A well-rounded, well-informed critique of the Pacific island nation of Japan, its society, economy, demography, and politics Following a crushing defeat in World War II, Japan rose like a phoenix from the literal ashes to become a model of modernity and success, for decades Asia's premier economic giant. Yet it remains a nation hobbled by rigid gender roles, protectionist policies, and a defensive, inflexible corporate system that has helped bring about political and economic stagnation. The unique social cohesion that enabled Japan to cope with adversity and develop swiftly has also encouraged isolationism, given rise to an arrogant and inflexible bureaucracy, and prevented the country from addressing difficult issues. Its culture of hard work-in fact, overwork-is legendary, but a declining population and restrictions on opportunity threaten the nation's future. Keiko Hirata and Mark Warschauer have combined thoroughly researched deep analysis with engaging anecdotal material in this enlightening portrait of modern-day Japan, creating an honest and accessible critique that addresses issues from the economy and politics to immigration, education, and the increasing alienation of Japanese youth.


The rise of Norman naval power in the central Mediterranean in the eleventh and twelfth centuries prompted a seminal shift in the balance of power on the sea. Drawing from Latin, Greek, Jewish and Arabic sources, this book details how the House of Hauteville, particularly under Robert Guiscard and his brother Roger, used sea power to accomplish what the Papacy, the German Empire and the Eastern Empire could not: the conquest of southern Italy and Sicily from Islam. The subsequent establishment of an aggressive naval presence on Sicily, first by Roger de Hauteville and then by his son Roger II, effectively wrested control of the central Mediterranean from Byzantine and Muslim maritime hegemony, opening the sea to east-west shipping. The author goes on to describe how this development, in turn, emboldened the West Italian maritime republics, principally Genoa and Pisa, to expand eastward in conjunction with the Crusades. It was, quite literally, a sea change, ushering in a new period of western maritime ascendancy which has persisted into the modern era. Charles D. Stanton gained his PhD from the University of Cambridge.


Economic Regulation of Domestic Air Transport Theory and Policy. George W. Douglas and James C. Miller III. The Brookings Institution, 1775 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036. 1974. 211p. Book compares the present behavior of the airlines and the regulating authority with the way both would behave if economic efficiency were the major objective of policy. It also reviews recent CAB police actions and concludes with specific suggestions that would improve the performance of both the industry and the regulating authority.


Forensic psychology has gained momentum in North America in recent decades, and Canadian psychologists have made considerable contributions to the field. Strong student interest and a high demand for professionals, however, have not been sufficiently matched with the availability of formal forensic psychology graduate training, nor with sufficient scholarly discussion of this issue. The purpose of the current study was to update Simourd and Wormith's (1995) survey of forensic psychology training available in Canadian psychology graduate programs. Of the 39 universities with psychology graduate programs, 36 (92%) responded to the survey. Twenty-four universities (67%) offered some forensic opportunities for students, although there was considerable variability in the number of courses, students, and faculty members in the forensic psychology programs. Since Simourd and Wormith's (1995) survey, forensic training is available at 10 new universities. Of the 14 programs with forensic psychology content in 1995 and in the current study, however, more than half of them reported a decrease in the number of faculty and students working with forensic issues. Considering the continued demand for trained forensic psychologists in applied settings, further attention to the availability of both education and training in forensic psychology is therefore still needed. Keywords: forensic psychology, criminal justice psychology, graduate training, education Although it is a recent field, forensic psychology has undergone enormous growth in recent decades (Bersoff, GoodmanDelahunty, Glisso, Hans, Poythress, & Roesch, 1997; Glisso, Sales, & Bayless, 1982; Ogloff, 2000; Poythress, 1979; Watkins, 1992). In 1970 there were no formal graduate degree programs in this area (Ogloff, 2000), but now it is a legitimate and wellrecognised field of psychology (Porter, 2004; Pozzulo, Bennell, & Forth, 2006). The growth of the field can be measured by marked increases in specialized textbooks (e.g., Andrews & Bont?, 2006; Bartol & Bartol, 201 1; Pozzulo et al., 2006), journals (e.g., Criminal Justice and Behaviour, Law and Human Behaviour, etc.), professional associations (e.g., the American Psychology-Law Society; the Criminal Justice Section of the Canadian Psychological Association), as well as introductory psychology textbooks that incorporate criminal justice issues (Ogloff, 2000). Before proceeding, some introductory comments on terminology are in order. Several terms (e.g., correctional psychology, criminal justice psychology, legal psychology, criminal forensic psychology) with varying definitions have been applied to this field. We use a relatively broad definition of forensic psychology, which includes any psychological research or practice that is related to criminal behaviour. Similar to Simourd and Wormith's (1995) definition, it includes the application of psychology to the law or legal systems (e.g., assessments, eyewitness testimony, jury selection and decision-making, offender treatment) or within various criminal justice agencies (e.g., correctional facilities, courts, forensic hospitals, law enforcement, probation). Additionally, forensic psychology also includes basic psychological research on the causes of crime (e.g., evolutionary forensic psychology; Duntley & Shackelford, 2008). Although some definitions of forensic psychology have been restricted to clinical work (e.g., Committee on the Revision of the Specialty Guidelines for Forensic Psychology, 2010), ours includes both clinical and nonclinical activities. James Ogloff (2000) has said that "there is absolutely no doubt that the future of legal psychology, whatever it holds, belongs to the students in training and those yet to come" (p. 469). What does the future hold for forensic psychology? Judging by student interest, the future should be promising. Likely related to the enormous popularity of TV shows (e.g., Criminal Minds, Crime Scene Investigation) and movies (e. …


Influences of Environmental Education Programs on the Participant's Affinity For Nature Justin Alan Schmillen This study was conducted to determine the change, and the factors influencing the change, in the participant's affinity for nature resulting from an environmental education experience. In addition, this study also examined the change and factors of change in aspects of the participant's affinity for nature that directly relate to marine and coastal resources and environments. An adapted version of the Affinity for Nature scale, an outcome measuring instrument used by the American Camp Association was used to collect data from participants (n=529) at Rancho El Chorro Outdoor School and Camp Ocean Pines, whose experience included an overnight component and a marine science component in the curriculum. Comparisons of overall mean scores were used to determine if affinity for nature changed due to participation in the environment education program. Analysis of variance was used to determine which participant characteristic and experiential variables had a significant influence on affinity for nature index scores. Findings indicated that participation in environmental education experience had a positive change on affinity for nature scores. Residence, ethnicity/language, and gender were also found to significantly influence sense of community various affinity for nature index scores.


The aim of the project is to investigate the rock mass parameters at a site in the vicinity of Matjiesfontein (Western Cape Province) so as to ascertain the suitability for the construction of a vault in a rock face. This vault will host a permanent LaCoste and Romberg ultra-sensitive gravimeter as well as a long period seismograph. The site is close to the contact between the Dwyka Formation of the Karoo Supergroup and the Witteberg Group, both part of the Cape Supergroup. A site survey, joint analysis, core logging and laboratory testing on rock specimens formed part of the geotechnical investigation. Laboratory tests included unconfined compression strength and point load tests. The data obtained from the fieldwork and laboratory analysis were used to determine the rock quality designation value of the rock, which was subsequently combined with the other parameters to obtain a rock mass rating. All data were utilised to develop a model for best practice construction (e.g. excavated vault in solid rock versus a concrete structure against rock face), as well as to develop a preliminary design for the vault. The results of the geotechnical investigation indicate that the site is suitable for the proposed project.


Genome sequences of two Synechococcus ecotypes inhabiting the Octopus Spring microbial mat in Yellowstone National Park revealed the presence of all genes required for nitrogenase biosynthesis. We demonstrate that nif genes of the Synechococcus ecotypes are expressed in situ in a region of the mat that varies in temperature from 53.5°C to 63.4°C (average 60°C); transcripts are only detected at the end of the day when the mat becomes anoxic. Nitrogenase activity in mat samples was also detected in the evening. Hitherto, N2 fixation in hot spring mats was attributed either to filamentous cyanobacteria (not present at >50°C in these mats) or to heterotrophic bacteria. To explore how energy-generating processes of the Synechococcus ecotypes track natural light and O2 conditions, we evaluated accumulation of transcripts encoding proteins involved in photosynthesis, respiration, and fermentation. Transcripts from photosynthesis (cpcF, cpcE, psaB, and psbB) and respiration (coxA and cydA) genes declined in the evening. In contrast, transcripts encoding enzymes that may participate in fermentation fell into two categories; some (ldh, pdhB, ald, and ackA) decreased in the evening, whereas others (pflB, pflA, adhE, and acs) increased at the end of the day and remained high into the night. Energy required for N2 fixation during the night may be derived from fermentation pathways that become prominent as the mat becomes anoxic. In a broader context, our data suggest that there are critical regulatory switches in situ that are linked to the diel cycle and that these switches alter many metabolic processes within the microbial mat.


European Union (EU) trade policy has become increasingly contested and politicised. Citizens and politicians have become more and more concerned about the human rights and sustainable development implications of free trade. The European Commission in its 'Trade for All' Strategy has recognized the need for a more value-based trade policy. In the same vein, the EU has included a chapter on Trade and Sustainable Development in recent free trade agreements. However, there is still much uncertainty about the specifics of these legal commitments and about their implementation in practice. In this study, we aim to assess the labour rights commitments in the EU-Peru-Colombia agreement, with a specific focus on Peru and the agricultural sector. Based on an analytical framework that summarises the labour-related commitments of the sustainable development Title into three categories - upholding ILO Core Labour Standards, non-lowering domestic labour law, and promoting civil society dialogue - we conclude that Peru has failed to comply in a number of areas. We also make recommendations for the EU and civil society and suggestions for more profound and systematic research.


