With the Cold War now an almost fond memory of a good cause won, democracy should be secure in the world. Almost no political ideology opposes it. Even states in what US President George Bush dubbed the "axis of evil" call themselves republics, leaving those few polities claiming to be emirates almost as quaint as the Hindu and Buddhist kingdoms of the Himalayas, if better endowed with money. Recent wars have been waged "out of respect for human rights" (as Vaclav Havel justified NATO'S attacks on Yugoslavia) and to liberate women from oppression (as Bush partially justified US attacks on Afghanistan). Protection of minorities is seen as so important that access to international organizations or to International Monetary Fund aid may be denied to countries that do not sufficiently safeguard human rights. Yet, events since the famous victory provide opportunities to confront basic issues of democracy, sovereignty, and political accountability as well as the relationships of governments and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to these issues. Furthermore, this new perspective allows a re-evaluation of perceptions of social events in which these issues have been confronted with some less than pleasant realities, such as in post-socialist Europe, for example. This article casts a skeptical eye on some of the common assumptions underlying these issues and questions what usually goes without saying because it is taken as self-evident. The basic arguments are that, first, far from weakening under globalization, major states are growing stronger. Second, NGOs tend to support strong states rather than "civil society" and also help officials avoid accountability for their actions. Furthermore, international insistence on multiculturalism may obstruct the development of democracy in weak states in the name of human rights, thus denying many peoples the right to live under governments that derive their power from the consent of the governed. Examples are drawn from the Balkans, useful because most US citizens regard interventions there as in the pursuit of democratic ideals. Yet arrogations of power are easiest when the cause is said to be justice. Privatized States, Statified NGOs In 1996, a dissident judge in Serbia argued that his country had suffered the worst possible transition from state socialism: the privatization of the state and the statification of the economy. He was certainly right for Serbia, and also for much of the rest of Eastern Europe. As Janine Wedel has shown in her work Collision and Collusion: The Strange Case of Western Aid to Eastern Europe, 1989-98, the "privatization" of much of Russia and Eastem Europe often meant the expropriation of massive resources by local state officials, sometimes supported by Western government-sponsored "advisors." Note that this was not a matter of globalization or the weakening of the state; the existence of state structures was the main precondition for the expropriation through privatization. At the same time that many states have been privatized in Eastern Europe, some traditionally non- or even anti-state actors in the United States and Western Europe have been co-opted by, or have themselves co-opted, other states--or both in some cases. This phenomenon is most apparent in the realm of human rights. Organizations founded to criticize states' use of force have become proponents of the massive application of force by stronger states against weaker ones, since that is what "humanitarian intervention" means, at least when coupled with the realist limitation that it should be done "where we can do it," meaning without suffering losses or risking retaliation. Some human rights organizations are both explicit and triumphant about their change of role from persuasion to prosecution. A 2000 Human Rights Watch (HRW) World Report explicitly describes this shift in strategy: "Until now . …


Through judicious molecular engineering, novel dopant-free star-shaped D–π–A type hole transporting materials coded KR355, KR321, and KR353 were systematically designed, synthesized and characterized. KR321 has been revealed to form a particular face-on organization on perovskite films favoring vertical charge carrier transport and for the first time, we show that this particular molecular stacking feature resulted in a power conversion efficiency over 19% in combination with mixed-perovskite (FAPbI3)0.85(MAPbBr3)0.15. The obtained 19% efficiency using a pristine hole transporting layer without any chemical additives or doping is the highest, establishing that the molecular engineering of a planar donor core, π-spacer and periphery acceptor leads to high mobility, and the design provides useful insight into the synthesis of next-generation HTMs for perovskite solar cells and optoelectronic applications.


This study explores the development of a mechanical based system to retrieve single-shell tank waste at the Hanford site, located in Richland, Washington, without the addition of water. Out of 177 tanks at Hanford, there are 149 single-shell tanks (SST) and 28 double-shell tanks (DST). There are currently 67 SSTs that have leaked radioactive waste to the surrounding groundwater in the past or assumed to have questionable tank integrity. Leaking tanks continue to be a major concern as it was recently announced in February 2013 that six SSTs are leaking, even though they were believed to have been stabilized back in 2005. There are also several tanks with significant in-tank obstructions, such as air-lift circulators, where an arm-based retrieval would not be possible.All current methods of waste retrieval deployed involve the addition of significant amounts of water to generate a slurry that can be pumped out of the tank. This water, however, can exacerbate the leak and risk the potential of leaking more waste into the surrounding soil, subsequently contaminating the groundwater. It also reduces available waste storage space in DSTs, and increases the risk of dangerous buoyant displacement gas release events (BDGRE) in the headspace of DSTs.Focusing on leaking tanks, tanks with significant in-tank obstructions, and utilizing existing risers in Hanford's tanks, this study evaluates commercially available dry technologies, such as augers and high-powered vacuums, for feasibility, safety, and efficiency of waste retrieval at Hanford.Copyright © 2013 by ASME


Transcription by RNA polymerase II requires the assembly of the general transcription factors at the promoter to form a pre-initiation complex. The general transcription factor TF (transcription factor) IIB plays a central role in the assembly of the pre-initiation complex, providing a bridge between promoter-bound TFIID and RNA polymerase II/TFIIF. We have characterized a series of TFIIB mutants in their ability to support transcription and recruit RNA polymerase II to the promoter. Our analyses identify several residues within the TFIIB zinc ribbon that are required for RNA polymerase II assembly. Using the structural models of TFIIB, we describe the interface between the TFIIB zinc ribbon region and RNA polymerase II.


This article analyses case law from the UK, New Zealand, and Canada relating to claims for recognition of refugee status presented by divorced Muslim women, revolving around the issue of child custody after divorce under conservative Islamic law, which deprives women of any meaningful relationship with their children. The negative attitude of the UK authorities is compared to the open and positive approach of decision makers in New Zealand and Canada. The use and interpretation of aspects of the refugee definition, such as persecution, particular social group and the standard of state protection, are analyzed in more detail. The article argues that, in order to adequately evaluate this type of claim, decision makers should take into account all aspects of a woman's experiences including the consequences of the decision on their children.


This study include the examination of 235 fecal samples 125 from domesticated ducks and 110 from domesticated geese from different localities in Nenevah governorate through the period from September 2009 to March, 2010 the Samples were stained by iodine stain and Giemsa stain and flotation method. The total percent of infection with Giardia cyst was 34.4%, 36.4% in duck and geese respectively. The study revealed presence of Giardia in diarrhetic and non diarrhetic fecal sample of ducks and geese. Higher rate was in diarrhetic ducks and geese of age less than 5 months 41.8%, 44.4% and this rate decreased with aging. The results showed the higher infection rate in rural area which was 38.5% in duck and 40.7% in geese compared to urban area 30%, 31.4% in ducks and geese respectively. Higher rate was recorded in December in ducks were 53.5% while the higher infection in March in geese were 44.4% and lowest rate of infection in September for both ducks and geese, this is the first study of Giardia spp, in ducks and geese in Nineveh governorate. Available online at http://www.vetmedmosul.org/ijvs


We experimentally demonstrate a bit-rate of 47.4 Gb/s over 100 m of perfluorinated multimode graded-index plastic optical fiber (GI-POF) by exploiting discrete multitone (DMT) modulation with rate-adaptive bit-loading. The maximum achieved aggregate bit rate is 51.8 Gb/s including DMT transmission overhead (cyclic prefix and preambles) and the standard of 7% of forward-error-correction (FEC) overhead. This is achieved over an intensity-modulated direct-detection (IM-DD) link using a directly-modulated DFB laser (1300-nm) and a multimode fiber-coupled photodetector with a large diameter of 25-¿m. The bandwidth requirement is only 12 GHz due to the use of spectral-efficient modulation formats of up to 64-QAM.


emile Durkheim's work has traditionally been viewed as a part of sociology removed from economics. Rectifying this perception, Durkheim and the Birth of Economic Sociology is the first book to provide an in-depth look at the contributions made to economic sociology by Durkheim and his followers. Philippe Steiner demonstrates the relevance of economic factors to sociology and shows how the Durkheimians inform today's economic systems. Steiner argues that there are two stages in Durkheim's approach to the economy--a sociological critique of political economy and a sociology of economic knowledge. In his early works, Durkheim critiques economists and their categories, and tries to analyze the division of labor from a social rather than economic perspective. From the mid-1890s onward, Durkheim's preoccupations shifted to questions of religion and the sociology of knowledge. Durkheim's disciples, such as Maurice Halbwachs and Francois Simiand, synthesized and elaborated on Durkheim's first-stage arguments, while his ideas on religion and the economy were taken up by Marcel Mauss. Steiner indicates that the ways in which the Durkheimians rooted the sociology of economic knowledge in the educational system allows for an invaluable perspective on the role of economics in modern society, similar to the perspective offered by Max Weber's work. Recognizing the power of the Durkheimian approach, Durkheim and the Birth of Economic Sociology assesses the effect of this important thinker and his successors on one of the most active fields in contemporary sociology.


This paper presents a novel local submap joining algorithm for building large-scale feature-based maps: sparse local submap joining filter (SLSJF). The input to the filter is a sequence of local submaps. Each local submap is represented in a coordinate frame defined by the robot pose at which the map is initiated. The local submap state vector consists of the positions of all the local features and the final robot pose within the submap. The output of the filter is a global map containing the global positions of all the features as well as all the robot start/end poses of the local submaps. Use of an extended information filter (EIF) for fusing submaps makes the information matrix associated with SLSJF exactly sparse. The sparse structure together with a novel state vector and covariance submatrix recovery technique makes the SLSJF computationally very efficient. The SLSJF is a canonical and efficient submap joining solution for large-scale simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) problems that makes use of consistent local submaps generated by any reliable SLAM algorithm. The effectiveness and efficiency of the new algorithm is verified through computer simulations and experiments.


