Teachers today know firsthand that sociologists are correct when they describe Modern American society as mobile. It is not at all unusual for many students sometimes half a class to enter classrooms while numerous others leave during the normal school year. This situation of course has always been true in areas that serve very transient groups such as military families, but it appears to now also apply to many other populations. Some up-to-date estimates predict that workers will change jobs eight or nine times in a lifetime and children are often involved in these moves. Consequently, today's teachers have to be prepared to help new students as they come to their classes throughout the school year. Many times these students come with few records from their previous school, and it can be a difficult task for a teacher to find the time to properly assess the new students and their reading needs. The following ideas are possible ways for the classroom teacher to be prepared to welcome new students to class, properly place them for instruction and make them feel at home in the new group. HELP FOR THE MOBILE STUDENT


There are on-going activities in the networking community to develop
solutions that aid in IP handover mechanisms between heterogeneous
wired and wireless access systems including, but not limited to, IEEE
802.21. Intelligent access selection, taking into account link layer
attributes, requires the delivery of a variety of different
information types to the terminal from different sources within the
network and vice-versa. The protocol requirements for this signalling
have both transport and security issues that must be considered. The
signalling must not be constrained to specific link types, so there is
at least a common component to the signalling problem which is within
the scope of the IETF. This draft presents a problem statement for
this core problem.


ABSTRACT Nonstate actors appear to have increasing power, in part due to new technologies that alter actors' capacities and incentives. Although solar geoengineering is typically conceived of as centralized and state-deployed, we explore highly decentralized solar geoengineering. Done perhaps through numerous small high-altitude balloons, it could be provided by nonstate actors such as environmentally motivated nongovernmental organizations or individuals. Conceivably tolerated or even covertly sponsored by states, highly decentralized solar geoengineering could move presumed action from the state arena to that of direct intervention by nonstate actors, which could in turn, disrupt international politics and pose novel challenges for technology and environmental policy. We conclude that this method appears technically possible, economically feasible, and potentially politically disruptive. Decentralization could, in principle, make control by states difficult, perhaps even rendering such control prohibitively costly and complex.


Low delivery latency and high delivery ratio are two key goals in the design of routing schemes in Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks (VANETs). The existing routing schemes utilize real-time information (e.g., Geographical position and vehicle density) and historical information (e.g., Contacts of vehicles), which usually suffer from a long delivery latency and a low delivery ratio. Inspired by the unique features of bus systems such as wide coverage, fixed routes and regular service, we propose to use the bus systems as routing backbones of VANETs. In this work, we present a Community-based Bus System (CBS) which consists of two components: a community-based backbone and a routing scheme over the backbone. We collect real traces of 2515 buses in Beijing and build a community-based backbone by applying community detection techniques in the Beijing bus system. A two-level routing scheme is proposed to operate over the backbone. The proposed routing scheme performs sequentially in the inter-community level and the intra-community level, and is able to support message delivery to both mobile vehicles and specific locations/areas. Extensive experiments are conducted on the real trace data of the Beijing bus system and the results show that CBS can significantly lower the delivery latency and improve the delivery ratio. CBS is applicable to any bus-based VANETs.


This three-volume collection, edited by William Rees-Mogg and published in 2002 by Pickering and Chatto presents, in more than 949 pages, essays and excerpts from books written by 19 of the most remarkable monetary theorists from the sixteenth century to the present. Sir Rees-Mogg's selection begins with Malynes's "Treatise of the Canker of England's Commonwealth," includes works by most of the English classical liberals as well as by George Goschen, Stanley Jevons, Carl Menger, Ludwig von Mises, and Murray Rothbard among others, and closes the Case for Gold1 with an interview, dated 1965, with the French economist Jacques Rueff. Contrary to the belief inspired by the title, only two of the texts, both written by twentieth-century authors, deal exclusively with the question why gold, rather than paper, should be the money of a free society aiming at peaceful progress. The temptation is huge, therefore, to acquire only the third volume, the texts being arranged chronologically. However, this would be a great mistake, because earlier economists do provide valuable arguments for commodity money, and much more. We will try to systemize the gist of these arguments and to present some inconsistencies in the classical-liberal thought, which may be used in support of paper money.


The work of the Stiglitz's Commission (2009) has renewed the attention on wellbeing as a multidimensional phenomenon and on beyond-GDP measures, fostering the gradual inclusion of well-being indicators in the policy agenda. This debate calls for a new phase in the measurement of well-being. The exploitation of new data sources, hence new and more punctual indicators; a new metric apt to take into account interactions between the well-being dimensions; an explicit inclusion of well-being indicators in the policy cycle are part of a process leading to the 2.0 version of well-being. The Italian experience on the measure of equitable and sustainable well-being (Bes) is a good example to illustrate this evolution. The current Bes framework are fully analyzed together with three emerging issues: the use of administrative data; the definition of composite indices as a useful synthesis for well-being; the implementation of well-being indicators in the policy cycle. JEL classification codes: I38, C43


Abstract A rigorous processing and analysis of the gravity data with seismic reflection and borehole information enabled a general view of the deep-seated regional structures in the West Gharib-Bakr area, Eastern Desert, Egypt. In this context, several interpretational techniques were applied to learn more about the supra-basement structures and intra-basement sources. The interpretation started with a review of the seismic data to clarify the structural elements on top of the Miocene strata, where a number of isochronous reflection maps were constructed and had migrated into depth maps. The Bouguer anomaly map was processed using Fast Fourier Transform filtering based on spectral analysis to separate the gravity anomalies into its components. Gravity stripping was also performed under the seismic isopachs and density controls. The gravity effect of each rock unit was calculated and progressively removed from the original data to obtain a new gravity map on top of the Pre-Miocene. To ensure more reliable results, further filtering and analytical processes were applied to the stripped map. The results of seismic analysis show simple structural configurations at the Miocene level, with a significant increase of evaporite thickness along the Gulf of Suez coast. In contrast, analysis of the stripped gravity map reveals a more intricate structure at the Pre-Miocene level, with increasing numbers/lengths of faults on the basement surface. Lineament analysis shows two major peaks trending N0–20°W and N50–70°E, produced by two main forces in NNW–SSE (compression) and ENE–WSW (tension) directions. The models confirmed a rough and ruptured basement surface, with no evidence of any magmatic intrusions penetrating the sediments. The basement relief map delineates five basins/sub-basins in the area which are separated from each other by ridges/saddles.


This article examines effectiveness of sub-national borrowing control regimes in maintaining overall fiscal sustainability. The results suggest that regulating sub-national borrowing based on fiscal rules performs most efficiently in maintaining fiscal consolidation. Furthermore, sole reliance on financial markets seems to lead to faster end of fiscal consolidation episodes, which may be explained by not fully developed financial markets in many countries that dominantly apply this approach, Finally, strong central government control, as in case of administrative and cooperative regimes, in presence of high fiscal dependence on central government financing seem to increase the probability of ending consolidation episodes.


Section 294 of the Children's Act 38 of 2005 currently only permits commissioning parents to engage in surrogacy arrangements in instances where they are able to provide a genetic link to their future offspring. This provision then excludes other infertile individuals, who due to the cause of their infertility are unable to provide genetic material, from engaging in surrogacy as a means of becoming parents, often at times when adoption as an alternative is not available to them. This article critically analyses section 294 and the issues it raises. In particular, it considers the constitutionality of section 294 and the remedies available to infertile parties who cannot meet the genetic link requirement. This article further considers the importance of genetic links in acquiring a child and the alternatives thereto, and concludes by proposing a way forward.


The recently published European Surgical Outcomes Study (EuSOS) was a collaborative study designed to assess outcomes following non-cardiac surgery across Europe. 1 It showed that the mortality rate for patients undergoing inpatient non-cardiac surgery was higher than anticipated. This is because clinical outcomes following non-cardiac surgery had previously been poorly described at national level. There was evidence of heterogeneity between hospitals and healthcare systems which suggests that there is potential to improve the outcome for surgical patients.

South African outcome data are particularly sparse following non-cardiac surgery. It is likely that non-cardiac surgery in South Africa is associated with a larger morbidity burden than that seen in Europe. Until such time as the public health morbidity burden associated with non-cardiac surgery in South Africa is understood, it will be impossible to appropriately prioritise interventions to improve patient outcomes.

These points provide the rationale behind conducting a similar study to EuSOS in South Africa. This study will be known as the South African Surgical Outcomes Study (SASOS).


The subject of this research-in-progress paper is on digitalization of healthcare in relation to work and
learning. The aim is to explore the introduction of social technologies for collaboration and knowledge
sharing at work. The empirical data is from a pilot study in the Swedish healthcare sector, involving
emergency resident physicians, medical library team, and hospital management. Preliminary findings
shed lights on some of the tensions and conflicting perspectives related to the digital workplace, and
how to balance between them seems to be the challenge (personal vs. professional; medical vs. administrative;
flexibility vs. institutionalization). This study also indicates that there is potential for collegial
collaboration, knowledge sharing, and learning and argue that better integration in daily practice and
new ways of working may contribute to meet demand for health-related IT competence for healthcare
staff and the benefit of patients as well.


