Ultraviolet radiation can photodegrade vitamin D3 to suprasterol I, superasterol II and 5,6-transvitamin D3. The probability of the photodegradation of vitamin D3, after the absorption of one photon, is called the quantum yield. We estimated the quantum yield ϕ for all the degeneration reactions together on the basis of the results reported by Webb et al. (1989) for a degradation experiment on pure, tritiated vitamin D3 in methanol in sunlight. We find ϕ = (0.42 ± 0.1). This value of the quantum yield can be used to estimate the kinetics contribution from vitamin D3 degradation in exposure experiments and model calculations.


Discussions about sustainable communities as a significant measure in social sustainability began in the 2000s. Sustainable communities are defined as places in which existing and future generations would like to work and live. They contribute to the well-being and quality of life and offer equal opportunities to their residents. The definitions are similar to the objectives of one of the most influential movements in the history of urban planning: the Garden City. The principles of the Garden City are applicable to new and existing towns and its concept has been adopted in different contexts until today. Therefore, many lessons can be learnt regarding sustainable urbanism by studying social sustainability in this type of urban settlement. As a first step towards this aim, this paper studies the experience of living in the Garden City of Karlsruhe today. A survey was conducted among the current inhabitants. The study shows a high level of satisfaction and the tendency for a long residency in the Garden City because of the reasons like ample greenery, central location, and quietness of the settlement. The results will be used as the first dataset for developing a framework for urban social sustainability in the Garden Cities.


With the explosive growth of information technology, multi-view graph data have become increasingly prevalent and valuable. Most existing multi-view clustering techniques either focus on the scenario of multiple graphs or multi-view attributes. In this paper, we propose a generic framework to cluster multi-view attributed graph data. Specifically, inspired by the success of contrastive learning, we propose multi-view contrastive graph clustering (MCGC) method to learn a consensus graph since the original graph could be noisy or incomplete and is not directly applicable. Our method composes of two key steps: we first filter out the undesirable high-frequency noise while preserving the graph geometric features via graph filtering and obtain a smooth representation of nodes; we then learn a consensus graph regularized by graph contrastive loss. Results on several benchmark datasets show the superiority of our method with respect to state-of-the-art approaches. In particular, our simple approach outperforms existing deep learning-based methods.


Connectivity between local populations is critical if these are to function as a metapopulation and sustain locally open sink populations. Assessing whether such connections between local populations exist is thus an important step towards understanding coastal metapopulation dynamics as well as assessing the efficacy of spatial management tools such as marine reserve networks. For this thesis, I investigate population connectivity of the common triplefin (Forsterygion lapillum) in Cook Strait, New Zealand, using chemical signatures contained within fish otoliths (ear stones). I concentrate on likely connections between three local marine reserves: Kapiti Island (Kapiti coast), Long Island (Marlborough Sounds) and Taputeranga Marine Reserve (Wellington south coast). To this end I develop and implement new statistical methods to enable stronger inferences from otolith chemistry based approaches. In chapter 2, I evaluate otolith core chemistry as a potential tool (i.e. an environmental fingerprint) for identification of natal source populations of the common triplefin. I sampled otolith chemistry from hatchling fish across a range of hierarchical scales: obtained from individual egg masses within a site; sites within different regions; and regions distributed on the two main islands of New Zealand (North and South Island). This sampling enabled me to construct an "atlas" (or baseline) of otolith core chemistry. I developed and applied a set of novel statistical approaches to examine the characteristics of this natal atlas and optimize its spatial resolution. These analyses allowed me to assess the utility of otolith chemistry as a potential tool to infer patterns of population connectivity in the vicinity of Cook Strait. Chapter 3 develops a new Bayesian approach to facilitate improved clustering and classification of dispersing fish to putative natal populations based on their otolith chemistry. Otolith-based approaches used to infer natal origins of fishes routinely suffer from the (unrealized) requirement to sample all potential natal source populations. An incomplete baseline atlas has greatly limited the application of otolith chemistry as a tool for assessments of connectivity in the marine environment. In this chapter, I develop, evaluate, and implement statistical solutions to this problem. Specifically, I present a clustering model, based on infinite mixtures, which does not require the specification of a potential number of sources. In a second step, I embed this clustering model in a large-scale classification model that allows for classification on scales encompassing a number of potential sources, where recruits are clustered with observations from the baseline or a separate cluster within these regions. This opens the potential for fish that came from an identifiable source other than those sampled to not be assigned to a sampled source. I evaluate the strength of this approach using the well-known weakfish (Cynoscion regalis) dataset. In chapter 4, I apply the statistical methods developed in chapter 3 to the common triplefin. I sampled recent recruits of the common triplefin within each of three marine reserves (Kapiti, Long Island, and Taputeranga) and used otolith chemistry to infer probable natal origins. I then compare these inferred patterns of connectivity with those predicted by a set of hydrodynamic simulations. This comparison enabled me to (qualitatively) assess the likelihood of connectivity (as predicted by otolith chemistry) given local hydrodynamic conditions. For chapter 5, I extend the Bayesian modelling approaches developed in previous chapters to incorporate otolith chemistry data sampled from throughout the life-history of dispersers. As in chapter 3, I develop and evaluate the utility of this approach using a previously published data set (Chinook salmon), and I apply the approach to the common triplefin in a subsequent chapter. Specifically, I propose flexible formulations based on latent state models, and compare these in a series of illustrative simulations and an application to Chinook salmon contingent analysis. In chapter 6, I apply the Bayesian framework (developed in chapter 5) to the common triplefin data set. Specifically, I formulate a model based on putative chemical distinctions between inshore and offshore water-masses. This model allows me to compare dispersal histories among recruits to a set of reserves (evaluated initially in chapter 4), and the approach reveals patterns that appear to be common to all successful recruits. I examine these findings in the light of results obtained in chapter 4 as well as local hydrodynamic conditions. Finally, I conclude my thesis in chapter 7 by discussing the relevance of my findings for the functioning of networks of sub-populations, both in a metapopulation and a reserve network context.


Abstract Most aquatic vertebrates swim by passing a bending wave down their bodies, a swimming mode known as undulatory propulsion. Except for very elongated swimmers like eels and lampreys, these animals have generally evolved to a similar shape: an anterior streamlined region of large volume separated from a caudal fin by a caudal peduncle of reduced cross-section. However, the link between this particular shape and the hydrodynamical constraints remains to be explored. Here, this question is addressed by seeking the optimal design for undulatory swimmers with an evolutionary algorithm. Animals of varying elliptic cross-section are considered whose motions are prescribed by arbitrary periodic curvature laws. In the elongated-body limit, reactive and resistive forces can be formulated at any cross-section, allowing the recoil motion and the mean swimming speed of a given animal to be calculated. A bi-objective optimization problem then consists of finding body shapes and corresponding motions associated with the lowest energetic costs, the highest stride lengths (which is a dimensionless measure of swimming speed) or any trade-offs between the two. For biologically relevant parameters, this optimization calculation yields two distinct 'species': one specialized in economical swimming and the other in large stride lengths. By comparing the attributes and performance of these numerically obtained swimmers with data on undulatory-swimming animals, it is argued that evolution is consistent with the selection of species with low energetic costs.


A solid pedagogy can ensure the achievement of the learning outcomes set for any university qualification, whether at undergraduate or postgraduate level. Currently there is an urgent need for a wider consideration of appropriate pedagogies for doctoral programmes. This paper looks in particular at the characteristics of professional doctorates, which are typically studied part-time and focus on researching a professional setting. Based on the needs of these programmes, it proposes a learning-centred blended mode of delivery that fosters students' engagement with activities anchored in the set learning outcomes. The range of activities aims at facilitating the multiple interactions necessary for competent researchers by making use of the resources, tools and spaces within two main learning environments: the virtual and the physical. This model prompts universities to consider appropriate pedagogies for the delivery of professional doctorates and suggests the need to ensure the alignment of their approaches with available technologies, educational policies, and practices of teaching and learning in their institutions. In order to ensure a successful implementation, such a consideration must also include effective action for the development of the relevant academic staff.


The work described in this thesis is the result of a research program started in 1981 to find better ways of programming Telecom applications. These applications are large programs which despite careful testing will probably contain many errors when the program is put into service. We assume that such programs do contain errors, and investigate methods for building reliable systems despite such errors. The research has resulted in the development of a new programming language (called Erlang), together with a design methodology, and set of libraries for building robust systems (called OTP). At the time of writing the technology described here is used in a number of major Ericsson, and Nortel products. A number of small companies have also been formed which exploit the technology. The central problem addressed by this thesis is the problem of constructing reliable systems from programs which may themselves contain errors. Constructing such systems imposes a number of requirements on any programming language that is to be used for the construction. I discuss these language requirements, and show how they are satisfied by Erlang. Problems can be solved in a programming language, or in the standard libraries which accompany the language. I argue how certain of the requirements necessary to build a fault-tolerant system are solved in the language, and others are solved in the standard libraries. Together these form a basis for building fault-tolerant sodware systems. No theory is complete without proof that the ideas work in practice. To demonstrate that these ideas work in practice I present a number of case studies of large commercially successful products which use this technology. At the time of writing the largest of these projects is a major Ericsson


Based on the mite specimens collected within the scope of a study on Erzincan (Turkey) mite biodiversity, two species of the genus Stigmaeus are described and illustrated here: S. bifurcus  sp. nov. as new to science and S. miandoabiensis Bagheri & Zarei, 2012 as a new record for Turkey. Some morphological abnormalities in the new species are noted. The deutonymph of S. miandoabiensis is described for the first time in this study. Discovery of this stage from soil and litter under Pinus sylvestris in Turkey adds more data to our knowledge of the species.


