ActiveMath is a generic web-based learning system that dynamically generates interactive (mathematical) courses adapted to the student's goals, preferences, capabilities, and knowledge. The content is represented in an semantic xml-based format. For each user, the appropriate content is retrieved from a knowledge base and the course is generated individually according to pedagogical rules. Then the course is presented to the user via a standard web- browser. One of the exceptional features of ActiveMath is its integration of stand-alone mathematical service systems. This offers the means for exploratory learning, realistically complex exercises as well as for learning proof methods. The article provides a comprehensive account of the current version of ActiveMath.


A series of N- and O- alkylated nicotinonitriles was reported. Base mediate alkylation of nicotinonitriles 1a-c with chloroacetonitrile, allyl bromide and propargyl bromide produced N- and O- alkylated nicotinonitrile derivatives 3-6. Reaction of compounds 6a,b with ethyl 2- azidoacetate in the presence of CuSO4 and sodium ascorbate afforded 1,4-disubstituted triazoles 7a,b. The anticancer activity against RPE-1 and MCF-7 human cell lines showed that all compounds did not showed big variation in their cytotoxicity activities at concentrations of 25, 50 and 100 μM against both cell types. The antimicrobial activity of the new compounds showed that all the tested compounds do not showed significant antibacterial and antifungal activities against the mention microorganisms, except compounds 4b, 5c, 5d and 6b showed moderate antimicrobial activity towards Bacillus subtilis.


We present a neural analysis and synthesis (NANSY) framework that can manipulate voice, pitch, and speed of an arbitrary speech signal. Most of the previous works have focused on using information bottleneck to disentangle analysis features for controllable synthesis, which usually results in poor reconstruction quality. We address this issue by proposing a novel training strategy based on information perturbation. The idea is to perturb information in the original input signal (e.g., formant, pitch, and frequency response), thereby letting synthesis networks selectively take essential attributes to reconstruct the input signal. Because NANSY does not need any bottleneck structures, it enjoys both high reconstruction quality and controllability. Furthermore, NANSY does not require any labels associated with speech data such as text and speaker information, but rather uses a new set of analysis features, i.e., wav2vec feature and newly proposed pitch feature, Yingram, which allows for fully self-supervised training. Taking advantage of fully self-supervised training, NANSY can be easily extended to a multilingual setting by simply training it with a multilingual dataset. The experiments show that NANSY can achieve significant improvement in performance in several applications such as zero-shot voice conversion, pitch shift, and time-scale modification.


This paper shows how separation of ownership and control may arise as a response to overload costs, despite agency costs, and how conglomerates arise as solution to information asymmetries in capital markets. In a context where entrepreneurs have the ability to run projects and improve their future cash flow, there could be rationing of credit due to moral hazard between entrepreneurs and investors. Diversification could mitigate the moral hazard problem. However for a single entrepreneur running many different projects might be increasingly costly due to overload costs. Delegating the running of projects to several managers can not only reduce overload costs, but also the moral hazard problem of external financing. In this paper we show that delegation can be the only way to exploit the gains from diversification when overload costs of diversification are high; delegation thus is the key ingredient to be able to diversify.


Microreaction technology, with its unprecedented heat and mass transfer advantages as well as uniform residence time and flow pattern, is one of the few technologies with potential to develop efficient, environmentally benign, and compact processes. Novel fabrication and processing techniques, equipment, and operational methods are resulting in spectacular developments that go beyond "traditional" chemical engineering. These new developments promise improvements in process plants, and lead to the transformation of our concept of chemical plants into compact, safe, energy-efficient, and environmentally sustainable processes. Microsystems are now available in many devices for commercial applications including: micromixers and microreactors as alternative to batch production in pharmaceutical and fine chemical industry, lab-on-chip devices, microsensors, advanced rapid throughput chemical and catalyst screening tools (e.g. combi), distributed or portable power and chemical production, distributed heating and cooling, and even out of this world applications with NASA. A wide diversity of subjects are discussed in this book ranging from catalysis to fuel processing to combinatorial techniques to separations to novel reactors all of which are enabled by microtechnology principles. World renowned pioneers (Klavs Jensen, Volker Hessel, Jennifer Holmgren, and Galip Akay) provide accounts on both historical developments and the current state of the art as well as insights into future research and development in microreactor and process intensification. Research and developments are presented by industry, universities, U.S. National Laboratories, and other laboratories located in the United States and throughout the world. It is composed of peer-reviewed chapters from both contributing and invited authors. The review and original research topics include (1) introductory and general overviews, (2) microreactors- including catalysts for microreactors, fuel processors, milli-second contact time catalysis, gas to liquid technology, and biomass conversion; and (3) process intensification such as micro mixers, reactive membranes, and intensification of separation operations.


Boundaries between business and government are increasingly fluid and often transcended. Yet it remains important to acknowledge and make appropriate use of the fundamental differences between these sectors. Five areas that offer the most critical challenges to business and government in Canada today are corporate governance, lobbying and influence, security and privacy, public-private partnerships, and geography and development. This book is an exploration of the systemic dynamics of the inter-sectoral governance that shape the collective performance of Canada's national jurisdiction. Three perspectives of the relational dynamics between business and government, drawn from leading Canadian scholars, are adopted in order to frame the examination of independence, influence, and interdependence. This book makes a case for the advancement of "virtuous hybrids," while pointing out the challenges that remain in terms of the formation and successful performance of such hybrids in Canada, a challenge that calls for political leadership as well as social learning. An informed and engaged public, wearing multiple hats (i.e. as voter, shareholder, employee, activist etc.) would be the ultimate arbiter of sectoral and collective performance.


Regularization is an approach to function learning that balances fit and smoothness. In practice, we search for a function f with a finite representation f = Σi ci φi(·). In most treatments, the ci are the primary objects of study. We consider value regularization, constructing optimization problems in which the predicted values at the training points are the primary variables, and therefore the central objects of study. Although this is a simple change, it has profound consequences. From convex conjugacy and the theory of Fenchel duality, we derive separate optimality conditions for the regularization and loss portions of the learning problem; this technique yields clean and short derivations of standard algorithms. This framework is ideally suited to studying many other phenomena at the intersection of learning theory and optimization. We obtain a value-based variant of the representer theorem, which underscores the transductive nature of regularization in reproducing kernel Hilbert spaces. We unify and extend previous results on learning kernel functions, with very simple proofs. We analyze the use of unregularized bias terms in optimization problems, and low-rank approximations to kernel matrices, obtaining new results in these areas. In summary, the combination of value regularization and Fenchel duality are valuable tools for studying the optimization problems in machine learning.


In this paper, we study the problem of inverse design for the one-dimensional Burgers equation. This problem consists in identifying the set of initial data evolving to a given target at a final time. Due to the time-irreversibility of the Burgers equation, some target functions are unattainable from solutions of this equation, making the inverse problem under consideration ill-posed. To get around this issue, we introduce an optimal control problem which consists in minimizing the difference between the predictions of the Burgers equation and the observations of the system at a final time in L 2 (R) norm. The two main contributions of this work are the following: • We fully characterize the set of minimizers of the aforementioned optimal control problem. • A wave-front tracking method is implemented to construct numerically all of them. One of minimizers is the backward entropy solution, constructed using a backward-forward method.


We examine the impact of legislated land ceiling size on capital investment and industrialisation in the Indian states. India's land ceiling legislations of 1960s and 1970s imposed a ceiling on maximum land holdings and redistributed above-ceiling lands. These ceiling legislations, effectively implemented or not, had increased land fragmentation and increased transactions costs of acquiring land for both strategic and non-strategic reasons. States with smaller ceiling size are thus likely to have (i) lower capital investment; (ii) less factories and lower industrialisation too. Ceteris paribus, estimates of both relative (post-1971 ceiling legislations relative to pre-1971 ones) and aggregate effects of legislated ceiling size lend support to these hypotheses, after eliminating competing explanations. These results offer insights about how to reduce transactions costs of land acquisition, policies that we claim are also applicable beyond India.


Encounters with risk, as Hutter and Power (2005, 11) clarify, are events of problematization that 'place in question existing attention to risk and its modes of identification, recognition and definition'. Infectious diseases, as a public health risk, call for new ways of encountering their continuously changing, uncertain nature. When a new, emerging infection appears, or when vaccination coverage fails to provide population-wide protection, the preventive and protective measures against risks need to be re-assessed and developed further. Computer-based modelling techniques provide a set of tools for encountering public health risks. What kinds of model-based predictions are utilised in public health decision-making processes and on what basis do we rely on these predictions? These questions are addressed through a notion of modelled encounters with public health risks. The main focus is on two modes of predictive encounters with public health risks. First, by analysing the case of Haemophilus influenzae type b bacterial circulation and the effectiveness of vaccination interventions to reduce it, I will introduce the notion of explanation-based predictions. These predictions are capable of addressing short-term developments in the transmission of Hib by explaining its epidemiological mechanisms. Secondly, I will study scenario-building predictions that anticipate the course of a pandemic influenza outbreak. Through these cases, the nature of model-based prediction is discussed as modelled encounters with public health risks. These encounters provide an evidence-base for public health decision-making processes. The study builds on a long-term ethnographic research project on mathematical modelling of infectious diseases with a research group from the National Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki (the Hib case). The data on the pandemic influenza preparedness planning is gathered from scientific publications and from policy documents of a national and international level.


