This paper is an improvement of our paper "(t, i, f)-Neutrosophic Structures" [1], where we introduced for the first time a new type of structures, called (t, i, f)-Neutrosophic Structures, presented from a neutrosophic logic perspective, and we showed particular cases of such structures in geometry and in algebra. In any field of knowledge, each structure is com-posed from two parts: a space, and a set of axioms (or laws) acting (governing) on it. If the space, or at least one of its axioms (laws), has some indeterminacy of the form (t, i, f) ≠ (1, 0, 0), that structure is a (t, i, f)-Neutrosophic Structure. The (t, i, f)-Neutrosophic Structures [based on the components t = truth, i = numerical indeterminacy, f = falsehood] are different from the Neutrosophic Algebraic Structures [based on neutrosophic numbers of the form a + bI, where I = literal indeterminacy and In = I], that we rename as I-Neutrosophic Algebraic Structures (meaning algebraic structures based on indeterminacy "I" only). But we can combine both and obtain the (t, i, f)-I-Neutrosophic Algebraic Structures, i.e. algebraic struc-tures based on neutrosophic numbers of the form a+bI, but also having indeterminacy of the form (t, i, f) ≠ (1, 0, 0) related to the structure space (elements which only partially belong to the space, or elements we know noth-ing if they belong to the space or not) or indeterminacy of the form (t, i, f) ≠ (1, 0, 0) related to at least one axiom (or law) acting on the structure space. Then we extend them to Refined (t, i, f)- Refined I-Neutrosophic Algebra-ic Structures.


One of the key mechanisms that mediate renal autoregulation is the tubuloglomerular feedback (TGF) system, which is a negative feedback loop in the kidney that balances glomerular filtration with tubular reabsorptive capacity. Tubular fluid flow, NaCl concentration and other related variables are known to exhibit TGF-mediated oscillations. In this study, we used a mathematical model of the thick ascending limb (TAL) of a short loop of Henle of the rat kidney to study the effects of (i) spatially inhomogeneous TAL NaCl active transport rate, (ii) spatially inhomogeneous tubular radius and (iii) compliance of the tubular walls on TGF-mediated dynamics. A bifurcation analysis of the TGF model equations was performed by deriving a characteristic equation and finding its roots. Results of the bifurcation analysis were validated via numerical simulations of the full model equations. Model results suggest that a higher TAL NaCl active transport rate or a smaller TAL radius near the loop bend gives rise to stable oscillatory solutions at sufficiently high TGF gain values, even with zero TGF delay. In addition, when the TAL walls are assumed to be compliant, the TGF system exhibits a heightened tendency to oscillate, a result that is consistent with predictions of a previous modelling study.


Summary form only given. This paper presents the OPF formulation of a recent power flow STATCOM model [1]. The new model puts forward an alternative, insightful interpretation of the fundamental frequency operation of the PWM-controlled Voltage Source Converter (VSC), in an optimal fashion. The new model makes provisions for the explicit representation of the converter's internal ohmic and switching losses which in the context of an OPF formulation, yields an optimum operating point at which these power losses are at a minimum. The STATCOM model possesses unparalleled control capabilities in the operational parameters of both the AC and DC sides of the converter. Such control modeling flexibility is at its best when expressed in the context of an OPF solution using Newton's method. The STATCOM equations are incorporated into the OPF formulation using Lagrangian functions in quite a natural manner for efficient optimal solutions using a single frame-of-reference. The inequality constraint set of variables is handled equally well using the multipliers method. The prowess of the new model is demonstrated using two sample systems.


The height of dikes and other coastal structures can only be calculated after determination of the wave run-up. Several formulas for the calculation of wave run-up are developed after model tests as a rule. But the influences of scale effects and natural wind conditions are practically unknown. To clear these questions further investigations and especially field measurements should be carried out. By measuring the markerline of floating trash on the slope of the seadikes the maximum wave run-up could be found out after four storm surges in 1967 and 1973- In two graphs it will be shown that on the tidal flats the run-up depends on the waterdepth. The run-up was higher than it could be expected after model tests of 1954. With a newly developed special echo sounder the run-up could be measured in January 1976. The waves and the run-up could be registrated synchronously during two severe storm surges. As shown in Fig. 9 it was found a logarithmic distribution of the wave height, wave period and the higher part of the wave run-up. The found wave run-up is considerably higher than estimated before. The measured 98 % run-up is found about twice the computed value. That is an interesting and important result of the first synchronous recording of wave run-up on sea dikes.


Injuries following road traffic crashes are seen to vary according to age, roaduser type and collision partner. This is a consequence of differing injury tolerances due to age and gender, and vulnerability to vehicle-to-body contact among roaduser groups such as pedestrians and cyclists in collisions with vehicles. This paper presents hospital admission rates by roaduser type, age and gender in Victoria. Analysis showed that young persons (18 - 39 years) were over-represented in terms of admissions per head of population across all roaduser categories. Rates of femur fracture by age, gender and roaduser class were presented. Odds ratios for sustaining fractures of the femur for passengers, pedestrians and cyclists relative to drivers of the same age and gender were determined to examine the concept of vulnerability. The odds of sustaining fractures of the femur were high for pedestrians and cyclists relative to drivers of the same age and gender. Age and gender appeared to interact such that the odds of sustaining fractures of the femur increased with age, with the effect more pronounced for females. (a) For the covering entry of this conference, please see ITRD abstract no. E206143.


It was desired to make an orbitally stabilizing controller for a series of designed gaits for the SemiQuad robot. The designed gaits had virtual constraints of the second and third order. It was found that the gaits that had virtual constraints of third order broke a design restriction, which made the stance foot lift off the ground. The second order gaits did not break this restriction. A constant gain feedback controller was found to not be able to orbitally stabilize the gait. A linearization was made using the method of transverse linearization for one of the gaits with second degree constraints, and a controller was designed for this linearization. This controller stabilized the linearized system. The controller was not found to be able to stabilize the original nonlinear system. It was concluded that the gaits were of a too complicated nature to stabilize with this controller. A new gait was therefore created, which was of a simpler nature with a prolonged double support phase. This new gait was stabilized with a constant gain controller.


Issues about quality are paramount in the NHS. Part of this, is the Government's declaration of partnership at all levels with user involvement at its centre. Clinical Governance has been introduced as the mechanism to deliver quality, by encouraging professional accountability through one strategic direction. However some argue that this emphasis on clinical quality has
been at the expense of users.
In a management context, Garvin (1988) developed a model that consists of four views of quality. A strength of Garvin's model is that the user view is equally as important as other views. The first part of the study (M-Phil stage 1996-1999) aimed to investigate the context of the user view of quality by studying the user elements within each of Garvin's views. A taxonomy was developed using Garvin's four views of quality in order to classify the many different quality approaches and techniques in the literature. By classifying the literature in this manner, individual frameworks of quality were devised that could be used to assess approaches and techniques in any new quality models. In addition the taxonomy represented a new way of reviewing literature in this area. This coincided with the introduction of Clinical Governance within the National Health Service in 1997. The frameworks were used to assess to what extent this new development represented the four views of quality. The conclusion from this exploration was that the user view of quality remained under-represented despite the introduction of Clinical Governance. The empirical stage (PhD stage 1999-2003) aimed to investigate whether user involvement is
under-represented in PCGs in the North West region of England. The major finding is that the level of user involvement is dynamic. Board members are willing to involve users in discussions and evaluation stages to a large extent compared to lower levels of involvement during priority setting and strategy formulation (key decision-making stages). The results
therefore indicate that PCG Board members' interpretation of user involvement is markedly different to that of the Government.
This research has contributed to the operational i sation of user involvement by providina:
* The first investigation of the degree of development of user involvement agendas within the embryonic PCGs in the North West region of England;
* An exploration of the extent that user involvement agendas coincide with other PCG agendas, particularly Clinical Governance;
* An exploration of the views about user involvement of different professional groups represented on the PCG Boards.
* The development of policy recommendations.


This chapter addresses the evolutionary roots of the, by and large, uniquely human capacity for helping other people who are not closely related. It is argued that prosocial tendencies have evolved through natural selection pressures associated with the need to solve critical interdependence problems, which can often be modeled as social dilemmas. Solutions to social dilemmas involve engaging in a process of social exchange with others within either dyads or groups. We address the evidence for an evolutionary-based theory of prosocial behavior by linking the concept of social exchange to several key social psychological phenomena, such as negativity effects, loyalty and commitment, forgiveness, empathy and other social emotions, social norms, group identification and xenophobia, group size and stability, and differences in prosocial dispositions. These illustrations suggest the utility of an evolutionary perspective on prosocial behavior. 2


Bioluminescence is the emission of visible light by living organisms. This amazing property is used in various research fields such as genetics, molecular biology, chemistry, etc. The aim of this work was to gather evidence that bioluminescence could also be used as a genetic marker in various luminescent species. Previous studies with the brittlestar Amphipholis squamata have shown that bioluminescence is an excellent marker for intraspecific genetic variability. The method, using maximum luminous capabilities induced by KCl 200mM depolarization, presents numerous advantages over other genetic markers (RAPDs, microsatellites, RFLP, etc.): it is cheaper, faster and easier to use. Since bioluminescence is a frequent phenomenon in brit- tlestars, the same method was used to compare variability between six different species: Amphipholis squa- mata, Amphiura filiformis, A. arcystata, Ophiopsila aranea, O. californica and a new species of Amphiodia. Our results show that Amphiodia and both Ophiopsila species could be clearly isolated, each in a separated cluster, according to their luminous capabilities. These differences could be explained by physiological prop- erties. On the other hand, an important intraspecific variability was observed for two species (A. squamata and A. filiformis). We propose that natural bioluminescence is a good marker to study inter- and intraspecific vari- ability, providing useful functional information for physiological and population studies.


