The 2010 annual report of the US State Department on Human Rights reported a rising bias towards Muslims in Europe (US State Department, 2010) while France, Germany, Belgium and Switzerland enact laws restricting religious dress and/or mosques. Despite this bias, Gallup reports that 77% of UK Muslims identify with their country versus only 50% of the general public (BBC News, 2009). North American Muslims face similar challenges. US news reports of mosque building or expansion draw vocal opposition like that expressed about an Islamic Cultural Center opened near Ground Zero in New York City. US reality series All American Muslim lasted one season due to vocal opposition and a loss of sponsors. In Canada, the sitcom Little Mosque on the Prairie has gained an online following because it dramatizes the challenges and biases faced by Muslims in a small Canadian Prairie town. Faced with increasing bias and imperfect representations in the mainstream media Muslims are increasingly using social networks to build community and to regain control of representing their faith and their lives.


The Brassington Formation is the most extensive Miocene sedimentary succession onshore in the UK. Because of its unique position at the margin of NW Europe, the pollen from this lithostratigraphical unit provides evidence on the development of vegetation affected by North Atlantic currents and hypothesized atmospheric circulation changes during the Middle to Late Miocene climate cooling. Palynostratigraphy suggests that the uppermost Kenslow Member of the Brassington Formation is not coeval. Previously, all occurrences of the Kenslow Member were assumed to be contemporary. The oldest pollen assemblage is from the more southern Bees Nest Pit, which represents a subtropical conifer-dominated forest of late Serravallian age (c. 12 Ma). A younger assemblage was observed from the more northern Kenslow Top Pit; this indicates that a subtropical mixed forest was present during the early Tortonian (11.6–9 Ma). The shift from a conifer-dominated to a mixed forest was related to precipitation. Although the total precipitation did not change between the two assemblages, the younger assemblage had more uniform rainfall throughout the year. The diachronous nature of the Kenslow Member means that the depositional model of the Brassington Formation needs revising, and this will have implications for Neogene to recent uplift of the southern Pennines. Supplementary material: All valid formally defined palynomorph taxa below the generic level that are mentioned in this paper, with full author citations, are available at http://www.geolsoc.org.uk/SUP18889.


The Social Web, or Web 2.0, has recently gained popularity because of its low cost and ease of use. Social tagging sites (e.g. Flickr and YouTube) offer new principles for endusers to publish and classify their content (data). Tagging systems contain free-keywords (tags) generated by end-users to annotate and categorise data. Lack of semantics is the main drawback in social tagging due to the use of unstructured vocabulary. Therefore, tagging systems suffer from shortcomings such as low precision, lack of collocation, synonymy, multilinguality, and use of shorthands. Consequently, relevant contents are not visible, and thus not retrievable while searching in tag-based systems. On the other hand, the Semantic Web, so-called Web 3.0, provides a rich semantic infrastructure. Ontologies are the key enabling technology for the Semantic Web. Ontologies can be integrated with the Social Web to overcome the lack of semantics in tagging systems. In the work presented in this thesis, we build an architecture to address a number of tagging systems drawbacks. In particular, we make use of the controlled vocabularies presented by ontologies to improve the information retrieval in tag-based systems. Based on the tags provided by the end-users, we introduce the idea of adding "system tags" from semantic, as well as social, resources. The "system tags" are comprehensive and wide-ranging in comparison with the limited "user tags". The system tags are used to fill the gap between the user tags and the search terms used for searching in the tag-based systems. We restricted the scope of our work to tackle the following tagging systems shortcomings: 1. The lack of semantic relations between user tags and search terms (e.g. synonymy, hypernymy), 2. The lack of translation mediums between user tags and search terms (multilinguality), 3. The lack of context to define the emergent shorthand writing user tags. To address the first shortcoming, we use the WordNet ontology as a semantic lingual resource from where system tags are extracted. For the second shortcoming, we use the MultiWordNet ontology to recognise the cross-languages linkages between different languages. Finally, to address the third shortcoming, we use tag clusters that are obtained from the Social Web to create a context for defining the meaning of shorthand writing tags. A prototype for our architecture was implemented. In the prototype system, we built our own database to host videos that we imported from real tag-based system (YouTube). The user tags associated with these videos were also imported and stored in the database. For each user tag, our algorithm adds a number of system tags that came from either semantic ontologies (WordNet or MultiWordNet), or from tag clusters that are imported from the Flickr website. Therefore, each system tag added to annotate the imported videos has a relationship with one of the user tags on that video. The relationship might be one of the following: synonymy, hypernymy, similar term, related term, translation, or clustering relation. To evaluate the suitability of our proposed system tags, we developed an online environment where participants submit search terms and retrieve two groups of videos to be evaluated. Each group is produced from one distinct type of tags; user tags or system tags. The videos in the two groups are produced from the same database and are evaluated by the same participants in order to have a consistent and reliable evaluation. Since the user tags are used nowadays for searching the real tag-based systems, we consider its efficiency as a criterion (reference) to which we compare the efficiency of the new system tags. In order to compare the relevancy between the search terms and each group of retrieved videos, we carried out a statistical approach. According to Wilcoxon Signed-Rank test, there was no significant difference between using either system tags or user tags. The findings revealed that the use of the system tags in the search is as efficient as the use of the user tags; both types of tags produce different results, but at the same level of relevance to the submitted search terms.


In 1924 and 1925 the Comintern introduced its policy of Bolshevization. A goal of Bolshevization was the creation of mass-based communist parties. In settler societies this meant that the local communist party should aim to be demographically representative of the entire population. This article traces the efforts of the communist parties in Algeria and South Africa to indigenize, seeking to explain why their efforts had such diverse outcomes. It examines four variables: the patterns of working-class formation; the socialist tradition of each country; the relationship between the Comintern and the two communist parties; and the level of repression against communists in both societies. The cumulative weight of the variables in the Algerian case helps to explain why communist activity in the 1920s – including the communist party's ability to indigenize – was far more difficult in Algeria than South Africa.


Information redundancy exists in every aspect of our lives. In some cases, it is created in purpose to resist the possible failure under unreliable environments. For example, backing up important data, or the checksum of network packets; But in many other cases, information redundancy is created unconsciously. Same news could be heard from different friends, just like a same data packet could be received from different neighbors in a wireless network, or a same event could be sensed by different sensors in a mobile sensing application. As the opposite side of efficiency, unconscious redundancy has normally been considered as useless, or even harmful. In this work, we try to disprove the traditional argument in wireless environments, by showing that different wireless protocols/applications can be built on top of redundancy to improve network throughputs/enable interesting applications. The examples lie from PHY layers to application layer, and cross domains including both wireless networking and mobile computing.
At PHY/MAC layer, we observe that many collisions are caused by redundant transmissions. We argue that when one of the colliding packets is previously overheard, its interference can be canceled to decode the other packet. In other words, when a receiver overhears a packet, it becomes effectively immune to the interference caused by the packet's subsequent transmission. We refer to this as known interference cancellation (KIC). We identify the scenarios in which KIC is applicable, then implement KIC on USRP/GnuRadio testbed to demonstrate its feasibility and conduct QualNet simulations to illustrate its potential performance gain.
At MAC/network layer, wireless network coding has been shown to reduce the number of transmissions needed by exploiting the redundancy caused by the broadcast nature of the wireless medium. In our work, we first present IMIX, an intra-flow wireless network coding scheme which has the potential to save transmissions and therefore improve network throughput. We show that the coding gains with IMIX can be further improved by selecting routes with the awareness of overhearing opportunities. We then propose I2MIX that integrates inter- and intra-flow wireless network coding to extracts benefits from both. We validate I2MIX through Roofnet trace based evaluations and show that it can reduce the total number of transmissions.
At application layer, we envision TagSense, a mobile phone based auto-tagging system that can automatically sense and tag the people/activity/context in a picture, The main challenge pertains to discriminating phone users that are in the picture, from those that are not. We proposed method by exploiting the redundancy from different sensing domains. We prototype TagSense on 8 Android phones, and demonstrate its effectiveness through 200 pictures, taken in various social settings. While research in face recognition continues to improve image tagging capabilities, TagSense is an attempt to embrace additional dimensions of sensing towards this end goal.


Mobile devices contain more personal data such as GPS location, contacts and music, with which users can create innovative and pragmatic mashup applications for different areas such as social networking, E-commerce, and entertainment. We propose a semantic-based mobile mashup platform which enables users to create mashup applications by simply selecting service nodes, linking them together and configuring some connection parameters. Our platform also offers a recommendation mechanism on linkable services by adding semantic annotation to service description, so that users do not need to read specifications of web services in order to find out linkable ones. Therefore, users can focus more on the innovation and practicability of their mashup applications, which will surely result in the emergence of abundant mobile mashup applications.


Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text. Background: Chronic pain is a common postoperative complication in patients undergoing major surgery and may significantly affect their quality of life (QOL). Whether patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) can reduce the risk of chronic postsurgical pain and promote long-term QOL is still unclear. Methods: In this prospective cohort study, we followed up patients undergoing major surgery, recorded changes in their postoperative QOL over time using the World Health Organization Quality of Life-BREF (WHOQOL-BREF) questionnaire and chronic pain events, evaluated the long-term effects of distinct PCA techniques (intravenous, epidural, or none) on their QOL and risk of chronic pain, and explored relevant predictors. The patients' QOL and chronic pain events were collected preoperatively, 3, 6, and 12 months after surgery. Generalized linear mixed models were used to control for individual heterogeneity and adjust for potential confounding factors. Results: We included 328 patients undergoing major surgery from September 22, 2015, to December 31, 2016, in this study. Multivariate regression models showed that patients using intravenous PCA had a better QOL in physical health (adjusted coefficient 3.7, 95% CI, 0.5–8.0) compared with those receiving non-PCA treatments. Distinct PCA techniques did not significantly affect QOL in psychological, social relationship, or environmental domains of the WHOQOL-BREF scale or the risk of chronic postsurgical pain. Conclusion: Patients using intravenous PCA had a better QOL in physical health over time after major surgery, which may have been due to factors other than pain-relieving effects.


Manufacturing industries consume one third of the global electricity. Over 70 percent of the electric power is generated by burning fossil fuels, resulting in climate change and depletion of natural resources. This research aims to address two fundamental challenges pertaining to manufacturing sustainability. First, how to model, design and optimize a carbon-neutral production system with intermittent power? Secondly, is it technically feasible and economically variable to deploy a wind- and solar-based island microgrid to power a multi-stage flow shop system? A two-stage, mixed integer programming model is formulated to minimize levelized cost of energy. We jointly optimize renewable generation capacity and flow shop production schedule considering environmental and facility constraints. The proposed model is tested using 11-year wind and weather data with nearly one million meteorological records. The results show that carbon-neutral operation is feasible and affordable for large scale manufacturing facilities if the capacity factor of local wind and solar generation exceeds 0.3 and 0.4, respectively. Solar power and battery storage can compete with wind had their current installation cost is cut off by 50 percent. Compared with flat rate net metering, time-of-use tariff stimulates the adoption of solar and battery storage use.


OF THE THESIS DETERMINATION OF THE EXTRAVASCULAR BURDEN OF CARBON MONOXIDE (CO) ON HUMAN HEART Noninvasive measurements of myocardial carboxymyoglobin levels (%MbCO) and oxygen tensions (PtO2) are difficult to obtain experimentally. We have developed a compartmental model which allows prediction of myocardial %MbCO levels and PtO2 for varied carbon monoxide (CO) exposures. The cardiac compartment in the model consists of vascular subcompartments which contain two tissue subcompartments varying in capillary density. Mass-balance equations for oxygen (O2) and CO are applied for all compartments. Myocardial oxygen consumption and blood flow are quantified from predictive formulas based on heart rate. Model predictions are validated with experimental data at normoxia, hypoxia, exercise and hyperoxia. CO exposures of varying concentration and time (short-high, long-low), CO rebreathing during 100% O2, and exposure during exercise is simulated. Results of the simulations demonstrate that during CO exposures and subsequent therapies, the temporal changes of %MbCO in the heart differ from those of carboxyhemoglobin levels (%HbCO). Analysis of correlation between %HbCO, %MbCO and PtO2 was done to understand myocardial injury due to CO hypoxia. This thesis demonstrates that the model is able to anticipate the uptake and distribution of CO in the human myocardium and thus can be used to estimate the extravascular burden (MbCO, PtO2 ) of CO on the human heart.


We present a low-temperature-grown GaAs device that combines the features of mode locking and photoconductive switching. The mode-locking mechanism is based on intensity-dependent defocusing. Additionally, the generated carriers produce an electrical signal in the biased switch geometry. This technique allows for simultaneous generation of synchronized optical and electrical pulse trains with a single device.


Optical nanoantennas have been studied as a means to manipulate nanoscale fields, local field enhancements, radiative rates, and emissive directional control. However, a fundamental function of antennas, the transfer of power between a coupled load and far-field radiation, has seen limited development in optical antennas owing largely to the inherent challenges of extracting impedance parameters from fabricated designs. As the transitional element between radiating fields and loads, the impedance is the requisite information for describing, and designing optimally, both emissive (transmitting) and absorptive (receiving) nanoantennas. Here we present the first measurement of an optical nanoantenna input impedance, demonstrating impedance multiplication in folded dipoles at infrared frequencies. This quantification of optical antenna impedance provides the long sought enabling step for a systematic approach to improve collection efficiencies and control of the overall antenna response.


The presence of red paint on the surfaces of some travertine and Lapis Albanus blocks has rarely been noticed and never investigated. Yet it deserves consideration since it preserves evidence of an unknown building technique that involved the use of red ocher and binders such as burnt gypsum, which was employed in the city of Rome from the late first to early third centuries C.E. I present evidence for the presence of red-painted blocks in Rome and investigate the composition of the red paint. I also comment on what has previously been reported about the subject and argue that the function of the red layer was to certify that the architect and/or the contractor had approved the painted surfaces.


Traffic merge on express-ways creates bottlenecks for traffic flow that potentially lead to traffic jams, especially in dense traffic. Cooperative speed harmonization (CSH), where vehicles are grouped and associated to virtual speed waves for group-wise joining at intersections, is proven to be efficient for on-ramp traffic merge. Based on CSH and considering variations of traffic density from joining roads, an adaptive wavelength adjustment (AWLA) mechanism is proposed in this paper. AWLA extends CSH by dynamically adjusting the length of segments in virtual waves according to the traffic densities of the joining roads. Therefore, roads with denser traffic may have larger segments to carry more vehicles through the intersection, which may improve the overall performance. Simulation results have shown that AWLA can achieve lower CO2 emissions and shorter travel time compared to CSH with static segment settings.


To have knowledge about the acceptability of Intelligent Transport systems (ITS) is most beneficial for the development of supported implementation strategies. So far, different theories and methods, also stemming from other domains, have been used to define and conceptualize the notion of acceptability. In a previous paper, we developed a theoretical concept to define acceptability of ISA based on different theories and methods used in ITS & ISA research. In the current paper we aim to find out which predefined indicators are relevant to define the acceptability of ISA. Background factors, contextual issues and ISA-device related factors are used as indicators to predict the level of acceptability. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) is used to define the direct and indirect effects.


The occurrence of thermally driven convective air flow within waste rock or natural soil profiles has been well established; however, the potential impact that convective air flow may have on water storage within reclamation soil covers has not been previously explored. We conducted a numerical modeling study to evaluate the effect that convective air flow may have on stored water within a soil reclamation cover placed over a coke stockpile at an oil sands mine in Alberta, Canada. Coke is a carbon, sand‐like byproduct of heavy oil processing. Two‐dimensional simulations of thermally driven convective air flow were conducted for two different field sites based on available field data. The elevated temperature within the coke stockpile resulted in the development of strong convective air flow cells that drew in drier atmospheric air over the lower slope positions while releasing it across the upper slope and plateau areas of the cover. The magnitude of the gas flux and the intensity of the convection within the cell were a function of the air permeability of the coke and cover material, the depth of the coke, and the slope of the stockpile. It was estimated that convective air movement through the cover could produce as much as 1 to 2 mm/d of enhanced drying of the cover in lower slope positions. Field observations of water content distributions within the cover provided corroboration that the cover has undergone enhanced drying at lower slope positions.


Groundsel (Senecio vulgaris), healthy or infected with rust, Puccinia lagenophorae, was grown at a range of nutrient concentrations in sand culture. Specific absorption rates calculated on the basis of root dry weight (SARW) were greater in rusted than control groundsel for nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus. While the magnitudes of these stimulations varied, they occurred across the whole range of nutrient concentrations. By contrast, specific absorption rate on the basis of root length (SARL) were little changed by rust at any external nutrient concentration; SARL for phosphate and potassium were slightly reduced when nutrients were freely available. Water flux per unit dry root weight and length was stimulated by rust because transpiration per unit leaf area was more rapid in infected plants after fungal sporulation. However, water-flux and the rate of uptake of nutrients were correlated only when expressed on the basis of root weight and increased transpiration did not appear to be the mechanism underlying increased root activity. Rather, increased SARW for N, P and K could very largely be attributed to increased shoot demand per unit root, which resulted from the higher shoot: root (S: R) ratios of infected individuals. Changes in S: R accounted for 92, 81 and 57% of total variation in SARW for K, P and N respectively. Greater values for SARW were possible because specific root length (SRL) increased, producing more functional root per unit root weight. The lack of stimulation in SARL in response to rust could be explained since the higher SRL of infected plants resulted in stable values of shoot weight per unit root length, i.e. shoot demand was not increased by infection on this basis.


