Although the mechanisms under which sex ratio is controlled in nature remain unknown, researchers have attempted to treat sperm in an effort to predetermine the sex of the offspring. The methods of sperm separation that have been repeatedly reported to isolate fractions rich in X- or Y-chromosome bearing sperm are serum albumin gradient swim-up and flow cytometry. However, the ability of the serum albumin gradient method to isolate Y-chromosome rich fractions and alter the sex ratio of offspring is still a subject of controversy. The flow cytometry technology used to separate X- and Y-bearing sperm into live fractions has been improved and publications showed that the procedure for the capacitation of flow cytometry sorted sperm might be successfully applied for fresh sperm in in vitrofertilisation(IVP)programs. In the case of sexing embryos the use of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a service offered by several embryo transfer practitioners, but it is labor intensive and costly. In addition, biopsied embryos do not survive freezing very well. In the near future, PCR assays for use in the predetermination of the sex of offspring may become available. In combination with in vitro maturation(IVM), in vitro fertilisation(IVP) and embryo transfer techniques, it is very likely that sexed spermatozoa or embryo will be used widely and efficiently in mammals where higher numbers of spermatozoa or embryo are usually required. To be commercially viable, a method of embryo sexing must be highly efficient, simple and cheap. Although many livestock breeders request embryo sexing, it has not found widespreaduse especially in developing countries.


Summary: In developing countries, chronic osteomyelitis often results from untreated acute hematogenous osteomyelitis but may also be seen as sequelae of trauma (war injuries). This condition is characterized by areas of devitalized bone/soft tissue (sequestra), which serve as a nidus for recurrent episodes of infection. The periosteal response (involucrum) serves to restore structural integrity, and partial or complete reabsorption of sequestra usually accompany this host response. In addition to providing adequate nutritional support, and treating any coexisting medical or infectious diseases, the treatment of chronic osteomyelitis involves surgical removal of all infected/devitalized tissue with or without antibiotic therapy. Sequestrectomy is usually delayed until a suitable involucrum has formed to preserve stability and minimize the chances of fracture and/or segmental bone loss. The disease and/or its treatment may result in focal or segmental loss of bone, requiring further intervention to restore osseous continuity, alignment, and length. Treatment options for focal bone loss include conventional bone grafting and open cancellous bone grafting (subcutaneous bones), and the limb should be protected (cast or external fixator) until healing is complete. For segmental loss of bone, options include conventional bone grafting (external fixator to maintain length and stability) or bone transport. The latter technique, if technically feasible, allows the simultaneous management of limb malalignment and limb length discrepancy. The choice depends on the local resources, and either technique may result in a suitable outcome for the majority of patients. For segmental defects in the tibia, the ipsilateral fibula may be used as a bypass graft. Creation of a single-bone forearm may represent the best option in cases with significant loss of the radius or ulna, provided that the wrist and elbow are normal.


This article builds the argument that Bourdieu's dispositional theory of practice can help integrate the sociological tradition with three prominent strands of behavioral economics: bounded rationality, prospect theory, and time inconsistency. I make the case that the habitus provides an alternative framework to show how social and mental structure constitute one another, where cognitive tendencies toward irrationality can be either curtailed or amplified based on one's position in the economic field and a person's corresponding set of dispositions, ranging from more rational doxic dispositions to irrational allodoxic tendencies. Bridging economic sociology and behavioral economics, this work also bears on issues of persistent financial inequality reproduced through self-defeating patterns of economic behavior inculcated into individuals who occupy dominated positions in the social structure. Bourdieu's thought, and in particular his conception of field+habitus, can usefully be applied to the empirical findings of behavioral economics to understand deviations from rational action as not only cognitive but also socially structured.


This paper explores the role that particular conceptions of the past play in the ongoing legal debate about the relevance of imperialism for modern international law. As it will seek to show, that is not the same thing as exploring the role that history plays in that debate. Although international lawyers and historians at times look to the same texts from the past, the way the two disciplines approach such texts is traditionally quite different. Law and history stand on opposite sides of a centuries-old dividing line between present obligations and archaic traditions. The self-imposed task of today's contextualist historians is to think about concepts in their proper time and place – the task of international lawyers is to think about how concepts move across time and space. For lawyers, in other words, the past may be a source of present obligations. Similarly, legal concepts and practices that were developed in the age of formal empire may continue to shape international law in the post-colonial era. In order to illustrate the methodological divisions that inform debates about the relevance of past texts to present law and politics, this paper focuses on critical responses to the work of scholars associated with the Third World Approaches to International Law (TWAIL) movement, and in particular to that of Antony Anghie. Anghie is the TWAIL scholar who has made the most significant contribution to rethinking the relationship between history, international law, and empire through studying the modern influence of authors such as Vitoria. This paper seeks to show that in order to understand Anghie's scholarship (and that of TWAIL scholars more generally), it is necessary to see it as an intervention that challenges the place of the past and the work of history in international legal arguments. The paper concludes, in other words, that TWAIL scholarship can only be understood 'in context'. Questioning the extent to which decolonisation has fully taken place remains a critical intervention in contemporary global politics.


Abstract. In developing countries, metropolitan cities, due to their economic activities, attract an increasing amount of commuters on a daily basis. This has led to major freeways and roads experiencing high levels of congestion and consequently high pollution levels. In 2020, due to a global pandemic of an outbreak of Corona Virus (COVID-19), the national government declared a national shutdown with only essential traffic being allowed to operate. Given the scenario of the national lock-down this allows for the statistical analysis of the impact of essential traffic on the overall transportation system. Consequently the aim of the paper was to assess the congestion and CO2 emission impact of essential traffic for the City of Johannesburg. Using an exploratory approach, we monitored and collected traffic congestion data from the Tomtom traffic index for the metropolitan city of Johannesburg, South Africa. We develop a relationship between congestion and pollution to visualise the daily variations in pollution and congestion levels. We demonstrate this by comparing variations in congestion levels in two epochs, viz the period without movement restrictions and the period whereby movement is restricted. The results reveal essential traffic on the congestion index to be below 22 percent for both weekends and weekdays. A scenario common only during weekends in 2019. Whilst for the emission index, CO2 levels are approximately less than 45 percent throughout the week. The paper concludes the investment into mining and analysing traffic data has a significantly role for future mobility planning in both the developed and developing world and, more generally, improving the quality of commuting trips in the city.


Gunung Agung is a stratovolcano type of volcano which has a height of 3,142 masl and is located in Karangasem Regency, Bali Province. At the end of 2017, Mount Agung's volcanic activity increased until it finally erupted several times in October to December. The government has prepared refuge pockets at the foot of Mount Agung, in areas that are not directly affected by eruption. There are 19 drilling plan points that will be carried out to meet the raw water needs at the evacuation site. This paper presents the groundwater recharge potential including the distribution of water sources, Hydrogeological conditions and the magnitude of groundwater recharge potential at hillside of Mount Agung and the surrounding area. The method used in this study is a field survey, calculation of potential recharge, analysis and evaluation of hydrogeological conditions, distribution of water sources and calculation of potential groundwater recharge. Groundwater at the foot of Mount Agung has the potential to be utilized and developed mainly to cover raw water needs in several refugee locations, namely in the Districts of Sidemen, Abang and Karangasem. The result of the analysis is that the largest groundwater potential is in Kubu Sub-District, namely 97,560,207 m3 / year, with a position that is relatively susceptible to primary hazards and secondary to Mount Agung eruption. For locations that are relatively safe and reachable in the area, they are in Tianyar, Sukadana, Baturinggit, Kubu, and Tulamben Villages, all of which are on the coast of the sea. These results are expected to be used by local governments in an effort to deal with the provision of water from the impact of the eruption of Mount Agung.


The analysis of spherical lead bullets recovered from early modern battlefields (1500-1815) has produced valuable data regarding battle location and the extent of the action. Previous experimentation and analysis of individual bullets demonstrate that diagnostic traits can be transferred to the surface of the bullet. However, the nature of impacted bullets and their potential to retain characteristic evidence from the impact surface have yet to be systematically addressed within conflict archaeology. This thesis examines the nature of bullet impact evidence through a series of proof of concept experimental firing trials. To achieve this aim, a reference collection of known bullet impacts which can be used as a comparative tool against archaeologically recovered bullets was established. To build this reference collection, a reproducible experimental firing methodology was created by examining military treatises and scientific publications contemporary to the early modern period, along with previous experimental firing trials and ballistics to identify and define experimental variables and parameters. Experimental designs were developed by examining the reconstructed historic landscape from two case study battlefields to identify common landscape features in which bullets may have impacted during battle. A ballistic modelling program was created through experimentation to enable a regimented experimental firing methodology that would compensate for musket inaccuracy, although with limitations. Experimental firing was conducted over sterile and stony ground surfaces as well as numerous wooden targets to establish a baseline of known bullet impacts. The results from the experimental firing reveal that bullets that impacted the ground surface retain distinct diagnostic characteristics that can be identified within bullets from archaeological assemblages. However, the distinctive characteristics identified on bullets that impacted wooden targets were not observed. This thesis demonstrates that experimentally fired bullets retain diagnostic traits from the impact surface that allow for specific classification and an advanced understanding of archaeologically recovered bullet assemblages.


THERE HAS BEEN SO much research on the East Asian miracle during the past decade that it is hard to imagine that anything more remains to be discovered-except for the ever-elusive elixir of growth. Despite that, we need to keep studying these extraordinary experiences, and the three excellent symposium papers in this volume provide much enlightenment and food for thought. I start by discussing a few points that come up in the papers, and then turn, first, to other research on East Asia, and second, to related experiences in Asia and the Pacific Rim.


