Since the mid-1990s, migration of workforces from rural to urban areas has accelerated in south India accompanied by remarkable urban-based economic development. To investigate the nature of such rural urban migration in detail, especially any differences influenced by economic class, a study village was selected from the Madurai District. The detailed analysis found the existence of clear inter-class difference in terms of the shift to non-agricultural occupations; that is, the wealthier class tended to find more remunerable non-agricultural jobs, such as white-collar jobs. The most striking finding was that the traditional class structure in rural India based on ownership of farmland was basically unchanged even after nonagricultural jobs became much more important. This was because of the huge expenditure for education necessary to acquire remunerable jobs and the differential access to credit markets among the different classes.


Extracted from text ... IMIESA JUNE 2005 - 7
The Millennium
Development Goals
Thousands of animal, bird, fish, insect
and plant species will never
be seen on earth again as a result
of mankind's legacy of destruction and
unsustainable development. The last few
centuries saw half the population of the
planet sink into poverty.
With a view to addressing the critical
global environmental problems, a
strategy that unites development and the
environment was finally implemented in
2001 CE by world leaders. Known as the
Millennium Declaration, its primary goals
were to eradicate poverty and hunger
and to implement national strategies for
sustainable development.
In ..


A hallmark of Alzheimer's disease is the aggregation of insoluble amyloid-beta plaques and tau protein neurofibrillary tangles. A key histopathological observation is that tau protein aggregates follow a structured progression pattern through the brain. Mathematical network models of prion-like propagation have the ability to capture such patterns but a number of factors impact the observed staging result, thus introducing questions regarding model selection. Here, we introduce a novel approach, based on braid diagrams, for studying the structured progression of a marker evolving on a network. We apply this approach to a six-stage 'Braak pattern'of tau proteins, in Alzheimer's disease, motivated by a recent observation that seed-competent tau precedes tau aggregation. We show that the different modeling choices, from the model parameters to the connectome resolution, play a significant role in the landscape of observable staging patterns. Our approach provides a systematic way to approach model selection for network propagation of neurodegenerative diseases that ensures both reproducibility and optimal parameter fitting. Author summary Network diffusion models of neurodegenerative diseases are a class of dynamical systems that simulate the evolution of toxic proteins on the connectome. These models predict, from an initial seed, a pattern of invasion called staging. The generalized staging problem seeks to systematically study the effect of various model choices on staging. We introduce methods based on braid diagrams to test the possible staging landscape of a model and how it depends on the choice of connectome, as well as the model parameters. Our primary finding is that connectome construction, the choice of the graph Laplacian, and transport models all have an impact on staging that should be taken into account in any study.


We propose a novel policy update that combines regularized policy optimization with model learning as an auxiliary loss. The update (henceforth Muesli) matches MuZero's state-of-the-art performance on Atari. Notably, Muesli does so without using deep search: it acts directly with a policy network and has computation speed comparable to model-free baselines. The Atari results are complemented by extensive ablations, and by additional results on continuous control and 9x9 Go.


A compulsator-driven railgun is an attractive alternative to the homopolar generator-inductor-switch configuration, especially for repetitive duty. A conceptual design of a rapid-fire EM-gun system is presented. The generator is sized to accelerate a 0.08-kg projectile to 2 to 3 km/s at a 60 pulse-per-second repetition rate. Initial design parameters are discussed, and example current and velocity waveforms are given. The generator is discharged at the proper phase angle to provide a current zero just as the projectile exits the muzzle of the railgun.


Abstract This article reviews the comparative literature on ethnic penalties in Western labour markets. Although there is considerable variation between ethnic groups, immigrants and descendants, and across national contexts in terms of the magnitude of ethnic penalties, ethnic minorities of non-European origin experience disadvantages in all contexts. Discussing the striking cross-national variation, I highlight the impact of the economy, legacies of immigration policies, historically different citizenship regimes and the occurrence of selectivity in educational systems. In explaining why ethnic disadvantage occurs in all contexts, I pay particular attention to the role of discrimination in employment.


Light quality is a crucial physical factor driving coral distribution along depth gradients. Currently, a 30 m depth limit, based on SCUBA regulations, separates shallow and deep mesophotic coral ecosystems (MCEs). This definition, however, fails to explicitly accommodate environmental variation. Here, we posit a novel definition for a regional or reef-to-reef outlook of MCEs based on the light vs. coral community–structure relationship. A combination of physical and ecological methods enabled us to clarify the ambiguity in relation to the mesophotic definition. To characterize coral community structure with respect to the light environment, we conducted wide-scale spatial studies at five sites along shallow and MCEs of the Gulf of Eilat/Aqaba (0–100 m depth). Surveys were conducted by technical-diving and drop-cameras, in addition to one year of light spectral measurements. We quantify two distinct coral assemblages: shallow (<40 m) and MCEs (40–100 m), exhibiting markedly different relationships with light. The depth ranges and morphology of 47 coral genera were better explained by light than depth, mainly, due to photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) and ultraviolet radiation (UVR) (1% at 76 and 36 m, respectively). Branching coral species were found mainly at shallower depths, that is, down to 36 m. Among the abundant upper-mesophotic specialist corals, Leptoseris glabra, Euphyllia paradivisa, and Alveopora spp. were found strictly between 40 and 80 m depth. The only lower-mesophotic specialist, Leptoseris fragilis, was found deeper than 80 m. We suggest that shallow coral genera are light-limited below a level of 1.25% surface PAR and that the optimal PAR for mesophotic communities is at 7.5%. This study contributes to moving MCE ecology from a descriptive phase into identifying key ecological and physiological processes structuring MCE coral communities. Moreover, it may serve as a model enabling the description of a coral zonation worldwide on the basis of light quality data.


A growing demand for transparency and accountability in local decision-making has grown substantially in recent years due to an increasing awareness of finite natural resources. Sustainable development captures the interrelatedness of the economy, the environment and social expectations. In addition, transparency in the decision-making process provides the public a method of accountability for public funds. The Capital Structures Model developed in this paper addresses the demand for accountability by focusing on local development projects classified by type of capital (built, human, social and natural) in order to provide information to the average constituent regarding specific county and community development projects. Local assets are initially categorized according to the type of capital to which they most contribute, and then indicators are employed to measure the contribution of a project with respect to increasing the capacity of each type of capital. These indicators are then cross-referenced with local policy to demonstrate how that policy is implemented in local development projects, and which policies contribute to which type of capital. It is the intention of this model to create an informative tool for planners and constituencies that monitors how development projects contribute to communities in terms of each of the four types of capital.


Abstract Objective To evaluate the need for cardiac evaluation of unselected patients recovered from COVID-19. Methods Prospective observational cohort study, which included 105 patients recently recovered from severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The diagnosis was established by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction on swab test of the upper respiratory tract. Demographic parameters, patient history, clinical evaluation, cardiac blood markers, ambulatory 7-day ECG monitoring and echocardiography have been performed to determine possible cardiac injury. Results The study group (n=105) included 58% women, mean age was 46 years (range 18–77 years). Mean time interval between the onset of the infection and the follow-up visit was 107 days. One quarter of the patients required hospitalisation during the acute phase of the disease, the rest recovered at home. 74% suffered from mild form, 3.8% moderate, 18.3% severe and 2.9% of critical form of the disease. At the time of evaluation 63.5% of the patients were referring the ongoing symptoms, fulfilling the criteria of postcovid syndrome, while more than half of the whole group mentioned at least one symptom of possible cardiac origin (breathing problems, palpitations, exercise intolerance, fatigue). One patient was diagnosed with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (woman, 73 years old, dilated left atrium), one patient with atrioventricular block with indication for implantation of the pacemaker (man, 71 years, cardiac MRI didn't found any signs of myocardial inflammation); in one subject (man, 69 years) was diagnosed coronary artery disease due to atherosclerosis with the necessity of revascularization by percutaneous coronary intervention; one woman was prescribed beta-blocker for inadequate sinus tachycardia and palpitations. All these findings are not suspected to be the result of SARS-CoV-2 infection. In three patients mild pericardial effusion was found with no intervention necessary. There was not found any left or right ventricle dysfunction on echocardiography. Only three findings on ECG monitoring mentioned above need a therapeutic intervention. Conclusion Despite the significant proportion of the patients with ongoing symptoms beyond the 12 weeks after the onset of the infection SARS-CoV-2, confirmed cardiac impairment is quite rare and distributed mostly among older patients and those with other risk factors. FUNDunding Acknowledgement Type of funding sources: Public Institution(s). Main funding source(s): Supported MEYS, RI CZECRIN and by Avast Global Employees Matching Collection.


Carbon monoxide poisoning is a significant cause of illness and death. Its protean symptoms probably lead to a gross underestimation of its true incidence. Low levels of carbon monoxide aggravate chronic cardiopulmonary problems, and high levels are associated with cardiac arrhythmias and cerebral edema. Patients who survive acute poisoning are at risk of delayed neurologic sequelae. The measurement of carboxyhemoglobin levels does not reveal the tissue levels of carbon monoxide but is useful in determining therapy. Treatment includes the monitoring and management of cardiac arrhythmias and oxygenation. Hyperbaric oxygenation is beneficial, but there are currently no definite criteria for its use.


