This report is the result of a three-year study of the global reinsurance industry, covering the main stakeholders of cedents, reinsurers, and brokers. It examines the implications of profound change arising from shifts in regulation, consolidation in the key players, and increasing competition both within the reinsurance industry and from alternative capital providers. These changes are driving convergence in a market that was, until recently, characterised by significant cultural variation in buying and selling reinsurance. The findings in this report will help industry participants to take stock of their current position in the industry, the specific types of differentiation available, and how these differentiators can create advantage. Specifically, the report provides evidence-based frameworks and models that firms can use to diagnose their existing strategies and structures and consider alternatives.


The present study does not represent a general investigation of all the various divisions of the transportation phase of the petroleum industry but a very small segment of the industry, i.e., crude oil pipe lines. Rather than being an examination of the technical operations of the industry the study is directed towards a consideration of the instrumentalities of control of interstate pipe line facilities exercised at the hands of major or integrated companies.


Work on WCDMA as a concept for 3rd generation mobile communication (IMT-2000) started almost a decade ago in research projects sponsored by the European Community. The work continued with standardization activities of WCDMA in a number of standardization bodies, i.e., ETSI, ARIB, TTA and in TIP1. This year the standardization work has been transferred into one joint standardization project, 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) with members from all these standardization bodies. During the last year manufacturers and operators have also together succeeded in harmonizing all proposed cdma-based 3rd generation concepts into one standard with three different modes. The Direct-Sequence mode is based on WCDMA specified by 3GPP (UTRA/FDD), the Multi-Carrier mode is based on cdma2000 Multi-Carrier specified by 3GPP2, and the TDD mode is based on the TDD mode specified by 3GPP (UTRA TDD). In the paper we give a brief description of the WCDMA radio interface.


Abstract Natural experiments have been proposed as a way of complementing manipulative experiments to improve ecological understanding and guide management. There is a pressing need for evidence from such studies to inform a shift to landscape‐scale conservation, including the design of ecological networks. Although this shift has been widely embraced by conservation communities worldwide, the empirical evidence is limited and equivocal, and may be limiting effective conservation. We present principles for well‐designed natural experiments to inform landscape‐scale conservation and outline how they are being applied in the WrEN project, which is studying the effects of 160 years of woodland creation on biodiversity in UK landscapes. We describe the study areas and outline the systematic process used to select suitable historical woodland creation sites based on key site‐ and landscape‐scale variables – including size, age, and proximity to other woodland. We present the results of an analysis to explore variation in these variables across sites to test their suitability as a basis for a natural experiment. Our results confirm that this landscape satisfies the principles we have identified and provides an ideal study system for a long‐term, large‐scale natural experiment to explore how woodland biodiversity is affected by different site and landscape attributes. The WrEN sites are now being surveyed for a wide selection of species that are likely to respond differently to site‐ and landscape‐scale attributes and at different spatial and temporal scales. The results from WrEN will help develop detailed recommendations to guide landscape‐scale conservation, including the design of ecological networks. We also believe that the approach presented demonstrates the wider utility of well‐designed natural experiments to improve our understanding of ecological systems and inform policy and practice.


The biology of headwater streams is intimately linked to that of the surrounding terrestrial environment through organic matter subsidies. Lonicera maackii, an invasive shrub that is becoming abundant in headwater stream riparian areas, deposits substantial quantities of organic matter into the aquatic system. This organic material has allelopathic effects on terrestrial plants and insects, and a growing body of work suggests strong connections between L. maackii invasion and aquatic biota. Lonicera maackii deposits fruit and flowers in quantities and timings that are unique, and we tested the hypothesis that these subsidies would negatively affect survival and growth of laboratory-cultured Hyalella azteca and field-collected Anthopotamus verticis and Allocapnia spp. Invertebrates were exposed to a gradient of fruit (reference sediment + 0, 0.31, 0.62, 1.25, or 2.5 g dry mass [DM]) and flower (reference sediment + 0, 0.30, 0.60, 1.2, or 2.4 g DM) biomass in laboratory and field sediment exposure tests. Hyalella azteca survival was significantly reduced by exposure to L. maackii fruit in the laboratory and in the field exposures, and a negative effect was observed for A. verticis (p< 0.05). Lonicera maackii flower biomass was associated with negative effects on survival of H. azteca in the field and laboratory exposures and of A. verticis in the laboratory exposure. During the laboratory exposures, dissolved O2 (DO) and pH were <2 mg/L and 5.5, respectively. In the field exposures, DO and pH were comparable to stream conditions during fruit exposures, declining significantly with increasing flower biomass. Our results suggest that L. maackii fruit and flowers, novel subsidies in these systems, can negatively affect benthic organism survival and growth. Research focused on verifying this novel subsidy hypothesis for L. maackii and other species could enhance our understanding of invasion biology and terrestrial–aquatic linkages.


The complexity of modern safety-critical systems is steadily increasing due to the amount of functionality that is implemented in those systems. In order to be able to asses the correctness and safety of these systems in a comprehensive manner automated or, at least, computer-aided techniques are needed. Model checking, a formal verification technique, provides an automated algorithmic analysis of system models and is able to check whether a formalized requirement is satisfied by the system. If the requirement is violated the model checker provides error traces, called counterexamples, which serve as witnesses for the requirement violation. While the counterexamples can be used as a debugging aid, they do not provide any obvious insight into which events are causal for the requirement violation. In order to derive the causal events from a set of counterexamples, the events of all error traces need to be manually inspected, which is an error prone and time consuming task. We propose a method complementing model checking that is called causality checking. Causality checking algorithmically computes the causal events for the violation of a requirement that is formalized as a non-reachability property. The notion of causality that we use is based on the actual cause definition by Halpern and Pearl, which in turn is based on the counterfactual argument by Lewis. Causality checking is able to compute the causal events for a property violation and also takes the order in which the events appear into account as a causal factor. Furthermore, causality checking identifies the causal non-occurrence of events. We propose a causality checking algorithm and show how it can be integrated into the state-space exploration algorithms used in qualitative model checking. The hardware of an embedded system may fail due to deterioration and affect the software that is running on this hardware and thereby cause a requirement violation. In industry negative exponentially distributed rates are used in order to specify the occurrence probability of such a hardware failure in a given time frame. In order to support a probabilistic analysis of the system we extend the causality checking approach to be applicable to probabilistic system models. The proposed probabilistic causality checking approach enables us to compute the probabilities of certain combinations of events that cause a property violation. A pure probabilistic causality checking method, as will become clear in this thesis, entails a high performance penalty for the necessary probabilistic counterexample computation. We will show how this bottleneck can be mitigated by a combination of qualitative and probabilistic causality checking. While a full state-space exploration of the case studies that we analyze is possible, we discuss the implications of an incomplete state-space exploration of the analysis model with respect to soundness and completeness of the causality checking result and present strategies that can be applied in order to increase the scalability of the causality checking approach. Furthermore, we discuss how the causality checking method can be integrated


Introduction Cystatin C has been suggested as a sensitive marker of renal function. A high level of cystatin C is related to cardiovascular disease and stroke in elderly patients. We investigated the relationship between levels of cystatin C and early neurological deterioration with acute ischaemic stroke in elderly patients without chronic kidney disease. Patients and methods We evaluated a total of 771 elderly patients (mean age, 72.2; male, 59.0%) without chronic kidney disease who were admitted following acute ischaemic stroke between March 2010 and January 2015. The patients were divided into four groups based on the quartiles of serum cystatin C values. Early neurological deterioration was defined as an increase of ≥2 points from the baseline National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score during the 7 days following onset. We compared the clinical characteristics and cystatin C concentrations between patients with and without early neurological deterioration. Results Eighty-six patients (11.2%) experienced early neurological deterioration. The percentage values of the higher (third and fourth) quartiles were significantly higher in the early neurological deterioration group (30.2% vs. 24.4% and 34.9% vs. 23.8%, P = 0.002). After adjustment for covariates, higher cystatin C levels were independently associated with a higher risk of early neurological deterioration: odds ratio (95% confidence interval) for second quartile 1.59 (0.70–3.58), third quartile 2.75 (1.25–6.04), fourth quartile 3.12 (1.36–7.16); P for trend 0.026. Discussion and conclusions This study demonstrated that cystatin C concentrations in elderly patients without chronic kidney disease were associated with early neurological deterioration following acute stroke. This suggests that cystatin C level could be a useful predictor for early neurological deterioration following acute stroke.