The development of optimization methods has a significant meaning for systems analysis. Optimization methods provide working tools for quantitative decision making based on correct specification of the problem and appropriately chosen solution methods. Not all problems of systems analysis are optimization problems, of course, but in any systems problem optimization methods are useful and important tools. The power of these methods and their ability to handle different problems makes it possible to analize and construct very complicated systems. Economic planning for instance would be much more limited without linear programming techniques which are very specific optimization methods. LP methods had a great impact on the theory and practice of systems analysis not only as a computing aid but also in providing a general model or structure for the systems problems.

LP techniques, however, are not the only possible optimization methods. The consideration of uncertainty, partial knowledge of the systems structure and characteristics, conflicting goals and unknown exogenous models and consequently more sophisticated methods to work with these models.

Nondifferentiable optimization methods seem better suited to handle these features than other techniques at the present time. The theory of nondifferentiable optimization studies extremum problems of complex structure involving interactions of subproblems, stochastic factors, multi-stage decisions and other difficulties.

This publication covers one particular, but unfortunately common, situation when an estimation of the outcome from some definite decision needs a solution of a difficult auxiliary, internal, extremum problem. Solution of this auxiliary problem may be very time-consuming and so may hinder the wide analysis of different decisions. The aim of the author is to develop methods of optimal decision making which avoid direct comparison of different decisions and use only easily accessible information from the computational point of view.


Objective: The objective was to determine lipid levels and cardiovascular risk factors in treatment-naïve, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected rural African people in Limpopo province. Design: This was a case control study. Setting and subjects: The setting was Dikgale Health and Demographic Surveillance System Centre, Limpopo province. Treatment naïve, HIV-infected and HIV-negative people participated in the study. Outcome measures: Demographic, lifestyle and chronic disease data were collected using the World Health Organization stepwise approach to surveillance (STEPS) questionnaire. Biochemical parameters were tested using standard biochemical methods. HIV testing and CD4 counts were performed using the Alere Determine™ HIV 1/2 Ag/Ab kit and The Alere Pima™ Analyser. Insulin resistance, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL cholesterol), and non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (non-HDL cholesterol) levels were calculated. Results: The mean age of participants (years) was 49.7 ± 16.6. More HIV-infected than HIV-uninfected women consumed alcohol (25.4% vs. 11.9%, p-value < 0.05), and the prevalence of abdominal obesity was higher in HIV-uninfected than in HIV-infected women (74.6% vs. 54.8%, p-value < 0.05). Levels of total cholesterol (TC), HDL cholesterol, non-HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol and apolipoprotein A1 (ApoA1) were significantly lower in the HIV-infected than in the HIV-uninfected group. The prevalence of low HDL cholesterol was higher in HIV-infected than in HIV-uninfected people (62.4% vs. 41.6%, p-value < 0.01). HIV infection increased the likelihood of low HDL cholesterol by 2.7 times (p-value 0.001). Male gender and alcohol use decreased the likelihood of low HDL cholesterol by 61% (p-value 0.002) and 48% (p-value 0.048), respectively. HIV infection was associated with low HDL cholesterol, ApoA1, LDL cholesterol and TC. Low CD4 count was associated with low body mass index, LDL cholesterol and high diastolic blood pressure. Conclusion: The prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors was equally high in HIV-infected and in HIV-uninfected rural people, except for low HDL and alcohol consumption, which were significantly higher in HIV-infected people, while abdominal obesity was significantly higher in HIV-uninfected people. There is a need to raise awareness of cardiovascular risk factors in rural people in Limpopo province.


The lowland rain forests of the Bulungan Research Forest (now called as
Malinau Research Forest) are important for their high species richness which
constitutes a portion of the remaining frontier forest in Asia. Lowland dipterocarp
forest is the most extensive forest type in the area. Trees may reach up to 35-40
m height. Dominant species with diameter are those of the Dipterocarpaceae
family. The commercial timber species in the area is Shorea spp, Dipterocarpus
spp, Hopea spp and Vatica spp. Agathis boomeensis is also another commercial
species. It is the unique timber representative of the family Araucariaceae in the
lowland and hill mixed dipterocarp forest of Borneo. Reduced-Impact Logging
(RIL) trial has been carried out in the compartment of operational scale (over
100 ha). Twenty four permanents sample plots (PSPs), of one ha each have
been randomly set up for a long term monitoring. All trees (dbh 20 cm) were
measured and identified.The objective of study was to observe how far RIL can
reduce logging damage as compared to conventional logging which was done in
state-owned company, PT Inhutani II, East Kalimantan. Residual stand damage
were calculated to be compared with initial density. In conventional logging, the
damage which was created in diameter class of 20-50 cm dbh versus felling
intensity were recorded as amounting 27% (in low logging intensity), 22%
(medium), and 27% (high) from initial density. Meanwhile in diameter class
above 50 cm dbh were 3.9% (low) and 6% (both medium and high). In contrast,
in reduced-impact logging, residual stand damage in diameter class of 20-50 cm
dbh were 10% (low), 20% (medium) and 29%(high). Meanwhile, in diameter
class above 50 cm dbh were only 1 %(low), 3% (medium) and 6% (high). In line
with those activities also to do monitoring PSPs, as well as to examine the stand
structure and status of species composition of logged over forest under reduced
impact and conventional logging. The study showed the overall density of
saplings of approximately 4,600 stems/ha, which is mainly composed of two
families, Euphorbiaceae and Dipterocarpaceae. Euphorbiaceae particularly
dominated this storey. A total of 705 trees species were recorded from the
permanent sample plots, of which 70 trees (9.29%) were dipterocarp species.
Among the distributed dipterocarps species are Dipterocarpus lowii, D. stellatus,
Shorea beccariana, S. brunescens, S. exelliptica, S. Macroptera, S. Maxwelliana,
S. multiflora, S. parvifolia, S. rubra and S. venulosa. In this study, residual stand
damage due to reduced impact and conventional logging with different logging
intensity were also be demonstrated.


Received: April 12, 2108 ▪ Accepted: May 01, 2018 Abstract: In this study a game-based learning approach was introduced among students and teachers. Several chemistry games and a survey method were used as a tool to obtain insight into students' knowledge about ionic bonding, to learn about the students' and teachers' perceptions related to this teaching method and to get insights into the misunderstanding and misconceptions that students might have. Students were tested on the ionic bonding test and both students and teachers anonymously filled in a questionnaire to express their perceptions about the game-based learning approach. Students achievements on the test were satisfactory; the mean score was 11.31 out of 15 (or 75.33 %). Most comments regarding the lesson itself were positive, stating that the lesson was well planned, interesting and very helpful. The usage of games in chemistry classroom was proven to be an excellent way to motivate students, to provide active engagement and discussion among students and to develop skills to solve problems.


Despite the complex regulation of the expression of these genes, some general conclusions seem to be warranted. First, nearly all the studied genes are regulated in a tissue-specific fashion. Moreover hepatic expression seems to be more tightly controlled than intestinal expression. In the liver apo A-I and apo A-IV gene expression is regulated by steroid and thyroid hormones, whereas intestinal apo A-I and apo A-IV gene expression is unaffected by the same factors. The total concentration of apo B mRNA in the liver remains relatively constant after treatment with different hormones, but the relative level of apo B-100 and apo B-48 mRNA has been shown to be strongly regulated by thyroid hormones (Davidson et al., 1988). Again this type of regulation is not observed in the intestine. These observations therefore might indicate that common factors may be involved in the tissue selective expression and regulation of the apolipoprotein genes. Second, hepatic apo A-I and apo A-II gene expression is regulated in an opposite direction after treatment with estrogens, thyroid hormones and corticosteroids. This may be important since both apolipoproteins may perform opposite functions in the process of reverse cholesterol transport (Barbaras et al., 1986; Barkia et al. 1991). Accordingly, the opposite regulation of the expression of these genes by hormones and other factors may have important implications for the ant-atherogenic efficiency of HDL particles. Again it would be worthwhile investigating whether a common transcriptional regulator is involved in this opposite regulation


Neural development is often thought to be a matter of axons finding the right connections. Gray et al. highlight the importance of transcription in regulating neural development. Analysis of the mouse genome revealed more than 1000 genes that encode transcription factors. In situ hybridization studies further revealed that more than 300 transcription factors were differentially expressed in the central nervous system during development. P. A. Gray, H. Fu, P. Luo, Q. Zhao, J. Yu, A. Ferrari, T. Tenzen, D.-I. Yuk, E. F. Tsung, Z. Cai, J. A. Alberta, L.-p. Cheng, Y. Liu, J. M. Stenman, M. T. Valerius, N. Billings, H. A. Kim, M. E. Greenberg, A. P. McMahon, D. H. Rowitch, C. D. Stiles, Q. Ma, Mouse brain organization revealed through direct genome-scale TF expression analysis. Science 306, 2255-2257 (2004). [Abstract] [Full Text]


We live in the era of Big Data and we are now entering the world of artificial administration, where governmental bodies will replace or displace human decision-makers with information technology. A clash of value systems is or will soon be upon us, between technologists who insist on the power of correlation and lawyers who refuse to yield on the time-honoured fundamentality of causation. In this paper, I map out the terrain for the conflicts to come and offer some thoughts as to how they might be resolved.

Information technology has, in principle, the capacity to improve the accuracy and efficiency of administrative decision-making, so figuring out how such systems can be integrated into existing regulatory schemes is an important and difficult task.