As stringent emissions controls are being placed on gas turbines, modern combustor design optimization is contingent on the accurate characterization of the combustor flame side heat loads. Power generation turbines are increasingly moving toward natural gas, biogas, and syngas, whose composition is highly dependent on the sourcing location. With fuel flexible nozzles, it is important to understand the heat load from various gas mixtures to optimize the cooling design to make sure the liner is not under/over cooled for some mixtures as this has a larger effect on NOx/CO emissions. In addition to knowing the heat load distribution, it is important to understand the peak heat load under start/stop transient conditions which tend to be much higher than steady-state/cruise altitude heat loads. The present work focuses on the experimental measurement of the transient heat load along a can combustor under reacting conditions for a swirl-stabilized premixed methane–air flame. Tests were carried out under various equivalence ratios, Reynolds numbers, and pilot fuel flowrate. An infrared camera was used to measure the inner and outer wall temperatures of the liner to calculate the liner heat load. Particle image velocimetry (PIV) was employed to visualize the flowfield for various reacting conditions studied in this work. Based on the heat transfer study, a detailed report of transient heat load along the length of the liner wall has been presented here. Initial start transient heat load on the liner wall is ∼10–40% more than the steady-state heat load.


This is the second volume of the catalogue raisonne of the work of the American painter John Singer Sargent (1856-1925). It comprises over 150 formal portraits and portrait sketches in oil and watercolour that he painted between 1889 and 1900. The catalogued works have been grouped into chronological sections, each with its own introduction to set the particular group in context. In addition, an overall introduction places Sargent in the context of European portraiture of the past and of his own time. Each work is documented in depth: entries include traditional data about the painting or watercolour; details of the work's provenance, exhibition history, and bibliography; a short biography of the sitter; a discussion of the circumstances in which the work was created; and a critical discussion of its subject matter, style, and significance in Sargent's career. With very few exceptions, all the works are reproduced in colour. There is also an illustrated inventory of Sargent's studio props and accessories and a cross-referenced checklist of the portraits in which they appear.


This thesis reports on two studies in the field of multimedia. The older one, completed in 2002, has as a general aim to explore, describe and analyse the concept of multimedia in relation to the concept of information systems. Four areas are investigated: product, process, requirements work and knowledge exchange between developers of multimedia systems and developers of information systems. The main research question has been: What are the distinguishing features of multimedia and how can multimedia be characterised from an information systems perspective? The investigation has shown that multimedia development is characterized by co-operation between people from many different areas of expertise who respect each other's knowledge. The development work requires creativity, rationality and a systematic approach Detailed explicit requirements specifications are seldom produced in the companies studied. Specifying requirements for multimedia products is complicated which seems to stem from the nature of multimedia which makes the products hard to describe using traditional means such as text.A more recent study, completed in 2004, continues the investigation of the challenges concerning requirements specifications for multimedia products reported in the first study. For this purpose, a new methodology for experimenting with graphical user interfaces to obtain acceptable design solutions has been developed and tested. This methodology is based on an experimental technique called 'Wizard of Oz'. In Wizard-of-Oz experiments a test person thinks he communicates with the computer in front of him when in actual fact the test manager sits in the next room interpreting the user's commands and providing the desired responses. In order to use this technique for experimenting with graphical user interfaces a prototyping tool called Ozlab has been utilized. Ozlab has been used to allow doctors and nurses to participate in the design of a new user interface in a robot application for hip surgery. The results show that graphical Wizard-of-Oz prototyping can be a useful tool for exploration, visualization and communication of interaction requirements in multimedia product development.The most recent study is placed first in this volume, followed by the older study (Karlstad University Studies 2002:24).


We study a finitely repeated public goods game (based on the voluntary contribution mechanism) played under complete uncertainty about the marginal benefit of the public good relative to the private consumption (commonly known as the marginal per capita return): neither one's marginal per capita return nor other players' marginal per capita returns are known at the time of decision-making. We show that contributions are equivalent when the rate of return is predetermined and when it is uncertain, and display a similar decay over time. Combined with the previous experimental findings, our results suggest that the cooperation in public goods games is sensitive to the source of uncertainty about marginal per capita return.


This thesis examines
intra-organizational
opportunities and career paths
for
managers
in
the context of a general trend of
downsizing. The thesis presents new evidence on the
impact
of the trend on the traditional career and aims to produce an analysis that moves
beyond the optimistic and pessimistic accounts.
The
strength of an
in-depth investigation
was sought
in
companies within the same
industrial
environment and
labour
market.
All the research sites are
in the automotive
sector and geographically
located in the Midlands, England. Field
work was carried out at
Rover Group Ltd., LucasVarity Aerospace Ltd., GKN Automotive Driveline Division UK
Operations Plc.,
and
Valeo (UK) Wipers Systems Ltd., and covered also
Mayflower
Vehicle Systems Plc.
and Peugeot Motor Company Plc.
as ancillary sources of
information. This is
a
long-established
sector of the economy where change may
have
a
more
dramatic impact.
The
case-study was the format
chosen as the best
suited
for
my predominantly
exploratory endeavour.
The
main tools of
data
collection were a questionnaire and semi-
structured
interviews directed
at managers.
The former
concentrated on core matters such
as the managers' education and past career paths.
The latter
enabled
deep-probing
so as to
explore
detail
and perceptions. Primarily
with a qualitative orientation, collected
data
were
sorted and analysed within categories that emerged
from inside this same material.
A
quantitative element was
incorporated
with a complementary controlling
function. This
joint
approach elicited
findings
which answered some
important questions.
In face
of a pessimistic
literature
on managers
in the downsized organization,
Dopson
and
Stewart (1990)
suggested that there might still
be
some
hope. Other
optimistic
authors came to emphasize managerial empowerment to an extreme, notably
Heckscher
(1995)
with the vision of a
`professional'
manager
in
a post-corporate era.
My
results can
be linked, instead,
to existing studies that adopt a middle ground
between
optimism and
pessimism, such as
Watson's (1994)
and, more recently,
Gratton et al.
's (1999). My
own
distinctive
contribution
is two-fold. The boundaries
of current
knowledge
are expanded at
an empirical
level
with
fresh
evidence on the management career, revealing
how
managers
are making sense of, and
living
with, a situation of career uncertainty and pressure.
At
an
analytical
level, the thesis develops
a theoretical model which condenses the key
conclusions of the present research study and
depicts the emerging structure of a spiral
career, with
limited
upward movement
for
many and
further
spiralling upwards
for the
minority.
The former is for `the
majority of us'; the
latter is for the `high flyers'
and the
`shining
stars'.
Optimism
applies to this group while
for the rest there is
not uniform
reluctance
but
realistic acceptance of the situation
by
many combined
with cynicism
expressed by
some.


In 2014, Tennessee became the first state to criminalize the use of narcotics during pregnancy. While women have been prosecuted for the outcomes of their pregnancies and for the use of drugs during pregnancy in the past decades, Tennessee is the first state to explicitly authorize prosecutors to bring criminal charges against pregnant women if they use drugs. This Comment suggests that this new maternal crime is reflective of a social and political paradigm called "maternalism," which enforces the idea that women are meant to be mothers and to perform motherhood in a particular fashion. This concept has developed from the "old maternalism" of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries to the "new maternalism" of the late twentieth and twenty-first centuries. The new maternalism is developing in a modern world, finding its voice through liberal mother-centric organizations such as MomsRising and through conservative mothers like Sarah Palin and her "mama grizzlies." While new maternalism is developing in a modern context, it still upholds motherhood as the prime directive of women. The Comment first tracks the history of policing of pregnant women, with an eye for the effects this has had on women of color and poor women in particular. Next, it describes the progression of maternalism and the ways in which it has shaped American politics and culture. Finally, it proposes that the new law in Tennessee criminalizing the use of drugs during pregnancy is reflective of new maternalism. By criminalizing the behavior of some pregnant women, this law helps to create a vision of a "bad mother," whose punishment acts as a foil to the "good mother" that the new maternalism tries to reinforce. Through the criminalization and policing of pregnant women's behavior, women's reproductive freedoms become increasingly constricted. Table of


Abstract. In this study, Cross calibration was conducted at the Libya 4 PICS site on 2015 using Landsat-8 and KOMPSAT-3A. Ideally a cross calibration should be calculated for each individual scene pair because on any given date the TOA spectral profile is influenced by sun and satellite view geometry and the atmospheric conditions. However, using the near-simultaneous images minimizes this effect because the sensors are viewing the same atmosphere. For the cross calibration, the calibration coefficient was calculated by comparing the at sensor spectral radiance for the same location calculated using the Landsat-8 calibration parameters in metadata and the DN of KOMPSAT-3A for the regions of interest (ROI). Cross calibration can be conducted because the satellite sensors used for overpass have a similar bandwidth. However, not all satellites have the same color filter transmittance and sensor reactivity, even though the purpose is to observe the visible bands. Therefore, the differences in the RSR should be corrected. For the cross-calibration, a calibration coefficient was calculated using the TOA radiance and KOMPSAT-3 DN of the Landsat-8 OLI overpassed at the Libya 4 Site, As a result, the accuracy of the calibration coefficient at the site was assumed to be ± 1.0%. In terms of the results, the radiometric calibration coefficients suggested here are thought to be useful for maintaining the optical quality of the KOMPSAT-3A.


