Changes in the nature of conflicts during the post-Cold War period led to changes in the nature of peacekeeping, from being a tool in mediating inter-state conflicts to that of intra-state conflicts. Peacekeepers are no longer deployed as an interposition force between warring states, but as part of broad efforts in support of peace implementation. Furthermore, rather than the purely traditional military deployments, modern peacekeeping deployments now involve considerable numbers of police officers (and civilians) in multidimensional missions. Against this backdrop, the Norwegian-funded Training for Peace (TfP) Programme has been involved in international and regional efforts to provide training support for police capacity building, as well as civilian, for deployment to UN and AU missions in Africa and elsewhere. Th is study was undertaken as part of the TfP initiative to explore the police training environment and gauge some of the key challenges to the smooth deployment of trained police officers: priorities of national police organisations, sequencing of training, gender disparities, and strategic and operational level coordination, among others. The study uses experiences gained from the years of police training provided by the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) to two police regions in Africa, namely the Southern African Regional Police Chiefs Cooperation Organisation (SARPCCO) and the Eastern African Police Chiefs Cooperation Organisation (EAPCCO). This paper complements the results of a separate study that focused on bottlenecks to civilian training and deployment. The key questions that inform this study are:
What are the practical imperatives of the demand for African capacities?
What are the challenges faced in building capacities in Africa?
What can be done to address the challenges of capacity building?
What are the training approaches adopted by partners towards building African capacities?


In numerous cases of harm to health, the inability to establish factual causation may be a serious obstacle to the plaintiff's success, because of causal uncertainty. In cases of uncertain causation, the standard rules of causation are often evaded and the plaintiff can only resort to the probability of the defendant having caused the damage. The question is what the optimal solution should be in the case wherein the victim is only able to establish that the damage was probably caused by the defendant's unlawful act. To this end, I pose two main questions. Firstly, what are the uncertain causes in the victim's sphere, and how do the various causes affect the plaintiff's chances of obtaining compensation? Secondly, how does the use of different approaches to paying damages, such as the all-or-nothing theory versus partial liability, affect the plaintiff's prospect of getting compensation from the defendant? I have chosen to focus predominantly on analysing the practice in the common-law countries to identify whether there are solutions for the issues dealt with in the article that are worth applying in the Estonian legal system and in the countries in continental Europe generally.


Competitive advantage is a dynamic concept. Competitive advantage focuses on a variety of competitive alternatives. These alternatives include for example people, quality, speed, innovation, service, leadership, time utility and place utility. Developing a competitive strategy is vital to the survival and prosperity of any organisation.
The objective of this study is to establish to which extent employees perceive people as a competitive advantage factor and use employees to gain and sustain competitive advantage for success. The population focus on employees at a leading bank. The empirical study considers bank learnership candidates (employees) as sample and people as a competitive advantage factor. The study yielded a minimum response rate of 98.7%.
Analysing and establishing which people factors contributes to establishing a competitive advantage will ensure future organisational success and provide leaders with direction. Skill development; empowering members of the work force; and treating employees well has been identified as the three most prominent factors to consider when establishing people as a competitive advantage factor with reference to the research group. Learning and skill development programmes are therefore recommended to enhance the people factor for sustainability. Leadership development and employee support empowerment are of essence.


Trade remedies - anti-dumping, anti-subsidy and safeguard - are controversial, provoking much argument and differences of opinion. The differences in law between anti-dumping and countervailing measures are marginal. The laws regulating countervailing duties require more sufficient proof (e.g. the existence of subsidy must be shown) than anti-dumping law, and the procedure is often quicker. This is because governments perform the subsidisation. It is politically sensitive to bring a claim against another state&semic therefore, the requirements of evidence are more demanding than those for anti-dumping. In terms of the substantial rules of anti-dumping and countervailing measures, the differences between WTO and EC law are few. Indeed, they are almost insignificant, except that WTO law lacks provisions regulating circumvention and EC law contains such provisions. The EC law must comply with the WTO law. The differences in this area depend on the EC authorities' practice. Obviously, unfair trade, subsidisation and dumping do exist and cannot be condoned. However, plain protectionism under the guise of the fight against unfair trade is also a reality that is all the more unexpected because it emanates from countries proclaiming themselves to be liberal. This protectionism has become all the more subtle and difficult to identify as dumping and subsidy calculation methods have become more complex and the standards of evidence almost unattainable. The matter requires a return to a more commen-sense approach. A change can be brought about only by simplification, greater transparency and, as far as the EC is concerned, giving judges access to full fact and authority to review the AD and the SCM Regulations. It is essential to ensure transparency of anti-dumping and countervailing proceedings and measures, not only in interests of the EC, but also elsewhere to assure that these measures are used only when unfair trade occurs. The lack of transparency in anti-dumping and countervailing proceedings is by no means unique to the EC authorities and this deficiency makes it easy to use anti-dumping and countervailing measures for protectionist aims. The importance of anti-dumping and countervailing measures must be evaluated in light of the WTO dispute settlement mechanism's features.


This paper presents a nonlinear model predictive controller (NMPC) for trajectory tracking of an underactuated surface vessel. The physical control inputs to the vessel are a propeller speed and a rudder angle. The limits of these control inputs are incorporated as input saturation limits. The controller is designed based on a three-degree-of-freedom nonlinear dynamic model of the vessel. The NMPC predicts control inputs by optimizing a cost function. The optimization is done by considering the input constraints. Tests for the identification of the vessel's dynamic model are performed on a small robotic vessel and the model is verified. The performance of the designed controller is tested via experimentation with the robotic vessel on an outdoor pond. The result shows that under extreme manoeuvres where the saturation of inputs occurs, the control inputs of the vessel stay within the specified limits and the vessel converges towards the desired trajectory after recovering from saturation.


OBJECTIVES
To investigate the immune defense of the annelid Nereis diversicolor and the key role of a oxygen-binding protein, the metalloprotein MPII animals were subjected to bacteria infection.

METHODS AND RESULTS
Using RACE-PCR, we have cloned the complete cDNA coding for the MPII related to the hemerythrin family in the sand worm Hediste diversicolor. This cDNA (883 pb) codes for a polypeptide of 119 amino acid residues with no signal peptide. Previous works have identified this protein as a cadmium scavenger. We here clearly demonstrated that this protein is also involved in the worm defence towards bacteria growth by its iron scavenger ability. This protein is expressed and produced in a haematopoietic center that floats freely in the coelomic fluid before stored in a particular hemocyte type: the granulocyte type 1. During bacterial challenge, this protein contained in these cells is discharged into the blood stream 3-4 hours after the infection and remains active for approximately 10 hours. This time period blocks progression of the pathogen and its attachment to tissues.

CONCLUSION
These results reflect that MPII in conjunction with others partners like lysozyme act as defence molecule for the sand worm.


Football is an incredibly popular sport around the world. It boasts hundreds of millions of networked fans interacting with their favourite clubs through social media channels and content. This study aimed to discover how social media is used by fans and the role of social capital relating to Digital Marketing. It uses the buyer persona spring with social capital theory in order to better understand channels, content and data. Football clubs are wrestling with questions around the use and maximisation of online communications and this study provides both practical and academic contributions in this important area. It presents a literature review, drawing upon the established disciplines of Information Systems and Marketing to contribute to the evolving discipline of Digital Marketing.
This interpretive study used social capital as a theoretical framework and lens on the data, with authors such as Putnam (2001) and Lin (1999) being key. Salford City Football Club (SCFC) was used as a vehicle for this research. During the period of study, social media was playing a critical role in their evolution from an unknown non-league football club to becoming better known around the world. The study used a blended methods approach as part of a netnography. Ethnography is the study of people, and netnography is a well established framework for conducting ethnography online (Kozinets, 2015). The qualitative methods of interview, participant observation and social network analysis (SNA) were blended for the primary data collection. Two years of participant observation were blended with insights from SNA visualisations and 33 semi-structured interviews were conducted with 25 participants. The findings were further tested by utilising primary and secondary data from other clubs to make them more generalisable. This blended methods approach also provides a methodological contribution.
This thesis found that clubs should identify, segment and engage their fans wherever they are in the world. They should consider the development and cultivation of social capital through online interaction, content and encouragement of fan led content and groups. Social capital can be developed and grown online, which concurred with the findings of Lin (1999) and Bauernschuster et al. (2014). Clubs should interact with fans and also engage with weakly connected lurker fans through appropriate social media channels and content. If these groups are not engaged online, social media communications risk being drowned out. This is due to the social media algorithms, which are designed to deliver relevant and emotive content to fans. Social capital was therefore found to be a key enabler for football clubs to engage fans through social media channels and content in order to strengthen their brands.
The thesis presents a pyramid model, which highlights the synergy between types of social capital, types of fan and types of Internet user. The research provides implications for other organisations with social media followers, and highlights the key role of lurker fans as real people who have great value to brands. Lurkers can be engaged directly by football clubs, increasing their connection to a club and also enhancing the partnerships and sponsorship potential of brands. This study created new insights into online behaviour within sports fan social media communities.