We consider the estimation of the standard errors of individual-specific parameters calculated ex post from a non-linear random parameters model. Our key contribution lies in introducing a simple method of appropriately calculating these standard errors, which explicitly takes into account the sampling variability of the estimation of the model's parameters. To demonstrate the applicability of the technique, we use it in a model of the voting behaviour of Bank of England MPC members. Our results have clear implications for drawing statistical inference on the estimated random parameters.


What will happen after Heller? We know that the Supreme Court will no longer tolerate comprehensive federal prohibitions on home handgun possession by some class of trustworthy homeowners for the purpose of, and perhaps only at the time of, self-defense. But the judiciary could push further, if nothing else by incorporating Heller's holding into the Fourteenth Amendment and enforcing it against states and municipalities. In fact, the majority opinion offered little guidance for future cases. It presented neither a purely originalist method of constitutional interpretation nor a constraining doctrinal framework for evaluating other regulation - even while it gratuitously suggested that much existing gun control is acceptable. In the absence of more information from the Court, we identify plausible legal arguments for the next few rounds of litigation and assess the stakes for social welfare. We conclude that some of the most salient legal arguments after Heller have little or no likely consequence for social welfare based on available data. For example, the looming fight over local handgun bans - an issue on which we present original empirical data - seems largely inconsequential. The same can be said for a right to carry a firearm in public with a permit. On the other hand, less prominent legal arguments could be quite threatening. Taxation and regulation targeted especially at firearms might be presumptively disfavored by judges in the future, along the lines of free speech doctrine. This could have serious consequences. In addition, Second Amendment doctrine might generally dampen enthusiasm for innovative regulatory responses to the problem of gun violence. The threat of litigation may inhibit policy experimentation ranging from micro-stamping on shell casings, to pre-market review of gun design, to so-called personalized firearms, and beyond.


Since Auschwitz, and more and more frequently today, places that were theatres of mass suffering and other atrocities are becoming common features of our cultural landscape. What should we do with these places? Keep them as they were, to remind us of what actually took place there, as ideal museums of past evils? Or should we transform them and, if so, into which forms and according to which principles? Which pasts do these places transmit, and how? This volume uses an innovative semiotic methodology to analyse selected key trauma sites. The author demonstrates that these places can become, once properly interrogated, privileged observatories capable of throwing light upon the many different conflicts, forms of social control, and power relationships that underlie any politics of memory. The selfsame notions of trauma and memory become, in this way, rewritten in quite a different light: far from any kind of naturalistic definition, they emerge as painful «knots» within which many of the most crucial questions in the contemporary world are intertwined.


Aim Since cardiovascular magnetic resonance feature-tracking (CMR-FT) has been demonstrated to be of incremental clinical merit we investigated the interchangeability of global left and right ventricular strain parameters between different CMR-FT software solutions. Material and methods CMR-cine images of 10 patients without significant reduction in LVEF and RVEF and 10 patients with a significantly impaired systolic function were analyzed using two different types of FT-software (TomTec, Germany; QStrain, Netherlands). Global longitudinal strains (LV GLS, RV GLS), global left ventricular circumferential (GCS) and radial strains (GRS) were assessed. Differences in intra- and inter-observer variability within and between software types based on single and up to three repeated and subsequently averaged measurements were evaluated. Results Inter-vendor agreement was highest for GCS followed by LV GLS. GRS and RV GLS showed lower inter-vendor agreement. Variability was consistently higher in healthy volunteers as compared to the patient group. Intra-vendor reproducibility was excellent for GCS, LV GLS and RV GLS, but lower for GRS. The impact of repeated measurements was most pronounced for GRS and RV GLS on an intra-vendor level. Conclusion Cardiac pathology has no influence on CMR-FT reproducibility. LV GLS and GCS qualify as the most robust parameters within and between individual software types. Since both parameters can be interchangeably assessed with different software solutions they may enter the clinical arena for optimized diagnostic and prognostic evaluation of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in various pathologies.


Genomic DNA of Toxoplasma gondii was digested with the restriction endonuclease Hpa II and the resulting repetitive DNA sequences were visualized after electrophoresis on agarose gels and staining with ethidium bromide. Three repetitive DNA sequences were isolated and cloned in the plasmid pUC19. The recombinant plasmids (pTg8, pTg4 and pTg1) had inserts of 840, 440, and 180 basepairs, respectively. The estimated copy number of these cloned sequences in the T. gondii genome was approximately 800-1,000 for pTg4, 150-200 for pTg8, and 30-40 for pTg1. In dot-blot hybridization tests, pTg4 was able to detect as little as 80 pg of purified T. gondii DNA or 1,000 parasites in the presence or absence of 1.5 x 10(6) human or mouse leukocytes. No cross-hybridization was detected with 10 micrograms of either human and mouse DNA or 100 ng of DNA from other parasites (Eimeria tenella, E. acervularia, Trypanosoma cruzi, and Leishmania donovani), or among the three DNA probes. Each probe identified T. gondii tachyzoites in tissue (liver and spleen) obtained from experimentally infected mice in which histologic damage was detected. In addition, early detection of T. gondii in brain tissue and blood samples was possible with the pTg4 probe.


The response of prestressed concrete sleepers to torsional loading is investigated. A theoretical prediction of the ultimate torsional resistance moment of a type F4 prestressed concrete sleeper is given, using the space truss model for reinforced concrete beams under torsional loading. The results of an experimental investigation into the structural behaviour of prestressed concrete sleepers under torsional loading and a combination of torsional and flexural loading are reported. Even with the required design flexural moment an adequate resistance to combined moment and torsion was obtained.(a)


In this thesis, I present structural and kinematic data on rock fabrics, shear zones and fault zones from the Cretaceous Malaspina orthogneiss and some of its satellite plutons in central Fiordland, New Zealand. Central Fiordland exposes a large tract of granuliteto eclogite-facies lower crust that was exhumed between late Mesozoic to Cenozoic times. The deformational structures of interest were formed and preserved during the lifecycle of a Cretaceous continental arc that involved thickening to over 60 km followed by collapse and rifting. As such, they provide an excellent opportunity to study strain localization in the deep crust and the process of exhumation. Detailed structural mapping, analysis, and the construction of a 45-kilometer cross section through the Malaspina orthogneiss and adjacent plutons reveal the spatial distribution, sequence, and kinematics of crosscutting deformational structures. The earliest structures record Cretaceous magmatism, high-grade metamorphism at the granulite and eclogite facies, and ductile flow that resulted in widespread (over 1200 km), disorganized magmatic foliations. These events were followed by regional extension that resulted in the formation of multiple, ≤0.5 km-thick ductile, upper amphibolite facies shear zones that record cooling, hydration, and horizontal flow during the Late Cretaceous. Extension continued but changed obliquity in the early to middle Tertiary and resulted in sets of strike-slip and normal brittle to semi-brittle faults forming a sinistral transtensional system. These faults are distributed across central Fiordland and crosscut and transpose the ductile shear zones and magmatic foliations. Lastly, a change in relative plate motions resulted in the inception of the Alpine fault and the development of a late Tertiary transpressional fault system that crosscuts all previous structures. The dominant factors controlling strain localization in central Fiordland changed from magma, heat, and melting, to fluid activity, plate boundary reorganization, and reactivation of inherited structures. The succession of contrasting strain localization styles in response to changing tectonic and local conditions led to the development of multiple phases of deformation. These multiple phases of deformation allowed the deep crust to be exhumed in a heterogeneous and fragmented, or 'piecemeal', way. In particular, the inability of late Cretaceous ductile shear zones to fully exhume the lower crust was compensated by the ability of early Tertiary transtensional faults to simultaneously thin and further exhume the lower crust. Investigations of strain localization patterns in central Fiordland shed light on the causes and mechanisms of crustal exhumation, a phenomenon that is integral to the lifecycle of virtually all orogenic belts.


Since the year of 2000 until 2007, PT Unilever Indonesia Tbk has put in place the CSR program into the working agenda of the company from the corporate structure through the whole related business part. The company has been emphasizing the effort to achieve the better prosper of public quality of life. The main objective of the research is to understand the effectiveness of the CSR program of Unilever Indonesia Foundation as part of the CSR program definition which so far has been conducted and in order to compare the CSR program among other similar companies. The information and data that has been collected within this research are covering both the primary and secondary data based on the date of August 2008 to October 2008. The method of the analysis are using the descriptive analysis and Rank Spearman correlation analysis. Based on the research, to conclude, there are three CSR program operated by the Unilever Indonesia Foundation which include environmental program, recycling, and education. Based on the regression analysis, the results show the factors affecting the environmental program that are including organizational issue and priority of needs. As for the recycle program, the factors that affect the effectiveness of the CSR program are the party who receive the support and organizational issue. Additionally, the education program is mainly driven by the priority of needs. Keywords: Effectiveness, Corporate Social Responsibility, Environmental Preservation.