My primary thesis is that thinking about the norms of administrative law is a useful first step in determining the appropriate scope of the use of information technology in public administration. One of the most profound controversies about artificial administration relates to its opacity as, unlike decisions made by humans, the reasoning processes used by techniques such as neural nets defy explanation and justification in conventional terms, undermining the safeguards of legality, rationality and procedural propriety which courts have attempted to require of administrative decision-making processes. I nonetheless identify conditions in which artificial administration would be an appropriate addition to the administrative decision-making toolkit.

My secondary thesis is that these controversies provide a platform for consideration of the role of artificial administration in administrative decision-making. Moreover, they prompt reflection on a deeper question – which norms will shape the future of public administration, the solution-driven boosterism of Silicon Valley technologists or the culture of justification of public law jurists? I will note that artificial administration can be integrated into existing decision processes in a manner respectful of existing norms of administrative law. But I will also identiy norms which technologists could internalise. If they were to do so, the potential for future tension would be greatly reduced. Where tension exists it is mostly because of the opacity problems generated by artificial administration, involving the use of technology which is inexplicable in human terms. If those responsible for designing artificial administration put their energies into building systems which are capable of satisfying administrative law norms of justification, transparency and intelligibility, its integration into public administration will be much smoother and much less controversial.


Trends in intergenerational economic mobility in Finland are analyzed using panel data from 1950 through 1999 on more than 250,000 sons and daughters born between 1930 and 1970. A significant decline is estimated in the intergenerational transmission elasticity from the 1930 birth cohort until the baby boom cohorts of the early 1950s. After that we observed no increase in the extent of mobility for 1950s and 1960s birth cohorts, but rather the reverse. The result holds both for sons and daughters. A decomposition of the intergenerational transmission elasticities across cohorts shows that most of the early decline in transmission reflected a drop in the influence of parental income on the children's earnings that operated through investments in the child's schooling. This early pattern is postulated to reflect the phases of secondary educational expansion at the time. Throughout, a rise is estimated in the intergenerational transmission elasticity with age at which sons and daughters are observed. This has also been noted in prior U.S. studies and, at least in this Finnish context, this seems to result almost entirely from rising estimated returns to education with age.


OBJECTIVES
To analyze articles published in scientific journals from 2000 to 2005 that specifically focus on men who abuse their female partner, and to identify characteristics that the quantitative empirical studies have in common.

METHODS
A systematic review of articles published from January 2000 to June 2005 on the topic of men who abuse their female partner was conducted by searching the following databases: EconLit, Embase, Eric, Francis, Indice édico Español, ISI Web of Knowledge (Web of Science and Current Contents), Medline, Psicodoc, PsycInfo, and Sociological Abstracts.

RESULTS
Of the 944 studies identified, victim-specific articles were eliminated, and 61 (6.5%) were analyzed. Of these, violence-related journals had published 34 (55.7%); medical sciences journals had published only 4 (6.6%). North American institutions had published 47 of the 61 articles (77.0%), most of which were from the United States of America (70.5%), and only 1 article (1.6%) came from Latin America (Puerto Rico). Of the 29 articles that employed quantitative analysis, 19 (65.5%) examined the etiology of and risk factors related to domestic violence, and 10 (34.5%) focused on interventions geared toward the aggressor.

CONCLUSIONS
Few scientific studies were found that tackled the causes of violence against the female partner, and those that did used epidemiological methods that fell short of quantifying the causes of partner violence. Studies that approach the issue from a curative angle do not provide enough evidence on the effectiveness of programs aimed at abusers. No articles were found in public health journals. The absence of scientific literature on this topic could be impeding informed policy-making and hindering efforts to put more effective intervention programs in place.


Mutation and recombination are key evolutionary processes governing phenotypic variation and reproductive isolation. We here demonstrate that biodiversity within all globally known strains of Schizosaccharomyces pombe arose through admixture between two ancestral lineages. Initial hybridization occurred ∼20 sexual outcrossing generations ago consistent with recent, human-induced migration at the onset of intensified transcontinental trade. Species-wide phenotypic variation was explained near-exclusively by strain-specific arrangements of alternating ancestry components with evidence for transgressive segregation. Reproductive compatibility between strains was likewise predicted by the degree of shared ancestry. Over 800 structural mutations segregating at low frequency had overall little effect on the introgression landscape. This study sheds new light on the population history of S. pombe and illustrates the importance of hybridization as a creative force in generating biodiversity.


Information Technology plays a major role in our society. Due to system integration and process automation, a company has to rely on performant information systems. To achieve this objective, it is important to have relevant IT processes in place on the one hand to ensure current operation and on the other hand to enable the successful introduction of new technologies. Once IT processes are defined and described, interrelations become visible, which allow to gain an appropriate level of maturity.


The dust-Hi correlation is used to characterize the emission properties of dust in the diffuse interstellar medium (ISM) from far infrared wavelengths to microwave frequencies. The field of this investigation encompasses the part of the southern sky best suited to study the cosmic infrared and microwave backgrounds. We cross-correlate sky maps from Planck, the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP), and the diffuse infrared background experiment (DIRBE), at 17 frequencies from 23 to 3000 GHz, with the Parkes survey of the 21 cm line emission of neutral atomic hydrogen, over a contiguous area of 7500 deg2 centred on the southern Galactic pole. We present a general methodology to study the dust-H i correlation over the sky, including simulations to quantify uncertainties. Our analysis yields four specific results. (1) We map the temperature, submillimetre emissivity, and opacity of the dust per H-atom. The dust temperature is observed to be anti-correlated with the dust emissivity and opacity. We interpret this result as evidence of dust evolution within the diffuse ISM. The mean dust opacity is measured to be (7.1 ± 0.6) × 10-27 cm2 H-1 × (v/353 GHz) 1.53 ± 0.03for 100 ≤ v ≤ 353 GHz. This is a reference value to estimate hydrogen column densities from dust emission at submillimetre and millimetre wavelengths. (2) We map the spectral index βmm of dust emission at millimetre wavelengths (defined here as v ≤ 353GHz), and find it to be remarkably constant at βmm = 1.51 ± 0.13. We compare it with the far infrared spectral index βFIR derived from greybody fits at higher frequencies, and find a systematic difference, βmm -βFIR = -0.15, which suggests that the dust spectral energy distribution (SED) flattens at v ≤ 353 GHz. (3) We present spectral fits of the microwave emission correlated with Hi from 23 to 353 GHz, which separate dust and anomalous microwave emission (AME). We show that the flattening of the dust SED can be accounted for with an additional component with a blackbody spectrum. This additional component, which accounts for (26 ± 6)% of the dust emission at 100GHz, could represent magnetic dipole emission. Alternatively, it could account for an increasing contribution of carbon dust, or a flattening of the emissivity of amorphous silicates, at millimetre wavelengths. These interpretations make different predictions for the dust polarization SED. (4) We analyse the residuals of the dust-Hi correlation. We identify a Galactic contribution to these residuals, which we model with variations of the dust emissivity on angular scales smaller than that of our correlation analysis. This model of the residuals is used to quantify uncertainties of the CIB power spectrum in a companion Planck paper.© ESO 2014.


Remote sensing datasets pose a number of interesting challenges to machine learning researchers and practitioners, from domain shift (spatially, semantically and temporally) to highly imbalanced labels. In addition, the outputs of models trained on remote sensing datasets can contribute to positive societal impacts, for example in food security and climate change. However, there are many barriers that limit the accessibility of satellite data to the machine learning community, including a lack of large labeled datasets as well as an understanding of the range of satellite products available, how these products should be processed, and how to manage multi-dimensional geospatial data. To lower these barriers and facilitate the use of satellite datasets by the machine learning community, we present CropHarvest—a satellite dataset of more than 90,000 geographicallydiverse samples with agricultural class labels. The data and accompanying python package are available at https://github.com/nasaharvest/cropharvest.


Lab-on-a-chips (LOCs), alternatively called micro total analysis systems (μTAS) are miniaturized chemical or biological analytical devices that integrate one or several laboratory functions on a single chip. LOCs handle small amount of sample volume and enable the analysis and detection with enhanced performances in short time.
This thesis focuses on developing LOC platforms for the detection of growth hormones such as bovine somatotropin (bST) and recombinant bovine somatotropin (rbST) in milk. Bovine somatotropin is a polypeptide growth hormone naturally produced by the anterior pituitary gland in mammals, which has strong influences on the biological effects such as growth, developments and reproductive functions. The bST is useful to increase the milk and meat production. With the emergence of the recombinant DNA technology, large quantities of artificial hormones called recombinant bovine somatotropin (rbST) are produced and used for the production of milk and meat in dairy industry. Use of growth hormones for the production of milk and meat is still controversial due to its potential effects on animal and human health. Hence, there is a huge demand for highly sensitive, rapid and low cost devices for the detection of growth hormones. Currently, the growth hormones are detected by large equipment which needs large amounts of reagents and bio-liquids in addition to longer analysis time. In this context, there is a large demand for developing a miniaturized bio-analytical platform for the rapid and precise screening of growth hormones in milk. In this thesis, development of LOC platforms for the labeled and label-free detection of growth hormone is attempted.
The labeled detection of the rbST was demonstrated in a low cost lab-on-a-chip platform fabricated by integrating an optical microfluidic system on silica-on-silicon (SOS) waveguide with a PDMS (polydimethylsiloxane) microfluidic chip. In order to achieve higher sensitivity and specificity, a novel cascaded waveguide coupler (CWC) system is designed and fabricated on the silica-on-silicon platform. A novel method of fabricating nano-island morphology is developed for the label-free detection of bovine growth hormone. Experimental and theoretical analysis of tuning the gold nano-island morphology is investigated and implemented for the label-free detection of growth hormone. Subsequently, the nano-island morphology is integrated into a PDMS microfluidic chip and a LOC is realized. A low cost, all polymer lab-on-a-chip is developed by integrating silver-PDMS nanocomposite by in-situ synthesis of nano-composite inside the microfluidic chip and detection of growth hormone is also demonstrated. The nano-islands are integrated into silica-on-silicon waveguides for the development of a nano-enhanced evanescent wave sensor for the detection of rbST. Extraction of growth hormone from milk by solid phase extraction and its detection are also demonstrated. Finally, a monolithically integrated LOC on silica-on-silicon (SOS) comprising of microfluidics, optical waveguides and Echelle grating based spectrometer is realized. The simulation and integration process of a micro-spectrometer with the optical waveguide and microfluidic channel are also presented.