We study a leader election protocol that we call the Swedish leader election protocol. This name comes from a protocol presented by L. Bondesson, T. Nilsson, and G. Wikstrand (2007). The goal is to select one among n > 0 players, by proceeding through a number of rounds. If there is only one player remaining, the protocol stops and the player is declared the leader. Otherwise, all remaining players flip a biased coin; with probability q the player survives to the next round, with probability p = 1 - q the player loses (is killed) and plays no further ... unless all players lose in a given round (null round), so all of them play again. In the classical leader election protocol, any number of null rounds may take place, and with probability 1 some player will ultimately be elected. In the Swedish leader election protocol there is a maximum number tau of consecutive null rounds, and if the threshold is attained the protocol fails without declaring a leader. In this paper, several parameters are asymptotically analyzed, among them: Success Probability, Number of rounds R-n, Number of null rounds T-n. This paper is a companion paper to Louchard, Martinez and Prodinger (2011) where De-Poissonization was used, together with the Mellin transform. While this works fine as far as it goes, there are limitations, in particular of a computational nature. The approach chosen here is similar to earlier efforts of the same authors - Louchard and Prodinger (2004,2005,2009). Identifying some underlying distributions as Gumbel (type) distributions, one can start with approximations at a very early stage and compute (at least in principle) all moments asymptotically. This is in contrast to the companion work, where only expected values were considered. In an appendix, it is shown that, whereever results are given in both papers, they coincide, although they are presented in different ways.


Humanistic intelligence arises in a natural cybernetic way by maintaining a constancy of user-interface by way of a computer system. This appendix describes a handheld multiambic keyer that can be easily custom-built for a user, and activated while doing other things such as jogging, running, and climbing stairs. The keyer can also be used to secretly type messages while standing and conversing with other people in a natural manner.


For many years, the subject of aggressive marketing campaigns conducted by pharmaceutical
companies has been raised in Poland. Drug ads are everywhere, on television,
the radio, magazines and on the Internet. Therefore, it is extremely important
is to ensure both their legal and ethical dimension.
In my article I will present the differences between direct-to-consumer advertising
of medicines in Poland and in the US. The dissimilarities result mainly from
differences in legislation. In Poland the law is much stricter than in the US. For
example, in the United States companies are allowed to advertise prescription drugs
directly to patients. In the whole of the European Union, and thus in Poland, it is
strictly prohibited.
The article will present other regulations existing in Poland and in the United
States and it will compare them. It will show examples of violations of the law and
ethics in the advertising of medicine in both countries. It will briefly outline the
negative consequences of unacceptable pharmaceutical marketing.


The present investigation in Sprague-Dawley rats (SD) was designed to examine effects of astaxanthin (Asta) at different doses on elevated blood pressure (BP) and glucose-insulin perturbations produced by heavy sucrose ingestion. We also examined effects of Asta on BP during restraint stress. SD were divided into six groups each containing eight rats. All SD ate a basic diet of ground regular rat chow with sucrose added at 30% w/w. The Control group received only the basic diet containing added sucrose, while the other five groups each received the same diet with added test material: captopril, (30 mg/Kg), pioglitazone (15.0 mg/Kg), low Asta (25 mg/Kg), medium Asta (50 mg/kg) or high Asta (100 mg/Kg). Many tests were carried out to examine the mechanisms behind the effects of Asta on BP (serum ACE activity, losartan challenge, and LNAME challenge) and the glucose-insulin system (glucose tolerance, HOMA measurement, and insulin challenge). In SD, a relatively low dose of Asta decreased SBP, but produced no major changes in the glucose-insulin system simulating results from a previous study using Zucker Fatty Rats. Increasing the dose of Asta resulted in both a lowering of elevated systolic BP and enhanced insulin sensitivity determined by many different estimations. BP lowering was consistent with changes in the renin-angiotensin (RAS) and nitric oxide (NO) systems. At the examined doses of each, captopril lowered BP in SD without influencing glucose-insulin metabolism, whereas pioglitazone favorably affected glucose-insulin metabolism while showing essentially no effects on BP. Accordingly, Asta beneficially affects both sucrose-induced elevations of BP and insulin resistance at relatively high doses in SD. Also, Asta at higher doses lessens restraint stress, whereas, captopril and pioglitazone did not at the doses examined, even though they influenced the BP and glucose-insulin systems respectively.


In. [4], Freuder defines several types of interchangeability to capture the equivalence among the values of a variable in a discrete constraint satisfaction problem (CSP), and provides a procedure for computing one type of local interchangeability. In this paper, we first extend this procedure for computing a weak form of local interchangeability. Second, we show that the modified procedure can be used to generate a conjunctive decomposition of the CSP by localizing, in the CSP, independent subproblems. Third, for the case of constraints of mutual exclusion, we show that locally Interchangeable values can be computed in a straightforward manner, and that the only possible type of ~ocal interchangeability is the one that induces locally Independent subproblems. Finally, we give hints on how to exploit these results in practice, establish a lattice that relates some types of interchangeability, and identify directions for future research.


BACKGROUND
Accurate prediction of the course of an acute cough episode could curb antibiotic overprescribing, but is still a major challenge in primary care.

AIM
The authors set out to develop a new prediction rule for poor outcome (re-consultation with new or worsened symptoms, or hospital admission) in adults presenting to primary care with acute cough.

DESIGN AND SETTING
Data were collected from 2604 adults presenting to primary care with acute cough or symptoms suggestive of lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) within the Genomics to combat Resistance against Antibiotics in Community-acquired LRTI in Europe (GRACE; www.grace-lrti.org) Network of Excellence.

METHOD
Important signs and symptoms for the new prediction rule were found by combining random forest and logistic regression modelling. Performance to predict poor outcome in acute cough patients was compared with that of existing prediction rules, using the models' area under the receiver operator characteristic curve (AUC), and any improvement obtained by including additional test results (C-reactive protein [CRP], blood urea nitrogen [BUN], chest radiography, or aetiology) was evaluated using the same methodology.

RESULTS
The new prediction rule, included the baseline Risk of poor outcome, Interference with daily activities, number of years stopped Smoking (> or <45 years), severity of Sputum, presence of Crackles, and diastolic blood pressure (> or <85 mmHg) (RISSC85). Though performance of RISSC85 was moderate (sensitivity 62%, specificity 59%, positive predictive value 27%, negative predictive value 86%, AUC 0.63, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.61 to 0.67), it outperformed all existing prediction rules used today (highest AUC 0.53, 95% CI = 0.51 to 0.56), and could not be significantly improved by including additional test results (highest AUC 0.64, 95% CI = 0.62 to 0.68).

CONCLUSION
The new prediction rule outperforms all existing alternatives in predicting poor outcome in adult patients presenting to primary care with acute cough and could not be improved by including additional test results.


ABSTRACT Aim: Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) is intensively used for the treatment of primary breast cancer to downstage tumors allowing breast-conserving surgery to be performed and hence to improve breast cancer (BC) survival. To find novel effective markers to predict NAC efficacy, we performed a combined analysis of copy number aberration (CNA) and deletion of multidrug resistance (MDR) gene loci in tumor DNA in relation to clinical response to NAC in BC patients. Methods: CNA and deletions of MDR gene loci in biopsy specimens, collected before treatment were tested using high-density microarray platform CytoScanTM HD Array (Affymetrix, USA). 68 BC patients were treated with 4 courses of anthracycline-based neoadjuvant chemotherapy. The immediate tumor response to NAC was measured in accordance with WHO recommendations. Results: In breast tumors, structural CNA in 1q, 8p, 8q, 11q, 16q, 17p chromosomal regions were observed most frequently. 1q43 amplification correlated with good response to NAC. Partial tumor regression was observed in 83% (33/39) of patients with 1q43 amplification, whereas no response to NAC was found in 78% (18/23) of patients with normal 1q43 region (р = 1.18x10-6, Fisher's test,). Amplification in 1q43 along with deletion in 18р11.21 loci resulted in partial tumor regression in 92% (35/38) of patients. In the case of the normal status of these loci, 81% (21/26) of patients had no response to NAC (р = 2.26x10-9). All patients with deletions of АВСВ1, АВСВ3, ABCC5 gene loci –7q21.1, 6p21.32, 3q27 correspondingly, and most patients having deletions in АВСС1 (16p13.1), АВСС2 (10q24), ABCG1 (21q22.3), ABCG2 (4q22.1), responded favorably to NAC. Conclusions: The presence of unbalanced chromosome abnormalities in 1q, 18p loci and the loss of chromosomal loci containing the MDR gene within breast tumors correlates with good response to NAC and can be considered as a promising marker for predicting response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy with high confidence value. Acknowledgments: RFBR project 13-04-98111 р_sibir_а. Disclosure: All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.


What ants, bees, fish, and smart swarms can teach us about communication, organization, and decision-making The modern world may be obsessed with speed and productivity, but twenty-first-century humans actually have much to learn from the ancient instincts of swarms. A fascinating new take on the concept of collective intelligence and its colorful manifestations in some of our most complex problems, The Smart Swarm introduces a compelling new understanding of the real experts on solving our own complex problems relating to such topics as business, politics, and technology. Based on extensive globe-trotting research, this lively tour from National Geographic reporter Peter Miller introduces thriving throngs of ant colonies, which have inspired computer programs for streamlining factory processes, telephone networks, and truck routes; termites, used in recent studies for climate-control solutions; schools of fish, on which the U.S. military modeled a team of robots; and many other examples of the wisdom to be gleaned about the behavior of crowds-among critters and corporations alike. In the tradition of James Surowiecki's The Wisdom of Crowds and the innovative works of Malcolm Gladwell, The Smart Swarm is an entertaining yet enlightening look at small-scale phenomena with big implications for us all.


Future Oriented Technology Analysis (FTA) has been visible in railway planning since 2001. Over a dozen reports have been produced in the past thirteen years, the majority being descriptive endogenous technocentric visions. They have played a role in the revitalization of the sector, predominantly relating to collective alignments and interdependencies in choice and form of the technological path the various stakeholders' follow to achieve policy goals. A striking example is the case of ERRAC visions, where strategic agendas and roadmaps greatly impacted the high-speed train technology transition from the second to the third generation of vehicles. However, today's socio-economic events have revealed the limitations of previously applied FTA fall short for railways. In particular, there is an inability to bridge technocentric visions with the societal challenges that are becoming increasingly prominent on the policy agenda. To fill this FTA-need in railways it is here proposed a role for constructive technology assessment as bridging function towards achieving success in the transition to a next generation of high-speed trains. The findings here presented result from the analysis of reports and interviews with their commissioning institutions and drafters.