Democracy is a deeply contested concept: historically, complex debates have revolved around the meaning of democracy and the plausibility of differen However post-Cold War democracy promotion debate as the attention of democracy promotion actors and scholars has turned to fine-tuning of policies through which a liberal democratic model can be successfully encouraged. It is argued here that the focus on the extension of the reach of the liberal democratic mode of governance has resulted in a conceptually impoverished appreciation of the multiple meanings that the idea of democracy can take. This article suggests that democracy promotion scholars and practitioners do not adequately acknowledge or tackle the notion that democracy is an essentially contested concept. This has important for their ability to take into account the consequences that considering alternative (nonor extra-liberal) models of democracy might have for democracy promotion. To move the debate forward, I explore here what serious engagement with the essential contestability of 1 The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Research Council under the European Community's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) ERC grant agreement n° 202 596. The author is the principal investigator of the 2012). All views remain those of the author. ii democracy might mean for democracy promotion. I argue that it entails a two-fold move: of the conceptions of democracy that democracy promoters work with. The latter part of the article examines in detail the reasons that might exist for considering such a move as part of the efforts to reformulate democracy promotion policies, as well as the potential dangers that might be involved. Despite the fact that important difficulties are entailed by the extension of the to be considered in democracy promotion, it is argued that important political, normative and practical reasons exist for a reconsideration of the conceptual basis of democracy promotion in the post-Bush era. K ey words: conceptual inquiry, essential contestability, theoretical pluralism, models of democracy, democratic theory, democracy promotion


Objective: Analysis of the cost implications and reasons for nonuse of cochlear implants in an established cochlear implant unit. Study Design: Clinical data were analyzed retrospectively to construct a table of cochlear implant use over time to identify nonuse and to suggest the reasons for this. Setting: Yorkshire Cochlear Implant Service is a tertiary referral center. Patients: Three hundred forty consecutively implanted patients from 1990 to 2005. Main Outcome Measures: Life table analysis showed that most children used their implant (p = 0.7 during 11 yr). However, 11 of 155 children and 2 of 185 adults became nonusers during the period of study. The 11 children stopped because of age at implant, educational placement, and family support. Two adults stopped because of psychological issues and inability to adapt to the signal. Surgical and implant costs have initial impact, with subsequent years' costs reflecting programming issues and maintenance. When considering nonuse, there are 2 effects: first, no more costs are incurred, and second, no more years of use are accumulated. Thus, nonuse reduces both costs and years. Costs of gaining a year of use as a function of time showed that there was little financial impact from the 11 children nonusers. As a ratio of "no nonuse" and observed "nonuse" in children, the ratio is 1.07 by 13 years of implantation (7%). The adult group was too few to analyze. Conclusion: The nonuse added 7% to the average cost. Retrospective audit identifies that patient selection by a multidisciplinary team is crucial to reducing nonuse.


Recent archaeological excavations in the People's Republic of China have brought to light a wealth of early textiles, many in remarkably good condition, causing scholars to reassess the history of Chinese textile technology and design. Some of the most important of these designs are illustrated in this volume in which the author discusses all the significant archaeogical material and uses it to explain the development of spinning, weaving, printing, dyeing and embroidery in China. The majority of the pieces illustrated are of silk, and Professor Gao traces the history of sericulture back to the neolithic era, assessing the importance of Chinese textile technology within the context of the history of fabrics in the rest of the world. The author provides a detailed history of technological developments associated with the production of cloth and clothing. The author also makes full use of ancient Chinese texts in his discussion of the social and political significance of coloured and decorated fabrics throughout Chinese history.


During the last several years, the mechanism of IFN gamma-dependent signal transduction has been the focus of intense investigation. This research has recently culminated in the elucidation of a comprehensive molecular understanding of the events that underlie IFN gamma-induced cellular responses. The structure and function of the IFN gamma receptor have been defined. The mechanism of IFN gamma signal transduction has been largely elucidated, and the physiologic relevance of this process validated. Most recently, the molecular events that link receptor ligation to signal transduction have been established. Together these insights have produced a model of IFN gamma signaling that is nearly complete and that serves as a paradigm for signaling by other members of the cytokine receptor superfamily.


The astonishing tale of the first sea voyage to circumnavigate the entire globe. Magellan's dramatic maritime expedition in 1519 discovered the straits that enabled Europe to trade with the Eastern spice islands and changed the course of history. In an era of intense commercial rivalry between Spain and Portugal, Ferdinand Magellan, a Portuguese navigator sailed to explore the undiscovered parts of the world and claim them for the Spanish crown in one of the largest and best-equipped expeditions ever mounted in the Age of Discovery. Yet of the fleet of five vessels under his command, only Victoria was to return to Spain after three harrowing years, her captain murdered, more than two hundred of her sailors dead from scurvy, torture, execution and drowning, and a small, ravaged crew that survived to tell the extraordinarily dramatic story. What emerged was a tale of mutiny, of orgies on distant shores, of claims of cannibalism, of death and disease, of missionary zeal and base cruelty, and of incredible discoveries: the earth was indeed round, the Americas were not part of India, the earth was covered mainly by oceans, and a new route that allowed Europe access to the fantastic wealth of the Eastern spice islands. Indeed, despite the devastating loss of life and vessels, the Victoria sailed back laden with enough cloves and other spices for the expedition to be considered a remarkable financial success. Accomplished despite the fact that European mariners were exploring a world that was unmapped and misunderstood, where superstition held sway and there were real fears that you could literally sail over the edge of the world, that sea monsters lurked in the briny depths, or that if you passed the equator, the ocean would boil and scald you to death, this was a truly spectacular achievement. The shockingly explicit diaries of Antonio Pigafetta reveal much of the story. This is a many-layered book - a voyage into history, a tour of the world as it was emerging from the Middle Ages into the Renaissance, an anthropological account of exotic tribes and a chronicle of a desperate grab for political and commercial power. It is also a gripping adventure story, compelling and full of suspense and drama.


The electrophysiological hallmark of cells and tissues isolated from failing hearts is prolongation of action potential duration (APD) and conduction slowing. In human studies and a number of animal models of heart failure, functional downregulation of K+ currents and alterations in depolarizing Na+ and Ca2+ currents and transporters are demonstrated. Alterations in intercellular ion channels and matrix contribute to heterogeneity of APD and conduction slowing. The changes in cellular and tissue function are regionally heterogenous particularly in the heart failure with dyssynchronous LV contraction (DHF). Furthermore, β-adrenergic signaling and modulation of ionic currents is blunted in heart failure. Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) partially reversed the DHF-induced downregulation of K+ current and improved Na+ channel gating. CRT significantly improved Ca2+ homeostasis especially in myocytes from late-activated, lateral wall, and restores the DHF-induced blunted β-adrenergic receptor responsiveness. CRT abbreviated DHF-induced prolongation of APD in the lateral wall myocytes and reduced the LV regional gradient of APD, and suppressed development of early afterdepolarizations. In conclusion, CRT partially restores the DHF-induced ion channel remodeling, abnormal Ca2+ homeostasis, blunted β-adrenergic response and regional heterogeneity of APD, thus may suppress ventricular arrhythmias and contribute to the mortality benefit of CRT as well as improve mechanical performance of the heart.


SUMMARY: The seismic vulnerability of churches, even for events of low intensity, is often conditioned by the response of individual structural elements. The elements placed in the top of the structure such as domes, lanterns, tiburios, etc.. are particularly vulnerable. The mechanism is well known among the possible damages caused by a seismic event, and it is included in the list of structural vulnerabilities of the churches. Recent examples of the mechanism and its devastating effects on the building are visible in all the major earthquakes: L'Aquila (Santa Maria del Suffragio Church); Haiti (Presidential Palace); Christchurch (Historical Building). A new solution using new technologies (isolators and dampers) for seismic improvement of buildings is proposed in this paper. Using this technologies the dome is changed into a Tuned Mass Damper (TMD). The proposed solution is investigated with regard to the seismic improvement project of the 16th century church of San Nicolo in Carpi, Italy.


Many of the world's most popular websites catalyze their growth through invitations from existing members. New members can then in turn issue invitations, and so on, creating cascades of member signups that can spread on a global scale. Although these diffusive invitation processes are critical to the popularity and growth of many websites, they have rarely been studied, and their properties remain elusive. For instance, it is not known how viral these cascades structures are, how cascades grow over time, or how diffusive growth affects the resulting distribution of member characteristics present on the site. In this paper, we study the diffusion of LinkedIn, an online professional network comprising over 332 million members, a large fraction of whom joined the site as part of a signup cascade. First we analyze the structural patterns of these signup cascades, and find them to be qualitatively different from previously studied information diffusion cascades. We also examine how signup cascades grow over time, and observe that diffusion via invitations on LinkedIn occurs over much longer timescales than are typically associated with other types of online diffusion. Finally, we connect the cascade structures with rich individual-level attribute data to investigate the interplay between the two. Using novel techniques to study the role of homophily in diffusion, we find striking differences between the local, edge-wise homophily and the global, cascade-level homophily we observe in our data, suggesting that signup cascades form surprisingly coherent groups of members.


