established method
in this study was sensitive and precision enough to separate and quantify AA composition of Potentilla anserina L. Good compositional data were obtained from the analysis of the AAs obtained from Potentilla anserina L. root.


Ninety-two patients suffering from Huntington's chorea (HC) and their spouses, and 91 subjects with an affected parent and their spouses, living in three counties of industrial South Wales, have been studied regarding their knowledge of their inheritance of the disorder. Particular attention was paid to its influence on their attitudes towards child-bearing, telling their children of the risks, and predictive tests. Only 12% of the patients were known to have received professional advice before completing their families, in contrast to 68% of the sample at risk. It is estimated that 82% of the patients and 60% of the subjects at risk had, or might have, restricted their family size had they known in time. The majority found genetic counselling helpful, but did not necessarily wish to alter their child-bearing plans in consequence. It was clear that information provided by the family alone was usually inadequate and that this applied to the present generation at risk as well as to previous generations. It was concluded that the burden of telling children the risks is too great for most parents and that professional help is needed. The long term impact of genetic counselling on the incidence of the disease is impossible to assess without continued monitoring, but preliminary results are encouraging. Attitudes towards a predictive test reflected much conflict: although 56% overall wished to take one, only 40% of those who were parents wished to know if they were at risk of passing the gene on to their children. Few subjects reported severe social stress on learning of their genetic risks, but about one in four reported experiencing significant anxiety.


The isotope composition of seawater sulfate is an important tracer of sulfur, carbon, and oxygen cycles in Earth's deep past. Carbonate-associated sulfate (CAS) extracted by acid digestion is widely used as a proxy for sulfate in paleo-seawater from which the carbonate minerals precipitated. Early and late diagenesis, weathering, and laboratory processing can in some cases compromise original seawater sulfate signals. Here, we report that extracted CAS can also be severely contaminated by recent atmospheric sulfate, especially when the sampled carbonates are from outcrops in arid to semi-arid climates or in heavily polluted regions. Our evidence comes from triple oxygen isotope compositions of sequentially extracted water-leachable sulfate and acid-leachable sulfate from carbonates of diverse ages from northwestern and north-central China and southwestern North America. Independent of the age of the rocks, almost all the water-leachable sulfates and half of the acid-leachable sulfates bear positive 17O anomalies, clearly distinguishable from those of typical seawater sulfate. Because secondary atmospheric sulfate (SAS) is the only source of sulfate known to bear positive 17O anomalies, we conclude that sulfate extracted from carbonate outcrops in these regions has a significant component of SAS. Because SAS generally has a much lower δ34S value than paleo-seawater sulfate, it could shift the δ34S of the extracted CAS to lower values and in some cases even lower than that of the co-occurring pyrite, i.e., the "super-heavy pyrite" enigma reported in geological records. Our findings call for a re-evaluation of many published, outcrop-based CAS data and conclusions.


This article analyzes investor beliefs as to stocks, the inadvertent role government plays in shaping those beliefs and thereby contributes to a rise in stock prices, and the need for government "neutrality" among investor belief systems. It suggests that, contrary to conventional wisdom, there is no inherent conflict between respecting market primacy and dealing with investor demand for equities. Concerned policymakers are offered an end-run around having to determine if a bubble exists. This article has three key themes: First, most investors have faith in the superiority of stocks as an asset class and the magic of time in dealing with the risks of stock ownership. The article shows that, in their simple strong forms, the core beliefs of the current stock-based investor "religion" are not axiomatic. Long term historical statistics, the equity premium puzzle, time diversification, current valuations, and related issues are examined, relying in small part on a hypothetical new derivative ("fountain of youth swap"). Second, the Federal Reserve Board and the Securities and Exchange Commission have acted in ways that further this religion. In departing from neutrality, they play a role in the very stock market ascent they are concerned about. At issue are SEC mutual fund performance disclosure rules and the moral hazard of Federal Reserve actions in the bailout of the hedge fund Long Term Capital Management and of use of the Exchange Stabilization Fund in international crises. Third, regardless of whether there is "irrational exuberance," government should move toward neutrality. The SEC can consider changing mutual fund disclosure to more of an asset class focus and enhancing disclosure of liquidity risks linked to mutual fund shareholder redemptions. The Federal Reserve can consider pre-announcing policies precluding it from bailing out mutual funds and from buying equities and equity derivatives.


A rather new and interesting research field in mobile robotics investigates the cooperation of several units and, in particular, the possibility of obtaining a collaborative behavior by decentralized algorithms. Indeed, decentralized algorithms show definite advantages over centralized ones. They are naturally resilient to one-point failure (the loss of one unit), can easily reconfigure themselves, and don?t require a leader in the team. Moreover, they can exploit the increase of computing power that can be achieved by parallelizing the activities. At the same time, the number and length of interrobot communications can be kept smaller than those necessary for centralized activities.


The hump-back relationship between species diversity and productivity predicts highest species richness at intermediate levels of biomass, and low species numbers in least and most productive habitats. Sodic patches of semi-arid savannas are considered 'nutrient hotspots' by producing high-quality forage. The impact of biomass reduction (due to overgrazing) and accumulation (in the absence of herbivores) on herbaceous species richness and diversity is still unknown for these hotspots. We tested the relationship between biomass and herbaceous species richness/diversity in savanna sodic sites across varying biomass levels obtained through different herbivore exclosures. LOWESS and quadratic regression analyses revealed a unimodal species richness/ diversity–biomass relationship for biomass <2 500 kg ha−1. Species richness and diversity in the sodic zone peaked at 1 300 kg ha−1, followed by a steady decline. At biomass levels exceeding 2 500 kg ha−1, i.e. where herbivores have been excluded for 10 years, the decline in species richness and diversity stabilised. Despite many debates surrounding unimodal relationships and the intermediate disturbance hypothesis, this study confirmed a peak in species richness and diversity at intermediate biomass levels in a herbivory-adapted ecosystem. Herbivores drive ecosystem heterogeneity and enhance herbaceous species richness and diversity by keeping biomass at intermediate levels (i.e. <2 500 kg ha−1 for this sodic site).


Software products released into the field typically have some number of residual bugs that either were not detected or could not have been detected during testing. This may be the result of flaws in the test cases themselves, assumptions made during the creation of test cases, or the infeasibility of testing the sheer number of possible configurations for a complex system. Testing approaches such as perpetual testing or continuous testing seek to continue to test these applications even after deployment, in hopes of finding any remaining flaws. In this paper, we present our initial work towards a testing methodology we call in vivo testing, in which unit tests are continuously executed inside a running application in the deployment environment. These tests execute within the current state of the program (rather than by creating a clean slate) without affecting or altering that state. Our approach can reveal defects both in the applications of interest and in the unit tests themselves. It can also be used for detecting concurrency or robustness issues that may not have appeared in a testing lab. Here we describe the approach and the testing framework called Invite that we have developed for Java applications. We also enumerate the classes of bugs our approach can discover, and provide the results of a case study on a publicly-available application, as well as the results of experiments to measure the added overhead.


Tropical cyclones are capable of producing tornadoes prior to landfall as their outer rainbands move ashore through several days after landfall as they track inland. These tornadoes do not occur uniformly throughout a tropical cyclones' lifespan but, rather, occur in spatio-temporal clusters. This study sought to identify synoptic patterns associated with these spatio-temporal clusters, or tropical cyclone tornado outbreaks. Tropical cyclone tornado outbreaks are defined as three or more tornadoes in a six hour period centered about a primary synoptic hour and were identified using the Tropical Cyclone Tornado Database produced by Roger Edwards of the Storm
Prediction Center. One-hundred and thirty-three outbreaks were identified over the 1995–2010 period in association with East and Gulf Coast landfalling tropical cyclones. Statistical descriptions of the outbreaks are provided to highlight their typical severity and their temporal and spatial characteristics. Synoptic plots depicting 500 hPa geopotential height contours and 500 hPa wind vectors that temporally correspond to each identified outbreak were obtained from the National Centers for Environmental Prediction-North American Regional Reanalysis project to represent the outbreaks' synoptic environment. Using the synoptic climatology paradigm of pattern recognition, this study categorized 97% of the identified outbreaks into one of five synoptic patterns; the synoptic environments of four outbreaks did not reasonably fit the criteria of any of the five patterns. Outbreaks categorized as Pattern 1, 2, or 3 are produced by tropical cyclones that are beginning to interact with, or are embedded within, the midlatitude westerlies whereas those categorized as Pattern 4 or 5 are produced by tropical cyclones that are isolated from the westerly flow. Various degrees of synoptic scale forcing are likely to be present in Pattern 1–4 outbreaks. The results of this study suggest that tropical cyclone tornadoes can occur in spatio-temporal clusters of relatively high tornadic activity over relatively short time periods and that those tropical cyclones interacting with or located within the midlatitude westerlies are most likely to produce outbreaks.


