This thesis consists of four papers which all deal with computations of automorphic functions on cofinite Fuchsian groups. In the first paper we develop an algorithm for numerical computation of the Eisenstein series. We focus in particular on the computation of the poles of the Eisenstein series. Using our numerical methods we study the spectrum of the Laplace-Beltrami operator as the surface is being deformed. Numerical evidence of the destruction of Γ0(5)-cusp forms is presented. In the second paper we use the algorithm described in the first paper. We present numerical investigations of the value distribution and distribution of Fourier coefficients of the Eisenstein series E(z;s) on arithmetic and non-arithmetic Fuchsian groups. Our numerics indicate a Gaussian limit value distribution for a real-valued rotation of E(z;s) as Re s=1/2, Im s → ∞ and also, on non-arithmetic groups, a complex Gaussian limit distribution for E(z;s) when Re s > 1/2 near 1/2 and Im s → ∞, at least if we allow Re s → 1/2 at some rate. Furthermore, on non-arithmetic groups and for fixed s with Re s ≥ 1/2 near 1/2, our numerics indicate a Gaussian limit distribution for the appropriately normalized Fourier coefficients.In the third paper we develop algorithms for computations of Green's function and its Fourier coefficients, Fn(z;s), on Fuchsian groups with one cusp. Also an analog of a Rankin-Selberg bound for Fn(z;s) is presented.In the fourth paper we use the algorithms described in the third paper. We present some examples of numerical investigations of the value distribution of the Green's function and of its Fourier coefficients on PSL(2,Z). We also discuss the appearance of pseudo cusp forms in a numerical experiment by Hejhal.


From the Publisher:
The collection draws on fifty years of management thinking and presents key issues facing knowledge-intensive organizations. The selections are concise, clearly written and present a rich framework of examples drawn from real management experience. Arranged thematically, the chapters discuss decision-making, organization structure, innovation, strategic alliances, managing knowledge workers and power relations. Represented in this volume are the ideas of influential academics including the late economist Frederick Hayek and French sociologist Michael Crozier, as well as world-renowned management thinkers such as Harvard Business School Professor Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Charles Handy.


Although mangrove forests occupy a very small area of Thailand, they contribute not only an ecosystem but also large tin ore deposits. Two provinces in the South, Ranong and Phangnga, were selected for this study in which remote sensing data, including Landsat MSS imagery and aerial photographs were visually analysed to identify and select tin-mined land. Physical and chemical analyses of virgin and tin-mined soils in mangrove forests were performed to support the results of Landsat imagery and aerial photograph interpretations. Several of the tin-mined lands are no longer inundated by sea water, or slightly undulating topography or heavy-clayey texture and cracks when dry. Reclamation of these mined lands is proposed. The objectives of this presentation are to identify the tin-mined lands in the mangrove forest areas of Ranong and Phangnga provinces by remote sensing techniques; to characterize the virgin and tin-mined lands in terms of soil properties, and to discuss the effects of mining processes and the environmental reclamation.


The influence of stress on the polarization extinction ratio (PER) when solderjet-bumping a bow-tie polarization-maintaining fiber (PMF) to a V-grooved ceramic substrate is experimentally evaluated. Throughout this paper, the linear polarization of the coupling laser beam is kept perpendicular to the V-grooved substrate plane while the fiber is rotated by a high-precision fiber gripper such that one of the fiber's main axes is aligned with the incoming polarization. On-axis alignment is conducted by positioning a small aspheric coupling lens with a high-precision multiaxis actuator. After alignment, the fiber is soldered to the substrate by a lead-free solder alloy. For each fiber sample, the PER is evaluated before and after soldering. Statistically relevant sample sets are evaluated in similar conditions and both fiber axes are considered for coupling. For the sake of comparison, this paper is also carried out while using UV-curing adhesive bonding as a fixing method. Under the experimental conditions, the decrease in PER when using solderjet bumping is evaluated to be about 7% of the initial value, showing that the technique could be suitable for mass-production PMF-based-devices microassembly.


The thesis examines the pollution of water by pesticides in Britain, an issue of public
and political concern since the late 1980s as the results of extensive water monitoring,
required under the EC's Drinking Water Directive have highlighted the spread and
levels of contamination. The study explores the co-evolution of post-war agricultural
policy and pesticide usage and examines how pesticide pollution of water has been
constructed as a 'problem' and how this has been contested by different groups.
Survey material from the Bedford Ouse catchment in Bedfordshire and
Buckinghamshire is used to explain how farmers use pesticides, for what reasons, and
with what understandings of the pollution risks their use brings. The questions to be
addressed are: i) why, since the Second World War, have pesticides become such an
important element of farming practice in Britain ? ii) how do farmers decide which
chemicals to use and how to use them ? iii) how has pesticide pollution of water
emerged as a 'problem' ? and iv) what are the implications for farming practices of
regulations to tackle pesticide pollution ?
Pollution is conceptualised as the outcome of a pollution production process' involving
a network of actors, including farmers, advisors, scientists, pesticide manufacturers
and regulatory agencies. Through an examination of farmers' actions in this context the
thesis shows that, far from being the result of some natural technological progression,
the increasing dependence upon pesticide technologies has been shaped and determined
by broader social and political factors.
The first part of the thesis explores the historical context for pesticide use in Britain,
concentrating on the roles of agricultural policy and science and technology. In the
second part, the actions of arable farmers are assessed through locally-based fieldwork
conducted in 1991 in the catchment of the Bedford Ouse.


Major depression contributes significantly to the global disability burden. Since the first clinical study of deep brain stimulation (DBS), over 446 patients with depression have now undergone this neuromodulation therapy, and 29 animal studies have investigated the efficacy of subgenual cingulate DBS for depression. In this review, we aim to provide a comprehensive overview of the progress of DBS of the subcallosal cingulate in humans and the medial prefrontal cortex, its rodent homolog. For preclinical animal studies, we discuss the various antidepressant-like behaviors induced by medial prefrontal cortex DBS and examine the possible mechanisms including neuroplasticity-dependent/independent cellular and molecular changes. Interestingly, the response rate of subcallosal cingulate Deep brain stimulation marks a milestone in the treatment of depression. DBS achieved response and remission rates of 64–76% and 37–63%, respectively, from clinical studies monitoring patients from 6–24 months. Although some studies showed its stimulation efficacy was limited, it still holds great promise as a therapy for patients with treatment-resistant depression. Overall, further research is still needed, including more credible clinical research, preclinical mechanistic studies, precise selection of patients, and customized electrical stimulation paradigms.


This project investigates the efficiency of using LED light bulbs when operated under two different electrical systems: AC and DC systems. The project is in conjunction with the implementation of the DC House system in urban areas. More specifically, this project looks at whether having a hybrid AC and DC system in a typical urban house will increase the efficiency in operating the LED light bulbs, and thus reducing energy consumption and cost. The efficiency of the LED light bulbs are measured by looking at their lumens per watt output. Several light bulbs at four different wattage levels were tested. For the DC light bulbs, further tests were performed at two voltage levels: 12V and 48V. Results indicate the importance of selecting the proper converters when DC system is to be used in a hybrid AC/DC house. Results also demonstrate the critical choice of DC voltage level when DC electrical distribution system is planned to be installed inside the hybrid house.


Much of the water supply industry has implemented online monitoring and warning systems for chemical or biological contaminations. When a contamination is detected, further investigations are necessary to confirm or to cancel the initial alarm. The proficiency of a non-target screening approach with solid phase extraction and GCMS in full-scan mode was examined. A selection of pesticides and industry chemicals was used for proficiency testing in extracts of raw and drinking water from Lake Constance. All total ion chromatograms (TIC) of extracted water samples showed a significant chemical background that have an adverse effect on compound identification. The TIC was evaluated with a two-dimensional search algorithm considering mass spectra similarity and retention index for identification, which was used an additional identification criteria to increase the confidence in identification. At a spiking level of 0.50 μg/l, up to 70% of the pollutants were unambiguously assignable. The sample pre-treatment was kept as simple as possible to reduce analysing time. A solid-phase extraction with extraction disks at flow rates up to 100 ml/min without any precedent filtration step reduces the sample pre-treatment time for a 1 l-sample below one hour. The recovery rates for most of the examined pollutants were above 60%.


Rural women play a key role in the livestock management and household activities. However, it is often argued that their contributions are undermined and their decision making power is highly limited. This study was carried out in Yilmana Densa district in Amhara Region, Ethiopia with the objectives to investigate the role of rural women in livestock and household activities, and to examine the level of rural women participation in decision making. Three villages were selected purposefully and from each village 30 women respondents were selected randomly. Data were collected from the respondents using standardized questionnaire and focus group discussions (FGDs), and analyzed using descriptive statistics and correlation analysis. The majority of rural women participated 'regularly' in cleaning of animal sheds, preparing milk products, gathering dung, selling milk/milk products, selling egg/poultry, and egg collection. In household management, majority of rural women are 'regularly' engaged in food preparation, looking after all family members, preparing local beverages, cleaning the house, clean-up after meals, washing clothes, child care, fetching water, and embroidery. Capacitating rural women in all rounded developmental aspects can affect their livelihoods which enables them actively participate in various agricultural and non-agricultural activities. Maximum attention should be given for rural women to build their capabilities in decision making. Moreover, appropriate ways and approaches to educate rural women should be given more emphasis to get equal access with rural women.

 Key words: Decision, household and livestock management, participation, rural women.