Although based in various design disciplines the concept of user centred design (UCD) and "design with intent" has been linked to the notion of "human-centred principles", "design for behavioural change", "persuasion technologies" and "interaction design" at international design institutions for some time. Understanding how user behaviour can influence technological solutions is critical for designers wishing to effectively tackle social issues such as eco-solutions, effective wayfinding design as well as the design of information brochures/pamphlets. Designers influence behaviour from a distance through the creative products and services that are produced based on their understanding of user behaviour. According to design consultancy FROG designers acknowledge that instead of aspiring to influence user behaviour from afar there is a need for the products that are designed to have more immediate impact through direct social engagement. Although this aspect of the teaching of design is usually entrenched within a new media, interaction design or usability/service design department the notion is linked so closely to certain existing concepts within graphic design that it makes sense to include aspects of this within a re-evaluated graphic design curriculum.


This study is an analytical look at the Bomborisi paintings of the Upper East Region of Ghana in particular study villages including and particularly focused in Sirigu. This study analyzes Bomborisi in terms of an approach towards the definition of art. in relationship to the aesthetic, social, and economic context in which Bomborisi exists, as well as the dynamic qualities of this art form in the modern setting. Bomborisi, and any art form, is a reflection of the culture from which it emerges and in which it exists a traditional art form, Bomborisi reflects culture in timeless, limitless ways. This paper is intended for an audience beyond the cultural context of Bomborisi. a Western. academic audience, in an attempt to draw something of this world into my own. Whether it leads to inspiration. awareness of other people, places, and cultures. Or perhaps something to help us to understand our own selves in our own culture, is left to the reader.


To achieve a good trade-off between recognition accuracy and computational efficiency, it is often needed to reduce high-dimensional visual data to medium-dimensional ones. For this task, even applying a simple full-matrix-based linear projection causes significant computation and memory use. When the number of visual data is large, how to efficiently learn such a projection could even become a problem. The recent feature merging approach offers an efficient way to reduce the dimensionality, which only requires a single scan of features to perform reduction. However, existing merging algorithms do not scale well with high-dimensional data, especially in the unsupervised case. To address this problem, we formulate unsupervised feature merging as a PCA problem imposed with a special structure constraint. By exploiting its connection with k-means, we transform this constrained PCA problem into a feature clustering problem. Moreover, we employ the hashing technique to improve its scalability. These produce a scalable feature merging algorithm for our dimensionality reduction task. In addition, we develop an extension of this method by leveraging the neighborhood structure in the data to further improve dimensionality reduction performance. In further, we explore the incorporation of bipolar merging - a variant of merging function which allows the subtraction operation - into our algorithms. Through three applications in visual recognition, we demonstrate that our methods can not only achieve good dimensionality reduction performance with little computational cost but also help to create more powerful representation at both image level and local feature level.


ABSTRACT New information and communication technologies continue to spread rapidly into the Asian marketplace, which has led to new patterns of leisure consumption, one of the most popular being digital gaming. However, in Vietnam there is limited research on gaming as a leisure activity. The purpose of this study is to explore the phenomenon of digital gaming in Vietnam to better understand how it is practiced in this culture. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with twenty-five gaming industry figures and gamers. Thematic analysis was used to guide data collection and analysis. The findings indicate that glocalisation, socialised gaming practices and competitiveness characterise the Vietnamese gaming experience. The distinct culture of Vietnam combined with globalised gaming consumption habits has created new modes of play culture, and hence leisure experiences that are growing in pervasive and influential ways.


The Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow supersonic interceptor programme haunted Canada's national security bureaucracy throughout the 1950s only to achieve a mythological status during the nearly forty years since its cancellation. The popular literature on the project has advanced a techno-nationalistic, conspiratorial viewpoint that the project should have been completed regardless of the financial burden or operational requirement. The Arrow programme's termination is invariably interpreted as an unjustifiable action by an inept Conservative government that was ignorant of defence policy and acting at the behest of the United States. The academic community, believing the lessons of the project to be largely self-evident, has not countered this belief with any studies of significant length or breadth of research.

This thesis examines the civil-military decision-making environment which existed during the Arrow programme and concludes that the widely held in conventional wisdom is wrong. A case study of a weapons acquisition process, this thesis is based on declassified government records and personal papers taken together with the secondary literature and government publications. The evidence presented hereinafter demonstrates that the decisions which led to cancellation of the Arrow programme occurred early on by the Liberal government which had initiated the project and allowed it to accelerate and expand beyond salvage. Furthermore, this thesis outlines a chain of command characterized by deference by the political authority, Liberal and Conservative, to the advice proffered by the highest military decision-making body,the Chiefs of Staff Committee. The system of "bottom-up" decision-making, coupled domestically with the financial difficulties of a middle-power procuring modem weapons systems and internationally with the transformation of the "bomber gap" into the "missile gap," doomed the Arrow programme. The project's demise was the thus the largely inescapable consequence of three interrelated factors: a flawed weapons acquisition process driven by an overly ambitious Royal Canadian Air Force, dramatic strategic shifts, and harsh financial realities.


Previous lymphangiographic studies have investigated the use of computed tomography (CT) for characterizing the thoracic duct and its tributaries in dogs. However, there is limited published information on the appearance of the canine cisterna chyli using CT. The objective of this retrospective study was to describe the features of the canine cisterna chyli in pre- and post-contrast abdominal CT studies. The presence, location, shape, maximum width, size compared with the aortic diameter (Ao:cisterna chyli ratio) and mean attenuation of the cisterna chyli were recorded from archived abdominal CT scans of 30 dogs. Breed, age, sex and neutering status were also noted. A cisterna chyli was identified in 26 of the dogs (87%). In 22 cases a cisterna chyli could be reliably identified prior to intravenous contrast administration and in all 26 cases in postcontrast images. The cisterna chyli was most commonly located right dorsolateral to the abdominal aorta between L1 and L4. Shape varied on transverse images from crescent-like to globular and maximum diameters ranged from 5 to 9 mm. The Ao:cisterna chyli ratio varied between 0.29 and 0.71 (mean value-males: 0.32; females: 0.38). On pre-contrast images the mean Hounsfield units were 21.3HU (range: -3.8 to 64.25). Mild enhancement of the cisterna chyli post-contrast was observed in 24 dogs (80%). Findings supported the use of pre- and post-contrast abdominal CT as a non-invasive method for assessing qualitative and quantitative characteristics of the canine cisterna chyli.


The British offensive, which became known as Passchendaele, got underway on 31 July, 1917 with the objective of capturing fifteen miles of territory.The attack quickly lost momentum and, it was not until finally in November that the line managed to advance seven miles.With winter setting in, the British troops were subjected to some of the worst conditions they had ever faced. During the attack 265,000 were either killed or injured.This battlefield guide gives details of the attacks whilst guiding the reader through the battlefield as it stands today.With illustrated maps and then and now photographs it will appeal to those visiting the area as well as armchair historians.


An identifying vertex cover in a graph $G$ is a subset $T$ of vertices in $G$ that has a nonempty intersection with every edge of $G$ such that $T$ distinguishes the edges, that is, $e \cap T \ne \emptyset$ for every edge $e$ in $G$ and $e \cap T \ne f \cap T$ for every two distinct edges $e$ and $f$ in $G$. The identifying vertex cover number $\tau_D(G)$ of $G$ is the minimum size of an identifying vertex cover in $G$. We observe that $\tau_D(G) + \rho(G) = |V(G)|$, where $\rho(G)$ denotes the packing number of $G$. We conjecture that if $G$ is a graph of order $n$ and size $m$ with maximum degree $\Delta$, then $\tau_D(G) \le \left( \frac{\Delta(\Delta - 1)}{\Delta^2 + 1} \right) n + \left( \frac{2}{\Delta^2 + 1} \right) m$. If the conjecture is true, then the bound is best possible for all $\Delta \ge 1$. We prove this conjecture when $\Delta \ge 1$ and $G$ is a $\Delta$-regular graph. The three known Moore graphs of diameter two, namely the $5$-cycle, the Petersen graph and the Hoffman-Singleton graph, are examples of regular graphs that achieves equality in the upper bound. We also prove this conjecture when $\Delta \in \{2,3\}$.


In inhomogeneous optically thick synchrotron sources a substantial part of the electron population at low energies can be hidden by self-absorption and overpowered by high energy electrons in optically thin emission. These invisible electrons produce Faraday rotation and conversion, leaving their footprints in the linear and circular polarized radiation of the source. An important factor is also the magnetic field structure, which can be characterized in most cases by a global magnetic field and a turbulent component. We present the basic radiative transfer coefficients for polarized synchrotron radiation and apply them to the standard jet model for relativistic radio jets. The model can successfully explain the unusual circular and linear polarization of the Galactic Centre radio source Sgr A* and its sibling M 81*. It also can account for the circular polarization found in jets of more luminous quasars and X-ray binaries. The high ratio of circular to linear polarization requires the presence of a significant fraction of hidden matter and low-energy electrons in these jets. The stable handedness of circular polarization requires stable global magnetic field components with non-vanishing magnetic flux along the jet, while the low degree of total polarization implies also a significant turbulent field. The most favoured magnetic field configuration is that of a helix, while a purely toroidal field is unable to produce significant circular polarization. If connected to the magnetosphere of the black hole, the circular polarization and the jet direction determine the magnetic poles of the system which is stable over long periods of time. This may also have implications for possible magnetic field configurations in accretion flows.


