Background and Hypothesis:
In 2012, Parkview Health initiated a case management (CM) program with the hypothesis that it would reduce emergency department (ED) visits, radiation exposure, and costs for patients who had visited a Parkview ED 5 or more times within 6 months.
Experimental Design or Project Methods:
This retrospective case series involved examining medical records of 460 CM patients from 2011 to 2018, recording the amount of Parkview ED visits, diagnostic tests, and affected cost accumulated in the year prior to CM enrollment compared to each of the next 2 years. Demographics, chief complaints, diagnoses, psychiatric and drug use history, and whether the patients had insurance and a primary care provider were also recorded. Patient data was excluded if the patient was younger than 18 at the time of CM enrollment, had not yet completed 2 years in the CM program, or if medical records were not available. ANOVA and 1-sided, paired t-testing were performed to evaluate significance of the results.
Results:
Comparing the year before enrollment to the 2nd year after, ED visits were reduced from 5,264 to 2,012 for 378 patients (63%, p<0.01), the affected cost was reduced from $551,734.45 to $246,248.34 for 299 patients (55%, p<0.01), and the number of diagnostic tests was reduced from 6,040 to 1,883 for 104 patients (69%, p<0.01).
Conclusion and Potential Impact:
Patients enrolled in Parkview's CM program showed statistically significant reductions in ED visits, radiologic exposures, and affected costs over 2 years, with implicit improved health outcomes. Projected 10-year affected cost savings range from $3.7 million to $9.1 million.


This article examines the factors affecting the promotion speed of Chinese mayors in prefecture-level cities. Quantitative analysis has shown that the human capital theory is a powerful tool for explaining the promotion speed. Deng Xiaoping's policy of cadre modernisation had a substantial effect on the career advancement of mayors. The article argues that the causality between the economic performance of a jurisdiction and the political mobility of its leaders may be interpreted insufficiently and it reveals that an official's promotion speed correlates positively with the economic performance of the city in which he or she serves as mayor. A more comprehensive pattern is observed: an official who climbs the ladder faster is more likely to be nominated as mayor of an affluent city; the economic performance of a city may provide a political edge for further promotion.


Homogeneous, structurally defined glycoproteins can be assembled by coupling synthetic glycopeptides to synthetic or bacterially-derived protein fragments using the native chemical ligation (NCL) reaction. A limitation of NCL is the requirement for an Nterminal cysteine residue in one of the peptide fragments. One method for cysteine-free peptide ligation utilizes thiol acyl transfer auxiliaries which effect ligation and can then be removed under mild conditions. We developed new, rapid routes to 1-phenyl-2-mercaptoethyl and 2-mercaptobenzyl auxiliaries. The key steps involved: 1) introduction of a suitably protected thiol to auxiliary precursors; 2) direct reductive amination of the auxiliary aldehyde or ketone to afford the auxiliary-amine, which can be conjugated to a peptide via the "sub-monomer" approach, or the auxiliary-amino acid "cassette" for use in conventional solid phase peptide synthesis. Overall yields are 53-83 %. A glycopeptide was then assembled via auxiliary-mediated ligation at a Gly-Gly junction, which was complete within 48 hours. Thioesterand auxiliary-peptides were assembled to investigate the scope and limitations of auxiliary-mediated ligation for non Gly-Gly junctions. The 1-phenyl-2-mercaptoethyl auxiliary effected ligation at Ala-Gly, Lys-Gly and Gly-Ala junctions in 24-70 % yield, whereas the 2-mercaptobenzyl auxiliary effected ligation at a Gly-Ala junction in 42 % yield. Excess thiol was found to inhibit ligation, indicating a change in rate-determiningstep relative to cysteine ligation.


Abstract This piece discusses the account of contested territories and of corrective justice Moore offers in A Political Theory of Territory. In Chapter 6, Moore offers an occupancy account of boundary-drawing. My discussion focuses on the status of Moore's occupancy account compared to the statist and nationalist accounts it aims to replace. Specifically, I consider whether these other accounts are as unsuccessful as Moore suggests, and whether Moore's account is as distinct from these accounts as she suggests. In Chapter 7, Moore offers a distinction between three different types of rights violations involved in the unjust taking of territory, and considers potential remedies for each. My discussion focuses on the arguments Moore advances to justify the presence or absence of certain remedies, in particular, the right of return and the redistribution of land. I conclude that the territorial claims of historically wronged groups are too quickly dismissed, and I suggest that this is problematic from the point of view of Moore's own account.


Abstract This paper examines the innovation strategies driving Asian firms' investment in the US based on the resource-based model of knowledge. Specifically, it is shown that Asian firms' competitive advantage revolves around their ability to capture rents through a series of technological and marketing capabilities that collectively constitute the firms' knowledge resource base. The process of learning is documented by shedding light on the major sources of knowledge acquisition that enhance technological capabilities internally and externally. Specifically, this empirical research, based on a large-scale quantitative survey of Taiwanese, South Korean, and Singaporean firms in the US that was conducted between 2003 and 2004, shows that the firms in industrializing Asian economies (henceforth the IAFs) are directly investing in the US and setting up R&D operations there to acquire knowledge that enables them to become more innovative. A variety of technology sourcing strategies practiced among these IAFs was found, depending on their firm-specific variables (e.g. size and sector) and their prior technological capabilities. The types of technology and knowledge sources also go beyond conventional technological know-how to embrace the entire production chain from manufacturing technologies to expertise in marketing and distribution.


The cure was reported in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2009 by Dr. Gero Hütter and associates from Germany (1). The patient, Timothy Brown, had acute myeloid leukemia and HIV infection and is now referred to as "The Berlin Patient". It was well known at that time that HIV-1 enters host cells by binding to a CD4 receptor and then interacting with either CCR5 or the CXC chemokine receptor (CXCR4). Homozygosity for a 32-bp deletion (delta32/delta32; CCR5-/-) in the CCR5 allele results in an inactive CCR5 gene product and consequently confers high resistance against HIV-1 infection. Following transplantation using stem cells from an adult donor who had the CCR5-/mutation, HIV could not be detected in Timothy Brown's peripheral blood, spinal fluid, lymph nodes, bone marrow, brain or GI mucosa as assessed with RNA and proviral DNA PCR assays. Further, there has been no recurrence of HIV in more than 10 years. Thus, the "Berlin Patient" has had a functional cure if not a sterilizing cure of HIV.


Originalism has had an uneasy relationship with stare decisis, but the two seem wedded in a way that precludes divorce and thus encourages adultery. Almost all originalists have decided, on pragmatic grounds, that the Supreme Court's constitutional infidelities must sometimes be allowed to mature into de facto constitutional amendments. Writing in the Michigan Law Review, Jonathan Mitchell has proposed a new theory — based solely on the text of the Supremacy Clause rather than on pragmatic considerations — that purports to identify which interpretive infidelities must be rejected and which may be allowed to continue indefinitely.According to this theory, it is unconstitutional for the Supreme Court to rely on stare decisis when, and only when, its precedents (a form of nonsupreme law) conflict with one of the three forms of supreme law identified in the Supremacy Clause. Accordingly, erroneous constitutional precedents may never be relied on to strike down a federal statute or to uphold a state law that conflicts with the supreme law of the land. Conversely, erroneous constitutional precedents may be relied on to uphold a federal statute or to strike down a state law.Mitchell's argument overstates the implications of the use of the word "supreme" in the Supremacy Clause, and it overlooks the principal purpose of the Clause. The better reading is that the Clause was meant to establish both the supremacy of federal law over state law and the obligation of state courts to respect that principle. The Supremacy Clause is simply silent about the Supreme Court's duty when its precedents conflict with the original meaning of the Constitution.Mitchell is right, however, to emphasize that the Supremacy Clause implicitly rejects the notion that Supreme Court opinions can be the supreme law of the land. Because the Clause is directed primarily at commanding state courts to follow the supreme law when it conflicts with a nonsupreme law, a reasonable inference is that state courts are not bound by erroneous Supreme Court opinions. If state supreme courts were to take that inference seriously, we might see a healthy intellectual competition between them and their federal counterpart. If all these contestants were to begin taking the Constitution more seriously than they do now, the nation could be the ultimate winner.


An FT-Raman and FT-SERS microprobe with the spatial resolution on the micrometer scale has been developed. The main interfacing components are discussed and the whole setup is validated with the use of different SERS-active substrates: silver and gold colloids and gold island films. Micro-FT-SERS spectra of crocetin, mitoxantrone, and mitoxantrone/DNA complexes have been obtained, and the mass detection limits are found to be on the order of 5 × 102 molecules. Adsorption on the SERS-active substrates does not induce any detectable changes in the all-trans configuration of the crocetin. Adsorption of the mitoxantrone/DNA complex does not induce detectable perturbations of the molecular interactions within the complex. Moreover, interactions between the drug and DNA induces very similar effects in both the resonance Raman and FT-SERS spectra of the drugs. These effects were found to be consistent with the model of mitoxantrone/DNA intercalation proposed from nuclear magnetic resonance and resonance Raman data. The signal-to-noise ratios found indicate that submonolayer amounts of intracellularly localized drugs totaling less than 10−18 mole can be detected by means of the FT-SERS microprobe. Hence, both the extra-low mass detection limit of the technique and its sensitivity to interactions within the supramolecular complexes will in the future allow the drug to be followed within the living cell.