Abstract: The objectives of this study were to evaluate the effect of the use of yeast fermentation products (YFP) on growth, hormone concentration, and gut permeability in dairy calves. One hundred and twenty heifers were randomly assigned to one of three treatments: control group with no YFP supplementation (C), Saccharomyces cerevisiae fermentation products (SCFP) supplementation (1 g/head/d of SmartCare [Diamond V] in the milk and 0.7% on dry matter basis of NutriTek [Diamond V] on the starter feed), or Aspergillus oryzae fermentation extracts (AOFE) supplementation (3 g/head/d of LXtract1224 [Biozyme Inc.] in the milk). All calves received 6 L/d of pasteurized milk and had ad libitum access to water and dry feed along the study. Body weight (BW) was recorded at birth and on days 14, 30, and 45 and at weaning. Dry feed (starter) offered was measured daily and refusals twice a week to obtain starter intake (SI). Diarrhea events were recorded daily and fecal scores were classified by using a four-point scale. Blood was sampled on days 7 and 14 for plasma glucose, nonesterified fatty acids (NEFA), insulin, and IL-1β concentrations. Lactulose and D-mannitol were included in the morning feeding of day 14 and blood samples were taken an hour after feeding for assessment of intestinal permeability. On day 14, blood samples were taken for plasma glucagon-like peptide 2 (GLP-2) concentration. On day 30, fecal samples were collected for measurements of Salmonella and Escherichia coli concentration on feces. No treatment differences (P ≥ 0.13) were found for BW or SI. There was a time by treatment difference (P = 0.01) in average daily gain (ADG) on day 45 where C animals had a greater ADG when compared with SCFP and AOFE. Diarrhea incidence did not change between treatments (P = 0.97) and Salmonella and E. coli were not found in feces. There were no differences (P > 0.60) between treatments for plasma GLP-2, glucose, insulin, lactulose, nor D-mannitol concentrations. There was a time by treatment tendency (P = 0.06) for NEFA concentration which tended to be greater on day 7 for C and AOFE when compared with day 14. Plasma IL-1β concentration showed a treatment tendency which tended (P = 0.06) to be greater for SCFP when compared with C. Under the current conditions, supplementation with YFP did not improve performance parameters. Plasma GLP-2 concentration, intestinal permeability, and plasma metabolites did not differ after yeast fermentation products supplementation.


This paper takes advantage of the wealth of cross-sectional household surveys conducted after South Africa's political transition, in order to gain insights into the causes of the acceleration in the already high unemployment rate. A synthetic panel dataset is constructed to decompose unemployment and other labour market outcomes into cyclical, generational and life-cycle effects. This dynamic view isolates which groups are at risk across the period and allows a more nuanced understanding of the long-run and short-run impacts. Our results indicate that the higher unemployment rates faced by the young are predominantly due to the disadvantage of entering the labour market more recently, rather than being attributable to their age. We furthermore isolate what has driven this long-run increase in labour market participation. In particular, higher educational attainment and household formation decisions across generations fuel labour supply among the more recent entrants. We find some correspondence between the cyclical variation in unemployment and the business cycle. This suggests that jobless growth is not a relevant feature of the South African labour market. This paper confirms many of the causes of unemployment that are postulated in the literature. The dynamic nature of this study has furthermore allowed the separation of short-run and long-run aspects of unemployment. The decomposition approach adopted here has uncovered the linkages between the schooling system and the labour market across all generations, but, in particular, has isolated why the youngest generations have exhibited such distinct risks. The surge in labour supply amongst most recent generations (those aged 20 in 1995) can be explained by rapid exit rates from the education system resulting from over-age enrolment policies enacted in the post-apartheid period. This has pushed individuals into the labour market prematurely and without the adequate skills to be absorbed into the workplace. The importance of the generational aspects of unemployment relative to life cycle and business cycle impacts suggests that policies should address the structural issues affecting each of these birth cohorts, rather than focussing on age groups per se.


Bullying in schools is a significant and continuing issue in education. This is despite widespread attention within the professional education community and beyond, into the wider public arena. In this paper, we review the existing literature on bullying in schools, with a particular focus on the Australian secondary school context, to develop a position that questions the bully/victim binary pervading public discourse and educational research. In doing this, we identify common themes within the literature including: definitions of bullying; responses and interventions to bullying; discourses of bullying in schools; and the role of stakeholders involved in managing and responding to bullying incidents. Based on this review, we argue that much of the literature approaches the topic from an individual and psychological point of view, and there are multiple problems related to both methodology and representation. There appears to be an absence of research about the broader social contexts and processes in which bullying occurs, while there is a strong argument for its importance. From this basis, we briefly speculate on alternative approaches that potentially address such concerns and allow for new approaches to a continuing problem, in Australia and internationally.


Context: Aging has impact on immune system both quantitatively as well as qualitatively, leading to deregulated response in different states ranging from infection, autoimmunity, inflammation, and excessive tissue damage. Aims: The present study is done to observe the immunosenescence-related changes in monocytes-/macrophages-mediated production of nitric oxide (NO), interleukin (IL)-1, IL-6, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 after stimulation with lipopolysaccharide (LPS), and interferon (IFN)-γ, evaluating the innate immunity of a group of healthy Indian elderly from a single institution. Settings and Design: The study was conducted on life-term prisoners in Central Jail, Varanasi, India, and the Department of Medicine, Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, among the three groups, namely study group (>70 years old), control Group 1 (60–70 years), and control Group 2 (30–40 years). Subjects and Methods: Mononuclear cells were separated, and NO production, pro-inflammatory cytokines such as IL-1, IL-6, and TNF-α, and anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 from these cells were estimated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay after stimulation with LPS and IFN-γ. Statistical Analysis Used: Mean and standard deviation were calculated, and Student's t-test was applied. Results were considered statistically significant forP < 0.05. Results: A statistically significant rise in NO production (P < 0.001) was observed after stimulation as compared to control Groups 1 and 2 (P < 0.001). The study group showed a significant decrease in IL-1 production (P < 0.03) following stimulation. The basal TNF-α level was low in the study group, but there was a significant increase in TNF-α following stimulation. The basal level of IL-6 in the study group was higher than the control Group 1 (not significant, P = 0.21) but lower than the control Group 2 (not significant, P = 0.18). There were no significant inter- or intra-group changes in IL-6 level. Conclusions: There is a qualitative as well as quantitative defect in elderly monocytes/macrophages reflecting abnormal inflammatory response. This could be due to abnormal immunity with aging, which may be responsible for increased frequency of chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, congestive heart failure, asymptomatic infections, and Alzheimer's disease in geriatric population.


Consumer protection law is vital for ensuring that market-based economies work in the economic interest of consumers as well as businesses, and thus to the benefit of civil society. This is the case for online markets just as it is for offline markets. However, despite broad consensus on these points, too little has been done to ensure that the various standards applicable in offline markets are sufficient or adequate to guarantee efficiency and fairness in online markets. This paper outlines eleven key features of online markets that might necessitate standards additional to or different from those that are applicable offline, and provides a menu of possible policies in relation to each. Many of these are general to all online markets, but some are specific to the largest digital platforms. Many if not most of our policy proposals could be enacted through minor changes to existing law or regulation or through decisional law interpreting existing legislation. Some have already been implemented in some jurisdictions. What is needed in all jurisdictions, however, is a regulator or regulators with sufficient expertise around technical issues such as A/B testing and algorithmic decision-making to understand, anticipate, and remedy the myriad ways that online firms can disadvantage consumers.


There exist sound literature and algorithms for computing Liouvillian solutions for the important problem of linear ODEs with rational coefficients. Taking as sample the 363 second order equations of that type found in Kamke's book, for instance, 51% of them admit Liouvillian solutions and so are solvable using Kovacic's algorithm. On the other hand, special function solutions not admitting Liouvillian form appear frequently in mathematical physics, but there are not so general algorithms for computing them. In this paper we present an algorithm for computing special function solutions which can be expressed using the ;2;F;1;, ;1;F;1; or ;0;F;1; hypergeometric functions. The algorithm is easy to implement in the framework of a computer algebra system and systematically solves 91% of the 363 Kamke's linear ODE examples mentioned.


Characterization of domestic wastewater from Selcuk University Campus and the effectiveness of duckweed (Lemna minor L.) in wastewater treatment was searched in lab scale system. In wastewater characterization, grab and composite samples were taken from the S.U. Campus during one year and parameter analyses were performed. Wastewater treatment was applied on composite samples in batch and continuous operation in tanks with dimensions of 50*50*20 cm, placed in a climate room where temperature, lightening and humidity were under control. pH, turbidity, suspended solids (SS), dissolved oxygen (DO), chemical oxygen demand (COD), nitrate-N, ammonia-N, total P and heavy metal variations in the influent and effluent were analysed. Control tanks were also processed in parallel with the experimental tanks. The results indicate that, despite the fluctuating quality, duckweed is effective in treatment of Campus wastewater, which is a medium strength domestic wastewater. Aquatic plant is able to reach its ultimate removal efficiency in 7 days with growth rate of 4.5 g/d. Considering all parameters, it can be stated that in batch system, 65 – 90%, in continuous system 72 – 95% removal efficiencies were achieved. Therefore, utilization of Lemna minor L. can be suggested for small-scale treatment facilities with fluctuating quality influent.


