The UK's Foreign National Prisoner (FNP) crisis' of June 2006 provides a key moment to unpack the figure of the 'foreign criminal' through. Through an analysis of media articles, Commons debates and NGO documents, I discuss the and gendered stereotypes that were invoked in the construction of 'foreign criminals', as they were positioned within the victim-villain binary that characterises migration debates. In explaining the specific kinds of migrantness and criminality made to represent the FNP 'crisis', I argue that race and gender matter, and that they work through one another. The FNP 'crisis' incensed the media and politicians who framed the issue in terms of dangerous foreign men whose hypermasculinist violence presented a severe and existential threat to the British people. These images relied upon race for their intelligibility. While NGOs and advocates sought to challenge the idea that all, or even most, 'foreign criminals' deserve to be deported, they still tended to frame their arguments in terms of victims and villains. In doing so, advocates failed to challenge the gendered and racialised stereotypes that distinguish good migrants from bad ones – victims from villains. In the end, advocates and academics should retain critical distance from state categories if they are to avoid reifying these deeply entrenched narratives surrounding race and gender.


The aim of this systematic review was to investigate the prevalence of mental health symptoms and disorders in rugby players. Six electronic databases were searched in December 2020. Studies were included if they provided quantitative data on mental health symptoms and disorders and consisted of adult rugby players. Eight studies were included, covering symptoms of anxiety, depression, alcohol use/misuse, distress, sleeping/sleep disturbance, and eating disorders/adverse nutrition behaviors. Prevalence of mental health symptoms ranged from 6% (depression) to 68.8% (alcohol use/misuse). Most rates were similar to the general population, while symptoms of sleeping/sleep disturbance were lower, and symptoms of eating disorders/adverse nutrition behaviors and alcohol use/misuse were higher than the general population. One study included female rugby players. Epidemiological evidence comprising of rigorous diagnostic data and inclusive of gender, race, ethnicity, sexuality, and other protected characteristics is needed to inform future mental health support in this population.


The powerful symbol of the labyrinth exists in countless cultures spanning the globe from Africa and ancient Greece to India, China, and pre-Colombian North and South America. For centuries they have been used for religious rituals, meditation, and spiritual and physical healing. In the labyrinth humanity finds a model of the quintessential sacred space that depicts the most profound levels of consciousness. Its center is regarded in many cultures as a door between two worlds, thus providing individuals with the ideal place for self questioning and meditation. - Illustrated with labyrinths from around the world and throughout history. - Demonstrates how the labyrinth differs from a maze and how it is a tool for interpreting ancient myths and religious beliefs. - Draws parallels between the labyrinth and quantum physics, showing how through the secrets of the labyrinth we can unlock the mystery of life itself. In a comprehensive exploration of this time-honored symbol, Patrick Conty shows how the geometrical construction of the ancient labyrinth corresponds exactly with today's modern geometry, illustrating that recent developments in math and physics parallel the science of ancient civilizations. By looking at the way the two systems complement each other, Conty draws new conclusions about the ancient world and how that world can benefit us right now. Conty explores not only physical labyrinths but also reveals how the same transcendent principles are at work in Celtic knot work; the designs of ancient Chinese cauldrons; the tattoos and tracings of primitive art; the textiles of Africa, Peru, and Central America; and the geometric patterns in Islamic art.


Spectrochemical analyses of aqueous solutions containing nickel or the chlorinated hydrocarbons (CHCs) C2Cl4, CCl4, CHCl3, and C2HCl3 were performed with the use of laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy. A Nd:YAG laser operating at 60 mJ/pulse was focused onto the surface of the liquid. Elemental line intensities were monitored in the laser-produced plume as a function of analyte concentration to determine detection limits. The limits of detection for nickel in water were 36.4 ± 5.4 mgAL and 18.0 ± 3.8 mg/L for laser irradiation at 1.06 μm and 355 nm, respectively. Ablation of pure CHCs at 355 nm produced extremely intense plasma emissions that primarily consisted of spectroscopic features attributed to CN, C3, H, N, and Cl. The spectra were structurally identical for all the CHCs except for differences in the intensities of various emission lines. With the use of emission from neutral atomic chlorine as an identifier for CHC contamination of water, no detectable traces of these elements were observed in saturated aqueous solutions. The detection limits for the CHCs were well above the saturation limits of CHC in water.


Background & Objectives: Adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) have been investigated as a promising cell source for therapeutic and engineering applications. Common proliferation protocols use fetal bovine serum (FBS) as a growth factor which is potentially a source of pathogens, and contains animal antigens that can cause an allergic reaction after transplantation in the recipient, and regarding immunity, human serum (HS) could be a suitable alternative to it. The aim of this study is to compare the culture medium enriched with FBS or HS as supplements in the proliferation and differentiation of ADSCs. Materials & Methods: Human serum was extracted from 90 ml venous blood of a healthy person, taken in respective intervals. The ADSCs were isolated according to the protocol from adipose tissue after lipolysis operation and cultured by mediums enriched with FBS or HS. Expression of the surface markers of ADSCs was investigated by flow cytometry. Osteogenic differentiation was evaluated by Alizarin Red staining method. Results: The analysis of cell growth showed that the isolation and proliferation of ADSCs in both media (HS & FBS) were similar, but there was a significant difference in case of differentiation in the HS medium. This study showed that FBS could be replaced by HS in case of isolation, proliferation and differentiation of stem cells studies as supplement. Furthermore, our data suggest a fast and safe proliferation protocol by using human serum in the stem cells culture and cell-based therapies.


OF DISSERTATION MODELING OF AN AIR-BASED DENSITY SEPARATOR There is a lack of fundamental studies by means of state of the art numerical and scale modeling techniques scrutinizing the theoretical and technical aspect of air table separators as well as means to comprehend and improve the efficiency of the process. The dissertation details the development of a workable empirical model, a numerical model and a scale model to demonstrate the use of a laboratory air table unit. The modern air-based density separator achieves effective density-based separation for particle sizes greater than 6 mm. Parametric studies with the laboratory scale unit using low rank coal have demonstrated the applicability with regards to finer size fractions of the range 6 mm to 1 mm. The statistically significant empirical models showed that all the four parameters, i.e, blower and table frequency, longitudinal and transverse angle were significant in determining the separation performance. Furthermore, the tests show that an increase in the transverse angle increased the flow rate of solids to the product end and the introduction of feed results in the dampening of airflow at the feed end. The higher table frequency and feed rate had a detrimental effect on the product yield due to low residence time of particle settlement. The research further evaluated fine particle upgrading using various modeling techniques. The numerical model was evaluated using K-Epsilon and RSM turbulence formulations and validated using experimental dataset. The results prove that the effect of fine coal vortices forming around the riffles act as a transport mechanism for higher density particle movement across the table deck resulting in 43% displacement of the midlings and 29% displacement of the heavies to the product side. The velocity and vector plots show high local variance of air speeds and pressure near the feed end and an increase in feed rate results in a drop in deshaling capability of the table. The table was further evaluated using modern scale-modeling concepts and the scaling laws indicated that the vibration velocity has an integral effect on the separation performance. The difference between the full-scale model and the scaled prototype was 3.83% thus validating the scaling laws.


Myeloid sarcoma is a neoplasm of immature granulocytes, monocytes, or both involving any extramedullary site. Myeloid sarcoma involving the testis, however, is uncommon and very rarely occurs as an isolated mass. We describe 4 patients with myeloid sarcoma involving the testis, including 2 patients in whom the neoplasm was isolated to the testis (1 unilateral and 1 bilateral). Histologically, 4 neoplasms were poorly differentiated and 1 was blastic. Each neoplasm was shown to be of myeloid lineage, and negative for T- and B-cell specific antigens using immunohistochemical methods. One case was also positive for chloroacetate esterase. In the literature, most cases of myeloid sarcoma involving the testis represent relapse or the initial presentation of acute myeloid leukemia. Including the 2 cases we report here, only 7 cases of myeloid sarcoma isolated to the testis have been reported.


In the Southern Mediterranean, micro, small and medium sized enterprises (MSMEs) represent a substantial share of registered companies and employ 25% of the labour force. In Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia, MSMEs are concentrated in trade, light manufacturing and textiles. Widespread informality, corruption, insufficiently skilled labour force and difficulties in access to finance stand as the major obstacles faced by the region's small businesses. EU's and Member States development assistance flows have addressed these concerns only partially: between 1995 and 2009, aid flows for MSMEs accounted for 10% of total development assistance and was split among a high number of initiatives, lacking a coherent strategy. The challenge of job creation has been highlighted by the 2011 upheavals and puts MSMEs at the centre of future economic strategies. In the context of the renewed European Neighbourhood Policy, this note focuses on Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia and has four objectives. First, it seeks to provide with a description of MSMEs in these countries, their contribution to employment, the sectors in which they are active as well as the constraints they face. Second, it moves on to assess both EU's and Member States' development assistance commitments for MSME support. Third, it provides with a picture of foreign direct investments (FDI) and partnerships concluded between European and Egyptian, Jordanian, Moroccan and Tunisian SMEs. Fourth, it reviews the visa policies applying for business persons in the region. Finally, it provides with recommendations to support the development of MSMEs within the framework of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership. Policy Department DG External Policies 2 This study was requested by the European Parliament's Committee on Committee on International Trade.