In this essay we argue that the key barriers to interdisciplinary work between economists and anthropologists are differences of methodology and epistemology—in what the two disciplines consider important to explain and how they evaluate the criteria for a good explanation. The essay is an introduction to three articles, on economics, anthropology, and the question of the commons, that illustrate some of these differences and that suggest both the potential and the pitfalls of trying to bridge these methodological gaps. Our goal is not somehow to resolve the differences. Rather, we are motivated by the belief that understanding what is important to the other discipline, and seeing the differences in the light of that understanding, is important for interdisciplinary work and for respectful conversation. We have highlighted three dichotomies that are emblematic of some of these differences: autonomy versus embeddedness, outcomes versus processes, and parsimony versus complexity. We hope that our discussion leads economists and anthropologists to reexamine the assumptions and modes of analysis that prevail within the disciplines and to open up new conversations in new directions.


Tumor vascularization is an important control point in cancer progression and its inhibition is a promising approach to cancer therapy. Stromal-derived factor-1 alpha (SDF-1 alpha or CXCL12) is a chemoattractant for lymphocytes, hematopoietic progenitor cells, and vascular endothelial cells. SDF-1 alpha binds to the CXCR4 receptor on cell surfaces and to heparan sulfate in cell membranes and the extracellular matrix. We hypothesized that SDF-1 alpha is an important mediator of tumor vasculogenesis, recruiting bone marrow-derived endothelial progenitor cells to tumors. We evaluated the role of SDF-1 alpha in the adhesion of bone marrow-derived lineage-negative cells to the murine Lewis lung adenocarcinoma (LLCaB subclone), both in vitro and in vivo. LLCaB lung and liver metastases expressed significantly elevated levels of SDF-1 alpha compared to normal tissue from naive controls and primary tumors. SDF-1 alpha expression inversely correlated with tumor size, implicating involvement in early tumor development. SDF-1 alpha was detected on ~30% of blood vessels in primary and metastatic tumors by double immunocytochemistry staining and on endothelial cells within primary cultures of dissociated LLCaB tumors (DTC). Lineage-negative BMC enriched for Sca1+cKit+ (LSK) cells, including endothelial progenitors and CXCR4+ cells, were used for subsequent adhesion studies. LSK cells preferentially adhered in vitro to DTC, compared to other target cell types. Pre-incubation with anti-CXCR4 antibody or the CXCR4 antagonist AMD3100 decreased adhesion of LSK cells by 50%. Biolocalization of adoptively-transferred EGFP-Lineage-negative BMC in tumor-bearing wild-type mice was evaluated by qPCR for the egfp-transgene. A significantly greater number of Lineage-negative BMC localized to metastases 2-3 days after intravenous injection than to adjacent healthy tissue, normal organs, or primary tumors. Control CXCR4-negative EGFP-dermal fibroblasts showed significantly less tumor localization. One-week post-injection, Lineage-negative BMC were still detected in every metastasis, suggesting that BMC were retained and/or had replicated. These data support the hypothesis that the biolocalization of circulating Lineage-negative BMC to tumors is SDF-1 alpha-mediated. We have also put forth the novel proposal that SDF-1 alpha promotes early tumor vasculogenesis as a tumor endothelium-associated adhesion molecule for circulating CXCR4+ Lineage-negative BMC. These findings may aid our understanding of the mechanism of tumor vascularization and the design of tumor-targeted therapy.


Human capital is one factor that significantly influences local economic growth. Our goal in this research is to analyze trends in local human capital dynamics during the past thirty years. The authors find little evidence of convergence in college attainment across metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas and evidence of divergence across Census regions. The authors also find within-distribution divergence for all labor markets, as well as for metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas, which is accompanied by lower levels of intra-distributional mobility than we observe for the income distribution. To the extent that human capital accumulation drives growth, these trends are likely to contribute to increasingly different levels of income growth across labor markets in the future. Finally, looking at factors that influence upward mobility within the distribution, the authors find that an increase in the number of four-year colleges and universities per capita increased a labor market's upward rank and quintile mobility in human capital.


PURPOSE
The objectives of this study were to: 1) investigate the infection control practices of practicing dental hygienists, 2) document the attitudes and practices of dental hygienists toward patients with infectious diseases, and 3) determine if professional affiliation affected the attitudes and/or practices of the respondents.

METHODS
A 49-item survey consisting of eight demographic, nine attitudinal, and 32 practice questions was used for this study. A stratified sampling method was used, in which the United States was divided into four regions. Three states were selected from each region according to geographic location and population. Five percent of registered dental hygienists within each selected state were randomly selected for inclusion in the study. All analyses were conducted using the Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS v.10, Chicago, IL).

RESULTS
Of the 2,009 surveys mailed, 104 were undeliverable. A total of 856 completed surveys were returned from practicing dental hygienists for a response rate of 44.9%. Overall, this study found an increased use of barriers and personal protective equipment in comparison to previous studies. A majority of respondents (53.9%) felt that treating patients with HIV or AIDS increased their personal risk for contracting the disease. The majority of respondents also reported always using extra precautions with HIV/AIDS patients (63.5%) and hepatitis patients (60.1%). In addition, most respondents reported they would not use an ultrasonic scaler when treating HIV/AIDS (65.8%) or hepatitis (58.9%) patients, indicating an alteration in clinical practice habits.

CONCLUSION
The majority of dental hygienists surveyed reported altering infection control practices and treatment techniques when treating HIV/AIDS or hepatitis patients. While there has been an improvement in compliance with recommended infection control guidelines, practitioners still have misconceptions, and possibly fear, regarding infectious diseases and disease transmission.


Smooth muscle myosin heavy chain (SMMHC) is a major structural component of the contractile apparatus in smooth muscle cells. Even though it is considered a relatively specific marker for terminal smooth muscle cell differentiation, expression in other cell types such as follicular dendritic cells (FDCs) has rarely been reported. To determine whether SMMHC represents an effective FDC marker in lymphoid tissues, we compared the immunohistochemical results for SMMHC with those of the traditional FDC markers podoplanin (D2-40) and CD21. Paraffin sections of 44 lymphoid tissues were analyzed, including 31 cases of follicular hyperplasia, 6 cases of follicular lymphoma, 2 cases of peripheral T-cell lymphoma, 3 cases of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma arising in follicular lymphoma, 1 case of nodular sclerosis classical Hodgkin lymphoma, and 1 case of small lymphocytic lymphoma. There was no statistically significant difference between the number of SMMHC-positive and D2-40-positive or CD21+ lymph nodes (P>0.05). The extent and intensity of SMMHC-positive FDCs were similar to those of D2-40-positive FDCs (P=0.127 and 0.733, respectively), but significantly lower compared with those of CD21+ cells (P=0.009 and 0.00002, respectively). However, in contrast to CD21 which was also positive in some germinal center B cells, SMMHC expression was restricted to FDCs. Our results indicate that SMMHC is an excellent marker for FDCs and can be particularly helpful in demonstrating the underlying architecture in lymphoid processes.


Cooperating mobile robots are real-time systems that often require mutual synchronisation, either to carry out cooperative sensing and actuation, or to improve the quality of wireless communications. Concerning this last aspect, a common technique to improve the communication channel is to eliminate access collisions by allocating predefined disjoint time slots to robots, in a circular list, which is known as Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA). This technique typically requires a global clock to identify each slot. However, this method is not robust with respect to asynchronous transmissions generated by external or joining nodes. Consequently, this work proposes a global TDMA protocol that allows for real-time and guaranteed delivery of messages within deadlines, given its predictable schedule, and that: i) applies to dynamic mesh networks of cooperating mobile robots; ii) synchronises slots in a relative fashion using locally perceived delays of message exchanges that are globalised throughout the network, thus not relying on a global clock; and iii) tolerates external traffic and asynchronous joining robots using underneath standard ad-hoc wireless RF technologies that provide CSMA-type arbitration. We describe our protocol and prove that under common operating conditions all robots eventually reach synchronisation. We also propose a heuristic for the few cases that were not covered by the previous proof, which always led to consensus under extensive simulation testing. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first guaranteed clockless synchronisation approach for ad-hoc networks of mobile robots that works over commodity wireless protocols.


Mastering SolidWorks: The Design Approach, Second Edition is entirely updated for SolidWorks 2014 and presents SolidWorks as a design system rather than a software program, using design, modeling, and drafting concepts as the building blocks, instead of focusing on menus and commands. It describes design approaches, methodologies, and techniques to help CAD designers/engineers and draftspersons achieve their engineering tasks in the fastest, easiest, and most effective way. It develops command sequences to achieve CAD and modeling tasks, providing SolidWorks syntax and details. Starting with a CAD task to accomplish, the book then goes about how to accomplish it, motivating students to learn more than simply going through layers of menus and commands. Intended for design courses, the book uses a minimal amount of mathematical concepts, covering basic math in Chapter 8 (Curves), Chapter 9 (Surfaces), and Chapter 13 (Analysis Tools). Intended for design courses, the book uses a minimal amount of mathematical concepts, covering basic math in Chapter 8 (Curves), Chapter 9 (Surfaces), and Chapter 13 (Analysis Tools). Shows concepts to those who are curious about how CAD/CAM systems work "under the hood." Broadens the book appeal to many students, professors, and readers. The coverage of math in chapters 8, 9, and 13 may be ignored without affecting the continuity of the material in those chapters. Step-by-Step instructions help students learn SolidWorks as a design system rather than a software program. Ample illustrations guide students as they learn. Tutorials offer comprehensive coverage of a full design task. Each tutorial ends with a hands-on exercise that both challenges the students understanding and extends it. Examples with Solutions cover a single concept in detail. Each example offers a hands-on exercise that builds on the previous example, ensuring the student has gone through each example. Each chapter includes challenging modeling and design examples and problems. The books unique approach covers the theoretical concepts behind the various functions of SolidWorks. This sheds light about why things work the way they do, as well as explains their limitations and uses.