Uncovering and understanding the processes that have led to the biological diversity we observe today are of fundamental interest in biology. Since direct observation of speciation is usually impossible, knowledge about the processes behind species formation can be gathered by studying mutations, natural/sexual selection, and genetic drift. In this thesis I aim to identify evolutionary processes that cause species divergence and, ultimately, speciation using Swedish cyprinid fish as a model system. Assuming that the demographic history of a population is mirrored in the genome, I studied the effects of a bottleneck on genetic variability in populations of roach. As expected, I found that a decrease in population size caused a decrease in genetic variability, a pattern that was obtained from both microsatellite and mitochondrial data. The importance of hybridization for speciation is debated, however, by analyzing morphology and microsatellites I could show that common bream and white bream and their interspecific hybrids are phenotypically and genetically differentiated and that ongoing geneflow is mainly unidirectional. Ongoing geneflow antagonizes the effect of genetic drift, but by studying isolated populations (= no gene flow) the impact of genetic drift can be assessed. Long-term isolated populations of roach and perch surprisingly showed stable levels of genetic diversity over time despite decreasing effective population size. However, each population genetically diverged during the period of investigation, a finding that is consistent with the effect of drift. An analysis of the systematic relationship of the 18 species of Swedish cyprinids revealed low congruence of phylogenies based on two different genetic markers. The position of the tench remains unresolved and the relationship of common bream and white bream as sister species cannot be confirmed. Within cyprinid fishes, diversification rates reveal a slowdown with time, a pattern that I found also in other fish clades and that is consistent with density-dependent cladogenesis. Overall, based on the findings presented in this thesis I emphasize that the maintenance of genetic variation in populations is essential since genetic variation is the key element for processes of divergence to act upon.


"Sweet Chariot" is a pathbreaking analysis of slave families and household composition in the nineteenth-century South. Ann Malone presents a carefully drawn picture of the ways in which slaves were constituted into families and households within a community and shows how and why that organization changed through the years. Her book, based on massive research, is both a statistical study over time of 155 slave communities in twenty-six Louisiana parishes and a descriptive study of three plantations: Oakland, Petite Anse, and Tiger Island.Malone first provides a regional analysis of family, household, and community organization. Then, drawing on qualitative sources, she discusses patterns in slave family household organization, identifying the most significant ones as well as those that consistantly acted as indicators of change. Malone shows that slave community organization strongly reflected where each community was in its own developmental cycle, which in turn was influenced by myriad factors, ranging from impersonal economic conditions to the arbitrary decisions of individual owners. She also projects a statistical model that can be used for comparisons with other populations. The two persistent themes that Malone uncovers are the mutability and yet the constancy of Louisiana slave household organization. She shows that the slave family and its extensions, the slave household and community, were far more diverse and adaptable than previously believed. The real strength of the slave comunity was its multiplicity of forms, its tolerance for a variety of domestic units and its adaptability. She finds, for example, that the preferred family form consisted of two parents and children but that all types of families and households were accepted as functioning and contributing members of the slave community."Louisiana slaves had a well-defined and collective vision of the structure that would serve them best and an iron determination to attain it, " Malone observes. "But along with this constancy in vision and perseverance was flexibility. Slave domestic forms in Louisiana bent like willows in the wind to keep from shattering. The suppleness of their forms prevented domestic chaos and enabled most slave communities to recover from even serious crises."


Fully biodegradable composite materials were obtained through reinforcement of a commercially available thermoplastic starch (TPS) matrix with rapeseed fibers (RSF). The influence of reinforcement content on the water sorption capacity, as well as thermal and thermo-mechanical properties of composites were evaluated. Even though the hydrophilic character of natural fibers tends to favor the absorption of water, results demonstrated that the incorporation of RSF did not have a significant effect on the water uptake of the composites. DSC experiments showed that fibers restricted the mobility of the starch macromolecules from the TPS matrix, hence reducing their capacity to crystallize. The viscoelastic behaviour of TPS was also affected, and reinforced materials presented lower viscous deformation and recovery capacity. In addition, the elasticity of materials was considerably diminished when increasing fiber content, as evidenced in the TMA and DMTA measurements.


The central premise of this thesis is that existing research in the fields of corporate governance and international business does not adequately address the implications of corporate governance for firm internationalisation. This research identifies that managerial opportunism and misalignment of interests with corporate owners are two vital yet interconnected elements that inevitably allow managers to misappropriate corporate resources and damage the objectives, process and outcome of firm internationalisation. Accordingly, this research investigates the efficacy of corporate governance in controlling value-destroying management behaviour. The finding that formal corporate governance is a significant predictor of firm internationalisation is a new contribution to corporate governance and international business research. This research contributes to the literature that agency theory, transaction costs theory and the resource-based view of the firm are complementary in explaining corporate governance, firm internationalisation and the relationship between them. It reveals that a combined governance arrangement of monitoring, incentivising and contractual safeguarding of management behaviour provides a balanced development for internationalisation by multinational corporations. In the contexts of the reliability of current data and lack of reliability in past cross-sectional and longitudinal research, this research has confirmed the reliability and validity of its findings, because it accounts for inter-temporal dynamics, intra-firm dynamics, inter-firm differences and the complexity of the behaviour of owners, managers and directors. Because of path-dependence and divergences in corporate governance and other systems, traditions and practices, even among Anglo-Saxon countries of similar standing, this research further warns of potential pitfalls that can arise from the blanket application of findings drawn from one national context to another. This research thus concludes that effective corporate governance is a superior complementary resource that generates resource heterogeneity and is an effective isolating mechanism in order to enable optimum commitment to firm internationalisation, and ultimately, optimum growth and differential rent. It argues that this link needs to be considered by academics, practitioners and policymakers when governance choices and internationalisation strategies are considered.


This study investigates the domestic dwellings built in Brisbane by twenty first-generation migrants, natives of the Veneto region in Italy, who migrated to Australia in the post WWII period and built their houses in the 1980s and 1990s in Brisbane. The purpose of this research study is to explore whether notions of culture were present in the homes migrants constructed in Brisbane, both in the material realm (interpreted as internal and external organization of space and the composition of the façade) and in the symbolic realm (the meanings attached to these houses by Italian migrants). The project is of qualitative nature and as primary sources of data uses semi-structured interviews, associated when circumstances made this possible, to photo-elicitation interviews, and focus group discussion. The semi-structured interviews were conducted both in Australia with twenty first-generation Italian migrants, and in Italy with another ten informants who are indigenous to the Veneto region and who built their homes there. These primary data are supplemented by (4) secondary data in the form of photographs and drawings. The findings reveal that home is both a physical structure and a set of meanings where these two components are tied together rather than being separate and distinct. It shows that there were two models the Veneto migrants chose for the erection of their houses in Brisbane and these correspond to: (1) the rural houses built in the 1970s and 1980s by their family and friends in the Veneto region and (2) the villas designed for noble families by the architect Andrea Palladio in the 15 th century in the homeland of the respondents.


Background: Foot and mouth disease virus (FMDV), a member of the picornaviridae that causes vesicular disease in ungulates, has seven serotypes and a large number of strains, making universal detection challenging. The mature virion is made up of 4 structural proteins, virus protein (VP) 1 – VP4, VP1-VP3 of which form the outer surface of the particle and VP4 largely contained within. Prior to mature virion formation VP2 and VP4 occur together as VP0, a structural component of the pre-capsid which, as a result of containing the internal VP4 sequence, is relatively conserved among all strains and serotypes. Detection of VP0 might therefore represent a universal virus marker. Methods: FMDV virus protein 0 (VP0) was expressed in bacteria as a SUMO fusion protein and the SUMO carrier removed by site specific proteolysis. Rabbit polyvalent sera were generated to the isolated VP0 protein and their reactivity characterised by a number of immunoassays and by epitope mapping on peptide arrays. Results: The specific VP0 serum recognised a variety of FMDV serotypes, as virus and as virus-like-particles, by a variety of assay formats. Epitope mapping showed the predominant epitopes to occur within the unstructured but highly conserved region of the sequence shared among many serotypes. When immunogold stained VLPs were assessed by TEM analysis they revealed exposure of epitopes on the surface of some particles, consistent with particle breathing hitherto reported for some other picornaviruses but not for FMDV. Conclusion: A polyvalent serum based on the VP0 protein of FMDV represents a broadly reactive reagent capable of detection of many if not all FMDV isolates. The suggestion of particle breathing obtained with this serum suggests a reconsideration of the FMDV entry mechanism.


Aims and objectives To explore patient perceptions of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbation and the patients' experiences of their relations with health personnel during care and treatment. Background Patients suffering from acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease often experience life-threatening situations and undergo noninvasive positive-pressure ventilation via bi-level positive airway pressure in a hospital setting. Theory on trust, which often overlaps with the issue of power, can shed light on patient's experiences during an acute exacerbation. Design Narrative research design was chosen. Methods Ten in-depth qualitative interviews (n = 10) were conducted with patients who had been admitted to two intensive care units in Western Norway during the autumn of 2009 and the spring of 2010. Narrative analysis and theories on trust and power were used to analyse the interviews. Results Because of their breathlessness, the patients perceived that they were completely dependent on others during the acute phase. Some stated that they had experienced an altered perception of reality and had not understood how serious their situation was. Although the patients trusted the health personnel in helping them breathe, they also told stories about care deficiencies and situations in which they felt neglected. Conclusions This study shows that patients with an acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease often feel wholly dependent on health personnel during the exacerbation and, as a result, experience extreme vulnerability. Relevance to clinical practice The findings give nurses insight into building trust and a good relationship between patient and caregiver during an acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive lung disease.


PURPOSE
To develop a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based treatment planning method without the need of acquiring patient-specific computed tomography (CT) dataset.