Semi permeable membrane devices (SPMDs) are passive integrative samplers used for measurement of vapor phase liphophilic compounds such as POPs. SPMDs were deployed in Lithuanian city to investigate spatial variations and specific contamination of PAHs in the vapor phase. Samples were taken in four different areas during autumn and winter. The samples were fractioned by GPC and analyzed using GC/MS. This study was focused on 24 PAHs. Fractions between different compounds were investigated as specific air pollution indicators. Indicators of traffic and combustion contribution were suggested. Therefore, results showed, that benzo(a)pyrene concentration may not indicate the gas phase pollution with other PAHs


We demonstrate a method for the preparation of hyperpolarized water by dissolution Dynamic Nuclear Polarization at high magnetic field. Protons were polarized at 6.7 T and 1.1 K to >70% with frequency modulated microwave irradiation at 188 GHz. 97.2 ± 0.7% of the radical was extracted from the sample in the dissolution in a two-phase system. 16 ± 1 mL of 5.0 M 1H in D2O with a polarization of 13.0 ± 0.9% in the liquid state was obtained, corresponding to an enhancement factor of 4,000 ± 300 compared to the thermal equilibrium at 9.4 T and 293 K. A longitudinal relaxation time constant of 16 ± 1 s was measured. The sample was polarized and dissolved in a fluid path compatible with clinical polarizers. The volume of hyperpolarized water produced by this method enables angiography and perfusion measurements in large animals, as well as NMR experiments for studies of e.g. proton exchange and polarization transfer to other nuclei.


In an environment where the winter months have wind chill temperatures that dip below minus forty degrees Celsius, a group of five women meet once a month in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada, to discuss a variety of books written by Canadian women authors. This article provides an overview of selecting the books to be read, integrating the book club into the community, staging the venues for the meetings, outlining leadership roles and responsibilities, obtaining the books each month, and a culminating activity. Also provided are an annotated bibliography of the books read at the 2007-2008 Moose Jaw Book Club and additional information for Delta Kappa Gamma members who may wish to attend the Festival of Words conference. This article describes procedures and in- sights of a book club in Moose Jaw, Sas- katchewan, Canada. The most important aspect of this particular book club is to choose appropriate material to be read. Attention is paid to selecting books by Canadian women authors that portray Canadian identities. One recently published book is chosen for each month. The range of settings for the books depicts the wide diversity of ethnic and cultural groups that com- prise the Canadian population. The settings also explore the vast geographical differences that exist within the Canadian landscape. For example, one author chosen for the book club, Kirkby (2007), is a Hutterite woman who has lived on several Hutterite colonies in the western prairie provinces of Canada. She tells about growing-up on the colonies, trying to discover who she is, all the time experiencing oppression from within the culture and discrimination from the outside "English" culture. Another author, Brooks (2007), explores her Icelandic roots and her ancestors' migration to the Western Canadian province of Manitoba. Familial and cultural ties to the homeland remained strong and enriched, as well as caused problems for her family group. Another author, Mckay (2006), describes what it was like to be a woman growing up in the eastern, maritime region of Canada, using marriage to gain wealth and social standing. A fourth author, Hay (2007), writes about her personal escape to remote Northern Canada, experiencing foraging bears, migrating caribou herds and political disputes between First Nations Peoples (Canadian Indigenous Peoples) and the Federal Government. To create ties between the book club and the community, and to help promote reading by modeling, this book club typically chooses at least one book written for adolescents, but also enjoyed by adults. The selection of adolescent book titles is coordinated with a book club at a local high-school. Trading of personal copies of the books between the two clubs provides contact between the constituencies and saves money for the participants. As a way of further modeling, the teenage children of the book club members are invited to attend and participate in one of the book club's evening meetings each year. The venues for the book club meetings rotate amongst the members' homes. The hostess provides lunch and ambience that, where possible, are indicative of the cultural and geographical setting of book to be discussed that month. For example, in Kirkby (2007), listening to Cowboy Music was not condoned in the book's strict religious setting, but the teenagers in the story would covertly play the forbidden music when community elders could not hear. The hostess for the book club that month, therefore, had a recording of a famous Cowboy Music artist from the book setting's historical period and named in the book, Hank Williams, playing in the background as the book club members arrived. Special foods, such as Saskatoon pies, made from Saskatoon berries, a fruit crop native to the geographical setting of the book and also mentioned in the book, were served for lunch. The leadership role for the group is determined on a volunteer basis. One member of the group assumes responsibility for organizing the meetings and ordering the titles for the bookclub, but all members have a voice in the decision-making for the group. …


The Pd component in the automotive three way catalyst (TWC) experiences deactivation during fuel shutoff, a process employed by automobile companies for enhancing fuel economy when the vehicle is coasting downhill. The process exposes the TWC to a severe oxidative aging environment with the flow of hot (800 °C–1050 °C) air. Simulated fuel shutoff aging at 1050 °C leads to Pd metal sintering, the main cause of irreversible deactivation of 3% Pd/Al2O3 and 3% Pd/CexOy-ZrO2 (CZO) as model catalysts. The effect on the Rh component was presented in our companion paper Part I. Moderate support sintering and Pd-CexOy interactions were also experienced upon aging, but had a minimal effect on the catalyst activity losses. Cooling in air, following aging, was not able to reverse the metallic Pd sintering by re-dispersing to PdO. Unlike the aged Rh-TWCs (Part I), reduction via in situ steam reforming (SR) of exhaust HCs was not effective in reversing the deactivation of aged Pd/Al2O3, but did show a slight recovery of the Pd activity when CZO was the carrier. The Pd+/Pd0 and Ce3+/Ce4+ couples in Pd/CZO are reported to promote the catalytic SR by improving the redox efficiency during the regeneration, while no such promoting effect was observed for Pd/Al2O3. A suggestion is made for improving the catalyst performance. OPEN ACCESS Catalysts 2015, 5 1798


Most of the shoreline of the Campania region, Southern Italy, is characterized by steep and high rocky slopes, then several localities, densely populated and highly touristic attractive for the worldwide famous landscapes are exposed to an high rockfall risk. Particularly, the touristic localities on the Sorrentine Peninsula, such as Sorrento, Vico Equense and Amalfi, can be considered among the most representative case-studies prone to the recurrent instability of rockblocks. Due to the frequent location of settlements and roads underneath and at very limited or null distances from the carbonate steep slopes, a diffuse condition of high rockfall risk exists. Consequently, the assessment of priorities in directing active remedial works to be carried out on the unstable rock slopes is still a challenging issue.In order to find an effective method for assessing the susceptibility to rockfall initiation with approaches suitable for detailed mapping, a combined application of standard methods was tested.The Romana's Slope Mass Rating (SMR) and the Matheson's graphical tests, for assessing the number of fundamental instability mechanisms, were applied in a test site of the Sorrento coast. Results of the two methods were separately evaluated and then combined in a new rating approach by indexing the respective susceptibility classes. In addition, the number of joint sets and the macro-structural features of the rock-mass (faults and master joints) were considered. By means of statistical analyses of rockfalls occurred in the test area, the results obtained with the new combined approach were found more accurate in assessing and mapping the most susceptible areas.


The growth of administrative law in Australia has continued in an unabated form since the introduction of innovative reforms in the mid-seventies. The centre plank of these reforms was the establishment of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal with follow-on reforms relating to the Ombudsman, judicial review and freedom of information legislation. The impact of these reforms has been vast and significant. This book seeks to take stock of the growth and development of administrative law principles. Particular attention is paid to the important cases and key doctrines which provide the theoretical underpinnings of these principles. In this book a team of highly respected administrative law scholars and jurists aim to provide a lucid exposition of the relevant case law, principles and doctrines. The book should illuminate the fundamental features of Australian administrative law and should prove useful to students and practitioners interested in this field.


Bayesian Optimal Experimental Design Using Multilevel Monte Carlo Chaouki ben Issaid Experimental design can be vital when experiments are resource-exhaustive and time-consuming. In this work, we carry out experimental design in the Bayesian framework. To measure the amount of information that can be extracted from the data in an experiment, we use the expected information gain as the utility function, which specifically is the expected logarithmic ratio between the posterior and prior distributions. Optimizing this utility function enables us to design experiments that yield the most informative data about the model parameters. One of the major di culties in evaluating the expected information gain is that it naturally involves nested integration over a possibly high dimensional domain. We use the Multilevel Monte Carlo (MLMC) method to accelerate the computation of the nested high dimensional integral. The advantages are twofold. First, MLMC can significantly reduce the cost of the nested integral for a given tolerance, by using an optimal sample distribution among di↵erent sample averages of the inner integrals. Second, the MLMC method imposes fewer assumptions, such as the asymptotic concentration of posterior measures, required for instance by the Laplace approximation (LA). We test the MLMC method using two numerical examples. The first example is the design of sensor deployment for a Darcy flow problem 5 governed by a one-dimensional Poisson equation. We place the sensors in the locations where the pressure is measured, and we model the conductivity field as a piecewise constant random vector with two parameters. The second one is chemical Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) core flooding experiment assuming homogeneous permeability. We measure the cumulative oil recovery, from a horizontal core flooded by water, surfactant and polymer, for di↵erent injection rates. The model parameters consist of the endpoint relative permeabilities, the residual saturations and the relative permeability exponents for the three phases: water, oil and microemulsions. We also compare the performance of the MLMC to the LA and the direct Double Loop Monte Carlo (DLMC). In fact, we show that, in the case of the aforementioned examples, MLMC combined with LA turns to be the best method in terms of computational cost.