The consolidation of political authority over Southern Sudan has never been achieved, nor has the region ever experienced a comprehensive, uniform system of governance. No one political group, external or internal, has ever been able to present itself as the legitimate representative of the populace of Southern Sudan. These, however, were the objectives which the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) sought to achieve from 2005 to 2010. The main contention of this thesis is that the success or failures of the SPLM at post-conflict state-building can be measured through the conceptual framework of legitimacy. As a rebel movement, the SPLM fought a war of liberation against the government of Sudan from 1983 to 2004. Yet, the SPLM was not fighting for the secession of the South, as its predecessor had, but for the liberation of the country and for the creation of a 'New Sudan' where all the politically marginalised groups of Sudan would be political equals. The movement based its rationale on a 'revolutionary ideology', but this form of ideological legitimation was insufficient to gain Southern-wide support for its cause. The movement failed to establish rebel governance structures, was accused of abuses against the local population, and generally looked to external actors for support. Yet, through a peace agreement largely propelled forward by the United States, the SPLM 'won' the war and was tasked with constructing a semi-autonomous state in Southern Sudan. The successes or failures of the SPLM in developing the Government of Southern Sudan were largely dependent on its ability to create effective institutions and consolidate legitimacy. In order to accomplish this, the SPLM would have to shed its militaristic ethos and revolutionary ideology and thereby enable it to govern not as a rebel movement but as a political party. This, however, did not take place. The new Southern Government, which was supposed to be developed along the lines of a decentralised system of governance, remained centralised. The state and county governance institutions did not undergo the necessary capacity-building and were, subsequently, not able to provide for the security, development or welfare of the Southern populace. Thus, the government failed to consolidate eudaemonic legitimacy. In light of this shortcoming, government officials and the SPLM leadership promoted civic and revolutionary ideology as means to consolidate support. While ideological legitimation was successful to a certain extent, the majority of the Southern populace was illiterate and living in poverty; concepts such as democracy, civic responsibility or SPLM successes during in the peace process were not as appealing as the provision of basic services and development. Thus, the inability of the government to provide for the needs of the citizens jeopardised the attempts at ideological legitimation. As long as the government remained centralised and paralysed in providing for the welfare of the Southerners, it was unable to be considered as the true representative of the populace.


[Extract] Remote destinations are fundamentally constrained by a lack of infrastructure and mass transport access, a lack of critical mass, and physical isolation from both markets and business partners (Hall and Boyd 2005). In Australia, changing consumer trends in the marketplace have further disadvantaged remote tourism destinations. Organised coach tourism, which used to dominate tourism activity in 'Outback' destinations throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, has experienced a decline over the past decade (Carson and Taylor 2009). As a result, these destinations find themselves increasingly more dependent on independent drive tourism markets. The
former dependence on coach tourism has created an extensive homogenisation and a clustering of tourism products in and around a limited number of tourist centres. While this was a viable strategy when coaches brought large numbers of tourists on regular and geographically constrained
schedules, the resultant approaches to product development, marketing and management are less well suited to drive tourists, who travel in smaller groups, are more geographically dispersed and seek experiences beyond
scenery and icon attractions. Managing a successful transition from coach- to car-based markets requires innovative approaches to product development and marketing.
The need for innovation has been described as critical to stimulate tourism in peripheral or remote regions (Carson and Taylor 2008; Sharpley 2002; Hohl and Tisdell 1995). Having the capacity to innovate allows the industry
and the destination to adapt quickly to changing circumstances and to take advantage of new opportunities (Jacobsen 2005). An increasing body of literature suggests that one of the most effective ways to create innovations
is by operating as a 'system of innovation' in which individual businesses, public organisations and institutions interact and influence each other (Iammarino 2005; Edquist 1997). How the mechanics of such 'systems of
innovation' operate in the context of remote tourism destinations is still unclear. Due to their spatial and structural disadvantages, remote regions will understandably face more challenges and barriers to the development of successful innovation systems than urban or semi-urban regions (Doloreux and Dionne 2008). The diversity of the self-drive markets adds an additional
layer of complexity that has not been considered in the literature to date. This chapter looks at the case of the Flinders Ranges, a relatively remote destination in South Australia that has experienced a strong decline in coach tourism and now has over 80 per cent of its market as self-drive tourists (South Australian Tourism Commission 2008). It analyses how the various components of successful 'systems of innovation' in tourism (Carson and Macbeth 2005) operate in a remote tourism destination and how this
has influenced the destination's capacity to manage the transition from coach to self-drive tourism markets. After highlighting major issues in the Flinders Ranges, the chapter reflects on recent trends in self-drive tourism
in remote regions and discusses the challenges associated with managing market transition. It will provide a brief review of 'systems of innovation' approaches, examining the individual components of the systems framework used in this study. The main part of the chapter will analyse the Flinders Ranges tourism system using Carson and Macbeth's 'systems of innovation' framework for regional tourism (Carson and Macbeth 2005) and finally outline the challenges and opportunities the destination faces as it seeks to manage successful market transition.


Energy efficient routing and power control techniques in wireless ad hoc networks have drawn considerable research interests recently. In this paper, we address the problem of energy efficient reliable routing for wireless ad hoc networks in the presence of unreliable communication links or devices or lossy wireless link layers by integrating the power control techniques into the energy efficient routing. We consider both the case when the link layer implements a perfect reliability and the case when the reliability is implemented through the transport layer, e.g., TCP. We study the energy efficient unicast and multicast when the links are unreliable. Subsequently, we study how to perform power control (thus, controlling the reliability of each communication link) such that the unicast routings use the least power when the communication links are unreliable, while the power used by multicast is close to optimum. Extensive simulations have been conducted to study the power consumption, the end-to-end delay, and the network throughput of our proposed protocols compared with existing protocols.


Conceptualising educational equity and academic achievement is a key task for inclusive education and the politics of inclusion. Recent Australian Government reports (2013-2016) on educational access and inclusion report low levels of educational access and attainment for students with disability. This paper considers the place that Pierre Bourdieu's critical social theory has in helping us to conceptualise access, equity, and inclusion, and argue that the concepts of habitus, capital, and field (Bourdieu, 1977) have a key role to play in this process. Utilising these concepts to draw closely on three recent Australian Government reports (2013-2016) on educational equity and inclusion, our analysis has identified three consistent themes across these reports which disadvantage students with disability. These include cultural issues, economic capital, and the utility of education. These themes compound and culminate to highlight an issue of a lack of continuity across the field of education within Australia. As a consequence, the value of capital and operation of habitus function inconsistently across the field, rendering the process of the acquisition of success as being inequitable. Consideration is given to the need for a careful rethinking of how the inclusive education concept, connected to politics, can be transformed to eradicate inequities and inconsistencies to the benefit of all.


The study of reservoir and repository performance requires the integration of many different fields in Earth sciences, among them rock physics and geomechanics. The aim of this book is to emphasize how rock physics and geomechanics help to get a better insight into important issues linked to reservoir management for exploitation of natural resources, and to repository safety assessment for hazardous waste storage in geological environment. The studies presented here deal with the hydromechanical coupling in fractured rocks, the key experiments in safety assessment of repositories, the development of damaged zones during excavation in a shaley formation, the influence of temperature on the properties of shales, the poroelastic response of sandstones, the development and propagation of compaction bands in reservoir rocks, imaging techniques of geomaterials, the characterization and modelling of reservoirs using 4D seismic data, the mechanical behaviour of fractured rock masses, the petrophysical properties of fault zones, models for rock deformation by pressure solution and the elastic anisotropy in cracked rocks.


Primary aliphatic amines are an important class of nitrogen containing compounds emitted from automobiles, waste treatment facilities and agricultural animal operations. A series of experiments conducted at the UC-Riverside/CECERT Environmental Chamber is presented in which oxidation of methylamine, ethylamine, propylamine, and butylamine with O3 and NO3 have been investigated. Very little aerosol formation is observed in the presence of O 3 only. However, after addition of NO, and by extension NO 3, large aerosol mass yields ( ∼44% for butylamine) are seen. Aerosol generated was determined to be organic in nature due to the small fraction of NO and NO 2 in the total signal (<1% for all amines tested) as detected by an aerosol mass spectrometer (AMS). We propose a reaction mechanism between carbonyl containing species and the parent amine leading to formation of particulate imine products. These findings can have significant impacts on rural communities with elevated nighttime PM loadings, when significant levels of NO3 exist.


Previously the role of social capital - defined as the institutions and networks of relationships between people, and the associated norms and values - in programs of poverty alleviation and development has risen to considerable prominence. Although development practitioners have long suspected that social capital does affect the efficiency and quality of most development processes, this book provides the rigorous empirical results needed to confirm that impression and translate it into effective and informed policymaking. It is based on a large volume of collected data, relying equally on quantitative and qualitative research methodologies to establish approaches for measuring social capital and its impact. The book documents the pervasive role of social capital in accelerating poverty alleviation and rural development, facilitating the provision of goods and services, and easing political transition and recovery from civil conflicts.


This paper describes a novel approach to systems analysis and design (SA&D) based upon the transtheoretical model of behavioral change (TTM). TTM was developed for the purpose of helping clinicians and patients change behaviors related to health such as smoking and exercise. The application of TTM to SA&D described here is appropriate when one of the key rationales for developing a new system is to alter user behavior with respect to task performance, particularly when use of the system will be optional. The key strengths of TTM include a structured approach to understanding behavioral change, concrete metrics that can be developed to measure specific behavioral change processes, and clear guidelines for the use and timing of various mechanisms for fostering change. This paper describes a system design in the field of educational technology designed to foster the use of best practices with respect to multiple-choice question writing, delivery, and analysis.


We study a model in which management and a union bargain over a rule that will later determine the level of employment, and over a wage. The government then chooses an output or an employment subsidy. An exogenous natural turnover rate in the unionized sector creates unemployment whenever the union wage exceeds the competitive wage. Government intervention can increase both the equilibrium amount of unemployment and worsen the intersectoral allocation of labour, because of the induced change in the endogenous wage. Unemployment weakens but does not eliminate the possibility of a "labour-management conspiracy."