A thorough assessment of aquatic nonindigenous species' risk facilitates successful monitoring and prevention activities. However, speciesand vector-specific information is often limited and difficult to synthesize across a single risk framework. To address this need, we developed an assessment framework capable of estimating the potential for introduction, establishment, and impact by aquatic nonindigenous species from diverse spatial origins and taxonomic classification, in novel environments. Our model builds on previous approaches, while taking on a new perspective for evaluation across species, vectors and stages to overcome the limitations imposed by single species and single vector assessments. We applied this globally-relevant framework to the Laurentian Great Lakes to determine its ability to evaluate risk across multiple taxa and vectors. This case study included 67 aquatic species, identified as "watchlist species" in NOAA's Great Lakes Aquatic Nonindigenous Species Information System (GLANSIS). Vectors included shipping, hitchhiking/fouling, unauthorized intentional release, escape from recreational or commercial culture, and natural dispersal. We identified potential invaders from every continent but Africa and Antarctica. Of the 67 species, more than a fifth (21%) had a high potential for introduction and greater than 60% had a moderate potential for introduction. Shipping (72%) was the most common potential vector of introduction, followed by unauthorized intentional release (25%), hitchhiking/fouling (21%), dispersal (19%), stocking/planting/escape from recreational culture (13%), and escape from commercial culture. The ability to assess a variety of aquatic nonindigenous species from an array of potential vectors using a consistent methodology is essential for comparing likelihoods of introduction, establishment, and impact. The straightforward design of this framework will allow its application and modification according to policy priorities by natural resource managers. The ability to use a variety of information sources facilitates completion of assessments despite the paucity of data that often plagues aquatic nonindigenous species management.


Abstract We present a new multiplayer game model for the interaction and the flow of information in a distributed system. The players are tokens on a Petri net. As long as the players move in independent parts of the net, they do not know of each other; when they synchronize at a joint transition, each player gets informed of the causal history of the other player. We show that for Petri games with a single environment player and an arbitrary bounded number of system players, deciding the existence of a safety strategy for the system players is EXPTIME-complete.


ABSTRACT A major gene for resistance to wheat powdery mildew (Blumeria graminis f. sp. tritici = Erysiphe graminis f. sp. tritici) has been successfully transferred into hexaploid common wheat (Triticum aestivum, 2n = 6x = 42, AABBDD) from wild einkorn wheat (Triticum monococcum subsp. aegilopoides, 2n = 2x = 14, AA). NC96BGTA5 is a germ plasm line with the pedigree Saluda x 3/PI427662. The response patterns for powdery mildew resistance in NC96BGTA5 were tested with 30 differential isolates of B. graminis f. sp. tritici, and the line was resistant to all tested isolates. The analyses of P(1), P(2), F(1), F(2), and BC(1)F(1) populations derived from NC96BGTA5 revealed two genes for wheat powdery mildew resistance in the NC96BGTA5 line. One gene, Pm3a, was from its recurrent parent Saluda, and the second was a new gene introgressed from wild einkorn wheat. The gene was determined to be different from Pm1 to Pm21 by gene-for-gene and pedigree analyses. The new gene was identified as linked to the Pm3a gene based on the F(2) and BC(1)F(1) populations derived from a cross between NC96BGTA5 and a susceptible cultivar NK-Coker 68-15, and the data indicated that the gene was located on chromosome 1A. It is proposed that this new gene be designated Pm25 for wheat powdery mildew resistance in NC96BGTA5. Three random amplified polymorphic DNA markers, OPX06(1050), OPAG04(950), and OPAI14(600), were found to be linked to this new gene.


In the last decade an increasing number of application fields, including medicine, geoscience and bio-chemistry, have expressed a need to visualise and interact with data that are inherently three-dimensional. Stereoscopic 3D technologies can offer a valid support for these operations thanks to the enhanced depth representation they can provide. However, there is still little understanding of how such technologies can be used effectively to support
the performance of visual tasks based on accurate depth judgements. Existing studies do not provide a sound and complete explanation of the impact of different visual and
technical factors on depth perception in stereoscopic 3D environments.

This thesis presents a new interpretative and contextualised analysis of the vision science literature to clarify the role of di®erent visual cues on human depth perception in such environments. The analysis identifies luminance contrast, spatial frequency, colour, blur,
transparency and depth constancies as influential visual factors for depth perception and provides the theoretical foundation for guidelines to support the performance of accurate stereoscopic depth tasks.

A novel assessment framework is proposed and used to conduct an empirical study to evaluate the performance of four distinct classes of 3D display technologies. The results suggest that 3D displays are not interchangeable and that the depth representation provided can vary even between displays belonging to the same class. The study also shows that interleaved displays may suffer from a number of aliasing artifacts, which in turn may affect the amount of perceived depth.

The outcomes of the analysis of the influential visual factors for depth perception and the empirical comparartive study are used to propose a novel universal 3D cursor prototype suitable to support depth-based tasks in stereoscopic 3D environments. The contribution includes a number of both qualitative and quantitative guidelines that aim to guarantee a correct perception of depth in stereoscopic 3D environments and that should be observed
when designing a stereoscopic 3D cursor.


I will give, with Qichun Xu, a joint webinar for the Reinsurance Council and the Futurism Council of the Society of Actuaries, on Perspectives of Predictive Modeling with Case Studies in a few days. The slides of my talk are now available (I do recommand to open the pdf version of the slides with Acrobat, since there are animated pictures in the slides that could not be visualized below for instance). The Society of Actuaries asked specifically for a powerpoint document, so I will use screens...


The response of an electrolytic cell, in the shape of a slab, is analyzed in the framework of the Poisson-Nernst-Planck model in the limit of full dissociation. Two different types of boundary conditions on the electrodes are compared. One type describes the exchange of charges between the volume and the external circuit, in the form originally proposed by Chang and Jaffé and later extended to include specific adsorption, where the surface current density is proportional to the variation of the surface bulk density of ions with respect to the value of equilibrium. The other one describes the surface adsorption, in the limit of Langmuir. We show that in the simple case where the ions dissolved in the insulating liquid are identical in all the aspects, except for the sign of the charge, the two models are equivalent only if the phenomenological parameter entering the boundary condition of the Chang-Jaffé model, κ, is frequency dependent, and related to the adsorption coefficient, k(a), in the form κ = iωτ/(1 + iωτ)k(a), where τ is the desorption time and ω the circular frequency of the applied voltage, as proposed long ago by Macdonald.


This thesis presents a theoretical study of materials under high pressure using ab initio lattice dynamics based on density functional theory and density functional perturbation theory using both super-cell and linear response approach. Ab initio lattice dynamics using super-cell approach is applied to compare our theoretical predictions with experimental findings. Phonon dispersion curves of fcc α-γ cerium are calculated and compared with inelastic X-ray scattering data. Pressure dependency of phonon density of states in two cubic phases TiO2 allows us to assign the observed cubic phase in experiments to be of fluorite rather than pyrite structure. Dynamical stability of cotunnite TiO2 phase at low pressure can explain the observed quenching phenomena in experiments. Our calculated O2 vibron mode in both e-ζ phases of solid oxygen supports the hypothesis that both phases are iso-structural. Hydrogen-dense materials attract great attention not only because they open a path to study phenomena related to metallization (superconductivity) of solid hydrogen but also because they are closely related to important industrial applications (hydrogen storage). Using linear response method, we find that metallic fcc-AlH3 is dynamically stabilized in the range of 72-106 GPa and can persist at ambient pressure if finite temperature effects are considered. For SiH4, we test dynamical stability, Raman spectra, zero point energy, and utilize GW calculations for self energy correction. We find that a metallic tetragonal phase of SiH4 can be assigned to the experimentally observed one. Our ab initio lattice dynamics calculations based on density functional perturbation theory predict that fcc-YH3 is a pressure-induced superconductor with a high transition temperature of 40 K at 17.7 GPa. With increasing pressure this material undergoes a superconductor-metal-superconductor transition and the underlying mechanism of this transition can simultaneously explains also the observed metal-insulator transition at 25 GPa in YH3-δ.


The thesis investigates two major mechanisms of corporate governance in terms of their impact on corporate performance. These mechanisms are the composition of board of directors, and the ownership structure. The thesis focuses on the UK FTSE All Shares non-financial firms. The reason for excluding financial firms was the different regulations that monitor the financial sector, and by excluding this sector from the study, findings more comparable with prior research can be obtained. The sample size arrived at 363 companies that had survived at least four years in the FTSE All shares between the year 2005 and 2010. The main hypotheses tested were whether board composition and ownership structure have an impact on firm performance, using Tobin's Q (TQ) as a market based performance measure, and Return on Assets (ROA), Return on Equity (ROE), Return on Capital Employed (ROCE), and growth in total sales (SGRTH), as accounting-based performance measures. Correlation and multi-regression analysis (univariate and multivariate regression) were carried out to test these hypotheses. The results suggested a high positive association between board size and TQ, and insignificant association between board size and accounting-based performance measures (ROA and ROE), while some evidence was found of an impact of an independent board on firm performance. The results also found a negative association between blockholdings and performance during the financial crisis in 2008, whilst an insignificant relationship was observed before 2008.


