This paper examines genitive variation in English, using two methodological approaches. In the manual approach, we extract genitive variants from the parsed sub- corpora of the text category J (academic writing) in the B-Brown (1931), the Brown (1961) and the Frown (1991/2) corpora. Focussing on the syntactic parameter, we illustrate how the principle of end-weight gains ground from 1930 to 1990. The automatic approach implements the constraints of the manual approach, confirms the findings of the manual approach and is used to scale to British English. Methodologically, we show how to automatically sift out irrelevant corpus examples whose identification would normally need human intervention -- in particular, apparent examples of the two main genitive English constructions which are not in genuine alternation.


The need for nurses and other healthcare practitioners to apply quality improvement methodology (QI methodology) within their everyday practice is becoming more prevalent in the NHS and is a key requirement of staff employed by Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust.

Aim/focus of the innovation

A joint programme facilitated by Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Salford School of Nursing, Midwifery, Social Work & Social Sciences has been developed to develop undergraduate student nurses QI and leadership knowledge and skills.
Methodology: Apply QI tools and techniques for the benefit of patient care; Work as a team to enhance quality and to measure the difference that they have made
Develop their confidence in presenting the outcomes from their quality improvement; Support their development as a registered nurse through developing their leadership skills

Structure of the Programme

This programme adopts a blended teaching and learning approach.

The programme is running throughout the students undergraduate programme of study and is being piloted with September 15 Undergraduate Nursing MA Programme and with those students who are placed at Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust. The programme will take place when students are on placement. The programme also builds on reflections made by the programme team of a cohort of 3rd year student nurses who have also attended the programme.
The QI programme is structured around the Salford Multi-dimensional model for leadership development (Leigh et al. 2015) which is an evidenced based model created by a team of academics from the University of Salford School of Nursing, Midwifery, Social Work and Social Sciences.

Methods used to assess the Innovation

Students are asked to participate in a range of activities that enhance their knowledge and skills of quality improvement and leadership and these include watching short video's, participating in real world' work based QI and leadership learning opportunities and reflecting on their experiences. Students are also encouraged to seek the views of their mentor, practice education lead and multi-professional team on how to adopt QI methodology into their everyday role and seek ways to be exposed to how quality patient care is measured.

Students have also been invited to provide formal feedback on the programme:

Key Findings

Students have been able to identify what Quality Improvement means from the viewpoint of multiple stakeholders and the implications of this on patient care.
The programme team reflect on the impact of student nurses contributing to the trusts Better care, lower cost programme through identifying areas for improvement. The student's ideas were shared with the Trust Executive Team with the students invited to attend future quality improvement initiatives.

Findings demonstrate the positive impact of partnership working between HEI and practice and in the development of student's leadership and quality improvement from the start of their programme of study.


Quantum key distribution (QKD) is regarded as an alternative to traditional cryptography methods for securing data communication by quantum mechanics rather than computational complexity. Towards the massive deployment of QKD, embedding it with the telecommunication system is crucially important. Homogenous optical multi-core fibers (MCFs) compatible with spatial division multiplexing (SDM) are essential components for the next-generation optical communication infrastructure, which provides a big potential for co-existence of optical telecommunication systems and QKD. However, the QKD channel is extremely vulnerable due to the fact that the quantum states can be annihilated by noise during signal propagation. Thus, investigation of telecom compatibility for QKD co-existing with high-speed classical communication in SDM transmission media is needed. In this paper, we present analytical models of the noise sources in QKD links over heterogeneous MCFs. Spontaneous Raman scattering and inter-core crosstalk are experimentally characterized over spans of MCFs with different refractive index profiles, emulating shared telecom traffic conditions. Lower bounds for the secret key rates and quantum bit error rate (QBER) due to different core/wavelength allocation are obtained to validate intra- and inter-core co-existence of QKD and classical telecommunication.


The emerging literature on the socalled Arab Spring has largely focused on the evolution of the uprisings in cities and power centers, as well as the reaction of elites or foreign powers, neglecting events in decentralized contexts and among marginalized groups. This replicates a long-standing trend in the literature which has been powerfully highlighted by Asef Bayat's research on social non-movements. In order to reach a more diversified and inner understanding of these issues, the article examines the specific case of women in Egypt's rural areas, shedding light on their conditions and assessing if and how they have reacted and contributed to the dynamics currently unfolding in the Middle East and North Africa.


If political statements and media coverage are any guide, it seems Australians today are dying for security. At no other moment in our history has the spectre of war and terrorism so haunted popular, political and scholarly perceptions of Australia's colonial past and of its geopolitical future. And yet, debates over colonial war or genocide and contemporary terrorism have been conducted in more or less complete isolation. In this article I argue that our contemporary obsession with 'security' is premised on the perennial threat of 'insecurity'. This is the problem of in/security, and it has played a central role in the development of Western political thought. More importantly, its formulation in Western political thought provided a powerful justification for the violence of the early decades of Australia's colonisation during which Indigenous Australians could also be said to have been dying for security.


We have developed a rigid hollow fiber composed of a silver-clad stainless steel pipe. The inside wall of the pipe was polished to a mirror-smooth state, and after that a cyclic olefin polymer (COP) as a transparent dielectric material was coated on the inside of the silver layer. Transmission of CO2 laser light through the hollow fiber of 20-cm length with a 0.75-mm inside diameter was 95% under straight condition, and more than 75% under the condition of a 90 deg. bend with a 4-cm bending radius. This metallic hollow fiber is not very long or flexible, but it has great mechanical strength. For this reason, this sturdy metallic hollow fiber can be used for a laser probe mounted at the tip of a long optical transmission line.


Postconflict state reconstruction has become a priority of donors in Africa. Yet, externally sponsored reconstruction efforts have met with limited achievements in the region. This is partly due to three flawed assumptions on which reconstruction efforts are predicated. The first is that Western state institutions can be transferred to Africa. The poor record of past external efforts to construct and reshape African political and economic institutions casts doubts on the overly ambitious objectives of failed state reconstruction. The second flawed assumption is the mistaken belief in a shared understanding by donors and African leaders of failure and reconstruction. Donors typically misread the nature of African politics. For local elites, reconstruction is the continuation of war and competition for resources by new means. Thus their strategies are often inimical to the building of strong public institutions. The third flawed assumption is that donors are capable of rebuilding African states. Their ambitious goals are inconsistent with their financial, military, and symbolic means. Yet, African societies are capable of recovery, as Somaliland and Uganda illustrate. Encouraging indigenous state formation efforts and constructive bargaining between social forces and governments might prove a more fruitful approach for donors to the problem of Africa's failed states.


Large object-oriented systems have, at least, four characteristics that complicate object communication, i.e., the system is distributed and contains large numbers, e.g., thousands, of objects, objects need to be reallocated at run-time and objects can be replaced by other objects in order to adapt to the dynamic changes in the system. Traditional object communication is based on sending a message to a receiver object known to the sender of the message. At linking or instantiation time, an object establishes its acquaintances through name/class based binding and uses these objects through its lifetime. If this is too rigid, the software engineer has to implement the binding of objects manually using pointers. In our experiments we found the traditional acquaintance communication semantics too limited and we identified several problems, related to the reusability of objects and selection mechanisms, understandability, and expressiveness. We recognised that it is important to separate a class or object's requirements on its acquaintances from the way an object selects and binds its acquaintances in actual systems. Based on this, we studied the necessary expressiveness for acquaintance handling and identified four relevant aspects: type and duration of binding, conditions for binding, number of selected objects, and selection region for binding. To implement these aspects, we defined "acquaintance layers" as part of the "layered object model." Acquaintance layers uniformly extend the traditional object-oriented acquaintance handling semantics and allow for the first-class representation of acquaintance selection and binding, thereby increasing traceability and reusability. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.


This paper presents a model of a MAS framework for dynamic aggregation of population health data for research purposes. The contribution of the paper is twofold: First, it describes a MAS architecture that allows one to built on the fly anonymized databases from the distributed sources of data. Second, it shows how to improve the utility of the data with the growth of the database.


In the present paper, three new species of Lecteria (Lecteria) Osten Sacken,1888: Lecteria (Lecteria) mitarakanea n. sp., Lecteria (Lecteria) teko n. sp. and Lecteria (Lecteria) wayana n. sp., are described and illustrated, as a first step in the study of the Tipulidae Latreille, 1802 fauna from Mitaraka (French Guiana), collected during the "Our Planet Revisited" survey of 2015. The characteristics of the male genitalia allow to easily separate these three new species from the rest of the Neotropical species, in combination with the color pattern of legs, thorax and wings. The species are the first described in this genus from the Neotropics in almost half a century. Their discovery illustrates the significant contribution of this kind of scientific surveys in remote and isolated spots around the globe.


CONTEXT
Estimates of lifetime risk for total cardiovascular disease (CVD) may provide projections of the future population burden of CVD and may assist in clinician-patient risk communication. To date, no lifetime risk estimates of total CVD have been reported.

OBJECTIVES
To calculate lifetime risk estimates of total CVD by index age (45, 55, 65, 75 years) and risk factor strata and to estimate years lived free of CVD across risk factor strata.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS
Pooled survival analysis of as many as 905,115 person-years of data from 1964 through 2008 from 5 National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute-funded community-based cohorts: Framingham Heart Study, Framingham Offspring Study, Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study, Chicago Heart Association Detection Project in Industry Study, and Cardiovascular Health Study. All participants were free of CVD at baseline with risk factor data (blood pressure [BP], total cholesterol [TC], diabetes, and smoking status) and total CVD outcome data.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
Any total CVD event (including fatal and nonfatal coronary heart disease, all forms of stroke, congestive heart failure, and other CVD deaths).