Guyed masts are a specialized type of structure commonly used in the broadcasting industry to support equipment at substantial heights. The dynamic analysis of these structures under seismic loading is a much understudied field that requires investigation. The complex nature of their analysis arises from the nonlinear force-deflection relationship of the cable supports as well as P-D effects in the mast. These lead to the structure exhibiting significant nonlinear characteristics even under working load conditions. Full nonlinear analysis of guyed masts is rarely performed as it is complex and time consuming. Masts are usually designed by equivalent static methods for wind and ice loading only, with the seismic load case often assumed to be less onerous. The validity of this assumption is investigated as part of this research.

In this project four existing guyed masts in the UK with heights ranging from 99m to 312m are accurately analysed under various seismic loading conditions using SAP2000 structural analysis software. The research aims to gain an understanding into the distribution and magnitudes of forces developed during typical seismic and design wind events, establish indicators and trends that may aid in guyed mast design, and identify the circumstances in
which seismic loading may be the governing load case. Investigations into the 'travelling wave' effect, the significance of vertical motion, and the suitability of a response spectrum analysis are also undertaken. Applicable sections of Eurocode 8 are followed wherever possible.

It is shown that when subjected to substantial seismic events with peak ground accelerations in the region of 4m/s2, significant forces can develop in masts that are comparable to those produced during a wind assessment using the Patch Load method. The distribution of forces can be appreciably different from a wind loading analysis and any regions with irregular or inconsistent distribution of wind response forces can be vulnerable to seismic loading,
particularly when mean hourly design wind speeds are less than 22m/s. It is also shown that enough common or predictable seismic behaviour exists between masts to suggest that the development of a simplified seismic analysis method for guyed masts is feasible.


In Spinoza Past and Present Wiep van Bunge explores various aspects of Spinoza's works and the often conflichting ways in which the Dutch philosopher's views have been interpreted from the seventeenth century onwards.


In this paper the authors outline the translation process involved in Macro International's evaluation of the Department of State's International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) in Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and Georgia. IVLP is a long-running program in which professionals and prospective leaders from around the world participate in funded short-term visits to the United States to learn first-hand professional practices and values of American society and democracy. The authors highlight the importance of attending to the theoretical issues in, discuss contextual factors inherent in, and outline specific phases of the translation process, and present the modified decentering translation technique adapted for the project. They describe the types of translation equivalencies that were addressed and present findings that attest to the quality of the translation. They underscore the importance of the translation process as a qualitative tool for the instrument development that maps the contexts of people's lives, documents emic-etic aspects of cross-cultural research, and fosters collaborations with all stakeholders of the research project.


This study uses citation analysis to assess the quality of MIS Quarterly and compares this assessment to journals of other disciplines. The study also investigates the knowledge contributions of MIS Quarterly to the publications in both information systems and other disciplines. Some 3497 citations were made to 251 articles published in MIS Quarterly during 1989-1998. The study results show that the quality of MIS Quarterly is commensurate with its intended role as a general journal of the specialty IS area. MIS Quarterly ranks favorably when compared to specialty journals and respectably among general journals of specific disciplines. Moreover, most research appearing in MIS Quarterly is used by researchers in various disciplines and, thus, contributes to advancing the body of knowledge.


Two- and three-component mixtures of methylated benzenes were analyzed with the use of both infrared and UV spectra. The spectra of known mixtures were Fourier transformed and coefficients from the transforms selected to form coordinates of vectors. The resulting vectors were subjected to factor analysis to obtain representations for multicomponent analysis. A total of eight data sets were analyzed by factor analysis after preprocessing by taking the Fourier transforms of the spectra. The eight data sets were also analyzed by the P-matrix method (inverse Beer's law) in the spectral domain after preprocessing of the data to allow selection of the optimum analytical wavenumbers. This spectral method was compared to the Fourier transform method using cross-validation, in which one sample at a time was left out of the standards and treated as an unknown. The Standard Error of Prediction (SEP) was calculated for the two methods for all possible numbers of vectors and numbers of wavenumbers, starting with the number equal to the number of components and increasing up to a total number of standards or some reasonable cut-off value. Processing in the Fourier domain clearly produced the best results for seven of the data sets and equal results for the other set.


Of all the nineteenth century political movements that Nietzsche decries -- from socialism to liberalism -- he reserves his most venomous words for the anarchists. He calls them the "anarchist dogs" that are roaming the streets of European culture, the epitome of the "herd-animal morality" that characterizes modern democratic politics.[2] Nietzsche sees anarchism as poisoned at the root by the pestiferous weed of ressentiment -- the spiteful politics of the weak and pitiful, the morality of the slave. Is Nietzsche here merely venting his conservative wrath against radical politics, or is he diagnosing a real sickness that has infected our radical political imaginary? Despite the Nietzsche's obvious prejudice towards radical politics, this paper will take seriously his charge against anarchism. It will explore this cunning logic of ressentiment in relation to radical politics, particularly anarchism. It will attempt to unmask the hidden strains of ressentiment in the Manichean political thinking of classical anarchists like Bakunin, Kropotkin and Proudhon. This is not with the intention of dismissing anarchism as a political theory. On the contrary I argue that anarchism could become more relevant to contemporary political struggles, if it were made aware of the ressentiment logic of its own discourse, particularly in the essentialist identities and structures that inhabit it.


Organic–inorganic hybrids offer great promise as solution‐processable thermoelectric materials. However, they have struggled to surpass the performance of their rigid inorganic counterparts due, in part, to a lack of synthetic control and limited understanding of how inorganic nanostructure dimensions impact overall charge transport. While it has been hypothesized that length, diameter, and aspect ratio (AR) all impact electronic transport in hybrid nanowires, the field lacks clarity on the relative role of each. In this study, the experimental parameter of ligand molecular weight (MW) is investigated as a synthetic knob for modulating nanowire dimensions, as well as the deconvolution of nanowire length versus diameter impacts on electron transport. By increasing ligand MW, larger nanowire AR dispersions occur and an optimal power factor of ≈130 μWm−1 K−2 is achieved for a modest AR of 73. Power factors of this magnitude are thought to only be achievable in ultrahigh AR systems; representing a 183% increase in performance over literature reports with similar AR. Additionally, nanowire diameter is demonstrated to be a far more sensitive parameter for enhancing performance than modulating length. This study provides improved fundamental insight into rational synthetic design avenues for future enhancements in the performance of hybrid materials.


Mobile user verification is to authenticate whether a given user is the legitimate user of a smartphone device. Unlike the current methods that commonly require users active cooperation, such as entering a short pin or a one-stroke draw pattern, we propose a new passive verification method that requires minimal imposition of users through modelling users subtle mobility patterns. Specifically, our method computes the statistical ambience features on WiFi and cell tower data from location anonymized data sets and then we customize Hidden Markov Model (HMM) to capture the spatial-temporal patterns of each user's mobility behaviors. Our learned model is subsequently validated and applied to verify a test user in a time-evolving manner through sequential likelihood test. Experimentally, our method achieves 72% verification accuracy with less than a day's data and a detection rate of 94% of illegitimate users with only 2 hours of selected data. As the first verification method that models users' mobility pattern on location-anonymized smartphone data, our achieved result is significant showing the good possibility of leveraging such information for live user authentication.


During development, more peripheral neurons project to target organs than are ultimately needed. The neurons then compete for neurotrophic factors that are secreted by target cells. Deppmann et al. now explain how some neurons manage to survive, whereas others die, even though they have similar access to sustaining growth factors. The answer appears to depend on a series of feedback loops. Nerve growth factor (NGF) secreted by target cells not only stimulates expression of its own receptor but also promotes expression of other factors that can cause neuronal cell death. The surviving neurons appear to have sufficiently strong NGF signaling to withstand the antagonistic signals. C. D. Deppmann, S. Mihalas, N. Sharma, B. E. Lonze, E. Niebur, D. D. Ginty, A model for neuronal competition during development. Science 320, 369-373 (2008). [Abstract] [Full Text]


Demand forecasting is important for planning future of a seaport facility. In this paper, different methods are compared for demand forecasting problem of a seaport in Turkey. Three types of data (general cargo, container, vehicle) were collected from the period of 2012-2017. Using machine learning for demand forecasting was found to be an important missing link in earlier studies and it was observed that the studies about demand forecasting on container terminals is a lot more than the studies on maritime terminals. Statistical forecasting methods and machine learning methods are applied for all types of data to determine the best estimation method and forecast the handling volumes for the next two years. The comparison of the forecasting performances of statistical forecasting methods and machine learning methods have been comparatively analysed. According to chosen accuracy measures, Multiplicative Holt Winter's was recognized as the best forecasting method for container and vehicle handling volumes, whereas machine learning method ensured the best forecasting values for the general cargo. Keywords : Demand forecasting, seaport, machine learning, statistical modeling DOI : 10.7176/JSTR/5-3-19


Abstract We present palaeomagnetic results from the Oligocene through Miocene part of the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Site U1333 (1030.996′N, 138°25.159′W), which is located in 4853 m-deep water over seafloor with an estimated crustal age of 46 Ma. Detailed magnetostratigraphic investigations are essential to provide a sound age model for the study of the palaeoclimatic and palaeo-oceanographic history of the Cenozoic of the Equatorial Pacific and to improve the database of Pacific magnetostratigraphy. Rock magnetic measurements were carried out at 1 cm resolution on 81 U-channel samples from the spliced section with the goal of extracting a high-resolution record of the magnetostratigraphy. Stepwise demagnetization of the natural remanent magnetization yielded a well-defined magnetostratigraphy over a time interval of approximately 10 Ma between the base of Chron C6n (19.722 Ma) and the middle of Chron C11r (>29.9 Ma) and identification of the Oligocene–Miocene transition at the base of Subchron C6Cn.2n. The palaeomagnetic data are characterized by shallow inclinations, and by 180° alternations in declinations downhole, reflecting magnetic polarity zones. The relatively high temporal resolution allowed for the identification of three possible excursions previously not identified on the geomagnetic polarity time scale, which were recorded in Subchrons C8n.1r and C11n.2n and in Chron C11r.