Case Study Research: Principles and Practices aims to provide a general understanding of the case study method as well as specific tools for its successful implementation. These tools can be utilized in all fields where the case study method is prominent, including business, anthropology, communications, economics, education, medicine, political science, social work, and sociology. Topics include the definition of a 'case study,' the strengths and weaknesses of this distinctive method, strategies for choosing cases, an experimental template for understanding research design, and the role of singular observations in case study research. It is argued that a diversity of approaches - experimental, observational, qualitative, quantitative, ethnographic - may be successfully integrated into case study research. This book breaks down traditional boundaries between qualitative and quantitative, experimental and nonexperimental, positivist and interpretivist.


The use of anthracycline chemotherapeutic drugs is restricted owing to potentially fatal cardiotoxic side effects. It has been hypothesized that anthracycline metabolites have a primary role in this cardiac dysfunction; however, information on the molecular interactions of these compounds in the heart is scarce. Here we provide novel evidence that doxorubicin and its metabolite, doxorubicinol, bind to the cardiac ryanodine receptor (RyR2) and to the sarco/endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ ATPase (SERCA2A) and deleteriously alter their activity. Both drugs (0.01 μM–2.5 μM) activated single RyR2 channels, and this was reversed by drug washout. Both drugs caused a secondary inhibition of RyR2 activity that was not reversed by drug washout. Preincubation with the reducing agent dithiothreitol (DTT, 1 mM) prevented drug-induced inhibition of channel activity. Doxorubicin and doxorubicinol reduced the abundance of thiol groups on RyR2, further indicating that oxidation reactions may be involved in the actions of the compounds. Ca2+ uptake into sarcoplasmic reticulum vesicles by SERCA2A was inhibited by doxorubicinol, but not doxorubicin. Unexpectedly, in the presence of DTT, doxorubicinol enhanced the rate of Ca2+ uptake by SERCA2A. Together the evidence provided here shows that doxorubicin and doxorubicinol interact with RyR2 and SERCA2A in similar ways, but that the metabolite acts with greater efficacy than the parent compound. Both compounds modify RyR2 and SERCA2A activity by binding to the proteins and also act via thiol oxidation to disrupt SR Ca2+ handling. These actions would have severe consequences on cardiomyocyte function and contribute to clinical symptoms of acute anthracycline cardiotoxicity.


I became interested in the problem of the classification of illocutionary acts in the framework of my uneasiness about the Fact-Value and Theory-Praxis dichotomies. In my decades-long research on it, I defended Austin's classification and reformulated it, applying my reformulation fruitfully to various discourse genres as well as to the analysis of conversation. I introduced original perspectives as to the relationship between action and linguistic form in illocution and as to the role of performative verbs, but gradually lost sight of my initial interest in the Fact-Value and Theory-Praxis dichotomies. I summarize those results of my research which can help to bridge these dichotomies and indicate the next steps to be taken in this direction.


Wicked problems are hyper-complex problems that are not solvable via traditional methods. Some common examples of these include issues such as poverty, climate change, business strategy, and general policy development, which all have high stakes and no straightforward solution. The ambiguity of these problems can be particularly frustrating for the individuals and organizations that encounter them, as the very essence of these problems is elastic and unstable. Additionally, attempts to tame wicked problems tend to be irrevocable — for better or for worse — as the problem itself shifts in unpredictable ways in response. Decision support systems (DSSs) have long been considered a panacea for a number of highly complex problems in light of their potential to store, retrieve, and manipulate information to aid decision making. However, classical DSSs, being originally intended for semi-structured types of problems, are rendered practically impotent in the presence of wicked problems and their associated complexities. Thus, this article investigates the possibility of DSSs that rely on procedural rationality as an alternative strategy for resolving wicked problems. An empirical literature review is utilized to build and present an integrated, descriptive model for the design, development, and use of such DSSs for resolving wicked problems.


Although there has been much work done in the industry and academia on developing the theory and application of social networks as well as recommender systems, the relation between these research areas is still unclear. An innovative idea, which enables to integrate these areas, and applies recommendation systems to the online social network systems, is proposed in this thesis. Recommendation systems for social networks differ from the typical kinds of recommendation solutions, since they suggest human beings to other ones rather than inanimate goods. Thus, conventional recommendation methods should be enhanced by social features of the networks and their members. This thesis presents the result of the study on the recommendation framework for virtual communities. It also contains an overview of recent approaches to recommendation systems and social networks, as well as description of the online social network systems.


A comparative analysis of Ethernet, TCP/IP, and Fibre Channel in the context of SCSI Introduces network administrators to the requirements of storage protocols Explains the operation of network protocols to storage administrators Compares and contrasts the functionality of Ethernet, TCP/IP, and Fibre Channel Documents the details of the major protocol suites, explains how they operate, and identifies common misunderstandings References the original standards and specifications so you can get a complete understanding of each protocol Helps you understand the implications of network design choices Discusses advanced network functionality such as QoS, security, management, and protocol analysisi? Corporations increasingly depend on computer and communication technologies to remain competitive in the global economy. Customer relationship management, enterprise resource planning, and e-mail are a few of the many applications that generate new data every day. Effectively storing, managing, and accessing that data is a primary business challenge in the information age. Storage networking is a crucial component of the solution to meet that challenge.Written for both storage administrators who need to learn more about networking and network administrators who need to learn more about storage, Storage Networking Protocol Fundamentals is a concise introduction to storage networking protocols. The book picks up where Storage Networking Fundamentals left off by focusing on the networking protocols that underlie modern open systems: block-oriented storage networks.The first part of the book introduces you to the field of storage networking and the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) reference model. The second part compares networked storage technologies, including iSCSI (Small Computer Systems Interface over IP) and Fibre Channel. It also examines in detail each of the major protocol suites layer-by-layer within the OSI reference model. The third part discusses advanced functionalities of these technologies, such as quality of service (QoS), load-balancing functions, security, management, and protocol analysis. You can read this book cover to cover or use it as a reference, directly accessing the particular topics of interest to you."Storage networking is a critical concept for today's businesses, and this book provides a unique and helpful way to better understand it. Storage networking is also continuously evolving, and as such this book may be seen as an introduction to the information technology infrastructures of the future."-from the foreword by Claudio DeSanti, vice-chairman of the ANSI INCITS T11 Technical Committee


Effective training in key communications skills is critical for successful public engagement. However, what are the secrets to designing and delivering an effectual training course? This paper outlines key findings from a research study into communication training programmes for public engagement with STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). The research focused on training in direct communication methods, (as separate from media training) and encompassed both trainers and trainees, the latter group spanning across both scientists and explainers. The findings indicated that training courses are effective at increasing involvement in science communication events and trainees feel more confident and able to engage due to training. An interactive style was found to be a key element of training courses. Demonstrations of good practice followed by own performance with feedback were also important, preferably involving a 'real' audience. A list of guidelines on best practice has been developed which offers practical advice.


This study investigated self/other reference in Mandarin child language by testing the hypothesis that children's overt self/other reference is related to the pragmatic notion of social control (Budwig, 1989, 1990, 1995). The participants were two Mandarin-speaking children and their mothers. Natural mother–child conversations were video-recorded when the children were between the ages of 2;2 and 3;1. Each child and maternal utterance with an implicit or explicit self/other reference was categorized by function as either control act or assertive. The analysis showed that the children tended to use overt forms for self/other reference in control acts while using null forms in assertives. In contrast, the mothers' speech did not reflect such a distinction. The results suggest that social control appears to be a salient notion to Mandarin-speaking children, and that the children organize their use of self/other reference forms around the pragmatic notion of social control.


Aquaculture is currently responsible for an insignificant proportion of total fish production in Uganda. However, given the increasing demand for fresh fish in urban and peri-urban areas, and threats to the supply of fish from natural catch fisheries, the potential exists for a strong market in aquaculture. Small-scale fish farmers located relatively close to markets or all-season roads, and who can supply consistent and high quality produce, will have the widest range of marketing opportunities, and will likely be within the area of operation of potential traders and intermediaries that deliver fish to markets. Fish farmers that are not close to roads, or produce unreliable quantities and variable quality products may face high transaction costs of marketing their product, and decreasing net returns to production. We also find that significant on-farm labor, and access to input markets are important factors leading to positive net returns to fish production. Areas with high population density and relatively low wage rates will be well suited to labor intensive aquaculture. We conclude that aquaculture development has good potential in certain areas of Uganda and should therefore be pursued as a potential development pathway. However, policy makers should consider the importance of the price of fresh fish relative to the cost of labor, as well as other factors including the importance of smallholder credit and access to extension services, when directing investments in aquaculture technology.