In order to draw attention to and learn about gender inclusivity and equity in the academic library workplace in a fluid non-binary gendered society, academic librarians and researchers from major world regions were invited to respond to the question: What are the three most significant issues that are impeding and the three most significant issues that are enhancing gender inclusivity/equity in your region? The regions included are Africa, Asia and Oceania, Europe, Latin American and the Caribbean, the Middle East, and North America.We chose to focus on gender as the understanding of the concept is evolving and gender has classified people in such a way to limit or deny opportunities and equal treatment. Gender has been used to reference three dimensions that include the physical (characteristics of the human body), identity (the internal sense of self, which has traditionally been categorized as binary [e.g., feminine, masculine] and now as nonbinary or ungendered), and sociocultural (how one presents oneself socially or culturally, conformity to gendered roles and expectations).


Robert Allen's compelling book examines burlesque not only as popular entertainment but also as a complex and transforming cultural phenomenon. When Lydia Thompson and her controversial female troupe of "British Blondes" brought modern burlesque to the United States in 1868, the result was electric. Their impertinent humor, streetwise manner, and provocative parodies of masculinity brought them enormous popular success--and the condemnation of critics, cultural commentators, and even women's rights campaigners. Burlesque was a cultural threat, Allen argues, because it inverted the "normal" world of middle-class social relations and transgressed norms of "proper" feminine behavior and appearance. Initially playing to respectable middle-class audiences, burlesque was quickly relegated to the shadow-world of working-class male leisure. In this process the burlesque performer "lost" her voice, as burlesque increasingly revolved around the display of her body. Locating burlesque within the context of both the social transformation of American theater and its patterns of gender representation, Allen concludes that burlesque represents a fascinating example of the potential transgressiveness of popular entertainment forms, as well as the strategies by which they have been contained and their threats defused. |Robert Allen's compelling book examines burlesque not only as popular entertainment but also as a complex and transforming cultural phenomenon. Locating burlesque within the context of both the social transformation of American theater and its patterns of gender representation, Allen concludes that burlesque represents a fascinating example of the potential transgressiveness of popular entertainment forms, as well as the strategies by which they have been contained and their threats defused.


This study compared and explored the textual coverage of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games (OG) and Paralympic Games (PG) by the Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail. The authors found 8 high-order themes and 25 low-order themes for the OG. The high-order themes were predicting game results, reporting game results, athleticism, politics, ethical issues, nationalism, the media, and the economy. For the PG, there were 4 high-order themes, and each high-order theme had 1 low-order theme. The high-order themes were reporting game results, athleticism, ethical issues, and equality between Paralympians and Olympians. Comparisons between OG and PG coverage are discussed and recommendations for future research provided.


[ 3 H]Thymidine and [ 3 H]hypoxanthine incorporation were investigated by autoradiography in mixed cultures of polyoma-transformed BHK21 cells and freshly isolated mouse fibroblasts, with ingested carbon or carmine granules as markers to distinguish the cells. An assessment of the marking technique showed that there was some exchange of granules in the mixed cultures which prevented certain identification of individual cells, but suitable criteria were chosen for distinguishing the cells on a statistical basis. Thymidine incorporation was inhibited in one third to two thirds of the transformed cells when they were in contact with stationary layers of normal cells, which themselves showed a low proportion with thymidine incorporation. Transformed cells in the same dish which were not touching the normal cells showed no inhibition of thymidine incorporation. This is in agreement with the earlier observation that growth of transformed BHK21 cells is inhibited by contact with stationary normal fibroblasts. Experiments were also carried out on hypoxanthine incorporation with the TG1 variant of polyoma-transformed cells. TG1 cells are deficient in inosinic pyrophosphorylase and autoradiography shows a failure to incorporate hypoxanthine. When TG1 cells were cultured in contact with normal mouse embryo cells, however, it was found that hypoxanthine was present in the TG1 cells as well as in the normal cells. Increased incorporation did not occur in TG1 cells in the same dish which were not in contact with normal cells. This confirms earlier observations and shows that certain substances can pass directly from normal to transformed cells. It suggests the possibility that molecules concerned in growth regulation might also be transferred directly between contiguous cells.


Background: Application of negative pressure on chest tubes is one of the most common methods for management of chest tubes drainage after cardio-thoracic surgeries. However, the effect of this measure on long-term outcome of these patients and especially on postoperative pleural effusions is not thoroughly evaluated. For this reason, we designed a clinical randomized trial for the evaluation of the effect of negative pressure application on early and late pleural effusions after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) operations. Methods: A total of 440 patients entered in this study and divided into two groups: 220 patients, their chest tubes managed by application of −10–−20 cmH2O negative pressure (negative pressure drainage group) and those who managed conventionally by simple under-water seal method (control group, n = 220). Evaluation for pleural effusion performed by signs and symptoms and chest X-rays at 3rd and 7th postoperative days and for those became symptomatic after 30th day of operation. Results: The occurrence of moderate and massive effusions at 3rd and 7th days after operation was the same in both groups. The most striking difference was in patients' required pleural tap or chest tube insertion, late after surgery due to pleural effusion. This was significantly more common in patients in control group (P < 0.001). Conclusion: Negative pressure application on chest tubes after CABG surgery is a safe and effective method for decreasing the occurrence of late pleural effusion.


The topic of this study is the grammaticalised uses of the verb ya 'get' in Burmese.
Occurring in postverbal position, ya covers a number of functions, which are distinguished
by syntactical means. I will look at the historical development of the processes involved, as
well as parallels in neighbouring languages which suggest influence on or from Burmese.
The main points to be investigated are 1. the semantics of ya 'get, 2. the difference
between free and bound auxiliaries, and 3. the future vs. non-future distinction made by
verbal markers, all of which contribute to the grammatical uses of ya as marker of
OBLIGATION or PERMISSION/POSSIBILITY. Finally an attempt is made at explaining the
grammaticalisation processes in historical and general cognitive terms. 1


A dynamical atomistic chain to simulate mechanical properties of a one-dimensional material with zero temperature may be modelled by the molecular dynamics (MD) model. Because the number of particles (atoms) is huge for a MD model, in practice one often takes a much smaller number of particles to formulate a coarse-grained approximation. We shall mainly consider the consistency of the coarse-grained model with respect to the grain (mesh) size to provide a justification to the goodness of such an approximation. In order to reduce the characteristic oscillations with very different frequencies in such a model, we either add a viscous term to the coarse-grained MD model or apply a space average to the coarse-grained MD solutions for the consistency study. The coarse-grained solution is also compared with the solution of the (macroscopic) continuum model (a nonlinear wave equation of mixed type) to show how well the coarse-grained model can approximate the macroscopic behavior of the material. We also briefly study the instability of the dynamical atomistic chain and the solution of the Riemann problem of the continuum model which may be related to the defect of the atomistic chain under a large deformation in certain locations.


Background/Aims: Renalase (gene name RNLS), a recently discovered enzyme with monoamine oxidase activity, is implicated in the degradation of catecholamines. Recent studies indicate that common variations in the gene with RNLS are associated with hypertension. The aim of this study was to examine the association between genetic variants in RNLS and blood pressure (BP) responses to strict dietary interventions of salt and potassium intake. Methods: A total of 334 subjects from 124 families were selected and sequentially maintained on a low-salt diet for 7 days (3.0 g/day, NaCl), then a high-salt diet for 7 days (18.0 g/day, NaCl), high-salt diet with potassium supplementation for another 7 days (4.5 g/day, KCl). Results: SNPs rs919115 and rs792205 of the RNLS gene were significantly associated with diastolic BP (DBP) and mean arterial pressure (MAP) responses to high-salt intervention. In addition, rs12356177 was significantly associated with systolic BP (SBP) and DBP responses to low-salt diet, and SBP, DBP or MAP during the high-salt intervention. Unfortunately, no associations for the 7 RNLS SNPs with BP response to high-salt diet with potassium supplementation reached nominal statistical significance. Conclusions: This family-based study indicates that genetic variants in the RNLS gene are significantly associated with BP responses to dietary salt intake.


It is a notable irony that as democracy replaces other forms of governing throughout the world, citizens of the most established and prosperous democracies (the United States and Canada, Western European nations, and Japan) increasingly report dissatisfaction and frustration with their governments. Here, some of the most influential political scientists at work today examine why this is so in a volume unique in both its publication of original data and its conclusion that low public confidence in democratic leaders and institutions is a function of actual performance, changing expectations, and the role of information.The culmination of research projects directed by Robert Putnam through the Trilateral Commission and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, these papers present new data that allow more direct comparisons across national borders and more detailed pictures of trends within countries than previously possible. They show that citizen disaffection in the Trilateral democracies is not the result of frayed social fabric, economic insecurity, the end of the Cold War, or public cynicism. Rather, the contributors conclude, the trouble lies with governments and politics themselves. The sources of the problem include governments' diminished capacity to act in an interdependent world and a decline in institutional performance, in combination with new public expectations and uses of information that have altered the criteria by which people judge their governments.Although the authors diverge in approach, ideological affinity, and interpretation, they adhere to a unified framework and confine themselves to the last quarter of the twentieth century. This focus--together with the wealth of original research results and the uniform strength of the individual chapters--sets the volume above other efforts to address the important and increasingly international question of public dissatisfaction with democratic governance. This book will have obvious appeal for a broad audience of political scientists, politicians, policy wonks, and that still sizable group of politically minded citizens on both sides of the Atlantic and Pacific.