Using annual Japanese fresh fruit import data from 1971 to 1997, this study analyzes the import patterns of Japan's seven most popular fresh fruits by implementing and testing a general differential demand system that nests four alternative import demand specifications. When tested against the general system using the five-good case (bananas, grapefruits, oranges, and lemons and aggregating pineapples, berries, and grapes), the analysis rejects the Almost Ideal Demand System and National Bureau of Research specifications but does not reject Rotterdam and Central Bureau of Statistics models. When estimated using the six-good case (bananas, grapefruits, oranges, lemons, and pineapples and aggregating berries and grapes), the analysis rejects all specifications except the Rotterdam model.


SUMMARY There are many reasons why agricultural researchers carefully evaluate approaches to experimental data analysis. Agricultural experiments are typically highly complex, with many types of variables often collected at a wide range of temporal and spatial scales. Furthermore, research in the developing world is often conducted on-farm where simple and conventional experimental designs are often unsuitable. Recently, a variant of stochastic dominance called stochastic efficiency with respect to a function (SERF) has been developed and used to analyse long-term experimental data. Unlike traditional stochastic dominance approaches, SERF uses the concept of certainty equivalents (CEs) to rank a set of risk-efficient alternatives instead of finding a subset of dominated alternatives. This study evaluates the efficacy of the SERF methodology for analysing conventional and conservation tillage systems using 14 years (1990–2003) of economic budget data collected from 36 experimental plots at the Iowa State University Northeast Research Station near Nashua, IA, USA. Specifically, the SERF approach is used to examine which of two different tillage systems (chisel plough and no-till) on continuous corn (Zea mays) and corn/soyabean (Glycine max) rotation cropping systems are the most risk-efficient in terms of maximizing economic profitability (gross margin and net return) by crop across a range of risk aversion preferences. In addition to the SERF analysis, we also conduct an economic analysis of the tillage system alternatives using mean-standard deviation and coefficient of variation for ranking purposes. Decision criteria analysis of the economic measures alone provided somewhat contradictive and non-conclusive rankings, e.g. examination of the decision criteria results for gross margin and net return showed that different tillage system alternatives were the highest ranked depending on the criterion and the cropping system (e.g. individual or rotation). SERF analysis results for the tillage systems were also dependent on the cropping system (individual, rotation or whole-farm combined) and economic outcome of interest (gross margin or net return) but only marginally on the level of risk aversion. For the individual cropping systems (continuous corn, rotation corn and rotation soyabean), the no-till tillage and rotation soyabean system was the most preferred and the chisel plough tillage and continuous corn system the least preferred across the entire range of risk aversion for both gross margin and net return. The no-till tillage system was preferred to the chisel plough tillage system when ranking within the continuous corn and the corn-soyabean rotation cropping systems for both gross margin and net return. Finally, when analysing the tillage system alternatives on a whole-farm basis (i.e. combined continuous corn and corn-soybean rotation), the no-till tillage system was clearly preferred to the chisel plough tillage system for both gross margin and net return. This study indicates that the SERF method appears to be a useful and easily understood tool to assist farm managers, experimental researchers and, potentially, policy makers and advisers on problems involving agricultural risk.


Two recent preliminary rulings of the Court of Justice of the European Union ('the Court') recognizing certain arbitral tribunals as 'court[s] or tribunal[s] of a Member State' within the meaning of Article 267 Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union open the way for a closer cooperation between arbitration and the Court in matters of interpretation of EU law. This article presents the facts and the holdings of the Court in Merck Canada and Ascendi and discusses the reasons for which in declaring the preliminary references in these cases admissible the Court distanced itself from its traditional case-law on the matter. It is then argued that arbitral tribunals hearing investment disputes, either ad hoc or under the auspices of arbitral institutions, may qualify as 'court[s] or tribunal[s] of a Member State' within the meaning of Article 267 TFEU and thus be empowered to submit references for preliminary rulings to the Court.


Previous studies on earnings quality from the perspective of estimation error only focused on the dispersion degree of estimation errors. Due to market investors' aversion to estimation error, centralized tendency factor is added in this study to modify the earnings quality capability indices by Chang et al. (2012) and correspond to investment risks resulted from earnings quality. With the 1988~2010 data from the U.S. Compustat financial database, this study measures estimation errors by the regression model (Francis et al., 2005), and in turn, applies modified earnings quality capability indices to help investors in assessment of investment risks.


Although seldom examined and not explained by Robert Brandom himself, the concept of responsibility is as important as the concept of inference for Brandom's account of discursivity. Whereas 'inference' makes explicit the propositional content of concepts as the inferentially structured totality of their relations of material incompatibility, 'responsibility' makes explicit the normative force of these relations. 'Responsibility' thus becomes the paradigm of understanding normativity's binding force – and my critical reading demonstrates that it fosters a moralizing, juridifying and economizing understanding of normativity's binding force. Furthermore, a diagnostic interpretation of Nietzsche's genealogy of 'responsibility' reveals that Brandom's concept of 'responsibility' is not an exception but exemplary for how 'responsibility' is used in philosophy.


For farmers in rural Africa, climate change could significantly alter the natural environment, leading to a loss of income, food security and well-being; however, much remains unknown about the way a change in climate may affect a person's decision to migrate away from their home. Using a framework based on migration aspirations and capabilities, this paper examines how climate stresses (such as droughts that cause a long-term decline in harvests) and climate shocks (i.e. acute food shortages and sudden flooding) may affect migration decision-making in rural Malawi. Drawing on survey (n = 255), interview (n = 75) and focus group (n = 93) data from rural and urban dwellers, we find that climate stresses typically do not change rural dwellers' aspiration to leave their homes, except for a small group of younger farmers from better-off households. However, these same stresses may erode human, financial and social capital, thus reducing migration capability. Data also reveal that acute shocks erode both the migration aspirations and capabilities of even the most dedicated would-be migrant. Drawing from these two findings, this paper concludes that climate change is likely to increase barriers to migration rather than increasing migration flows in countries like Malawi where the economy is still predominately rural.


For a Coxeter group (W, S), a permutation of the set S is called a Coxeter word and the group element represented by the product is called a Coxeter element. Moving the first letter to the end of the word is called a rotation and two Coxeter elements are rotation equivalent if their words can be transformed into each other through a sequence of rotations and legal commutations. We prove that Coxeter elements are conjugate if and only if they are rotation equivalent. This was known for some special cases but not for Coxeter groups in general.


Conservatism and transcendence are symbiosis phenomena of mankind, the effective carrier of which is university. University's transcendence is not confined to keeping abreast with the times, rather, it goes beyond pragmatism, the present state and the universe. Conservatism and transcendence are twins in universities. The value of the former is usually underestimated, however, as a matter of fact transcendence can not exist without conservatism.


Because of its harsh environmental conditions and remoteness, Antarctica is often considered to be at low risk of plant invasion. However, an increasing number of reports have shown the presence and spread of non-native plants in Antarctica; it is therefore important to study which factors control the invasion process in this ecosystem. Here, we assessed the role of different human activities on the presence and abundance of the invasive Poa annua. In addition, we performed a reciprocal transplant experiment in the field, and a manipulative experiment of germination with P. annua and the natives Colobanthus quitensis and Deschampsia antarctica, in order to unravel the effects of physical soil disturbance on the establishment and survival of P. annua. We found a positive correlation between abundance of P. annua and level of soil disturbance, and that survival of P. annua was 33% higher in sites with disturbed soil than non-disturbed. Finally, we found that disturbance conditions increased germination for P. annua, whereas for native species germination in experimentally disturbed soil was either unchanged or reduced compared to undisturbed soil. Our results indicate that human activities that modify abiotic soil characteristics could play an important role in the abundance of this invasive species. If the current patterns of human activities are maintained in Antarctica, the establishment success and spread of P. annua could increase, negatively affecting native flora.


The original September 1937 George Allen & Unwin edition of The Hobbit features artwork by J.R.R. Tolkien along with an accompanying dust jacket. This latter work is a modern, stylized graphic design composed of a not entirely symmetrical view of a Middle-earth landscape (night to the left, day to the right), with the Lonely Mountain rising in the distant center, flanked by steeply sloped, snow-covered Misty Mountains and in the foreground Mirkwood's dense, impenetrable forests. Additional features include a crescent moon, the sun, a dragon, eagles, a lake village, and a rapier-like path—a straight road— heading toward a darkened, megalithic trapezoidal door at the base of the mountain.1 The runes which form the border read: "The Hobbit or There and Back Again, being the record of a year's journey made by Bilbo Baggins; compiled from his memoirs by J.R.R. Tolkien and published by George Allen & Unwin."


