The Fermi Large Area Telescope has recently discovered two giant gamma-ray bubbles that extend north and south of the Galactic center with diameters and heights of the order of H ∼ 10 kpc. We suggest that the periodic star capture processes by the Galactic supermassive black hole Sgr A∗, with a capture rate of τ−1 cap ∼ 3 × 10−5 yr−1 and an energy release of W ∼ 3 × 1052 erg per capture, can result in hot plasma injecting into the Galactic halo at a wind velocity of u ∼ 108 cm s−1. The periodic injection of hot plasma can produce a series of shocks. Energetic protons in the bubble are re-accelerated when they interact with these shocks. We show that for energy larger than E > 1015 eV, the acceleration process can be better described by the stochastic second-order Fermi acceleration. We propose that hadronic cosmic rays (CRs) within the "knee" of the observed CR spectrum are produced by Galactic supernova remnants distributed in the Galactic disk. Re-acceleration of these particles in the Fermi Bubble produces CRs beyond the knee. With a mean CR diffusion coefficient in this energy range in the bubble DB ∼ 3 × 1030 cm2 s−1, we can reproduce the spectral index of the spectrum beyond the knee and within it. The conversion efficiency from shock energy of the bubble into CR energy is about 10%. This model provides a natural explanation of the observed CR flux, spectral indices, and matching of spectra at the knee.


ABSTRACT India has the largest area of rainfed dryland agriculture globally, with a variety of distinct types of farming systems producing most of its coarse cereals, food legumes, minor millets, and large amounts of livestock. All these are vital for national and regional food and nutritional security. Yet, the rainfed drylands have been relatively neglected in mainstream agricultural and rural development policy. As a result, significant social-ecological challenges overlap in these landscapes: endemic poverty, malnutrition and land degradation. Sustainable intensification of dryland agriculture is essential for helping to address these challenges, particularly in the context of accelerating climate change. In this paper, we present 100 questions that point to the most important knowledge gaps and research priorities. If addressed, these would facilitate and inform sustainable intensification in Indian rainfed drylands, leading to improved agricultural production and enhanced ecosystem services. The horizon scanning method used to produce these questions brought together experts and practitioners involved in a broad range of disciplines and sectors. This exercise resulted in a consolidated set of questions covering the agricultural drylands, organized into 13 themes. Together, these represent a collective programme for new cross- and multi-disciplinary research on sustainable intensification in the Indian rainfed drylands.


The Supreme Court's revival of federalism casts doubt on the previously unimpeachable power of the national government to bind its states by treaty, suggesting potential subject-matter, anti-commandeering, and sovereign immunity limits that could impair U.S. obligations under vital trade and human rights treaties. Existing scholarship treats these principles separately and considers them in originalist or other terms, without definitive result. This Article takes a different approach. By assessing all of the doctrines with equal care, but not at daunting length, it permits insight into the common issues involved in determining whether they should be extended to the treaty power. It also demonstrates that international law and constitutional law are not estranged on these questions. Not only does international law require federal states to interpret their constitutions so as to permit adhering to treaties, but the new federalism doctrines show a sensitivity toward preserving adequate means to pursue national and international ends like the treaty power, especially where those means turn on state consent. Finally, the Article develops a treaty-compact device as an innovative tool for dissolving federalism's constraints. Taking advantage of parallel doctrinal developments that liberate state and national authority relating to foreign and interstate compacts, it demonstrates that combining the use of compacts with treaties offers solutions on each of the new federalism's fronts. The answer, then, is that federalism does not constrain the treaty power, when the Constitution is read as an organic whole, and interpreted in a fashion in keeping both with international law and the new federalism itself.