The use of recycled concrete aggregate (RCA) is recommended based on a review of literature that investigated the properties and characteristics of RCA, the physical properties of fresh and hardened concrete containing RCA, the mechanical behavior of concrete containing RCA, and special considerations for concrete pavements using RCA to achieve suitable levels of workability, durability, and strength. The literature also detailed concrete pavement design considerations as well as the successes and failures of trial projects built by other states. A recommendation is made that RCA be considered for use in Western Washington and that the FHWA Technical Advisory be used as a guide during implementation.


One of the defining features of scholarly development in the fields of the humanities, political and social sciences in recent years has arguably been the emergence of what Berry has termed the 'computational turn'. Originally conceived as unique to areas where the mediation of reality occurs primarily through digital means, the computational 'turn' can be increasingly understood as ubiquitous to everyday life given the pervasiveness of technology. As a result computers (or more accurately computational processes embedded in a range of technologies) are responsible for converting "real-world situations into discrete processes to undertake a particular […] task." (Berry, 2011: 2) (italics in original) These digital processes are crucial for an understanding of the computational turn's significance in mediating reality as, Berry argues:

The key point is that without the possibility of discrete encoding there is no object [i.e. real-world event] for the computational device to process. However, in cutting up the world in this manner, information about the world necessarily has to be discarded in order to store a representation within the computer. In other words, a computer requires that everything is transformed from the continuous flow of our everyday reality into a grid of numbers that can be stored as a representation of reality which can then be manipulated using algorithms. These subtractive methods of understanding reality (episteme) produce new knowledges and methods for the control of reality (techne). (ibid)

Algorithms, according to Berry, are vital to the rendering and shaping of reality in a digitally-driven society. Both the epistemological and methodological dimensions of these operating within public relations will be the focus of investigation in this paper in order to address what Seiffert and Northhaft refer to as a "blind spot of public relations and strategic communication research" (Seiffert and Northhaft, 2014: 1).

Over the past 12 months, public relations research has increasingly turned its attention to the emerging role played by computation and algorithms in shaping strategic communication. Seiffert and Northaft have identified the persuasive role algorithms play in determining the "procedural rhetoric" of computer games; Holtzhausen has explored the impact algorithmic processing has on notions of the "public sphere" (Holtzhausen, 2014)while Holtzhausen and Zerfass (Holtzhausen and Zerfass, 2015) and Collister have questioned the role and agency of practitioners in an increasingly computational communications environment.

Despite these initial explorations into the field of computational or algorithmic public relations, however one crucial question consistently arising in such research is: how can we adequately identify, analyse and understand the effect of algorithms operating within public relations? Using such a challenge as its focus, this paper will address this computational 'blind spot', by firstly defining the current theoretical and practical context of algorithms in public relations before proposing a methodological toolkit to enable public relations scholars to investigate algorithm's effects on, and outcomes within, public relations settings. Examples will be identified to illustrate working applications of such methodologies and some of the practical limitations of researching algorithms with which scholars will have to contend, such as the legal and ethical implications of algorithm research, will be also discussed.


Myelin basic proteins (MBPs) are coded by the single gene necessary for myelin formation in the central nervous system of the mouse. An antisense MBP mini-gene was constructed and used to determine the function of antisense DNA in transgenic mice. Several transgenic offspring of a founder transgenic mouse, AS100, were converted from the normal to mutant shiverer phenotype. Antisense MBP messenger RNA was expressed in these mice, and the endogenous MBP messenger RNA, the MBP, and the myelination in the central nervous system were reduced.


Online purchasing is a decision-making process that involves inherent uncertainty. Yet consumer tolerance for uncertainty differs across cultures, requiring e-vendors to decide whether to adapt websites to different cultures when operating globally. We examine the effect of Hofstede's cultural dimension of uncertainty avoidance (UA) on consumer perceptions of e-loyalty. Viewing information quality, trust, and system quality as uncertainty reduction mechanisms, UA is hypothesized to moderate relationships involving these constructs in a recognized model of IS success. Specifically, we posit that relationships involving these constructs will be stronger for consumers from high UA cultures. Using data drawn from over 3,500 actual consumers from 38 different countries, and controlling for the impact of other cultural dimensions, results suggest that UA moderates the effects of information quality on perceived usefulness, and of trust on e-loyalty, but not system quality relationships. We discuss practical implications of our research, in regard to designing websites intended for global use.


Aim: The aim of this study is to develop two simple, rapid, accurate, economical validated spectrophotometric for simultaneous estimation of bromhexine and cephalexin in bulk and dosage form. Materials and Methods: The Method-I is first derivative spectrophotometric and Method-II is the simultaneous equation method. Both the methods were employed for the analysis of drugs bromhexine and cephalexin using methanol and ammonium hydrogen phosphate (pH 7.7) in the ratio of 60:40 as a diluent. Results and Discussions: Both the methods are used for the simultaneous determination of bromhexine and cephalexin at 2155 nm and 266.5 nm, respectively, over the concentration range of 0.2–1.2 μg/ml and 12.5–75 μg/ml with the correlation coefficient (r2) 0.9996 and 0.9994. Conclusions: The recovery studies confirmed the accuracy of proposed method and low-value standard deviation confirmed precession of method. The method is validated as per the International Council for Harmonization guidelines.


Bengawan Solo River is the biggest watersheet in java, Indonesia. It is reach between two provinces, Central Java and East Java. The flood's happens almost every year on this river. The floods caused by increased rainfall on rainy season, and land use in upstream has changed too. The community not want to abandon their land so, they must living and adaptable with disaster. Beside that, decrease of river's flow capacity and catchment area are the significant factor of causing floods in Bengawan Solo river. The villages nearest with river get susceptible floods area. In Bojonegoro district there was 23 of flooded sub-district. Using supported information and map of road network, topography, provisional care, and infrastructure condition. Then assessment of infrastructure damaged such as roads, bridges, railway, etc. from that information and assessment, capable to created evacuated lines map for flood's victim in Bojonegoro district using GIS. This map can useful as a guide the victim to safety line and nearest provisional care when flood disaster has come out.


The exact manner of BKZ algorithm for higher block sizes cannot be studied by practical running, so simulation of BKZ can be used to predict the total cost and output quality of BKZ algorithm. Sampling method of enumeration solution vector v is one of the main components of designing BKZ-simulation and can be divided into two phases: sampling norm of solution vector v and sampling corresponding coefficient vectors. This paper introduces a simple and efficient idea for sampling the norm of enumeration solution v for any success probability of enumeration bounding functions, while to the best of our knowledge, no such sampling method for norm of enumeration solution is proposed in former studies. Next, this paper analyzes the structure and probability distribution of coefficient vectors (corresponding with enumeration solution v), and consequently introduces the sampling methods for these coefficient vectors which are verified by our test results, while no such a deep analysis for sampling coefficient vectors is considered in design of former BKZ-simulations. Moreover, this paper proposes an approximation for cost of enumerations pruned by optimal bounding functions.


In a sample of 95 U.S. undergraduates (49.5% women, Mage = 20.99 years, SD = 3.48), we analyzed the effects of symbolic threat on right-wing authoritarianism (RWA). We used data from an experimental study in which negative political attacks on one's own favorite candidate were considered as symbolic threats. A hierarchic moderated regression showed that, as with societal threat, symbolic threat fostered an increase in RWA only among participants with low initial scores on RWA. This increase did not depend on the persuasive effect of being exposed to negative campaigning. The implications, limitations, and possible developments of the research are discussed.


The reception of Michel Foucault's work in the social sciences and humanities has been phenomenal. Foucault's concepts and methodology have encouraged new approaches to old problems and opened up new lines of enquiry. This book assesses the contribution of Foucault's work to research and thinking in the area of health and medicine, and shows how key researchers in the sociology of health and illness are currently engaging with his ideas. Foucault, Health and Medicine explores such important issues as: Foucault's concept of 'discourse', the critique of the 'medicalization' thesis, the analysis of the body and the self, Foucault's concept of 'bio-power' in the analysis of health education, the implications of Foucault's ideas for feminist research on embodiment and gendered subjectivities, the application of Foucault's notion of governmentality to the analysis of health policy, health promotion, and the consumption of health. Foucault, Health and Medicine offers a 'state of the art' overview of Foucaldian scholarship in the area of health and medicine. It will provide a key reference for both students and researchers working in the areas of medical sociology, health policy, health promotion and feminist studies.