Abstract This paper introduces new analytical concepts to reveal overlooked dimensions of power inequalities between elite development agents (EDAs), local development agents and the targets of aid. Affective privilege captures the positioning of EDAs within affective patterning that sustains their dominant position. They enjoy a greater capacity to affect others in ways that reproduce structural power. Affective resilience captures their reduced capacity to be affected in ways that challenge their prior understandings, including understanding of self and their relations with others. Both affective privilege and affective resilience act as barriers to mutual understandings, limit reflexivity and, crucially, sustain hierarchies that are intimately felt by the power-deficient, but that pass unnoticed and therefore unaddressed by EDAs. I propose vulnerability as an ethical practice by the powerful as a means to both be attentive to these hierarchies, and to meaningfully transform relationships in development.


Abstract The rapid, global spread of COVID-19, and the measures intended to limit or slow its propagation, are having major impacts on diverse sectors of society. Notably, these impacts are occurring in the context of other anthropogenic-driven threats including global climate change. Both anthropogenic stressors and the COVID-19 pandemic represent significant economic challenges to aquaculture systems across the globe, threatening the supply chain of one of the most important sources of animal protein, with potential disproportionate impacts on vulnerable communities. A web survey was conducted in 47 countries in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic to assess how aquaculture activities have been affected by the pandemic, and to explore how these impacts compare to those from climate change. A positive correlation between the effects of the two categories of drivers was detected, but analysis suggests that the pandemic and the anthropogenic stressors affect different parts of the supply chain. The immediate measurable reported losses varied with aquaculture typology (land vs. marine, and intensive vs. extensive). A comparably lower impact on farmers reporting the use of integrated multitrophic aquaculture (IMTA) methods suggests that IMTA might enhance resilience to multiple stressors by providing different market options under the COVID-19 pandemic. Results emphasize the importance of assessing detrimental effects of COVID-19 under a multiple stressor lens, focusing on areas that have already locally experienced economic loss due to anthropogenic stressors in the last decade. Holistic policies that simultaneously address other ongoing anthropogenic stressors, rather than focusing solely on the acute impacts of COVID-19, are needed to maximize the long-term resilience of the aquaculture sector.


Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a chronic, debilitating skin disease. Although most studies on HS are conducted in largely Caucasian populations, evidence demonstrates a higher prevalence in patients with skin of color, including African and Hispanic populations. These racial subgroups are likely at risk for greater disease burden due to a higher prevalence of components of the metabolic syndrome, comorbid depression, and low socioeconomic status; however, there is a paucity of research in these populations. Additionally, studies examining the genetic and anatomical basis for HS, as well as the response to HS therapies, are lacking for patients with skin of color. Complicating this issue is the limited access to effective medical care, including dermatologists, for African and Hispanic populations as well as other minority groups. In this review, we identify gaps in the knowledge base, highlight the association between HS and patients with skin of color, and provide direction for much needed research into this condition.


We examine the impact of the COVID-19 economic crisis on business and consumer bankruptcies in the United States using real-time data on the universe of filings. Historically, bankruptcies have closely tracked the business cycle and contemporaneous unemployment rates. However, this relationship has reversed during the COVID-19 crisis thus far. While aggregate filing rates were very similar to 2019 levels prior to the severe onset of the pandemic, filings by consumers and small businesses dropped dramatically starting in mid-March, contrary to media reports and many experts' expectations. The total number of bankruptcy filings is down by 27 percent year-over-year between January and August. Consumer and business Chapter 7 filings rebounded moderately starting in mid-April and stabilized around 20 percent below 2019 levels, but Chapter 13 filings remained at 55-65 percent below 2019 levels through the end of August. In contrast to the 2007-9 recession, states with a larger increase in unemployment between April and July experienced greater drops in bankruptcies. Although they make up a small share of overall bankruptcies, Chapter 11 filings by large corporations have increased since 2019, and are up nearly 200 percent year-over-year from January through August. These patterns suggest that the financial experiences of consumers, small businesses, and large corporations have diverged during the COVID-19 crisis. Large businesses have continued to seek and receive relief from the bankruptcy system as they would during a normal recession, and relatively wealthy homeowners have on average benefited from the fiscal stimulus and housing moratoria mandated by the CARES Act and other policies. However, non-homeowners and small businesses may face financial, physical, and technological barriers to accessing the bankruptcy system, especially in the areas hardest-hit by unemployment.


This chapter proposes an approach to modelling the functions of C2 performed over a network of geographically distributed entities. Any kind of command and control (C2) organisation, hierarchical, networked, or combinations thereof, can be represented with this approach. The chapter also discusses why a theory of C2 needs to be expressed in functions in order to support design and evaluation of C2 systems. The basic principle of how to model functions performed by network is borrowed from Cares' network model of warfare, which is also used to model the context in which C2 is performed. The approach requires that C2 is conceived of as fulfilling a set of necessary and sufficient functions. Brehmer proposes such a theoretical model that is at a sufficiently high level of abstraction to illustrate the suggested approach. More detailed models will be required, however, for the approach to be of practical use.


Intermediate-level users learn to coax much more from Photoshop Photoshop is the preferred image-editing software, with more than four million users worldwide. Professional photographers, Web designers, graphic designers, and serious photo hobbyists who already know earlier versions of Photoshop will expand their skills by mastering these techniques. Fully revised for the newest Photoshop release, this guide uses step-by-step instructions and full-color screen shots to make comprehension quick and easy for the visual learner. Photoshop is the image-editing software preferred by professional photographers and designers around the world; new functionality and enhanced tools in the latest version enable new shortcuts and techniques This full-color guide shows intermediate-level users how to coax more from Photoshop with professional tips and tricks Packed with cool and valuable advice to help you take advantage of Photoshop's newest bells and whistles and take your skills to new heights Photoshop Top 100 Simplified Tips & Tricks provides a visual reference that teaches adventurous users how to make the most of Photoshop.


The identity of floral organs in Arabidopsis thaliana is determined by homeotic genes, which are expressed in specific regions of the developing flower. The initial activation of homeotic genes is accomplished at least in part by the products of two earlier acting genes with overlapping functions. These are the floral meristem—identity genes LEAFY and APETALA1. The requirements of LEAFY and APETALA1 activity vary for different homeotic genes.


Abstract This study aimed to investigate whether high peak ground reaction forces and high average loading rates are necessary to bowl fast. Kinematic and kinetic bowling data were collected for 20 elite male fast bowlers. A moderate non-significant correlation was found between ball speed and peak vertical ground reaction force with faster bowlers tending to have lower peak vertical ground reaction force (r = −0.364, P = 0.114). Faster ball speeds were correlated with both lower average vertical and lower average horizontal loading rates (r = −0.452, P = 0.046 and r = −0.484, P = 0.031, respectively). A larger horizontal (braking) impulse was associated with a faster ball speed (r = 0.574, P = 0.008) and a larger plant angle of the front leg (measured from the vertical) at front foot contact was associated with a larger horizontal impulse (r = 0.706, P = 0.001). These findings suggest that there does not necessarily need to be a trade-off between maximum ball release speed and the forces exerted on fast bowlers (peak ground reaction forces and average loading rates). Furthermore, it appears that one of the key determinants of ball speed is the horizontal impulse generated at the ground over the period from front foot contact until ball release.


Wet snow avalanches interact with infrastructures around the world but their significance on the structure design is frequently neglected due to the low velocity, which characterize the flow and thus the expected low impact pressures. Recent pressure measurements performed at the Swiss Vallee de la Sionne full-scale test site show that wet avalanche pressures, measured on a 20 m high tower, are considerably higher than those predicted by conventional avalanche engineering guidelines, thus potentially becoming relevant for the design of tower-like structures. In order to understand under which circumstances wet avalanches can become more relevant than their dry counter part and in order to establish simple rules to evaluate the pressure the avalanche exerts on a tower-like object, we analyse pressure and velocity data collected at the Vallee the la Sionne on obstacles of different shape and dimension.


This capstone is about women and self-acceptance. The title, The Right Reflection, alludes to the fact that none of us see ourselves directly, only through the reflections of others. Sometimes women's reflections are distorted due to destructive cultural messages that women receive and internalize and maladaptive thinking they then develop. Books as recent as The Confidence Code (Katy & Shipman, 2014) and concepts a bit older such as the Imposter Phenomenon (Clance & Imes, 1978) point to the reality that women view themselves as less-qualified, intelligent and deserving than men or other women. This capstone explores the role of low selfacceptance in this phenomenon. Topics covered include the concept of self-acceptance, how self-acceptance differs from self-compassion and self-esteem, what contributes to low self-acceptance in women (sex-role stereotyping, patriarchy, sexism), thinking styles that contribute to low self-acceptance in women (rumination, perfectionism, explanatory style), how low self-acceptance manifests in women (imposter phenomenon, lack of confidence), and actions that women can take to improve self-acceptance. This capstone will conclude with strategies to help women improve their self-acceptance and alleviate the suffering associated with low self-acceptance.


Success for many businesses depends on their information software systems. Keeping these systems operational is critical, as failure in these systems is costly. Such systems are in many cases sophisticated, distributed and dynamically composed. To ensure high availability and correct operation, it is essential that failures be detected promptly, their causes diagnosed and remedial actions taken. Although automated recovery approaches exists for specific problem domains, the problem-resolution process is in many cases manual and painstaking. Computer support personnel put a great deal of effort into resolving the reported failures. The growing size and complexity of these systems creates the need to automate this process. The primary focus of our research is on automated fault diagnosis and recovery using discrete monitoring data such as log files and notifications. Our goal is to quickly pinpoint the root-cause of a failure. Our contributions are: • Modelling discrete monitoring data for automated analysis, • Automatically leveraging common symptoms of failures from historic monitoring data using such models to pinpoint faults, and • Providing a model for decision-making under uncertainty such that appropriate recovery actions are chosen. Failures in such systems are caused by software defects, human error, hardware failures, environmental conditions and malicious behaviour. Our primary focus in this thesis is on software defects and misconfiguration.