A phosphorylated epitope is differentially expressed at the kinetochores of chromosomes in mitotic cells and may be involved in regulating chromosome movement and cell cycle progression. During prophase and early prometaphase, the phosphoepitope is expressed equally among all the kinetochores. In mid-prometaphase, some chromosomes show strong labeling on both kinetochores; others exhibit weak or no labeling; while in other chromosomes, one kinetochore is intensely labeled while its sister kinetochore is unlabeled. Chromosomes moving toward the metaphase plate express the phosphoepitope strongly on the leading kinetochore but weakly on the trailing kinetochore. This is the first demonstration of a biochemical difference between the two kinetochores of a single chromosome. During metaphase and anaphase, the kinetochores are unlabeled. At metaphase, a single misaligned chromosome can inhibit further progression into anaphase. Misaligned chromosomes express the phosphoepitope strongly on both kinetochores, even when all the other chromosomes of a cell are assembled at the metaphase plate and lack expression. This phosphoepitope may be involved in regulating chromosome movement to the metaphase plate during prometaphase and may be part of a cell cycle checkpoint by which the onset of anaphase is inhibited until complete metaphase alignment


ABSTRACT Working with children who have irrationally rejected a parent is an emerging area of practice with unique risks. The dynamics that drive false allegations about a parent also drive accusations against professionals who participate in a process to reunify the children with that parent. This article discusses protective measures to reduce risks of false accusations, character assassination, harassment, and violence. Recommendations are offered for organizations charged with investigating complaints. Agencies that do an inadequate job of handling such complaints may harm the public by driving innovators from the field and reducing the availability of programs that have helped many families.


This paper explores the potential of bootstrap methods in the empirical evalu- ation of dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) models and, more generally, in linear rational expectations models featuring unobservable (latent) components. We consider two dimensions. First, we provide mild regularity conditions that suffice for the bootstrap Quasi- Maximum Likelihood (QML) estimator of the structural parameters to mimic the asymptotic distribution of the QML estimator. Consistency of the bootstrap allows to keep the probability of false rejections of the cross-equation restrictions under control. Second, we show that the realizations of the bootstrap estimator of the structural parameters can be constructively used to build novel, computationally straightforward tests for model misspecification, including the case of weak identification. In particular, we show that under strong identification and boot- strap consistency, a test statistic based on a set of realizations of the bootstrap QML estimator approximates the Gaussian distribution. Instead, when the regularity conditions for inference do not hold as e.g. it happens when (part of) the structural parameters are weakly identified, the above result is no longer valid. Therefore, we can evaluate how close or distant is the esti- mated model from the case of strong identification. Our Monte Carlo experimentations suggest that the bootstrap plays an important role along both dimensions and represents a promising evaluation tool of the cross-equation restrictions and, under certain conditions, of the strength of identification. An empirical illustration based on a small-scale DSGE model estimated on U.S. quarterly observations shows the practical usefulness of our approach.


Hypertension is a major factor that contributes to the development of the vascular complications of diabetes mellitus, which primarily include atherosclerosis, nephropathy, and retinopathy. The mechanism of the pathophysiological effects of hypertension lies at the cellular level in the blood vessel wall, which intimately involves the function and interaction of the endothelial and vascular smooth muscle cells. Both hypertension and diabetes mellitus alter endothelial cell structure and function. In large and medium size vessels and in the kidney, endothelial dysfunction leads to enhanced growth and vasoconstriction of vascular smooth muscle cells and mesangial cells, respectively. These changes in the cells of smooth muscle lineage play a key role in the development of both atherosclerosis and glomerulosclerosis. In diabetic retinopathy, damage and altered growth of retinal capillary endothelial cells is the major pathophysiological insult leading to proliferative lesions of the retina. Thus, the endothelium emerges as a key target organ of damage in diabetes mellitus; this damage is enhanced in the presence of hypertension. An overall approach to the understanding and treatment of diabetes mellitus and its complications will be to elucidate the mechanisms of vascular disease and endothelial cell dysfunction that occur in the setting of hypertension and diabetes.


The use of text corpora has increased considerably in the past few years, not only in the field of lexicography but also in computational linguistics and language technology. Conse quently, corpus data and expertise developed by leXicographical institutions have gained a broader scope of application. In the European context this has led to a revised view of corpus design. In line with these developments, the Institute for Dutch Lexicology (lNL) has since 1994 been providing external access to steadily improving corpora via Internet. In August 1996, the 38 Million Words Corpus was available for consultation by the international research community. The present paper reports on the characteristics of this corpus (design, text classification, linguistic annotation) and on its use, both in dictionary projects and in linguistic research. In spite of limita tions with respect to corpus design, the INL corpora accessible via Internet have proved to meet external needs. By providing these facilities, the INL has acquired a much broader experience in corpus-building than before, which is essential for new, internal dictionary projects. Giving exter nal access to corpus data which was developed primarily for internal purposes, may be profitable for all parties involved.


Scholars have argued that plant domestication in eastern North America involved human interactions with floodplain weeds in woodlands that had few other early successional environments. Archeological evidence for plant domestication in this region occurs along the Mississippi river and major tributaries such as the Tennessee, Ohio, Illinois, Missouri, and Arkansas rivers. But this region is also known as the prairie peninsula: a prairie-woodland mosaic that was maintained by anthropogenic fire starting as early as 6000 BP. Contrary to conventional wisdom, recent research has shown that bison were also present in the prairie peninsula throughout the Holocene. Recent reintroductions of bison to tallgrass prairies have allowed ecologists to study the effects of their grazing on this ecosystem for the first time. Like rivers and humans, bison create early successional habitats for annual forbs and grasses, including the progenitors of eastern North American crops, within tallgrass prairies. Our fieldwork has shown that crop progenitors are conspicuous members of plant communities along bison trails and in wallows. We argue that ancient foragers encountered dense, easily harvestable stands of crop progenitors as they moved along bison trails, and that the ecosystems created by bison and anthropogenic fire served as a template for the later agroecosystem of this region. Without denying the importance of human-river interactions highlighted by previous researchers, we suggest that prairies have been ignored as possible loci for domestication, largely because the disturbed, biodiverse tallgrass prairies created by bison have only been recreated in the past three decades after a century of extinction.


Recent reports on the simultaneous occurrence of systemic inflammation and airflow obstruction are usually based on a highly selective patient population, but their importance warrants further evaluation in the general population. The objectives were to study the interrelationship between airflow obstruction, smoking, hypertension, obesity and CRP as a marker of systemic inflammation in a randomly selected sample of the general Icelandic population (n = 939). This study comprised 758 randomly selected men and women 40 years and older living in Reykjavik, Iceland, and who were participating in the Burden of Obstructive Lung Disease (BOLD) study (81% response rate). In addition to the BOLD protocol, which included post-bronchodilator spirometry, they answered questions about general health and medication. Serum samples were taken for measurement of C-reactive protein (CRP). In the sample—245 individuals (33%) reported having hypertension. Subjects with hypertension were older, had a higher BMI and higher CRP levels. Subjects with hypertension had lower values of FEV1 than predicted (89.9 ± 18.5 vs. 94.5 ± 14.4%) (p < 0.001) and FVC (92.2 ± 15.1 vs. 95.3 ± 12.3%) (p = 0.002). These differences remained significant after adjusting for age, BMI, CRP and smoking. Hypertension and CRP levels above the median were both independently and additively associated with lower FEV1 and FVC. In addition a lower FVC% was also associated with a higher BMI (> 30 mg/m2). Use of betablocking antihypertensives was not related to lung function. Hypertension, BMI and systemic inflammation affect lung function independently of each other. All three variables have a negative effect on FVC, while hypertension and high CRP were independently associated with impaired FEV1.


In response to the absence of a taxononomical system for the structured assessment, conceptualization, and intervention of athlete-clients, the MCS-SP is a model for the comprehensive evaluation of athlete-clients' needs, strategies for in-depth case conceptualization, and systematic formulation of the most appropriate type and level of professional service required. This classification system is based on the primary issues, needs, and life circumstances of the athlete-client and the suggested assessment and intervention foci combine the environmental, interpersonal, intrapersonal, behavioral, and performance history/demands that impact athletic clientele. Categories within the taxonomy include Performance Development, Performance Dysfunction, Performance Impairment, and Performance Termination, each of which include two subtypes that further guide the appropriate, ethical, and effective provision of services.


To explore how people manage and maintain life style change, we conducted interviews with eight members of different Twelve Step Fellowships with 2-23 years of recovery about how they maintain and develop their recovery in everyday life. They reported how identification, sharing, and routines are keys to recovery. Our lessons for design concerns how these concepts support recovery in a long term perspective: Sharing to contribute in a broader sense to the fellowship and to serve as an example for fellow members created motivation even after 20 years of recovery; reflecting over routines in recovery was essential since life is constantly changing and routines need to fit into everyday life; concrete gestures were helpful for some of the abstract parts of the recovery work, such as letting go of troubling issues. Design aimed to support maintenance of lifestyle change needs to open up for ways of sharing that allow users to contribute their experiences in ways that create motivation, and support users in reflecting over their routines rather than prompting them on what to do.