Testing older adults in the morning generally improves behavioral performance relative to afternoon testing. Morning testing is also associated with brain activity similar to that of young adults. Here, we used graph theory to explore how time of day (TOD) affects the organization of brain networks in older adults across rest and task states. We used nodes from the automated anatomical labeling atlas to construct participant-specific correlation matrices of fMRI data obtained during 1-back tasks with interference and rest. We computed pairwise group differences for key graph metrics, including small-worldness and modularity. We found that older adults tested in the morning and young adults did not differ on any graph metric. Both of these groups differed from older adults tested in the afternoon during the tasks—but not rest. Specifically, the latter group had lower modularity and small-worldness (indices of more efficient network organization). Across all groups, higher modularity and small-worldness strongly correlated with reduced distractibility on an implicit priming task. Increasingly, TOD is seen as important for interpreting and reproducing neuroimaging results. Our study emphasizes how TOD affects brain network organization and executive control in older adults.


This review paper discusses the literature on perception and synthesis of environmental sounds. Relevant studies in ecological acoustics and multimodal perception are reviewed, and physicallybased sound synthesis techniques for various families of environmental sounds are compared. Current research directions and open issues, including multimodal interfaces and virtal environments, automatic recognition and classification, and sound design, are discussed. The focus is especially on applications of physicallybased techniques for synthesis of environmental sounds in interactive multimodal systems. The paper reports on ongoing research on bimodal (audio-haptic) rendering of virtual objects. [


Diabetes mellitus is a very common progressive endocrine disease in Iraq (and our society) as part of whole world, and diabetic patients are more likely to have cardiovascular diseases than patients without diabetes. ECG is the most widely used simple noninvasive test for evaluation of cardiovascular risk, so our study was focused to assess the relation between the frequency of ECG changes with the patients glycemic control and their age group. A 600 patients with newly diagnosed diabetes mellitus were identified from diabetic center in Al Sammawah teaching hospital. All are evaluated for variables; age, gender, glycemic control (HbA1c level) and ECG abnormalities. Then they are divided in two groups those with and others without ECG changes during evaluation of their above variables. The selected patients are 294 female and 309 male with most age distribution affected are 50-59 years 189(32%) followed by 4049 years,130(22%)then 60-69 age group119 (20%) ,30-39 years 68(11%), >70 years 52 (9%) and <30 years about 37(6%). 327 patients with normal ECG and 273 patients with abnormal ECG, female was predominant by 55%, and ECG abnormality was distributed among low voltage in 110 patients (18 %), bradycardia in 54 patients (9%), with variable percent for the other ECG abnormalities. Diabetic control for most of the patients was poor according to HbA1c level which measured in the first visit and 77% of patients with HbA1c above 8. Inconclusion; the age group distribution in Samawah city is comparable to the other population, but with very bad diabetic control which require more effective educational and advance therapeutic approaches to control this propagating challenge. ECG changes seen were predominantly low voltage, then bradycardia which may reflect other association which require more future research. Keyword: Diabetes mellitus; ECG; HbA1c


Although the need for new educational materials and methods in engineering education is increasing, the process of disseminating (making target groups become aware of, accept, and use) these innovations remains a challenge. A literature review shows that few studies have thoroughly investigated this area. The purpose of this article is to identify factors that may affect the adoption and use of educational innovations used in engineering education and to offer advice to educators on how they may better disseminate their materials. This study uses extant theories related to diffusion and acceptance of innovation as the basis for identifying factors that may impact the dissemination of educational innovations. These factors are tested via a Delphi study employing 21 subject-matter experts and content analysis of 410 research abstracts. The results suggest nine factors that are most important for facilitating acceptance and use of educational engineering innovations. In particular, new materials should be designed such that they demonstrate an obvious relative advantage over existing materials, are compatible with and adaptable to existing pedagogy, lack complexity, and are generally easy to use. Management support and availability of resources are found to be important environmental conditions that facilitate acceptance; logistical issues and cultural differences are the chief impediments.


Abst ract T he bioavailability and fate of Zinc (Zn) in soils is influenced by reactions occurring at the water-mineral interface. Understanding Zn interaction with mineral surfaces is essential to the understanding of Zn fate and toxicity. In this study, adsorption experiments investigated the impact of ligands and pH on the adsorption of Zn to mineral surfaces. X-Ray Absorption Fine Structure Spectroscopy (XAFS) was used to elucidate the adsorption mechanisms of Zn to mineral surfaces as impacted by ligands. Impact of ligands on Zn adsorption was dependent on mineral type and pH of the system. XAFS analysis showed that adsorption mechanisms of Zn were impacted by pH and ligand presence. In the ferrihydrite system, Zn adsorption was enhanced in presence of citrate and phosphate (PO4), reduced in presence desferrioxamine (DFO-B), and reduced in presence of humic acid (HA) at pH>6.0. XAFS analysis showed that Zn formed strong linkages with high affinity edge sites of ferrihydrite in the control and in presence of enhancing ligands (citrate and PO4), whereas formed weaker, low affinity linkages in presence of supressing ligands (DFO-B and HA). From an environmental perspective, Zn was more likely to be desorbed from the ferrihydrite surface in the presence HA and DFO-B. In the kaolinite system, Zn adsorption was reduced in presence of citrate and DFO-B, and increased in presence of HA. Zn formed inner sphere complexes at pH 5.5 in the control and in presence of ligands. At pH 7.5, a Zn-Al layered double hydroxide was formed in the control, that was absent in presence of any ligand, suggesting that ligands suppress the formation of Zn-Al LDH in kaolinite. In the mixed ferrihydrite-gibbsite system, Zn adsorption was enhanced in presence of all ligands, excluding DFO-B. Adsorption mechanisms of Zn to ferrihydrite were unaffected by ligand presence. T he impact of organic matter (OM) degradation on heavy metal distribution in sewage sludge was investigated. Cu, Pb and As were bond with the OM fraction of sludge, whereas Zn was bond to Fe/Mn oxide fraction. OM degradation increased mobility and bioavailability of Zn and Cu, whereas it had less impact on Pb and As.


D'Anieri explores the dynamics within Ukraine, between Ukraine and Russia, and between Russia and the West, that emerged with the collapse of the Soviet Union and eventually led to war in 2014. Proceeding chronologically, this book shows how Ukraine's separation from Russia in 1991, at the time called a "civilized divorce," led to what many are now calling "a new Cold War." He argues the conflict has worsened because of three underlying factors – the security dilemma, the impact of democratization on geopolitics, and the incompatible goals of a post-Cold War Europe. Rather than a peaceful situation that was squandered, D'Anieri argues that these were deep-seated preexisting disagreements that could not be bridged, with concerning implications for the resolution of the Ukraine conflict. The book also shows how this war fits into broader patterns of contemporary international conflict and should therefore appeal to researchers working on the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Russia's relations with the West, and conflict and geopolitics more generally.


When an investigator attempts to bring a write blocked Windows dynamic disk online, Windows will refuse to mount it. This forces investigators to use the few tools that have built-in support for dealing with the RAID or to image the partition, and then mount the image. While imaging did not use to be an issue, with the rising sizes of disks available at low cost, it is becoming prohibitively expensive to image every software RAID. The solution is to mount the RAID through the use of a driver as a virtual disk. The research was conducted by first analysing the Windows Dynamic Disk Logical Disk Manager database for the information needed in order to mount the RAID. Once the important information was identified, a Storport miniport driver was modified in order to mount the RAID after receiving the information. Finally the read function of the driver was designed handle mirrored, simple, spanned, and striped dynamic disks. Speed results show that the driver achieves speeds between 4-10% slower on average and up to 15% slower when write blocked. The driver has been proven to be compatible with 32 bit Windows Vista, Server 2008 and 7, as well as 64 bit Windows 7 while in test mode. The hashes of the volume show it to be a bit-perfect copy of the Windows implementation, and several different file types were tested and open correctly without modifying the hash. Finally the driver has been tested and functions correctly on spanned, striped, mirrored, and simple RAIDs as well as correctly handling corrupted, linux, or GPT RAIDs when the RAID data was hand entered.


We present a method of recovering high dynamic range radiance maps from photographs taken with conventional imaging equipment. In our method, multiple photographs of the scene are taken with different amounts of exposure. Our algorithm uses these differently exposed photographs to recover the response function of the imaging process, up to factor of scale, using the assumption of reciprocity. With the known response function, the algorithm can fuse the multiple photographs into a single, high dynamic range radiance map whose pixel values are proportional to the true radiance values in the scene. We demonstrate our method on images acquired with both photochemical and digital imaging processes. We discuss how this work is applicable in many areas of computer graphics involving digitized photographs, including image-based modeling, image compositing, and image processing. Lastly, we demonstrate a few applications of having high dynamic range radiance maps, such as synthesizing realistic motion blur and simulating the response of the human visual system.


An optimal excitation beam shape is necessary to perform reliable flow cytometric analysis but has so far not been implemented in a photonic-microfluidic integrated (i.e. optofluidic) device. We have achieved this feature by integrating a 1D lens system with planar waveguides and microfluidic channel on a substrate using one patterning material via a one-shot process. In this paper, we report the method of design and the performance of specifically formed excitation regions shaped to be ideal for reducing double detections, improving SNR, and for reliable detection in a flow cytometry application. Demonstration of different sizes via changes to lens design shows the ability to control the width of the shaped beam according to a targeted detection.