The thermal dependences of the principal refractive indices of lithium triborate (LBO) have been measured over an extended temperature range of 20–200 °C with a Michelson interferometer. The data obtained are critically evaluated by prediction of the temperature dependences of phase matching and the temperature bandwidth of LBO in a wide range of circumstances (which include optical parametric oscillation, second-harmonic generation, and sum-frequency-mixing generation), and close agreement with experimental observation is obtained in most cases.


As ambassador to Turkey during the Cyprus crisis (1965-1968), Parker T. Hart provides an insider's view of the management of that crisis in NATO and Greek-Turkish relations. Greece and most Greek Cypriots favored enosis (union with Greece), but Turkey and the Turk Cypriots were prepared to go to war to prevent such an annexation. A massacre of Turk Cypriot villagers in November 1967 focused the anger of Turkey, which was prepared to send troops to Cyprus to equalize the preponderance of forces led by General George Grivas. The determined mediation of special presidential envoy Cyrus R. Vance prevented the initiation of all-out hostilities. Vance engineered a withdrawal of mainland Greek forces in excess of existing treaty levels in exchange for a standdown of Turkish forces. The Vance mission diffused the crisis and salvaged the integrity of NATO, and a Greek-Turkish agreement to sponsor and encourage intercommunal negotiations followed.Hart has relied on his own papers from the period, as well as on United Nations sources from the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library, and on the papers of the other key participants in the Crisis, Ambassador to Greece Phillips Talbot, Ambassador to Cyprus Taylor G. Belcher, and Cyrus Vance, to provide a rare play-by-play analysis of the crisis and its resolution.


The demand for high-performance submarine power cables is increasing as more and more offshore wind parks are installed, and the national electric grids are interconnected. Submarine power cables are installed for the highest voltages and power to transport electric energy under the sea between islands, countries and even continents. The installation and operation of submarine power cables is much different from land cables. Still, in most textbooks on electrical power systems, information on submarine cables is scarce. This book is closing the gap. Different species of submarine power cables and their application are explained. Students and electric engineers learn on the electric and mechanic properties of submarine cables. Project developers and utility managers will gain useful information on the necessary marine activities such as pre-laying survey, cable lay vessels, guard boats etc., for the submarine cable installation and repair. Investors and decision makers will find an overview on environmental aspects of submarine power cables. A comprehensive reference list is given for those who want further reading.


Egelhoff v. Egelhoff, 532 U.S. 141,121 S.Ct. 1322,149 L.Ed. 2d 264 (U.S. Supreme Court--March 21, 2001) A State of Washington statute provides that the designation of a spouse as the beneficiary of a nonprobate asset is automatically revoked by operation of law upon divorce. The statute and its applicability to life insurance provided by an employee benefits plan subject to ERISA (the Employee Retirement Income Security Act) became the subject of the U.S. Supreme Court's latest foray into the field of ERISA preemption. The Court found that the state statute preempted under the circumstances of the case, notwithstanding that distribution of marital assets is a traditional state function not ordinarily regulated by the federal government. Donna Rae and David Egelhoff were once married. David was an employee of Boeing, the large aircraft manufacturer, which provided him with both a life insurance policy and a pension plan. Because these were employer-provided benefits plans, they were governed by ERISA. In April 1994, the Egelhoffs divorced. David was in a car accident two months later and died within months, creating the dispute that led to this decision. At the time of David's death, Donna Rae continued to be the listed beneficiary under both the life insurance policy and the pension plan. The life insurer paid her benefits of $56,000. David's children from a prior marriage (and his heirs under the state intestacy statute) sued Donna Rae in Washington state court seeking to recover the life insurance proceeds. They based their claim on Wash. Rev. Code [section]11.07.010(2)(a)(1994), which provides: If a marriage is dissolved or invalidated, a provision made prior to that event that relates to the payment or transfer at death of the decedent's interest in a nonprobate asset in favor of or granting an interest or power to the decedent's former spouse is revoked. A provision affected by this section must be interpreted, and the nonprobate assets affected passes, as if the former spouse failed to survive the decedent, having died at the time of entry of the decree of dissolution or declaration of invalidity. The statute defines "nonprobate assets" to include life insurance policies and pension benefits. In other words, former spouses cease being beneficiaries for these types of assets to protect against a former spouse unwittingly leaving this property to an ex-spouse simply because of a failure to remember to change the beneficiary. If an ex-spouse wishes to leave this sort of property to the other ex-spouse, the statute is designed to force a new beneficiary designation so that property is not unwittingly given to a former spouse who is now the object of enmity rather than affection. Similarly, as one might intuit from the suit of the Egelhoff children, the statute seeks to reduce the possibility that a former spouse will receive funds that the decedent ex-spouse might well have preferred go to his or her children. The Washington courts, including the state supreme court, found for the Egelhoff children and against Donna Rae, who had raised a defense of ERISA preemption to the suit, arguing that the state law could not govern the federally regulated Boeing employee benefits plan. ERISA provides in part that any state law "relating to" a covered benefits plan is preempted. The Washington Supreme Court found no preemption, holding that the statute was not sufficiently connected to the ERISA plan and that the statute did not substantially interfere with the operation of ERISA plans to warrant preemption. See In re Estate of Egelhoff, 93 Wash. 2d 557, 989 P.2d 80 (1999). Courts had divided over the issue, prompting the U.S. Supreme Court to consider the issue. Compare Emard v. Hughes Aircraft Co., 153 F.3d 949 (9th Cir. 1998) (finding, like Washington Supreme Court, that there is no ERISA preemption) with Manning v. Hayes, 212 F.3d 866 (5th Cir. 2000) (finding preemption); Metropolitan Life Ins. …


Observing an embryonic Doppler effect The sound of an oncoming train changes as it passes you, a phenomenon termed the Doppler effect. Soroldoni et al. propose a similar event during the formation of vertebrate embryo body segments. It is generally thought that the internal timing of a genetic oscillator called the "segmentation clock" sets the rhythm of body segments called somites. However, time-lapse microscopy of the spatial waves of oscillations and the timing of body segment formation showed segments forming faster than spatial genetic oscillations. This "Doppler effect" occurs because the end of the oscillating tissue moves steadily into the oncoming waves. Thus, the rhythm of sequential body segmentation is a function of genetic oscillations, their changing wave pattern, and tissue shortening. Science, this issue p. 222 Genetic oscillations, their changing spatial pattern, and tissue shortening direct the rhythm of sequential body segmentation. During embryonic development, temporal and spatial cues are coordinated to generate a segmented body axis. In sequentially segmenting animals, the rhythm of segmentation is reported to be controlled by the time scale of genetic oscillations that periodically trigger new segment formation. However, we present real-time measurements of genetic oscillations in zebrafish embryos showing that their time scale is not sufficient to explain the temporal period of segmentation. A second time scale, the rate of tissue shortening, contributes to the period of segmentation through a Doppler effect. This contribution is modulated by a gradual change in the oscillation profile across the tissue. We conclude that the rhythm of segmentation is an emergent property controlled by the time scale of genetic oscillations, the change of oscillation profile, and tissue shortening.


Few battles resonate through British history as strongly as Bannockburn. On June 24, 1314, the Scots under the leadership of Robert the Bruce unexpectedly trounced the English, leaving thousands dead or wounded. The victory was one of Scotland's greatest, the more so because the Scottish army was outnumbered by about three to one. The loss to the English, fighting under Edward II, was staggering. In this groundbreaking account of Bannockburn, David Cornell sets the iconic battle in political and military context and focuses new attention on the roles of Robert and Edward in the events leading to the buildup of their armies. The author brings the two-day battle to life and reassesses both the crucial melee fought on the second day and the casualties suffered by the English. Filled with colorful detail and fresh insights, the book throws new light on the battle itself, the character of the English defeat, the effect of that defeat on the course of the Anglo-Scottish wars, and the powerful impact of the battle's legacy on English and Scottish national identity.


Previous studies of the Eucalyptus gunnii-archeri complex indicate marked differentiation of the adult phenotype. In this study, genetically based variation in the seedling phenotype is demonstrated. The five main phenetic groups in the complex are shown to be genetically defined and account for most of the genetic variation between populations. Further, the two major phenetic clines in the adult phenotype are paralleled by genetically based clines in the seedling phenotype, with greater genetic differentiation occurring along the cline between subspp. archeri and gunnii than along the cline between altitudinal extremes within subsp. gunnii. Detailed analyses of the structure of populations along the former continuum indicate no evidence for recent secondary intergradation since intermediate phenotypes are widespread and genetically stable and the various character clines appear to be independent. However, historical and biogeographical evidence is presented which suggests that a suture zone occurred between southern and northern populations during the last Pleistocene glacial. The area occupied by intermediate populations would have been amongst the last to be colonized following deglaciation. It is argued that extreme morphs differentiated in allopatry and that the continuum between the subspecies is a result of selective stabilization of a zone of secondary intergradation as opposed to primary intergradation. In contrast, the altitudinal continuum within subsp. gunnii appears to be mainly a result of primary differentiation within a population migrating up slope from a southern glacial refuge. Progeny trials indicate that the high variability and differentiation of several low-altitude, relic populations may be due to hybridization with surrounding species, whereas hybridization has little effect at the boundary of large stands. It is argued that hybridization may be important in the process of range contraction and extinction, and may be a significant evolutionary stimulus in small peripheral isolates.


