Background: Literature supports a relationship between low income status and poor diabetes control. However this relationship has not been assessed in Botswana. Aim: To determine the relationship between socio-economic status and diabetes control in patients presenting to PMH.

 Objectives: To measure the degree of glycaemic control; to determine the relationship between glycaemic control and monthly income as well as between glycaemic control and lifestyle modification factors;to describe the relationship between glycaemic control and core social welfare indicators.

 Methods: A cross-sectional study, conducted over a 3 months in Gaborone, The questionnaire assessed self-care activities, monthly household earnings and core social welfare indicators among diabetes patients attending PMH. A total of 240 patients were randomly selected to complete the questionnaire. Routine HbA1c values were studied alongside questionnaire responses. Results: A total of 58 (24%) participants with HbA1c between 4.0%-7.0% were well controlled, 96 (40%) of participants were poorly controlled (7.1%-9.0%) and 86 (36%) in the very poorly controlled category with HbA1c >9.0%. Of the well-controlled category, 59% lived on a monthly income between P0- P5000(the lowest income bracket). Only 3% participants in this category earned above P20000 monthly (the highest income bracket). Of the 40% poorly controlled participants, 69% fell in the lowest income bracket. No participants in this poorly controlled category earned above P20000 monthly. There were 40% participants in the very poorly controlled category. Of these, 63% earned between P0 - P5000. Only 2 participants with HbA1c values of 9.1 earned above P20000. Conclusion: In this study high HbA1c percentages were associated with low monthly income levels and low scores in lifestyle modification factors. Participants with poor access to core welfare indicators also had poor glycaemic control. This study suggests that poor socio-economic status is directly related to poor glycaemic control in patients attending PMH diabetes clinic.


The dependence of the RegCM3 (Regional Climate Model version 3) downscaling skill on initial conditions (ICs) and lateral boundary conditions (LBCs) are investigated for the 1998 summer flood along the Yangtze River Basin in China. The effect of IC uncertainties is depicted by 15 realizations starting on each consecutive day from April 1 to 15 while all ending on September 1, 1998 with identical driving LBCs, analyses are based on June, July and August simulations. The result reveals certain IC effect on precipitation for daily evolution but little for summer mean geographical distribution. In contrast, the effect of LBCs uncertainties as represented by four different reanalyses are notably larger in both daily evolution and summer mean distribution. The ensemble average among either 15 IC realizations or 4 LBC runs does not show important skill improvement over the individuals. None of the RegCM3 simulations (including the ensemble means) captured the observed main rain band along the Yangtze River Basin. This general failure suggests the need for further model physics improvement.


Abstract Introduction: Students of medical faculties are the backbone of a well-educated medical team. First-year medicine students in the field of oral health have knowledge and pro-health behaviors acquired before the beginning of academic education. The level however does not always match scientific views. It is important that during studies they should systematically deepen and model. It is expected that appropriate, reliable and professional knowledge about oral health obtained during the academic training has modulated their own pro-health behaviors concerning the oral health of future doctors and their patients. The aim of the study was to assess the level of knowledge and pro-health behaviors concerning the oral cavity of first-year students of medicine. Materials and methods: The study covered 60 first-year medical students of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at the University of Zielona Góra. Students anonymously filled out a questionnaire containing questions about health knowledge and behaviors as well as a self-assessment of oral health. Results: Only 13.3% of the medical students knew that tooth decay is an infectious disease. At the same time, 95% indicated acid bacteria and carbohydrates as a cause of caries. When assessing the level of their own health-oriented knowledge in the field of dentistry, the vast majority considered it sufficient (over 61%) or too low (14%). It is worrying to submit responsibility for the oral health of the unit to the dentist – 96.7% of respondents considered it. As many as 33.3% of respondents believed that the responsibility for removing plaque is borne by the dentist. The vast majority determined their oral hygiene as good, and only 3.4% as bad. Among students 65% recognized the need to change the toothbrush every month, and 90% when needed. Most students, 93.3%, knew that toothpaste with fluoride prevents the development of caries and that one of the hygienic procedures is cleansing the tongue. In the assessment of oral health, the vast majority indicated the range of 1–3 teeth treated for dental caries. At the same time, almost 70% admitted that they never had an endodontically treated tooth, with almost 80% stating that they had not had any tooth removed. Almost 18% of respondents did not report any signs of periodontal inflammation. The largest number of respondents after the analysis of their teeth would change the color – 64%, slightly less the teeth position 21.5%, and for a change in the shape of the teeth indicated 6.1%. The most common source of pro-health knowledge was a dentist for the students and then mass media. Conclusions: The level of knowledge regarding oral health and healthy behaviors of first-year medical students requires raising thorough academic training. Attention should be paid to building systematic and cause–and–effect knowledge based on tooth and periodontal anatomy, bacterial etiology of caries, formation of odontogenic inflammatory foci and their impact on the development of focal diseases. Research has shown no causal relationship between the level of knowledge and pro-health behavior. The undergraduate education of future doctors should include shaping the correct dietetic and hygienic regimes. Developed attitudes based on professional knowledge will allow future physicians to promote proper health behaviors in the oral cavity of their friends and patients.


Although blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) experiments of brain activity generally rely on the magnitude of the signal, they also provide frequency information that can be derived from the phase of the signal. However, because of confounding effects of instrumental and physiological origin, BOLD related frequency information is difficult to extract and therefore rarely used. Here, we explored the use of high field (7 T) and dedicated signal processing methods to extract frequency information and use it to quantify and interpret blood oxygenation and blood volume changes. We found that optimized preprocessing improves detection of task‐evoked and spontaneous changes in phase signals and resonance frequency shifts over large areas of the cortex with sensitivity comparable to that of magnitude signals. Moreover, our results suggest the feasibility of mapping BOLD quantitative susceptibility changes in at least part of the activated area and its largest draining veins. Comparison with magnitude data suggests that the observed susceptibility changes originate from neuronal activity through induced blood volume and oxygenation changes in pial and intracortical veins. Further, from frequency shifts and susceptibility values, we estimated that, relative to baseline, the fractional oxygen saturation in large vessels increased by 0.02–0.05 during stimulation, which is consistent to previously published estimates. Together, these findings demonstrate that valuable information can be derived from fMRI imaging of BOLD frequency shifts and quantitative susceptibility changes. Hum Brain Mapp 35:2191–2205, 2014. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.


Wheat is one of the most important staple food crop in the world is adversely affected by drought. Understanding its genetics and genome organization using molecular markers is of great value for plant breeding purposes. Drought tolerance is a difficult trait to define as it encompasses a wide range of characteristics involving multiple genetic, physiological, cellular and biochemical strategies in the plants. The transcription factor, DREB2A is one of the promising candidate genes involved in the dehydration tolerance in crop plants. Dehydration responsive element binding (DREB) protein is a subfamily of AP2/ERF transcription which control expression of many drought, salinity and cold inducible genes and causing tolerance to environmental stresses in many plants. The main property of DREB gene is conserved AP2 domain that binds to stress responsive elements. Some selected wheat genotypes were taken for isolation and sequence analysis of DREB2A. NL 897/NL 714//BL 2218 and BAW 969/SHATABDI wheat genotypes along with C 306, drought tolerant variety revealed the presence of AP2 domain when multiple sequence alignment was performed across genotypes.


Over the past two decades, trade in high-value (or value-added) agricultural products (HVPs) has been the fastest growing component of world agricultural trade. This study addresses some of the issues raised by promotion of HVP exports by considering the effects of various exogenous price shocks on the location of marginal production for value-added goods. Topics covered include: a general equilibrium model of trade in value-added and intermediate goods; a theoretical analysis of price and trade volume changes in response to exogenous price variations; and an analysis of optimal trade policies.


An important application of global precipitation measurement rainfall products is providing forcing inputs for hydrologic applications, and the goal of this study is to assess how skillful they are for such applications. To do that, we force a land surface model with both satellite estimates and ground‐based measurements and test how well they can predict hydrologic states and fluxes useful for water resource applications, i.e., soil moisture, evapotranspiration, and river streamflow. A number of satellite‐based precipitation products ranging from retrievals based only on microwave measurements, combined microwave + infrared estimates, to gauge‐corrected products are tested over the entire continental United States region. As a reference to the satellite retrievals, estimates from global and regional weather model reanalyses (the analysis fields from these models) are tested as well. It is found that the microwave + infrared combined estimates can match the skill of the coarse resolution European Center for Medium‐Range Weather Forecasts global reanalysis but not the regional National Center for Environmental Predictions reanalysis. Gauge corrections to satellite products significantly enhance their skill by greatly reducing the bias in hydrologic predictions, especially over mountainous areas. Rainfall errors are shown to have strong impact on river streamflow predictions and column total soil moisture and relatively weak impact on near surface moisture and evapotranspiration. River streamflow experiments also suggest that satellite rainfall errors are highly correlated in space within the range of one storm system and thus do not reduce in magnitude with spatial scale (basin size).


An investigation of attenuation of acoustic energy caused by gas bubbles in the surface layers has been carried out. This was done primarily to study the effect on echo integration of fish abundance when using hull‐mounted transducers. Two different approaches have been used. The first examines the variation of the echo intensity from an acoustically stable bottom layer and the second measures the total volume reverberation as a function of depths. The bubble density, size distribution, and the attenuation caused by the bubbles is estimated from the measurements done under different weather conditions. The results show that the acoustic attenuation caused by wind‐induced gas bubbles in the surface layers appear at a lower wind force and at a greater magnitude than earlier reported and expected. The attenuation is found to increase rapidly with increasing frequency. The results are also used to find the minimum towing depths of a transducer as a function of the wind speed necessary in order to keep the attenuation due to the bubbles below a given number.


Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the safety and efficacy of anti-tumour necrosis factor (TNF) agents (etanercept, infliximab and adalimumab) in HIV-positive patients with rheumatic diseases refractory to standard therapy. Methods: Patients were treated with anti-TNF blocker with rheumatic diseases refractory to disease modifying antirheumatic drugs who had a CD4 count of >200 mm3 and an HIV viral load of <60 000 copies/mm3 and no active concurrent infections. Changes in CD4 counts, HIV viral loads, or other adverse effects while on anti-TNF agents and clinical response were monitored for 28.1 (SD 20.9) months (range 2.5–55). Results: Eight HIV-positive patients were treated with anti-TNF blockers (two patients with rheumatoid arthritis, three with psoriatic arthritis, one with undifferentiated spondyloarthritis, one with reactive arthritis and one with ankylosing spondylitis). No significant clinical adverse effect was attributed to this treatment in any patient. CD4 counts and HIV viral load levels remained stable in all patients. Three patients on etanercept therapy and two patients on infliximab had sustained clinical improvement in their rheumatic diseases. Conclusions: This retrospective series of eight patients suggests that treatment with anti-TNF-α therapy is a viable alternative in HIV patients without advanced disease with associated rheumatic diseases refractory to standard therapy.


The Journals of Mary O'Brien and The Journals of Anne Langton bear witness to and are part of a process of mental and emotional adjustment to life in the early nineteenth-century Canadian bush. This article uses a postpositivistic reading and Yi-Fu Tuan's theories of space and place to demonstrate how Mary O'Brien and Anne Langton created new identities for themselves in their adopted country by writing themselves into a place. It is through the pages of their journals that Mary O'Brien and Anne Langton organize their world and give it meaning.


Rising anthropogenic CO(2) emissions acidify the oceans, and cause changes to seawater carbon chemistry. Bacterial biofilm communities reflect environmental disturbances and may rapidly respond to ocean acidification. This study investigates community composition and activity responses to experimental ocean acidification in biofilms from the Australian Great Barrier Reef. Natural biofilms grown on glass slides were exposed for 11 d to four controlled pCO(2) concentrations representing the following scenarios: A) pre-industrial (∼300 ppm), B) present-day (∼400 ppm), C) mid century (∼560 ppm) and D) late century (∼1140 ppm). Terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism and clone library analyses of 16S rRNA genes revealed CO(2) -correlated bacterial community shifts between treatments A, B and D. Observed bacterial community shifts were driven by decreases in the relative abundance of Alphaproteobacteria and increases of Flavobacteriales (Bacteroidetes) at increased CO(2) concentrations, indicating pH sensitivity of specific bacterial groups. Elevated pCO(2) (C + D) shifted biofilm algal communities and significantly increased C and N contents, yet O(2) fluxes, measured using in light and dark incubations, remained unchanged. Our findings suggest that bacterial biofilm communities rapidly adapt and reorganize in response to high pCO(2) to maintain activity such as oxygen production.


Increased adipose tissue macrophages contribute to obesity-induced metabolic syndrome. Heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) is a stress-inducible enzyme with potent anti-inflammatory and proangiogenic activities in macrophages. However, the role of macrophage HO-1 on obesity-induced adipose inflammation and metabolic syndrome remains unclear. Here we show that high-fat diet (HFD) feeding in C57BL/6J mice induced HO-1 expression in the visceral adipose tissue, particularly the stromal vascular fraction. When the irradiated C57BL/6J mice reconstituted with wild-type or HO-1+/− bone marrow were fed with HFD for over 24 weeks, the HO-1+/− chimeras were protected from HFD-induced insulin resistance and this was associated with reduced adipose macrophage infiltration and angiogenesis, suggesting that HO-1 affects myeloid cell migration toward adipose tissue during obesity. In vivo and in vitro migration assays revealed that HO-1+/− macrophages exhibited an impaired migration response. Chemoattractant-induced phosphorylation of p38 and focal adhesion kinase (FAK) declined faster in HO-1+/− macrophages. Further experiments demonstrated that carbon monoxide and bilirubin, the byproducts derived from heme degradation by HO-1, enhanced macrophage migration by increasing phosphorylation of p38 and FAK, respectively. These data disclose a novel role of hematopoietic cell HO-1 in promoting adipose macrophage infiltration and the development of insulin resistance during obesity.


Failures to replicate evidence of new discoveries have forced scientists to ask whether this unreliability is due to suboptimal implementation of optimal methods or whether presumptively optimal methods are not, in fact, optimal. This paper reports an investigation by four coordinated laboratories of the prospective replicability of 16 novel experimental findings using current optimal practices: high statistical power, preregistration, and complete methodological transparency. In contrast to past systematic replication efforts that reported replication rates averaging 50%, replication attempts here produced the expected effects with significance testing (p<.05) in 86% of attempts, slightly exceeding maximum expected replicability based on observed effect size and sample size. When one lab attempted to replicate an effect discovered by another lab, the effect size in the replications was 97% that of the original study. This high replication rate justifies confidence in rigor enhancing methods and suggests that past failures to replicate may be attributable to departures from optimal procedures.


Abstract Most studies documenting the importance of alien macroalgae relative to native species are based on smaller-scale sampling programmes. Between 1989 and 2003, a Danish monitoring programme collected data on the percentage cover of macroalgae at more than 600 locations throughout the country. We examined this data set to estimate the relative abundance of alien species in the algal flora on large spatiotemporal scales, i.e. across depth ranges, regions and years. Of the 10 alien macroalgal species known to inhabit Danish coastal waters, nine were found in the survey. Most of the alien species were only present in low quantities (<1% of the entire flora). In contrast, the two most common alien species, Sargassum muticum and Bonnemaisonia hamifera, constituted 2–7% of the assemblages, depending on depth, region and year. Sargassum muticum was abundant from 0 to 5 m in the northwestern region, where salinity and species richness are highest, whereas B. hamifera was abundant in several regions in deeper waters, where the native flora is species-poor. Based on their relatively high abundance, we hypothesize that these two aliens have had the largest impact on the native communities. Of some concern is the recent introduction of Gracilaria vermiculophylla. This species has traits that match the conditions of Danish estuaries and may become widespread with potential negative impacts on native biota.


Problem. No studies have been found that examine empirically the possible relationship between temperament and spiritual gifts. Traditionally they have been seen as offspring of discrete disciplines, the former belonging to the realm of psychology and the latter to theology. When some writers recently hypothesized a possible correlation between temperament and spiritual gifts, others discredited the notion. This study was undertaken to investigate the possible correlation between the traditional four temperament types and a selection of nineteen spiritual gifts of the New Testament. Method. The data base for this study consisted of 1,067 Christian graduate students and church members from Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Kansas. Subjects were of both sexes and included Blacks, Caucasians, and Hispanics. Two standardized instruments were administered: Temperament Inventory (Cruise & Blitchington,1977) and The Spiritual Gifts Inventory (Naden & Cruise, 1981). Seven null hypotheses were formulated and tested. Results. The findings suggest that there is a correlation between the four temperament types and spiritual gifts of the New Testament. However, some gifts did not appear in any correlation, e.g., the gift of Martyrdom. This may be because or the size of the components of the sample. In the case of Caucasians, the relationships are similar for both sexes. The samples for the other two ethnic groups were too small for a comparison of sexes within and between the groups. One notable difference among the Hispanic subject lies in the fact that there was no correlation between the gift of administration and any temperament. This absence may be attributed to the reduced size or the quality of this sample. The relationships found could be summarized as follows: (UNFORMATTED TABLE FOLLOWS) Temperament Gift Sanguine Choleric Melancholic Phlegmatic Primary Administration Leadership Evangelism WisdomSecondary Leadership WisdomTertiary Hospitality Helps (TABLE ENDS) (1) There is a significant correlation between the sanguine tem- perament and the gifts of administration, leadership, and hospitality. (2) There is a significant correlation between the choleric tempera- ment and the gifts of leadership, wisdom, and helps. (3) There is a correlation between the melancholic temperament and the gift of evangelism. (4) There is a correlation between the phlegmatic temperament and the gift of wisdom. (5) Not all the gifts appear in the correlation with the four temperaments.


PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES
To evaluate how a cancer diagnosis affects adolescents' perceived sources of social support, amount of support needed, and level of satisfaction with support compared to an age-matched, healthy, adolescent group.

DESIGN
Cross-sectional, comparative, nonrandom survey.

SETTING
Summer camp for adolescents with cancer and a rural high school in the southeastern United States.

SAMPLE
Adolescents with a diagnosis of cancer (n = 64) and age-matched, healthy adolescents (n = 115).

METHODS
Subjects completed the Social Support Questionnaire, Perceived Social Support From Family Scale, Perceived Social Support From Friends Scale, and demographic information forms.

MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES
Sources of social support, amount of support perceived, and level of satisfaction with support.

FINDINGS
Adolescents with cancer perceived social support coming from both friends and family and reported high levels of support satisfaction from each source. Compared to healthy adolescents, those with cancer reported similar support sources and satisfaction levels; however, adolescents with cancer perceived parental relationships as more supportive.