This article explores the fluidity and dynamicity of a Chinese PhD student's research experience in negotiating her identities in a longitudinal ethnographic study, first in China and then in the UK. It adopts retrospective and reflexive document analysis of research journals written by her over a 5-year period of overseas study. The analytical framework for the critical reflection of knowledge production synthesizes key concepts of ontology, epistemology, reflexivity, positionality, serendipity, and intersectionality to describe and interpret the researcher's struggles between insider and outsider, uncertain feelings about different values and beliefs, and emotions due to changing circumstances of family life. The reflexive analysis indicates that PhD students who undertake qualitative studies would function in a far more fluid manner than the often simplistically documented binary roles between an "insider" participant and an outsider researcher in their theses. The article argues that this fluidity in identity shifts and complexity in data collection and analysis are in most cases part and parcel of the research process, which is crucial for researchers to be aware of. Researchers should feel confident to tell the "messy stories" reflexively so as to enhance credibility and trustworthiness of the research findings.


Aims:With the increase in the number of systematic reviews available, a logical next step to provide decision makers in healthcare with the evidence they require has been the conduct of reviews of existing systematic reviews. Syntheses of existing systematic reviews are referred to by many different names, one of which is an umbrella review. An umbrella review allows the findings of reviews relevant to a review question to be compared and contrasted. An umbrella review's most characteristic feature is that this type of evidence synthesis only considers for inclusion the highest level of evidence, namely other systematic reviews and meta-analyses. A methodology working group was formed by the Joanna Briggs Institute to develop methodological guidance for the conduct of an umbrella review, including diverse types of evidence, both quantitative and qualitative. The aim of this study is to describe the development and guidance for the conduct of an umbrella review. Methods:Discussion and testing of the elements of methods for the conduct of an umbrella review were held over a 6-month period by members of a methodology working group. The working group comprised six participants who corresponded via teleconference, e-mail and face-to-face meeting during this development period. In October 2013, the methodology was presented in a workshop at the Joanna Briggs Institute Convention. Workshop participants, review authors and methodologists provided further testing, critique and feedback on the proposed methodology. Results:This study describes the methodology and methods developed for the conduct of an umbrella review that includes published systematic reviews and meta-analyses as the analytical unit of the review. Details are provided regarding the essential elements of an umbrella review, including presentation of the review question in a Population, Intervention, Comparator, Outcome format, nuances of the inclusion criteria and search strategy. A critical appraisal tool with 10 questions to help assess risk of bias in systematic reviews and meta-analyses was also developed and tested. Relevant details to extract from included reviews and how to best present the findings of both quantitative and qualitative systematic reviews in a reader friendly format are provided. Conclusions:Umbrella reviews provide a ready means for decision makers in healthcare to gain a clear understanding of a broad topic area. The umbrella review methodology described here is the first to consider reviews that report other than quantitative evidence derived from randomized controlled trials. The methodology includes an easy to use and informative summary of evidence table to readily provide decision makers with the available, highest level of evidence relevant to the question posed.


Cross-border tax arbitrage arises where a transaction is subject to two or more countries' differing tax regimes. Conflicts between the tax rules create unique opportunities for the parties to engage in profitable tax planning - opportunities that would not be available if the transaction occurred entirely domestically in one of the countries. These opportunities have been a growing feature of the multi-jurisdictional business world and have raised issues concerning whether and how countries, such as the United States, should respond. This Article examines cross-border tax arbitrage in the context of both domestic tax policy and of other international tax issues, and considers potential responses. It proposes an analytic framework for cross-border tax arbitrage based on specific case studies. The Article concludes by proposing a balancing test for determining the appropriate treatment of specific instances of cross-border tax arbitrage.


Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of different learning sources in the process of capability building of Chinese firms (CFs) approaching international markets.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is based on the case study of the company "Goodbaby." The primary data sources are two semi-structured interviews with one of the firm's managers, which have been triangulated with point of sale visits, interviews with industry experts, and secondary data such as corporate records, patent and trademark data, industry reports and news articles.

Findings

Both the home-country and foreign markets act as sources of learning to support the development of CFs' marketing capabilities. Learning at home is triggered by the complexity of the national market and the exposure to foreign entrants. Foreign learning is stimulated by the relationships with leading foreign partners and the exposure to advanced final markets. Moreover, each learning source has a positive effect on the development of CFs' marketing capabilities in both market contexts in which they compete, i.e. the home-market and international markets.

Practical implications

CFs' managers should be simultaneously receptive to the domestic and foreign contexts, as both may support the development of marketing capabilities. CFs' managers should recognize the learning opportunities embedded in each of these contexts, and identify the markets where these can be effectively redeployed.

Originality/value

The authors distinguish between different sources of learning in the context of CFs' internationalization, and explore their triggering factors and their role in the development of an underinvestigated type of capabilities, i.e. the marketing capabilities.


Owing to the scarcity of available information, we aimed to assess the association of migration inhibitory factor (MIF)-173 G/C genotypes and serum lipoprotein(Lp)(a) with incident metabolic syndrome (MetS) and all-cause mortality, respectively. In population based, middle-aged adults (n=1297), stratified by gender and presence of MetS, we used Lp(a) quintiles to identify non-linear associations with outcomes using Cox regression models, adjusted for MIF genotype, age, smoking status, high density lipoprotein cholesterol, and systolic blood pressure. After 5.2 years of follow-up, 151 cases of incident MetS and 123 deaths were recorded. For incident MetS, adjusted HRs increased in each gender across four declining quintiles, starting from the highest quintile in men and from quintile 4 in women. The MIF CC-GC genotype appeared to contribute to the risk estimates in men. Similarly adjusted models in the whole sample disclosed that all-cause mortality tended to be inversely associated with Lp(a) quintiles and yielded an HR (2.42 (95% CI 1.03 to 5.81)) in men in quintile 2, whereas the MIF genotype additively predicted mortality (HR 1.79 (95% CI 1.01 to 3.18)) only in men. Excess risk of death was additively conferred on Turkish men by the MIF CC-GC genotype and by apparently reduced circulating Lp(a) assays, supporting the notion that 'low' serum Lp(a), mediating autoimmune activation, is a major determinant of metabolic disease risk and death. Damaged MIF protein and more complex autoimmune activation in women may be responsible from lack of relationship to MetS/mortality.


We report here the identification and characterization of a new Arabidopsis light-regulatory locus, COP9, mutation that leads to a constitutive photomorphogenic phenotype. Dark-grown cop9 seedlings exhibit many morphological characteristics of light-grown seedlings, including short hypocotyls and open and enlarged cotyledons with cell-type and chloroplast differentiation. Furthermore, the cop9 mutation leads to high-level expression of light-inducible genes in the absence of light, probably by altering the promoter activities of these genes. These properties imply that the mutation in the COP9 locus uncouples the light/dark signals from morphogenesis and light-regulated gene expression. In addition, light-grown cop9 mutants are severely dwarfed and are unable to reach maturation and flowering. This adult-lethal phenotype indicates that the COP9 locus also plays a critical role for normal development of the light-grown plant. Similar to cop1 mutants, but not det1, the cop9 mutants show (1) no effect on the phytochrome control of seed germination and (2) deficiency in the dark-adaptive change of expression of light-regulated genes. Our results suggest that the cop9 and cop1 mutations result in the same range of phenotypes and therefore COP9 and COP1 loci may encode closely related components in the same regulatory pathway.


Early developmental conditions are known to have life-long effects on an individual's behavior, physiology and fitness. In altricial birds, a majority of these conditions, such as the number of siblings and the amount of food provisioned, are controlled by the parents. This opens up the potential for parents to adjust the behavior and physiology of their offspring according to local post-natal circumstances. However, the mechanisms underlying such intergenerational regulation remain largely unknown. A mechanism often proposed to possibly explain how parental effects mediate consistent phenotypic change is DNA methylation. To investigate whether early life effects on offspring phenotypes are mediated by DNA methylation, we cross-fostered great tit (Parus major) nestlings and manipulated their brood size in a natural study population. We assessed genome-wide DNA methylation levels of CpG sites in erythrocyte DNA, using Reduced Representation Bisulfite Sequencing (RRBS). By comparing DNA methylation levels between biological siblings raised in enlarged and reduced broods and between biological siblings of control broods, we assessed which CpG sites were differentially methylated due to brood size. We found 32 differentially methylated sites (DMS) between siblings from enlarged and reduced broods, a larger number than in the comparison between siblings from control broods. A considerable number of these DMS were located in or near genes involved in development, growth, metabolism, behavior and cognition. Since the biological functions of these genes line up with previously found effects of brood size and food availability, it is likely that the nestlings in the enlarged broods suffered from nutritional stress. We therefore conclude that early life stress might directly affect epigenetic regulation of genes related to early life conditions. Future studies should link such experimentally induced DNA methylation changes to expression of phenotypic traits and assess whether these effects affect parental fitness to determine if such changes are also adaptive.


For decades the Miami-based Cuban diaspora successfully represented itself globally as a monolithic bloc and influenced US policy vis-à-vis Cuba. Yet the success glosses over the diversity of the Cuban diaspora, not only in Miami, but in the United States more widely, as well as internationally. The first wave of émigrés, who are known as "exiles," have for decades campaigned for a watertight embargo against Cuba and have on principle refused to visit their homeland. By contrast, more recent Cuban émigrés, who have left the island since the economic crisis of the 1990s and who are less affluent and have less political clout, have forged cross-border transnational links with kin and friends on the island. In this article, building on Mannheim's thesis about the long-lasting impact that early-life experiences may have, we show that diasporic Cubans who left Cuba with shared experiences and then settled in the United States or Spain adapted similarly, and relate to Cuba in similar ways, and differently from Cubans who emigrated at other points in time with different pre-migration lived experiences. Specifically, we compare and contrast two historically grounded generations in the United States and in Spain in terms of labor market insertion, political incorporation, and linguistic and cultural acculturation in the two host countries. We thereby illustrate the explanatory power of our historically grounded thesis of diasporic generation formations that we elucidated in the Introduction. The article shows how historically grounded pre-migration experiences continue to shape and mold the ways in which immigrants relate to their homeland from abroad, in ways that neither the assimilationist nor the transnational framework can account for. The article then discusses implications of this finding for the conceptualization of "generation" within research on migration more broadly.