The aim of this study was to assess clinical and seminal characteristics and endocrine changes in rams with scrotal insulation. Twelve Merino rams were randomly distributed into a control group (n=4) and a group with scrotal insulation (n=8), that was done with a cotton bag coated with plastic to increase the temperature to 39.0 °C for 48 h. The volume of ejaculate, testicular consistency, scrotal circumference, sperm concentration, mass and individual motility, and sperm abnormalities were recorded for five weeks. Semen collection by electroejaculation was conducted three times per week. The animals were cannulated in the jugular vein and blood samples were taken for 6 hours at 10 minute intervals for testosterone and LH determination by radioimmunoassay. The results showed changes in scrotal circumference (from 30.43±1.1 to 25.00±0.5 cm on week 5); reduction of sperm concentration (week 2); mass motility: 0 (week 2); individual motility: 2.45±3.1 (week 2); and 82.3±29.3% sperm abnormalities at week 3. Testosterone concentration decreased (280±83 pg/ml) and LH concentrations increased (0.96±0.72 ng/ml) at week 2, including higher number of LH pulses. It is concluded that the increase of scrotal temperature causes changes in the clinical, seminal, and in the secretion of testosterone and LH.


Power consumption has become one of the most important concerns in microprocessor design. However, the potential for further power-saving in microprocessors with a conventional architecture is limited because of their unified architectures and mature low-power techniques. An alternative way is proposed in this paper to save power - embedding a dataflow coprocessor in a conventional RISC processor. The dataflow coprocessor is designed to execute short code segments very efficiently. The primary experimental results show that the dataflow coprocessor can increase the power efficiency of a RISC processor by an order of magnitude.


Regional climate models are important research tools available to scientists around the world, including in economically developing nations (EDNs). The Earth Systems Physics (ESP) group of the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) maintains and distributes a state-of-the-science regional climate model called the ICTP Regional Climate Model version 3 (RegCM3), which is currently being used by a large research community for a diverse range of climate-related studies. The RegCM3 is the central, but not only, tool of the ICTP-maintained Regional Climate Research Network (RegCNET) aimed at creating south–south and north–south scientific interactions on the topic of climate and associated impacts research and modeling. In this paper, RegCNET, RegCM3, and illustrative results from RegCM3 benchmark simulations applied over south Asia, Africa, and South America are presented. It is shown that RegCM3 performs reasonably well over these regions and is therefore useful for climate studies in...


This paper discusses some of the essential aspects of arms control at the research and development (R&D) stage of a project, using the example of inertial confinement fusion (ICF). This is a large R&D program with many potential military and civilian applications. Early in a project's life, it may be unclear what its military and civilian benefits will be: such ambivalence is a major obstacle to arms control at this stage of development. We investigate the feasibility of several of ICF's potential applications and outline their respective scientific requirements. It is shown that goals with civilian or military emphases lead to different paths of further R&D. Ways to determine the most probable end intentions of an "ambivalent" R&D program are discussed.


: The main goal of the paper is to propose a methodology for the theory of reference in which experiments feature prominently. These experiments should primarily test linguistic usage rather than the folk's referential intuitions. The proposed methodology urges the use of: (A) philosophers' referential intuitions, both informally and, occasionally, scientifically gathered; (B) the corpus, both informally and scientifically gathered; (C) elicited production; and, occasionally, (D) folk's referential intuitions. The most novel part of this is (C) and that is where most of the experimental work should be. The secondary goal of the paper is to defend my earlier paper "Experimental Semantics" from the criticisms of Machery, Mallon, Nichols, and Stich in "If Folk Intuitions Vary, Then What?" They charge that I have seriously misunderstood their goal in "Semantics, Cross-Cultural Style" and that many of my arguments are "largely irrelevant". I argue that these charges are baseless.


Studies were made of ASCA spectra of seven ultraluminous compact X-ray sources in nearby spiral galaxies: M33 X-8, M81 X-6, IC 342 source 1, Dwingeloo 1 X-1, NGC 1313 source B, and two sources in NGC 4565. With the 0.5-10 keV luminosities in the range 1039-1040 ergs s-1, they are thought to represent a class of enigmatic X-ray sources often found in spiral galaxies. For some of them, the ASCA data are newly processed or the published spectra are reanalyzed. For others, the published results are quoted. The ASCA spectra of all seven sources have been described successfully with so-called multicolor disk blackbody emission arising from optically thick standard accretion disks around black holes. Except for the case of M33 X-8, the spectra do not exhibit hard tails. For the source luminosities not to exceed the Eddington limits, the black holes are inferred to have rather high masses, up to ~100 M☉. However, the observed innermost disk temperatures of these objects, Tin = 1.1-1.8 keV, are too high to be compatible with the required high black hole masses, as long as the standard accretion disks around Schwarzschild black holes are assumed. Similarly high disk temperatures are also observed from two Galactic transients with superluminal motions, GRO 1655-40 and GRS 1915+105. The issue of unusually high disk temperature may be explained by the black hole rotation, which makes the disk get closer to the black hole and hence hotter.


The official "Ubuntu 9.10 Packaging Guide" is primarily addressed to those who would like to make and maintain Ubuntu packages. Although many of the concepts in this guide could be used to make binary packages for personal use, it is designed for those people wanting to distribute their packages to and for others. While it is also written with the Ubuntu Linux distribution in mind, it should also be useful for any Debian-based distribution. There are several reasons you might want to learn how to package for Ubuntu. First, building and fixing Ubuntu packages is a great way to contribute to the Ubuntu community. It is also a good way to learn how Ubuntu and the applications you have installed work. Maybe you want to install a package that is not in the Ubuntu repositories. Hopefully after you have completed this guide you will have the tools and knowledge you need to do all of these things.


Androgen receptor inhibition induces a "BRCAness" state that may be exploited with PARP inhibitors in patients with advanced prostate cancer. Engineering BRCAness and chemotherapeutic sensitivity BRCA mutations impair a double-strand break DNA repair pathway that forces cells to use a PARP-dependent repair pathway. PARP inhibitors are selectively toxic to breast cancers with BRCA mutations, spurring the search for other tumors or ways in which to apply such exquisitely tumor-targeted therapy. Few other tumors have BRCA mutations as commonly as do breast tumors. However, Li et al. found that a common therapy for prostate cancer patients created a BRCA-deficient state that sensitized tumor cells to PARP inhibitors and leveraged this finding into a potential treatment strategy. Noting that the androgen receptor inhibitor enzalutamide decreased the expression of BRCA1 in prostate cancer cells, the authors treated a mouse model of prostate cancer first with enzalutamide and then with the PARP inhibitor olaparib. Sequential treatment of enzalutamide and olaparib suppressed tumor growth in these mice better than either drug by itself or when both drugs were administered at the same time. The results suggest that "BRCAness" could be therapeutically induced to provide more treatment options not only for prostate cancer patients but also for patients with other types of cancers lacking BRCA mutations. Cancers with loss-of-function mutations in BRCA1 or BRCA2 are deficient in the DNA damage repair pathway called homologous recombination (HR), rendering these cancers exquisitely vulnerable to poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitors. This functional state and therapeutic sensitivity is referred to as "BRCAness" and is most commonly associated with some breast cancer types. Pharmaceutical induction of BRCAness could expand the use of PARP inhibitors to other tumor types. For example, BRCA mutations are present in only ~20% of prostate cancer patients. We found that castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) cells showed increased expression of a set of HR-associated genes, including BRCA1, RAD54L, and RMI2. Although androgen-targeted therapy is typically not effective in CRPC patients, the androgen receptor inhibitor enzalutamide suppressed the expression of those HR genes in CRPC cells, thus creating HR deficiency and BRCAness. A "lead-in" treatment strategy, in which enzalutamide was followed by the PARP inhibitor olaparib, promoted DNA damage–induced cell death and inhibited clonal proliferation of prostate cancer cells in culture and suppressed the growth of prostate cancer xenografts in mice. Thus, antiandrogen and PARP inhibitor combination therapy may be effective for CRPC patients and suggests that pharmaceutically inducing BRCAness may expand the clinical use of PARP inhibitors.


Two new species of hangingflies, Terrobittacus rostratus sp. nov. and Terrobittacus angustus sp. nov., are described and illustrated from Yunnan, southwestern China, increasing the species number of Terrobittacus Tan & Hua, 2009 to six. Terrobittacus rostratus sp. nov. differs from its congeners by wings devoid of markings and epandrial appendages slightly longer than half the length of the gonocoxites. Terrobittacus angustus sp. nov. can be recognized by wing markings along R5 distally. A key to species of the genus is updated to include the two new species.


As we build cyberspace, it is up to us, as individuals, not to promote illiteracy and proprietary standards that shut out those who fail to purchase computer programs from a specific vendor. It has become fashionable to blame others, such as Microsoft, for creating what is known as the "dark ages of computing". However, I suggest that we can and should look to ourselves as the source of the problem. In this article, I propose the "public park" analogy as a first point of departure from current critical thinking, and as a framework with which to better understand possible conflict of interest in government and education. Moreover, in the age of Personal Cybernetics (personal electronics, wearable computing, implantables.com, etc.), this issue will become all the more important. When "technology as extensions of mind and body" is no longer a metaphor, will we have already sold our heart and soul for software of a particular corporation, or will our thoughts be free?


There are many examples of airline-high speed rail vertical agreements, where the airline buys train seats to sell the multimodal product. We discuss the formation of such agreements, depending on the sunk costs of cooperation and firms' bargaining power, and their welfare effects, depending on hub airport capacity and mode substitution. We argue that, contrary to mergers, vertical agreements largely benefit passengers. We propose a simple test as a 'safe harbor', which provides a sufficient condition for consumer surplus to be higher under vertical agreements. It may be optimal to subsidize desirable agreements when they are not incentive-compatible for firms.


: Monitoring of partial discharge (PD) activity within high voltage electrical environments is frequently used for the assessment of insulation condition. Traditional measurement techniques employ technologies that require either offline installation or high power consumption and cost. A wireless sensor network is proposed that utilizes only received signal strength to locate partial discharge within a high-voltage electricity substation. The network comprises low-power and low-cost radiometric sensor nodes which receive the radiation propagated from a source of partial discharge. Results are reported from a test performed within a large indoor environment with a network of nine sensor nodes. An emulated PD source was placed at multiple locations within the network. Signal strength measured by the nodes is reported via WirelessHART to a data collection hub where it is processed using a location algorithm. The results obtained place the measured location within 2 m of the actual source location.


