Taking the invention as its object of study, this book develops a radical new perspective on the making of modern patent law. It develops the first extended historical and conceptual exploration of the invention in modern patent law. Focussing primarily on the figures that make inventions material, and on how to overcome the intangibility of ideas, this intellectual challenging book makes explicit a dimension of patent law that is not commonly found in traditional commentaries, treatises and cases. The story is told from the perspective of the material media in which the intangible form of the invention is made visible; namely, models, texts, drawings, and biological specimens. This approach brings to light for the first time some essential formative moments in the history of patent law. For example, Figures of Invention describes the central role that scale models played in the making of nineteenth-century patent jurisprudence, the largely mythical character of the nineteenth-century theory that patents texts should function as a means of disclosing inventions, and the profound conceptual changes that emerged from debates as to how to represent and disclose the first biological inventions. At the same time, this historical inquiry also reveals the basic conceptual architecture of modern patent law. The story of how inventions were represented is also the story of the formation of the modern concept of invention, or of the historical processes that shaped the terms in which patent lawyers still apprehend the intangible form of the invention. Although the analysis focuses on the history of patent law in the United States, it develops themes that illuminate the evolution of patent regimes in Europe. In combining close historical analysis with broad thematic reflection, Figures of Invention makes a distinctive contribution both to the field of patent law scholarship and to emerging interdisciplinary debates about the constitution of patent law and of intellectual property in general.


Most Music Information Retrieval (MIR) researchers will agree that understanding users' needs and behaviors is critical for developing a good MIR system. The number of user studies in the MIR domain has been gradually increasing since the early 2000s reflecting the need for empirical studies of users. However, despite the growing number of user studies and the wide recognition of their importance, it is unclear how large their impact has been in the field; on how systems are developed, evaluation tasks are created, and how we understand critical concepts such as music similarity or music mood. In this paper, we present our analysis on the growth, publication and citation patterns, and design of 155 user studies. This is followed by a discussion of a number of issues/challenges in conducting MIR user studies and distributing the research results. We conclude by making recommendations to increase the visibility and impact of user studies in the field.


A joint meeting of the Volcanic Studies and Tectonic Studies Groups, held at the University of Liverpool, 13 May 1992. Convenor: S. J. Day. This meeting, the first joint meeting of the Volcanic and Tectonic Studies Groups for some time, was called to consider and promote the application of techniques and constraints from structural geology and geophysics to the work of volcanologists and igneous petrologists on both ancient and modern volcanoes, and to illustrate to structural geologists some of the problems and procedures involved in work on volcanic systems. The meeting was opened by B. P. Kokelaar (Liverpool University), who illustrated the range of structural problems confronting the volcanological and petrological communities through a discussion of the possible ways in which structural lineaments may influence magmatism. This led into the first session of the meeting, which considered problems with the classical models, developed by Anderson, Mogi, Roberts, Phillips and others (see review in Chevallier, L. & Verwoerd, W. J. 1988. A numerical model for the mechanical behaviour of intraplate volcanoes. Journal of Geophysical Research, 93, 4182–4198), of the relationship between deformation around large intrusions and the stresses they impose on the rocks around them. R. W. England (BIRPS, Cambridge) & S. J. Day (Liverpool University) used examples from the British Tertiary Province to illustrate the complexities of the finite strain produced during emplacement of large volumes of magma close to the free surface, as contrasted to the simple stress trajectories of the classical models, which do not allow for


Zero tolerance policies in schools have had many negative impacts on students of color, including the "school to prison pipeline" where students of color are being funneled from schools into the criminal justice system. The purpose of this systematic literature review was to conduct an exhaustive compilation of research exploring interventions and alternative options to zero tolerance disciplinary policies in schools and to identify their impact on minority students given the extent of research that is available. Empirically based quantitative and qualitative studies based on program effectiveness were included as well as both peer-reviewed and grey literature. Terms for inclusion and exclusion are presented in this review. Fourteen studies met all inclusion criteria and were sorted into four categories using the public health model of prevention: primary, secondary and tertiary levels of prevention, as well as multi-level interventions. Primary level interventions had the most studies, followed by secondary interventions. Only one tertiary intervention was included. The findings indicated that the effectiveness of the interventions presented were inconsistent at each level and pointed out a significant need for more research at all levels of prevention. While zero tolerance discipline policies disproportionately affect minority students, limited research is available on the effects of alternative policies on these students. There is a need for additional research in the development, implementation and effectiveness of alternative programs including staff training and support, long term impacts and standardization among programs and policies. ZERO TOLERANCE ALTERNATIVES 3


Construction organisations are increasingly focussing their energies, resources,
and aspirations to the development of strategy. In this context, information
technology (IT) is progressively being used as a core tool and enabler of the
business strategy (BS), particularly in areas of strategic analysis and knowledge
management. However, two major issues should be considered concerning the
use of IT; the first of which relates to the technology itself - specifically how this
can be used (and evaluated) to support the business; and the second issue
concerns implementation - the details of which naturally embraces many
aspects, including the provision of (and support for) IT training. From an IT
perspective therefore, organisations should endeavour to match opportunity
with corporate capability, the edict of which requires appropriately trained and
skilled workforce to deliver IT capability (to match skills with demand).
Training can be considered an investment, the remit of which aims to prepare
organisations to adapt to the changing business environment (to meet current
and future business needs). Whilst the provision of training can often lead to
improved performance, organisations must however engage appropriate
mechanisms to evaluate (and assess) the impact of IT training on the business
performance gap. Organisations are therefore increasingly using 'process' to
improve business performance, the concepts of which focus on activities (how
things are done), rather than the product ('what' is produced). Many large
construction organisations are now using maps and protocols to deliver
business benefits. In this context, the process approach to IT (and its link with
the BS) could therefore enable process users to more readily appreciate (and
assess) the impact of IT training on the business performance gap.
This research introduces a Generic Assessment Process Protocol model for IT
training (GAPP-IT) for specific use in the construction business environment. It
engages the Process Protocol (PP) methodology to identify the key sequential
stages (gates) and issues required to satisfy (or close) the business
performance gap.


Discussions of ad verecundiam arguments have always engaged with an essential tension between two kinds of possible approaches. On the one hand, ad verecundiams are typically classed under the heading of 'fallacies' as potentially abusive and non-rational argument forms, especially in the field of 'informal logic' (Copi, Walton). Similarly, the pragma-dialecticians focus on 'fallacious' uses by treating fallacies as violations of the rules of rational discussion. On the other hand, frequent appeals to authority are part and parcel of human cognitive enterprises ranging from lay knowledge to highly specialized scientific research, as recognised by fileds such as social epistemology (Coady, Goldman), the history of science (the problem of testimony – Kusch, Shapiro), or recent trends in the social studies of science and technology ('studies of expertise and experience', Collins, Evans). Recently Walton approaches these appeals in the framework of argument schemes. The paper tries, in the context of recent trends both in the public understanding of science and in the study of argumentation, to contrast these approaches with each other, and with empirical considerations concerning appeals to authority based on Internet blog discussions of the H1N1 case.


Many definitions of postmodernism focus on its nature as the aftermath of the modern industrial age when technology developed. This book extends that analysis to postmodernism by looking at the status of science, technology, and the arts, the significance of technocracy, and the way the flow of information is controlled in the Western world.


Monte Carlo simulations have become a common practice to evaluate a proposed statistical procedure, particularly when it is analytically intractable. Validity of any simulation study relies heavily on the goodness of random variate generators for some specified distributions, which in turn is based on the successful generation of independent variates from the uniform distribution. However, a typical computer‐generated pseudo‐random number generator (PRNG) is a deterministic algorithm and we know that no PRNG is capable of generating a truly random uniform sequence. Since the foundation of a simulation study is built on the PRNG used, it is extremely important to design a good PRNG. We review some recent developments on PRNGs with nice properties such as high‐dimensional equi‐distribution, efficiency, long period length, portability, and efficient parallel implementations. WIREs Comput Stat 2017, 9:e1404. doi: 10.1002/wics.1404


During 1972 a large epidemic, in excess of 10,000 cases, of typhoid fever occurred in Mexico City, Pachuca, and other communities of Mexico. The main characteristic of the epidemic, in addition to the large number of persons affected, was the prevalence of a strain of Salmonella typhi which was highly resistant to chloramphenicol both in vivo and in vitro, and which belonged to a single phage type, Vi degraded approaching type A. Of 493 strains of S. typhi studied during the outbreak, 452 (91.7%) were resistant to chloramphenicol (CM), tetracycline (TC), streptomycin (SM), and sulfonamides (SU). The epidemic strain owes its resistance to an R factor which is easily transferable to Escherichia coli K-12 and which appears to be stable. In the third month of the outbreak, a strain of S. typhi resistant to CM, TC, SM, SU, ampicillin (AM), and kanamycin (KM) was isolated from a patient with severe typhoid fever. During the following 9 months, six additional strains of S. typhi resistant to AM, CM, TC, SM, and SU were also isolated. Transfer experiments to E. coli K-12 indicate that these strains are infected with two different R factors, one causing CM, TC, SM, and SU resistance and the other causing AM or AM and KM resistance. The frequency of transfer of the resistance in overnight crosses was in the order of 10−4 for CM, TC, SM, and SU and 10−6 for AM or AM, and KM. The appearance of these strains resistant both to chloramphenicol and ampicillin was a cause for concern for the clinicians; fortunately, they have remained an infrequent cause of disease.