Empowerment research and practice is guided by the idea that empowered employees perform better due to a greater sense of self-efficacy and capability. Underlying this idea, there often seem to be two tacit, unexamined assumptions: first, that employees generally would prefer an empowered workplace to a less empowered one; and second, that all employees can be empowered by means of the same measures and changes as defined by empowerment research. The main research question asked in this study is whether those aspects typically associated with structural and psychological empowerment efforts at the workplace are indeed perceived as desirable and positive by all types of employees. Employees' attitudes toward the success of empowerment efforts, and the relevance of such attitudes, are investigated by analyzing survey data from 268 employees in the Swedish retail sector. Results indicate that age and work intensity (part-time vs. full-time) as well as cohabitation have significant impacts on how empowerment efforts are viewed by employees in the sample.


Consolidation in the financial industry threatens competition and increases systemic risk. Recently, banks have seen both high-profile mergers and spectacular failures, prompting a flurry of regulatory responses. Yet consolidation has not been as closely scrutinized for clearinghouses, which facilitate trading in securities and derivatives products. These nonbank intermediaries can be thought of as middlemen who collect deposits to ensure that each buyer and seller has the wherewithal to uphold its end of the deal. Clearinghouses mitigate the credit risks that buyers and sellers would face if they dealt directly with each other. Yet here lies the dilemma: large clearinghouses reduce credit risk, but they heighten systemic risk since the collapse of one such entity threatens the entire financial system. While the systemic risks posed by large banks have been tackled by regulators, the systemic risks of these nonbank intermediaries have received less attention. In fact, clearinghouses have been cloaked with a regulatory mantle which encourages unchecked growth. This Article examines the paradoxical treatment of regulators toward the systemic risks of clearinghouses and banks. It explores two fundamental questions: Why does the paradox exist, and who benefits from it? Borrowing from antitrust, this Article offers a framework for ensuring that the entities which control a large clearinghouse (the big banks) do not abuse its market dominance.


Primary cavity-producers such as woodpeckers produce nest sites for several other cavity-nesting animals and, thus, are often considered to be keystone species. However, the persistence and occupancy rates of cavities are rarely known and as such the real importance of primary cavity-producers also remains unclear. Cavities of the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker Dendrocopos minor were monitored during their whole lifespan. The data include the annual availability and occupancy history of 106 cavities in a 170-km2 area in southern Finland during 1987–2018. The median survival time of a cavity was six years, but there were differences between the various forest types (range six to eight years). The median time for cavity fall was six years, and five years for cavity damage. Six bird species used the old cavities for breeding, with the Pied Flycatcher Ficedula hypoleuca the dominant species accounting for 53% of all occupancies. The cavity reuse rate in the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker was 3.6%. The mean occupancy by secondary cavity-nesting birds in old cavities was 32%, with a range of 29–36% across the various forest types. There was a significant negative correlation between annual occupancy rates and the age of the cavity. The first two years of a cavity were found to be the most important for total occupancy and 90% of occupancies took place before the median age of the cavities. The expected mean number of lifespan occupancies by secondary cavity-nesters for a single cavity was 1.97. The results indicate that new, fresh cavities are continuously needed for the secondary cavity-nesters that use Lesser Spotted Woodpecker cavities in their territories.


The article stresses the ideological and political dominance of productive capital fractions within the power bloc of the European Union (EU), by exemplifying their strategic influence in transnational struggles over the management of the current crises in Europe. Theoretically, it is shown, that the leadership of a fraction within the ruling class does neither result from its economic dominance in accumulation nor its hegemony in society alone, but rather depends on concrete struggles over power and meaning within the power bloc itself. In this regard, the economic and financial crisis management approach of the EU reveals that especially transnational actors from the European industry are able to use the crisis between 2008 and 2013 to further lock-in their global competitiveness strateg y into EU political structures. While the lobby groups of finance capital, although still economically important, are rather losing political ground and get lost in technocratic disputes among each, productive capital associations are holding the ruling class in Brussels together by using their privileged access to EU institutions and subordinating the interests of others capital fractions under the dominant discourse of a global and export-oriented growth regime of the EU.


Objective:  The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of low back pain (LBP) in a primary care setting population and examine its association with the symptoms of depression and somatization.

Methods:  This is a cross-sectional study, utilising a survey carried out in primary health care clinics (PHCs) in Al-Ain, United Arab Emirates (UAE). A multistage stratified sampling design was used and a representative sample of 1304 UAE nationals aged 18–65 years who attended PHC clinics for any reason were included and 1103 (84.5%) subjects agreed to participate and responded to the questionnaire during a period from June 2001 to January 2002. A specially designed questionnaire with three parts was used for the data collection: socio-demographic information of the studied subjects, modified version of the Roland-Morris scale for evaluating back-related functional disability and SCL-90 R for depression and somatization subscales was used to assess depressive and somatic symptoms.

Results:  Of the total number of subjects surveyed (1103), 586 (53.1%) were men and 517 (46.9%) women. The mean age was 34.9 ± 13.4 years for men and 33.5 ± 11.8 years for women. The prevalence of LBP in the studied subjects was 64.7% (95% CI, 60.7–68.5] with 46.7% among men and 53.3% among women. There were a significant differences between the subjects with LBP and without LBP with respect to gender (P < 0.001), body mass index (BMI) (P < 0.001), occupational status (P < 0.001) and living environment (P = 0.016). Functional disability was higher in patients with LBP. Young patients in aged 15–34 years, patients with preparatory/secondary educational level and students showed higher depressive symptoms. A similar pattern was found in patients with somatic symptoms. Factor analysis revealed a strong association between depression and somatization in LBP patients.

Conclusions:  Functional disability was higher in with LBP. Furthermore, symptoms of depression and somatization are prevalent among LBP patients.


A model for calculating the metal powder pressing process with a porogen is proposed. An approximate method and algorithm have been developed that make it possible to take into account the presence of a porogen in the calculation of the pressing process and reflect all types of bonds at the contact boundaries of metal powder particles. Based on the constructed model, an approximate method and algorithm for calculating the properties of powder filter material (PFM) produced by pressing granular metal powders using a porogen have been developed. The advantage of the proposed mathematical model is the possibility of its development to describe the sintering process, as well as the possibility of its use for calculating the modified elementary cells used by researchers in modeling the structure of PFM with a porogen.


Integration of inorganic and organic fertilizer is a very important tool for sustainable production of tomatoes contributing to human health. There were six treatments followed the design of RCBD with three replications to observe the growth, yield and the nutritional quality like lycopene and β-carotene of tomato. Treatments were; F1: Control, F2: Pond sediments-100%, F3:50%F2+50%F6, F4:50% F2+50%F5, F5: soil test based (STB) nitrogen as urea, and F6: vermicompost-100%. Statistically significant variations were found for the plant growth and yield. The highest growth and yield performances were found from the treatment F4. Fruit clusters, fruit numbers and fruit weight per plant were found highest in the treatment F4, whereas the lowest was found in the control. The highest marketable yield of tomato (96.17 t/ha) was obtained from the treatment F4 which was 20%, 29%, 13%, and 41% higher compared to F5, F2, F6, and F1 treatments, respectively. The highest amount of lycopene (67.31 ppm) and β-carotene (53.52 ppm) were found from F4 and F6, respectively, whereas the lowest amount was 42.59 ppm lycopene and 13.85 ppm β-carotene from F5 and F1, respectively. Inorganic and organic fertilizer like pond sediments can be applied for the sustainable production of tomato with friendly environment.


Low‐frequency (periodicities lower than 20 years) hydrologic variability in the western United States over the past 500 years is studied using available tree‐ring reconstructions of Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI), streamflow, and climate indices. Leading rotated principal component (RPC) scores of a gridded tree‐ring reconstruction of the PDSI from 1525 to 1975 are significantly correlated with indices representing large‐scale climate variations from the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. RPC1 (31%) is related to the influence of North Pacific sea surface temperature (SST) variations, indexed by the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO). RPC2 (24%) is apparently related to North Atlantic SST variations, indexed by the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO). RPC3 (19%) is moderately correlated with a smoothed version of the Southern Oscillation Index. Consistent with recent studies of instrumental data, RPC1 (PDO) and RPC2 (AMO) explain a large part of the multidecadal hydrologic variability of the interior western United States. Western U.S. PDSI variability exhibits significant pentadecadal (and longer) oscillations in the epochs from circa 1525 to 1650 and 1850 to 1975, while bidecadal oscillations are prevalent in the middle epoch from circa 1650 to 1850. The changes in spectral characteristics of western U.S. PDSI were related to similar changes in the PDO (and therefore in RPC1). In contrast, RPC2 had a regular periodicity of 51 years for the past ∼500 years. This regularity is intriguing, and although RPC2 was primarily related to the AMO in this study, the influence from Pacific climate cannot be discarded.


While the relationship between environmental pressures and globalization is often claimed to be unambiguously positive, there is a substantial gap in the literature regarding systematic evidence. We fill this gap by empirically disentangling the nexus between globalization and environmental degradation while at the same time taking the multidimensionality of the
concepts serious. The Ecological Footprint (EF) provides a holistic approach to environmental degradation. We generate a data set covering 146 countries over the 1981-2009 period and use an Extreme Bounds Analysis (EBA) to identify a robust set of controls testing different claims of the literature. Subsequently, we test our hypothesis regarding globalization controlling for this
vector of controls. Our findings suggest that the simple positive correlation has to be interpreted with care, since the multivariate analysis reveals a more detailed picture of the complex relationship.