CONCLUSIONS
Similarities between healthy adolescents and those with cancer regarding social support were more prevalent than differences. The social benefits of camp settings for chronically ill children should be explored further.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING
Nurses and other healthcare professionals should allow adolescents in the healthcare setting every opportunity to maintain their social networks of friends and family by encouraging visitation, providing social opportunities in the hospital, and emphasizing the importance of attending school when medically able.


Current social media research mainly focuses on temporal trends of the information flow and on the topology of the social graph that facilitates the propagation of information. In this paper we study the effect of the content of the idea on the information propagation. We present an efficient hybrid approach based on a linear regression for predicting the spread of an idea in a given time frame. We show that a combination of content features with temporal and topological features minimizes prediction error.
 Our algorithm is evaluated on Twitter hashtags extracted from a dataset of more than 400 million tweets. We analyze the contribution and the limitations of the various feature types to the spread of information, demonstrating that content aspects can be used as strong predictors thus should not be disregarded. We also study the dependencies between global features such as graph topology and content features.


I. INTRODUCTION The first half of this decade saw a crescendo of criticism of U.S. securities laws: articles appeared in the business and legal press alleging that these laws were being abused.l Much of the criticism focused on the plaintiffs' attorney: Abusive and unwarranted litigation is a problem not just for the accounting profession, but for business and the economy generally. A small group of attorneys is reaping millions of dollars by bringing federal securities fraud claims (under SEC Rule lOb-5). .... These attorneys use the threat of enormous legal costs, a lengthy and disruptive discovery process, protracted litigation, and damage to reputation to force large settlements.2 No constituent group has been more vocal in its protest than the "Big 6"3 public accounting firms, which are frequently targets of securities class action lawsuits. These suits are a great concern to auditing firms because they are the source of nearly one-third of all lawsuits against auditors and account for more than one-half of the firms' settlement payments.4 These suits nearly always result in settlements, which many believe are unrelated to their legal merit,5 leading to the charges of "opportunism" described above. Furthermore, recent congressional and judicial actions have been premised upon evidence of abusive securities litigation6-evidence that is largely anecdotal. Even Senator Christopher J. Dodd, sponsor of one proposal, disparaged the lack of evidence on the need for significant legislative changes: [A]fter a long hearing that lasted well into the afternoon, we found no agreement on whether there is in fact a problem, the extent of the problem, or the solution to the problem. In my experience with this subcommittee, I've never encountered an issue where there is such disagreement over the basic facts. We often argue about policy, we argue about ideology, we often argue about politics, but it is rare that we spend so much time arguing about basic facts.7 In 1991, the Big 6 accounting firms and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants ("AICPA") began to organize efforts to reform the securities laws.8 Their massive lobbying efforts quickly began to produce results. Citing arguments similar to those found in the Big 6 firms' 1992 position paper,9 the California Supreme Court severely restricted accountants' common law liability in that state.lI Two years later, in what was termed "the most important federal securities law decision in several years,"11 the U.S. Supreme Court swept away the widely accepted doctrine of aiding and abetting liability in an apparent attempt to provide relief for the litigation-weary accounting profession.l2 Moreover, in December 1995, after receiving lengthy testimony from accounting firms and their allies, Congress passed the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the "Reform Act")13, which has been labeled the most sweeping change in United States securities laws since the New Deal.14 The squabble over securities reform, however, was far from over. In 1996, the AICPA was once again engaged in defending auditors' liability in securities lawsuitsthis time on the state level. California's Proposition 211, an initiative sponsored by the plaintiffs' bar, attempted to circumvent the Reform Act.lS Since the Reform Act only applied to federal courts, Proposition 211 would have allowed securities lawsuits that were precluded from being filed in federal courts to be heard in California state courts.l6 As a result, there would have been an increase in securities lawsuits filed in the state courts. Proposition 211, however, was voted down in the 1996 election. 17 Most recently, Congress adopted a measure that would preempt much of the present state law in favor of federal securities regulation. The Securities Litigation Uniform Standards Act was introduced in 199718 after several studies suggested that the frequency of securities class actions had not diminished, but rather had shifted from federal courts to state courts, thereby evading the provisions of the Reform Act. …


Air pollutants, together with climatic parameters, are of major importance for the deterioration of cultural heritage monuments. Atmospheric pollution is widely recognized as one of the major anthropogenic threats to architectural cultural heritage, in particular when associated with water absorption phenomena. Atmospheric particle deposition on surfaces of Monuments (of cultural heritage interest) may cause an aesthetic impact induced by a series of chemical reactions. Therefore there is a need for systematic monitoring and mapping of air pollution for areas where important archaeological sites and monuments are found. observation techniques, such as the use of satellite image for the retrieval of Aerosol Optical Thickness (AOT), are ideal for this purpose. In this paper, all important monuments of the Paphos District, listed by the Department of Antiquities of Cyprus, have been mapped using Geographical Information Systems. Several recent (2012) MODIS satellite images (both Aqua and Terra) have been used to extract the AOT values in this area. Multi-temporal analysis was performed to identify areas of high risk where AOT values are considered to be high. In situ observations have been also carried out to verify the results.


1. Sedentary behaviour is not simply a lack of physical activity but is a cluster of individual behaviours where sitting or lying is the dominant mode of posture and energy expenditure is very low. 2. Sedentary behaviours are multi-faceted and might include behaviours at work or school, at home, during transport, and in leisure-time. Typically, key sedentary behaviours include screen-time (TV viewing, computer use), motorised transport, and sitting to read, talk, do homework, or listen to music. 3. Total time spent in sedentary behaviours can be captured by objective monitoring devices, such as accelerometers and inclinometers. The former can quantify the amount of time spent below a predetermined threshold of movement, and its temporal patterning across the day. Inclinometers can quantify time spent in different postures by distinguishing between lying, sitting and standing. 4. Self-reported sedentary behaviour instruments can ask respondents to report frequency and duration of time spent in different behaviours, such as TV viewing and computer game playing, over a specific time frame. 5. UK self-report data suggests that the majority of young people have 'acceptable' levels of TV viewing, but about one-quarter to one-third watch 4 hours per day or more, levels generally considered excessive. 6. Data on computer game playing by young people show more variability, but with up to 60% playing for more than 1 hour/day. These trends are changing rapidly and it is increasingly the case that technologies are converging. 7. According to accelerometer data, UK youth appear to spend about 420460 minutes per day in sedentary behaviour, which is about 60-65% of measured time. 8. Self-report estimates of sedentary behaviour show that approximately two-thirds of adults spend more than 2 hours per day watching TV and using the computer. 9. Significant proportions of adults report sitting for more than 5 hours per day (including work and leisure-time), and adults report spending between 3-4 hours per day sitting during their leisure-time. 10. Sedentary behaviours appear to track from childhood to adolescence or adulthood at low to moderate levels, with the strongest tracking shown for TV viewing. 11. The technological landscape is rapidly changing and evolving (for instance TV viewing on computers or internet access on TVs). This has implications for the interpretation of results from studies that may become rapidly dated. 12. Some countries have guidelines for sedentary behaviour. However, there is little or no justification given in the vast majority of recommendation documents for any time limit concerning sedentary behaviour. 13. There is a greater risk of obesity in young people with high amounts of sedentary behaviour and TV viewing at a young age being predictive of overweight as a young adult. 14. There is a positive association between sedentary time and markers of metabolic risk in young people. 15. Sedentary behaviour for adults is associated with all-cause and cardiovascular mortality, diabetes, some types of cancer and metabolic dysfunction. 16. The prospective association between sedentary behaviour and gain in body weight or the development of obesity is less clear. 17. Variables that are associated with screen-viewing in young children, and may be possible to change, include family TV viewing, snacking, body weight, parent viewing, and having a TV in the bedroom. 18. Higher BMI and depression are associated with screen-viewing in adolescents. 19. Screen-viewing tends to differ in young children by age, gender and SES; for adolescents by age, gender, ethnicity, SES, parent education; for young people by age, SES, single parent household, and ethnicity. 20. Sedentary behaviours in adults are associated with age, gender, socioeconomic conditions, occupation, weight status, and some characteristics of the physical environment. These relationships are independent of level of overall physical activity. 21. TV viewing in young people and adults is associated with a higher energy intake and poorer diet. 22. Interventions to reduce sedentary behaviour in young people, with or without the goal of changing weight status, show promise. However, given the paucity of evidence on modifiable correlates of sedentary behaviour, clear strategies to bring about successful behaviour change are still not known. 23. There is almost no evidence concerning sedentary behaviour interventions with adults. 24. Four recommendations suggest that the UK summary statements on physical activity: 1). should contain a specific recommendation that children and young people, adults, and older adults should aim to minimise the time they spend being sedentary each day; 2). should not set a quantified target for sedentary time (for people of school age and above) but should emphasize minimising time spent being sedentary each day; 3). should include specific recommendations for limiting sedentary time among children of pre-school age. These should be developed and agreed by the early years expert group; 4). should suggest the strategies to reduce sedentary behaviour.