Zoom into the next generation of mobile pad technology with XoomThe buzz on Motorola's new Xoom tablet is that it's made of some pretty powerful hardware and boasts a larger screen, higher resolution, and a more powerful, dual-core CPU than other tablets on the market. On top of that, it runs on Android 3.0the latest operating system designed specifically for tablets. Get thoroughly up to speed on the unique Motorola Xoom and take advantage of all the amazing things it can do with Motorola Xoom For Dummies.This full-color book is packed with practical how-tos, Xoom features, smart techniques, and even insider info on the device, thanks to author Andy Rathbone's deep expertise. Learn how to browse the web, download apps, access social networks, customize your Xoom, track down the handiest accessories, and more.Gets you up to speed on the Motorola Xoom tabletClarifies the basics of how to use it, how the technology works, how to configure everything, and which ten free apps and ten paid apps you absolutely must haveDelivers a full slate of features, tips, tricks, and techniques, all in full colorWalks you through basic training, browsing the web, sending and receivinge-mail, accessing social networks, downloading apps, using all the fun multimedia featuresmusic, movies, photos, and booksand moreExplores how to maintain and customize your Xoom and includes a handy list of Ten Tips 'n TricksGet the very most out of the exciting Motorola Xoom. This jam-packed, full-color For Dummies guide makes it easy.


Like the author's best-selling, highly regarded International Economics text, this book integrates a clear and concise presentation of economic theory with an abundance of real-world cases and applications. Rather than discussing economic theory in the abstract, and then including real-world applications in separate sections, the text weaves applications into all theoretical discussions. There is no other Survey text that emphasizes real-world applications to this degree.


Churches, like other 501(c)(3) organizations are subject to a prohibition on electioneering. This prohibition has survived decades of constitutional challenges because the tax exemption that 501(c)(3) organizations enjoy is a privilege and not a right. This article examines the claim of churches that they have a right to intervene in elections contrary to existing IRS regulations based on the free exercise clause and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, and finds such claims wanting.The article explains that tax exemption and the ability to attract tax deductible gifts are a form of government and taxpayer subsidy. This subsidy exists for 501(c)(3) organizations because Congress believes that their charitable activities promote the public welfare and are worthy of subsidy. On the other hand, Congress did not wish to subsidize the political activities of tax exempt organizations, hence the prohibition. The rules prohibiting electioneering are rather lenient and very rarely have churches lost their exemption. Finally this article explains that this prohibition on electioneering has been very beneficial because it has helped maintain the separation of church and state that is fundamental to our nation.


In this paper, we experimentally investigate the tolerance of 111-Gb/s polarization multiplexed return-to-zero differential quadrature phase-shift keying (POLMUX-RZ-DQPSK) signals with respect to nonlinear impairments in a link with either (inline) optical or (receiver-side) electrical dispersion compensation. After transmission of more than 2000 km of LEAF, a comparable nonlinear tolerance is observed for both dispersion maps. However, we observe that in the presence of differential group delay (DGD) the nonlinear tolerance of the transmission link with in-line optical dispersion compensation is reduced significantly, whereas the nonlinear tolerance of the configuration with receiver-side dispersion compensation is virtually unaffected.


In 1920, the historic Kingdom of Hungary was dismembered according to the dictates of the Treaty of Trianon. Resulting in the loss of two-thirds of the nation's pre-World War I territory, and one-third of its prewar population, Trianon has long stood as a symbol for Hungarian suffering and trauma in the twentieth century. Historians of modern Hungary have given much consideration to Trianon, with serious attention being paid to what some have called the Trianon syndrome, or the Trianon trauma. Arguing that interwar Hungarian culture and politics need to be understood in light of the menacing psychological shadow cast by Trianon, a number of historians have suggested that the people of Hungary were traumatized spontaneously and universally by the dismemberment of the nation and the suffering that followed. This paper argues that, though this may indeed have been the case on a raw emotional level, careful consideration needs to be given to the overlapping political and pedagogical functions of the Trianon trauma, especially as this trauma found expression in repeated public "performances" of the Trianon tragedy. Focusing on the revisionist performances of Hungarian boy scouts between the wars, and in particular on the personal papers of the Hungarian geographer and boy scout leader Ferenc Fodor, this paper draws a direct link between trauma and performance in the interwar period, and argues that, though trauma was indeed central to Hungarian cultural politics, it functioned as much as a pedagogical strategy as it did a psychological reality.


Nineteen rape victims who had given evidence in court in English courts were interviewed. Questions concerned their examination in court, their perceptions of the criminal justice system, particularly criminal court processes, and the perceived utility of 'special measures' to facilitate giving evidence. Participants believed that prosecution lawyers generally did not accuse them of lying, attack what they said, put their character in doubt, put words in their mouth or use trick or leading questions. Defence lawyers were perceived to be significantly more likely to use these techniques. Participants reported that they felt they understood what was going on and, importantly, felt that they were reasonably able to give accurate evidence. They generally showed high levels of satisfaction with the way they had been treated, and positive attitudes towards measures to make giving evidence less stressful.


Translating and interpreting signed languages has received relatively little attention outside the applied world of sign language interpretation. In this chapter, the general theme of the translator as the mediator of cultures will be applied to the complex case of signed languages, using ASL and, to a lesser extent, other sign languages, as cases in point. Because of the diversity within signed languages, and the typical lack of overall codification for signed languages, the tasks of translation and interpretation become heavily reliant on the cultural and linguistic knowledge, sensitivity and judgment of the interpreter or translator. In this chapter, I will explore the concept of diversity in signed languages, the special challenges faced by signed language translators and interpreters, the role of culture in deaf-hearing interchanges, and finally, the implications of such points for other translators and interpreters.


Focal electrical stimulation of the brain of Periplaneta americana evokes the release of a factor with high cardioaccelerator activity. Results of extirpation of components of the retrocerebral complex from an isolated head preparation imply that the corpus cardiacum is the critical component of this system. The cardioaccelerator is a heat-stable proteinaceous compound.


The subjects in this study were 10 preservice students who completed their student teaching in fall, 2001, in the Central Washington Region, and 10 veteran teachers enrolled in the Master's Program at one of the teacher training centers in Washington State. This study sought to determine whether preservice teachers and veteran teachers in the master teacher program hold similar or different perceptions regarding teacher use of technology in their areas of assignment. Based on the findings, we concluded that there is still a lack of infusion of technology into the curriculum. The results of the veteran teachers in the master teacher program showed very little use of technology in the subject areas. The results suggest that school districts may not be providing adequate staff development experiences to prepare veteran teachers to use technology in their classrooms. In February of 1996, President Clinton issued a challenge to schools and educational leaders to prepare "technologically literate" students by the 21st century. Recognizing the importance of the Internet in the future of education, the Clinton Government mandated that all classrooms should be connected to the Internet by the year 2000, and all teachers must be trained to integrate this technology into the curriculum (US Department of Education, 1996). Considering the speed at which school change usually occurs, four years is an amazingly short time to complete such a massive undertaking. The year 2000 has arrived, and we have not yet completed the task. Incredibly, however, the first part of Clinton's challenge is all but accomplished. According to surveys conducted by the Center for Research on Information Technology, approximately 50% of schools had some kind of access to the Internet in 1996. By 1999 this number had grown to more than 90% (Becker, 1999). It can be assumed that this number has continued to grow over the recent months and that we are now very close to the 100% goal. Equity issues, which once plagued the technology arena, seem to be diminishing (at least regarding Internet access). Anderson and Reinvest (1999) find no significant difference in access levels for schools serving minority or low socioeconomic communities as compared to schools serving more affluent communities: this finding differs sharply from similar surveys conducted three years earlier. Simply having access to technology/ Internet, however, does not ensure its best use. This becomes evident when close scrutiny is given to the way in which the Internet is applied. Becker (1999) discovered that only 26% of elementary teachers involved their students in Internet based activities. 92% of these activities involved downloading research information. Only 8% involved more interactive applications, such as email, web publishing, simulations, and problem-solving. According to Doherty (1998), many expensive Internet connections lie dormant in schools, except for brief periods when they function only as a very convenient encyclopedia. Low use of the technology reflects the failure to meet the second part of Clinton's mandate that teachers be prepared to integrate technology into their curriculum. Hubbard (1998) and Sunal et al. (1998) cite a lack of proper training and follow-up support as the most frequent reasons teachers give for not using the Internet in their classrooms. According to Hubbard, most teachers who use the Internet in innovative and creative ways have trained themselves through a process of experimentation born out of personal interest. Harris (1998) tells us that while such innovators may naturally seek out creative avenues for using the Internet, the majority of teachers, and especially the "technophobes," need specific training and ongoing support to integrate the technology effectively. School districts have spent billions of dollars putting the infrastructure in place to allow for Internet access, with little left in their budgets to pay for staff training (Sherry, 1997). …


This paper proposes a flow-path-network-triangular-facet-network (FPN_TFN) method based on a flow path network (FPN) and triangular facet network (TFN) constructed from a digital elevation model (DEM) to enhance the calculation of the slope length factor (L) in the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE). First, the slope length was derived from a FPN, which is traced by the flow path network model. Then, a TFN was used to estimate the slope, and finally, L was obtained by combining slope length with slope using the equation in RUSLE. Experiments were conducted to (1) quantitatively validate the accuracy of the FPN_TFN method using 5 m DEMs that were generated from four mathematical surface models; and (2) qualitatively evaluate the error by using a 30 m DEM of a real-world mountainous region located in central Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Sichuan Province, China. The performance of the four algorithms proposed by Moore and Burch (1986a), Böhner and Selige (2006), Desmet and Govers (1996), and Hickey (2000) were compared with that of the new approach. In the former two algorithms, two single flow direction and four multiple flow direction algorithms were selected for calculating the upslope contributing area (CA) and specific catchment area (SCA), such that 14 algorithms would be used for the comparison. The L estimates computed with the proposed algorithm were closer to the theoretical value. The root mean standard errors (RMSE) of the proposed algorithm are 79%, 96%, 69%, and 90% less than the same errors generated by the best of 14 comparison algorithms on the ellipsoid, inverse ellipsoid, saddle, and plane, respectively. The mean absolute errors (MEs) of the proposed algorithm are 0.83, 0.14, 1.00, and 0.39 m using the aforementioned order of surfaces, obviously lower than that of the comparison algorithms. The spatial error of the proposed algorithm is distributed between –1 and 1 for the inverse ellipsoid and plane surfaces, and falls mainly between –1 and 1 on the ellipsoid and saddle surfaces. They are still lower than that for the other algorithms. The new approach also produces better spatial distributions of L on the real-world mountainous region.


