This thesis takes its departure in the recent criticism directed to the Swedish school system and its schools, teachers and pupils, but especially the epidemic of policies produced in order to develop and improve Swedish schools, in particular after the change of government in 2006. The general aim of this thesis is to study how teachers and pupils are represented, and thus constructed, regulated and positioned in a number of current key policy texts. The study also involves a discussion of the construction and regulation practices regarding the school, and its role in society. The main context for the study is policy texts and policy practices related to teacher education. Four studies form the cornerstone of the thesis. Through these policy texts different institutional practices are analyzed. These range from European union policy to examination data from a local teacher education institution in Sweden. A main source of inspiration to the theoretical framework of the study has been provided by the work of Michel Foucault. However, in addition to Foucault's constructionist and poststructural basis, theoretical and methodological approaches drawn from Norman Fairclough's critical discourse analysis, Mark Olssen's social-materialist analysis of policy and Stephen J Ball's policy sociology are also included. The first study examines the constructions and governing technologies in four policy texts within the European Union working programme 'Education 2010'. The second study takes a historical perspective in the construction of teachers and pupils, based on teacher education policy text since 1948, and how the ideal teacher, pupil and school are constructed and positioned genealogically. The third study explores the discursive notions of teacher professionalism and how the regulation of teachers operates through this and other discursive practices by the Swedish government and the Teacher union (Lararforbundet) during two different time periods, 1995-2000 and 2007-2008. The final study examines student teachers' examination assignments, as a local policy practice, and how the student teachers position the ideal pupil and themselves as ideal teachers. It examines how different policy discourses operate in relation to positioning practices. The thesis shows that current neoliberal discourse order in educational policy today is partly challenged by neoconservative rationalities. Secondly, the thesis shows how each teacher and pupil is governed through several discourses, governing technologies and governing techniques, and how these three entities function relationally in the governing of the subject. In common for discourses, governing technologies and techniques are that they are often very 'seductively packaged', which implies that it is almost impossible to resist and oppose them. Finally I claim that the current discourse order, and its discourses, and governing technologies and techniques imply structural inequalities for teachers, but especially between different pupil groups


This paper examines algorithms for estimating terrestrial albedo from the products of the Global Change Observation Mission – Climate (GCOM-C) / Second-generation Global Imager (SGLI), which was launched in December 2017 by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. We selected two algorithms: one based on a bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) model and one based on multi-regression models. The former determines kernel-driven BRDF model parameters from multiple sets of reflectance and estimates the land surface albedo from those parameters. The latter estimates the land surface albedo from a single set of reflectance with multi-regression models. The multi-regression models are derived for an arbitrary geometry from datasets of simulated albedo and multi-angular reflectance. In experiments using in situ multi-temporal data for barren land, deciduous broadleaf forests, and paddy fields, the albedos estimated by the BRDF-based and multi-regression-based algorithms achieve reasonable root-mean-square errors. However, the latter algorithm requires information about the land cover of the pixel of interest, and the variance of its estimated albedo is sensitive to the observation geometry. We therefore conclude that the BRDF-based algorithm is more robust and can be applied to SGLI operational albedo products for various applications, including climate-change research.


Progress in advancing our understanding of biological systems is limited by their sheer complexity, the cost of laboratory materials and equipment, and limitations of current laboratory technology. Computational and mathematical modeling provide ways to address these obstacles through hypothesis generation and testing without experimentation—allowing researchers to analyze system structure and dynamics in silico and, then, design lab experiments that yield desired information about phenomena of interest. These models, however, are only as accurate and complete as the data used to build them. Currently, most models are constructed from quantitative experimental data. However, since accurate quantitative measurements are hard to obtain and difficult to adapt from literature and online databases, new sources of data for building models need to be explored. In my work, I have designed methods for building and executing computational models of cellular network dynamics based on qualitative experimental data, which are more abundant, easier to obtain, and reliably reproducible. Such executable models allow for in silico perturbation, simulation, and exploration of biological systems. In this thesis, I present two general strategies for building and executing tokenized models of biochemical networks using only qualitative data. Both methods have been successfully used to model and predict the dynamics of signaling networks in normal and cancer cell lines, rivaling the accuracy of existing methods trained on quantitative data.
I have implemented these methods in the software tools PathwayOracle and Monarch, making the new techniques I present here accessible to experimental biologists and other domain experts in cellular biology.


"Reading is a many-layered process -- like writing," observes Samuel R. Delany, a Nebula and Hugo award-winning author and a major commentator on American literature and culture. In this collection of six extended essays, Delany challenges what he calls "the hard-edged boundaries of meaning" by going beyond the customary limits of the genre in which he's writing. By radically reworking the essay form, Delany can explore and express the many layers of his thinking about the nature of art, the workings of language, and the injustices and ironies of social, political, and sexual marginalization. Thus Delany connects, in sometimes unexpected ways, topics as diverse as the origins of modern theater, the context of lesbian and gay scholarship, the theories of cyborgs, how metaphors mean, and the narrative structures in the Star Wars trilogy. "Over the course of his career," Kenneth James writes in his extensive introduction, "Delany has again and again thrown into question the world-models that all too many of us unknowingly live by." Indeed, Delany challenges an impressive list of world-models here, including High and Low Art, sanity and madness, mathematical logic and the mechanics of mythmaking, the distribution of wealth in our society, and the limitations of our sexual vocabulary. Also included are two essays that illustrate Delany's unique chrestomathic technique, the grouping of textual fragments whose associative interrelationships a reader must actively trace to read them as a resonant argument. Whether writing about Wagner or Hart Crane, Foucault or Robert Mapplethorpe, Delany combines a fierce and often piercing vision with a powerful honesty that beckons us to share in the perspective of these Longer Views.


SeaMARC II maps of the southern wall of the Cayman Trough between Honduras and Jamaica show zones of continuous, well-defined fault lineaments adjacent and parallel to the wall, both to the east and west of the Cayman spreading axis. These lineaments mark the present, active traces of transform faults which intersect the southern end of the spreading axis at a triple junction. The Swan Islands transform fault to the west is dominated by two major lineaments that overlap with right-stepping sense across a large push-up ridge beneath the Swan Islands. The fault zone to the east of the axis, named the Walton fault, is more complex, containing multiple fault strands and a large pull-apart structure. The Walton fault links the spreading axis to Jamaican and Hispaniolan strike-slip faults, and it defines the southern boundary of a microplate composed of the eastern Cayman Trough and western Hispaniola. The presence of this microplate raises questions about the veracity of Caribbean plate velocities based primarily on Cayman Trough opening rates.


A rapidly maturating systems modeling community has seen a growth in available tools and technological support. A major promise of systems modeling has been a new level of multidisciplinary analysis. This paper presents an advance on this front in the ability to connect the web-based infrastructure growing around MBSE and the desktop-based infrastructure of traditional aerospace engineering analysis. An extension of the MBSEPak tool was developed with support from both JPL and Phoenix Integration. This extension allows a model stored on the OpenMBEE web-based modeling platform to automatically generate an executable workflow on the ModelCenter Cloud web-based analysis platform. This paper describes this new tool in the context of the larger approach to MBSE infrastructure at JPL. While the new tool has yet to see full deployment, incremental improvements in analytical work realized in the larger infrastructure are discussed.


Getting the deterministic complexity closer to the best known randomized complexity is an important goal in algorithms and communication protocols. In this work, we investigate the case where instead of one input, the algorithm\protocol is given multiple inputs sampled independently from an arbitrary unknown distribution. We show that in this case a strong and generic derandomization result can be obtained by a simple argument. Our method relies on extracting randomness from "same-source" product distributions, which are distributions generated from multiple independent samples from the same source. The extraction process succeeds even for arbitrarily low min-entropy, and is based on the order of the values and not on the values themselves (This may be seen as a generalization of the classical method of Von-Neumann [23] extended by Elias [7] for extracting randomness from a biased coin). The tools developed in the paper are generic, and can be used elsewhere. We present applications to streaming algorithms, and to implicit probe search [8]. We also refine our method to handle product distributions, where the i'th sample comes from one of several arbitrary unknown distributions. This requires creating a new set of tools, which may also be of independent interest.


This report describes the results of the first and second collection of data in the joint Nordic Monitoring System of diet, physical activity and overweight. It is well recognized that health in the European Region needs to be improved and Nordic public health researchers have since 2008 developed and validated a Nordic method to assess diet and physical activity among adults and children. Data has collected on health behaviour and overweight in 2011 and 2014 among 18,000 adults and 5,000 children. During the three year survey period, significant changes have occurred in the Nordic countries, especially among adults. The Nordic Monitoring System shows that lifestyle and weight status differ between the Nordic countries despite highly comparable societal structures. Favorable and unfavorable health behaviour is present in all countries and there are areas to be improved in all countries.


This book investigates how an analogy between States and international organizations has influenced and supported the development of the law that applies to intergovernmental institutions on the international plane. That is best illustrated by the work of the International Law Commission on the treaties and responsibility of international organizations, where the Commission for the most part extended to organizations rules that had been originally devised for States. Revisiting those codification projects while also looking into other areas, the book reflects on how techniques of legal reasoning can be – and have been – used by international institutions and the legal profession to tackle situations of uncertainty, and discusses the elusive position that international organizations occupy in the international legal system. By cutting across some foundational topics of the discipline, the book makes a substantive contribution to the literature on subjects and sources of international law.