Narratives of violent crime are ubiquitous within news media, where serial murder and other violent crimes serve to tantalize readers' attention as a form of entertainment (Reiner, 2007; Wiest, 2016). Chibnall's (1977) seminal imperatives of newsworthiness were employed to critically analyse journalistic narratives of the whole life tariff within two case studies of murder. Sixteen articles were analysed using Critical Discourse Analysis as a methodology, assessing gender and social inequality, journalistic style and news ideology, based upon social constructivist notions that discourse is constitutive in creating and sustaining social realities (Burman and Parker, 1993; Wood and Kroger, 2000). The discussion of these ideas is embedded within the analysis. The results suggest fundamental differences in the portrayal of female and male criminals, and their victims alike. Furthermore, as Muchado and Santos (2009) suggest, inherent variance exists within newspaper 'quality' portrayals.


Co based superalloy Mar M 509 having excellent high temperature oxidation and hot corrosion resistance is studied via the laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) process. The microstructure and mechanical properties of Mar M 509 in the as-printed (AsP) and heat-treated (HT) condition are compared, as a function of two build orientations (longitudinal (L) and transverse (T)), to establish a working range for application of the alloy. The AsP condition has a distinct cellular microstructure (500–600 nm) with 50–60 nm carbide particles decorating the cell boundaries. The L build orientation displays a strong <001> texture, has columnar grains with a grain size of 8–35 μm (along major axis) and a grain aspect ratio of 4, while the T orientation displays a more equiaxed, but bi-modal microstructure with a grain size of 5–28 μm. The room temperature mechanical properties show variability between L and T with T having 15% higher hardness and 34% higher 0.2% yield strength (YS), 30% lower elongation than L. After a short cycle heat treatment at 1250°C, the weld bead structure and cellular boundaries are broken down and there is substantial grain growth in both L (25–33 μm along major axis) and T orientations (5–42 μm), along with coarsening of carbides (250–350 nm). The dislocation density reduces substantially, indicating recrystallisation, and the lattice parameter of the matrix drops significantly, suggesting solute depletion that contributes to precipitate growth and enrichment of the carbides. There is a drop in the yield strength from 860 MPa to 740 MPa in L and from 1150 MPa to 840MPa in T and an increase in ductility from 14% to 23% in L.


The OECD is a unique forum where the governments of 30 democracies work together to address the economic, social and environmental challenges of globalisation. The OECD is also at the forefront of efforts to understand and to help governments respond to new developments and concerns, such as corporate governance, the information economy and the challenges of an ageing population. The Organisation provides a setting where governments can compare policy experiences, seek answers to common problems, identify good practice and work to coordinate domestic and international policies. OECD Publishing disseminates widely the results of the Organisation's statistics gathering and research on economic, social and environmental issues, as well as the conventions, guidelines and standards agreed by its members. This work is published on the responsibility of the Secretary-General of the OECD. The opinions expressed and arguments employed herein do not necessarily reflect the official views of the Organisation or of the governments of its member countries.


OSPF is a link-state intra-domain routing protocol used in IP
networks. Routers find new and detect unreachable neighbors via the
Hello subprotocol. Hello OSPF packets are also used to ensure two-way
connectivity within time. When a router restarts its OSPF software, it
may not know its neighbors. If such a router sends a Hello packet on
an interface, its neighbors are going to reset the adjacency, which
may not be desirable in certain conditions. This memo describes a
vendor-specific mechanism that allows OSPF routers to inform their
neighbors about the restart process. Note that this mechanism requires
support from neighboring routers. The mechanism described in this
document was proposed before Graceful OSPF Restart, as described in
RFC 3623, came into existence. It is implemented/supported by at least
one major vendor and is currently deployed in the field. The purpose
of this document is to capture the details of this mechanism for
public use. This mechanism is not an IETF standard. This memo provides
information for the Internet community.


Abstract Raman spectra of Fe2O3 were measured to 62 GPa in a diamond anvil cell. All group theoretically predicted Raman-active phonon modes were detected to 54 GPa. In addition, some high-pressure spectra show an IR-active Eu mode (~660 cm-1), possibly induced by surface defects or stress. This mode is related by a factor of two to a mode at 1320 cm-1. The assignment of the 1320 cm-1 mode has been controversial (two-magnon scattering or two-phonon scattering), and our observation supports the phonon assignment. All Raman-active phonons show nonlinear pressure-induced shifts. The mode Grüneisen parameters and their logarithmic volume dependences for two low-frequency phonons, A1g and Eg, become negative and infinite, respectively, near 50 GPa as a result of the instability of the corundum structure at this pressure. Using the observed Raman-active phonons together with acoustic phonons previously measured by ultrasonics, and Kieffer's model, we calculate the phonon contribution to the thermodynamic parameters of hematite. Comparison with experimentally measured values allows an estimation of an upper bound to the magnon contribution to the heat capacity at ambient pressure. This increases continuously above the Morin temperature and reaches a maximum at the Néel temperature (~37%). The Raman spectra change dramatically at pressures greater than 54 GPa as indicated by the appearance of new peaks and a significant increase in background. Although direct structural analysis is not possible due to the low signal-to-background ratio and the lack of polarization information, we were able to examine the consistency of our Raman observation with the corundum-to-perovskite phase transformation using the results for an analog system: MgSiO3 ilmenite (ordered corundum type) and perovskite. This analysis shows that observed new features in Fe2O3 Raman spectra may not be consistent with the GdFeO3 perovskite structure.


Recent years have seen a resurgence of interest in ethics, particularly in the approaches of deconstruction and hermeneutics. At the same time, questions of identity have risen to prominence in philosophy and beyond into cultural studies and literature. Strong Hermeneutics is a clear and accessible investigation of both the enlightenment and postmodern or 'weak' approaches to contemporary discussions of ethics. The weak view, which can be traced back to Nietzche and seen in the recent work of Rorty and Lyotard, is sceptical of any universal principles in ethics. The enlightenment view, starting with Kant and more recently seen in the work of Habermas, views identity as subject to universal but formal moral constraints, the renewing of which is the proper task of ethics. Nicholas Smith argues that neither of these views can provide a proper framework for ethics. He puts forward a third position - a strong hermeneutics - drawing on the work of Hans-Georg Gadamer, Paul Ricoeur and Charles Taylor. Strong Hermeneutics presents a defence of this view, compares it with the realism and anti-realism debate in philosophy, and demonstrates its relevance to contemporary issues, particularly ecological responsibility.


In the course of evaluating the patient with spinal disease, a myriad of measurements need to be performed before determining the diagnosis and the severity of the disease process. This text explicitly outlines the measurement of the spine from a clinical, laboratory, and radiographic approach. A detailed description of the actual technique of measurement and the clinical implication are presented with accompanying illustrations. This amalgamation of measurement tools for the spine is a beneficial reference for a wide spectrum of healthcare providers: students, nurses, residents, fellows, and established surgeons. In addition to its detailed illustrated presentation, each measurement technique has been graded for scientific and clinical utility with a score that specifically grades: Interobserver reliability Intraobserver reliability Universality Disease specificity Ease of application Simplicity Patient tolerability Expense The detail presented in this text will not only serve as a reference, but will also allow the reader to accurately reproduce measurement techniques, thus enhancing inter-physician communication, research of the spine, and improvement of patient care.


The sulfide-rich Frasassi cave system hosts an aphotic, subsurface microbial ecosystem including extremely acidic (pH 0-1), viscous biofilms (snottites) hanging from the cave walls. We investigated the diversity and population structure of snottites from three locations in the cave system using full cycle rRNA methods and culturing. The snottites were composed primarily of bacteria related to Acidithiobacillus species. Other populations present in the snottites included Thermoplasmata group archaea, bacteria related to Sulfobacillus, Acidimicrobium, and the proposed bacterial lineage TM6, protists, and filamentous fungi. Based on fluorescence in situ hybridization population counts, Acidithiobacillus are key members of the snottite communities, accompanied in some cases by smaller numbers of archaea related to Ferroplasma and other Thermoplasmata. Diversity estimates show that the Frasassi snottites are among the lowest-diversity natural microbial communities known, with one to six prokaryotic phylotypes observed depending on the sample. This study represents the first in-depth molecular survey of cave snottite microbial diversity and population structure, and contributes to understanding of rapid limestone dissolution and cave formation by microbially mediated sulfuric acid speleogenesis.


ABSTRACT This article deconstructs United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Resolution 2094 through the preambulatory statements, objectives, obligations, and implementation and enforcement provisions of UNSC Resolution 2094. The article proceeds in three parts. First, it reviews the academic literature on UNSC sanctions and their application in the North Korean case. Second, it deconstructs UNSC Resolution 2094 according to the common structural components of international legal instruments to assess the level of congruence between the objectives of UNSC Resolution 2094, its enforcement mechanisms and outcomes. Third, it explores the weaknesses of UNSC Resolution 2094, focusing on the gap between the objectives and enforcement mechanisms found in the resolution. The inability of the UNSC sanctions regime to prevent North Korea reaching the cusp of becoming a nuclear weapons power is evidence of the international community's weak leverage over Pyongyang, a situation arising from the vulnerability of South Korea to a North Korean attack and the cross-cutting strategic priorities of China; the absence of economic linkages between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the primary sanctions-sender state in the USA; and North Korea's commitment to a nuclear weapons capability as the foundation of its medium-term economic development strategy, its institutional governance structure and associated ideological commitments.