We explore the climatic information contained in the record of length fluctuations of Glaciar Frias, in the north Patagonian Andes of Argentina. This record is one of the longest and most detailed glacier records in southern South America, starting in 1639. In order to interpret the length variations of Glaciar Frias since the maximum Little Ice Age extent, we use a combination of a simplified surface energy-balance model to calculate the glacier mass balance, and a flowline model to account for the dynamical response of the glacier to changes in the climatic forcing. The overall retreat of the glacier observed over 1639–2009 is best explained by an annual mean temperature increase of 1.2 °C or a decrease in annual precipitation of 34%, most of which would have occurred during the 20th century. The glacier model is also forced with two independent tree-ring and multi-proxy reconstructions of precipitation and temperature. The uncertainties in these reconstructions are rather large, leading to a wide range in the modelled glacier length that includes most of the observations. However, in both reconstructions, the mid-17th century seems to be too cold and the early 19th century too warm to explain the observed glacier lengths with the glacier model forced with the reconstructions. Forcing with reconstructed precipitation and temperature separately shows that the influence of historical variations in precipitation on the glacier fluctuations of Glaciar Frias is smaller than that of the temperature fluctuations. This suggests that the observed 1639–2009 retreat could be best explained by a warming close to 1.2 °C.


This thesis develops an existential-phenomenological understanding of resistance in psychotherapy. It is argued that the concept of resistance is both one of the most problematic, as well as one of the most enduring, concepts within psychotherapy. An in-depth, critical literature review is presented on the various meanings and significances given to resistance across different theoretical perspectives. It is shown that while resistance as a concept belongs centrally within the psychoanalytic perspective, nevertheless, substantial interest and debate about resistance is present within other perspectives. From an existential-phenomenological perspective, the concept of resistance, where this is understood to refer to an unconscious intrapsychic force, is impermissible. However, it is argued that when the concept of resistance is distinguished from the intersubjective phenomenon of resistance, an existential-phenomenological perspective is both possible and desirable. Within the process of psychotherapy, resistance may be understood as a co-constituted 'beingclosed'
to the possibilities of relational encounter. Resistance may be understood as one of a range of 'existence tensions'. This view greatly implicates the being of the therapist in this phenomenon. In order to more fully 'ground' such a perspective, a phenomenological investigation of therapists' experiences of 'encountering resistance' in psychotherapy was conducted. The results of this investigation were submitted to a further validation process in a survey study of UK psychotherapists from a range of theoretical perspectives. Additionally, this survey study explored therapists' attitudes and concerns regarding resistance in psychotherapy. The results of both of these studies are further interpreted from an existential-phenomenological perspective. It is argued that a consideration of the meaning and significance of resistance assists in the further development of an existential-phenomenological approach to psychotherapy. Furthermore, it is argued that .an existentialphenomenological perspective on resistance clarifies a phenomenon that is also relevant and important for other models of psychotherapy.


OBJECTIVE
To describe the temporal patterns of heart rate and arrhythmias in the immediate postoperative period following cardiac surgery. Six postoperative cardiac surgical patients with a mean age of 48.3 years were studied.

DESIGN
Descriptive longitudinal design.

SETTING
Cardiac surgical ICU.

METHODS
Heart rate and arrhythmias were recorded continuously for 48 hours from a cardiac monitor using a Holter tape recorder. Environmental and treatment data were noted throughout data collection by trained nonparticipant observers.

RESULTS
Mean heart rate and incidence of arrhythmias were different between the 2 study days; therefore, data were divided into two segments (A and B). These differences coincided with extubation in most cases. Individual subject cosinor analysis revealed 24-hour rhythms of heart rate in both segments in all subjects except segment B for one subject. Rhythms of shorter periods were also found. In segment A individual subjects' acrophases (peak times of fitted curves) occurred later than expected for subjects' prehospitalization sleep-wake schedule, whereas in segment B they occurred earlier. Cosinor analysis of arrhythmias revealed significant 24-hour rhythms in both segments in one of the three subjects with premature atrial complexes, two of the four subjects with premature ventricular complexes and both subjects with ventricular couplets. Four-hour rhythms were found in premature atrial complexes (n = 1), atrial tachycardia (n = 1) and premature ventricular complexes (n = 3). Acrophases for arrhythmias varied among patients. During segment B the 4-hour-rhythm acrophases in heart rate and arrhythmias were related to the timing of respiratory therapy.

CONCLUSIONS
Temporal variations in heart rate could be identified in these six critically ill adults. Rhythm parameters changed during the first 48 hours after cardiac surgery. In those who had arrhythmias, some patients demonstrated temporal patterns in the incidence of selected arrhythmias. Further study is needed to describe the temporal patterns of heart rate and arrhythmias in varied groups of critically ill persons in a variety of settings.


This exegesis details an investigation into the history and evolution of certain technologies, (binary coding, Platonic cosmology, and the linear perspective system) and the extent to which these technologies have distorted or appropriated our perceptions of reality. Special attention is paid to logical inconsistencies in apparently logical systems. The investigation focuses on the purportedly utopian applications of these technologies and the discrepancies that inevitably occurred whenever these ordered systems confronted the chaotic 'real' world. Information gleaned from this research then informs an analysis of methods for incorporating these concepts into the author's installation practice. An explication of recent drawing practice and its reconciliation with installation work will account for and inform a recounting of practical experimentation dealing with form and materials.


Program profiles identify frequently executed portions of a program, which are the places at which optimizations offer programmers and compilers the greatest benefit. Compilers, however, infrequently exploit program profiles, because, profiling a program requires a programmer to instrument and run the program. An attractive alternative is for the complier to statically estimate program profiles. This paper presents several new techniques for static branch prediction and profiling. The first technique combines multiple predictions of a branch's outcome into a prediction of the probability that the branch is taken. Another technique uses these predictions to estimate the relative execution frequency (i.e., profile) of basic blocks and control-flow edges within a procedure. A third algorithm uses local frequency estimates to predict the global frequency of calls, procedure invocations, and basic block and control-flow edge executions. Experiments on the SPEC92 integer benchmarks and Unix applications show that the frequently executed blocks, edges, and functions identified by our techniques closely match those in a dynamic profile.


Part I. An Introduction: Basic Issues and Processes. Chapter 1. An Overview of Psychology and Health. Chapter 2. The Body's Physical Systems. Part II. Stress, Illness, and Coping. Chapter 3. Stress -- Its Meaning, Impact, and Sources. Chapter 4. Stress, Biopsychosocial Factors, and Illness. Chapter 5. Coping with and Reducing Stress. Part III. Lifestyles to Enhance Health and Prevent Illness. Chapter 6. Health-Related Behavior and Health Promotion. Chapter 7. Substance Use and Abuse. Chapter 8. Nutrition, Weight Control and Diet, Exercise, and Safety. Part IV. Becoming Ill and Getting Medical Treatment. Chapter 9. Using Health Services. Chapter 10. In the Hospital: The Setting, Procedures, and Effects on Patients. Part V. Physical Symptoms: Pain and Discomfort. Chapter 11. The Nature and Symptoms of Pain. Chapter 12. Managing and Controlling Clinical Pain. Part VI. Chronic and Life-Threatening Health Problems. Chapter 13. Serious and Disabling Chronic Illnesses: Causes, Management, and Coping. Chapter 14. Heart Disease, Stroke, Cancer, and AIDS: Causes, Management, and Coping. Part VII. Looking to the Future. Chapter 15. What's Ahead for Health Psychology.


Sicuro, B., E. Valle, P. Costa, P. Mussa and M. Tarantola, 2017. The relation between exotic mammals and birds and agriculture productions in Italy: modern containment strategies. Bulg. J. Agric. Sci., 23 (2): 242–251 Ornamental farming is the main source of future diffusion of exotic species, but containment measures for these species are often criticized or disapproved by public opinion, in particular in urban areas in all the European countries. In this paper, the social acceptability of rational solutions for this problem is discussed, thus keeping in mind the importance of the conservation of native species and the impact of exotic ones on agriculture and farmed species. Currently, the most problematic alien vertebrate species in Italy are the gray squirrel, the coypu, the cottontail rabbit and the American mink, while the Rose-ringed parakeet and monk parakeet are considered to be the potentially most dangerous alien bird species. The effects of the presence of these species include competition with autochthonous species, damage to agricultural crops and diffusion of pathologies. Ornamental animal farming is an emerging activity in Italy and throughout Europe, and it is likely that it will be the main source of the introduction of exotic species. The possible solutions to exotic species diffusion are: improving current laws, shared strategies with neighbouring countries, eradication and management of exotic species. This review deals with management of the most invasive terrestrial mammals and birds in Italy as well as with some social and ethical implications.