Alternating direction iterative (ADI) methods do not usually work well on parallel computers due to having to do parallel rather than serial tridiagonal solves in all but one dimension. An ADI-like iteration is developed and analyzed which does not require parallel tridiagonal solves in any direction, has at least as good of a convergence rate as ADI, and has almost no communication when imbedded as a smoother inside of a multigrid solver. Numerical experiments on a network of workstations and a parallel computer are included.


BACKGROUND
Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) is associated with significant morbidity and mortality among adults. However, outcomes are poorly defined among children.

METHODS
A retrospective cohort study was performed among hospitalized children at 41 children's hospitals between January 2006 and August 2011. Patients with CDI (exposed) were matched 1:2 to patients without CDI (unexposed) based on the probability of developing CDI (propensity score derived from patient characteristics). Exposed subjects were stratified by C. difficile test date, suggestive of community-onset (CO) versus hospital-onset (HO) CDI. Outcomes were analyzed for matched subjects.

RESULTS
We identified 5107 exposed and 693 409 unexposed subjects. Median age was 6 years (interquartile range [IQR], 2-13 years) for exposed and 8 years (IQR, 3-14 years) for unexposed subjects. Of these, 4474 exposed were successfully matched to 8821 unexposed by propensity score. In-hospital mortality differed significantly (CDI, 1.43% vs matched unexposed, 0.66%; P < .001). Mortality rates were similar between CO-CDI and matched subjects. However, mortality rates were significantly greater among HO-CDI compared with matched unexposed (odds ratio, 6.73 [95% confidence interval {CI}, 3.77-12.02]). Mean differences in length of stay (LOS) and total cost were significant: 5.55 days (95% CI, 4.54-6.56 days) and $18 900 (95% CI, $15 100-$22 700) for CO-CDI, and 21.60 days (95% CI, 19.29-23.90 days) and $93 600 (95% CI, $80 000-$107 200) for HO-CDI.

CONCLUSIONS
Pediatric CDI is associated with increased mortality, longer LOS, and higher costs. These findings underscore the importance of antibiotic stewardship and infection control programs to prevent this disease in children.


Teacher evaluation has the potential to lead to improved instruction and professional growth but in practice this potential is often unrealized. North Carolina has revised its teacher evaluation process to include many of the elements that are supported by research as necessary for effective teacher evaluation. The purpose of this study was to determine whether these changes have had any effect on teacher perceptions of evaluation as measured by specific questions on the North Carolina Teacher Working Conditions (TWC) Survey. These TWC Survey questions asked teachers whether they are held to high professional standards for delivering instruction whether they receive feedback that can help them improve instruction whether the procedures for teacher evaluation are consistent whether they are encouraged to reflect on their own practice and whether they are encouraged to try new things to improve instruction. The new teacher evaluation process in North Carolina was piloted in 2007-08 and then implemented in three phases beginning in the fall of 2008. Data from the 2008 and 2010 TWC Surveys were obtained from the North Carolina Professional Teaching Standards Commission. A series of dependent samples t tests was conducted to compare TWC Survey responses from a group of school districts in 2008 when they had not yet begun to use the new teacher evaluation process to their responses in 2010 after almost two years of experience with the process. The results of the t tests yielded no significant differences. A series of independent samples t tests was conducted to compare responses from a set of districts that at the time of the 2010 TWC Survey had been using the new teacher evaluation process between two and three years to a set of districts that had not yet begun to use the new process and to the responses from the state as a whole. There was a small but significant positive difference in teacher perceptions in those LEAs that had the most experience with the new teacher evaluation process at the time of the 2010 TWC Survey.


Background and aims Premature intra-acinar activation of trypsinogen is widely considered key for both the initiation of acute pancreatitis and the development of chronic pancreatitis. However, the biological consequences of intracellular trypsinogen activation have not been directly examined. To do so, a new mouse model was developed. Methods Mice were engineered to conditionally express an endogenously activated trypsinogen within pancreatic acinar cells (PACE-trypon). Hallmarks of pancreatitis were determined and findings were correlated to the level (zygosity) and extent (temporal and spatial) of conditional PACE-trypon expression. Furthermore, the impact of acinar cell death in PACE-trypon mice was assessed and compared with a model of selective diphtheria toxin (DT)-mediated induction of acinar apoptosis. Results Initiation of acute pancreatitis was observed with high (homozygous), but not low (heterozygous) levels of PACE-trypon expression. Subtotal (maximal-rapid induction) but not limited (gradual-repetitive induction) conditional PACE-trypon expression was associated with systemic complications and mortality. Rapid caspase-3 activation and apoptosis with delayed necrosis was observed, and loss of acinar cells led to replacement with fatty tissue. Chronic inflammation or fibrosis did not develop. Selective depletion of pancreatic acinar cells by apoptosis using DT evoked similar consequences. Conclusions Intra-acinar activation of trypsinogen is sufficient to initiate acute pancreatitis. However, the primary response to intracellular trypsin activity is rapid induction of acinar cell death via apoptosis which facilitates resolution of the acute inflammation rather than causing chronic pancreatitis. This novel model provides a powerful tool to improve our understanding of basic mechanisms occurring during pancreatitis.


We study North–South capital transfer and the diffusion of embodied technologies within a framework of intertemporal global welfare maximization. We show saddle path stability and characterize the steady state. We then examine the transition path by running numerical experiments based on realistic data. As a result, technology diffusion will succeed if the absorptive capacity is sufficient which requires sufficient investment. While a large share of capital is allocated to the South in early periods, this share declines in later periods when the South has caught up in terms of technologies.


The focus of this paper is to investigate measurement of website quality and user satisfaction. More specifically, the paper reports on a study investigating whether users of high-quality public websites are more satisfied than those of low-quality websites. Adopting a human–computer interaction perspective, we have gathered data from the 2009 public website awards in Scandinavia. Our analysis of Norwegian and Danish websites reveals that the use of quality criteria is highly technical compared to the traditional usability testing focus on efficiency, effectiveness and satisfaction of the actual system use by representatives. A Pearson correlation analysis of user evaluation from 296 websites that participated in the Danish web award Bedst på Nettet ('Top of the Web') showed no significant positive correlation between website quality and user satisfaction. We put forward recommendations for further investigation: (1) inclusion of real users (citizens and businesses) in real-use setting in the evaluation process could help move forward the understanding of the relationship between website quality and end-user satisfaction; (2) the lack of correlation between website quality and user satisfaction could be a point of departure for critical discussions of future implementation of public information and services and (3) additional and in-depth research of the measurement of website quality in the public sector, user expectations and the impacts of website quality improvements on user satisfaction.


CONTEXT
Reduced testosterone levels have been implicated as a potential causative factor in cognitive decline with older age. Men who possess the apolipoprotein E (APOE) epsilon4 allele have an increased risk of developing Alzheimer's disease; however, no studies have examined whether the influence of testosterone on cognition in healthy older men may be modulated by this genetic predisposition.

OBJECTIVE
The objective of the study was to investigate the association between serum testosterone concentrations and cognitive performance in healthy older men, taking into account APOE epsilon4 status.

DESIGN
This was a cross-sectional study conducted from 2003 to 2004.

SETTING
The study population consisted of community-dwelling males residing in Perth, Western Australia.

PARTICIPANTS
Healthy men over 55 yr, free of cognitive impairment and dementia (n = 45), were included in the study.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
Participants had fasting early morning blood samples for testosterone and SHBG and were assessed for mood as well as indices of general cognition, verbal and visual memory, executive functioning, working memory, and attention.

RESULTS
There was a significant interaction between calculated free testosterone (FT) and APOE epsilon4 on general cognition (P = 0.01) and executive functioning, working memory, and attention (P < 0.01). Higher levels of FT were associated with better general cognition in non-epsilon4 carriers (P = 0.01). By contrast, in epsilon4 carriers higher FT levels were associated with lower scores on tests of executive functioning, working memory, and attention (P = 0.02). In men at increased risk for Alzheimer's disease, higher testosterone levels were not associated with better cognitive function.

CONCLUSIONS
Cross-sectional and prospective studies of testosterone and cognition in older men should take into account APOE epsilon4 status.


Hedging has become the strategic strategy de jure, particularly for smaller powers1 that find themselves in increasingly volatile regional settings. Both in practice and in literature, hedging has become somewhat mythologized as an ideal foreign policy for smaller powers; a strategy which avoids the costs of either balancing or bandwagoning. This paper argues that while hedging can indeed be a smart strategy for smaller powers to engineer more optimal outcomes, it is not only not a costless strategy but also a strategy which can be extremely difficult to effectively undertake. To shed light on the inherent limitations of smaller powers engaging in a hedge, this paper borrows from neoclassical realism. Neoclassical realism is a useful starting point here because it assumes that ideal foreign policy-making is impossible. In addition, in the context of smaller power hedging in the contemporary international setting, neoclassical realism's understanding of systemic stimuli (aided by the literature on regional security complexes) and the domestic impact of strategic culture and leader images enables it to be a good analytical tool for gauging the likely challenges of attempting to hedge. Two historical examples, one of an ostensibly successful hedge (Tito's non- alignment during the Cold War) and one of an ostensibly unsuccessful hedge (Yakub Beg's failure to hedge the British and Russian Empires), are used to demonstrate how successful hedging requires adept understanding of the structural environment as well as a keen use of statecraft.