We develop a model of the social fragmentation along communitarian vs. individualistic values. The endogenous adoption of social values hinges on whether people choose to derive more utility from comparisons with others (materialistic but universalist values) or derive relatively more utility from membership of a group with its distinguishing characteristics (communitarian but exclusive values). Those more well-off, socioeconomically, gravitate towards individualism while those of lower status gravitate towards communitarianism. Crucially, those at the lower end of the middle classes are predicted to align more and more with communitarian values when the status advantage of those at the top increases, holding their own income constant (i.e. rising socioeconomic inequality). Conversely, those at the higher end of the middle classes are predicted to align more and more with individualist values, polarising society. These shifts also increase size of the political constituency for enacting protectionist policies, which act as a stabilising force against socioeconomic polarisation. The model therefore predicts political realignments from the incidence of income growth and the importance of status-oriented (conspicuous) consumption.


This article examines cooperation against transnational crime and terrorism in two regional associations—The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). It argues that, because of the presence of paired antagonists in such associations, the existence of regional associations does not itself guarantee sound cooperation. Criminals and terrorists, on the other hand, recognise neither antagonisms between countries nor borders in deciding with whom to cooperate. Securitisation of non-conventional security threats further complicates the picture. In cases of paired antagonists and tentative regionalism such as in SAARC and ASEAN, it would be better for initial cooperation to occur in a non-securitised framework. Nevertheless, regionalism does have a place in building confidence and providing a post hoc forum for cooperation once political difficulties have eased.


Objectives To investigate the association of carbonated non-diet soft drink consumption and violence perpetration in a sample of Boston adolescents. Methods In a survey of Boston public high schools, respondents were asked how often they drank non-diet soft drinks and whether they had carried a weapon or engaged in physical violence with a peer. Regression analysis was used to determine the role of soft drink consumption in these behaviours. Results Adolescents who drank more than five cans of soft drinks per week (nearly 30% of the sample) were significantly more likely to have carried a weapon and to have been violent with peers, family members and dates (p<0.01 for carrying a weapon and p<0.001 for the three violence measures). Frequent soft drink consumption was associated with a 9–15% point increase in the probability of engaging in aggressive actions, even after controlling for gender, age, race, body mass index, typical sleep patterns, tobacco use, alcohol use and having family dinners. Conclusions There was a significant and strong association between soft drinks and violence. There may be a direct cause-and-effect relationship, perhaps due to the sugar or caffeine content of soft drinks, or there may be other factors, unaccounted for in our analyses, that cause both high soft drink consumption and aggression.


Taking lessons from a conception of the nature and causes of happiness that harks back to Adam Smith and the original Utilitarians, this paper argues that increases in absolute income should have little effect on happiness in rich countries and that there might instead be channels linking happiness causally with growth. Using time series evidence from happiness polls in ten wealthy countries, the paper finds no support for a causal link from growth to happiness, weak support for a reverse causation, and further (weak) support for links between national equality and happiness and leisure time and happiness. Copyright 1999 by WWZ and Helbing & Lichtenhahn Verlag AG


Resume: En portant une attention particuliere a Maelstrom, l'auteure considere trois films canadiens qui abordent la problematique de l'experience metropolitaine de la mondialisation pour re-imaginer la ville en termes de traditions architecturales et du libre mouvement des capitaux. Dans ces uvres, la ville devient une dystopie de fonctionnalisme redondant et anonyme. Ses habitants appartiennent a une ethnie uniforme, homogene, blanche, tous des col-blancs proletarises dans la vingtaine ou debut de la trentaine. Sa texture emotive est une melancolie generalisee explicitement issue de l'impacte du capital sur la vie de tous les jours. The metropolis is, above all, a myth, a tale...an allegory; in particular it represents the allegory of the crisis of modernity.... To go beyond these bleak stories of exile and that grey, rainy country of the anguished soul, is to establish a sense of being at home in the city, and to make of tradition a space of transformation rather than the scene of a cheerless destiny.1 While an enormously disputed and internally differentiated body of literature, theories of globalization provide a resonant framework for reading contemporary Canadian cinema as a field shaped by international flows of money, textual influence and ideologies as much as by national determinations. There is, perhaps, no better place to begin than with Arjun Appadurai who has devised an expansive model that encompasses the cross-border flow and social integration of transnational "ethnoscapes," "mediascapes," "technoscapes," "financescapes," and "ideoscapes."2 For Appadurai, this broad-dimensional approach to globalization necessitates a deep rethinking of issues of mediation and causation beyond economist approaches that privilege transnational corporate capital as the single most crucial vector in considering globalization. According to Appadurai, flows of capital, technology, immigrants, and ideas are not, "coeval, convergent, isomorphic or spatially consistent. They are...in relations of disjuncture...[and] have different speeds, axes, points of origin and termination."3 Appadurai's enormously influential model allows us to theorize the incomplete, uneven, mutually contradictory histories of globalization in Canada. Separating the economic from the socio-political in relation to their discrepant histories of development might go someways toward explaining the continuous vivacity of regional and sub-national cultural identities in Canada (Quebec and first nation communal formations being the paramount examples) against the backdrop of accelerated continental economic integration and American domination of mass media consumption. In addition to Appadurai, Saskia Sassen provides a clear alternative to thinking globalization as a single integrated or unified conceptual scheme. Sassen suggests shifting analysis from the conventional global/national axis to a consideration of how globalization is actualized in concrete, localized assumptions about globalization, which stress the hyper-mobility of capital or the immateriality of the information economy, Sassen places a renewed emphasis on concrete location and place by arguing that even information economies require substantial, site-specific infrastructures and agglomerations of population. Introducing sub-national groupings like cities into an analysis of globalization not only adds concrete specificity but allows for a consideration of the way in which economic globalization impacts on everyday life, in particular, on the lives of marginal subjects: "women, immigrants, people of colour, whose political sense of self and identities are not necessarily embedded in the nation or the national community."4 Sassen's approach goes well beyond the consistent and often consistently banal evocation of the local as a situated or essentially resistant counter-ballast to the homogenizing and imperializing flows of global corporate influence. Reorienting the analysis of globalization from the macro to the micro involves a focused consideration of the specific places where the everyday reality of globalization is performed, felt, and resisted by embodied subjects. …


Temperature and salinity sampling strategies are studied and compared by means of the Observing System Simulation Experiment technique in order to assess their usefulness for data assimilation in the framework of the Mediterranean Forecasting System. Their impact in a Mediterranean General Circulation Model is quantified in numerical twin experiments via bivariate data assimilation of temperature and salinity profiles in summer and winter conditions, using the optimal interpolation algorithm implemented in the System for Ocean Forecasting and Analysis. The data impact is quantified by the error reduction in the assimilation run relative to the free run. The sampling strategies studied here include various combinations of temperature and salinity profiles collected along Volunteer Observing Ship (VOS) tracks, by Mediterranean Multi-sensor Moored Arrays (M3A), a Glider and ARGO floating profilers. Idealized sampling strategies involving VOS data allow to recognize the impact of individual tracks. As a result, the most effective tracks are those crossing regions characterized by high mesoscale variability and the presence of frontal structures between water masses. Sampling strategies adopted in summer–autumn 2004 and winter 2005 are studied to assess the impact of VOS and ARGO data in real conditions. The combination of all available data allows to achieve up to 30% error reductions. ARGO data produce a small impact when alone, but represent the only continuous coverage of the basin and are useful as a complement to VOS data sets. Localized data sets, as those obtained by M3As and the Glider, seem to have an almost negligible impact in the basin-scale assessment, and are expected to be more effective at regional scale.


The purpose of the present study is to serve as an introduction to a postmodern reading of Edgar Allan Poe's short prose. Adventurous approach, as the author manifested himself as a writer in the first part of the 19th century, when romanticism revived and modern paradigm was founded. Based on the assessments expressed on postmodernism and using the tools proposed by various field researchers, we discover in Poe's work anticipations of the narrative structure method specific for our present times. His concern for the newspaper reader, the insertion of general press topics and articles in his prose, the use of the sensational side of events in his newspaper reports, the ironic approach of real and diegetic facts allow a fresh reading, revaluating this surprising writer. Remarkable are his projections which come close to the SF genre, his confidence in the progress of science and the permanent impairment of this confidence, generated by the fear of world destruction. The conclusion would be that Poe's prose allows certain postmodern anticipative projections to be decoded and the research to be extended beyond the conventional boundaries of modernity.