Motivation is often used as a predictor of a problematic style of video game engagement, implying that individuals' gaming undermines optimal functioning. Drawing from recent advances in Self-Determination Theory (SDT), the present study explores the links between gaming motivations, the daily frustration of basic psychological needs, and reports of problematic video gaming (PVG). A sample of 1,029 participants (72.8% male; M = 22.96 years; SD = 4.13 years) completed items regarding their gaming engagement and gaming motivation as well as their experience of needs frustration and PVG symptoms. Results revealed positive associations between gaming motivations and PVG, and between daily needs frustration and PVG. Finally, after comparing several competing models, a mediational model whereby needs frustration explained the association between individuals' gaming motivation and PVG emerged as best fitting the data. The discussion addresses the theoretical and practical implications of these findings in the context of recent research.


Abstract. The climate belongs to the class of non-equilibrium forced and dissipative systems, for which most results of quasi-equilibrium statistical mechanics, including the fluctuation-dissipation theorem, do not apply. In this paper we show for the first time how the Ruelle linear response theory, developed for studying rigorously the impact of perturbations on general observables of non-equilibrium statistical mechanical systems, can be applied with great success to analyze the climatic response to general forcings. The crucial value of the Ruelle theory lies in the fact that it allows to compute the response of the system in terms of expectation values of explicit and computable functions of the phase space averaged over the invariant measure of the unperturbed state. We choose as test bed a classical version of the Lorenz 96 model, which, in spite of its simplicity, has a well-recognized prototypical value as it is a spatially extended one-dimensional model and presents the basic ingredients, such as dissipation, advection and the presence of an external forcing, of the actual atmosphere. We recapitulate the main aspects of the general response theory and propose some new general results. We then analyze the frequency dependence of the response of both local and global observables to perturbations having localized as well as global spatial patterns. We derive analytically several properties of the corresponding susceptibilities, such as asymptotic behavior, validity of Kramers-Kronig relations, and sum rules, whose main ingredient is the causality principle. We show that all the coefficients of the leading asymptotic expansions as well as the integral constraints can be written as linear function of parameters that describe the unperturbed properties of the system, such as its average energy. Some newly obtained empirical closure equations for such parameters allow to define such properties as an explicit function of the unperturbed forcing parameter alone for a general class of chaotic Lorenz 96 models. We then verify the theoretical predictions from the outputs of the simulations up to a high degree of precision. The theory is used to explain differences in the response of local and global observables, to define the intensive properties of the system, which do not depend on the spatial resolution of the Lorenz 96 model, and to generalize the concept of climate sensitivity to all time scales. We also show how to reconstruct the linear Green function, which maps perturbations of general time patterns into changes in the expectation value of the considered observable for finite as well as infinite time. Finally, we propose a simple yet general methodology to study general Climate Change problems on virtually any time scale by resorting to only well selected simulations, and by taking full advantage of ensemble methods. The specific case of globally averaged surface temperature response to a general pattern of change of the CO2 concentration is discussed. We believe that the proposed approach may constitute a mathematically rigorous and practically very effective way to approach the problem of climate sensitivity, climate prediction, and climate change from a radically new perspective.


Abstract Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the overall level of job satisfaction among South African registered dietitians and possible relationships between the influencing factors. Design: The design was a cross-sectional descriptive study. Setting and subjects: A national survey was carried out among all dietitians registered with the Health Professions Council of South Africa, excluding community service dietitians. Outcome measures: A two-part, self-administered, adapted job satisfaction survey questionnaire was used. Demographic data were collected. The questionnaire covered nine themes pertaining to job satisfaction: salary, promotion, knowledge and skills, professional colleagues, being a member of the multidisciplinary team, communication, the work environment, rewards of the job and nature of the work. Results: A final response rate of 22.5% (n = 340) was obtained. South African registered dietitians were only slightly satisfied (65.7%) with their current employment. There was no significant difference (p-value = 0.291) pertaining to overall job satisfaction between those working and living overseas and those working and living in South Africa. Primarily, lower levels of satisfaction were observed to be due to poor salaries, lack of promotion opportunities and a poor perception of professional image. Significant positive correlations were found between age (p-value = 0.036), professional experience (p-value = 0.035), area of expertise (p-value = 0.001), hours of work (p-value = 0.021) and location of work (p-value = 0.00001). Conclusion: Although overall job satisfaction scores indicated that South African registered dietitians are only slightly satisfied with their employment, registered dietitians reported that they love the nature of the work and what they do, tending towards confirmation of career satisfaction. Recommendations include re-evaluation of registered dietitian salary scales, career pathing with promotion opportunities, boosting the professional image and expanding the teaching of nondietetic skills to dietetic undergraduates.


The potential links between climate change and conflict have received much attention in recent years, but there is little consensus on the issue in the relevant literature. So far, few methodological reflections exist in climate–conflict research. This is unfortunate given the tremendous innovations in methods the research field has experienced in recent years and the potential of diverse methods to shed light on different aspects of the subject matter, thereby increasing our understanding of potential climate–conflict links. In order to counteract this shortcoming, this paper provides a comprehensive review of the developments and innovations in methods in climate–conflict research. It first identifies and discusses the most common methods in the research field: large‐N statistical analysis and qualitative case study. The study goes on to evaluate four new methods that have emerged particularly since 2012: integration of statistical techniques and qualitative case studies; field experiment; risk analysis based on geographical information systems (GIS); and qualitative comparative analysis (QCA). The review provides an overview of these methods and their potentials and pitfalls when used to study climate–conflict links. It also discusses how future research can deal with a pluralism of methods in order to gain deeper insights into the relationship between climate change and conflict. WIREs Clim Change 2017, 8:e456. doi: 10.1002/wcc.456


The cerebellum is known to play a critical role in learning relevant patterns of activity for adaptive motor control, but the underlying network mechanisms are only partly understood. The classical long-term synaptic plasticity between parallel fibers (PFs) and Purkinje cells (PCs), which is driven by the inferior olive (IO), can only account for limited aspects of learning. Recently, the role of additional forms of plasticity in the granular layer, molecular layer and deep cerebellar nuclei (DCN) has been considered. In particular, learning at DCN synapses allows for generalization, but convergence to a stable state requires hundreds of repetitions. In this paper we have explored the putative role of the IO-DCN connection by endowing it with adaptable weights and exploring its implications in a closed-loop robotic manipulation task. Our results show that IO-DCN plasticity accelerates convergence of learning by up to two orders of magnitude without conflicting with the generalization properties conferred by DCN plasticity. Thus, this model suggests that multiple distributed learning mechanisms provide a key for explaining the complex properties of procedural learning and open up new experimental questions for synaptic plasticity in the cerebellar network.


Hodgkin lymphoma is one of the most curable human tumors. Despite this, about 30% of these patients relapsed or are primary refractory to the first line treatment. Autografting is generally considered the standard of care for these patients. Alternative salvage strategies have been evaluated such as high dose sequential and tandem autografting strategies. In younger patients, refractory or early relapsed after autografting, allogeneic stem cell transplantation has been employed but this approach has been followed by significant concerns since the treatment related mortality, often exceeded 40–50%, and relapses were not uncommon. It is clear that patient selection remains an issue in all allografting reports. At the end, new drugs and novel treatment strategies, that are based on our understanding of the disease biology and signaling pathways, are needed to improve treatment outcome for these patients. The two leading compounds Brentuximab Vedotin and Panobinostat, are currently under evaluation in several clinical trials.


This article concentrates on the exchange of information and evidence between competition authorities. The issue is analyzed from the perspective of both antitrust and merger cases. The level, scope and intensity of cooperation between competition authorities differs in respect to these two kinds of cases and, to an extent, the applicable legal framework varies as well. Our analysis is based on EU law, national legislation, and relevant case law, with attention also given to other sources of law such as bilateral and multilateral agreements, best practices, recommendations etc. In addition the problem of exchange of information is examined through the prism of the Polish Competition Act. Regulation 1/2003 and the ECN, created upon its provisions, provide detailed rules applicable for the exchange of evidence and information between competition authorities in antitrust cases at the European level. With respect to mergers, the provisions of Regulation 139/2004 do not have the same high degree of influence, hence considerable attention is given to soft law acts, such as recommendations of OECD and ICN, or best practices and informal agreements adopted by national competition authorities.


"This study sought to illuminate the process of partnering between early childhood teachers and families. Specific emphasis was placed on how individual perceptions of roles impacted communications. Additionally the study sought to illuminate how teachers and families in early childhood settings defined meaningful participation of families. To support this examination, a conceptual framework was presented illustrating the social process of partnerships. This model of the partnership process was illustrated in the study through interviews, observations and a review of documents in five separate cases. Participants were asked to articulate the roles that they perceived each party should play in parent/teacher partnerships in preschool. Teachers and families were also asked to provide their definitions of meaningful participation in interviews. These perceptions were examined in the context of interviews as well as observations and a review of documents. The relationship between reported expectations and observed parent and teacher communication was examined. Findings in the study indicate that individual perceptions of roles become similar through the process of repeated communications within the process of partnership. Additionally, communications between families and the teacher in preschool classrooms emerge as a reflection of agreement in roles. Finally, individual perceptions of meaningful participation of families differed within each case and across the cases and thus emerged as a factor independent of the process of partnership."--Abstract from author supplied metadata.