We examine the relationships between simultaneous observations of aerosol properties from the Multiangle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) and trade‐wind cumulus macrophysical properties including cloud fraction (fc), cloud size and cloud top height (hct) distribution from the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) over the Indian Ocean during the dry season (Nov–Apr) of 2006–2007. Mean fc increases from 0.029 to 0.089 with an increase in aerosol optical depth (τa) from 0.1 to 0.3, plateaus between 0.3 < τa < 0.45 and decreases by >30% at τa > 0.45. The hct displays insensitive response to increasing τa for τa < 0.4, but reduces at τa > 0.4. Cloud size distribution shifts significantly to large cloud size at τa > 0.45, possibly due to more efficient desiccation of small clouds under semi‐direct effect. The observed changes in cloud properties in relation to increasing τa suggest a very complex interaction between trade‐wind cumuli and absorbing aerosols that cannot be explained by potential remote sensing artifacts or synoptic meteorology. Further examination of the potential role of mesoscale meteorology on such relationships using multi‐year data sets is warranted.


This article is taken from the author's presidential address at the annual meeting of the Pacific Coast Branch of the American Historical Association, delivered on August 3, 2018. It explores the structural and personal sources of Japan's surprisingly successful transition, in the decades around 1600, to an urban-centered market economy. Particular attention is devoted to artistic innovation as one indicator of the "climate of change" that enabled radical new choices in a society loosed from the authority of old regimes.


A comparative analysis of the representation of the exiled female body in the Ghanaian Amma Darko's Faceless, and the Indian Arundhati Roy's The God of Small Things reveals similar brutal means of control over women's sexual freedom, without erasing sociological differences like the influence of superstitions and curses in Ghana, and the internal policing of caste hierarchies in India. A study of linguistic hybridity in Manju Kapur of India's Difficult Daughters and Ama Ata Aidoo of Ghana's Changes: a love story, shows the complexities of expressing local specificities in the ex-coloniser's language for reasons of worldwide accessibility. A close look at cultural hybridity, or the juxtaposing of allusions to Western culture with non-Western cultural practices, highlights harmonious religious overlappings as well as religious conflicts resulting from the multiple religious practices in Ghana and in India. Instances of cultural hybridity also demonstrate the particular cultural richness, although not identical in Aidoo's and in Kapur's novels, engendered by the simultaneous deployment of Western and non-Western cultural references. This comparative study, therefore, underlines cultural and contextual specificities, in an attempt to avoid unjustified homogenisations or isolated nationalist essentialisations of these four coloured postcolonial women's texts.


Aim: The purpose of this study was to analyse the effects of age, sex, body mass index (BMI) and country of origin (Mozambique versus Portugal) on physical activity and sedentariness. Methods: Sample size was comprised of 593 adolescents from Mozambique (n=258) and Portugal (n=335), aged 10-15 years old. Height and weight were measured, and BMI was computed; furthermore, subjects were classified in two groups (normal weight and overweight/obese). The mean time (min/day) spent in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), light physical activity (LPA), and sedentary activity were assessed using the GT3X Actigraph accelerometer over at least 4 days (1 weekend day) with a minimum of 10 hours/day of monitoring. Multiple regression analysis was done in SPSS 20. Results: A low percentage of Mozambican (3.9%) and Portuguese (4.3%) youth complied with the MVPA recommendations (60min∙day-1). However, Portuguese boys spend more time in MVPA. Girls and those with higher BMI spend more time in sedentary activities and less time in MVPA and LPA; older adolescents spend more time in sedentary activities and less time in LPA. There is a significant effect of the country of origin on MVPA, favouring Portuguese youth. Conclusions: Results suggest country differences in MVPA between Mozambican and Portuguese youth – the Mozambicans are less involved in MVPA than the Portuguese, probably reinforcing the undesirable effect of the urbanization process in developing nations.


Today there is no single "Smart grid" in existence, but rather a conglomeration of different legacy systems paired with new technologies and architectural approaches, based on different standards and regulations that all need to be amalgamated into a communication network to support the challenges of the future electricity network. To support this objective, "Zoning principles", as an element of the Cyber Security architecture for Smart Grids, are being presented on the basis of cyber security and architecture requirements, dependency on legacy installations, and present regulations and industry standards. "Zoning principles" provide a method of classifying functions and systems in a future Smart Grid communication network, and structuring them into a multi-layered "Defense in Depth" architecture. Furthermore it introduces a structured method for defining security controls and thus enabling the further development of a compliance process with regard to trusted connectivity in a Smart Grid.


The Vungu shear zone is one of only two D3 shear zones in the Margate Terrane, and is here named and examined in detail for the first time. Detailed mapping indicates that this ~10 km wide shear zone can be subdivided into a high-strain core (~2 to 4 km thick) and lower-strain southeastern and northwestern marginal (each ~3 to 4 km thick) subzones. Macro- and microstructures are similar to other D3 shear zones in the Natal Metamorphic Province. Part of the northwestern marginal subzone shows D3-parallel magmatic foliation developed in the Oribi Gorge granite, thereby providing a reliable upper age of ~1.07 to 1.08 Ga for D3 in the Margate Terrane. This upper age is ~20 to 47 Ma older than that determined for the D3 event in the Mzumbe Terrane. Integration with newly constrained ages of the D1 (~1.09 Ga) and D2 (1.09 to 1.06 Ga) events illustrate their temporal overlap and support models that propose the D1– D3 structures comprise different expressions of the same tectonic event.


Related isoforms of protein kinase C control growth of the heart in both developmental and pathological contexts. This Podcast features an interview with Gerald W. Dorn II and Moshi Song, authors of a Research Article that appears in the 21 April 2015 issue of Science Signaling, about how two related isoforms of protein kinase C (PKC) control growth of the heart in both developmental and pathological contexts. There are several isoforms of PKC, and these participate in many different signaling pathways that control diverse cellular processes. Based on how they are activated, PKCs are categorized into three groups: conventional, novel, and atypical. PKCδ and PKCε are closely related novel PKCs that have partially redundant functions in the heart. By removing both PKCδ and PKCε from cardiomyocytes, Song et al. found that these two related PKC isoforms normally limit heart growth both during development and in adult mice. Embryos lacking both PKCδ and PKCε had enlarged hearts, and adults lacking both PKCδ and PKCε exhibited greater cardiac hypertrophy in response to pressure overload. These results have implications for the clinical use of PKC inhibitors to treat cardiac disease and other diseases, such as cancer.


The material composition of nuclear fuel changes constantly due to nuclides transforming to other nuclides via neutron-induced transmutation reactions and spontaneous radioactive decay. The objective of burnup calculations is to simulate these changes over time. This thesis considers two essential topics of burnup calculations: the numerical solution of burnup equations based on computing the burnup matrix exponential, and the uncertainty analysis of neutron transport criticality equation based on perturbation theory. The burnup equations govern the changes in nuclide concentrations over time. They form a system of first order differential equations that can be formally solved by computing the matrix exponential of the burnup matrix. Due to the dramatic variation in the half-lives of different nuclides, the system is extremely stiff and the problem is complicated by vast variations in the time steps used in burnup calculations. In this thesis, the mathematical properties of burnup matrices are studied. It is deduced that their eigenvalues are generally confined to a region near the negative real axis. Rational approximations that are accurate near the negative real axis, and the Chebyshev rational approximation method (CRAM) in particular, are proposed as a novel method for solving the burnup equations. The results suggest that the proposed approach is capable of providing a robust and accurate solution to the burnup equations with a very short computation time. When a mathematical model contains uncertain parameters, this uncertainty is propagated to responses dependent on the model. This thesis studies the propagation of neutron interaction data uncertainty through the criticality equation on a fuel assembly level. The considered approach is based on perturbation theory, which allows computing the sensitivity profiles of a response with respect to any number of parameters in an efficient manner by solving an adjoint system in addition to the original forward problem. The uncertainty related to these parameters can then be propagated deterministically to the response by linearizing the response.


Recent adoption of the Business Process Maturity Model (BPMM) by the Object Management Group (OMG) provides a means for managers to benchmark and monitor business processes as well as a roadmap for process improvement. The expectation is that as maturity increases, the result is a positive impact on performance; however, little empirical research has examined to what extent, if any process maturity has on performance. We conduct a survey of manufacturing firms to study the effects of process maturity on performance for two boundary spanning processes: purchasing and order fulfillment. Our results indicate that organizations with more mature purchasing processes appear to have higher relative levels of efficiency process outcomes than those with less mature purchasing processes. Similarly more mature order fulfillment processes do appear to have higher relative levels of quality process outcomes than those with less mature order fulfillment processes.