RESULTS
At an index age of 45 years, overall lifetime risk for total CVD was 60.3% (95% CI, 59.3%-61.2%) for men and 55.6% (95% CI, 54.5%-56.7%) for women. Men had higher lifetime risk estimates than women across all index ages. At index ages 55 and 65 years, men and women with at least 1 elevated risk factor (BP, 140-149/90-99 mm Hg; or TC, 200-239 mg/dL; but no diabetes or smoking), 1 major risk factor, or at least 2 major risk factors (BP, ≥160/100 mm Hg or receiving treatment; TC, ≥240 mg/dL or receiving treatment; diabetes mellitus; or current smoking) had lifetime risk estimates to age 95 years that exceeded 50%. Despite an optimal risk factor profile (BP, <120/80 mm Hg; TC, <180 mg/dL; and no smoking or diabetes), men and women at the index age of 55 years had lifetime risks (through 85 years of age) for total CVD of greater than 40% and 30%, respectively. Compared with participants with at least 2 major risk factors, those with an optimal risk factor profile lived up to 14 years longer free of total CVD.

CONCLUSIONS
Lifetime risk estimates for total CVD were high (>30%) for all individuals, even those with optimal risk factors in middle age. However, maintenance of optimal risk factor levels in middle age was associated with substantially longer morbidity-free survival.


The general aim of this paper is to explore the properties of the so-called customer order decoupling point (CODP) to enhance the knowledge and understanding of its possible use in operations and logistics. More specifically, the purpose is to enhance the applicability of the CODP framework so that it also covers scenarios with a gradual increase in certainty concerning information about customer demand. Differentiating between decisions made under certainty and decisions made under uncertainty of customer demand has been identified as a key issue in operations strategy and supply chain management. The CODP identifies this distinction but the concept is limited in that it assumes either total uncertainty or total certainty concerning customer demand. Acknowledging a gradual increase in certainty across multiple independent dimensions provides a point of departure for extending the decoupling point to a decoupling zone. Based on the decoupling zone, we extend the established framework for positioning the CODP and identify eight key decisions related to the decoupling zone that concern positioning, fulfilment strategies and buffer sizing.


Ruby is a fully object-oriented language, much like the classic object-oriented language, Smalltalk. Like Smalltalk, it is dynamically typed (as opposed to Java or C++), but unlike Smalltalk, Ruby features the same conveniences found in modern scripting languages, making Ruby a favorite tool of intelligent, forward-thinking programmers and the basis for the Rails web framework. This is the reference manual for Ruby, including a description of all the standard library modules, a complete reference to all built-in classes and modules (including all the new and changed methods introduced by Ruby 1.9). It also includes all the new and changed syntax and semantics introduced since Ruby 1.8. Learn about the new parameter passing rules, local variable scoping in blocks, fibers, multinationalization, and the new block declaration syntax, among other exciting new features.


Part reportage and part protest, A Foreigner Carrying in the Crook of His Arm a Tiny Bomb is an inquiry into the cultural logic and global repercussions of the war on terror. At its center are two men convicted in U.S. courts on terrorism-related charges: Hemant Lakhani, a seventy-year-old tried for attempting to sell a fake missile to an FBI informant, and Shahawar Matin Siraj, baited by the New York Police Department into a conspiracy to bomb a subway. Lakhani and Siraj were caught through questionable sting operations involving paid informants; both men received lengthy jail sentences. Their convictions were celebrated as major victories in the war on terror. In Amitava Kumar's riveting account of their cases, Lakhani and Siraj emerge as epic bunglers, and the U.S. government as the creator of terror suspects to prosecute. Kumar analyzed the trial transcripts and media coverage, and he interviewed Lakhani, Siraj, their families, and their lawyers. Juxtaposing such stories of entrapment in the United States with narratives from India, another site of multiple terror attacks and state crackdowns, Kumar explores the harrowing experiences of ordinary people entangled in the war on terror. He also considers the fierce critiques of post-9/11 surveillance and security regimes by soldiers and torture victims, as well as artists and writers, including Coco Fusco, Paul Shambroom, and Arundhati Roy.


Potable water is becoming scarce in many areas of the planet as the human population pushes past 7 × 109. There is an increasing need for electric power since electricity is essential for modern development and progress. Traditionally, condenser cooling systems for power plants use seawater or freshwater in conjunction with cooling tower technology. Seawater is used in plants near the sea or ocean, and seawater condenser cooling systems are typically open systems. More recently, air-cooling has been implemented and undergoing evaluations. Predictably, during the summer season in hot, semidesert and desert areas, air-cooling would not prove very efficient. Ironically, these areas would require the most fresh, potable water if the population and/or population density is large. The need for additional power generation units to satisfy consumer demands, and hence more cooling capacities, creates a problem for utilities. The current work researches the feasibility of using seawater cooling systems in the United States of America that are far from the sea. Five such locations have been identified as possibilities. Such a system has proven successful in South Florida. This system utilizes a series of cooling canals, used to dissipate the condenser heat to the surroundings. Relevant statistics of such a canal include water flow rate, total capacity, and MW of generators (both fossil-fueled and nuclear steam generators) the system is designed to cool. Additional statistics include the possible need to top-up (both amount and frequency of water required to maintain canal surface levels) or whether local natural rain water is adequate to replace evaporation and loss. Logistical information includes the estimated size of land required to accommodate the cooling canals. In estimating the canal system size and concomitantly the land required in other parts of the country, there is the tacit assumption that the thermal capacity of the surrounding land is about the same, and that the thermal conductivities of the different types of soil, and the heat transfer coefficients between the seawater and the canal are similar.


A low-temperature multiple-pass White cell is described which can be operated at any temperature between 120 K and room temperature. The path length can be varied from 60 m up to 2540 m in 80-m steps. The four-row multiple reflection system, a modified White arrangement, is enclosed in an aluminum dewar and can be focused externally while cold. An approximate expression for the astigmatic image distortion in a cell of the described type is derived.


The cranial computed tomography (CT) findings of 48 children with purulent meningitis were examined, prospectively, to determine the importance of cranial CT findings on the prognosis of childhood meningitis, in a developing country. The age of children ranged from 2 months to 13 years. Of 48 patients, 29 (60.5%) survived without sequelae, 13 (27%) survived with sequelae, and six (12.5%) died. Cranial CT was normal in 21 (43%) patients of 48 children with meningitis at admission. Abnormal CT findings were detected in 10, 11, and 6 children in the groups of survived without sequelae, survived with sequelae, and deaths, respectively, at admission (p < .05) We found that CT scan results were correlated with neurological signs (p < .05). At least one or more cranial CTs were was re-taken in children in whom the first CT revealed abnormal findings; we did not find a statistically significant difference for the follow-up CT findings between the groups (p > .05). Hydrocephalus and subdural effusion were the commonest abnormal CT findings. In conclusion, our findings showed that cranial CT may safely be used to detect intracranial complications of meningitis in childhood and the ratio of sequelae and death were more common in children with abnormal cranial CT than those of normal cranial CT findings. Additionally, there was a positive correlation between CT scan results and neurological signs


Urbanization is a process that involves simultaneous transitions and transformations across multiple dimensions, including demographic, economic, and physical changes in the landscape. Each of these dimensions presents different indicators and definitions of urbanization. The chapter begins with a brief discussion of the multiple dimensions and definitions of urbanization, including implications for GHG emissions accounting, and then continues with an assessment of historical, current, and future trends across different dimensions of urbanization in the context of GHG emissions (12.2). It then discusses GHG accounting approaches and challenges specific to urban areas and human settlements.

In Section 12.3, the chapter assesses the drivers of urban GHG emissions in a systemic fashion, and examines the impacts of drivers on individuals sectors as well as the interaction and interdependence of drivers. In this section, the relative magnitude of each driver's impact on urban GHG emissions is discussed both qualitatively and quantitatively, and provides the context for a more detailed assessment of how urban form and infrastructure affect urban GHG emissions (12.4). Here, the section discusses the individual urban form drivers such as density, connectivity, and land use mix, as well as their interactions with each other. Section 12.4 also examines the links between infrastructure and urban form, as well as their combined and interacting effects on GHG emissions.

Section 12.5 identifies spatial planning strategies and policy instruments that can affect multiple drivers, and Section 12.6 examines the institutional, governance, and financial requirements to implement such policies. Of particular importance with regard to mitigation potential at the urban or local scale is a discussion of the geographic and administrative scales for which policies are implemented, overlapping, and / or in conflict. The chapter then identifies the scale and range of mitigation actions currently planned and / or implemented by local governments, and assesses the evidence of successful implementation of the plans, as well as barriers to further implementation (12.7). Next, the chapter discusses major co-benefits and adverse side-effects of mitigation at the local scale, including opportunities for sustainable development (12.8). The chapter concludes with a discussion of the major gaps in knowledge with respect to mitigation of climate change in urban areas (12.9).