METHODS
A pseudo CT, providing electron density information for dose calculation, was generated by deforming atlas CT images of other patients. Two approaches, arithmetic averaging and Gaussian process regression (Hofmann 2008), were used to combine the deformed images into a single dataset. The required deformation was derived from registering corresponding atlas MR images to those of the subject of interest. We tested this method on 7 patients aged 8-12 years with common pediatric brain tumors. We used a leave-one-out procedure, i.e., the 6 pairs of MR/CT images other than those of each patient of interest served as atlas images. The original patient-specific CT was replaced with the pseudo CT and the dose distribution was recalculated to quantify the difference. We used Chi-evaluation (Bakai 2003) for dose distribution comparison. Doses to the planning target volume (PTV) and organs at risk (OARs) were compared.

RESULTS
The pseudo CT generated by arithmetic averaging showed a high similarity to the patient-specific CT (correlation coefficient, 0.75-0.85). The calculated dose distribution was in close agreement with original dose. Nearly the entire patient volume (98.4 - 99.8%) satisfied the criteria of Chi-evaluation (<3mm and 3% maximum dose). Dose indices of V95 and D95 in PTV differed by up to 2.2%. The average differences in maximum and mean doses to OARs ranged from 0.3% to 1.0%. The pseudo CT by Gaussian process showed similar performances for the images included in this study (P=0.27, Chi-evaluation) despite longer computation time.

CONCLUSION
MR-based treatment planning with pseudo CT generated through atlas registration is feasible for pediatric brain tumor patients. The doses calculated from pseudo CT agreed well with those from patient-specific CT.


Research concerning family preferences for schooling indicates that they value proximity to home as much as academic quality when choosing schools. However, preferences for proximity likely represent inability to access schools farther away from home, especially for disadvantaged students. I test whether distance and district boundaries constrain access to high-performing and effective schools for Detroit students where families choose between intradistrict, interdistrict, and charter schools, as well as an assigned school. I employ a unique data set that includes enrollment records, addresses, and commute times for Detroit residents regardless of where they attend school. Results show that disadvantaged students have little access to the highest quality schools available, specifically those outside Detroit. However, students attend higher performing schools within Detroit.


An experimental apparatus for investigating the injection of nitrogen gas and water into the base of a steel tank containing molten tin has been developed. A first set of experiments based on only gas injection has been used to develop a diagnostic technique using continuous high-energy X rays and digital imaging to observe the mixing process and to measure local and average void fractions in the test section as a function of time and space. This unique application of real-time, high-energy, X-ray imaging has been used to generate two-dimensional mappings of the chordal-average void fraction with spatial resolution corresponding to a 0.43-mm 2 cross-sectional area perpendicular to the X-ray path and time resolutions of <5 ms. Void fraction measurements with superficial gas injection velocities from 0.07 to 0.14 m/s into a 0.08-m-deep pool of 683 K molten tin indicate that the time and spatial average integral void fraction at these gas injection rates is relatively constant, in the range from 0.26 to 0.31. Similar injections into pools of 0.14- and 0.15-m depths have also exhibited relatively constant average integral void fractions in the range from 0.18 to 0.26. These values are in good agreement with past integral experimental measurements in mercury, Wood's metal, and molten steel.


A series of experiments was designed to evaluate the mechanisms and effects of dietary corn distiller's grains with solubles on NH3 emission from laying hens. A diet containing 15% DDGS was fed to laying hens in high-rise houses on a farm in central Iowa. Hens in three houses were fed the DDGS treatment diet while hens in the other three houses were fed a 0% control diet. Emission, egg production, and economic parameters as well as manure characteristics were measured over the course of a one-year period (between fall manure clean-out). The manure pH was lower for the DDGS than the control regimen (7.10 vs. 7.42 ± 0.08, respectively; P = 0.01). Contrary to the hypothesis, the lower manure pH did not lead to a decrease in NH3 emission (1.24 vs 1.32 ± 0.08 g/hen-d for the DDGS and control, respectively; P = 0.54). However, higher N consumption by the DDGS hens did not lead to increased NH3 emission. The DDGS diet did not cause any adverse effects on production performance. Economic analyses revealed lower diet cost for the DDGS regimen than the control (10.8 vs. 11.2 ± 0.1 ¢/hen-wk, respectively; P = 0.10 and 34.2 vs. 31.3 ± 0.5 ¢/kg egg, respectively; P = 0.06). In a separate study, no change in pH or short-chain fatty acid contents of the laying-hen ceca could be detected between a 15% DDGS and control regimen. Because the DDGS treatment was expected to impact manure nutrient values, a study was conducted to determine which sampling strategies yielded the most precise nutrient values. The variation in dry-matter content was greater than the variation in nitrogen or phosphorus. Sampling strategies that accurately measure dry-matter content must be used, including collection of samples near the sidewall and in the center manure rows under high-rise houses. Diets containing 15% DDGS yielded lower feed cost while supporting egg production. However, no decrease in NH3 emission was detected.


Veterinary hospital care and advanced veterinary services are rapidly growing industries. As of January 1, 2010, veterinary nursing became a licensed vocation, the title of veterinary nurse became protected, and the act regulating competence among the professions of the veterinary field was extended. These changes, along with increased demands and expectations from owners, have given rise to greater demands on the staff's qualifications and have increased the need for well-educated staff with expertise in several different areas.

The aim of this study was to find out what the licensed veterinary nurse can do in terms of rehabilitation for the hospitalized equine patient suffering from orthopedic injury. This has been carried out through qualitative interviews with veterinary surgeons experienced in treating such patients, and also by reviewing the relevant literature. This study is also detailing some of the various therapies that can be used in the rehabilitation of the type of patient described above. The selected therapies are massage, controlled exercise and stretching/passive mobilization.

In veterinary medicine, the role of rehabilitation following injury and illness is growing, although it is not as well integrated as it is in human healthcare, where it is a fully integrated part of treatment. Authors who have discussed physical therapy and rehabilitation in veterinary medicine claim that many therapies used for rehabilitation purposes can be carried out by a veterinary surgeon or a veterinary nurse as well as a physiotherapist, and that the veterinary nurse plays an important role in the rehabilitation of the animal. The veterinary surgeons interviewed in this paper agree that the licensed veterinary nurse, possibly after receiving further education in the subject, could play an important role in rehabilitating the animal in terms of the planning, performance and evaluation of the treatments, and that the treatments described in this paper could be suitable for a veterinary nurse to perform. It was further claimed that stronger evidence for these postulations would be desirable, as it would encourage an extended use of these and similar treatments.

Massage as a part of the rehabilitation of the equine patient is stressed by several authors as a method to relieve pain, increase well-being and relaxation, and increase the elasticity of the tissue. The studies performed on the effect of massage on healthy horses have shown a reduction of stress, an increase of mechanical pain threshold, and an increase of range of motion (ROM) and stridelength. Controlled exercise is a frequently-used rehabilitation method after orthopedic injury in horses, often in the form of walking, led by hand or by a rider, where load and intensity is increased gradually. In recent years, the importance of early movement has attracted attention, and total immobilization should be avoided as much as possible. Studies that tested different tools and exercise programmes designed specifically for the rehabilitation of horses has showed improved tissue healing, increased muscle strength and ROM, as well as a decreased risk of re-injury. Stretching has been used as a method to increase ROM and elasticity. Several authors claim that passive mobilization in cases of articular injury or immobilization can be beneficial for the healing of the joint or maintaining ROM. There is, however, a lack of clinical evidence showing the long-term effects of all these therapies in the rehabilitation of the equine patient. Thus, further studies are desirable in order to test to what extent these methods are of clinical relevance for the equine veterinary field.


A series of tetranuclear iron complexes displaying a site-differentiated metal center was synthesized. Three of the metal centers are coordinated to our previously reported ligand, based on a 1,3,5-triarylbenzene motif with nitrogen and oxygen donors. The fourth (apical) iron center is coordinatively unsaturated and appended to the trinuclear core through three bridging pyrazolates and an interstitial μ4-oxide moiety. Electrochemical studies of complex [LFe3(PhPz)3OFe][OTf]2 revealed three reversible redox events assigned to the Fe(II)4/Fe(II)3Fe(III) (-1.733 V), Fe(II)3Fe(III)/Fe(II)2Fe(III)2 (-0.727 V), and Fe(II)2Fe(III)2/Fe(II)Fe(III)3 (0.018 V) redox couples. Combined Mössbauer and crystallographic studies indicate that the change in oxidation state is exclusively localized at the triiron core, without changing the oxidation state of the apical metal center. This phenomenon is assigned to differences in the coordination environment of the two metal sites and provides a strategy for storing electron and hole equivalents without affecting the oxidation state of the coordinatively unsaturated metal. The presence of a ligand-binding site allowed the effect of redox modulation on nitric oxide activation by an Fe(II) metal center to be studied. Treatment of the clusters with nitric oxide resulted in binding of NO to the apical iron center, generating a {FeNO}(7) moiety. As with the NO-free precursors, the three reversible redox events are localized at the iron centers distal from the NO ligand. Altering the redox state of the triiron core resulted in significant change in the NO stretching frequency, by as much as 100 cm(-1). The increased activation of NO is attributed to structural changes within the clusters, in particular, those related to the interaction of the metal centers with the interstitial atom. The differences in NO activation were further shown to lead to differential reactivity, with NO disproportionation and N2O formation performed by the more electron-rich cluster.


1. The absorption of lysine and two lysine-containing dipeptides was studied in normal and cystinuric subjects by jejunal perfusion. Absorption of each dipeptide was compared with that of its constituent amino acids. 2. in normal subjects lysine was better absorbed from the dipeptide glycyl-l-lysine than from the equivalent amino acid mixture. in cystinuric patients lysine was absorbed very poorly in its free form but was absorbed normally from the dipeptide. in cystinuric patients lysine was also absorbed faster as l-lysyl-l-lysine than as free lysine. 3. During perfusion of both dipeptides significantly greater quantities of free lysine were found within the intestinal lumen in cystinuric subjects than in normal subjects. This is thought to be due to back-diffusion after hydrolysis of dipeptide by the mucosa. 4. These observations confirm the existence of dipeptide transport systems independent of those for free amino acids.