Background: About 20,000 men and women are engaged in the production of salt in Rajasthan alone, which is an important unorganized sector. The salt workers are exposed to adversities of environmental conditions as well as salt in the environment. There is a lack of information about their occupational health problems. Aims: The study aimed to identify work-related health problems experienced by the salt workers. Settings and Design: Data were collected in the health camps held near salt sites. Materials and Methods: Workers of salt manufacturing units were invited for their free health examination. Statistical Analysis: Analysis of the data was carried out using Epi-Info 2002 software. Results: Prevalence of ophthalmic symptoms was 60.7%, that of dermatological symptoms was 43.8% and symptoms like headache, giddiness, breathlessness, muscular and joint pains were experienced by 52.1% salt workers. The ophthalmic problems were most common, probably due to irritation by direct sunlight and its glare caused by salt crystals and brine as well as irritation caused by fine salt particles suspended in the air of the working environment. Traumatic ulcers, dermatitis, muscular and joint pains, headache and giddiness were other more common symptoms observed among the workers. Prevalence of hypertension was 12.0%. Conclusions: Looking at the large number of salt workers exposed to salt and facing occupational health problems, there is a need for developing a mechanism for prevention of these problems in them.


This paper is the second part of a two-part research project that considers what the new paradigm of social rights and the re-unified system of human rights mean for the design and implementation of programs and strategies to address poverty and homelessness in Canada. The paper explores the extent to which a domestic constitutional framework exists for a rights-based approach to housing and anti-poverty strategies in Canada, compatible with, and informed by, the international human rights law and jurisprudence. Particular attention is paid to four Canadian constitutional provisions: 1) the commitment to provide public services of reasonable quality to all Canadians, under section 36 of the Constitution Act, 1982; the right to life, liberty, and security of the person, under section 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms; the right to equal protection and equal benefit of the law, under section 15 of the Charter; and Canadian governments' obligation, under section 1 of the Charter, to balance and limit rights in a manner that is reasonable and demonstrably justifiable.


Using an AFM-based instrumented nanoindentation system, the nanoindentation response of γ' particles (Ni3Al) in a Ni-base single crystal superalloy CMSX-4 was characterized to demonstrate the influence of the softer γ matrix on the measurement of nano-mechanical properties of γ' particles. The properties of the γ' particles were measured after both a standard and a coarsening heat treatment, in which the initially sub-micron sized cuboidal γ' particles transformed to large, irregularly shaped γ' precipitates with dimensions in excess of 30 μm. The measured nano-hardness of the coarsened γ' precipitates in CMSX-4 appears to increase slightly with the increasing load. Nano-compression testing of cuboidal γ' particles, electrolytically extracted from a CMSX-4 after a standard solution and age heat treatment, was also performed. With a maximum value of 10 GPa, the measured yield stress of these dislocation-free γ' particles approaches the ideal strength and is equivalent to ~G/17. Compared to the measured yield strengths of γ' phase in its bulk crystal form, these nano-compression results are more than a factor of 33 higher. Additionally, the 'softening' effect of Ga ion implantation on the strength of dislocation-free nanocrystals was also assessed. The resulting yield strengths of cuboidal γ' precipitates imaged with a focused ion beam were at least 5 GPa lower than those that had not been subjected to Ga ion implantation.


The aim of this paper is to study the impact of spatial effects on convergence process in Africa over the period 1975-2000. Taking into account these effects through the methodology of Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis (ESDA) and spatial econometrics, we focus on the geographical dimension of economic convergence of African countries. This allows us to deal with spatial autocorrelation which is a consequence of econometric interdependences due to geographic spillovers. Indeed, countries economic performance hides specific geographical patterns providing information on the importance of location on economic dynamics. Our results prove the existence of convergence process in Africa through a model with spatially autocorrelated error. It is also clear from this analysis that the countries of East African Community (EAC) form the main convergence club which significantly influences the overall pattern of spatial autocorrelation.


In this paper, we implement on a silicon-on-insulator (SoI) platform a photonic-crystal demultiplexer that operates on the principle of mini-stopbands of broader waveguides. Previous InP-based membrane versions showed modest crosstalk at 10 nm spacing. Here, we implement a second cavity in the form of a second parallel waveguide almost identical to the core one. Simulations employing three-modes coupled-mode theory and finite-difference time-domain help optimizing the coupling. The experimental realization with deep ultraviolet exposure and grating couplers is the first of this demux strategy on SoI. It successfully shows crosstalk in the 15-20 dB range on a very small footprint.


While Crises are omnipresent in history and historiography, the meaning of the concept of "Crisis" is becoming more elusive than ever. The new article by Rudiger Graf and Konrad H. Jarausch scrutinizes how historians use the concept with respect to contemporary history, the twentieth century, and modernity in general. After briefly sketching the conceptual history of "crisis," the article addresses the questions of how the concept structures historiographical narratives, what types of crises historians distinguish, and, considering its vagueness, suggestive power, and political instrumentalization, if we should retain the concept or refrain from using it.


Implicit racial bias has a measurable impact on the judgments and evaluations of Black individuals by Whites, as well as communication between these two groups. The purpose of this study was to develop an efficient, researched-based intervention for raising awareness about aversive racism in order to establish impact awareness (Gawronski, Hofmann, & Wilbur, 2006) and achieve measureable reductions in implicit bias in preservice teachers who were students in a public, regional comprehensive university in the Southeast. Participants in the experimental group were engaged in activities in which they learned about and discussed aversive racism and implicit bias, while the members of the control group was not exposed to this material. All participants then completed the Affect Misattribution Procedure (AMP) (Payne, Cheng, Govorun, & Stewart, 2005) as a measure of implicit racial attitudes, and they responded to vignettes describing a White or Black student with academic and behavioral difficulties to determine biases in participants' approach to these situations. Twenty-six days following the intervention, participants in the experimental group completed the AMP and responded to vignettes once more to determine changes to implicit bias over time.


This paper evaluates the effectiveness of a new index-based livestock insurance (IBLI) product designed to compensate for area average predicted livestock mortality loss in northern Kenya, where previous work has established the presence of poverty traps. We simulate household-specific wealth dynamics based on a model parameterized using rich panel and experimental data from the region. The simulations allow us to investigate patterns of willingness to pay for asset index insurance that is imperfectly correlated with individuals' loss experience. The bifurcated livestock dynamics associated with the poverty trap gives rise to insurance valuation that is highly nonlinear in individual herd size. Willingness to pay among vulnerable groups who most need insurance are, on average, lower than commercially viable rates but subsidization of IBLI premiums appears to offer more cost-effective poverty reduction than direct transfers to the poor.


mystique of her mother's past and probes the depths of truth in her latest book The Last of Her: A Forensic Memoir. This stunning new memoir is a feat of impressive storytelling based upon expansive research, excavated memories, and an inquisitive imagination. It directly confronts the artifice of life and the artifice of writing and tries with honest vigor to communicate a narrative that conveys the truth once and for all of the life—and death—of Dolores Buxton. Kupperman begins her memoir at the end— that is to say, in the aftermath of her mother's suicide. She abstains from a linear, forward-moving plot structure and instead sets in motion a book composed in reverse chronological order, accounting for pivotal days in Dolores's life. It begins with Dolores's suicide and, running backward, describes the court order that removed Kupperman from her custody; her arrest for assaulting a pregnant woman; her own mother's death of multiple sclerosis; and her birth to a mother whom she later abandons and a con man father to whom she acts as accomplice. Kupperman gives each of these moments to us in the form of individual stories that interact to tell a larger story of a life lived in earnest and in defeat. Her purpose is to uncover answers about who her mother truly was—the actual woman behind the elaborate make-up, disguises, false names, and criminal activity—and what led her to make the choices she made. Kupperman's intent to "lay bare [Dolores's] life and examine it" drives this books content, and Dolores is handed to us naked and raw despite her own efforts to keep her personal life heavily guarded and hidden, especially from those closest to her. While documented facts are the foundation of this narrative, Kupperman easily refrains from a book that reads like the reports she obtained during the research phase. This is not a book to sit amid the many newspaper articles; the court, law enforcement, and census records; and the coroner's report from which she draws. This is a memoir at its core—a story (or stories) with a narrative arc, dialogue, conflict, and other elements of storytelling that enliven a recorded history so that it stands as not so much a document itself but a reimagining of that which already has been documented. It is as if she took a black and white photo and, with paints, a tiny brush, and a steady hand, added color to the captured memory, carefully filling in the details. With her artistic imagination, she overlays a story onto history—inserting fiction onto fact—in order to enlighten certain angles of Dolores's life that had remained shrouded in the dark corners of mystery. Not every word spoken, action taken, motive premeditated is captured by the many reports and recollections upon which this memoir is based; storytelling is an inevitable departure for this book, as many details are unknown, and even that which is known from Dolores's past is fragmented. "All that remains of my mother are the stories I tell about her," Kupperman writes. "The instinct to cobble together a whole person of these pieces drives me to return, over and over again, to the narrative scraps with which I am familiar of Dolores's life." This memoir is written less so for Kupperman's readership to come to know the true Dolores and more so that Kupperman might gather, through the act of writing, who Dolores was (beyond motherhood) and the pain she accumulated throughout her life, which requires an inquisitive


Contrary to assumptions often made in the literature, explosive volcanic eruptions are capable of transporting significant amounts of water into the stratosphere. In addition to the magmatic water component, atmospheric water vapor is entrained by the column at lower levels. A theoretical model for the conservation of mass, momentum, and thermal energy of four separate components (dry air, water vapor, liquid condensates, and solid particles) is used to determine the extent of atmospheric water redistribution. We examine the effects of water vapor condensation on dynamical characteristics and ambient water vapor transport. A simple technique is presented for deriving canonical forms for the complex system of ordinary differential equations governing the column components. Solutions of this model are presented that show the influence of different volcanic boundary conditions and a range of ambient water vapor distributions on transport of the buoyant column. We show that the water component (vapor + liquid) of small eruption columns rising through a wet atmosphere is dominated by entrained water, whereas larger columns are dominated by the magmatic water. This is due, in part, to the proportionately smaller entrainment surface area in relation to the control volume for the larger columns. We also show that a maintained column with an initial mass flux of 2.7 × 108 kg s−1 erupted into a wet atmosphere would inject 96 Mt of water vapor into the stratosphere over 24 hours, comparable to the annual input from methane oxidation or 100 midlatitude thunderstorms. This increase may accelerate the conversion of simultaneously erupted volcanic SO2 into sulfuric acid.