Background: It has been discussed among ophthalmologists whether myopia is caused by environmental factors or hereditary. One of the environmental factors is the demand of work requiring frequent and close inspection with the eyes. Myopia may develop in eyes as an adaptation to reduce demands of physical type of work. Objective: To evaluate the difference of amplitudo of accommodation in many types of myopia, and the relation between amplitudo of accommodation and the degree of myopia. Methods: Subjects of the study were myopic patients in the Eye Polyclinic of Dr. Sardjito General Hospital, Yogyakarta from November 1,2000 to March 31, 2001. Subjects were divided into 4 groups: mild, moder-ate, high, and progressive myopia. Amplitudo of accommodation was examined with spherical minus method. Sex, age, family history, occupation, education level, and onset of myopia were registered, tabu-lated and analysed. Results: The subjects of the study consisted of 64 myopia patients: 16 mild myopic patients, 16 moderate myopic patients, 16 high myopic patients, and 16 progressive myopic patients. The average amplitudo o accommodation in the mild myopia group was 6.66 ± 1.28 D; the moderate myopia group was 5.03 ± 1.117 D; the high myopia group was 3.53 ± 0.59 D, and the progressive myopia was 2.89 ± 1.14 D. There was a significant difference for each group (p<0,001). There were negative significant correlations (r = -0,758) between the amplitudo of accommodation and the degree of myopia. Conclusion: There was a difference in amplitudo of accommodation for each group of myopia. There was a negative correlation between amplitudo of accommodation and the degree of myopia. Keywords : amplitudo of accommodation - degree of myopia - negative correlation - adaptation mechanism - hereditary factor


This thesis examines the history of the deaf in the Soviet Union from the February Revolution of 1917 to the fall of communism in 1991. Its primary goal is to assess the impact of disability on Soviet programmes of identity and the fashioning of a Soviet subjectivity and selfhood. From the birth of the Soviet state, the nascent deaf community sought to cast off the stigma, marginality and legal restrictions of their pre-revolutionary status and re-forge themselves as Soviet people. Deaf individuals adopted and transformed Soviet values, such as collectivism, humanism, labour and initiative, in an ongoing attempt to find their place within Soviet society. This utopian drive for equality and inclusion was tempered, however, by competing and sometimes contradictory understandings of the deaf: as objects of state beneficence and welfare, and as a separate community defined (both positively and negatively) by their ―defect‖.
The thesis explores the activities of state bodies in the spheres of deaf education, labour and culture as well as the changing medical and educational theories of deafness, but its primary focus is the agency of deaf individuals, including how they constituted their own individual and collective selfhood. Its main source base is the archive of the All-Russian Society of the Deaf, the organisational body run by the deaf from 1926 to the present, alongside archival sources from other state institutions (the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Health, the Soviet of Ministers of the USSR and the Trades Union) as well as printed sources (deaf journalism, literature, theatre and art). On this basis, the thesis argues that a unique deaf-Soviet identity developed in the Soviet Union, at times in opposition to state action, but firmly embedded within the ideological framework of the Soviet utopian project as a whole.


This paper critiques the theory of causation offered by Steven Shavell and proposes a new theory that more successfully predicts the results of proximate cause cases. Two doctrines of proximate cause exist: "direct consequences" and "reasonable foresight." We can explain case law best if we assume that both doctrines must be satisfied in order for negligence liability to exist. Thus, the two doctrines do not represent alternative conceptions of proximate cause as some analysts have proposed. Proximate cause limitations are prominent when a party has inadvertently, as opposed to deliberately, omitted a reasonable precaution. Actors cannot efficiently reduce their inadvertent lapses to zero. In situations in which the defendant's conduct has been "possibly efficient," causation doctrines truncate liability. This truncation has the effect of preserving efficient activity levels and preventing actors from substituting inefficiently durable precaution for nondurable precaution.


How does the human right to property relate to protecting human rights in the age of Trump? Human rights advocates faithful to Henkin's vision need to combat the dangerous consensus between elements on the political left and right that international law (including arbitration bodies outside U.S. courts) has no business protecting the right to property, for aliens or anybody else. From Hamilton through Henkin, immigrants with foresight have told us why the effective protection of rights, even in states with robust rule of law traditions such as the United States, requires supranational scrutiny. Although the United States is rightly regarded as a strong defender of property rights, even the U.S. (along with other Western "rule of law" states) could benefit from supranational scrutiny in this respect.


The process of mRNA splicing is sensitive to in vivo thermal inactivation, but can be protected by pretreatment of cells under conditions that induce heat-shock proteins (Hsps). This latter phenomenon is known as "splicing thermotolerance". In this article we demonstrate that the small nuclear ribonucleoprotein particles (snRNPs) are in vivo targets of thermal damage within the splicing apparatus in heat-shocked yeast cells. Following a heat shock, levels of the tri-snRNP (U4/U6.U5), free U6 snRNP, and a pre-U6 snRNP complex are dramatically reduced. In addition, we observe multiple alterations in U1, U2, U5, and U4/U6 snRNP profiles and the accumulation of precursor forms of U4- and U6-containing snRNPs. Reassembly of snRNPs following a heat shock is correlated with the recovery of mRNA splicing and requires both Hsp104 and the Ssa Hsp70 family of proteins. Furthermore, we correlate splicing thermotolerance with the protection of a subset of snRNPs by Ssa proteins but not Hsp104, and show that Hsp70 directly associates with U4- and U6-containing snRNPs in splicing thermotolerant cells. In addition, our results show that Hsp70 plays a role in snRNP assembly under normal physiological conditions.


We present analytic solutions obtained for the case of a stationary TE fundamental dark surface wave propagating at the interface between two dissimilar defocusing Kerr media. Expressions describing the wave are obtained, and certain characteristics of the solutions are discussed.


Motivated by a wide range of applications, we consider a development of Whittle's restless bandit model in which project activation requires a state-dependent amount of a key resource, which is assumed to be available at a constant rate. As many projects may be activated at each decision epoch as resource availability allows. We seek a policy for project activation within resource constraints which minimises an aggregate cost rate for the system. Project indices derived from a Lagrangian relaxation of the original problem exist provided the structural requirement of indexability is met. Verification of this property and derivation of the related indices is greatly simplified when the solution of the Lagrangian relaxation has a state monotone structure for each constituent project. We demonstrate that this is indeed the case for a wide range of bidirectional projects in which the project state tends to move in a different direction when it is activated from that in which it moves when passive. This is natural in many application domains in which activation of a project ameliorates its condition, which otherwise tends to deteriorate or deplete. In some cases the state monotonicity required is related to the structure of state transitions, while in others it is also related to the nature of costs. Two numerical studies demonstrate the value of the ideas for the construction of policies for dynamic resource allocation, most especially in contexts which involve a large number of projects.


This paper presents the description and simulation of a new proposed arrangement of RLD/RCD snubber circuit used with pulse width modulated voltage source inverter. The new arrangement allows minimizing the number of active elements of RCD with 50%. This will help the designer to reduce the size of the system. SPICE programming package is used as principal simulation tool. A detailed simulation given that includes the sever effects of snubber diode reverse recovery current, as well as, the effect of the stray inductance of D.C rails. Some results of a typical practical example are compared with their corresponding SPICE traces, in order to check the validity of the simulation results.


Although local and regional instrumental recordings of the devastating 26, January 2001, Bhuj earthquake are sparse, the distribution of macroseismic effects can provide important constraints on the mainshock ground motions. We compiled available news accounts describing damage and other effects and interpreted them to obtain modified Mercalli intensities (MMIs) at >200 locations throughout the Indian subcontinent. These values are then used to map the intensity distribution throughout the subcontinent using a simple mathematical interpolation method. Although preliminary, the maps reveal several interesting features. Within the Kachchh region, the most heavily damaged villages are concentrated toward the western edge of the inferred fault, consistent with western directivity. Significant sediment-induced amplification is also suggested at a number of locations around the Gulf of Kachchh to the south of the epicenter. Away from the Kachchh region, intensities were clearly amplified significantly in areas that are along rivers, within deltas, or on coastal alluvium, such as mudflats and salt pans. In addition, we use fault-rupture parameters inferred from teleseismic data to predict shaking intensity at distances of 0–1000 km. We then convert the predicted hard-rock ground-motion parameters to MMI by using a relationship (derived from Internet-based intensity surveys) that assigns MMI based on the average effects in a region. The predicted MMIs are typically lower by 1–3 units than those estimated from news accounts, although they do predict near-field ground motions of approximately 80%g and potentially damaging ground motions on hard-rock sites to distances of approximately 300 km. For the most part, this discrepancy is consistent with the expected effect of sediment response, but it could also reflect other factors, such as unusually high building vulnerability in the Bhuj region and a tendency for media accounts to focus on the most dramatic damage, rather than the average effects. The discrepancy may also be partly attributable to the inadequacy of the empirical relationship between MMI and peak ground acceleration (PGA), when applied to India. The MMI–PGA relationship was developed using data from California earthquakes, which might have a systematically different stress drop and therefore, a different frequency content than intraplate events. When a relationship between response spectra and MMI is used, we obtain larger predicted MMI values, in better agreement with the observations.


Economic growth is driven by technical change. Understanding the many factors that influence technical change is therefore key to an understanding of economic growth and its potential. Technical change has two aspects first, it has to be generated, and second, it has to be implemented. Incentives and Constraints in the Transformation of Punjab Agriculture, Research Report 87, by Anya McGuirk and Yair Mundlak, examines the factors that determined the pace of implementation of new techniques in agriculture in Punjab, India, from 1960 to 1979.It is widely recognized that new crop varieties usually take many years to fully come into use. The same is true of other new practices; for instance, the mechanization of agriculture or, more recently, cultivation under plastic. This time lapse has several explanations. Producers have to learn to grow the new varieties, or more generally, to use the new techniques, which requires information. The use of more sophisticated techniques requires human capital, and farmers with inadequate schooling will be unable to adopt them quickly. At the learning stage, there is uncertainty as to the performance of the new techniques, so farmers consider them risky and are cautious about using them. Another element of risk may be that more productive varieties sometimes perform well under very specific climatic and soil conditions, but when such conditions are not met their performance may be poor.