The Topia district lies on the western flank of the Sierra Madre Occidental structural arch and Tertiary volcanic plateau. Beneath unmineralized mid-Tertiary silicic ignimbrites lies a kilometer-thick sequence of early Tertiary andesitic lavas and pyroclastics resting on Mesozoic limestones and marine clastic sedimentary rocks. Laramide geanticlinal uplift along the Sierra produced regional tilting and major fracturing of the volcanic pile. Following an interval of major erosion, the sequence was intruded by granodiorite stocks, and a northeast-trending set of faults was mineralized as Ag-Zn-Pb-Au-Cu-rich fissure veins. Mineralization was followed by an interval of tectonic quiescence and then by eruption of more than a kilometer of Oligocene silicic ignimbrites. K-Ar dating of igneous rocks and mineralization yields an age of 46.1 m.y. for one of the granodiorite stocks, a date of 43.8 m.y. for vein adularia, 43.5 m.y. for hydrothermal celadonite, and 44.0 m.y. for an andesite lava the K-Ar age of which was reset by the mineralization thermal event. A date of 37.9 m.y. on the lowermost rhyolite welded tuff corresponds to initiation of widespread silicic ignimbrite eruptions in the Sierra. Fissure-filling mineralization was accompanied by development of hydrothermal alteration comprising (1) a narrow (<1 m) quartz-sericite-pyrite alteration envelope (___ adularia ___ chamosite _ kaolinite _ hematite _ celadonite) that grades outward into (2) a variably silicified oxidative alteration zone that occupies the entire interval between veins at elevations in and above the oTe horizon. The distal oxidative facies envelopes consist of an inner intense celadonite + quartz + hematite + calcite + illite + clinochlore subfacies and an outer subfacies of hematite + calcite veinlets in nearly fresh rock. At elevations below the ore horizon, the local oxidative alteration facies is absent and the inner silicification zone passes outward into conventional propylitic facies envelopes. Chemical gains and losses and porosity changes have been monitored quantitatively across the succession of alteration envelopes. Oblique .tensional slip along faults having gentle convex and concave irregularities and steps in the slip surface produced a succession of alternating dilatant (fissure) and convergent (shear zone) intervals along each fault. Open fissure intervals were filled by more or less symmetric, crustified precipitation on the walls, whereas wall-rock-replacement mineralization characterizes narrow veins in shear zone intervals. In each vein, ore occupies a restricted vertical interval of 100 to 200 m (the "ore horizon"), which grades downward into barren coarsegrained quartz-rich filling and grades upward into barren, cherty quartz-calcite-barite-rich vein filling. The ore horizon commonly contains subequal amounts of sphalerite, pyrite, galena, and quartz, with minor arsenopyrite, marcasite, chalcopyrite, Ag-rich sulfosalts, electrum, chamosite, muscovite, and carbonates. Locally, massive sphalerite as millimeter- to centimeterthick crustification bands dominates the paragenetic sequence. Crustification bands dominated by quartz, calcite, and barite are predominantly fine grained; they precipitated from lowsalinity, boiling fluids. Intercalated bands dominated by sulfides are characteristically very coarse grained (to 10 cm) and have high-salinity fluid inclusions (7-23 wt %); no primary vapor-dominant inclusions have been recognized in sphalerite or pyrargyrite. Precipitation of crustification bands dominated by coarse-grained sulfides was punctuated by recurrent effervescence of ore fluids within the ore horizon, accompanied by precipitation of electrum


Detection of emerging topics is now receiving renewed interest motivated by the rapid growth of social networks. Conventional-term-frequency-based approaches may not be appropriate in this context, because the information exchanged in social-network posts include not only text but also images, URLs, and videos. We focus on emergence of topics signaled by social aspects of theses networks. Specifically, we focus on mentions of users--links between users that are generated dynamically (intentionally or unintentionally) through replies, mentions, and retweets. We propose a probability model of the mentioning behavior of a social network user, and propose to detect the emergence of a new topic from the anomalies measured through the model. Aggregating anomaly scores from hundreds of users, we show that we can detect emerging topics only based on the reply/mention relationships in social-network posts. We demonstrate our technique in several real data sets we gathered from Twitter. The experiments show that the proposed mention-anomaly-based approaches can detect new topics at least as early as text-anomaly-based approaches, and in some cases much earlier when the topic is poorly identified by the textual contents in posts.


The whale shark, Rhincodon typus, is a long-lived migratory species inhabiting tropical and warm-temperate waters worldwide. Seasonal aggregations of whale sharks in shallow coastal waters of many countries have led to the development of ecotourism industries. Whale sharks that aggregate seasonally at Ningaloo Reef in Western Australia have a migration range within Indonesian and Southeast Asian waters. However, very little is known about their behaviour, local migration patterns, or potential threats faced in this region. In this study, we investigated traditional ecological knowledge of whale sharks through interviews with Bajo and other fishers from five settlements in the Timor and Roti Islands in eastern Indonesia. We found that there are culturally driven prohibitions and customary beliefs concerning whale sharks among Bajo fishermen, who commonly sight sharks in the Timor Sea, in southern Indonesian and Timor Leste waters. Sightings are most common during the months of August to December. Interviews also indicate a low level of harvesting of whale sharks in the region. The results demonstrate the potential for combining traditional ecological knowledge and new technology to develop whale shark management strategies, and to determine the predictability of whale shark appearances as one vital factor in assessing the potential for development of small-scale whale shark ecotourism initiatives.


This paper presents a new method using discrete transforms to segment blood vessels and exudates in eye fundus color images. To obtain the desired segmentation, an illumination correction is previously done based on a homomorphic filter because of the uneven illuminance in the eye fundus image. To distinguish foreground objects from the background, we propose a super Gaussian bandpass filter in the discrete cosine transform DCT domain. These filters are applied on the green channel that contains information to segment pathologies. To segment exudates in the filtered DCT image, a gamma correction is applied to enhance foreground objects; in the resulting image, the Otsu's global threshold method is applied, after which, a masking operation over the effective area of the eye fundus image is performed to obtain the final segmentation of exudates. In the case of blood vessels, the negative of the image filtered with DCT is first calculated, then a median filter is applied to reduce noise and artifacts, followed by a gamma correction. Again, the Otsu's global threshold method for binarization, next a morphological closing operation is employed, and a masking operation gives the corresponding final segmentation. Illustrative examples taken from a free clinical database are included to demonstrate the capability of the proposed methods.


Background Endothelial cells line blood vessels and the heart where they release cardio-protective hormones that prevent thrombosis. Available replacements to treat heart valve diseases are limited by the lack of the endothelial cell layer, making them susceptible to calcification and thrombosis, which limits utility and increases the need for multiple replacements[1]. A suggested solution is to adapt tissue engineering techniques to formulate intelligent instructive scaffolds decorated with specific molecules to enhance the adhesion and population of circulating progenitor endothelial cells from the blood. Aim In this study, we aim to modulate nanofibrous scaffolds fabricated from the biodegradable polyster polycaprolactone (PCL) to provide a viable environment for endothelial cells from blood progenitors (blood outgrowth endothelial cells; BOECs) to adhere, proliferate and function successfully. To date we have (i) compared the behaviour of BOECs to endothelial cells isolated from human heart valves (hVECs) under shear conditions, (ii) tested the compatibility of PCL with BOECs by assessing cell viability and inflammatory responses on modified PCL films, and their ability to populate structured PCL scaffolds. Methods BOECs were isolated from the blood of healthy volunteers by selective plating of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), and phenotyping was assured by measuring the expression of endothelial cell markers using fluorescent activated cell sorting (FACS). hVECs were isolated from human aortic valves by collagenase digestion. Shear stress was studied using a cone and plate model. PCL films were prepared by solvent evaporation method, and sterilized with ethanol for 30 min, or modified by plasma oxidation at 30 w and 0.1 m bar for 30 min. PCL Films were coated with extracellular matrix proteins before cell seeding. After 72 hr of culture, cell viability was measured using alamar blue and cell secretory function measured by the release of CXCL8, endothelin-1 (ET-1) and prostacyclin by ELISA. Finally, the ability of these cells to populate 3D structured nanofibrous PCL scaffolds fabricated by jet spraying technique2 was determined by confocal microscopy of phalloidin stained cells. Results BOECs colonies appeared at between 7 and 21 days of culture. FACS analysis of expanded cells showed positive expression of the typical endothelial cell markers CD31, CD90, VE Cadherin, CD44, and CD105. Also, BOECs stained negative for the (non-endothelial) exclusion markers CD14, CD45, and CD133. In shear stress studies, BOECs and hVECs aligned similarly to ventricular flow (ie. directional shear stress). Both cell types displayed similar viability responses when grown on PCL which was ∼40% less than achieved when cells were grown on control glass slides. Modifying PCL with plasma oxidation or extracellular matrix coating did not improve viability of either cell type. Both BOECs and hVECs released CXCL8 and ET-1 when grown on control glass slides which was not increased in cells cultured on PCL. In addition, both cell types released the cardio-protective hormone prostacyclin when grown on glass or PCL, suggesting that they would provide a viable anti-thrombotic surface. Regarding to 3D structures, BOECs were able to populate both modified and unmodified aligned nanofibrous PCL scaffolds, and appeared to align with the direction of the fibres. Conclusions BOECs expressed the requisite endothelial cell markers and, as we have shown previously, responded appropriately to shear and released CXCL8, ET-1 and prostacyclin 3; suggesting that BOECs are suitable seeding cells for tissue engineering. For the endothelialization of tissue engineered heart valves, the target cells that BOECs need to mimic are hVECs. Our preliminary studies show that BOECs and hVECs profile similarly in population of PCL, alignment with shear stress and with endothelial cell hormone release. In addition, BOECs are able to align with the direction of PCL fibres, mimicking the native valve endothelial cells that were previously reported to align with the direction of the collagen fibers[4]. These results are promising and indicate the potential of BOECs as a cell source to populate PCL nanofibrous scaffolds designed to replace heart valves. Nevertheless, our data shows that standard PCL platforms are not optimal in terms of cell viability. This may be improved by biofunctionalizing PCL with specific molecules to support BOECs adhesion and proliferation. For that, we are currently studying the potential of linking the BOECs specific peptide (TPS) to PCL. References [1] Kasimir MT, Weigel G, Sharma J, Rieder E, Seebacher G, Wolner E, et al. The decellularized porcine heart valve matrix in tissue engineering: platelet adhesion and activation. Thromb Haemost 2005, 94(3): 562–567. [2] Sohier J, Carubelli I, Sarathchandra P, Latif N, Chester AH, Yacoub MH. The potential of anisotropic matrices as substrate for heart valve engineering. Biomaterials. 2014; 35(6):1833–44. [3] Reed DM, Foldes G, Kirkby NS, Ahmetaj-Shala B, Mataragka S, Mohamed NA, Francis C, Gara E, Harding SE, Mitchell JA. Morphology and vasoactive hormone profiles from endothelial cells derived from stem cells of different sources.Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2014 12;455(3-4):172–7 [4] Deck JD. Endothelial cell orientation on aortic valve leaflets. Cardiovasc Res. 1986; 20:760–767.