Elevated PAH concentrations were found in soil samples collected along the Mosel River. These contaminations were associated with the occurrence of coal particles found in the soil. The majority of the PAH contamination in the soils was linked to coal mining activities in the Saar region. Density and grain size separation showed a similar PAH distribution pattern in all of the fractions, indicating a uniform origin of PAHs. Together with coal petrography a good correlation between TOC and PAHs concentration confirmed the impact of former coal mining activity on the PAHs distribution in study area.


We are currently moving from the Internet society to a mobile society where more and more access to information is done by previously dumb phones. For example, the number of mobile phones using a full blown OS has risen to nearly200% from Q3/2009 to Q3/2010. As a result, mobile security is no longer immanent, but imperative. This survey paper provides a concise overview of mobile network security, attack vectors using the back end system and the web browser, but also the hardware layer and the user as attack enabler. We show differences and similarities between "normal" security and mobile security, and draw conclusions for further research opportunities in this area.


Abstract. The Bideghan area is located south of the Qom province (central of Iran). The most impressive geological features in the studied area are the Eocene sequences which are intruded by volcanic rocks with basic compositions. Advanced Space borne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) image processing have been used for hydrothermal alteration mapping and lineaments identification in the investigated area. In this research false color composite, band ratio, Principal Component Analysis (PCA), Least Square Fit (LS-Fit) and Spectral Angel Mapping (SAM) techniques were applied on ASTER data and argillic, phyllic, Iron oxide and propylitic alteration zones were separated. Lineaments were identified by aid of false color composite, high pass filters and hill-shade DEM techniques. The results of this study demonstrate the usefulness of remote sensing method and ASTER multi-spectral data for alteration and lineament mapping. Finally, the results were confirmed by field investigation.


A Complete Study System for OCA/OCP Exams 1Z0-803 and 1Z0-804 Prepare for the OCA/OCP Java SE 7 Programmer I and II exams with this exclusive Oracle Press guide. Chapters feature challenging exercises, a certification summary, a two-minute drill, and a self-test to reinforce the topics presented. This authoritative resource helps you pass these exams and also serves as an essential, on-the-job reference. Get complete coverage of all objectives for exams 1Z0-803 and 1Z0-804, including: Declarations and access control Object orientation Assignments Operators Strings and arrays Flow control and exceptions Assertions and Java 7 exceptions String processing, data formatting, and resource bundles I/O and NIO Advanced OO and design patterns Generics and collections Inner classes Threads Concurrency Java Database Connectivity (JDBC) Electronic content includes: 500+ practice exam questions Test engine that provides practice exams and customized quizzes by chapter or by exam objective Bonus content for the Java 5, Java 6, and OCP 6 Upgrade exams PDF copy of the book


Methane can be a potentially inexpensive, widely available electron donor for biological denitrification of wastewater, landfill leachate or drinking water, while no studies have clearly shown nitrate reduction to nitrogen gas. Recently anaerobic methane oxidation (AMO) coupled to partial denitrification (nitrite to nitrogen gas) was found by several studies. A microbial consortium, enriched from anoxic sediments, oxidized methane to carbon dioxide coupled to denitrification in the complete absence of oxygen, though the rates and pathways of AMO coupled to denitrification are still poorly understood. In this study, direct AMO coupled to denitrificaiton of nitrate was proved to be possible and its kinetic parameters were experimentally determined. Using a set of batch experiments designed to provide the best estimates of each parameter, these parameters were obtained: maximum specific growth rate (µmax) = 0.121/day, maximum substrate consumption rate (qmax) = 1.63 mg COD/mg cells-day, true yield (Y) = 0.074 mg cells/mg COD, half maximum-rate substrate concentration (Ks) = 85 µM CH4, and endogenous decay rate (b) = 0.03/day. This study firstly characterized kinetic parameters of anaerobic methanotrophic denitrifiers, which will substantially help understand anaerobic methane oxidation in natural systems and accelerate methane-utilizing denitrification in engineering systems.


Stopping an action requires suppression of the primary motor cortex (M1). Inhibitory control over M1 relies on a network including the right inferior frontal cortex (rIFC) and the supplementary motor complex (SMC), but how these regions interact to exert inhibitory control over M1 is unknown. Specifically, the hierarchical position of the rIFC and SMC with respect to each other, the routes by which these regions control M1, and the causal involvement of these regions in proactive and reactive inhibition remain unclear. We used off-line repetitive TMS to perturb neural activity in the rIFC and SMC followed by fMRI to examine effects on activation in the networks involved in proactive and reactive inhibition, as assessed with a modified stop-signal task. We found repetitive TMS effects on reactive inhibition only. rIFC and SMC stimulation shortened the stop-signal RT (SSRT) and a shorter SSRT was associated with increased M1 deactivation. Furthermore, rIFC and SMC stimulation increased right striatal activation, implicating frontostriatal pathways in reactive inhibition. Finally, rIFC stimulation altered SMC activation, but SMC stimulation did not alter rIFC activation, indicating that rIFC lies upstream from SMC. These findings extend our knowledge about the functional organization of inhibitory control, an important component of executive functioning, showing that rIFC exerts reactive control over M1 via SMC and right striatum.


Plasma cells (PCs) are essential for protection from infection, and at the origin of incurable cancers. Current studies do not circumvent the limitations of removing PCs from their microenvironment and confound formation and maintenance. Also, the investigation of PC population dynamics has mostly relied on nucleotide analog incorporation that does not label quiescent cells, a property of most PCs. The main impediment is the lack of tools to perform specific genetic manipulation in vivo. Here we characterize a genetic tool (JchaincreERT2) in the mouse that permits first-ever specific genetic manipulation in PCs in vivo, across immunoglobulin isotypes. Using this tool, we found that splenic and bone marrow PC numbers remained constant over-time with the decay in genetically labeled PCs being compensated by unlabeled PCs, supporting homeostatic population turnover in these tissues. The JchaincreERT2 tool paves the way for an in-depth mechanistic understanding of PC biology and pathology in vivo, in their microenvironment.


Chronic complications of diabetes mellitus are a pathological consequence of unregulated levels of blood glucose leading to disorders of the vascular system. When investigating the vascular complications the changes in the endothelium are of particular significance as they are central to vascular function. The endothelium actively regulates vascular function by regulating permeability, vascular tone and inflammatory responses. Certain endothelium derived molecules, such as nitric oxide, act as vasodilators as well as exhibiting anti-platelet, anti-proliferative, permeability decreasing and anti-inflammatory properties (Kawashima et al. 2004). Changes to the molecular processes or injury to the endothelium lead to endothelial dysfunction and the initiation and progression of certain diseases such as the development of atherosclerosis as well as micro and macro-angiopathy (De Caterina et al. 2000). In the present study, we examine the effect of glucose and oxygen on endothelial DNA damage derived within 24h of incubation and the cytoprotective effect of the flavonoid antioxidant, silymarin, and two of its constituents, taxifolin and silibinin. Results show a significant increase in endothelial DNA damage in response to glucose and hypoxia which appears to be additive. These findings are supported by a significant rise in mitochondrial ractive oxygen species (ROS) production within 6h of exposure, while mitochondrial number, morphology and HUVEC size stay the same. A change in superoxide radical production in hypoxic conditions alone emphasises the important contribution of hypoxia in the pathogenesis of endothelial damage. Further investigation reveals a role for HIF-1a in the development of endothelial DNA damage which is hypoxia-dependent. Attempts to counteract the observed cytotoxicity to endothelial cells using the flavonoid antioxidant, silymarin, revealed that silymarin is a potent cytoprotective agent for hypoxia-induced DNA damage. This appears to be due to its strong mitochondrial radical scavenging activity. Further analysis into the mechanism of silymarin reveals that the impurity, taxifolin, possesses more potent cytoprotective activity than the formerly known active component silibinin. Taken together, the results strongly emphasise the important contribution of hypoxia in the early development of endothelial changes, which have the potential to accumulate to vascular complications in diabetes since its cytotoxic effect appears to be additive to that of glucose. Flavonoid antioxidants, such as silymarin and taxifolin, show promising potential to prevent or slow the progression of these changes.


Purpose: Theoretically, patient satisfaction is correlated with nursing care, but there is not sufficient evidence to support it. The aim of this study was to address three research questions: (a) What is the correlation between caring as perceived by patients and patient satisfaction? (b) Are there differences across various countries on the correlation on caring as perceived by patients and patient satisfaction? (c) Do caring behaviors affect patient satisfaction?

Design: A multicenter correlational design was adopted involving surgical patients from six European countries: Cyprus, Czech Republic, Greece, Finland, Hungary, and Italy.

Methods: A convenience sample of 1,565 patients was recruited in autumn 2009. The short version of the Caring Behaviours Inventory (CBI; 24 items) and Patient Satisfaction Scale (PSS; 11 items) were used. Data analysis included descriptive statistics, as well as correlation analysis and stepwise multiple regression, to examine relations between caring behaviors and patient satisfaction.