Proceedings: AACR 103rd Annual Meeting 2012‐‐ Mar 31‐Apr 4, 2012; Chicago, IL

Worldwide head and neck cancer (HNC) is the sixth most frequently diagnosed cancer in men and is associated with significant morbidity, mortality and economic loss. African Americans (AA) experience significantly more HNC compared to Caucasian Americans (CA) and they have markedly reduced 5-year survival rates, 40% compared to 61% among CA. AA bear a disproportionate burden of HNC for reasons that are incompletely understood, but likely due to the complex interplay of environmental, genetic and health care access issues. An inverse association for vitamin (vit) D status and HNC cancer has been reported and hypovitaminosis D in AA is well documented; yet, vit D status has not been assessed in HNC patients stratified by race. Thus, objective of this prospective pilot study is to access vit D status in newly diagnosed AA and CA HNC patients by measuring the circulating metabolite of vit D, vit-D 25-OH and by assessing dietary levels utilizing the Block vit D/Calcium screener. Circulating calcium, parathyroid, and 1,25-Dihydroxy vit D are also being measured. In addition, to improve our understanding of mechanisms associated with the potential cancer protective effects of vit D in the context of HNC two HNC cell lines were treated with 2 µM cholecalciferol for 6 hours and protein harvested for proteome profiling. To date, 18 HNC patients have been evaluated, 8 AA and 10 CA. Mean circulating vit D 25-OH levels were 27.3 (+ 9.9) and 20.0 (+ 5.9) ng/mL in CA and AA, respectively supporting that vit D levels are suppressed to a greater extent in AA compared to CA HNC patients, even in sunny Florida. Dietary vit D estimates were non-significantly higher in AA HNC patients compared to CA who had higher total vit D levels, supporting differences in metabolism or potentially supplement use. None of the AA patients had vit D 25-OH levels > 30 ng/mL, a level suggested for optimum regulation of PTH, calcium absorption and bone density; 30% of CA patients expressed levels above 30 ng/mL. Proteome profiling of CAL27 and SSC25 HNC cell lines following vit D treatment revealed inverse modulation of proteins linked to HNC. Proteins down-regulated by vit D treatment included nucleophosmin (NPM), lactoylglutathione, heat shock protein beta-1 (HSPB1) Peroxiredoxin-1 (PRDX1) and Ras-related protein Rap-2b. Recent reports have linked NPM with the regulation of the oncogene FOXM1, also a potential biomarker for early detection. Disease-free survival rate is improved in HNC patients with low NPM expression. Similarly, HSPB1 has been shown to be over expressed in HNC and silencing of HSPB1 has been shown to decrease metastatic behavior in HSNCC. PRDX1 displays upregulation in oral premalignancy and is an indicator for local recurrence. Histone H2A type was up-regulated by Vitamin D. Study results support that newly diagnosed AA HNC patients have depressed vit D levels compared to CA cases and that vit D treatment inversely targets select proteins dysregulated in HNC.

Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 669. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-669


Given a finite set of local constraints, we seek a cellular automaton (i.e., a local and uniform algorithm) that self-stabilises on the configurations that satisfy these constraints. More precisely, starting from a finite perturbation of a valid configuration, the cellular automaton must eventually fall back into the space of valid configurations where it remains still. We allow the cellular automaton to use extra symbols, but in that case, the extra symbols can also appear in the initial finite perturbation. For several classes of local constraints (e.g., k-colourings with k ≠ 3, and North-East deterministic constraints), we provide efficient self-stabilising cellular automata with or without additional symbols that wash out finite perturbations in linear or quadratic time, but also show that there are examples of local constraints for which the self-stabilisation problem is inherently hard. We note that the optimal self-stabilisation speed is the same for all local constraints that are isomorphic to one another. We also consider probabilistic cellular automata rules and show that in some cases, the use of randomness simplifies the problem. In the deterministic case, we show that if finite perturbations are corrected in linear time, then the cellular automaton self-stabilises even starting from a random perturbation of a valid configuration, that is, when errors in the initial configuration occur independently with a sufficiently low density.


The aim of this review was to assess the health effects of the criteria air pollutants: Sulfur dioxide (SO2), carbon oxides (COX), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), particulate matter (PM) and ozone (O3) together with photochemical smog and global warming in relation to exercise with particular focus on athletes. In this review, respiratory and cardiovascular health impacts of the specified principal air pollutants have been seen. It will also give information about ambient air quality standard to estimate air quality and take appropriate measure for training athletes according to the US Environmental protection agency. The effect of photochemical smog has been discussed as a result of the synergistic effect of ozone (O3), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), volatile organic compounds (VOCS) and peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN).  A wide spectrum illness that arises from global warming that needs precautions have been seen in this review. In general this review will provide information for athletes, coaches, managers, sports medicine team, health community as well as other concerned bodies.

 Key words: Principal air pollutants, athletes, asthmatics, respiratory effect, cardiovascular effect, acute exposure, chronic exposure.


Bullying may have once been viewed as an almost inevitable nuisance on the journey from childhood to adulthood. The phrase 'sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me' was, for many generations, a common playground refrain. In more recent years both research and policy attention has been increasingly directed towards bullying (in whichever way it manifests), as our understanding of the impact that bullying can have continues to develop. Nowadays, bullying is no longer regarded as a relatively benign element of child development (Wong & Schonlau, 2013), and others would go so far as to argue that bullying is an adverse and stressful experience that "…should be considered as another form of childhood abuse alongside physical maltreatment and neglect" (Arseneault, 2018:416). Acknowledging this, in the context of growing awareness across Scotland about the long-term effects of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), means that it is imperative that bullying is on everyone's agenda, and universal prevention is key. In Scotland there is a holistic framework for those working with children and young people to address all aspects of bullying, 'Respect for All' (Scottish Government, 2017) which aims to support the implementation of a consistent and cohesive approach to anti-bullying in Scotland. However, understanding and addressing bullying behaviours is especially pertinent for practitioners working in youth justice and related fields as there is growing evidence that portrays an association between bullying behaviours in childhood and later involvement in offending (Sourander et al., 2011). The purpose of this paper is to draw together the evidence from a rapid review of the literature in relation to bullying and offending, especially violent offending. The paper will also present empirical evidence on bullying drawn from analysis of risk formulation records about young people at risk of serious harm to themselves and others. This will include analysis of some of the factors that may be implicated in bullying either as a precursor to bullying, or as a result of bullying behaviours, such as peer rejection and social exclusion. Importantly, as most studies explore the relationship between bullying and later offending rather than victimisation and offending, this paper will present evidence on regarding bullies, victims and bully-victims.


Proprotein convertases are enzymes that proteolytically cleave protein precursors in the secretory pathway to yield functional proteins. Seven mammalian subtilisin/Kex2p-like proprotein convertases have been identified: furin, PC1, PC2, PC4, PACE4, PC5 and PC7. The binding pockets of all seven proprotein convertases are evolutionarily conserved and highly similar. Among the seven proprotein convertases, the furin cleavage site motif has recently been characterized as a 20-residue motif that includes one core region P6-P2´ inside the furin binding pocket. This study extended this information by examining the 3D structural environment of the furin binding pocket surrounding the core region P6-P2´ of furin substrates. The physical properties of mutations in the binding pockets of the other six mammalian proprotein convertases were compared. The results suggest that: 1) mutations at two positions, Glu230 and Glu257, change the overall density of the negative charge of the binding pockets, and govern the substrate specificities of mammalian proprotein convertases; 2) two proprotein convertases (PC1 and PC2) may have reduced sensitivity for positively charged residues at substrate position P5 or P6, whereas the substrate specificities of three proprotein convertases (furin, PACE4, and PC5) are similar to each other. This finding led to a novel design of a short peptide pattern for small molecule inhibitors: [K/R]-X-V-X-K-R. Compared with the widely used small molecule dec-RVKR-cmk that inhibits all seven proprotein convertases, a finely-tuned derivative of the short peptide pattern [K/R]-X-V-X-K-R may have the potential to more effectively inhibit five of the proprotein convertases (furin, PC4, PACE4, PC5 and PC7) compared to the remaining two (PC1 and PC2). The results not only provide insights into the molecular evolution of enzyme function in the proprotein convertase family, but will also aid the study of the functional redundancy of proprotein convertases and the development of therapeutic applications.


Purpose: The purpose of this paper lies in the use of experimental way through empirical tools
for identification of the set of variables and their interrelationships and influences on the human
resources planning at the territorial level.
Design/methodology/approach: The methodology used to verify the existence of the
variables that affect the planning of human resources at the territorial level consists of two phases:
a qualitative study of the variables that influence the planning of human resources, where the
explicit variables are measured and/or implied raised in the literature analyzing the main
contributions and limitations expressed by each of the authors consulted. Then it proceeds to
confirmatory phase (quantitative) to prove the existence of the dimensions of the planning of
human resources in the territorial level through the use of multivariate statistics through the
combination of expert analysis and techniques of factorial grouping.
Findings: Identification is achieved by using empirical methods, variables that affect human
resources planning at the territorial level, as well as their grouping essential dimensions, while the
description of a theoretical model that integrates the dimensions is made essential and
relationships that affect human resource planning at the regional level, which is characterized by
the existence of systemic and prospective nature.
Originality/value: The literature shows two streams that address a wide range of approaches to
human resources planning. The first is oriented from the business object and the second part of
the management in highlighting a limited territorial level to address this latest theoretical
development, an element that has contributed to the fragmented treatment of human resources
planning and management in general at this level. The originality of this paper is part of the
creation and adaptation, on a scientific basis of a theoretical model developed from the
conceptual contribution of this process at the territorial level where the key variables that affect
this process are integrated, highlighting the systemic approach prospective based on solid
scientific foundations.