Australia's aquaculture industry is predominantly based in rural coastal regions where it makes a significant contribution to local economies as well as to national food security. Over the past decade changing global economic and trade conditions have resulted in Asia supplying an ever-increasing amount of seafood to Australian consumers. From 2003 to 2007 landings of cheaper imported Asian prawns increased dramatically, seriously impacting the eastern Australian prawn farming industry as graphically illustrated by the collapse of prawn farming in the Northern Rivers region of NSW. In response, the Southern Cross University's National Marine Science Centre researched the feasibility of farming the finfish mulloway or jewfish (Argyrosomus japonicus) as an opportunity for Australian prawn farmers to diversify their production base. In this context, the purpose of this case study was to assess the effect of imported products on the viability of the northern NSW prawn farming industry by reviewing the output and cost structures of a local prawn farm before (2002-2003) and after the influx of competing imports (2006-2007). Secondly, the findings of a two year trial of farming mulloway in ponds on a converted prawn farm are critically evaluated, and possible opportunities are identified. Finally, regional policy implications of the case study are examined and current constraints and limitations to the uptake of mulloway farming in northern NSW are identified.


Mergers of business firms violate the antitrust laws when they threaten to lessen competition, which generally refers to a price increase resulting from a reduction in output. However, a merger that threatens competition may also enable the post-merger firm to reduce its costs or improve its product. Attitudes toward mergers are heavily driven by assumptions about efficiency gains. If mergers of competitors never produced efficiency gains but simply reduced the number of competitors, a strong presumption against them would be warranted. We tolerate most mergers because of a background, highly generalized belief that most or at least many produce cost savings or improvements in products or service. This article considers the current approach of merger enforcement policy to merger-induced efficiencies. Merger analysis today takes efficiencies into account in two ways. First, it makes assumptions about efficiencies in determining where the line for prima facie illegality should be drawn. Second, it recognizes an efficiencies "defense" once prima facie illegality has been established, with the burden of proof on the defendant. The rapidly growing empirical literature on post-merger performance suggests that merger policy today is more likely to permit an anticompetitive merger than to prohibit a harmless one. At the same time, however, the fault appears not to lie with the efficiencies defense. The defense has almost never successfully defended a merger after the government has made out a prima facie case of illegality. In that case the under deterrence problem must lie in the prima facie case itself. Welfare tradeoff models attempt to assess the welfare effects of mergers by comparing consumer harms and producer gains. One problem with the well known welfare tradeoff model developed by Oliver E. Williamson is that the efficiencies it contemplates occur at output levels that are lower than they were prior to the merger. While efficiencies at lower output levels are possible, they properly require additional proof. Of course, efficiencies might be so substantial that post-merger output is higher, and prices lower, than at premerger levels. But in that case there is nothing to trade off -- both producers and consumers would benefit from the merger. Williamson's model also assumed a market that was perfectly competitive prior to the merger but monopolized thereafter. Virtually no challenged mergers today fall into that territory. Most mergers occur in moderately concentrated markets where pre-merger prices are already substantially above marginal cost. In that case consumer welfare losses are much larger and efficiency gains must be spread over a much smaller output. The 2010 Horizontal Merger Guidelines also require that efficiencies be "merger specific" -- that is, that they could not reasonably be brought about except by the merger. Under a general welfare test that trades actual consumer losses against producer gains that approach makes sense, but under the consumer welfare test that the Merger Guidelines apply it is perplexing. First, if the efficiencies are not of sufficient magnitude to offset fully any propensity toward a price increase, then the efficiency defense will be rejected whether or not the claimed efficiencies are merger specific. However, if the efficiencies are in fact of sufficient magnitude to predict that the post-merger price will be no higher than the pre-merger price, then why do we care? Such a merger does not harm consumers, and as a result is not anticompetitive.


In corporate networks, daily business data are generated in gigabytes or even terabytes. It is costly to process aggregate queries in those systems. In this paper, we propose PACA, a probably approximately correct aggregate query processing scheme, for answering aggregate queries in structured Peer-to-Peer (P2P) network. PACA retrieves random samples from peers' databases and applies the samples to process queries. Instead of scanning the entire database of each peer, PACA only accesses a small random number of data. Moreover, based on the query distribution,PACA publishes a precomputed synopsis and uses the synopsis to answer future queries. Most queries are expected to be answered by the precomputed synopsis partially or fully. And the synopsis is adaptively tuned to follow the query distribution. Experiments on the PlanetLab show the effectiveness of the approach.


A cohort measurement of tibio-femoral angle (TFA) is more meaningful and reliable than a cross-sectional survey in investigating TFA pattern of development. This study reports the pattern of knee angle development in a cohort of 152 normal Nigerian children during the first 12 months of life. The infants' tibio-femoral angle, inter-condylar, and inter-malleoli distances were measured at monthly intervals using clinical methods. Age-reference values were generated. Results showed that the developmental pattern of tibio-femoral angle is extreme varus at birth with values ranging from 5°to 25°. The mean varus at birth (13.2±3.7°) decreased to reach the lowest value (5.6±0.7°) at nine months and then rose slightly to (6.9±1.2°) at 12 months. None of the infants exhibited a measurable valgus angle. In conclusion, the chronological development of TFA in these cohort Nigerian infants was varus, maximal at birth and decreasing during first 12 months of life. The age-reference values herewith generated may serve as a useful guide in evaluating lower limb alignment in Nigerian children, age 0 to 12 months.


Editor's introduction This forum aims to promote one of our journal's primary functions: to bring together scholars and practitioners working in the criminal justice system. It addresses one of the most vexing issues in criminal justice: the role of the victim. The movement promoting victims' rights has gained considerable ground in recent decades--in Canada as well as in other common law jurisdictions (see Roach 1999; Sebba 1996). Victims now have considerably more input into the criminal process than they had 20 years ago. In the area of sentencing, since 1988 crime victims in Canada have had the right to submit a victim impact statement at sentencing; more recent amendments to the Criminal Code have expanded still further the rights of the victim in this regard. The contributors to this forum address the role of the victim in plea negotiations, a much misunderstood element of the criminal justice system. Victim advocates have long argued that crime victims should have some input into these discussions. Simon Verdun-Jones and Adamira Tijerino, academics from the School of Criminology at Simon Fraser University, review the experience with respect to victim input, both here and in the United States. They examine a number of different models to provide victims with more "voice" in these discussions. Their article is followed by commentaries contributed by three experienced and distinguished criminal justice practitioners: Judge Donna Hackett of the Ontario Court of Justice; Nevina Crisante, Counsel for the Ontario Victim Services Secretariat; and Allen Edgar, Director of the Centre for Judicial Research and Education in Toronto. The journal is grateful to these individuals for taking the time from their busy schedules to read and respond to the Verdun-Jones and Tijerino article. Julian V. Roberts Editor, Canadian Journal of Criminology and Criminal Justice References Roach, Kent 1999 Due Process and Victims' Rights: The New Law and Politics of Criminal Justice. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. Sebba, Leslie 1996 "Third Parties": Victims and the Criminal Justice System. Columbus: Ohio State University Press. Rubrique speciale sur le role de la victime dans les negociations de plaidoyer Introduction du redacteur en chef Ce forum s'est donne pour objectif de faire la promotion de l'une des fonctions principales de la Revue : rassembler les chercheurs et les praticiens oauvrant au sein du systeme de justice penale. C'est ainsi que, sous cette rubrique speciale, nous voulons approfondir l'une des questions des plus delicates dans le domaine de la justice penale, soit le role de la victime. …


Offshore oil and gas production was conducted throughout the entire 20th century, but the industry's modern importance and vibrancy did not start until the early 1970s, when the North Sea became a major producer. Since then, the expansion of the offshore oil industry has been continuous and rapid. Pipelines, and more generally long tubular structures, are major oil and gas industry tools used in exploration, drilling, production, and transmission. Installing and operating tubular structures in deep waters places unique demands on them. Technical challenges within the field have spawned significant research and development efforts in a broad range of areas. Volume I addresses problems of buckling and collapse of long inelastic cylinders under various loads encountered in the offshore arena. Several of the solutions are also directly applicable to land pipelines. The approach of "Mechanics of Offshore Pipelines" is problem oriented. The background of each problem and scenario are first outlined and each discussion finishes with design recommendations. Features of this title are: new and classical problems addressed - investigated through a combination of experiments and analysis; each chapter deals with a specific mechanical problem that is analyzed independently; and, the fundamental nature of the problems makes them also applicable to other fields, including tubular components in nuclear reactors and power plants, aerospace structures, automotive and civil engineering structures, naval vehicles and structures.


We provide yet another proof of the Otto-Villani theorem
from the log Sobolev inequality to the Talagrand transportation cost
inequality valid in arbitrary metric measure spaces. The argument relies on the recent
development [2] identifying gradient flows in Hilbert space and in Wassertein space,
emphasizing one key step as precisely the root of the Otto-Villani theorem.
The approach does not require the doubling property or the validity of the
local Poincare inequality.