Ongoing efforts by state actors to collaborate on addressing the challenges of global cybersecurity have been slow to yield results. Technical expert communities such as Computer Security and Incident Response Teams (CSIRTs) have played a fundamental role in maintaining the Internet's functional structure through transnational collaboration. Responsible for security incident management and located in diverse constituencies, these coordination centres engage in joint responses and solve day‐to‐day cybersecurity problems through diverse national, regional and international networks. This article argues that CSIRTs form an epistemic community that engages in science diplomacy, at times navigating geopolitical tensions in a way that political actors are not able to. Through interviews with CSIRT representatives, we explain how their collaborative actions, rooted in shared technical knowledge, norms and best practices, contribute to the advancement of international cooperation on cybersecurity.


Our evolved pro-social mental tools (intuitive morality, social exchange regulator, social status monitor) provided us with social/moral intelligence to live peacefully amongst each other since the early dawn of modern humankind. We not only have the intuitive capacity to act right or wrong but also the reflective (rational) capabilities to negotiate moral norms. Altruism, fairness, honesty, self-control and deference for authority have become the moral embodiments of our pro-social mechanisms. These same social/moral agreements and their implied pro-social originators are all reflected in the ancient wisdom book of Proverbs, providing content to its wisdom order. Amongst many other things, Proverbs is an apt illustration of our humanness, of our natural and cultural capacity for social and moral living.


Light trapping in a waveguide configuration consisting of a thin planar film of hydrogenated amorphous silicon (aSi:H) on a planar silver backreflector is studied theoretically and experimentally. Light trapping is achieved by scattering of light from a silver or silicon nanostrip placed directly on the silicon-film surface. For thin films it is appropriate to think of light trapping in terms of coupling into the guided modes of the air-aSi:H-silver waveguide configuration, which is the focus of this paper. Using the Green's function surface integral equation method we calculate cross sections governing extinction, out-of-plane scattering, and scattering into guided modes. It is found for geometries with aSi:H-film thicknesses in the range of 50–500 nm that distinct peaks in extinction and scattering cross-section spectra are located at wavelengths determined by the cutoff wavelengths of guided modes, and the wavelengths of those peaks are insensitive to the precise geometry of the scatterer. Measurements of extinction and scattering from an array of silver strips spaced by a large distance of 10 μm on the surface of a geometry with a 290 nm aSi:H-film are found to be in good agreement with theoretical predictions.


In October 2020, the U.S. Department of Justice and 11 state attorneys general filed an astounding civil antitrust lawsuit against Google. The cause of action was that Google has created and maintained through anticompetitive strategies monopolies on general internet search and search advertising, in violation of Section 2 of the Sherman Antitrust Act. The lawsuit has sparked wide interest since it is the first time that one of the major technology platforms has been the focus of antitrust action. This article explores the implications of the antitrust lawsuit for health information. Google's internet search engine is used for a remarkable 1 billion health-related searches per day, constituting 7% of its total search traffic. Search results for health information are typically accompanied by advertisements that appear at the top of the page. This article presents arguments that Google maintains monopolies on online search for health information and advertising for health products. A single, dominant provider of online health information harms consumer welfare since it discourages innovation in internet search and may result in a biased spectrum of health information. The article discusses another recent lawsuit, Dinerstein v. Google, a health information privacy lawsuit, which provides a broad perspective on the vast quantity of personal health information to which Google has gained access. The article concludes with a presentation of possible antitrust remedies.


Optical techniques provide non-contact, full field measurement for the shape and deformation induced thermally mechanically . In this paper, a new portable projected grating moire system, recently designed and built for component level warpage measurement, is presented and demonstrated. The system is coupled with an environmental chamber for real time measurement during thermal loading. Within a 50 mm square range, a few microns shape and out of plane deformation can be resolved with a standard CCD camera. An imaging analysis software is developed for automatic deformation measurement. Results on a plastic BGA (ball grid array) are reported. This new technique allows precision measurement of warpage, providing valuable information on packaging reliability, manufacturing process, and modeling validation.


The youth justice family group conference (FGC) is a statutory decision making process whereby the young person, their family/whanau, state officials and the victim of the offence come together to decide on a response to offending by that young person. The FGC is an integral part of the youth justice system, involving thousands of young people and their families each year. There is a considerable amount of literature available on the youth justice FGC, most notably in regard to the purported restorative justice nature of the process. However, for a legal process which involves so many young people on a daily basis, there is little information available on the due process rights of young people in the FGC. This thesis seeks to remedy this gap in the research knowledge. Firstly, this thesis establishes the theoretical framework for the rights of the young person in the youth justice system. The historical context and theoretical justification for these rights is considered, and the benchmarks for rights coming from international and national human rights standards are identified. A key theoretical issue is the application of rights to the FGC. It is argued that although the FGC differs in format from the adversarial criminal process, it remains a state process involved in resolving a breach of the criminal law, and thus the young person's rights should be safeguarded. Secondly, this thesis evaluates legislation, policy and practice relating to the rights of the young person in the FGC. Three key areas of rights are considered: legal assistance, how the offence is proved, and outcomes of the FGC. Reference is made to practice examples derived from observation of the FGC in two centres in New Zealand. Finally, as the FGC is certain to remam an integral part of the youth justice system, recommendations are made as to how legislation and practice could be improved to better safeguard the rights of young people in this process.


Abstract
The context of dramatic change in the Nigerian Polytechnic education sub-sector has made issues that relate to the effectiveness of academic staff development policies and the programs they support critical. Yet the nature and practice of academic staff development within this sub-sector has continually been a subject of concern with claims that resources are inadequate, activities are marginal, and goals are not met. In the light of such considerations, this research investigates the role of Human Resource Development (HRD) policy formulation, implementation and regulation of academic staff in two case study Nigerian polytechnic institutions as a means of examining the nature, extent and causes of human resources underdevelopment in the sub-sector more generally.
Extensive fieldwork research was conducted involving semi-structured interviews, questionnaires, documentation and archival records, so as to achieve a triangulation of data. The qualitative evidence was analysed by the employment of thematic analysis to explore the implementation of HRD policy and to provide more in-depth understanding of the critical issues affecting academic staff development.
The researcher used the analytical framework of Van Horn and Van Meter's theory of policy implementation (Van Meter and Van Horn,1975) supplemented by Lipsky's (2010) street-level bureaucracy to penetrate issues and challenges, debates and current concerns posed in critical areas of HRD policy implementation for academic staff. The researcher contends that applying Van Horn and Van Meter's theory of Policy Implementation (Van Meter and Van Horn, 1975) supplemented by Lipsky's (2010) street-level bureaucracy in understanding and analysing issues relating to the practice of academic staff development has the potential of providing robust learning and feedback structures well-suited to institutional inquiry and adaptation that will assist Nigerian Polytechnic to adapt to the challenges of an unpredictable future.
Even though the research findings identified some perceived policy successes, perceived policy failures were also identified with reference to implementation as follows: insufficient funding, policy misinterpretation, inadequate leadership commitment to HRD, lack of an enabling policy environment, absence of well-articulated strategy to guide HRD development, lack of accurate HR needs assessment, lack of political will to implement policies, corruption, ethnicity, nepotism and the politicization of HRD effort, all of which account for HRD policy implementation challenges.
In highlighting these perceived constraints in HRD development of academic staff in the case study Nigerian Polytechnics the study recommends that management ensure the strengthening of administrative capacity to drive and implement policy and also the provision of efficient and effective leadership with strategies that favour development-oriented growth on-the-job for academic staff. Furthermore, it suggests academic staff development initiatives are taken in consultation with all stakeholders with feedback about HRD, which is clear and consistent.
Contributions of this research work to knowledge on the academic, practical, theoretical and methodological levels are evident with the research being a major attempt at carrying out an exploratory study on HRD for academic staff in polytechnics in a developing country context. Thus, the findings of this research have extended the frontiers of existing HRD theory by broadening the amount of knowledge about HRD policy implementation for academic staff but from a developing country context. Practically, the study has significant implications for both practitioners and decision makers, such as: the need to place more serious attention to the effective implementation of HRD policy for academic staff and the need to develop a workable strategic framework for academic staff development; adoption of a strategic action plan to deal with the current practices and approach to academic staff development that has inhibited the effective implementation of HRD policy; and evolving a funding model that ensures prudent allocation of the necessary resources that will achieve the effective implementation of academic staff development policy since funding stand out as a major challenge. The researcher recommends several directions for further research.