Background ACL-ruptures are the most prevalent injury in alpine skiing competition. Shaped skis produce 2 abduction forces with a centroid that can generate large abduction/valgus-moments and small tibia-torques that cause ACL-rupture before tibia-fracture. Ordinary alpine ski bindings address tibia-fracture. Objective Prove, biomechanically, that ordinary bindings cannot release in response to applied-abduction forces before ACL-rupture, whereas bindings with additional lateral heel release can. Design A ski is affixed to an anthropometrically-correct metallic foot-tibia-femur test-frame that simulates skiing-ACL slip-catch injury-kinematics similar to ISO 9462 Annex-B — also measuring applied abduction force and resultant abduction/valgus-moment. Initially, no ski-bindings are utilized: the ski is bolted beneath the metallic foot. The proximal end of the metallic femur is rigidly attached to the test frame as during maximal internal rotation. Abduction force is applied to a range of positions along the medial edge of the ski while measuring combined peak abduction/valgus-moments and peak tibia-torques—at ACL-rupture—according to a validated ACL-rupture algorithm of an average US male. 2-mode and 3-mode bindings are interposed to quantify their interaction. Setting Biomechanical. Patients (or Participants) None, biomechanical. Interventions (or Assessment of Risk Factors) None, biomechanical. Main Outcome Measurements 3-mode-release bindings can release below the rupture-limit of the ACL; 2-mode bindings cannot. Results An abduction centroid can produce ACL rupture before tibia-fracture when applied to a ski -70 cm to -20 cm aft of the tibia at 155 N to 200 N (21% to 27% of average US male body weight) whereas tibia-fracture is produced when an abduction centroid is applied aft of −70 cm. Conclusions Abduction centroids applied to the medial edge of a ski can produce tibia-fracture or ACL-rupture depending upon the magnitude and the central position of the applied abduction forces. 3-mode bindings with additional lateral heel release can release below the ACL-rupture limit. A prospective intervention study is needed for full-proof.


Olivine is the principal mineral of kimberlite magmas, and is the main contributor to the ultramafic composition of kimberlite rocks. Olivine is partly or completely altered in common kimberlites, and thus unavailable for studies of origin and evolution of kimberlite magmas. The masking effects of alteration, common in kimberlites worldwide, are overcome in this study of exceptionally fresh diamondiferous kimberlites of the Udachnaya-East pipe from the Daldyn-Alakit province, Yakutia, northern Siberia. The serpentine-free kimberlites contain large amount of olivine (~ 50 vol%) in a chloride-carbonate groundmass.
Olivine is represented by two populations (olivine-I and groundmass olivine-II) differing in morphology, colour and grain size, and trapped mineral and melt inclusions. The large fragmental olivine-I is compositionally variable in terms of major (Fo85-94) and trace element concentrations, including H2O content (10-136 ppm). Multiple sources of olivine-I, such as convecting and lithospheric mantle, are suggested. The groundmass olivine-II is recognised by smaller grain sizes and perfect crystallographic shapes that indicate crystallisation during magma ascent and emplacement. However, a simple crystallisation history for olivine-II is complicated by complex zoning in terms of Fo values and trace element contents. The cores of olivine-II are compositionally similar to olivine-I, which suggests a genetic link between these two types of olivine. Olivine-I and olivine–II have oxygen isotope values (+5.6 ± 0.1 ‰ VSMOW, 1 std. dev.) that are indistinguishable from one another, but higher than values (+5.18 ± 0.28 ‰) in "typical" mantle olivine. These elevated values most likely reflect equilibrium with the Udachnaya carbonate melt at low temperatures and 18O - enriched mantle source.
The volumetrically significant rims of olivine-II have constant Fo values (89.0 ± 0.2 mol%), but variable trace element compositions. Uniform Fo compositions of the rims imply absence of fractionation of the melt's Fe2+/Mg, which can be possible in the carbonatite melt – olivine system. The kimberlite melt is argued to have originated in the mantle as a chloride-carbonate liquid, devoid of "ultramafic" or "basaltic" aluminosilicate components, but became olivine-laden and olivine-saturated by scavenging olivine crystals from the pathway rocks and dissolving them en route to the surface. During emplacement the kimberlite magma changed progressively towards an original alkali-rich chloride-carbonate melt by extensively crystallising groundmass olivine and gravitational separation of solids in the pipe.


Managers' voluntary disclosure of forward-looking earnings information results in stock prices reflecting that information prior to the fiscal period when the corresponding earnings are announced. We predict that forward-looking management earnings forecasts (MFs) will lead to a weaker relation between contemporaneous returns and earnings, resulting in a predictable attenuation in earnings asymmetric timeliness measured using the Basu (1997) model (and related models). The intuition is that forward-looking disclosures such as MFs decouple the period in which prices reflect the earnings news from the future period in which the actual earnings related to the forecast will be recognized and announced. We find that earnings' asymmetric timeliness is insignificant for firms issuing MFs of future-year earnings. Additional analysis rules out the alternative explanation that these findings are due to differences in the pattern of earnings recognition or total information flow in periods with forward-looking disclosures. An implication of our findings is that, in the presence of forward-looking managerial disclosures such as MFs, research on conservatism should exercise caution when attributing variation in asymmetric timeliness exclusively to the hypothesized determinants of conservatism.


Maturational changes during the follicular phase of the porcine oestrous cycle were investigated in spontaneously cycling gilts. The results revealed considerable variation in the morphological and biochemical development of dominant follicles in the early follicular phase. This asynchrony was emphasised by the marked differences in follicular fluid steroid concentrations and LH binding to granulose cells and theca tissue between follicles of identical size within the same ovary. The nature of this variation may have great significance on our present understanding of asynchronies in embryo development.

On the basis of the variables assessed in this study, those follicles destined to ovulate or to become atretic were only readily distinguishable on Day 20 of the oestrous cycle, suggesting that the selection of the preovulatory population continues over a 4 day period from about Day 16 to Day 20 of the cycle and, furthermore, that the selection process involves some initial maturation even in those unselected follicles that ultimately join the atretic pool.

Leading on from this study, the control of the initiation of follicular development in lactating primiparous sows was examined by assessing the relationships between ovarian activity and circulating hormone levels following manipulation of the suckling stimulus.

In the first experiment, piglet suckling behaviour and follicular development were 'investigated following a reduction in litter size to five piglets (split-weaning), seven days before weaning at 21 days post-partum. Overall, morphological and biochemical follicular development were significantly advanced (p < 0.001) in the treatment sows. The significantly (p < 0.001) greater concentration of follicular fluid oestradiol in follicles recovered from the split-weaned sows suggested that the supply of androgen substrate was probably limiting production of this steroid in the control animals. It was proposed that the latter was due to inadequate gonadotrophin stimulation.

The comparative ethological study revealed that the remaining split-weaned piglets 'multiple-suckled' quarters vacated by their heavier litter mates. Despite a constant suckling frequency, suckling intensity was reduced in the split-weaned litters as evidenced by a regression in mammary tissue growth in the dams.

In a subsequent experiment, further manipulation of the suckling stimulus was achieved by physically restricting the number of mammary quarters available to the piglets. Canvas sheeting strapped around the anterior quarters of one group of sows (cover) limited the five piglets remaining after split-weaning to suckle only the posterior quarters. An investigation of circulating hormone levels, 12 hours before and 48 hours after the start of treatment, revealed that, compared to the split-weaned and control sows, LH levels were significantly (p < 0.001) elevated in the cover sows with a concomitant significant (p < 0.001) depression in circulating prolactin. Although split-weaning induced a similar endocrine response in several sows, this effect was short-lived and overall, levels of both hormones were similar in the split-weaned group to those recorded in the control sows. The concentration of oxytocin, released at suckling was unaffected by litter size or the intensity of mammary stimulation.

Ovarian activity at weaning was significantly enhanced in the cover (p < 0.001) and split-weaned (p < 0.001) groups. Hence, it was concluded that the critical factor influencing hormone levels and follicular development in the lactating sow was the neural intensity of the suckling stimulus.

The cumulative data of the lactation experiments suggest that in practice, serious consideration should be given to the use of litter size reduction as a means of effectively improving the performance of the primiparous sow and her litter during lactation.


Cancer is an exceptionally confounding disease that demands the development of powerful drug/drugs, without inducing heavy adverse side effects. Thus, different approaches have been applied to improve the targeted delivery of cancer drugs: for example by using nanocarriers. However, nanocarriers are foreign materials, which need further validation for their biocompatibility and biodegradability. In this study, we have chemically conjugated the hydrophilic anticancer drug doxorubicin (DOX) with the hydrophobic drug paclitaxel (PTX) through a redox-sensitive disulfide bond, abbreviated to DOX-S-S-PTX. Subsequently, due to its amphiphilic characterization, the prodrug can self-assemble into nanoparticles under microfluidic nanoprecipitation. These novel prodrug nanoparticles have a super-high drug loading degree of 89%, which is impossible to achieve by any nanocarrier systems, and can be tailored to 180 nm to deliver themselves to the target, and release DOX and PTX under redox conditions, which are often found in cancer cells. By evaluating cell viability in MDA-MB-231, MDA-MB-231/ADR and MEF cell lines, we observed that the prodrug nanoparticles effectively killed the cancer cells, and selectively conquered the MDA-MB-231/ADR. Meanwhile, MEF cells were spared due to their lack of a redox condition. The cell interaction results show that the reduced intermediate of the prodrug can also bind to parent drug biological targets. The hemolysis results show that the nanoparticles are biocompatible in blood. Computer modelling suggested that the prodrug is unlikely to bind to biological targets that parent drugs still strongly interact with. Finally, we confirm that the prodrug nanoparticles have no therapeutic effect in blood or healthy cells, but can selectively eliminate the cancer cells that meet the redox conditions to cleave the disulfide bond and release the drugs DOX and PTX.