Operational validities are important to personnel selection research because they estimate how well a predictor in practical use correlates with a criterion construct, if the criterion measure were purged of measurement error variance. Because range restriction on a predictor or predictor composite creates incidental range restriction on the criterion, existing methodologies offer limited information and guidance for estimating operational validities. Although these effects of range restriction and criterion unreliability could be corrected with existing equations in a sequential fashion, proper use of sequential correction equations is not always as straightforward as it appears. This research reviews the existing equations for correcting validities, outlines the appropriate method for correcting validity coefficients via sequential equations, and proposes a new equation that performs a combined correction for the effects of incidental range restriction and criterion unreliability.


This Article explores the divergence in law and convergence in economics in dealing with harms and benefits. While tort law usually makes the injurer internalize wrongful harms through damages, restitution law does not enable the benefactor to internalize the benefits she confers on others without their request. In both harm and benefit cases, however, internalization seems to make economic sense for the same reason: injurers and benefactors alike will behave efficiently if they internalize the externalities that they create. The Article's main goal is to develop eight liability rules for harms and benefits cases and to point out the symmetry between the rules relating to harms and the rules relating to benefits. It also provides an explanation for the legal divergence between tort law and restitution law, and makes the claim that the gap between these two fields should be narrowed. Finally, the article relates these eight rules to the main relevant categories of harm and benefit cases in positive law and appraises their advantages and disadvantages.


Models whose parameters were optimized by genetic algorithm (GA) were developed to predict the longitudinal dispersion coefficient in natural channels. Following the existing equations in the literature, ten different linear and nonlinear models were first constructed. The models relate the dispersion coefficient to flow and channel characteristics. The GA model was then employed to find the optimal values of the constructed model parameters by minimizing the mean absolute error function (objective function). The GA model utilized an 80% cross-over rate and 4% mutation rate. It started each computation with a population of 100 chromosomes in the gene pool. For each model, while minimizing the objective function, the values of the model parameters were constrained between [-10, +10] at each iteration. The optimal values of the model parameters were obtained using a calibration set of 54 out of 80 sets of measured data. The minimum error was obtained for the case where the model was a linear equation relating dispersion coefficient to flow discharge. The model performance was then satisfactorily tested against the remaining 26 measured validation datasets. It performed better than the existing equations. It yielded minimum errors of MAE = 21.4 m 2 /s (mean absolute error) and RMSE = 28.5 m 2 /s (root mean-squares error) and a maximum accuracy rate of 81%.


The National 4 & 5 Hospitality Course Notes help map your route through the CfE programme and provide comprehensive and authoritative guidance. Course Notes give a practical, supportive approach to help deliver the new curriculum and offer an appropriate blend of sound teaching and learning with exam and assessment guidance. * Full coverage of National 4 and 5 course specifications with list of learning intentions * Attractive layout with clear text features * National 5 content clearly marked for differentiation * Key questions highlight crucial concepts and techniques that need to be grasped by students in order to progress to the next learning intention * What the examiner/assessor is looking for to help teachers & students feel secure * End of unit material - unit assessment, exam-style questions with worked answers and examiners commentary, self-assessment * Keep your learning on track/Stretch yourself to encourage self evaluation and provide challenge for higher ability students * Active learning ideas: 'You Should Already Know', lists for student to check they are confident with before proceeding AND 'Make the link' highlights links between the topic and other areas of the course and/or across different subjects * Assessment questions, exemplar work, model answers, suggested topic work


In this paper, we provide theoretical results of estimation bounds and excess risk upper bounds for support vector machine (SVM) with sparse multi-kernel representation. These convergence rates for multi-kernel SVM are established by analyzing a Lasso-type regularized learning scheme within composite multi-kernel spaces. It is shown that the oracle rates of convergence of classifiers depend on the complexity of multi-kernels, the sparsity, a Bernstein condition and the sample size, which significantly improve on previous results even for the additive or linear cases. In summary, this paper not only provides unified theoretical results for multi-kernel SVMs, but also enriches the literature on high-dimensional nonparametric classification.


As we are facing a country wide lockdown in view of international pandemic of Corona Virus-2019 (COVID-19) and deal with never seen before circumstances all over the world, healthcare personnel are often first one to get affected in view of direct exposure because of limited availability of knowledge and personal protection equipment (PPE). Planning and preparedness are essential to respond effectively to outbreaks and epidemic. Radiologists have greater risk of acquiring and transmitting infection due to its close contact with patients during ultrasound (USG) and other procedures related to invasive patient care the service needs to offer. High density, limited space, and working in air conditioned set up are needed for computed tomography, MRI, ultrasonography, X-ray machines; this makes it essential to set specific guidelines to limit transmission and utilize resources in the best possible way so as to minimize the transmission, and at the same time, implementation of a well-prepared plan as per the radiology department is required to prevent further transmission of the virus to department staff members and patients. A multitiered, updated scientific approach suited to us needs to be devised, followed, and monitored at the administrative and departmental level, taking into account the Radiology team that includes doctors, technicians, assistants, and patient contact-operating points. Here, is a systematic scientific review of infection control measures that cover the different dynamics of utmost patient care and staff protocols without hampering the patient treatment for the radiology department set up. We review precautions and safety measures for radiology department personnel to manage patients. It is not clear to what extent the COVID-19 epidemic would establish itself and how long it is going to continue in India. As case diagnosis may take anywhere from a minimum of 14 days to a few months to be visible, we need to enhance surveillance and prepare the community in a proportionate way. Radiology department and the overall health care system should be prepared, educated to continue the servicing emergency scans procedures and important elective procedures following the strict aseptic precautions so health care workers and patients safety are maintained. Each one of us should understand the disease dynamics, routes, and source of transmission and should take utmost precautions to prevent transmission to colleagues and patients by properly using PPE, as early detection and limiting exposure of healthcare workers, employees, and patients is of utmost importance.


Delaware's century-long success in attracting corporations to use its law has provoked a recurring series of inquiries seeking to explain how one of our smallest and least populous states dominates such an important part of our national economy. The larger potential challenge to Delaware's hegemony is the continued shrinking of the space for any state corporate law as the federal government elects to encompass more and more of all fields of American law. This article develops how judicial requirements as to disclosure have become a way for Delaware to push into the part of corporate governance that has been most visibly the federal government's domain. By case law particularly visible since 2007, Delaware courts have expanded the reach of Delaware law in corporate governance via disclosure even in an age of growing federal regulation. This development shows that disclosure to protect the exercise of shareholder governance rights cannot be effectively separated from legal protection that substantively protects shareholder's ability to act within that space, protection usually provided by fiduciary duty provided by Unocal, Revlon and other such well known Delaware cases. Absent a broader federalization of corporate law, only Delaware can provide protection of both disclosure and the shareholders' substantive rights, giving Delaware a continuing advantage as a lawgiver in resolving corporate governance disputes. Additionally, this article addresses challenges made to Delaware law as indeterminate, providing a structural overview that suggests judicial review of director action can best be seen within a space running between judicial deference on one side and intrusive judicial review on the other. The article provides a schematic presentation of how various Delaware cases seen as indeterminate easily fit within such a structure.


Forming beliefs or expectations about others' behavior is fundamental to strategy as it codetermines the outcomes of interactions in and across organizations. In the game-theoretic conception of rationality, agents reason iteratively about each other to form expectations about behavior. According to prior scholarship, actual strategists fall short of this ideal, and attempts to understand the underlying cognitive processes of forming expectations about others are in their infancy. We propose that emotions help regulate iterative reasoning, that is, their tendency to not only reflect on what others think, but also on what others think about their thinking. Drawing on a controlled experiment, we find that a negative emotion (fear) deepens the tendency to engage in iterative reasoning compared with a positive emotion (amusement). Moreover, neutral emotions yield even deeper levels of iterative reasoning. We tentatively interpret these early findings and speculate about the broader link of emotions and expectations in the context of strategic management. Extending the view of emotional regulation as a capability, emotions may be building blocks of rational heuristics for strategic interaction and enable interactive decision making when strategists have little experience with the environment.