What is it that inspires us humans to take responsibility for our involvement with the natural environment? And how do we familiarise children with practices of environmental responsibility? These questions are at the heart of this book, resulting from a comprehensive PhD-inquiry into the philosophical dimensions of environmental education. Two sources of inspiration and responsibility are discussed in particular. First, as citizens of a civil society, inspiration stems from our commitment to the continuation of the collective practices in which we are already engaged. Second, inspiration emerges from our sensual-aesthetic acquaintanceship with the natural surroundings in the course of our everyday activities. This study concludes that there is little room for these sources of inspiration and responsibility within the prevailing framework of Education for Sustainable Development. An alternative view on the nature and purpose of environmental education is put forward in light of these shortcomings. This view aims to retrieve an existential human sense of care for our natural environment, beyond the narrowly defined appeals made on behalf of future generations, as well as beyond the romantic appeals made on behalf of the intrinsic sovereignty of nature


A basin flow tracer test with pulse injection is essentially passage of a material shock wave. Virtual transit is related to the maximum slope on the dimensionless time versus concentration curve. The plug point, separating plug from non-plug flow, is located at the initial arrival of tracer for straight rising or convex upward ascents, and hypothetically at the first tangential subinflectum of ogive ascents. Plug fraction of flow extends from the origin to the plug point; dual flow exists from the plug point to the descending inflectum, beyond that flow is the mixed or eddied type. Short circuiting is indicated directly by the distance between plug point and nominal detention time. The negative exponent of the semi-logarithmic plot of the decline denotes the number of times the effective fraction of basin volume is extracted by non-plug flow. Curves replotted from the literature confirm this theory. Dispersion is measured by the angle between the tangent to the plug point with the vertical. A concise diagram having plug point and dispersion as coordinates permits comparison of basins.


When Clark (1921) cleared the genus Linckia from superfluous synonyms, he could give no opinion on Linckia rosenbergi Von Martens 1866, p. 63 from Amboina. The unique holotype was in the Berlin Museum and hence not easily accessible to him, the species had not been described again. In his key Clark lays the stress on Von Martens' remark: "Die Porenfelder liegen zwischen den zwei Reihen grosserer Plattchen an der Armseite dicht aneinander, ohne alle Unterbrechung (wie bei Ophidiaster suturalis Mull. & Troschel), aber die Poren behalten dieselbe Anordnung in runde Gruppen (Felder) von circa 10 Poren bei". Clark interpreted this as follows: "Poriferous areas between superomarginals and inferomarginals in an unbroken, continuous series, more or less circular, each with about 10 pores". In the Leiden Museum I found an animal, that aroused my curiosity: it was a common L. laevigata, labelled L. rosenbergi from Amboina. As this Museum possesses many animals collected by Von Rosenberg (cf. A. Gijzen, 's Rijks Museum van Natuurlijke Historie 1820-1915, Dissertation, Leiden, 1938), it is possible, that it is a topotype. It conformed rather well with Von Martens' description, showing R till 38 mm, r 6 1/2 mm, br. 7 mm, so R = 5br and 6r. There are in the armcorners 5 rows of ventrals, 2 of which only continue along nearly the whole arm. The proximal third of the arm shows on the dorsal side the rather distinct area free of pores, formed by a more or less regular median row of plates. The whole in short, is a typical, beautiful and regular L. laevigata. Yet it is impossible to give any important difference from the description of L. rosenbergi The only way to solve the problem was the study of the type specimen. Professor Arndt of the Berlin Museum was so kind to send me the type


Reflection is a powerful programming language feature that enables language extensions, generic code, dynamic analyses, development tools, etc. However, uncontrolled reflection breaks object encapsulation and considerably increases the attack surface of programs e.g., malicious libraries can use reflection to attack their client applications. To bring reflection and object encapsulation back together, we use dynamic object ownership to design an access control policy to reflective operations. This policy grants objects full reflective power over the objects they own but limited reflective power over other objects. Code is still able to use advanced reflective operations but reflection cannot be used as an attack vector anymore.


This deliverable includes the initial description of the mechanisms and tools that MUSA offers to define the security constraints of a multi-cloud application, in order to support a security-by-design (SbD) development process. Since the adopted SbD approach is based on Security SLAs as a means to express the security requirements of a multi-cloud application and of each of its components, the deliverable provides a discussion of the Security SLA model adopted in MUSA and illustrates the SLA Generation process, aimed at building components' Security SLAs. In order to support this process, the document introduces an SLA Generation proof-of-concept application, which applies a risk categorization and assessment procedure to each component and uses state-of-art Security Control Frameworks for the identification of their security requirements.


SIR, -I am sure many find international specialistmeetings' beneficial, even inspirational, but in thebrave new world of health economics I wonderwhat the cost-benefit analysts make of such eventsand what is the optimal frequency of attendinginternational meetings.Over £500 may be spent attending a conferenceof a few days' duration, while a full year's subscriptionto most learned journals costs about 10% ofthis. Let us assume that an international specialistmeeting covers the material of a full year's subscriptionto four specialist journals-a ratheroptimistic estimate by common experience. Thenwe may utilise the same resource in achieving atleast twice the educational benefit by spending themoney on specialist journals. During most of theyear there would seem to be at least one specialistmeeting a month that could legitimately beattended, but of course funds rarely permit this. Iam pleased that some assessment has been made ofthe efficacy of attending scientific conferences, butI fear that the financiers may better spend theirmoney in educating us in other ways.Perhaps with the new technology of communicationsand video conferencing we may be able tocontribute papers and attend meetings by proxy,thus saving the inconvenient and expensive travelarrangements, not to mention the exorbitantaccommodation fees that are levied.


Concentrations of nutrients and heavy metals in streambank legacy sediments are needed to estimate watershed exports and to evaluate against upland inputs. Concentrations of nutrients and heavy metals were determined for legacy sediments in 15 streambanks across northeastern Maryland, southeastern Pennsylvania, and northern Delaware. Samples were collected from multiple bank depths from forested, agricultural, urban, and suburban sites. Analyses were performed for fine (<63 μm) and coarse sediment fractions. Nutrient and heavy metal concentrations were significantly higher in fine than coarse legacy sediments and water extractable nutrient concentrations were significantly greater for fine sediments. Nutrient and heavy metal concentrations were highest in streambank legacy sediments associated with urban land use, but few differences were found with bank depth. Total N (40–3,970 mg/kg) and P (25–1,293 mg/kg) and bioavailable P (0.25–48.8 mg/kg) concentrations for legacy sediments were lower than those for upland soils. This suggests that legacy sediments could serve as sink or source of N and P depending on the redox conditions and stream water nutrient concentrations. However, despite low concentrations, caution should be exercised since streambank erosion and legacy sediment mass loadings could be high, these sediments are in immediate proximity of aquatic ecosystems, and biogeochemical transformations could result in release of the nutrients.


While e-commerce has become a significant matter with the advancement of the Internet, there have been inadequate empirical research efforts concerning its acceptance in developing countries, specifically in the Middle East area, and more particularly in Jordan. Previous studies investigated e-commerce acceptance and use extensively, by employing different technology acceptance models in developed countries. However, the application of some technology models successful in developed countries, such as the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) and the Decomposed Theory of Planned Behaviour (DTPB) have been found to be less predictive when tested in developing countries. This suggests that culture and the empirical setting of the study will have an effect on the technology acceptance and use. Moreover, there are limited studies that investigate the technology acceptance in the tourism sector in both the developing and developed countries. As a result, this study has attempted to fill this research gap by creating a developing country model (using Jordan as a research site) and then comparing this model to traditional models which arc predominantly Western/developed country- in origin.
Data was collected from 313 travel agencies 111 the area of Amman through a questionnaire survey, and then the data was analysed through various analytical methods. Data analysis started with the descriptive statistics of the demographic variables, key informants and actual use of the Internet. Then an investigation of the reliability and validity of each construct was conducted using item-to-total correlations and exploratory factor analyses. The results of factor analysis were used as inputs in successive multiple regression analyses. E-commerce use was measured by time and frequency of the Internet use.
The research findings indicate that the adapted Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology model (UTAUT), which was originally tested in the developed countries, can also explain e-commerce acceptance and use of travel agents. In addition, the study indicates the factors that affect e-commerce adoption in the Jordanian travel agencies, namely performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, perceived risk, government support, competition and external pressure, facilitating conditions and compatibility. The key influence drivers that have affected the behaviour intention to use e-commerce were the construct of competition and external pressure followed by the performance expectancy construct, then the effort expectancy and finally the facilitating condition constructs. Furthermore, the results of the analyses revealed that performance expectancy and effort expectancy along with social influence and competition and external pressure and facilitating conditions were significant factors and had a positive influence on the behaviour intention to use e-commerce. In contrast, perceived risk, along with government support and compatibility, were insignificant factors. In addition, the behaviour intention has a significantly positive effect on intended degree of use.
Also, the findings of this study clarify the effects of various moderators on the behaviour intention to use e-commerce. Performance expectancy was not moderated by age and gender. Effort expectancy was moderated by gender with a stronger effect for males, but age did not moderate the relationship between effort expectancy and behaviour intention. Finally, age did not moderate the relationship between social influence and behaviour intention. In contrast, gender moderated this relationship, with a markedly stronger effect for women.
The study contributes to the body of literature in the area of technology acceptance in developing countries and in the hospitality industry. The findings suggested that the UTAUT explains e-commerce acceptance and use in Jordanian travel agencies. It also provides several managerial and methodological implications. The study provides a useful model for managers of travel agencies to evaluate the factors that influence the use of e-commerce. It also provides suggestions to help managers to formulate organizational policies and marketing strategies prior to the use of the e-commerce. The limitations of the study together with directions for future research are also considered.