When prudential supervision was put in the hands of the European Central Bank (ECB), it was the political understanding that the ECB should follow a policy of meticulous separation between monetary policy and financial supervision. However, the financial crisis showed that monetary policy and prudential supervision deeply affect each other and that an overly strict separation might generate systemic risk. As a consequence, the prevalent model of "functional separation" - central banking and financial supervision in separate entities - has been questioned and calls for a more holistic approach increased. This policy letter states that from a legal perspective, such a holistic approach would be in conformity with the current legal framework of the Economic and Monetary Union. Although the realization of a holistic approach might intensify the doubts of democratic legitimation under the framework of the ESCB, the independence of the ECB should not be given up. As viable alternatives to protect monetary policy against the time inconsistency problem that would render central bank independence moot do not seem to be available and given the great importance of the independence of the European institutions for the European integration, the democratic control over the ECB should be strengthened instead of stripping the ECB of its independence.


Abstract The amount of underwater sound from ship traffic, commercial, research, and military sound sources has increased significantly over the past century. Marine mammals and many other marine animals rely on sound for short- and long-range communication, for orientation, and for locating prey. This reliance has raised concern that elevated sound levels from human sources may interfere with the behavior and physiology of marine animals. The dominant source of human sound in the sea stems from propulsion of ships. Shipping noise centers in the 20- to 200-Hz band. Frequencies this low propagate efficiently in the sea, and shipping has elevated the global deepwater ambient noise 10- to 100-fold in this frequency band. Baleen whales use the same frequency band for some of their communication signals, and concern has been raised that elevated ambient noise may reduce the range over which they can communicate. Marine mammals have a variety of mechanisms to compensate for increased noise, but little is known about the maximum range at which they may need to communicate. Some of the most intense human sources of sound include air guns used for seismic exploration and sonar for military and commercial use. Human sources of sound in the ocean can disturb marine mammals, evoking behavioral responses that can productively be viewed as similar to predation risk, and they can trigger allostatic physiological responses to adapt to the stressor. Marine mammals have been shown to avoid some human sound sources at ranges of kilometers, raising concern about displacement from important habitats. There are few studies to guide predictions of when such changes start to lower the fitness of individuals or have negative consequences for the population. Although acute responses to intense sounds have generated considerable interest, the more significant risk to populations of marine mammals is likely to stem from less visible effects of chronic exposure.


ABSTRACT Two different approaches have been used to evaluate the potential for CO 2 geologic sequestration and CO 2 -assisted enhanced oil recovery in the major oil fields in Ohio: a volumetrics-based method, which uses field volumetric data to calculate CO 2 storage capacity, and a production-based method, which uses historical oil and gas production data to calculate CO 2 storage capacity. The fields were selected based on their historical importance as oil and gas producers as well as the availability of data in published sources. The storage capacity found using the production data–based methodology—878 million t—is believed to be more representative than that found using the volumetrics-based method because it uses actual production data to calculate void space for CO 2 storage rather than estimated efficiency factors. This estimated capacity is higher than previously reported values based on efficiency factors and is enough to support the storage of 25% of annual emissions from 45 of Ohio's largest power plants for a period of 36 yr.


Once understood as the paradigm of passively evolving objects, the discovery that massive galaxies experienced an enormous structural evolution in the last ten billion years has opened an active line of research. The most significant pending question in this field is the following: which mechanism has made galaxies to grow largely in size without altering their stellar populations properties dramatically? The most viable explanation is that massive galaxies have undergone a significant number of minor mergers which have deposited most of their material in the outer regions of the massive galaxies. This scenario, although appealing, is still far from be observationally proved since the number of satellite galaxies surrounding the massive objects appears insufficient at all redshifts. The presence also of a population of nearby massive compact galaxies with mixture stellar properties is another piece of the puzzle that still does not nicely fit within a comprehensive scheme. I will review these and other intriguing properties of the massive galaxies in this contribution.


We define a new diffusive matrix model converging towards the β -Dyson Brownian motion for all β ∈ [0, 2] that provides an explicit construction of β-ensembles of random matrices that is invariant under the orthogonal/unitary group. For small values of β, our process allows one to interpolate smoothly between the Gaussian distribution and the Wigner semi-circle. The interpolating limit distributions form a one parameter family that can be explicitly computed. This also allows us to compute the finite-size corrections to the semi-circle.


Abstract. Nowadays, rapid technical progress makes editing and changing music, film and picture recordings much easier, faster and better. Computers with editing software have replaced keyboards, synthesizers and analogue multi-track technology in music and film production. The methods of sampling differ from the conventional pirated copy in that using a sample involves extensive changes and editing of the original work. For a pirated copy, the original remains unaltered. Different sampling methods make the technical analysis and the legal classification more difficult. Only if an analysis has been successful, can a copyright infringement be prosecuted. Specific analysis methods make it easier to clearly identify the use of samples. Labelling technologies that are applied correctly make an important contribution to the effective detection of unauthorised sound sampling. There are various articles on sound sampling with regard to copyright and many articles on individual technical methods. However, there are hardly any holistic views that integrate the problem of sound sampling into the fields of analysis, identification, and labelling. In combination with specific technical protective mechanisms against sampling, an unauthorised use of samples protected by copyrights can be prevented or reduced. Using and sampling somebody else's piece of music or video can be a copyright infringement. The copyright and the neighbouring rights of performing artists and the neighbouring rights of phonogram producers are affected by the consequences of illegal sampling. Violations of personality rights and competition law may also lead to legal disputes.


Millions of people live in institutional residences that differ significantly from their homes. This article looks closely into the quality of these habitations and points out some critical characteristics based on a research project called CoWell. One salient question circles around the concept of homeyness, which in many countries is the main objective to realize in institutional living. Some kind of artification is implemented and is seen as a means for achieving a homey atmosphere and of stimulating the inhabitants and the staff. However, very little research has been done on homeyness. Cleanliness, permanence, and randomness are often recognizable in institutional living. These three features create a special quality and they affect artification. However, the question of who should make decisions concerning artification is not dealt with in official reports and research literature. The conception of artification as a process would support measures to improve the milieu and help to meet the many divergent interests the habitat should fulfill.


Background Archaeologists and anthropologists have long recognized that different cultural complexes may have distinct descent histories, but they have lacked analytical techniques capable of easily identifying such incongruence. Here, we show how Bayesian phylogenetic analysis can be used to identify incongruent cultural histories. We employ the approach to investigate Iranian tribal textile traditions. Methods We used Bayes factor comparisons in a phylogenetic framework to test two models of cultural evolution: the hierarchically integrated system hypothesis and the multiple coherent units hypothesis. In the hierarchically integrated system hypothesis, a core tradition of characters evolves through descent with modification and characters peripheral to the core are exchanged among contemporaneous populations. In the multiple coherent units hypothesis, a core tradition does not exist. Rather, there are several cultural units consisting of sets of characters that have different histories of descent. Results For the Iranian textiles, the Bayesian phylogenetic analyses supported the multiple coherent units hypothesis over the hierarchically integrated system hypothesis. Our analyses suggest that pile-weave designs represent a distinct cultural unit that has a different phylogenetic history compared to other textile characters. Conclusions The results from the Iranian textiles are consistent with the available ethnographic evidence, which suggests that the commercial rug market has influenced pile-rug designs but not the techniques or designs incorporated in the other textiles produced by the tribes. We anticipate that Bayesian phylogenetic tests for inferring cultural units will be of great value for researchers interested in studying the evolution of cultural traits including language, behavior, and material culture.


A substantial and increasing body of clinical evidence supports the role of specific strains and mixtures of probiotics in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases. Several general mechanisms of action have been proposed, including supporting repair of hyperpermeable epithelial barriers, interfering with infection by pathogens, and restoring a healthful balance of commensal microbes to affect metabolism. Emerging evidence supports an additional role of probiotics as important modulators of immune system responses, including inflammation, at mucosal surfaces. In particular, by preventing or repairing 'leaky' epithelial barriers, probiotics can indirectly affect the inflammatory response by negating the source of pro-inflammatory stimuli associated with low-grade endotoxemia. They also enhance production of short chain fatty acids with anti-inflammatory properties (e.g. butyrate) as well as increase synthesis of antimicrobial peptides that influence inflammation resolution pathways in the mucosa. Furthermore, probiotics and some of their secreted metabolic products can act as ligands for innate immune system receptors, directly influencing key pro-inflammatory pathways. They also stimulate the differentiation and activity of important immune cells (e.g., dendritic cells, T cells), and subsequently increase production of important regulatory cytokines, including interleukin-10 (IL-10) and transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-b). Finally, there are limited but increasing animal studies and clinical trials demonstrating probiotics do affect common biomarkers of inflammation, including C-reactive protein, as well as signs and symptoms of the associated diseases suggesting they can have therapeutic benefit in the treatment of chronic inflammatory disease. Keywords: probiotics, inflammation, endotoxemia, epithelial, cytokines, immune, butyrate, antimicrobial peptides


The annual movement of South African sardine Sardinops sagax up the east coast of South Africa, known as the 'sardine run', was investigated using data from aerial surveys for the period 1988–2005 and compared with remotely sensed sea surface temperature (SST) and chlorophyll a data. Sardine sighting rates were highest within the Waterfall Bluff Bight off the Eastern Cape Coast, where conditions appeared to be most favourable. Sardine and predator sightings decreased significantly northwards of Mdoni on the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) coast, whereas the proportion of nearshore sightings increased. The causal mechanism for this inshore concentration is suggested to be the influx of warm Agulhas Current water from the Durban Eddy that forces sardine shoreward. Cape gannet Morus capensis, common dolphin Delphinus capensis and sardine distributions were associated, and there was an association between SST and sardine and predator distributions. There was a marked increase in bottlenose dolphin Tursiops aduncus sightings upon commencement of the sardine run, with these dolphins being consid-ered to be a 'migratory' stock that enters KZN waters every winter.