Multiferroic materials simultaneously possess more than one ferroic orders. The most important multiferroic materials are those that show simultaneous ferroelectric and ferromagnetic properties which is called magneto-electric materials. Magneto-electric materials manifest a change in polarization under external magnetic field or change in magnetization under an electric field. Magnetoelectricity can be found both in single phase and composite materials. Single phase materials have both electric and magnetic orders and the magnetoelectric effect originate from the coupling of ferroelectric and magnetic dipoles. In a magnetoelectric composite structure, a coupling is induced via an interfacial elastic interaction between magnetostrictive and piezoelectric materials enabling the control of the magnetization by an electric field and vice versa. Magneto- electric thin film nano composites have drawn significant interest because of the easy incorporation in to the integrated magnetic and electric devices, such as sensors, microelectromechanical system and spintronics devices which cannot be realized in the bulk counterpart. This dissertation focused on the growth and characterization of lead free multiferroic Ba0.85Ca0.15Zr0.10Ti0.90O3 (BCZT) – CoFe2O4 (CFO) nano composite thin films deposited on Pt substrate through pulsed laser deposition. BCZT thin film was chosen as piezoelectric materials because of recent development in lead-free piezoelectric ceramics in which piezoelectric properties are quite comparable to that of lead based PZT ceramics which is non-environment friendly due the toxicity of lead. Similarly, CFO thin films were preferred because of its high magnetostriction value among the oxide ferromagnetic materials. First, the piezoelectric thin film was systematically optimized for different oxygen pressures and substrate temperatures. The effect of these process parameter on structure, microstructure, ferroelectric and mechanical properties has been studied. The piezoelectric domains and the ferroelectric switching of dipoles with applied electric field were also studied. From the above experiments the optimum growth conditions were realized as O2 Pressure – 13.3 Pa and Substrate temperature 700°C to achieve high quality BCZT thin films. In the same way, the effect of different oxygen pressures on structure, microstructure, magnetic and mechanical properties were studied for CFO film. In addition, magnetic annealing was carried out to increase the magnetostriction and decrease the strain sensitivity in-order to enhance the total magnetoelectric coupling in the nano composites. Enhanced magnetostrictive properties and uniaxial anisotropy has been observed for magnetic annealed film compared to the nonmagnetic annealed and as deposited films. By using the above optimized conditions, multilayers of BCZT/CFO/BCZT nano composites were deposited for different thickness ratios to obtain growth control morphology at the interface since there is a continuous change in the morphology texture and surface topography as a function of film thickness. The interface between the piezoelectric and ferromagnetic layer plays a key role in transferring the stress and to achieve high magnetoelectric coupling. In general, the polycrystalline ferroelectric thin film was grown with columnar grains and spinel ferrite with granular grains. This difference in the morphology at the interface reduces the coupling between the two phases. Here we propose a new structure in the polycrystalline 2-2 multilayered structure which stacks in a single continuous column like a superlattice structure which provides more flexibility for strain transfer and reduces the substrate clamping effect by altering the deposition conditions within the frame work of Structure Zone Model (SZM). Morphologically coherent continuous columnar structure was obtained for the nanocomposite having thickness ratio of BCZT (900nm)/CFO (180nm)/BCZT (900). The grains between the BCZT/CFO and CFO/BCZT interface grew in a grain-over grain pattern with same crystallographic orientation such that the films are in local epitaxy registry over a wide spread of different orientation at the interface. The effect of thickness on the structure, ferroelectric, magnetic and magneto-dielectric properties were studied along with microstructure and Raman studies at the interface. A high dielectric constant change of 21% obtained by an induced applied magnetic field attained in continuous columnar growth indicating the high strain coupling.


By stimulating the production of adenosine, acupuncture stimulates a class of pain-relieving receptors in the periphery. Acupuncture is an ancient procedure involving the insertion of needles that are rotated, heated, or electrically stimulated to relieve pain (see Zylka). Goldman et al. found that acupuncture at the "Zusanli" point (near the knee) in mice produced nociception and increased the local concentrations of adenine nucleotides (ATP, ADP, and AMP) and adenosine. Whereas the extracellular concentration of ATP rapidly returned to baseline after a 30-minute acupuncture session, ADP, AMP, and adenosine concentrations remained increased 1 hour after the session. Adenosine has antinociceptive properties mediated by the A1 receptor (A1R). Injection of an A1R agonist at the Zusanli point also reduced pain in two different pain models, and acupuncture and the A1R agonist were ineffective in reducing pain in mice deficient for A1R. By recording in vivo responses of the anterior cingulated cortex, which is the region of the brain that receives pain signals from the foot, Goldman et al. showed that acupuncture or the A1R agonist of the ipsilateral leg both reduced the amplitude of field excitatory postsynaptic potentials in response to painful foot shock. In contrast, treatment of the contralateral leg failed to reduce the activity of this region of the brain in response to painful foot shock. Systemic inhibition of both AMP deaminase and adenosine deaminase, enzymes that metabolize these molecules, with deoxycoformycin (a clinically approved anticancer drug) prolonged the duration that local AMP and adenosine concentrations remained increased after acupuncture and enhanced the duration of the pain-relieving effects of acupuncture. This work provides a mechanism for the basis of acupuncture, as well as indicates that combining acupuncture with pharmacological inhibition of adenosine metabolism may expand the types of pain that acupuncture can alleviate. N. Goldman, M. Chen, T. Fujita, Q. Xu, W. Peng, W. Liu, T. K. Jensen, Y. Pei, F. Wang, X. Han, J.-F. Chen, J. Schnermann, T. Takano, L. Bekar, K. Tieu, M. Nedergaard, Adenosine A1 receptors mediate local anti-nociceptive effects of acupuncture. Nat. Neurosci. 13, 883–888 (2010). [PubMed] M. J. Zylka, Needling adenosine receptor for pain relief. Nat. Neurosci. 13, 783–784 (2010). [PubMed]


Background Neuromuscular training (NMT) has been shown to reduce injury rates in highly structured clinical trials. There is, however, a paucity of studies that evaluate implementation of NMT programmes in sports. Objective To evaluate the spread and implementation of a NMT programme in female adolescent football three years after a randomised controlled trial (RCT). Design Cross-sectional study using web-based questionnaires, based on the RE-AIM SSM (Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation and Maintenance Sports Setting Matrix) framework. Setting Female adolescent football in Sweden. Participants Representatives for the Swedish Football Association (FA) and eight district FAs that participated in an RCT in 2009, all coaches (n=303) who participated in the RCT and all currently (season 2012) active coaches for female adolescent teams (n=496) within the same districts were contacted. The response rates were 100% (Swedish and district FAs), 57% (RCT coaches, n=173) and 36% (current coaches, n=179), respectively. Interventions Not applicable. Main outcome measurements Reach, perceived effectiveness, adoption, implementation and maintenance of the NMT programme. Results The reach of the programme was high, 99% of RCT coaches (control group) and 91% of current coaches were familiar with it, and the programme was generally positively perceived. The adoption rate (usage) among current coaches was 74%. Regarding implementation, 75–77% of coaches reported programme modifications. Usage of the programme was fairly well maintained over time among RCT coaches. Formal or informal policies regarding the programme's implementation existed in the Swedish FA and in two district FAs. Among current coaches 87% reported no club routines for programme use. Conclusions Reach and adoption of the NMT programme was high among coaches. However, the follow-up also identified low programme fidelity and lack of formal policies for its implementation and use in clubs and district FAs.


Among the various fouling mitigation strategies, surface modification is gaining increased attention due to its environmental compatibility, i.e., reduced consumption of potentially harmful fouling inhibitors. One approach is to decrease the surface energy, which could give rise to lower adhesive strength of deposited crystals on surfaces. The present work aims at investigating the influence of various novel coatings on the interaction energies between CaSO4 deposits and modified surfaces. Investigated coatings are (i) solvent based, (ii) water based, and (iii) electroless Ni-P-BN. A systematic set of fouling runs has been conducted under similar operating conditions for all coatings. The experimental results show that the deposition process is strongly affected by altering the surface properties, particularly the electron donor component. Furthermore, the contribution of the Lifshitz–van der Waals energy to the total interaction energy is marginal in comparison to that of the Lewis acid–base energy under the range of operating conditions in this study. Overall, in terms of reduced stickiness of deposits onto the surface, the solvent-based coatings performed best.


Relationships with supervisors are regarded by graduate students the world over as the most important aspect
affecting the quality of their overall university research experience. With the global increase in attrition rates of
graduate students, much research is being conducted on understanding the nature of supervisory relationships
in an attempt to develop ways of reducing attrition and improving PhD students' and supervisors' experiences
of the PhD process. Despite this trend, from the perspective of graduate students, managing supervisory
relationships is a topic that has received only scant coverage in the extensive literature on graduate supervision. In response to this gap, eighteen students from diverse backgrounds studying at one Malaysian university were interviewed using a combination of in-depth, one-on-one interviews, and focus group discussions. The results illuminated the central theme of 'management' of the supervisory relationship and included both management
of self and supervisor. Managing the supervisory experience was further reduced to two streams: 1) acceptance of the situation, and 2) responding proactively to the situation so as to optimize the PhD research experience. The findings raise several issues related to the role of managing one's experience in the context of professional development at the PhD level.


Recent work in structure from motion (SfM) has successfully built 3D models from large unstructured collections of images downloaded from the Internet. Most approaches use incremental algorithms that solve progressively larger bundle adjustment problems. These incremental techniques scale poorly as the number of images grows, and can drift or fall into bad local minima. We present an alternative formulation for SfM based on finding a coarse initial solution using a hybrid discrete-continuous optimization, and then improving that solution using bundle adjustment. The initial optimization step uses a discrete Markov random field (MRF) formulation, coupled with a continuous Levenberg-Marquardt refinement. The formulation naturally incorporates various sources of information about both the cameras and the points, including noisy geotags and vanishing point estimates. We test our method on several large-scale photo collections, including one with measured camera positions, and show that it can produce models that are similar to or better than those produced with incremental bundle adjustment, but more robustly and in a fraction of the time.