ABSTRACT Ezer, T.; Haigh, I.D., and Woodworth, P.L., 2016. Nonlinear sea-level trends and long-term variability on western European coasts. Nonlinear trends and long-term variability in sea level measured on the U.K. and western European coasts with long tide-gauge records (∼100–200 y) were investigated. Two different analysis methods, a standard quadratic regression and a nonparametric, empirical mode decomposition method, detected similar positive sea-level accelerations during the past ∼150 years: 0.014 ± 0.003 and 0.012 ± 0.004 mm/y2, respectively; these values are close to the sea-level acceleration of the global ocean over the same period, as reported by several studies. Ensemble calculations with added white noise are used to evaluate the robustness of low-frequency oscillations and to estimate potential errors. Sensitivity experiments evaluate the impact of data gaps on the ability of the analysis to detect decadal variations and acceleration in sea level. The long-term oscillations have typical periods of 15–60 years and ranges of 50–80 mm; these oscillations appear to be influenced by the North Atlantic Oscillation and by the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation. Analysis of altimeter data over the entire North Atlantic Ocean shows that the highest impact of the North Atlantic Oscillation is on sea-level variability in the North Sea and the Norwegian coasts, whereas the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation has the largest correlation with sea level in the subpolar gyre and the Labrador Sea, west of the study area.


Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an immune-mediated neurologic disease in which acute inflammatory events early in the disease course contribute to subsequent neurologic disability. The early relapsing inflammatory phase is followed by a progressive degenerative phase in which the frequency of acute inflammatory attacks diminishes but progressive loss of neurologic function continues. Current immune therapies are most effective in suppressing the acute inflammatory events that characterize the earlier stages of disease. Optimal suppression of these inflammatory events is likely to have the best potential for delaying or preventing loss of axons and decline in neurologic function. In view of these considerations, and because MS is a heterogeneous disease and response to disease-modifying agents (DMA) varies across individuals, it is important to identify suboptimal responders as early as possible to allow therapeutic modification while the opportunity to avert future loss of function remains. At present, no criteria for identifying suboptimal responders have been validated. In January 2004, a group of neurologists from 16 MS centers in the United States met to develop a consensus on criteria for defining suboptimal response for use in compelling clinical situations and to prompt clinical studies to validate the efficacy of these criteria. Consensus criteria included relapse rates of either 1/year or unchanged from pretreatment rates, incomplete recovery from multiple attacks, evolution of polyregional neurologic involvement, recurrent brainstem or spinal cord lesions, and cumulative loss of neurologic function sufficient to disrupt daily activities. The panel then considered the use of mitoxantrone for patients with worsening MS and a suboptimal response to DMA therapy.


We present initial results from a project, in which we examined feasibility of inferring web page relevance from eye-tracking data. We conduced a controlled, lab-based Web search experiment, in which participants conducted assigned information search tasks on Wikipedia. We performed analyses of variance as well as employed classification algorithms in order to predict user perceived Web page relevance. Our findings demonstrate that it is feasible to infer document relevance from eye-tracking data on Web pages. The results indicate that eye fixation duration, pupil size and the probability of continuing reading are good predictors of Web page relevance. Our work extends results from previous studies of text document search that were conducted under more constrained human-information interaction.


Underspecified queries are common in vertical search engines, leading to large result sets that are difficult for users to navigate. In this paper, we show that we can automatically guide users to their target results by engaging them in a dialog consisting of well-formed binary questions mined from unstructured data. We propose a system that extracts candidate attribute-value question terms from unstructured descriptions of records in a database. These terms are then filtered using a Maximum Entropy classifier to identify those that are suitable for question formation given a user query. We then select question terms via a novel ranking function that aims to minimize the number of question turns necessary for a user to find her target result. We evaluate the quality of system-generated questions for grammaticality and refinement effectiveness. Our final system shows best results in effectiveness, percentage of well-formed questions, and percentage of answerable questions over three baseline systems.


In this valuable resource, more than thirty of the world's top economists offer innovative policy ideas and insightful commentary on our most pressing economic issues, such as global warming, the global economy, government spending, Social Security, tax reform, real estate, and political and social policy, including an extensive look at the economics of capital punishment, welfare reform, and the recent presidential elections. Contributors are Nobel Prize winners, former presidential advisers, well-respected columnists, academics, and practitioners from across the political spectrum. Joseph E. Stiglitz takes a hard look at the high cost of the Iraq War; Nobel Laureates Kenneth Arrow, Thomas Schelling, and Stiglitz provide insight and advice on global warming; Paul Krugman demystifies Social Security; Bradford DeLong presents divergent views on the coming dollar crisis; Diana Farrell reconsiders the impact of U.S. offshoring; Michael J. Boskin distinguishes what is "sense" and what is "nonsense" in discussions of federal deficits and debt; and Ronald I. McKinnon points out the consequences of the deindustrialization of America. Additional essays question whether welfare reform was successful and explore the economic consequences of global warming and the rebuilding of New Orleans. They describe how a simple switch in auto insurance policy could benefit the environment; unravel the dangers of an unchecked housing bubble; and investigate the mishandling of the lending institutions Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. Balancing empirical data with economic theory, The Economists' Voice proves that the unique perspective of the economist is a vital one for understanding today's world. To learn more about the electronic journals published by The Berkeley Electronic Press, please visit http://www.bepress.com/ev.


A potential conflict has emerged between the desire to achieve ecological sustainability on the one hand and full employment on the other. The conflict exists because of the incongruent prescriptions being advised to resolve both problems – a reduced, if not zero, growth rate in the case of ecological sustainability, and a high growth rate in the case of full employment. Very little work has been undertaken to address this crucial issue and no forum specifically exists to deal with it. That is, until now, with the establishment of IJEWE. Its foremost aim is to reconcile the potential conflict between the sustainability and full employment objectives and to find ways to establish sustainable, equitable, and efficient economies. In dealing with this conflict, many other issues emerge – namely, the impact of the sustainability objective on industry structure, on forms of employment, on skills formation, on the workplace and workplace relations, on the development of "green" technologies, on competitive advantage, and on corporate management strategies. Addressing these issues is a secondary but no less important aim of IJEWE. But all the above issues need to be tackled on the understanding that economic systems are subsystems of the natural environment upon which they depend; that systems of all types are subject to various physical laws and coevolutionary principles; and human well-being is dependent upon the adequate satisfaction of lower- and higher-order needs.


Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) is an inherited renal disease, characterized by gradual growth of multiple renal cysts, hypertension and end stage renal disease (ESRD). ADPKD shows progression with age where complications due to hypertension are more significant. Genetic testing and imaging have been found essential for the diagnosis, follow-up and detection of complications in patients. Genetic analysis revealed that mutation in two genes named as PKD1 and PKD2 is responsible for ADPKD. Several drugs like Tolvaptan, Triptolide, Somatostatin analogs etc. presently under clinical trials, have been found to show promising results. To date, there is no approved therapy for the permanent cure of ADPKD. Still, advancement in the technology and the understanding of the biological aspects of this disease has generated a spark to investigate new potential therapies to minimize the morbidity and mortality of the disease. The genetic testing and imaging, genetic analysis progeny of disease, possible drug candidates and recent advances in ADPKD management have been reviewed here.


This document specifies the Multicast Protocol for Low-Power and Lossy
Networks (MPL), which provides IPv6 multicast forwarding in
constrained networks. MPL avoids the need to construct or maintain any
multicast forwarding topology, disseminating messages to all MPL
Forwarders in an MPL Domain. MPL has two modes of operation. One mode
uses the Trickle algorithm to manage control-plane and data-plane
message transmissions and is applicable for deployments with few
multicast sources. The other mode uses classic flooding. By providing
both modes and parameterization of the Trickle algorithm, an MPL
implementation can be used in a variety of multicast deployments and
can trade between dissemination latency and transmission efficiency.


A parameterization scheme for calculating gaseous dry deposition velocities in air-quality models is revised based on recent study results on non-stomatal uptake of O 3 and SO 2 over 5 different vegetation types. Non-stomatal resistance, which includes in-canopy aerodynamic, soil and cuticle resistances, for SO 2 and O 3 is parameterized as a function of friction velocity, relative humidity, leaf area index, and canopy wetness. Non-stomatal resistance for other chemical species is scaled to those of SO 2 and O 3 based on their chemical and physical characteristics. Stomatal resistance is calculated using a two-big-leaf stomatal resistance sub-model for all gaseous species of interest. The improvements in the present model compared to its earlier version include a newly developed non-stomatal resistance formulation, a realistic treatment of cuticle and ground resistance in winter, and the handling of seasonally-dependent input parameters. Model evaluation shows that the revised parameterization can provide more realistic deposition velocities for both O 3 and SO 2 , especially for wet canopies. Example model output shows that the parameterization provides reasonable estimates of dry deposition velocities for different gaseous species, land types and diurnal and seasonal variations. Maximum deposition velocities from model output are close to reported measurement values for different land types. The current parameterization can be easily adopted into different air-quality models that require inclusion of dry deposition processes.


Today's grand policy dilemmas, from climate change, to over-indebtedness, to demographic shifts, have momentous long-term implications. Future generations will be constrained by our present decisions to an extent that is without precedent in advanced capitalist democracies. This book is an extensively researched and reasoned appeal in favor of intergenerational fairness - the ability to provide to future generations an at least as favorable standard of living as that enjoyed today. Intergenerational equity is an essential consideration in finding lasting solutions to the multifaceted crises of our time. As an implicit contract and transfer between living and future generations, intergenerational equity avoids discriminating against future generations.