Convectively coupled Kelvin waves (CCKWs) are atmospheric weather systems that propagate eastward along the equatorial wave guide with phase speeds between 11 and 14 m s−1. They are an important constituent of the convective envelope of the Madden‐Julian oscillation (MJO), for which ocean‐atmosphere interactions play a vital role. Hence, ocean‐atmosphere interactions within CCKWs may be important for MJO development and prediction and for tropical climate, in general. Although the atmospheric structure of CCKWs has been well studied, their impact on the underlying ocean is unknown. In this paper, the ocean‐atmosphere interactions in CCKWs are investigated by a case study from November 2011 during the CINDY/DYNAMO field experiment, using in situ oceanographic measurements from an ocean glider. The analysis is then extended to a 15 year period using precipitation data from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission and surface fluxes from the TropFlux analysis. A methodology is developed to calculate trajectories of CCKWs. CCKW events are strongly controlled by the MJO, with twice as many CCKWs observed during the convectively active phase of the MJO compared to the suppressed phase. Coherent ocean‐atmosphere interaction is observed during the passage of a CCKW, which lasts approximately 4 days at any given longitude. Surface wind speed and latent heat flux are enhanced, leading to a transient suppression of the diurnal cycle of sea surface temperature (SST) and a sustained decrease in bulk SST of 0.1°C. Given that a typical composite mean MJO SST anomaly is of the order of 0.3°C, and more than one CCKW can occur during the active phase of a single MJO event, the oceanographic impact of CCKWs is of major importance to the MJO cycle.


The Republic of Macedonia provides an illustration of how a society's identities reciprocally affect government and politics. This research investigates the extent to which Macedonia is developing a stable and cohesive society and contrasts more traditional investigations that treat identity as coextensive with fixed ethnic boundaries. This study employs an inductive approach to identity formation by investigating how individual beliefs and values function within a society. To accomplish this, a method for discerning and characterizing identity groups was employed, generating a rich mixture of qualitative and quantitative data. Fieldwork took place in two stages in 2005-2006. In stage one, university students across Macedonia (n=109) were interviewed using an adaptation of George Kelly's repertory grid technique, a semi-structured interview procedure. In stage two, a national follow-up survey (n=496) based on those findings was administered to a random sample of Macedonia's general population, allowing for an evaluation of initial results. Multidimensional scaling, factor analysis, generalized procrustes analysis, and a measure of cognitive homophily were employed to identify and assess similarities and differences among identity groups. This multitier approach made it possible to discern unifying themes that contribute to the previously unrecognized growth in civic identity that is beginning to span ethnic divisions in Macedonia. Although ethnic designations remain important to the assessment of identity, research findings support the contention that emergent identities in this new state are not categorically deterministic. This implies that some members of society are developing identities more strongly associated with Macedonia's viability as a state than with ethnic and other designations. The methodology employed in this study offers an emic perspective that permits inductively derived comparisons, rather than etic comparisons that limit investigations to easily identifiable fixed categories. The emic methodology, operationalized through the repertory grid technique and Kelly's theory of constructivist alternativism, elicits culturally relevant frames of reference in a manner that preserves the meanings attached by members of society while minimizing the effects of the researcher's own cultural and intellectual biases. This is a promising methodology for investigating potentially emergent identities in other regions and communities where cultural misconceptions pose potential barriers to societal stability.


Lanthanum oxychloride (LaOCl) microplates were synthesized via the chloride salt-assisted method using lanthanum oxide, potassium chloride and lithium chloride as the raw materials. The effects of salt type and reaction temperature on the synthesis of LaOCl were investigated in detail. The lowest synthesis temperature in the present study was 300 °C, which was much lower than that required by other methods. The thickness and width of the as-prepared LaOCl microplates were about 200–500 nm and several microns, respectively. With potassium chloride and lithium chloride as the reaction medium, the latter acted not only as the molten salt but also as the reactant in the LaOCl synthesis. The chloride salt not only significantly lowers the synthesis temperature, but also provides the good conditions for the LaOCl growth of plate-like structures.


Late blight of potato is a yield reducing and one of the most costly diseases of potato and other plants belonging to family Solanaceae. Induced by Phytophthora infestans, the disease prevails throughout the world where potato and other Solanaceous crops are cultivated. P. infestans has a broad host range; however, the most severe effects of late blight are more evident on its principal hosts – potato and tomato. Cool and humid environmental conditions ideally propagate the pathogen which may result in severe disease outbreaks with substantial crop losses. Currently, extensive use of chemical fungicides is the only effective measure to control late blight; however, their use offers public, environmental and economic challenges. Thus, it is necessary to address these challenges by employing integrated disease control strategies. This review highlights all those combined techniques which may be effective in controlling late blight of potato while sustaining environment, public health and economic costs incurred by the disease.


The hyperfine structures of the weak lines R(69) in the 3–4 band and P(84) in the 5–5 band of the B ← X electronic transition in molecular 127I2 at λ = 657 nm have been detected by the method of FM saturation spectroscopy. Frequency separations between the hyperfine components were measured, and the hyperfine coupling constants for the electric quadrupole interaction and the magnetic spin-rotation interaction were determined. For low vibrational levels of the B state, eQqB depends linearly on the vibrational energy of the level υB according to eQqB (MHz) = −0.01721G(υB) (cm−1) −484.89. ΔC is almost constant for υB values smaller than 6.


This thesis provides a detailed examination of the processes of participation which developed during the years of the Sandinista Government in Nicaragua (1979-90) and is based on extensive fieldwork on two rural cooperatives. Whereas the predominant analysis of the experience of popular participation during the period has emphasised structural level phenomena, here an attempt is made to combine actor-oriented and structural-historical approaches in order to identify the key factors which operated to shape the development of local participation. In such a way the thesis stresses how micro-level factors - life experiences, subjective meanings and group dynamics - interacted with macro-level processes. The thesis starts by identifying the dimensions and theories of popular participation which relate to its objectives, intensities and outcomes, in order to frame the research questions. The period studied is then contextualised with a history of Nicaragua, establishing the authoritarian conditions which marginalised the majority of Nicaraguans from economic development and political processes. Next, the thesis examines Sandinista political theory, the channels of popular participation and the macro-level factors which restricted its development. It also describes how the cooperative movement evolved during the period of Sandinista rule as an expression of the peasant movement in the context of state paternalism. The main analytical body of the thesis starts by providing background details about the two case studies. Then it details and compares the participatory processes underway within the cooperatives, focusing on the assembly, leadership and women; the different intensities of participation; and the social factors influencing it. These processes are evaluated qualitatively and it is demonstrated that despite apparent limitations, participation enhanced the social, political and psychological power of cooperative members although in different, uneven and contradictory ways. The thesis concludes that although the participation of peasants in national level structures was restricted, the objective conditions created by the FSLN contributed to the qualitative empowerment of individuals incorporated into cooperatives. International comparisons, theoretical and policy implications are finally noted.


This pilot study compared the efficacy of two treatments for postraumatic stress disorder (PTSD): Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) and Prolonged Exposure (PE). Data were analyzed for 22 patients from a university-based clinic serving the outside community (predominantly rape and crime victims) who completed at least one active session of treatment after three preparatory sessions. Results showed both approaches produced a significant reduction in PTSD and depression symptoms, which were maintained at three-month follow-up. Successful treatment was faster with EMDR as a larger number of people (7 of 10) had a 70% reduction in PTSD symptoms after three active sessions compared to 2 of 12 with PE. EMDR appeared to be better tolerated as the dropout rate was significantly lower in those randomized to EMDR versus PE (0 of 10 vs. 3 of 10). However all patients who remained in treatment with PE had a reduction in PTSD scores. Finally, Subjective Units of Distress (SUDS) ratings decreased significantly during the initial session of EMDR, but changed little during PE. Postsession SUDS were significantly lower for EMDR than for PE. Suggestions for future research are discussed.


This book illustrates the broad range of Jerry Marsdens mathematical legacy in areas of geometry, mechanics, and dynamics, from very pure mathematics to very applied, but always with a geometric perspective. Each contribution develops its material from the viewpoint of geometric mechanics beginning at the very foundations, introducing readers to modern issues via illustrations in a wide range of topics. The twenty refereed papers contained in this volume are based on lectures and research performed during the month of July 2012 at the Fields Institute for Research in Mathematical Sciences, in a program in honor of Marsden's legacy. The unified treatment of the wide breadth of topics treated in this book will be of interest to both experts and novices in geometric mechanics. Experts will recognize applications of their own familiar concepts and methods in a wide variety of fields, some of which they may never have approached from a geometric viewpoint. Novices may choose topics that interest them among the various fields and learn about geometric approaches and perspectives toward those topics that will be new for them as well.