Abstract Objectives Wild edible plants (WEP) play the dual role of securing food diversity and promoting health in traditional societies. Current simplified dietary habits contribute to increasing population health risks. Since WEP are integral to the diet of traditional communities, identifying their significance as foods to people provides further evidence to conserve them and promote their consumption. Six species of WEP were identified as integral to the diet of rural Lebanese communities. We investigated their patterns of consumption and knowledge regarding their health and medicinal properties. Design An ethnobotanical survey, employing a qualitative questionnaire, was conducted among thirty informants. The identified species were Cichorium intybus, Eryngium creticum, Foeniculum vulgare, Malva sylvestris, Thymus syriacus and Gundelia tournifortii. Results Most informants consumed the six plants as a regular part of their diet. Seasonal variability in consumption was evident. C. intybus was renowned for its digestive and blood strengthening properties. F. vulgare was used as a digestive stimulant. M. sylvestris was distinguished for its anti-inflammatory qualities. T. syriacus was popular for its digestive and anti-poisonous properties. E. creticum was attributed less pronounced health benefits. G. tournifortii was considered a nutritious food. Conclusions All six species were popular for their edible uses as well as their health and/or medicinal benefits. These properties are supported by scientific evidence. Our results highlight the importance of these plants for local people and support efforts for their conservation. However, we noticed a decline in indigenous knowledge. We encourage efforts to record it for other plants and in other communities.


Rapid development of next generation sequencing technology has enabled the identification of genomic alterations from short sequencing reads. There are a number of software pipelines available for calling single nucleotide variants from genomic DNA but, no comprehensive pipelines to identify, annotate and prioritize expressed SNVs (eSNVs) from non-directional paired-end RNA-Seq data. We have developed the eSNV-Detect, a novel computational system, which utilizes data from multiple aligners to call, even at low read depths, and rank variants from RNA-Seq. Multi-platform comparisons with the eSNV-Detect variant candidates were performed. The method was first applied to RNA-Seq from a lymphoblastoid cell-line, achieving 99.7% precision and 91.0% sensitivity in the expressed SNPs for the matching HumanOmni2.5 BeadChip data. Comparison of RNA-Seq eSNV candidates from 25 ER+ breast tumors from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) project with whole exome coding data showed 90.6–96.8% precision and 91.6–95.7% sensitivity. Contrasting single-cell mRNA-Seq variants with matching traditional multicellular RNA-Seq data for the MD-MB231 breast cancer cell-line delineated variant heterogeneity among the single-cells. Further, Sanger sequencing validation was performed for an ER+ breast tumor with paired normal adjacent tissue validating 29 out of 31 candidate eSNVs. The source code and user manuals of the eSNV-Detect pipeline for Sun Grid Engine and virtual machine are available at http://bioinformaticstools.mayo.edu/research/esnv-detect/.


The purpose of the study was to examine: a) the graphomotor skills of students with high, average and low motor performance and b) the relationship between motor and graphomotor skills. The total sample consisted of 275 kindergarten and elementary school students in Athens, Greece (138 boys and 137 girls), who were examined in the BOTMP-SF and the five graphomotor items of BOTMP-LF. The ANOVA revealed significant differences among the three groups (F = 19.726, p < .001, η = .150) and the Least Significant Difference-LSD post hoc method revealed that the "high" group (Mz = 1.02, SDz = .82) scored significantly higher than the "average" group (Mz = .60, SDz = .87) which, in turn, scored significantly higher than the low motor performance group (Mz= -.70, SDz = 1.51). Finally, the graphomotor performance was significantly predicted, through stepwise multiple regression, from five gross motor skills (running speed and agility, standing on preferred leg-static balance, walking on balance beam-dynamic balance, tapping feet alternative while making circles with fingers and standing broad jump). Overall, physical educators and teachers may consider that the motor and graphomotor skills of their students constitute interrelated academic elements.


This thesis will argue that a significant part of our moral experience can be explained by an analogy with the phenomenon of aspect perception discussed by Wittgenstein in his Philosophical Investigations. I will argue that projectivism cannot give a satisfactory account of moral perception. This difficulty constitutes an argument against projectivism; namely that projectivism is hopeless as an account of the phenomenology of morality, because it is at variance with the way we actually think and talk morally. It will be shown how quasi-realism is an attempt to remove the most important range of objections to projectivism - namely that it cannot account for the phenomena of serious moral thought and talk. I argue that the project of quasi-realism ultimately fails, leaving realism as the theory most able to account for our moral experience.
I shall reveal the untenable assumptions of the 'Absolute' viewpoint entailed by the non-realist arguments of J.L.Mackie, and reveal the perpectival outlook that lies behind an aspect-seeing account of moral perception, and also illuminate why the key issue for moral realism is the question of whether we can establish moral objectivity. I shall then go on to say how much objectivity is possible. Finally, I shall show how a Wittgensteinian analogy between moral values and aspects helps to explain our common moral experience. The ability to perceive moral values will be shown to be tied in with the concept-dependency of moral perception, relying on discriminations that can only be made through the use of language, and hence through a shared form of life. The account will be shown to be fully capable of giving an account of our common moral experience


Cold gas spraying was used to make a coating from an equiatomic CrFeNiMn high-entropy alloy. This four-component alloy was chosen because it is Co-free, thus allowing application in nuclear industries as a possible replacement of currently used stainless steel coatings. The feedstock material was gas atomized powder with a particle size distribution from 20 to 45 µm. A number of parameters were tested, such as the powder feed rate and gas feed pressure, in order to obtain as dense a coating as possible with nitrogen as the process gas. Spraying was performed using a gas preheating temperature of 1000 °C, gas feed pressure ranging from 50 to 60 bar, and two powder feeding rates. The coating thicknesses ranging from 230 to 490 µm and porosities ranging from 3% to 10% were obtained depending on the powder feed rate and gas feed pressure. The hardness of the cross-section of the coating was usually lower than that of the surface. The highest coating hardness obtained was above 300 HV0.3 for both the surface and the cross-section. The as-atomized powder consisted of a face-centered cubic (FCC) phase with a minute amount of body-centered cubic (BCC) phase, which was no longer detectable in the coatings. The microstructure of the coating was highly stressed due to the high degree of deformation occurring in cold gas spraying. The deformation leads to strain hardening and induces a pronounced texture in the coating. The {111} planes tend to align along the coating surface, with deformation and texturing concentrating mainly on particle boundaries. A high-entropy alloy (HEA) coating was successfully sprayed for the first time using nitrogen as a process gas. The coating has the potential to replace stainless steel coatings in nuclear industry applications.


This article focuses on the duty to inform as a framework to assess liability of senior officers of public companies who withhold information from directors. The broadening of the definition of the duty to inform that senior officers owe directors to include an underlying affirmative duty to provide information, even when director or shareholder action is not requested, offers an opportunity for greater monitoring of corporate governance by focusing on those often most culpable. Currently, the plain language of Delaware's delegation of authority statute protects directors who reasonably rely in good faith on the reports of corporate officers. However, officers' reports must include more than minimum disclosure requirements. An affirmative duty to inform means senior corporate officers many not remain silent when in possession of superior information unknown to directors and that they have an underlying obligation of disclosure to enable directors to properly meet their oversight obligations. Part II of this article provides an overview of the Disney litigation. Part III of this article explores the rationale that senior corporate officers and directors owe the same fiduciary duties. Part IV examines the duty of disclosure in Delaware. Part V explores the fiduciary duties of senior officers as managers of the day-to-day affairs of the corporation and their superior position of control over directors. Finally, in Part VI, this article concludes that Delaware state fiduciary claims remain an important tool for shareholders to monitor corporate governance.


Background: Although Retropharyngeal Hematoma (RPH) has unknown frequency but considered a rare condition which can cause a life threatening airway obstruction. Various precipitating factors have been mentioned as causes of RPH as blunt head or neck trauma, whiplash injury, coagulopathy, central line insertion, stellate ganglion block, sneezing, severe coughing as well as spontaneous RPH. Methods: We report a case of severe life threatening retropharyngeal hematoma secondary to a closed stable C5-C6 fracture that caused severe upper airway obstruction. Results: As the RPH can develop hours or days, even after an apparently minor precipitating injury, in our patient it took almost 3 hours from time of accident till the development of severe upper airway obstruction (picture to be added in main poster). It was such a large collection hematoma that caused severe upper airway obstruction with cannot intubate cannot intubate situation. Conclusion: RPH can cause a mechanical displacement of the pharynx & larynx making securing airway with ETT almost impossible with conventional laryngoscopy or even video-assisted techniques. On the other hand, the time taken for RPH to develop and to cause mechanical obstruction can be limited enough to allow proper preparations as well as availability of fiberoptic technique. We should keep a high index of suspicion of retropharyngeal hematoma and airway involvement in cases of cervical spine fracture, in order to help other physician to increase their awareness and anticipation of such life threatening & meantime avoidable condition. Keywords: retropharyngeal hematoma, airway obstruction


This study investigates the expression and biomarker potential of zinc finger protein 132 (ZNF132) in prostate cancer (PC) by transcriptional profiling and immunohistochemical analysis of tissue microarrays, including tumor specimens from 615 radical prostatectomy (RP) patients and 199 conservatively treated patients. Primary clinical endpoints were time to PSA recurrence and cancer‐specific death, respectively. Compared to normal prostate epithelial cells from men without PC, ZNF132 transcript levels were significantly reduced in PC cells from patients with localized PC and further downregulated in metastatic PC. Likewise, ZNF132 protein expression was significantly lower in primary tumors from patients with metastatic compared to localized PC and further reduced in castrate‐refractory PC, indicating that ZNF132 downregulation correlates with disease progression. Reduced ZNF132 immunoreactivity was significantly associated with high Gleason score and advanced T stage in both PC patient cohorts. By univariate analysis, no/weak ZNF132 staining was a significant adverse predictor of PSA recurrence after RP (p = 0.024) and cancer‐specific death following conservative treatment (p = 0.009). In multivariate models, however, ZNF132 did not add significant independent value to established prognostic factors. Finally, bisulfite sequencing revealed frequent promoter hypermethylation of ZNF132 in both PC cell lines and PC tissue samples, indicating that ZNF132 is epigenetically silenced in PC. In summary, our results show that downregulation of ZNF132 is associated with aggressive PC and furthermore identify ZNF132 as a new candidate methylation marker for PC.