Between Terrorism and interventionism Somewhere deep in the mountains of Tajikistan, several hundred Islamic militants are hiding, eager to continue their campaign against the secular governments of Central Asia. Although they believe they are fighting for an Islamic state, their efforts are having an unintended side effect: Russia has seized upon the wave of terror in Central Asia to re-establish its presence in the region. During the past decade, Islam has enjoyed a revival in Central Asia, partly in reaction to repression during the Soviet era. The Soviet leadership targeted the faithful with both propaganda and policy, closing 80 percent of all mosques throughout the empire. Despite efforts to stamp out Islam, Central Asia remained the most religious region of the Soviet Union, and religious fervor has only increased with the Soviet Union's dissolution. At the same time, the secular Central Asian governments have worked to exclude Islam from mainstream politics. Since 1998, however, the threat of Islamic militancy in Central Asia has decidedly strengthened diplomatic and military relations between Russia and Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Tajikistan. Due to their location, economic situations, and historical legacies, these Central Asian republics (CARs) cannot and should not avoid close ties with Russia. However, they should be wary of entering into a relationship with Russia in which they are the dependent party. The Islamic insurgency in Central Asia is an opportunity for Russia to intervene and further its own interests in the region. But by being too eager to accept the forthcoming aid, the CARs risk developing an over-reliance on Russia that will compromise their long-term autonomy. Instead, the republics should address the internal problems that keep them vulnerable to Russian influence. Any relationship they cultivate with Russia must be a mutually beneficial one that allows for the economic and political growth of the republics. A relationship built solely upon mutual fear of a common enemy, such as Islamic fundamentalism, runs the risk of relegating Central Asia to the status of a security buffer zone for Russia. The Motive for Intervention At a time when Russia is struggling to fend off isolation from its former European allies, it has more reason than ever to secure close relations with Central Asia. Russian President Vladimir Putin has acted on these interests m drawing the CARs ever closer to Russia. Against a backdrop of an expanding North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and increasing independence of the Baltic states, the influence Russia exerts in Central Asia is the last remnant of a lost empire. Russia's participation in Central Asian affairs is also encouraged by the presence of Russians in Central Asia. In order to increase its hold on the region, the Soviet Union had encouraged the emigration of ethnic Russians to Central Asia. After independence, Russians made up approximately 10 percent of the population in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, 22 percent in Kyrgyzstan, and nearly 40 percent in Kazakhstan. These Russians were never assimilated into the population, and most have not learned the local language. Instead, they continue to think of themselves as Russians, a notion encouraged by Moscow. As long as a sizable Russian population remains in Central Asia, the Russian government will consider its welfare an extension of domestic policy. Most importantly, however, Russia wishes to prevent the arrival of a hostile power on its southern border. Radical Islam is considered especially dangerous because of its perceived ability to spread uncontrollably from one region to another. Russia fears the ignition of extremist sentiments among its own substantial domestic Muslim population. Events in Chechnya have convinced the Russian leadership of the dangers of fundamentalism, as well as demonstrated to the world the lengths to which Russia will go in order to contain the threat. …


Abstract. This paper presents the survey of the Baptistery of the Collegiata Museum (Castiglione Olona - Italy), painted by Masolino da Panicale in 1435. Surveying activity was carries out throughout the use of combined digital techniques of documentation (topographic measurements, laser scanning, digital photogrammetry, thermal imaging, digital photography). Different data were collected inside and outside the Baptistery following a multi-resolution reconstruction that ranges from the whole Baptistery up to small details. Laser scans were also used to obtain a digital representation of inner volumes of the structure. Registered scans were uploaded into a modelling software, in order to produce a 3D model based on scan data, increasing the correspondence with the existent building; this model can be used to better understand the volume arrangement, also for educational and dissemination purposes. A particular attention was devoted to documentation of graffiti scratched onto the frescos, since their presence is a significative evidence of the history of the building. A digital-based workflow was set out in order to assure high quality outputs in respect of the conservation needs.This multi-resolution approach proved to be a suitable solution when dealing with features, such as ancient architectures, with a high number of complex details to be correctly recorded and joint together as starting point and support of historical researches. Results and scope are here presented.


The standard account has it that Hugo Grotius secularised international law by grounding it on human nature. This chapter argues we should not stop at the standard account, but rather should dig deeper and examine the theological anthropology grounding Grotius' ideas on the law of nature and nations. With some attention for the influence of both (neo-)scepticism and (neo)stoicism in analyses of Grotius' understanding of human nature and natural law, this chapter examines Grotius' ideas through the lens of the Christian theological notion of imago Dei – the idea that human beings are different from other animals in that they are created in 'the image and likeness of God'. The chapter relates the concept of the imago Dei briefly to the early seventeenth-century theological and political debates in the Dutch Republic and discusses the Arminian interpretation of the imago Dei along the lines of three dimensions generally set apart: ontological, teleological (the telos being to reach God, also through others in society), and functional (linked to the function of dominium). This chapter argues that the Arminian imago Dei anthropology is foundational to Grotius' theory of the law of nature and nations in (at least) three ways along the lines of these three dimensions. The chapter concludes with a few remarks on how a post-skeptical reading of Grotius, through the lens of his imago Dei anthropology, is relevant for the future of international law thinking.


This survey focuses on some unique aspects of private banking and wealth management in Asia. There are a number of unique features that distinguish private banking in Asia from that business in the rest of the world. First, Asian banking tends to be more "trans-border" by nature, that is, the origin of the assets and the administration reside in different jurisdictions. Second, a disproportionately large share of clients are active entrepreneurs of the first or second generation, who are often members of minority groups in their economies. Furthermore, and third, among the service providers, there is keen competition among European based banks, North American banks and brokerages as well as domestic institutions in Hong Kong and Singapore; yet there is little evidence of consolidation and the market remains highly fragmented. Fourth are the notable differences in asset compositions of investment portfolios as well as the predominance of females among the important relationship manager population in Asia.As to any lasting effects of the financial crisis of 2008/09 on the private banking business in Asia, hard facts have yet to emerge. The fiscal problems of major and minor countries in the world have prompted a renewed push for lessening bank secrecy, not only in cases of criminal activity but also 'ordinary' tax avoidance. Offshore jurisdictions around the world are under pressure to provide information to foreign fiscal authorities. As to products and services, it is likely that there will be less emphasis on complex structured products, more focus on credit worthiness of the institutions offering private banking services, and, in general, less competition in terms of innovative products due to the demise of the American investment banks in global markets. However, economic growth rates in the region, in combination with high savings rates, will make Asia an area of alluring opportunity for financial institutions offering competitive private banking and wealth management services.


Crowdsourcing systems are distributed problem solving platforms, where small tasks are channelled to a crowd in the form of open calls for solutions. Reward based crowdsourcing systems tries to attract the interested and capable workers to provide solutions in return for monetary rewards. We study the task recommendation problem in reward based crowdsourcing platforms, where we leverage both implicit and explicit features of the worker-reward and worker-task attributes. Given a set of workers, set of tasks, participation, winner attributes, we intend to recommend tasks to workers by exploiting interactions between tasks and workers. Two models based on worker-reward based features and worker task based features are presented. The proposed approach is compared with multiple related techniques using real world dataset.


Grid , a hardware and software infrastructure that provides dependable, consistent, pervasive and inexpensive access to high end computational capabilities, with intelligent cooperative agents, enable the system to well-suited for many types of services and autonomously adapt to users computation needs as well as dynamically changing computing resource environments. Grid technologies need to be extended which includes graphical, interactive sessions known as Interactive Grids. Interactive Grids permit end-users to access and control a remote resource. The motive of this paper is to intricate the effectiveness of Grid computing by Interactive Agent based Job management. An agent based interactive job management system is developed to incorporate the concept of agent in the grid.


Economic power of cities depends on their human capital as much as their pyhsical capital. Florida's hypothesis about Creative Class is tested in this study in the context of Turkey. For this purpose, we examine the relationsip between alternative mesures of human capital and regional development applying structural equation models and path analysis. Our results confirm Florida's hypothesis that high level of creativity fosters regional economic development. Evidence also suggest that total creative class seems to be better measurement than education in accounting for regional development across Turkish cities. In addition, our results suggest that while there is statistically significant association between the distribution of creative class and the presence of artistically culturally creative individuals (bohemians), there is no significant association with consumer amenities and university. As a result, Florida's hypothesis does not completely explain the distribution of creatives in the Turkish context.


The appearance of Martin Bernal's Black Athena: The Afro-Asian Roots of Classical Civilization in 1987 sparked intense debate and controversy in Africa, Europe, and North America. His detailed genealogy of the 'fabrication of Greece' and his claims for the influence of ancient African and Near Eastern cultures on the making of classical Greece, questioned many intellectuals' assumptions about the nature of ancient history. The transportation of enslaved African persons into Europe, the Americas, and the Caribbean, brought African and diasporic African people into contact in significant numbers with the Greek and Latin classics for the first time in modern history. In African Athena, the contributors explore the impact of the modern African disapora from the sixteenth century onwards on Western notions of history and culture, examining the role Bernal's claim has played in European and American understandings of history, and in classical, European, American and Caribbean literary production. African Athena examines the history of intellectuals and literary writers who contested the white, dominant Euro-American constructions of the classical past and its influence on the present. Martin Bernal has written an Afterword to this collection.


Abstract We describe three giant palaeobatrachid fossil tadpoles of the genus Palaeobatrachus (Nieuwkoop-Faber [NF] stages 60–64) from the Miocene of Randecker Maar, Germany. The largest was 150 mm at the beginning of metamorphosis (stage 60), whereas the smallest was 100 mm and approaching the end of metamorphosis (stage 64). In contrast, normal palaeobatrachid tadpoles and their pipid relatives, both extinct and extant, rarely exceed 60 mm in length. We review here both ecological and pathological conditions that are conducive to the development of gigantism in tadpoles. Tadpoles that lack a thyroid gland become exceptionally large and arrest development at early hindlimb stages (NF stages 53–56). However, the advanced metamorphic stages of the giant Palaeobatrachus tadpoles indicate that they were able to metamorphose, and thus were not athyroid. Environmental factors—pond size and permanence, predators, duration of the growing season— may all contribute to tadpole gigantism in certain extant anuran species. We identify suites of ecological features that distinguish extant anurans with large tadpoles from high-latitude and high-altitude permanent lakes in temperate regions (e.g., certain Rana and Telmatobius) from tropical species, such as Pseudis paradoxa, whose tadpoles normally achieve large size in temporary seasonal ponds. The paleoecology of Randecker Maar suggests that Palaeobatrachus tadpoles lived in a permanent semitropical lake, but one with few predators.