Studies to determine differences between Arizona and ponderosa pine have been carried on in the mountainous areas of southeast Arizona, utilizing plotless phytosociological techniques, morphological studies, and dendrometer investiga tions. Samples from northern Arizona and Sonora, Mexico, have been included for comparison. Ponderosa and Arizona pine are found in these regions from approximately 7000 to above 9000 feet elevation, associated with oaks in the lower portion of the elevational range and with other conifers in the upper part of the range. Comparison of needle number per fascicle indicated that three-needle ponderosa pine is found at the upper part of the elevational range, while the fiveneedle Arizona pine occupies habitats below ponderosa pine. Intergradation of the two taxa is indicated by a general increase from three to five needles per fascicle occurring with decreasing elevation; this relationship is more pro nounced with decreasing latitude. The number of stomates per unit length of needle was found to increase slightly from north to south. Volume and length of pistillate cones were not useful criteria in separating the taxa. Cone density, however, was found to increase with decreasing latitude, and little overlap was present in the two most distant stations. Cone-scale prickle curvature generally tended from an upward to downward pointing direction with decreasing latitude. Dendrometer studies among groups of trees classed as threeneedle ponderosa pine, five-needle Arizona pine, and mixedneedle hybrids indicated differences in time of radial expan sion commencement. The trees classed as Arizona pine and hybrids between Arizona and ponderosa pine commenced radial expansion prior to ponderosa pine. No distinct differences were observed between the two taxa, and it is concluded that Arizona pine is a variety of ponderosa pine.


The theory of single-transition cross-polarization in NMR is presented and verified by exptl. evidence. In comparison to conventional cross-polarization a qual. change in the mechanism is obsd. Under the influence of matched radiofrequency fields with amplitudes that are smaller than the scalar coupling const. JIS for a two-spin system with I=(1)/(2) and S=(1)/(2) in isotropic soln., two simultaneous coherence transfer processes are obsd. between single-transition coherences which have phases that are parallel to those of the radiofrequency fields, an on-resonance transfer from SxIa to SaIx and an off-resonance transfer from SxIb to SbIx, without mixing between the two pathways. Coherence transfer is also obsd. between single-transition coherences with phases that are perpendicular to the radiofrequency fields, from SyIa to SaIy and from SyIb to SbIy, as well as between longitudinal components, from SzIa to SaIz and from SzIb to SbIz. The transfer may therefore be considered quasi-isotropic. The authors consider the conditions under which such transfer processes can be obsd. Coherence transfer is affected by differential relaxation due to cross-correlation effects. [on SciFinder (R)]


The need for spatially explicit thematic data is currently increasing in parallel to the development of observing, storing and processing capabilities. This requires an integrated data management structure in which human and institutional aspects play a key role as part of a Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI). We focus in this study on the African continent to evaluate the status of its SDI implementation. Because assessing SDI at a continental scale in a traditional way (i.e. following methods developed for national assessments) requires financial resources and mechanisms only affordable to developed countries (e.g. European Union), alternative ways have been explored based on fourteen key SDI indicators that were validated by SDI experts in a previous study. Data was collected for each African country through the African leading SDI institution (UN Economic Commission for Africa) and through Internet searches. We found relatively weak scores of the fourteen SDI indicators for African countries compared to the rest of the World, but with notable differences within Africa. We discuss the implication of the lack of information available on the Internet to assess SDI status in Africa. We conclude that it is necessary to improve statistical information in most African countries. This requires an agreed-on geospatial data structure and organization between concerned institutions that is only achievable through a shared global vision on geospatial data governance. To this end, we suggest a few quick wins and several new mechanisms that would enhance the flow of SDI statistical information and improve data management structure in Africa.


Fig (Ficus carica) is among the 20 main fruits exported by Brazil, which is the eighth largest producer of fresh figs. The characterization of active fig germplasm banks has thus become an important line of research, as it is necessary to gather information to carry out adequate management projects. The objective of this study was to characterize the morphologies of 42 fig tree accessions belonging to the Faculty of Engineering of Ilha Solteira of the University of Sao Paulo State, so that the quality and genetic potential of different accessions of the species could be recognized based on the characteristics of the vegetative parts of the plants. Estimates of variance components were obtained for each variable evaluated using the restricted maximum likelihood/best linear unbiased prediction procedure, available in the genetic-statistical software SELEGEN. Most of the morphological characteristics of fig accessions examined had heritability values ranging from 0.25 to 0.40. However, the number of leaf lobes showed high heritability (0.85), with a genotypic and environmental coefficients of variation ratio higher than 1. This population has medium to high genetic variability; allowing us to identify the materials based on morphological descriptors, among which the number of lobes of the leaves appeared to be


Sleep problems have been associated with a wide range of adverse health outcomes and are common in patients with coronary heart disease (CHD). Even though research working with these patients has frequently used the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) as a self-report measure to assess sleep quality, its factor structure has yet to be validated in this population. Therefore, the first aim of this study is to examine the factor structure of the PSQI in CHD patients. Additionally, this study also investigated both the cross-sectional and longitudinal relationships between sleep and health-related quality of life. Participants in the study included 167 patients with CHD enrolled in a cardiac rehabilitation program, and 109 of them also completed follow-up assessments three months later. Results from the confirmatory factor analysis revealed that the proposed two-factor structure with sleep efficiency and perceived sleep quality best fitted the data. Subsequent analyses using structural equation modelling found that sleep quality, but not sleep efficiency, significantly predicted emotional, physical, and social quality of life. Sleep quality was also found to predict physical and social quality of life, but not emotional quality of life, three months later. These findings demonstrated the usefulness of assessing sleep in terms of its dimensions, and that improving sleep quality is key to enhancing quality of life in cardiac patients.


The potential of finishing cattle without grain was evaluated by comparing steers fed tub-ground grass hay and wet distillers grains (DGS) with steers fed a corn-based diet without DGS or the corn-based diet containing 40% DGS. The experiment was done with 24 head of 840 lb Angus steers fed each diet. The replacement of corn and protein supplement in the control diet with 40% wet DGS reduced feed intake and daily gain. The carcasses from steers fed DGS had reduced marbling and tended to have fewer Choice carcasses and lower carcass value determined with a marketing grid based on quality and yield grade. Substituting DGS for a portion of the corn and protein supplement in a corn-based diet resulted in reduced feed costs at all prices of corn evaluated ($2 to $4/bu). However the reduced feed cost of gain was more than offset by the decrease in carcass value. There was economic advantage of feeding the diet containing 40% DGS when corn price was greater then $3.50/bu and DGS was priced at 70% the cost of corn on a dry basis. Steers fed the hay and DGS diet gained less, had poorer feed conversion and required an additional 62 days to reach the same end live weight. These steers had acceptable grading carcasses (62% Choice) but less than carcasses from steers fed the control diet. Though feed costs and feed cost of gain were less for the steers fed hay and DGS, the cattle were not more profitable than either group of steers fed the corn-based diets at any price of corn ($2 to $4/bu) or wet DGS (1, 0.85 or 0.70 times the price of corn on a dry matter basis).


In this interdisciplinary inquiry, John Clifford Holt seeks to uncover how Buddhism was understood and expressed during the waning years of indigenous political power in Asia's oldest continuing Buddhist culture. Holt focuses on King Kirti Sri Rajasinha and how, despite powerful and persistent Dutch colonial threats and a deeply suspicious Kandyan Buddhist Sinhalese aristocracy, he successfully revived Sinhalese Theravada Buddhism. As Holt demonstrates, Kirti Sri succeeded in formulating his vision of an orthodox Buddhism in a number of ways: through the patronage of monastic sanha and re-establishing traditional lines of ordination, translating the Pali suttas into Sinhala, sponsoring public Buddhist religious rites, and refurbishing almost all Buddhist temples in the Kandyan culture region. The ultimate aim of Holt's study is to describe and interpret Kirti Sri's articulation of a normative Buddhist world, the essentials of which remain normative for many Buddhists in the Kandyan region of Sri Lanka today. Scholars and students will find The Religious World of Kirti Sri is an indispensable resource for the understanding of orthodox Buddhism at this important historical juncture, as well as the present day.


This chapter explores the potential of video screen capture (VSC) as a technology that can provide new insights when investigating learner-computer interactions in CALL research, and that can play a mediating role in second language (L2) writing pedagogy. Arguments are put forward as to why CALL researchers and language educators should be interested in this accessible and flexible tool. Three studies are described to consolidate these arguments. The first one, a usability study, investigates L2 learners' dictionary search processes in the context of the design of an online dictionary prototype. The second study examines the composition processes and strategies of L2 writers. The third study looks at the pertinence and added value of integrating VSC in the L2 writing class. Affordances of VSC arose from these studies. VSC emerged as a powerful documentation tool enabling the collection of process-oriented learner data and new forms of dynamic corpora. It also emerged as a retrospection tool capable of supporting L2 writers in their literacy development and as a scaffolding tool to provide multimodal feedback on L2 written output.


Specialization can make animals vulnerable to rapid environmental changes. For longlived seabirds, foraging specialization may make individuals especially sensitive, as climatic changes are currently occurring over the course of one lifetime. The Bering Sea is a dynamic subarctic and arctic ecosystem where windblown sea ice mediates annual productivity and subsequent pathways to upper trophic levels. Red-legged kittiwakes Rissa brevirostris are endemic surface foraging seabirds specializing on myctophid fishes during reproduction. Their degree of specialization outside the breeding season is less understood. We examined their non-breeding ecology (migration, distribution, isotopic niche) during 4 winters with varying sea ice extent. Although we found annual variation in core distributions, diets (as reflected in feather stable isotope signatures), and outbound migratory timing, the winter range of red-legged kittiwakes was restricted to the western regions of the Bering Sea and North Pacific. Contrary to expectations, sea ice did not limit distributions in the Bering Sea in 3 yr: e.g. sea ice associations (<100 km) were infrequent (8.7% mo−1). Yet, their wintering range often overlapped with areas of seasonal ice cover, suggesting range-wide use of sea ice ecosystems. Stress levels measured by corticosterone in feathers were generally low. However, birds that concentrated in the Bering Sea in February had higher stress levels and fed at a lower trophic level than those in the western Aleutians and western subarctic. As conditions change, this persistence in wintering locations, while incurring differential stress levels, may contribute to rapid population fluctuations as has been observed in the recent past.