Geometrical domains characterising the degrees of freedom of a structural system within the context of Maxwell's reciprocal representation of force and geometry are likely to provide indicators of the constitutive elements of structural robustness. Structural robustness is defined as the "insensitivity to local failure". This definition emphasises the structure's capacity for force redistribution and the possibility of finding alternative load paths in a structure. Features linked to resistance and the redistribution of forces are likely to be modelled by load path, struts and ties or thrust lines, close to geometrical thinking. Since most methods proposed today for assessing the robustness of structures are based on probabilistic approaches, they are of limited interest for the design phase. Of the few approaches that have adopted a deterministic formulation, all provide a type of survey that is based on an in-depth analysis of the structure once it has been designed, according to specific scenarios. A central challenge should be to manage the issue of robustness earlier during the design process, or even to be able to interact with a model of the future structure in order to adjust the features of robustness. This paper explores the ability of geometrical domains to assess some of the relevant elements of structural robustness in terms of design in order to characterise the capacity of structures to redistribute forces. It compares indicators linked to the area of these domains. Based on case studies, this quantification of the structural provision is then compared with indices of deterministic and energetic criteria currently proposed in literature to quantify structural robustness.


In 2006, to fulfill a long-held dream, widely acclaimed photographer Michael Poliza and friend Stefan Breuer undertook a helicopter journey across Africa. Skimming close to the ground, they flew over 17 countries on their zigzag route from Hamburg to Cape Town. Poliza's alluring - and often surprising - photographs share this exceptional journey with the world. With a bird's-eye view, we witness the astounding beauty, scale and diversity of this imposing continent. The accompanying texts give a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the photographs and brief background to some of the most fascinating subject matters. A rare treat, both for the lover of fine photography and for the nature enthusiast.


The properties of planar-integrated imaging systems are studied on the basis of algebraic ray tracing. A third-order approximation yields analytical expressions for ray aberrations in the image plane. Ray aberrations are compared with the diffraction-limited spot size to estimate optimum system performance from the minimum of the second moment of the point-spread function. We use as a figure of merit the space–bandwidth product of the planar imaging setups. The investigation is restricted to imaging systems consisting of three optical elements.


Fatigue cracking at diaphragm-girder connections and at similar connections of cross-frames and floorbeams have been common in steel highway bridges for the past 20 or 30 years. Fatigue cracking at these connections generally results from forces acting transverse to the roadway that are generated by relative vertical deflections of the girders. The types of fatigue cracks that occur and the required repairs vary depending on the structural details of the connections. A synthesis of lessons learned from past repair projects will be presented. Topics presented will include behaviors observed in field tests of various connection types and the repair options available for addressing common types of cracking. Repair options discussed will include drilling of holes, replacement of connections with bolted or welded connections, modification of existing connections to reduce stress ranges, and permanent removal of diaphragms.


As technology continues to scale beyond 100 nm, there is a significant increase in performance uncertainty of CMOS logic due to process and environmental variations. Traditional circuit optimization methods assuming deterministic gate delays produce a flat "wall" of equally critical paths, resulting in variation-sensitive designs. This paper describes a new method for sizing of digital circuits, with uncertain gate delays, to minimize their performance variation leading to a higher parametric yield. The method is based on adding margins on each gate delay to account for variations and using a new "soft maximum" function to combine path delays at converging nodes. Using analytic models to predict the means and standard deviations of gate delays as polynomial functions of the device sizes, we create a simple, computationally efficient heuristic for uncertainty-aware sizing of digital circuits via geometric programming. Monte-Carlo simulations on custom 32 bit adders and ISCAS'85 benchmarks show that about 10 % to 20 % delay reduction over deterministic sizing methods can be achieved, without any additional cost in area.


The molecular sieve with size- and charge selectivity in ovarian follicles, the so-called blood-follicle barrier (BFB), was examined during follicular development under physiological conditions to reveal ovarian structures responsible for the BFB by using our 'in vivo cryotechnique' (IVCT). Mouse ovary specimens were prepared with different methods including IVCT, immersion, or perfusion chemical fixation and quick-freezing following resection or perfusion. Their paraffin sections or cryosections were stained with hematoxylin-eosin or immunostained for serum proteins with different molecular weights: albumin, immunoglobulin (Ig) G1 heavy chain, inter-alpha-trypsin inhibitor (I alpha I), fibrinogen, and IgM. Their immunoreactivity was better preserved with IVCT. The immunostaining for albumin was clearly observed in blood vessels, interstitium, and developing follicles, but that of IgG1, I alpha I, or fibrinogen was significantly decreased inside the follicles. IgM was immunohistochemically decreased throughout the interstitium outside blood vessels. The immunoreactivities of IgG1 and IgM, as compared with albumin, were clearly changed along follicular basement membranes and around vascular endothelial cells respectively. These findings indicate that BFB functions throughout follicular development, and the follicular basement membrane and the vascular endothelium could play some significant roles in the permselectivity for such soluble proteins with intermediate and high molecular weight respectively.


Dr H. Breman, Director of the International Centre for Soil Fertility Management in Togo, has a response to the opening article in Spore 73, about the Green Revolution. 'The core of my criticism is that you identify the lack of natural resources in Africa as a constraint, but you do not appreciate the gravity of the problem. The analysis of the success of the Green Revolution is simplified, as you recognise yourself. You only talk about climate factors, and the availability and management of water with regard to agro-ecology. A more important aspect is the quality of the soil. A special feature of Africa is that natural resources (combinations of soil and climate) are so poor that we have already reached over-exploitation of the soil, at a level of population density far below that reached elsewhere. What we need now is more external inputs, but this is happening at a time when the state of infrastructure is not helpful to develop an effective market for inputs and outputs, when job creation outside agriculture is problematical, and when the domestic market is underdeveloped. In addition, the quality of natural resources is so poor that inputs such as fertiliser are much less efficient than elsewhere. An alternative for the small farmer and marginal zones is in soil improvement, using non-organic enriching agents and fertilisers. Combining these fertilisers with some elements of ecological agriculture can be effective and profitable. The efficiency of external inputs has to be improved with ecological agriculture, rather than limiting their use as much as possible. I agree with you that we have to change socio-economic conditions as well as the natural environment if the Green Revolution is to become a reality in Africa.'

Dr Breman goes on to mention one possible approach described in the document 'Strategic framework for national action plans to improve soil fertility' and which specifies the roles of all stakeholders, from farmer to national decision-makers. (in: Proceedings of the 'International Workshop on Elaborating Strategies for Restoring Soil Fertility in sub-Saharan Africa', Lome, 22-25 April 1997. World Bank, Washington; IFDC, Mussel Shoals).


Geodynamic processes such as subduction and rifting are mainly controlled by high temperature plastic deformation of rocks. It is known that elements of the microstructure in plastically deformed rocks, such as subgrains and recrystallised grains, are potentially useful as indicators of past deformation conditions in the Earth. The general aims of this study are (i) to establish novel methods that allow a quantitative description of microstructures in materials showing complex, heterogeneous microstructures and (ii) to analyse deformation mechanisms and the relationship between elements of the microstructure and deformation conditions, such that microstructures in geological materials can be used as indicators of (palaeo-) deformation conditions. The material of this study consists of samples of calcite experimentally deformed for different conditions: natural strain (0.15-0.90), stress (15-85 MPa) and temperature (700-900 C). Calcite is an important rock forming material often involved in crustal deformation zones and has heterogeneous microstructures consisting of recrystallised and deformed grains, the latter having grain boundary bulges and containing mantle and core subgrains. Grain boundary bulges and recrystallised grains are shown to be independent of strain. The recrystallised grain and bulge size show an inverse stress dependency, which can be affected by temperature (especially at high stress). The bulge size – stress dependency is suggested to be related to pinning of grain boundaries by sub-boundaries, and/or differences in driving forces for migration. The recrystallised grain size – stress dependency is related to the stress dependency of the bulges, because the recrystallised grains nucleate at grain boundary bulges. It is found that the mantle subgrain size has already become dynamically stable at low strain (0.15). It is suggested that this is related to a balance between formation and 'growth' processes (subgrain boundary migration and subgrain coalescence). In contrast, the core subgrain size decreases with increasing strain and is linked to the deformed grain size. A mechanistic model based on slip system activation and stress intensification at grain boundaries in polycrystalline materials is proposed to explain the development of core mantle substructures. The core subgrains originally are formed by single slip and are not only dependent on stress, but also on grain size, strain and temperature. The low angle mantle subgrains are formed by slip on more than one slip system. They have a low stress sensitivity, which is probably related to cross-slip as a deformation mechanism and/or geometrically necessary dislocations accumulating in the mantle. In contrast, high angle mantle subgrains mainly consist of 'bulge subgrains' that are relatively more stress sensitive due to their origin by bulge rotation. Based on the stress sensitivities of the recrystallised grain size, bulge size, core and mantle subgrain sizes, suggestions are made for the use of such elements of the microstructures for palaeopiezometric purposes. It is found that high angle mantle subgrains, bulges and recrystallised grains are the most sensitive to stress and therefore most useful indicators of stress. For the application of recrystallised grains for palaeopiezometry, care should be taken especially at high stress because of the effect of temperature on the recrystallised grain size.


Microscopical imaging method of five-dimensional simultaneity fluorescence information is a new technology for acquiring fluorescence information, which makes use of two-photon array excitation to acquire information of fluorescence position, fluorescence spectrum and fluorescence lifetime for each array element. It removes the limitation on existing fluorescence detection technology in which different functional informations are not obtained simultaneously. In this paper, the methods for deriving geometrical intensity image, different spectral intensity images and different spectral life-time images from the complex information of the new technology are presented. Because of array excitation, there is asymmetry in the array excitation intensity, which influences the excited fluorescence intensity. A method based on the excitation fluorescence intensity correction coefficient matrix is put forward, which eliminates effectively the influence of the asymmetry of array excitation intensity. Data collection and processing for actual samples are made and imaging results are got. The experimental results show the validity of the processing methods and some unsolved problems in the processing methods are discussed.