The storage and retrieval of information are important functions of information systems (IS). These IS functions have been realized for decades, due to the maturity of the relational database technology. In recent years, the concept of Semantic Information System (SIS) has emerged as IS in which information is represented with explicit semantic based on its meaning rather than its syntax to enable its automatic and intelligent processing by computers. At present, there is a shortage of discussions on the topic of semantic data storage in IS as compared to the relational database storage counterpart. This study uses a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods to discuss semantic data storage in IS. The qualitative method is by means of literature review to learn the existing techniques for representing and storing semantic data. The quantitative method is done with experiments to empirically discuss these techniques. The empirical findings of the study shed light on the technologies and approaches utilised to store semantic data in relational databases. This may contribute to the understanding of semantic technologies in IS and foster the development of semantic information systems.


This article explores progress to date in embedding enabling social work understandings and practices with disabled people by reviewing the UK social work curriculum. Based on these observations and the ideas from UK disability studies, it will offer possible solutions or at least better pathways to enabling practice with disabled people. As Meekosha has pointed out in a global context, to date social work has been experienced as an ambivalent practice [Meekosha, H. & Dowse, L. (2007) 'Integrating critical disability studies into social work education and practice: an Australian perspective', Practice, vol. 19, no. 3, pp. 59–72], often both enabling and disabling; an intervention that can both lock and unlock resources, and challenge and reaffirm traditional notions of the 'disability problem' [Finkelstein, V. (1993) 'Disability: A Social Challenge or an Administrative Responsibility?', in Disabiling Barriers ‐ Enabling Environments, eds J. Swain, V. Finkelstein, S. French and M. Oliver, Sage Publications in association with the Open University, London]. Social work also has the potential to both challenge, but also be an (inadvertent) apologist for contemporary social support and welfare systems. Indeed it is clear that social work as a profession and social care as a policy area have been the poor relations of healthcare and health professions [King's Fund (2011) Social Care Funding and the NHS: An Impending Crisis?, King's Fund, London]. Viewed anthropologically, social work remains a largely non-disabled workforce 'ministering' to disabled clients (BCODP, 1997). This might reinforce the perception of 'us and them' in some social work encounters. As Paul Longmore questioned, can we begin to go 'beyond affliction' (2003) in our work with disabled people? Can social work help support the collective struggles of disabled people or is their role inevitably to reinforce that of individual(ised) clients? The development of the personalisation agenda and self-directed support is clearly welcome in this context [DoH (2006) Our Health, Our Care, Our Say: A New Direction for Community Services, Department of Health, London; DoH (2007) Independence, Choice and Risk: A Guide to Best Practice in Supported Decision-Making, Department of Health, London; DoH (2009) Personalisation of Social Care Services, Department of Health, London]. Such developments reflect the changing service user–professional relationship. The temptation to see these developments as the icing on the social support cake needs, however, to be resisted. Arguably, with the increased rationing of social support, the continued role of social workers in assessment and monitoring of support could be seen to require a yet more reflexive and enabling professional education and training in an age of austerity, one where previously supported disabled people are being told that their needs can no longer be met.


Neural progenitors in the developing brain interact with neighboring cells through αE-catenin-containing adherens junctions. Lien et al. (see the Perspective by DiCicco-Bloom) found that conditional knockout of the αE-catenin gene during embryonic brain development resulted in mice whose brains at birth contained twice as many cells as normal. It seems that the area of cell surface occupied by adherens junctions defines the density of cells and regulates cellular proliferation such that enough, but not too many, brain cells are produced. W.-H. Lien, O. Klezovitch, T. E. Fernandez, J. Delrow, V. Vasioukhin, αE-catenin controls cerebral cortical size by regulating the hedgehog signaling pathway. Science 311, 1609-1612 (2006). [Abstract] [Full Text] E. DiCicco-Bloom, Neuron, know thy neighbor. Science 311, 1560-1562 (2006). [Summary] [Full Text]


Abstract This paper analyzes the asymptotic properties of long-horizon estimators under both the null hypothesis and an alternative of predictability. Asymptotically, under the null of no predictability, the long-run estimator is an increasing deterministic function of the short-run estimate and the forecasting horizon. Under the alternative of predictability, the conditional distribution of the long-run estimator, given the short-run estimate, is no longer degenerate and the expected pattern of coefficient estimates across horizons differs from that under the null. Importantly, however, under the alternative, highly endogenous regressors, such as the dividend–price ratio, tend to deviate much less than exogenous regressors, such as the short interest rate, from the pattern expected under the null, making it more difficult to distinguish between the null and the alternative.


In this paper I evaluate three arguments of the Delhi High Court's decision in the Naz Foundation case. First is the argument that sexual orientation is analogous to 'sex' in Article 15 of the constitution. I term this argument 'the sex-based' argument and argue that though it is logically sound , it is not supported by the judgments that the court cites; nor does the court properly lay out the exact nature of this powerful argument. I further argue that the 'sex-based argument' should be employed along with the 'common thread' argument which is supported by the text of the judgment and is also desirable in the light of the argument acting as a precedent for interpreting Article 15 of the Indian Constitution. The second argument I examine is that of the right to privacy and autonomy. Here I argue that the decision has enriched the discussions on the right to privacy in India, but at the same time has committed us to pursuing a notion of privacy based on personhood, which at present has very little specific content. I also argue that the court has used the concepts of privacy and autonomy without adequately clarifying their meaning. Instead it grounds them in a concept of human dignity, which again is a highly contested concept, with many accusing it to be a place holder at best. This takes me to the third argument of the court, which is on human dignity. Here I try and briefly demonstrate the problems associated with the use of this concept. In spite of this I argue that the process of reasoning followed by the court is compatible with principles of adjudication which are well founded in legal theory. I focus particularly on the ideas of coherence in adjudication and the nature of judicial law making.


Summary
This meta-analytic study examines the antecedents and outcomes of four recovery experiences: psychological detachment, relaxation, mastery, and control. Using 299 effect sizes from 54 independent samples (N = 26,592), we extend theory by integrating recovery experiences into the challenge–hindrance framework, creating a more comprehensive understanding of how both after-work recovery and work characteristics collectively relate to well-being. The results of meta-analytic path estimates indicate that challenge demands have stronger negative relationships with psychological detachment, relaxation, and control recovery experiences than hindrance demands, and job resources have positive relationships with relaxation, mastery, and control recovery experiences. Psychological detachment after work has a stronger negative relationship with fatigue than relaxation or control experiences, whereas control experiences after work have a stronger positive relationship with vigor than detachment or relaxation experiences. Additionally, a temporally driven model with recovery experiences as a partial mediator explains up to 62% more variance in outcomes (ΔR2 = .12) beyond work characteristics models, implying that both work characteristics and after-work recovery play an important role in determining employee well-being.