When Tug wakes up, he is not in his own bedroom at home. The door is locked and there are bars across the window. Loud music hammers through the house and through his head. Then a woman comes in and says that she is his mother, but Tug knows that she is not his mother ...Outside, Jinny stares through the trees at the lonely house on the hill. She hears strange noises, but she turns away. After all, it's none of her business ...


Drawing on the fields of robotics, computer games and usability testing, this thesis contextualises the work of cyberneticist Valentino Braitenberg within the current field of game AI and demonstrates how there remain aspects of his propositions that cannot yet be adequately captured theoretically, or tested empirically or conclusively, in simulations of complex biologically inspired behaviours.
Justification for this stems from the view that believable, simulated characters are increasingly prevalent and exposed to mass-market scrutiny in visual entertainment media, such as visual effects in films and in particular the growing video games business, but will also have a growing, significant role in serious games and educational applications.
This thesis combines analytical, synthetic and empirical methods and discusses the contributions and limitations of each to the evaluation of believability in the context of human computer interaction scenarios. It first analyses Braitenberg's more intuitive architectures and demonstrates how these can be adapted, using a synthetic approach, to function as controllers for believable virtual agents, in a series of typical gaming scenarios. It then presents a set of empirical studies that were performed to develop a method for evaluating agents for their ability to elicit suspension of disbelief in the user. The resulting method, which is user centred and combines a qualitative content analysis approach with believability metrics for virtual agents sourced from the literature, was used to evaluate a series of increasingly complex agent models in a simple game scenario. The data was then compared to the results of the analysis of the underlying agent architecture to determine the correlation between AI design intent and the resulting user reactions and observations gathered from the empirical study.


When one reads authors from the start of the century, one learns that all the methods of stripping used today were invented and developed during that period. Stripping by invagination, as described by Keller in 1905 [1], was immediately adopted and was much discussed by those who were already using catheter invagination, and who very clearly described how to unhook the collaterals in the thigh in order to avoid rupturing the saphenous vein [2]. In 1906, Mayo [3] described a stripping technique that involved pushing, around the vein, a ring fixed to a rod, and in 1907 Babcock [4] described stripping as we know it today. Since then all sorts of oliva and stripping methods have been invented, but the principles of saphenous exeresis remain the same. There are 4: saphenectomy with ring stripping (Mayo) [3], invaginated stripping by Keller [1], stripping by exoluminal telescoping (Babcock) [4] where the ìgatheringî oliva is designed, through its cupule shape, its size and its rigidity to go beyond the diameter of the stripped saphenous vein, and stripping by intraluminal telescoping where the oliva remains strictly within the saphenous lumen and is used to telescope the saphenous vein like an accordion onto the stripper.


The Mesoproterozoic metamorphic formations of the Wilgenhoutsdrif Group underlie a large area around the Orange River east of Upington. The quartzitic Grootdrink Formation occurs at the base of the sequence and contacts with older units are either unconformable or along thrusts. The Zonderhuis Formation is a sequence of low-grade pelitic phyllites and impure quartzites with subordinate lenses of metavolcanic rocks and serpentinite. The Leerkrans Formation is thought to follow conformably and consists of deformed basaltic and quartz-porphyritic lavas and volcanogenic metasediments. The entire group is isoclinally folded and foliated, with greenschist facies metamorphic parageneses, and is altered by carbonate veins and epidotisation. The age of felsic volcanic rocks is reliably established at 1289 or 1293 Ma with 2σ errors of 9 Ma. The Wilgenhoutsdrif Group now forms part of the Kaaien Terrane of the Namaqua-Natal Province. It may have formed in a continental back-arc basin at about the same time as the arc-related volcanic rocks of the Areachap Group formed by subduction of an ocean basin to the west, prior to ~1.2 Ga Namaqua terrane assembly by collisions with the Kaapvaal-Rehoboth Craton.


During recent years, educational restructuring efforts have commonly regarded schools as both learning communities and sites for teachers' professional development. A plethora of attributes influence prerequisites as well as outcomes of the efforts, while teachers' local cultures constitute a cornerstone. More specifically, enhanced school‐based teacher collaboration is associated with upgraded school effectiveness and enhanced professional growth. However, the comparative study of school‐based teacher collaboration remains a subjective research area. The overall aim of this study is to highlight teacher collaboration in Sweden and Greece utilizing nationwide surveys with physical education teachers in both countries. The final sample consisted of 707 Swedish and 451 Greek professionals. The high response rate combined with restricted internal dropout forms the basis of the generalization of the findings. The presentation of the results is connected with issues of formal cooperation, deprivatized practices and personalized interaction in four teachers groups: primary and lower secondary schools in Sweden and in Greece. According to the data, formal cooperation and deprivatized practices occur more frequently in Sweden than in Greece. However, personalized interaction is rather high in Greek lower secondary schools. Despite differences between the four contexts, a second order model represents obtained information adequately with very good fit indexes. It seems that school‐based teacher collaboration in authentic settings can be connected to complex processes with multifaceted characteristics in different national contexts as well as in educational stages within one country as well. Manipulating distinct aspects of schooling may consequently jeopardize expected outcomes, as development ambitions should be targeting several interdependent dimensions. Swedish schools generally and lower secondary schools specifically constitute original examples of enhanced school‐based teacher collaboration, while an intensification of combined endeavours is needed in Greece. The comparative mapping of interconnected collaboration characteristics might contribute to more holistic restructuring struggles towards schools as learning communities and sites for teachers' professional development.


English language learners (ELs) numbers are increasing steadily in classrooms across the United States. Some southeastern states have seen more than a 200% EL student increase in recent years (Migration Policy Institute, 2010). Since the inception of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and especially since Title I "flexibility" revisions, responsibility for educating ELs has shifted from ESOL and bilingual teachers to primarily mainstream teachers. States that have opted out of NCLB under flexibility revisions are no longer as accountable to the U. S. Department of Education for the education of ELs. States and school districts are no longer required to include some EL test scores in accountability measures. Mainstream classroom teachers may no longer receive quality support from ESOL professionals in educating mainstreamed ELs. Are mainstream teachers prepared to educate ELs? This study examines the perceptions that mainstream classroom teachers have regarding their preparedness in serving the ELs in their classrooms. Findings indicated four emergent categories of mainstream teachers: 1) teachers who knew virtually nothing about serving ELs, 2) teachers who presumed they would send ELs out of their classroom for instruction and assessment, 3) teachers who sought instructional and assessment assistance, and 4) teachers who were familiar with best practices for teaching ELs. Mainstream teachers in this study who were being held accountable for EL student achievement overall lacked knowledge or had misconceptions about the strategies used to teach and assess ELs. Current policy shaping the education of ELs is unlikely to assure they receive an adequate education.


River channel morphology is constantly changing. The course of a river adapts and
forms meanders, this is because there are several factors that act upon a river and cause
it to erode. This paper studies the vegetation type and density that exists on a bank, flow
pattern of the river, and bank composition and how this affects bank stability.
This paper will investigate the causes and effects of erosion on six meanders of the
River Lostock, Preston, Lancashire, England. A vegetation survey was carried out; the
total vegetation cover was recorded along with the types (shrubs, trees, and grass) at the
mid and top bank of each meander. To gain the flow pattern data, velocity was recorded
at inner, middle, and outer sections of the meanders. Bank composition was recorded
using a texture by feel method. The percentage of erosion at each bank was recorded.
The results of this study found, the level of erosion on river banks depend on the
amount of total vegetation cover on the bank. However it was inconclusive as to which
type of vegetation is best for stabilizing the banks. The flow pattern showed that
velocity is greatest at the outer bend and least great at the inner bend. Also found is that
vegetation influences velocity, the more vegetation there is on a bank the less great the
velocity will be. The results of the effect of bank composition on erosion were also
inconclusive.


Canadian foreign direct investment and sales of Canadian multinational firms' operations abroad, particularly in the manufacturing industry and in the United States, have accelerated sharply over the past decade. At the same time, although foreign demand has accelerated following the Great Recession, Canadian exports have failed to rebound as strongly as historical correlation would suggest. If part of Canadian firms' investment abroad over the past decade was intended to replace their Canadian production and exports, it could help to explain recent export weakness. This paper investigates these issues in the Canadian forest products industry and the motor vehicle parts manufacturing industry, using a case study approach. Specifically, we examine 15 large, Canadian, publicly traded firms, dominant in each of these industries, over the period 2000-13. We triangulate (i) financial statement data and (ii) public statements about decisions to invest abroad with (iii) macroeconomic data on the activity of Canadian foreign affiliates, focusing on investments in the United States and Mexico. We find that over this period, the companies in the study increasingly chose to invest abroad, leading to a shift in relative operational capacity from Canada to locations abroad. Motives behind this trend include market-seeking objectives, as well as relative cost factors and strategic asset seeking abroad. This shift in the location of production capacity may, at least for the industries and the time period studied, help to explain the weakness in Canadian merchandise exports over the past years, since these firms increasingly choose to serve foreign demand through their operations abroad, rather than exclusively through exports.