The article demonstrates that crimes that come to the attention of the criminal police have varying worth in the eyes of Russian policemen and, consequently, attract unequal efforts. The worth of crimes is closely related to the criteria for evaluation of police performance. The data derived from 12 in-depth interviews with Russian police officers, nine indepth interviews with senior students of Moscow University of Russian Interior Ministry who are undergoing practice within police departments, and online discussions within the police community show that policemen in Russia made their practical decisions while balancing between multiple orders of worth. The theoretical framework of data interpretation is represented by symbiosis theories of valuations and the institutional logics approach. Operationalized as a set of cultural rules and expectations defining legitimate grounds for assessing and determining what rational behavior in a given organizational context really is, the concept of institutional logics stresses the interrelations between value-oriented and material dimensions of social action but allows one to stress the hierarchy and constant competition between various orders of worth in an organization. Four institutional logics - state, clan, quasi-market, and professional - are empirically identified. Each of them brings its own order of worth to the police organizational environment. Crimes in the eyes of the police always have a price - expressed in either "checkmarks," points of recognition by the boss or colleagues, or money. The data suggest that, despite the hierarchy between the orders of (crimes') worth within the police system as a whole, in each case, institutional logics and criteria of worth related to them compete with each other. Depending on the characteristics of the criminal case and the situation in the police department at a given moment, the competition between various orders of worth is resolved by policemen in different ways. The results of the study shed light on the functioning of police discretion and help to accentuate the dysfunctional side of police reform in Russia.


Chapter One provides a review of the literature relating to the isolation, structure
elucidation, biological activity, and mode of action of the azinomycins. It also
provides an overview of the synthesis and biological activity of simplified synthetic
analogues. Chemical strategies towards the natural products are presented, as are
proposals for the biosynthetic construction of these complex metabolites.
Chapter Two describes our synthetic efforts towards simplified analogue 90 of
azinomycin B, containing an amide substituent at N5, using the N16–C17 amide
bond disconnection. These studies involved the synthesis of α-azido-β-hydroxy ester
125 in eight steps and 5% overall yield from L-methyl serinate. Further progression
of 125 to fully elaborate the right-hand domain could not be achieved.
Chapter Three explores a new approach to the azinomycins, based around the
formation of the C7−N16 enamide bond using copper mediated cross-coupling
methodology. Amides related to the left-hand domain of the azinomycins, 140 and
142, were demonstrated to undergo copper-mediated cross-couplings with phenyl
iodide in yields of 19% and 64% respectively, demonstrating the potential of this
approach. Methods for the synthesis of suitable coupling partners were explored. The
most efficient route utilised the Eschenmoser sulphide contraction to elaborate Rpyroglutamic
acid to bromoalkylidenepyrrolidine 184 in 7 steps and 16% overall
yield. Initial studies into the amidation of 184 suggest that protection of the
pyrrolidine nitrogen will be required to facilitate cross-linking.
Chapter Four details the synthesis and biological evaluation of a range of new
bisepoxides based on the azinomycin "left-hand" domain, which possess rigid
linkers. The most potent of these analogues was identified as bisepoxide 203 (GI50 =
0.33 μM). All the new analogues displayed reduced potency compared to those based
around aliphatic linkers, suggesting that they cannot readily adopt viable
conformations for ISC formation.
Chapter Five contains detailed experimental procedures for the new compounds
described within this thesis.


In today's global economy, companies are challenged to become more efficient and agile in the face of increased transparency in their supply chains and rising compliance requirements. In addition, IT hardware continues to increase in price and performance resulting in more information storage, processing capabilities and network throughput. In fact, by the year 2010 we could see over 100 cores per server with multiple terabytes of memory.


ABSTRACT Hemochromatosis is a hereditary disease caused by the mutation of genes responsible for regulating iron metabolism in the body. The mutation results in elevated iron absorption from the food that is deposited and stored in various organs and tissues. Due to the excessive decomposition of iron, organs, most commonly liver, heart and pancreas, are damaged. The standard therapeutic procedure for the treatment of hereditary hemochromatosis is a venipuncture that removes excess iron in the blood. The therapeutic procedure is carried out until the iron level returns to the reference interval. Ancient bloodletting skills are still about three thousand years old. It was considered that the release of blood establishes a good balance of body fluids in the organism-euc rasia. Venipuncture was used in various diseases, and the amount of blood that was released was different, from half to two liters, and sometimes more. Venipuncture was applied not only to the treatment of existing diseases but as a prevention. The use of therapeutic venipuncture has remained to date  the gold standard for the treatment of hereditary hemochromatosis. The aim of this paper is to present a historical review of venipuncture as a therapeutic procedure for the treatment of hemochromatosis. Key words : therapeutic venipuncture, hemochromatosis, bloodletting


1. To determine the part played by changes in interstitial tissue compliance in the mechanism of experimental renal hypertension, pressure and volume measurements were made in rats 60 days after partial constriction of one renal artery with a clip and removal of the opposite kidney. Tissue pressure and venous pressure were found to be significantly higher in rats which developed systolic arterial blood pressure of 140 mmHg or above than in loosely clipped controls with normal blood pressure. Plasma volume (PV) was also increased in the hypertensive animals, but there was no difference in interstitial fluid volume (IFV); the PV/IFV ratio was significantly higher in the hypertensive rats. 2. Removal of the clip in the hypertensive rats restored blood pressure to normal in 1 h; this was associated with a fall in venous pressure and plasma volume. Tissue pressure fell despite a rise in interstitial fluid volume; the PV/IFV ratio fell. 3. It is suggested that renal artery constriction, possibly by a humoral mechanism, causes a fall in interstitial space compliance and that this, by causing changes in body fluid distribution, plays a part in the mechanism of experimental renal hypertension. This mechanism may have a physiological role in the maintenance of adequate plasma volume during water shortage.


This thesis explores the opinions of older women about end of life issues with a particular focus on whether voluntary euthanasia and physician assisted suicide should be accessible as options for the terminally ill. It describes, and critically reflects upon, the opinions and experiences of 12 older women from the University of the Third Age (U3A), an organization for older people here in Townsville in North Queensland. These women had responded to a letter from me, published in the local U3A Newsletter, in which I had invited women members interested to participate in this research to contact me to arrange an interview.

My interest to hear the voices of older women in this debate emerged heuristically as I reflected upon my personal experience as an older woman who had felt helpless and ignorant when confronted by my terminally ill partner's suffering. Many questions had arisen for me about why there was no way he could have accessed assistance to die as his condition worsened. This interest grew as I read widely about voluntary euthanasia and was reinforced by the publicity surrounding a radicalised voluntary euthanasia lobby and the suicides of two older women supporters of the voluntary euthanasia movement. I pondered opposing viewpoints also, especially those which predicted older women would be among the most vulnerable to the 'slippery slope' consequences which opponents believed would follow the legalising of voluntary euthanasia. I wondered if other older women were questioning as I was and how to encourage more widespread community conversations about these controversial issues. I decided to inquire further and this thesis is the outcome of that inquiry.

I used a guided interview schedule based on broad areas of interest around end of life challenges which encouraged a conversational approach to the purpose in hand, and allowed other relevant ideas and issues to emerge which may not have arisen otherwise. I applied the principles of theory triangulation to the analytic process as an heuristic tool. This involved embracing feminist standpoint theory from a perspective not unlike post modern feminism, as well as utilising the principles of a broadly based critical tradition to engage with post modern thinking. In this way I was able to acknowledge the importance of subjectivity, but from a perspective in which the individual is perceived as being socially located in complex power relations and structural divisions (Hirschmann, 2004; Thompson, 2000; Young 1990). At the end of each of these chapters I have critically reflected on aspects of the socio-cultural and political context within which the participants opinions have been formed to highlight the significance of the personal-political nexus in that process. This critically reflective approach allowed me, as the researcher and as participant-partner, to add my voice to the analytic process as a feminist, an older woman, a woman with a disability and an activist in all these three areas of interest.

The findings have been reported as thematic clusters under the chapter headings: Older Women Speak Out: About Death and Dying, About Voluntary Euthanasia and About Quality of Life. It appeared that, while death was not feared, the dying process was a more daunting prospect, especially if it was likely to involve a protracted period of decline and deterioration. Few of the participants had any experience with palliative care and, those who did, were disappointed that it had not lived up to their expectations. Most adamantly rejected the prospect of admission to a nursing home and, though several speculated that suicide may be their only alternative, most hoped they would be able to remain living independently in their own homes, with support if necessary, till they died.

The concepts which emerged in the findings chapters as the critical reflective process unfolded, appeared to cluster with the concept of 'ethics of care'. Some feminists,, including feminists within the disability movement, advocate working with ethics of care from within a political rather than a psychological framework and, as a consequence, to locate this important ethical issue within the social domain (McLaughlin, 2003; Sevenhuijsen, 1998). This perspective informs the final chapter in which I take the critically reflective process forward to vision a different future in which ethics of care understandings about the interdependencies between people are given full scope. I propose tentative strategies to implement this at grassroots, professional practice and policy development levels.