Jean Paul Gaultier celebrates the three-decade career of this provocative French fashion designer, who began as an assistant with no formal training and has risen to the rank of grand couturier. His risque and often irreverent styles-think Madonna's iconic cone bra from the 1990 Blonde Ambition tour-have earned him the designation of couture's enfant terrible. This stunning monograph explores the range of Gaultier's collections: his interpretation of modern Parisian life, play with gender roles, metropolitan style, and streetwear lines dubbed EurotrashA" and X-rated.A" Gaultier himself contributes a foreword and an extensive interview about his biography, his inspirations, and the themes of his collections, from his first in 1976 to his recent work for Kylie Minogue's international tour. Packed with images of the celebrities who have worn his bold styles, including Madonna, Lady Gaga, Naomi Campbell, Marion Cotillard, and Helen Mirren, this luxurious volume is the perfect homage to a modern master.


Lithium has been in the environment from the origin of life, interacting with almost all of the biological molecules that life invented. Lithium affects many components of intracellular signalling pathways, inhibiting more than ten cellular targets and displacing magnesium ions. Lithium modulates cell function via inhibitory effects on adenosine triphosphatase activity, cyclic adenosine monophosphate, and intracellular enzymes. Lithium is also an important inhibitor of the enzyme glycogen synthase kinase-3. Recent epidemiological findings strongly support the benefits of lithium use in both neuropsychiatry and oncology. Lithium is the first line drug used in the management of bipolar disorders, while natural lithium level intake may influence impulsiveness, a possible core factor mediating the manifestation of both suicidality and aggressiveness. Lithium is also useful in a broad range of diseases: neurological, such as epilepsy, Huntington chorea, Parkinson diseases, and headaches; endocrinological, such as hyperthyreosis, diabetes mellitus, and the inappropriate secretion of the antidiuretic hormone; haematological, such as neutropenia, and thrombocytopenia; and alergological, such as asthma. Moreover, lithium has been tested with promising results in oncology. Lithium reverts the apoptosis models by interfering receptor function, while a long-term lithium treatment has been shown to increase the expression of antiapoptotic genes. Lithium chloride has been also found to hold anticancer properties, while combination treatments with lithium can improve the efficacy of chemotherapeutic agents in apoptosis deficient cancer cells. Lithium can modulate autophagy in esophageal and colorectal cancer cells. A large retrospective study showed that lithium-exposed individuals were less likely to suffer melanoma-associated mortality and recent epidemiological findings showed a reduced overall cancer risk in bipolar patients treated with lithium. What we know about the effects of lithium seems to be a small fraction of what there is to know, but it seems that lithium has been central to survival in the process of biological evolution. Lithium demonstrates a broad range of inhibitory effects from the cell to the behavioral level. We may suggest that lithium operates like a natural universal inhibitor, helping the organisms to readjust balances and to survive, through the development of compensatory and readapting mechanisms.


From the 1830s, horoscopic astrology staged a comeback among the urban middle-classes in England. Part of the popular Victorian fascination with mesmerism, magic and the occult, astrology was particularly disturbing to the intellectual and moral authorities. This book examines the colourful mental and cultural underworld of men like "Raphael", "Zadkiel" and Alan Leo, who exploited and created this demand, and their patrons and clients. These included sensation-seeking aristocrats and people hungry for self-knowledge, but disillusioned with the orthodox religion and with the new scientific answers. Patrick Curry is the author of "Prophecy and Power: Astrology in Early Modern England".


In the United States, 29 states, Washington, D.C. and three territories have adopted a mandatory Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) for their electric power systems, while eight states and one territory have set renewable energy goals. Many foreign nations have adopted an RPS as well. Thus far, almost all RPSs across the United States have met their interim goals with targets and timetables that vary widely. Hawaii's RPS is the most ambitious, with a 100% target set for 2045 (though Vermont set a 75% target for 2032). This paper provides a case study of the Hawai'i RPS. The paper focuses on geographical issues and perspectives that may tease out the course of the states' electricity future: sensitivity to climate change, population distribution, interisland rivalries, as well as the need for greater energy storage and complementary policies. An important complexity is the challenge of meeting electricity demand on six separate Hawaiian Islands (because of the lack of an interisland transmission cable), although all of them have substantial renewable energy resources.


Greater resilience is needed for farms to deal with shocks and disturbances originating from economic, environmental, social and institutional challenges, with resilience achieved by adequate adaptive governance. This study focuses on the resilience capacity of farms in the context of multi-level adaptive governance. We define adaptive governance as adjustments in decision-making processes at farm level and policy level, through changes in management practices and policies in response to identified challenges and the delivery of desired functions (e.g. private and public goods) to be attained. The aim of the study is twofold. First, we investigate how adaptive governance processes at farm level and policy level influence the resilience capacity of farms in terms of robustness, adaptability and transformability. Second, we investigate the "fit" between the adaptive governance processes at farm level and policy level to enable resilience. We study primary egg and broiler production in Sweden taking into consideration economic, social and environmental challenges. We use semi-structured interviews with 17 farmers to explain the adaptive processes at farm level and an analysis of policy documents from the Common Agricultural Policy program 2014–2020, to explain the intervention actions taken by the Common Agricultural Policy. Results show that neither the farm level nor policy level adaptive processes on their own have the capacity to fully enable farms to be robust, adaptable and transformable. While farm level adaptive processes are mainly directed toward securing the robustness and adaptability of farms, policy level interventions are targeted at enabling adaptability. The farm- and the policy level adaptive processes do not "fit" for attaining robustness and transformability.


Traditionally, economists have identified well-being with market command over goods rather than with the "state" of a person. The books in this series go precisely beyond the traditional concepts of consumption, income or wealth and offer a broad, inclusive view of inequality and well-being. Topics include, but are not limited to: Capabilities and Inequalities, Discrimination and Segregation in the Labour Market, Equality of Opportunities, Globalization and Inequality, Human Development and the Quality of Life, Income and Social Mobility, Inequality and Development, Inequality and Happiness, Inequality and Malnutrition, Income and Social Mobility, Inequality in Consumption and Time Use, Inequalities in Health and Education, Multidimensional Inequality and Poverty Measurement, Polarization, Poverty among Children and Elderly People, Social Policy and the Welfare State, and Wealth Distribution.


In several countries temporary terms of trade improvements have led to a deterioration of the current account. Furthermore, many of these countries failed to attain greater post-boom growth rates. The point we make is that the structure of the fiscal process is critical in determining outcomes. If fiscal control is unitary, then the consumption-smoothing effect is operative, and representative-agent models of the current account have predictive power. However, if control is divided among several fiscal claimants, a voracity effect appears which counteracts the consumption-smoothing effect, leading to a deterioration of the current account in response to a positive shock. We model the interaction among fiscal claimants as a dynamic game, and show that in equilibrium aggregate appropriation increases more than the windfall itself. This results in a deterioration of the current account. We also show that all the windfall is dissipated, with the country experiencing no increase in its growth rate. Lastly, we analyze the experiences of seven countries which have enjoyed large windfalls.


Over the past decade, virtualization technology has taken the world over by storm. This explosion has led the industry to market already existing virtualization technology, also known as infrastructure as a service, with the buzz word cloud computing. There has been much promise for return on investment, leading to significant research and a myriad of innovations in this domain. Despite the best efforts of industry leaders, there are still challenges with respect to enterprise security and policy management. In this article, we present the fundamentals of machine virtualization and simple network virtualization. We then provide a brief overview of network policy management throughout the evolution of virtualization. We then segue into current industry trends and some of its novel innovations. Throughout the article we discuss the challenges with respect to policy management. We finalize by analyzing existing solutions and building on them and those of the Distributed Management Task Force.


The Lighting Visualiser (LiVi) is a set of Python scripts, authored by Dr Ryan Southall that function as an add-on to the 3D content creation suite Blender (www.blender.org). LiVi enables Blender to act as a pre/post-processor for the Radiance lighting simulation suite (http://radsite.lbl.gov/radiance/). LiVi allows geometry and materiality imported or specified by Blender to be exported to Radiance format, controls the Radiance simulation, and finally visualises the resulting data in Blender. As such it provides a unique workflow that embeds technical performance data within a digital design environment, allowing flythroughs, animations and accurate rendering of the Radiance results.


To understand the pathophysiology of neuropsychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia requires consideration of multiple genetic and non-genetic factors. However, very little is known about the consequences of combining models of synaptic dysfunction with controlled environmental manipulations. Therefore, to generate new insights into gene–environment interactions and complex behaviour, we examined the influence of variable prenatal stress (PNS) on two mouse lines with mutations in synaptosomal-associated protein of 25 kDa (Snap-25): the blind-drunk (Bdr) point mutant and heterozygous Snap-25 knockout mice. Neonatal development was analysed in addition to an assessment of adult behavioural phenotypes relevant to the psychotic, cognitive and negative aspects of schizophrenia. These data show that PNS influenced specific anxiety-related behaviour in all animals. In addition, sensorimotor gating deficits previously noted in Bdr mutants were markedly enhanced by PNS; significantly, these effects could be reversed with the application of anti-psychotic drugs. Moreover, social interaction abnormalities were observed only in Bdr animals from stressed dams but not in wild-type littermates or mutants from non-stressed mothers. These results show for the first time that combining a synaptic mouse point mutant with a controlled prenatal stressor paradigm produces both modified and previously unseen phenotypes, generating new insights into the interactions between genetics and the environment relevant to the study of psychiatric disease.