Cities are rapidly becoming composed of digitally-mediated components and infrastructures, their systems augmented and mediated by software, with widespread consequences for how they are managed, governed and experienced. This transformation has been accompanied by critical scholarship that has sought to understand the relationship between code and the city. Whilst this work has produced many useful insights, in this paper I argue that it also has a number of shortcomings. Principal amongst these is that the literatures concerning code and the city have remained quite divided. Studies that focus on code are often narrow in remit, fading out the city, and tend to fetishize and potentially decontextualises code at the expense of the wider socio-technical assemblage within which it is embedded. Studies that focus on the city tend to examine the effects of code, but rarely unpack the constitution and mechanics of the code producing those effects. To provide a more holistic account of the relationship between code and the city I forward two interlinked conceptual frameworks. The first places code within a wider socio-technical assemblage. The second conceives the city as being composed of millions of such assemblages. In so doing, the latter seeks to provide a means of productively building a conceptual and empirical understanding of programmable urbanism that scales from individual lines of code to the complexity of an entire urban system.


Despite increasing campaign-finance legislation aimed at equalizing barriers in political campaigns, a fundraising gap persists across racial/ethnic lines. In the era of modern campaigning, with the expenses of advertising and polling, among others, ample funds are necessary but not accessible to all candidates. This study addresses the relationship between candidate race/ethnicity and campaign fundraising, and the possible moderating effect of three dimensions of the state political context: state legislative professionalism, state Republican party strength, and state culture (South vs. non-South). I evaluate fundraising totals across 15 states for more than 3,000 candidates in the 2006 state legislative elections. Ultimately, the findings suggest that after controlling for other candidate characteristics, as well as for district and state context, there is a negative statistically significant relationship between candidate race/ethnicity and fundraising. In addition, the effect of race/ethnicity is moderated by two features of the state context: legislative professionalization and state culture. This study finds that nonwhite candidates continue to fundraise less than their white counterparts and that state context is important in understanding the race/ethnicity gap in campaign finance.


Although the Basel Committee has identified recovery risk as an important source of risk in relation to default, the impact of recovery rates on defaultable securities is not yet well understood. This paper proposes a discrete-time reduced form approach for pricing defaultable securities that incorporates stochastic recovery rates. We provide pricing formulas for risky bonds and credit default swap contracts in the case of an economy with an affine state vector. Faced with rich and realistic econometric representations of the state variables, the model stays tractable and can be estimated using standard techniques. We estimate a five-factor Gaussian model on BBB and B Standard & Poor's yield indices. Our analysis indicates that for both indices, the stochastic recovery model significantly outperforms a nested model where the unconditional recovery rate is estimated as a constant. The model is able to capture two important stylized facts of defaultable securities: The positive correlation between the loss given default, and the intensity of default and the negative correlation between the intensity of default and the risk-free interest rate.


Rapid identification of content structures in a scientific paper is of great importance particularly for those who actively engage in frontier research. This paper presents a multi-classifier approach to identify such structures in terms of classification of rhetorical sentences in scientific papers. The idea behind this approach is based on an observation that no single classifier is the best performer for classifying all rhetorical categories of sentences. Therefore, our approach learns which classifiers are good at what categories, assign the classifiers for those categories and apply only the right classifier for classifying a given category. This paper employsk-fold cross validation over training data to obtain the category-classifier mapping and then re-learn the classification model of the corresponding classifier using full training data on that particular category. This approach has been evaluated for identifying sixteen different rhetorical categories on sentences collected from ACL-ARC paper collection. The experimental results show that the multi-classifier approach can significantly improve the classification performance over multi-label classifiers.


How households adjust their consumption in response to changes in prices and income is crucial determinant of the effects of various shocks to market prices and commodity supplies. These adjustments in demand are particularly significant in Ethiopia, where many households consume inadequate quantities of calories, protein and other nutrients. Household consumption behaviour in the country is also rather complex. Regional consumption patterns differ considerably with no single staple dominating. Instead, four different cereals (teff, wheat, maize and sorghum) are major staples in parts of the country and even within most regions, two or more food staples account for relatively large shares of total calories and food expenditures1.


Existing legal regimes dealing with analogous issues provide useful guideposts in considering the degree to which emitters bear responsibility for past carbon emissions. With regard to liability for environmental damage, the European Union but not the United States recognizes an exemption from liability if the harm was not understood at the time of the conduct. States have also been reluctant to accept strict liability for environmental damage under international law. Similarly, in European law, a defendant is usually not responsible if the state of scientific knowledge at the time did not enable the discovery of a product defect at the time the product was made. In the United States, many state governments recognize a similar limitation on products liability, although some do not. The problem of climate change is unique in some ways, and the legal system is not always the best gauge of ethical judgments. Nevertheless, understanding how societies have handled other cases of historical responsibility can illuminate the problem of climate justice. These analogous legal regimes suggest strongly that the right answer is somewhere between full responsibility for all historic carbon emissions and complete exoneration for those emitters.


Cellular processes are exquisitely sensitive to H+ and Ca2+ ions because of powerful ionic interactions with proteins. By regulating the spatial and temporal distribution of intracellular [Ca2+] and [H+], cells such as cardiac myocytes can exercise control over their biological function. A well‐established paradigm in cellular physiology is that ion concentrations are regulated by specialized, membrane‐embedded transporter proteins. Many of these couple the movement of two or more ionic species per transport cycle, thereby linking ion concentrations among neighbouring compartments. Here, we compare and contrast canonical membrane transport with a novel type of Ca2+–H+ coupling within cytoplasm, which produces uphill Ca2+ transport energized by spatial H+ ion gradients, and can result in the cytoplasmic compartmentalization of Ca2+ without requiring a partitioning membrane. The mechanism, demonstrated in mammalian myocytes, relies on diffusible cytoplasmic buffers, such as carnosine, homocarnosine and ATP, to which Ca2+ and H+ ions bind in an apparently competitive manner. These buffer molecules can actively recruit Ca2+ to acidic microdomains, in exchange for the movement of H+ ions. The resulting Ca2+ microdomains thus have the potential to regulate function locally. Spatial cytoplasmic Ca2+–H+ exchange (cCHX) acts like a 'pump' without a membrane and may be operational in many cell types.


Summary. The diversity of coverings for the greenhouse and other plant production structures has increased dramatically during the past 4 decades. This has resulted from the availability of new types of covering materials and enhancements of previously existing materials, as well as the demands for technological improvements within the expanding controlled environment agricultural industry. The types of coverings currently available are dominated by plastics. These range from traditional glass to the recent advent of polymer plastics, such as thin films or multilayer rigid thermoset plastic panels. Available enhancements such as ultraviolet radiation (UV) degradation inhibitors, infrared radiation (IR) absorbency, and anti-condensation drip surfaces, as well as their physical and spectral properties are discussed. The selection of specific covering alternatives has implications for the greenhouse superstructure and its enclosed crop production system.


The Oxford Anthology of the Brazilian Short Story contains a selection of short stories by the best-known authors in Brazilian literature from the late nineteenth century to the present. With few exceptions, these stories have appeared in English translation, although widely separated in time and often published in obscure journals. Here they are united in a coherent edition representing Brazil's modern, vibrant literature and culture. J.M. Machado de Assis, who first perfected the genre, wrote at least sixty stories considered to be masterpieces of world literature. Ten of his stories are included here, and are accompanied by strong and diverse representations of the contemporary story in Brazil, featuring nine stories by Clarice Lispector and seven by Joao Guimaraes Rosa. The remaining 34 authors include Mario de Andrade, Graciliano Ramos, Osman Lins, Dalton Trevisan, and other major names whose stories in translation exhibit profound artistry. The anthology is divided into four major periods, "Tropical Belle-Epoque," "Modernism," "Modernism at Mid-Century," and "Contemporary Views." There is a general introduction to Brazilian literary culture and introductions to each of the four sections, with descriptions of the authors and a general bibliography on Brazil and Brazilian literature in English. It includes stories of innovation (Mario de Andrade), psychological suspense (Graciliano Ramos), satire and perversion (Dalton Trevisan), altered realities and perceptions (Murilo Rubiao), repression and sexuality (Hilda Hilst, Autran Dourado), myth (Nelida Pinon), urban life (Lygia Fagundes Telles, Rubem Fonescal), the oral tale (Jorge Amado, Rachel de Queiroz) and other overarching themes and issues of Brazilian culture. The anthology concludes with a haunting story set in the opera theater in Manaus by one of Brazil's most recently successful writers, Milton Hatoum.