We report a facile approach to synthesize hexagon-shaped nanoplates of various metal (oxy)hydroxides under aqueous solutions while avoiding complex processes. This synthetic method can be generally applied to fabricate various nanoplates, including not only single-metallic (oxy)hydroxides such as Co(OH)2, MnO(OH), FeO(OH), and Mg(OH)2 but also mixed-metal (oxy)hydroxides, where each metal component is homogeneously distributed and the atomic ratio of the metal species can be easily controlled by varying the precursor ratio. Carbon-coated metal oxide nanoplates, which are prepared by coating of polydopamine followed by heat treatment, are applied as anode materials for lithium-ion batteries (LIB). Core–shell nanoplates of CoO@C, MnO@C and Fe3O4@C exhibit excellent cycle stability with a high specific capacity of ∼1000 mA h g−1. In particular, the effect of carbon shell thickness on electrochemical performance is studied using CoO@C nanoplates with different carbon shell thicknesses. CoO@C with a 6.5 nm-thick carbon coating exhibits good cycling performance and maintains a high rechargeable capacity of 997 mA h g−1 even after 100 cycles at a current density of 200 mA g−1, while CoO@C with a 1.5 nm-thick carbon shell shows a significantly decreased capacity of 315 mA h g−1 after the 100th cycle.


A multi‐millennia simulation performed with a three‐dimensional climate model under constant forcing shows abrupt climate events lasting for several centuries caused by a spontaneous transition to an infrequently visited state of the oceanic thermohaline circulation. This state is characterized by a more southern location of the main area of deep ocean convection in the North Atlantic and implies a large cooling in the mid and high latitudes of the northern hemisphere. This transition of the thermohaline circulation occurs spontaneously less than once in 5000 years in the model, but such transitions can also be triggered by a reduction of the solar irradiance.


This study explores social and technical aspects of the electronic Customer Relationship Management (e-CRM) in Egypt. A pragmatic research approach using mixed methods with a range of stakeholders was employed.

A framework is drawn in order to identify the main factors affecting e-CRM readiness in the Egyptian banking industry. In order to better understand the problem at hand, three different structured questionnaires were devised to survey a large number of bank employees and users. Data collected was analysed statistically using SPSS. Semi-structured interviews were also conducted with a small number of decision makers at five different banks, which allowed a more penetrating study in Egyptian banking industry.

Quantitative method was used through distributing a questionnaire to employees in five banks. Data obtained from the questionnaire was triangulated with data gathered from other sources: interviews with branch managers and observations. Findings of the empirical research were evaluated against the framework suggested in the beginning leading to a final framework that assesses e-CRM readiness in banking industry. Findings revealed that the use of technology, organisational culture, corporate strategy and customer perceptions affect e-CRM readiness while the employees' perception does not affect e-CRM readiness. The interpretation of the results illustrated that organisational culture and corporate strategy have a strong effect one-CRM readiness, whereas use of technology has a modest effect on it.

The investigation was conducted mainly in Alexandria, as the second main city in Egypt. From the data analysis, supported by a review of literature, a revised framework was generated. When results were brought together, similarities and differences between employees, customers and bank managers helped the researcher better understand the problem at hand, derive conclusions and make recommendations to the main stakeholders, which would help promote and enhance the e-CRM in Egypt.


Understanding genetic causes and effects of speciation in sympatric populations of sexually reproducing eukaryotes is challenging, controversial, and of practical importance for controlling rapidly evolving pests and pathogens. The major African malaria vector mosquito Anopheles gambiae sensu stricto (s.s.) is considered to contain two incipient species with strong reproductive isolation, hybrids between the M and S molecular forms being very rare. Following recent observations of higher proportions of hybrid forms at a few sites in West Africa, we conducted new surveys of 12 sites in four contiguous countries (The Gambia, Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, and Republic of Guinea). Identification and genotyping of 3499 A. gambiae s.s. revealed high frequencies of M/S hybrid forms at each site, ranging from 5 to 42%, and a large spectrum of inbreeding coefficient values from 0.11 to 0.76, spanning most of the range expected between the alternative extremes of panmixia and assortative mating. Year-round sampling over 2 years at one of the sites in The Gambia showed that M/S hybrid forms had similar relative frequencies throughout periods of marked seasonal variation in mosquito breeding and abundance. Genome-wide scans with an Affymetrix high-density single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) microarray enabled replicate comparisons of pools of different molecular forms, in three separate populations. These showed strong differentiation between M and S forms only in the pericentromeric region of the X chromosome that contains the molecular form-specific marker locus, with only a few other loci showing minor differences. In the X chromosome, the M/S hybrid forms were more differentiated from M than from S forms, supporting a hypothesis of asymmetric introgression and backcrossing.


A normal duplex holds as many Watson-Crick base pairs as the number of nucleotides in its constituent strands. Here we establish that single nucleotides can be designed to functionally imitate dinucleotides without compromising binding affinity. This effectively allows sequence information to be more compact and concentrated to fewer phosphates.


Abstract. We propose a new algorithm for calibrating definitive observatory data with the goal of providing users with estimates of the data error standard deviations (SDs). The algorithm has been implemented and tested using Chambon-la-Foret observatory (CLF) data. The calibration process uses all available data. It is set as a large, weakly non-linear, inverse problem that ultimately provides estimates of baseline values in three orthogonal directions, together with their expected standard deviations. For this inverse problem, absolute data error statistics are estimated from two series of absolute measurements made within a day. Similarly, variometer data error statistics are derived by comparing variometer data time series between different pairs of instruments over few years. The comparisons of these time series led us to use an autoregressive process of order 1 (AR1 process) as a prior for the baselines. Therefore the obtained baselines do not vary smoothly in time. They have relatively small SDs, well below 300 pT when absolute data are recorded twice a week – i.e. within the daily to weekly measures recommended by INTERMAGNET. The algorithm was tested against the process traditionally used to derive baselines at CLF observatory, suggesting that statistics are less favourable when this latter process is used. Finally, two sets of definitive data were calibrated using the new algorithm. Their comparison shows that the definitive data SDs are less than 400 pT and may be slightly overestimated by our process: an indication that more work is required to have proper estimates of absolute data error statistics. For magnetic field modelling, the results show that even on isolated sites like CLF observatory, there are very localised signals over a large span of temporal frequencies that can be as large as 1 nT. The SDs reported here encompass signals of a few hundred metres and less than a day wavelengths.


As states and local communities begin the process of implementing Public Law 99--457, a fundamental shift in the roles of early childhood interventionists will become evident. Requirements regarding a family focus, as indicated by the need for an Individualized Family Service Plan, have led to changes in how and why professionals communicate with families. The purposes of this article are to (1) provide a rationale for developing communication and interviewing skills, (2) present information on training in family interviewing and communication skills, (3) describe the perspectives of interventionists who have attended a workshop on, and have tried using, a family-focused interview, and (4) suggest strategies that encourage interventionists to take an active role in the further development of their interviewing skills within the context of their workplaces.


T his research explores the relationship between journalistic freedom and media concentration in Kenya through the lens of the propaganda model (Baker, 2007) as well as the Media Ownership Theory, as propounded by Shoemaker and Reese (1991). It concludes that media ownership and media concentration have led to a constriction of the diversity of viewpoints in Kenya . The research is based on two surveys: (1) a survey of the public's confidence in the conduct of journalists during the 2013 general election in Kenya, and (2) a survey of journalists' perceptions of the influence of media ownership on journalistic independence in Kenya. The findings indicate that 71% of journalists believe media diversity in Kenya is at risk, whilst 69% of the respondents believe that the risk is occasioned by unhealthy media ownership trends in Kenya. While almost every journalist surveyed agreed that independence of the media is important to democratic life, more than half (52%) of journalists said media owners had direct editorial influence on their work. The perceived climate of distrust dogging the mainstream media in Kenya and the resultant viewpoint constriction explain why more Kenyans are turning to citizen journalism as an alternative source of information. This survey raises further questions about future implications for journalistic independence given the emergence and dominance of media concentration in Kenya .


We present analytical results, based on a variational approach, on the spatiotemporal evolution of a pulse in a nonlinear waveguide with a periodic refractive-index profile. Stationary pulses, along with their stability properties, are predicted and then compared with numerical simulations of the governing equation.


In seasonal environments, organisms use biotic and abiotic cues to time various biological processes that are crucial for growth, survival and reproductive success. Photoperiod is the best-known cue used to regulate gonadal development, migration and moult of many animal species. In birds, the relationship between photoperiod and gonadal development is clearly established, but we have little understanding on whether photoperiod also regulates actual timing of egg laying under natural conditions. Elucidating the link between photoperiod and timing of breeding is however key to understand whether an evolutionary change in sensitivity to photoperiod is a possible mechanism through which organisms could adjust their seasonal timing in response to climate warming. Here, we investigated the causal relationship between photoperiod, gonadal growth and laying date in wild female great tits. We experimentally increased the photoperiod perceived by the birds in spring by clipping head feathers, and we subsequently monitored gonadal development in the lab and egg laying dates in the wild. We show that our manipulation increased the photoperiod perceived by the birds to a level that approximately corresponds to an advancement of ten calendar days. This increase in perceived photoperiod led to an acceleration of gonadal development, but not to an advancement of egg laying dates. Our results indicate that photoperiod sensitivity is not constraining the advancement of laying date under current environmental conditions and suggest that evolution of sensitivity to other supplementary cues is necessary to advance reproduction under global warming.


As vector of Xylella fastidiosa (Wells, 1987) in Europe, the meadow spittlebug, Philaenus spumarius (Linnaeus, 1758) (Hemiptera: Aphrophoridae) is a species of major concern. Therefore, tools and agents to control this ubiquitous insect that develops and feeds on hundreds of plant species are wanted. We conducted a field survey of P. spumarius eggs in Corsica and provide a first report of Ooctonus vulgatus Haliday, 1833 (Hymenoptera, Mymaridae) as a potential biocontrol agent of P. spumarius in Europe. To allow species identification, we summarized the main characters distinguishing O. vulgatus from other European species of Ooctonus and generated COI DNA barcodes. We also assessed parasitism rates in several sampling sites, highlighting the top-down impact of O. vulgatus on populations of P. spumarius. Based on the geographic occurrences of O. vulgatus mined in the literature, we calibrated an ecological niche model to assess its potential distribution in the Holarctic. Our results showed that O. vulgatus potential distribution overlaps that of P. spumarius. Hence, O. vulgatus appears to be a promising biocontrol agent of the meadow spittlebug in Europe and it seems advisable to conduct research on this small parasitoid wasp to assess whether it could contribute to reduce the spread and impact of X. fastidiosa in Europe.