Abstract Dinoflagellate cysts and sequence stratigraphy are used to date accurately the Tunnel-Canal Dock section, which contains the most complete record of marine Pliocene deposits in the Antwerp harbour area. The Zanclean Kattendijk Formation was deposited between 5.0 and 4.4 Ma during warm-temperate conditions on a shelf influenced by open-marine waters. The overlying Lillo Formation is divided into four members. The lowest is the Luchtbal Sands Member, estimated to have been deposited between 3.71 and 3.21 Ma, under cooler conditions but with an open-water influence. The Oorderen Sands, Kruisschans Sands and Merksem Sands members of the Lillo Formation are considered a single depositional sequence, and biostratigraphically dated between 3.71 and c. 2.6 Ma, with the Oorderen Sands Member no younger than 2.72–2.74 Ma. Warm-temperate conditions had returned, but a cooling event is noted within the Oorderen Sands Member. Shoaling of the depositional environment is also evidenced, with the transgressive Oorderen Sands Member passing upwards into (near-)coastal high-stand deposits of the Kruisschans Sands and Merksem Sands members, as accommodation space decreased. Applying sequence stratigraphy to our section implies that the Kattendijk/Lillo Formation boundary corresponds to the sequence boundary (SB) Za2 (4.04 Ma), the Luchtbal/Oorderen sands boundary to SB Pia1 (3.21 Ma), and the top of the Merksem Sands to SB Pia2 (2.76 Ma). Finally, the Belgian deposits are compared with marine Pliocene deposits of eastern England.


Drinking water contamination with poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) poses risks to the developmental, immune, metabolic, and endocrine health of consumers. We present a spatial analysis of 2013–2015 national drinking water PFAS concentrations from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (US EPA) third Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR3) program. The number of industrial sites that manufacture or use these compounds, the number of military fire training areas, and the number of wastewater treatment plants are all significant predictors of PFAS detection frequencies and concentrations in public water supplies. Among samples with detectable PFAS levels, each additional military site within a watershed's eight-digit hydrologic unit is associated with a 20% increase in PFHxS, a 10% increase in both PFHpA and PFOA, and a 35% increase in PFOS. The number of civilian airports with personnel trained in the use of aqueous film-forming foams is significantly associated with the detection of PFASs above the minimal reporting level. We find drinking water supplies for 6 million U.S. residents exceed US EPA's lifetime health advisory (70 ng/L) for PFOS and PFOA. Lower analytical reporting limits and additional sampling of smaller utilities serving <10000 individuals and private wells would greatly assist in further identifying PFAS contamination sources.


Using a highly specific rabbit antisera directed against murine tumor necrosis factor (TNF), immunohistochemical localization of this monokine was performed in cultured mouse peritoneal macrophages. Resident macrophages did not express TNF even after stimulus with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). In contrast, 12% of macrophages elicited with Freund's adjuvant stained positively and up to 60% were positive after LPS stimulation. Analysis of the kinetics of expression revealed that maximal staining occurred from 1-3 hours after stimulus with disappearance of staining by 12 hours. Both a membrane and cytoplasmic pattern of staining could be demonstrated. The presence of plasma membrane TNF was confirmed by scanning electron microscopy. Northern blot analysis and bioassay revealed that the kinetics of TNF mRNA synthesis corresponded to the appearance of the protein while its disappearance corresponded to the appearance of TNF in the supernate. Thus, TNF synthesis and secretion could be histochemically demonstrated. These findings support the notion that TNF production is a characteristic of activated macrophages and that such cells display membrane-associated TNF at least transiently after stimulation.


We consider the problem of similarity search in applications where the cost of computing the similarity between two records is very expensive, and the similarity measure is not a metric. In such applications, comparing even a tiny fraction of the database records to a single query record can be orders of magnitude slower than reading the entire database from disk, and indexing is often not possible. We develop a general-purpose, statistical framework for answering top-k queries in such databases, when the database administrator is able to supply an inexpensive surrogate ranking function that substitutes for the actual similarity measure. We develop a robust method that learns the relationship between the surrogate function and the similarity measure. Given a query, we use Bayesian statistics to update the model by taking into account the observed partial results. Using the updated model, we construct bounds on the accuracy of the result set obtained via the surrogate ranking. Our experiments show that our models can produce useful bounds for several real-life applications.


BACKGROUND
Resistance to the growth inhibitory actions of transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) is common in human cancers. This resistance can be a result of decreased expression of TGF-beta receptors. Downregulation of c-Myc by TGF-beta is critical for TGF-beta-mediated growth inhibition. In this study we hypothesized that decreased TGF-beta receptor expression leads to reduced Smad signaling and overexpression of c-Myc in intestinal epithelial (RIE) and transformed intestinal epithelial cells (RIE-Tr) cells.

METHODS
RIE (TGF-beta-sensitive) and RIE-Tr (TGF-beta-resistant) cells were treated with and without fetal bovine serum and TGF-beta. Western blot analysis was performed to detect levels of c-Myc, Smad2, Smad4, and phosphorylated Smad2 in RIE and RIE-Tr cells. Smad complex formation was analyzed by immunoprecipitation-coupled Western blotting.

RESULTS
c-Myc is overexpressed in RIE-Tr cells. TGF-beta-mediated downregulation of c-Myc is abrogated in RIE-Tr cells. Smad expression and activation is normal in RIE-Tr cells. We found that Smad2, Smad4, and Smad6 expression remained constant in RIE and RIE-Tr cells with or without serum or TGF-beta treatment. In addition, TGF-beta induced similar Smad2 phosphorylation and Smad complex formation in both RIE and RIE-Tr cells.

CONCLUSIONS
Our data demonstrate that Smad signaling is preserved in the face of decreased TGF-beta receptor levels. We also demonstrate that Smad signaling is not sufficient for TGF-beta-mediated c-Myc repression.


Since the beginning of the nuclear era, starting during the 1940s, large amount of radioactivity has been released into the environment. This thesis deals with the temporal and spatial distribution of the anthropogenic radioisotope 129I (T1/2= 15.7 Myr) in northern Europe. A routine sample preparation procedure for extraction of iodine from milligram amounts of solid materials has been developed and aimed for measuring the 129I concentration by the ultra-sensitive accelerator mass spectrometry method. The technique was further used for the analysis of 129I in sediments collected from two lakes in Sweden and one lake in Finland as well as sediments from two sites in the Baltic Sea. In addition, 129I concentrations in aerosol samples from northern and southern Sweden covering the period 1983 to 2000 have been measured. The results reveal a gradual increase in the anthropogenic 129I fluxes since the 1950s that are linked to emissions from the nuclear fuel reprocessing facilities in Sellafield (UK) and La Hague (France). A sharp increase coinciding with the Chernobyl accident is identified from the Swedish lakes located in areas characterised by relatively high Chernobyl fallout. Numerical modeling of the 129I deposition predicts that >50% of the flux to the lake sediments is related to the liquid emissions from the reprocessing facilities. The modeling also reasonably simulates the contribution of the Chernobyl event to the total 129I flux. The novel time series from northern Europe on 129I in aerosols show about one order of magnitude higher concentration in northern compared to southern Sweden. Estimate of 129I dry fallout based on the aerosol data suggests <25% contribution to the total fallout. The distribution of 129I in the sediment archives demonstrates the potential of the isotope as a new time marker for chronological and environmental investigations.


In Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs), providing full area coverage while maintaining connectivity between the sensors is considered an important issue. Coverage-aware sleep scheduling is an efficient way to optimize the coverage of WSNs while maximizing the energy consumption. On the other hand, clustering can provide an efficient way to achieve high connectivity in WSNs. Despite the close relationship between the coverage problem and the clustering problem, they have been formulated, discussed and evaluated separately. Furthermore, most existing WSN strategies are designed to be applied on Two-Dimensional (2D) fields under an ideal energy consumption model that relies on calculating the Euclidean distance between any pair of sensors. In reality, sensors are mostly deployed in a Three-Dimensional (3D) field in many applications and they do exhibit a discrete energy consumption model that depends on the sensors' status rather than the distance between them. In this paper, we propose a Pareto-based network configuration strategy for 3D WSN s. In the proposed protocol, deciding the status of each sensor in a 3D WSN s is formulated as a single multi-objective minimization problem. The proposed formulation considers the following combined properties: energy efficiency, data delivery reliability, scalability, and full area coverage. The performance of the proposed protocol is tested in 3D WSNs and under a realistic energy consumption model which is based on the characteristics of the Chip con CC2420 radio transceiver data sheet.