How do regulatory agencies decide how strictly to regulate an industry? They sometimes use cost-benefit analysis or claim to, but more often the standards they invoke are so vague as to be meaningless. This raises the question whether the agencies use an implicit standard or instead regulate in an ad hoc fashion. We argue that agencies frequently use an approach that we call "norming." They survey the practices of firms in a regulated industry and choose a standard somewhere within the distribution of existing practices, often no higher than the median. Such a standard burdens only the firms whose practices lag the industry. We then evaluate this approach. While a case can be made that norming is appropriate when a regulatory agency operates in an environment of extreme uncertainty, we argue that on balance norming is an unwise form of regulation. Its major attraction for agencies is that it minimizes political opposition to regulation. Norming does not serve the public interest as well as a more robust standard like cost-benefit analysis.


Resilience in urbanization is a novel concept that has been globally concerned since the early 1990s. At the beginning, this concept had merely an ecological viewpoint; however, over time it has gradually been developed, and the other aspects and issues in terms of urban societies such as social, economical and so on has been considered. One of the important aspects of resiliency is spatial resiliency that is the continuing of the existence of urban spaces while preserving their identity during different variations. In the historical study of urban spaces, their different degrees of life, in other words, the difference degree in their resiliency is concerned. Therefore, this question rises that what factors influence the resiliency of an urban space? On the other hand, one of the types of urban spaces that despite its various environmental changes and crises throughout its history has desirably continued its life is the traditional bazaar. So this question is posed that what factors have led to the resiliency of traditional bazaars over a long period of time?. In this regard, the present study aiming to answer the proposed questions, especially in the case study of the Qeisariye bazaar of Isfahan, attempts to address the factors that have caused this urban space being resilient. The methodology is qualitative based on considering case study and content analysis and descriptiveanalytical approach. First, by using deductive reasoning method and referring to authentic resources, two social and physical factors are introduced as indicators of the conceptual model of spatial resilience. Then, the indicators of the spatial resilience model related to the Isfahan's Qeisariye Bazaar were extracted by examining the case study of research and content analysis of the interviews concerning the reasons for using this place in order to scrutinize the effective factors in constant use of the case study. The brief results of this research indicate that the flexible and robust construction of the bazaar, with its constant protection and restoration along with diverse uses, unique identity of space, environmental comfort and beauty in the space, access to the various spaces and uses of this space, and belonging to the place in the Qeisariye Bazaar of Isfahan has led to the spatial evolution of this historical urban space.


Background Although a lot of reports have suggested that the core strength has an important role for the prevention of sports injuries, the relationship between core strength and balance ability is poorly documented. Objective The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between core strength and balance ability. Participants 119 healthy high school female players (age: 15–16 years, handball: 49 players, basketball: 70 players) were participated in this study. Main outcome measurements We measured endurance time of right side-bridge, left side-bridge and frontal-bridge as the core strength test (CST). To assess static balance, we used stabilometer and recorded the circumference area of the single leg standing position of 30 s. For the assessment of dynamic balance, we used star excursion balance test (SEBT). SEBT reach distances and limb lengths were examined, then the distance scores (cm) for each direction of the SEBT grid were averaged over the three trials and normalised to leg length (reach distance/leg length x 100=percentage of leg length). The normalised distances in each direction were then summed for both leg. We divided the players into three groups according to their CST score and compared them with the results of static balance and dynamic balance. Results No significant differences were found in body size among the three groups (p<0.05). The significant difference was not found with the static balance among the CST (p<0.05). In the dynamic balance, the players with good result of CST score had significantly better results of the SEBT in frontal-bridge and left side-bridge (p<0.05). There was no significant difference in right side-bridge. Conclusion This study showed that the core strength had certain relationship to the dynamic balance and may contribute to the prevention of sports injuries.


Background & objective: Perceived social support in the personnel of any organization is an important psychological factor that affects the efficiency of the workforce and exerts direct and positive effects on the their quality of life. The present study was conducted to investgiate the level of perceived social support in the personnel of a manufacturing industry in Urmia and to determine its relationship with certain demographic variables. Methods: The present descriptive study was conducted on 156 personnel of a manufacturing industry in Urmia. Data collection was conducted using the Perceived Social Support Questionnaire. The results obtained were then analyzed using descriptive and analytical statistics, including the chi-squared test and the one-way analysis of variance. Results: The mean value of perceived social support from coworkers (3.36±0.72) was higher than the mean value of perceived social support from managers (2.99±0.65). Perceived social support from coworkers and managers was found to have a statistically significant relashionship with age, work experience and type of employment contract (P-value<0.05). Conclusion : Given that perceived social support from coworkers and managers fell in the medium range in the present study, managers should make efforts to foster a greater social support in the workplace for their personnel and to create better relationships with them in the attempt to improve their performance in different domains. Due to the greater need of the less-experienced personnel for social support, managers are recommended to show their support through devising bonus schemes, providing emotional support and establishing a better relationship with their personnel.


This paper describes some preliminary results regarding Time-Domain pulse Reflection (TDR) measurements and modeling performed on the Baltic Cable submarine HVDC link between southern Sweden and northern Germany. The measurements were conducted in collaboration between the Linnaeus University, Lund University, Baltic Cable AB and ABB High Voltage Cables AB, and is part of the research project: "Fundamental wave modeling for signal estimation on lossy transmission lines". Preliminary results on measurements and modeling are included here, as well as a first numerical study regarding the low-frequency dispersion characteristics of power cables. The numerical study shows that the finite conductivity of the cable lead shield has a great impact on the losses at low frequencies (0–1 kHz), and that the low-frequency asymptotics of the propagation constant is consistent with common propagation models based on the skin-effect.


Increases in international air transport are playing a major role in the global dispersion of mosquito- borne diseases, notably malaria and dengue fever. Disinsection of aircraft is the formal name of the process undertaken to control disease vectors that may be inadvertently imported from endemic regions. The goals of not exposing passengers and crews to insecticides, while also eliminating mosquitoes on flights, are potentially incompatible concerns. Understanding this problematic tourism-health link is important as organisations and individuals strive to make global tourism more sustainable. Aircraft disinsection as a means of disease vector control offers multiple opportunities for tourism research. This review offers a broad study agenda involving tourism and social science work which reaches beyond the medical research paradigm that dominates disinsection studies. It can be suggested that the key question is not whether to side with disinsection or not, but under what conditions is it most effective? Such decisions can be assisted through more integrated aviation and tourism policy analysis, crew and passenger health studies, analysis of crew behaviours and interpretation research.


Less was known about predicting factors concerning students' knowledge, interests, and motivation towards Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET). The study aimed to determine the relationships among pre-secondary school students' demographic factors, knowledge possession, interest and motivation related to TVET stream and to identify the relationship between informational methods and knowledge possession, interest and motivation of students towards TVET. A quantitative descriptive study used to determine the factors contributing to student's knowledge, interests, and motivation, which play a critical role in 64 pre-secondary school students' choice of TVET. A questionnaire was utilized to determine the participants' perceptions of choosing the TVET field. Descriptive and inferential statistics, including one-way ANOVA analysis, were used to analyze the data. Findings revealed that information delivery methods such as receiving information from teachers, parents, peers, internet platforms with motivation have a significant relationship for students to choose TVET. Thus, the promotion and strategy on empowering TVET is salient and developing a positive image on TVET will encourage myriad stakeholders on the importance of TVET for the nation. It is a high time to rebrand the image of vocational education as an element to train skilled human capital development.


Carbon-based materials, as one of the most important electrode materials for supercapacitors, have attracted tremendous attention. At present, it is highly desirable but remains challenging to prepare one-dimensional carbon complex hollow nanomaterials for further improving the performance of supercapacitors. Herein, we report an effective strategy for the synthesis of hollow particle-based nitrogen-doped carbon nanofibers (HPCNFs-N). By embedding ultrafine zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF-8) nanoparticles into electrospun polyacrylonitrile (PAN), the as-prepared composite nanofibers are carbonized into hierarchical porous nanofibers composed of interconnected nitrogen-doped carbon hollow nanoparticles. Owing to its unique structural feature and the desirable chemical composition, the derived HPCNFs-N material exhibits much enhanced electrochemical properties as an electrode material for supercapacitors with remarkable specific capacitance at various current densities, high energy/power density and long cycling stability over 10 000 cycles.


Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and Huntington's disease are complex neurodegenerative conditions with high prevalence characterized by protein misfolding and deposition in the brain. Considerable progress has been made in the last two decades in identifying the genes and proteins responsible for several human 'proteinopathies'. A wide variety of wild type and mutant proteins associated with neurodegenerative conditions are structurally unstable, misfolded, and acquire conformations rich in ß-sheets (ß-state). These conformers form highly toxic self-assemblies that kill the neurons in stereotypical patterns. Unfortunately, the detailed understanding of the molecular and cellular perturbations caused by these proteins has not produced a single disease-modifying therapy. More than a decade ago, several groups demonstrated that human proteinopathies reproduce critical features of the disease in transgenic flies, including protein misfolding, aggregation, and neurotoxicity. These initial reports led to an explosion of research that has contributed to a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms regulating conformational dynamics and neurotoxic cascades. To remain relevant in this competitive environment, Drosophila models will need to expand their flexible, innovative, and multidisciplinary approaches to find new discoveries and translational applications.


An optical system has been developed for a device for recording biological aerosols, based on a low-power pulsed-periodic UV laser. The possibility of differentiating aerosols of dust, protein, and bacterial spores by means of the given device has been experimentally checked. It has been investigated how the design parameters of the optical system thus developed affect the solution of the problem of classifying aerosols of various substances. Data are presented on the anisotropy of the fluorescence radiation of aerosol particles.