The first aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and number of
thermophilic Campylobacter spp. (Campylobacter jejuni, Campylobacter coli and
Campylobacter fetus) in raw vegetables (ulam) at pre-harvest and retail level,
soil and animal manure in an organic and a traditional vegetable farm. The
biosafety of Campylobacter jejuni was assessed by phenotypic (antibiotic
resistance) and genotypic (presence of virulent and toxin genes) as well as
RAPD-PCR characteristics of the strains isolated from vegetables. A kitchen
simulation study was conducted to provide decontamination and crosscontamination
data and information for estimation of the risk of acquiring
campylobacteriosis from consumption of ulam using a step-wise risk
assessment. The prevalence of thermophilic Campylobacter spp. in 309 (number of
samples) raw vegetables purchased from two supermarkets and a wet
market was relatively high, 29% to 68%. Campylobacter jejuni (25.5% to 67.7%)
and C. coli (21.6% to 65.7%) were predominant species isolated; while C.
fetus was only detected in two samples (1.9%) from one of the supermarkets.
Only 18.3% of Campylobacter-MPN-PCR positive samples were recovered by
enumeration-plating method indicating that routine enumeration-plating
methods has very low recovery rate for Campylobacter spp. from vegetables.
The study was extended to investigate the level of contamination with
Campylobacter spp. in vegetables farms. A total of 172 samples of animal
manure (n=18), soil (n=60), irrigation water (n=45) and vegetables (n=49)
samples were collected from both an organic and a conventional vegetable
farm. The organic vegetable farm (20.5%) was found to have a higher
prevalence of Campylobacter spp. compared to the vegetable farm practicing
conventional farming (2%). The low contamination level in the conventional
farm was most probably due to the bed-burning practice and the use of
composted manure in the farm. Campylobacter coli was not detected in all the
samples from both farms. Soil (30.4%) and animal manure (57.1%) sampled from the organic vegetable farm were found to harbor Campylobacter spp.
and C. jejuni. However, none of the irrigation water samples examined from
both farms were positive for Campylobacter spp.
RAPD-PCR fingerprinting and antibiotic resistance profiling indicated that
multi-resistant Campylobacter spp. might be wide-spread in the study area.
Clustering of C. jejuni isolates based on RAPD-PCR profiles suggested that
some isolates from different sources and locations were genotypically
closely related. Clusters A2, A3, A5 and A6 comprised C. jejuni strains
isolated from raw vegetables in the supermarkets and a wet market. All
clusters including B1 and B3, which comprised strains only from
supermarkets, were actually consisted of isolates from different sources. The
isolates showed multi-resistance to as many as 10 antibiotics tested. All the
isolates were detected to carry the virulent genes, cadF, ceuE and flaA.
However, toxin genes detection indicated only 16.1% and 10.7% of the
isolates carry cdtB and cdtC toxin genes, respectively; while none of the
isolates carry cdtA gene.
The potential of raw salad vegetables as a vehicle in C. jejuni transmission
was demonstrated by a step-wise risk assessment. Based on the assumptions used in the step-wise risk assessment, the annual number of
cases of campylobacteriosis acquired from the consumption of ulam is
estimated to be 4992/100,000 of Malaysian population, assuming that 10% of
Campylobacter spp. infection translates into illness. However, the risk
estimate was predicted to reduce to 175/100,000 if an extra blanching step
was incorporated into the model. In conclusion, there is an immediate need
for further investigation to look into the wide-spread problem of
Campylobacter spp. in ready-to-eat foods, such as salad and ulam, in Malaysia.


Improving the habitat of residents in central‐city neighbourhoods without simultaneously gentrifying these is becoming a pressing dilemma in right‐to‐housing and right‐to‐the‐city agendas, both in the global North and the global South. This article explores what possibilities limited‐equity housing cooperativism can bring to the table. Insights are drawn from two urban 'renewal' processes in which limited‐equity housing cooperatives have played an important role: in Vesterbro (Copenhagen) and Ciudad Vieja (Montevideo). The article analyses the everyday politics within and around these cooperatives through a broader institutional and political‐economy lens. This approach sheds light on mechanisms of inclusion and exclusion that operate within these cooperatives, as well as on the processes through which they have been directly and indirectly implicated in the displacement of low‐income neighbours. Despite providing a grassroots housing alternative for local 'non‐owners', individual cooperatives participate in, and are vulnerable to, urban transformations that traverse multiple scales. They are inserted, moreover, within wide‐ranging unequal social structures that the cooperative's formal equality has limited tools to offset. The ways in which cooperatives interlink as a sector and how this sector relates to the state are two key dimensions to be considered in challenging capitalist‐space economies.


The insolubility of chitosan in a wide range of organic solvents has limited its practical application especially in electrochemical systems. In order to improve its solubility, acyl modification of chitosan was carried out in the present study. Films of
hexanoyl chitosan-based polymer electrolyte were prepared by solution casting technique. Lithium perchlorate (LiC104) was used as the doping salt while titanium oxide (Ti02) was used as the inorganic filler. In the present study, the plasticized hexanoyl chitosan-based polymer electrolyte was prepared by employing dimethyl carbonate (DMC) as the plasticizing solvent. The X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) and impedance spectroscopy (IS) were used to characterize the prepared samples. With addition of 30 wt.% LiC104, the conductivity of hexanoyl chitosan-based polymer electrolyte was enhanced from 2.37 x 10' 13 to 1.85 x 10"5 S cm'1. For composite polymer electrolyte system, the highest ionic conductivity was achieved at 3.06 x 10~4 S cm"1 with incorporation of 6 wt.% TiC>2. The highest ionic conductivity value of 4.09 x 10"4 S cm' 1 was obtained with addition of 15 wt.% DMC to hexanoyl chitosan-LiCKVTiC^ electrolyte system. The conductivity increased is due to the increase in the number of free ions and their mobility while the decrease in conductivity is attributed to the ion association which decreases the number of charge carriers available for ionic conduction. Conductivity of hexanoyl chitosan-based polymer electrolytes was also studied as a function of temperature ranging from 283 to 333 K. the conductivity is found to increase with
increasing temperature. The regression values, R2 are in the range of 0.97 to 0.99 indicating that all points stretch out in an almost straight line and therefore implying that the conductivity is thermally assisted and can be described by Arrhenius law. Ac
conductivity and scaling behaviour of hexanoyl chitosan-based polymer electrolytes were studied at different temperatures. The Jonsher's universal power law was used to discuss the ac conductivity behaviour of the samples. The temperature dependence of the power law exponent s for the salted hexanoyl chitosan follows the Overlapping Large Polaron Tunneling (OLPT) model while the conduction mechanism for composited hexanoyl chitosan-based polymer electrolyte systems are interpreted
based on the Correlated Barrier Hopping (CBH) model.


Silicon (Si) is a promising anode material for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) owing to its very high lithium storage capacity; however, fragmentation of Si caused by drastic volume change during lithium insertion and extraction leads to serious capacity decay during cycling. In this work, we report a novel method to synthesize an in situ nanocomposite containing Si nanoparticles evenly embedded in an electrically conductive SiOx@C network (Si/SiOx@C) from one single polysiloxane precursor. In our process, Si nanocrystals were reduced from the polysiloxane precursor using a low temperature molten salt reduction method, and carbon segregated out in the SiOx@C phase which evolved during the subsequent pyrolysis. As an anode material for LIBs, the Si/SiOx@C nanocomposite showed a specific capacity up to 1292 mA h g−1 at a current density of 0.4 A g−1 and 81.84% capacity retention after 200 cycles. The high capacity and stable performance of Si/SiOx@C as an anode material can be attributed to the continuous SiOx@C matrix which provides reliable mechanical support, electronic and ionic conductivity, and a stable solid–electrolyte interphase (SEI). This work demonstrated the viability of deriving a homogenous nanocomposite from a single polymeric precursor, which creates a promising anode material for next-generation LIBs.


PATIENT REFUSAL OF PHYSICIAN: INSTITUTIONAL AWARENESS AND HOSPITAL LEADERS' PERSPECTIVES. Natalie Spicyn, Rosana Gonzalez-Colaso, Leslie Curry, Auguste H. Fortin VI, Christopher Guerrero, Thyde Dumont-Mathieu, and Marcella Nunez-Smith. Section of General Internal Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT. Patient refusal of physician (PRoP) refers to instances in which a patient refuses to be cared for by a given physician because of the physician's socio-demographic characteristics, such as gender, age, race/ethnicity, religion, national origin, or perceived sexual orientation. Minority physicians experience PRoP more often than non-minority physicians, and thus PRoP may become a growing concern as the healthcare workforce diversifies. Little is known, however, about hospital leadership awareness of and response to these circumstances. This study aims to describe the proportion of teaching hospitals with formal guidance on PRoP and to characterize hospital leaders' perspectives on addressing this issue. The following hypotheses are tested: 1) few hospitals will have formal guidance in place, 2) hospital leaders' opinions about addressing PRoP will vary, correlating with their personal socio-demographic characteristics, and 3) most respondents will report PRoP as an uncommon occurrence at their hospital, but one that nevertheless warrants attention. We used the 2007 American Hospital Association Annual Survey Database to perform a cross-sectional study of chief medical officers (CMOs) at a national sample of teaching hospitals in 2010. Cognitive interviews with hospital administrators informed questionnaire development. CMOs were emailed the online questionnaire with several waves of follow-up. Frequency statistics were used to describe the proportion of responding hospitals with formal statements addressing PRoP, while bivariate analyses were performed to investigate any association between the existence of a policy and hospital characteristics, as well as CMO perspectives and CMO socio-demographic characteristics. Of the hospital CMOs we contacted (n=426), 221 responded, yielding a response rate of 52%. A majority (88%) of participating hospitals did not have any formal statement (e.g. policy, protocol, procedure) addressing PRoP; lower volume (<10,000 annual admissions) hospitals were more likely than higher volume (10-29,999) hospitals to have formal guidance (23% of low volume vs. 5% of higher volume hospitals). Convening the ethics committee or an ad hoc advisory group was a frequently utilized (14%) response to PRoP at hospitals without formal statements. Nearly half of hospitals typically reassign physicians, whether immediately (7%) or if the patient continues to refuse after further conversation (41%). Overall, while survey respondents were fairly evenly split on whether PRoP is an issue that should be further addressed at their hospital (46% agree, 49% disagree), over half (53%) anticipate enacting formal guidance on PRoP in the future. Because racial/ethnic minority physicians experience PRoP more often than their non-minority colleagues, addressing this issue is a potential strategy for hospitals striving to improve the institutional climate for a diverse workforce. With over three quarters of CMOs indicating that relevant industry guidelines would assist their hospitals in addressing PRoP, professional organizations have the opportunity to provide desired support to hospitals by issuing best practice recommendations.