It is well known that additive noise can cause a significant decrease in performance for an automatic speech recognition (ASR) system. For an ASR system to maintain an acceptable level of performance in noisy conditions, measures must be taken to make it robust. Since prior information about the noise is usually not available, this information typically has to be obtained from the observed noisy utterance that is to be recognized. Model compensation is one way of achieving robustness towards noise. One of the main problems with model compensation is how to approximate the non-linear relationship between speech, noise, and noisy speech in the log-spectral domain. In an effort to investigate the effects of approximation accuracy, a comparative study of two existing and one new method for approximating this relationship is presented. The study shows that, although the approximation methods differ in accuracy on a one-dimensional example, the recognition results on Aurora2 are almost equal in practice. Due to several factors, the noisy speech parameter estimates obtained when performing model compensation will normally be uncertain, limiting the attainable performance. We propose a new model compensation approach, in which a robust decision rule is combined with traditional parallel model combination (PMC) to compensate for uncertainty. Experiments show that the proposed approach is effective in increasing performance at low signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) for most noise types compared to PMC. Another way of improving ASR performance in noisy conditions is by applying a feature enhancement algorithm prior to recognition. Many existing feature enhancement techniques rely on probabilistic models of speech and noise. Thus, the performance is influenced by the quality of these models. Traditionally, the probabilistic models have been trained using maximum likelihood estimation. This dissertation investigates the use of an alternative estimation method for prior speech models, namely Bayesian learning. It is shown that, within the chosen experimental setup, Bayesian learning can be used for model selection, and that the recognition performance is comparable to the performance obtained with maximum likelihood in most cases. A good probabilistic model for the noise can be difficult to obtain, since it usually has to be estimated directly from the utterance at hand. In order to improve the quality of the noise model used by the feature enhancement algorithm, we investigate the use of voice activity detection (VAD) to obtain information about the noise. An advantage of the proposed VAD approach is that it works in the same domain as the speech recognizer. Experiments show that the VAD approach on average obtains a 10.8% error rate reduction compared to simply using a speech-free segment from the beginning of the utterance for noise modeling.


Everyone wants to regulate the big tech companies. The desire to regulate the private actors that control so much of our lives is understandable, and some ideas for regulation make sense. But the political consensus around regulating the tech industry is illusory. While everyone wants to regulate big tech, it turns out that they want to do so in very different, indeed contradictory, ways.

These contradictions of platform regulation mean that it will be very hard to turn anti-tech popular sentiment into actual regulation, because the actual regulations some people want are anathema to others. They suggest caution in imposing regulation and an awareness of the difficult tradeoffs that are involved. But they also suggest a way forward: introducing competition to reduce the influence the tech giants have over our lives.


Abstract In and around the Great Basin, United States, restoration of shrub steppe vegetation is needed where rangelands are transitioning to annual grasslands. Mechanical seedbed preparation can aid native species recovery by reducing annual grass competition. This study was designed to investigate the nature and persistence of hydrologic and erosion impacts caused by different mechanical rangeland seeding treatments and to identify interactions between such impacts and related soil and vegetation properties. A cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum L.)–dominated site was burned and seeded with native grasses and shrubs in the fall of the year. An Amazon-drill and a disk-chain seeder were used to provide varying levels of surface soil disturbance. An undisturbed broadcast seeding was used as a control. Simulated rainfall was applied to 6 large (32.5-m2) plots per treatment over 3 growing seasons at a rate of 63.5 mm · h−1. Rainfall was applied for 60 minutes under dry antecedent moisture conditions and for 30 minutes, 24 hours later under wet antecedent moisture conditions. The disk-chain created the largest reduction in infiltration and increase in sediment yield, which lasted for 3 growing seasons posttreatment. The Amazon-drill had a lesser impact, which was insignificant after the second growing season posttreatment. Surface soil properties showed little correlation with treatment-induced hydrologic and erosion impacts. Hydrologic recovery was strongly correlated with litter dynamics. The seeding treatments were unsuccessful at establishing seeded plant species, and the site once again became dominated by cheatgrass. A continuous upward trend in biomass production and surface litter cover was observed for all treatments between the beginning and end of the study because of cheatgrass invasion. Although the initial goal of using mechanical seeding treatments to enhance recovery of native grass species failed, cheatgrass production provided sufficient biomass to rapidly replenish surface litter cover necessary for rapid hydrologic stability of the site.


Although psychical research identified through structured research the commonality of anomalous experiences for the bereaved from as early as the 1880s, it wasn't until the 1970s with the publication of a medical doctorate on such phenomena that medical communities and social science began to recognise them too. Beyond this point, research became more popular on the subject. Extensive research conducted on post-death experiences (aka, Post-Death Contacts – ADCs) since the 1970s, has largely focused on what impact they have on the bereaved, rather than the ontology of the phenomena themselves. All such studies have found these experiences to be therapeutic for the bereaved, and a natural aid to recovery. However, no research findings to this point have been presented on what cognitive mechanisms create the therapeutic gains experienced, as a direct result of the spontaneous anomalous experiences. This thesis set out to investigate what makes such experience therapeutic, and aid the process of recovery from grief. From a critical review of the previous literature, it was noted that several of the extensive studies, and related popular literature, identified hope to a consistent reported outcome of such experiences. However, no existing studies appeared to have investigated its presence and process in this context. Therefore, a mixed method study design was developed to investigate the impact of such experiences further and the role of hope within them. A questionnaire approach of validated scales found levels of hope to be significantly higher in groups of the bereaved who do report post-death experience than those who don't. The bereaved who do not report such experiences appear to encounter a significant drop in hope. Content and thematic analyses were conducted on written feedback of experiences collected from the questionnaires; this highlighted the variety of experiences and their commonality. It also highlighted significant shifts in 'states of mind' from negative to positive emotions, from the point of loss, to following the first anomalous encounter. Continued bonds with the deceased were also expressed, as well as previously noted therapeutic gains and themes of hope. In-depth interviews were conducted as the final study of this thesis, with an interpretative phenomenological analysis applied to the data. New findings are presented on the personal changes that take place within post-death events. Experients defined hope and how they saw it acting within their lives and experiences as a support system to feelings of loss, which fell in line with previous positive psychology theories on hope. Several key points are concluded. Firstly, the findings of this thesis have practical applications to clinical practice surrounding palliative care and applied positive psychology, regarding the importance of anomalous experiences encountered by the bereaved. Secondly, the thesis and its findings demonstrate the multi-disciplinary approaches which can be taken to parapsychological issues, in this case combining positive psychology, thanatology and healthcare. And finally, the thesis highlights the usefulness of the mixed method approaches, to provide 'sweeping maps' of any given phenomena under investigation, particularly in cases where the previous research findings are limited or are yet to be explored.


In this paper, I illustrate the dynamics of frontier development in the Redencao area in southern Para, one of the oldest agricultural frontiers in the Brazilian Amazon. This frontier has evolved from a landscape initially dominated by large-scale corporations investing in cattle ranching, to another in which medium-scale cattle ranchers and to less extent smallholders expanded their influence in the local economy. The initial stage was driven by fiscal incentives and subsidies from the government. The latter stage features more developed markets for beef and milk products, and is associated with an expansion of slaughterhouses and dairy processing plants, the modernisation of livestock production, fragmentation of large estates, and competition for land. The latter phase originated with the arrival of new investors in medium-scale cattle ranching, and with expanding pressure from smallholders and landless people looking for land. The process of land occupation and agrarian development has inevitably led to forest conversion mainly to pasture. Finally, environmental policies seeking to halt deforestation have been largely ineffective under these conditions of frontier development.


Despite their significant contribution to global yield, and considerable importance to the social and economic wellbeing of many millions of people, small-scale fisheries have largely been overlooked in the development of conventional fisheries science. Many of the modern quantitative methods and management approaches, including harvest policies and quota systems, require a level of information simply beyond the capability of most fisheries. It is becoming increasingly apparent that in addition to the vast array of complex stock assessment methods, there is a need for simple, cheap procedures based on local indicators collected directly from the catch to make assessment and management feasible in small, cash-poor fisheries.

In this study, we investigate the use of a length based model, parameterised with empirical knowledge and life-history invariance theory, to estimate the Spawning Potential Ratio (SPR) of exploited fisheries directly from a population's size composition. Key parameters derived empirically for the model are: the ratio of natural mortality to the von Bertalanffy growth parameter (M/k), L&, and an estimate of size at maturity. Simulation modelling is used to test sensitivities of these parameters, and the preliminarily results from two case studies are presented. The method compares the length frequency of the catch to the expected equilibrium length frequency for different levels of SPR, and uses a control rule to adjust fishing effort (a proxy for F) to stabilise the fishery around the target SPR. This method has potential to provide a tool for rapid, cost-effective, and conservative assessment of data-poor fisheries.


The emergence of portable global positioning system (GPS) receivers over the last 10 years has provided researchers with a means to objectively assess spatial position in free-living conditions. However, the use of GPS in free-living conditions is not without challenges and the aim of this study was to test the dynamic accuracy of a portable GPS device under real-world environmental conditions, for four modes of transport, and using three data collection intervals. We selected four routes on different bearings, passing through a variation of environmental conditions in the City of Copenhagen, Denmark, to test the dynamic accuracy of the Qstarz BT-Q1000XT GPS device. Each route consisted of a walk, bicycle, and vehicle lane in each direction. The actual width of each walking, cycling, and vehicle lane was digitized as accurately as possible using ultra-high-resolution aerial photographs as background. For each trip, we calculated the percentage that actually fell within the lane polygon, and within the 2.5, 5, and 10 m buffers respectively, as well as the mean and median error in meters. Our results showed that 49.6% of all ≈68,000 GPS points fell within 2.5 m of the expected location, 78.7% fell within 10 m and the median error was 2.9 m. The median error during walking trips was 3.9, 2.0 m for bicycle trips, 1.5 m for bus, and 0.5 m for car. The different area types showed considerable variation in the median error: 0.7 m in open areas, 2.6 m in half-open areas, and 5.2 m in urban canyons. The dynamic spatial accuracy of the tested device is not perfect, but we feel that it is within acceptable limits for larger population studies. Longer recording periods, for a larger population are likely to reduce the potentially negative effects of measurement inaccuracy. Furthermore, special care should be taken when the environment in which the study takes place could compromise the GPS signal.