This Article examines the contentious debates over recent proposals for "mens rea reform." The substantive criminal law has expanded dramatically, and legislators have criminalized a great deal of conduct that is quite common. Often, new criminal laws do not require that defendants know they are acting unlawfully. Mens rea reform proposals seek to address the problems of overcriminalization and unintentional offending by increasing the burden on prosecutors to prove a defendant's culpable mental state. These proposals have been a staple of conservative-backed bills on criminal justice reform. Many on the left remain skeptical of mens rea reform and view it as a deregulatory vehicle purely designed to protect defendants accused of financial or environmental crimes. Rather than advocating for or against such proposals, this Article argues that opposition to mens rea reform should trouble scholars and activists who are broadly committed to criminal justice reform. Specifically, I argue that the opposition demonstrates three particular pathologies of the U.S. criminal system and U.S. criminal justice reform: (1) an overreliance on criminal law as a vehicle for addressing social problems; (2) the instinct to equalize or level up—when faced with inequality, many commentators frequently argue that the privileged defendant should be treated as poorly as the disadvantaged defendant, rather than using the privileged defendant's treatment as a model; and (3) the temptation for mass incarceration critics to make exceptions and support harsh treatment for particularly unsympathetic defendants. Ultimately, this Article argues that achieving sweeping and transformative criminal justice reform will require overcoming the three pathologies.


Abstract. An assessment of regional similarity in catchment stream response is often needed for accurate predictions in ungauged catchments. However, it is not clear whether similarity among catchments is preserved at all flow conditions. We address this question through the analysis of flow duration curves for 25 gauged catchments located across four river basins in the northeast United States. The coefficient of variation of streamflow percentiles is used as a measure of variability among catchments across flow conditions. Results show that similarity in catchment stream response is dynamic and highly dependent on flow conditions. Specifically, within each of the four basins, the coefficient of variation is high at low flow percentiles and gradually reduces for higher flow percentiles. Analysis of the inter-annual variation in streamflow percentiles shows a similar reduction in variability from low flow to high flow percentiles. Greater similarity in streamflows is observed during the winter and spring (wet) seasons compared to the summer and fall (dry) seasons. Results suggest that the spatial variability in streamflow at low flows is primarily controlled by the dominance of high evaporative demand during the warm period. On the other hand, spatial variability at high flows during the cold period is controlled by the increased dominance of precipitation input over evapotranspiration. By evaluating variability over the entire range of streamflow percentiles, this work explores the nature of hydrologic similarity from a seasonal perspective.


ABSTRACT: This paper argues that Jewish Goddess feminism illustrates the complexity of alternative religious identities and their fluid, ambiguous, and sometimes intimate historical, cultural, and religious connections to mainstream religious identities. 1 While Jewish Goddess feminists find contemporary Judaism theologically and politically problematic, thealogy (feminist discourse on the Goddess and the divinity of femaleness) can offer them precisely the sacralization of female generativity that mainstream Judaism cannot. And yet the distinctions between present/former, alternative/mainstream religious identities are surely ambiguous where the celebration of the Goddess can at once reconstruct Jewish identity and deconstruct the notion of religious identity as a single or successive affiliation. It would seem that Jewish Goddess feminism epitomizes how late or postmodern religious identity may be plural and inclusive, shifting according to the subject9s context and mood and according to the ideological perspective of the observer.


The intelligent robust controls such as a neural network based control for mechatoronic positioning servo systems have been researched actively in recent years because the mechanism design could not cope with the advanced requirements. This paper proposes a novel fuzzy-neural network based intelligent robust control for the mechatoronic positioning servo systems that have nonlinear characteristics such as friction, backlash, variations of load and system parameters, and unknown disturbances. Computational simulation results and experimental results for one degree-of-freedom positioning system are shown to confirm the validity of the proposed controller.


The MAGIC Collaboration reports the discovery of Very High Energy (VHE ; >100 GeV) gamma-ray emission from the High Frequency peaking BL Lac object B3 2247+381 with z=0.1187. The source is positionally consistent with the Fermi-LAT gamma-ray source 1FGL J2250.1+3825 (RA 22 50 06.6 dec +38 25 58, J2000), which was flagged as a promising VHE source candidate by the Fermi-LAT collaboration, information which was shared with the MAGIC collaboration (as well as other IACTs) back in October 2009. The MAGIC observations were triggered by an optical high-state of the source, reported by the Tuorla blazar monitoring program (http://users.utu.fi/kani/1m/B3_2247+381.html). The VHE detection is based on a 9.3 hour-long observation performed on 2010 September 30th, October 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th and 6th in stereoscopic mode with the two 17m diameter imaging Cherenkov telescopes on La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain. The preliminary analysis of the MAGIC data using standard cuts yields a detection of 64 gamma-rays above 150 GeV, corresponding to a pre-trial statistical significance of 5 standard deviations. The observed flux is estimated to be ~2% of the Crab nebula flux above 150 GeV. Target of Opportunity Observations with Swift have also been performed on this source location. A preliminary analysis of the Swift/XRT data shows that the X-ray flux from the source is ~4 times higher than during last observation (spring 2010). Further Swift observations are expected until October 15. We thank the Swift team for accepting and promptly scheduling the X-ray observations. MAGIC will continue observations of B3 2247+381. Observations at other wavelengths are encouraged.


OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to report our experience in management and clinical result of Spigelian hernia with preperitoneal mesh repair or without mesh repair. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: Retrospecitve analysis. SUBJECTS: the medical records of 11 cases of Spigelian hernia with surgical treatment were reviewed. The clinical characteristic, treatment and clinical result were evaluated. RESULTS: of the 11 cases that were evaluated, 7 patients underwent open repair of hernia without extra-peritoneal mesh (group A), the other 4 patients underwent open surgery with extra-peritoneal mesh (group B). There were no significant difference in age, gender, body mass index, underlying diseases, symptoms, duration of symptoms, features of hernia sac and method of approach. No recurrence was found in these two groups. The mean follow-up time was 8.5 +/- 3.2 (years) in group A and 6.7 +/- 2.1 (years) in group B. CONCLUSIONS: whether open repair of spigelian hernia with or without extra-peritoneal mesh gives the same and well result.


Abstract Pinyon and juniper expansion into sagebrush ecosystems results in decreased cover and biomass of perennial grasses and forbs. We examine the effectiveness of spring prescribed fire on restoration of sagebrush ecosystems by documenting burn effects on soil nutrients, herbaceous aboveground biomass, and tissue nutrient concentrations. This study was conducted in a central Nevada woodland and included control and burn treatment plots sampled before and after a prescribed fire. Six native understory plant species (Crepis acuminata, Eriogonum umbellatum, Eriogonum elatum, Poa secunda secunda, Festuca idahoensis, and Lupinus argenteus) important for native sagebrush obligate foragers were chosen to represent the understory plant community. L. argenteus is also important for system nutrient cycling and nitrogen fixation. Plants were collected from three microsites (under tree canopy, under shrub canopy, and interspace) common in transitional woodlands during peak growth the summer before a spring prescribed burn and each of two summers following the burn. Soils were collected from corresponding locations at two depth intervals (0–8 and 8–52 cm) to determine the relationships between soil and plant nutrients following fire. Microsite affected soil nutrients but did not influence plant tissue concentrations with the exception of F. idahoensis. Burning resulted in increases in soil surface NH+4, NO−3, inorganic N, Ca2+, Mn2+, and Zn2+. Increases in NO−3, inorganic N, and Zn2+ were also observed in deeper horizons. Burning did not affect aboveground plant biomass or nutrient concentrations in the first year with the exception of F. idahoensis, which had increased tissue P. By the second year, all species had statistically significant responses to burning. The most common response was for increased aboveground plant weight and tissue N concentrations. Plant response to burning appeared to be related to the burn treatment and the soil variables surface K+, NO−3, and inorganic N.


This paper briefly examines the options for reform proposed by the Pensions Commission in 2004 to sustain the UK state pension system in response to an ageing population. It further explores, under various scenarios, the long-term viability of immigration as an alternative policy response by developing a population projection model to determine the replacement migration levels that would be required to maintain contributions (taxes) at current levels, using population data and assumptions in the public domain. The economic and social implications of immigration-based policies are also considered. The results indicate that not only does each policy option proposed by the Pensions Commission require changes that are too large for the policy to be implemented on its own, but that a combination of options too is likely to require discomforting changes at the individual level when considered under plausible scenarios. Economic and social implications aside, the results also indicate that immigration is an inefficient and ineffective way of salvaging an ageing society. The required replacement migration levels are abnormally high and too volatile for it to be considered as a viable policy alternative.


In this section, a brief synopsis of a range of recently published articles that may be of interest to health visitors is presented. The aim of this roundup is to provide an overview, rather than a detailed summary, of the research papers selected. Should you wish to look at any of the papers in more detail, a full reference is provided.


The paper discusses about the fatwa of Ibn Taymiyya on polygamy. It is well known that as one of the famous jurisconsults in the end of the thirteenth century, Ibn Taymiyya has dispensed many of his responses to Islamic legal cases arose in his time. This paper shows that although relatively an infrequent case posed to him, the issue of polygamy was discussed in such a great length in his book Majmu' Fatawa. That is why it is important according to the author to know why and what kind of problems related to the practice of polygamous marriage posed to this giant Muslim jurist. It is argued that Ibn Taymiyya tended not to view the practice of polygamy as a wrongdoing although it might lead to some negative excess in concern of its practice in Muslim society. Thus, in spite of some problems that might occur, such as injustice to women, neglecting or deserting to the wives, he does not invalidate the marriage as long as the husband can assure the fairness in distributing material supports. Beyond its substantive legal response, the fatwa of polygamy indicates the rareness of the cases arose in his time. This is true if compared to other problems, such as divorce, pervasively posed to Ibn Taymiyya for a response.