Abstract Video feedback may be a powerful tool to change biomechanical landing patterns associated with anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury risk. This study investigated the effect of video feedback on drop vertical jump (DVJ) landing strategies in team sport athletes. 59 athletes were assigned to a video feedback (VI) or control (CTRL) group. A pretest, 2 training sessions and a posttest were conducted. In both training sessions, video feedback, consisting of a video of the athlete's contour superimposed onto an expert's contour performing the DVJ landing task, was provided to the VI group; the CTRL group did not receive feedback. Outcomes included: kinematics and kinetics at peak knee valgus/varus moment during pre- and posttest and percentage overlap of expert and athlete during the training sessions. At posttest, males in the VI group showed greater hip flexion angles (p=0.001) and range of motion (p<0.001), smaller vertical ground reaction force, and smaller ankle dorsiflexion moment (p<0.001) compared to pretest. At posttest, males in the VI group demonstrated smaller vertical ground reaction force (p=0.031) and ankle dorsiflexion moment (p=0.001) compared to males in the CTRL group. The VI group increased percentage overlap with the expert during training sessions and from start of the first to the end of the second training session (p<0.001). Overall, video feedback was effective to modify landing strategies favorably in males. While females imitated the expert model, their landing strategy did not change significantly. While Females may need additional (verbal) feedback to benefit from video feedback.


A hand reached out and patted Dinah on the shoulder. A large scaly hand with a spiked thumb! On a school trip to see the dinosaurs in the museum, everyone in the class has a packed lunch. Everyone, that is, except for Dinah. Until a friendly iguanodon decides to help ...Soon Dinah has a very special packed lunch - and a huge surprise to come!


The mammal bearing locality Blanquatere 1 delivers the highest diversified glirid fauna of middle Miocene age (near MN 4/MN 5 boundary) discovered up to now in southern Europe: nine genera and 16 species. Three species are new: Prodryomys remmerti n. sp., a large-sized species with only a few accessory crests, Glirudinus intermedius n. sp., intermediate in size and shape between G. minutus and G. modestus, and Glirudinus magnus n. sp., the largest species of the genus presently known; the two former and the genus Muscardinus are possible migrants. Remarks are made about the phylogeny of Glirudinus and Prodyromys, and the stratigraphic distribution of Vasseuromys species must be extended. The overall fauna of glirids suggests a significant forest cover.


Purpose

Trust and purchase intent are established, dependent variables in electronic commerce research. Recent studies have highlighted the importance of online product reviews in the development of purchase intention, which has led to the development of a substantial research effort in the realm of electronic word-of-mouth (e-WOM). The purpose of this paper is to incorporate e-WOM, information processing and decision-making theories to propose a model of the development of trust and purchase intention based on online product reviews, and incorporate information overload as a moderating factor.

Design/methodology/approach

This study tests the hypotheses using a scenario-based experiment. In total, 157 working adults were asked to read three hotel reviews of different information load. Upon completion, they were then asked to respond to Likert-based questions regarding their trust in the review and purchase intention.

Findings

An inverted U-shaped relationship exists between information load and both trust and purchase intention, where low-information load is ineffective at fostering trust and purchase intention, moderate information load is effective at fostering trust and purchase intention, and high-information load is less effective than moderate information load at fostering trust and purchase intention.

Research limitations/implications

Although the authors supported the inverted U-shaped relationship between information load and two outcomes, the authors only tested three different review lengths, resulting in limited precision, it is not clear where the inflection point is (i.e. exactly how many words results in information overload). Future studies might both seek more precision, and also consider more consumer characteristics, such as risk propensity.

Practical implications

Review platform operators with a stake in encouraging a sale should prioritize and highlight reviews of moderate length (which can be assessed automatically via word count), and consider restricting new reviews of products to minimum and maximum word counts.

Originality/value

This study enhances the relevant and growing body of online review research by: bringing uncertainty reduction theory to bear on the consumer's information search efforts; using information overload, an important construct from classic information processing and decision-making literature to explain consumer behavior; and identifying a review characteristics (information load) which influences consumer attitudes about a review (trust) and the product (purchase intention). Finally, this study enhances research understanding of a specific experiential service: hospitality.


Spotted wing drosophila (Drosophila suzukii) is an emerging pest that began spreading in 2008 and its distribution now includes 13 countries across two continents. Countries where it is established have reported significant economic losses of fresh produce, such as cherries due to this species of fly. At larval stages, it is impossible to identify due to its striking similarities with other cosmopolitan and harmless drosophilids. Molecular methods allow identification but the current technique of DNA barcoding is time consuming. We developed and validated a rapid, highly sensitive and specific assay based on real-time PCR and high resolution melt (HRM) analysis using EvaGreen DNA intercalating dye chemistry. Performance characteristics of this qualitative assay, validation and applicability in a New Zealand quarantine framework are discussed. Application of this robust and independently validated assay across the spectrum of key food production and border protection industries will allow us to reduce the further spread of this damaging species worldwide.


Aspergillus fumigatus is a filamentous fungus that colonises the lungs of immunosuppressed patients and causes aspergillosis. Despite recent medical advances, infectious diseases caused by opportunistic pathogens such as A. fumigatus are still one of the main causes of morbidity and mortality among immunosuppressed patients.
Gliotoxin is a mycotoxin and a secondary metabolite of A. fumigatus. This toxin possesses immusuppresive activity affecting cells of immune system. This research shows that human adenocarcinoma alveolar epithelial cells (A549) are highly susceptible to gliotoxin- induced cell death. Wild type strains of A. fumigatus cause death in these cells whereas mutant strains (gliotoxin deficient) do not. Gliotoxin induced cell death is mostly via apoptosis programmed cell death rather than necrosis. Long term incubation of A549 cells with gliotoxin-deficient strain causes morphology changes (swelling/partial damage) in these cells. This research proposes that gliotoxin induced death/ inflammation of pneumocytes by programmed apoptosis may contribute to the pathogenesis of aspergillosis, particularly invasive aspergillosis. In addition, other produced metabolites (e.g. proteases or other toxins) also contribute (to a lesser extent) to the lung tissue damage in the absence of gliotoxin.
One of the key risk factors in developing aspergillosis is corticosteroid therapy. This is due to the effect of glucocorticoids on suppressing body's defence mechanism. As hydrocortisone is present during Aspergillus infection, understanding the ability of the fungus to perceive this host-factor enhances the understanding of A. fumigatus interaction with the host within the host environment. Previous reports have shown that physiological and pharmacological concentrations of hydrocortisone enhance the growth-rate of A. fumigatus in vitro. The present work demonstrates the effect of hydrocortisone on cultures of A. fumigatus at both morphological and molecular levels. Hydrocortisone causes an early onset of sporulation and seems to play a role in regulation of haemostasis and stress response in this fungus. Expression of stress-related proteins (hsp70, catalase), proteases (e.g. serine protease, metalloprotease), and carbohydrate metabolism-related proteins increased after supplementation of A..fumigatus cultures with hydrocortisone. Stimulation studies investigating the effect of secondary metabolites of A. fumigatus on A549 cells with and without pre-treatment of the fungal cultures with hydrocortisone indicated subtle increases in the number of dead cells after hydrocortisone pre-treatment. This study shows further that hydrocortisone treatment of the lung alveolar cells enhances the binding of A..fumigatus spores to these cells. The obtained data suggests that presence of hydrocortisone may contribute to the survival of this pathogen within the host environment.
This study provides additional knowledge at molecular and cellular level where complications exist as a result of infection by A. fumigatus fungus and during treatment with glucocorticoids.


Study Design. A randomized controlled trial of an educational booklet for patients with first-time neck pain. Objective. To assess the clinical impact of a novel educational book on patients' functional outcomes and beliefs about neck pain. Summary of Background Data. Previous research has shown that a novel education booklet (The Back Book) had a positive impact on patients with low back pain' beliefs and clinical outcomes. The current study sought to evaluate the efficacy of a similar education booklet (The Neck Book) for neck-pain patients. Methods. Workers' compensation patients were given either the experimental booklet, a traditional booklet or no booklet. The primary outcome measures, collected at 2-weeks, 3-months, and 6-months after baseline, were The Fear Avoidance Beliefs Questionnaire and The Neck Pain and Disability Scale. Health-related functional measures were also collected at these intervals. Results. Only 34% (N = 187) of an original cohort of patients (N = 522) had data for all of the follow-up periods. For these 187 patients, repeated-measures analyses of covariance, using the baseline measure as the covariate, revealed no significant differences among the 3 groups on any of the outcome measures at any of the follow-up periods. For example, at 6-months, the experimental booklet, traditional booklet, and no-booklet groups reported The Neck Pain and Disability Scale mean scores (SDs) of 31.3 (15.5), 35.3 (17.0), and 31.8 (15.6), respectively. Similarly, there were no significant effects for The Fear Avoidance Beliefs Questionnaire scores—35.9 (21.5), 40.3 (22.1), and 38.0 (23.4), respectively. Conclusion. This study demonstrates that the educational booklets studied were not associated with improved outcomes in patients with neck pain receiving workers' compensation. Whether these results would apply to a nonworkers' compensation population requires further study. The loss of many patients to follow-up also makes any other firm conclusions more difficult to determine.