We propose a novel and simple framework that solves two popular problems in digital photography: 2D face synthesis and 3D face modeling. 2D face synthesis aims at creating a new face, usually by mixing two or more portraits. We extend this notion to the combination of human and statue faces. The goal of 3D face modeling is to reconstruct a face in three dimensions from one or several images. These two tasks are often treated as separate problems although they both consider face modeling. In this paper, we propose a unified and general framework for both 2D and 3D cases that runs in a fully automatic manner. Our work also creates stereoscopic views for entertainment 3D display. Experimental results and subjective tests have confirmed the validity of our approach.


The analysis of economic growth and competitiveness of the region is very important to formulate the planning of the region's growth. This study aims to analyze the growth and competitiveness of the economy in Indragiri Hulu. The purpose of this study used secondary data, the Central Department of Statistics of Riau Province and the Central Department of Statistics of Indragiri Hulu in 2008 and 2012 were analyzed by the method of shift share. This study concluded that there are some districts that have high growth and high competitiveness. They are, District Peranap, District Batang Peranap, District Lirik, District Seberida, District Sungai Lala, District Lubuk Batu Jaya, District Rengat, District Pasir Penyu, and District Rengat Barat. The recommendation of this study is the required to observe the potential and the advantages of each district to improve the management and the utilization of the wealth of natural resource and the effectiveness of efficiency. The most important aspects of the development district in Indragiri Hulu are the development and the improvement of infrastructure, the potential of agricultural development, and increase of  the additional cost of agricultural products. Keywords: Economic Growth, Competitiveness, Shift Share


TV on Strike examines the 2007 upheaval in the entertainment industry by telling the inside story of the hundred-day writers' strike that crippled Hollywood. The television industry's uneasy transition to the digital age was the driving force behind the most significant labour dispute of the twenty-first century. The strike put a spotlight on how the advent of new-media distribution platforms is reshaping the traditional business models that have governed the entertainment business for decades. The uncertainty that sent writers out into the streets of Los Angeles and New York with picket signs laid bare the depth of the divide, after years of industry consolidation, between the handful of media barons who rule Hollywood and the writers whose works support the industry. With both sides afraid of losing millions in future profits, a critical communication breakdown spurred a brief but fierce fight with repercussions that continue today. The saga of the Writers Guild of America strike is told here as seen through the eyes of key players on both sides of the negotiating table and of the foot soldiers who shocked even themselves with the strength of their resolve to fight for their rights in the face of an ambiguous future.


Abstract. Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) is used to estimate particle size distributions from observations. The focus here is on the practical application of EKF to simultaneously merge information from different types of experimental instruments. Every 10 min, the prior state estimate is updated with size-segregating measurements from Differential Mobility Particle Sizer (DMPS) and Aerodynamic Particle Sizer (APS) as well as integrating measurements from a nephelometer. Error covariances are approximate in our EKF implementation. The observation operator assumes a constant particle density and refractive index. The state estimates are compared to particle size distributions that are a composite of DMPS and APS measurements. The impact of each instrument on the size distribution estimate is studied. Kalman Filtering of DMPS and APS yielded a temporally consistent state estimate. This state estimate is continuous over the overlapping size range of DMPS and APS. Inclusion of the integrating measurements further reduces the effect of measurement noise. Even with the present approximations, EKF is shown to be a very promising method to estimate particle size distribution with observations from different types of instruments.


Although we need to continue our efforts in basic sciences and research for the discovery of fundamental knowledge, we also need to focus on how this knowledge can improve human health. Often, it is not a single view or approach that will lead to discoveries, but rather the interface of disciplines that combine multiple fields of knowledge such as engineering, biology and medicine. An interdisciplinary approach, allowing for a new way of thinking, can benefit the future of human health and enable new therapies to reach the clinic more rapidly.


Usher syndrome is an autosomal recessive disease, displaying pathology of the auditory and visual systems. The three clinical phenotypes are linked to eleven different loci, and differ in the severity and age of onset of sensorineural hearing loss, vestibular areflexia and Retinitis Pigmentosa. The expression pattern of Ush1c which encodes a PDZ domain containing protein (Harmonin) has been established in the murine ear. This study examined the localisation of the protein in the murine eye, detecting Ush1c mRNA from E12.5 and localising the protein to the newborn photoreceptors from P2. In the developed retina, harmonin was localised to the photoreceptor outer segments. Further immunoreactivity was noted in unfixed tissue, showing harmonin colocalising with the USH1B and 1D proteins to the photoreceptor inner segments and outer plexiform layer. The USH1B and USH1D proteins are known to interact with and be involved in the correct localisation of harmonin in the ear. Yet in the eye, harmonin localisation in fixed tissue was maintained in the outer segments in the absence of either USH1 protein. To further examine the protein interactions of harmonin, a Yeast Two-Hybrid study was undertaken using a bovine retinal library. Six possible interacting proteins were identified and confirmed by yeast mating. Several of these positive interactors, although interacting with the whole harmonin protein, did not interact with any of its PDZ binding domains. One such protein was phosducin, a small acidic cytosolic protein. Its potential as a binding partner for harmonin in the retina was confirmed by a pull down assay and immunolocalisation studies. Phosducin is known to interact with proteins associated with glutamate receptors at the photoreceptor ribbon synapses. Its interaction with harmonin would suggest a role for harmonin in the outer plexiform layer and more specifically at the ribbon synapses of the retina.


Psychologists and other mental health professionals rightfully experience significant anxiety regarding their duty to protect when working with potentially dangerous individuals who are at risk of harming others or themselves. In fact, a recent study suggests that 75 per cent are misinformed about their legal duties to such clients. "The Duty to Protect" dispels myths and provides clinicians, supervisors, and trainers with a comprehensive resource addressing the situations where a duty to protect may apply. The duty itself is defined and described, as are risk assessment steps and interventions to reduce risk.The chapters are written by leading scientist - practitioners to promote best practices in some of the most ethically and legally challenging areas encountered by practitioners. They discuss the legal and ethical foundations of the duty to protect and the duty to warn; professional ethics codes in the U.S. and internationally; and, risk assessment to others in cases involving threats of homicide, intimate partner violence, stalking, the transfer of communicable diseases, and impairment while operating heavy machinery or motor vehicles. Threats of harm to the self are also discussed in chapters that address suicide, self-injury, and end-of-life issues.This book is a comprehensive resource that will assist readers in understanding their options and obligations and therefore improve the care they provide in some of the most stressful and potentially dangerous situations faced by mental health providers.


Autocratic regimes often limit access to information concerning the outside world, to prevent their citizenry from learning about the comparatively poor performance of their economy. In this paper, we analyze the use of censorship, and consider it as an information asymmetry problem, in the context of an augmented Solow growth model. We find that higher technological backwardness, lower quality of domestic institutions, low level of income inequality and low costs of collecting information about foreign economies lead to more restrictive and comprehensive censorship. These findings are consistent with stories of socialist dictatorships, as the Soviet Union or North Korea, where very restrictive forms of censorship, as political isolationism, were/are used. We also explain why these forms of censorship are less popular now. We argue that isolationism reduces opportunities for adoption of technologies, which results in underdevelopment, higher vulnerability to negative shocks, and potentially higher political turbulence. To avoid these outcomes, a political regime can prefer not to implement the most strict forms of censorship. This finding is in line with censorship policy which is applied in nowadays China.


E. coli ST131 is an important extraintestinal pathogen that can colonize the gastrointestinal tracts of humans and food animals. Here, we combined detection of accessory traits associated with avian adaptation (ColV plasmids) with high-resolution phylogenetics to quantify the portion of human infections caused by ST131 strains of food animal origin. Our results suggest that one ST131 sublineage—ST131-H22—has become established in poultry populations around the world and that meat may serve as a vehicle for human exposure and infection. ST131-H22 is just one of many E. coli lineages that may be transmitted from food animals to humans. Additional studies that combine detection of host-associated accessory elements with phylogenetics may allow us to quantify the total fraction of human extraintestinal infections attributable to food animal E. coli strains. ABSTRACT Escherichia coli sequence type 131 (ST131) has emerged rapidly to become the most prevalent extraintestinal pathogenic E. coli clones in circulation today. Previous investigations appeared to exonerate retail meat as a source of human exposure to ST131; however, these studies focused mainly on extensively multidrug-resistant ST131 strains, which typically carry allele 30 of the fimH type 1 fimbrial adhesin gene (ST131-H30). To estimate the frequency of extraintestinal human infections arising from foodborne ST131 strains without bias toward particular sublineages or phenotypes, we conducted a 1-year prospective study of E. coli from meat products and clinical cultures in Flagstaff, Arizona. We characterized all isolates by multilocus sequence typing, fimH typing, and core genome phylogenetic analyses, and we screened isolates for avian-associated ColV plasmids as an indication of poultry adaptation. E. coli was isolated from 79.8% of the 2,452 meat samples and 72.4% of the 1,735 culture-positive clinical samples. Twenty-seven meat isolates were ST131 and belonged almost exclusively (n = 25) to the ST131-H22 lineage. All but 1 of the 25 H22 meat isolates were from poultry products, and all but 2 carried poultry-associated ColV plasmids. Of the 1,188 contemporaneous human clinical E. coli isolates, 24 were ST131-H22, one-quarter of which occurred in the same high-resolution phylogenetic clades as the ST131-H22 meat isolates and carried ColV plasmids. Molecular clock analysis of an international ST131-H22 genome collection suggested that ColV plasmids have been acquired at least six times since the 1940s and that poultry-to-human transmission is not limited to the United States. IMPORTANCE E. coli ST131 is an important extraintestinal pathogen that can colonize the gastrointestinal tracts of humans and food animals. Here, we combined detection of accessory traits associated with avian adaptation (ColV plasmids) with high-resolution phylogenetics to quantify the portion of human infections caused by ST131 strains of food animal origin. Our results suggest that one ST131 sublineage—ST131-H22—has become established in poultry populations around the world and that meat may serve as a vehicle for human exposure and infection. ST131-H22 is just one of many E. coli lineages that may be transmitted from food animals to humans. Additional studies that combine detection of host-associated accessory elements with phylogenetics may allow us to quantify the total fraction of human extraintestinal infections attributable to food animal E. coli strains.