This report describes the geology of the Newbury district and the southern part of the Abingdon district, including most of the Berkshire Downs and adjacent portions of the valleys of the River Kennet and its tributaries. Together with a printed geological map of the Newbury district at 1:50 000 scale, it was produced as part of the BGS Regional Mapping Programme. A geological map at 1:50 000 scale covering the catchments of the River Pang and the River Lambourn, together with adjacent portions of the Chalk escarpment to the north, is also available from BGS as a print-on-demand product. This was produced as part of the infrastructural information provided for the LOCAR (Lowland Catchment Research) Project, under the NERC Thematic Programme.
The introduction describes the topographical and geological setting of the area. Subsequent chapters describe the bedrock (or 'solid') geology, the superficial (or 'drift') geology and the geological structure. They are followed by a section on Applied Geology. The final section, Information Sources, lists all the BGS publications relevant to the district and gives information on how to gain access to BGS collections and databases, including borehole records and geophysical, geochemical and geotechnical data.
Most of the area is underlain by the Upper Cretaceous Chalk Group, which forms the downlands (Cover picture). The Lower Cretaceous Upper Greensand and Gault, and a small area of the Jurassic Kimmeridge Clay, occur in the north. The Upper Greensand Formation also appears from beneath the Chalk to form inliers in the south-west of the district, in the core of anticlinal folds aligned with the Vale of Pewsey. At depth, the area is partly underlain by a thin discontinuous Lower Greensand sequence, attenuated Jurassic and Triassic successions, Westphalian-aged deposits of the Berkshire Coal Basin, and thin Tournaisian/Visean and thick Devonian strata resting on Lower Palaeozoic basement.
Overlying the Chalk, the southern part of the district includes the western end of the Palaeogene (Tertiary) outcrops of the synclinal London Basin. The Palaeogene succession extends from the Lambeth Group (mostly made up of clays and sands of the Reading Formation, with a thin basal Upnor Formation) up into the London Clay Formation (Thames Group), which in this district includes relatively thick beds of sand and some pebble gravels within the usual clays.
The bedrock formations are commonly obscured by superficial deposits of Quaternary age. These include river terrace deposits at nine identified levels (including the 'plateau gravels' of previous terminology); alluvial deposits, peat and tufa forming the modern river flood plains; clay-with-flints and sand forming a residual cover over the higher parts of the downs; and head (solifluction deposits) on slopes and valley floors in most parts of the district. Areas of worked ground, made ground, infilled ground and landscaped ground have also been delineated.
Landslides occur locally on the Palaeogene formations around Newbury. Other potential geological hazards in the area include cambering and valley bulge, ground heave, subsidence, flooding and radon emission. The possibility of risk from these factors should be taken into consideration in any construction or land development project.
The most important natural mineral resources in the area are water and aggregates (sand and gravel). In the past, clay, chalk, flint and peat were exploited on a small scale.
Figures and plates appear at the end of the report.


User interaction is essential to the communication between users and content-based image retrieval (CBIR) systems. User interaction covers three key elements: an interaction model, an interactive interface and users. The three key elements combine to enable effective interaction to happen. Many studies have investigated different aspects of user interaction. However, there is lack of research in combining all three elements in an integrated manner, especially through well-principled data analysis based on a systematic user study. In this thesis, we investigate the combination of all three elements for interactive CBIR.

We first propose uInteract - a framework including a novel four-factor user interaction model (FFUIM) and an interactive interface. The FFUIM aims to improve interaction and search accuracy of the relevance feedback mechanism for CBIR. The interface delivers the FFUIM visually, aiming to support users in grasping how the interaction model functions and how best to manipulate it. The framework is tested in three task-based and user-oriented comparative evaluations, which involves 12 comparative systems, 12 real life scenario tasks and 50 subjects. The quantitative data analysis shows encouraging observations on ease of use and usefulness of the proposed framework, and also reveals a large variance of the results depending on different user types.

Accordingly, based on Information Foraging Theory, we further propose a user classification model along three user interaction dimensions: information goals (I), search strategies (S) and evaluation thresholds (E) of users. To our best knowledge, this is the first principled user classification model in CBIR. The model is operated and verified by a systematic qualitative data analysis based on multi linear regression on the real user interaction data from comparative user evaluations. From final quantitative and qualitative data analysis based on the ISE model, we have established what different types of users like about the framework and their preferences for interactive CBIR systems. Our findings offer useful guidelines for interactive search system design, evaluation and analysis.


Solutions to the band-transport equations are developed to include effects on the amplitude, dynamics, and spatial-frequency response of the space-charge field when periodic or dc electric fields are applied to a photorefractive material. Analysis of the effects of both idealized sinusoidal and square ac waveforms are given and compared with the case of resonant space-charge field enhancement with applied dc fields and moving fringes. Consideration is given to the effect of finite slew rate, uneven mark–space ratio, and other approximations to square ac waveforms. It is shown that the ideal square waveform provides the greatest enhancement of the space-charge field. It is also shown that in absorbing materials resonant enhancement with dc fields and moving fringes is localized to thin regions within the material, as the resonance condition is intensity dependent. This reduces the effective enhancement. Illustrative experimental results are presented for Bi12SiO20 and GaAs.


Abstract Planar samples of varying thicknesses of both CH and CD glow discharge polymer have been measured with Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy before and after exposure to deuterium-tritium (DT) gas at elevated temperature and pressure. Planar samples of polyimide films made from both hydrogenated and deuterated precursors have also been examined by FTIR before and after DT exposure. The post-exposure FTIR spectra demonstrated no measurable exchange of hydrogen with deuterium or tritium for either polymer. Evidence for oxidation of the glow discharge polymer due to atmospheric oxygen was the only chemical change indicated by the FTIR data.


The grocery retailing industry is a key sector of the UK economy, accounting for 16%
of consumer expenditure. As such developments in this sector will have an important
effect on UK economic and social welfare. Arguably, competition in the sector has
intensified in the last two decades. Yet significant consolidation in the sector has put
it under the spotlight of the UK competition authorities. Previous research analysing
factors affecting the performance and positioning of UK grocery retailers has tended
to be restricted to a limited time period and a small sample size. This study extends
this research by investigating industry evolution and factors affecting performance
and industry structure with longitudinal panel data, covering a two-decade time
period. The sample used covers a wide variety of grocery retailers with a range of
different attributes over a significant period in the development of the industry,
running from 1985 through to 2003.
Strategic group theory is employed to study industry evolution and examine the
effects of strategic positioning on performance. Specifically, fixed-effect panel
econometric models are estimated at different levels of aggregation to analyse firm,
industry and strategic group effects on the performance of retailers. Also, stochastic
frontier models, in the form of Cobb-Douglas and Transcendental Logarithmic
functions, are estimated at different levels of aggregation to analyse the efficiency of
retailers in the sector.
The results from cluster analysis on strategic groups suggest that industry structure
is likely to become more concentrated, and the size of retailers will be a significant
mobility barrier in the industry. The profitability analysis finds industry level factors
and strategic group composition to be crucial in explaining performance differences.
The efficiency analysis finds large retailers exhibiting economies of scale through
operating large store formats to be significantly better positioned from smaller-format
retailers with fewer outlets. Consistent and significant time dummies demonstrate the
favourable macro environment enjoyed by the retailers for much of the 1990s.
The analysis reveals potentially useful insights for retail managers, especially
concerning the importance of positioning in the industry and the choice of strategic
orientation. More generally, the study opens up further possibilities for future studies
of performance and efficiency measurement over an even longer time as the sector
continues to develop and shape the way consumers shop in the UK.


An outbreak of food poisoning caused by Salmonella O7 serogroup C1 and O8 serogroup C2, occurred in Taichung City after a Chinese year-end buffet party with 127 attendees including employees, relatives and guests of the Psychiatry Department of Changhua Christian Hospital (CCH). Among the 114 attendees interviewed, 96 (84.2%) reported developing symptoms within 120 h after the dinner on February 4, 1999. The time of onset ranged from 2 h to 101 h after the dinner with an average of 20 +/- 16 h. The median and mode incubation periods were 17 h and 16 h, respectively. Salmonella C1 and C2 serogroups were isolated from the stool samples of 45 attendees. Based on the results of interview questionnaire, the most likely contaminated food was eel kabayaki (OR = 4.8, 95% CI:1.6-14.9, p < 0.01) followed by baked mussels (OR = 4.04, 95% CI:1.3-12.1, p = 0.01). However, this result could not be confirmed by food sample investigation due to the lack of leftover food. Possible techniques for the prevention of food-borne disease transmission, enhancement of communication about foodborne disease outbreaks within the health reporting system, and the reduction of response time during an outbreak of infection are required.