Abstract We attribute the recent quadrupling of heroin death rates to the August 2010 reformulation of an oft-abused prescription opioid, OxyContin. The new abuse-deterrent formulation led many consumers to substitute an inexpensive alternative, heroin. Using structural break techniques and variation in substitution risk, we find that opioid consumption stops rising in August 2010, heroin deaths begin climbing the following month, and growth in heroin deaths was greater in areas with greater prereformulation access to heroin and opioids. The reformulation did not generate a reduction in combined heroin and opioid mortality: each prevented opioid death was replaced with a heroin death.


The Kilmelford intrusives were emplaced in Dalradian metasediments and eruptives during the late stages of the Caledonian orogeny. The suite of rocks includes biotite–hornblende diorite and, to a minor extent, biotite–pyroxene and biotite–hornblende–pyroxene diorites, together with hornblende–biotite–quartz diorite, granodiorite, porphyrites of dioritic and dacitic composition and volcanic breccia. The major element geochemistry shows that the Kilmelford rock suite is alkali-calcic having petrogenetic affinities with the igneous rocks of the New Guinea 'continental arc'. The high contents of K, Sr, Ba, Rb, Zr and Ce, together with a high K2O/Na2O ratio, give these rocks their shoshonitic signature, which is of interest as an unusual example of the occurrence of shoshonites in the Scottish Caledonides. The rocks have very steep REE patterns (CeN/YbN = 10−28) and do not show a Eu anomaly. The shoshonitic signature of the Kilmelford rocks is interpreted as due to the late orogenic nature of the magmatism which took place when subduction had abated following the collision of the two continents.


People are said to acquire their affiliations of ethnicity, race, and sex at birth. Hence, these affiliations have long been understood to be natural, independent of the ability of political societies to define who we are. "Reproducing the State" vigorously challenges the conventional view, as well as post-structuralist scholarship that minimizes state power. Jacqueline Stevens examines birth-based theories of membership and group affiliations in political societies ranging from the Athenian polis, to tribes of Australia, to the French republic, to the contemporary United States. The book details how political societies determine the kinship rules that are used to reproduce political societies.Stevens analyzes the ways that ancestral and territorial birth rules for membership in political societies pattern other intergenerational affiliations. She shows how the notion of ethnicity depends on the implicit or explicit invocation of a past, present, or future political society. She also shows how geography is used to represent political regions, including continents, as the seemingly natural underpinning for racial taxonomies perpetuated through miscegenation laws and birth certificates. And Stevens argues that sex differences are also constituted through membership practices of political societies. In its chronological and disciplinary range, "Reproducing the State" will reward the interest of scholars in many fields, including anthropology, history, political science, sociology, women's studies, race studies, and ethnic studies.


[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Shortly we will be fighting our way across the Continent of Europe in battles designed to preserve our civilization. Inevitably, in the path of our advance will be found historical monuments and cultural centers that symbolize to the world all that we are fighting to preserve. It is the responsibility of every commander to protect and respect these symbols whenever possible. --General Dwight D. Eisenhower, in a message to troops on the eve of the Normandy Invasion ON 10 APRIL 2003, one day after the toppling of the Saddam Hussein statue in Firdaus Square, representing the fall of Baghdad to U.S. forces, looters plundered Iraq's National Museum. By taking advantage of the rapid collapse of the state's security apparatus and the chaos that ensued, thieves were free to take what they wished. While initial reports that 170,000 artifacts were stolen have turned out to be wildly exaggerated, experts generally agree that at least 15,000 objects, representing priceless treasures and an integral part of Iraq's cultural heritage, were carried off without significant intervention by the U.S. military. The U.S. failure to prevent this disaster raises questions about the extent to which the military integrates cultural considerations into its planning. Historical examples from World War II demonstrate that in the past, planning for protection of arts and antiquities was an important part of U.S. military planning. Since World War II, broader cultural considerations such as language and customs have been and continue to be incorporated into military planning, but specific planning for protecting cultural objects has been conducted only on an ad hoc basis. Although there have been some recent successes in safeguarding cultural treasures during wartime, the failure to protect the National Museum of Iraq clearly demonstrates the need for a more permanent and capable mechanism to effectively integrate cultural protection measures into U.S. military campaign planning. Protection of Cultural Treasures: World War II After the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, America totally mobilized for war. All instruments of national power, both public and private, joined forces to contribute to the war effort. One example of this was the university-government cooperation that occurred with the goal of protecting arts and antiquities. (1) In 1942, George Stout, of Harvard's Fogg Art Museum, raised the issue of vulnerable cultural sites in wartime Europe, and in January 1943, the American Council of Learned Societies convened a committee to discuss it. The committee incorporated noted intellectuals such as Columbia's William Dinsmoor, president of the Archaeological Institute, Francis Henry Taylor of New York's Metropolitan Museum, David Finley of the National Gallery, and Paul Sachs of Harvard. Responding to this group of academic and artistic scholars, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt created the American Commission for the Protection and Salvage of Artistic and Historic Monuments in War Areas, and appointed Dinsmoor and Supreme Court Justice Owen Roberts to lead it. The military then created its own organization--the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives Service (MFA&A)--which would be responsible for limiting war damage to cultural artifacts and sites and returning any looted objects found during the course of military activities. Officers from the MFA&A were integrated into the force as early as the invasion of Italy, in September 1943, and were successful at minimizing damage to Italy's artistic treasures. For instance, MFA&A members persuaded allied commanders to avoid combat inside Florence, a city that many consider to be the cultural capital of Italy. In addition, MFA&A personnel were present for the invasion of Normandy on D-Day to ensure that cultural treasures would be safeguarded, sorted, cleaned, and restored. Later, at the direction of President Harry Truman, the United States repatriated these cultural treasures to their rightful country of origin. …


In autumn 2021, the largest volcanic eruption on the island of La Palma in historic records took place. The Canary Islands are of volcanic origin and eruptions have always constituted part of their natural disturbance regime. Until recently, their impacts could not be directly observed and studied. Influence of the emission of phytotoxic gases on biodiversity and ecosystem dynamics was hitherto unknown. The recent eruption is still being intensely monitored. We used Sentinel-2 remote sensing data to analyze the spatial extent and intensity of the impact related to sulfuric emissions, aiming to understand the damage patterns in Canary pine forest. The emissions damaged 10% of that forest and affected 5.3% of the Natura 2000 protected areas. We concluded that this is largely due to the toxic effects of the enormous emissions of SO2. We found a clear correlation between the change in the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and distance from the eruption. This pattern was weakly anisotropic, with stronger damage in southern directions. Counteracting effects, such as ash deposition, were largely excluded by combining NDVI change detection with tree cover density. We expect that vegetation damage will be transient. P. canariensis can resprout after forest fires, where most leaves are lost. Consequently, our assessment can serve as a reference for future ecosystem regeneration.


The purpose of the present study was to investigate knowledge of autism among teacher candidates who are likely to have the initial contact with children with autism within public school system in Turkey. Five hundred and four senior pre-service teachers who were enrolled in four different teacher education programs participated in the study. Data were collected using a survey package at the end of spring semester during the last year of college. Results indicated that pre-service teachers across programs had limited knowledge of autism and its characteristics. Findings of the present study call for the development of pre- and in-service training programs for teachers of children with autism. Further implications of findings for future research and practice are discussed.


A method for modeling the mode-coupling process in strongly modulated long period gratings (LPGs) is reported. The method is based on calculating the variations of local-mode profiles and propagation constants over the perturbed regions and solving the coupled local-mode equations to obtain a quantitative description of the intermodal energy exchange. The mode-coupling process and the spectral characteristics of a CO2 laser-inscribed LPG in a photonic crystal fiber are numerically modeled and found in good agreement with the experimentally measured results. Compared with the methods based on the conventional coupled-mode and the mode-projection theories, the current method provides a more accurate description of the mode coupling process for LPGs with strong but slow-varying perturbations.


An examination of the morphology and photosynthetic physiology of the two
dominant families of conifers in the southern hemisphere, the Podocarpaceae and
Cupressaceae, was undertaken here in order to describe the physiological limitations
which constrain their distribution. A species specific index of drought tolerance was
devised which quantified the maximum attainable water-use efficiency of photosynthesis
during imposed drought. This index, (ci/c a)min, measured the potential of leaves to
photosynthesize under water stress, comparing the maximum draw-down of internal CO2
concentration (ci) below ambient (ca). When operating at (ci/c a)min, the leaf was at the
maximum water stress before leaf damage (indicated by an irreversible loss of variable
fluorescence and photosynthetic rate) occurred. (ci/c a)min was found to be well correlated
with the minimum rainfall within the natural range of the 12 species investigated, and
this is strong evidence that the distribution of these species is largely determined by their
drought tolerance. Further support for the drought limitation hypothesis came from a
comparison of photosynthetic rates (as measured by chlorophyll fluorescence) of conifers in
the field. The apparent photochemical electron transport rate (ETR) was found to be
significantly reduced in a dry site when compared with a wet site. Most Podocarpaceae,
and many Cupressaceae were found to be highly drought sensitive, and probably became
increasingly susceptible to extinction during the substantial increase in aridity which
occurred in Australia during the Tertiary. The influence of features considered as possible
morphological drought adaptations on water loss were also examined. Wax plugs and
imbricacy were found to substantially decrease maximum stomatal conductance, with the
combination of wax plugs, imbricacy and epistomy reducing conductance to 17% of the value
expected on leaves with exposed, unplugged stomata. Competition for light is believed to
be another area where conifers suffer due to their lack of broad-leaves. Many podocarp
genera appear to have converged with angiosperms, producing discrete, bilaterally
flattened short shoots which seem to function as broad-leaves. The degree of shoot
flattening, as measured by shoot width, was correlated with the leaf saturation light
requirement, broad shoots requiring substantially lower light intensities for saturation.
From this it was inferred that the bilaterally compressed short shoot was an adaptation
to light competition with angiosperms.
Conifers in the southern hemisphere form a surprisingly distinct group which has
retained its character since the earliest Tertiary. The late Cretaceous- early Tertiary also
saw the radiation of angiosperms, and it has been suggested that this event resulted in the
global decline of the Coniferales. By determining how distributions of these taxa are
limited today, it was possible to shed some light on whether conifers in the southern
hemisphere were simply overrun and replaced by the more competitive angiosperms, or if
other factors such as climate change are likely to have played a part. A brief summary of
the evolutionary history of conifers in the southern hemisphere leads to the conclusion
that decreasing rainfall and fire have been the main influences on conifer extinction.