Background: Mental health services, such as counselling, are chronically underutilised despite the widespread occurrence of mental illness. Traditionally attempts to understand this phenomenon have considered only attitudes or associated social stigma. Few studies have employed the Theory of Planned Behaviour (Ajzen, 1991) to understand why people avoid, or make use of, counselling services.

Aims: To compare the predictive utility of Ajzen's (1991) TPB model and an alternative TPB model to explain intentions to participate in psychological counselling, and to examine for any gender difference in intentions.

Method: 259 members of a front-line, at-risk occupation for the Irish government completed a TPB-based questionnaire during a training seminar.

Results: Ajzen's TPB model explained 47 per cent of variance in intentions, with all the main TPB variables significantly predicting intentions. An alternative TPB model, which split the PBC construct between its internal and external control components, explained an additional 10 per cent of variance in intentions. Intentions to participate in counselling were neutral-to-positive and no gender differences were identified.

Conclusions: The TPB model is an appropriate tool for the prediction of intentions to participate in counselling. The predictive utility of the TPB may well be improved by distinguishing internal and external control factors as separate predictor variables


Great emphasis has, in recent years, been placed upon the interactive use of computers in electrical engineering education. In particular, a number of successful programs have been written in A Programming Language (APL) to demonstrate and explore various aspects of power-system analysis. Most of these programs, however, routinely require the specification of a network's topology and a number of base-case operational parameters on the part of the user. The authors have developed an interactive APL power-flow demonstrator according to a different philosophy. All calculations are performed upon a small two-generator system which contains all the essential components of a large practical power network. The network itself, with all its parameters, is shown graphically on the CRT screen or by the printer, and the displayed parameters are updated automatically as calculations are performed. Using this small network, students are able to observe the effects of changes in network parameters and operating strategies upon the voltages, currents, and power flows. A major use of this program is to enable the student to ultimately learn how to adjust certain operating parameters in order to cause others to be within specified tolerances. The program and its underlying philosophy are described and illustrated, and typical examples of its use are presented.


We present a new algorithm to solve polynomial equations, and publish its code, which is 1.6–3 times faster than the ZROOTS subroutine that is commercially available from Numerical Recipes, depending on application. The largest improvement, when compared to naive solvers, comes from a fail-safe procedure that permits us to skip the majority of the calculations in the great majority of cases, without risking catastrophic failure in the few cases that these are actually required. Second, we identify a discriminant that enables a rational choice between Laguerre's Method and Newton's Method (or a new intermediate method) on a case-by-case basis. We briefly review the history of root solving and demonstrate that "Newton's Method" was discovered neither by Newton (1671) nor by Raphson (1690), but only by Simpson (1740). Some of the arguments leading to this conclusion were first given by the British historian of science Nick Kollerstrom in 1992, but these do not appear to have penetrated the astronomical community. Finally, we argue that Numerical Recipes should voluntarily surrender its copyright protection for non-profit applications, despite the fact that, in this particular case, such protection was the major stimulant for developing our improved algorithm.


The broad goal of this research is to develop a set of paradigms for mapping data-dependent symbolic computations on realistic models of parallel architectures. Within this goal, the thesis represents the initial effort to achieve efficient parallel solutions for a number of non-numerical problems on networks of processors. The specific contributions of the thesis are new parallel algorithms, exhibiting linear speedup on architectures consisting of fixed numbers of processors (i.e., bounded models). The following problems have been considered in the thesis: (1) Determine the minimum spanning tree (MST), and identify the bridges and articulation points (APs) of an undirected weighted graph represented by an $n \times n$ adjacency matrix. (2) The pattern matching problem: Given two strings of characters, of lengths $m$ and $n\ ({\geq}m)$ respectively, mark all positions in the second string where there appears an instance of the first string. (3) Sort $n$ elements.
For each problem, we use a processor-network consisting of $p$ processors. The network model used in the solution of the first set of problems is the linear array; while that used in the solutions of the second and third problems is a butterfly-connected system. The solutions on the butterfly-connected system apply also on a pipelined hypercube.
The performances of the solutions are summarized below. (1) For a graph on $n$ vertices and represented by a distributed adjacency matrix, we present a solution for the MST problem that requires O$(n\sp2/p + n + p)$ time for execution. We present novel data reduction schemes for identifying the bridges and articulation points. (2) The string matching solution requires time O$((n + m)/p + \log\sp2 p),$ where $n$ and $m$ are the lengths of the two strings. No previous parallel solutions achieving linear speedups have been proposed on networks of processors. (3) The execution time requirements of the sorting algorithm are O$(n/p \log n + \log\sp2p),$ which represents a linear speedup up to the use of $n/\log n$ processors. A previous solution achieved linear speedup on a $2\sp{\sqrt{\log n}}$ processor binary-cube. A new parallel merging procedure is presented in the algorithm. Also, as part of the algorithm, a new routing operation called Forward-copy is shown to result in conflict-free communication on the butterfly. (Abstract shortened with permission of author.)


Simultaneous localization and planning (SLAP) is a crucial ability for an autonomous robot operating under uncertainty. In its most general form, SLAP induces a continuous partially observable Markov decision process (POMDP), which needs to be repeatedly solved online. This paper addresses this problem and proposes a dynamic replanning scheme in belief space. The underlying POMDP, which is continuous in state, action, and observation space, is approximated offline via sampling-based methods, but operates in a replanning loop online to admit local improvements to the coarse offline policy. This construct enables the proposed method to combat changing environments and large localization errors, even when the change alters the homotopy class of the optimal trajectory. It further outperforms the state-of-the-art Feedback-based Information RoadMap (FIRM) method by eliminating unnecessary stabilization steps. Applying belief space planning to physical systems brings with it a plethora of challenges. A key focus of this paper is to implement the proposed planner on a physical robot and show the SLAP solution performance under uncertainty, in changing environments and in the presence of large disturbances, such as a kidnapped robot situation.


Bitumen binder is a thermoplastic liquid and the elementary analysis of the bitumen manufactured from a variety of crude oils shows that most bitumen contains carbon, hydrogen, sulphur, oxygen, and nitrogen. At high temperature or low loading, it behaves as a viscous liquid. This classical dichotomy creates a need to improve the performance of an asphalt binder to minimize the stress cracking that occurs at low temperatures and the plastic deformation at high temperature. In order to increase the durability of bitumen materials are needed to modify the quality of bitumen materials. The research work covers five percentages of thermoplastic copolymer content (5%, 7%, 9%, 11%, and 13%) by weight of bitumen were used. The polymer modified mixes were designed in accordance with Marshall Test. Experimental testing has revealed the enhancement in the physical and mechanical properties of bitumen mixtures when the five percents of the thermoplastic copolymer were added. The ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) modified bitumen had the lowest penetration and highest kinematic viscosity as compared with that of unmodified bitumen. The ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) modified mixtures also has experienced the highest Marshall Stiffness, indirect tensile strength and unconfined compressive strength as compared with that of unmodified mixtures. The experimental results are used to develop four empirical correlations. The practical use of such equations, given the value of the mechanical properties with the polymer and bitumen content without needs any experimental data points.


Linked Open Data (LOD) has been a focus of great interest in the library and information science literature in recent years. Much of the literature in this area has been in explaining concepts and discussing its applicability to library data. Implementation of LOD is based on concepts that differ from those of more traditional databases and records. This adds a certain level of complexity to an understanding of its application in practice. As a relatively new topic, the library literature lacks best practices for implementing LOD. The goal of this paper is to share with the readers the challenges faced by the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) LOD project team in implementing the transformation of digital-collection metadata into LOD and the solutions that were adopted. The author briefly introduces basic concepts of LOD and explains, step-by-step, how to transform digital-collections metadata into LOD, thereby indicating the open source technologies and data model that might be considered as tools for such a transformation. The project is in its final phase of implementation. Lessons learned so far will be of great value for those who are planning to pursue such an endeavor. Prior experience by the author in leading a hands-on workshop on LOD indicates that as attendees perform practical tasks for generating triples (statements) from metadata, their understanding of LOD and its potential benefits are consolidated. This paper is organized in such a way as to accomplish this same objective.


'The Chrysanthemums' is a short story written by John Steinbeck and published in his collection of short stories, called The Long Valley, in which, the author focuses on the description of symbolic elements such as nature to narrate his stories. Steinbeck excessively uses symbolism in his stories, and 'The Chrysanthemums,' a selected story from the collection is falling into the same category. With the combination of realism and imagination, Steinbeck describes social issues and shares an image of society to his audience. 'The Chrysanthemums' refers to the male patriarchal society, and the protagonist of the story—a woman called Elisa—cannot show her abilities because of social limitations. This issue is clearly revealed in Elissa's relationship with her husband and her communication with a stranger who visits the farm. Through the story, the chrysanthemums play a great role and symbolize Elisa's sexuality or artistic sensibility that are revealed through her communicative manner with her husband and either other members of the society


The concept of well-being has not been well defined or reliably measured in academic research. This article identifies four academic strands of well-being conceptualization and measurement (economic, medical, psychological and integrative) and shows how well‑being has shifted from being conceived as a collectivist concept with objective measures, to being conceived in individualistic terms with subjective measures. Given its clinical relevance the main emphasis is on subjective well-being. While well-being has become a key concept in mental health, the article also discusses some limitations to its use in practice and proposes considerations for future research. Key issues are a consensus definition of well-being in people with mental illness, and empirical studies on the measurement of well-being and its determinants. Future research might be based on the 'good life' approach, the Complete State Model of Mental Health or the academic field of Positive Psychology.