We examine the possible sources of the larger racial and ethnic wage gaps for men than for women in the U.S. Specifically, using a newly created employer-employee matched data set containing workers in essentially all occupations, industries, and regions, we examine whether these wage differences can be accounted for by differences between men and women in the patterns of racial and ethnic segregation within occupation, industry, establishments and occupation-establishment cells. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first paper to examine segregation by race and ethnicity at the level of establishment and job cell. Our results indicate that greater segregation between Hispanic men and white men than between Hispanic women and white women accounts for essentially all of the higher Hispanic-white wage gap for men. In addition, our estimates indicate that greater segregation between black and white men than between black and white women accounts for a sizable share (one-third to one-half) of the higher black-white wage gap for men. Our results imply that segregation is an important contributor to the lower wages paid to black and Hispanic men than to white men with similar individual characteristics. Our results also suggest that equal pay types of laws may offer some scope for reducing the black-white wage differential for men, but little scope for reducing the Hispanic-white wage differential for men.


Ultrahigh Pressure Metamorphism (UHPM) is a fast growing discipline that was established 25 years ago after discoveries of high pressure minerals, coesite and diamonds. The current explosion of research on UHMP terranes reflects their significance for understanding large scale mantle dynamics, major elements of plate tectonics such as continental collisions, deep subduction and exhumation, mountains building, geochemical recycling 'from surface to the core', and a deep storage of light elements participating in green-house effects in the atmosphere. This book provides insights into the formation of diamond and coesite at very high pressures and explores new ideas regarding the tectonic setting of this style of metamorphism. * Important, authoritative and comprehensive one-stop resource for the growing ultrahigh pressure metamorphism UHPM research community* A forward-looking approach founded upon a detailed historical perspective on UHPM presents the trends in discovery, methodology and theory over the last 25 years, allowing readers to gain a clear understanding of the current trends and the approaches that will shape the science in the future* A highly diverse set of articles, covering a wide range of methods and sub-disciplines


The presence of Basilia mediterranea Hůrka, 1970, species with Western Mediterranean distribution, is reported for the first time from Italy. Two specimens, a male and a female, were collected from two bats belonging to the species Pipistrellus pipistrellus Schreber, 1774 captured with mist nets during a research on bats of Montecristo and Capraia islands (Tuscan Archipelago National Park, Central Italy).


Problem: Evidence in favour of using financial rewards to bring about quality improvement in primary care is generally poor. The few benefits which have been demonstrated are inconsistent, often short-lived, and come from data with unreliable control comparisons. The biggest and best known reward scheme is the Quality Outcomes Framework (QOF), which has proved unpopular with surgeries, and has also resulted in some negative effects on care. East Lancashire CCG introduced a local quality framework for general practice for 2016/7 designed to improve standards and diagnosis in AF and hypertension, for a set amount per head of population, rather than the unpopular sliding remuneration scale used by QOF for hitting specific outcome targets. Participating surgeries appointed surgery leads for AF and hypertension, produced their own protocols, and attended quarterly workshops where they reflected with peer groups on protocols and data. This study set out to analyse whether the framework improved the numbers of patients diagnosed, and the quality of care they received.
Approach: This study used published QOF data to compare those surgeries taking part in the intervention (n=57) to controls in the rest of England (n=7243). It adopted a controlled before-after approach, which looked at the primary outcome measures of change in mean recorded prevalence of AF and hypertension at surgery level after 12 months, compared to before the intervention. Secondary measures looked at additional outcomes as indicators of quality of management of patients with AF and hypertension.
Findings: In primary outcome measures, independent T tests showed a significant benefit for the intervention group in the mean increase in prevalence of AF (0.19%) compared to the controls (0.12%), p=0.024, although the mean increase in prevalence of hypertension (0.29%) compared to controls (-0.01%) was non-significant, p=0.141. The mean increase in percentage of patients with optimal anticoagulation management (previous/current CHA2DS2-VASc≥2 and anticoagulated, or CHA2DS2-VASc<2 in past 12 months), was significantly more in the intervention group (5.82%) than in the controls (3.31%), p=0.005. There was no significant increase in patients with hypertension being treated to target ≤150/90mmHg, or in patients ≥45 years having an up to date BP in the past 5 years, although repeated measures ANOVA analysis of the intervention group using local data not available for the control group, showed the rate of new diagnoses of hypertension to be increasing with time, p<0.001.
Consequences: This study demonstrates how a financial incentive as part of quality improvement framework designed to meet local needs, can potentially engage local primary care providers and improve outcome measures for patients, without the need for financial incentives for hitting specific targets. Preliminary analysis of subsequent 12-month data suggests continued improvement in management of both conditions, however a longer time frame to review impact may be necessary.


Data analysis and machine learning are research areas at the intersection of computer science, artificial intelligence, mathematics and statistics. They cover general methods and techniques that can be applied to a vast set of applications such as web and text mining, marketing, medical science, bioinformatics and business intelligence. This volume contains the revised versions of selected papers in the field of data analysis, machine learning and applications presented during the 31st Annual Conference of the German Classification Society (Gesellschaft fr Klassifikation - GfKl). The conference was held at the Albert-Ludwigs-University in Freiburg, Germany, in March 2007.


Inspired by the eminently successful physical theories and informed by commonplace experiences such as seeing a cat upon looking at a cat, conscious experience is thought of as a measurement or photocopy of given stimulus. Recognizing the symbolic nature of reasoning as the nature of conscious experience in general, here we put forward symbolic conception of conscious experience as a refinement of the photocopy model of conscious experience. Conscious experience, unlike a photocopy, is symbolic—like language—in that the relation between conscious experience and physical stimulus is analogous to that of the word "cat" and its meaning, i.e. arbitrary and yet systematic. We present arguments against the photocopy model and arguments for a symbolic conception of conscious experience. Learning and the corresponding plasticity of the brain make a strong case for the symbolic conception of conscious experience, while many extra-ordinary conscious experiences argue against the formalization of consciousness as a measuring device. The notions of place-value notation and grammar, which organize quantitative measurements and conscious experiences in the medium of numbers and language, respectively, are suggested as model systems for putting together a comprehensive theory of conscious experience


To the Editor: An 86-year-old female was hospitalized to undergo a mastectomy for breast cancer in the right breast. The patient's medical history included surgery for skin cancer at age 75, and postoperative delirium. Given this history, the surgeon consulted a psychiatrist about presurgical treatment at the time of hospitalization. At age 79, the patient was diagnosed with depression and prescribed 100 mg of amantadine, 100 mg of sulpilide, and 0.5 mg of etizolam by the clinic psychiatrist. In Japan, psychiatrists occasionally prescribe sulpilide instead of a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) or a tetra-cyclic antidepressant. Etizolam is an antianxiety drug unique to Japan and is prescribed with expectations of antianxiety effects similar to that of lorazepam. However, since the patient experienced a relapse at age 84 during treatment, 20 mg of paroxetine and 7.5 mg of zopiclone for insomnia were additionally prescribed. These drugs continued to be administered concurrently to the three drugs originally prescribed (e.g., amantadine). Discontinuing the use of a drug for 3 days or longer may lead to paroxetine and etizolam withdrawal. Although there have been reports of acute delirium or neuroleptic malignant syndrome after withdrawal of amantadine, discontinuation of amantadine does not commonly induce withdrawal symptoms. Discontinuation of zopiclone is known to cause insomnia. Since the operation was to be conducted under global anesthesia through the inhalation of sevoflurane, oral medication of all drugs was cancelled for the day of operation. When psychotropic therapy was readministered, the psychiatrist decided to remove amantadine from the regimen given its risk of delirium. The day after the operation, the patient showed signs of finger tremors in both hands; however, tremors disappeared by the second day. The patient presented neither withdrawal symptoms from sulpilide or etizolam (such as anxiety or depression), nor from paroxetine (such as nausea, stomachaches, and perspiration). There were also no signs of insomnia due to the discontinuation of zopiclone administration or signs of postoperative delirium. Thus, we intimate that the finger tremors observed postsurgery were a result of withdrawal symptoms from amantadine. On the evening of the second day after the surgery, administrations of all medications used prior to hospitalization, excluding amantadine, were resumed. The patient steadily recovered with no significant problems that interfered with postoperative rehabilitation and was discharged from the hospital 13 days later. This case reported the discontinuation of long-term amantadine medication that resulted in finger tremors for a day, which then disappeared without readministering the drug. Yutaka Shinohara, M.D. Noriyoshi Hayakawa, M.D. Department of Psychiatry, Tokai University Hachioji Hopital, Tokyo, Japan References


Laboratory-scale batch and soil columns experiments were conducted to investigate the attenuation of estrogens (17β-estradiol and 17α-ethinylestradiol) during managed aquifer recharge. The role of microbial activity in the removal of selected estrogens was evaluated by comparing the results from biotic and abiotic batch experiments. Moreover, batch experiments were carried out using the sand media prepared over different acclimation periods to investigate the impact of acclimation periods on the removal of selected estrogens. Batch studies showed that adsorption was the dominant removal mechanism in the removal of 17β-estradiol and 17α-ethinylestradiol. 17β-estradiol and 17α-ethinylestradiol were attenuated by 99% and 96%, respectively, in batch experiments under oxic conditions. Redox conditions did not show any significant effect on the attenuation of 17β-estradiol. However, the net estrogenicity of 17β-estradiol remaining was lower under oxic conditions (130 ng estradiol-equivalents/L) than anoxic conditions (970 ng estradiol-equivalents/L). Column studies operated at 17 h of empty bed contact time also demonstrated that removal mechanism of 17α-ethinylestradiol was more dependent on adsorption than biodegradation.