Visual Analytics has brought forward many solutions to different tasks such as exploring topics, understanding user and customer behavior, comparing genomes, or detecting anomalies. Many of these solutions, if not most, are standalone applications with technological contributions which cannot be easily taken for: reuse in other domains, further improvement, benchmarking, or integration and deployment alongside other solutions. The latter can prove specially helpful for exploratory data analysis. This often leads researchers to re-implement solutions and thus to a suboptimal use of skills and resources. This paper discusses further the lack of off-the-shelf libraries for Visual Analytics, and proposes the creation of pluggable libraries on top of existing technologies such as Spark and Zeppelin. We provide an illustrative example of a pluggable, Visual Analytics library using these technologies.


Software startups are newly created companies with no operating history and oriented towards producing cutting-edge products. However, despite the increasing importance of startups in the economy, few scientific studies attempt to address software engineering issues, especially for early-stage startups. If anything, startups need engineering practices of the same level or better than those of larger companies, as their time and resources are more scarce, and one failed project can put them out of business. In this study we aim to improve understanding of the software development strategies employed by startups. We performed this state-of-practice investigation using a grounded theory approach. We packaged the results in the Greenfield Startup Model (GSM), which explains the priority of startups to release the product as quickly as possible. This strategy allows startups to verify product and market fit, and to adjust the product trajectory according to early collected user feedback. The need to shorten time-to-market, by speeding up the development through low-precision engineering activities, is counterbalanced by the need to restructure the product before targeting further growth. The resulting implications of the GSM outline challenges and gaps, pointing out opportunities for future research to develop and validate engineering practices in the startup context.


Cell-based health care models, as well as macro-level projections of future population and economic trends used as input to health care models, are limited to a few variables, which makes microsimulation an interesting modeling option, especially as it allows for modeling of the interaction of demographic with social, environmental and economic variables. Micro-approaches can incorporate the wealth of substantive analysis gained from a large number of micro- and macro-level studies with regard to demographic, economic and health behavior. Compared to cell-based macro models, microsimulation can produce useful projections for the analysis of different health-related phenomena considering additional dimensions, i.e., detailed issues regarding health care finance (insurance schemes, individual accounts etc.) and individual risk exposure.

This paper constitutes the first part of an investigation of the potential of dynamic microsimulation for the modeling and projection of health care demand, health care finance and the economic impact of health behavior. The main purpose of this part is to provide a brief theoretical background with regard to the dynamic microsimulation approach and a comparison of the microsimulation approach with the cell-based macro approach. Starting with a definition of dynamic microsimulation and a classification of the types and approaches, microsimulation modeling is brought into the context of the life-course paradigm. This paradigm, meanwhile being the dominant paradigm in demography, can also be a useful organizational principle for the study and projection of health-related phenomena using microsimulation. Microsimulation is then compared with cell-based approaches, and the potential strengths as well as drawbacks of the microsimulation approach with regard to health care modeling are investigated. Dynamic microsimulation might turn out to be increasingly appropriate as a modeling approach in this field, which is currently dominated by cell-based macro-models.


Brain stem neurons direct the specification of their spinal cord targets, the motor neurons. For proper control of the locomotor system by the brain, maturation of axons projecting long distances from the brain to their targets, the motor neurons, in the spinal cord must be synchronized (see Kong et al.). Reimer et al. found that dopamine released by diencephalic neurons mediated the specification of motor neurons at the expense of interneurons in the zebrafish spinal cord during development. In situ analysis showed that diencephalic axons were the only source of dopaminergic innervation and that motor neuron progenitors were positive for the D4a dopamine receptor in the embryonic spinal cord. Pharmacological studies, as well as gain- and loss-of-function studies, indicated that dopaminergic signaling through D4a receptors controlled the balance of motor neurons and a specific type of interneuron (V2 interneurons) by promoting the proliferation of the motor neuron progenitor pool and thus differentiation into motor neurons instead of V2 interneurons. D4a receptors are Gi-coupled G protein–coupled receptors and inhibit the production of adenosine 3', 5'-monophosphate (cAMP) and thus protein kinase A (PKA) activity, which attenuates Hedgehog (Hh) signaling. Pharmacological manipulation of cAMP concentrations indicated that reducing cAMP contributed to motor neuron specification in the spinal cord, a response that was mediated by enhancing Hh signaling (measured as increased Hh target gene expression). Furthermore, knockdown of the transcriptional regulator and Hh mediator Gli2b, which is necessary for motor neuron specification, resulted in the loss of motor neurons that could not be rescued by application of a dopamine receptor agonist. Of potential clinical interest, the ability of dopamine to stimulate motor neuron specification was not limited to embryos, and zebrafish with transected spinal cords exhibited a lesion-induced increase in D4a receptor transcripts on the side of the lesion adjacent to the brain (rostral), but not on the distal side (caudal). The rostral side had more newly generated motor neurons than the caudal side, and motor neuron production was lost if dopaminergic axons were specifically ablated with a toxin. However, injection of a dopamine receptor agonist stimulated the increase in D4a receptor transcripts and Hh signaling in the region caudal to the lesion and increased the number of motor neurons without altering the rostral response. Thus, this developmental pathway can be reactivated after spinal cord damage in zebrafish. M. M. Reimer, A. Norris, J. Ohnmacht, R. Patani, Z. Zhong, T. B. Dias, V. Kuscha, A. L. Scott, Y.-C. Chen, S. Rozov, S. L. Frazer, C. Wyatt, S.-i. Higashijima, E. E. Patton, P. Panula, S. Chandran, T. Becker, C. G. Becker, Dopamine from the brain promotes spinal motor neuron generation during development and adult regeneration. Dev. Cell 25, 478–491 (2013). [PubMed] J. H. Kong, S. J. Butler, B. G. Novitch, My brain told me to do it. Dev. Cell 25, 436–438 (2013). [Online Journal]


We report a 13-year (1992-2005) dataset of to- tal column measurements of formaldehyde (HCHO) over Lauder, New Zealand, inferred from solar infrared spectra measured using a high-resolution Fourier Transform Spec- trometer (FTS). Ambient HCHO concentrations at this rural location are often close to levels typical of remote marine environments (<250 ppt), which are close to the detection limit using standard techniques. Consequently we develop a new method that successfully produces HCHO columns with sufficient sensitivity throughout the whole season. HCHO columns over Lauder have a strong seasonal cycle (±50%), with a mean column of 4.9◊10 15 molecules cm 2 , peaking during summer months. A simple box model of CH4 oxi- dation reproduces the observed broad-scale seasonal cycle, but significantly underestimates the seasonal peak HCHO ground concentrations during summer. This suggests the ex- istence of an additional significant source of HCHO, possibly isoprene that cannot be explained by oxidation of CH4 alone. The ground-based FTS column data compare well with collo- cated HCHO column measurements from the Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment (GOME) satellite instrument during the operational period of GOME (1996-2001,r 2 =0.65, mean bias=10%, n=48).


Abstract Situational crime deterrence measures like CCTV are not always associated with reductions in fear of crime. This study explores this unexpected finding by investigating the interaction between target type and the presence of a CCTV camera, in order to test the effect this has on impressions of the target and corresponding fear of the location the target was shown in. Participants (n=120) were shown either a picture of a male 'skinhead', a 'studious' female, or no one within an urban setting in which an obvious CCTV camera was either present or absent. Participants then rated the scene using scales estimating crime frequency, worry and target activity. Estimates of location safety fell for the male 'skinhead' target and activity impressions were more negative, but only when a CCTV camera was also present. Ironically, in some circumstances, public crime deterrence measures may prime pre-existing negative stereotypes about others and so foster suspicion, undermine trust in others, and increase fear of crime.


During the last decade, the university 'seminar' has become recognised as an important part of the student experience. This paper aims to present a reflection on the influence of Paulo Freire's philosophy on, and its relevance to, seminar leading in higher education. It will be argued in this paper that seminar leaders must reject rote learning and instead be concerned, and committed, to advancing egalitarian ideals and raising critical consciousness – i.e. an awareness of the learners' social reality through reflection and action – in order to enable students to think critically about the world and to develop the confidence and capacities to transform it.
Learning is active; it's experiential and experimental – based on dialogue, questioning, exploring and discovery. The purpose of higher education is to develop similar qualities in the learner (Dewey, 1916; Freire, 1973). Rather than with teaching what to think, seminars should be concerned with the teaching of how to think through on-going Socratic dialogue.