These strategies for change include exploring opportunities for alliances to be negotiated between groups which have interests in common around social care provision and the protection of the rights of vulnerable people. Such alliances are particularly relevant in the light of what has been identified as a health care crisis. Locating care in the social domain challenges the privileged position of medicine as the current model of practice but not in a way which denies the importance of medicine in end of life care. Both are vital to good quality of care which, ethics of care feminists identify, is central to social functioning. This is as important at the end of life as at any other time to ensure a holistic approach to end of life management centres on the well being of the person who is dying, is sensitive to that person's right to be heard and respects her/his wishes. This is a process which has been likened to a 'midwifing' through the dying process and, making the hard choices which those who seek an easeful end request.


Previous studies have focused on staff attitudes to sexuality rather than their experience of dealing with sexual incidents. A self-completion questionnaire was devised in which seven scenarios were proposed relating to client sexuality (e.g. public masturbation and accusation of sexual abuse). Staff noted whether or not they had encountered this type of incident, and if so, how confident they felt (or would feel) in dealing with it, and whether or not they would enlist the help of colleagues. Questionnaires were sent to all statutory, voluntary and private service providers (including schools) within one community health and social services trust area in Northern Ireland, and 150 staff responded. Around two-thirds of staff reported having dealt with at least one of the seven incidents listed. Staff with previous experience of the incident listed, felt that they could deal with it more confidently in future, as did staff working in residential services rather than day services. The latter group of staff were more likely to enlist the help of colleagues than were residential staff. Nearly 50% of staff identified more training and clear policy guidelines as the two means of increasing their confidence in dealing with issues of client sexuality. These results highlight the need for staff training that spans agencies and results in common approaches to client sexuality. Suggestions for further research are noted.


Over the past few years, Dynamic Positioning (DP) systems have seen increasing use in the offshore oil and gas industry. As operations move into more hostile and deeper waters, the need for DP systems has become almost mandatory. Thrusters working at low advance ratios are employed in a wide range of offshore and marine applications on Floating, Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) systems, shuttle tankers, tug boats, and mobile offshore units. Therefore, an understanding of the flow around a DP thruster is of great practical interest. -- Despite this interest, there is lack of knowledge on the description of the hydrodynamic characteristics of a DP thruster's wake under varied operating conditions and regarding a description of the effects of the current wash produced from DP thrusters when they are in operation. The large number of parameters involved in these particular problems does not allow an experimental and systematic coverage of the various phenomena of the DP thruster's wake. Therefore instead, recourse must be taken to a combination of experiments and calculations, which together eventually will yield a prediction tool that can be used to further improve the analysis of a DP thrusters wake. With the increasing importance and applications of DP thrusters in the offshore oil and gas industry, the designer as well as the operator must have more information about the operational propulsive characteristics. Future development and the success in such approaches depend greatly upon our understanding of the flow around a DP thruster. -- Different phenomena associated with the propeller wake can be measured by the introduction of laser techniques: Laser Doppler Velocimetry (LDV) and Particle Imagine Velocimetry (PIV), as propeller flow velocity-measuring tools. Moreover, with Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) codes finding their way into practical applications, a combined analysis is gradually becoming feasible. Experiments are then used to validate and complement computations. -- The aim of this study is to provide a comprehensive and systematic analysis of the flow produced from the operation of a DP thruster with and without a nozzle, under varied operating conditions. Furthermore, this study aims to quantify the interaction effects between the DP thruster wake and any structures placed in the working region of the DP thruster up to 15 diameters. This study is the first such approach to the particular problems associated with DP thruster operation. -- In this research, a DP thruster's performance characteristics and wake velocities were analyzed experimentally, and the DP thruster near and far wake profile was simulated computationally. The DP thruster performance characteristics were investigated at different propeller speeds, with and without a nozzle, and over a range of advance ratios including the bollard pull condition. The DP thruster wake velocities were measured using two different laser techniques in two different facilities: a LDV system at the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) Institute for Ocean Technology (IOT) cavitation tunnel; and a Stereoscopic PIV system at the Italian Ship Model Basin (INSEAN), Rome, Italy, large circulating tunnel. The numerical simulation of the DP thruster wake profile was performed using CFD software FLUENT 6.0. The experimental results of the DP thruster near wake velocity were used as input to the CFD numerical simulation. -- The results of the experimental work of this study show the advantages of using ducted thrusters rather than open thrusters in low speed and DP applications. Also, these results provide valuable data about the safest distance, which should be between the DP thrusters and any submerged structure in the slipstream. The evaluation of the DP thruster near and far wake characteristics under a variety of working conditions provide designers of structures in the slipstream of the DP thruster with reliable and accurate data of the DP thruster wake momentum, thrust and energy propagation. These data are fundamental in calculating the load increases on these structures due to the operation of the DP thruster. Therefore, reliable and sound design of these structures can be achieved. -- A number of DP thruster near and far wake simulations under a variety of working conditions were performed using FLUENT 6.0. The simulation of the DP thruster wake was simplified and was considered to be similar to a turbulent jet flow, in which the flow of the propeller was simulated without using the detailed propeller geometry. The results from the CFD simulations showed the capability of this method in simulating the DP thruster wake propagation and dissipation under a variety of working conditions. -- The results of this research provide detailed data about DP thrusters' performance characteristics, near and far wake hydrodynamic features, wake momentum propagation and far wake momentum effects under a variety of working conditions. Moreover, the results of this study provide reliable and accurate data about the DP thruster wake to be used for numerical and CFD simulation and validation work. These can be used as an important tool for evaluating the performance of DP thrusters and for predicting DP thrusters wake effect on structures in the slipstream.


Sex determination is the process by which an embryo commits to the male or female gonadal fate. Our understanding of mammalian sex determination is dominated by the consideration of data from humans and mouse models. Humans and mice share important elements of their reproductive biology, and therefore experimentation in the mouse offers the prospect of detailed mechanistic insights into typical and atypical human sexual development. Recent studies reveal a high degree of conservation in the roles played by sex-determining genes in mice and humans, but also important differences. Key themes that have emerged from mouse genetics studies include the mutually antagonistic roles of testis- and ovary-determining genes and the requirement to maintain these long after the primary sex-determining event. The advent of technologies such as next-generation sequencing and genome editing promises to shed more light on the causes of disorders of sex development in humans, as well as fundamental mechanisms in cell fate commitment in the mammalian gonad.

Key Concepts

The mammalian gonad (testis or ovary) develops from a bipotential primordium in which genes associated with later sexual differentiation are expressed.
The testis- and ovary-determining gene networks are mutually antagonistic during primary sex determination.
The maintenance of cell identity in the differentiated adult gonad requires continued inhibition of opposing genetic pathways.
Interpreting the nature of mutations associated with human genetic disease, including disorders of sex development (DSD), is aided by the generation and study of mouse models.

Keywords:

sex determination;
cell fate commitment;
testis;
ovary;
embryonic gonad;
disorders of sex development;
mouse genetics;
mouse models;
developmental biology


Information on geographic ranges and the location of range boundaries of individual species is key to studies of biogeography, evolution, macroecology, and conservation biology. Traditionally, marine biogeography has emphasized patterns in contours of species or generic richness, based on counts of species collected from different locations. To understand more fully why these and other patterns occur requires data on the geographic extent of individual species, and how their ranges overlap. We compiled a spatial database of geographic range boundaries from the primary literature and from our own records for Indo-Pacific reef-building scleractinian corals (726 species in 17 families: Acroporidae, Agariciidae, Astrocoeniidae, Caryophylliidae, Dendrophylliidae, Euphyllidae, Faviidae, Fungiidae, Meandrinidae, Merulinidae, Oculinidae, Pocilloporidae, Poritidae, Mussidae, Pectiniidae, Siderastreidae, and Trachyphylliidae). Corals have strongly skewed range distributions, with many species being pandemics. The data show little support for Rapoport's Rule (smaller ranges near the equator) or for the more general hypothesis that range sizes are smaller, on average, where species richness peaks. The unusual disparity between species richness and endemicity in locations such as the Coral Triangle hotspot challenges conservation priorities that tend to focus on hotspots and neglect depauperate locations. The empirically observed locations of ranges diverge from predictions of mid-domain models in ways that are consistent with the hypothesis that westward-flowing equatorial currents influence the species distributions of Indo-Pacific corals. The spatial database also can be used to examine species turnover at faunal boundaries, facilitating new studies that can explore barriers to dispersal and the evolution of geographic range size.


Regarding the Popular charts the complex relationship between the avant-gardes and modernisms on the one hand and popular culture on the other. Covering (neo-)avant-gardists and modernists from various European countries, this second volume in the series European Avant-Garde and Modernism Studies explores the nature of so-called low culture, dealing with aspects as diverse as the everyday and the folkloric. Regarding the Popular charts the many ways in which the allegedly high modernists and avant-gardists looked at and represented the low. As such, this book will appeal to all those with an interest in the dynamic of modern experimental arts and literatures.