The total contribution of the acyl CoA:diacylglycerol acyltransferase (DGAT) enzymes, DGAT1 and DGAT2, to mammalian triacylglycerol (TG) synthesis has not been determined. Similarly, whether DGAT enzymes are required for lipid droplet (LD) formation is unknown. In this study, we examined the requirement for DGAT enzymes in TG synthesis and LDs in differentiated adipocytes with genetic deletions of DGAT1 and DGAT2. Adipocytes with a single deletion of either enzyme were capable of TG synthesis and LD formation. In contrast, adipocytes with deletions of both DGATs were severely lacking in TG and did not have LDs, indicating that DGAT1 and DGAT2 account for nearly all TG synthesis in adipocytes and appear to be required for LD formation during adipogenesis. DGAT enzymes were not absolutely required for LD formation in mammalian cells, however; macrophages deficient in both DGAT enzymes were able to form LDs when incubated with cholesterol-rich lipoproteins. Although adipocytes lacking both DGATs had no TG or LDs, they were fully differentiated by multiple criteria. Our findings show that DGAT1 and DGAT2 account for the vast majority of TG synthesis in mice, and DGAT function is required for LDs in adipocytes, but not in all cell types.


This article presents formalistic tool for description of structural and biochemical relations between cells in the course of development of the body of plants. This is flexible formalistic space, based on the Category theory and the Petri Net approach, which embeds and mutually supplements biological data from methodically different sources. Relation between functional and morphological ways of plant description was mathematically realized with help of the adjoint functors. It was shown that histology and proliferative activity of the formative tissues give a template for the gene interaction networks.


OBJECTIVE
To describe the prevalence of parasitic and bacterial gastrointestinal infection (excluding enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli) among international travellers attending the International Travel Clinic at The University of Calgary.

METHODS
Data were abstracted from the records of the first visit after travel of all persons making a post travel visit between January 1, 1986 and March 31, 1990.

RESULTS
Data were available for 886 first visits (840 persons). Stools were submitted by 692 travellers. The frequency of stool submission varied by the duration of travel abroad, and the frequency of diarrhea either during or after the trip was greater among those who had submitted a stool specimen. The prevalence of stools positive for ova, parasites or pathogenic bacteria was 41.2%. When only pathogenic organisms were considered, the prevalence of infection was 19.4%. The most commonly isolated pathogenic parasites were Dientamoeba fragilis, Giardia lamblia, and Entamoeba histolytica. The most commonly isolated bacteria were Campylobacter species and Salmonella species.

CONCLUSIONS
Although the prevalence of positive stool screens among returned travellers in this population was high, only about one-fifth of persons tested were positive for pathogens.


When a pulse superposed on a cw background propagates through an erbium-doped fiber amplifier with a negative group velocity, either pulse broadening or pulse compression can be observed. These effects can be explained in terms of two competing mechanisms: gain recovery and pulse spectrum broadening. The distortion of the pulse shape caused by these effects depends on input pulse width, pump power, and background-to-pulse power ratio. With the proper choice of these three parameters, we can obtain significant pulse advancement with minimal pulse distortion.


: A novel self-pipelining technique is developed in this work. Which includes proper synchronization between the stages for high-speed and low-power multiplication is defined. To accomplish the proposed self-pipelining process, the true and complementary clock inputs are added alternative to each corresponding self-latching step. First was designed a 4-b×4-b self-pipeline Wallace-tree multiplier based on the above idea. The key purpose of our proposed approach is to minimize the amount of transistors relative to the current system such that we build circuits where the complete adder is made of multiplexer depending on XOR that is used in multiplexers. Comparing between the current competitive designs to our proposed design shows that supremacy results.


The transmembrane neural cell adhesion receptor L1 is aWnt/b-catenin target gene expressed in many tumor types. In human colorectal cancer, L1 localizes preferentially to the invasive front of tumors and when overexpressed in colorectal cancer cells, it facilitates their metastasis to the liver. In this study, we investigated genes that are regulated in human colorectal cancer and by the L1-NF-kB pathway that has been implicated in liver metastasis. c-Kit was the most highly suppressed gene in both colorectal cancer tissue and the L1-NF-kB pathway. c-Kit suppression that resulted from L1-mediated signaling relied upon NF-kB, which directly inhibited the transcription of SP1, a major activator of the c-Kit gene promoter. Reconstituting c-Kit expression in L1transfected cells blocked the biological effects conferred by L1 overexpression in driving motility and liver metastasis. We found that c-Kit expression in colorectal cancer cells is associated with a more pronounced epithelial morphology, along with increased expression of E-cadherin and decreased expression of Slug. Although c-Kit overexpression inhibited the motility and metastasis of L1-expressing colorectal cancer cells, it enhanced colorectal cancer cell proliferation and tumorigenesis, arguing that separate pathways mediate tumorigenicity and metastasis by c-Kit. Our findings provide insights into how colorectal cancer metastasizes to the liver, the most common site of dissemination in this cancer. Cancer Res; 73(18); 5754–63. 2013 AACR.


We study the macroprudential roles of bank capital regulation and monetary policy in a borrowing cost channel model with endogenous financial frictions, driven by credit risk, bank losses and bank capital costs. These frictions induce financial accelerator mechanisms and motivate the examination of a macroprudential toolkit. Following credit shocks, countercyclical regulation is more effective than monetary policy in promoting price, financial and macroeconomic stability. For supply shocks, combining macroprudential regulation with a stronger anti-inflationary policy stance is optimal. The findings emphasize the importance of the Basel III accords in alleviating the output-inflation trade-off faced by central banks, and cast doubt on the desirability of conventional (and unconventional) Taylor rules during periods of financial distress.


Photovoltaic (PV) systems are often installed on rooftops or as freestanding systems with no higher surrounding structures. This is why they are often exposed to the influences of lightning which can severely damage these expensive systems. Lightning protection considerations are therefore very important during the design process of a PV system and various standards should be followed when developing lightning protection strategies for PV systems. The application of these standards can, however, be a complex task. Based on the Australian Standards AS/NZS 5033:2005 "Installation of Photovoltaic (PV) Arrays" and AS/NZS 1768 (Int):2003 "Lightning Protection", recent publications by the IEC, recommendations by the European Commission and other previously published research results, a new software tool ("Flashprotect PV") for PV-system-specific lightning protection has been developed. Flashprotect PV makes it possible to quickly assess damage risks for PV systems resulting from lightning discharges without an in-depth knowledge of the different standards. It also makes recommendations on appropriate design of external and internal lightning protection strategies. When using this new software tool, PV System designers do not have to carry out complicated risk assessments by hand and can therefore save valuable time. In addition to that, the software can speed up the design of the actual lightning protection system.


Alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM) has received tremendous interest for solving numerous problems in machine learning, statistics and signal processing. However, it is known that the performance of ADMM and many of its variants is very sensitive to the penalty parameter of a quadratic penalty applied to the equality constraints. Although several approaches have been proposed for dynamically changing this parameter during the course of optimization, they do not yield theoretical improvement in the convergence rate and are not directly applicable to stochastic ADMM. In this paper, we develop a new ADMM and its linearized variant with a new adaptive scheme to update the penalty parameter. Our methods can be applied under both deterministic and stochastic optimization settings for structured non-smooth objective function. The novelty of the proposed scheme lies at that it is adaptive to a local sharpness property of the objective function, which marks the key difference from previous adaptive scheme that adjusts the penalty parameter per-iteration based on certain conditions on iterates. On theoretical side, given the local sharpness characterized by an exponent $\theta\in(0, 1]$, we show that the proposed ADMM enjoys an improved iteration complexity of $\widetilde O(1/\epsilon^{1-\theta})$\footnote{$\widetilde O()$ suppresses a logarithmic factor.} in the deterministic setting and an iteration complexity of $\widetilde O(1/\epsilon^{2(1-\theta)})$ in the stochastic setting without smoothness and strong convexity assumptions. The complexity in either setting improves that of the standard ADMM which only uses a fixed penalty parameter. On the practical side, we demonstrate that the proposed algorithms converge comparably to, if not much faster than, ADMM with a fine-tuned fixed penalty parameter.


The main objective of the study was to analyse the changes and the conditions of foreign traded beef. The economic and political situation has had an impact on Poland's foreign trade of agricultural food products. The main factors affecting international trade, and which have significantly decreased the growth rate of exports and imports of animal products, are the following: decreased oil prices and exchange rate fluctuations, uncertainties related to the conflict in Ukraine, restrictions in trade with Russia, destabilisation in the Middle East and concerns about the future of the euro zone.


Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a hepatic disorder, but, unlike alcoholic liver disease, occurs in individuals with moderate or no alcohol consumption. Insulin resistance is considered to be one of the driving forces of NAFLD, and is found both in obese and in normal-weight subjects. However, current therapy strategies, such as administration of vitamin E or insulin sensitizers, can have variable clinical outcomes. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of a nutraceutical based on berberine, tocotrienols and chlorogenic acid, in combination with diet and moderate aerobic physical activity, on biochemical parameters in NAFLD patients. A total of 19 patients with ultrasound-diagnosed NAFLD, elevated aminotransferase levels, body mass index >25 kg/m2 and <30 kg/m2, and/or altered lipid and/or glucose levels were enrolled in this study. Those who only followed lifestyle advice (n=10) were compared with those who had also taken the nutraceutical (n=9). We observed a marked improvement in most parameters in both groups. However, reductions in UOSD Gastroenterologia ASL 22 Regione Veneto, Via Ospedale 4/6, 37012 Bussolengo (Verona), Italy Maurizio Carrara, MD phone: 00390456712603 fax: 00390456712604 plasma glucose, insulin and HOmeostatic Model Assessment of Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR) values were significantly greater in the nutraceutical group. Consequently, the use of the nutraceutical combination might reduce insulin resistance, which is likely the first cause of NAFLD.