Abstract For future generations to maximise their capability to operate within technologically driven economies, it is critical to foster computer abilities at every level of the schooling process. Teachers are central to this process. Yet, for many teachers, the need to integrate computer use in their teaching is threatening and overwhelming. This thesis argues that, given the rapid rate f technological change, skillso -based approaches to computer education inadequately prepare teachers for a career of continued technological change. Effective computer education for teachers requires more than skills training. It involves changes in attitudes, values and beliefs that provide confidence for ongoing learning. Furthermore, it involves learning to adapt to change, to be flexible, intuitive and above all persistent. It requires the fostering of teachers who know how to be self-directed and independent in their computer learning, rather than those dependent on structured routines or guidelines. This thesis is the 'story' of an action research initiative underpinned by a belief in the importance of approaches to computer education which foster lifelong computer learning. It traces the journey of a reflexive process of change and iterative development in the teaching of an educational information technology (computer) unit to pre-service teacher education students. Over a period of three years (1999-2001) I pursued a central research question, namely: How can I develop my teaching practice to better facilitate the development of capable computer users? The research explores the distinction between a 'competent' and a 'capable' computer user and trials a range of teaching and learning approaches that aim to facilitate the development of capable computer users. From this constructivist research and teaching process a multidimensional approach to computer education emerged, founded on metacognition and reflection. This approach is demonstrated to offer many advantages over a skills-focused approach. This thesis maps the complexity of the computer learning and teaching context, arguing that simplistic approaches to teaching will produce narrow and limitedlearning outcomes. Rather, a holistic approach is proposed, one that moves beyond the development of computer competency toward a longer term vision of facilitating computer capability. It is argued that the role of the computer 'teacher' is to foster reflective awareness and develop a learning environment that can assist computer learners to become comfortable existing on the 'edge of chaos'. This research supports previous studies which indicate the important role of computer self-efficacy and the influence of factors such as perceived usefulness, anxiety, support and frequency and duration of use. However, the research also documents the unpredictable influence of these factors on individuals' resultant approach to computers and challenges dichotomous interpretations of such factors. Appropriate attribution is also shown to be a major influence on computer capability, as are factors such as help-seeking, motivation and goal-setting, although again, these influences are non-linear. It is argued that computer capability cannot be 'taught' but, rather, computer educators should look to creating environments where its emergence can be facilitated. The metacognitive computer learning context developed and explored through this research is one such approach.


By use of the assumption that the pressure-volume relation is linear, a solution to the problem of designing a cascade for a given turning and with a prescribed velocity distribution along the blade in a potential flow of a compressible perfect fluid was obtained by a method of correspondence between potential flows of compressible and incompressible fluids. The designing of an isolated airfoil with a prescribed velocity distribution along the airfoil is considered as a special case of cascade. If the prescribed velocity distribution is not theoretically attainable, the method provides a means of modifying the distribution so as to obtain a physically significant blade shape. Numerical examples are included.


This study was carried out to determine the levels of nitrate, nitrite and phosphorus in homemade brews, spirits and the raw materials used using the UV-Visible spectroscopy. Nitrate and nitrite were analyzed using a SHADZU (Model No. UV-2550), phosphate was analyzed using and a Philips, Scientific equipment, UP-8700 Series UV-Visible spectrophotometer, measurements were based on ISO Method (N0.6635). This was done by reducing the nitrate to nitrite in the presence of Zn/NaCl. Nitrite produced was subsequently diazotized with sulphonilic acid then coupled with anthranilate to form an azo dye which was then measured at 493 nm. Orthophosphate and molybdate ions condense in acidic solution to form molybophosphoric acid (phosphomolybdic acid). Upon selective reduction with hydrazinium sulphate, a blue color is produced due to molybdenum blue of uncertain composition. The intensity of the blue colour is proportional to the amount of the heteropoly acid at 830 nm. One hundred and thirty two (132) home - made alcoholic beverages, and eighteen (18) raw materials (maize, millet, for sorghum, honey, jaggery and muratina) samples obtained from various parts of Nairobi County were analyzed. Some samples contained high levels of nitrate though slightly lower than the limits. The concentrations of nitrate varied from non detectable (ND) to 46.3 ± 1.404 mg/l, the levels of nitrite ranged from 0.93m/l to 2.82mg/l and phosphorous from 0.14 ± 0.008 to 4.16 ± 0.62 mg/l. The recommended maximum contamination levels set by Kenya Bureau of Standards/World Health Organization is 50 mg/l; Nitrate, 0.03 mg/l; nitrite and 2.2 mg/l; phosphate. Most of the homemade brews and spirits analyzed for nitrate in this study had values slightly lower than the levels recommended by the World Health Organization. Levels of nitrite and phosphorus were found to be generally higher than the MCL in the brews/spirits and the raw materials used. These raw materials may also have contributed in elevating the levels of these nutrients in the homemade brews. The results indicate that the UV-Visible spectroscopy method is suitable for analyzing the presently studied samples. This is a reliable and cheap method for routine analysis of a large number of homemade brews/spirits samples.