Report prepared for the Council of Europe (Directorate of Social and Economic Affairs, Population and Migration Division) and for European Commission (Directorate General V, Employment, Industrial Relations and Social Affairs, Unit E1, Analysis and Research on the Social Situation).
This paper reports on internal migration and regional population dynamics in Portugal. It examines internal migration patterns and trends in two years, 1981 and 1991, and compares them. Portugal is a country that has reached a population plateau and is currently experiencing very little overall population growth. In 1981 its population was 9.83 millions, only 9.87 millions in 1991 and 9.96 millions in 1997. During the 1980s natural increase steadily diminished and in the 1990s it has virtually ceased. International migration was predominantly negative in balance during the period between the mid 1980s and early 1990s, but has moved into small positive gains in the last few years. When population changes for the 1981-91 period are examined, the picture is broadly of gains in the major urban-centred regions of Norte and Lisboa Vale Tejo, and in the resort industry region of the Algarve. In the more peripheral regions, population decreases occurred, that is in the Centro, Alentejo and Acores regions with Madeira being roughly in balance. Natural increase was strong in the Norte and island regions and compensated for net out-migration, while elsewhere it was weak. All Portuguese NUTS 2 regions except the Algarve lost through migration, with emigration dominating any counter-flows due to internal migration.
However, the strong influence of internal migration is apparent when the components of population change at concelhos scale are analysed. The largest cities, Lisboa and Porto, lose population in the 1981-91 period, particularly the capital, and part of the population losses represent migration to surrounding concelhos in the Outer parts of the city regions. Most of the rest of Grande Porto outside of the main city gains population through migration. Around Lisboa these suburban migration gains were experienced by the margins of Lisboa itself, the northern suburbs along the north bank of the Tagus and in a majority of the concelhos of Peninsula Setubal across the Tagus estuary from Lisboa, namely the southern suburbs linked to the city by two major road bridges.
The Censuses of 1981 and 1991, which count migrants in the circa 15-month period before the census date (14½ and 15½ months in the two censuses), provide a picture of how internal migration affects people in different life stages. The all ages pattern of migration in 1979-81 is one of greatest losses from interior and eastern regions (NUTS 3 scale), lesser losses from remoter coastal regions and gains to the urban regions centred on Porto, Lisboa and the Algarve resorts. However, the centres of the Porto and Lisboa regions lose migrants, confirming the earlier interpretation of the components of population change. The situation in 1989-91 was similar but there were fewer regions with great migration losses, more regions with moderate losses and gains around the main urban nodes and the southern tourist coast. This general pattern of redistribution characterises the childhood and family ages (0-14, 25-44) and is intensified in terms of losses from the large cities and suburban gains in the 45-64 age group. Young persons, however, behave differently. In 1979-81 most of the regions of the country lost internal migrants in the 15-24 age group, while Lisboa, Porto and the Algarve experienced substantial migration gains. So, while the family ages showed a de-concentration pattern, the ages at which young adults start independent life careers showed centralising tendencies. The spatial pattern was broadly similar in 1989-91 but more interior regions posted migration gains. The retirement ages, 65 to 74, showed similar centralisation for the female population but not for the male. This age group was the only one that exhibited strong gender differences in the pattern of migration and considerable changes between 1979-81 and 1989-91. Whereas in the former period, the pattern was very much one of interior loss and coastal and urban region gain, in 1989-91, losses from the interior were relatively lower and moderate gains more widespread. At the oldest ages of 75 years or more the strong pattern of interior loss and coastal gain reasserted itself.
Portuguese population dynamics thus exhibit some rural depopulation (mainly of the young and the very old), some urbanisation (migration to more densely settled regions around the biggest cities), some suburbanisation (de-concentration within the largest urban regions) and some regional flows to resource exploiting regions (sun and sea in the resort coast of the Algarve). Population gains in the 1981-91 decade also occurred in several coastal and interior small towns and medium-sized urban centres outside of Lisboa and Porto. This reveals that urbanisation was not just a metropolitan phenomenon but was a widespread process. Note that when considering whether the Portuguese population is centralising or decentralising, attention must be paid to the scale of migration observed. So, for example, population may be moving into the metropolitan regions of Lisboa and Porto and therefore centralising, but within those regions the population may be shifting from city to suburbs and to outer parts of the city region, and therefore decentralising. This nested system of flows may be obscured if attention is focused exclusively on total net migration.


Structural causal models (SCMs), also known as (nonparametric) structural equation models (SEMs), are widely used for causal modeling purposes. In particular, acyclic SCMs, also known as recursive SEMs, form a well-studied subclass of SCMs that generalize causal Bayesian networks to allow for latent confounders. In this paper, we investigate SCMs in a more general setting, allowing for the presence of both latent confounders and cycles. We show that in the presence of cycles, many of the convenient properties of acyclic SCMs do not hold in general: they do not always have a solution; they do not always induce unique observational, interventional and counterfactual distributions; a marginalization does not always exist, and if it exists the marginal model does not always respect the latent projection; they do not always satisfy a Markov property; and their graphs are not always consistent with their causal semantics. We prove that for SCMs in general each of these properties does hold under certain solvability conditions. Our work generalizes results for SCMs with cycles that were only known for certain special cases so far. We introduce the class of simple SCMs that extends the class of acyclic SCMs to the cyclic setting, while preserving many of the convenient properties of acyclic SCMs. With this paper, we aim to provide the foundations for a general theory of statistical causal modeling with SCMs.


The effort of telecommunications operators in 5G design and implementation is oriented to effective and efficient verticals support. Full network softwarization will deploy tools such as software-defined networks and network functions virtualization to allow dynamic service provisioning on the same physical infrastructure. However, current 5G proposed architecture still requires further enhancement to guarantee full real-time on-demand services. Current virtualization technologies still miss complete automation and adaptation, while they do not have dynamic negotiation capabilities. These issues are bounding the desired complete automation and the significant reduction in OPEX and CAPEX. Thus, this article proposes a full architecture to realize autonomic mobile virtual network operators. These autonomic virtual operators can be deployed by Internet service providers to guarantee efficient and effective network adaptation to unexpected events and real-time resource requests. The objective of an AMVNO is to exploit softwarization of networks and experiential intelligence to play the role of a local operator by performing network management and service release without human intervention. Its autonomic character can also provide proactive actions against unwanted network states.


Prediction of Novel Virus–Host Protein Protein Interactions From Sequences and Infectious Disease Phenotypes Liuwei Wang Infectious diseases from novel viruses have become a major public health concern. Rapid identification of virus–host interactions can reveal mechanistic insights into infectious diseases and shed light on potential treatments. Current computational prediction methods for novel viruses are based mainly on protein sequences. However, it is not clear to what extent other important features, such as the symptoms caused by the viruses, could contribute to a predictor. Disease phenotypes (i.e., signs and symptoms) are readily accessible from clinical diagnosis and we hypothesize that they may act as a potential proxy and an additional source of information for the underlying molecular interactions between the pathogens and hosts. We developed DeepViral, a deep learning based method that predicts protein– protein interactions (PPI) between humans and viruses. Motivated by the potential utility of infectious disease phenotypes, we first embedded human proteins and viruses in a shared space using their associated phenotypes and functions, supported by formalized background knowledge from biomedical ontologies. By jointly learning from protein sequences and phenotype features, DeepViral significantly improves over existing sequence-based methods for intraand inter-species PPI prediction. Lastly, we propose a novel experimental setup to realistically evaluate prediction methods for novel viruses.


Maintaining or promoting intestinal health is of crucial importance for optimal production efficiency, overall health and promoting the welfare of our production animals. Are you wondering what factors affect gut health? Broaden/deepen your knowledge now, by attending the course Gut health in pigs and poultry. New insights and developments from research on topics like the immune system in pigs and poultry, immune modulatory interventions, effect of the diet on intestinal health, interplay of gastro-intestinal microbiota will be covered in this course.


Exosomes are nanovesicles formed in the endosomal pathway with an important role in paracrine and autocrine cell communication. Exosomes secreted by cancer cells, malicious exosomes, have important roles in tumor microenvironment maturation and cancer progression. The knowledge of the role of exosomes in tumorigenesis prompted a new era in cancer diagnostics and therapy, taking advantage of the use of circulating exosomes as tumor biomarkers due to their stability in body fluids and targeting malignant exosomes' release and/or uptake to inhibit or delay tumor development. In recent years, nanotechnology has paved the way for the development of a plethora of new diagnostic and therapeutic platforms, fostering theranostics. The unique physical and chemical properties of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) make them suitable vehicles to pursuit this goal. AuNPs' properties such as ease of synthesis with the desired shape and size, high surface:volume ratio, and the possibility of engineering their surface as desired, potentiate AuNPs' role in nanotheranostics, allowing the use of the same formulation for exosome detection and restraining the effect of malicious exosomes in cancer progression.


Abstract.
 Placodontia were a group of marine reptiles that lived in shallow nearshore environments during the Triassic. Based on tooth morphology it has been inferred that they were durophagous, but tooth morphology differs among species: placodontoid placodonts have teeth described as hemispherical, and the teeth of more highly nested taxa within the cyamodontoid placodonts have been described as flat. In contrast, the sister taxon to the placodonts, Palatodonta bleekeri, like many other marine reptiles, has tall pointed teeth for eating soft-bodied prey. The goals of this paper are to quantify these different tooth morphologies and compare tooth shape among taxa and with a functionally "optimal" tooth. To quantify tooth morphology we measured the radius of curvature (RoC) of the occlusal surface by fitting spheres to 3D surface scans or computed microtomographic scans. Large RoCs correspond to flatter teeth, while teeth with smaller RoCs are pointier; positive RoCs have convex occlusal surfaces, and a negative RoC indicates that the occlusal surface of the tooth is concave. We found the placodontoid taxa have teeth with smaller RoCs than more highly nested taxa, and palatine teeth tend to be flatter and closer to the optimal morphology than maxillary teeth. Within one well-nested clade, the placochelyids, the rearmost palatine teeth have a more complex morphology than the predicted optimal tooth, with an overall concave occlusal surface with a small, medial cusp. These findings are in keeping with the hypothesis that placodonts were specialized durophagous predators with teeth modified to break hard prey items while resisting tooth failure.