This book brings together two traditions of thinking about social ties: sociological theory on solidarity and anthropological theory on gift exchange. The purpose of the book is to explore both how theoretical traditions may complete and enrich each other, and how they may illuminate transformations in solidarity. The main argument, supported by empirical illustrations, is that a theory of solidarity should incorporate some of the core insights from anthropological gift theory. The book presents a theoretical model covering both positive and negative - selective and excluding - aspects and consequences of solidarity. It is concluded that over the past century solidarity has undergone a fundamental transformation, from Durkheim's 'organic' solidarity to a type of solidarity which can be called 'segmented': separate, autonomous social segments connecting with other segments, no longer out of necessity and mutual dependency but on the basis of individual choice. Solidarity has, thereby, become more noncomittal.


The possibility of using spatially resolved fluorescence and reflectance measurements to recover tissue optical properties, fluorophore concentration and the thickness of a superficial layer in a two-layer geometry was investigated. A diffusion theory model was used to fit reflectance and fluorescence data generated using Monte Carlo simulations or experimentally obtained using tissue-simulating phantoms. Initial analysis fitting diffusion theory generated data suggested that it should be possible to recover all parameters from a single set of spatially resolved fluorescence and reflectance measurements. However, when Monte Carlo or experimental data were fitted the results were less impressive. Overall, it was shown that there is a strong coupling between interface depth, fluorophore concentration and tissue absorption, especially at larger depths. The recovery of all input parameters from a single set of spatially resolved measurements was limited to interface depths less than 3 mm, which is a reasonable range for measuring fluorophore in skin. When the tissue optical properties and fluorophore concentrations were known, then the interface depth could be monitored with good accuracy in simulated serial measurements. These results may also point to deficiencies in the diffusion theory model that introduce significant errors in the fitted results.


This paper provides a state-of-the-art literature review and is intended to stimulate discussions around some of the most salient issues concerning the relationship between migration, return, and development. It outlines the operational framework and research strategy that will be used to investigate this relationship in an ongoing research project focused on West Africa.

The report first presents an overview of the contemporary trends in international migration, or more precisely intercontinental migration, regarding this geographical region. It then discusses the consequences that such migrations can have on domestic labour markets, the effects of migrant remittances, and the brain drain phenomenon. The return of migrants is addressed in a seperate section because this part of the migration process deserves special attention if a better understanding of the migration-development linkage is sought. The developmental impacts of potential capital transfers occurring with return, and particularly the transfer of financial, human, and social capital, are discussed in the subsequent section. Finally, the last section of this paper presents elements for a meso-level approach to study these issues in order to achieve an improved understanding of the highly complex relationship between international migration, return, and development.


Drinkwater, EJ, Lane, T, and Cannon J. Effect of an acute bout of plyometric exercise on neuromuscular fatigue and recovery in recreational athletes. J Strength Cond Res 23(4): 1181-1186, 2009-Although plyometric training is widely used by sports coaches as a method of improving explosive power in athletes, many prescribe volumes in excess of the National Strength and Conditioning Association recommendations. The purpose of this study was to assess voluntary and evoked muscle characteristics to assess the neuromuscular impact of a high-volume bout of plyometric exercise that was non-exhaustive. Ten athletes who did not have plyometric training experience and were in their competitive season for club-level sport volunteered for the study. After at least 2 days without high-intensity activity, subjects were assessed on maximal twitch torque, time to peak torque, rate of twitch torque development, twitch half-relaxation time, rate of twitch relaxation, and voluntary activation by the interpolated twitch technique before, immediately after, and 2 hours after a high-volume plyometric training program (212 ground contacts). Data were analyzed by repeated-measures analysis of variance and described as mean ± SD and Cohen d. Statistically significant decrements appeared immediately after the training protocol in the total torque generated by maximal voluntary contractions (p < 0.05, d = −0.51) and twitch (p < 0.01, d = −0.92), rate of twitch torque development (p < 0.01, d = −0.77), and rate of relaxation (p < 0.01, d = −0.73). However, we did not observe any differences that remained statistically different after 2 hours. There were no significant differences observed at any time point in time to peak twitch, half-relaxation time, or voluntary activation. We conclude that high-volume plyometric training results primarily in peripheral fatigue that substantially impairs force and rate of force development. We recommend that coaches carefully monitor the volume of plyometric training sessions to avoid neuromuscular impairments that can result in suboptimal training.


High complementarity between plant microRNAs (miRNAs) and their messenger RNA targets is thought to cause silencing, prevalently by endonucleolytic cleavage. We have isolated Arabidopsis mutants defective in miRNA action. Their analysis provides evidence that plant miRNA–guided silencing has a widespread translational inhibitory component that is genetically separable from endonucleolytic cleavage. We further show that the same is true of silencing mediated by small interfering RNA (siRNA) populations. Translational repression is effected in part by the ARGONAUTE proteins AGO1 and AGO10. It also requires the activity of the microtubule-severing enzyme katanin, implicating cytoskeleton dynamics in miRNA action, as recently suggested from animal studies. Also as in animals, the decapping component VARICOSE (VCS)/Ge-1 is required for translational repression by miRNAs, which suggests that the underlying mechanisms in the two kingdoms are related.


Vanadium(IV) and Vanadium(V) can form complexes of rather high stability with hydroxamates such as acetohydroxamate, benzohydroxamate and salicylhydroxamate. The complexation was performed in aqueous solution. Aquo-chemistry of Vanadium(IV) and Vanadium(V) with hydroxamate depends unpon pH. At low pH non-oxovanadium coordination complex is formed. As the pH increases oxo coordination is restored.

The stability constants of the complexes were calculated through spectrophotometric and potentiometric methods and found to be comparable. It is found that the Vanadium(V) complexes are slightly more stable than the Vanadium(IV) complexes. Salicylhydroxamate complex was found to be the most stable complex, especially with 1:3 stoichiometry at normal pH with log b3 14. Stoichiometry of the complexes was studied by Mole ratio, jobAƒÂƒA'¢AƒÂ'A'€AƒÂ'A'™s and graphical method at different pH ranging rom 3 to 8.5. The graphical method was applied to confirm the spectrophotometric results successfully first time, as it has not been reported in literature.

During the establishment of stoichiometry of the complexes at different pH some species other than ML, ML2, and ML2, were also observed. These species were found to be unstable and in low concentration and very much sensitive to pH and other parameters.

In the determination of qualitative thermodynamic parameters such as G, H and S of these Vanadium(IV) and (V) complexes, the preliminary data was gathered at various pH through pH ttitration at temperatures ranging from 35 c-50 c. The data was then processed and analyzed by computer program BEST for the refinement of the log B values. Graphs were plotted with InK versus I/T, which gave H/R as slope and S/R as intercept. Enthalpy change for Vanadium(IV) with those simple hydroxamates was found to be -166.0, -83.0 and -86.0kJ/mole for ML, ML2, and ML3,respectively. Entropy change was 672.30, 475.38 and 567.12J/mole for ML, ML2, and ML3, complexes respectively. While G values calculated for these species were-372.3, -230.5 &-261.8 kJ/mole.

Enthalpy change for Vanadium(V) was -872.2, -500.4 and -433.6 kJ/mole while G was -1487.2, -1027.4 and -806.6kJ/mole for ML, ML2, and ML3 respectively. Entropy change was 2085.0, 1668.0 and 1209.30 J/mole for ML, ML2, and ML3 complexes respectively. The probable structures of various species at different pH of the complexes were also proposed.


The expected introduction of autonomous, or "self-driving," vehicles (AVs) promises to have a potentially profound impact on labor demand. This paper explores this potential effect by identifying the occupations most likely to be directly affected by the business adoption of autonomous vehicles.
In 2015, 15.5 million U.S. workers were employed in occupations that could be affected (to varying degrees) by the introduction of automated vehicles. This represents about one in nine workers.
We divide these occupations into "motor vehicle operators" and "other on-the-job drivers." Motor vehicle operators are occupations for which driving vehicles to transport persons and goods is a primary activity, are more likely to be displaced by AVs than other driving-related occupations. In 2015, there were 3.8 million workers in these occupations. These workers were predominately male, older, less educated, and compensated less than the typical worker. Motor vehicle operator jobs are most concentrated in the transportation and warehousing sector.
Other on-the-job drivers use roadway motor vehicles to deliver services or to travel to work sites, such as first responders, construction trades, repair and installation, and personal home care aides. In 2015, there were 11.7 million workers in these occupations and they are mostly concentrated in construction, administrative and waste management, health care, and government. Other-on-the-job drivers may be more likely to benefit from greater productivity and better working conditions offered by AVs than motor vehicle operator occupations.