Bessie Carvil [is] absolutely the first conscious woman-creation in the whole body of my work. -Joseph Conrad, Letter to J. B. Pinker Joseph Conrad does not have a reputation as either a playwright or a writer primarily concerned with women or female roles, but the three plays he wrote challenge those assumptions. Much of his fiction depicts men in psychological and heroic dilemmas, with women relegated primarily to supporting or pedestal positions. The sole exception is Kurtz's African woman in the 1899 Heart of Darkness, who, alone, as if on a stage with an all-male cast, silences them with her "magnificent" appearance and dramatic gesture (77). The other women in that novella have roles as job brokers, weird knitting witches, objects in idealized paintings, or patient fiancees, and they are described by narrator/character Marlow in this way: "It's queer how out of touch with truth women are. They live in a world of their own"(27). While Marlow is referring here to the ideological and material separation of women from men, suggesting that women are shut out from the truth-producing world of men, we may also perceive more positive, deliberate, and powerful use of women's isolation. Marlow's deprecating comments mask critical themes to which Conrad returns continuously throughout his career: to some extent, all his protagonists attempt to get in "touch" with a truth they can believe in, acutely aware of their isolation, the disconnection between their world and others'.[1] Daniel Schwarz has argued that Conrad's career has a discernible coherence, that all "his works are expressions of his quest for values and self-definition" (156), successfully debunking earlier evaluations, led by Thomas Moser,[2] that Conrad's so-called decline was due to his new "uncongenial subject" when he began to include women more prominently in his works and turned to themes of romantic love in his works after the 1911 Under Western Eyes. Even as they move to the concerns of "how and why people love one another," his later works continue to address "how historical and social forces limit and define the possibilities for love and action" (Schwarz 156). As a man and a writer acutely aware of the role of an outsider, as self-exiled Pole and seaman turned English citizen and writer, Conrad undoubtedly identified with the isolation imposed on and felt by women. Ruth Nadelhaft claims in her perceptive work on the women in Conrad that "the world of women is . . . the world of cosmic indifference and solitude known to the author, and at flickering intervals, to the male protagonists in stories and novels" (Joseph Conrad 80).[3] Nadelhaft observes that rather than ignoring or dismissing women, Conrad more generally "uses the characters of women to question the prevailing value system and to suggest, in their lives and in their practices, an alternative set of values" (Joseph Conrad 68). Thus the isolation Marlow detects in women's lives may metaphorically depict the human condition Conrad seeks to describe throughout his career, while the women in his plays join his other female characters in struggling to establish and maintain their identities despite the imposition of male control. Each of Conrad's plays, One Day More (1904), and Laughing Anne and The Secret Agent (both 1920, with revisions to the latter for its 1922 production),[4] tells the tale of a solitary female protagonist who more or less successfully resists or (re)appropriates the roles "scripted" for her by men. The women not only live more complex roles than the male characters perceive, but also shape their own lives without the men noticing, through a combination of the men's refusal to see and the women's refusal to disclose. While numerous Conradian characters make (often mistaken) assumptions about others' motives, it is rare that characters, especially women, reject and revise those assumptions with such self-assurance as do the female characters in Conrad's dramas. …