From its foundation in 1918, the new Austrian republic was gripped by famine and a crisis of confidence in its currency that threatened to tip the new state into hyperinflation and revolution. This article shows how western efforts to aid Austria combat famine and its financial crisis were linked, and how they had a profound impact on the new League of Nations, the world's first multi-purpose intergovernmental organization. It also demonstrates the importance of the incipient wartime international bureaucracy for League agency. Contrary to the expectations of its architects, member governments, international financiers, businessmen and economists began to see the League as a useful tool to meet common needs that today would be called the search for human security. The article demonstrates how the Austrian food and financial crisis was the founding moment in the institutionalization of international economic and financial coordination, cooperation and oversight. It established the Economic and Financial Organization of the League of Nations, whose work would later inform its successors, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the European Union. The study speaks to the ways in which the notion of security has broadened in the past two decades to embrace economic, social, political and environmental concerns. But the notion of �human security� is not new; it was written into the body of the League.


Understanding vertebrate habitat relationships is important to promote management strategies for the longterm con- servation of many species. Using a modified drift fence method, we sampled reptiles and compared habitat variables within the William B. Bankhead National Forest (BNF) in Alabama, U.S.A from April 2005 to June 2006. We captured 226 individual rep- tiles representing 19 species during 564 total trap nights. We used canonical correspondence analysis to examine habitat associa- tions for the reptiles sampled and we detected a distinct habitat gradient ranging from sites with greater litter depth and percent canopy cover to more open sites with greater woody, herbaceous, and coarse woody debris (CWD) coverage, and CWD volume. Little brown skinks Scincella lateralis and eastern worm snakes Carphophis a. amoenus were associated with sites with greater litter depth and canopy cover, whereas eastern fence lizards Sceloporus undulatus, copperheads Agkistrodon contortrix, and gray ratsnakes Pantherophis spiloides were associated with sites possessing greater CWD coverage and volume. We found that distur- bances due to the southern pine beetle Dendroctonus frontalis were likely important for influencing reptile distributions through the creation of canopy gaps and fallen coarse woody debris. Compared to other studies, our modified drift-fence trap technique was successful for sampling larger snake species (66 snakes in 564 trap nights). We have also provided detailed schematics for constructing drift fence array and box traps used in this study (Current Zoology 56 (4): 411-420, 2010).


The problem addressed by this two-part study is to evaluate the quality of Chinese records in the OCLC database and to determine the potential of a set of production rules for a rule-based data validation system lo support quality control of the Chinese records. The second part of the study emphasizes establishing pro- duction rules for such a system. Based on the results of error anal- ysis, a set of production rules were developed and tested, focusing on improving completeness, consistency, and correctness of a rec- ord. The rules covered 11 of the total 19 types of errors. At least 65% , of the errors occurring in the investigated sample records could be detected automatically by applying the production rules.


Modern theories about Rome's motivations in the East have explored just about every possible permutation and combination - economic expansion, power for power's sake, glory and booty, philhellenism, fear of neighbours, accidental involvement - but it is fair to say that no one theory has commanded general acceptance. motif as shaped with the assistance of the Scipionic lawyers. Most recently another new approach has been tried by E.S. Gruen. Certain questions raised in Gruen's book are the subject of this paper.


It is shown that the examination of truth implicitly requires universal values that derive from Universal Wholeness. Universal values such as truth, love, compassion and justice, by their nature transcend and subsume physical events that we perceive in space and time. Since we are required to meaningfully interpret phenomenal experience in order to coherently respond to circumstance, we tend to contrive frameworks of understanding in language. This introduces personal biases that we identify with. We implicitly assume that our social and cultural frameworks universally reflect realities of the cosmic order, whether they are religious, spiritual, scientific, ethnic, or whatever. It becomes apparent that left-brain language alone is not up to the task since the meaning implicit in words depends upon right-brain intuitive insight into aspects of the cosmic order as we perceive it to be. Although it is not possible to reduce the cosmic order to language a universal methodology is introduced that embraces all possible structural varieties of phenomenal experience. It both requires and facilitates direct intuitive insight into the structural dynamics of the creative process in any context. This can provide a universal means of weeding out biases in our frameworks of understanding without eroding their essential core.


Alkali feldspar phenocrysts in the Lower Devonian Shap granite are compositionally and microtexturally zoned. Most of each phenocryst has exsolved to form microperthite with an approximate bulk composition of Or72Ab28An<1, but sub-millimetre wide zones within the phenocrysts with an approximate bulk composition Or69Ab30An1, have exsolved to cryptoperthite. The sub-optical scale of exsolution microtextures in the narrow An-rich zones is due to Ca–Al coupling, which slows rates of interdiffusion during exsolution relative to An-poor volumes of feldspar. This form of coupled compositional-microtextural zoning has not been described previously from Or-rich alkali feldspars using electron microscopy but we have seen other examples and predict that it is common. Cryptoperthite zones are of particular importance because they will have trace element and isotopic compositions least altered, subsequent to growth in the magma, of any microtextures in alkali feldspars and so will be the most rewarding targets for chemical analysis.


In recent years, knowledge mining has become one of the effective tools for data analysis and information management systems. Educational sector is the recent research endeavors that make use of data mining algorithms. Prior works carried in data mining algorithms like J48 Decision Tree, Multilayer Perception, Naïve Bayes, and Sequential Minimal Optimization impose issues like the curse of dimensionality, cardinality and imbalance attributes. In this paper, we have proposed FA-Paired t-test method which is a novel knowledge discovery process to predict the performance of the instructors. The aim of the study is to find the factors that associated for the prediction of teaching quality. Thus, the contribution of the factor analysis method helps to find the relevant attributes from a set of attributes. Then, the selected attributes are fed as input to paired t-test model which find the associations between those linked attributes. The selected attributes are experimenting using SPSS modeler. Many attributes test for the performance evaluation. It is strongly found that content arrangement, delivery of speech, effective class hours and completion of the course helps to predict the quality of the teaching. In addition to, the proposed model is compared to prior two classifiers, named, J48DT and Naïve Bayes which shows our proposed method works better than other two classifiers in term of Attribute reduction and evaluation process.


Using data obtained by the high temporal and spatial resolution Rapid Oscillations in the Solar Atmosphere instrument on the Dunn Solar Telescope, we investigate at an unprecedented level of detail transverse oscillations in chromospheric fine structures near the solar disk center. The oscillations are interpreted in terms of propagating and standing magnetohydrodynamic kink waves. Wave characteristics including the maximum transverse velocity amplitude and the phase speed are measured as a function of distance along the structure's length. Solar magnetoseismology is applied to these measured parameters to obtain diagnostic information on key plasma parameters (e.g., magnetic field, density, temperature, flow speed) of these localized waveguides. The magnetic field strength of the mottle along the ∼2 Mm length is found to decrease by a factor of 12, while the local plasma density scale height is ∼280 ± 80 km.


Activation has become an important paradigm for social policies in Europe. New migrants and refugees especially constitute a category with particular problems in accessing the labour market, and have thus become a prime target group for activation in some countries. The article addresses the tension between aims of employment and economic self-sufficiency, and social inclusion and participation in a wider sense. Using data from the implementation of the Norwegian introductory programme for newly arrived refugees, we analyse local caseworkers' attempts at negotiating this tension when working with clients whose labour market prospects are conceived of as poor. Two distinct frameworks of interpretation, with distinct consequences for practical implementation, are identified: an activation discourse where the main emphasis is on labour market inclusion; and a citizenship discourse which broadens the goals to include other forms of social participation.


This study estimates degree of intrinsic inflation persistence in Pakistan using aggregate price index, group level price indices, and individual commodity prices. We find no evidence of a unit root in (MoM) inflation at any level, except for house rent. Using monthly data from 1959 to 2011 we find that the estimate of (overall) inflation persistence is 0.16, which is low but significant. During 2001-2011 (overall) inflation persistence is insignificant. Food inflation does not exhibit any persistence during the last decade. However, the degree of persistence is very high (0.80) and significant for core inflation (NFNE), which weakens slightly (to 0.69) when we account for commodities price shock of 2008. At micro level, the estimated degree of inflation persistence for various groups is found to be relatively higher, in almost 60 percent of the cases, compared to corresponding degree of persistence at aggregate level. This may be because in micro analysis we consider only those commodities for which the estimated degree of inflation persistence is significant.