Abstract Appropriate hydration is a very important prognostic factor for the patient's health. Ultrasonographic assessment of hydration status is rarely used in pediatric medicine and it is not used at all in neonates due to the fact that no reference values have been established for this age group. The aim of the paper was to establish reference values for neonates. Material and methods The study included 50 neonates from two hospitals in the Lower Silesia region of Poland; 25 of them were healthy patients (full-term newborns with no perinatal complications) and 25 were sick patients (newborns with heart defects such as ostium secundum atrial septal defect, ventricular septal defect, permanent foramen ovale and patent ductus arteriosus as well as newborns with neonatal jaundice or pneumonia that occurred during the first days of life). The ultrasound scans were conducted during the first days of the children's life. For every child inferior vena cava diameter was measured in the substernal area, longitudinal plane, M-mode in two respiratory phases: inhalation and exhalation. In addition, abdominal aorta diameter was determined (substernal area, transverse plane). Results The study demonstrated a statistically significant difference in the calculated inferior vena cava collapsibility index between both groups. Two other indices included the ratio of the inferior vena cava diameter during the expiratory phase to the diameter of the aorta and the ratio of the inferior vena cava diameter during the inspiratory phase to the diameter of the aorta; a statistically significant difference between both groups was found only for the measurements in the inspiratory phase. Conclusions Based on the study results normal ranges for hydration indices in neonates were established. The need for the measurement of the abovementioned parameters in the inspiratory phase was determined. In addition, the usefulness of the ultrasound examination for the evaluation of body fluid status in this pediatric age group, particularly in preterm newborns, was noted due to its painless and non-invasive nature as well as easy access to equipment at neonatology wards.


The purpose of this study was to explore the influence of postcompetition positive reflection on attributions, emotions, and self-efficacy. Following a golf putting competition, participants (n = 80) were randomly assigned to either an experimental or control group. In the experimental group participants completed a modified version of the performance evaluation sheet (Holder, 1997). In the control group participants completed the concentration grid exercise (Harris & Harris, 1984). All participants subsequently completed measures of causal attribution, emotion, and self-efficacy. Findings showed that participants in the experimental condition made attributions that were significantly more internal and personally controllable than participants in the control group irrespective of competition outcome. No differences were observed between groups on measures of emotion and self-efficacy. This study suggests that reflecting back on positive elements of performance is a useful strategy for developing desirable...


This review of trends in worldwide asthma prevalence starts with defining how asthma prevalence is measured in populations and how it is analysed. Four population studies of asthma across at least two regions are described: European Community Respiratory Health Survey (ECRHS), the International Study of Wheezing in Infants (EISL), the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) and the World Health Survey (WHS). Two of these (ISAAC and WHS) covered all the regions of the world; each using its own standardised questionnaire-based methodology with cross-sectional study design, suitable for large populations. EISL (2005 and 2012) and ISAAC (1996–1997 and 2002–2003) have undertaken a second cross-sectional population survey from which trends are available: EISL in three centres in two countries; ISAAC 106 centres in 56 countries (13–14 year olds) and 66 centres in 37 countries (6–7 year olds). Key results from these studies are presented. Unfortunately, there is no new worldwide data outside of EISL since 2003. Global Burden of Disease estimates of asthma prevalence have varied greatly. Recent reliable worldwide data on asthma prevalence and trends is needed; the Global Asthma Network Phase I will provide this in 2021. Worldwide asthma prevalence, measured in populations using standardised methods, increased from the mid-1990s to the mid-2000s, the last global measurements. The Global Asthma Network Phase I (2017–2020) will provide recent data in children and adults. https://bit.ly/3mBYzYd


IL-15 is a critical cytokine for the maintenance of memory-phenotype CD8 cells in mice. Here, we investigated the role of IL-15 in the neurological disease termed human T cell lymphotropic virus I-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP). The high number of viral-specific CD8 cells in these patients is associated with inflammatory responses in the central nervous system. Because IL-15 is overexpressed in these patients, we asked whether IL-15 contributes to the persistence of human T cell lymphotropic virus I viral-specific CD8 cells. Using ex vivo cultures of HAM/TSP peripheral blood mononuclear cells, we demonstrated that in the majority of patients examined here blocking IL-15 action resulted in a decrease in the number of viral-specific CD8 cells. This decrease was caused by both inhibition of proliferation and induction of apoptosis in these cells. The data indicate that IL-15 plays a major role in the maintenance of viral-specific CD8 cells in HAM/TSP.


We present a theoretical investigation of a semiconductor quantum dot interacting with a strongly localized optical field as encountered in high-resolution near-field optical microscopy. The strong gradients of these localized fields suggest that higher-order multipolar interactions will affect the standard electric dipole transition rates and selection rules. For a semiconductor quantum dot in the strong confinement limit we calculated the interband electric quadrupole absorption rate and the associated selection rules. We found that the electric quadrupole absorption rate is comparable with the absorption rate calculated in the electric dipole approximation. This implies that near-field optical techniques can extend the range of spectroscopic measurements beyond the standard dipole approximation. However, we also show that spatial resolution cannot be improved by the selective excitation of electric quadrupole transitions.


PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES
To investigate tensions over food that exist between patients with advanced cancer with cachexia and their families.

RESEARCH APPROACH
Heideggerian phenomenologic inquiry using unstructured interviews.

SETTING
A regional cancer center in the United Kingdom.

PARTICIPANTS
8 patients with advanced cancer living with cachexia and 8 family members.

METHODOLOGIC APPROACH
Singular unstructured interviews were recorded digitally, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using thematic and interpretative phenomenologic analysis.

MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES
Cachexia and advanced cancer.

FINDINGS
A fine line existed between offering food to a patient and forcing a patient to eat; often, conflict arose as a result. Contributors to that conflict focused on reduced dietary intake by the patient and the reaction to food refusal by the family, which frequently led to patients eating to please.

CONCLUSIONS
This study highlights the anxiety that surrounds eating and the distress it causes to patients and their families. This strain can escalate into arguments over food, causing negative repercussions for patients and their family members.

INTERPRETATION
This is the first study to uncover tensions about eating as experienced by patients with advanced cancer and cachexia and their families. Nurses must consider this issue when designing and delivering effective care for this patient population.


MediaCityUK is a regeneration project expected to attract media institutions locally and from around the world thus establishing itself as an international centre for excellence. A study has been carried out by the University of Salford to appraise the MediaCityUK project on the extent to which it is expected to contribute to the sustainable cities vision put forward by the UK government. Also there is a planned relocation by some departments of the University of Salford to the allocated building in the MediaCityUK development. This move highlights the need for a well managed cost effective and sustainable relocation process. As part of the above study, this report focuses on the benefits of BIM (Building Information Model) in the project management and consequent facilities management of the planned move.

The report addresses the relocation process management under two major heading which reflects the two parts involved which are; project management of the relocation process and facilities management during the occupancy period. The study focused on digital modelling, relocation efficiency and performance benchmarking during life cycle to identify BIM benefits.

The BIM tool selected for this study is the Revit Architecture software by Autodesk. There were constraints in quality of data retrieval hence a "what if" scenario which attempts to replicate the accurate data capture was adopted for this study.
BIM model contribution to time planning during the relocation was analysed by comparing with generated MediaCityUK model using the identified items from first objective. This satisfied the second study objective.

Second objective comparisons revealed the contributions of BIM in FM maintenance operations and space management thus fulfilling third and fourth study objectives.


Delirium remains a common and distressing problem for many palliative care patients, their families and staff. The effective management of delirium is an evolving area of study and traditionally has incorporated a combination of pharmacological and non-pharmacological measures. Antipsychotics remain the mainstay of pharmacological treatment but are associated with a number of common and less well known adverse effects. We report the case of a gentleman in his 80s who developed marked neutropenia following commencement of risperidone for delirium.

The patient had been diagnosed with small cell lymphocytic lymphoma on bone marrow biopsy in late 2010. He remained well until early 2012 when he developed constitutional symptoms and axillary lymphadenopathy. A lymph node biopsy confirmed Richter's transformation to diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. The patient was admitted to hospital, where he responded to prednisolone both clinically and biochemically, with the decision made for a palliative management approach. His acute hospital admission was complicated by intermittent periods of confusion and agitation. He was transferred to the palliative care unit for ongoing management and discharge planning.

No reversible cause was identified for the patient's hyperactive delirium and he was commenced on olanzapine, with resolution of his symptoms. Olanzapine was chosen for ease of administration …


Objectives: 67-Gallium-citrate three-phase bone scan (Ga-TPBS), a new approach for the diagnosis of bone infection is evaluated. The interpretation of TPBS is based on the normal physiological vascular endothelial-related response noted in infection. Materials and Methods: Three cases of suspected bone infection as determined by clinical, laboratory, and radiological examinations were further subjected to conventional technetium-99m-TPBS (Tc-99m-TPBS) and Ga-TPBS. Nuclear scan diagnosis of bone infection was made by the presence of generalized vasodilatation with increased capillary permeability noted on the flow and the pool phase of the TPBS and the comparative evaluation of the 4 h delayed Tc-TPBS and 24–48 h delayed Ga-TPBS. Diagnosis of bone infection was confirmed in all three cases on histopathologcal examination of the surgically excised tissues. Results: The data clearly indicated that all three cases of bone infection (osteomyelitis) had generalized massive flow and pool pattern. Infection could be diagnosed only on the Ga-TPBS by noting generalized vasodilatation with increased capillary permeability on the flow and the pool phase with focal retention of the radiotracer on the delayed scan. Conclusions: By incorporating the concept of vascular endothelial-related response causing massive vasodilatation in infection, the interpretation of the Ga-TPBS can be more précised as it is based on the normal physiology. In comparison to two Tc-99m scans (white blood cell scan + bone marrow scan), a single Ga-TPBS is also cost-effective and compliance friendly. Larger, comparative, and statistically unbiased studies are needed. Advances in Knowledge: 67-Ga-TPBS is a new concept for the diagnosis of bone infection. Places where radiolabeled leukocyte imaging is not possible, this new approach may prove to be very useful.