This paper examines children's early experiences with food in Japan. Focusing on meal and snack time in and around households and a preschool, it identifies three practices across these settings – talking about food, finishing all of one's food, and behaving properly at the table – and examines the verbal (e.g. pragmatic particles, passive) and non-verbal resources (e.g. pointing), and strategies (e.g. assessment, reported speech) that caregivers and peers deploy in socializing children to these practices. The findings reveal how speakers deploy language resources and strategies within activities surrounding food to socialize children into how to feel towards and relate to others, food, and food-related objects.


A T-shaped all-optical switch based on nonlinear photonic crystal microring resonator has been analyzed by the finite difference time domain method. Photonic crystal microring resonators are used because they can enhance the nonlinearity due to the localization of light and slow group velocity. By cascading two of these switches we have shown the performance of a NOR gate. The simulations show that in the OFF state the transmission of the proposed NOR gate is only about 2% while in the ON state it is about 81%.


In December 2019 a clustering of pneumonia was reported for the first time in Wuhan, Hubei, China [1]. A coronavirus was identified as the pathogen, which has since been given the name Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The disease caused by SARS-CoV-2 is called COVID-19 which has since spread worldwide. In Germany the numbers continue to increase, and the level of COVID-19 lethality in Europe cannot yet be accurately estimated. However, lethality appears to be particularly higher in older patients compared to seasonal influenza [2, 3]. Based on experience in China, computed tomography (CT) is very helpful in COVID-19 in that it can produce an image that is suggestive for diagnosis, and the sensitivity of CT is in some cases higher than that of the current gold standard, real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) [4, 5]. The aim of this article is to present a case with COVID-19 pneumonia and to provide an overview of the existing radiological literature on COVID-19.


First-principles density functional theory calculations are performed to examine five postulated diffusion mechanisms for Ni in NiAl: next-nearest-neighbor (NNN) jumps, the triple defect mechanism, and three variants of the six-jump cycle. In contrast to most previous theoretical work, which employed empirical interatomic potentials, we provide a more accurate nonempirical description of the mechanisms. For each pathway, we calculate the activation energy and the pre-exponential factor for the diffusion constant. Although our quantum mechanics calculations are performed at 0 K, we show that it is critical to include the effect of temperature on the pre-exponential factor. We predict that the triple defect mechanism and [110] six-jump cycle both are likely contributors to Ni diffusion in NiAl since their activation energies and pre-exponential factors are in very good agreement with experimental data. Although the activation energy and pre-exponential factor of NNN jumps agree well with experiment, experimental evidence suggests that this is not a dominant contributor to Ni diffusion. Lastly, the activation energies of the [100] bent and straight six-jump cycles are 1 eV higher than the experimental value, allowing us to exclude both [100] cycle mechanisms. © 2008 The American Physical Society.


In 25 facilities keeping a total of 73 moose, the feeding and husbandry conditions were recorded during two visits in winter and summer, respectively. Animals were classified according to a body condition score, a faeces consistency score, behavioural parameters, and the state of their hooves. Samples of the feeds used were taken and analysed for nutrient, fibre and mineral content. With these data, the nutrient content of the offered rations was calculated. Five rations each in winter and summer did not meet the calculated energy requirements of the animals. There was a correlation between the body condition score and the amount of feeds offered to the moose, which indicates that food supply alone, regardless of diet composition, was a limiting factor in the population of this study. Moose that received less food more often displayed a typical searching behaviour. There were large differences between facilities in diet composition and feeding regime, in the supply of fresh browse, in the deworming regime, and in other husbandry factors. More than half of all bull moose on display had small velvet lacerations on their cranial antler tips due to poor feeding trough design. The amount of dietary protein offered did not differ between facilities in which the animals did and did not display overgrown hooves. Most diets had concentrations of soluble carbohydrates that would trigger acidosis in domestic ruminants. As hay is not readily accepted by moose as a fibre source, another way to increase dietary fibre is necessary, ideally through browse.


One of the most pervasive and disruptive effects of globalisation is the fragmentation of production processes across countries. This phenomenon is the result of delocalisation strategies pursued by firms in industrialised countries to counter increasing competitive pressures from low labour-cost producers in emerging economies. Many Italian industrial districts are deeply interested by this phenomenon. This paper will be focussed on footwear industrial districts. In the Italian footwear sector the increasing globalisation of production is imposing major changes on the organisation of production: · on the one hand, evidence at a national level shows that increasing international competition is spurring a massive fragmentation of production processes through delocalisation of labour-intensive activities abroad (towards Eastern European countries, mainly Romania); · on the other hand, evidence from a previous study of one of the author on one of the most important footwear clusters ? Riviera del Brenta ? suggests that the overwhelming presence of fashion firms and increasing concentration in distribution is limiting producers? control on some crucial activities, i.e. design, branding, marketing, distribution (Rabellotti R., 2001, ?The effect of globalisation on industrial districts in Italy: the case of Brenta?, IDS Working Paper 144, Institute of Development Studies, Brighton). Overall, these trends are reducing the range of activities carried out within the districts. Consequently, as firms in industrial districts enter international production networks, they are altering their traditional sources of competitiveness, which has traditionally come from intra-cluster relationships. This paper is concerned with the effect of globalisation of production on footwear industrial districts in Italy. The aim is to investigate the changing role of footwear districts within international production networks. The following questions will be tackled: which is the pattern of specialisation of footwear districts in Italy? Is there any common trend towards a reduction of activities carried out within the districts? Or, instead, are different patterns emerging for districts according to their segment of market and according to the value chains they belong to? The paper will explore these issues by analysing the pattern of fragmentation of production in the footwear sector at a regional and ?provincia? level, using data on outward processing trade (OPT) collected by Associazione Nazionale Calzaturifici Italiani (ANCI). This will allow to understand delocalisation strategies by location and to answer the question of whether different trends are emerging at a regional level. By matching this information with the geographical distribution of footwear districts in Italy, it should be possible to throw some light on the pattern of specialisation of different districts. As regards the other trend which might impact on the pattern of specialisation of footwear districts ? such as the emergence of big fashion firms in the luxury segment of the market? and which does not show up in the data, primary source information will be collected through surveys to producers in different footwear clusters, to complement the analysis above.


Mustafa Ali was the foremost historian of the sixteenth-century Ottoman Empire. Most modern scholars of the Ottoman period have focused on economic and institutional issues, but this study uses Ali and his works as the basis for analyzing the nature of intellectual and social life in a formative period of the Ottoman Empire.Originally published in 1986.The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These paperback editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.


Following the events of September 11 th 2001 the "uncertain" has become all the more certain in meaning. The two most notorious "flights" in history have contributed to a global (in)security situation in which we have all in one way or another become connected through an assured vulnerability to the catastrophic "event-to-come". This dangerous certainty unfortunately seems to be the only truism of the 21 st Century. Naturally, facing these conditions the strategic landscape has been radically transformed. With security broadened in scope and deepened in meaning, governmental reason has been forced to confront each and every potential threat posed to our settled political existence. However, whilst these efforts could be seen to be indicative of a new global humanism, one which is properly concerned with protecting life from all manner of violent and traumatic encounters, they do not necessarily guarantee any prospect of success. To the contrary, the advances made in complexity thinking have taught us a rather disturbing lesson: despite our most strident attempts, radically interconnected and dynamic systems cannot be calculated with absolute precision. With another attack by all accounts "inevitable", at best, it is hoped that our efforts will disrupt capacities for destruction, improve our early warning systems, or make our logistical arrangements more responsive when dealing with the aftermath of some future attack. To be expected, in this climate the Global War on Terror has moved well beyond bringing the perpetrators of 9/11 to justice. Tasked with protecting the future productive vitality of all species existence—not to mention the critical infrastructure which sustains that existence, it has become a generic term for a planetary security effort which is increasingly taking all life to be its object.


We investigated the effects of armature reaction on the performance of a three-phase three-stack claw pole motor with soft magnetic composite stator core by using three-dimensional finite-element analysis (FEA), which is an effective approach to accurately compute the parameters and performance such as the back electromotive force (EMF), core losses, and winding inductance at various saturation levels. The motor is rated as 500 W at 1800 rpm when the stator current is 4.1 A, driven by a sensorless brushless DC scheme. Because of the armature reaction, the back EMF produced by the rotor permanent magnets and the developed torque is reduced by about 3.3% at the rated load, and the core losses increase drastically by 41% from no-load to full-load. The winding inductance is computed with different loads at different rotor angles


The genetic diversity of Schistosoma haematobium remains largely unstudied in comparison to that of Schistosoma mansoni. To characterize the extent of genetic diversity in S. haematobium among its definitive host (humans), we collected S. haematobium eggs from the urine of 73 infected schoolchildren at 5 primary schools in White Nile State, Sudan, and then performed a randomly amplified polymorphic DNA marker ITS2 by PCR-RFLP analysis. Among 73 S. haematobium egg-positive cases, 13 were selected based on the presence of the S. haematobium satellite markers A4 and B2 in their genomic DNA, and used for RFLP analysis. The 13 samples were subjected to an RFLP analysis of the S. haematobium ITS2 region; however, there was no variation in size among the fragments. Compared to the ITS2 sequences obtained for S. haematobium from Kenya, the nucleotide sequences of the ITS2 regions of S. haematobium from 4 areas in Sudan were consistent with those from Kenya (> 99%). In this study, we demonstrate for the first time that most of the S. haematobium population in Sudan consists of a pan-African S. haematobium genotype; however, we also report the discovery of Kenyan strain inflow into White Nile, Sudan.