The book aims to theoretically define intergenerational equity and to frame it as a natural behavioral law, capturing human ethicality bounds. It follows a long and distinguished tradition of scholarly discourse in turning to natural law for solutions to major social predicaments. Outlining some of the causes of the current intergenerational imbalances regarding climate change and over-indebtedness it sets the basis for understanding their drivers and implications. A central proposition is that the natural human drive towards intergenerational fairness can be the basis for the necessary behavioral responses: the human-imbued moral compass of natural law can be a useful complement, if not alternative, to public policy.

This book fills an important gap. Despite a resurgence of literature, the economic and social dimensions of intergenerational equity remain underexplored. Existing literature misses a holistic ethical framework of decision-making failures that addresses intergenerational concerns. Whilst evolutionary grounded, intergenerational fairness has not been recognized as a natural behavioral law – a human-imbued drive being bound by human fallibility.
Practical implications and recommendations in advancing an agenda for the advancement of intergenerational equity are provided. Attention is drawn to the problem of providing the required leadership to promote the idea of intergenerational equity as a guiding principle in corporate, social and policy action. This book contributes both theoretical and practical insights and will be of interest to economists, sociologists, public policy makers and corporate executives tasked with tackling the most pressing contemporary challenges of mankind.


Understanding the genetic networks that operate inside cells will require the dissection of interactions among network members. Here we describe a peptide aptamer isolated from a combinatorial library that distinguishes among such interactions. This aptamer binds to cyclin-dependent kinase 2 (Cdk2) and inhibits its kinase activity. In contrast to naturally occurring inhibitors, such as p21(Cip1), which inhibit the activity of Cdk2 on all its substrates, inhibition by pep8 has distinct substrate specificity. We show that the aptamer binds to Cdk2 at or near its active site and that its mode of inhibition is competitive. Expression of pep8 in human cells retards their progression through the G1 phase of the cell cycle. Our results suggest that the aptamer inhibits cell-cycle progression by blocking the activity of Cdk2 on substrates needed for the G1-to-S transition. This work demonstrates the feasibility of selection of artificial proteins to perform functions not developed during evolution. The ability to select proteins that block interactions between a gene product and some partners but not others should make sophisticated genetic manipulations possible in human cells and other currently intractable systems.


The lack of long and reliable time series of solar spectral irradiance (SSI) measurements makes an accurate quantification of solar contributions to recent climate change difficult. Whereas earlier SSI observations and models provided a qualitatively consistent picture of the SSI variability, recent measurements by the SORCE (SOlar Radiation and Climate Experiment) satellite suggest a significantly stronger variability in the ultraviolet (UV) spectral range and changes in the visible and near-infrared (NIR) bands in anti-phase with the solar cycle. A number of recent chemistry-climate model (CCM) simulations have shown that this might have significant implications on the Earth's atmosphere. Motivated by these results, we summarize here our current knowledge of SSI variability and its impact on Earth's climate.

We present a detailed overview of existing SSI measurements and provide thorough comparison of models available to date. SSI changes influence the Earth's atmosphere, both directly, through changes in shortwave (SW) heating and therefore, temperature and ozone distributions in the stratosphere, and indirectly, through dynamical feedbacks. We investigate these direct and indirect effects using several state-of-the art CCM simulations forced with measured and modelled SSI changes. A unique asset of this study is the use of a common comprehensive approach for an issue that is usually addressed separately by different communities.

We show that the SORCE measurements are difficult to reconcile with earlier observations and with SSI models. Of the five SSI models discussed here, specifically NRLSSI (Naval Research Laboratory Solar Spectral Irradiance), SATIRE-S (Spectral And Total Irradiance REconstructions for the Satellite era), COSI (COde for Solar Irradiance), SRPM (Solar Radiation Physical Modelling), and OAR (Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma), only one shows a behaviour of the UV and visible irradiance qualitatively resembling that of the recent SORCE measurements. However, the integral of the SSI computed with this model over the entire spectral range does not reproduce the measured cyclical changes of the total solar irradiance, which is an essential requisite for realistic evaluations of solar effects on the Earth's climate in CCMs.

We show that within the range provided by the recent SSI observations and semi-empirical models discussed here, the NRLSSI model and SORCE observations represent the lower and upper limits in the magnitude of the SSI solar cycle variation.

The results of the CCM simulations, forced with the SSI solar cycle variations estimated from the NRLSSI model and from SORCE measurements, show that the direct solar response in the stratosphere is larger for the SORCE than for the NRLSSI data. Correspondingly, larger UV forcing also leads to a larger surface response.

Finally, we discuss the reliability of the available data and we propose additional coordinated work, first to build composite SSI data sets out of scattered observations and to refine current SSI models, and second, to run coordinated CCM experiments.


Activation of Toll-like receptor 4 by the chromatin-associated protein HMGB1 triggers epileptic seizures in mice. Epileptic seizures are often controlled by drugs that either dampen the activity of excitatory N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptors or enhance the activity of inhibitory γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptors; however, some 30% of patients are refractory to such treatments, which makes the search for new therapies an important goal (see commentary by Kleen and Holmes). Noting that the proinflammatory cytokine interleukin-1β (IL-1β) can enhance seizures, Maroso et al. investigated the interplay between inflammation and epilepsy by studying a role for Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), which shares signaling components with IL-1β, in mice that were induced to have seizures by the intrahippocampal injection of chemoconvulsants, including kainic acid (KA). Immunohistochemical analysis revealed that TLR4 was detectable in the neurons and astrocytes of KA-treated mice, but not untreated mice, and this was accompanied by an increase in the amount of high-mobility group box-1 (HMGB1), a chromatin-associated protein that is released from dying cells and that activates TLR4. HMGB1 was mainly produced by microglia. The authors saw a similar pattern of expression of TLR4 and HMGB1 proteins in hippocampal tissue from patients with temporal lobe epilepsy. Antagonists of HMGB1 and TLR4 inhibited the KA-dependent induction of seizures in mice, and C3H/HeJ mice, which have a nonfunctional TLR4, were resistant to KA-induced seizures. Ifenprodil, a blocker of certain NMDA receptor subunits, prevented the HMGB1-dependent enhancement in KA-induced seizures, suggesting that HMGB1 may increase excitotoxicity. Together, these data suggest that the HMGB1-TLR4 pathway may underlie the onset of seizures and thus provide a new therapeutic strategy to target epilepsy. M. Maroso, S. Balosso, T. Ravizza, J. Liu, E. Aronica, A. M. Iyer, C. Rossetti, M. Molteni, M. Casalgrandi, A. A. Manfredi, M. E. Bianchi, A. Vezzani, Toll-like receptor 4 and high-mobility group box-1 are involved in ictogenesis and can be targeted to reduce seizures. Nat. Med. 16, 413–419 (2010). [PubMed] J. K. Kleen, G. L. Holmes, Taming TLR4 may ease seizures. Nat. Med. 16, 369–370 (2010). [PubMed]


This brief monograph explores the historical motivations for two sets of phonological changes in some varieties of Romance: restructured voicing of intervocalic /p t k/, and palatalization of initial /l/ and /n/. These developments have been treated repeatedly over the decades, yet neither has enjoyed a satisfactory solution. This book attempts to demonstrate that both outcomes are ultimately attributable to the loss of early pan-Romance consonant gemination. This study is of interest not only to the language-specific field of historical Romance linguistics, but also to general historical linguistics. The central problems examined here constitute classic cases of questions that cannot be answered by confining analysis solely to the individual languages under investigation. The passage of time, the indirect nature of fragmentary and accidental documentation, and the nature of the changes themselves conspire to deny access to the most essential facts. However, comparison of closely cognate languages now undergoing change supplies a perspective for discerning conditions that may ultimately lead to states achieved in the distant past by the languages under investigation.


This article is an introduction to a special issue on ethnography, diversity and urban space. It places the 'diversity turn' within studies of migration and multiculture historically and discusses the implications of concepts such as 'diversity' and more recently 'super-diversity' for scholarship, policy and identity politics. It argues that diversity is a helpful concept for studies of migration and multiculture because it avoids the essentialism and bias towards ethnic affiliation often characterising studies within the multiculturalism framework, while being more grounded locally than studies within the transnationalism framework. It examines the methodological implications of increasing diversity and complexity on ethnographic studies and the definition of the 'field'. It makes the point that increasing urban diversity poses a challenge to ethnographic ideals of 'immersion' and wholeness. Finally, it introduces the individual articles in the special issue.


We explore how client-centred empathy is practiced within a specific interaction type: troubles telling sequences. Building on the work of Carl Rogers, who viewed empathy as a form of understanding that privileges the client's point of view, empathy is examined as an interactional achievement in which clients create empathic opportunities by displaying their affectual stance, followed by therapists taking up these opportunities through affiliative displays. We found that empathic practices could be realized through a variety of verbal (naming other's feelings, formulations, co-completions) and non-verbal resources (nodding, smiling). Further, we found that continuers played an important role in helping clients to develop their troubles stance in more detail, which, in turn, invited more explicit empathic displays from therapists.