The main objective of our study is to determine the frequencies and the deformations proper by the finite element method, using the code implemented in ANSYS software, this numerical investigation by the finite element method was carried out for two types of Sandwich materials such as aluminum and mild steel, with boundary conditions: embedding, free, free, free (ELLL) in order to determine the modal parameters of composite plates such as frequencies as well as clean deformations. The results obtained show that the increase of the rigidities of the materials and increases with the increase of the rank of the mode and consequently the increase of the eigenfrequencies. For this purpose the comparison of the characteristics of the sandwiches are carried out on the first modes of vibration which are the most important..


The purpose of the ISO/IEC/IEEE 29119 series of software testing standards is to define an internationally-agreed set of standards for software testing that can be used by any organization when performing any form of software testing. ISO/IEC/IEEE 29119-3 includes templates and examples of test documentation. The templates are arranged within clauses reflecting the overall test process description structure in ISO/IEC/IEEE 29119-2, i.e. by the test process in which they are being produced. Annex A outlines the contents of each document and maps each document to ISO/IEC/IEEE 29119-2. Annex B contains an overview of the examples. Annexes C to R contain examples of the application of the templates. Annex S provides mappings to existing standards. Annex T explains the use of the term Test Model in this document. The Bibliography for this part of ISO/IEC/IEEE 29119 is at the end of the document. ISO/IEC/IEEE 29119-3 supports dynamic testing, functional and non-functional testing, manual and automated testing, and scripted and unscripted testing. The documentation templates defined in ISO/IEC/IEEE 29119-3 can be used in conjunction with any software development lifecycle model.


The conservative political preferences of many working class Americans have been the subject of much academic and popular analysis in recent years. This article investigates the voting behavior of union household residents in the 2004 presidential election. The source for this information is national and state exit polls from the 2004 election. There has been much debate about whether white working class support of Republicans is rooted in conservative cultural values. Despite ardent opposition by the Bush administration to the goals of organized labor, 46 percent of white voters who resided in union households voted Republican in the 2004 presidential election. The impact of race, religion, and gun ownership on the voting choice of labor households is investigated in an effort to provide an understanding of conservative voting by so many households affiliated with an interest group that is at odds with the Republicans.


This paper responds to Professor Donald C. Langevoort's essay entitled "The Behavioral Economics of Mergers and Acquisitions" (12 Transactions: Tenn. J. Bus. L. 65 (2011)). Together with Professor Langevoort's essay and another responsive work written from the standpoint of behavioral psychology – Eric Sundstrom's "Tall Steps, Slippery Slopes & Learning Curves in the Behavioral Economics of Mergers & Acquisitions" (12 Transactions: Tenn. J. Bus. L. 65 (2011)) – this paper preliminarily explores solutions to behavioral issues in the context of mergers and acquisitions. Specifically, this paper contends that changes in the contents, construction, use, and assessment of fairness opinions may better enable fairness opinions to counteract the potential and actual biases of corporate management and shareholders in M&A decision-making. The paper begins by briefly reviewing the nature (attributes, benefits and detriments), regulation, and utilization of fairness opinions in the M&A transactional process, including the ways in which fairness opinions manifest, support, and attempt to counteract behavioral norms. Next, the paper suggests best practices in the construction and use of fairness opinions that take into account our knowledge of behavioral psychology as it relates to M&A transactions. The net effect of these best practices is to transform what may be unconscious behavioral norms into conscious biases that, once exposed, can be confronted and, as desired, mitigated.


Now praised for its realism and formal coherence, the Victorian novel was not always great, or even good, in the eyes of its critics. As this book reveals, it was only in the late 1970s that literary critics constructed a prestigious version of British realism, erasing more than a century of controversy about the value of Victorian fiction. Examining criticism of Victorian novels since the 1850s, this book demonstrates that while they were praised for their ability to bring certain social truths to fictional life, these novels were also criticized for their formal failures and compared unfavorably to their French and German counterparts. The book analyzes the characteristics of realism—denotation, omniscience, paratext, reference, and ontology—and the politics inherent in them, arguing that if critics displaced the nineteenth-century realist novel as the standard by which others are judged, literary history might be richer. It would allow peripheral literatures and the neglected wisdom of their critics to come fully into view. It concludes by questioning the aesthetic racism built into prevailing ideas about the centrality of realism in the novel, and how those ideas have affected debates about world literature. By re-examining the critical reception of the Victorian novel, the book suggests how we can rethink our practices and perceptions about books we think we know.


The photocatalytic decomposition of water is believed to be able to help mitigate the crisis of fossil fuel depletion. However, the photocatalytic hydrogen production remains challenge to obtain high and stable photoconversion efficiency. Here we report an epitaxial hetero-structure of CdSe/TiO2 nanotube arrays as efficient photo-anodes via simple room-temperature, low-cost electrochemical deposition. With the help of the similar d spacing with TiO2, CdSe sensitization layer is epitaxially grown on the tube wall of the TiO2 nanotubes, resulting in an ideal coherent grain boundary and single crystal growth. The resultant photo-anode produces 30% more photocurrent than those samples without coherent grain boundary. Notably, the especial epitaxial hetero-structure is beneficial to decrease the recombination site and accelerate the separation of photogenerated electron-hole pairs. Furthermore, an ultrathin PEDOT surface layer was developed on the epitaxial hetero-structure of CdSe/TiO2 nano-tube arrays in which it functions as both a physical passivation barrier and a hole transfer layer. As a result, significantly enhanced photocurrent density and substantially better stability have been achieved. This methodology may be providing a new pathway of epitaxial growth for preparing the heterogeneous junction materials which have similar d spacing.


The focus of this study was on the impact of including guided inquiry activities in a 9 grade introductory physics class. Specific focus was paid to measuring the effect on student engagement, interest, and content mastery. It was also of interest whether the inquiry activities were more effective when implemented before or after direct instruction of the content. The research covered three units of study. During the Pre-treatment unit on Newton's 3 Law and Momentum, students did not receive any special treatment, but rather experienced my traditional style of teaching with lectures, note taking, a few standard lab type activities, and short video supplements. In each of the next two units, the first on Work, Power, and the Conservation of Energy and the second on Heat and Heat Transfer, students were introduced to guided inquiry activities. The students were split into two research groups. In the first of the treatment units, group A received direct instruction first and group B experienced the inquiry activities prior to direct instruction. In the second of the treatment units, the two groups' experiences were switched. Data from class surveys, preand posttests, and a mock assessment with a standardized test agreed that overall not only did students prefer the inquiry activities to the previous class structure, their understanding of the physics content was also increased. Students were more engaged while conducting inquiry activities and actually requested to do more of these types of activities. Furthermore, it was found that the inquiry activities were more effective when they followed a period of direct instruction rather than being used to introduce a topic.


BACKGROUND
Measures of social context, such as marriage and religious participation, are associated with remission from alcohol use disorders (AUDs) in population-based and treatment samples, but whether these associations hold among individuals at high familial risk for AUD is unknown. This study tests associations of measures of social context and treatment with different types of remission from DSM-5 AUD in a high-risk sample.

METHODS
Subjects were 686 relatives of probands (85.7% first-degree) who participated in a high-risk family study of alcohol dependence. All subjects met criteria for AUD at baseline and were re-interviewed 5 years later. Follow-up status was categorized as persistent AUD, high-risk drinking, remitted low-risk drinking, and abstinence. Social context measures were defined as stable or changing from baseline to follow-up, and their bivariate and multivariate associations with follow-up status were tested.

RESULTS
At follow-up, 62.8% of subjects had persistent AUD, 6.4% were high-risk drinkers, 22.2% were remitted low-risk drinkers, and 8.6% were abstinent. Birth of first child during the interval was the only measure of social context associated with remitted low-risk drinking and was significant for women only. Abstinent remission was characterized by being stably separated or divorced for women, new marriage for both sexes, experiencing low levels of family support and high levels of friend support, and receiving treatment. High-risk drinkers were more likely than individuals with persistent AUD to have a stable number of children and to have been recently unemployed.

CONCLUSIONS
The social contexts accompanying different types of remission in this high-risk sample resemble those found in population-based and clinical samples. Low-risk drinkers resemble natural remitters from population-based samples who change their drinking habits with life transitions. Abstainers resemble clinical samples in marital context, support from friends, and treatment. High-risk drinkers appear to continue to experience negative consequences of heavy drinking.


In the past decade, indicators have been created to assess the sustainability performance of companies listed in stock exchange markets. Academics and practitioners expect companies to benefit from being listed in such indexes, but evidence of value creation is still scarce. Since virtually all studies about the Corporate Sustainability Index (ISE) of the Sao Paulo Stock Exchange (Brazil) - the object of the present study - focused on the value of shares, we initially looked for answers in the finance theory. We collected secondary data about the financial and economic performance of companies forming the ISE's 'theoretical portfolio', as these kinds of indexes are also known. In a second stage, we sought additional motivations for companies to make efforts to be listed in the index. We collected additional data and interviewed representatives of key companies listed in the ISE, as well as industry leaders who chose not to participate in the selection process. The results support the main propositions of the institutional theory, as well as the 'pays to be green' literature - that the intangible value created by voluntary environmental initiatives, such as access to knowledge, new capabilities and reputational gain, better explain the efforts companies make to be listed in the ISE index.