This book is the culmination of several years work by a group of academics, policy-makers and other professionals looking to understand how alternative economic thinking – and indeed thinking from quite different social-scientific disciplines – could enhance the mainstream economic approach to environmental and natural-resource problems. Of the editors, Dietz comes from the mainstream economics tradition, while Michie and Oughton draw explicitly on institutional and evolutionary economics. The various authors represent a range of disciplinary backgrounds and approaches. This book draws on the strengths of each and all of these approaches to analyse environmental issues and what can be done to tackle these through corporate and public policy. This book makes the case for an inter-disciplinary approach. Two themes which emerge repeatedly throughout the book are the need for an interdisciplinary theory of technological change, and the need for a similarly interdisciplinary approach to the study of human behaviour and how it influences both production and consumption choices. The two themes are of course related. Resolving environmental questions requires an understanding of their nature, of their causes and, to the extent that they are anthropogenic, of how to change human behaviour. These fundamental issues are the focus of the four chapters that form Part 1 of this volume. The remainder of the volume develops them in more detail.


The enzymatic deconstruction of lignocellulosic plant biomass is performed by specialist microbial species. It is a ubiquitous process within nature and central to the global recycling of carbon and energy. Lignocellulose is a complex heteropolymer, highly recalcitrant and resistant to hydrolysis due to the major polysaccharide cellulose existing as a crystalline lattice, intimately associated with a disordered sheath of hemicellulosic polysaccharides and lignin. In this thesis I aim to transfer the highly efficient cellulolytic mechanism of the bacterium Cellulomonas fimi, to that of a suitably amenable and genetically tractable expression host, in the hopes of better understanding the enzymatic hydrolysis of lignocellulose. Using tools and concepts from molecular biology and synthetic biology, I constructed a library of standardised genetic parts derived from C. fimi, each encoding a known enzymatic activity involved in the hydrolysis of cellulose, mannan or xylan; three of the major polysaccharides present in lignocellulose. Characterization assays were performed on individual parts to confirm enzymatic activity and compare efficiencies against a range of substrates. Results then informed the rational design and construction of parts into modular devices. The resultant genetic devices were introduced into the expression hosts Escherichia coli and Citrobacter freundii, and transformed strains were assayed for the ability to utilize various forms of xylan, mannan and cellulose as a sole carbon source. Results identified devices which when expressed by either host showed growth on the respective carbon sources. Notably, devices with improved activity against amorphous cellulose, crystalline cellulose, mannan and xylan were determined. Recombinant cellulase expressing strains of E. coli and C. freundii were shown capable of both deconstruction and utilization of pure cellulose paper as a sole carbon source. Moreover, this capacity was shown to be entirely unhindered when C. freundii strains were cultured in saline media. These findings show promise in developing C. freundii for bioprocessing of biomass in sea water, so as to reduce the use of fresh water resources and improve sustainability as well as process economics. Work presented in this thesis contributes towards understanding the complementarities and synergies of the enzymes responsible for lignocellulose hydrolysis. Moreover, the research emphasizes the merits of standardizing genetic parts used within metabolic engineering projects and how adopting such design principles can expedite the research process.


Consuming high cholesterol food has risk in increasing blood cholesterol level. The increased of blood cholesterol level is associated with incidence of heart disease. Many traditional treatments that can reduce cholesterol level. One of them is cupping therapy. The research aim to describe the level of cholesterol patient who received cupping therapy. The research was conduct at Rumah sehat AR-Rahmah, Pekanbaru. This descriptive study was involved 36 respondents and was selected  by using purposive sampling method. The result showed an average distributions cholesterol levels on client  who recieved cupping therapy. Based on the value of central tendency mean cholesterol value before cupping therapy was 200,61 mg/dl and mean of cholesterol value  after cupping therapy was 197,94 mg/dl.  the result showed cholesterol level on client who received cupping therapy is relatively stable and there was no significant difference. Cupping therapy process requires more time to be able to see the systemic effect of cupping therapy on cholesterol level. Keywords: blood cholesterol , cupping therapy


Bivariate correlation was used to examine possible relationships between instructor immediacy and instructor presence, and a statistically significant correlation was found. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to determine whether the linear combination of instructor immediacy and presence caused significant variance in student affective learning, cognition, and motivation. For all three of the latter dependent variables, the linear combination of instructor immediacy and presence was found to cause statistically significant variance. However, although the overall regression models were significant in all three tests, instructor immediacy was not found to be a significant individual predictor for causing variance in affective learning, cognition, or motivation, whereas instructor presence was found to be a significant individual predictor of all three. Finally, factorial ANOVA revealed that, for perceptions of instructor immediacy, only classification and course type were found to explain significant variance, with undergraduate students in asynchronous courses reporting significantly lower instructor immediacy. For perceptions of instructor presence, graduate students tended to rate their instructors as having higher presence than did undergraduate students, and students in synchronous courses tended to rate their instructors as having higher presence than did students in asynchronous courses.


Leaf shape can reflect the survival and development of plants in different environments. In particular, leaf area, showing a scaling relationship with other leaf-shape indices, has been used to evaluate the extent of salt stress on plants. Based on the scaling relationships between leaf area and other leaf-shape indices in experiments at different levels of salt stress, we could examine which leaf-shape indices are also related to salt stress. In the present study, we explored the effects of different salt concentration treatments on leaf dry mass per unit area (LMA), the quotient of leaf perimeter and leaf area (QPA), the quotient of leaf width and length (QWL), the areal quotient (AQ) of left and right sides of a leaf and the standardized index (SI) for bilateral symmetry. We treated Pyrus betulifolia Bunge under NaCl salt solution of 2‰, 4‰ and 6‰, respectively, with fresh water with no salt as the control. The reduced major axis (RMA) was used to fit a linear relationship of the log-transformed data between any leaf trait measures and leaf area. We found that leaf fresh weight and dry weight decrease with salt concentration increasing, whereas the exponents of leaf dry weight versus leaf area exhibit an increasing trend, which implies that the leaves expanding in higher salt environments are prone to have a higher cost of dry mass investment to increase per unit leaf area than those in lower salt environments. Salt concentration has a significant influence on leaf shape especially QWL, and QWL under 6‰ concentration treatment is significantly greater than the other treatments. However, there is no a single increasing or decreasing trend for the extent of leaf bilateral symmetry with salt concentration increasing. In addition, we found that the scaling exponents of QPA versus leaf area for four treatments have no significant difference. It indicates that the scaling relationship of leaf perimeter versus leaf area did not change with salt concentration increasing. The present study suggests that salt stress can change leaf functional traits especially the scaling relationship of leaf dry weight versus leaf area and QWL, however, it does not significantly affect the scaling relationships between leaf morphological measures (including QPA and the extent of leaf bilateral symmetry) and leaf area.


Ultra-wideband (UWB) localization is a recent technology that performs competitively with many indoor localization methods currently available. Despite its desirable traits, such as potential high accuracy and high material penetrability, the resolution of non-line-of-sight signals remains a very hard problem and has a significant impact on the localization performance. In this work, we address the peculiarities of UWB error behavior by building models that capture the spatiality as well as the multimodal statistics of the error behavior. Our framework utilizes tessellated maps that associate probabilistic error models to localities in space. In addition to our UWB localization strategy (which provides absolute position estimates), we investigate the effects of collaboration in the form of relative positioning. To this end, we develop a relative range and bearing model and, together with the UWB model, present a unified localization technique based on a particle filter framework. We test our approach experimentally on a group of 10 mobile robots equipped with UWB emitters and extension modules providing inter-robot relative range and bearing measurements. Our experimental insights highlight the benefits of collaboration, which are consistent over numerous experimental scenarios. Also, we show the relevance, in terms of positioning accuracy, of our multimodal UWB measurement model by performing systematic comparisons with two alternative measurement models. Our final results show median localization errors below 10 cm in cluttered environments, using a modest set of 50 particles in our filter.


Resistance breeding is an effective strategy against wheat stripe (yellow) rust caused by Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici (Pst). To identify and map quantitative trait loci (QTL) associated with stripe rust resistance, a durum wheat doubled haploid population (n = 87) derived from 'Strongfield/Blackbird' was evaluated for disease severity near Toluca, Mexico (2017–2019) and Lethbridge, Canada (2016– 2019). The population was genotyped with the wheat 90 K Illumina iSelect single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) array and simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers, and QTL analysis was performed with MapQTL 6. We identified stripe rust-resistance QTL contributed by 'Blackbird' on chromosomes 3A (2 loci, designated QYr.spa-3A.1, QYr.spa-3A.2) and 5B (QYr.spa-5B), and 'Strongfield' on 2B (QYr.spa2B). All seem to represent QTL not reported previously. The QYr.spa-3A.2 was most consistently effective against Pst races across the Lethbridge and Toluca nurseries. With a LOD value of 4.9, QYr.spa-3A.2 explained a maximum phenotypic variation of 22.7% observed at the Toluca 2019 nursery. The QYr.spa-2B from 'Strongfield' and QYr.spa-3A.1 from 'Blackbird' expressed in multiple years at Toluca but were not detected at Lethbridge. QYr.spa-5B was identified in the Lethbridge 2016 environment. The identified QTL should be valuable in diversifying resistance genes used in breeding durum wheat cultivars with stripe rust resistance. 'Blackbird' was particularly useful for introducing the new QTL QYr.spa-3A.2 resistance that is effective in Canada and Mexico into traditional durum wheat germplasm. SNP markers associated with QTL will have application in marker-assisted breeding of resistance to Pst in durum wheat.