Corrosion of steel in concrete is one of the major causes of the premature failure of steel reinforced concrete. In marine and deicing salt environments the ingress of chloride is the primary cause for the breakdown of passivity and the onset of severe corrosion. In this paper, we show how to develop effective diffusion coefficients for chloride ingress based on chloride profiles from several marine structures. Predictions of the times to reach chloride levels associated with initiation of severe corrosion are made. Chloride profiles using effective diffusion coefficients determined in other studies are given for bridge decks and parking structures. There are significant benefits of increased concrete cover and the use of corrosion inhibitors in increasing the time to corrosion. Finally, comparisons of Standard Test Method for Electrical Indication of Concrete's Ability to Resist Chloride Ion Penetration (ASTM C 1202) coulomb values with effective diffusion coefficients, determined from field and laboratory studies, indicate that effective diffusion coefficients for low permeability concretes can be estimated using simple modifications of this test method. Thus, we demonstrate that knowledge of the chloride profile is useful to assess the future performance of existing structures that are not undergoing active corrosion, and in predicting the time to corrosion initiation of new structures.


In early April 2008, economic conditions in Europe appeared to be deteriorating on almost all fronts: sales figures were falling, business and consumer confidence were slumping, forecasts for European growth were being revised downward, and inflation was rising. In fact, figures for the month of March revealed that inflation had reached an annualized rate of 3.5%, Europe's highest level since 1992. On top of these broad economic problems, the European financial sector-indeed, the financial sector worldwide-was in turmoil. By April 2008, global financial institutions had written down the value of their mortgage-related investments and other assets by at least $230 billion, and businesses around the world were complaining that it was ever more difficult to secure credit. In America, meanwhile, consumer confidence was falling, consumer spending had slowed to a near halt, and inflation had crept above 4%. In reaction to these dismal economic conditions, the Federal Reserve had steadily cut interest rates over a seven-month period, most recently lowering its key rate to 2.25% on March18. In sharp contrast to the Fed, the European Central Bank (ECB) had long held its key rate at 4%, where it stood when the ECB's Governing Council reconvened on April 10, 2008. Given both the market turmoil and the evident inflationary pressure, members of the ECB's Governing Council would have to weigh the available data extremely carefully as they decided whether to raise, lower, or maintain their benchmark interest rate. The significance of this decision could hardly be overstated, since it had the potential to send a strong signal about the nature of European monetary policy and the priorities of the ECB going forward.Learning Objective:To explore the differing responses of the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank in the lead-up to the Financial Crisis of 2008-2009, with a focus on the advantages and disadvantages of inflation targeting (and monetary rules more generally) in guiding monetary policy.


Owing to its nearly enclosed nature, the Tyrrhenian Sea at first sight is expected to have a small impact on the distribution and characteristics of water masses in the other basins of the western Mediterranean, The first evidence that the Tyrrhenian Sea might, in fact, play an important role in the deep and intermediate water circulation of the entire western Mediterranean was put forward by Hopkins [1988]. There, an outflow of water from the Tyrrhenian Sea into the Algero Provencal Basin was postulated in the depth range 700-1000 m, to compensate for an observed inflow of deeper water into the Tyrrhenian Sea. However, this outflow, the Tyrrhenian Deep Water (TDW), was undetectable since it would have hydrographic characteristics that could also be produced within the Algero-Provencal Basin. A new data set of hydrographic, tracer, lowered Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (LADCP), and deep float observations presented here allows us now to identify and track the TDW in the Algero-Provencal Basin and to demonstrate the presence and huge extent of this water mass throughout the western Mediterranean. It extends from 600 m to 1600-1900 m depth and thus occupies much of the deep water regime. The outflow from the Tyrrhenian is estimated to be of the order of 0.4 Sv (Sv=10(6) m(3) s(-1)), based on the tracer balances. This transport has the same order of magnitude as the deep water formation rate in the Gulf of Lions. The Tyrrhenian Sea effectively removes convectively generated deep water (Western Mediterranean Deep Water (WMDW)) from the Algero-Provencal Basin, mixes it with Levantine Intermediate water (LIW) above, and reinjects the product into the Algero-Provencal Basin at a level between the WMDW and LIW, thus smoothing the temperature and salinity gradients between these water masses. The tracer characteristics of the TDW and the lowered ADCP and deep float observations document the expected but weak cyclonic circulation and larger flows in a vigorous eddy regime in the basin interior


Quantum computation can solve certain problems much faster than classical computation. However, quantum computations are more susceptible to errors than conventional digital computations. Thus, a fault-tolerant (FT) quantum circuit design is required for a practical implementation. Quantum circuits consist of a cascade of quantum gates. These gates are themselves realized using primitive quantum operations that are supported by the quantum physical machine description (PMD). As different quantum systems are associated with different Hamiltonians, they have different PMDs. In addition, the quantum cost for implementing a quantum operation may differ from one PMD to another. Thus, a quantum logic circuit needs to be realized with and optimized for the set of primitive quantum operations supported by the given PMD. In this paper, an FT quantum logic synthesis (FTQLS) methodology and tool is described for six different PMDs. A methodology, such as this, which can be targeted at multiple PMDs, has not been attempted before, to the best of our knowledge. The input to FTQLS is an unoptimized quantum circuit realized using a set of commonly used gates and its output is an optimized FT quantum circuit that only comprises of primitive quantum operations supported by the given PMD. FTQLS does technology mapping for different PMDs and then converts non-FT circuits to FT circuits. For technology mapping, it utilizes an optimized quantum gate library targeted at various PMDs that decomposes gates into primitive operations. Efficient conversion to FT circuits is done by integrating two quantum compilers and an FT cache table into FTQLS. For improving the synthesis results, an FT set of gates that is directly supported by each PMD is proposed. Quantum circuit optimization is done by utilizing quantum identity rules. The performance of FTQLS is evaluated using two cost metrics: number of primitive operations (#ops) and execution cycles on the critical path (#cycles). Experiment results show that the decrease in #ops varies between 58.1% and 87.0% and in #cycles between 42.8% and 76.4%, on an average, depending on the PMD.


Trunk diseases (TD) of grapevines (Vitis vinifera L.) have increased considerably in Chile with an incidence of more than 25% found in ≥7-year-old vineyards. Only species of Botryosphaeriaceae, Phaeoacremonium, and Phaeomoniella were associated with TD in Chile (1,2). From 2009 to 2010, isolations were made from the grapevines 'Cabernet Sauvignon', 'Carmenere', 'Flame Seedless', and 'Pinot Noir' collected in central Chile (33°27' to 34°39'S, 71°17' to 71°33'W). These grapevines showed cankers and vascular necrosis of trunks, arms, and spurs along with a general decline and dieback. Isolations were performed in potato dextrose agar (PDA) plus 0.005% tetracycline, 0.01% streptomycin, and 0.1% Igepal CO-630 (Sigma-Aldrich, St. Louis, MO), for 14 days at 20°C. On the basis of colony morphology and conidia production, two Libertella-like species were obtained in 26 (7.8%) of 335 trunk samples. On the basis of the internal transcribed spacer region (ITS4 and ITS5) of rDNA, Cryptovalsa ampelina (Nitschke) Fuckel (GenBank Accession Nos. HQ694976 and HQ694977), and Eutypella leprosa (Persoon) Berlese (HQ694974 and HQ694975) were identified, showing 98 to 100% similarity with the sequences of C. ampelina (GQ293913) and E. leprosa (AJ302463.1). C. ampelina produced white-to-creamy, smooth colonies with a creamy underside. Colonies of E. leprosa were white-to-gray with a white underside. Orange conidial masses were exuded after 30 days at 20°C. Conidia on PDA (n = 20) were unicellular, hyaline, filiform, slightly curved, and (19.8) 23.4 ± 2.6 (28.3) × (1.1) 1.4 ± 0.2 (1.8) μm and (19.2) 23.9 ± 3.0 (27.6) × (1.0) 1.2 ± 0.1 (1.5) μm for E. leprosa and C. ampelina, respectively. Stromatic perithecia of C. ampelina, embedded in the bark, were observed in dead pruning residues of infected vines (4). Pathogenicity tests were conducted with two isolates of each species, on 30-day-old 'Carmenere', rooted in vitro (n = 12), that were inoculated by placing a 5-mm agar plug on the surface of the propagation medium. Additionally, 15 cm long pieces (n = 5) of 1-year-old canes from 'Carmenere', 'Chardonnay', and 'Red Globe' were inoculated by placing a 5-mm agar plug underneath a cut aseptically made in each cane. An equal number of noninoculated plants and canes, but treated with sterile agar plugs, were used as controls. Leaf number (LN), shoot length (SL), and root length (RL) were assessed on plants in vitro after 28 days at 20°C. The extent of vascular discoloration (VD) obtained in canes was determined after 45 days in humid chambers at 20°C. One-way analysis of variance was performed and mean differences were studied by Tukey's test. C. ampelina and E. leprosa significantly (P < 0.05) reduced the LN, SL, and RL relative to the control plants. They also caused a VD of 10.1, 11.6, and 9.8 mm and 11.2, 13.4, and 10.0 mm in 'Carmenere', 'Chardonnay', and 'Red Globe', respectively. No symptoms were observed on the control canes. C. ampelina (100%) and E. leprosa (75%) were reisolated from inoculated plants and canes. To our knowledge, this is the first report of C. ampelina and E. leprosa on grapevines in Chile. However, their relative importance as causal agent of trunk disease remains to be determined. C. ampelina and E. leprosa have been associated with grapevine cankers in the United States and Spain (3,4). References: (1) J. Auger et al. Plant Dis. 88:1285, 2004. (2) J. Auger et al. Plant Dis. 88:1286, 2004. (3) M. T. Martin et al. Plant Dis. 93:545, 2009. (4) F. P. Trouillas et al. Mycologia 102:319, 2010.