Surrealist Sculptures delineates a dialogue between the two dominant modes of sculpture that evolved in tandem within the surrealist movement - found-object assemblages and nature-inspired biomorphism. The book offers a continuous narrative of contributions by both European and American surrealist artists from the early 1920s through the late 1940s. Artists from France, Germany, Britain, Spain, Switzerland, and the United States established Surrealism as transnational from the outset. Key artists who incorporated found objects in their works include Marcel Duchamp, Man Ray, Salvador Dali, Hans Bellmer, and Joseph Cornell. The biomorphists encompass Jean Arp, Max Ernst, Henry Moore, Barbara Hepworth and Isamu Noguchi. In addition, Alberto Giacometti, Alexander Calder and David Smith, are highlighted for their game-changing innovations that influenced the evolution of modern sculpture. Nearly two hundred illustrations and a selection of historical texts accompany the insightful essay and chronology by Valerie J. Fletcher. Fans of Surrealism and those new to the genre will appreciate this book's in-depth approach to its innovative and influential three-dimensional masterpieces.


An open U_q(sl_2)-invariant spin chain of spin S and length N with inhomogeneous coupling is investigated as an example of a non-Hermitian (quasi-Hermitian) model. For several particular cases of such a chain, the ranges of the deformation parameter gamma are determined for which the spectrum of the model is real. For a certain range of gamma, a universal metric operator is constructed and thus the quasi-Hermiticity of the model is established. The constructed metric operator is non-dynamical, its structure is determined only by the symmetry of the model. The results apply, in particular, to all known homogeneous U_q(sl_2)-invariant integrable spin chains with nearest-neighbour interaction. In addition, the most general form of a metric operator for a quasi-Hermitian operator in finite dimensional space is discussed.


After 1993, college and university professors will have an almost unlimited lease on the ivory tower. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA or the Act)1 has been "uncapped" to protect workers above 70 from discrimination based on age.2 While an exception to this coverage now allows the mandatory retirement of tenured faculty at age 70, the Act will begin to prohibit such compulsory retirement of tenured faculty after 1993.3 Older faculty members who do not retire may then create a logjam at the top of the faculty hierarchy, causing significant financial and structural problems for colleges and universities. Without mandatory retirement, a large group of minimally active, but highly compensated, older faculty may strain institutional resources, inhibit the prospects of women and minorities for employment and advancement, and even threaten academic quality if incompetent or nonperforming faculty members become too difficult to remove. Since any change in a tenure system takes years to reach its full effect, colleges and universities must plan now for the ADEA-induced retention of post70-year-old tenured faculty.


On March 1, 1965, an explosion occurred in an apartment house in Ville LaSalle, a municipality of 41,000 people seven miles southwest of Montreal, Canada. The blast and subsequent fire caused extensive damage, almost completely destroying the twenty-four apartments located in one of the three-story, U-shaped buildings, damaging the other structures in the project complex, forcing the residents to evacuate, and blowing out windows in the buildings in the surrounding blocks. The blast left a crater some twenty feet deep; the explosion was heard a mile away. Twenty-seven persons were killed with twenty-nine out of forty-eight injured being hospitalized. Fifteen of those killed were children. The same day two DRC staff members left for Montreal to conduct a general study of organizational response to this disaster. Although not a community disaster by the center's criteria, two characteristics of the Montreal explosion suggested possible implications for disaster research: first, since the explosion occurred in Canada, there was the possibility of making general cross-cultural comparisons with typical responses in the United States; and secondly, because the Montreal disaster was comparable in some respects to the 1963 Coliseum explosion in Indianapolis, limited but more specific analyses of similar organizations under similar conditions
were possible.


Reversals in capital inflows can have severe economic consequences. This paper develops a dynamic general equilibrium model to analyse the effect on interest rates, asset prices, investment, consumption, output, the exchange rate and the current account of a shift in portfolio preferences of foreign investors. The model has two countries and two asset classes (equities and bonds). It is characterised by imperfect substitutability between assets and allows for endogenous adjustment in interest rates and asset prices. Therefore, it accounts for capital gains arising from equity price movements, in addition to valuation effects caused by changes in the exchange rate. To illustrate the mechanics of the model, we calibrate it to analyse the consequences of an increase in the importance of sovereign wealth funds (SWFs). Specifically, we ask what would happen if 'excess' reserves held by emerging markets were transferred from central banks to SWFs. We look separately at two diversification paths: one in which SWFs keep the same allocation across bonds and equities as central banks, but move away from dollar assets (path 1); and another in which they choose the same currency composition as central banks, but shift from US bonds to US equities (path 2). In path 1, the dollar depreciates and US net debt falls on impact and increases in the long run. In path 2, the dollar depreciates and US net debt increases in the long run. In both cases, there is a reduction in the 'exorbitant privilege', ie, the excess return the United States receives on its assets over what it pays on its liabilities. The model is applicable to other episodes in which foreign investors change the composition of their portfolios.


Financial globalisation has given international capital flows a central role in the functioning of the global economy and has therefore led to considerable economic research over the past 30 years. Making the most of capital flows by allowing countries to reap their benefits while reducing associated risks has always been a challenge. This challenge became however even more acute in the past decade: following the Global Financial Crisis new concerns have indeed emerged related to the complexity of global financial relations, their role in shock transmission as well the ability of fundamentals to protect countries from financial instability. Against this background, recent research has focused on understanding better the implications of financial globalisation for economic stability and the design of policies. This literature review assesses these recent developments. After reviewing the most important trends in capital flows over the past decade, it takes stock of the discussion on the role of the global financial cycle in driving cross-border capital flows and financial instability, reviews the new findings on the real impact of international capital flows on recipient economies, and provides an overview of the ongoing debates on the role of capital controls and the need for policy coordination.


System That Works: Building a decentralized Global Political Economy using the Viable System Model A political economy that enhances personal freedom requires effective but limited regulation.  The Viable System Model by Stafford Beer offers a way to analyze an organization's communication problems, maximize resource use, minimize waste, and adapt to a changing environment by clarifying what to regulate. Jon Walker's "VSM Quick Guide" and Allenna Leonard's "Personal VSM" ground the reader. VSM is applied to a community of 65,000 people in Davis, California, USA, in a way that could be used in other places around the world, to help identify strategies to better meet human needs, enhance the local economy, reduce environmental damage, and encourage natural healing processes. Given the recursive nature of the VSM, this method could be used at every level from person to family/neighborhood/village/community/district/region/state/nation/continent/planet, emphasizing the system in focus.  "National Government: disseminated regulation in real time, or 'How to run a country'" by Stafford Beer describes how to construct "quantified flow charts" to identify which statistics to measure daily as regulation at a particular level of recursion.


Purpose. Children who witness crimes are sometimes asked to view a photospread lineup to see if they can identify the culprit. Here, we examined the effectiveness of two manipulations designed to assist in overcoming the tendency of child eyewitnesses to choose from lineups, a tendency that manifests in false identifications from target-absent lineups. Methods. Children aged around 12 years (N = 432) were randomly assigned to control, Not Sure, or accuracy motivation conditions in order to examine both target-absent and -present identification test performance across multiple sets of stimulus materials. Results. The Not Sure option did not affect false alarms or hit rates, but the combination of accuracy motivating conditions and the Not Sure option reduced guessing, with overall rates of false identifications falling by 12.2%. The latter effect was much stronger under some stimulus conditions but not detectable under others, indicating that the manipulations could improve but not impair performance. While there were beneficial effects at the group level, the manipulation did not produce a general change in individual children's decision strategies. Conclusions. Eyewitness identification test manipulations that reliably reduce false alarms, without lowering hits, by child witnesses have not yet been identified. Here, we showed how a simple-to-implement accuracy motivation manipulation reduces false alarms under some conditions, while also highlighting the importance of evaluating the efficacy of interventions across varied encoding and test conditions. However, developing a procedure that can produce a generalized improvement in decision making at the individual level remains a major challenge for eyewitness researchers.


Abstract XML technology has emerged during recent years as a popular choice for representing and exchanging semi-structured data on the Web. It integrates seamlessly with web- based applications. If data is stored and represented as XML documents, then it should be possible to query the contents of these documents in order to extract, synthesize and analyze their contents. This thesis for experimental study of Web architecture for data processing is based on semantic mapping of XML Schema. The thesis involves complex methods and tools for specification, algorithmic transformation and online processing of semi- structured data over the Web in XML format with persistent storage into relational databases. The main focus of the research is preserving the structure of original data for data reconciliation during database updates and also to combine different technologies for XML data processing such as storing (SQL), transformation (XSL Processors), presenting (HTML), querying (XQUERY) and transporting (Web services) using a common framework, which is both theoretically and technologically well grounded. The experimental implementation of the discussed architecture requires a Web server (Apache), Java container (Tomcat) and object-relational DBMS (Oracle 9) equipped with Java engine and corresponding libraries for parsing and transformation of XML data (Xerces and Xalan). Furthermore the central idea behind the research is to use a single theoretical model of the data to be processed by the system (XML algebra) controlled by one standard metalanguage specification (XML Schema) for solving a class of problems (generic architecture). The proposed work combines theoretical novelty and technological advancement in the field of Internet computing. This thesis will introduce a generic approach since both our model (XML algebra) and our problem solver (the architecture of the integrated system) are XML Schema- driven. Starting with the XML Schema of the data, we first develop domain-specific XML algebra suitable for data processing of the specific data and then use it for implementing the main offline components of the system for data processing.