In epidural spinal cord stimulation it is likely not only that dorsal column fibers are activated, but also that dorsal root fibers will be involved as well. In this investigation a volume conductor model of the spinal cord was used and dorsal root fibers were modeled by an electrical network including fiber excitation. The effects of varying some geometric fiber characteristics, as well as the influence of the dorsal cerebrospinal fluid layer and the electrode configuration on the threshold stimulus for their excitation, were assessed. The threshold values were compared with those of dorsal column fibers. The results of this modeling study predict that, besides the well known influence of fiber diameter, the curvature of the dorsal root fibers and the angle between these fibers and the spinal cord axis are a major influence on their threshold values. Because of these effects, threshold stimuli of dorsal root fibers were relatively low as compared to dorsal column fibers. Excitation of the dorsal root fibers occurred near the entry point of the fibers.<<ETX>>


A pot study was carried with the following objectives: (i) To investigate N and K uptake of MR 220 and ARC 2 rice varieties grown on Bekenu series (Tipik Tualemkuts), and (ii) To investigate N and K use efficiency of MR 220 and ARC 2 grown on Bekenu series. Treatments evaluated were: (i) MR 220 and ARC 2 under fertilized condition (T1), and (ii) MR 220 and ARC 2 under unfertilized condition (T0). The experiment was conducted in a glasshouse at Universiti Putra Malaysia Bintulu Campus, Sarawak, Malaysia. Altogether 24 pots were used having a completely randomized design (CRD) with 6 replications (for each treatment and each variety). Nitrogen and K were applied in the forms of urea (46 % N) and muriate of potash (60 % K2O) for the two varieties. For T1 of MR 220, N, K, and P were applied at the rates of 4.0 g N, 1.10 g K2O and 2.13 g P2O5 per pot, respectively in split. In the case of T1 of ARC 2, N, K, and P rates used were 1.30 g N, 0.8 g K2O, and 1.70 g P2O5 per pot, respectively in split. At 65 days (ARC 2) and 70 days (MR 220) after planting, plants were sampled and partitioned into roots and stem, and their dry weight, N, and K concentrations determined using standard procedures. Soil sampling was done before and after fertilization. Soil total N was determined using the Kjeldahl method while exchangeable K, Ca, Mg, and Na were extracted by the double acid method and their concentrations determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The dry ashing method was used for the determination of K, Ca, Mg and Na concentrations in plant tissues while the Kjeldahl method was used to determine total N in plant tissues. The concentrations multiplied by the oven dried weight of roots and stem provided N, K, Ca, Mg and Na uptake in these plant parts. The N and K use efficiency was then calculated using the subtraction method. With the exception of Ca, urea and KCl application significantly increased soil N, K, Mg, and Na concentrations. Application of K fertilizer significantly increased soil exchangeable K under MR 220 and ARC 2 cultivations. But this accumulation did not reflect in plant height, number of panicles, dry matter production, K uptake and K use efficiency. Urea application significantly increased N concentration in both roots and stem of MR 220 but the significant effect of N uptake reflected in stem only. Urea application however, did not affect N accumulation, plant height, number of panicles, and dry matter production. Nitrogen use efficiency was also low. As the results showed inefficient nutrient use, series of trials on Bekenu series on the interaction between inorganic and organic fertilizers (e.g. compost) should be carried out as this is likely to improve the inherent low exchange properties of this soil which partly contributes to poor fertility properties.


Optimizing a Scaffoldless Approach for Cartilage Tissue Engineering By Benjamin D. Elder Articular cartilage has a poor intrinsic healing response, so tissue engineering provides a promising approach for cartilage regeneration. The major objective of this proposal was to enhance the self-assembling process, used in articular cartilage tissue engineering, by investigating the effects of construct confinement, hydrostatic pressure application, and growth factor addition. First, the effects of construct confinement in different directions and at different times were investigated. It was demonstrated that construct confinement resulted in enhanced biomechanical properties in the direction orthogonal to the confinement surface, either by enhancing collagen organization or by increasing collagen production. Next, the effects of hydrostatic pressure at different timepoints, magnitudes, and frequencies on the biomechanical and biochemical properties of self-assembled constructs were determined. It was demonstrated that the application of static hydrostatic pressure, at 10 MPa, for 1 h/day, from days 10-14 days led to significant increases in compressive and tensile properties, accompanied by significant increases in GAG and collagen content, respectively. To our knowledge, this was the first study to demonstrate increases in the biomechanical properties of tissue from pure HP application. Furthermore, the effects of exogenous application of growth factors, at varying concentrations, dosages, and combinations, with and without hydrostatic pressure, were assessed on the biochemical and biomechanical properties of engineered constructs. A systematic approach was used to determine the effects of BMP-2, IGF-I, and TGF-pi, alone and in combination, on the functional properties of engineered constructs. This was the first study to demonstrate significant increases in both compressive and tensile biomechanical properties as a result of growth factor treatment. Also, for the first time, synergistic and additive effects on construct biomechanical and biochemical properties were found when combining growth factor treatment with hydrostatic pressure application. Finally, the effects of various decellularization treatments were examined, and it was determined that it was possible to remove cells while maintaining construct functional properties. The results presented in this thesis are exciting, as they have allowed for a better understanding of the self-assembling process, and have allowed the self-assembled constructs to mature into functional articular cartilage, as evidenced by biomechanical and biochemical properties spanning native tissue values.


Analysis of opinions, known as opinion mining or sentiment analysis, has attracted a great deal of attention recently due to many practical applications and challenging research problems. In this article, we study two important problems, namely, opinion lexicon expansion and opinion target extraction. Opinion targets (targets, for short) are entities and their attributes on which opinions have been expressed. To perform the tasks, we found that there are several syntactic relations that link opinion words and targets. These relations can be identified using a dependency parser and then utilized to expand the initial opinion lexicon and to extract targets. This proposed method is based on bootstrapping. We call it double propagation as it propagates information between opinion words and targets. A key advantage of the proposed method is that it only needs an initial opinion lexicon to start the bootstrapping process. Thus, the method is semi-supervised due to the use of opinion word seeds. In evaluation, we compare the proposed method with several state-of-the-art methods using a standard product review test collection. The results show that our approach outperforms these existing methods significantly.


Tweetalige Aanleel'del'swool'deboek. Bilingual Learner's Dictionary by Madaleine du Plessis. In this review article the discussion concentrates on the pwpose of leamer's dictionaries, viz. to improve the communicative competence of a foreign language Leamer, and on usage guidance in Leamer's dictionaries. It is pointed out that target users should be clearLy identified and their needs assessed before the dictionary is compiled. The function of the dictionary should also be determined and throughout be taken into account, and the dictionary should ideally be an appropriate medium for both decoding and encoding.


ABSTRACT We describe here the whole collection of Camelus thomasi Pomel, 1893 from the Pleistocene type-locality Tighennif (Ternifine) in Algeria. Detailed morphological and metric comparisons with the two species of modern Camelus Linnaeus, 1758, C. bactrianus Linnaeus, 1758 and C. dromedarius Linnaeus, 1758, show that it is clearly distinct from both of them. It is mainly characterized by pachyostosis especially marked in the mandible, a size slightly greater than modern forms, broad molars with strong styles, and several unique cranial features. The species seems restricted to the terminal Early Pleistocene and is not definitely known outside Northwestern Africa. A phylogenetic analysis is premature, but C. thomasi does not appear to be particularly close to either modern species, and there is no support to regard it as an ancestor of the dromedary.


We present a novel non-parametric method for finding a subspace of stimulus features that contains all information about the response of a system. Our method generalizes similar approaches to this problem such as spike triggered average, spike triggered covariance, or maximally informative dimensions. Instead of maximizing the mutual information between features and responses directly, we use integral probability metrics in kernel Hilbert spaces to minimize the information between uninformative features and the combination of informative features and responses. Since estimators of these metrics access the data via kernels, are easy to compute, and exhibit good theoretical convergence properties, our method can easily be generalized to populations of neurons or spike patterns. By using a particular expansion of the mutual information, we can show that the informative features must contain all information if we can make the uninformative features independent of the rest.


De novo assembly of human genomes is now a tractable effort due in part to advances in sequencing and mapping technologies. We use PacBio single-molecule, real-time (SMRT) sequencing and BioNano genomic maps to construct the first de novo assembly of NA19240, a Yoruban individual from Africa. This chromosome-scaffolded assembly of 3.08 Gb with a contig N50 of 7.25 Mb and a scaffold N50 of 78.6 Mb represents one of the most contiguous high-quality human genomes. We utilize a BAC library derived from NA19240 DNA and novel haplotype-resolving sequencing technologies and algorithms to characterize regions of complex genomic architecture that are normally lost due to compression to a linear haploid assembly. Our results demonstrate that multiple technologies are still necessary for complete genomic representation, particularly in regions of highly identical segmental duplications. Additionally, we show that diploid assembly has utility in improving the quality of de novo human genome assemblies.


In cross-lingual text classification problems, it is costly and time-consuming to annotate documents for each individual language. To avoid the expensive re-labeling process, domain adaptation techniques can be applied to adapt a learning system trained in one language domain to another language domain. In this paper we develop a transductive subspace representation learning method to address domain adaptation for cross-lingual text classifications. The proposed approach is formulated as a nonnegative matrix factorization problem and solved using an iterative optimization procedure. Our empirical study on cross-lingual text classification tasks shows the proposed approach consistently outperforms a number of comparison methods.


This article analyses the epistemological and methodological bases of crossed diagram in the field of social sciences and especially in qualitative research, considering that the origin of this diagram is located in the Cartesian coordinate system. Such coordinates provide elements that are at the bases of analytic geometry and from it, we highlight three aspects that have been 'exported' in the use of this diagram by the social sciences: the logic of the opposites; 'spacialisation'; and conceptual fecundity. From these three aspects, we analyse the contribution of structural linguistics and anthropological structuralism to this diagram, particularly regarding the goal of formalization in the social sciences. The article shows some of the uses given to this diagram by different contemporary authors, to end classifying those authors according to their analytical integration of epistemic and methodological aspects implicit in the Cartesian coordinate system.