The social dimensions of nanotechnology have aroused widespread interests in recent years. In US, for example, the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) mandates that a large amount of funding resources to be allocated for studying the societal implications of nanotechnology. Since NNI took effect in 2001, teaching and research in the social dimensions of nanotechnology have grown tremendously [1]. Advances in social network analysis have opened up new research opportunities to understand nanotechnology research and development. In particular, understanding scientific collaboration can help researchers and entrepreneurs better strategize and exploit research opportunities in nanotechnology. Moreover, social network analysis relies heavily on quantitative measures. This feature may serve as a bridge between natural and social scientists to jointly investigate the future directions of nanotechnology research and development (R&D). Using a social network analysis framework, this paper examines the patterns of intra- and inter-disciplinary collaborations among nanotechnology scientists. As an exploratory study, I discuss three methodological issues after reporting some descriptive results. First, the collaborative density used in this study is only one structural measure among many others. When investigating network positions, researchers can utilize other network measures according to specific purposes. Second, generalization may be methodologically problematic for network data. Accordingly, researchers should ascertain the plausibility of probability assumptions. Finally, Bayesian estimates allow researchers to combine beliefs about prior distribution and sample likelihood. Assuming a beta-binomial model, I present a set of Bayesian estimates.


Following the internship overview, a collection of research investigating the connection between childhood diagnoses of ADHD and the manifestation of adolescent SUD is reviewed. Each review addresses the scope of the respective study, an overview of the investigative process utilized, as well as an explanation for the results from an Adlerian clinical counseling perspective.


ABSTRACT Purpose: The purpose of this article is to present a novel technique, as well the histopathological findings, of dacryoendoscopic guided nasolacrimal duct (NLD) biopsy for recurrent nasolacrimal duct obstruction (NLDO). Methods: This study involved subjects with recurrent NLDO. Direct endoscopic probing or sheath-guided endoscopic probing was used for the initial intubation in all treated eyes, and the stent had been removed at between 2 and 11 months (mean 3.5 months) post-intubation with dacryoendoscopic confirmation of patency and mucosal regeneration. Biopsy specimens were obtained by scraping the recurrent lesion by sheath advancement. Histopathological examination and immunohistochemical (IHC) staining were performed. Results: In five patients (two males and three females, mean age: 71.2 ± 5.6 years [range: 61–78 years]) with recurrent NLDO, biopsy specimens were obtained from six ducts of six eyes, and stratified epithelium and a mixed inflammatory cell infiltrates were identified. IHC staining was positive for cytokeratin (CK)4 and CK13, and negative for paired box protein Pax-6. Conclusions: This novel technique enabled a minimally invasive biopsy of the NLD to be obtained, and IHC staining indicated the presence of mucus epithelium, thus suggesting squamous metaplasia of the usual respiratory epithelium which likely occurs secondary to chronic inflammation.


This path-breaking collection offers an integrative model for understanding health and healing in Europe and the Mediterranean from 1250 to 1550. By foregrounding gender as an organizing principle of healthcare, the contributors challenge traditional binaries that ahistorically separate care from cure, medicine from religion, and domestic healing from fee-for-service medical exchanges. The essays collected here illuminate previously hidden and undervalued forms of healthcare and varieties of body knowledge produced and transmitted outside the traditional settings of university, guild, and academy. They draw on non-traditional sources -- vernacular regimens, oral communications, religious and legal sources, images and objects -- to reveal additional locations for producing body knowledge in households, religious communities, hospices, and public markets. Emphasizing cross-confessional and multilinguistic exchange, the essays also reveal the multiple pathways for knowledge transfer in these centuries. Gender, Health, and Healing, 1250-1550 provides a synoptic view of how gender and cross-cultural exchange shaped medical theory and practice in later medieval and Renaissance societies.


A wide-ranging series of essays addresses concerns related to the acquisition, organization, and use of information sources related to the study and teaching of English literature. Among the issues discussed are the changed literary canon, the expanded range of research and course interests, and the impact of new electronic resources on traditional print. A section entitled "Readers and Services", describes how to teach researchers and students the use of the MLA International Bibliography, the field's essential source of research in literature, linguistics, and related areas, problems of access, such as the meaningful description, classification, and cataloging for electronic texts, web sites, and other digital resources, and electronic text centers. Methods to discover faculty's and students' interests and how to determine which materials and services best meet their needs are examined through a description of activities and programs that can serve as a model for librarians. An examination of resources and collections acknowledges the changes in the syllabus as well as formats (web, CD, floppy disk) electronic editions, and a chapter on textual and literary website includes an extensive webliography and bibliography. This volume is an essential work for librarians who are new, working actively, or simply taking on a new assignment in reference and/or collection development in the field of literature in English.


Last year, the Supreme Court decided Zivotofsky, which many considered an immensely consequential political question case. Commentators called the decision far-reaching and stated that the Court had made clear to lower courts that the political question doctrine is of extremely limited applicability. Scholars of international law, in particular, said that Zivotofsky would lead to increased judicial involvement in foreign affairs. More specifically, from a doctrinal perspective, some academics suggested that the Court in Zivotofsky had signaled that it was returning to the classical, and away from the prudential, version of the political question doctrine. Such a shift would arguably be significant, in that it would lead to more frequent judicial involvement in foreign affairs disputes. Yet, given various factors, Zivotofsky is probably not a meaningful jurisprudential move on this score. In particular, the Supreme Court in prior cases had already preferenced Baker's classical factors over the prudential components of the Baker test, and lower courts have continued to cite all six Baker factors in the wake of Zivotofsky. Nevertheless, three other aspects of the case may prove to be systemically important: Zivotofsky vigorously reasserted the narrowness of the political question doctrine, was firm in its pro-justiciability approach to cases implicating federal statutes, and was arguably pathbreaking in its refusal to defer to the Executive branch regarding the potential foreign policy costs of judicial review. Taken together, these components of Zivotofsky signal to Congress that they can encourage judicial review of, in particular, sensitive Executive-driven national security policies by enacting statutes on point. If one's aim is to hold the Executive accountable for his policies, then one might at first think a broad, pro-justiciability reading of Zivotofsky will impel beneficial rule of law and accountability results. Congress can effectuate its resistance to Executive national security actions via statute, bolstered by judicial support ex post. More likely, however encouraging judicial review in this way will be a dangerous avenue for critics of targeted killings to take. In particular, if Congress enacts a statute giving the families of those killed via targeting a cause of action, courts may use Zivotofsky to more frequently find cases involving that statute justiciable. But after so doing, those courts may actually legitimate questionable Executive policies, without providing any real oversight or review. Consequently, if one is interested in constraining the Executive in the national security realm, then – somewhat counter-intuitively – one should be skeptical of Zivotofsky as a means to effectuate such constraints.


Many spatial social networks have the property that nearby nodes are more likely to be connected than are nodes that are farther apart. We develop a characteristic of spatial graphs that captures whether or not shorter distance ties are preferred over longer distance ties, and the degree to which this edge length bias occurs. This allows us to estimate what is far and what is close -what we call neighborhood radius -for any randomly generated spatial network. Results from Monte Carlo Markov Chain simulations presented similar distribution of edge length bias to data from personal networks from a neighborhood in New Orleans, Post-Katrina, although the latter presented greater variation.


The
antisense phosphorodiamidate morpholino oligomer (PMO) drugs Eteplirsen and Golodirsen
are improving the lives of some Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) patients, but
treating all DMD subtypes would require the development of over 50 novel
antisense therapies. To rapidly prototype personalized PMO for diseases such as
DMD, we designed a fully automated flow-based oligonucleotide synthesizer. Our
optimized high temperature synthesis platform reduces coupling times by up to
22-fold compared to previously reported batch methods. We demonstrate the power
of our new automated technology with the synthesis of milligram quantities of
an 18-mer reporter PMO sequence in 3.5 hours, three new potential therapeutic
PMO sequences targeted to exon 46 of the dystrophin gene in a single day, and a
candidate antiviral PMO sequence targeted to the SARS-CoV-2 genomic mRNA in 3.5
hours. This flexible flow synthesis platform can be used for on-demand
production of a broad range of personalized therapeutic polymers.