Globalization has opened up non-Western societies to forces of economic, political and cultural liberalism for the first time, and this process has had a profound effect upon Islamic societies, causing unease and concern among many Muslims. Moreover, this apprehension has been exacerbated by the fact that globalization as a concept and as a process seems to originate from the West, and because many Muslims equate globalization with colonization. The conflict between Islam and globalization and the West is perhaps the most pressing issue in the post-September 11th era, and this set seeks to represent the shape of international relations - conciliatory and otherwise - between the two 'civilizations' in the late-twentieth and twenty-first centuries. With a general introduction by the editor, the volumes include articles by leading scholars that will initially examine the various ways in which Islam has tried to protect itself against the encroachment of the West, before investigating a more outward-looking Islam that encourages religious reformism and evolution in order to contend with the new challenges and priorities of a global community.


In 2005, Roberta Romano famously described the Sarbanes-Oxley Act as "quack corporate governance." In this article, Professor Stephen Bainbridge argues that the corporate governance provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010 also qualify for that sobriquet. The article identifies 8 attributes of quack corporate governance regulation: (1) The new law is a bubble act, enacted in response to a major negative economic event. (2) It is enacted in a crisis environment. (3) It is a response to a populist backlash against corporations and/or markets. (4) It is adopted at the federal rather than state level. (5) It transfers power from the states to the federal government. (6) Interest groups that are strong at the federal level but weak at the Delaware level support it. (7) Typically, it is not a novel proposal, but rather a longstanding agenda item of some powerful interest group. (8) The empirical evidence cited in support of the proposal is, at best, mixed and often shows the proposal to be unwise. All of Dodd-Frank meets the first three criteria. It was enacted in the wake of a massive populist backlash motivated by one of the worst economic crises in modern history. As the article explains in detail, the corporate governance provisions each satisfy all or substantially all of the remaining criteria.


A country's image could be managed to give greater value to products from that country, while making the country more attractive to investors and more desirable as a tourism destination. Considering two important gaps in the literature on country image (discrepant results on the influence of socio-demographic characteristics on the image of a country and few studies on the image of Brazil), this paper's objective is to check for differences on Brazil image according to the following consumers' characteristics: age, gender, knowledge about Brazil and country of residence. A quantitative survey was distributed to 380 respondents from four European countries: Germany, Ireland, England and France. This study concluded that beliefs about countries may differ according to the degree of perceived similarity with a given country and to certain demographic issues, and respondents that had better evaluations on Brazil's image were: young, men, with a high level of knowledge about Brazil and from France. Moreover, aspects related to communication, distribution and differentiation of Brazilian products were those that received the worst evaluation by consumers participating in the survey, which indicates the need for greater investments from both the Brazilian government and the private sector in communicating and promoting Brazilian products abroad.


Studies have shown that ongoing, on-the-job learning is an essential ingredient for long-term leadership success. But to maximize the learning and development potential that hides within work experience, you need a plan. By adopting a return- on-experience mind-set, you can actively seek out the three keys to learning from experience: mastery, versatility, and impact.


Efficient and correct freight train marshalling is vital for high quality carload freight transportations. During marshalling, it is desirable that cars are sorted according to their individual drop-off locations in the outbound freight trains. Furthermore, practical limitations such as non-uniform and limited track lengths and the arrival and departure times of trains need to be considered. This paper presents a novel optimisation method for freight marshalling scheduling under these circumstances. The method is based on an integer programming formulation that is solved using column generation and branch and price. The approach minimises the number of extra shunting operations that have to be performed, and is evaluated on real-world data from the Hallsberg marshalling yard in Sweden.


Trichosanthes dioica Roxb. (family: Cucurbitaceae), commonly known as " Sespadula" in English and "Parwal" in Hindi, is widely grown throughout India. Fruits of this plant are used as vegetable in Indian traditional food s ystem from time immemorial. Besides fruits, other parts of the plan t, such as the leaves and tender shoots, have also been used in the traditional system of medicine since ancient times. Pointed gou rd has been used for overcoming problems like const ipation, fever, skin infection, wounds and also improves appetite and di gest on. The immature fruits are used as vegetable nd as ingredients of soup, stew, curry, sweet, or eaten fried and as dor ma with roe stuffing. The present review describes the morphological and pharmacological aspects of Trichosanthes dioica and summarizes the most interesting findings obtai ned in the preclinical and clinical research related to the plant.


A semiconductor laser amplifier in a loop mirror was investigated for clock recovery from 160 Gb/s data signals. A width of the switching window larger than the bit period was appropriate. A power of -10dBm of the data signal was enough for the locking.


Well-ordered molecular films play an important role in nanotechnology, from device fabrication to surface patterning. Self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of 6-mercaptopurine (6MP) on the Au(100)-(1 × 1) and Au(111)-(1 × 1) have been used to understand the interplay of molecule-substrate interactions for heterocyclic thiols capable of binding to the surface by two anchors, which spontaneously form a highly disordered film on Au(111). Our results reveal that for the same surface coverage the simple change of the substrate from Au(111)-(1 × 1) to Au(100)-(1 × 1) eliminates molecular disorder and yields well-ordered SAMs. We discuss these findings in terms of differences in the surface mobility of 6MP species on these surfaces, the energetics of the adsorption sites, and the number of degrees of freedom of these substrates for a molecule with reduced surface mobility resulting from its two surface anchors. These results reveal the presence of subtle molecule-substrate interactions involving the heteroatom that drastically alter SAM properties and therefore strongly impact on our ability to control physical properties and to build devices at the nanoscale.


The design of default provisions in consumer contracts involves an aspect that does not normally arise in other contexts. Unlike commercial parties, consumers have only limited information about the content of the default rule and how it fits with their preferences. Inefficient default rules may not lead to opt outs when they deal with technical aspects that consumers rarely experience and over which consumers' preferences are defined only crudely. This paper develops a model in which consumers are uninformed about their preferences but can acquire costly information and then choose a contract term that best matches their preferences. The paper explores the optimal design of default rules in such environments and how it differs from the existing conceptions of efficient default rule design.


BACKGROUND
Workers from the Fire Department of New York City were exposed to a variety of inhaled materials during and after the collapse of the World Trade Center. We evaluated clinical features in a series of 332 firefighters in whom severe cough developed after exposure and the prevalence and severity of bronchial hyperreactivity in firefighters without severe cough classified according to the level of exposure.

METHODS
"World Trade Center cough" was defined as a persistent cough that developed after exposure to the site and was accompanied by respiratory symptoms severe enough to require medical leave for at least four weeks. Evaluation of exposed firefighters included completion of a standard questionnaire, spirometry, airway-responsiveness testing, and chest imaging.

RESULTS
In the first six months after September 11, 2001, World Trade Center cough occurred in 128 of 1636 firefighters with a high level of exposure (8 percent), 187 of 6958 with a moderate level of exposure (3 percent), and 17 of 1320 with a low level of exposure (1 percent). In addition, 95 percent had symptoms of dyspnea, 87 percent had gastroesophageal reflux disease, and 54 percent had nasal congestion. Of those tested before treatment of World Trade Center cough, 63 percent of firefighters (149 of 237) had a response to a bronchodilator and 24 percent (9 of 37) had bronchial hyperreactivity. Chest radiographs were unchanged from precollapse findings in 319 of the 332 with World Trade Center cough. Among the cohort without severe cough, bronchial hyperreactivity was present in 77 firefighters with a high level of exposure (23 percent) and 26 with a moderate level of exposure (8 percent).

CONCLUSIONS
Intense, short-term exposure to materials generated during the collapse of the World Trade Center was associated with bronchial responsiveness and the development of cough. Clinical and physiological severity was related to the intensity of exposure.


Patient satisfaction with treatment is an important clinical index associated with the efficacy and adherence of treatment in schizophrenia. Although switching from oral antipsychotics to the long-acting injectable formulation may improve convenience, patient satisfaction has not been studied extensively. We carried out a 21-week, multicenter, randomized, open-label comparative study. A total of 154 patients with schizophrenia unsatisfied with current oral atypical antipsychotics were assigned randomly to either immediate or delayed switching to paliperidone palmitate, the long-acting injectable formulation of paliperidone. The Medication Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ) and the Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire for Medication (TSQM) were used to evaluate patient satisfaction with treatment, whereas the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) and the Personal and Social Performance (PSP) scale were used to evaluate efficacy. From baseline to the final assessment, the MSQ score increased significantly in both groups, and the increase was greatest after the first administration of paliperidone palmitate in the immediate switch group. The scores of TSQM effectiveness, convenience, and global satisfaction as well as the PSP total score increased significantly, whereas the PANSS total score decreased significantly in both groups. The immediate switch group showed a significant improvement in the TSQM convenience score compared with the delayed switch group on oral antipsychotics during the comparison period. Most adverse events were minor and tolerable. In short, switching from oral atypical antipsychotics to paliperidone palmitate because of poor satisfaction significantly improved patient satisfaction, with comparable efficacy and tolerability.