Two female athletes' embodied experiences in two different aquatic nature based sports are explored using collaborative autoethnography in conjunction with Foucault's theory of the body as a site of discipline. The first section of this paper provides an overview of literature addressing body practices occurring in sport as a means of better contextualising how sporting sites have come to privilege female athletes' bodies that are 'fatless', 'fit', 'idealised' and 'feminine' over those who did not meet such body standards. In the second part of the paper, collaborative autoethnography is used as a means of presenting and analysing two female athletes' embodied experiences in aquatic nature based sport. The two female athletes' stories reveal how their bodies were 'classified' according to the idealised female athletic body shape for their specific sport. The two female athletes' stories also revealed that as a result of their bodies being classified in the sporting context, a fractured body-self relationship resulted.


The quest for Dark Matter signals in the gamma-ray sky is one of the most intriguing and exciting challenges in astrophysics. In this paper we perform the analysis of the energy spectrum of the \textit{Fermi bubbles} at different latitudes, making use of the gamma-ray data collected by the Fermi Large Area Telescope. By exploring various setups for the full-sky analysis we achieve stable results in all the analyzed latitudes. At high latitude, $|b|=20^{\circ}-50^{\circ}$, the \textit{Fermi bubbles} energy spectrum can be reproduced by gamma-ray photons generated by inverse Compton scattering processes, assuming the existence of a population of high-energy electrons. At low latitude, $|b|=10^{\circ}-20^{\circ}$, the presence of a bump at $E_{\gamma}\sim 1-4$ GeV, reveals the existence of an extra component compatible with Dark Matter annihilation. Our best-fit candidate corresponds to annihilation into $b\bar{b}$ with mass $M_{\rm DM}= 61.8^{+6.9}_{-4.9}$ GeV and cross section $ = 3.30^{+0.69}_{-0.49}\times 10^{-26}$ cm$^{3}$s$^{-1}$. In addition, using the energy spectrum of the \textit{Fermi bubbles}, we derive new conservative but stringent upper limits on the Dark Matter annihilation cross section.


The global demand for agricultural products is surging due to population growth, more meat-based diets, and the increasing role of bioenergy. Three strategies can increase agricultural production: (1) expanding agriculture into natural ecosystems; (2) intensifying existing farmland; or (3) recultivating abandoned farmland. Because agricultural expansion entails substantial environmental trade-offs, intensification and recultivation are currently gaining increasing attention. Assessing where these strategies may be pursued, however, requires improved spatial information on land use intensity, including where farmland is active and fallow. We developed a framework to integrate optical and radar data in order to advance the mapping of three farmland management regimes: (1) large-scale, mechanized agriculture; (2) small-scale, subsistence agriculture; and (3) fallow or abandoned farmland. We applied this framework to our study area in western Ukraine, a region characterized by marked spatial heterogeneity in management intensity due to the legacies from Soviet land management, the breakdown of the Soviet Union in 1991, and the recent integration of this region into world markets. We mapped land management regimes using a hierarchical, object-based framework. Image segmentation for delineating objects was performed by using the Superpixel Contour algorithm. We then applied Random Forest classification to map land management regimes and validated our map using randomly sampled in-situ data, obtained during an extensive field campaign. Our results showed that farmland management regimes were mapped reliably, resulting in a final map with an overall accuracy of 83.4%. Comparing our land management regimes map with a soil map revealed that most fallow land occurred on soils marginally suited for agriculture, but some areas within our study region contained considerable potential for recultivation. Overall, our study highlights the potential for an improved, more nuanced mapping of agricultural land use by combining imagery of different sensors.


An electrochemical sensor based on a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) modified by a thin film of hybrid copper cobalt hexacyanoferrate (Cu-CoHCF) was prepared and tested for the determination of three thiols: L-cysteine (CySH), L-glutathione (GSH) and 1,4-butanedithiol (BdSH). Cyclic voltammetry (CV) measurements were carried out with the as prepared and thermally treated chemically modified electrode (CME) in phosphate buffer solution from pH 2 to 7. CV results showed that at pH higher than 5, the Cu-CoHCF layer was unstable and underwent significant fouling. Then, chronoamperometric measurements were carried out to develop an analytical method for the determination of thiols. Cysteine showed the lowest limit of detection (7.5 × 10-7 M), but GSH and BdSH also showed good results. The above sensor was also employed for the indirect determination of Hg2+. It exploits the formation of a redox inactive complex with thiols. CySH and BdSH were used, with the former giving more sensitive results. Interference studies led to Cu2+ being the major interferent. The interference from Cu2+ was avoided by exploiting the faster reaction kinetics between CysH and Hg2+. GCE were also modified by carbon nanomaterials, graphene oxide, GO, and multi-walled carbon nanotubes alone, mixed together (Composite) or in the form of bi-layers. The reduction of GO was carried out by means of a green approach using electroreduction. Catechol and dopamine, which are representative of polyphenols class were investigated to find which of them allows the best electron transfer kinetics. To this aim the fouling effects of the electrode surface were also taken into account. The electrochemically active areas were estimated by using two approaches in order to highlight the different phenomena that could affect the redox processes of the two analytes at the different CME. The Composite configuration displayed the best compromise in terms of sensitivity and resistance to fouling.


This Article compares for the first time the relative economic efficiency of "nudges" and other forms of behaviorally-inspired regulation against more common policy alternatives, such as taxes, subsidies, or traditional quantity regulation. Environmental economists and some legal commentators have dismissed nudge-type interventions out of hand for their failure to match the revenues and informational benefits taxes can provide. Similarly, writers in the law and economics tradition argue that fines are generally superior to non-pecuniary punishments. Drawing on prior work in the choice-of-instruments literature, and contrary to this popular wisdom, I show that nudges may out-perform fines, other Pigouvian taxes, or subsidies in some contexts. These same arguments may also imply the superiority of some traditional "command and control" regulations over their tax or subsidy alternatives. I then apply these lessons to a set of contemporary policy controversies, such as New York City's cap on beverage portion sizes, climate change, retirement savings, and charitable contributions.


This research integrates existing LOD 2 building models and multiple close-range images for facade structural lines extraction. The major works are orientation determination and multiple image matching. In the orientation determination, Speeded Up Robust Features (SURF) is applied to extract tie points automatically. Then, tie points and control points are combined for block adjustment. An object-based multi-images matching is proposed to extract the facade structural lines. The 2D lines in image space are extracted by Canny operator followed by Hough transform. The role of LOD 2 building models is to correct the tilt displacement of image from different views. The wall of LOD 2 model is also used to generate hypothesis planes for similarity measurement. Finally, average normalized cross correlation is calculated to obtain the best location in object space. The test images are acquired by a nonmetric camera Nikon D2X. The total number of image is 33. The experimental results indicate that the accuracy of orientation determination is about 1 pixel from 2515 tie points and 4 control points. It also indicates that line-based matching is more flexible than point-based matching.


This edition provides up-to-date cases, commentary and statutes. There is an introductory narrative to each chapter and instructive commentary on an appropriate selection of cases suitable for the range of constitutional and administrative law courses. The book reflects modern trends, particularly the importance in the modern legal world of the power of the court exercised through judicial review of administrative action and the growing effect of the EC and the European Convention on Human Rights on the English constitution. There is also coverage of police and public order issues.


The management and administration of the projects envisioned in the Infrastructure Development Bill is overseen by various committees at different levels of authority. The Bill brings together the three spheres of government and other stakeholders in various sub-committees to fast-track strategic infrastructure projects and to avoid the projects being delayed by red tape. It acts somewhat retrospectively to empower committees, which are already in existence and which are currently overseeing the 18 Strategic Integrated Projects (SIPs), which were set out in our previous article. This article will examine the composition and powers of these committees.


Mobilising International Law for 'Global Justice' provides new insights into the dynamics between politics and international law and the roles played by state and civic actors in pursuing human rights, development, security and justice through mobilising international law at local and international levels. This includes attempts to hold states, corporations or individuals accountable for violations of international law. Second, this book examines how enforcing international law creates particular challenges for intergovernmental regulators seeking to manage tensions between incompatible legal systems and bringing an end to harmful practices, such as foreign corruption and child abduction. Finally, it explores how international law has local resonance, whereby, for example, cities have taken it upon themselves to give effect to the spirit of international treaties that national governments fail to implement, or even may have refused to ratify.


In situ bioremediation is one of the most regular technologies to clean up petroleum contaminated aquifers. Control process of such a complicated system is difficult and needs more than one management target. This study develops multi objective simulation/optimization model that consider cost and time of remediation process, and concentration violation from standard value as model objectives. For this propose two multi objective ant colony optimization (ACO) models have been developed, cost-time and cost-violations. The BIOPLUMEII model applies to simulate aquifer hydraulics and bioremediation. Injection rate of oxygen and nutrient, extraction rate in wells and well locations are decision variables. Simulated groundwater model is hypothetic and homogenous. For the case studies, the Pareto front is derived which enhances the decision maker to choose one which more suitable for him/her according to the priorities. The results of time-cost trade off curve showed minimum possible time for remediation process. Also, It was found maximum time for remediation before contamination plume reaches to downstream monitoring wells. The results of cost-violation trade off curve showed how to decrease cost of process with relaxation of standard concentration constraint. The following research shows the proposed multi objective models are useful for decision makers and also reveals the capability of ACO in multi objective optimization of groundwater bioremediation system design.


Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is an inflammatory disorder involving colitis. Lycopene is a naturally occurring carotenoid that has attracted considerable attention as a potential chemopreventive agent. The impact of lycopene on colitis is currently unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate the protective effects of lycopene in a rat model of colitis induced by acetic acid. The animals were randomly divided into the following five groups: the control group, colitis group, colitis + sulfasalazine group as a positive control group, colitis + lycopene and lycopene groups. Colonic mucosal injury was assessed by biochemical and histopathological examinations. Malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, total antioxidant status (TAS), ceruloplasmin (CPN), total sialic acid and iron (Fe) levels were evaluated in blood samples. MDA, SOD, TAS and DNA fragmentation levels were also measured in colon tissues. MDA (p < 0.05), total sialic acid (p < 0.05) and DNA fragmentation levels (p < 0.01) were significantly higher, and the activity of the antioxidant enzyme were lower in the colitis group than in the control group. Treatments with lycopene in the colitis decreased MDA, total sialic acid and DNA fragmentation levels, while SOD activity (p < 0.05), TAS (in colon p < 0.05; in serum p < 0.01), CPN (p < 0.05) and Fe levels (p < 0.05) were significantly increased. The histopathological evaluation also confirmed the foregoing findings. Treatment with lycopene ameliorated the biochemical and pathological alterations caused by colitis. The results obtained in this study indicate that lycopene may exert protective effects in experimental colitis and might, therefore, be useful for treatment of IBD.


i»?In this paper, we use the iPhone as a case to show that even high-tech products invented by United States (US) companies will not increase US exports, but on the contrary exacerbate the US trade deficit. The iPhone contributed US$1.9 billion to the US trade deficit with the People's Republic of China (PRC). Unprecedented globalization, well organized global production networks, repaid development of cross-country production fragmentation, and low transportation costs all contributed to rational firms such as Apple making business decisions that contributed directly to the US trade deficit. Global production networks and highly specialized production processes apparently reverse trade patterns : developing countries such as the PRC export high-tech goods—like the iPhone—while industrialized countries such as the US import the high-tech goods they themselves invented. In addition, conventional trade statistics greatly inflate bilateral trade deficits between a country used as export-platform by multinational firms and its destination countries.


With the aim to improve mechanical properties of the layer
formed by anodic oxidation of Al on the material EN-AW-1050-H24
the microhardness of the layer was investigated as a function
of physical and chemical factors acting in the anodic oxidation
at constant current density JA = 1 A dm-2. The electrolyte was
a mixture of H2SO4 and oxalic acid. Emphasis was put on the
effect of H2SO4 concentration ranging from 0.09 to 2.76 mol
dm-3 on the microhardness. In the experiment were carried out
44 separate attempts with the change of the current values of
the individual factors under defined levels for each
implementation. With this in mind, the surface treatment
processes are multifactorial systems where, except the main
effects, reciprocal interactions are also very significantly
influenced. Failure to respect these mutual relations of the
operating agents, often leads to misconceptions and
misinterpretations. Therefore, the paper also addresses the
interaction of the chemical composition of the electrolyte with
physical factors: time of anodizing, voltage and temperature of
the electrolyte.


ABSTRACT

The last three decades have seen a progressive increase in worldwide environmental consciousness due to rising evidence of environmental problems. Environmental protection is increasingly becoming a necessity and part of a bigger agenda in the urbanising world of developing countries. Given the increasing deterioration of the environment, Egypt as in most developing countries should prevent pollution and preserve its natural resources. Egyptian consumers are just at the stage of green awakening. The Egyptian government and companies should respond to the green challenge by knowing whether or not Egyptian citizens are concerned about green issues. Environmental attitudes constitute a significant part of environmental consciousness. Therefore, this paper empirically investigates the attitude of Egyptian consumers towards the environment in general. A survey was developed and administered across Egypt. A total of 122 Egyptian consumers responded and completed the questionnaire. Results contradict the traditional wisdom that environmental concern is a luxury afforded by only the wealthy and shed a light upon the possibility of going green in Egypt. This will help the Egyptian government better understand consumers' level of concern about the environment, develop effective environmental policies required to achieve sustainability and reinforce green purchase through legislation. Moreover, companies will have insight about how to profile green consumers in Egypt, and better develop green marketing messages that will functionally and emotionally appeal to their target customers.

Keywords: Pro-environmental Attitude, Green Marketing, Environmental Consciousness


The fates of 359 kidneys harvested from 181 non-heart beating donors (NHBD) at a single center, using a regional in situ cooling technique were retrospectively investigated. 1. Thirty-five kidneys (9.7%) were discarded mainly due to poor arterial perfusion and bacterial contamination. 2. The incidence of primary nonfunction in patients treated with Aza was significantly higher than that in patients receiving CsA or FK (20.5% [8 grafts] vs 6.0% [17 grafts], respectively, p < 0.01). 3. The incidences of immediate and delayed graft function were 16.1% and 77.9%, respectively, among 285 recipients treated with CsA/FK. The average of duration of posttransplant dialysis required in recipients with DGF was 13.7 days and the average lowest serum creatinine level in patients who recovered graft function was 1.58 mg/dl. 4. Patient survival rates in the CsA/FK group were 97.2%, 95.0%, 93.2% and 89.3% at one, 3, 5 and 10 years, respectively, and the graft survival rates at one, 3, 5 and 10 years were 83.3%, 72.0%, 64.7% and 48.6%, respectively. 5. Increasing donor age showed a significant correlation with increased serum creatinine levels as well as with prolonged posttransplant dialysis (p < 0.001 and p < 0.01, respectively). 6. Renal grafts from donors with cerebrovascular disease (CVD) had significantly higher lowest serum creatine levels than grafts from non-CVD donors (p < 0.0001). 7. Renal grafts harvested from NHBD using our in situ cooling technique had excellent renal function when the donor was young or the cause of death was non-CVD. However, when the donor was older (> or = 56 years) and the cause of death was CVD, the grafts were acceptable but the early posttransplant function was often impaired. 8. The current NHBD graft survival rate, the UNOS cadaveric renal graft survival rate and the Japanese living-related donor renal graft survival rate were almost identical at 10 years posttransplant. 9. NHBDs should provide an excellent opportunity to increase organ availability.


With phishing attacks, password breaches, and brute-force login attacks presenting constant threats, it is clear that passwords alone are inadequate for protecting the web applications entrusted with our personal data. Instead, web applications should practice defense in depth and give users multiple ways to secure their accounts. In this paper we propose login rituals, which define actions that a user must take to authenticate, and web tripwires, which define actions that a user must not take to remain authenticated. These actions outline expected behavior of users familiar with their individual setups on applications they use often. We show how we can detect and prevent intrusions from web attackers lacking this familiarity with their victim's behavior. We design a modular and application-agnostic system that incorporates these two mechanisms, allowing us to add an additional layer of deception-based security to existing web applications without modifying the applications themselves. Next to testing our system and evaluating its performance when applied to five popular open-source web applications, we demonstrate the promising nature of these mechanisms through a user study. Specifically, we evaluate the detection rate of tripwires against simulated attackers, 88% of whom clicked on at least one tripwire. We also observe web users' creation of personalized login rituals and evaluate the practicality and memorability of these rituals over time. Out of 39 user-created rituals, all of them are unique and 79% of users were able to reproduce their rituals even a week after creation.


Purpose: To evaluate the mechanical stability and dosimetric accuracy of planning and delivering pulsed low‐dose radiotherapy (PLRT) using volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) on Elekta linacsMethods: Ten patients previously treated for Glioblastoma Multiforme were replanned using PLRT VMAT to deliver ten 0.2 Gy pulses separated by 3 min intervals with an effective dose rate of 0.067 Gy/min. VMAT parameters such as leaf speed and arc length were optimized to deliver 2 Gy/fraction to a total of 60 Gy to the target volume in ten sub‐fractions or pulses. Plan quality was assessed using conformity and homogeneity indices. Absolute dose distribution for individual pulses was measured using the Arccheck cylindrical diode array. Individual pulses were analyzed for reproducibility and stability using machine log file saved in clinical mode. Machine characteristics at low monitor units and low dose rate were also investigated. Results: An optimal arc length of 140 – 160 degree and a leaf speed of 0.18 − 0.25 cm/degree were sufficient to provide stable delivery and equivalent plan coverage to IMRT. The average time and dose rate required to deliver a single 0.2 Gy pulse was 39.5 ± 2.3 seconds and 49 ± 32.3 cGy/min. Average reduction in MUs for the PLRT plan compared to IMRT for PTV was 16.0% (Range: −5.5% to 36.1%). Significant improvement was seen in maximum doses to all sensitive structures when planned with VMAT PLRT. The average absolute dose gamma passing rate for the 10 pulses combined and 2 Gy plan were 91.6 ± 2.5% and 97.3 ± 1.2%. Cumulative monitor units, dose rate, gantry angles and leaf positions evaluated using machine log files were within 2% for all pulses. Flatness and symmetry were within Elekta specifications. Conclusions: Elekta linacs are capable of delivering reproducible and stable PLRT plans. Prospective clinical study employing PLRT is currently in process.