Dr Ina Reichenberger is a lecturer in tourism management at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, where she focuses on social interactions in tourism, value co-creation and lifestyle travel. Ina's PhD was awarded from Victoria University of Wellington in 2014, titled 'Social interactions between international visitors in New Zealand – Contacts, processes and impacts'. The thesis explored social interactions between international visitors in New Zealand, thus addressing a topic that, despite its known relevance, has received only little attention. Through adopting a complex three-staged qualitative approach analysed both qualitatively and quantitatively, this research was the first to explore the complexity, multidimensionality and contribution of social contacts in relation to the tourist experience, simultaneously addressing the tourist-focused relationships of value co-creation and the impact of interactions with other visitors on the perception of products, services and destinations. Results from this research have been published in the International Journal of Tourism Research (Reichenberger, 2017a) and Tourist Studies (Reichenberger, 2017b) and show that value co‐creation is not necessarily dependent upon the underlying social interactions but predominantly influenced by personal factors and attitudes towards sociability. The stronger the focus on other social actors is and the longer and more personal the social interactions are, the more complex and multi-layered is the co‐created perceived value. More recently, Ina's research centres on selected aspects of lifestyle travel. One stream of research explores new conceptualizations of backpacking experiences, building upon previous work on motivational segmentations for her Masters thesis. Furthermore, she has a strong interest in the phenomenon of digital nomads. Through a social constructivist research paradigm, her work conceptualizes digital nomads by establishing the first academic definition, further exploring their motivations for adapting a travel based lifestyle and how these are addressed in practice (Reichenberger, 2018). In doing so, the blurred boundaries between work, leisure and travel are dissected and interpreted, providing essential insight for future developments and trends in travel and tourism due to changes in ICTs, personal values and working arrangements. Upcoming work will continue to focus on tourist experiences for digital nomads, taking into account insights regarding lifestyle mobilities. Prior to her move to New Zealand, Ina received a Masters degree in Sociology from the University of Salzburg, Austria, followed by a Masters in International Travel and Tourism Management from Oxford Brookes University, UK. She then worked as a research fellow in tourism market research and consultancy for the University of Passau, Germany, where she was conducting annual benchmarking guest surveys for several regions within Bavaria and conducted feasibility analyses and destination development plans. After her PhD, Ina spent two years as a senior lecturer in tourism business studies at MCI Management Center Innsbruck, Austria. During her time at MCI she taught predominantly classes in destination management and research methods, and she was the module coordinator for academic research. Ina is currently a member of the CAUTHE executive committee, an editorial board member for the Journal of Tourism Futures and organizes a regular seminar series. At Victoria University she teaches tourist behaviour and tourism research, especially enjoying the ability to support students in conducting real and immediately applicable research in cooperation with tourism industry partners. Ina plans to extend her postgraduate certificate in Higher Education Learning and Teaching to create increasingly engaging and inclusive learning experiences. She is also becoming more involved in the university's efforts of inclusive teaching and is beginning to contribute to initiatives that will benefit especially students from lower socio-economic backgrounds and the university's LGBTQI+ community. When not experiencing writer's guilt, Ina volunteers for the local SPCA and enjoys hiking and photography. References Reichenberger, I. (2017a). C2C value co-creation through social interactions in tourism. International Journal of Tourism Research , 19 (6), 629-638. Reichenberger, I. (2017b). Why the host community just isn't enough: Processes and impacts of backpacker social interactions. Tourist Studies , 17 (3), 263-282. Reichenberger, I. (2018). Digital nomads – a quest for holistic freedom in work and leisure. Annals of Leisure Research, 21 (3), 364-380.


In linguistic communication, in addition to referring to specific, known referents, we also need to deal with unknown, generic or non-specific referents. I investigated how the English generic you and impersonal they compare to the Finnish zero person construction and impersonal passive, respectively. In the first part of this paper, I compare the semantic, pragmatic and syntactic properties of these constructions, using examples from a range of sources. In the second part of this paper, I investigate how English generic you and impersonal they are translated into Finnish. As we will see, the differences in the semantic, pragmatic and syntactic properties of these constructions mean that the translator sometimes has to opt for alternative constructions (such as first person expressions or generic nouns). A detailed analysis of these patterns sheds light on our understanding of these typologically different constructions, and contributes to our understanding of how reference to generic and impersonal entities is accomplished in language.


Introduction: Studies have shown that insufficient recovery between sessions causes immune suppression. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of repeated bouts resistance and endurance exercise on blood leukocytes, lymphocytes, neutrophils, monocytes count and plasma cortisol levels in athlete girls. Materials and methods: 9 athlete girls (ages, 20-25 years), participated in the study voluntarily. They performed two experimental protocols in two phases on two separate days. At first, subjects performed two bouts of resistance exercise (8 exercises with 65% 1RM) at 09:00 and 15:00. After one week rest, subjects performed two bouts of endurance exercise (60 min cycling on 65% HR Reserve) at the same time. Blood samples were taken before and after each bout and 1 hour after the second bout of exercise. Statistical analysis was performed using Kolmogroph-Smirnoff, independent t-test and ANOVA with repeated measure. Results: Repeated bouts endurance exercise significantly increased blood leukocytes, neutrophils, monocytes count and plasma cortisol levels, but repeated bouts resistance exercise only increased blood lymphocytes count significantly (P < 0.05). Comparison of the two exercise types indicated that there was a significant difference in blood monocytes count (P < 0.05). Conclusion: The results showed no significant difference between repeated bouts of resistance and endurance exercise in a day on immunological variables and cortisol hormone.


Most national security debates concern the outcomes of policies, neglecting the means by which those policies are implemented. This book argues that although the US military is the finest fighting force in the world, the system that supports it is in disrepair. Operating with Cold War-era structures and practices, it is subject to managerial and organizational problems that increasingly threaten our military's effectiveness.Keeping the Edge goes beyond questions of Pentagon reorganization and weapons procurement to explore how the US defense establishment can improve its readiness, logistics, and ability to attract and retain qualified personnel. It also looks at how the US military can exploit information technology more effectively, improve its intelligence, and counter asymmetric threats. More comprehensive than the usual exhortation to cut waste, fraud, and abuse at the Pentagon, the book in fact recommends changes in many government agencies, not just the Department of Defense. It shows how the US can improve its ability to implement its policies and to anticipate and adapt to a changing and uncertain world.


Travel through the history of architecture in The LEGO Architect. You'll learn about styles like Art Deco, Modernism, and High-Tech, and find inspiration in galleries of LEGO models. Then take your turn building 12 models in a variety of styles. Snap together some bricks and learn architecture the fun way!


Regional studies of land cover change are often limited by available data and in terms of comparability across regions, by the transferability of methods. This research addresses the role of roads and infrastructure improvements across a tri-national frontier region with similar climatic and biophysical conditions but very different trajectories of forest clearing. The standardization of methodologies and the extensive spatial and temporal framework of the analysis are exciting as they allow us to monitor a dynamic region with global significance as it enters an era of increased road connectivity and massive potential forest loss. Our study region is the "MAP" frontier, which covers Madre de Dios in Peru, Acre in Brazil, and Pando in Bolivia. This tri-national frontier is being integrated into the global economy via the paving of the Inter-Oceanic Highway which links the region to ports in the Atlantic and Pacific, constituting a major infrastructure change within just the last decade. Notably, there are differences in the extent of road paving among the three sides of the tri-national frontier, with paving complete in Acre, underway in Madre de Dios, and incipient in Pando. Through a multi-temporal analysis of land cover in the MAP region from 1986 to 2005, we found that rates of deforestation differ across the MAP frontier, with higher rates in Acre, followed by Madre de Dios and the lowest rates in Pando, although the dominant land cover across the region is still stable forest cover (89% overall). For all dates in the study period, deforestation rates drop with distance from major roads although the distance before this drop off appears to relate to development, with Acre influencing forests up to around 45 km out, Madre de Dios to about 18 km out and less of a discernable effect or distance value in Pando. As development occurs, the converted forest areas saturate close to roads, resulting in increasing rates of deforestation at further distances and patch consolidation of clearings over time. We can use this trend as a basis for future change predictions, with Acre providing a guide to likely future development for Madre de Dios, and in time potentially for Pando. Given the correspondence of road paving to deforestation, our findings imply that as road paving increases connectivity, flows of people and goods will accelerate across this landscape, increasing the likelihood of dramatic future changes on all sides of the tri‑national frontier.


A facile and efficient solution combustion method was developed and employed in the fabrication of novel mesoporous carbon nitride and titanium dioxide (C3N4–TiO2) nanocomposites as advanced photocatalysts for wastewater remediation. Urea was used as the precursor of C3N4, while titanium tetra-isopropoxide served as the source of titanium. Yellow nanocomposites were produced as compared to the formed white TiO2 and C3N4 nanomaterials. Transmission electron microscopic images and N2 adsorption/desorption analysis revealed that the fabricated nanocomposites possessed a mesoporous structure and much larger surface areas as compared to the individual constituents. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic measurements and thermogravimetric analysis were utilized to determine the composition and thermal stability of the C3N4–TiO2 nanocomposites. Tauc plots derived from the UV-vis absorption spectra revealed that the formation of the C3N4–TiO2 nanocomposites significantly narrowed the band gap energy, leading to a high visible light response in contrast to the individual TiO2 (∼3.2 eV) and C3N4 (∼2.8 eV) samples. The optimal composition of the C3N4–TiO2 nanocomposites was determined, and the new nanocomposite developed in this study exhibited high visible light activity in the photochemical oxidation of Rhodamine B, as compared to the mechanically mixed C3N4 and TiO2 sample. This significant improvement in photocatalytic activity may be attributed to the synergistic effects of the red shift in absorption and the large surface area.