The World Wide Web is a powerful platform for a wide range of information tasks. Dramatic advances in technology, such as improved search capabilities and the AJAX application model, have enabled entirely new web-based applications and usage patterns, making many tasks easier to perform than ever before. However, few tools have been developed to assist with sensemaking tasks: complex research behaviors in which users gather and comprehend information from many sources to answer potentially vague, non-procedural questions. Sensemaking tasks are common and include, for example, researching vacation destinations or deciding how to invest. This paper presents the ScratchPad, an extension to the standard browser interface that is designed to capture, organize, and exploit the information discovered while performing a sensemaking task.


Dena'ina Qenaga is an Alaskan Athabascan language with only a few dozen fluent speakers, all above the age of 65. As with other endangered languages, many challenges exist which make it difficult for learners to acquire proficiency in Dena'ina Qenaga. Most younger Dena'ina live where there are no fluent speakers. At any given time, the language is not likely to be taught in local schools or universities in traditional Dena'ina country.

With funding from portions of two federal grants, we held a series of three-day Dena'ina language institutes in Kenai and in Anchorage. Fluent elders, serious students of the language, two linguists and a linguist anthropologist met over a two year period. In group discussions, it soon became apparent that learners wanted not just a few days of instruction, but tools for learning that they could utilize at any time and in any place.

Integrating logical, possible conversations with explorations of basic forms of verb conjugations was my narrow pedagogical goal. Our broader hope has been that the conversation and context are so compelling that learners aren't even aware that we're covering the key portions of a verb paradigm. Central to this are skits of the talk between a parent or grandparent and a child, giving directions for getting up and performing morning activities and for getting ready for bed in the evening. Additional videos include conversations about weather and about kinship.

Fluent elders take the role of language resource experts and key speakers in the instructional videos. Advanced students (late teens to forties) help in creating the scenarios and enact some of the roles in the instructional videos.

We subsequently partnered with the Smithsonian Institution's Arctic Studies Center in Anchorage. There, we examined 19th century Dena'ina objects and the elders told us (in English and in Dena'ina) their recollections on similar objects. Then we created simple conversations, granddaughters asking grandmothers about the objects and listening to their replies. These interviews and monologues subsequently were edited at the Arctic Studies Center, creating electronic documents which convey traditional knowledge while simultaneously providing contextualized language lessons.

Very important is the ability for Dena'ina learners living anywhere to have the ability to study and learn. We hope to create more language videos as funding becomes available. Furthermore, we hope that this approach may inspire other indigenous language communities to consider experimenting with this approach to the creation of language learning opportunities.


In this revolutionary text, prominent Native American studies scholar and activist Andrea Smith reveals the connections between different forms of violence—perpetrated by the state and by society at large—and documents their impact on Native women. Beginning with the impact of the abuses inflicted on Native American children at state-sanctioned boarding schools from the 1880s to the 1980s, Smith adroitly expands our conception of violence to include the widespread appropriation of Indian cultural practices by whites and other non-Natives; environmental racism; and population control. Smith deftly connects these and other examples of historical and contemporary colonialism to the high rates of violence against Native American women—the most likely to suffer from poverty-related illness and to survive rape and partner abuse. Smith also outlines radical and innovative strategies for eliminating gendered violence.


In this paper, we advance the extant health technology innovation frames on global personalized medicine by highlighting the need to rethink genomics medicine in real-life settings – including situations where populations are frequently faced with natural disasters or man-made conflicts. We identify the steps towards building sufficient capacity to effectively harness and integrate genomic medicine and molecular diagnostics in order to benefit global society including those in resource-limited settings and post-war capacity building contexts. Surprisingly, despite a great number of populations currently living in developing countries, including in a state of post-war or conflict resolution context, the public health pharmacogenomics community has largely neglected this crucial dimension in biomedical literature. By exploring the particular case of Sri-Lanka in this paper, we are able to investigate the obstacles commonly faced by low and middle income countries similarly afflicted by crises, natural disasters, conflict and the need for improved, more cost effective health care. Sri Lanka has a relatively strong platform for launching molecular diagnostic technology, including a well networked set of primary, secondary and tertiary care institutions, a small but burgeoning private health and research sector and a strong science base in its universities. Despite this, there has been slow uptake and exploitation of novel molecular diagnostics due to various factors such as a weak regulatory framework and high costs associated with the import of molecular reagents and import and maintenance of equipment. In summary, as a way forward for health technology assessment in resource-limited countries, this paper brings to the fore an integrated discourse on real-life experiences and putative solutions on genomics and molecular diagnostic medicine. For a comprehensive discussion in the nascent field of public health pharmacogenomics, post-war and post-conflict capacity building on biotechnologies such as genomics is essential.


ABSTRACT Exposure to diisocyanates (dNCOs), such as methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) can cause occupational asthma (OA). Currently, lab tests for dNCO specific IgE are specific, but not sensitive, which limits their utility in diagnosing dNCO asthma. This may be due to variable preparation and poor characterization of the standard antigens utilized in these assays. The aim of this study was to produce and characterize a panel of antigens prepared using three different commonly employed methods and one novel method. The conjugates were examined for recognition by anti-MDI monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) in varying enzyme linked immunosorbant assay (ELISA) formats, extent of crosslinking, total amount of MDI, the sites of MDI conjugation, relative shape/charge, and reactivity with human serum with antibodies from sensitized, exposed workers. Results indicate that while there are minimal differences in the total amount of MDI conjugated, the extent of crosslinking, and the conjugation sites, there are significant differences in the recognition of differently prepared conjugates by mAbs. Native and denaturing polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis demonstrate differences in the mobility of different conjugates, indicative of structural changes that are likely important for antigenicity. While mAbs exhibited differential binding to different conjugates, polyclonal serum antibodies from MDI exposed workers exhibited equivalent binding to different conjugates by ELISA. While differences in the recognition of the different conjugates exist by mAb detection, differences in antigenicity could not be detected using human serum from MDI-sensitized individuals. Thus, although dNCO conjugate preparation can, depending on the immunoassay platform, influence binding of specific antibody clones, serologic detection of the dNCO-exposure-induced polyclonal antibody response may be less sensitive to these differences.


Subcritical water has been recently demonstrated to be a viable medium for conducting hydrolysis reactions on a variety of organic compounds. In this study, the hydrolysis of triglycerides in soybean oil to their respective free fatty acids has been affected using a flow reactor. The flow reactor permits hydrolysis to be accomplished without the need of a catalyst but requires higher temperatures than previously used in a static system to attain >97% product conversion. Using a high pressure view cell as a diagnostic aid, it was found that the oil miscibility with water is crucial to attaining a high conversion to the free fatty acids. Water to oil ratios of 2.5∶1–5∶1 were found to optimal for high conversions as well as residence time between 10–15 minutes in the open tubular reactor. Such rapid hydrolysis times contrast with multi-hour conversions utilized industrially to achieve a 96–98% fatty acid yield. Although conversion of the all natural cis forms of the fatty acids to some trans form occurred, the isolated products were clear and free of degradation products, unlike previous results reported for the reaction run in a closed vessel under static conditions at these elevated temperatures (>300 °C). Determination of the trans fatty acid content of aqueous hydrolyzed oils has not been previously reported, however they are of minor importance since the produced fatty acid mixtures are primarily intended for industrial utilization and not for food consumption.


Segregated schools are associated with problems. Educational disadvantage among pupils at these schools persists and these kinds of schools, more than other kinds of schools, are confronted the most with societal problems. Yet little is known about what actually happens at these schools. This dissertation studies how segregated schools deal with educational disadvantage among their pupils. The central argument is that the educational disadvantage of immigrant children is not - as is generally assumed - simply the product of deficit characteristics of pupils and parents from lower socio-economic and ethnic minority backgrounds. Neither does the explanation that the educational system offers these children fewer opportunities really account for their disadvantaged educational positions. These perspectives seem to fall short of explaining the interrelatedness of child-raising styles and educational practices, and tend to overlook the norms for evaluating child-raising styles. An alternative view on educational disadvantage among immigrant pupils is developed by interrelating theories on the interaction between individuals in schools, with theories on policy translation processes and theories on school organisations. Educational disadvantage seems to be the result of more complex interaction processes between teachers, immigrant pupils and their parents, who engage, through the daily curriculum, in negotiations over the ascription and positioning of parents' and pupils' identities. This has implications for the extent to which parents' and pupils' competencies are used and for their access to education. This negotiation process and outcomes appear to be interrelated with dynamics and developments at the level of the school organisations and with policy. This dissertation discusses the practices in two segregated, primary schools in the context of current integration and educational policies. Examination of these policies shows that, influenced by a growing emphasis on the necessity of assimilation, a good relationship between segregated schools and immigrant parents is an important condition for schools to succeed in combating educational disadvantage. However, the present study shows that, despite teachers' and parents' efforts and despite some improvements, the interactions between teachers and parents do not solve problems. Instead, the reproduction of educational disadvantage tends to be a significant outcome. Strikingly similar patterns were observed in the interactions between teachers and parents, and in the way in which interaction, micro-politics in the school organisation and policy interrelated. The deficit perspective on immigrant pupils and parents did not explain the patterns observed, but instead formed a decisive element. The ascription of deficits to immigrant pupils and parents goes a long way towards explaining the fact that reproduction of educational disadvantage tends to be a significant outcome of teachers' and parents' efforts to improve the educational opportunities of immigrant pupils. I argue that combating educational disadvantage requires reconciliation between the educational aims of social justice and economic competency. But to achieve this aim I see the principle of meritocracy as a problem, because the assumption that the influence of collective backgrounds can be reversed ultimately holds pupils responsible for their educational success or failure. The phenomenon of "deficit pupils" is the result. The ultimate aim should instead be to adapt educational norms to the existence of different groups and their specific needs and competencies. However, adapting educational norms to different needs does not mean abandoning educational teaching standards. On the contrary, an effort should be made to achieve these standards for different groups by dealing with diversity in the educational system. The challenge is to stimulate and encourage a more comprehensive and adaptive approach to educational disadvantage among immigrant pupils in segregated schools, while bearing in mind the tensions inherent to the educational system, and in particular to those tensions resulting from restrictions on dealing with diversity.