Quantitative understanding of variability in weathering fluxes on the modern Earth is limited because little is known about where the most important weathering reactions take place. This is partly because the locus of weathering is difficult to measure empirically. Inverse analysis of a parametric model presented here provides first-order constraints on variability in the thickness of the zone of active weathering. Results suggest that the effective thickness of the weathering zone varies relatively little across several orders of magnitude of denudation rate. At low to moderate denudation rates, reactions in soils may dominate weathering fluxes at the catchment scale, but the contribution from soil weathering decreases at higher denudation rates. Consequently, increased erosion leads to higher weathering fluxes, sustained by progressively greater contributions from weathering in bedrock. The effect of climate (temperature and runoff) on weathering fluxes is apparently weaker at low denudation rates than at high denudation rates, such that erosion, and potentially associated bedrock weathering, may be important for maintaining climate-stabilizing feedbacks in Earth's carbon cycle.


The end of the 20th century revealed the trends of assimilation of Romanic–Germanic and Anglo–Saxon legal traditions that influence different attitudes of law theoreticians regarding judicial precedent as a mandatory source of law. The problem of judicial precedent which has already been brought up in 1918–1940 remained an important issue in the discussions of contemporary Lithuanian law scientists. This article, based on legal acts and works of prominent Lithuanian law scientists, seeks to develop the conception of a judicial precedent as a source of law, discusses the role of the highest instance court as the institution authorized to officially clarify the state law, analyses the mandatory character of a judicial precedent in the context of several general law principles. Careful analysis of the fundamental Lithuanian legal acts and attitudes of law theoreticians allows to state an informally mandatory character of a judicial precedent, the formalization of which would comply with the court practice. Under the Resolution of the Constitutional Court of March 28, 2006 the Lithuanian legal system has taken a direction towards implementation of obligation of a judicial precedent. A scientific doctrine indicates the place of a judicial precedent in the hierarchy of the sources of law therefore the obligation as the criterion of a source of law is indispensable from a judicial precedent. Though the Law on Court System of 1933 established the obvious obligation of the clarifications of the High Tribunal to the lower instance courts, the Law on Courts of the Republic of Lithuania which is currently in force provided only the recommendatory character of clarifications presented by the Supreme Court of Lithuania. The established court practice revealed the role of a cassation court as an informal law clarification institution. After analyzing the problem of the obligation of a judicial precedent in the context of several general legal principles the necessity to establish a mandatory character of a judicial precedent in legal acts emerges. In case the current situation is not improved the confrontation of the situation of a judicial precedent and the contents of general law principles arises.


The least-significant-bit (LSB)-based approach is a popular type of steganographic algorithms in the spatial domain. However, in most existing approaches, the choice of embedding positions within a cover image mainly depends on a pseudorandom number generator without considering the relationship between the image content itself and the size of the secret message. Thus the smooth/flat regions in the cover images will inevitably be contaminated after data hiding even at a low embedding rate, and this will lead to poor visual quality and low security based on our analysis and extensive experiments, especially for those images with many smooth regions. The LSB matching revisited image steganography with an edge adaptive scheme can select the embedding regions according to the size of secret message and the difference between two consecutive pixels in the cover image. For lower embedding rates, only sharper edge regions are used while keeping the other smoother regions as they are. When the embedding rate increases, more edge regions can be released adaptively for data hiding by adjusting just a few parameters. The new scheme can enhance the security significantly compared with typical LSB-based approaches as well as their edge adaptive ones, such as pixel-value-differencing-based approaches, while preserving higher visual quailty of stego images at the same time.


A validated stability-indicating high-performance liquid chromatographic technique was developed for the determination of Zolpidem tartrate in pharmaceutical dosage forms. Chromatographic separation was performed on Shimadzu Model CBM-20A/20 Alite, using water: methanol: acetic acid(25: 75: 0.1, v/v) as mobile phase with a flow rate of 1.2 mL/min. Zolpidem tartrate was subjected to stress conditions (acidic, alkaline, oxidation, thermaland photolytic) and the method was validated as per ICH guidelines.


As a language which for the greater part of its history was used only for simple everyday interactions and which lacks any kind of standardization, Nigerian Pidgin (NigP) is not well equipped for the wide range of functions it has to perform in present-day Nigeria. Among educated NigP speakers, borrowing from English is a common strategy, but broadcasters who translate news from English into NigP have to produce a form of the language that will be intelligible to a target audience whose command of English is limited. The paper offers a discussion of this problem based on a corpus of spoken NigP comprising news and several other text categories. Text samples from the news texts are analysed, and corpus data illustrating Anglicisms and pidginization on the lexical, grammatical and discourse levels are discussed. In addition, the results of an elicitation experiment in which Nigerian informants were asked to evaluate extracts from the corpus by means of a questionnaire are reported. The news texts were found to be less satisfactory than others, and it is argued that this is due not only to Anglicisms but in some cases also to an overuse of pidginization strategies. However, there are also examples of successful adaptation of an English script, and it is argued that even with only a moderate degree of language engineering, one could build on such achievements to make NigP a more viable medium of news broadcasting.


In Indonesia after 1965's tragedy, called "G 30 S/PKI", thousands of communism members were taken in jail, even they did not directly involved on that tragedy. They were arrested and jailed by Indonesian army for their ideology was communism, or for their involved in Indonesia Communism Party. More than a hundred thousand peoples were arrested and lost their civil rights by Soeharto administration. Communism members does not have the rights to be military members or to be government employees, even in 1945 Constitution of Indonesia, article 27, stated that every citizens have the same rights in government and the same before the law. So, this is a contradiction in implemented law in Indonesia caused by criminalizing an ideology. Several months after 1965' tragedy, In 1966, prohibition of communism in Indonesia was issued by People's Consultative Council number 25. To operating that prohibition, Soeharto administration re-implemented Law of 1963 number 11/ Emergency, the bill which had ever been enforced by Soekarno administration, regarding to the elimination of subversive activities. As long as Soeharto administration there were many activists, whose criticized the state policy, arrested and even taken in jail by using that Law of 1963 number II/Emergency. At the end of Soeharto administration in 1998 most of people demanded Law of 1963 number II/Emergency eliminated. Therefore Habibie administration, in 1999, eliminated it with Law of 1999 number 26 and it admitted that the implementation of Law of 1963 number 11/ Emergency had against human rights and social justice. But, Habibie administration still assumed that communism was dangerous ideology based on 1965's tragedy. So, until now there is a bill which specifically criminalizing the communism as a forbidden ideology. That is Law of 1999 number 27 which until now still effective. Law of 1999 number 27 is amendment of KUHP (book of Criminal Law in Indonesia). Whoever spreads communism or do some activities as an 'implemention' of that ideology could be arrested and taken in jail. It means that spreading communism/Marxism is a criminal act in Indonesia criminal law system. After put Law of 1999 number 27 into effect tens protesters in Jakarta lead by Guteres (ex East Timor militia pro integration), were burning the books which have contents about communism and marxism such as "Pemikiran Karl Marx" (Karl Marx Idea) by Franz Magnis-Suseno. Now, government, based on Law of number 27, will be easy to stigmatize or criminalize persons whose have intended to criticizing the state policies or against them. This bill, of course, have against human rights aspect in Indonesia, especially in giving expression. As we know all humans have a rights to show their expression reagrding to government policies. That is free for speaking and thinking.


Chemla & Spector (2011) have found experimental evidence that a universal sen- tence embedding a weak scalar term like Every student read some of the books has the strong inference that no student read all of the books, in addition to the weak one that not every student did (see also Clifton Jr & Dube 2010, Potts et al. 2015, Gotzner & Benz 2015). While it is controversial how this strong inference should be derived, there is consensus in the literature that this inference is an inference of the sentence above. On the other hand, the corresponding case of a negative quantifier embedding a strong scalar term like No student read all of the books with its corresponding potential strong inference that every student read some of the books, in addition to the weak one that some student read some of the books, is more controversial (Chemla 2009a,b,c, Romoli 2012, 2014, Trinh & Haida 2015). And, to our knowledge, there is no convincing experimental evidence for the existence of this strong inference. In this paper, we report on two experiments, building on Chemla & Spector 2011 and Chemla 2009c, systematically comparing sentences like the above with every and no. In our results, we find evidence for the strong inferences of both every and no. We discuss how standard theories of alternatives (e.g. Sauerland 2004b) can account for our data but also how they incur in an over- and under-generation problems which have been pointed out in connection with the combination of alternatives for sentences with multiple scalar terms (Fox 2007, Magri 2010, Chemla 2010, Romoli 2012). We discuss the two more constrained theories of alternatives by Fox 2007 and Romoli 2012 and we show that only the latter, combined with an independent account of the inferences of disjunction under universal modals (Crnic et al. 2015, Bar-Lev & Fox 2016), can account for our data without incurring in the above-mentioned problems.