We propose a transparent colored AR marker that allows 3D objects to be stacked in space. Conventional AR markers make it difficult to display multiple objects in the same position in space, or to manipulate the order or rotation of objects. The proposed transparent colored markers are designed to detect the order and rotation direction of each marker in the stack from the observed image, based on mathematical constraints. We describe these constraints to design markers, the implementation to detect its stacking order and rotation of each marker, and a proof-of-concept application Totem Poles. We also discuss the limitations of the current prototype and possible research directions.


International audience

 The aim of this note is to establish a subclass of $\mathcal{F}$ considered by Segal if functions for which the Ingham-Wintner summability implies $\mathcal{F}$-summability as wide as possible. The subclass is subject to the estimate for the error term of the prime number theorem. We shall make good use of Stieltjes integration which elucidates previous results obtained by Segal.


Abstract. Absorption photometers for real time application have been available since the 1980s, but the use of filter-based instruments to derive information on aerosol properties (absorption coefficient and black carbon, BC) is still a matter of debate. Several workshops have been conducted to investigate the performance of individual instruments over the intervening years. Two workshops with large sets of aerosol absorption photometers were conducted in 2005 and 2007. The data from these instruments were corrected using existing methods before further analysis. The inter-comparison shows a large variation between the responses to absorbing aerosol particles for different types of instruments. The unit to unit variability between instruments can be up to 30% for Particle Soot Absorption Photometers (PSAPs) and Aethalometers. Multi Angle Absorption Photometers (MAAPs) showed a variability of less than 5%. Reasons for the high variability were identified to be variations in sample flow and spot size. It was observed that different flow rates influence system performance with respect to response to absorption and instrumental noise. Measurements with non absorbing particles showed that the current corrections of a cross sensitivity to particle scattering are not sufficient. Remaining cross sensitivities were found to be a function of the total particle load on the filter. The large variation between the response to absorbing aerosol particles for different types of instruments indicates that current correction functions for absorption photometers are not adequate.


Background It has been unclear whether relatively high cortisol and cortisone levels are related to overweight in childhood, parental body mass index (BMI), and family dietary habits. The aim of this study was to compare cortisol and cortisone levels in urine and saliva from overweight and normal children, as well as correlations between children's BMI, parental BMI and family dietary behavior questionnaire score (QS). Material/Methods We analyzed the data from 52 overweight children and 53 age- and sex-matched normal-weight children aged 4–5 years. The concentrations of salivary cortisol (SF), salivary cortisone (SE), urinary cortisol (UF) and urinary cortisone (UE) were measured using high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS). The family dietary behavior QS was answered by the parent mainly responsible for the family diet. Results Average cortisol and cortisone levels were significantly higher in overweight children. There was no significant difference in the ratio of cortisol to cortisone (Rcc) and the marker of 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2 (11β-HSD2) activities. The results displayed correlations among cortisol, cortisone, and Rcc. Positive correlations were weak-to-moderate between BMI and SF, SE, UF, and UE. There were correlations between BMI and maternal BMI (mBMI), and BMI was significantly associated with QS. Conclusions Our results suggest that cortisol and cortisone levels are associated with overweight in children, but the 11β-HSD2 activities showed no significant differences. Unhealthy family diet was associated with higher BMI, UF, and UE, and families with maternal overweight or obesity had a higher prevalence of children's overweight or obesity.


This paper investigates the statistical behavior of the finite precision LMS adaptive filter in the identification of an unknown time-varying stochastic system. Nonlinear recursions are derived for the mean and mean-square behavior of the adaptive weights. Transient and tracking algorithm performance curves are generated from the recursions and shown to be in excellent agreement with Monte Carlo simulations. Our results demonstrate that linear models are inappropriate for analyzing the transient and the steady-state algorithm behavior. The performance curves indicate that the transient and tracking capabilities cannot be determined from perturbations about the infinite precision case. It is shown that the transient phase of the algorithm increases as the digital wordlength or the speed of variation of the unknown system decrease. Design examples illustrate how the theory can be used to select the algorithm step size and the number of bits in the quantizer.


Today, test methods for communication protocols assume, among other things, that the protocol design is specified as a single, monolithic finite state machine (FSM). From this specification, test suites that are capable of detecting output and/or transfer faults in the protocol implementation are derived. Limited applicability ofthese methods is mainly because oftheir specific assumptions, and due to the size ofthe derived test suite and the resulting test effort for realistic protocols. In this work, the compositional test method ( C-method), which exploits the a:vailable structure of a communication protocol, is proposed. The C-method first tests each protocol component separately for output and/or transfer faults, using one ofthe traditional test methods, then checks for composability, and finally tests the composite system for composition faults. To check for composability and to derive the test suite for the detection of composition faults, it is not required to construct the global state machine. Instead, all information is derived from the component state machines, which avoids a potential state explosion and lengthy test cases. Furthermore, the test suite checks for composition faults only. This substantially reduces the size ofthe test suite and thus the overall test effort.


This paper analyzes the banking sector's performance of the two former Yugoslavian republics, Slovenia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. This study is the first study examining the efficiency of banking sector of two countries. Countries have formed their banking systems, with their central banks as central and main monetary institutions. Performance of the banking sector of the two countries is being examined, taking into account that one country is a post war country, while other succeeds to join to European Union. It is determined using the data on return on assets (ROA) as indicator of profit, and return on equity (ROE) as an expression of rentability of banking sector, then compared to nonperforming loans (NPL) in order to foreseethe affect on future lending. Foreign direct investment is also being examined due to the large portion of it was initially made into banking sector. Financial health of the banking sector is analyzed by comparing deposits to loans figures, in several structural aspects. Based on data Slovenia's banking sector has higher return on equity throughoutyears, therefore it is more profitable.On the other hand Bosnia and Herzegovina's banking sector is more risk protected, since banks have higher adequate capital that offers protection against risk.


Exploration of how to assure effective teaching and learning online is extremely important and timely as many institutions seek to maximize the educational benefits from this constantly developing technology. This study categorizes principles gathered from an extensive review of the literature focusing on current best practices for effective teaching and learning in online courses. It compares the presence of those principles in items gleaned from a review of assessment instruments currently in use by thirteen Georgia institutions and several national online courses. Results, which were used to inform the revision of the University System of Georgia eCore course evaluation instrument, provide a rubric for assessing and informing other instruments used to evaluate online course instruction.


The main objective of this master thesis is to design a power plant controller for a photo-
voltaic (PV) power plant.
In a first stage, the current situation of the status of the electrical grid is analysed. The
electrical network structure is moving from a conventional system (with centralized power
generation, unidirectional power
ows, easy control) to a smart grid system consisting on
distributed generation, renewable energies, smart and complex control architecture and al-
gorithms, bidirectional power
ow, etc. Some of the issues regarding the integration of
renewable power plants are identified.
The increase of renewable penetration into the electrical system can produce instabilities in
terms of voltage and frequency. So that, the operation of these power plants must have grid
support functionalities. To design a power plant controller for providing PV plants with the
capacity to give the required grid support, it is necessary to use a model of a PV power
plant. So that, the modelling of the PV power plant is presented. This model contemplates
the PV cell, the PV array, the power electronics (PV inverter) and the associated control,
the grid layout as well as ancillary devices as FACTS, capacitor banks or energy storage.
Once the power plant is modelled, a central controller is designed to coordinate all the PV
plant devices in order to deliver the desired active and reactive power to the grid. The
controller is capable to perform the following functions: active and reactive power setpoints,
voltage and frequency droops, power factor control and ramp rate limitations. These actions
are the required by most of the grid codes. The power plant controller is validated with the
support of simulations.
After that, it has been identified the active power ramp rate problem when the plant is not
equipped with auxiliary generation: when the available active power decreases suddenly (for
example due to the clouds passing over the PV plant), the ramp rate limitations of active
power cannot be respected. So, the installation of an energy storage system has been studied.
Considering the PV plant with energy storage system, two control strategies for limiting the
active power ramp rate are analysed. After that, possible effects that communication delays
can produce are studied and a little modification the controller is proposed in order to
improve the PV plant operation.


This project sought to examine the impacts of National Competition Policy (NCP) on investment in Australian general freight and passenger railways, and more generally to assess the rationale underlying NCP and related economic reforms applied to Australian railways. It does not appear that NCP and related reforms have yet had a negative impact on investment. Indeed, vertical separation may have improved investment, at least that being sourced from the public sector. However, there are some intrinsic issues associated with the application of economic regulation which could in the future retard investment, and with the predominantly public sector origin of much of recent investment. In particular, the case for economic reform seems to be weakly made: there are few rents of the type economic regulation can moderate in the logistics chains served by rail in Australia, and there seems only limited scope for sustainable competition in the above-rail task.


The purpose of this study is the development of an educational simulation game for use in college classes. The simulation game is based on selected aspects of the population problem. The panel approved or rejected objectives on the basis of their significance as goals for college students. Twelve objectives were approved by a majority of the panel. Upon completion of the exercise, students should be able to compute population increases, to predict population sizes, and to identify birth and death rates that cause a population to increase, decrease, or remain stable. Students should also be able to describe how the following factors affect population size: cultural and religious beliefs, pressure for economic growth, investments of capital, and financial losses. Students should understand the problems of governing a country with a rapidly growing population as compared to problems in governing a country with slower population growth, and they should recognize how rapid population growth can affect the quality of life. Students should recognize decreased birth rates, increased death rates, and increased economic production as possible solutions to the population problem. Finally, students should personalize the population problem and make commitments in seeking and participating in its solutions.