This intensely practical book is dedicated to the shareholders' agreement and its use in joint ventures, both national and international. Beneath its wealth of sample clauses and drafting suggestions lies a sound foundation in applicable law, across a wide spectrum of topics. The author explores minutely all three major types of ventures that typically use a shareholders' agreement - the common law closely held corporation, the common law limited liability company, and the civil law limited liability company - in all the many varieties of each. Practitioners will find detailed guidance through such drafting and practice considerations as the following: defending minority interests; shareholder control techniques and options; share transfer restrictions; devices for permitting transfers or obligating purchases of equity interests; maintaining a desired equilibrium amongst the joint venturers; resolving situations with the entry of new shareholders; dispute resolution; arbitration; resolving deadlocks; providing for succession; limiting the powers of the board of directors; remedies for breach of the agreement; valuation of shares; exit strategies; and choice of law and forum clauses With abundant sample clauses and ready-to-adapt forms, the book puts into the hands of counsel all the material needed to ensure the valid drafting of a shareholders' agreement, as well as alerting practitioners to problems likely to arise and their solutions before litigation erupts. This is a peerless, unique compendium through the labyrinth of the shareholders' agreement and its use in national and international joint ventures. In addition, beyond its immeasurable practical guidance for business lawyers, the book will appeal to jurists and legal academics for its unified theory of the shareholders' agreement which document is but one source of a multitude of rights encompassing the shareholder, the company and society.


In 1963, Roman Catholic fertility doctor John Rock published The Time Has Come: A Catholic Doctor?s Proposals to End the Battle over Birth Control, a first-person treatise on the use of scientifically approved forms of birth control [5] for Catholic couples. The first contraceptive pill, called Enovid [6], had been on the market since June 1960, and Rock was one of the leading researchers in its development. In The Time Has Come, Rock explicitly describes the arguments for and against the use of birth control [5] from both a religious and a scientific perspective. With this work, he hoped to persuade the Roman Catholic Church [7] that the use of a contraceptive pill was not contrary to Catholic natural law, which states that the primary function of marital sexual relations is to conceive a child. Rock lobbied for the acceptance and widespread use of contraceptive pills, which he considered to be of vital importance not only to women?s reproductive health, but also to the struggle to control the world?s burgeoning population.


The high-fidelity computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations of a complete wind turbine model usually require significant computational resources. It will require much more resources if the fluid–structure interactions (FSIs) between the blade and the flow are considered, and it has been the major challenge in the industry. The aeromechanical analysis of a complete wind turbine model using a high-fidelity CFD method is discussed in this paper. The distinctiveness of this paper is the application of the nonlinear frequency domain solution method to analyze the forced response and flutter instability of the blade as well as to investigate the unsteady flow field across the wind turbine rotor and the tower. This method also enables the aeromechanical simulations of wind turbines for various interblade phase angles in a combination with a phase shift solution method. Extensive validations of the nonlinear frequency domain solution method against the conventional time domain solution method reveal that the proposed frequency domain solution method can reduce the computational cost by one to two orders of magnitude.


This Article offers a new reading of Hart's classic Positivism and the Separation of Law and Morals by rethinking the form of positivism Hart was putting forward. Hart's separationism was not principally intended as a speculative proposition about the conceptual distinctness of law and morality but as a practical maxim about the need to distinguish what the law is from what the law ought to be. Hart believed that legal interpreters must display truthfulness or veracity about the law, being candid about what it actually says and how far it goes, rather than gilding the content of the law by ascribing to it what one wishes it said. "Practical positivism," as Professor Zipursky calls it, was Hart's antidote to the approaches of legal realism and natural law theory gaining ascendancy in American legal theory in the 1950s. Despite all of their differences, both realists and natural law theorists like Fuller treated the task of saying what the law is as inviting decision makers to make the law what it ought to be—"practical perfectionism," in Zipursky's terminology. Hart's great lecture asserted, above all, that practical positivism was superior to practical perfectionism. Drawing upon a variety of contemporary examples, the Article suggests that the practical perfectionism that concerned Hart in 1958 is alive and well today among both conservatives and progressives—on the bench, at the bar, and in the legal academy. Conversely, originalists, textualists, and pragmatic conceptualists are among today's descendants of practical positivists. The last half of the Article sketches a contemporary defense of practical positivism, adapting a Legal Coherentist framework to bolster Hart's work against Ronald Dworkin's criticisms.