Knowing what to say to a young person with cancer is often very difficult and even professionals in the field can lack confidence in engaging with the spiritual and religious dimensions of this. This article draws on a small-scale phenomenological research project commissioned by the oncology department, and undertaken, at Birmingham Children's Hospital, UK, by the chaplaincy team. It was designed to identify the spiritual and religious needs of young people with cancer and to explore the implications for enhancing patient care. Nine young people with cancer and their families participated in semi-structured interviews about their spiritual and religious needs. Oncology staff participated in two focus groups. Out of the research and subsequent work the chaplaincy team identified a range of metaphors which help to facilitate conversations exploring spiritual and religious needs with paediatric oncology patients and their families. This aspect of enhancing patient care is developed in this article. While careful attention needs to be paid to the demographic, developmental and cultural specificities in any encounter, it is proposed that these metaphors may have transferability or adaptability into other contexts where young people have experienced trauma.


The purpose of this study was to find out the impact of public expenditure composition on economic growth in Kenya from 1964 to 2011. The specific objectives of the study were to investigate the impact of government expenditure on components: education, infrastructure, health, defense and public order and security on economic growth in Kenya. This study employed use of annual Kenyan data for the period 1964 to 2011 for all the variables. The study conducted Stationarity Test, Causality Test, Cointegration Tests before using vector error correction model to estimate the data. The survey showed that though government expenditure on education is positively related to economic growth it does not spur any significant change to growth. Based on this, investing in more and better-distributed education in the labor force will help create conditions that could lead to higher productivity and higher economic growth. On health while an increased expenditure on improving health might be justified purely on the grounds of its impact on labor productivity. This supports the case for investments in health as a form of human capital. To reduce the huge budget outlay for importing medicine and drugs, this study recommended for government to support research and development in this sector locally It was also noted that the government should encourage programs like Build Operate and Transfer (BOT) to foster increased investment and provision of public utilities. As a result of this relationship between private and public investment, the government should come up with policies that brings a balance between the two.


Srotus (body channels) is considered as an important entity of the body and is responsible for the Vahana (transferring) of Dosha, Dhatu etc. Full body is considered as Srotomaya (made of Srotus ). Among the types of Srotus, Artavavaha Srotus (which does Mutra Vahana ) is given prime importance which is only present in females. The root of Artavavaha Srotus is considered as Garbhashaya (Uterus) and Artavavaha dhamani (vessels carrying Artava ). Injury to Artavavaha Srotus leads to infertility, dysperunia and dysmenorrhea. As per context Artava can be considered as ovum and menstrual bleeding i.e. Beejarupi Artava and Drustartava respectively. The Beejarupi Artava released from Ovary researches the Garbhashaya and unites with Shukra (sperm) to form Garbha (fetus). Bleeding phase plays a very important role to know the fruitful period of coitus (for formation of Garbha ). Artava which is accumulated in a month is drawn towards the vaginal orifice by Vata through the Dhamani's and this is called as Drustartava . Considering two dimensions of the word Artava (Beejarupi, Drusta ) and Garbha formation, Mula of Artavavaha Srotus is being mentioned as Garbhashaya and Artavavaha Dhamani . The release of Beejarupi Artava will be fruitful when it reaches the Garbhashaya and unites with Shukra and forms Garbha , hence Garbhashaya is considered as one of the Mula of Artavavaha Srotus . For a fruitfull coitus period (for formation of Garbha ) Rajasrava Kala plays a important role which is due to Vahana of Artava through Artavavaha Dhamani , hence Artavavaha Dhamani is considered as the Mula of Artavavaha Srotus . Similarly Srotomula of each and every Srotus should be analyzed along with its Mula and there is a need of further study in the field of Srotus and Srotomula .


As the size of distributed systems keeps growing, the peer to peer communication paradigm has been identified as the key to scalability. Peer to peer overlay networks are characterized by their self-organizing capabilities, resilience to failure and fully decentralized control. In a peer to peer overlay, no entity has a global knowledge of the system. As much as this property is essential to ensure the scalability, monitoring the system under such circumstances is a complex task. Yet, estimating the size of the system is core functionality for many distributed applications to parameter setting or monitoring purposes. In this paper, we propose a comparative study between three algorithms that estimate in a fully decentralized way the size of a peer to peer overlay. Candidate approaches are generally applicable irrespective of the underlying structure of the peer to peer overlay. The paper reports the head to head comparison of estimation system size algorithms. The simulations have been conducted using the same simulation framework and inputs and highlight the differences in cost and accuracy of the estimation between the algorithms both in static and dynamic settings


This paper proposes a definition of system health in the context of multiple agents optimizing a joint reward function. We use this definition as a credit assignment term in a policy gradient algorithm to distinguish the contributions of individual agents to the global reward. The health-informed credit assignment is then extended to a multi-agent variant of the proximal policy optimization algorithm and demonstrated on simple particle environments that have characteristics such as system health, risk-taking, semi-expendable agents, continuous action spaces, and partial observability. We show significant improvement in learning performance compared to policy gradient methods that do not perform multi-agent credit assignment.


This paper investigates feasibility of using a flywheel based energy recovery and storage system for a robotic manipulator. The incentive is supported by ever growing necessity for efficient systems and optimisation of power consumption of industrial processes. Previous work has shown that robotic manipulators can benefit from incorporation of energy recovery and temporary energy storage system which resulted in significant reduction in power consumption. The ABB IRB 140 manipulator is used as a test bed for simulation and data collection. The manipulator internal parameters are identified and model is constructed using MATLAB/Simulink. The manipulator is programmed to executed a number of trajectories representing typical industrial tasks during which joints data is recorded and applied to the model. Simulation results show that flywheel based energy storage system is fully compatible with the manipulator controller hardware and is able to achieve reduction in power consumption.


The new theatre has ceased to be a refuge for a group of know-it-alls and culture mavens convinced of their own uniqueness. We don't want to see them in our theatre, because the past decade has shown that these supposed guardians of Polish conscience and good taste did not in fact meet the challenge of the age. They're just here on holiday. The so-called Polish intelligentsia no longer treats visits to the theatre, reading books, taking part in concerts as essential things. It has taken up paying off loans, furnishing flats, traveling to Greece and Spain. And constantly complaining, which justifies their intellectual passivity and consumer appetites. The new theatre has no subjects in common with this audience. It is much more interested in the people who meet in clubs, cinemas; the girls and guys from motorcycle clubs; young intellectuals, craftsmen, concertgoers; the unemployed, and those trying to find their place in the world. This audience is not interested in theatre that is a conventional, cultural gesture. To interest them, it's essential to have distinct opinions, orientation in the world, the courage to diagnosis problems. The new theatre is not a refuge. The new theatre is an agora.


BACKGROUND/AIMS
Herb-induced liver injury (HILI) can lead to chronic liver injury, liver transplantation, or even death. This study aimed to identify the predictors of poor HILI outcomes, especially chronic HILI.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Clinical data of 488 patients with HILI were retrospectively analyzed from a Chinese center between January 2010 and January 2014. Logistic regression and C-statistic were used to identify risk factors and prognostic models for HILI outcomes.

RESULTS
In all patients, 69 (14.1%) developed chronic HILI, and 20 (4.1%) died due to liver injury or underwent liver transplantation. To predict the fatal HILI prognosis, the model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) with a C-statistic of 0.981 (95%CI 0.968-0.995) was better than Hy's law (C-statistic 0.569; 95%CI 0.449-0.689). The latency, course of peak alanine aminotransferase decreasing >50% after discontinuation of herb application, peak triglyceride value, and platelet count at liver injury onset were identified as independent risk factors for chronicity with the adjusted odds ratios of 1.268 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.034-1.554), 2.303 (95%CI 1.588-3.340), 0.580 (95%CI 0.343-0.978), and 0.183 (95%CI 0.091-0.368), respectively. A prognostic model for chronic HILI based on these four factors yielded the best prediction with a C-statistic of 0.812 (95%CI 0.755-0.868), compared with MELD (C-statistic 0.506; 95%CI 0.431-0.581) and Hy's law (C-statistic 0.418; 95%CI 0.343-0.492).

CONCLUSION
Model for end-stage liver disease can be used to predict the fatal prognosis of HILI. A long latency, slow recovery, and low triglyceride value and platelet counts are important determinants for chronic HILI.


The Small Firms Association announced in May 2006 that Absenteeism from work costs small business €692 million per annum.

The above statement proves that workplace attendance and absenteeism are of fundamental importance for business survival and it is never too soon to think about how to encourage it. Absenteeism effects all organisations whether they are public, private, large or small.

This dissertation will look at what causes absenteeism, the need for organisations to measure attendance and its relationship with culture and motivation in the workplace.

Finally, this dissertation will then be presented to Senior Management upon where it will be anticipated that a formal absence control process will be inaugurated into GlaxoSmithKline.


Rabies is a disease that has been known since antiquity. It is a highly fatal acute disease of the central nervous system caused by a lyssavirus. Prior to the discovery of the rabies vaccine, rabies-infected individuals fell victim to the delusions and superstitions associated with this disease. Though it has been neglected in many regions of the world, rabies remains one of the most feared diseases in many developing countries, where it takes the majority of its victims. The virus circulates mainly in domestic and wild carnivores, taking 60,000 human lives worldwide every year and inflicting significant financial damage. It can, however, be well controlled due to the availability of effective Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) protocols. Pasteur Institute of Iran has had a significant role in the establishment of current PEP protocols in the world. In spite of the availability of effective PEP protocols, preventive vaccination would be preferable in endemic regions. Annually, a considerable number of exposures to animal bites occur in Iran. The current situation in the country is well-controlled by virtue of a robust surveillance system and efficient PEP treatments, resulting in considerably low death incidences from rabies. High quality vaccines recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) are expensive and unaffordable in developing countries, where the need for rabies vaccination is greatest. Therefore, there is an increasing need to develop new cost-effective and efficient vaccines requiring fewer injections and providing longer-lasting immunity. J Med Microbiol Infec Dis, 2014, 2 (1): 1-10.