The question about accuracy and consistency in valuation practice has been subject of interest to the academicians, professionals and users of valuations not only in Nigeria or developing countries alone but also in the developed countries of the world such as UK, USA, Canada and Australia. Property valuation is the core of Estate Surveying and Valuation profession. Thus its accuracy and/or reliability is critical to the valuers, their clients and the stakeholders of valuation in general. Earlier studies have confirmed the existence of inaccuracy and inconsistency of valuations in these countries including Nigeria. However, there has not been much study into the factors contributing into inaccuracy and variance in the valuation estimates by the Nigerian valuers. Hence, this study aims at examining the causes of inaccuracy and variance in the country's valuation practice. To achieve the objective of the study, the use of survey method in conjunction with personal interviews with some members of the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers in practice and academic institutions in some universities and polytechnics Lagos metropolis were used for the purpose gathering data for the study. The data collected were analyzed with the aid of simple statistical tools. The findings revealed divergent causes of valuation inaccuracy and variance ranging from dearth of market data to lack of adequate training and experience on the part of the valuers and many more. The paper concluded by recommending the establishment of functional property data bank and promotion of the use of valuation standards by the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers and Estate Surveyors and Valuers Registration Board of Nigeria the bodies responsible for the regulation of valuation practice in Nigeria.


A range-resolved DIAL (differential absorption lidar) system with heterodyne detection has been developed. A hybrid TEA CO2 laser was employed as the transmitter oscillator, which emitted single-frequency pulses of 140 mJ. The heterodyne receiver, which had a minimum detectable power of 2 × 10−11 W, could detect the echo signals backscattered from atmospheric aerosols at a 5-km or greater range. The system sensitivity to the target gas, defined as the product of the minimum detectable concentration and the difference in the absorption coefficients, was experimentally found to be 3.7 × 10−4 m−1 for a range resolution of 300 m after averaging over fifty backscattered signals.


The intellectual connection between James Baldwin and Lionel Trilling, and the resonances across their criticism, are more substantial than scholarly and biographical treatments have disclosed. For Trilling, Baldwin's writings were notable for their deviation from most humanistic inquiry, which he considered insufficiently alert to the harms and depredations of culture. Baldwin's work became for Trilling a promising indication that American criticism could be remade along the lines of a tragic conception of culture deriving from Freud. This essay concentrates on a relevant but neglected dynamic in American letters—the mid-twentieth-century tension between Freudian thought and American humanistic inquiry evident in fields like American Studies—to explain the intellectual coordinates within which Trilling developed an affinity for Baldwin's work. The essay concludes by suggesting that the twilight of Freud's tragic conception of culture, which figured centrally in the modernist critical environment in which Baldwin and Trilling encountered one another, contributed to an estrangement whereby the two came to be seen as unrelated and different kinds of critics, despite the consonance of their critical idioms during the 1940s and 1950s.


PURPOSE
To evaluate the use of the CyberKnife delivery platform and Multiplan treatment planning system (TPS) to achieve acceptable target coverage and normal tissue sparing for dose escalation when treating the involved hemi-larynx and at risk paraglottic space for early-stage laryngeal cancer.

METHODS
Specialized anthropomorphic phantoms containing a hollow larynx were constructed based upon patient CT images with earlystage glottic cancer. Contours of the hemi-larynx clinical target volume (CTV) as well as the thyroid gland, arytenoids, contralateral vocal cord, and anterior commissure were created in the Multiplan TPS. Treatment plans were created using the ray-tracing algorithm and were re-calculated using the Monte Carlo algorithm. Radiochromic EBT2 film was sandwiched in the phantom at the level of the vocal cords to determine the dose delivered to the target and critical structures. Phantoms were irradiated with multiple fractionation schemes including 50 Gy in 15 fractions, 45 Gy in 10 fractions, and 42.5 Gy in 5 fractions using 6 MV photons. Film dose distributions were compared with that predicted by the TPS.

RESULTS
For plans generated using the Monte Carlo algorithm, greater than 95% PTV coverage by the prescription dose was achieved with conformality indices ranging from 1.4 to 1.5. Mean dose to the contralateral vocal cord and arytenoids was less than 40% and 25% of the prescription dose, respectively. A gamma passing rate of 90% was seen using a 3%/3mm criteria when comparing the Monte Carlo algorithm with film, while a 79% passing rate was seen when comparing the ray-tracing algorithm with film.

CONCLUSION
Adequate dose delivery with significant sparing of uninvolved normal tissue is feasible and practical with CyberKnife radiotherapy when using the Monte Carlo dose calculation algorithm. This technique has the potential to allow hypofractionation for the purpose of improving local control, voice quality outcome, and patient convenience.


It seems as if everyone is writing applications for Apples iPhone and iPad, but how do they all do it? Its best to learn Objective-C, the native language of both the iOSand Mac OS X, but where to begin? Right here, even if youve never programmed before! Objective-C for Absolute Beginners will teach you how to write software for your Mac, iPhone,or iPad using Objective-C, an elegant and powerful language with a rich set of developer tools. Using a hands-on approach, youll learn to think in programming terms, how to use Objective-C to build program logic, and how towrite your own applications and apps. With over 50 collective years in software development and based on an approach pioneered at Carnegie Mellon University, the authors have developed a remarkably effective approach to learning Objective-C. Since the introduction of Apples iPhone, theauthors have taught hundreds of absolute beginners how to develop Mac, iPhone,and iPad apps, including many that became popular apps in the iTunes App Store. What youll learn The fundamentals of computer programming: how to understand variables,design data structures, and work with file systems The logic of object-oriented programming: how to use Classes, Objects, and Methods The flexibility of Apples developer tools: how to install Xcode and write programs in Objective-C The power of Cocoa and Cocoa touch: how to make Mac OS Xapplications or iOS apps that do cool stuff Who this book is for Everyone! This book is for anyone who wants to learn to develop applications for the Mac or apps for the iPhone and iPad using the Objective-C programming language. No previous programming experience is necessary.


Research has shown there are notable barriers to calling 9-1-1 during accidental overdose emergencies. Overdose is a significant health and social justice concern, yet Canadian researchers have not explored the existence or prevalence of these systemic obstacles. The current case study examines the barriers to calling 9-1-1 that people face in Southern Ontario when confronted with accidental overdose incidents. The locality of this study is particularly suitable as Wellington County, that is, Waterloo Region and Guelph are socio-demographically similar to Ontario and Canada. Barriers were assessed by surveying individuals that have or currently use drugs (n=291) and are clients of local methadone clinics or outreach services. Data were explored using frequency tables and then compared using crosstabulations. The findings of this case study suggest there are multiple barriers to calling 9-1-1 during accidental drug overdoses. Similar to previous studies, the most common barriers cited were fear of being arrested (53%), breaching probation or parole (30%), and fear of losing custody of children (24%). Lowering the barriers to calling 9-1-1 may help to forge the path necessary to improved health care and access to resources. Ultimately, and most importantly, lives may be saved.


Long-term mallard capture—recapture data from Sweden and Finland were analyzed to describe temporal mortality patterns and reasons. We used program MARK and Seber models to estimate annual survival (S) and recovery (r) rates. Survival rates were used in a Monte Carlo simulation to evaluate the correspondence between observed and predicted annual population sizes of a Finnish sub-population. About 90% of recovered birds died from hunting. Most recoveries were from the hunting season, and more males than females were shot. Predation was the most common cause of natural mortality. Finnish capture—recapture data fitted best the global model in which survival and recovery vary with age and sex. Annual survival and recovery rates for adult and juvenile males and females were overlapping, ranging from 0.46 to 0.90 (survival) and 0.07 to 0.17 (recovery), whereas pulli had lower survival rates (0.21–0.42). Pulli that were successfully sexed at the time of ringing had higher recovery rates (female pulli: 0.23; male pulli: 0.32) than juveniles and adults. Density-dependent fledgling production was detected in the Finnish sub-population and was accounted for in the Monte Carlo simulation, which estimated predicted breeding population size quite well, although one of the observed annual values (2003) fell outside the 95% confidence limits.


Abstract. The surrounding landscape of a stream has crucial impacts on the aquatic environment. This study pictures the hydro-biogeochemical situation of the Tyrebaekken creek catchment in central Jutland, Denmark. The intensively managed agricultural landscape is dominated by rotational croplands. The small catchment mainly consist of sandy soil types besides organic soils along the streams. The aim of the study was to characterise the relative influence of soil type and land use on stream water quality. Nine snapshot sampling campaigns were undertaken during the growing season of 2009. Total dissolved nitrogen (TDN), nitrate (NO3−), ammonium nitrogen and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations were measured, and dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) was calculated for each grabbed sample. Electrical conductivity, pH and flow velocity were measured during sampling. Statistical analyses showed significant differences between the northern, southern and converged stream parts, especially for NO3− concentrations with average values between 1.4 mg N l−1 and 9.6 mg N l−1. Furthermore, throughout the sampling period DON concentrations increased to 2.8 mg N l−1 in the northern stream contributing up to 81% to TDN. Multiple-linear regression analyses performed between chemical data and landscape characteristics showed a significant negative influence of organic soils on instream N concentrations and corresponding losses in spite of their overall minor share of the agricultural land (12.9%). On the other hand, organic soil frequency was positively correlated to the corresponding DOC concentrations. Croplands also had a significant influence but with weaker correlations. For our case study we conclude that the fractions of coarse textured and organic soils have a major influence on N and DOC export in this intensively used landscape. Meanwhile, the contribution of DON to the total N losses was substantial.