Background Recent research has shown that behavioural symptoms in Huntington's disease (HD) have a significant impact on patients' quality of life and function. Accurate assessment of behavioural symptoms is important in both HD research and clinical care of HD families. The short version of the Problem Behaviours Assessment for HD (PBA-s) was developed by the EHDN's Behavioural Working Group for use in longitudinal observational and interventional studies of HD. The PBA-s is a semi structured clinical interview measuring the presence, severity and frequency of 11 key behavioural symptoms. Detailed severity scoring criteria are provided for each item in order to facilitate good levels of inter-rater reliability. The PBA-s is currently in use in international observational studies such as REGISTRY and Enroll-HD as well as multicentre RCTs. In order to ensure consistency of PBA-s data collected in HD studies, it is necessary for anyone administering the PBA-s to undergo training. The Behavioural working group has developed a standardised training package for the PBA-s which can be delivered in person or online. Aims This introductory training session aims to provide a taster of the PBA-s and its general principles. It is not intended to be a full training and potential raters will still need to complete a full training session before carrying out the assessment. Methods The training session will consist of a short explanation of the general principles of PBA-s administration. Video clips of real PBA-s interviews with HD patients will be shown and participants at the training session are invited to consider the scoring criteria and apply them to the video clips. Scores are reviewed via an open discussion before arriving at a consensus. Outcome After the training session participants should have a basic understanding of the PBA-s and its use. Further training will be required before beginning to administer the assessment.


Abstract. The newly developed atmosphere–ocean–chemistry–climate model SOCOL-MPIOM is presented by demonstrating the influence of chemistry–climate interactions on the climate state and the variability. Therefore, we compare pre-industrial control simulations with (CHEM) and without (NOCHEM) interactive chemistry. In general, the influence of the chemistry on the mean state and the variability is small and mainly restricted to the stratosphere and mesosphere. The atmospheric dynamics mainly differ in polar regions, with slightly stronger polar vortices in the austral and boreal winter, respectively. The strengthening of the vortex is related to larger stratospheric temperature gradients, which are attributed to a parameterisation of the absorption of ozone and oxygen in different wavelength intervals, which is considered in the version with interactive chemistry only. A second reason for the temperature differences between CHEM and NOCHEM is related to diurnal variations in the ozone concentrations in the higher atmosphere, which are missing in NOCHEM. Furthermore, stratospheric water vapour concentrations substantially differ between the two experiments, but their effect on temperature is small. In both setups, the simulated intensity and variability of the northern polar vortex is inside the range of present-day observations. Additionally, the performance of SOCOL-MPIOM under changing external forcings is assessed for the period 1600–2000 using an ensemble of simulations. In the industrial period from 1850 onward SOCOL-MPIOM overestimates the global mean surface air temperature increase in comparison to observational data sets. Sensitivity simulations show that this overestimation can be attributed to a combination of factors: the solar forcing reconstruction, the simulated ozone changes, and incomplete aerosol effects and land use changes.


The luminescent properties of transition metal complexes containing polypyridyl and cyclometalating ligands make them potential candidates for a range of applications; for example, as triplet-harvesting agents in organic light-emitting devices (OLEDs), owing to the potentially high quantum yields of triplet emission; in solar cells, converting light to electrical energy; and as sensors and probes in biological systems. The synthesis of a series of [M(NCN)(X^X^X)]'^n^+' and [M(NCN)(X^X)C1](^n+) coordinated complexes (where M = Ir or Rh; X = heterocyclic N or cyclometalated aryl C; and n = 0-2) bearing pyridyl and pyrazolyl-based NCN-coordinating ligands (cyclometalating through the central phenyl ring) is reported, alongside their photophysical and electrochemical properties. Whilst luminescence was generally observed from the pyridyl-based iridium(III) complexes at ambient temperature, the charge-neutral Rh(III) complex [Rh(NCN)(NC)Cl] was the only complex amongst those containing a rhodium centre to be emissive under these conditions. Similarly, the pyrazolyl Ir(III) complexes exhibit lower luminescence intensities than their pyridyl analogues, owing to the poorer Ti-accepting ability of the pyrazole rings which results in a blue-shift in the emission profile and more ligand-based character. In addition to the synthesis of these complexes, a sequential cross-coupling - bromination - cross-coupling strategy has been developed for the linear stepwise expansion of an [Ir(NCN)(NNC)(^+) coordinated complex, incorporating a pendant bromophenyl group on the central pyridyl ring of the NNC ligand, via in situ palladium- catalysed Suzuki cross-coupling reactions with aryl boronic acids. This strategy has-been further extended to the controlled synthesis of linear multimetallic assemblies using boronic acid appended Ir(III) and Ru(II) complexes. A heterometallic trinuclear [Ir-ɸ-Ir- ɸ (_2)-Ru](^4+) assembly was prepared, where the phenylene bridges between the metal centres do not contribute to the excited state of the trimetallic system, and efficient energy-transfer occurs to the lower energy ruthenium terminus. The emissive and energy-channelling properties of such multimetallic assemblies can be tailored by the careful choice of the constituent "building blocks".


Bertolini and Spit (1998) have argued that any significant transport node should ideally also be a significant place in the city. However, this rarely seems to be the case, and the resolution of this disparity, which they refer to as the 'node-place' problem, in practice means redesigning what are currently regional-to-local transport nodes to also function as local pedestrian nodes. This is a complex design task, made more difficult by the fact that termini, although often located in strategic inner urban areas, are also frequently scarred by railway structures and adjacent to large wastelands or blighted neighbourhoods. Not surprisingly, there are as yet few success stories, and conversely many cases where attempts to address this problem through design have fallen below expectations. This problem, of converting railway termini and their surrounding areas into urban places, is the subject of this thesis. The argument proposes that the 'node-place' problem is fundamentally a spatial one. Using the methodology of space syntax, together with Hillier's compound theories of how vibrant urban places are progressively formed by the influence of the urban grid on natural movement (Hillier et al 1993 ), and the subsequent influence this has on land use patterns (Hillier 1996 ) and centre formation (Hillier 2000 ), the thesis investigates the spatial structure and functioning of eleven mainline railway terminus areas in central London. This is undertaken through a series of studies of increasing precision: historical figure-ground analyses of station areas; syntactic analysis of station contexts and the influence of the station on that context; detailed observation of movement patterns and rates in station contexts; and finally the synthesis of all data types into a single picture. On the basis of the results of these studies, it is argued that the key to the successful creation of an urban place out of a transport node is the same as that which prevails in cities in general; namely that spatial configuration is critical, and that the spaces inside and outside railway termini have to become an 'integrated part' of the local system of pedestrian movement. In order to achieve this, space has to be re-engineered to overcome the current tendency of stations to work as urban 'negative attractors' through the effect of the large blockages they impose on the development of local patterns of natural movement, in spite of the station being in itself a 'point attractor'. A node can become a place when it also becomes a 'configurational attractor' in the local network.


Abstract. Complete morphological descriptions, as preservation permits, are provided for a new Late Jurassic fish taxon (Ebertichthys ettlingensis n. gen. et n. sp.) and a revision of some morphological features of Ascalabos voithii Graf zu Munster from the Solnhofen limestones, southern Germany. A new family, Ascalaboidae, is erected to include the two species. The new family is supported by numerous synapomorphies, e.g., maxilla with external row of small conical teeth increasing in size posteriorly, absence of gular plate, low number of vertebrae (34 to 39), deep and narrow supracleithrum – deeper than opercle, and vertebral centrum formation of caudal region including paired chordacentra (pseudo-diplospondyly) that fuse in early ontogeny forming one chordacentrum that is later surrounded by an autocentrum. A phylogenetic analysis based on 173 characters and 42 taxa was performed. Following the phylogenetic hypothesis, the sister-group relationship [Ascalabos + Ebertichthys] + more advanced teleosts stands above the node of Leptolepis coryphaenoides plus more advanced teleosts and below the node of Tharsis plus more advanced teleosts, and the new taxa are interpreted as extinct and primitive forms within Teleostei. The new genus and species is endemic and restricted to one Upper Jurassic locality – Ettling – whereas Ascalabos is known from different localities in the Solnhofen limestones, with the exception of Ettling.


ABSTRACT Across Asia there has been a shift to the right in important democratic polities. This article argues that this conservative or authoritarian shift reflects the emergence of a new form of political regime that Nicos Poulantzas characterised as authoritarian statism. This article presents a theoretical framework – with illustrative case studies of Japan and Korea – to understand the emergence of a distinctive brand of Asian authoritarian statism. These new trajectories of political regimes reflect interconnected political and economic crises of conservative capitalist democracies. These crises are the result of the fracturing of modes and mechanisms of political incorporation due to the transnationalisation of capital. It is argued that the inability of current modes of state intervention or political incorporation to manage these economic and political crises or secure political legitimacy for political projects to deepen market reform has led to a "crisis of crisis management" and the further weakening of the Japanese and Korean states.


Themes such as "effectiveness" and "evidence-based practice" dominate current debates about and within the professional field of youth care. The field seems to focus almost solely on the effectiveness of interventions and policy measures and there appears to be a general consensus on the objectivity and neutrality of interventions, policy measures and of the effectiveness research that follows from it. However, child rearing—including the professional re-education of children— entails more than encouraging desired behavior and correcting inappropriate behavior. It also includes normative ideas about this desired behavior and about issues like "good parenting" and "healthy development". Although no one would argue that effectiveness issues are a mere detail, the assessment and evaluation of interventions and policy measures on effectiveness only, leaves these normative matters undiscussed.