: In view of the sinking level of consensus and the allegedly growing 'presidentialization' of politics in Switzerland, this paper asks whether this process can be explained by the 'mediatization of politics', enforced by the commercialization of the media. Taking a comparative approach in analyzing news coverage about executive and parliamentary elections from 1960 to 2011 in three different media types, it shows an increasing focus on executive elections, triggered not only by increasing political conflict but also by commercialized 'media logic'. Attention to the executive is highest in the commercialized tabloid paper and lowest in the less commercialized quality paper, which only much later starts to focus on these elections. Contested executive elections have become attractive for commercialized media to focus on prominent figures and dramatize conflicts. This news reporting about politics arguably gives incentives for political actors to contest executive elections, thus intensifying the transformation of the political system.


Rapidly changing business environment requires new approaches and methods for supporting management systems in all types of companies. Modern companies doing business use e-commerce systems by default. One of the key areas of e-commerce systems is logistics and the supply chain. The optimal way to ensure the success of logistics and supply chains is to use the methods of modeling and simulation based on appropriate models and especially its mathematical representation. In this paper, authors highlight the customer-oriented model of the e-commerce system and deal with logistic optimization and simulations. As an example, a sample logistic structure which requires the adequate control approach is presented. This is realized by means of heuristic algorithms which are responsible for meeting the set criterion. Moreover, the criteria to either maximize the production output or minimize the lost flow capacity of the logistic system or minimize the tool replacement criterion are introduced. Equations of state are given in order to represent the flow of material through the logistic system.


As globalization and modernization come to bear on Ethiopia, cultural and linguistic survival increasing depends on the adaptation of technology to local needs. The pervasiveness of electronic communication technology is forcing societies world wide to face the challenge of cultural preserva tion with an immediacy never before seen. Societies that can integrate new technology with their traditions will carry their culture into the future. Ethiopia is not asleep to this and has made the first and most important step forward by digitizing Ethiopie. The framework needed to digitize language and culture is now falling into place, but will Ethiopia make it in time?


Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET), commonly known as polyester fibres, is the most widely produced synthetic organic fibers. They are used both for traditional textile purposes and increasingly for industrial applications. This paper deals with the use of new technique of assessing the structure of polyester fibers on the basis of their weight loss caused by draw ratio heat setting, hydrolytic and actinic treatments. Polyester staple fibers of 2.0 and 1.2 denier have been subjected to the treatments mentioned herein, and the results have proved to be encouraging. This could probably pave the way for studying the changes in the fine structure of polyester fibres as such and in treated states.


Samples of vent gas and gas hydrate on the Gulf of Mexico slope were collected by research submersible (∼540 m water depth) and by piston coring (∼1060–1070 m water depth). Although gas hydrate that crops out is transiently unstable, the larger volume of structure II gas hydrate in the gulf is stable or increasing in volume because gas from the subsurface petroleum system is venting prolifically within the gas hydrate stability zone. Vent gas from gas hydrate shows no meaningful molecular evidence of gas hydrate decomposition. Gas hydrate fabrics, mainly vein fillings, are typical of ongoing crystallization. Once crystallized, most hydrocarbons are protected from bacteria within the crystal lattice of gas hydrate. A leaky petroleum system is proposed to be the main source of thermogenic greenhouse gases in the central gulf. Stable gas hydrate sequesters large volumes of greenhouse gases, suggesting that gas hydrate may not be a significant factor in models of climate change at present.


The aim of this study is to explore a team-based approach to leading and managing a rural primary school. A requirement in a team-based approach to make quality decisions and improvements in the school, comes from people working in harmony. In noting that teams are more effective than individuals, this study explores how a team-based approach to leading and managing schools plays itself out in a rural primary school. The objectives of this study were to determine how a team-based approach is operationalised in a rural primary school and to determine the challenges and possibilities associated with a team-based approach. The study employed an interpretive meta-theoretical approach with a case study research design. For the purpose of this study, purposive sampling was chosen. The study was conducted in a public rural primary school in the eThekwini Region of the Ilembe District. The research participants sampled comprised two male and three female participants to accommodate gender representation. The principal, head of department (intermediate, phase), acting head of department (foundation phase), one level one educator (intermediate phase) and one level one educator (foundation phase) who were concerned with the day-to-day activity of the organisation and the delivery of its performance were selected. Data was collected by means of semi-structured interviews. The collected data was analysed and categorised into common categories, patterns and themes. The key findings that emerged from the research were that to ensure achievement of school goals, teamwork is necessary. People working together, learning and sharing together will promote team effectiveness. The principal, together with the SMT play an important role in creating and managing the different types of teams. By having regular formal and informal meetings; ongoing professional development; monitoring and evaluating members of a team; having a clear vision and rationale to manage change and conflict will lead to continuous improvement and team effectiveness.


Historians have made widespread use of diaries to tell the story of the Second World War in Europe but have paid little attention to personal accounts from the Asia-Pacific Theater. Writing War seeks to remedy this imbalance by examining over two hundred diaries, and many more letters, postcards, and memoirs, written by Chinese, Japanese, and American servicemen from 1937 to 1945, the period of total war in Asia and the Pacific. As he describes conflicts that have often been overlooked in the history of World War II, Aaron William Moore reflects on diaries as tools in the construction of modern identity, which is important to our understanding of history. Any discussion of war responsibility, Moore contends, requires us first to establish individuals as reasonably responsible for their actions. Diaries, in which men develop and assert their identities, prove immensely useful for this task. Tracing the evolution of diarists' personal identities in conjunction with their battlefield experience, Moore explores how the language of the state, mass media, and military affected attitudes toward war, without determining them entirely. He looks at how propaganda worked to mobilize soldiers, and where it failed. And his comparison of the diaries of Japanese and American servicemen allows him to challenge the assumption that East Asian societies of this era were especially prone to totalitarianism. Moore follows the experience of soldiering into the postwar period as well, and considers how the continuing use of wartime language among veterans made their reintegration into society more difficult.


With massive high-dimensional data now commonplace in research and industry, there is a strong and growing demand for more scalable computational techniques for data analysis and knowledge discovery. Key to turning these data into knowledge is the ability to learn statistical models with high interpretability. Current methods for learning statistical models either produce models that are not interpretable or have prohibitive computational costs when applied to massive data. In this paper we address this need by presenting a scalable algorithm for partial least squares regression (PLS), which we call compression-based PLS (cPLS), to learn predictive linear models with a high interpretability from massive high-dimensional data. We propose a novel grammar-compressed representation of data matrices that supports fast row and column access while the data matrix is in a compressed form. The original data matrix is grammar-compressed and then the linear model in PLS is learned on the compressed data matrix, which results in a significant reduction in working space, greatly improving scalability. We experimentally test cPLS on its ability to learn linear models for classification, regression and feature extraction with various massive high-dimensional data, and show that cPLS performs superiorly in terms of prediction accuracy, computational efficiency, and interpretability.


Abstract The flute instabilities were investigated in the GAMMA10 A-divertor magnetic field with help of computer simulations. The basic equations used in the simulation can be applied to only an axisymmetric system. So the high pressure in the remaining non-axisymmetric anchor cell, which is used for the flute mode stability, is taken into account by redefining the specific volume of a magnetic field line. It is found that the minimum-B mirror can stabilize a flute mode even in a divertor mirror cell, but its stabilizing effects are weaker. The radial transport accompanied by the flute instabilities in the GAMMA10 A-divertor is found to be rather smaller than that without a divertor mirror cell.


Abstract Previous studies have highlighted the paucity of knowledge possessed by people in a number of jurisdictions with regard to specific legal issues and processes, yet what has not been fully understood is the practical impact of this lack of knowledge. This paper looks at how knowledge of rights affects the resolution of civil justice problems. Data were extracted from a large-scale survey of adults' experience of rights problems throughout England and Wales (10,537 adult respondents). The results demonstrated that most individuals were not aware of their rights at the time the problem occurred (64.8 per cent). Knowledge was shown to be poorest amongst those with mental illness, those without higher qualifications and those renting their homes. Problems where knowledge was poor included clinical negligence, welfare benefits and neighbours issues. Knowledge did not appear to be related to a particular problem-solving strategy but had an impact on the fulfilment of objectives and the obtaining of advice. Our findings depart from existing literature by indicating that knowledge of rights alone is not associated with legal self-sufficiency in terms of a reduced dependence upon legal advice services. We find, however, that individuals, with knowledge of rights, experience better outcomes when they opt to handle their problem alone. Accordingly, the presence or absence of knowledge of rights may be a useful proxy measure of legal advice need and relevant to the process of legal aid rationing. Our findings highlight the role that Public Legal Education (PLE) (both 'rights-based education' and 'just-in-time/self-help') may play in disposing of less complex problems, while presenting a strong case for the continued availability of free legal advice services. The research is discussed in the context of the recently announced legal aid reforms in England and Wales and their anticipated impact.


The THz optical properties and material structure of pyrolytic boron nitride (PBN), highly oriented pyrolytic boron nitride (HOPBN), and pressed boron nitride powder are investigated by THz time-domain spectroscopy. PBN, HOPBN and powder are confirmed as highly oriented structures; the degree of misalignment of hot-pressed boron nitride is indicated. Suitability of PBN for THz optical applications is discussed.


This article presents a conceptual model for the mindfulness-based psychotherapeutic treatment of chronic pain. It describes the process of mindfulness meditation and places it in the context of a practical model for conceptualizing pain. It presents case vignettes on the phenomenology and treatment of chronic pain. Resources for mindfulness are presented.


William Cuthbert Faulkner (/ˈfɔːknər/, September 25, 1897 – July 6, 1962) was an American writer and Nobel Prize laureate from Oxford, Mississippi. Faulkner wrote novels, short stories, a play, poetry, essays and screenplays. He is primarily known for his novels and short stories set in the fictional Yoknapatawpha County, based on Lafayette County, Mississippi, where he spent most of his life.[1]