Findings: According to the patients involved, nurses performed caring behaviors between very frequently (score = 5) and always (score = 6). Patient satisfaction with nursing care was also high, between satisfied (score = 3) and very satisfied (score = 4). A positive correlation emerged between CBI and PPS (r= 0.66, p < .01) ranging between countries from 0.27 to 0.85 (Czech Republic r= 0.27, Cyprus r= 0.76, Finland r= 0.71, Greece r= 0.85, Hungary r= 0.63, and Italy r= 0.45 [p < .01]). Among the CBI dimensions, "connectedness" mainly explains patient satisfaction (R2= 0.404, p < .001), followed by "assurance" (R2= 0.032, p < .001) and "respectful" (R2= 0.005, p < .001).

Conclusions: Caring behaviors enacted by nurses determine a consistent proportion of patient satisfaction. This association between them suggests several implications for nursing education, practice, and management.

Clinical Relevance: The results may be utilized by policymakers, nurse ward managers, nurse educators, and clinical nurses as a background for taking appropriate measures to improve nursing care provided, thereby enhancing patient satisfaction.


Although the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the pediatric population appears to be less severe among children <18 years old, emerging evidence from Europe, North America, Asia, and Latin America indicates that COVID-19 infection may precipitate the hyperinflammatory state among children following infection. This paper reports a case of multisystem inflammatory syndrome with features of incomplete Kawasaki disease in an adolescent boy who also tested positive for COVID-19 antibody. This case highlights the potential COVID-19 complications in adolescents. © 2021 Asociacion Espanola de Dietistas-Nutricionistas. All rights reserved.


Abstract DIII-D contributions to H-mode transition physics and power thresholds are reviewed. Two general approaches were pursued: (a) establishing scaling relations based on empirical observations and (b) acquiring a theoretical understanding of the physics of the transition. The interaction of experiment results and the development of theories over the early 1990s led to the highly successful and widely accepted model of shear suppression of turbulence by crossed electric and magnetic fields (E × B) as the cause of improved confinement in H-mode. Experimental studies have also examined parameters at the edge of the plasma in order to identify a control parameter for the transition and to test various theories of the transition. The effect of the direction of the ∇B drift on the H-mode power threshold is used as a tool to further understand the physics of the L-H transition. Results on DIII-D and other tokamaks have guided researchers to study turbulent generated flows as a possible trigger for the L-H transition. Access to H-mode is controlled by a power threshold, and it is important to predict the threshold for next-generation tokamaks. In addition to electron density and toroidal field dependencies, it is found that many other parameters affect the power threshold. Studies of plasma size, magnetic configuration, and neutral effects have been performed. DIII-D data have been used in an international tokamak database to help establish scaling relations to predict power thresholds in future devices.


Faciometrics have widely been used in contemporary studies on gender-related behavioral traits, for example, perceived and actual aggression, co-operation and trustworthiness, prejudicial beliefs, unethical behavior, and achievement drive, as well as, but to a lesser degree, in nonhuman primates. For the large part, these studies have focused primarily on "student-aged" populations with little empirical scrutiny regarding the efficacy of applying these measures with older participants. This study therefore investigated sexual dimorphism across four age-groups (20s, 30s, 40s, and 50s) in 444 participants (225 men). The expected sexual dimorphism was seen in the youngest age group in three of the four indices. The facial width to height ratio, however, although most commonly used empirically, was not found to be significantly different between men and women, consistent with more recent literature. Importantly, as age increased, sexual dimorphism decreased, but this was not consistent across all measures of it. Rather, it is evident that differing measures of sexual dimorphism follow distinct developmental trajectories. The only single marker which remained significantly different across all age-groups was cheekbone prominence. Sexual dimorphic faciometrics are therefore dynamic, declining, and differentiated through adulthood. Consequently, it is concluded that care should be taken in using faciometrics in studies involving older populations and that more research is needed to understand the impact of these distinct faciometric trajectories in gender- and masculinity-related studies.


We use three methods to identify power-law scaling of multi-scale log air permeability data collected by Tidwell and Wilson on the faces of a laboratory-scale block of Topopah Spring tuff: method of moments (M), Extended Self-Similarity (ESS) and a generalized version thereof (G-ESS). All three methods focus on q -th-order sample structure functions of absolute increments. Most such functions exhibit power-law scaling at best over a limited midrange of experimental separation scales, or lags, which are sometimes difficult to identify unambiguously by means of M. ESS and G-ESS extend this range in a way that renders power-law scaling easier to characterize. Our analysis confirms the superiority of ESS and G-ESS over M in identifying the scaling exponents, ξ( q ), of corresponding structure functions of orders q , suggesting further that ESS is more reliable than G-ESS. The exponents vary in a nonlinear fashion with q as is typical of real or apparent multifractals. Our estimates of the Hurst scaling coefficient increase with support scale, implying a reduction in roughness (anti-persistence) of the log permeability field with measurement volume. The finding by Tidwell and Wilson that log permeabilities associated with all tip sizes can be characterized by stationary variogram models, coupled with our findings that log permeability increments associated with the smallest tip size are approximately Gaussian and those associated with all tip sizes scale show nonlinear variations in ξ( q ) with q , are consistent with a view of these data as a sample from a truncated version (tfBm) of self-affine fractional Brownian motion (fBm). Since in theory the scaling exponents, ξ( q ), of tfBm vary linearly with q we conclude that nonlinear scaling in our case is not an indication of multifractality but an artifact of sampling from tfBm. This allows us to explain theoretically how power-law scaling of our data, as well as of non-Gaussian heavy-tailed signals subordinated to tfBm, are extended by ESS. It further allows us to identify the functional form and estimate all parameters of the corresponding tfBm based on sample structure functions of first and second orders.


We used synchrotron-based X-ray absorption spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and wet chemical analyses to study the sulfidation mechanism(s) and sulfur oxidation products from the reaction of ferrihydrite, goethite, and hematite nanoparticles with dissolved sulfide at different S/Fe molar ratios under anaerobic condition. Our results suggest that surface area alone does not explain the differences in reactivity of Fe(III)-(oxyhydr)oxide nanoparticles with dissolved sulfides; differences in atomic-level surface structure are also likely to play an important role. The higher reactivity of ferrihydrite leads to a faster sulfidation rate compared to that of goethite and hematite. We found that polysulfides as well as elemental sulfur are the major reaction products in the sulfidation of all three Fe(III)-(oxyhydr)oxide nanoparticles studied. We also found that thiosulfate and sulfate formed during the sulfidation of goethite and hematite but did not form in the case of ferrihydrite, suggesting that the slower reaction kinetics of goethite and hematite favors the formation of solid-phase thiosulfates and elemental sulfur in our experiments. In addition, our results revealed that the S/Fe ratio is a critical variable in the sulfidation reaction. Iron dissolution rates for ferrihydrite, goethite, and hematite nanoparticles were found to increase up to a S/Fe ratio of ≤0.5 and decline above this ratio, suggesting formation of FeS species. Similarly, Fe dissolution rates increased with increasing S/Fe ratios and remained an order of magnitude higher for ferrihydrite than for goethite and three times higher for ferrihydrite than for hematite. Sulfur-K-edge X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy revealed for the first time the mass distribution of these solid-phase sulfur oxidation products. In addition, we used Fe-K-edge XANES and extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectroscopic analysis to follow the kinetics of FeS formation for the three types of Fe(III)-(oxyhydr)oxide nanoparticles, with varying S/Fe ratios. Ferrihydrite transformed completely to FeS in our experiments, but only 58% of the goethite and only 18% of the hematite transformed to FeS. These results have important environmental implications for Fe- and S-redox cycling and contaminant mobility and provide experimental evidence for the impact of S/Fe ratio on contaminant mobility in the systems studied, either by releasing surface-sorbed contaminants due to Fe(III)-reductive dissolution at lower S/Fe ratios or by trapping or co-precipitation of contaminants with FeS precipitation at higher S/Fe ratios.


This thesis explores the ways in which popular fiction television is produced in Nigeria in the 21st century and through it the investigation of social relations in the industry and the analysis of its products. In so doing the thesis also interrogates the assumptions of social theorists regarding the impact that the globalization of culture is supposed to have on local cultures.

Drawing on empirical evidence from fieldwork carried out in Nigeria between February and June 2006 involving participant observation in the location production of a television drama series, semi-structured and unstructured interviews with 15 people in Nigeria's television industry, the thesis argues that despite some production practices in the industry not yet being, according to the practitioners, up to scratch, Nollywood has also evolved social and institutional structures which are recognisable features of the structure of the television industry everywhere. The thesis also argues that despite its having an industry that is ranked third in the world in terms of output, the West, but Hollywood in particular, retains a strong grip on the imagination of Nigeria's popular fiction television producers.

For a more nuanced account of the impact of the globalization of culture on Nigeria's popular fiction television industry, however, I propose that we need to go beyond how people speak about what they do, to how they do what they do. Analysis of popular conventions of a less powerful audio visual industry, like Nigeria's Nollywood, alongside those of Hollywood will help unpack further the nature of the impact that dominant cultures are assumed to have on local cultures.