Given the frequency of relationships nowadays initiated online, where impressions from face photographs may influence relationship initiation, it is important to understand how facial first impressions might be used in such contexts. We therefore examined the applicability of a leading model of verbally expressed partner preferences to impressions derived from real face images and investigated how the factor structure of first impressions based on potential partner preference-related traits might relate to a more general model of facial first impressions. Participants rated 1,000 everyday face photographs on 12 traits selected to represent (Fletcher, et al. 1999, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 76, 72) verbal model of partner preferences. Facial trait judgements showed an underlying structure that largely paralleled the tripartite structure of Fletcher et al.'s verbal preference model, regardless of either face gender or participant gender. Furthermore, there was close correspondence between the verbal partner preference model and a more general tripartite model of facial first impressions derived from a different literature (Sutherland et al., 2013, Cognition, 127, 105), suggesting an underlying correspondence between verbal conceptual models of romantic preferences and more general models of facial first impressions.


The Tyrone Central Inlier is a metamorphic terrane of uncertain affinity situated outboard of the main Dalradian outcrop (south of the Fair Head–Clew Bay Line) and could represent sub-arc basement to part of the enigmatic Midland Valley Terrane. Using a combination of isotopic, structural and petrographic evidence, the tectonothermal evolution of the Tyrone Central Inlier was investigated. Sillimanite-bearing metamorphic assemblages (c. 670 °C, 6.8 kbar) and leucosomes in paragneisses are cut by granite pegmatites, which post-date two deformation fabrics. The leucosomes yield a weighted average 207Pb/206Pb zircon age of 467 ± 12 Ma whereas the main fabric yields a 40Ar–39Ar biotite cooling age of 468 ± 1.4 Ma. The pegmatites yield 457 ± 7 Ma and 458 ± 7 Ma Rb–Sr muscovite–feldspar ages and 40Ar–39Ar step-heating plateaux of 466 ± 1 Ma and 468 ± 1 Ma, respectively. The metasedimentary rocks yield Palaeoproterozoic Sm–Nd model ages and laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry detrital zircon U–Pb analyses from a psammitic gneiss yield age populations at 1.05–1.2, 1.5, 1.8, 2.7 and 3.1 Ga. Combined, these data permit correlation of the Tyrone Central Inlier with either the Argyll or the Southern Highland Group of the Dalradian Supergroup. The inlier was thus part of Laurentia onto which the Tyrone ophiolite was obducted.


In response to fundamental changes in regulation and technology, the financial industry around the world is undergoing an unprecedented wave of consolidation. A growing body of empirical literature has attempted to measure the efficiency gains from MA however there is little sense of how the results might depend on the country, industry and time period analysed. In this paper we review critically works that cover the main sectors of the financial industry (commercial and investment banks, insurance and asset management companies) in the major industrialised countries over the last twenty years, searching for common patterns that transcend national and sectoral peculiarities. We find that consolidation in the financial sector is beneficial up to a relatively small size in order to reap economies of scale, but there is little evidence that mergers yield economies of scope or gains in managerial efficiency.


We investigate the conditions under which fibers can be fabricated in a microfluidic chip upon gelation of alginate with a calcium salt. We develop a device which permits us to generate a perfectly centered axial coflow and we study the influence of control parameters, namely the salt concentration, the residence time, and the size of the polymeric jet, on the gelation process. We monitor several states which include no gel, continuous fibers, pieces of gel and clogging. To describe the resulting state diagrams, we develop a model of reaction–diffusion under flow which permits us to estimate the density of links created during the gelation. While the no-gel and clogging states are chiefly governed by the density of links (respectively very low and very high), the selection of fibers against pieces-of-gel is controlled by the stress exerted on the jet at the level of the injection nozzle, also called spinneret. This simple modeling of conditions required to create fibers as an interplay between gel strength and local elongational stress might be useful for the fabrication and miniaturization of functional fibers.


Virtual worlds, as both a concept and an industry, has changed radically over the past 10 years, from a toy for the technological elite, to an over-hyped marketing phenomenon, to a needed reexamination of the uses and utility of virtual world technologies and experiences, as provided in this paper. Within academia there are a number of issues that require further examination. The academic community appears to be divided into four camps: 1. those who embrace virtual worlds; 2. those who ignore the shifting use of technology; 3. those who are aware but have not yet explored the technology; and 4. those who are entirely unaware that virtual worlds exist. There is an overwhelming focus of research, publications and funding on a single virtual world: Second Life, which does not serve more than a fraction of the entire population utilizing virtual worlds or similar technologies. An overview of the size, shape and forms of virtual worlds may have a positive impact on both of these issues. This paper presents an in-depth survey and analysis of virtual worlds and related technologies.


Joint sealants influence decisively the performance and service life of pavements although they account for only a small fraction of the total investment. Motivated by the damages observed and the resulting, increasing maintenance efforts, the Federal German Government recognizes the need for performance-evaluated joint sealing systems with improved capability (fitness-for-purpose) and durability. A literature study showed that an identification of the actual mechanical system behavior under realistic loads as well as a prediction regarding the durability (fatigue, climatic effects) of joint sealing systems are either completely lacking in most of the relevant evaluation methods or have only been incompletely addressed previously. Furthermore an imbalance between commonly used test methodologies and the actual development status of modern modified sealing materials exists, i.e., the current test methods are not effective in evaluating the performance of tailor-made products. In this paper, the authors suggest a methodology to overcome the present situation. In contrast to the existing, predominantly empirical evaluation and selection of joint sealing materials and systems for pavements, the new approach is defined by verified performance under relevant and superimposed loads. This new approach is expected to allow a more engineered joint design. In addition to the adaptation of performance-oriented material identification tests, a special focus was placed on the development and installation of a complex test facility for the investigation of the service capability and durability of joint sealing systems in building constructions in general. This paper presents an attempt at the realization of this approach for pavement joints with the help of our new joint sealant test equipment utilizing a specific, adapted load function, which comprises cyclic movements (slow and fast acting), as well as crucial climatic exposures. The test data and its interpretation are discussed. For example, the actual mechanical behavior of the various joint sealing systems as well as the relevant maximum loading of cohesive and adhesive bonds can be deduced and used to differentiate between systems. Furthermore, information gained allows discrimination of products within the various joint sealing systems. The test results will also enable numerical simulations, e.g., of different joint designs or materials by finite element analysis. The fatigue behavior is detected by analysis of cycle-dependent changes of the mechanical system characteristics. The evaluation methodology further allows investigation of the degradation mechanisms of specific system failures and, thus, enables service life prediction by reproducing the performance of the complete system under realistic conditions. Constructional defects and material flaws can be activated and detected by the performance-related test methodology, thus identifying possible corrections to material selection and application procedures. The potential of the proposed evaluation methodology is discussed for several thermoplastic and reactive joint sealing systems.


In this work, we analyse and discuss the morphology evolution of black TiOx film formed on the surface of a titanium foil following the 1064 nm wavelength nanosecond pulsed laser irradiation in water. The nanostructure of the film depends on the number of laser pulses N and laser fluence F. We interpreted the experimental observations in terms of accumulated fluence FA, obtained as the product of N and F. We showed that the nanoporous morphology of this material occurs above a specific FA threshold of about 100 J/cm−2.


Nutrient agar (NA) medium is universally used as a general purpose medium for the culture of a broad range of bacteria and the cost of this commercially available medium is considerably high. Sago ( Metraxylon sagu ) contains a considerable amount of starch and a small amount of reducing sugars and is not used as a staple food in Sri Lanka. This study was aimed to find out the suitable composition of the sago medium compared with NA and to carry out growth studies of soil bacteria on sago medium. Media were prepared in different compositions by  addition of different amount of sago in 100mL volume (25mL of distilled water + 75mL of young king coconut sap) separately. Bacterial suspensions (5.21×10 6 cfu/ml, SD=1.12) of Bacillus , Pseudomonas , Klebsiella , Enterobacter , Serratia and Staphylococcus were transferred on the selected sago medium separately by using spread plate techniques. There was no significant difference between sago and NA media in number of the colonies (t test; p = 0.05). Colonies appeared earlier in NA media  than in sago media. But the colony morphological characters such as shape/form, margin, elevation, colour and size were almost similar to all bacteria selected on both media, except consistency. Thus, instead of NA the low cost and easily available sago medium could be recommended for the cultivation of soil bacteria.   Key words: Sago medium; Nutrient agar; solidification time; Metraxylon sagu DOI: 10.4038/josuk.v4i0.2693 J Sci.Univ.Kelaniya 4 (2008): 11-14


China is a socialist country and all land in China belongs to Chinese citizens as a whole. Article 10 of the 1982 Constitution upholds the Chinese land policy that reflects the traditional view of socialism land of the country must be owned by the country (State) or its agricultural Collectives. State-owned enterprises or other organizations, which cannot own land themselves, may use land with permission from the State. With the development of the Chinese economy and increasing economic reforms, the need for both residential and commercial space has grown rapidly. This emerging real estate demand led to an amendment to the Constitution o f the People's Republic o f China in 1988. Under this amendment, private investors may obtain land use rights from the government and the holder can retransfer these land use rights to a third party subject to certain conditions. This article extensively discusses this important amendment, the current system of land use rights in China and its application to the booming Chinese private real estate market.