In the real world, there is a constant need to reason about the behavior of various entities. A soccer goalie could benefit from information available about past penalty kicks by the same player facing him now. National security experts could benefit from the ability to reason about behaviors of terror groups. By applying behavioral models, an organization may get a better understanding about how best to target their efforts and achieve their goals.
In this thesis, we propose action probabilistic logic (or ap-) programs, a formalism designed for reasoning about the probability of events whose inter-dependencies are unknown. We investigate how to use ap-programs to reason in the kinds of scenarios described above. Our approach is based on probabilistic logic programming, a well known formalism for reasoning under uncertainty, which has been shown to be highly flexible since it allows imprecise probabilities to be specified in the form of intervals that convey the inherent uncertainty in the knowledge. Furthermore, no independence assumptions are made, in contrast to many of the probabilistic reasoning formalisms that have been proposed. Up to now, all work in probabilistic logic programming has focused on the problem of entailment, i.e., verifying if a given formula follows from the available knowledge. In this thesis, we argue that other problems also need to be solved for this kind of reasoning. The three main problems we address are: Computing most probable worlds: what is the most likely set of actions given the current state of affairs?; answering abductive queries: how can we effect changes in the environment in order to evoke certain desired actions?; and reasoning about promises: given the importance of promises and how they are fulfilled, how can we incorporate quantitative knowledge about promise fulfillment in ap-programs?
We address different variants of these problems, propose exact and heuristic algorithms to scalably solve them, present empirical evaluations of their performance, and discuss their application in real world scenarios.


This report details the improvements and upgrades to Murdoch University's Universal Water Systems (UWS) operations, communications and controls. The UWS can operate as a single integrated control system or as three smaller sub-systems through the manipulation of manual valves. A high level of system interaction is present, which allows the use of single-input-single-output (SISO) or multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) operation, giving students the opportunity to implement various styles of control strategies.

This project has focused on improving hardware, Client Software, Master Software, documentation, and the development of Student Software and an automatic operating procedure. Faulty equipment was replaced to ensure the system could perform optimally, as the hardware governed all possible system actions. The Client Software was modified to meet abnormal situation management (ASM) compliance and ensure operators have system-wide control. Further development of the Master Software has allowed an implementation of an automated operating procedure, which can demonstrate the capabilities of the system in a visually spectacular way. The Student Software was developed to create a workspace in which students can customise the user interface as well as design and implement advanced control schemes into the system, with no effect on the underlying system code.

The project is now complete, with successful testing and commissioning on all aspects of the UWS. The changes have been thoroughly documented with extensive user and maintenance guides developed. There is still room to improve the UWS; however, these improvements were beyond the scope of this project. At the completion of this project, the system now allows students complete and reliable operation of the UWS through the use of a standardised interface and a fully customisable workspace.


Optimization of real-world black-box functions defined over purely categorical variables is an active area of research. In particular, optimization and design of biological sequences with specific functional or structural properties have a profound impact in medicine, materials science, and biotechnology. Standalone search algorithms, such as simulated annealing (SA) and Monte Carlo tree search (MCTS), are typically used for such optimization problems. In order to improve the performance and sample efficiency of such algorithms, we propose to use existing methods in conjunction with a surrogate model for the black-box evaluations over purely categorical variables. To this end, we present two different representations, a group-theoretic Fourier expansion and an abridged one-hot encoded Boolean Fourier expansion. To learn such representations, we consider two different settings to update our surrogate model. First, we utilize an adversarial online regression setting where Fourier characters of each representation are considered as experts and their respective coefficients are updated via an exponential weight update rule each time the black box is evaluated. Second, we consider a Bayesian setting where queries are selected via Thompson sampling and the posterior is updated via a sparse Bayesian regression model (over our proposed representation) with a regularized horseshoe prior. Numerical experiments over synthetic benchmarks as well as real-world RNA sequence optimization and design problems demonstrate the representational power of the proposed methods, which achieve competitive or superior performance compared to state-of-the-art counterparts, while improving the computation cost and/or sample efficiency, substantially.


CRH and CRH-related peptides such as urocortin mediate their actions in the human myometrium via activation of two distinct classes of CRH receptors, R1 and R2. These heptahelical receptors are able to stimulate a number of different intracellular signals; one key mediator of G protein-activated intracellular signaling is the cascade of p42/p44, mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK). We therefore hypothesized that activation of MAPK might mediate CRH and or/urocortin actions in the myometrium. In cultured human pregnant myometrial cells, urocortin but not CRH was able to induce MAPK phosphorylation and activation, suggesting that in the human myometrium these two peptides have distinct actions and biological roles. To identify the particular receptor subtypes mediating this phenomenon, all known CRH receptors present in the human myometrial cells were stably expressed individually in HEK293 and CHO cells, and their ability to activate MAPK was tested. The R1alpha and R2beta, but not the R1beta, R1c, or R1d, receptor subtypes were able to mediate urocortin-induced MAPK activation. The signaling components were further investigated; activation of Gs, Go, or Gi proteins did not appear to be involved, but activation of Gq with subsequent production of inositol triphosphates (IP3) and protein kinase C (PKC) activation correlated with MAPK phosphorylation. Studies on Gq protein activation using [alpha-32P]-GTP-gamma-azidoanilide and IP3 production in cells expressing the R1alpha or R2beta CRH receptors demonstrated that urocortin was 10 times more potent than CRH. Moreover, urocortin (UCN) generated peak responses that were 50-70% greater than CRH in activating the Gq protein and stimulating IP3 production. In conclusion, UCN acting thought multiple receptor subtypes can stimulate myometrial MAPK via induction of the Gq/phospholipase C/IP3/PKC pathway, whereas CRH-induced activation of this pathway appears to be insufficient to achieve MAPK activation.


The main objective of this study was to assess the effectiveness of individual application and combination effect of salicylic acid treatments (0, 0.5, 1 mM) in both unpacked and Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP) on changing biochemical compounds and extending postharvest life of nectarine. Fruits were stored at 0°C with 90% RH for 40 days. Experimental fruits were analyzed for weight loss, soluble solids, titratable acidity, fruit firmness, total phenolic compounds, flavonoids, antioxidant capacity and overall quality during the storage period at 10 day intervals. The results showed that total phenolic, flavonoid concentrations and antioxidant activity fluctuated progressively until the 30 days of storage, and then decreased until the end of the experiment in all applied treatments. Salicylic acid treatment especially at 1 mM salicylic acid concentration with MAP had a positive effect on biochemical compounds. Furthermore, the combined treatment of MAP had a clear advantage over the other treatments in reducing weight loss, retarding softening, increasing shelf life, and maintaining higher overall fruit quality. The results indicated that salicylic acid with MAP can be used as a safe alternative chemical to keep the quality and for storage of nectarine.


Visualization of large amounts of simulation data is important for the understanding of most physical phenomena. The limited capabilities of desktop machines make them unsuitable for handling excessive amounts of simulation data. The present day high speed networks have made it possible to remotely visualize the data being generated by a supercomputer in real time. In order for such a system to be reliable, a robust communication protocol and an efficient compression mechanism are needed. This work presents a remote visualization system that addresses these issues, and emphasizes the design and implementation of the application level network protocol. A control theory based adaptive rate control algorithm is presented for UDP streams that maximizes the effective throughout experienced by the stream while minimizing the packet loss. The algorithm is shown to make the system responsive to changing network conditions. This makes the system deployable over any network, including the Internet. To my Grandparents who instilled in me, the desire to learn.


Isoniazid preventive therapy (IPT) is recognised as an important component of collaborative tuberculosis (TB) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) activities to reduce the burden of TB in people living with HIV (PLHIV). However, there has been little in the way of IPT implementation at country level. This failure has resulted in a recent call to arms under the banner title of the 'Three I's' (infection control to prevent nosocomial transmission of TB in health care settings, intensified TB case finding and IPT). In this paper, we review the background of IPT. We then discuss the important challenges of IPT in PLHIV, namely responsibility and accountability for the implementation, identification of latent TB infection, exclusion of active TB and prevention of isoniazid resistance, length of treatment and duration of protective efficacy. We also highlight several research questions that currently remain unanswered. We finally offer practical suggestions about how to scale up IPT in the field, including the need to integrate IPT into a package of care for PLHIV, the setting up of operational projects with the philosophy of 'learning while doing', the development of flow charts for eligibility for IPT, the development and implementation of care prior to antiretroviral treatment, and finally issues around procurement, distribution, monitoring and evaluation. We support the implementation of IPT, but only if it is done in a safe and structured way. There is a definite risk that 'sloppy' IPT will be inefficient and, worse, could lead to the development of multidrug-resistant TB, and this must be avoided at all costs.


This paper presents information concerning a specific undergraduate honors course on the interdisciplinary topic of time. True to the cross-cutting nature of time, the course was both led by and primarily taught by two professors from the distinctly different disciplines of information systems and psychology, respectively. It was offered as a special topic honors course in the Burnett Honors College at the University of Central Florida whose rubric ensured that enrollment was limited to a maximum of twenty undergraduate, honors students only. Additionally, selected auditors were allowed to attend specific, special events. The ceiling on enrollment proved critical since it allowed for a broad, discussion-based exploration of time, led on a number of occasions by specialist guest lecturers drawn from the arts, the sciences, and other speakers from well beyond the traditional confines of academe. There was a high demand for, and an excellent reception of, the course as offered. Due to the external constraints of the two professors involved, it proved to be a unique offering. However, the following description is provided for use by other teachers and professors who might wish to peruse and adopt the basic structure and/or some of the content that was collected and created.