The federal circuit courts of appeals are divided over the proper relationship between Title IX of the Higher Education Amendments Act of 1972 and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Specifically, the federal courts disagree over whether an employee of an educational institution may sue her employer for employment discrimination under either Title IX or Title VII. Some courts have concluded that these employees may not bring employment discrimination claims under Title IX, holding that Title VII provides the sole avenue for obtaining monetary relief for employment discrimination against educational institutions. Other courts have reached the opposite conclusion, holding that Title IX and Title VII constitute parallel remedies, thus permitting claimants to recover monetary damages against educational institutions by pursuing only a Title IX claim for employment discrimination. Claimants proceeding under the parallel approach have a distinct advantage because by proceeding solely under Title IX, they may avoid the administrative process required by Title VII, as well as Title VII's cap on compensatory and punitive damages.

The Article concludes that only the parallel approach is consistent with Title IX's legislative history and purpose. In reaching this conclusion, the Article closely examines the 1970 hearings held in the House Subcommittee of Education. The Supreme Court acknowledged in North Haven Board of Education v. Bell, 456 U.S. 512 (1982), that the origins of Title IX grew out of these hearings. This legislative history is crucial in understanding the purpose of Title IX, but it has not been fully explored in previous scholarship.

These 1970 hearings were historical for many reasons, including that they are widely acknowledged to be the first congressional hearings held on the education and employment of women in educational institutions. They documented systemic employment discrimination by educational institutions against women, including widespread discrimination in hiring, promotions, and salaries. Given the pervasiveness of this employment discrimination and the recognized inefficiency of the administrative process available at that time, this Article concludes that Congress intended Title IX to provide an additional remedy for combatting sex discrimination for these employees.


An external reference 1H qNMR method is developed and validated for the determination of three major alkaloids – cocaine, cis-cinnamoylcocaine and trans-cinnamoylcocaine – in high purity cocaine seizures. The method was applied to a set of 26 cocaine samples seized by the Brazilian Federal Police with cocaine contents ranging from approximately 63% to 94% (w/w) and cinnamoylcocaines ranging from 0.33% to 5.82% (w/w). The method enables the determination of these main alkaloids in 15 minutes of analysis with excellent accuracy (relative error <5% compared to the reference material certificate) and precision (RSD <3%). Some figures of merit are presented, including accuracy, recovery, repeatability, intermediate precision, stability, robustness, uncertainty, and limit of detection. The results show excellent correlation compared to the reference GC-FID methodology. It also permits the determination of the oxidation degree of samples. The method can be readily adapted to other analytes.


The unique health, legal, and social status of children in foster care* poses particular problems for the designers of any kind of health plan. Because many children in out-of-home care are highly mobile, moving from family to family, and from one geographic locale to another, the context of their lives challenges the assumptions that health insurance is based upon. This article attempts to highlight current access to health care services for this group of children, how the President's proposed Health Security Act would affect the delivery of health care services, and what special considerations are necessary to meet the needs of this particular group of children. We have focused on the President's plan partially because it provides the greatest amount of detail, and partially because it has the greatest likelihood of doing the most to improve the availability of appropriate health care services for children in general, and children in foster care in particular.** The analysis printed here is based upon the version of the American Health Security Act that was introduced in Congress by members of the House and Senate on November 22, 1993 (H.R. 3600/S. 1757). This most recent version of the Health Security Act has incorporated changes that greatly improve the extent of coverage and other considerations for children in foster care compared to earlier drafts of the plan.Studies have documented that while children in foster care experience high rates of serious health problems, they also face significant obstacles in their access to essential health care services. Although professional organizations such as the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Child Welfare League of America have developed excellent standards for health care services for children in foster care, the actual delivery of health care services to this needy population falls far short of these standards. The reasons for this failure relate to both the financing of services and the organization of care. President Clinton's proposed American Health Security Act of 1993 would have a major impact on the accessibility of health care services for children in foster care. In a number of important respects, the proposed plan would improve access, but in other critical areas it would limit essential care.HEALTH CARE ACCESS UNDER CURRENT LAW FOR CHILDREN IN FOSTER CAREWHO ARE THE CHILDREN IN FOSTER CARE?The population of children in foster care is growing rapidly. There were an estimated 460,000 children in foster care at the end of fiscal year 1993, with more than 659,000 served by the system during that year. In the wake of escalating and persistent poverty, family violence, mental illness, and the drug epidemic, the number of children in foster care has been increasing nationwide since 1985. It is projected that 500,000 to 600,000 children will be in foster care by 1995. The vast majority of these children live in family foster homes (70%); the remainder are in group homes, residential treatment centers, or institutional settings.WHAT ARE THE HEALTH CARE NEEDS OF CHILDREN IN FOSTER CARE?Children in foster care have high rates of serious health problems. Several studies have documented that children in foster care have high rates of chronic medical problems that require ongoing treatment. Approximately 60% of children in foster care have moderate to severe mental health problems. Children in foster care also experience high rates (40%) of physical health problems (e.g., asthma, growth disorders, neurological abnormalities). The high frequency of health and mental health problems is a result of the children's poor health prior to placement, the effects of abuse and neglect, the effects of separation and frequent moves, and the lack of access to appropriate health and mental health services. A particular concern is the increasing number of infants entering care with multiple health and developmental needs due in large part to maternal drug use and prenatal exposure to drugs. …


Although pregnancy should be a joyous experience to all expectant mothers, it is also known to bring about a number of bodily changes which could impose lifestyle limitations throughout the nine months of pregnancy. In this study, the authors sought to evaluate the impact of pregnancy on foot health. A prospective non-experimental study was conducted. The authors interviewed 40 expectant Maltese mothers using the Bristol Foot Score (BFS). Results showed a significant difference (p < 0.001) in foot health in the recruited subjects from Time 0 (15 weeks pregnancy) to Time 1 (37 weeks pregnancy), implying that pregnancy imposes a negative impact on foot health. This finding is of key importance and needs to be taken into consideration by all health stakeholders if better health care is to be offered to all expectant mothers. Both locally and internationally, antenatal care aims to monitor pregnant women's general health and foetal development. However, very little attention is given to foot health. The authors highlight the importance of providing all expectant mothers with footcare education and podiatry services in the Antenatal Clinic.


For the last couple of years, European environmental risk assessment (ERA) regulations have undergone significant changes. The new 1107/2009 directive which came into effect in 2011 has triggered an on-going debate on defining specific protection goals for ERA. During this period, we conducted a study on policy change among the most influential ERA stakeholders from Europe. We interviewed 43, purposively sampled, participants from the European safety authorities, plant protection product industry and academia. Transcribed interviews underwent thematic analysis conducted separately by two coders. As we followed the advocacy coalition framework, our findings focus on stakeholders' processes, interrelations and values behind the ERA policy change. The main challenges emerging from our analysis turned out to be the slow uptake of scientific developments into ERA and very broadly defined protection goals. The use of safety factors and cut-off criteria left risk assessors with many uncertainties. With ERA in its current form it turned out to be impossible to determine whether the current scheme is over- or under-protective. Still, the study shows that the problem of over- or under-protectiveness lies deep in the perception of stakeholders and depends greatly on their priorities. Academics strive for better ecological relevance as a priority. They have concerns that ERA is oversimplified. Regulators worry that ERA relies too much on risk mitigation and is possibly not protective enough, but at the same time, the majority believes that the assessment is well established and straightforward to follow. Industry representatives would like to see ERA based more on probabilistic risk assessment. Recent changes, according to risk assessment and management practitioners have led to an inevitable increase in complexity, which is not perceived as a positive thing, and does not necessarily translate into better risk assessment.


This thesis explores the dynamics of knowledge sharing, through the context of interorganisational collaboration in the public sector. The growth of collaboration across public sector organisations places increasing importance on knowledge sharing, yet it is an area that has historically proved difficult for the sector. Knowledge sharing research increasingly emphasises the importance of social capital in facilitating and influencing knowledge sharing behaviours, yet the public sector's approach to knowledge sharing has predominantly focussed on the use of information and communication technology (ICT) tools. The aim of this research is to better understand the dynamics of knowledge sharing, and the roles that social capital and ICT play in knowledge sharing. This is a contemporary and important research topic. Public sector commitment to increasing collaboration requires a strong focus on inter-organisational knowledge sharing. This multiple-case, multi-method research incorporates a research design that blends qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis. The research extends and deepens current understanding of the dynamics of knowledge sharing and contributes to the existing body of knowledge in the areas of knowledge sharing, social capital, and ICT. It also provides valuable empirical evidence relating to public sector based sharing at the inter-organisational level. The research found that social capital is a significant concern for collaborative teams. Factors such as trust, group identity and shared purpose and goals were identified as important considerations for team members. Despite the sector's focus on ICT tools as key knowledge sharing mechanisms, the actual availability of tools was limited. Further, individuals' use of tools was low due to their perceptions of the available tools as difficult to use and of limited usefulness. A key outcome of the research was the development of a conceptual framework that can be used to support the work of academics and practitioners engaged in the field of collaboration and knowledge sharing. The framework identifies six important antecedents that influence the development of social capital, and the availability and use of ICT. These antecedents include collaboration design, leadership, the perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness of ICT, and individual technical ability. The final antecedent identifies individual's commitment to the 'intrinsic value of public sector work' as a key collaboration factor.


We present a sample of 21 hydrogen-free superluminous supernovae (SLSNe-I) and one hydrogen-rich SLSN (SLSN-II) detected during the five-year Dark Energy Survey (DES). These SNe, located in the redshift range 0.220 < z < 1.998, represent the largest homogeneously selected sample of SLSN events at high redshift. We present the observed g, r, i, z light curves for these SNe, which we interpolate using Gaussian processes. The resulting light curves are analysed to determine the luminosity function of SLSNe-I, and their evolutionary time-scales. The DES SLSN-I sample significantly broadens the distribution of SLSN-I light-curve properties when combined with existing samples from the literature. We fit a magnetar model to our SLSNe, and find that this model alone is unable to replicate the behaviour of many of the bolometric light curves. We search the DES SLSN-I light curves for the presence of initial peaks prior to the main light-curve peak. Using a shock breakout model, our Monte Carlo search finds that 3 of our 14 events with pre-max data display such initial peaks. However, 10 events show no evidence for such peaks, in some cases down to an absolute magnitude of <−16, suggesting that such features are not ubiquitous to all SLSN-I events. We also identify a red pre-peak feature within the light curve of one SLSN, which is comparable to that observed within SN2018bsz.