There are copious resources for the study of African history on the internet. They include manuscripts and documentary archives, maps, museum collections, newspapers, printed books, picture collections, and sound and moving images. The websites of European institutions provide a good proportion of this content, reflecting the long, entangled, and troubled histories that connect Europe and Africa, as well as new partnerships with African institutions.
 This plethora of digital resources enables both specialized researchers and the public to access information about Africa more quickly and easily, and on a larger scale than ever before. Digitization comes with a strong democratic impulse, and the new technology has been instrumental in making libraries, archives, museums, and art galleries much more open. But all is not smooth sailing, and there are two particular aspects of which researchers should be aware.
 The first is that there are still huge collections, or parts of collections, that have not been digitized, and that resources have been—on the whole—most focused on items with visual appeal. The twin brakes of cost and copyright restrain the process, and researchers need to understand how what they can get online relates to what still exists only in hard copy.
 The second consideration is that digitized resources can be difficult to find. Information about the riches of the web in this area is very fragmented, and exclusive use of one search engine, however dominant, is clearly not enough. As a counter to this fragmentation, a listing of the major websites for African history in Europe is given in a handy guide for researchers, which covers these resources by format and by region of Africa. The listing also provides websites in two particular areas of interest to historians and to the public: the transatlantic slave trade, and the liberation struggles in southern Africa.


A new method is presented for analyzing and reengineering class hierarchies. In our approach, a class hierarchy is processed along with a set of applications that use it, and a fine-grained analysis of the access and subtype relationships between objects, variables, and class members is performed. The result of this analysis is again a class hierarchy, which is guaranteed to be behaviorally equivalent to the original hierarchy, but in which each object only contains the members that are required. Our method is semantically well-founded in concept analysis: the new class hierarchy is a minimal and maximally factorized concept lattice that reflects the access and subtype relationships between variables, objects and class members. The method is primarily intended as a tool for finding imperfections in the design of class hierarchies, and can be used as the basis for tools that largely automate the process of reengineering such hierachies. The method can also be used as a space-optimizing source-to-source transformation that removes redundant fields from objects. A prototype implementation for Java has been constructed, and used to conduct several case studies. Our results demonstrate that the method can provide valuable insights into the usage of a class hierarchy in a specific context, and lead to useful restructuring proposals.


This Article posits ten first principles on which a regulatory response to the sharing economy must rest. Given the rapid differentiation in the sharing economy, the Article gives particular focus to the short-term rental market, typified by Airbnb, as one lens through which to illustrate these principles. The Article then turns to review existing regulatory responses to the sharing economy. Here again, the Article focuses on regulations related to the short-term rental market with a particular emphasis on the two strictest existing local government regulatory structures, which are those of San Francisco and Portland. The Article next proposes a response beyond such traditional regulatory strategies, which this article asserts are not well suited to regulating the sharing economy. Instead, this Article proposes a markets-based mechanism, transferable sharing rights, which is better suited to internalize externalities of the most daunting challenges in the short-term rental market. Finally, the Article examines the corporatization of the sharing movement and the implications for regulations as sharing evolves from a peer-to-peer enterprise to a place where established market participants seek to assert themselves in the sharing economy's new domains.


Background: Consent is a lawful right of a patient that makes a decision their involvement in clinical procedures. The meaning of consent is that patient not to be touched or in nevertheless treated without their permission, it deems like an endorsed inquiry for their protection. Concept of consent is an endeavor by which the patient can take part in clinical judgment concerning their treatment and protect each and every patient against any litigation. Thus, knowledge and approach of consent are foremost important due to encroachment in clinical procedures in dental and medical field as well as it is also important for general population. Aim and Objectives: The aim of the study was to appraise the knowledge and attitude toward informed consent in medical and dental practitioners of Bhopal city, India. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional assessment was carried out among 200 medical and dental practitioners of Bhopal city. A self-administered, close-ended planned questionnaire was used to evaluate their knowledge and attitude regarding informed consent. This questionnaire consists of 10 and 5 questions of knowledge and attitude, respectively. The response format was obtained by a 3-point Likert scale. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS version 20; Chi-square test was used for data analysis. Result: Knowledge and attitude regarding informed consent were uneven amid medical and dental professionals. Although it was slight higher in medical professionals. Conclusion: An unbalanced knowledge of informed consent in medical and dental professionals recommended; a need to conduct assort of awareness programs and workshops regarding informed consent. Thus, this gap of knowledge can fill and an affirmative attitude can develop.


Aims Chest pain is a common reason for presentation to the children's emergency department (ED). It is known that chest pain in children, compared to adults, is much less likely to be caused by cardiovascular disease. Electrocardiographs (ECGs) are cheap, fast and readily available. When interpreted appropriately they can be useful in demonstrating cardiac causes of chest pain. We aimed firstly to determine the incidence and likely causes of paediatric chest pain presenting to our busy Children's ED and secondly to analyse the usefulness of ECGs in this cohort. Methods We retrospectively analysed the ED case notes of all children (aged under 16 years) presenting with chest pain over a 4 year period (April 2009 to March 2013) to a busy Children's ED in an urban district general hospital. Results 1126 attendances presented with chest pain, approximately 1% of all attendances over four years. Of those with chest pain 54% were male and the modal age of presentation was 12 years. Based on history and clinical examination the commonest cause attributed to chest pain was musculoskeletal. Only 1% of cases had a possible cardiac aetiology; 1 patient had pericarditis, 1 patient had myocarditis, 2 patients had a pre-existing cardiac condition, 3 patients had arrhythmias and 8 were under investigation for recurrent palpitations. Thirty per cent of patients with chest pain had an ECG carried out. Patients with cardiovascular, psychiatric and musculoskeletal diagnoses were most likely to have had an ECG done. The majority of ECGs were normal (91%). The commonest abnormality was high take off/mild ST elevation, with only 10% of such patients having cardiac enzymes requested. Some of the ECG abnormalities identified could not be attributed to chest pain. Conclusion Incidence of chest pain presenting to our ED was 1%. The commonest recorded cause was musculoskeletal. Fewer than 1% had a possible cardiac aetiology for chest pain. ECG is a useful test for children presenting with chest pain. Very few patients with mild ST elevation had cardiac enzyme levels checked.


Immunoglobulin G4-related disease (IgG4-RD) is a recently defined condition characterized by inflammatory tumefactive lesions in various organ systems. IgG4-RD is a clinical and radiological diagnosis of exclusion and requires the presence of specific histopathological criteria for diagnosis. A 50-year-old man presented to an outside hospital with a 3-month history of progressively worsening back pain and symptoms of pleurisy, nasal crusting, and hematochezia. Radiological workup revealed an epidural-paraspinal mass with displacement of the spinal cord, destruction of the T5-6 vertebrae, and extension into the right lung. Biopsy sampling and subsequent histopathological analysis revealed dense lymphoplasmacytic infiltrate with an increased number of IgG4-positive plasma cells and a storiform pattern of fibrosis. With strong histopathological evidence of IgG4-RD, the patient was started on a regimen of prednisone. Further testing ruled out malignant neoplasm, infectious etiologies, and other autoimmune diseases. Two weeks later, the patient presented with acute-onset paraplegia due to spinal cord compression. The patient underwent decompression laminectomy of T5-6, posterior instrumented fusion of T2-8, and debulking of the epidural-paraspinal mass. After the continued administration of glucocorticosteroids, the patient improved remarkably to near-normal strength in the lower extremities and sensory function 6 months after surgery. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first case of IgG4-related epidural inflammatory pseudotumor and spinal cord compression in the United States. This case highlights the importance of early administration of glucocorticosteroids, which were essential to preventing further progression and preventing relapse. IgG4-RD evaluation is important after other diseases in the differential diagnosis are ruled out.


Aim: To compare the efficacy of 0.75% ropivacaine with 3% mepivacaine for pain control in the first 24 hours after surgical removal of lower third molars, using a quantitative measurement such as VAS. The secondary objective involved rescue analgesia. Methods: Forty-five patients, 21 females and 24 males, mean age 23,2 ± 3 years, underwent surgical removal of third molars in two separate sessions. A split-mouth design was chosen, so each patient underwent both the first and second surgeries, having for each extraction a different anesthetic. The second extraction was carried out 1 month later. Parameters evaluated were: onset of anesthesia, duration of surgery, lip numbness, timing of pain appearance and first analgesic intake. Results: No significant differences about onset of anesthesia, duration of surgical procedures, and timing of first analgesic intake were found. Lower lip numbness, on the other hand, was more prolonged after using ropivacaine (p < 0.0001) and the onset of postoperative pain was more delayed after anesthesia with ropivacaine (p=0.0048). Pain scores at 1 and 2 hours after surgery were 3.5 ± 2.0 and 4.1 ±1.3 after injection of mepivacaine, and 2.7 ±2.2 and 2.9 ±2.4 after ropivacaine (p value =0.006 for both time points). No significant differences in pain score were recorded between the two anesthetics at 12 and 24 hours post surgery. Conclusions: With the use of ropivacaine, the discomfort caused by prolonged lip numbness is counterbalanced by less postoperative discomfort after surgery. In addition, when compared with other long-acting anesthetics, ropivacaine ensures a safer anesthetic profile for medically complex patients.


Arguing that the resistance in France during the Second World War
was always transnational in important ways, this piece identifies some of the
recent scholarship that has expanded both the temporal and geographic
parameters of the French Resistance. It introduces some of the key themes of
this collection of articles and underscores the important contributions made
by the participating authors. As these articles reveal, we can find sites of
transnational resistance by looking at the relationship between the Allies
and the resistance, the role that non-French denizens played in the resistance,
the politics of cultural resistance, and the circulation of downed
Anglo-American aircrews in Europe.