For more than 20 years the paleoclimate modeling community has sought the mechanism for generating a warm, equable early Paleogene climate. Increased greenhouse gas concentrations and warm sea-surface temperatures (SSTs) do much to reproduce the climate indicated by proxy data; however, discrepancies between model output and data remain, and a term in the equable climate equation is clearly missing. Based on proxy data indications of reduced early Paleogene seasonality, we test the climate impact of a reduction in Earth's obliquity to 18°. Obliquity is one of the few forcing factors that can directly affect seasonality, and our hypothesis of changing obliquity is supported by large planetary mass redistributions in the past 120 m.y. Such mass redistributions have the potential to change the tilt of Earth's axis. In our experiment the combination of reduced obliquity, increased early Paleogene greenhouse gas concentrations, and conservatively warm SSTs reproduces early Paleogene climate with greater accuracy than any previous modeling efforts and provides a plausible solution to the equable climate challenge.


Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) and Wood's Metal are fixation media for biomechanical testing; however, the effect of each potting medium on the measured six degree-of-freedom (DOF) mechanical properties of human lumbar intervertebral discs is unknown. The first aim of this study was to compare the measured 6DOF elastic and viscoelastic properties of the disc when embedded in PMMA compared to repotting in Wood's Metal. The second aim was to compare the surface temperature of the disc when potted with PMMA and Wood's Metal. Six human lumbar functional spinal units (FSUs) were first potted in PMMA, and subjected to overnight preload in a saline bath at 37 °C followed by five haversine loading cycles at 0.1 Hz in each of 6DOF loading directions (compression, left/right lateral bending, flexion, extension, left/right axial rotation, anterior/posterior, and lateral shear). Each specimen was then repotted in Wood's Metal and subjected to a 2-h re-equilibrating preload followed by repeating the same 6DOF tests. Outcome measures of stiffness and phase angle were calculated from the final loading cycle in each DOF and were expressed as normalized percentages relative to PMMA (100%). Disc surface temperatures (anterior, left/right lateral) were measured during potting. Paired t-tests (with alpha adjusted for multiple DOF) were conducted to compare the differences in each outcome parameter between PMMA and Wood's Metal. No significant differences in stiffness or phase angle were found between PMMA and Wood's Metal. On average, the largest trending differences were found in the shear DOFs for both stiffness (approximately 35% greater for Wood's Metal compared to PMMA) and phase angle (approximately 15% greater for Wood's Metal). A significant difference in disc temperature was found at the anterior surface after potting with Wood's Metal compared to PMMA, which did not exceed 26 °C. Wood's Metal is linear elastic, stiffer than PMMA and may reduce measurement artifact of potting medium, particularly in the shear directions. Furthermore, it is easier to remove than PMMA, reuseable, and cost effective.


Sensitivity analysis with synthetic models is widely used in seismic tomography as a means for assessing the spatial resolution of solutions produced by, in most cases, linear or iterative nonlinear inversion schemes. The most common type of synthetic reconstruction test is the so-called checkerboard resolution test in which the synthetic model comprises an alternating pattern of higher and lower wave speed (or some other seismic property such as attenuation) in 2-D or 3-D. Although originally introduced for application to large inverse problems for which formal resolution and covariance could not be computed, these tests have achieved popularity, even when resolution and covariance can be computed, by virtue of being simple to implement and providing rapid and intuitive insight into the reliability of the recovered model. However, checkerboard tests have a number of potential drawbacks, including (1) only providing indirect evidence of quantitative measures of reliability such as resolution and uncertainty, (2) giving a potentially misleading impression of the range of scale-lengths that can be resolved, and (3) not giving a true picture of the structural distortion or smearing that can be caused by the data coverage. The widespread use of synthetic reconstruction tests in seismic tomography is likely to continue for some time yet, so it is important to implement best practice where possible. The goal of this paper is to develop the underlying theory and carry out a series of numerical experiments in order to establish best practice and identify some common pitfalls. Based on our findings, we recommend (1) the use of a discrete spike test involving a sparse distribution of spikes, rather than the use of the conventional tightly spaced checkerboard; (2) using data coverage (e.g. ray-path geometry) inherited from the model constrained by the observations (i.e. the same forward operator or matrix), rather than the data coverage obtained by solving the forward problem through the synthetic model; (3) carrying out multiple tests using structures of different scale length; (4) taking special care with regard to what can be inferred when using synthetic structures that closely mimic what has been recovered in the observation-based model; (5) investigating the range of structural wavelengths that can be recovered using realistic levels of imposed data noise; and (6) where feasible, assessing the influence of model parametrization error, which arises from making a choice as to how structure is to be represented. © The Authors 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Royal Astronomical Society.


Abstract Archives are not only sources of evidence and information; they are also material objects with physical, tangible characteristics such as size, weight and colour. Moreover, the way in which researchers and visitors to archives respond to them may not just be intellectual, but sensory and emotional as well. Despite this, it is the informational content of archives which is routinely given prominence over their material properties. In this article, I discuss some of the recent literature regarding the physical and material properties of archives and consider why and how their materiality is often unacknowledged. In considering our response to archives, I argue that our engagement with archival records is a holistic experience, in which cognitive and physical reactions shape one another. Using the concept of the 'body schema' as a tool to understand how these reactions occur, the paper frames these discussions around specific examples of exhibited archives at the Petit Palais in Paris.


Wheat (Triticum aestivum) is one of the most important food grain crops in all South Asian countries especially in India and Pakistan. These countries have diversifying soil and climatic conditions inserting measurable effect on nutritional as well as anti-nutritional parameters of wheat. Wheat varieties included in this study are collected from different agro-ecological zones of Pakistan. Myoinositol hexaphosphate (phytic acid) one of major anti-nutritional factors wheat. Phytic acid of collected samples was determined to facilitate the crop breeders and agronomists, so that they would also consider this factor while conducting research works. It was observed that wheat varieties showed different levels of phytic acid at different locations. At one location (Islamabad), a variety (Pari-73) showed the highest value of Phytic acid (1.343%) and at other location (Faisalabad), same variety the showed lowest phytic acid (0.74 %). This maximum variability (44%) also indicated that there was significant effect of change in location on phytic acid contents of wheat varieties. It is mainly due to presence of available phosphorus reserves in soil as phytate has direct relation to soil phosphorus.


This Note discusses strategies for cultivating Farmers' Rights internationally. The rise of international treaties awarding intellectual property rights in plant genetic resources to plant breeders brought with it an erosion of agricultural biodiversity as well indigenous farmer lifestyles. Farmers' Rights emerged in recognition of the role of traditional farmers play in conserving, creating, and promoting genetic diversity in the food supply and of the importance of maintaining traditional agriculture practices. This Note argues that Farmers' Rights can be realized internationally through concerted effort. The Note proposes that Farmers' Rights could be realized if national governments create laws and infrastructure that promote Farmers' Rights while the international community works to change international intellectual property law.


Objective Provision of chest compressions (CCs) and/or medications in the delivery room is associated with poor outcomes. Based on the physiology of perinatal asphyxia, we aimed to provide an overview of current recommendations and explore potential determinants of effective neonatal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR): balancing ventilations and CC, CC rate, depth, full chest recoil, CC technique and adrenaline. Design A search in the databases MEDLINE (Ovid) and EMBASE until 10 April 2015. Setting Delivery room. Patients Asphyxiated newborn infants. Interventions CCs. Main outcome measures Haemodynamics, recovery and survival. Results Current evidence is derived from mathematical models, manikin and animal studies, and small case series. No randomised clinical trials examining neonatal CC have been performed. There is no evidence to refute a CC to ventilation (C:V) ratio of 3:1. Raising the intrathoracic pressure, for example, by superimposing a sustained inflation on uninterrupted CC, and a CC rate >120/min may be beneficial. The optimal neonatal CC depth is unknown, but factors influencing depth and consistency include the C:V ratio. Incomplete chest wall recoil can cause less negative intrathoracic pressure between CC and reduced CPR effectiveness. CC should be performed with the two-thumb method over the lower third of the sternum. The optimal dose, route and timing of adrenaline administration remain to be determined. Conclusions Successful CPR requires the delivery of high-quality CC, encompassing optimal (A) C:V ratio (B) rate, (C) depth, (D) chest recoil between CC, (E) technique and (F) adrenaline dosage. More animal studies with high translational value and randomised clinical trials are needed.


At the present time, the usage of ultrasound diagnostic equipment has become an inseparable part of diagnosis for a number of medical investigations. Several scientific studies published in the last years showed that when applying a diagnostic ultrasound system on animals it is possible to create negative changes in tissues. New ultrasound technologies and higher output acoustic powers have brought a possible risk connected to the usage of ultrasound in diagnostics. The knowledge of risk level and exploration of limiting factors is an important point for the assessment of marginal ultrasound exposure values of medical investigation during pregnancy, especially in the first trimester. The contribution presents a MATLAB® application for modeling of tissue heating in human embryos at the developmental age of seven and eight weeks. Recent calculations of US fields, which are generated by several types of various unfocused single transducers (rectangular, circular, and annular), represent maximum temperature elevation of 0.4 °C in embryonic model tissues for the exposure of 1 min. The models of embryonic tissue heating provide comparative studies of possible bio-effect with the purpose to explore limiting factors of ultrasound exposure.