The purpose of this study was to understand how the innovative teaching material "Interactive Learning Disk (ILD) "could enhance the learning effect of students taking the course of Tourist Database Management (TDM). "ILD" is a kind of teaching material that incorporate interactive concept into course and help students to learn after class. This research adopted quasi-experimental design. Finally, it concluded that ILD could more effectively enhance learners' learning effect for the tourist database management than the exemplary disk attached with the textbooks. As such, it is recommended other studies shall be conducted to probe the possibility of the development of applicable ILD for other disciplines. 1. Introduction The international tourism markets have grown up rapidly. The Asia Pacific region has even surpassed the American to become the word's second-largest tourist-receiving region since 2001 (Weng & Wang, 2004). Tourism development has become a major policy of the government in Taiwan to increase employment and economic growth (Kuo, Hsiao, & Lan, 2005). More and more international tourist hotels were established, and would attempt to join the international hotel chains to provide diversified facilities or broader range of services, such as restaurants, meetings, lounges, fully equipped business centers, banquet halls, clubs or other recreational facilities to meet different needs of travelers. However, as the emerging market in international tourism becomes so competitive, the operation of international tourist hotels become more complicated and must be able to specialize to attract particular customer groups. Many previous academic articles have focused on trends and development of the hotel industry or on the issues of performance evaluation during the past decades to explore (e.g., Sangree & Hathaway, 1996; Morey & Dittman, 1995; Anderson, Fork, & Scott, 2000; Tsaur, 2001; Hwang & Chang, 2003). However, the use of information to decide when and how a company can achieve greater benefits is of crucial importance. Hence, tourist database management also has become more and more important. The hotel managers must pay much attention on tourist database management to plan and implement the feasible strategies to attract all potential tourists from worldwide. That's why this research focuses on the course of Tourist Database Management to explore. Following the joint development of computer technology and audio/video media in recent decades, the "Interactive Multimedia" composed of the usage of computers and audio/video media material has advanced people's communication mutually and jumping interaction from one-way and linear broadcast. It's application has been widely extended to other areas, such as the information queries and searching in exhibition institutes (i.e. airports, museums and art museums), education, recreation, military, medical science and enterprise' training courses etc. Computer-based learning systems have great potential for delivering learning material (Masiello, Ramberg, & Lonka, 2005). The implementation of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to support learners' learning, or "hopping onto the e-learning bandwagon", had become a new trend in education (Govindasamy, 2001). Alant & Dada (2005) indicated that it is undoubtedly true the computer mediated communication technologies, when used correctly, can improve the quality of learning. One main function of education is to prepare the graduates to be able to apply what they have learned in school to the real word. To be a teacher in the Hospitality College, how to upgrade the learners' competency of tourist database management is an important topic today. The tourist database management has been one of the crucial parts for students majoring in tourism management. In terms of the reforms for the teaching of tourist database management, undoubtedly, researchers always hope to have the expedience and efficiency brought by the modem computer technology and base on the concept of establishing a learning environment with interactive Q&A as well as conversations. …


Past research argues that religious commitments shape individuals' prosocial sentiments, including their generosity and solidarity. But what drives the prosociality of less religious people? Three studies tested the hypothesis that, with fewer religious expectations of prosociality, less religious individuals' levels of compassion will play a larger role in their prosocial tendencies. In Study 1, religiosity moderated the relationship between trait compassion and prosocial behavior such that compassion was more critical to the generosity of less religious people. In Study 2, a compassion induction increased generosity among less religious individuals but not among more religious individuals. In Study 3, state feelings of compassion predicted increased generosity across a variety of economic tasks for less religious individuals but not among more religious individuals. These results suggest that the prosociality of less religious individuals is driven to a greater extent by levels of compassion than is the prosociality of the more religious.


International sustainable development goals for the elimination of viral hepatitis as a public health problem by 2030 highlight the pressing need to optimize strategies for prevention, diagnosis and treatment. Selected or transmitted resistance associated mutations (RAMs) and vaccine escape mutations (VEMs) in hepatitis B virus (HBV) may reduce the success of existing treatment and prevention strategies. These issues are particularly pertinent for many settings in Africa where there is high HBV prevalence and co-endemic HIV infection, but lack of robust epidemiological data and limited education, diagnostics and clinical care. The prevalence, distribution and impact of RAMs and VEMs in these populations are neglected in the current literature. We therefore set out to assimilate data for sub-Saharan Africa through a systematic literature review and analysis of published sequence data, and present these in an on-line database (https://livedataoxford.shinyapps.io/1510659619-3Xkoe2NKkKJ7Drg/). The majority of the data were from HIV/HBV coinfected cohorts. The commonest RAM was rtM204I/V, either alone or in combination with compensatory mutations, and identified in both reportedly treatment-naïve and treatment-experienced adults. We also identified the suite of mutations rtM204V/I + rtL180M + rtV173L, that has been associated with vaccine escape, in over 1/3 of cohorts. Although tenofovir has a high genetic barrier to resistance, it is of concern that emerging data suggest polymorphisms that may be associated with resistance, although the precise clinical impact of these is unknown. Overall, there is an urgent need for improved diagnostic screening, enhanced laboratory assessment of HBV before and during therapy, and sustained roll out of tenofovir in preference to lamivudine alone. Further data are needed in order to inform population and individual approaches to HBV diagnosis, monitoring and therapy in these highly vulnerable settings. Author's summary The Global Hepatitis Health Sector Strategy is aiming for the elimination of viral hepatitis as a public health threat by 2030. However, mutations associated with drug resistance and vaccine escape may reduce the success of existing treatment and prevention strategies. In the current literature, the prevalence, distribution and impact of hepatitis B virus (HBV) mutations in many settings in Africa are neglected, despite the high prevalence of HBV and co-endemic HIV infection. This systematic review describes the frequency, prevalence and co-occurrence of mutations associated with HBV drug resistance and vaccine escape mutations in Africa. The findings suggest a high prevalence of these mutations in some populations in sub-Saharan Africa. Scarce resources have contributed to the lack of HBV diagnostic screening, inconsistent supply of drugs, and poor access to clinical monitoring, all of which contribute to drug and vaccine resistance. Sustainable long-term investment is required to expand consistent drug and vaccine supply, to provide screening to diagnose infection and to detect drug resistance, and to provide appropriate targeted clinical monitoring for treated patients.


A typical scenario in information retrieval and web search is to index a given type of items (e.g., web pages, images) and provide search functionality for them. In such a scenario, the basic units of indexing and retrieval are the same. Extensive study has been done for efficient top-k computation in such settings. This paper studies top-k processing for many emerging scenarios: efficiently retrieving top-k items of one type based on the inverted index of another type of items. It would be very inefficient by directly utilizing traditional top-k approaches. Here we follow TA (the Threshold Algorithm) in this scenario. We present an aggregationaware top-k computation framework with three pruning principles upon the conventional inverted index and a novel inverted index type HybridRank, which employs the item information of both types. Experimental results show that our proposed new index structure and the aggregation-aware top-k strategy provide an efficient solution for this aggregation-aware top-k problem.


The idea that lending without regard to ability to repay should be illegal is not particularly new, but it gained purchase in recent years with the rapid growth of high-cost mortgage loans. In the late 1990s, law enforcement and private litigants began attacking predatory mortgage lenders on the grounds they were making loans that borrowers could not afford. Both before and after the financial crisis of 2008, state and federal legislators imposed reforms on the mortgage market that provided relief to borrowers whose lenders failed to determine whether they had sufficient income to afford their monthly mortgage payments.
This Article seeks to address two gaps in the literature on ability to repay. The first is the lack of research on the application of the ability-to-repay standard to nonmortgage credit products. Second, the Article identifies a trend toward an increased focus on ex post loan performance as opposed to ex ante risk assessments to determine whether a lender considered a borrower's ability to repay. The example of litigation against for-profit colleges' student loan activities illustrates these points.


Energy poverty can be defined as the inability to pay the bills that are required for maintaining the comfort conditions (usually in winter) in dwellings. The use of energy efficient systems is one way forward to mitigate this problem, with one option being the electrically driven air source heat pump water heater. This paper assesses the performance of a centralised heat pump (200 kW of heating capacity) to meet the space heating demand of block dwellings in Madrid (tier four out of five in winter severity in Spain). Two models have been developed to obtain the following variables: the hourly thermal energy demand and the off-design heat pump performance. The proposed heat pump is driven by a motor with variable rotational speed to modulate the heating capacity in an efficient way. A back-up system is also considered to meet the peak demand. A levelised cost of heating of 92.22 €/MWh is obtained for a middle-level energy efficiency in housing (class E, close to D). Moreover, the following energy-environmental parameters have been achieved: more than 74% share of renewable energy in primary energy and 131.7 g CO2 avoided per kWh met. A reduction of 60% in the heating cost per dwelling is obtained if an energy retrofit is carried out, improving the energy performance class from E to C. These results prove that the proposed technology is among the most promising measures for addressing energy poverty in vulnerable households.


This paper seeks to highlight if both concepts of polyarchy and ethnos nation-state may reconcile in practice despite their inner theoretical contradiction. Our Estonian case-study reveals that the definition of national identity according to ethnic cores prevents the state to take positive state duties towards ideal democratic conditions, and so any reconciliation to take place. Indeed, the consequent ethnic nationalism and monopoly of the cultural domain do undermine both inclusiveness and effective participation democratic conditions, while lessening non-members of the core nation's both psychological and material resources, thus entailing their selfwithdrawal.