Adequate representation and preclusion depend on whether the courts treat a litigant as part of a group experiencing an aggregate harm or as a distinct person suffering individual injuries. And though a vast literature about adequate representation exists in the class-action context, it thins dramatically when contemplating other forms of group litigation, such as parens patriae actions and multidistrict litigation. As class actions have gradually fallen into disfavor and attorneys and commentators seek alternative means for resolving group harms, the relative clarity of Rule 23 wanes. How should courts evaluate adequate representation in parens patriae actions and in multidistrict litigation? The answer to this question matters immensely since adequate representation is critical to precluding relitigation and achieving finality.This Article suggests that courts should differentiate between inadequate representation claims based on the underlying right at stake. When the underlying right arises from an aggregate harm — a harm that affects a group of people equally and collectively — and demands an indivisible remedy, courts should tolerate greater conflicts among group members when evaluating a subsequent claim of inadequate representation. Because the harm is aggregate and the remedy is indivisible (typically declaratory or injunctive relief), if one group member receives the remedy, then they all receive the remedy. The litigation operates to group members' benefit or detriment equally, so if one group member is inadequately represented, they are all inadequately represented. Consequently, a subsequent litigant can successfully avoid preclusion only where the lawyers or the named representatives acted contrary to the group's best interests or attempted to represent an overinclusive, noncohesive group where some members required unique relief that the representative had no selfish reason to pursue.Conversely, when plaintiffs suffer individual injuries at the same defendant's hands and unite their claims for economic or efficiency reasons, that aggregation does not convert their individual injuries into an aggregate harm. When counsel fails to fairly represent her client in vindicating that harm, inadequate representation is an individual injury. In multidistrict litigation and Rule 23(b)(3) class actions, which typically include individuals litigating their individual harms together for systematic and litigant efficiency, courts should look for "structural conflicts" between the claimants themselves as well as between the representatives and the claimants. This means that both initially and on a collateral attack, courts should accept fewer conflicts than in cases involving aggregate rights. Accordingly, judges should assess whether there are reasons the lawyers "might skew systematically the conduct of the litigation so as to favor some claimants over others on grounds aside from reasoned evaluation of their respective claims or to disfavor claimants generally vis-a-vis the lawyers themselves."


OBJECTIVE
To determine types and estimate prevalence of potentially zoonotic enteric pathogens shed by wild animals admitted to either of 2 wildlife hospitals and to characterize distribution of these pathogens and of aerobic bacteria in a hospital environment.

DESIGN
Cross-sectional study.

SAMPLE
Fecal samples from 338 animals in 2 wildlife hospitals and environmental samples from 1 wildlife hospital.

PROCEDURES
Fecal samples were collected within 24 hours of hospital admission. Environmental samples were collected from air and surfaces. Samples were tested for zoonotic pathogens via culture techniques and biochemical analyses. Prevalence of pathogen shedding was compared among species groups, ages, sexes, and seasons. Bacterial counts were determined for environmental samples.

RESULTS
Campylobacter spp, Vibrio spp, Salmonella spp, Giardia spp, and Cryptosporidium spp (alone or in combination) were detected in 105 of 338 (31%) fecal samples. Campylobacter spp were isolated only from birds. Juvenile passerines were more likely to shed Campylobacter spp than were adults; prevalence increased among juvenile passerines during summer. Non-O1 serotypes of Vibrio cholerae were isolated from birds; during an oil-spill response, 9 of 10 seabirds screened were shedding this pathogen, which was also detected in environmental samples. Salmonella spp and Giardia spp were isolated from birds and mammals; Cryptosporidium spp were isolated from mammals only. Floors of animal rooms had higher bacterial counts than did floors with only human traffic.

CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE
Potentially zoonotic enteric pathogens were identified in samples from several species admitted to wildlife hospitals, indicating potential for transmission if prevention is not practiced.


Aim of the study Investigation of the correlation between serum estradiol (E2), salivary E2 and sonographic measurements of follicles in women undergoing controlled ovarian stimulation (COS) for IVF/ICSI. Methods This is a prospective study performed at the Department of Reproductive Medicine of Ghent University Hospital (Belgium) between November 2016 and January 2017 over a total of 40 patients. During routine COS, two-dimensional measurements of the follicles were performed using transvaginal ultrasound (TVUS) and E2 was measured in saliva and serum. A linear Mixed-Effects model (MIXED) was built, using SPSS Statistics 24. Results Statistical analysis shows a strong linear correlation between serum and salivary E2. For every single unit increase in serum E2 (+ 1 ng/L) the estimated saliva E2 concentration is expected to increase with 0.011 pg/mL (95% CI [0.009 - 0.01]). Strong linear correlations between both saliva and serum E2 and follicular dimensions were also found. For every millimetre increase in follicle diameter the estimated serum E2 concentration is expected to increase with 8.32 ng/L (95% CI [7, 10-9, 54]). For every millimetre increase in follicle diameter the estimated saliva level of E2 is expected to increase with 0.11 pg/mL (95% CI [0.09 - 0.13]). Conclusions A strong correlation between serum and salivary E2 concentrations was found. In addition, both are strongly correlated with the product of the number of follicles and their average diameter, measured by TVUS. More investigation needs to be done to find out if salivary E2 is an effective tool for monitoring IVF cycles.


T1-mapping cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) is a rapidly expanding non-invasive tool for quantitative assessment of myocardial fibrosis. To achieve both efficiency and reproducibility in quantification of T1 measures, automated myocardial boundary tracing is desirable. Accordingly, the application of robust segmentation algorithms for this modality are of significant interest. However, conventional algorithms may fail in myocardial segmentation of T1-mapping images due to low signal gradients at the endocardial-blood pool boundary. In this work, we propose using prior information from cinematic (CINE) CMR images toward accurate myocardial segmentation of native T1-mapping images, acquired using the shortened modified Look-Locker imaging (shMOLLI) technique. We use a three-step framework, which begins with pre-processing and resizing of both CINE and shMOLLI images. Next, we implement semi-automated segmentation of the myocardium on resized CINE images using a deformable model-based technique, via the freely available software Segment v2.2. The final step of our framework is registration and propagation of the CINE contours to corresponding (slice-matched) native shMOLLI images using a non-rigid registration technique based on a modality independent neighborhood descriptor (MIND). We validate our technique on 20 image sets obtained from 20 patients with confirmed myocardial fibrosis related to ischemic injury (myocardial infarction). Our method achieved an average Dice similarity coefficient (DSC) of 84.36% ± 4.03%, precision of 91.68% ± 7.89%, recall of 91.33% ± 8.41% and relative area error of 16.29% ± 8.58%.


We suggest a simple method to aggregate tourist opinions, measured on a scale from 1 to 10, relatively to 14 criteriaconsidered to be the most important. We are taking into consideration the tourists' opinion regarding the importanceof criteria and the synthetic result obtained lead to a hierarchy of the hotels where the research has been made, fromthe point of view of the quality of services provided. The results obtained can make the managers aware about thesituation oft the unit they manage and they can signal to them the characteristics which must be improved in order toobtain a better position in the guests' opinion.


The lack of diversity in the background of the decision-makers in international judicial and quasi-judicial institutions has been widely criticized in recent years. It has been argued that the background of the decision-makers is too homogeneous and not representative of the international community as a whole. However, there is little empirical evidence on whether the background of the decision-makers actually influences their decision-making processes in the international context. This article uses the United Nations Human Rights Committee as a case study for testing empirically the influence on decisions of geographical origin, gender, domestic legal system and professional background.
The article finds certain voting patterns that are associated with geographical origin, domestic legal systems, professional background and possibly gender. This is especially true in cases where the Committee Members (CMs) want to protect the interests of their states, since the most significant voting pattern was found for CMs from Western states voting in favor of states from their regions in immigration cases. However, it is safe to say that on most issues the article did not find that the background of the CMs had significant influence on their voting patterns. The article also uses the United Nations Human Rights Committee as a case study to demonstrate the importance of diversity to the legitimacy of international institutions, beyond the practical implications of diversity on the decision-making process.


Creating a musical fitness function is largely subjective and can be critically affected by the designer's biases. Previous attempts to create such functions for use in genetic algorithms lack scope or are prejudiced to a certain genre of music. They also are limited to producing music strictly in the style determined by the programmer. We show in this paper that musical feature extractors, which avoid the challenges of qualitative judgment, enable creation of a multi-objective function for direct music production. The main result is that the multi-objective fitness function enables creation of music with varying identifiable styles. To demonstrate this, we use three different multi-objective fitness functions to create three distinct sets of musical melodies. We then evaluate the distinctness of these sets using three different approaches: a set of traditional computational clustering metrics; a survey of non-musicians; and analysis by three trained musicians.


Roadway resurfacing and overlay projects effectively reduce the height of roadside barriers placed adjacent to the roadway, which can negatively affect their crashworthiness. More recently, bridge rails and concrete barriers have been installed with slightly increased heights to account for future overlays. However, adjacent guardrails and approach transitions have not yet been modified to account for overlays. The objective of this project was to develop an increased-height approach guardrail transition (AGT) to be crashworthy both before and after roadway overlays of up to 3 in. The 34-in. tall, thrie-beam transition detailed here was designed such that the system would be at its nominal 31-in. height following a 3-in. roadway overlay. Additionally, the upstream end of the AGT incorporated a symmetric W-to-thrie transition segment that would be replaced by an asymmetric transition segment after an overlay to keep the W-beam guardrail upstream from the transition at its nominal 31-in. height. The 34-in. tall AGT was connected to a modified version of the standardized buttress to mitigate the risk of vehicle snag below the rail. The barrier system was evaluated through two full-scale crash tests in accordance with Test Level 3 (TL-3) of AASHTO's Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH) and satisfied all safety performance criteria. Thus, the 34-in. tall AGT with modified transition buttress was determined to be crashworthy to MASH TL-3 standards. Finally, implementation guidance was provided for the 34-in. tall AGT and its crashworthy variations.


Hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP), or extrinsic allergic alveolitis, is a group of inflammatory lung diseases that usually affect the more peripheral airways and are induced immunologically after the reiterated inhalation of different materials, fundamentally organic substances and low-molecular-weight chemical compounds.1 Disorders similar to HP have been described in patients who have had massive exposure to nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM), especially by inhaling them from hot water aerosol sources like saunas, etc. The NTM that has been described in practically all these cases is Mycobacterium avium-complex, although M. immunogenicum has also been reported.2 We present the case of a 29-year-old woman, originally from Colombia, who has been living in Spain for the last 4 years. The patient was working as a receptionist at a Spa. She had no toxic habits or personal medical/surgical history of interest. Prior to admittance, she had no history of asthma-type respiratory pathology or known tuberculosis contact. She came to our emergency department with symptoms of cough without expectoration and 39 C fever, and was diagnosed with bronchial hyperreactivity. She was prescribed bronchodilator treatment and was discharged. Two weeks later, she came to the emergency department once again due to sudden dyspnea when climbing stairs associated with a feeling of retrosternal oppression that increased with deep breathing and palpitations. During the patient interview, the patient commented that at her workplace, after renovations were done approximately one year before, a sort of niche was created in a wall, and pigeons had been nesting there. Upon physical examination, the patient presented no fever, tachycardia (140 bpm), tachypnea (36 breaths per minute) and baseline oxygen saturation (breathing room air) of 91%. Lung auscultation showed preserved vesicular murmur with bibasilar crackles. Blood workup revealed normal ionogram, C-reactive protein 80 g/dl, leukocytes 11 430 mm3 (90% neutrophils and 1.4% eosinophils), hemoglobin 12.4 g/dl, hematocrits 36.4%, platelets 309 000 mm3. Baseline arterial blood gas analysis reported pH 7.44, pCO2 31 mmHg, pO2 54 mmHg, CO3H 21.1 mmol/L. Chest radiography showed a bilateral micronodular pattern in both lung bases associated with mild fissure thickening. Diagnostic bronchoscopy demonstrated no endobronchial lesions, and samples were taken from the bronchoalveolar lavage and aspirate as well as


TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCING THE LEAF II. EV TECHNOLOGY III. CARWINGS A. Limited Availability of the CARWINGS Agreement... B. CARWINGS Consent Pop-Up Screen: An Opt-In Copout? IV. THE FTC'S POSITION ON PRIVACY DISCLOSURES AND PRACTICES A. Validity of CARWINGS Consent Given by the Customer B. Types of Data Collected 1. Driving Behavior Data 2. Location Data 3. EV Functions and Use of Telematics Services C. How Data is Collected D. How Information is Used E. Disclosure of Information to Others F. Owner's Rights in and Access to CARWINGS Driving Data G. Data Security H. Other Entities' Collection of Data Glossed Over by Broad Releases of Liability V. CONSTITUTIONAL CONSIDERATIONS REGARDING CARWINGS COLLECTION AND USE OF EV DATA A. Existing Constitutional and Industrial Climates B. Future Privacy Considerations Regarding Current Technology VI. CONCLUSION I. INTRODUCING THE LEAF In December of 2010, foreign vehicle manufacturer, Nissan, released the LEAF, an all-electric vehicle (EV) equipped with a toy box of technology features including a rear-view camera, Bluetooth hands-free telephone system, MP3 audio system, XM satellite radio, USB connection ports for iPod, and steering wheel-mounted voice controls. (1) The ultimate convenience promoted by Nissan, however, is the vehicle's lithium-ion batteries: the owner will never need to set foot in a gas station for the purpose of fueling the automobile. (2) Neither will the owner need to stop and ask for directions. This is because the LEAF embraces technological advances in telematics--a two-way telecommunications system that is built into the vehicle (3)--and GPS navigation. As with many innovative products, consumers must weigh the cost of convenience against how use of the technology impacts individuals' privacy, particularly in terms of how their personal data is collected and used by others. Justice Alito, in penning the recent United States Supreme Court concurring opinion in United States v. Jones, (4) recognized the following trends: "New technology may provide increased convenience or security at the expense of privacy, and many people may find the tradeoff worthwhile. And even if the public does not welcome the diminution of privacy that new technology entails, they may eventually reconcile themselves to this development as inevitable." (5) Fortunately, this near giving up of one's privacy rights does not have to happen so quickly or consensually. Justice Alito speaks in terms of "many people," not "all people." Therefore, it is the hope of at least some privacy-minded consumers that constitutional privacy and other legal protections still apply. This article, for example, takes a careful look at privacy considerations associated with the technologies and conveniences offered by the 2011 Nissan LEAF. Specifically, this article explores the vehicle's CARWINGS telematics system, global positioning system (GPS), event data recorder (EDR), and really simple syndication (RSS) capabilities. An analysis of Nissan's Telematics Services Subscription Agreement follows with respect to how consumer data is collected and transmitted via EV technologies. II. EV Technology Today's vehicles monitor, collect, and store data in a variety of ways, one of them being through EDR technology. Like most twenty-first century vehicles, the LEAF is equipped with an EDR, which preserves a record of data being monitored in relation to air bag deployment. (6) Typically, an EDR will store data for five to twenty seconds, and can be used after a crash to understand how the air bags worked as well as provide information about the accident that triggered air bag deployment. (7) For example, the LEAF records data such as "the direction from which [the vehicle] was hit and which air bags have deployed." (8) EDRs also record a snapshot of data "when a vehicle senses a potential collision," thereby temporarily storing information about the driver's behavior in instances where an accident has not occurred. …


The multiple streams model, developed by Kingdon in the United States (US), is being adapted increasingly to study European Union (EU) policy-making. This, however, is revealing a theoretical underdevelopment in some of its central components. The present paper considers several concerns. It seeks to develop the idea of policy entrepreneurship as a context-specific activity that gives substance to the claim that 'ideas have their time'; it interprets the key notion of ambiguity, in the EU context, to mean institutional ambiguity; and it allows for spillovers between policy areas to be endogenous as well as exogenous. This affects the nature of the policy windows wherein policy entrepreneurship occurs. The adapted multiple streams model is used to analyse the 2005 EU sugar policy reform. Institutional ambiguity and endogenous spillovers are shown to create the conditions that enabled active policy entrepreneurship to lead, ultimately, to reform of this most resilient of policies.


This paper deals with two-sided matching market with two disjoint sets, i.e. the set of buyers and the set of sellers. Each seller can trade with at most with one buyer and vice versa. Money is transferred from sellers to buyers for an indivisible goods that buyers own. Valuation functions, for participants of both sides, are represented by strictly increasing functions with money considered as discrete variable. An algorithm is devised to prove the existence of stability for this model.


This paper presents the story of INDOPCO v. Commissioner, 503 U.S. 79 (1992), the most recent decision in this volume, and, in part for that reason, the decision that is most frequently discussed in the tax world. A case such as Knetch v. United States exerts its influence subtly, in forming the basis for today's economic substance doctrine. Lawyers can (and do) debate the merits of that doctrine, and in so doing comment upon the Knetch decision, but the decision itself has faded into the background. INDOPCO, by contrast, is still very much alive. Industry has lined up an (anti) "INDOPCO Coalition," headed by the (former) IRS Commissioner who pursued the case; the government has recently issued INDOPCO regulations; the decision (and its aftermath) is discussed in today's tax and business journals. The case is important, then, for its practical significance. It is the most recent Supreme Court announcement on the deductibility of business expenses that do not produce or enhance tangible assets. In time, of course, INDOPCO will lie under, and help give shape to, newer cases and regulations. The case will be worth studying less for its practical import than the light it sheds on the administration of an income tax, or, more speculatively, any tax or set of rules shaped by the political process. The judge, legislator, or administrator must balance competing goals: uniformity, certainty, practicality and so on. In INDOPCO, that balancing act failed: the opinion in the case is widely seen as making a bad situation worse. What makes this failure particularly sobering is that the case fell into seemingly able hands. The opinion was written by the most knowledgeable tax jurist ever to sit on the Court and solicited by an administration whose leadership opposed everything the opinion came to stand for. The paper will be published as a chapter in a book to be entitled Tax Stories: An In-Depth Look at Ten Leading Federal Income Tax Cases (Foundation Press, forthcoming 2002). Additional financial support for the project has been provided by the American Tax Policy Institute.


Studies about the management of syphilis during pregnancy were reviewed. They lacked uniformity in diagnostic criteria and study design. Currently recommended doses of benzathine penicillin G are effective in preventing congenital syphilis in most settings, although studies are needed regarding increased dosing regimens. Azithromycin and ceftriaxone offer potential alternatives for penicillin-allergic women, but insufficient data on efficacy limit their use in pregnancy. Ultrasonography provides a noninvasive means to examine pregnant women for signs of fetal syphilis, and abnormal findings indicate a risk for obstetric complications and fetal treatment failure. Ultrasonography should precede antepartum treatment during the latter half of pregnancy to gauge severity of fetal infection. However, optimal management of the affected fetus has not been established; collaborative management with a specialist is recommended. Antepartum screening remains a critical component of congenital syphilis prevention, even in the era of syphilis elimination.