[1] We study the effect of temperature in the crust on the style of faulting during the extension of a model lithosphere. Two distinct fault patterns are seen depending on whether the brittle layer thickness HL is greater or less than a critical value HC. For a thin layer (HL HC) a rift develops with multiple faults bounding an evolving set of grabens. Numerical results show that the value of HC depends on how the thermal structure and therefore the thickness distribution of the lithosphere evolve during extension. In the region where the displacement occurs along the fault the brittle lithosphere thins, and we show that this promotes development of multiple faults. In models with heat transfer only by rock motion and conduction, the advective thinning effect can greatly reduce HC. With rift velocities greater than 1 cm yr−1, HC is reduced by a factor of 5 (to unreasonably small values). However, inclusion of simulated hydrothermal cooling increases HC. This allows large offsets to develop in model lithospheres with brittle layers of order 10 km thick. Extension of layers thicker than 10 km tends to produce a rift with multiple graben structures. Finally, we compare the result of a simplified analytic model of extension to data. We find that the style of faulting seen in a variety of continental rifts is broadly consistent with our model predictions.


Pancreatic cancer is a rapidly fatal disease that has been linked with pesticide use. Previous studies have reported excess risks of pancreatic cancer with organochlorines such as DDT, however, many other commonly used pesticides have not been examined. To further examine the potential associations between the use of a number of pesticides and pancreatic cancer, we conducted a case‐control analysis in the Agricultural Health Study, one of the largest prospective cohorts with over 89,000 participants including pesticide applicators and their spouses in Iowa and North Carolina. This analysis included 93 incident pancreatic cancer cases (64 applicators, 29 spouses) and 82,503 cancer‐free controls who completed an enrollment questionnaire providing detailed pesticide use, demographic and lifestyle information. Ever use of 24 pesticides and intensity‐weighted lifetime days [(lifetime exposure days) × (exposure intensity score)] of 13 pesticides was assessed. Risk estimates were calculated using unconditional logistic regression controlling for age, smoking, and diabetes. Among pesticide applicators, 2 herbicides (EPTC and pendimethalin) of the 13 pesticides examined for intensity‐weighted lifetime use showed a statistically significant exposure‐response association with pancreatic cancer. Applicators in the top half of lifetime pendimethalin use had a 3.0‐fold (95% CI 1.3–7.2, p‐trend = 0.01) risk compared with never users, and those in the top half of lifetime EPTC use had a 2.56‐fold (95% CI = 1.1–5.4, p‐trend = 0.01) risk compared with never users. Organochlorines were not associated with an excess risk of pancreatic cancer in this study. These findings suggest that herbicides, particularly pendimethalin and EPTC, may be associated with pancreatic cancer. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


BackgroundOvarian response to gonadotropin stimulation can predict the success rate of Assisted Reproductive Technology. The purpose of this study was not only to determine the ovarian response rate in patients on whom intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) did not successfully work but also to assess the influence of factors on ovarian response.MethodsIn a retrospective study, the medical records of 220 women undergoing their first cycle of ICSI from March 2012 to October 2016 were thoroughly examined. Special attention was paid to ovarian response with regards to age, body mass index, the history of menstrual cycle, the type of infertility, the duration of infertility, and the cause of infertility with respect to measures of women's hormones. The ovarian response expressing the number of mature MII oocytes after oocyte retrieval was regarded as "poor response" representing a yield of 1–4 oocytes, and "appropriate response" representing a yield of 5 or more oocytes.ResultsOut of 220 infertile women, 45 subjects (20.5%) had poor response, 175 subjects (79.5%) had appropriate response to ovulation stimulation with gonadotropin. The results of indicated that lower female age (p=0.005) and lower female FSH (p=0.006) were consistent with appropriate ovarian response. After adjusting the variables, the age (age <30 years) (OR= 2.45, 95% CI= 1.19-5.07) and the female FSH (FSH <30 years) (OR= 2.59, 95% CI= 1.16-5.71) were found to be associated with an appropriate ovarian response.ConclusionIt can be concluded that entering the first cycle of ICSI with FSH test and considering the age of women seem to be acceptable strategies.


Writing Resources for Doctoral Students in the Initial Stages of Development

These resources are for doctoral students at the premise and prospectus stages and who are not yet working on their official proposal documents.


Background Few studies have examined samples of people with cannabis-induced psychotic symptoms. Aims To establish whether cannabis-induced psychotic disorders are followed by development of persistent psychotic conditions, and the timing of their onset. Method Data on patients treated for cannabis-induced psychotic symptoms between 1994 and 1999 were extracted from the Danish Psychiatric Central Register. Those previously treated for any psychotic symptoms were excluded. The remaining 535 patients were followed for at least 3 years. In a separate analysis, the sample was compared with people referred for schizophrenia-spectrum disorders for the first time, but who had no history of cannabis-induced psychosis. Results Schizophrenia-spectrum disorders were diagnosed in 44.5% of the sample. New psychotic episodes of any type were diagnosed in 77.2%. Male gender and young age were associated with increased risk. Development of schizophrenia-spectrum disorders was often delayed, and 47.1% of patients received a diagnosis more than a year after seeking treatment for a cannabis-induced psychosis. The patients developed schizophrenia at an earlier age than people in the comparison group (males, 24.6 v. 30.7 years, females, 28.9 v. 33.1 years). Conclusions Cannabis-induced psychotic disorders are of great clinical and prognostic importance.


Children with chronic ill health have been reported to be at increased risk of difficulties with psychosocial adjustment, and it is likely that the risk may be exacerbated during adolescence, a turbulent time even without illness. Self-esteem, social communication and stress-management skills have been identified as protective factors. Two groups were designed to enhance these factors among inpatients on a specialist adolescent medicine ward. Outcomes of the groups in relation to meeting the learning aims and the young people's opinions about the groups are discussed.


Cultures without a written tradition depend entirely on the oral channel to transmit sometimes highly complex information. It is therefore not surprising that in the languages of such cultures linguistic devices evolve that enhance textual coherence, and thus comprehension. These devices should ideally also be economical in terms of morphosyntactic complexity in order to facilitate both production and comprehension. In this paper, I will argue that switch-attention (a term preferred over the traditional switch-reference) systems in temporal clauses fulfill these requirements of cohesion and complexity reduction, making them particularly apt for orally transmitting texts. Moreover, switch-reference systems seem to diffuse relatively easily. These features taken together are suggested to be (partly) responsible for the widely attested phenomenon in areas without a lengthy written tradition.


We experience our environment through different sensors that deliver large amounts of visual, acoustic, and other sensory data. Humans as well as computer systems that aim at extracting knowledge from sensory data and/or communicating with a human user or a second computer system need some kind of symbolic representation. The visual sensory data that is available for a computer system is constituted by digital images and the task of assigning symbolic knowledge to them is called object recognition.
Due to the significance of the object recognition task in computer science there exist many approaches and implementations addressing this problem area. Thereby the general procedure is calculating features and groups from the data and matching them to some kind of represented object knowledge for assigning labels. Existing implementations can be roughly distinguished by their processing strategy following either the data driven or the conceptually driven approach. Furtheron, many different knowledge representation schemes exist. For example, knowledge about objects is either concerned with examples or with categories, or objects are either described based on their appearance or based on geometric or functional features. Within the variety of approaches, each individual provides special strengths and weaknesses leading to the conclusion that the integration of complement approaches is promising.
In this thesis I propose a general framework for equitably integrating available complementary object segmentation and recognition strategies based on either image data or higherlevel knowledge. Central part of the framework is the integration module that realizes a representation scheme for flexibly storing available segment and object label information and an interpretation process generating object hypotheses based on the represented data. The available information is structured by classifying spatial relations between segments and assigning object label information. The representation scheme is open for belated extension of the data basis with additional information originating from long running processes or higherlevel knowledge. The interpretation process selects probable object regions and label hypotheses from the amount of uncertain and partly contradictory information. The applied strategy is selecting probable object regions based on spatial relations to other segments and probabilistically integrated object label information. For avoiding premature decisions in the presence of uncertain and perhaps incompletely available information the interpretation process generates competing hypotheses that serve for integrating additional higherlevel knowledge conserving the same representation and interpretation mechanisms. For finally ranking competing results for further processing a flexible evaluation scheme supports the application of one or more general and task specific evaluation methods.
Based on the general integrating framework I realized application systems addressing two different object recognition tasks. The analysis of the two systems shows the flexibility of the integrating framework as well as the improvements achieved by the integrated system.
The proposed integrating framework offers the feasibility of efficiently realizing integrated systems for a given object recognition task based on available modules.


The poem Capystranus, devoted to the 1456 Siege of Belgrade by the Ottoman Turks, was printed three times between 1515 and 1530 by Wynkyn de Worde. It survives in a fragmentary form, testifying to its popularity with the audience. Studies of the poem have tended to concentrate on its literary qualities, discrediting its historical value as an account of the siege. In this essay, I build on the work of scholars who view the narrative of Capystranus as a work of fiction, informed by the conventions of crusading romance, rather than as an eyewitness account. However, I reassess the value of Capystranus for the study of war history: I argue that, in its description of the siege, the author pictures accurately the spirit of contemporary warfare. The present essay explores, for the first time, the experiences, images and memories of war as represented in Capystranus, comparing the depiction of warfare to contemporary discourses on the law and ethics of war.