Abstract This article discusses the mitigation and adaptation potential of organic agricultural systems along three main features: farming system design, cropland management and grassland and livestock management. An important potential contribution of organically managed systems to climate change mitigation is identified in the careful management of nutrients and, hence, the reduction of N2O emissions from soils. Another high mitigation potential of organic agriculture lies in carbon sequestration in soils. In a first estimate, the emission reduction potential by abstention from mineral fertilizers is calculated to be about 20% and the compensation potential by carbon sequestration to be about 40–72% of the world's current annual agricultural greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, but further research is needed to consolidate these numbers. On the adaptation side, organic agriculture systems have a strong potential for building resilient food systems in the face of uncertainties, through farm diversification and building soil fertility with organic matter. Additionally, organic agriculture offers alternatives to energy-intensive production inputs such as synthetic fertilizers which are likely to be further limited for poor rural populations by rising energy prices. In developing countries, organic agricultural systems achieve equal or even higher yields, as compared to the current conventional practices, which translate into a potentially important option for food security and sustainable livelihoods for the rural poor in times of climate change. Certified organic products cater for higher income options for farmers and, therefore, can serve as promoters for climate-friendly farming practices worldwide.


PurposeThis purpose of the study is to examine the labour supply decisions with respect to earnings and considers whether we are willing or indeed able to work less. The authors specifically focus on the three points of time, i.e. beginning of the sample, pre and post Global Financial Crisis.Design/methodology/approachThe study regression analysis by utilises microdata from the UK Labour Force Survey (LFS) regarding individual hours worked in three separate survey periods: 1994q2, 2007q2 and 2015q2FindingsThe results suggest that we are far from income-satiated. The elasticity of hours worked with respect to earnings is stubbornly inelastic and for some demographic cohorts positive, implying the desire to work more. The authors find that job flexibility matters in facilitating reduced hours of work, but that jobs are not becoming more flexible. The authors also do see a secular reduction in hours worked, accompanied by a shift to working later in life, but these appear to be down to factors other than higher wages.Research limitations/implicationsThe study has important research implications in terms of understanding the dynamics of the labour market on the whole and in the pre and post global financial crisis periods.Practical implicationsThe research has profound policy implication in terms of labour and employment policy.Social implicationsThere are important social implications, particularly in terms of household labour supply decisions and substitution between work and leisure.Originality/valueThe study has significant element of originality in terms of understanding the changing dynamics of labour market. This is the first study which has investigated the labour market in the light of empirical evidence and in the various time periods.


Ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC) has been introduced in 5G new radio for new applications that have strict reliability and latency requirements such as augmented/virtual reality, industrial automation and autonomous vehicles. The first full set of the physical layer design of 5G release, Release 15, was finalized in December 2017. It provided a foundation for URLLC with new features such as flexible sub-carrier spacing, a sub-slot-based transmission scheme, new channel quality indicator, new modulation and coding scheme tables, and configured-grant transmission with automatic repetitions. The second 5G release, Release 16, was finalized in December 2019 and allows achieving improved metrics for latency and reliability to support new use cases of URLLC. A number of new features such as enhanced physical downlink (DL) control channel monitoring capability, new DL control information format, sub-slot physical uplink (UL) control channel transmission, sub-slot-based physical UL shared channel repetition, enhanced mobile broadband and URLLC inter-user-equipment multiplexing with cancellation indication and enhanced power control were standardized. This article provides a detailed overview of the URLLC features from 5G Release 15 to Release 16 by describing how these features allow meeting URLLC target requirements in 5G networks. The ongoing Release 17 targets further enhanced URLLC operation by improving mechanisms such as feedback, intra-user-equipment multiplexing and prioritization of traffic with different priority, support of time synchronization and new quality of service related parameters. In addition, a fundamental feature targeted in URLLC Release 17 is to enable URLLC operation over shared unlicensed spectrum. The potential directions of URLLC research in unlicensed spectrum in Release 17 are presented to serve as a bridge from URLLC in licensed spectrum in Release 16 to URLLC in unlicensed spectrum in Release 17.


BACKGROUND:Liquid diets were first used in Crohn's disease (CD) to provide preoperative nutritional support, but many of these patients unexpectedly went into remission before operation. Subsequent studies have confirmed the efficacy of enteral nutrition for induction of remission in children with CD and this is first line therapy with the UK. The length of treatment varies in the published paediatric studies from 3 to 10 weeks, with treatment continuing to scheduled end regardless of remission status. The use of exclusive enteral nutrition can avoid exposure to corticosteroids and associated side effects, but lengthy treatment courses may be daunting and affect adherence. No study has investigated the impact of the length of treatment in children on remission or relapse rates. Our aim was to complete a randomised controlled feasibility trial investigating whether the length of treatment with enteral nutrition in paediatric patients impacts on remission rates and withdrawal from therapy. METHODS:The study was completed in Royal Manchester Children's Hospital, a tertiary paediatric unit within the UK with approximately 400 children diagnosed with IBD. Patients aged 8 to 17 years with a diagnosis of CD were considered for inclusion. Exclusion criteria included: Gastrostomy in situ, Severe CD requiring corticosteroids or surgery, treatment with other therapies within 12 weeks prior to randomisation or anti-TNF agents within the last 6 weeks prior to randomisation. Consent was obtained and baseline characteristics collected. Patients were randomised by a concealed, third-party process. Regimens were of 4, 6, 7, 8, and 10 weeks exclusive polymeric enteral nutrition, with predetermined formulations. Outcomes assessed at baseline and 10 weeks included disease activity, health related quality of life, adverse events and withdrawal rates. RESULTS:Thirty-eight patients with flare ups of CD were considered to start polymeric diet within the study period. Twenty-seven were eligible for inclusion and 12 consented for inclusion (Randomised length of therapy 4 Weeks n = 3, 6 weeks n = 3, 7 weeks n = 2, 8 weeks n = 3, 10 weeks n = 1). The most cited reason for not consenting for inclusion were that 10 weeks was too long for therapy (n = 6) and 4 weeks too short (n = 4). All patients who received exclusive enteral nutrition had gained weight at 4 week review (Mean = 4.4 kg) and final 10 week review (Mean = 7.1 kg). There was no difference in rates of remission between patients treated with 4, 6, or 7 weeks therapy. No patients completed 8 or 10 weeks diet. No significant adverse events were encountered. Withdrawal rates were 63% with reasons including lost to follow up (n = 4), need for steroids (n = 2) and patient not willing to stop therapy at predetermined time (n = 1). CONCLUSIONS:This is the first randomised controlled trial investigating the impact of the enteral nutritional therapy for induction of remission in Paediatric Crohn's disease. This feasibility trial has demonstrated the safety of all lengths of therapy, as well as supporting the possible equivalent efficacy of shorter lengths of therapy. A full randomised controlled trial is warranted to investigate further. Difficulties highlighted in this feasibility trial can inform future study design and will be highlighted in detail.


Tropical coasts are highly vulnerable to climatic pressures, the future impacts of which are projected to propagate through the natural and human components of coastal systems. One single event (e.g., intense storm) or gradual changes (e.g., upland deforestation or sea-level rise) can have multiple direct and indirect impacts in coral reefs, seagrass meadows, mangroves and human settlements and can compromise the resilience of the whole system.


Increasingly available in digital formats, the recorded spoken words from the last 80 years reflect a wide range of cultural phenomena. Every day this rich source of voice material is added to by the archiving of "born digital" recordings of contemporary radio. Digital voice can be heard through the internet but is it of use in teaching? Spoken Word Services has been developing various techniques to make audio available to teachers, students and other scholars. As the result of a licensing agreement between Glasgow Caledonian University and the BBC, a wide variety of materials from the BBC Sound Archives has greatly enhanced the 'usability' of recorded spoken word in support of classroom related activities for students in a diverse range of disciplines. Clydetown is a fictitious town that is populated by a number of virtual families, each with their own social and health issues that bring them into contact with a range of services and service providers. Students utilise these materials to construct their own understandings of the issues and to discuss and debate with others. They are encouraged to test the theories and understandings taught in more traditional forms (lectures, journals, etc.) against the authentic lived experiences of those who are directly involved. The media used combines original testimony and that provided by actors, both offering the students the opportunity to engage at different levels with this complex content.


I saw in his hand a long spear of gold, and at the iron's point there seemed to be a little fire. He appeared to me to be thrusting it at times into my heart, and to pierce my very entrails; when he drew it out, he seemed to draw them out also, and to leave me all on fire with a great love of God. The pain was so great, that it made me moan; and yet so surpassing was the sweetness of this excessive pain, that I could not wish to be rid of it. The soul is satisfied now with nothing less than God. The pain is not bodily, but spiritual; though the body has its share in it. It is a caressing of love so sweet which now takes place between the soul and God, that I pray God of His goodness to make him experience it who may think that I am lying.