Nitric-oxide synthases (NOSs) are flavo-heme enzymes whose electron transfer reactions are controlled by calmodulin (CaM). The NOS flavoprotein domain includes a ferredoxin-NADP+ reductase (FNR)-like module that contains NADPH- and FAD-binding sites. FNR-like modules in related flavoproteins have three conserved residues that regulate electron transfer between bound NAD(P)H and FAD. To investigate the function of one of these residues in neuronal NOS (nNOS), we generated and characterized mutants that had Val, Glu, or Asn substituted for the conserved Asp-1393. All three mutants exhibited normal composition, spectral properties, and binding of cofactors, substrates, and CaM. All had slower NADPH-dependent cytochrome c and ferricyanide reductase activities, which were associated with proportionally slower rates of NADPH-dependent flavin reduction in the CaM-free and CaM-bound states. Rates of NO synthesis were also proportionally slower in the mutants and were associated with slower rates of CaM-dependent ferric heme reduction. However, a D1393V mutant whose flavins had been prereduced with NADPH had a normal rate of heme reduction. This indicated that the kinetic defect was restricted to flavin reduction step(s) in the mutants and suggested that this limited their catalytic activities. Together, our results show the following. 1) The presence and positioning of the Asp-1393 carboxylate side chain are critical to enable NADPH-dependent reduction of the nNOS flavoprotein. 2) Control of flavin reduction is important because it ensures that the rate of heme reduction is sufficiently fast to enable NO synthesis by nNOS.


The new edition of Sarah Lupton's very successful Guide to IFC98 is a practical guide to the operation and administration of the JCT Intermediate Building Contract 2005. As well as covering the recent amendment to take account of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007, it points out the important new changes to the contract compared to the old 1998 version and reflects on up-to-date legal cases which serve as valuable lessons for the unwary. The contract's provisions, procedures and supplementary conditions are organised and defined by subject and are supported by useful indexes, while clause comparison tables allow a quick and easy way to understand how it relates to the old contract. Altogether, the guide provides the hard-pressed practitioner with a comprehensive, concise reference guide to contractual issues during the course of a job under the contract. It assumes only a general knowledge of JCT contracts and in that respect is ideal for architecture and other construction students on the threshold of undertaking their professional examinations.


Based on the "winner-loser" scheme, we examine the possible impacts of enterprise zones (EZs) on local Vietnamese households between 2002 and 2008, using differences-in-differences and a panel-event study. We layer four waves of household surveys using a census of EZs in 2007, based on the same commune identity for our household and individual analyses. Within five years of EZ establishment, we find they are associated with higher household incomes, an increase in private property prices, and an increase in working hours. However, we do not find a significant impact on household living expenditure or school attendance/working probabilities among members aged between 7 and 17 years. Neither do we find a significant impact on health outcomes.


Helioseismology and asteroseismology of red giant stars have shown that distribution of angular momentum in stellar interiors, and the evolution of this distribution with time remains an open issue in stellar physics. Owing to the unprecedented quality and long baseline of Kepler photometry, we are able to seismically infer internal rotation rates in γ Doradus stars, which provide the main-sequence counterpart to the red-giants puzzle. Here, we confront these internal rotation rates to stellar evolution models which account for rotationally induced transport of angular momentum, in order to test angular momentum transport mechanisms. On the one hand, we used a stellar model-independent method developed by our team in order to obtain accurate, seismically inferred, buoyancy radii and near-core rotation for 37 γ Doradus stars observed by Kepler. We show that the stellar buoyancy radius can be used as a reliable evolution indicator for field stars on the main sequence. On the other hand, we computed rotating evolutionary models of intermediate-mass stars including internal transport of angular momentum in radiative zones, following the formalism developed in the series of papers started by Zahn (1992, A&A, 265, 115), with the CESTAM code. This code calculates the rotational history of stars from the birth line to the tip of the RGB. The initial angular momentum content has to be set initially, which is done here by fitting rotation periods in young stellar clusters. We show a clear disagreement between the near-core rotation rates measured in the sample and the rotation rates obtained from the evolutionary models including rotationally induced transport of angular momentum following Zahn's prescriptions. These results show a disagreement similar to that of the Sun and red giant stars in the considered mass range. This suggests the existence of missing mechanisms responsible for the braking of the core before and along the main sequence. The efficiency of the missing mechanisms is investigated. The transport of angular momentum as formalized by Zahn and Maeder cannot explain the measurements of near-core rotation in main-sequence intermediate-mass stars we have at hand.


Bangladesh is witnessing an increase in solar electricity generation as part of an ambitious plan to boost the provision of power from renewable energy sources. Solar energy is being harnessed and converted to electrical energy via solar panels and then stored in batteries which can then be used to power households and agricultural activities. This project deals with the prototype design of the pilot project , CSBCS or the Central Solar Battery Charging Station with an aim to aid the process of solar electrification in rural areas and take the load off the grid in urban regions. The batteries charged by these stations can also be used to power modified rickshaws that are torque sensor based and electrically assisted. Solar energy is the best form of renewable energy and this prototype project has the motto "Go Green-Save the Planet-work for existence". Hardware implementation of the CSBCS includes charging a 12 volt battery by using 75 watt solar panel providing discrete amount of power at different time periods of the day. This paper gives a full description of how a 12V solar charge controller is modified to be fed with any amount of voltage to give a desired voltage output. The Solar Batteries get charge from the PV cells through the charge controller. Whether charging is complete , midway or beginning ; at the same time the condition of the batteries , whether fully charged or not; all these information will be detected by the controller through the feedback and the pwm (pulse width modulation), will be changed accordingly according to the battery needs for efficient charging.


INTRODUCTION Functional longevity in dairy cattle is a trait that receives much attention in the durable performance sum (DPS), the Dutch total merit index (Vollema et al. 2000). In this index functional longevity is a measure of involuntary culling of lactating cows. Stillbirth, defined as a calf that dies just prior to, during or within 24 hours after parturation, is another trait for which a genetic evaluation is available (Harbers et al. 2000). Parameters for the period between birth and first lactation are not available in the Netherlands. The economic importance of this stage is substantial: the costs of raising replacement heifers represents 15 to 20% of the total milk production costs (Heinrichs 1993). The average costs of replacing a heifer during the first year are € 250 (PR 2000). Mortality is a stayability trait measuring whether or not an animal is alive at a certain age. It is therefore a binary trait and it does not contain complete information (Vollema 1998). Mortality of calves occurs mainly during the first month of life according to Olsson et al. (1993). They report an overall mortality of 2.1% during the first 3 months of which 1.3% occurs in the first month. Heinrichs (1993) reports mortality of calves from birth to 1 year of age to be from 6 to 20%. A mortality rate of 8.1% during the whole rearing period was found in a survey among 959 Dutch farmers (Mourits 2000). Mortality of replacement heifers can be used as a trait within the durable performance sum and thus become part of the breeding objective. Besides an economic importance breeding objectives must have a genetic component. The trait could also be used as a predictor of a breeding objective trait with a low reliability, when the genetic correlation between predictor and breeding objective is high and the predictor has a high reliability early in the life of the animal. A third option is to monitor the population. This gives the tools for a quick reaction if the genetic trend is undesirable. The objective of this study was to estimate phenotypic and genetic parameters for mortality of replacement heifers from 3 days to 1 year of age in the Netherlands and to evaluate the possible use of the trait in a breeding program.


Abstract. An early Quaternary shallow submarine hydrothermal iron formation (IF) in the Cape Vani sedimentary basin (CVSB) on Milos Island, Greece, displays banded rhythmicity similar to Precambrian banded iron formation (BIF). Field-wide stratigraphic and biogeochemical reconstructions show two temporal and spatially isolated iron deposits in the CVSB with distinct sedimentological character. Petrographic screening suggests the presence of a photoferrotrophic-like microfossil-rich IF (MFIF), accumulated on a basement consisting of andesites in a ∼ 150 m wide basin in the SW margin of the basin. A banded nonfossiliferous IF (NFIF) sits on top of the Mn-rich sandstones at the transition to the renowned Mn-rich formation, capping the NFIF unit. Geochemical data relate the origin of the NFIF to periodic submarine volcanism and water column oxidation of released Fe(II) in conditions predominated by anoxia, similar to the MFIF. Raman spectroscopy pairs hematite-rich grains in the NFIF with relics of a carbonaceous material carrying an average δ13Corg signature of ∼ −25‰. A similar δ13Corg signature in the MFIF could not be directly coupled to hematite by mineralogy. The NFIF, which postdates large-scale Mn deposition in the CVSB, is composed primarily of amorphous Si (opal-SiO2 ⋅ nH2O) while crystalline quartz (SiO2) predominates the MFIF. An intricate interaction between tectonic processes, changing redox, biological activity, and abiotic Si precipitation are proposed to have collectively formed the unmetamorphosed BIF-type deposits in a shallow submarine volcanic center. Despite the differences in Precambrian ocean–atmosphere chemistry and the present geologic time, these formation mechanisms coincide with those believed to have formed Algoma-type BIFs proximal to active seafloor volcanic centers.