: Drought is a major threat to wheat production worldwide and development of drought-tolerant wheat genotypes may improve the production of this cereal crop in drought affected regions. In the present study, 24 mutant lines were developed by treating a wheat variety 'NN-Gandum-1(NN-1) with ethyl methane sulfonate (EMS). The M 5 , M 6 , and M 7 generations were evaluated for quantitative traits under well irrigated and rainfed conditions. Furthermore, best performing mutants of M 6 and M 7 generations were examined for biochemical parameters. A substantial correlation was found among the quantitative traits (plant height, spike length, tillers per plant, number of spikelets per spike and thousand grain weight) which confirmed their high heritability and relative relation. Principal component analysis (PCA) showed that the first two PCs with eigenvalues >1 had more than 50% of the total variability among the mutant lines under normal and water limited conditions. Cluster analysis depicted that considerable variations existed among all mutant lines. Among these mutant lines, some mutants showed significant variation consistently larger than corresponding values of wild type in multigeneration replication. Using drought tolerance indices (Stress tolerance index and geometric mean productivity), high yielding mutant lines under drought stress were selected. Across all these three-mutant generations, mutant lines NN1-M-363, NN1-M-506, NN1-M-700, NN1-M-701, and NN1-M-1621 showed significant improvement as compared to wild type in response to stress conditions. The selected five drought tolerant mutants showed increased accumulation of proline contents, total soluble sugars, total free amino acids, while decreased total chlorophyll content, carotenoids, and total soluble proteins. Results suggested that the morphological traits and yield attributes along with biochemical parameters could be utilized for the evaluation of wheat cultivars under drought stress.


Aims: The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of CPP−ACP, raw, fresh buffalo milk and cow milk on surface roughness of artificial initial caries lesions. Materials and Methods: 100 sound maxillary first premolar extracted for the purpose of orthodontic treatment had been collected and randomly divided into four groups, in all groups the teeth subjected to pH cycle procedure then treated with: Group1: n(25) deionized water, group2: n(25) CPP−ACP tooth mousse, group3: n(25) raw cow milk, group4: n(25) raw buffalo milk. Enamel surface was assessed by a profilometer device at a baseline and after demineralization and after remineralization. Results: In all groups, there was a high statistically significant increase in surface roughness after demineralization. And there was a high statistically significant decrease in surface roughness in all groups except deionized water after remineralization, the highest remineralization effect was found in CPP−ACP tooth mousse group followed by buffalo milk and then cow milk.Conclusions: Within the limits of the current study, it was concluded that CPP−ACP tooth mousse, raw fresh buffalo milk and cow milk were effective remineralizing agents which was reflected by decreasing surface roughness of artificial initial caries lesion, but with different potentials, CPP−ACP tooth mousse was the best followed by fresh raw buffalo milk which showed superior results in reducing surface roughness in comparison with fresh raw cow milk.


The hazardous consequences of a following aircraft encountering the wake turbulence of a large lead aircraft has been well documented and current practice of mandatory separation is less than ideal. The motivation of this project is to develop improved passive add-on devices that are both practical and efficient in alleviating this problem. Particle Image Velocimetry was used in a closed loop low speed wind tunnel to investigate the vortex structures of a half-span wing model with a slender reverse delta type add-on device in the landing configuration. The experimental setup is repeated for various angles of attack and roll angles, and different dimensions of the reverse delta type add-on device. This work investigates the characteristics of the resultant vortices produced by the reverse delta type add-on device, and the wingtip/flap-tip of the half-span wing model by analyzing the flow field in downstream planes perpendicular to the free stream direction. The vortex characteristics dependence on angle of attack and roll, at mean chord based Reynolds number is also analyzed. The peak tangential velocity, peak vorticity and the circulation magnitude of the resultant vortices produced downstream of the half-span wing model are explored. The results are analyzed thoroughly in order to determine if there is any significant decay in the resultant vortex structures. It was found that the reverse delta type add-on device reduces significantly the tangential velocity, vorticity and circulation magnitude by up to 82.9%, 92.6% and 42.8%, respectively and increases the resultant vortex core radius by a factor of 6.57. As it is desirable that add-on devices have a minimal impact on the overall wing, a six component force balance was used to obtain the aerodynamic performance of the half-span wing model. It was found that the reverse delta type add-on device causes a maximum lift reduction of 4.9% and a maximum drag increment of 15.2%.


This paper explores why measuring the impacts of information and communication advances is important for development in the 21 st Century and why it is statistically challenging. Measuring impacts in any field is difficult, but for ICT there are added complications because of its diversity and rapidly changing nature. A number of impact areas are identified in this paper, and their relationships explored, in the context of their place in the social, economic and environmental realms. The result is a complex web of relationships between individual impact areas, such as economic growth and poverty alleviation, and background factors, such as a country's level of education and government regulation. Existing measurement frameworks are described, and relevant statistical standards examined. The latter includes internationally agreed standards for the ICT sector, ICT products and ICT demand. The contributions on Measuring ICT for Development in the 21 st Century and its member Organizations to ICT measurement, and its goals for measuring ICT impacts are outlined. Methodologies used in the measurement of ICT are discussed and compared in section two of this paper, and empirical evidence reviewed, in section three. Most research conducted has found positive effects of ICT in the impact areas investigated. However, research has tended to focus on positive, rather than negative impacts; therefore, the latter tend to be indicated by unreliable evidence. There is relatively little evidence from developing countries and there are indications that findings in respect of developed countries may not apply to developing countries. In respect of both developed and developing countries, there are few studies that provide internationally comparable evidence. The difficulties of ICT impact measurement, major data gaps and the lack of clear statistical standards suggest several issues for consideration. These are presented in the final section of the paper. Keywords: ICT advances, measuring impacts, measurement frameworks, privacy, security, perceptions


Organizations are complex social systems that are not easy to understand, yet they must be managed if a company is to succeed. This book explains networks and how managers and organizations can navigate them to produce successful strategic innovation outcomes. Although managers are increasingly aware of the importance of social relations for the inner-workings of the organization, they often lack insights and tools to analyze, influence or even create these networks. This book draws on insights from social network theory; insights sharpened by research in a number of different empirical settings including production, engineering, financial services, consulting, food processing, and R&D/hi-tech organizations and alternates between offering critical real business examples and more rigorous analysis. This concise book is vital reading for students of business and management as well as managers and executives.


IL-32 links the microbicidal peptide pathway with resistance to disease progression in clinical tuberculosis. Interleukin-32 (IL-32) could be a correlate of protection against tuberculosis. Montoya et al. report that IL-32 is a potential candidate marker of host defense against tuberculosis. Mycobacterium tuberculosis causes a sometimes deadly infection that nonetheless only develops to disease in about 10% of individuals. The authors performed gene expression profiles of human macrophages and found an association between IL-32 and the vitamin D antimicrobial pathway. Moreover, analysis of five different clinical data sets suggested that IL-32 can serve as a molecular marker of latent tuberculosis and may be activated in response to signaling by IL-15. These data suggest that IL-32 may not only serve as a putative correlate of protection but also contribute directly to host response to tuberculosis. D. Montoya, M. S. Inkeles, P. T. Liu, S. Realegeno, R. M. B. Teles, P. Vaidya, M. A. Munoz, M. Schenk, W. R. Swindell, R. Chun, K. Zavala, M. Hewison, J. S. Adams, S. Horvath, M. Pellegrini, B. R. Bloom, R. L. Modlin, IL-32 is a molecular marker of a host defense network in human tuberculosis. Sci. Transl. Med. 6, 250ra114 (2014). [Abstract]


Pervasive gaming has the potential of transforming the
home into a persuasive environment in which the user can
learn about appliances and their electricity consumption.
Power Explorer is a mobile game with a special sensing
approach that provides real-time electricity measurements
and feedback when the user switches on and off devices in
the home. The game was developed based on persuasive
principles to provide an engaging means to learn about
energy with positive and negative feedback and social
feedback from peers on real energy actions in the home. We
present the design and rationale of this game and discuss
how pervasive games can be viewed from a persuasive and
learning point of view.


This paper articulates the findings of a two-year Canadian federally-funded postdoctoral study — Poetic inquiry in qualitative research: A critical survey — on the use of poetry in social science qualitative research practices. Based on a 1000+ page annotated bibliography gathered into a critical anthology as the data for this project, the discoveries emerged that are expressed below. The bibliography consists solely of poems included in over 230 studies found for this multidisciplinary project, supported by abstracts and brief contextual notes. Selection criteria for included studies were peer-reviewed journal contributions only, bracketing out anything that had appeared in book form, in 'Poet's Corners', and also excluding poems appearing in theses or dissertations. Some of these excluded poems are cited in a separate Appendix. These criteria were made simply to limit the scope of the study to a manageable scale. Most of this poetically-informed scholarship has appeared in the past decade, although some entries date as far back as the 1970's and 80's. Conclusions are that poetic inquiry most often addresses topics with clear affective dimensions, and can be distinguished between participant-based and self-study foci, with occasional examples of theoretical studies. Participant-based studies generally draw on the literary tradition of found poetry to represent participant data. Self-studies may address more philosophical, phenomenological and/or poststucturalist opportunities that present themselves through the use of poetry in social science contexts.


A variety of neurological procedures, including deep brain stimulation and craniotomies that require tissue removal near elegant cortices, require patients to remain awake and responsive in order to monitor function. Such procedures can produce anxiety and are poorly tolerated in some subjects. In this issue of the JCI, Bijanki and colleagues demonstrate that electrical stimulation of the left dorsal anterior cingulum bundle promoted a positive (mirthful) effect and reduced anxiety, without sedation, in three patients with epilepsy undergoing intracranial electrode monitoring. The results of this study highlight the need for further evaluation of anterior cingulum stimulation to reduce anxiety during awake surgery and as a possible approach for treating anxiety disorders.