*contributed equally Background Coils (RePneu ® ) endoscopic lung volume reduction (ELVR) is a new promising approach for the treatment of severe emphysema. Aim Our goal was to analyze lung perfusion by iodine maps acquired with dual-energy CT scan (deCT) before and after coil implantation. Methods Among 14 included patients (62.8 ± 9.0 yrs, IMC 22.0 ± 3.5 kg.m-2), 4 already underwent 3 time points deCT with reconstruction of standard lung and perfusion images before and after bilateral treatment. Perfusion was analyzed objectively with measurements of iodine concentration (IC) for each lobe, and subjectively on the iodine maps. Results The table shows patients characteristics. We observed a reduction of perfusion in the immediate proximity of the coils but a stability for the treated lobes (IC from 8.6 ± 2.9 ug.cm-3 to 8.8 ± 3.3). Whereas and interestingly, a clear trend toward increased perfusion was noted (IC from 11.0 ± 3.7 to 13.5 ± 7.6) in the non treated lobes (figure). Conclusion ELVR by coils insertion seems to increase perfusion in the adjacent non-treated lobes, suggesting improved ventilation/perfusion relationship.


Online advertising allows advertisers to implement fine-tuned targeting of users. While such precise targeting leads to more effective advertising,  it introduces challenging multidimensional pricing and bidding problems for publishers and advertisers. In this context, advertisers and publishers need to deal with an exponential number of possibilities. As a result, designing efficient and compact multidimensional bidding and pricing systems and algorithms are practically important for online advertisement.  Compact bidding languages have already been studied in the context of multiplicative bidding.  In this paper, we study the compact pricing problem.


Users of digital self-tracking devices increasingly benefit from multiple services related to their selftracking data. Simultaneously, service providers are dependent from these data to offer such services. Thereby, the willingness of users to provide such personal data heavily depends on benefits and risks associated with the disclosure. In this regard, the aim of our research is to investigate the factors influencing the willingness to disclose personal self-tracking data to service providers. So far, IS research has largely focused on private information disclosure in social media and little in the health and behavior context. To advance research in this area, we develop a conceptual model based on the privacy calculus by building on established information disclosure and privacy theories. With our research, we aim at contributing to both a better theoretical understanding in the fields of privacy and information disclosure and giving practical implications for service provider.


We report a systematic multi-wavelength investigation of environments of the brightest cluster galaxies (BCGs), using the X-ray data from the Chandra archive, and optical images taken with 34'x 27' field-of-view Subaru Suprime-Cam. Our goal is to help understand the relationship between the BCGs and their host clusters, and between the BCGs and other galaxies, to eventually address a question of the formation and co-evolution of BCGs and the clusters.
Our results include: 1) Morphological variety of BCGs, or the second or the third brightest galaxy (BCG2, BCG3), is comparable to that of other bright red sequence galaxies, suggesting that we have a continuous variation of morphology between BCGs, BCG2, and BCG3, rather than a sharp separation between the BCG and the rest of the bright galaxies. 2) The offset of the BCG position relative to the cluster centre is correlated to the degree of concentration of cluster X-ray morphology (Spearman rho = -0.79), consistent with an interpretation that BCGs tend to be off-centered inside dynamically unsettled clusters. 3) Morphologically disturbed clusters tend to harbour the brighter BCGs, implying that the "early collapse" may not be the only major mechanism to control the BCG formation and evolution.


In his 1992 book Rebellious Lawyering: One Chicano's Vision of Progressive Law Practice, Gerald Lopez disrupted the conventional understandings of what it meant to be an effective poverty lawyer or public interest attorney. His critiques and prescriptions were aimed at litigators and lawyers similarly engaged in struggles for social change. His book did not address the role of progressive transactional lawyers. Today, transactional lawyers working in underserved communities are far more common. This Essay seeks to apply Lopez's critiques to the work of those practitioners. I argue here that transactional legal services, or TLS, on behalf of subordinated clients achieves many of the aims of the Rebellious Lawyering project. I separate TLS on behalf of individual entrepreneurs from a more collective TLS on behalf of community or worker groups. For practitioners working with entrepreneurs, the Essay observes that client power, control, and autonomy are more readily achieved, albeit through what Lopez might describe as quite regnant practices. Those practices, I argue, are fully justified in this context. What TLS for entrepreneurs does not accomplish, though, is community mobilization, a downside that is regrettable but not a reason to eschew that kind of work. Collective TLS provides all of the upsides of entrepreneurial TLS while not sacrificing mobilization goals. That version of TLS, though, does present two of its own challenges, one triggered by the complexity and sophistication of the legal issues involved in may community economic development projects, and the second resulting from the nature of group representation.


Abstract The impact of human activity on the acoustic environment is overwhelming, with anthropogenic noise reaching even remote areas of the planet. The World Health Organization has identified noise pollution as one of the leading environmental health risks in humans, and it has been linked to a myriad of short- and long-term health effects in exposed individuals. However, less is known about the health effects of anthropogenic noise exposure on animals. We investigated long- and short-term effects of traffic noise on zebra finches breeding in small communal aviaries, using a repeated measures design. Birds bred in both noise and no-noise conditions, and we measured baseline plasma glucocorticoid levels before, during and after breeding. In addition, we assayed immune function, measured reproductive success and offspring growth and compared rates of extra-pair paternity of breeding adults. Breeding birds had significantly lower baseline plasma corticosterone levels when exposed to traffic noise than when they were not exposed to noise playback. In addition, the nestlings reared during noise exposure were lighter than nestlings of the same parents when breeding in control conditions. Our results suggest that traffic noise poses a more severe hurdle to birds at more vulnerable stages of their life history, such as during reproductive events and ontogeny. While chronic exposure to traffic noise in our birds did not, by itself, prove to be a sufficient stressor to cause acute effects on health or reproductive success in exposed individuals, it did result in disruptions to normal glucocorticoid profiles and delayed offspring growth. However, animals living in urban habitats are exposed to a multitude of anthropogenic disturbances, and it is likely that even species that appear to be thriving in noisy environments may suffer cumulative effects of these multiple disturbances that may together impact their fitness in urban environments.


The article considers the professional "burnout" from the standpoint of "emotional exhaustion", "depersonalization" and "reduction." The study of sociability performed by the system-functional approach of A.I. Krupnov, in which sociability is understood as a system of stable instrumental-style and motivational-semantic characteristics that provide the state of readiness and desire of the subject to interpersonal interaction. As a result of empirical research, it was revealed that medical staff (nurses), regardless of professional experience, are less susceptible to emotional "burnout" with an egocentric orientation of sociability. The specificity of the relationship between sociability and indicators of professional "burnout" among specialists with less work experience is manifested in the absence of significant associations of sociability variables with depersonalization . The specifics of the links of the interns are expressed in the relationship of social orientation and personal difficulties of sociability with the subjective perception of their professionalism, as well as in a larger number of connections of variables of sociability, instrumental-dynamic subsystem, increasing the risk of emotional exhaustion in professional activity.


Pharmaceutical glycoproteins are one of the fastest growing therapeutic areas
and glycosylation plays an important role in biological activity of the drugs. Most
of the currently used therapeutic glycoproteins are expressed in non-human
systems, often producing glycosylation patterns which can reduce the
effectiveness and stability of the drugs or cause immune responses in patients.
Due to the structural complexity of glycans, glycosylation analysis remains
extremely challenging and frequently employs multiple separation and mass
spectrometry based approaches. The standard approach for glycan profiling
currently used in the pharmaceutical industry includes fluorescent labelling of
enzymatically-released glycans and separation with hydrophilic interaction
liquid chromatography (HILIC) coupled with fluorescence detection to achieve
appropriate chromatographic resolution, sensitivity and relative quantification.
In this study, new methods employing zwitterionic-type HILIC (ZIC-HILIC) for
the separation of 2-aminobenzamide (2-AB) labelled and reduced glycans from
therapeutic monoclonal antibodies were developed. By using the new approach,
the time of a chromatographic run was reduced compared to the standard
method and the new proposed methods were suitable for on-line coupling with
electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry detection (ESI-MS). Furthermore, it
was demonstrated that by using ZIC-HILIC, fluorescent labelling was not
required which significantly simplified the sample preparation.
To improve ESI-MS sensitivity of reduced glycans, the system was further
downscaled employing nano ZIC-HILIC, which enabled the detection of minor
glycan species. It was shown that coupling with high resolution MS provides
information on glycan composition; however, due to high numbers of possible
isobaric species, the confirmation of structures generally requires separation of
glycans in combination with exoglycosidase digestions and tandem MS based
approaches.The HILIC analytical approaches were additionally compared to an orthogonal
porous graphitized carbon (PGC) separation of reduced glycans coupled with
ESI-MS. PGC exhibited excellent capability for the separation of isobaric glycan
species and better sensitivity compared to HILIC. It was demonstrated that PGC
is highly suitable for analysis of extremely complex glycan samples and the
method was employed for structural characterisation of glycan species found in
monoclonal antibodies. Since the PGC ESI-MS method resulted mainly in
formation of protonated glycan species, the MS/MS spectra provided only
limited structural information. On the other hand, exoglycosidase digestions
enabled detailed characterisation of glycans from monoclonal antibodies. It was
shown that multiple analytical approaches are generally required to obtain a
complete glycan profile of a given glycoprotein.