Today nearly half of all people in the Middle East are under the age of fifteen. Yet little is known about the new generation of boys and girls who are growing up in a world vastly different from that of their parents, a generation who will be the leaders of tomorrow. This groundbreaking anthology is an attempt to look at the current situation of children by presenting materials by both Middle Eastern and Western scholars. Many of the works have been translated from Arabic, Persian, and French.The forty-one pieces are organized into sections on the history of childhood, growing up, health, work, education, politics and war, and play and the arts. They are presented in many forms: essays in history and social science, poems, proverbs, lullabies, games, and short stories. Countries represented are Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Tunisia, Israel/West Bank, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Lebanon, Turkey, Yemen, and Afghanistan. This book complements Elizabeth Fernea's earlier works, Women and the Family in the Middle East and Middle Eastern Muslim Women Speak (coedited with Basima Bezirgan). Like them, it will be important reading for everyone interested in the Middle East and in women's and children's issues.


ABSTRACT Purpose: This paper explores the perceptions of Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) at Football in the Community (FitC) organisations associated with English professional football clubs regarding developments and changes over the 25 years since their inception. Of interest was how the schemes might/might not reflect the original underpinning ethos, aims, and intended outcomes. Methodology/approach: Ten CEOs participated in interviews designed to explore their perceptions of the challenges, developments, and opportunities in the industry over 25 years. Findings: Thematic analysis revealed four main issues facing the sector: security and sustainability of delivery and funding; the importance of growth and diversification; engagement with multiple agendas and agencies; "professionalisation" of the workforce; and brand values and awareness. For CEOs, success of their schemes was measured both in terms of financial security of programmes and social impact within the community. Practical implications: The sustainability of FitC schemes is inextricably linked to the success of organisations, contributing to social policy objectives. Research contribution: Through the identification of strategic and organisational factors that have underpinned the development and outcomes of FitC, the paper addresses the gap in the literature by considering the perspectives of CEOs.


The first time Sidney Lumet teamed with screenwriter Paul Dehn to adapt an English thriller for the screen, the book was John Le Carre's Call for the Dead and the style of the resulting film, The Deadly Affair, was, as Leslie Halliwell comments: "deliberately glum, photographed against the shabbiest possible London backgrounds in muddy colour."1 Le Carre's complex, psychically tortured characters, gray moral ambivalence, and naturalistically detailed settings meshed well with the predilections of the director who would explore the pressures of urban life in such films as The Pawnbroker, Dog Day Afternoon, and Prince of the City. When Lumet and Dehn collaborated again, they had exchanged Le Carre for Agatha Christie, and the style of Murder on the Orient Express had been chosen by producers John Brabourne and Richard Goodwin as one of all-star cast glamor and glittering period detail. Many reviewers agreed with Paul Zimmerman that Lumet was out of his element in the plush, stylized ambience of the film: "But a rough, scrappy, hustling inventiveness, full of gritty textures, has always characterized his best work. He simply has no feel for high style"2 After completing the film, Lumet himself admitted the stylistic difficulties it had presented: "I did Murder on the Orient Express because I love melodrama. That's all. I wanted to have fun. It turned out to be some of the hardest work I've ever done, because the piece was highly stylized."3 The stylistic differences involved not only mise en scene but significant variations in the concept and revelation of character. In Christie's novels, the efforts of the detective and the unfolding of the narrative produce gradual revelations of previously concealed information about characters. The process, moreover, is constantly circumscribed by the structural necessities of the mystery genre. As Charles Derry remarks: "Thus the omniscience is rhetorically selective in regard to which characters it can reveal as well as in regard to the comprehensiveness with which it can reveal them. Of course, if any character were to be revealed completely, he could no longer be a suspect."4 In a Lumet film, on the other hand, vey little stands in the way of a character's steady and full psychological disclosure, and the way characters reveal themselves and the factors that compel their revelations are crucial. Lumet uses his characters' manifested behavior as a text between whose lines he probes for an authentic reading. His whole visual style, which stresses camera movement and editing that start with the distant and proceed to zero in on the intimate, invites the viewer to participate in the unveiling process. Nor is the process particularly arduous. Once two or more characters settle in for a shouting match, the revelations usually come thick and fast; critics rarely accuse Lumet of being overly subtle. What Polito says of cops in Prince of the City applies to a majority of the director's neurotic, tormented protagonists: "In their hearts they want to admit their guilt." Christie, on the other hand, has little use for psychologically complex characters. She writes in her autobiography: "At that time, the time of the 1914 war, the doer of evil was not a hero: the enemy was wicked, the hero was good; it was as crude and simple as that. We had not then begun to wallow in psychology. I was, like everyone else who wrote books or read them, against the criminal and for the innocent victim."5 The secrets her characters conceal , in addition to criminal guilt, concern social identity . They really have different names, occupations, personal histories, or relationships to the other suspects or the victim than their initial testimony acknowledges. But even when the characters fulfill Poirot's prediction in The Murder of Roger Ackroyd that everyone in a murder investigation has something to hide, they are hiding actual facts, not the traumas that the secrets of the past may have wrought on their psyches. …


Executive Summary
Many Tasmanian farmers and communities were affected by drought during 2007 to
2010, with Exceptional Circumstances (EC) declared in some agricultural production regions. The State Government and other organisations implemented drought initiatives, in an attempt to reduce the negative impacts of drought on farmers, their families and communities.
A significant investment was made in providing support to those affected by drought, with over 45 initiatives offered to support farm businesses, farming families and rural communities, including education, financial, social and emotional, and farm production support measures. It is important to evaluate the effectiveness of the drought initiatives, and identify which forms of assistance provided the most value for farmers and rural communities. Evaluating the effectiveness of drought initiative programs can contribute valuable lessons for government and other organisations interested in assisting rural communities, guiding the design and implementation of future assistance measure.
This report provides an evaluation of the drought initiatives implemented in Tasmania from 2007 to 2010, assessing the social dimensions of initiatives using qualitative research techniques. Interview and focus group discussions were conducted with over seventy farmers, farming families and service providers, providing a rich and detailed description of the impacts of living through the drought and the value of support mechanisms provided.
The "Tasmanian Drought Evaluation Project" was initiated and funded by the
Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment (DPIPWE) and the
Social Inclusion Unit (SIU), Department of Premier and Cabinet. The objectives of the study were to develop an understanding of the effectiveness of the drought initiatives provided during this time. This included:
a) examining the relative value of initiatives provided to different farmers,
families and communities
b) identifying the effectiveness of information provision methods used to
communicate support measures available during drought
c) identifying any gaps in the support measures provided
d) identifying the cost of living pressures faced by farmers, families and
communities during the drought period
e) exploring the strategies used by individuals or communities to ameliorate
cost of living pressures during the drought period (see project Terms of
Reference provided in Appendix 4)
The study highlights the interactive nature of drought impacts and drought initiatives, stressing the need to recognise that drought impacts people in different ways depending on their personal and social circumstances, and that drought initiatives need to be able to support this diversity rather than using a "one size fits all" approach. Study participants identified three main categories of value provided by drought initiatives: emotional and social support, financial support, and the support of farm production, with both long and short term benefits recognised. It is important to understand that individual drought initiatives may provide more than one type of support (e.g. financial assistance through emergency relief payments provide short
term financial support as well as emotional and social support through the reduction of financial stress).
The "shot gun" approach to information dissemination was favoured among service
providers, with a wide range of communication channels used based on the
assumption that people access information differently. Common information
techniques included the media (newspaper and radio), internet/email, community
meetings, and word of mouth, with farmers who participated in the study typically preferring to receive information via the media and email/internet, as these enabled them to hear about the support available and seek further information. However more personalised forms of information sharing such as word of mouth and opportunities to meet drought initiative service providers (community meetings or events) were also appreciated, as these were trusted information sources and enabled potential support recipients to form relationships with service providers prior to seeking assistance.
Alternative forms of information distribution were identified, including the use of social networking sites.
Overall the drought initiatives were well received, although it was acknowledged that government support prior to and after EC declaration would have been beneficial and potentially reduced the extent of the drought impacts, with farmers in particular identifying the value of mental health support initiatives, financial counselling services, and agricultural extension programs. An additional gap discussed by participants was the need for more support for farmers with regards to stock culling activities, which are associated with negative impacts on mental health.
The study highlighted further gaps in knowledge about the impacts of drought on
rural communities. A high reliance on community leaders to support their
communities and lead drought response initiatives was identified. Such leaders need to be recognised and supported by the government and other service providers, preventing burn-out and the loss of positive social capital. This need was emphasized by the vulnerability of those communities that did not have strong community leaders,and subsequently require more support than other communities in order to successfully access and implement drought initiatives.
Pressures on the cost of living resulting from impacts of drought vary for each family situation. Farming families utilised the available drought initiatives (especially the financially based initiatives offered by the CWA and Salvation Army), family support, and off farm income to reduce the impacts of cost of living pressures.