Audio technology and contemporary sonic environments have affected perceptual habits at both individual and communal levels. As the perception of sound fluctuates between modes of attention and inattention, the narrative expectations generated by sonic materials may follow patterns of individual physical response that would in turn modify some communal perceptions of environmental soundscapes, silences in particular.  In current sound design practice and the mainstream movie industry, the use of absolute silence as an absence of sound seems almost irrelevant. Film silence has become the complex technical product of mixing sounds, a view that departs from silence as a broad sound element added to vocal enunciation, music and special sound effects. As a subtle component of a narrative, cinematic silence may be at the junction of representation and reproduction of the acoustic biomass that we create and communicate to others. This paper examines how the subjective enaction of audio-filmic silence could develop from evolving acoustic ecologies, corporeal integration and cultural convention. In such a context, film silence could be a reciprocal tool that may generate modes of expression used to assess our personal and communal notions of environmental silences.


This is a report on the latest developments in the "cult wars" in France. The anticult panic caused by the Solar Temple group suicides and murders has, after thirteen years, died down, and a more moderate government has replaced the Socialist Party. The old government-sponsored Ministry to Fight Sects (MILS) has been replaced by MIVILUDES (Mission interministrielle de vigilance et de lutte contre les drives sectaires), which adopts a more circumspect approach towards the secte problem. On the basis of my findings from field research conducted in the spring of 2006, I argue that the social control efforts that targeted NRMs in the 1990s have not abated, but merely shifted tactics. Interviews with distinguished French academics clearly illustrate that their expertise in the relevant fields of sociology and history of religions is deliberately ignored by officials, and they are even punished for voicing their scholarly opinions regarding public policies towards les sectes . The new, covert threat to religious freedom posed by the About-Picard Law (2001), which was designed to target secte leaders who brainwash, is analyzed after investigating its first application to a tiny group called Neeo-Phare.


abstract:This article uses the racial divisions encouraged by European Zionism in early-state Israel among European and Middle Eastern Jews as a point of departure to explore racialization and gendering among Iraqi Jewish women during the years 1941–51 from a sociopolitical standpoint. Restricting itself to politics given this standpoint, a study of Jewish women's participation in the illegal Zionist and Communist movements of Iraq reveals that racializations, rather than a single racialization, occurred—a racial reality no other scholarship provides for Iraq's Jewish community. Because Jewish women participating in these movements contended with patriarchal organizing structures, it is necessary to set apart the racial logics palpable in their articulations. This argument rests on primary sources in the form of three memoirs from the Iraqi Jewish women Tikva Agassi, Shoshana Levy, and Shoshana Almoslino, as well as Zionist women's letters, a biographical dictionary of Communist participation, and British Foreign Office documents.


We present a method for spectroscopic observations of exoplanets. Coronagraphic image of a star-planet system and its objective spectra are observed simultaneously. Stellar image and objective spectrum without coronagraphic suppression are also obtained as reference. By convolution of the coronagraphic image with the reference stellar spectrum, pseudo-objective spectra are synthesized. The difference between the observed and the synthesized pseudospectra reveals the distinctive features of planetary spectrum. We carry out laboratory demonstration of the proposed technique and show that the planetary spectrum is reconstructed.


Chaetocin is a small-molecule natural product produced by Chaetomium species fungi, and it has a potent anti-proliferative pharmacological activity on various cancer cells. However, the effect of chaetocin on anti-melanoma pharmacological role has not been investigated. Therefore, in this study, we explored the effect of chaetocin on cell proliferation in the human melanoma Sk-Mel-28 and A375 cells and the growth of tumor xenografts in nude mice. The results indicated that chaetocin treatment significantly suppressed cell proliferation and induced apoptosis in the Sk-Mel-28 and A375 cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Furthermore, chaetocin treatment resulted in an increased level of cellular reactive oxygen species (ROS), and pre-incubation of cells with N-acetylcysteine (NAC) significantly abrogated chaetocin-induced apoptosis in the melanoma cells. A significant reduction of mitochondrial membrane potential and the release of cytochrome c were observed after chaetocin treatment. Additionally, chaetocin treatment significantly up-regulated the protein levels of Bax, cleaved caspase-9/-3, simultaneously down-regulated the protein levels of Bcl-2, procaspase-9/-3, and activated caspase-9/-3 activity in the melanoma cells. The in vivo data demonstrated that chaetocin treatment significantly inhibited the growth of melanoma tumor xenografts in nude mice, which was closely associated with apoptosis induction, a reduced level of PCNA (proliferating cell nuclear antigen) expression, and activation of capase-9/-3 in tumor xenografts. These are the first data to demonstrate that chaetocin exerts a proapoptotic activity on human melanoma cells through ROS generation and the intrinsic mitochondrial pathway. Therefore, chaetocin might represent an effective candidate for melanoma chemotherapy.


Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has been identified as one of the key pillars of growth in the South African economy. Currently a skills gap exists in formally trained black and coloured ICT professionals. Concurrently, higher education institutions experience a changing demographic profile of learner enrolments with high dropout rates, failure rates and an English proficiency level below the required Grade 12 level. The Vaal University of Technology (VUT) particularly experienced a high failure rate in the module, Programming 1.
Researchers at the VUT introduced an entry-level certificate in ICT, which includes an English Proficiency module in order to improve the learners' English proficiency and to provide articulation for a diversity of learners into the Higher Diploma in ICT. The results indicate that the English Proficiency module had a positive correlation with the results of the Programming 1 module. Results also indicate the successful implementation of a teaching strategy based on collaborative constructivism.


In this paper, an analysis in computational uid dynamics (CFD) is presented on a helicopter scale model with focus on the main-rotor blades.The helicopter model is encapsulated in a background region and the ow eld is solved using Star CCM+. A surface and volume mesh continuum was generated that contained approximately seven million polyhedral cells, where the Finite Volume Method (FVM) was chosen as a discretization technique.Each blade was assigned to an overset region making it possible to rotate and add a cyclic pitch motion. Boundary information was exchanged between the overset and background mesh using a weighted interpolation method between cells.An implicit unsteady ow solver, with an ideal gas and a SST (Mentar) K-Omega turbulence model were used. Hover and forward cases were examined. Forward ight cases were done by changing the rotor shaft angle of attacks and the collective pitch angle 0 at the helicopter freestream Mach number of M = 0:128, without the inclusion of a cyclic pitch motion. An additional ight case with cyclic pitch motion was examined at s = 0 and = 0.Each simulation took roughly 48 hours with a total of 96 parallel cores to compute. Experimental data were taken from an existing NASA report for comparison of the results. Hover ight coincided well with the wind tunnel data. The forward ight cases (with no cyclic motion) produced lift matching the experimental data, but had diculties in producing a forward thrust. Moments in roll and pitch started to emerge. By adding a cyclic pitch successfully removed the pitch and roll moments. In conclusion this shows that applying overset meshes as a way to analyze the main-rotor blades using CFD does work. Adding a cyclic pitch motion at 0 = 5 and s = 0 successfully removed the roll and pitching moment from the results.


Speech reading, also known as lip reading, is aimed at extracting visual cues of lip and facial movements to aid in recognition of speech. The main hurdle for speech reading is that visual measurements of lip and facial motion lack information-rich features like the Mel frequency cepstral coefficients (MFCC), widely used in acoustic speech recognition. These MFCC are used with hidden Markov models (HMM) in most speech recognition systems at present. Speech reading could greatly benefit from automatic selection and formation of informative features from measurements in the visual domain. These new features can then be used with HMM to capture the dynamics of lip movement and eventual recognition of lip shapes. Towards this end, we use AdaBoost methods for automatic visual feature formation. Specifically, we design an asymmetric variant of AdaBoost M2 algorithm to deal with the ill-posed multi-class sample distribution inherent in our problem. Our experiments show that the boosted HMM approach outperforms conventional AdaBoost and HMM classifiers. Our primary contributions are in the design of (a) boosted HMM and (b) asymmetric multi-class boosting.


A new era of global interventionism in African cities is emerging, the implications of which for existing claims to urban space are poorly understood. This is particularly true for the claims of farmers. Despite being a ubiquitous feature of many African cities, urban agriculture broadly exists in a conceptual limbo between rurality and urbanity, largely invisible to urban governance and substantive scholarship. Based on the case of Beira, Mozambique, in this article we make urban agriculture empirically and conceptually visible within the context of emerging debates on the urban land question in Africa. Through a historical–political analysis, we demonstrate how urban farming has constituted a distinct feature of Beira's urbanism, which has evolved amidst successive and contradictory state-land regimes. Moving to the present day, we demonstrate how a new urban regime has emerged out of a coalition of municipal leaders and international donors with the aim of erasing all traces of urban agriculture from the city through urban 'development'. The findings demonstrate that there is a need for a better understanding of the manifold claims to urban space, outside of slum urbanism alone, in contemporary land rights debates. We conclude by arguing that there is a need for a substantive land rights agenda that transcends the prescriptive categories of urbanism and rurality by focusing instead on the universal land question.