The chemopreventive agent of Berberis vulgaris fruit extract in hepatocarcinogenesis
female Sprague Dawley rats was studied to investigate the possible cancer preventive
effect of the plant. Total antioxidant activity and phenolic content of BFE extracts were
measured.
1, 1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical assay was used to determine
antioxidant properties of barberry fruit by measuring the decrease in absorbance at 517
nm. In distilled water, BFE showed 82.52&0.64% free radical scavenging activity with an
ECS0=0.65. In ethanol, BFE extract showed 73.62+1.88% free radical scavenging activity
with an EC=0.658, BHT 67.50&53% (EC=0.612) and Vitamin C 88.56M.43%
(EC=0.252), respectively. Meanwhile BFE in 80% methanol had the highest phenolic
content (28000+500mg/100g) followed by extract in water (10000+400mg/100g). The
Histological evaluation illustrated that there were significant changes in the lesion score
of 50 and lOOmgkg/bodyweight BFE in the DABso and DABloo in portal and lobular
region compared to DENIAAF control group. However, the liver of DAB2s showed
significant changes in the lesion score only in the portal region not in the lobular region.
The liver enzymes activity measured were xenobiotic metabolizing enzymes:garnma
glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT), and glutathione S-transferase (GST). Alpha feto
protein(AFP) level was measured as a liver tumour marker. The results indicated that
there were significant differences (p<0.05) in the activities of GGT and GST between
DENIAAF rats and normal rats. In liver cancer rats treated with Berberis vulgaris, the
activities of GST and GGT were significantly lower w0.05) compared with the
DENIAAF group. The findings showed that BFE could reduce the activity of liver
enzymes of rats during hepatocarcinogenesis.
The results showed that the DENIAAF group had the least increase of body weight
compared to other groups. The normal control and normal control treated with BFE had a
significantly lower the liver weight to body weight (pc0.05) ratio compared with the
DENIAAF group. The DENIAAF groups treated with BFE had a lower liver weight to
body weight (p<0.05) ratio compared with the DENIAAF group (except DENIAAF
treated with BFE25).
The DENIAAF group showed the highest level of AFP (2.014 + 1.013 IUlml). Level of
AFP in serum of rats in control, BFE groups (N&, NBS0, NBlO0) and in DEN rats treated
with BFE at different doses (DABz5, DABSO and DABloo) were significantly lower
(p<0.05) compared with the DENIAAFgroup. DENIAAF control treated with BFE
showed significantly decrease in serum AFP concentration (as a tumor marker) compared
with DENIAAF control group (p<0.05). Meanwhile, the RT-PCR analysis of hepatocytes
illustrated the AFP gene expression in DENIAAF group only.


We characterize the semiclassical dynamics of dilute thermal atom clouds located in three-dimensional optical lattices generated by stationary optical Bessel beams. The dynamics of the cold atoms is explored in the quasi-Hamiltonian regime that arises using laser beams with far-off resonance detuning. Although the transverse structure of Bessel beams exhibits a complex topological structure, it is found that the longitudinal motion along the main propagation axis of the beam is the detonator of a high sensitivity of the atoms' motion to the initial conditions. This effect would not be properly described by bidimensional models. We show that an experimental implementation can be highly simplified by an analysis of the behaviour of the dynamical system under scale transformations. Experimentally feasible signatures of the chaotic dynamics of the atom clouds are also identified.


Quality of human resources is one of the key factors for business success. Based on the data obtained, the performance of the employees at PT.Sampurna Kuningan Juwana tends to decline in 2017. Through preliminary study done it can be founded the decreasing of job satisfaction related with compensation and work environment. So that, the decreasing of job satisfaction ultimately can cause decreasing in employee's performance. This type of research is explanatory research. Sampling used is a saturated sampling technique with 55 respondents who are employees of PT. Sampurna Kuningan Juwana. The technique of collecting data used questionnaires, interviews, and literature. This study used qualitative and quantitative analysis with validity, reliability, comparison coefficients, coefficient of determination, regression analysis, t test with the help of IBM SPSS version 21.0 program and sobel analysis to find the effect of intervention variable. Based on the analysis results, it is concluded that compensation and work environment could give significant affect to job satisfaction, job satisfaction could give significant affect to employee's performance, job satisfaction can mediate compensation performance with employee's performance as a full intervening variable and can mediate work environment with employee's performance as a partial intervening variable. The suggestions that given in order to improve employee's performance are also consider to the employee's assessment of the head expenditure policy not only depending on the working period but also on the work ability of the employee, as well as the determination of the amount of compensation for individual performance. To improve a good work environment by maintaining existing facilities, and need intensive training to improve employee competencies so that it will improve employee job satisfaction which ultimately improves employee performance.


Burroughs brings an especially wide range of explanatory models-from social history, cultural anthropology, iconology and semiotics-to bear in his analysis of urban reform and the shifts in architectural design that emerged in early Renaissance Rome. Applying the latest practices from critical theory and discourse to the built environment of early Renaissance Rome, Charles Burroughs sees the city as a field of visual communication and rhetoric. He explores the symbolic dimension of the cultural landscape and the operation of architectural and other visual signs in the urban environment. The result is a profound reconceiving of the implications for the study of Renaissance Rome of the notion of the city as "text." Central to Burrough's project is the articulation of a model of cultural mediation and production that is distinct from the standard notion of patronage as a unilateral transaction. On one level From Signs to Design focuses on the production of social meaning in and through environmental process during the pontificate of Nicholas V, celebrated for his intimate links to the new culture of humanism and as an archetypal patron of the arts and literature. On another, it is an elucidation of the origins and the ideological impact of architectural and urbanistic motifs and conceptions of spatial order that were central to the Western tradition of monumental city planning. Burroughs brings an especially wide range of explanatory models-from social history, cultural anthropology, iconology and semiotics-to bear in his analysis of urban reform and the shifts in architectural design that emerged in early Renaissance Rome. He focuses in particular on the material basis and context of these shifts, which he studies through the examination of contrasting neighborhoods, social milieus, and institutions, as well as of individuals prominently involved with important building projects or with the general maintenance and improvement of urban facilities and infrastructure. Burroughs provides a concrete and differentiated picture of the intersection of papal/ecclesiastical and local interest and initiatives, placing this within the context of marked political changes. And he devotes extensive discussions to the artistic expression of papal agendas and concerns in Nicholas's private chapel and in Alberti's Tempio Malatestiano. Contents Urban Pattern and Symbolic Landscapes * Interior Architectures: Discordance and Resolution in the Frescoes of Nicholas's Private Chapel * Far and Near Perspectives: Urban Ordering and Neighborhood Change in Nicholan Rome * Middlemen: Lines of Contact, Mutual Advantage, and Command * The Other Rome: Sacrality and Ideology in the Holy Quarter * Mirror and Frame: The Surrounding Region and the Long Road * Epilogue: The River, the Book, and the Basilica


Introduction: GTPase regulator associated with focal adhesion kinase (GRAF) is a recently identified GTPase activating protein that has the tumor suppressor properties. However, the expression level of GRAF in leukemia had received less attention. The main purpose of this research was the evaluating of the expression level of GRAF in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Materials and methods: Ninety people participated in the research (45 patients with AML and 45 healthy persons). RNA was extracted from their blood samples and cDNA synthesized. The expression levels of GRAF mRNA were determined by QRT-PCR method. Results: The expression levels of GRAF mRNA were significantly lower in AML samples than the control groups. WBC count was high in down-regulated samples than up-regulated ones (P< 0.05). There was any significant difference between two groups in other laboratories parameters. Conclusion: In spite of rare studies on GRAF gene expression level in patients with AML, was shown that it's down-regulated in people with AML.


This article investigates economic performance when enforceable property rights are missing and subsistence needs matter. It shows that if per capita income is sufficiently high, a windfall gain in productivity triggers behavior that leads to higher growth (the normal reaction). The same shock can produce voracious behavior and lower growth when faced by poor economic agents, in particular when their productivity is low and their society is largely fractionalized. This leads to a re-assessment of the voracity effect. Economic and social performance depends no longer on character traits (the assumed curvature of the utility function) as assumed in the earlier literature. Instead, the initial degree of development, the state of technology, and the make up of society are decisive. An extension towards a two-sector economy shows that conditions for an active informal sector of low productivity are much less restrictive than originally thought.


Introduction: An approach based on multiple anatomical structures and the use of different surgical strategies seems to achieve more lasting results in cervical rejuvenation surgery. Thus, extended cervicoplasty is an option with favorable results and low complication rates. However, little has been published regarding the durability of the results. This study aimed to objectively evaluate the long-term results obtained with extended cervicoplasty in difficult cases. Methods: Twenty patients, classified as having a "difficult neck," underwent extended cervicoplasty and were followed for 5 years. The results at 1and 5-year post-operative follow-up were evaluated by eight plastic surgeons, using six objective criteria based on a theoretically ideal neck. The comparison of the results obtained at these time points was performed using a paired Student's t-test, with a level of significance of 5%. Results: There was no significant difference in five of the six items evaluated (p-value ranging from 0.137 to 1.000), in the comparison between the first and fifth postoperative years. Subhyoid depression displayed a significantly better mean score in the fifth evaluation year than that observed in the first year after surgery (p = 0.039): from 5.80 ± 0.25 points (mean ± standard error of the mean) in the first year, to 6.45 ± 0.30 points in the fifth postoperative year. Conclusion: Extended cervicoplasty is an important alternative in the treatment of the neck region, and even provides lasting results in difficult cases. ■ ABSTRACT