Measurements of the muon charge asymmetry in inclusive pp to WX production at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV are presented. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 4.7 inverse femtobarns recorded with the CMS detector at the LHC. With a sample of more than twenty million W to mu nu events, the statistical precision is greatly improved in comparison to previous measurements. These new results provide additional constraints on the parton distribution functions of the proton in the range of the Bjorken scaling variable x from 10E-3 to 10E-1. These measurements and the recent CMS measurement of associated W + charm production are used together with the cross sections for inclusive deep inelastic ep scattering at HERA in a next-to-leading-order QCD analysis. The determination of the valence quark distributions is improved, and the strange-quark distribution is probed directly through the leading-order process g + s to W + c in proton-proton collisions at the LHC.


Tuning of effective band gaps at insulator surfaces by adsorbed molecules is of fundamental interest but also technologically relevant for contact charging induced by adsorbed molecules like hydroxybenzoic acids. Our studies by density functional theory of the adsorption of benzoic acid (BA), salicylic acid (SA), and para-salicylic acid (p-SA) on perfect KCl and NaCl(100) surfaces as well as on polar and nonpolar step edges reveal the importance of polar defects in this context. We also found that the van der Waals dispersion contributes to about half of the adsorption energy in most cases. Therefore, the van der Waals interaction must be explicitly taken into account even for the interaction between molecules and wide band gap insulator surfaces, respective of the adsorption on flat or stepped surfaces. On the other hand, the adsorption geometry is still determined by short-range forces, that is, by the weak chemical bonds and electrostatic interactions. These short-range interactions are mostly mediated by resonant coupling between HOMO-1 and HOMO-2 molecular states and the valence band of the solid, which results in very similar adsorption energies of these molecules on the KCl and NaCl surfaces. The interaction strength is significantly modified only at defects with large dipole moments (e.g., pairs of polar steps) resulting in split-off edge states below the valence band. Resonant coupling to these states leads to an almost rigid down-shift of all molecular orbitals that efficiently reduces the effective band gap at the Surface. As a result, an effective band gap of 0.9 eV has been achieved oil the polar KCl [011] stepped Surface thanks to the relatively small HOMO-LUMO gap of SA.


Dementia commonly leads to difficulties in performing daily activities, which can also often affect the ability to prepare and eat meals. As a result, formal support to maintain good nutritional intake might be needed, but there is a lack of knowledge concerning how to support older persons with dementia living at home. The aim of this study was to explore and describe staff views on how to improve mealtimes for persons with dementia who are still living at home. A qualitative descriptive study was performed and data were collected during 2011–2012 through four focus group interviews with staff working in the homes of persons with dementia. Data were analyzed using inductive content analysis. The participants described several ways to improve mealtimes for persons with dementia and advocated adjustments facilitating the preservation of the persons' independence. Finding suitable actions calls for knowledge about the person and his/her individual situation. Proposed actions were enabling meals at home, taking over, and moving meals outside of the home. In addition, it was found that, the types of meals served to these persons should be as familiar to the individual as possible. The results of this study indicate the importance of using a person-centered approach and meeting the individual needs when supporting people with dementia in regards to their meals when living at home. Individualized care in the home may be expensive, however, it is fair to say that people who become malnourished and admitted to hospitals is even more costly. Furthermore, sharing and reflecting experiences and knowledge can assist staff to identify ways to manage complex situations. Therefore, the use of refection should be a part of staff members' everyday work.


The hatchdate frequency distributions (HFD) of pollock and haddock larvae sampled at monthly intervals west of Sable Island (Scotian Shelf, northwest Atlantic) in 1992 and 1993 were reconstructed for different age intervals (0-20, 21-40, 41-80 d) and corrected for aliasing due to sampling discontinuity and mortality-dispersion. The ratio of the HFD at a given age to the HFD at an earlier age was used as an index of the relative survival of larvae grouped into 5 d hatchdate cohorts. Pollock hatched from November to March and haddock from February to June. In pollock, seasonal variations in relative survival of the cohorts over the 21-40 and 41-80 d age intervals were correlated to Sorong vanations in growth. In haddock, growth varied little over the hatching season and there was no significant link with survival. For pollock, slow growth invariably resulted in low survival but fast growth resulted in either low or high survival, indicating that fast growth is a necessary but not sufficient condition for survival. Increased predation pressure late in the hatching season of both species Could explain the decoupling of growth and survival in cohorts hatched in spring and early summer.


Debit cards have become an indispensable part of the U.S. payments system, accounting for more than a third of consumer payments at point of sale. With this development has come controversy: Card networks charge merchants fees that merchants believe are too high. And most of the fees are ad valorem that is, based on transaction value rather than fixed fees per transaction. ; Given that debit cards incur a fixed cost per transaction, why do networks charge ad valorem fees? How do ad valorem fees affect payment market participants, including consumers, merchants, and card networks? And should policymakers consider regulating debit cards by requiring fixed per-transaction fees? ; Wang explores this controversy about debit card fee structures. His analysis shows that, when card networks and merchants both have market power, card networks earn a higher profit by charging ad valorem fees than fixed per-transaction fees. At the same time, merchant profits are reduced yet both consumer surplus and social welfare are increased. As an alternative, policymakers might consider regulating the debit fee structure simply by requiring fixed per-transaction fees (but allowing card networks to freely set the fee levels). Wang suggests, however, that this alternative may increase merchant profits at the expense of card networks, consumers, and social welfare. Therefore, caution should be taken when policymakers consider intervening in the debit card market.


One important aspect of climate change is the increase in average temperature, which will not only have direct physiological effects on all species but also indirectly modifies abundances, interaction strengths, food-web topologies, community stability and functioning. In this theme issue, we highlight a novel pathway through which warming indirectly affects ecological communities: by changing their size structure (i.e. the body-size distributions). Warming can shift these distributions towards dominance of small- over large-bodied species. The conceptual, theoretical and empirical research described in this issue, in sum, suggests that effects of temperature may be dominated by changes in size structure, with relatively weak direct effects. For example, temperature effects via size structure have implications for top-down and bottom-up control in ecosystems and may ultimately yield novel communities. Moreover, scaling up effects of temperature and body size from physiology to the levels of populations, communities and ecosystems may provide a crucially important mechanistic approach for forecasting future consequences of global warming.


Communicating climate risks is crucial when engaging the public to support climate action planning and addressing climate justice. How does evidence-based communication influence local residents' risk perception and potential behavior change in support of climate planning? Built upon our previous study of Climate Justice maps illustrating high scores of both social and ecological vulnerability in Michigan's Huron River watershed, USA, a quasi-experiment was conducted to examine the effects of Climate Justice mapping intervention on residents' perceptions and preparedness for climate change associated hazards in Michigan. Two groups were compared: residents in Climate Justice areas with high social and ecological vulnerability scores in the watershed (n=76) and residents in comparison areas in Michigan (n=69). Measurements for risk perception include perceived exposure, sensitivity, and adaptability to hazards. Results indicate that risk information has a significant effect on perceived sensitivity and level of preparedness for future climate extremes among participants living in Climate Justice areas. Findings highlight the value of integrating scientific risk assessment information in risk communication to align calculated and perceived risks. This study suggests effective risk communication can influence local support of climate action plans and implementation of strategies that address climate justice and achieve social sustainability in local communities.


While Australia's immigration deterrence policies, such as the temporary protection visa (TPV), mandatory detention system and 'Pacific Solution' have been criticised on ethical and legal grounds, the core justification for these policies has remained largely untouched. This article challenges the key justification behind many of Australia's immigration policies — that they 'send a strong message' to potential irregular migrants and people smugglers. Drawing on a communication studies perspective and cultural studies audience research, the study outlined in this article demonstrates that these policies are based on a flawed and outdated view of the communication process and a simplistic understanding of refugee audiences. The article reveals that, like all audiences, refugee audiences are diverse, unpredictable and capable of producing a variety of interpretations of the messages they receive. This article calls for a recognition that the transmission and reception of Australia's deterrence 'messages' are far from straightforward.


Abstract. A new chemical scheme is developed for the multiphase photochemical box model SEAMAC (size-SEgregated Aerosol model for Marine Air Chemistry) to investigate photochemical interactions between volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and reactive halogen species in the marine boundary layer (MBL). Based primarily on critically evaluated kinetic and photochemical rate parameters as well as a protocol for chemical mechanism development, the new scheme has achieved a near-explicit description of oxidative degradation of up to C3-hydrocarbons (CH4, C2H6, C3H8, C2H4, C3H6, and C2H2) initiated by reactions with OH radicals, Cl- and Br-atoms, and O3. Rate constants and product yields for reactions involving halogen species are taken from the literature where available, but the majority of them need to be estimated. In particular, addition reactions of halogen atoms with alkenes will result in forming halogenated organic intermediates, whose photochemical loss rates are carefully evaluated in the present work. Model calculations with the new chemical scheme reveal that the oceanic emissions of acetaldehyde (CH3CHO) and alkenes (especially C3H6) are important factors for regulating reactive halogen chemistry in the MBL by promoting the conversion of Br atoms into HBr or more stable brominated intermediates in the organic form. The latter include brominated hydroperoxides, bromoacetaldehyde, and bromoacetone, which sequester bromine from a reactive inorganic pool. The total mixing ratio of brominated organic species thus produced is likely to reach 10-20% or more of that of inorganic gaseous bromine species over wide regions over the ocean. The reaction between Br atoms and C2H2 is shown to be unimportant for determining the degree of bromine activation in the remote MBL. These results imply that reactive halogen chemistry can mediate a link between the oceanic emissions of VOCs and the behaviors of compounds that are sensitive to halogen chemistry such as dimethyl sulfide, NOx, and O3 in the MBL.