Restorative justice is a way of selecting strategies to respond to challenges like healing the hurts of crime. Empathic empowerment of stakeholders who take turns to speak in a circle are at the heart of its strategy for strategy selection. Restorative justice can complement responsive regulation. Indeed responsive regulation probably works best when restorative justice is a first preference at the base of a pyramid of strategies. Responsive regulation involves listening and flexible (responsive), deliberative choice among strategies that are arranged in a pyramid. At the bottom of the pyramid are more frequently used strategies of first choice that are less coercive, less interventionist, cheaper. The evidence is encouraging that restorative justice and responsive regulation work better than less flexible, less dynamic top-down state decision making. The effectiveness of restorative justice and responsive regulation depends mainly, however, on the efficacy of the intervention strategies that are responsively chosen. It is time to redirect R&D efforts to improving the quality of restorative and responsive strategy selection.


The Initial Teacher Training National Curriculum says that student teachers should be trained to analyse pupil's errors in maths and act accordingly. This is the only book that supports teachers' analysis of mathematical errors and helps them predict potential problems and propose solutions for themselves. Written in an accessible style, Teaching Mathematics with Insight guides the primary and early years teacher, and the student teacher through a series of processes that will enable them to become more effective and enlightened teachers of early mathematics. The processes include: unravelling the complexities of a concept, for example subtraction, by considering its component parts and the knowledge required to acquire understanding; watching children work to observe common mistakes and analyse the underlying misconceptions; discussing the concepts with other adults.


The cyber world is an extension of the real world. It is another dimension where we can work, study and play. But people also tend to lose their inhibitions on the Internet, often while keeping their anonymity. Because of the perceived and real freedoms in the digital environment, people are emboldened to act in ways that they may not normally do in the real world. One recent phenomenon that is steadily becoming a problem in every country with a high level of electronic connectivity is the act of cyberstalking. The electronic medium is an important factor due to its very nature such as low cost and ease of use, potential anonymity and stealth as well as the insignificance of physical distance to the act of cyberstalking. Hence, cyberspace affords lesser impediments to aggressive behaviour. The borderless nature of electronic communications medium, concomitant jurisdictional concerns and the unique challenges posed to computer forensics such as the collection of evidence and investigations also arise as relevant issues in this context. Cyberstalking has become a concern that has translated into law in larger and more technologicallymatured jurisdictions such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Japan and even in a small country like Singapore. Existing laws relating to harassment or intimidation are often fact- or relationship- specific and are inadequate to meet the needs of modern society, while nascent cyberstalking laws are substantively disparate. I will first use Singapore as a case study and backdrop by presenting the factual experience and judicial developments in Singapore relating to cyberstalking and identify some of the usual problems in its treatment under law. I will then analyse and compare the cyberstalking laws of several key jurisdictions to determine the common elements and treatment amongst them with a view to the formulation of a proposed statutory solution that will take into consideration the different rights and interests of members of society in the use of digital media for social interaction. I will also briefly consider the issues of prescriptive, adjudicatory and enforcement jurisdiction and the need for greater international cooperation to deal with the problem through the harmonisation of substantive laws, the coordination in procedural investigative measures and complementary recognition and enforcement laws.


Non-positively curved spaces admitting a cocompact isometric action of an amenable group are investigated. A classification is established under the assumption that there is no global fixed point at infinity under the full isometry group. The visual boundary is then a spherical building. When the ambient space is geodesically complete, it must be a product of flats, symmetric spaces, biregular trees and Bruhat--Tits buildings.
We provide moreover a sufficient condition for a spherical building arising as the visual boundary of a proper CAT(0) space to be Moufang, and deduce that an irreducible locally finite Euclidean building of dimension at least 2 is a Bruhat--Tits building if and only if its automorphism group acts cocompactly and chamber-transitively at infinity.


Stochastic Gradient Hamiltonian Monte Carlo (SGHMC) methods have been widely used to sample from certain probability distributions, incorporating (kernel) density derivatives and/or given datasets. Instead of exploring new samples from kernel spaces, this piece of work proposed a novel SGHMC sampler, namely Spectral Hamiltonian Monte Carlo (SpHMC), that produces the high dimensional sparse representations of given datasets through sparse sensing and SGHMC. Inspired by compressed sensing, we assume all given samples are low-dimensional measurements of certain high-dimensional sparse vectors, while a continuous probability distribution exists in such high-dimensional space. Specifically, given a dictionary for sparse coding, SpHMC first derives a novel likelihood evaluator of the probability distribution from the loss function of LASSO, then samples from the high-dimensional distribution using stochastic Langevin dynamics with derivatives of the logarithm likelihood and Metropolis–Hastings sampling. In addition, new samples in low-dimensional measuring spaces can be regenerated using the sampled high-dimensional vectors and the dictionary. Extensive experiments have been conducted to evaluate the proposed algorithm using real-world datasets. The performance comparisons on three real-world applications demonstrate the superior performance of SpHMC beyond baseline methods.


We present results from three nearly simultaneous Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) and Chandra monitoring observations between 2012 September 2 and 2012 November 16 of the local star-forming galaxy NGC 253. The 3–40 keV intensity of the inner ∼20 arcsec (∼400 pc) nuclear region, as measured by NuSTAR, varied by a factor of ∼2 across the three monitoring observations. The Chandra data reveal that the nuclear region contains three bright X-ray sources, including a luminous (L2–10 keV ∼ few × 1039 erg s−1) point source located ∼1 arcsec from the dynamical center of the galaxy (within the 3σ positional uncertainty of the dynamical center); this source drives the overall variability of the nuclear region at energies ≳3 keV. We make use of the variability to measure the spectra of this single hard X-ray source when it was in bright states. The spectra are well described by an absorbed (NH ≈ 1.6 × 1023 cm−2) broken power-law model with spectral slopes and break energies that are typical of ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs), but not active galactic nuclei (AGNs). A previous Chandra observation in 2003 showed a hard X-ray point source of similar luminosity to the 2012 source that was also near the dynamical center (θ ≈ 0.4 arcsec); however, this source was offset from the 2012 source position by ≈1 arcsec. We show that the probability of the 2003 and 2012 hard X-ray sources being unrelated is ≫99.99% based on the Chandra spatial localizations. Interestingly, the Chandra spectrum of the 2003 source (3–8 keV) is shallower in slope than that of the 2012 hard X-ray source. Its proximity to the dynamical center and harder Chandra spectrum indicate that the 2003 source is a better AGN candidate than any of the sources detected in our 2012 campaign; however, we were unable to rule out a ULX nature for this source. Future NuSTAR and Chandra monitoring would be well equipped to break the degeneracy between the AGN and ULX nature of the 2003 source, if again caught in a high state.


We suggest that a buried 180-km-diameter circular structure on the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico, is an impact crater. Its size and shape are revealed by magnetic and gravity-field anomalies, as well as by oil wells drilled inside and near the structure. The stratigraphy of the crater includes a sequence of andesitic igneous rocks and glass interbedded with, and overlain by, breccias that contain evidence of shock metamorphism. The andesitic rocks have chemical and isotopic compositions similar to those of tektites found in Cretaceous/Tertiary (K/T) ejecta. A 90-m-thick K/T boundary breccia, also containing evidence of shock metamorphism, is present 50 km outside the crater's edge. This breccia probably represents the crater's ejecta blanket. The age of the crater is not precisely known, but a K/T boundary age is indicated. Because the crater is in a thick carbonate sequence, shock-produced CO2 from the impact may have caused a severe greenhouse warming.


This paper provides an overview of trends in physical health outcomes of young people over the last several decades. It makes the argument for the importance of physical health and well-being for the individual and society, including its role in education outcomes. The paper then examines interventions, identifying common factors of effective intervention design to improve physical health among young people. It ends with a discussion of remaining gaps in our knowledge and the implications of this body of research on education, communities and families.


On behalf of the Organizing Committee I am pleased to announce the IFSAM VIIIth World Congress 2006 hosted by VHB at the Free University of Berlin, Germany, September 28-30, 2006 and the respective Call for Papers under the overall Conference Theme "Enhancing managerial responsiveness to global challenges". The International Federation of Scholarly Associations in Management (IFSAM) and the German Association of University Teachers in Management (VHB) invite papers for the above Congress. Three types of formats--competitive papers, workshops and panels--are accepted for consideration. The major focus will be on competitive paper sessions and four plenary sessions for which we have invited the following eminent executives and scholars as keynote speakers: Klaus Kleinfeld, CEO and Chairman of the Board of Siemens AG, Professor Dr. Dr. h. c. John Dunning, Rutgers University and University of Reading, Professor Dr. Dr. h. c. mult. Heribert Meffert, Chairman of the Board, Bertelsmann Foundation, and Professor Rosalie Tung, PhD, Simon Fraser University. There will also be a Special Forum in which the results of the first genuine global IFSAM research project on "Academics in the Management Sciences Shaping Future Corporate Cultures"--conducted particularly for this Congress--are being presented and discussed. Program Chair Professor Dr. Martin K. Welge, University of Dortmund (e-mail: email@example.com) Conference Tracks Papers should be submitted to one of the following most appropriate tracks: 1. Corporate social responsibility, 2. Enhancing global managerial responsiveness by intercultural management, 3. Global knowledge management, 4. Public affairs management, 5. Evolution of global management knowledge, 6. Technology and innovations in the global economic geography, 7. Internationalization of accounting (Schmalenbach Business Review track), 8. International corporate governance, 9. Environmental issues and sustainability, 10. Global and local networks, 11. Globalization in the value chain, 12. Transnational strategies, 13. International marketing and service, 14. International corporate finance, 15. International human resource management, 16. Gender issues and diversity management, 17. Teaching and business education in a globalized world. Submissions should be full paper solely electronic by use of the conference website www.ctw-congress.de/ifsam. Please follow the submission details and instructions on the website. Submissions by fax, mail or e-mail are not accepted. Deadline for submissions: February 28, 2006 Congress Registration Early registration fee (deadline July 31, 2006): [euro] 400,00 Registration fee after July 31, 2006: [euro] 462,00 PhD students may apply for reduced fees. …


The issue of women's empowerment in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) has gained much momentum over the past few decades. The World Bank selected the topic of gender equality and development as the main theme for its annual flagship publication in 2012, followed by a special report focusing on the MENA region, reflecting the growing importance and the exigency of the topic—especially amid rising political and social uncertainties in the region. These reports, as well as many other studies, concluded that despite mounting efforts toward achieving gender equality, the MENA region continues to rank the lowest worldwide in women's economic participation and opportunity.1 It is increasingly clear that focusing solely on educational attainment may not be the most effective strategy for achieving women's economic empowerment in the region. Several obstacles on the sociocultural, structural, institutional and legal levels must be concurrently resolved to realize full gender parity in MENA.