This article examines an ICT-based intervention (known as the DrumNet project) that has succeeded in integrating smallholder-resource and poor farmers into a higher value agricultural chain. The article assesses the design of the project, and how it resolves the smallholder farmers' idiosyncratic market failures and examines member-farmers' marketing margins. The article finds that the design of the DrumNet project resolves smallholder farmers' credit, insurance and information market failures and enables them to overcome organizational failure. The article concludes that successful ICT-based interventions for integrating farmers into higher value agricultural value chains require an integrated approach to tackling smallholder farmers' constraints. The findings have implications for the design of future ICT-based interventions in agriculture.


The present study investigated the effects of left hemispatial neglect on two tasks activating the mental number line (MNL). Six patients with left neglect performed a mental number bisection task and a modified version of the Spatial Numerical Association of Response Codes (SNARC) task. Effects of left neglect were observed in the number bisection task, but not in the SNARC task. We argue that the dissociation between number bisection and SNARC resembles, in the representational space of the MNL, previously reported dissociations on neglect between explicit knowledge (assessed by direct tasks) and implicit knowledge (assessed by indirect tasks).


Antebellum Southern Appalachia has long been seen as a classless and essentially slaveless region - one so alienated and isolated from other parts of the South that, with the onset of the Civil War, highlanders opposed both secession and Confederate war efforts. In a multifaceted challenge to these basic assumptions about Appalachian society in the mid-nineteenth century, John Inscoe reveals new variations on the diverse motives and rationales that drove Southerners, particularly in the Upper South, out of the Union. Mountain Masters vividly portrays the wealth, family connections, commercial activities, and governmental power of the slaveholding elite that controlled the social, economic, and political development of western North Carolina. In examining the role played by slavery in shaping the political consciousness of mountain residents, the book also provides fresh insights into the nature of southern class interaction, community structure, and master-slave relationships.


The molybdenum (Mo) stable isotope system has been applied to a variety of geochemical and environmental problems. In the absence of a universally accepted zero-delta reference material, different groups report their data relative to their adopted in-house standards. Rigorous comparison of results generated in different laboratories using different analytical approaches is only possible if the in-house standards are of identical Mo isotope composition. To determine potential isotopic differences among various standards, the δ98Mo (98Mo/95Mo) values of ten Mo standard solutions were measured as part of this study. For six of these solutions, four laboratories carried out an intercalibration. In contrast to previous results, δ98Mo of various in-house standards were found to differ by up to 0.37‰. Renormalisation of our new and published Mo-isotope data available for seawater taken from various sites and the USGS rock reference material SDO-1 relative to NIST-SRM-3134, provides a much better agreement among reported δ98Mo values for these samples. Relative to NIST-SRM-3134, the δ98Mo of SDO-1 is 0.80 ± 0.14‰ (2s), while oxic, open-ocean seawater is characterised by an average δ98Mo of 2.09 ± 0.10‰ (2s). This intercalibration provides a solid platform for comparing and amending existing δ98Mo values. In addition, we recommend that future Mo isotope studies adopt NIST-SRM-3134 as a universal zero-delta reference material.


The structural and photometric properties of 'red-and-dead' early-type galaxies provide vital clues about the evolutionary pathway which lead to their formation. Here, I use deep Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope image data to explore the multi-component internal structures of red sequence galaxies in the Coma cluster, with a particular focus on disk-dominated early-type galaxies (i.e. S0s). Galaxies are investigated across a wide range of uminosities
(−17 > M_g > −22) and cluster-centric radii (0 < r_cluster < 1.3 r_200). I present the 2D structural decomposition of u, g, i imaging via GALFIT. Rigorous filtering is applied to ensure that the measured best-fit models are the most meaningful descriptions of their galaxy's underlying
stellar structures.

A sample of Coma cluster members (N = 200) was identified as well described by an 'archetypal' S0 structure (central bulge + outer disk). Internal bulge and/or disk colour gradients were implemented by allowing component sizes to vary between bands. Such gradients are required for 30% of archetypal S0 galaxies. Bulges are characterised by n ~2
profiles with half-light radii, R_e ~1 kpc, remaining consistent in size for all but the brightest galaxies (M_g < −20.5). S0 disks are brighter (at fixed size, or smaller at fixed luminosity) than those of star-forming spirals. Similar colour-magnitude relations are found for both bulges and disks. The global red sequence for S0s in Coma hence results from a combination of both component trends. The average bulge − disk colour difference is 0.09 ± 0.01 mag in g − i, and 0.16 ± 0.01 mag in u − g. Using simple stellar population models, bulges are either ~2-3× older, or ~2× more metal-rich than disks. The trend towards bluer
global S0 colours observed further from Coma's core is driven by a significant correlation of disk colour with cluster-centric radius. An equivalent trend is detected in bulge colours at a marginal significance level. An environment-mediated mechanism of disk fading is favoured as the dominant factor in S0 formation.

The decomposition analysis was then extended to encompass a wider range of structural models. This revealed a large sample of reliably-fit, symmetric multi-component galaxies in Coma (N = 478). 42±3% of Coma cluster galaxies (N = 201) are best described by a 3(+) component structure. In addition, 11% of galaxies (N = 52) feature a break in their outer profiles, indicating truncated or anti-truncated disks. Beyond the break radius, truncated disks are consistent in structure with untruncated disks, disfavouring a formation mechanism via physical truncation of exponential disks. The sizes/luminosities of bulges in antitruncated galaxies correlate strongly with galaxy luminosity, indicating a bulge-enhancement formation mechanism for anti-truncated disks. Both types of broken disk are found overwhelmingly (> 70%) in barred galaxies, suggesting that galaxy bar play an important role in formation of such structures. The wide variety of galaxy structures detected in Coma highlights the naivete of the simple 'bulge + disk' or 'single spheroid' morphological paradigm for early-type galaxies.


We present an algorithm for inferring the dynamical mass of galaxy clusters directly from their respective phase-space distributions, that is, the observed line-of-sight velocities and projected distances of galaxies from the cluster centre. Our method employs normalizing flows, a deep neural network capable of learning arbitrary high-dimensional probability distributions, and inherently accounts, to an adequate extent, for the presence of interloper galaxies which are not bounded to a given cluster, the primary contaminant of dynamical mass measurements. We validate and showcase the performance of our neural flow approach to robustly infer the dynamical mass of clusters from a realistic mock cluster catalogue. A key aspect of our novel algorithm is that it yields the probability density function of the mass of a particular cluster, thereby providing a principled way of quantifying uncertainties, in contrast to conventional machine learning (ML) approaches. The neural network mass predictions, when applied to a contaminated catalogue with interlopers, have a mean overall logarithmic residual scatter of 0.028 dex, with a lognormal scatter of 0.126 dex, which goes down to 0.089 dex for clusters in the intermediate- to high-mass range. This is an improvement by nearly a factor of 4 relative to the classical cluster mass scaling relation with the velocity dispersion, and outperforms recently proposed ML approaches. We also apply our neural flow mass estimator to a compilation of galaxy observations of some well-studied clusters with robust dynamical mass estimates, further substantiating the efficacy of our algorithm.


Abstract: Medical students in the 1990s are heterogeneous in terms of gender, "race," class and sexual orientation. Based on a survey of third-year students, student interviews, and faculty/administrator interviews at one Canadian medical school, this paper goes beyond the identification of blatant forms of discrimination to examine micro level interactional practices of inclusion and exclusion that cumulatively convey messages about who does and who does not belong in medical school. These micro inequities and everyday inequalities construct an institutional climate that may marginalize and alienate some students, reproducing hierarchies of inequality despite the institution's express commitment to formal equality. Resume: Les etudiants en medecine des annees 90 sont un groupe heterogene en ce qui concerne leur sexe, ethnicite, classe sociale et sexualite. Prenant comme point de depart un sondage d'etudiants en troisieme annee et des entrevues avec des etudiants, des membres du corps professoral et de l'administration a une ecole de medecine canadienne, cette etude va au-dela de l'identification des formes flagrantes de discrimination pour examiner a un niveau plus subtil les pratiques interactives d'inclusion et d'exclusion qui, prises dans leur ensemble, transmettent le message de qui devrait et qui ne devrait pas etre etudiant en medecine. Malgre l'engagement public de l'institution a une egalite formelle, ces micro-iniquites et injustices de tous les jours creent un climat institutionnel qui marginaliserait et alienerait certains etudiants en reproduisant des hierarchies d'inegalite. Elements in the students' background do not exert any decisive influence ... in medical school. Such background factors may have indirect influence in many ways, but the problems of the student role are so pressing ... that the perspectives developed are much more apt to reflect the pressures of the immediate school situation than of ideas associated with prior roles and experiences (Becker et al., 1961: 47). In this passage from Boys in White, a classic study of medical professional socialization, Howard Becker and his colleagues insist that social characteristics such as gender, "race," (2) culture, social class, sexual orientation, and religion have little or no impact on medical student experiences. Social differences become background variables in the face of an overwhelming medical student culture. In their study, conducted in 1956-57, about 5% of the students in any class were women and 5% to 7% were non-white (1961: 60). (3) They really were boys in white -- in fact they were white boys in white. Over the next 40 years the profile of the typical North American medical school class changed considerably. By 1993, 42% of medical students in the United States were women (Bickel and Kopriva, 1993). In Canada, women's proportion of medical school classes increased from 9% in 1957-58 to 49% by 1997-98 (Association of Canadian Medical Colleges, 1998: 17). By 1991-92 African American, Native American, Mexican American, Puerto Rican, other Hispanic, and Asian or Pacific Islander students made up 27% of all medical students in the United States (Jonas et al., 1992: 1088; c.f. Foster, 1996). In Canada statistics on the "race" of medical students are not available. As well, medical students are somewhat older and better educated upon entry than they were in previous years (Gray and Reudy, 1998: 1047). Evidence also indicates there are more openly-identified gay/lesbian/bisexual medical students. There are currently gay and lesbian student caucuses in medical schools, a Canadian gay and lesbian medical student E-ma il list, a gay and lesbian committee of the American Medical Student Association (Oriel et al., 1996), and recent journal articles addressing the concerns of gays and lesbians in medicine (Cook et al., 1995; Druzin et al., 1998; Klamen et al., 1999; Oriel et al., 1996; Risdon et al., 2000; Rose, 1994; Wallick et al. …


Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to report findings from the first stage of a study that focusses on research in the domain of entrepreneurship as a process of knowledge creation and exchange. It seeks to discover what entrepreneurship scholars really believe that they contribute. Focusses on the entrepreneurship academic community and examine two issues: the value scholars perceive, in terms of both how an individuals' work can be seen to be a contribution to knowledge, and what "contribution to knowledge" means to the individual researcher.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors employ a qualitative approach within which 20 entrepreneurship professors were asked to complete a semi structured research instrument to express their opinions on the value of the authors' research and the extent to which the authors' work contribute to knowledge and practice. The sample was drawn from full entrepreneurship professors from the UK, USA, Europe, New Zealand, and Australia.

Findings

Suggest that entrepreneurship scholars publish for a plurality of reasons including personal fulfilment, interest, and necessity. It was also noted that the motivations for academic scholarship have changed with increased internal and external pressures and a drive to publish in certain journals.

Research limitations/implications

This is a novel study not undertaken previously in the entrepreneurship discipline. The results will inform research practices within the entrepreneurship discipline and represent the basis for an ongoing large scale global quantitative study of the entrepreneurship discipline.

Originality/value

The outcomes of this research inform higher education stakeholders in the construction of valid research strategies thus providing a suitable impact upon academia and society. It provides an initial insight into drivers for academic research within the entrepreneurship discipline, and the opportunities, challenges and paradoxes which various approaches to research contribution entail.


This thesis introduces a new approach to characterize and evaluate ocular light exposure based on the discovery of novel blue light-sensitive photoreceptors in the human eye. These photoreceptors are the primary mediators of 'non-visual' responses impacting human health, from resetting the circadian clock to directly alerting the brain. In recent years, studies have found that light at short-wavelengths is more effective than light at longer wavelengths at inducing and suppressing a range of 'non-visual' responses. Although it has been recommended that we approximate the spectral sensitivity of these novel photoreceptors with an action spectra peaking near 490 nm, the optimal approach for quantifying non-visual spectral effectiveness is yet unknown. These novel photoreceptors, in addition being photoreceptors themselves, receive inputs from the classical photoreceptors (rods and cones) that in return affect the overall spectral sensitivity of the non-visual system as it changes with lighting conditions. Due to this time-varying spectral sensitivity and the relatively slow temporal processing, the relation between dynamic external light stimuli and the magnitude of non-visual responses cannot be explained with a single function or a simple threshold value. To better understand these non-linear and unknown relations, this thesis aims to develop a novel computational method, based on recent findings about the 'non-visual' - also called non-image-forming - effects of light on human health. A dynamic wavelength-dependent model framework is proposed to evaluate the non-visual health potential of light. This novel approach integrates the spectral effectiveness of irradiation and accommodates time-varying spectral sensitivity functions. These time series of light quantities serve as inputs for the light-driven model, which accounts for light intensity, duration, history, and timing of light exposure. By quantifying light in terms of spectral effectiveness and temporal dynamics, different light exposure patterns can be ranked in terms of its potential to have an impact on human health. The final objective of this thesis is to support the design of healthier buildings by applying evidence-based lighting criteria, which can then inform architectural design through a simulation-based approach. Incorporating non-visual effects into a building simulation workflow requires a good approximation of daylight spectra as it varies with sun position and sky type. Performance predictions must also account for occupant behavior and scheduling, which brings us to the question: How can we apply such a method to make informed decisions about our built environment? The integration of the proposed model into a functional simulation workflow is demonstrated using an architectural case study but first the non-visual spectral effectiveness of light will be evaluated under varying sky conditions to analyze the model output sensitivity to input accuracy. The model and its application to the built environment will then be investigated using multiple view directions and by considering occupant behavior and scheduling to make an immersive prediction within a space. This novel computational approach can be seen as a first step towards human-centric lighting application, simulating an occupant's light consumption to evaluate non-visual health potential that can support decision-making in the built environment.


ABSTRACT Aim: LY2510924, an antagonist to the chemokine receptor CXCR4, inhibits tumor growth and metastasis in xenograft models. A Phase I trial with LY2510924 demonstrated an acceptable safety profile with a robust pharmacodynamic profile. This open-label phase II trial evaluated the clinical benefit of carboplatin/etoposide plus LY2510924 versus carboplatin/etoposide, the standard of care (SOC), as a first-line therapy in patients (pts) with extensive-stage SCLC. Methods: Treatment-naive extensive-stage SCLC pts were randomized 1:1 to receive six 21-day cycles of either LY+SOC (Arm A) or SOC (Arm B). A 20-mg dose of LY2510924 was self-administered by the patient subcutaneously on days 1-7 of each cycle. Efficacy was evaluated using RECIST v. 1.1; adverse events were evaluated using MedDRA v. 14.0. The primary end point, progression-free survival (PFS), was analyzed using a stratified log-rank test. Secondary end points were objective response rate (ORR), duration of overall response (DoR), overall survival (OS), and safety. Results: Median follow-up time was 8.4 months. Pt characteristics were comparable in Arm A (N=47) and Arm B (N=43). Median PFS for Arm A was 5.88 months (95% confidence interval 4.83, 6.24) and Arm B 5.85 months (4.63, 6.51), p=0.9806. ORRs were 74.5% and 81.0%; median DoR were 4.83 months (3.58, 5.09) and 4.67 months (3.32, 5.78) for Arms A and B, respectively. The median OS was 9.72 months (6.64, 11.70) and 11.14 months (8.25, 13.44), p=0.1120 for Arms A and B, respectively. Grade 3/4 treatment-emergent adverse events>8% in Arm A included neutrophil count decrease (40% vs. 56%), anemia (30% vs. 33%), platelet count decrease (23% vs. 16%), lung infection (11% vs. 0%), white blood cell count decrease (9% vs. 9%), and febrile neutropenia (9% vs. 2%) (Arm A vs. Arm B). No pts died due to adverse events. Conclusions: No improvements in PFS, ORR, DoR, or OS in treatment-naive extensive-stage SCLC pts were observed when LY2510924 was added to SOC. The addition of LY2510924 to SOC appeared to increase incidence of lung infection and febrile neutropenia; otherwise, the overall toxicity profile was acceptable in this patient population. Disclosure: O. Hamid: Oday Hamid is employed by Eli Lilly, the sponsor of the study and owns stock in the company; J.R. Stille: Employee of Eli Lilly and Company; J. Polzer: Employee of Eli Lilly and Company. S. Roberson: Employee of Eli Lilly and Company. All other authors have declared no conflicts of interest.


Every arena of science has its own flash-point issues—chemistry and poison gas, physics and the atom bomb—and genetics has had a troubled history with race. As Jonathan Marks reveals, this dangerous relationship rumbles on to this day, still leaving plenty of leeway for a belief in the basic natural inequality of races. The eugenic science of the early twentieth century and the commodified genomic science of today are unified by the mistaken belief that human races are naturalistic categories. Yet their boundaries are founded neither in biology nor in genetics and, not being a formal scientific concept, race is largely not accessible to the scientist. As Marks argues, race can only be grasped through the humanities: historically, experientially, politically. This wise, witty essay explores the persistence and legacy of scientific racism, which misappropriates the authority of science and undermines it by converting it into a social weapon.


Pancreatogenic diabetes (PD), secondary either to chronic calcific pancreatitis or to pancreatectomy, is characterized by higher frequency of hypoglycemic events during insulin therapy in comparison with type I insulin-dependent diabetes (IDD). Not only glucagon deficiency, but an enhanced peripheral tissue sensitivity to insulin could account for this metabolic behavior. We investigated several facets of insulin action, e.g., tissue sensitivity to insulin, insulin binding to red cells, and insulin kinetics in seven patients with PD in comparison with type I. Tissue sensitivity to insulin was evaluated by means of the glucose-insulin clamp technique as M/I × 100 ratio (mg · kg ·−1 min−1/μU · ml−1), where M is the amount of glucose infused by Biostator GCIIS to clamp BG at basal level and I is the free insulin plateau concentration achieved by a primed-constant insulin infusion. At high BG 15 h after the last injection of regular insulin M/I × 100 was 7.79 (range 4.25–9.75) in PD and 4.20 (range 1.20–6.91) in D (P < 0.05). At low and equal BG M/I × 100 was 8.55 (range 6.35–9.72) in PD and 3.42 (range 1.19–6.75) in D (P < 0.01). The rate of endogenous glucose production was nearly totally suppressed in both groups of patients. Just before the two clamps, 125I-insulin specific binding to red cells was studied. The maximum specific binding was significantly higher in PD than in D at high BG (10.7 ± 1.7 vs. 7.4 ± 0.8/109 red cells) and at low and equal BG (12.4 ± 1.2 vs. 6.8 ± 0.8). Receptor concentration also was significantly higher in PD thant in D (P < 0.02) while no significant differences were found in high affinity (K̄e). Insulin kinetic data were analysed by using both "Model independent" (or noncompartmental) method and compartmental modeling. Patients with PD had significantly higher (P < 0.05) plasma clearance of insulin. In conclusion, these data demonstrate that patients with PD are characterized by increased insulin binding sites associated with an increased insulin sensitivity and clearance rate in comparison with type I insulindependent diabetes.