Nutritional management for diabetic patients based on selection of low available carbohydrate foods has been crificized because the same availability of carbohydrate in different foods may resub in different degree of glycemic response. This management is now being corrected by additional aid in selecting foods with the glycemic index (GI) of foods. GI is a measure of the glycemic response to the carbohydrate component within a food relative to the response to an equal carbohydrate portion of reference food (glucose or white bread). In Indonesia, data of the glycemic index of foods is still very limited. The objectives of the research are to provide GI of selected legumes, including red bean (Viqna umbellata), Mung bean (Phaseolus aureus), cow pea (Viffna sinensis ENDL), pigeon pea (Caianus cajan MILLSPAUGH), edible podded peas (Pisum sativum LINN) and soy bean (Glycine max MERR). Eleventh health and nonnal volunteers (not diabetic) were provided. The volunteers took an overnight fasting, blood were drawn in the morning and analyzed for serum glucose. Then they were given the test legumes containing total carbohydrates equivalent to 25-9 glucose to be consumed. Blood samples were drawn for glucose measurement every 30 minutes until 120 min afler meal. Serum glucose was determined enzymatically and the glucose responses were drawn graphically. The GI of the beans studied was lowest for red bean (26) and highest for mung bean (76), Edible podded pea and soy bean had similar value of GI be. 30 and 31; whereas pigeon and cow pea had a higher value i. e. 35 and 51, respectively.


New technologies are being introduced for power cylinder components at a faster rate due to the drive for better fuel economy and CO2 foot print reduction. This includes new and advanced coatings, materials, and surface textures. In turn, robust methods are needed to evaluate and optimize technologies to ensure optimal performance. Therefore, the study of tribological lubrication flow has become more pressing among power cylinder components. This thesis analyzes the modification of the Reynolds equation for computational efficiency by analyzing rough surfaces in the hydrodynamic flow regime through the use of flow factors. This analysis is aimed towards modeling the surface interactions and pressure variations across power cylinder components of an internal combustion engine, namely the piston ring and cylinder wall. These interacting surfaces were measured directly through the use of a profilometer. Through the use of these measured surface properties, surface specific flow factors are derived by numerical flow simulation. The statistical flow factors are obtained and implemented in the Reynolds equation to model the pressure and shear variations across the asperities of interacting surfaces. These flow factors can then be used to consider the effect of roughness in lubrication problems without deterministically modeling roughness. The derived flow factors make predictions that are significantly different than those in existing literature. This derivation methodology can be used in the determination of flow factors for any pair of interacting surfaces. The governing flow factors for a pair of surfaces are expressed as empirical relations in terms of the film ratio (h/σ). The flow factors are then applied to an initial analysis of a multi-physical model of power cylinder components in a two-dimensional axisymmetric case to consider roughness throughout the combustion cycle in order to evaluate tribological interactions.


Sampling is a core component for many graphics applications including rendering, imaging, animation, and geometry processing. The efficacy of these applications often crucially depends upon the distribution quality of the underlying samples. While uniform sampling can be analyzed by using existing spatial and spectral methods, these cannot be easily extended to general non-uniform settings, such as adaptive, anisotropic, or non-Euclidean domains. We present new methods for analyzing non-uniform sample distributions. Our key insight is that standard Fourier analysis, which depends on samples' spatial locations, can be reformulated into an equivalent form that depends only on the distribution of their location differentials. We call this differential domain analysis. The main benefit of this reformulation is that it bridges the fundamental connection between the samples' spatial statistics and their spectral properties. In addition, it allows us to generalize our method with different computation kernels and differential measurements. Using this analysis, we can quantitatively measure the spatial and spectral properties of various non-uniform sample distributions, including adaptive, anisotropic, and non-Euclidean domains.


Scientific literacy is currently one of the main purposes of science education. Science education reform efforts provide rich, comprehensive and explicit messages, ideas suggestions with teachers to promote scientific literacy through student-centered and inquiry-based instructional implementations. However, systemic change that reform aims to achieve yet to come through as most of the science teachers are still using teacher-centered lecture style science teaching rather than implementing reform initiatives. The purpose of this paper is an attempt to shed light on the existing literature to understand why science teachers would not employ reform initiatives in their classrooms. Teacher self-efficacy and pedagogical discontentment are selected to be the target constructs that the interactions between them hold promises to explore teacher averseness to reform. 130 science teachers working in public middle schools located in northern Turkey were participated in this study. The findings derived from this research provided several key interactions between self-efficacy beliefs and pedagogical discontentment in terms of the participating teachers' openness toward science education reform in Turkey. Methodological implications were also embraced.


This paper aims to analyze whether the quality of an innovative idea can spur the patent's price. From an economic perspective, we address the question of how the quality of an innovative idea increases the patent's price. We examine the problem for the case of a single innovation rather than patent´s families. Therefore, we follow the assumption that innovative ideas have patents. Nevertheless, the analysis is divided into two stages; first we estimated the quality of the innovation by quantifying information of the patent documents from the patent portfolios of firms of the ICT sector over the period 1996 to 2015. By providing new empirical evidence, we showed that the patent´s quality can be estimate with multiple observed patents' characteristics which are significant related to the utility of the patent in the market and its impact on the follow-on innovation. The analyses also estimate the patent's price in the market for technologies based on the quality index. In the same way, we used information of the patent´s transaction in the ICT sector over the period of 2012- 2015 and review the main costs of the American, European and the international patent system. Our finale results indicate the possibility to reduce the asymmetric information of the quality in the patent´s transactions by using public information.


This paper presents a novel definition of drivers' safety margins reflected in speed profiles on a tangent to curved road design. These safety margins are based on a vehicle dynamics model, which is implemented to assess the speed variation at impending skid conditions from tangent to curve on the basis of several parameters. This model returns the theoretical speed-distance curve corresponding to the driver's maximum safe speed and acceleration when utilizing the outmost of the available vehicle horse power. On the basis of actual vehicle speed profiles, the model also returns the respective curve for the actual speed-distance i.e. the utilized share of vehicle horse power, which reflects the driver's safety margin. Data from a driving simulator experiment are used to test the proposed methodology, explore driver's speed profiles and the parameters affecting drivers' safety margins. The results suggest that drivers' safety margins towards the examined curve are considerable, with the majority of the drivers using less than 55% of the available vehicle horse power. Drivers can be grouped into "aggressive", "moderate" and "conservative" speeding behaviour, each group exhibiting distinct initial speed, "breakpoint" distance and acceleration / deceleration patterns. Higher initial speed is positively correlated with more aggressive driving i.e. lower safety margins. On the contrary, a higher safety margin was associated with earlier deceleration before the curve. The proposed approach yields a continuous and objective assessment of driver speeding behaviour from tangent to curve and the related safety margins, both for individual drivers, as well as for groups of drivers with similar speeding patterns.


The active heave compensation (AHC) system on an offshore supply vessel (OSV) plays a pivotal role in offshore installation operations by minimizing the heave motion of suspended subsea equipment, regardless of the OSV motion. In order to successfully perform its function, the AHC system should have a suitable control algorithm, and its performance must be evaluated in advance of operation. Performance analysis of the AHC system requires complicated testing procedures, and a great deal of associated equipment. In particular, such analysis is often very costly and time-consuming, and realistic conditions are typically impossible to establish in a testing environment. To solve this problem, the Hardware-In-the-Loop Simulation (HILS) concept can be used as an effective method to test an AHC system prior to its final installation. In this study, we have constructed the HILS environment for an AHC system for an OSV, and conducted a performance analysis of the AHC system. To do so, a virtual model of the OSV was first created from a multibody system that can represent realistic motion in waves. Then, a controller of the AHC system with a control algorithm for heave compensation was implemented on real hardware. Next, an integrated simulation interface was implemented to efficiently connect the virtual model and the controller, and a visualization model was developed to verify simulation results by immersive and realistic views. Finally, a performance analysis of the AHC system was conducted within the proposed HILS environment. A numerical example is a deadweight 3,500 ton OSV to install a subsea manifold in regular and irregular waves. A comparative study between uncontrolled and controlled results of the AHC system was further performed. As a result, the performance of the AHC system could be evaluated effectively within the HILS environment.


In 2015, the Tanzanian government implemented a curriculum reform that focused instruction in Grades 1 and 2 on the "3Rs"—reading, writing, and arithmetic. Consequently, almost 80 percent of the instructional time in these grades was mandated towards foundational literacy in Kiswahili and numeracy skills. Other subjects such as English were no longer taught. Using student-level panel data, we evaluate the effect of this policy on learning outcomes using a difference-in-differences approach which leverages the variation in the timing of implementation across grade levels and cohorts impacted by the policy. We find that the policy increased learning by around 0.20 standard deviations in Kiswahili and math test scores one year after the start of the reform. Timely teacher training on the new curriculum was associated with even larger effects. Evaluating longer term outcomes, we find suggestive evidence that the reform decreased the dropout rate of children up to four years later. However, this was also accompanied with lower average passing rates in the national Grade 4 examination due to compositional changes as low-performing students became less likely to dropout.