The Durham/Cambridge/Birmingham Universities two-ship marine geophysical cruise to the Hatton Bank continental margin took place in May/June 1985, during which single- and two-ship seismic reflection/refraction data, together with under way gravity and magnetic anomaly, and bathymetric data were collected within a 200 km by 150 km area straddling the continent-ocean transition. The processing, modelling and interpretation of four two-ship synthetic aperture profiles (SAP) and the gravity and magnetic anomaly data is presented. Gravity models show that a density model based on the crustal velocity structure defined by synthetic seismogram modelling of the two-ship expanding spread profiles is insufficient to reproduce the observed gravity profile across the margin. This requires additional contributions in the form of density gradients in the underlying sub-crustal part of the lithosphere and asthenosphere, and this is investigated by thermal modelling. Analysis of the magnetic anomaly data shows that oceanic magnetic anomalies 21 and 22 are developed in the north-west of the 1985 survey area. Anomalies 23 and 24 cannot be recognised due to post-rift igneous activity and/or subaerial seafloor spreading. The positions of anomalies 23 and 24B are reconstructed within the survey area, and the theoretical anomaly 24B position is used to determine the position of the continent-ocean boundary. Analysis of the anomalies recorded on the upper continental slope shows that the acoustic basement in this area is volcanic. Interpretation of the SAP profiles shows that the margin can be described in terms of three distinct volcanic sequences. The continental sequence is composed of lavas extruded onto continental crust during a period of continental volcanism which occurred before the onset of seafloor spreading just prior to anomaly 24B.The sequence thickens to the north-west, to form a set of seaward-dipping reflectors. The oceanic sequence comprises oceanic crust within which structurally different seaward-dipping dipping reflectors are developed. This sequence is associated with the reconstructed positions of anomalies 23 and 24B, and is interpreted as having formed during a period of subaerial seafloor spreading. The late sequence separates, and in part overlies the continental and oceanic sequences. Magnetic anomalies associated with the late sequence are arcuate, and have high amplitudes, implying an origin other than simple seafloor spreading. The late sequence is interpreted as originating from post-rift igneous activity in the Eocene.


We develop shunt capacitive RF MEMS switches in III-V technology making use of materials which can be alternative to the ones commonly used, in order to overcome some technological constraints concerning the RF MEMS reliability. Specifically, we evaluate the potential of tantalum nitride (TaN) and tantalum pentoxide (Ta2O5) to be used for the switches actuation pads and dielectric layers, respectively. To this scope, a compositional, structural and electrical characterization of TaN and Ta2O5 films as a function of the deposition parameters, such as the substrate temperature and the sputtering mixture composition, is performed. The realized switches show good actuation voltages, in the range 15- 20 V, an insertion loss better than -0.8 dB up to 30 GHz, and an isolation of ~ -40 dB at the resonant frequency. A comparison between the measured S-parameter values and the results of a circuit simulation is also presented and discussed, providing useful information on the operation of the fabricated switches.


This study investigated the spatial pattern and trends of the daily rainfall data in Peninsular Malaysia based on seasonal rainfall indices. Five rainfall indices which describe the main characteristics of rainfall, the total amount of rainfall, frequency of wet days, rainfall intensity, extreme frequency, and extreme intensity, were employed in this study. The statistics of rainfall indices were calculated in terms of their means for four regions in Peninsular Malaysia for the period 1975 to 2004. The findings indicate that the southwest monsoon had the greatest impact on the western part of the Peninsula, particularly in characterizing the rainfall pattern of the northwest region. During this season, the northwest region could be considered as the wettest region since all rainfall indices tested are higher than in other regions of the Peninsula. Otherwise, the northwest region is denoted as the driest part of the Peninsula during the northeast monsoon period. The northwest region is less influenced by the northeast monsoon because of the existence of the Titiwangsa Range, which blocks the region from receiving heavy rainfall. On the other hand, it is found that the lowlands areas such as the eastern part of the Peninsula are strongly characterized by the northeast monsoonal flow. Based on the results of the Mann-Kendall test, as the trend of the total amount of rainfall and the frequency of wet days during the southwest monsoon decrease at most of the stations, the rainfall intensity increases. In contrast, increasing trends in both the total amount of rainfall and the frequency of wet days were observed at several stations during the northeast monsoon, which give rise to the increasing trend of rainfall intensity. The results for both seasons indicate that there are significantly decreasing trends in the frequency of wet days during the extreme events for most of the stations on the peninsula. However, a smaller number of significant trends was found for extreme intensity.


Voltage-sensitive neuronal Kv1 channels composed of four α subunits and four associated auxiliary β subunits control neuronal excitability and neurotransmission. Limited information exists on the combinations of α subunit isoforms (i.e. Kv1.1-1.6) or their positions in the oligomers, and how these affect sensitivity to blockers. It is known that TEA (tetraethylammonium) inhibits Kv1.1 channels largely due to binding a critical tyrosine (Tyr379) in the pore, whereas Val381 at the equivalent location in Kv1.2 makes it insensitive. With the eventual aim of developing blockers for therapeutic purposes, Kv1.1 and 1.2 α subunit genes were concatenated to form combinations representing those in central neurons, followed by surface expression in HEK (human embryonic kidney)-293 cells as single-chain functional proteins. Patch-clamp recordings demonstrated the influences of the ratios and positioning of these α subunits on the biophysical and pharmacological properties of oligomeric K+ channels. Raising the ratio of Kv1.1 to Kv1.2 in Kv1.2-1.2-1.1-1.2 led to the resultant channels being more sensitive to TEA and also affected their biophysical parameters. Moreover, mutagenesis of one or more residues in the first Kv1.2 to resemble those in Kv1.1 increased TEA sensitivity only when it is adjacent to a Kv1.1 subunit, whereas placing a non-interactive subunit between these two diminished susceptibility. The findings of the present study support the possibility of α subunits being precisely arranged in Kv1 channels, rather than being randomly assembled. This is important in designing drugs with abilities to inhibit particular oligomeric Kv1 subtypes, with the goal of elevating neuronal excitability and improving neurotransmission in certain diseases.


Much effort has been invested in developing snow models over several decades, resulting in a wide variety of empirical and physically based snow models. For the most part, these models are built on similar principles. The greatest differences are found in how each model parameterizes individual processes (e.g., surface albedo and snow compaction). Parameterization choices naturally span a wide range of complexities. In this study, we evaluate the performance of different snow model parameterizations for hydrological applications using an existing multimodel energy‐balance framework and data from two well‐instrumented alpine sites with seasonal snow cover. We also include two temperature‐index snow models and an intensive, physically based multilayer snow model in our analyses. Our results show that snow mass observations provide useful information for evaluating the ability of a model to predict snowpack runoff, whereas snow depth data alone are not. For snow mass and runoff, the energy‐balance models appear transferable between our two study sites, a behavior which is not observed for snow surface temperature predictions due to site‐specificity of turbulent heat transfer formulations. Errors in the input and validation data, rather than model formulation, seem to be the greatest factor affecting model performance. The three model types provide similar ability to reproduce daily observed snowpack runoff when appropriate model structures are chosen. Model complexity was not a determinant for predicting daily snowpack mass and runoff reliably. Our study shows the usefulness of the multimodel framework for identifying appropriate models under given constraints such as data availability, properties of interest and computational cost.


Abstract. Integration of seasonal precipitation forecasts into water resources operations and planning is practically nonexistent, even in regions of scarcity. This is often attributable to water manager's tendency to act in a risk averse manner, preferring to avoid consequences of poor forecasts, at the expense of unrealized benefits. Convincing demonstrations of forecast value are therefore desirable to support assimilation into practice. A dynamically linked system, including forecast, rainfall-runoff, and hydropower models, is applied to the upper Blue Nile basin in Ethiopia to compare benefits and reliability generated by actual forecasts against a climatology-based approach, commonly practiced in most water resources systems. Processing one hundred decadal sequences demonstrates superior forecast-based benefits in 68 cases, a respectable advancement, however benefits in a few forecast-based sequences are noticeably low, likely to dissuade manager's adoption. A hydropower sensitivity test reveals a propensity toward poor-decision making when forecasts over-predict wet conditions. Tailoring the precipitation forecast to highlight critical dry forecasts minimizes this inclination, resulting in 97% of the sequences favoring the forecast-based approach. Considering managerial risk preferences for the system, even risk-averse actions, if coupled with forecasts, exhibit superior benefits and reliability compared with risk-taking tendencies conditioned on climatology.