Digital wallets are poised to transform the world of retailing. These digital wallets, such as ApplePay and Android Pay, are "smart" payment devices that can integrate payments with two-way, real-time communications of any type of data. Integration of payments with real-time communications holds out tremendous promise for retailers: the combination in a single platform of search, advertising, payment, shipping, customer service, and loyalty programs. Such an integrated retail platform offers brick-and-mortar retailers a potentially superior ability to identify, attract, and retain customers, bringing eCommerce-type platforms into the brick-and-mortar environment. At the same time, however, digital wallets present materially different risks for merchants than traditional plastic card payments precisely because of their "smart" nature. Digital wallets can reallocate flows of consumer data from merchants to financial institutions, depriving merchants of valuable customer information used for anti-fraud, advertising, loyalty, and customer service purposes. Digital wallets can also facilitate poaching of customers by competitors, impair merchants' customer relationship management, deprive merchants of influence over tender choice and payment routing, increase fraud risk, subject merchants to patent infringement liability, and ultimately increase the costs of accepting payments. All of this suggests that merchants would accept digital wallets only selectively, based on the overall package of risks and rewards offered by any particular wallet. Merchants, however, are highly constrained in their ability to refuse or condition payments from digital wallets because of "Honor All Wallets" rules promulgated by American Express, MasterCard, and Visa for merchants that accept payments with their network brands. The Honor All Wallets rules require merchants to accept all network-branded payments from any device that uses a communications technology accepted by the merchant — magnetic stripe, Near Field Communications, QR codes, Internet, etc. The Honor All Wallets rules thus tie acceptance of a card network's payments via digital wallets to the acceptance of traditional plastic cards that use the same communications technologies. The Honor All Wallets rules force merchants to accept payments from all digital wallets utilizing a card network brand, irrespective of the wallet's risks. Honor All Wallets presents merchants with a digital Pandora's Box. The Honor All Wallets rules also skew the competitive landscape for digital wallets. By preventing merchants from accepting only certain brands of payments from digital wallets, the Honor All Wallets rules foreclose entry to digital wallets that offer the most attractive valuation proposition for merchants — those that make low-cost PIN-debit and ACH payments. The Honor All Wallets rules thus artificially increase the market shares of the high-cost credit and signature debt products of American Express, MasterCard, and Visa in the payment card network services market. By facilitating consumer use of high-cost wallets, the Honor All Wallets rules ironically impede the adoption of digital wallets altogether. Accordingly, this Article argues that the Honor All Wallets rules should invite serious antitrust scrutiny.


Charting the turbulent history of US–North Korea affairs from the 1960s through to 2010, Rival Reputations explores how past incidents and crises can be relied upon to help determine threat credibility and the willingness of an adversary to resort to violence. Using reputation as the framework, this book answers some of the most vexing questions regarding both US and North Korean foreign policy. These include how they have managed to evade war, why North Korea – a much weaker power – has not been deterred by superior American military power from repeated violent provocations against the United States and South Korea, and why US officials in every administration have rarely taken North Korean threats seriously. Van Jackson urges us to jettison the conventional view of North Korean threats and violence as part of a "cycle" of provocation and instead to recognize them as part of a pattern of rivalry inherent in North Korea's foreign relations.


Secure initial pairing of electronic gadgets is a challenging problem because of the usual lack of a common security infrastructure and the threat of so-called Man-in-theMiddle (MiTM) attacks, whereby an attacker inserts itself into the pairing protocol by impersonating one of the legitimate parties. A number of interesting techniques have been proposed, all of which involve the user in the pairing process. However, they are inapplicable to many common scenarios where devices to-be-paired do not possess required interfaces, such as displays, speakers, cameras or microphones. In this paper, we introduce BEDA (Button-Enabled Device Association), a protocol suite for secure pairing devices with minimal user interfaces. The most common and minimal interface available on wide variety of devices is a single button. BEDA protocols can accommodate pairing scenarios where one (or even both) devices only have a single button as their "user interface". Our usability study demonstrates that BEDA protocols involve very little human burden and are quite suitable for ordinary users.


We examine the changes in the relative rewards to cognitive and non-cognitive skill during the time period 1992–2013. Using unique administrative data for Sweden, we document a secular increase in the returns to non-cognitive skill, which is particularly pronounced in the private sector and at the upper-end of the wage distribution. Workers with an abundance of non-cognitive skill were increasingly sorted into occupations that were intensive in: cognitive skill; as well as abstract, non-routine, social, non-automatable and offshorable tasks. Such occupations were also the types of occupations which saw greater increases in the relative return to non-cognitive skill. Moreover, we show that greater emphasis is placed on noncognitive skills in the promotion to leadership positions over time. These pieces of evidence are consistent with a framework where non-cognitive, inter-personal, skills are increasingly required to coordinate production within and across workplaces.


Considerable amounts of capital will be necessary if a green transformation is to be financed in the coming years. This paper gives a short introduction to the challenge of mobilizing the required resources, particularly from private and institutional investors. More specifically, it provides an overview of eight public leveraging instruments that can be used to leverage private capital for green investments in developing countries and emerging economies. It discusses the strengths and weaknesses of these instruments and gives an assessment of their potential for a broader use. Additionally, the paper argues that more data transparency and quantitative research are needed to better assess the implications of the use of these instruments. Finally, it points out research gaps and proposes ideas for further research. The paper concludes by giving some policy recommendations.


By variational approach, we analyze the characteristics of beam propagation through a cubic optical nonlinear medium using a laser beam that has a transverse elliptic Gaussian profile. The analytic solution to the normalized transmittance at the center of the far field as a function of medium position and the beam characteristics is obtained and compared with the numerical simulation, which is realized by a combination of algorithms. We also analyze the peak-valley transmittance difference as a function of medium length, ellipticity, and a stigmatism. The relationship between peak-valley normalized transmittance difference of the z-scan trace and aperture size or the slit width are obtained. Meanwhile, the comparison of z-scan characteristics with an elliptic Gaussian beam with those using a circular symmetric Gaussian beam is made.


Background and objectives: Low levels of vitamin D among dark-skinned migrants to northern latitudes and increased risks for associated pathologies illustrate an evolutionary mismatch between an environment of high ultraviolet (UV) radiation to which such migrants are adapted and the low-UV environment to which they migrate. Recently, low levels of vitamin D have also been associated with higher risks for contracting COVID-19. South Asians in the UK have higher risk for low vitamin D levels. In this study, we assessed vitamin D status of British-Bangladeshi migrants compared to white British residents and Bangladeshis still living in Bangladesh ('sedentees'). Methodology: The cross-sectional study compared vitamin D levels among 149 women aged 35-59, comprising British-Bangladeshi migrants (n=50), white UK neighbors (n=54) and Bangladeshi sedentees (n=45). Analyses comprised multivariate models to assess serum levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D), and associations with anthropometric, lifestyle, health and migration factors. Results: Vitamin D levels in Bangladeshi migrants were very low: mean 25(OH)D = 32.2nmol/L +/- 13.0, with 29% of migrants classified as deficient (<25nmol/L) and 94% deficient or insufficient ([≤]50nmol/L). Mean levels of vitamin D were significantly lower among British-Bangladeshis compared to Bangladeshi sedentees (50.9nmol/L +/- 13.3), presumably due to less exposure to sunlight following migration; levels were also lower than in white British women (55.3nmol/L +/- 20.9). Lower levels of vitamin D were associated with increased body mass index and low iron status. Conclusions and implications: Recommending supplements to Bangladeshi migrants could prevent potentially adverse health outcomes associated with vitamin D deficiency.


In late 1995, the Million Man March drew hundreds of thousands of black men to Washington, DC, and seemed even to skeptics a powerful sign not only of black male solidarity, but also of black racial solidarity. Yet while generating a sense of community and common purpose, the Million Man March, with its deliberate exclusion of women and implicit rejection of black gay men, also highlighted one of the central faultlines in African American politics: the role of gender and sexuality in antiracist agenda. In this groundbreaking anthology, a companion to the highly successful Critical Race Feminism, Devon Carbado changes the terms of the debate over racism, gender, and sexuality in black America. The essays cover such topics as the legal construction of black male identity, domestic abuse in the black community, the enduring power of black machismo, the politics of black male/white female relationships, racial essentialism, the role of black men in black women's quest for racial equality, and the heterosexist nature of black political engagement. Featuring work by Cornel West, Huey Newton, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., A. Leon Higginbotham, Jr., Houston Baker, Marlon T. Riggs, Dwight McBride, Michael Awkward, Ishmael Reed, Derrick Bell, and many others, Devon Carbado's anthology stakes out new territory in the American racial landscape.


Probiotics are live microorganisms that are commonly used as food supplementation to provide a positive impact on human health. There was an increasing number of studies concerned with the benefit of probiotics due to the enhance community awareness of health. The primarily role of probiotics are known strengthening the epithelial barrier, increasing attachment to the intestinal mucosa, inhibiting the attachment of pathogenic bacteria, competitive exclusion of pathogenic microorganisms, producing anti-microbial substances and thereby modulating host immunity by initiating specific genes activation in the host intestinal tract system. The benefits of probiotics are not only limited to the gastrointestinal system but the mechanism of action includes other organs such as respiratory, urogenital, endocrine, and immune system. Hence, this review study will focus mainly on three aspects such as benefits, action mechanism, and its clinical application of probiotics on human health. Keywords: Action mechanism, Benefits, Clinical application, Probiotics.