Collection and analysis of data obtained during the clinical treatment of pituitary tumours are of great utility in the decision making process, when facing clinical situations. We report here data on 519 from 670 patients with pituitary adenomas obtained from a computerized registry. Three hundred and forty five were females (66%) and 174 males (34%), aged 14-80. Final diagnosis was acromegaly in 176, Cushing's disease in 153, prolactinoma in 101 and clinically non-functioning adenoma in 89. Mean age at diagnosis was 43.9 ± 13.5 (16-80) for acromegalics, 35.7 ± 12.9 (14-72) for Cushing's, 30.0 ± 13.4 (15-79) for prolactinoma and 52.1 ± 15.2 (17-79), for non-functioning tumours. The setup of an institutional registry on pituitary tumours constitutes a useful tool to analyze clinical experience, optimize the cost/benefit ratio of procedures used for diagnosis and to ameliorate therapeutic strategies, improving patient's care. It greatly contributes to teaching medical students as well as to post-graduate physicians and provides a basis for developing clinical research.


Climate governance beyond the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)—including countries, companies, civil society, and international organizations, forming cooperative initiatives—is increasingly framed as complementing, supporting, and even substituting the multilateral negotiations. Cooperative initiatives activating nonstate actors could help bridging the 'ambition gap' between governmental greenhouse gas mitigation pledges and the decarbonization pathway needed to halt global warming at 2°C. But what do we know about the performance of cooperative initiatives and their participants? We examine the content of five databases aiming to capture the emerging field of cooperative initiatives and assess whether it is possible to measure the performance of cooperative initiatives based on current data. Overall, we find a substantial lack of ex post data for measuring performance. Available studies either focus on nonemission‐related qualitative variables and characteristics of cooperative initiatives such as governance function, participants composition, and thematic areas, or use quantitative modeling approaches to estimate their potential impact. Consequently, we currently lack information to assess how existing initiatives perform in relation to the socio‐technical systems they are intended to intervene in, or how initiatives align, scale‐up, and form low‐carbon pathways. Given the increasingly important role and legitimacy attributed to cooperative initiatives in addressing climate change, we argue that focusing more on gathering ex post data, improving exchange between academic and policy‐oriented work, and developing assessment methods accommodating diversity in terms of function, goal, and output, are needed to understand the performance of climate governance beyond the UNFCCC. WIREs Clim Change 2016, 7:486–500. doi: 10.1002/wcc.396


Fixed Field Alternating Gradient accelerators have been realised in recent decades thanks partly to computational power, enabling detailed design and simulation prior to construction. We review the specific challenges of these machines and the range of different codes used to model them including ZGOUBI, OPAL, SCODE and a number of inhouse codes from different institutes. The current status of benchmarking between codes is presented and compared to the results of recent characterisation experiments with a 150 MeV FFAG at KURRI in Japan. Finally, we outline plans toward ever more realistic simulations including space charge, material interactions and more detailed models of various components.


Energy efficiency in existing buildings is a primary concern for the European Union and Sweden in fighting climate change. To achieve the 20% energy reduction in buildings target by 2020, the broad base of building owners must understand the technical and financial benefits of choosing energy efficient upgrades when renovating their properties. This report is a technical supplement to the upcoming publication by the Swedish HVAC industry organization VVS Foretagen, which seeks to inform their customer base about energy efficiency. Nine common Swedish apartment buildings from 1945 up to 1985 have been modeled in Design Builder building energy modeling software, with three energy saving packages applied. The energy saving packages represent a decision to choose more expensive, but more energy efficient equipment that can be installed during routine renovations. In each case, the data reported are total annual energy usage, heat balance, accumulated cash flow over a 40-year period and the internal rate of return for each package. The technical and financial performance of each building varies significantly depending on type, but most packages on most buildings have an IRR greater than 5%. While the results displayed here cannot directly represent a specific building, the data is a good resource for owners to understand what performance they can expect for their specific building. The technical information reported here is appropriate for the VVS Foretagen publication.


We show that the standard model of four-wave mixing in a photorefractive crystal predicts the appearance of deterministic chaos. In this model there is a single (transmission) grating and no external or internal (intracavity) feedback. The intensity of the phase-conjugate wave is found to exhibit a period-doubling route to chaos on variation of the intensity of the probe beam and the linear absorption coefficient. The crucial elements in obtaining chaotic behavior are operation above the threshold for self-oscillation and the presence of an external electric field, which causes a shift in the optical frequency of the phase-conjugate wave.


Object recognition is thought to be mediated by rapid feed-forward activation of object-selective cortex, with limited contribution of feedback. However, disruption of visual evoked activity beyond feed-forward processing stages has been demonstrated to affect object recognition performance. Here, we unite these findings by reporting that the detection of target objects in natural scenes is selectively characterized by enhanced feedback when these objects are embedded in high complexity scenes. Human participants performed an animal target detection task on scenes with low, medium or high complexity as determined by a biologically plausible computational model of low-level contrast statistics. Three converging lines of evidence indicate that feedback was enhanced during categorization of scenes with high, but not low or medium complexity. First, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) activity in early visual cortex (V1) was selectively enhanced for target objects in scenes with high complexity. Second, event-related potentials (ERPs) evoked by high complexity scenes were selectively enhanced from 220 ms after stimulus-onset. Third, behavioral performance deteriorated for highly complex scenes when participants were pressed for time, but not when they could process the scenes fully and thereby benefit from the enhanced feedback. Formal modeling of the reaction time distributions revealed that object information accumulated more slowly for high complexity scenes (resulting in more errors especially for fast decisions), and directly related to the build-up of the feedback activity that was observed exclusively for high complexity scenes. Together, these results suggest that while feed-forward activity may suffice for simple scenes, the brain employs recurrent processing more adaptively in naturalistic settings, using minimal feedback for sparse, coherent scenes and increasing feedback for complex, fragmented scenes. Author summary How much neural processing is required to detect objects of interest in natural scenes? The astonishing speed of object recognition suggests that fast feed-forward buildup of perceptual activity is sufficient. However, this view is contradicted by findings that show that disruption of slower neural feedback leads to decreased detection performance. Our study unites these discrepancies by identifying scene complexity as a critical driver of neural feedback. We show how feedback is enhanced for complex, cluttered scenes compared to simple, well-organized scenes. Moreover, for complex scenes, more feedback is associated with better performances. These findings relate the flexibility of neural processes to perceptual decision-making by demonstrating that the brain dynamically directs neural resources based on the complexity of real-world visual inputs.


Banknotes are always designed with imagery relevant to the society in which they will be circulating, symbolising the national identity of the issuing country. Reviewing the historical designs of New Zealand's banknotes from this perspective reveals a more complex picture of the 1967 switch to decimalisation than the usual perception of a discontinuous change. Despite the switch from imperial to decimal currency, there were clear social continuities in the imagery used for the pre-decimal Series 2 and first decimal Series 3 notes. The real conceptual break came with the Series 5, 6 and 7 decimal notes introduced from 1992–93, which introduced new iconography and themes common to all three series. While the Series 2 pre-decimal and Series 3 and 4 decimal series, by intent, reflected similar mid-20th century social values – underscoring the stable social character of the New Zealand society of their day, the decimal Series 5, 6 and 7 carried a different range of subjects which were selected through public consultation, formal public survey and independent expert analysis, for relevance to the society of the late 20th century and beyond.


Eulophia graminea is a saprophytic orchid easily found in a high salinity environment along the coastline. A study aimed to explore low-cost media compositions enriched with organic matters for in vitro multiplication and development of protocorm-like bodies (PLBs) of E. graminea . This study consisted of two stages. The first stage was to determine the best basic media for in vitro PLBs multiplication by testing NPK 20-20-20, Murashige and Skoog (MS), Knudson C (KC), and Vacin and Went (VW). The second stage was to compare the development of PLBs of E. graminea using NPK 20-20-20 as the basic media, supplemented with three types of organic matters (Cavendish banana, potato and coconut water) and four organic matter concentrations (50,100, 150, 200 ml L -1 ), arranged under Factorial Completely Randomized Design with ten replications.  The results showed that orchid PLB of E. graminea could be planted on NPK medium with similar success in growth and development, in term of PLB number, PLB diameter, leaf number in plantlet, plantlet height, root number and root length, to those planted on MS medium.  Among complex organic growth supplements, including coconut water, potato, and banana, coconut water at a concentration of 57.17 – 98.67 ml L -1 resulted in the best multiplication of PLB, in term of the greatest number, PLB diameter, and fresh weight. Coconut water promotes the greatest conversion of PLB into plantlets of E. graminea at an optimum concentration of 91.63 – 102.89 ml L -1 .  The price of using a complete fertilizer medium NPK is much lower than those of using MS medium, Knudson C medium, or Vacin and Went medium; this media was the most cost-effective media for mass micropropagation of E. graminea .