A group of SNPs in 5q31, genotyped from Hausa tribe of Koka village in eastern Sudan; an area endemic with malaria and visceral leishmaniasis, were analyzed by The Leishmaniasis research group and found to have significant excess of heterozygosis level and departure from HWE and assumed to be due to natural selection resulting from notorious deadly outbreaks since various ethnic groups from western Sudan settled the area although sequence information in the 5q31 region did not detect functional SNPs that could be associated with such drastic phenotypes. Malaria was thought to inflict inferior selective pressure due to the mild clinical phenotype observed. Taking advantage of follow up phenotype data sets available from the Malaria Gen study we re-analyzed these genotypes using different bioinformatics software to determine their effect on the regulation, function and expression of interleukins, miRNA binding and splicing mechanism. The SNPs were found to potentially affect the binding of many transcription factors that regulate the expression of IL-4 and IL-13 and stability of IL-5 mRNA. Association of haplotypes susceptibility revealed that the haplotype of low cytokine TH2 profile is associated with higher risk of malaria infection (P-value = 0.02). Through modulating TH2 cytokine response; the excess heterozygosity in 5q31 is explained with the phenomenon of overdominance between malaria and visceral leishmaniasis, acted by natural selection and driving the locus towards optimum response.


Aim: This study assesses the effects of prevention education, prevention personal motivation, prevention knowledge, and past exposure to violent living conditions on human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection prevention behavioral skills among historically black college and University (HBCU) students. Study Design: Quasi-experimental One-shot Case Study Design. Place and duration of study: Fayetteville State University; November 2012 to May 2013. Methodology: Survey data of indicators of the four Information-Motivation-Behavioral skills (IMB) model's latent constructs prevention information or knowledge, prevention Research Article British Journal of Medicine & Medical Research, 4(1): 572-589, 2014 573 motivation, and prevention behavioral skills, and past exposure to violent living conditions (PEVLC)prevention was collected from students attending an HBCU. Exploratory principal component factor analysis and Cronbach's alpha test were performed to identify the factorial structure of the PEVLC questionnaire and reliability of the violent exposure subscales, respectively. Structural equation modeling analysis was performed to estimate the overall model fit indices and the magnitude of effects of prevention motivation, PEVLC prevention and prevention information or knowledge on the prevention behavior of the students. Results: The analysis found that personal motivation to prevent HIV infection and knowledge of HIV prevention had a positive moderate and significant effect on HIV prevention behavior. Witnessing violence with weapons prevention had a large, but insignificant effect on HIV prevention behavior. Exposure to physical violence prevention and weapon victim prevention had no effect on HIV prevention behavior. HIV prevention knowledge, witnessing violence prevention, and violence victimization prevention had no meaningful effect on prevention behavior of HBCU students. Conclusion: Collectively, these findings suggest that to be effective, the focus of HIV prevention programs in HBCUs may be on promoting personal motivation and HIV education, and identifying and treating students who have been exposed to past weapon and sexual violent living conditions for post-traumatic stress disorder.


The mechanisms by which climate and vegetation affect erosion rates over various time scales lie at the heart of understanding landscape response to climate change. Plot-scale field experiments show that increased vegetation cover slows erosion, implying that faster erosion should occur under low to moderate vegetation cover. However, demonstrating this concept over long time scales and across landscapes has proven to be difficult, especially in settings complicated by tectonic forcing and variable slopes. We investigate this problem by measuring cosmogenic 10 Be-derived catchment-mean denudation rates across a range of climate zones and hillslope gradients in the Kenya Rift, and by comparing our results with those published from the Rwenzori Mountains of Uganda. We find that denudation rates from sparsely vegetated parts of the Kenya Rift are up to 0.13 mm/yr, while those from humid and more densely vegetated parts of the Kenya Rift flanks and the Rwenzori Mountains reach a maximum of 0.08 mm/yr, despite higher median hillslope gradients. While differences in lithology and recent land-use changes likely affect the denudation rates and vegetation cover values in some of our studied catchments, hillslope gradient and vegetation cover appear to explain most of the variation in denudation rates across the study area. Our results support the idea that changing vegetation cover can contribute to complex erosional responses to climate or land-use change and that vegetation cover can play an important role in determining the steady-state slopes of mountain belts through its stabilizing effects on the land surface.


Abstract Debates around urbanization, infrastructure disruption and the creative class rarely appear alongside each other in research on African cities. This article connects these different narratives, which are currently exerting their influence on the future direction of these cities. The economic value of the creative class is that their work centres on innovation?a quality seen as essential to ?new-economy? urban growth. Quality of place (that which makes ?New York New York?) is said to attract the creative class to certain cities, as lifestyle amenities are valued as much as employment opportunities. Nairobi is an example of an African city currently attracting both Kenyan and expatriate creative class workers, particularly in the information and communication technology (ICT) sector. In this article we take Richard Florida's creative class theory as a departure point to offer insights into why this group chooses to live in Nairobi and to describe Nairobi's quality of place, with a particular focus on infrastructure disruption. The case study reveals that Nairobi's quality of place differs fundamentally from the normative attributes prescribed by creative class theory and, in some instances, it is considered to be highly frustrating and unattractive.


How is a profession distinguished from a non-profession? In what ways is the boundary between profession and non-profession marked, transformed, and dealt with? And how is social work professionalized in these processes of boundary-setting and boundary transfor-mation? In the perspective of Social Work as Working at the Border I address professionaliza-tion, as well as professionalism as boundary-work, boundary-setting and boundary-crossing. This aspect of boundary transformation is discussed in terms of the theory of profession: how does the process of professionalization occur? What is the connection between professionalization, science, politics and the social question? With reference to these questions, a boundary-analytic perspective is outlined in order to review the emergence and development of social work as a profession, and professional ways of handling social inequalities: how is the boundary between profession and non-profession set, secured and transformed? How could this boundary be crossed in processes of professionalization? In the concluding remarks the issue of professionalization as a process will be reversed into the question of professionalism as a mode of practice. Social work will thus be related to a notion of critique, and conceived of as professional boundary-work in the context of social inequality.


The development of the Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) for Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) has greatly reduced the morbidity and mortality associated with HIV patients turning HIV infection into a chronic disease rather than a fatal one, through developing AIDS. The necessity for safe, efficacious, anti-retroviral agents is clear, however, long-term HAART has been linked to a wide range of complications including hepatotoxicity. Atripla and Eviplera, are one-pill-daily HAART regimens, containing the non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors, efavirenz (1st generation) or rilpivirine (2nd generation) in combination with the nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors emtricitabine, and tenofovir. Though these drug combinations are proposed to be safer than the older reverse transcriptase inhibitors the effects of these drugs on hepatocytes has yet to be fully elucidated. The overall objective of this thesis was to examine the effects of the components of Atripla and Eviplera on hepatocytes.


Concern about students' writing skills has led to recommendations that elementary teachers receive more professional development in how to teach writing (National Commission on Writing, 2006). However, there is currently little evidence about the knowledge teachers need to teach writing well, and it is therefore difficult for teacher educators to design effective professional development experiences. What is needed is a better understanding of the knowledge base that informs teaching writing to elementary children.!One possible means of gathering evidence about this knowledge base is through a collaborative teacher research process known as lesson study (Hiebert, Gallimore, & Stigler, 2002; Lewis, Perry, & Murata, 2006). Lesson study engages teachers in planning, evaluating, and improving lessons, so the process generates knowledge teachers find useful for their practice and may provide a mechanism for identifying some of the knowledge needed to teach writing. The goal of this study was to explore that possibility by describing the knowledge about writing instruction that elementary teachers generated through the lesson study process. ! This qualitative case study drew on complexity theory (Davis & Sumara, 2006), to conceptualize lesson study as a knowledge producing process and the lesson study groups who participated as knowledge producing systems. It addressed two main questions: (1) How did the lesson study systems enable and constrain the knowledge about writing instruction that emerged through them? and (2) What was the nature and content of the knowledge about writing instruction that emerged through the lesson study systems? Four lesson study groups, two in each of two elementary schools, participated. Data was collected through videotaping the lesson study sessions, collecting the ! ! documents the groups created during the lesson study process, and interviewing the participants after the lesson study cycle ended. The findings indicated that instances of over constraint, under constraint, and enabling constraint occurred in each lesson study group and that the groups produced knowledge that varied in content and nature. In general, instances of enabling constraint produced knowledge that fit the criteria for professional knowledge outlined by lesson study proponents (Hiebert, Gallimore, & Stigler, 2002). Instances of over constraint and under constraint produced knowledge that did not fit the professional knowledge criteria. This knowledge may therefore be less useful for teachers outside the lesson study groups than for the teachers who generated it. The findings suggests that lesson study can, but does not always, produce knowledge suitable for the professional knowledge base for teaching writing. The implication is that, if lesson study groups are to generate knowledge for the knowledge base, they must be organized is such a way that they prompt enabling constraint within themselves. LESSON STUDY: DEVELOPING A KNOWLEDGE BASE FOR ELEMENTARY WRITING INSTRUCTION