The Proposed Guidelines for Ecological Risk Assessment (USEPA, 1996) identify five criteria for determining ecological adversity: nature and intensity of effects, temporal and spatial scale, and potential for recovery. Assessing changes in the assessment endpoints and reaching conclusions on ecological adversity or significance is ultimately founded on information obtained through monitoring and measurements on ecological systems. Although some monitoring programs have previously been criticized for lack of scientific rigor, answers to questions related to ecological and societal significance must come from assessments founded on ecological monitoring efforts. Identifying the appropriate questions and assessment endpoints for monitoring are critical steps in the design and implementation of the monitoring program. However, the process must be completed. This monitoring information subsequently must form the foundation for assessments that interpret and present the ecological and societal signficance of ob...


Abstract Raising a child with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) can be associated with considerable distress, requiring continuing adjustment on the part of parents. This study examined the relationship between cognitive vulnerability factors such as negative automatic thoughts, irrational beliefs and meta-cognitive beliefs, and positive and negative emotions in parents of children with ASD. Twenty seven parents of children diagnosed with ASD completed questionnaires measuring frequency of negative automatic thoughts, irrational beliefs related to raising a child with a disability, meta-cognitive beliefs regarding negative and positive emotions, positive and negative emotions, and problem child behavior. Results indicated that irrational beliefs and negative meta-cognitive beliefs about positive emotions are salient cognitive vulnerability factors contributing to fewer positive emotions in parents of children with ASD. It is concluded that interventions for promoting positive coping and resilience in parents of children with ASD should consider cognitive vulnerability factors such as irrational beliefs and negative metacognitive beliefs about positive emotions and their potential effect on positive emotions. Keywords: cognitive vulnerability, adaptation of parents of children with ASD, irrational beliefs, meta-cognitive beliefs, positive negative emotions Raising a child with an Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) can be extremely stressful for parents and carers. Compared to parents of normally developing children and parents of children with other disabilities, parents of children with ASD have been found to experience significantly higher levels of parenting stress and psychological distress (Abbeduto, Seltzer, Shattuck, Krauss, Orsmond, & Murphy, 2004). Research has investigated various vulnerability factors that influence parent coping and adjustment to having a child with a disability. These have included the severity and frequency of disruptive child behaviors (Lecavalier, Leone, & Wiltz, 2006), parent cognitions and beliefs (Hassall & Rose, 2005) and cognitive resilience factors that foster positive emotions (Hastings & Taunt, 2002). Parents' attributions for their child's behavior, their beliefs regarding the level of control they have over their child's behavior and parents' self-esteem / sense of competence have each been associated with increased stress (Hassall & Rose, 2005). Alternatively, optimism and perceived control are associated with more positive emotions (Ekas, 2009). Positive states are thought to be essential in parent's adjustment and resilience to chronic stress (Folkman & Moskowitz, 2000). To date, research has focused on establishing factors that determine stress and enhance positive emotions amongst parents of children with a disability. There has been less focus on factors which dampen or block the experience of positive emotions amongst parents during times of stress. For instance, in general samples, negative automatic thoughts and unhelpful, and "irrational" beliefs are inversely related to subjective well-being (e.g. Ciarrochi & West, 2004; Froh et al., 2007; Kinney, 2000) and positive emotions (e.g., Tiba & Szentagotai, 2005). The negative relationship between unhelpful beliefs and positive emotions is thought to occur because unhelpful beliefs generate stress which interferes with the experience of positive emotions (Ellis & Dryden, 1997). Additionally, parents' meta-cognitive beliefs regarding their emotions have not been yet considered in relation to their adjustment to having a child with a disability. Meta-cognitive beliefs are defined as stable knowledge or beliefs about one's own cognitive system, and about factors that affect the functioning of the system (Wells, 2000). Meta-cognitive beliefs were consistently shown to play a crucial role as vulnerability factors to emotional dysfunctions (Harvey, Watkins, Mansell, & Shafran, 2004; Wells, 2000). …


This study seeks to analyze if corporate governance mechanisms influence the financial performance of Nigerian listed commercial banks in the Nigerian context. The population of the study consists of all the twenty five commercial banks in Nigeria. A sample of fourteen (14) commercial banks was selected and data were collected over the period 2010 to 2017. Inferential statistics consisting of Pooled Regression was used for the data analysis. The results obtained reveal that corporate governance mechanisms exerted significant impact on commercial banks financial performance in Nigeria. Specifically, Board independence and managerial ownership were positive and exert non-significantly impact on the financial performance of commercial banks in Nigeria whereas board size positively and significantly impact financial performance of the commercial banks over the reference period. Board gender diversity and ownership concentration were negative on financial performance of the commercial banks in Nigeria. While board gender diversity was not significant, ownership concentration was. The study recommended that there has to be a designed framework to efficiently and effectively monitor the interaction between corporate governance mechanisms and commercial bank financial performance by regulators and shareholders as this will drastically minimized the tendency for managers to engage in rent seeking behavior.


Treatment readiness is a key predictor of drug treatment completion, rearrest, and recidivism during community reentry; however, limited data exist among homeless female offenders (HFOs). The purpose of this study was to present baseline data from a randomized controlled trial of 130 HFOs who had been released from jail or prison. Over half (60.8%) of HFOs had a treatment readiness score of ≥40 (n = 79, mean [μ] = 40.2, SD = 8.72). Bivariate analyses revealed that methamphetamine use, psychological well-being, and high emotional support were positively associated with treatment readiness. On the contrary, depressive symptomatology and depression/anxiety scores were negatively associated with the treatment readiness score. Multiple linear regression revealed that depressive symptomatology was negatively associated with treatment readiness (β = −0.377, p = .001). Further analyses revealed that the effect of emotional support on treatment readiness was mediated by depressive symptomatology.


The primary goal of a focal therapy treatment paradigm is to achieve cancer control through targeted tissue destruction while simultaneously limiting deleterious effects on peri-prostatic structures. Focal therapy approaches are employed in several oncologic treatment protocols, and have been shown to provide equivalent cancer control for malignancies such as breast cancer and renal cell carcinoma. Efforts to develop a focal therapy approach for prostate cancer have been challenged by several concepts including the multifocal nature of the disease and limited capability of prostate ultrasound and systematic biopsy to reliably localize the site(s) and aggressiveness of disease. Multi-parametric MRI (mpMRI) of the prostate has significantly improved disease localization, spatial demarcation and risk stratification of cancer detected within the prostate. The accuracy of this imaging modality has further enabled the urologist to improve biopsy approaches using targeted biopsy via MRI-ultrasound fusion. From this foundation, an improved delineation of the location of disease has become possible, providing a critical foundation to the development of a focal therapy strategy. This chapter reviews the accuracy of mpMRI for detection of "aggressive" disease, the accuracy of mpMRI in determining the tumor volume, and the ability of mpMRI to accurately identify the index lesion. While mpMRI provides a critical, first step in developing a strategy for focal therapy, considerable questions remain regarding the relationship between MR identified tumor volume and pathologic tumor volume, the accuracy and utility of mpMRI for treatment surveillance and the optimal role and timing of follow-up mpMRI.


This is a book review of Tom Baker and Sean Griffith's 'Ensuring Corporate Misconduct'. Their book provides an exhaustive and illuminating analysis of how corporations contract for director and officer (D&O) liability insurance. Based on extensive interviews with insurance carriers and corporate risk officers, Baker and Griffith conclude that D&O liability insurance has created a moral hazard within the public corporation. Managers, who have incentives to take advantage of shareholders, are inadequately deterred by civil liability for securities fraud because D&O insurance effective shields them from any payout. Accordingly, Baker and Griffith argue for reforms that would reduce this moral hazard. Baker and Griffith's arguments are persuasive and should make any reader think twice about the value of D&O insurance. Their critique, however, seems to make light of the fact that corporate fraud can trigger criminal investigations, and ultimately criminal penalties for individuals who engage in or conspire to commit fraud. Although the authors agree that D&O insurance provides no protection against criminal penalties and investigations, they nevertheless presume that much of the conduct that gives rise to civil securities fraud litigation (so-called "ordinary fraud") is unlikely to trigger criminal and public enforcement proceedings. This Review questions whether there in fact exists such a distinct boundary between "ordinary" and "extraordinary" corporate frauds. To the contrary, one would expect the rational corporate officer to be wary that any fraud case might trigger an investigation by public enforcers. If that is the case, then the porous boundary between criminal and civil fraud may lessen Baker and Griffith's rightful concerns about moral hazard. With these thoughts in mind, the Review then addresses several of Baker and Griffith's proposed reforms.


We present OGER, an annotation service built on top of OntoGene's biomedical entity recognition system, which participates in the TIPS task (technical interoperability and performance of annotation servers) of the BeCalm (biomedical annotation metaserver) challenge. The annotation server is a web application tailored to the needs of the task, using an existing biomedical entity recognition suite. The core annotation module uses a knowledge-based strategy for term matching and entity linking. The server's architecture allows parallel processing of annotation requests for an arbitrary number of documents from mixed sources. In the discussion, we show that network latency is responsible for significant overhead in the measurement of processing time. We compare the preliminary key performance indicators with an analysis drawn from the server's log messages. We conclude that our annotation server is ready for the upcoming phases of the TIPS task.


The standard linear technique of impulse response function analysis is extended to the nonlinear case by defining a generalized impulse response function. Measures of persistence and asymmetry in response are constructed for a wide class of time series.