India ranks third in global fish production with 6.4 million metric t, but mariculture in the Indian seas is yet to be popularised. The limited availability of protected sites and the probable conflicts with other activities such as fishing, tourism and navigation are factors likely to influence mariculture development in India, besides finance, technology, expertise and government policy. A pilot scale inshore marine cage culture experiment has been undertaken since 2007 at Visakhapatnam coast of India in the Bay of Bengal. A similar cage was launched at Munambam for the culture of Asian seabass Lates calcarifer. Asian seabass seed (3.5 ±1.5 g) reared in hapa installed in ponds for a period of 30 days were stocked in the cage and cultured for a period of 120 days and harvested at an average weight of 315.5 g. Analysis of nutrient levels in seawater near the cage, revealed no noticeable accumulation of solid particulate wastes indicating that water current (0.5 to 1.0 m sec -1 ) was adequate in the site to prevent accumulation of wastes in the cage as well as in the premises. The cage culture activity was found to influence the planktonic and benthic fauna.


In this paper, we study oligopolistic competition between closed and open source softwares. By intersecting existing economic contributions on open source, we propose a two stage game with perfect information and product differetiation in which producers firstly set softwares quality, then they determine prices (constrained at zero for open source programs). In doing this, we explicitly model lock-in effects, network externality components of software quality as well as knowledge accumulation in software use and implementation. With respect to a monopolistic benchmark case, we argue that in duopoly a proprietary software producer facing an open source software will reduce its selling price whether: (i) its network of users is larger than open sources one and its consumers are largely experienced on its program, (ii) it has a small network of un-skilled consumers. In opposition, after open source softwares emergence, proprietary software price does augment if proprietary software users form a large, but poorly skilled network. Furthermore, we show that, in all above cases, proprietary software quality increases because of the existence of a open source alternative to a previouisly monopolistic program. Finally, by modeling knowledge accumulation processes through difference equations, we show that the ratio between closed and open source programs.opportunity costs of software learning and deployment plays a crucial role in shaping market outcomes. Until an open source software remains too complex and technical for unskilled or time-scarse users, a shared market solution in which both softwares are adopted is predicted. In contrast, if opportunity costs in learning and understanding open source programs are remarkably low, or at least equal to opportunity costs of a closed source software, then a open source dominance outcome (i.e. all software are open ones) phases out.


Evidence is presented for a role of CO2 in acid-base regulation by air-breathing gastropods. In the land snail Otala lactea, alterations of PCO2 account for pH adjustment during acute temperature change and in compensation for metabolic acidosis. CO2 release from the gastropod lung appears to be more closely coupled with ventilation than is O2 uptake, because O2 uptake is limited to a greater extent by diffusion through the lung epithelium. Cutaneous CO2 release may account for half of CO2 release from active snails, and the loss of this route during withdrawal into the shell partly accounts for elevation of CO2 during dormancy. Further CO2 accumulation and consequent acidosis during dormancy is attributable to hypoventilation of the lung. Although respiratory acidosis appears to be involved in metabolic depression during dormancy, the mechanism of influence on cellular metabolism is unknown and is probably indirect. Unlike the respiration of whole animals, respiration of isolated tissues of Otala is insensitive to PCO2. © 1992 Wiley-Liss, Inc.


Abstract This symposium focuses on the social security and welfare system in China. The essays in this collective research study various aspects of the change and reform of China's social security as a result of economic transformation in the nation. The authors cover a wide spectrum of issues, such as the social and political rationale of social security reform in China, the Western experience and lessons for China, pension and unemployment insurance, old age family insurance, labor migration and social security, and urban health care. These studies intend to help understand the process and problem in China's social security reform as well as revealing policy implications. ********** This symposium focuses on the needs and implications of social security and welfare systems in China. The economic transformation in China during the past two decades has been one of the most important development experiences in the twentieth century. Since its inception in 1978, China's economic reform has been quite successful until this moment. Currently, the problems within the social security system have become a focal point in the reform, particularly when unemployment and bankruptcies are on the rise. The reform in the next phase may encounter political and economic challenges that the country has not known yet. The establishment of a sound social security system is critical for the ultimate success of China's economic reform. Without such a system, as discussed in this volume, the fruits of reforms would be foreclosed and the transition toward an efficient market would be aborted in the presence of political and economic instability. In this collection, Yi Feng, Ismene Gizelis, and Jielie Li deal with the political, economic and social rationale of welfare and social security. They argue that institutional stability depends on the consensus established between the government and the population. A relatively egalitarian distribution of resources is conducive to political stability and economic development. By contrast, long-term economic development can be undermined by skewed wealth distribution. Equity and efficiency may be compatible under a growth-oriented government, but not quite so under a government that focuses on its short-term survival strategies. A welfare system becomes efficient if the short-term political goals do not undermine the long-run goals of economic development. The cases of China and Malaysia are further compared and analyzed in this theoretical framework. George S-F Chu, Shunfeng Song and Dasong Deng examine the Chinese social protection system within a broader framework. They review valuable U.S. experience and discuss policy implications relevant to the current reform in China. From the U.S. experience, ten suggestions are proposed on how to establish a social protection system with Chinese characteristics. Specially, they suggest the following. China should reform the social protection system gradually, broaden and improve social assistance and welfare programs, and encourage the development of private insurance. China should also establish a social protection system with multiple layers, determine insurance benefits based on basic needs, and ensure adequate funds for all social protection programs. Furthermore, China needs to establish an income record system, a poverty-line system, and a social protection trust fund commission. Finally, China must unify the management and administration of social protection programs. Wei Yu examines problems in financing pension and unemployment insurance under China's economic transition. Before the economic reform, the state government provided many social programs that were financed through an economic plan. Contributions to these social programs were implicitly transferred to the State through the profit of state-owned-enterprises (SOEs). The economic reform shifts financial responsibility of these programs from the government to enterprises. …


Aims: Over the past few years, the prevalence of childhood obesity has been increasing. This study aimed to assess the factors leading to obesity in female children in Iran. Methods: This is a case-control study of 9-11 year old school girls conducted in 2013 using stratified random sampling. The participants had not experienced menstruation and had not received any multivitamin or supplements at the time of the study. Seventy five students, with a Body Mass Index (BMI) ≥95th percentile, were considered as obese while another group of 75 students, with BMI percentiles 15≤BMI≤85, were selected as control group. The data on underlying factors were collected through interviews while the data associated with eating habits, including dietary intake, were gathered using 24-hour dietary recall questionnaire. Results: Daily caloric intakes observed in the obese and normal children were 1881±755 and 1609±529 kcal, respectively (p=0.01). Daily caloric intake was significantly correlated to weight (p=0.03) and BMI (p=0.01). History of obesity among first-degree relatives (p<0.001) and TV watching habits (p<0.001) showed significantly higher levels in obese children than the levels found in the control group. Using t-Test analysis, a statistically significant association was found between BMI in the obese adolescents and intake of vitamin B1 (p=0.02), B2 (p=0.011), and B6 (p=0.05). Conclusions: Our findings suggest that food intake pattern and sedentary behaviours in obese girls are major risk factors leading to metabolic disorders in the future.


Neology can be identified in a text corpus at surface level by automatic means (Renouf 1993a). In a diachronic corpus of journalism a lexical neologism can be found by comparing each word in a stream of data with a baseline index. A semantic neologism is identifiable through the change in the word's collocational environment (Renouf 1993b). In this paper, we examine the changing status of neologisms across time, tracking the 'life-cycle' of a word (Renouf 2007), from its first appearance in our text, through its fluctuations in frequency and popularity, to its possible assimilation into mainstream language, and its possible death and re-birth. The study is based on a corpus of 1.2 billion words of UK mainstream newspaper text spanning 1989–2011.


OBJECTIVES
A wireless, inertial sensor-based system has previously been validated for evaluation of equine lameness. However, threshold values have not been determined for the assessment of responses to flexion tests. The aim of this investigation was to evaluate a sensor-based system for objective assessment of the response to flexion.

METHODS
Healthy adult horses (n = 17) in work were recruited prospectively. Horses were instrumented with sensors on the head (accelerometer), pelvis (accelerometer) and right forelimb (gyroscope), before trotting in a straight line (minimum 25 strides) for 2 consecutive trials. Sensors measured 1) vertical pelvic movement asymmetry (PMA) for both right and left hindlimb strides and 2) average difference in maximum and minimum pelvic height (PDMax and PDMin) between right and left hindlimb strides in millimetres. A hindlimb was randomly selected for proximal flexion (60 s), after which the horse trotted a minimum of 10 strides. Response to flexion was blindly assessed as negative or positive by an experienced observer. Changes in PMA, PDMax and PDMin between baseline and flexion examinations were calculated for each test. Statistical analysis consisted of a Pearson's product moment test and linear regression on baseline trials, Mann-Whitney rank sum test for effect of flexion and receiver operator curve (ROC) analysis of test parameters.

RESULTS
There was a strong correlation between trials for PMA, PDMin and PDMax measurements (P < 0.001). A positive flexion test resulted in a significant increase in PMA (P = 0.021) and PDMax (P = 0.05) only. Receiver-operator curve analysis established cut-off values for change in PMA and PDMax of 0.068 and 4.47 mm, respectively (sensitivity = 0.71, specificity = 0.65) to indicate a positive response to flexion.

CONCLUSIONS
A positive response to flexion resulted in significant changes to objective measurements of pelvic symmetry.