This presentation will consider the application of international investment law to investments located in disputed maritime zones based on a case study of the Falkland Islands (Malvinas). In this hypothetical scenario, a foreign company has obtained a license from either the UK or Argentina to explore and/or exploit hydrocarbons in the maritime zones surrounding the contested islands. In exploring this theme, the presenter will consider inter alia the territorial scope of bilateral investment treaties, state practice in relation to overseas territories and the procedure of investment tribunals. Bibliographical note: Marco Benatar is a Research Fellow at the Max Planck Institute Luxembourg for Procedural Law (Department of International Law and Dispute Resolution). He holds an MA from the Free University of Brussels (VUB) and an LL.M. from New York University. Currently he is completing his Ph.D. at the VUB on the topic of fact-finding in inter-state litigation. Marco has acted as assistant to counsel or advisor in cases before the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea and arbitral tribunals. He has also advised a government on the procedure of the International Court of Justice. Free entrance, no registration required.


Objectives: To evaluate the quality of life (QoL), psychiatric comorbidities in patients with rheumatic heart disease-mitral stenosis (RHD-MS), and the impact of balloon mitral valvotomy (BMV) on the QoL and psychiatric morbidity. Materials and Methods: Fifty consecutive patients of RHD-MS were evaluated for QoL and psychiatric morbidity prior to BMV and at 3 months after the procedure. Results: The mean age of the study sample was 34.9 years (standard deviation, 11.1 years). At baseline assessment, majority (94%) had New York Heart Association Class II/III symptoms and QoL scores below average, that is, 50. About two–fifth (19 out of 50) of the patients had one or more psychiatric comorbidity, that is, depression (32%), anxiety (16%), and somatoform disorder (12%). Those with psychiatric comorbidity had poor QoL scores in social, emotional, and mental subscales (P < 0.05) at the baseline. At 3-month follow-up, there were significant improvement in symptoms and transmitral pressure gradients (P < 0.05), QoL scores (P < 0.05), and psychiatric comorbidities (P < 0.05) after BMV. Improvements in QoL were irrespective of the baseline psychiatric comorbidity. Conclusions: High prevalence of psychiatric illness and poor QoL scores were observed in patients with RHD-MS. BMV significantly improves the QoL and psychiatric comorbidities.


Semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) are a promising building block of future spin-functional devices for applications in spintronics and quantum information processing. Essential to the realization of such devices is our ability to create a desired spin orientation of charge carriers (electrons and holes), typically via injection of spin polarized carriers from other parts of the QD structures. In this thesis, the optical orientation technique has been used to characterize spin generation, relaxation and detection in self-assembled single and multi-QD structures in the InAs/GaAs system prepared by modern molecular beam epitaxy technique. Optical generation of spin-oriented carriers in the wetting layer (WL) and GaAs barrier was carried out via circularly polarized excitation of uncorrelated electron-hole pairs from band-to-band transitions or via resonant excitation of correlated electron-hole pairs, i.e. excitons. It was shown that the generation and injection of uncorrelated electron-hole pairs is advantageous for spin-preserving injection into the QDs. The lower spin injection efficiency of excitons was attributed to an enhanced spin relaxation caused by the mutual electron-hole Coulomb exchange interaction. This correlation affects the spin injection efficiency up to elevated temperatures of around 150 K. Optical orientation at the energy of the WL light-hole (lh) exciton (XL) is accompanied by simultaneous excitation from the heavy-hole (hh) valence band at high ~k-vectors. Quantum interference of the two excitation pathways in the spectral vicinity of the XL energy resulted in occurrence of an asymmetric absorption peak, a Fano resonance. Complete quenching of spin generation efficiency at the resonance was observed and attributed to enhanced spin scattering between the hh and lh valence bands in conjunction with the Coulomb exchange interaction in the XL. This mechanism remains effective up to temperatures exceeding 100 K. In longitudinal magnetic fields up to 2 T, the spin detection efficiency in the QD ensemble was observed to increase by a factor of up to 2.5 in the investigated structures. This is due to the suppression of two spin depolarization mechanisms of the QD electron: the hyperfine interaction with the randomly oriented nuclear spins and the anisotropic exchange interaction with the hole. At higher magnetic fields, when these spin depolarization processes are quenched, only anisotropic QD structures (such as double QDs, aligned along a specific crystallographic axis) still exhibit a rather strong field dependence of the QD electron spin polarization under non-resonant excitation. Here, an increased spin relaxation in the spin injector, i.e. the WL or GaAs barrier, is suggested to lead to more efficient thermalization of the spins to the lower Zeeman-split spin state before capture to the QD. Finally, the influence of elevated temperatures on the spin properties of the QD structures was studied. The temperature dependence of dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) of the host lattice atoms in the QDs and its effect on the QD electron spin relaxation and dephasing were investigated for temperatures up to 85 K. An increase in DNP efficiency with temperature was found, accompanied by a decrease in the extent of spin dephasing. Both effects are attributed to an accelerating electron spin relaxation, suggested to be due to phonon-assisted electronnuclear spin flip-flops driven by the hyperfine interaction. At even higher temperatures, reaching up to room temperature, a surprising, sharp rise in the QD polarization degree has been found. Experiments in a transverse magnetic field showed a rather constant QD spin lifetime, which could be governed by the spin dephasing time T*2. The observed rising in QD spin polarization degree could be likely attributed to a combined effect of shortening of trion lifetime and increasing spin injection efficiency from the WL. The latter may be caused by thermal activation of non-radiative carrier relaxation channels.


There is no doubt that innovations represented key source of competitive advantage in the last years. Therefore, firms were forced to come up with new or significantly improved goods, services as well as organizational and marketing practices. However, countries, firms and policy makers are facing great environmental challenges for sustainable development and entrepreneurship, which create large demand for Eco-innovations with environmental benefits nowadays. For these reasons, we are analyzing different factors influencing creation of firms´ Eco-innovations in the EU. To obtain an interpretable model of firms´ Eco-innovations and their determinants, we use fuzzy rule-based classification models and latest available data form Community Innovation Survey 2012-2014 created by Eurostat. Our results show that firms´ Eco-innovations are influenced by different factors according to the nature of innovation (product, process, organizational, marketing) in the EU. Public financial subsidies and firms´ environment (e.g. existing environmental regulations, taxes, charges or fees, market demand, and costs of inputs) play key role in the process of creation Eco-innovation with environmental benefits. These results show possible ways how support sustainable entrepreneurship and regional (national) development not only within analyzed countries. We provide initial analysis dealing with different kinds of Eco-innovations and its determinants that could help firms to develop and enhance their corporate innovation and environmental policies. These results could also inspire policy makers at different levels because we propose some practical implications. Keywords: eco-innovations, sustainable development, environmental benefits, entrepreneurship


In distributed data-parallel computing, a user program is compiled into an execution plan graph (EPG), typically a directed acyclic graph. This EPG is the core data structure used by modern distributed execution engines for task distribution, job management, and fault tolerance. Once submitted for execution, the EPG remains largely unchanged at runtime except for some limited modifications. This makes it difficult to employ dynamic optimization techniques that could substantially improve the distributed execution based on runtime information.
 This paper presents Optimus, a framework for dynamically rewriting an EPG at runtime. Optimus extends dynamic rewrite mechanisms present in systems such as Dryad and CIEL by integrating rewrite policy with a high-level data-parallel language, in this case DryadLINQ. This integration enables optimizations that require knowledge of the semantics of the computation, such as language customizations for domain-specific computations including matrix algebra. We describe the design and implementation of Optimus, outline its interfaces, and detail a number of rewriting techniques that address problems arising in distributed execution including data skew, dynamic data re-partitioning, handling unbounded iterative computations, and protecting important intermediate data for fault tolerance. We evaluate Optimus with real applications and data and show significant performance gains compared to manual optimization or customized systems. We demonstrate the versatility of dynamic EPG rewriting for data-parallel computing, and argue that it is an essential feature of any general-purpose distributed dataflow execution engine.


Over the last decade, an increasing number of businesses are undertaking initiatives to reduce their
environmental footprint and improve their 'green' credentials. As information technology (IT) has permeated
most, if not all, business processes and supply chains, it offers an important means to tackle the climate
problem. On the other hand, IT managers are pressed to reduce the total cost of IT operations and run energy
efficient IT shops. Greening IT has therefore become one of the latest considerations to improve a business'
environmental sustainability whilst reducing the cost of IT operations. A growing number of consulting reports
speculate the benefits of greening IT for both IT vendors and mainstream businesses that use IT. While the
opportunities and potentials of Green IT might be attractive, the extent of Green IT adoption and the actual
realization of the benefits that Green IT aficionados allude to remain unknown. Indeed, unless business
organisations incorporate Green IT into their operations, the potential benefits of Green IT remain potential
and not reality. Currently, there does not appear to be a model to systematically investigate Green IT adoption.
This paper proposes such a model called the Green IT Adoption Model (GITAM). The model defines Green IT
from four distinct but interrelated perspectives. It posits that the technological, organisational and
environmental contextual variables, dynamic Green IT readiness dimensions and strong order Green IT drivers
can predict the intention and the breadth and depth of Green IT adoption.