Abstract. The starting point for developing a new map was defined by the requirements of the "MeinGrun" project (can be translated as 'my green' project). The aim is the development of a mobile app, which enables routing to urban areas, including suggestions for attractive places for different activities. A specific map style was designed to communicate information related to green spaces effectively and to make users excited about the topic of the project. Among other reasons, we also want to apply our knowledge on vector tile generation and use it in teaching. For the demonstration of our research on generalization, it is beneficial to offer a web map service because such a service allows illustrating developed methods and results. Finally, the experience enables us to train students in the design and development of customized styles for zoomable web maps. The aim is to build a map service with several zoom levels up to small scales using data from OpenStreetMap and NaturalEarth. For better adaptivity, it is aimed to offer the map as vector and raster tiles with the same style. Besides, making high-resolution raster tiles available for retina displays is considered as well. The rationale is that everyone can choose the appropriate method of delivery for different contexts of application. These requirements result in some technological challenges: provide vector and raster tiles at the same time and style, keep the computation time for an update, and generation low. For providing and delivering up to date data, on-the-fly map generalization has been implemented, e.g., scale-dependent selection, simplification, and aggregation of various features. Figure 1 shows our result, a map in warm colors, and a reduced information load for serving a reference map. The visualization of roads with a simple line is unique, but this was also the intension of the applied research project: the production of something unique and easy rememberable for the "MeinGrun" project. The hill-shading uses raster tiles while all other map features work with vector tiles. The data transformation from the OpenStreetMap format to the spatial PostgreSQL/PostGIS database has been applied with IMPOSM, a well-documented and efficient tool. GDAL is used to import the NaturalEarth data and doing some processing steps. PostgreSQL and its spatial extension PostGIS serve in many web-mapping projects as a data store and offer a wide range of options for processing data. After specified queries are applied, the t_rex software generates the vector tiles from the database, which are then packed as MBtiles using mbutil. Finally, Tileserver GL is used to serve vector and raster tiles, including further necessary additions such as style, sprites, and glyphs. To sum up, we already have a working service, which is available on our server with an ongoing blog about the project. Still, it is a work on progress project that needs further research and development. For example, the integration of Wikipedia/Wikidata information for selecting place by their importance, transliteration of no-Latin place names for a world-wide coverage, and more and better labeling of features. Now the map extent is scale depended and covers at low zoom levels the whole world. In contrast, the higher zoom levels are only available in Dresden and Heidelberg to match the requirements of the "MeinGrun" project but will be extended in the future.


This paper uses the notion of institutional logics to advance our understanding of institutional change in the ICT start-up eco-system in Japan. We chose to study ICT start-ups because the rates of entry, growth, and exit are faster in this sector than in others, making it easier to observe institutional change. Our study, based on data from interviews, closed master classes and document analysis, is presented in three steps. First, we describe the two logics that coexist in the ICT start-up eco-system, namely Corporate Logic and Venture Logic, and practices under each logic in three arenas, namely the capital market, the labor market, and social networks. Second, we identify several factors that enabled the emergence of Venture Logic during the period since the mid-1990s. Third, looking into the future, we discuss the reasons why we predict that the two logics are likely to co-exist in this field, resulting in organizational heterogeneity.


The use of the activated sludge process (ASP) for the nitrification/denitrification of wastewaters is commonplace throughout the UK and many other parts of the industrial world. Associated with this process are significant costs arising from aeration requirements and for selected sites, the need to provide an external carbon source. These costs can constitute up to of 50% of the total running cost of the whole plant and as such, any effort to reduce them could realise significant benefits. This paper investigates the use of real time control (RTC) using online sensors and control algorithms to optimise the operation of the ASP, leading to greater efficiency and sustainability. Trials were undertaken at full scale to assess the benefit of such a system at a 250,000 population equivalent (PE) works on the south coast of the UK, using Activated sludge model No.1 (ASM 1) as a basis for the control system. Initial results indicate that it is possible to significantly reduce both aeration and chemical consumption costs whilst still delivering the required effluent quality. Over the trial period the aeration requirements were consistently reduced by 20% whereas, a reduction in methanol consumption of in excess of 50% was observed.


The rejection of the going concern premise as the underlying assumption of financial statements has farreaching consequences for accounting. For that reason, it is vitally important to identify the appropriate point in time at which the entity can no longer be regarded as a going concern. Focussing on entities that voluntarily decided to liquidate their operations, the analysis shows that both the IFRS taxonomy and the accounting literature are rather vague on the question of the point in time at which the going concern premise is no longer appropriate. Therefore, we identify the reporting stages that are necessary in the liquidation phase. Contrary to expectations, the paper argues that the going concern assumption should not be immediately abandoned, as retaining it can provide users of financial statements with decisionuseful information. In fact, the paper recommends a value chain based approach. Accordingly, the going concern assumption should not be rejected before the entity has terminated its activities at all stages of its value chain.


The students investigate the scientific method by a prompt in the form of a letter asking them to
design a hand washing experiment. This experiment asks them to test antimicrobial chemicals for use
in soaps. This is a workshop and experiment designed to instruct students on the scientific method.
They learn to create a hypothesis, decide on variables, and determine the control. They then design
the procedure for their labs, write their materials and methods, and finally conduct the
experiment.


Abstract. This study investigates the fine particulate matter (PM2.5) variability in the Klang Valley urban-industrial environment. In total, 94 daily PM2.5 samples were collected during a 1-year campaign from August 2011 to July 2012. This is the first paper on PM2.5 mass, chemical composition and sources in the tropical environment of Southeast Asia, covering all four seasons (distinguished by the wind flow patterns) including haze events. The samples were analysed for various inorganic components and black carbon (BC). The chemical compositions were statistically analysed and the temporal aerosol pattern (seasonal) was characterised using descriptive analysis, correlation matrices, enrichment factor (EF), stoichiometric analysis and chemical mass closure (CMC). For source apportionment purposes, a combination of positive matrix factorisation (PMF) and multi-linear regression (MLR) was employed. Further, meteorological–gaseous parameters were incorporated into each analysis for improved assessment. In addition, secondary data of total suspended particulate (TSP) and coarse particulate matter (PM10) sampled at the same location and time with this study (collected by Malaysian Meteorological Department) were used for PM ratio assessment. The results showed that PM2.5 mass averaged at 28 ± 18 µg m−3, 2.8-fold higher than the World Health Organisation (WHO) annual guideline. On a daily basis, the PM2.5 mass ranged between 6 and 118 µg m−3 with the daily WHO guideline exceeded 43 % of the time. The north-east (NE) monsoon was the only season with less than 50 % sample exceedance of the daily WHO guideline. On an annual scale, PM2.5 mass correlated positively with temperature (T) and wind speed (WS) but negatively with relative humidity (RH). With the exception of NOx, the gases analysed (CO, NO2, NO and SO2) were found to significantly influence the PM2.5 mass. Seasonal variability unexpectedly showed that rainfall, WS and wind direction (WD) did not significantly correlate with PM2.5 mass. Further analysis on the PM2.5 ∕ PM10, PM2.5 ∕ TSP and PM10 ∕ TSP ratios reveal that meteorological parameters only greatly influenced the coarse particles (particles with an aerodynamic diameter of greater than 2.5 µm) and less so the fine particles at the site. Chemical composition showed that both primary and secondary pollutants of PM2.5 are equally important, albeit with seasonal variability. The CMC components identified were in the decreasing order of (mass contribution) BC > secondary inorganic aerosols (SIA) > dust > trace elements > sea salt > K+. The EF analysis distinguished two groups of trace elements: those with anthropogenic sources (Pb, Se, Zn, Cd, As, Bi, Ba, Cu, Rb, V and Ni) and those with a crustal source (Sr, Mn, Co and Li). The five identified factors resulting from PMF 5.0 were (1) combustion of engine oil, (2) mineral dust, (3) mixed SIA and biomass burning, (4) mixed traffic and industrial and (5) sea salt. Each of these sources had an annual mean contribution of 17, 14, 42, 10 and 17 % respectively. The dominance of each identified source largely varied with changing season and a few factors were in agreement with the CMC, EF and stoichiometric analysis, accordingly. In relation to meteorological–gaseous parameters, PM2.5 sources were influenced by different parameters during different seasons. In addition, two air pollution episodes (HAZE) revealed the influence of local and/or regional sources. Overall, our study clearly suggests that the chemical constituents and sources of PM2.5 were greatly influenced and characterised by meteorological and gaseous parameters which vary greatly with season.


Crowdsourcing is widely proposed as a method to solve a large variety of judgment tasks, such as classifying website content, peer grading in online courses, or collecting real-world data. As the data reported by workers cannot be verified, there is a tendency to report random data without actually solving the task. This can be countered by making the reward for an answer depend on its consistency with answers given by other workers, an approach called peer consistency. However, it is obvious that the best strategy in such schemes is for all workers to report the same answer without solving the task. Dasgupta and Ghosh [2013] show that, in some cases, exerting high effort can be encouraged in the highest-paying equilibrium. In this article, we present a general mechanism that implements this idea and is applicable to most crowdsourcing settings. Furthermore, we experimentally test the novel mechanism, and validate its theoretical properties.


In this paper, we analyze the secrecy capacity of a full-duplex underlay cognitive cooperative radio network (CCRN) in the presence of an eavesdropper and under the interference power constraint of a primary network. The full-duplex mode is used at the secondary relay to improve the spectrum efficiency which in turn leads to an improvement of the secrecy capacity of the full-duplex CCRN. We utilize an approximation-and-fitting method to convert the complicated expression of the signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio into polynomial form which is then utilized to derive an expression for the secrecy capacity. Numerical results are provided to illustrate the effect of network parameters such as transmit power, interference power limit, self-interference parameters of the full-duplex mode, and distances among links on the secrecy capacity. To reveal the benefits of the full-duplex CCRN, we compare the secrecy capacity obtained when the secondary relay operates in full-duplex and half-duplex mode.