POTENTIAL RELEVANCE
Findings support the use of inertial sensor systems to objectively assess response to flexion tests. Further investigation is warranted to establish cut-off values for objective assessment of other diagnostic procedures.


The mycorrhizal-like fungus Piriformospora indica has demonstrated potential to enhance adventitious root formation (ARF) and increase root weight when applied to the propagation substrate of unrooted cuttings (URCs). Experiments were conducted to determine the effect of P. indica on ARF of six floriculture species: cape daisy (Osteospermum ·hybrida 'Side Show White'), crossandra (Crossandra infundibuliformis 'Orange Marmalade'), dahlia (Dahlia ·hybrida 'Dahlietta Margaret'), lantana (Lantana camara 'Lucky Yellow'), poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima 'Champion Fire', 'Premium White', and 'Supreme Bright Red'), and scaevola (Scaevola aemula 'Fan Dancer'). The treatments consisted of a peat-based growing medium that contained 5%, 10%, 20%, or 30% perlite colonized with P. indica (volume of colonized perlite/volume of growingmedium). Inoculationwith 10% to 20% colonized perlite significantly increased the root fresh weight for one cultivar, Supreme Bright Red poinsettia, whereas the 20% colonized perlite treatment resulted in a decrease in root fresh weight of scaevola and cape daisy. Rooting percentage of 'Champion Fire' poinsettia and dahlia showed a benefit at specific P. indica treatments, whereas cape daisy displayed a decrease in rooting percentage. Conventional rooting hormone treatment showed beneficial responses for dahlia, and 'Champion Fire' poinsettia rooting percentage and a negative response on lantana root fresh weight. This project demonstrates a novel method for delivering a root endophyte toURCs for the purpose of increasing ARF, and the results suggest the potential for P. indica usage for ARF enhancement. However, the results were not consistently beneficial across the eight cultivars tested, so growers would need to conduct in-house trials to identify the best treatments across a range of crop species and cultivars.


A field experiment was conducted during 2000-04 in foothill sandy clay loam soil (Typic Hapludalf) of Meghalaya. The treatments included 4 tillage practices (no tillage, puddling with spade, power tiller cultivator mounted with cage wheel and desi plough) and 4 sources of organics (no organic, forest grass, Ambrosia sp. and farmyard manure). After 5 years, puddling with power tiller increased the bulk density (19.4%), penetration resistance (24.0%), and decreased organic carbon (9.4 %), mean weight diameter (26.4%) and hydraulic conductivity (14.6%) over the initial value of soil. Reverse trends for corresponding parameters were recorded under zero tillage. The storage pores ranged between 36.7 and 41.4 % for puddle plots compared with the 52.6 % for the zero tillage plots. The percolation rate of water was also affected by the tillage. At 24 hr of 6 cm water application, the water reached up to 90 and 75 cm depth with retention of 84.0 and 96.3 % of the total applied water under puddling with power tiller and zero tillage, respectively. The earthworm casting as indicator of earthworm activities increased by 58.5 % under the zero tillage over the puddled condition. Initially, for 3 years the rice grain yield was lower under zero tillage. However, after 3 years the yield was higher (3.43 to 3.66 tonnes /ha) under zero tillage than that of puddle plots (3.06 to3.58 tonnes /ha). Among the different source of organics, farmyard manure was the best for production of rice grain yield. Ambrosia sp. was also found a promising weed as a green manure crop.


As in civil lawsuits, corporate criminal liability at the federal level and in many states is imposed using a strict respondent superior standard: corporations are criminally liable for the wrongdoing of their agents committed within the scope of their authority for the benefit of the corporation. The remaining jurisdictions follow some variation of the Model Penal Code standard, a narrower approach than the federal rule, finding corporate liability only where the board of directors or other high-level managers "authorized, requested, commanded, performed or recklessly tolerated" the offense. These liability standards, which rely on imputing mental states to individual agents, are fatally over- and under- inclusive because they fail, without justification, to differentiate between the non-blameworthy organizations and those which are genuinely culpable. This Note contends that the disconnect between organizational blameworthiness and liability under the current individualistic liability scheme warrants overhauling the standard for holding organizations criminally liable. That organizations demonstrate culpability independent of their individual agents has long been recognized both in other areas of the law and competing academic conceptualizations of organizational criminal liability. Accordingly, this Note builds from the existing academic models of genuine organizational culpability and suggests a standard that uses an approximation of the senior management mens rea (SMMR). This SMMR should be used as a proxy for the corporate mens rea by using both (1) subjective mental states of senior management and (2) reasonable inferences of senior management's culpability derived from organizational variables commonly recognized as contributing to organizational culpability. These variables should serve as non-subjective circumstantial evidence of culpability. This model, which embodies the understanding of genuine organizational culpability and ensures true organizational blameworthiness, can be weaved seamlessly into the current criminal statutes in a form that courts can more consistently understand and apply than other academic proposals. Part I of this Note explains the development and shortcomings of the present standards of corporate criminal liability. Part II discusses the theoretical underpinnings of independent organizational action and intention in organizational theory. Part II also outlines the means by which the law and legal scholars have incorporated the understanding of genuine organizational culpability into models assessing independent organizational culpability. Finally, Part II explores the shortcomings of the prevailing academic models. Specifically, it focuses on William Laufer's model of constructive corporate fault, one of the most substantively sound and practical academic models to date. Part III advocates a new liability standard, the SMMR, and specifically examines its implementation-based utility over competing proposals.


This document captures the issues that may arise in the deployment of
IPv6 networks when they support Mobile IPv6 and firewalls. The issues
are not only applicable to firewalls protecting enterprise networks,
but are also applicable in 3G mobile networks such as General Packet
Radio Service / Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (GPRS/UMTS)
and CDMA2000 networks. The goal of this document is to highlight the
issues with firewalls and Mobile IPv6 and act as an enabler for
further discussion. Issues identified here can be solved by developing
appropriate solutions. This memo provides information for the Internet
community.


Contemporary abstract algebra ninth edition provides a solid introduction to the traditional topics in abstract algebra while conveying to students that it is a contemporary subject used daily by working mathematicians, computer scientists, physicists, and chemists. The text includes numerous figures, tables, photographs, charts, biographies, computer exercises, and suggested readings giving the subject a current feel which makes the content interesting and relevant for students.


We study the iteration of functions in the exponential family. We construct a number of sets, consisting of points which escape to infinity 'slowly', and which have Hausdorff dimension equal to $1$ . We prove these results by using the idea of an annular itinerary. In the case of a general transcendental entire function we show that one of these sets, the uniformly slowly escaping set, has strong dynamical properties and we give a necessary and sufficient condition for this set to be non-empty.


During the Kempton Park negotiations one of the difficult issues to be resolved was the content of a Bill of Rights. At that stage, an agreement was reached on the desirability of including a Bill of Fundamental Human Rights in the Constitution. To the dismay of some of us, the issue of the content of a Bill of Rights occupied the minds of negotiators for a long time. At the centre of the disagreement was the inclusion of the second and third generations of human rights in a Bill of Rights, as opposed to only the first generation of human rights.


Abstract The article considers the relationship between competition and consumer law. First, it notes that consumer law may help render markets more competitive but that it may also restrict competition, requiring the legislator to decide how to trade off consumer protection and competition. Second, it suggests that certain consumer law issues can be addressed using antitrust tools, which sheds some light on how the consumer acquis may be revised. Third, it explores the extent to which competition law is part of consumer law, challenging the approach whereby legality for competition law purposes is conditional on undertakings promising to implement measures to protect consumers, and suggesting a better role for competition law is the supervision of self-regulatory agreements designed to protect consumers.


Purpose: This study was performed to elucidate whether the obesity or body image is a barrier to breast screening compliance in
Korean women. Methods: We included 54,017 women aged between 35 to 70 years from the Korea Community Health Survey
(KCHS) 2014 dataset. To identify whether a mutual relationship exists between weight perceptions and breast cancer screening rates,
the participants were divided into three groups according to the level of concordance between Body Mass Index (BMI) and a subjective
body image. Descriptive analyses, a chi-square test, and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed. Results: After
covariate adjustment, the screening rate of the overweight group was 1.09 times higher than the normal weight group (odds ratio
[OR], 1.09; confidence interval [CI], 0.00-0.16; p=.038) and the severe obesity group was 1.20 times lower (OR, 0.83; CI, -0.36-0.00;
p=.047). Weight misperception also had a significant influence on breast cancer screening. Especially, The overweight distortion
group was less likely to undergo breast cancer screening (OR, 0.93; CI, -0.15-0.00; p=.037). Conclusion: Obesity and weight misperceptions
are associated with lower compliance with breast cancer screening guidelines.


This volume studies elections as a core institution of liberal democracy in the context of newly democratizing countries. Political scientist Staffan I. Lindberg gathers data from every nationally contested election in Africa from 1989 to 2003, covering 232 elections in 44 countries. He argues that democratizing nations learn to become democratic through repeated democratic behavior, even if their elections are often flawed. Refuting a number of established hypotheses, Lindberg finds no general negative trend in either the frequency or the quality of African elections. Rather, elections in Africa, based on his findings, are more than just the goal of a transition toward democracy or merely a formal procedure. The inception of multiparty elections usually initiates liberalization, and repeated electoral activities create incentives for political actors, fostering the expansion and deepening of democratic values. In addition to improving the democratic qualities of political regimes, a sequence of elections tends to expand and solidify de facto civil liberties in society. Drawing on a wealth of data, Lindberg makes the case that repetitive elections are an important causal factor in the development of democracy. He thus extends Rustow's (1970) theory that democratic behavior produces democratic values.