In the coming years, humans will have choices to make about where we get the fuel that powers our lights for us to see at night, our stoves for our hot meals, our water heaters for our warm baths, and even our cars. These choices will affect the air we breathe: burning fuel often causes pollution, like the smog found in cities, and almost always leads to more greenhouse gases in the air. Smog and greenhouse gases affect the way the Earth cools itself. One choice we have today is: which fuel should we use for our power plants, coal or natural gas? In a recent study, my colleagues and I measured the greenhouse gas emissions from three of the largest natural gas fields in the United States. We found that using natural gas instead of coal to fuel power plants could lead to fewer greenhouse gases in the air.


cConsumers can now search for food and other product recalls easier and quicker on the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Web site than previously. The FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) signed into law in January by President Obama called for a more consumer-friendly recall search engine. To provide greater ease of use for consumers, the search results provide data from news releases and other recall announcements in the form of a table. That table organizes information from news releases on recalls since 2009 by date, product brand name, product description, reason for the recall and the recalling firm. The table also provides a link to the news release on each recall for more detailed information. The news releases were chosen as the source of information for the table because they provide the most up-to-date and user-friendly information about any recall. Per the requirements of the FSMA, for certain recalls the search results will also provide status information on whether the recall is completed or ongoing. The status information will be provided for those recalls for which FDA either ordered a mandatory recall or provided the opportunity for a voluntary recall Safety Recalls


The synthesis and spectroscopic characterisation of eight new first-row transition metal (M = Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Cu) aluminylene complexes is reported. DFT and ab initio calculations have been used to provide detailed insight into the metal–metal bond. The σ-donation and π-backdonation properties of the aluminylene ligand are evaluated via NBO and ETS-NOCV calculations. These calculations reveal that these ligands are strong σ-donors but also competent π-acceptors. These properties are not fixed but vary in response to the nature of the transition metal centre, suggesting that aluminylene fragments can modulate their bonding to accommodate both electron-rich and electron-poor transition metals. Ab initio DLPNO-CCSD(T) calculations show that dispersion plays an important role in stabilising these complexes. Both short-range and long-range dispersion interactions are identified. These results will likely inform the design of next-generation catalysts based on aluminium metalloligands.


Kampar regency is one of the districts in Riau province which contributes significantly to the economy in Riau Province, especially in the agricultural sector in the plantation sector. Rubber is a leading commodity in the plantation subsector that continues to be the government's attention to develop. Rubber plantations have important roles and positions, both economically, socially, absorbing labor and ecological roles. Plantation is also a source of prosperity, progress, independence, and pride of Kampar district government. Plantation management at present still relies on and relies on the abundance of human resources are relatively cheap. Efficiency, productivity, quality, sustainability are still low. Rubber farmers are generally less aware of how to use efficient production factors to obtain high rubber yields. The accuracy of the use of production inputs is important for farmers to achieve production efficiency levels both technically, allocatively and economically. This study aims to analyze the efficiency of rubber production in Kampar regency by building multiple linear regression model and production efficiency analysis. The results showed that the dominant factors affecting rubber production in Kampar Regency were number of plants, plant age, number of labor and investment. The factors of production are the number of plants, and the amount of labor is not technically efficient, allocative, and economical. The use of fertilizers tends to be technically and economically efficient, but alocatively inefficient. In order to obtain optimal production, this study recommends the need for rejuvenation of old or damaged rubber plants using superior seeds and maintained in accordance with the standards of rubber cultivation techniques. The efficient use of labor can be achieved by applying a rubber tapping system appropriately tailored to the conditions of the plant and the price of rubber. In addition, the use of balanced fertilizers (elements N, P, and K) in accordance with the recommended should be applied. Meanwhile, considering the fluctuating rubber prices and tend to vary between farmers, government intervention is required by applying a fair rubber auction market. Besides, there is an effort from farmers to maintain the quality of processed rubber


This work has focused on the development of atmospheric freeze and non-freeze drying applying a heat pump system as an environmental friendly and economically preferable technology compare to vacuum freeze drying. The main reason of the research is a lack of knowledge and information in the literature about the atmospheric heat pump drying, while the more common vacuum freeze drying process is widely covered.The main objective for developing atmospheric heat pump drying as a new drying technology is the desire to reduce the energy consumption compared to that of vacuum freeze drying while maintaining a high product quality.One technical solution of atmospheric freeze and non-freeze drying is combining with a heat pump system applying a new environmentally friendly natural refrigerant, such as ammonia or R717. Temperature programs make it possible to customize products for desired qualities and properties, such as color retention, instant rehydration and aroma preservation.Drying is one of the most important industrial processes, and a technology used worldwide for food processing. The vacuum freeze and high temperature drying are both well-known and extensively applied conventional technologies that have the drawback of high energy consumption. This provided the opportunity for heat pump drying development, in order to decrease operational costs while preserving the quality of the products. Heat pump drying is a relatively new technology developed at NTNU. It unifies the drying and heat pump cycles that allows energy recovery for reheating the drying air.An analysis was made on the technological aspects, product possibilities, physical properties of products, drying kinetics and modeling.This work covers the drying of green peas, applying a laboratory heat pump dryer. The drying conditions and processing time are the most important parameters for modeling and scalingup the process. Additionally, the temperature, relative humidity and residence time are essential for understanding changes in product properties, and fundamental for the designing and dimensioning of large-scale drying processes.Therefore, the various tests were done at many different temperature regimes, from -5°C to 45°C, and at varying levels of relative humidity. Some of the drying tests applied additional equipment, such as an air humidifier, infrared lamps and an oven to get the specific temperature or moisture content of the tested product. All the drying tests were performed, and each run was done in a period of three hours using a fluidized bed mode. The results on kinetics and final moisture content indicated that temperatures and relative humidity levels lead to changes in the moisture removal rates from the material as well as the quality of the product. Studies were also made to investigate the influence of drying conditions and time on product parameters such as color and water activity.This work also proposes a numerical solution for the moisture content in order to describe the drying kinetics and effective mass diffusivity. The results in this work can be useful since it reduces the number of drying experiments to be tested at a wide range of drying conditions.The proposed models have been validated by experiments with acceptable deviations. It helps in establishing the temperature and time schedule in a preliminary study on scaling up lab dryers to a pilot or commercial drying plant. This is also a good platform for further research oriented towards the unification of available laboratory data in the heat pump drying of vegetables to the overall simulation program.The coefficient of performance (COP) and specific moisture extraction rate (SMER) were calculated to characterize the energy efficiency and water removal capacity of the heat pump drying process. Ammonia or R717 was selected as the working fluid due to its thermal properties and for being an environmentally friendly refrigerant. Regarding greenhouse gases (GHGs), ammonia is a natural fluid which has zero ozone depletion potential (ODP) and zero global warming potential (GWP), that makes heat pump drying a competitive and efficient drying technology with a minimum impact on climate change.


It is better to use consensus forecasts than individual forecasts; individual forecasts may be more accurate at times but cannot be guaranteed ... failure in the past does not necessarily mean continued failure in predicting the future ... forecasts provide an informed view of the future which is needed for decision making. In recent years the demand for accurate and timely business forecasts has increased markedly. Responding to demand, the availability of macro-economic forecasts has never been so widespread as it is today, with most users of such information, such as corporate planners and investment analysts, forced to choose among a significant number of competing, and often conflicting, predictions. Both academic and private sector economists regularly publish forecasts for a wide range of economic variables which are then used to provide a general overview of the likely future developments in a particular industry, country, or group of countries. In addition, macro-economic forecasts are used extensively as important inputs into various business decision-making processes and it is this aspect of forecasting (its application to the industrial planning process) that the following exposition will focus on in more detail. Specifically, this paper will seek to identify the advantages of using an average or combination of macro-economic forecasts, in short the consensus forecasts. PLANNING IN INDUSTRY The use of macro-economic forecasts within the financial world is widely known. Investment fund managers are often required to take a view on future macroeconomic developments in order to assess the likely changes in equity, bond and commercial property values. This can help to evaluate the prospective returns from alternative asset classes within investment portfolios, the underlying risks involved and the appropriate timing of those particular investments. Investment analysts, who are often forecasters themselves, are important users of macro-economic information, but so too are industrial executives and business forecasters. In many cases, forecasts for the economy at large are used to derive views on movements in other industry-specific variables. For example, the demand for autos and light trucks in the United States is highly correlated with growth in both total US industrial production and real disposable income. Therefore, forecasts for those two variables, perhaps combined with other significant economic indicators (and allowing for any lagged effects), can be used to provide an indication of likely trends in demand. As a further example, one United States copper mining and smelting company has told us that consumption of that particular commodity is highly correlated with growth in both total GDP and industrial production. In addition, the individual analyst, or team of analysts, may also be required to form abroad economic overview as a basis for considering the location of a manufacturing facility, or for appraising the likely returns from investing in a new overseas factory. It is sometimes the case that forecasts are used for more than one purpose within an organization. For example, one company producing industrial gases and chemicals utilizes macro-economic forecasts for its firm's cost budgeting, as well as for the analysis of country risk -- an important feature of planning within international corporations and for those firms selling their products in world-wide markets. Another international manufacturer of chemicals and petroleum products is required to form its own country-by-country inflation expectations and therefore makes use of economists' latest consumer price inflation forecasts as a benchmark for their own pay negotiations. The decision makers therefore gain a useful insight into future trends and turning points in the economy at large as part of the more specific planning process. AN UNCERTAIN WORLD While the macro-economic environment is inherently cyclical, the extent of the peaks and troughs of a particular cycle, as well as its duration, are often difficult to judge in a world of great uncertainty. …