Many countries are shifting their efforts from malaria control to disease elimination. New technologies will be necessary to meet the more stringent demands of elimination campaigns, including improved quality control of malaria diagnostic tests, as well as an improved means for communicating test results among field healthcare workers, test manufacturers, and national ministries of health. In this report, we describe and evaluate an embedded barcode within standard rapid diagnostic tests as one potential solution. This information-augmented diagnostic test operates on the familiar principles of traditional lateral flow assays and simply replaces the control line with a control grid patterned in the shape of a QR (quick response) code. After the test is processed, the QR code appears on both positive or negative tests. In this report we demonstrate how this multipurpose code can be used not only to fulfill the control line role of test validation, but also to embed test manufacturing details, serve as a trigger for image capture, enable registration for image analysis, and correct for lighting effects. An accompanying mobile phone application automatically captures an image of the test when the QR code is recognized, decodes the QR code, performs image processing to determine the concentration of the malarial biomarker histidine-rich protein 2 at the test line, and transmits the test results and QR code payload to a secure web portal. This approach blends automated, sub-nanomolar biomarker detection, with near real-time reporting to provide quality assurance data that will help to achieve malaria elimination.


The proposed introduction of bio-energy species for large-scale planting and biofuel production can help reduce net greenhouse gas emissions. Jatropha curcas has attracted international and local interest as a drought tolerant, fast growing, bio-energy crop. Other advantages attributed to this species are that it tolerates marginal soils and is unpalatable to livestock, reputedly making it suitable for restoration of degraded land. The South African government has received numerous requests for permission to plant Jatropha, but the impacts on hydrology, food security, poverty relief and biodiversity conservation are currently unknown. These uncertainties require clarification through a combination of process-based field measurements and modelling exercises.


Contamination with bacterial endotoxin causes the disruption of the tight junction (TJ) barrier. We investigated the ameliorative effect of dietary flavonoids genistein (Ge) and daidzein (Di) in normal or lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced disruption of epithelial barrier function of the endometrium. Using the immortalized porcine glandular endometrial epithelial cells (PEG), transepithelial electrical resistance (TER) and FITC-dextran flux (FD-4) across the monolayer were measured. The mRNA expression of TJ proteins, zona occludens-1 (ZO1), and claudin-1, -3, -4, -7 and -8 was evaluated by real-time RT-PCR for coinciding effect of Ge or Di occurred at the gene transcription level. The results revealed that Ge and Di altered the TER, depending on times and concentrations. Low concentration (10(-10) M) of both compounds decreased the TER, whereas higher concentrations (10(-8) and 10(-6) M) increased the TER which was not related to the FD-4 flux. The increased TER by Ge or Di was parallel to the induction of claudin-3 and -4 or -8 mRNA expression respectively. With LPS inoculation, all isoflavone treatments inhibited the decreased TER induced by LPS, but only Ge (10(-8) or 10(-6) M) or Di (10(-10) or 10(-6) M) was coincidence with the decreased FD-4 flux. Under this LPS-stimulated condition, some or all examined TJ gene expressions appeared to be promoted by specific concentration of Ge or Di respectively. Our findings suggest that the soy isoflavones treatment could promote and restore the impaired endometrial barrier function caused by LPS contamination.


Modeling Biomolecular Networks in Cells shows how the interaction between the molecular components of basic living organisms can be modelled mathematically and the models used to create artificial biological entities within cells. Such forward engineering is a difficult task but the nonlinear dynamical methods espoused in this book simplify the biology so that it can be successfully understood and the synthesis of simple biological oscillators and rhythm-generators made feasible. Such simple units can then be co-ordinated using intercellular signal biomolecules. The formation of such man-made multicellular networks with a view to the production of biosensors, logic gates, new forms of integrated circuitry based on "gene-chips" and even biological computers is an important step in the design of faster and more flexible "electronics". The book also provides theoretical frameworks and tools with which to analyze the nonlinear dynamical phenomena which arise from the connection of building units in a biomolecular network.


Drug-related morbidity and mortality is rampant in contemporary industrial society, despite or perhaps because, government has assumed a critical role in the process by which drugs are developed and approved. Parrish asserts that, as a people, Americans need to understand how it is that government became the arbiter of pharmaceutical fact. The consequences of our failure to understand, he argues, may threaten individual choice and forestall the development of responsible therapeutics. Moreover, if current standards and control continues unabated, the next therapeutic reformation might well make possible the sanctioned commercial exploitation of patients. In Defining Drugs, Parrish argues that the federal government became arbiter of pharmaceutical fact because the professions of pharmacy and medicine, as well as the pharmaceutical industry, could enforce these definitions and standards only through police powers reserved to government. Parrish begins his provocative study by examining the development of the social system for regulating drug therapy in the United States. He reviews the standards that were negotiated, and the tensions of the period between Progressivism and the New Deal that gave cultural context and historical meaning to drug use in American society. Parrish describes issues related to the development of narcotics policy through education and legislation facilitated by James Beal and Edward Kremers, and documents the federal government's evolving role as arbiter of market tensions between pharmaceutical producers, government officials, and private citizens in professional groups, illustrating the influence of government in writing enforceable standards for pharmaceutical therapies. He shows how the expansion of political rights for practitioners and producers has shifted responsibility for therapeutic consequences from individual practitioners and patients to government. This timely and controversial volume is written for the scholar and the compassionate practitioner alike, and a general public concerned with pharmacy regulation in a free society.


Abstra c t SBA-15 was functionalized with amine (–NH2) and 3-methoxy salicylaldehyde (3-MS) to form a mesoporous silica with Schiff base modified surface (3-MS–SBA-15). The materials were characterized and analyzed by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Nitrogen adsorption-desorption (BET), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectroscopy. The removal of Cu(II) and Cr(VI) metal ions onto 3-MS-SBA-15 was then studied from their aqueous solutions in order to investigate and optimize the effect of contact time, solution pH, adsorbent dose and temperature in batch system. The equilibrium data were analyzed using the Tempkin, DubininRadashkovich, Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms. Freundlich and Langmuir isotherms were well fitted for Cu(II) and Cr(VI) adsorption process, respectively. The kinetics analyses showed that the total adsorption process was completely fitted with the pseudo-second-order kinetics model. The adsorption depended strongly on temperature, as the adsorption capacity decreased for Cu(II) while increased for Cr(VI) by increasing the temperature of the system, indicating the exothermic and spontaneous nature for Cu(II) and the endothermic and spontaneous nature for Cr(VI).


We assessed whether levels of renal reactive oxygen species (ROS) and antioxidant enzymes are perturbed in rats following unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO). The mechanism of catalase perturbation was investigated using proximal tubule suspensions following stimulation with transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta and interleukin (IL)-1 and in a proximal tubular cell line (OKC) subjected to cyclic mechanical stretch, which mimics the early hydrodynamic derangement after UUO. Levels of catalase and copperzinc superoxide dismutase (Cu,Zn-SOD) mRNA from 96-h UUO rats showed a 5.5-fold (P < 0.001) and 5.0-fold (P < 0.001) decrease, respectively, compared with the contralateral unobstructed kidney (CUK). Levels of superoxide anion and hydrogen peroxide showed a significant 1.8-fold (P < 0.0001) and 14.0-fold (P < 0.0001) increase, respectively, in 96-h UUO kidney slice cultures. In situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry showed Cu,Zn-SOD and catalase mRNA and protein transcription expressed in proximal tubules of UUO and CUK specimens. Catalase mRNA levels were markedly downregulated following a 1-h exposure of isolated proximal tubules to TGF-beta (0.1-10 ng) and IL-1 (1-5 ng), in comparison to control proximal tubular suspensions. OKC subjected to cyclic mechanical stretch for 1-24 h had marked decrements in catalase mRNA levels, compared with unstretched cells at the same time point. These results indicate that a primary downregulation of proximal tubular Cu,Zn-SOD and catalase expression develops in the proximal tubules of UUO with consequent increments in cortical oxidant levels. These findings suggest that either an early mechanical disturbance produced by UUO or local tubular generation of cytokines can reduce tubular catalase expression. The downregulation of catalase mRNA expression, together with increased oxidant stress in the rat renal cortex post-UUO, may amplify the proinflammatory state of experimental hydronephrosis culminating in tubulointerstitial injury and fibrosis.


"Tiege was at one and the same time both an agent provocateur and seismograph, at once provoking action and debate and yet simultaneously reacting with the utmost sensitivity to the shifting political spectrum of his time." -- from the introduction by Kenneth Frampton Karel Teige (1900--1951), a leading figure of the avant-garde of the 1920s and 1930s, participated in every important argument and controversy of those turbulent years. He edited the most influential avant-garde journals on Czech and international cultural affairs and wrote profoundly original essays and books on the theory and criticism of art and architecture. He also produced paintings, collages, photomontages, film scripts, book covers, and typefaces and participated in theatrical performances. When the Communists took over Czechoslovakia in 1948, Teige was first hailed as a progressive, then denounced for not toeing the party line -- even though he was never a card-carrying member of the Communist Party. He died a broken man, forbidden to speak out or to publish. Since the recovery of his work after the "velvet revolution" of 1989, his legacy has been revived not only in Prague, but also in Western Europe and the United States. Teige firmly believed in an ars una, free of the artificial separation of one branch of the arts from the other. The concept of ars una is reflected in the essays of this book, which provide intellectual riches without overly compartmentalized attempts at "academic" criticism. Because the only significant writing by Teige to appear so far in English is his well-known argument with Le Corbusier, the "Mundaneum Affair," four essays by Teige have been included. Contributors:Polana Bregantova, Lenka Bydzovska, Rumjana Daceva, Eric Dluhosch, Vojtech Lahoda, Miroslav Petricek, Jr., Klaus Spechtenhauser, Karel Srp, Rostislav Svacha, Daniel Weiss. Published with the assistance of the Getty Grant Program.