Sparse optimization problems are ubiquitous in many fields such as statistics, signal/image processing and machine learning. This has led to the birth of many iterative algorithms to solve them. A powerful strategy to boost the performance of these algorithms is known as safe screening: it allows the early identification of zero coordinates in the solution, which can then be eliminated to reduce the problem's size and accelerate convergence. In this work, we extend the existing Gap Safe screening framework by relaxing the global strong-concavity assumption on the dual cost function. Instead, we exploit local regularity properties, that is, strong concavity on well-chosen subsets of the domain. The non-negativity constraint is also integrated to the existing framework. Besides making safe screening possible to a broader class of functions that includes beta-divergences (e.g., the Kullback-Leibler divergence), the proposed approach also improves upon the existing Gap Safe screening rules on previously applicable cases (e.g., logistic regression). The proposed general framework is exemplified by some notable particular cases: logistic function, beta = 1.5 and Kullback-Leibler divergences. Finally, we showcase the effectiveness of the proposed screening rules with different solvers (coordinate descent, multiplicative-update and proximal gradient algorithms) and different data sets (binary classification, hyperspectral and count data).


Ti40Zr10Cu36Pd14 Bulk Metallic Glass (BMG) appears very attractive for future biomedical applications thanks to its high glass forming ability, the absence of toxic elements such as Ni, Al or Be and its good mechanical properties. For the first time, a complete and exhaustive characterization of a unique batch of this glassy alloy was performed, together with ISO standard mechanical tests on machined implant-abutment assemblies. The results were compared to the benchmark Ti-6Al-4V ELI (Extra-Low-Interstitial) to assess its potential in dental implantology. The thermal stability, corrosion and sterilization resistance, cytocompatibility and mechanical properties were measured on samples with a simple geometry, but also on implant-abutment assemblies' prototypes. Results show that the glassy alloy exhibits a quite high thermal stability, with a temperature range of 38 °C between the glass transition and crystallization, a compressive strength of 2 GPa, a certain plastic deformation (0.7%), a hardness of 5.5 GPa and a toughness of 56 MPa.√m. Moreover, the alloy shows a relatively lower Young's modulus (96 GPa) than the Ti-6Al-4V alloy (110–115 GPa), which is beneficial to limit bone stress shielding. The BMG shows a satisfactory cytocompatibility, a high resistance to sterilization and a good corrosion resistance (corrosion potential of −0.07 V/SCE and corrosion current density of 6.0 nA/cm2), which may ensure its use as a biomaterial. Tests on dental implants reveal a load to failure 1.5-times higher than that of Ti-6Al-4V and a comparable fatigue limit. Moreover, implants could be machined and sandblasted by methods usually conducted for titanium implants, without significant degradation of their amorphous nature. All these properties place this metallic glass among a promising class of materials for mechanically-challenging applications such as dental implants.


Background and Aim of the Study: Barlow's disease is characterized by excess myxomatous degenerative tissue, leaflets prolapse and/or billowing, chordal-elongation, and annular-dilation. We reviewed our experience in Minimally Invasive Mitral Valve Repair (MIMVR) techniques to treat this complex mitral pathology. Methods: Between 1999 and 2017 a group of 125 patients was identified as Barlow's disease undergoing MIMVR. The diagnosis of Barlow disease was based upon preoperative transesophageal-echocardiography (TEE) and confirmed by the surgeon's assessment during open-heart procedure. Operative technique and data were retrospectively collected along with intra-hospital and long-term follow-up. Results: Successful Mitral Repair was possible in 100% of cases (125 patents) within the first cross clamp. Most patients (118 – 94.4%) were treated by the Edge to Edge (Alfieri-Stich), while 2 (1.6%) where corrected by neochordae implant and 2 (1.6%) by quadrangular resection. 58 patients (47.1%) received complete semi-rigid ring, while 65 (52.9%) incomplete flexible partial ring excluding the LAM. Concomitant procedures were additional cleft occlusion in 10 cases (8%), tricuspid valve repair (ring implant or remodeling) in 29 cases (23.2%), left atrial ablation for atrial fibrillation in 4 cases (3.2%) and atrial septal repair in 4 (3.2%). Operative mortality was 0%. Average long-term follow-up was 85 ± 62 months, with a survival rate of 97.6%, freedom from redo mitral surgery of 98.4% and freedom from >2+ recurrent mitral regurgitation of 94.5%. No difference in outcome could be related to annuloplasty ring type. Conclusions: Mitral repair can be safely and successfully achieved though minimal-invasive approach, with optimal long-term results.


This thesis has an objective aimed at understanding the sensitivity of the support structure for an offshore wind turbine with bucket foundation as the turbines get larger. The focus has been on the response and forces on turbine blades in turbulent wind and how these responses propagates to the foundation of the structure. Special attention is given to the second global bending modes of the support structure. The response in the connection between the bucket and transition piece is simulated for several load cases of wind and waves. The simulations are for wind speeds in operational mode and not extreme wind where the turbine is shut down. The response and forces in the bucket are important to understand. Especially for being able to assess the fatigue life of the structure. Waves and wind have a wide range of frequencies, but the energy is mostly in the lower frequencies below the first natural frequency of the structure. The turbine blades will on the other hand have peaks in force and response in the rotational frequency of the rotor and its higher harmonic frequencies when calculated in a rotational sampling. They may propagate to the foundation and contribute to response around the second global bending mode of the structure. To investigate the response in the bucket, simulations were performed in Fedem Windpower. Fedem windpower provides a powerful simulation tool for dynamic analysis of complete wind turbine systems. Three-dimensional wind field were created in TURBSIM. Wind field based on IEC Kaimal spectrum with a turbulence intensity of 18\% were created. Fully integrated coupled simulations with wind and waves where performed. AeroDyn is used for reading the wind files and calculate the forces on the turbine blades. Fedem Windpower uses the loads calculated by AeroDyn as input to its dynamic solver. Waves calculated from the JONSWAP spectrum was used in the simulations. The results indicates that there will be response in the foundation due to waves and wind. Both wave and wind will contribute to response around the first natural frequency of the structure. Waves in form of wave excitation around the natural frequency of the structure and wind in form of the rotating blades. The effect of rotating blades will also create response around the second natural frequency of the structure. This means that both waves and wind have to be carefully considered when assessing fatigue damage to the structure.


ABSTRACT Cholera toxin (CT), LT-IIa, and LT-IIb are potent adjuvants which induce distinct T-helper (Th)-cell cytokine profiles and immunoglobulin G (IgG) subclass and IgA antibody responses. To determine if the distinct immune regulatory effects observed for LT-IIa, LT-IIb, and CT are elicited by binding of the enterotoxins to their cognate ganglioside receptors, the lineages of lymphoid cells that interact with the three enterotoxins and their effects on various lymphocyte responses in vitro were evaluated. Binding patterns of LT-IIa, LT-IIb, and CT to several lymphoid cell populations were distinctive for each enterotoxin. LT-IIa and CT, but not LT-IIb, induced apoptosis in CD8+ T cells. LT-IIa(T34I), a mutant with no detectable binding to gangliosides, did not induce apoptosis. Blockade of GM1 on the surface of CD8+ T cells by LT-IIa(T14I), a mutant that binds only to GM1 but does not induce apoptosis, did not inhibit induction of apoptosis by LT-IIa. Mitogen-induced proliferation of CD8+ T cells was abrogated by treatment with CT, while resting CD8+ T cells which were sensitive to LT-IIa-induced apoptosis became more resistant to apoptosis after mitogen activation. Exposure to CT, but not to LT-IIa or LT-IIb, inhibited mitogen-driven CD4+ T-cell proliferation and expression of CD25 and CD69. In mitogen-stimulated B cells, CT, but not LT-IIa or LT-IIb, enhanced expression levels of CD86, while only CT induced B-cell differentiation into plasma cells. Thus, LT-IIa, LT-IIb, and CT exhibit distinguishable immunomodulatory properties which are likely dependent upon their capacities to recognize different ganglioside receptors on lymphocytes.


We study the propagation of energetic particles, accelerated by interplanetary shock waves, upstream of the shock, considering the possibility of having anomalous trans- port. The theoretical treatment of the anomalous transport is developed via the propagator formalism, considering that in the case of a superdiffusive transport the propagator has power law tails with slope 2<µ< 3, while for a ballis- tic transport it is approximately constant for small displace- ments and has a spike for r 'vt. Analyzing a data set from Ulysses spacecraft in the period between July 1992 and November 1993, we find that the time profile of electrons accelerated at a traveling planar shock is a power law rather than an exponential decay, implying superdiffusive motion. We also show that the propagator formalism allows to de- scribe the scatter-free propagation, possible for electrons ac- celerated in impulsive solar events and observed by WIND. These results indicate that the propagation of energetic par- ticles in the turbulent environment of the solar wind can be anomalous, in agreement with the results of recent numerical simulations, and promise to have application to the propaga- tion of particles throughout the heliosphere.


Policymakers, scholars, and the news media have been alarmed by the potential for chemical and biological weapons (CBW) terrorism, and the U.S. Congress has allocated billions of dollars for counterterrorism and "consequence management" programs. Driving these concerns are the global spread of scientific knowledge and technology relevant to CBW terrorism and the vulnerability of civilian populations to chemical and biological attacks. Notably lacking from the analysis, however, has been a careful assessment of the terrorists themselves. What types of terrorist groups or individuals are both capable of acquiring chemical and biological weapons and motivated to use them, and for what purposes? Further, what types of toxic agents would probably be produced, and how would they be delivered? Answers to these questions would enable policymakers to prepare for the most likely contingencies. To this end, Toxic Terror provides in-depth case studies of twelve terrorist groups and individuals who, from 1946 to 1998, allegedly acquired or employed CBW agents. The cases were researched from primary sources, including court documents, interviews, and declassified government files. By comparing the twelve cases, the book identifies characteristic motivations and patterns of behavior associated with CBW terrorism and provides an empirical basis for prudent, cost-effective strategies of prevention and response.