The research presented in this dissertation aims at unraveling this "hidden curriculum" of both youth care interventions and youth policy measures, by analyzing and clarifying the role values may play in this specific professional field. Five case studies have been conducted, each consisting of content analysis of relevant documents (i.e. articles about an intervention, policy reports), and of interviews and observations. The results of these case studies show that values are indeed expressed in youth care interventions and in youth policy measures. In contrast to the claims of objectivity and neutrality, interventions and policy measures convey specific value perspectives.

In general protective values, such as security or achievement, are expressed in all of the five case studies. Some interventions combine these protective values with growth-oriented values, for instance self-direction or hedonistic values. Others combine them with values such as conformity, indicating a conservative value perspective. Differences were found between the values expressed in the theory of an intervention and the values expressed in the actual practice of an intervention. This may indicate that personal, professional or institutional values may play a role in executing an intervention. The results also seem to imply that cultural values may have some influence on the execution of an intervention. For youth policy, differences in values are mainly found between the social groups the policy measures intent to target. Overall, the results are indicative of values aimed at socialization and integration of children and families in existing social structures and norms.

The results have important implications for the professional field of youth care and the research conducted in it. Differences between values in the theory and in the practice of an intervention imply that it may serve effectiveness research to pay attention to the subject of values: Professionals may struggle with the implicit values of an intervention and may adapt the intervention to better suit the values they believe are important. Likewise, fall out of clients during treatment may be explained by a discrepancy between the implicit values of an intervention and the personal values of parents and children. Moreover, the results of this research may foster a debate about the position of the professional field of youth care and the role they foresee for themselves within society.


The energy demand of the corn-based bioethanol production could be reduced using the agricultural byproducts as bioenergy feedstock for biogas digesters. The release of lignocellulosic material and therefore the acceleration of degradation processes can be achieved using thermal and mechanical pretreatments, which assist to hydrolyze the cell walls and speed the solubilization of biopolymers in biogas feedstock. This study is focused on liquid hot water, steam explosion and ultrasonic pretreatments of corn stover. The scientific contribution of this paper is a comprehensive comparison of the performance of the pretreatments by fast analytical, biochemical, anaerobic digestibility and biomethane potential tests, extended by energy consumptions and energy balance calculations. The effectiveness of pretreatments was evaluated by means of soluble chemical oxygen demand, biochemical oxygen demand and by the biogas and methane productivities. The results have shown that the thermal pretreatment, steam explosion and ultrasonic irradiation of biogas feedstock disintegrated the lignocellulosic structure, increased and accelerated the methane production and increased the cumulative biogas and methane productivity of corn stover in reference to the control during mesophilic anaerobic digestion. The energy balance demonstrated that there is an economical basis of the application of the liquid hot-compressed water pretreatments in a biogas plant. However, the steam explosion and ultrasonication are energetically not profitable for corn stover pretreatment.


In the spring of 2014 the Civil Rights and Disabilities Law Clinic (the Clinic) at Albany Law School, examined disaster planning in ten counties in upstate New York to evaluate the extent to which these counties were including individuals with disabilities in the disaster planning process, and in those counties where the inclusion of this population was not a part of disaster planning, to advocated for a more inclusive process. History shows that individuals with disabilities are disproportionately harmed by disasters with a mortality rate that is two to four times higher for individuals with disabilities. Through a number of cases across the county and major disasters in the last few decades, big cities are developing a greater awareness that particular attention to the needs of individuals with disabilities is critical for the preparation, remediation and management of disasters. However, Disasters are not experienced in cities alone. Small towns, suburban areas and rural areas can experience disasters as well. In these regions, lack of planning can also have tragic results. This article is broken into four parts. Part one contains a description of the Clinic's project; part two addresses the legal issues. Part three reports on the information learned through the Clinic's project and addresses why counties are facing possible litigation if they do not address the concerns identified and part four provides recommendations for how we might do better going forward. The aim of this article is to raise awareness and understanding, provide guidance for developing a municipal disaster preparedness process that is consistent with legal obligations created to protect the civil rights of individuals with disabilities and recommend steps that will improve outcomes of future disasters.


This thesis presents a chemical, microbiological and mathematical analysis of an anaerobic baffled reactor (ABR) treating domestic wastewater. The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of the mechanisms of treatment of domestic wastewater in an ABR at pilot-scale, and to use this understanding to develop some guidelines for the design of ABR technology for the anaerobic treatment or pre-treatment of domestic wastewater. Previous research has been undertaken on ABR technology, but no detailed studies of the performance of an ABR on domestic wastewater at pilotscale have been reported. In this thesis, operating data from a 3 000 l pilot-scale ABR are presented and analysed. Two hypotheses were proposed: that (i) the baffled design of the reactor would facilitate phase separation whereby acidogenic and methanogenic processes predominate in different physical locations in the reactor; and (ii) the critical design parameter is the applied hydraulic retention time. The principle findings of this research were: • The pilot-scale ABR functioned as a solids retention device. Particulate material was retained through settling in the first compartment, forming a gel-like matrix. Reduction of solids occurred through anaerobic conversion to CH4 and CO2. • Partial phase separation of acidogenic and methanogenic communities was observed. • The major factor that controlled biomass washout rate and therefore reactor performance was upflow velocity in each compartment. At higher upflow velocities, slow growing microorganisms failed to establish, resulting in increased solids accumulation rates, while at lower upflow velocities, stable digestion proceeded. • Relatively poor treatment rates were obtained due to the low inherent alkalinity of waters in eThekwini municipality resulting in low operating pH values. • Insufficient pathogen reduction was observed indicating that post-treatment of effluent would be required. It was concluded that the benefit of the baffled design was related to the system's solids retention characteristics and that the critical design parameters for an ABR domestic wastewater treatment unit were compartment upflow velocity and applied hydraulic retention time.


Complementary and integrative medicine (CIM) has become big business. Alongside the increased consumption of complementary medicine and the swelling numbers of complementary health practitioners has emerged a growing interest in these medicines and therapies from within the ranks of conventional primary health care. At the level of practice and beyond, a culture of confrontation and antagonism has begun to be replaced by a focus upon potential integration, collaboration and common ground. With these significant developments in mind, this ground-breaking book is a valuable and timely addition to the CIM and primary health care research literature. The collection outlines the core issues, challenges and opportunities facing the CIM–primary health care interface and its study and will provide insight and inspiration for those practising, studying and researching the contemporary relations between CIM and primary health care. The book is the first to be authored by leading international CIM–primary health care researchers from diverse disciplines and backgrounds, including health social science, statistics, qualitative methodology, general practice, clinical trials design, clinical pharmacology, health services research and public health. All contributors are active CIM–primary health care researchers and their extensive research and practice experience helps lend a unique immediacy and richness to the contributions and collection.


Anemia in children is defined by the World Health Organization as a hemoglobin concentration below 11 g/dl for children (0.5-5.0 yrs) and12 g/dl for teens (12-15 yrs). 4 ml of venous blood sample was collected in EDTA container. Of the total of three hundred and thirty four (334) subjects, one hundred and fifty two (152) were Females and one hundred and eighty two (182) were Males. Intestinal parasite assessment was done by Direct Smear technique and Formol-Ether concentration methods. Hemoglobin concentration was analyzed using Cyanmethaemoglobin method. Thirty (30) subjects were infested with Ascaris lumbricoides (single infestation), Ninety Five (95) subjects were infested with Ascaris lumbricoides and Hookworm (Double infestation) and Forty Two (42) subjects were infested with Ascaris lumbricoides, Hookworm, Entamoeba histolytica and Trichuris trichiura (Multiple infestation). The Mean ± Standard Deviation of Hemoglobin concentration of the various infestation types against the control subject shows a statistically significant decrease (P


The 18th Asian Games, which include the Olympic equestrian disciplines of jumping, dressage and eventing, were held in Jakarta from 18 August to 2 September 2018. Equestrian sport in the Asian region is well developed in only a few countries and, in general there is little agreement between the member nations of the region about animal health regulations for horse movement between these countries. Few countries are approved for reentry of horses that have visited them to the European Union ("approved third countries"), hence making it difficult for Europe based Asian horses to travel to and to return from some countries in the region. Indonesia is one of the countries with no approval. In order to facilitate competition horse movement to specific international events, the World Organisation of Animal Health (OIE) has developed the concept of Equine Disease Free Zone (EDFZ), which is based on the fundamental principle of zoning and compartmentalisation as defined in the OIE Terrestrial Animal Health Code (Chapter 4.3, 4.4). The basic principle of EDFZ is to demonstrate that the equine health of a defined core zone and its surroundings have high health standards which are acceptable to the trading partners. The stepwise approach taken in Indonesia consisted of (1) an assessment of the equine health status and the identification of critical diseases; (2) the definition of a core zone (the venue) and a surveillance zone; (3) the application of biosecurity measures and protocols; (4) international and national health certificates, specifically developed for the Asian Games; (5) a self declaration of the EDFZ submitted to the OIE; and (6) acceptance and publication of the application for regionalization by the European Commission. If both of these applications are approved, participating nations can be reassured that sanitary conditions at the equestrian venue have met the international standards as set by the OIE and the EU.