In this study, it is aimed to examine the effect of classroom assessment on science and mathematics achievements. For this purpose, hierarchical linear modeling is performed using variables of like learning science/math, engage teaching in science/math, confidence in science/math, and home resources for learning variables at student level, and experience, education level, homework, and assessment at teacher-level. The sample of the study consists of 4th grade students who participate in TIMSS 2015 in Turkey. According to the findings; 36% of variance in science achievement, and 40% of variance in mathematics achievement are due to variability between classes. In random coefficient model, all student variables are statistically significant predictors of science and mathematics achievement. Among these variables, the greatest effect size is the self-confidence variability. Only the teacher variables are added according to the Means as outcome model; the teacher's experience and the emphasis to national achievement tests of monitoring students' progress have a statistically significant effect on science and mathematics achievement. Finally, according to the intercept and slopes as outcomes model, the most important variable is the emphasis to national achievement tests of monitoring students' progress is followed in both science and mathematics.


This study shows that students, teachers, and parents in Swedish schools ascribe differing meanings and significance to students' participation in school in relation to academic achievement. Students see participation as mainly related to social interaction and not academic achievement, whilst teachers view students' participation as more closely related to activity and academic performance. Despite these differences, teachers and students are in close agreement regarding activities of a social nature. Teachers' and parents' ratings of parents' involvement in school demonstrate a higher agreement, but also correlate negatively with the academic achievement of the student. This is likely because communication is more frequent with parents of underachieving students than students demonstrating high academic performance. The partly inconsistent results in previous research regarding the relation between participation and academic achievement can here be explained by the choice of raters, as this connection only exists in ratings carried out by teachers.


AIM
The aim of our study was to assess the level of knowledge and practices of health professionals regarding health status and health care services for older people in post-war Kosovo.

METHODS
A cross-sectional study was conducted in February-March 2013 in Kosovo including a nationwide representative sample of 412 physicians working at primary, secondary and tertiary health care levels (220 males, mean age: 45.6 +/- 9.3 years; 192 females, mean age: 46.4 +/- 9.1 years; overall response rate: 91%). A structured questionnaire was administered to all participants inquiring about physicians' level of knowledge and practices regarding different domains of older people's health status and health care services.

RESULTS
Overall, 38% of physicians did not know the estimated proportion of older people in Kosovo. About 31% and 22% of female and male physicians, respectively, estimated quite correctly the prevalence of chronic morbidity among older people in Kosovo. The percentage of male physicians who reported screening about issues related to autonomy of older people was higher than in female physicians (64% vs. 54%, respectively, P = 0.035). Similarly, male participants reported a higher frequency of screening for social isolation and confusion than their female counterparts. Conversely, there were no sex-differences with regard to screening for issues related to domestic violence, mental health, eating or feeding problems, skin breakdown, incontinence, or evidence of falls among the elderly.

CONCLUSIONS
Our findings point to rather unsatisfactory levels of physicians' knowledge about health status of the elderly and inadequate practices regarding the health care services for older people in Kosovo. There is an urgent need to introduce continuous medical training programs regarding health care services for older people in transitional Kosovo.


The Forum debates current trends and challenges for teaching and research in this subfield and the prevailing criteria for evaluation of its academic output. The authors wager on the hypothesis that we are currently experiencing a clash between the consolidation of Social and Human Sciences in Public Health (with a well-defined identity, undeniable vigor in their research and proposals, and an important number of practitioners) and a bottleneck in training processes and iniquity and inadequacy in the institutional mechanisms for recognition of merit. The Forum presents four articles. The first, by Minayo, discusses the basic forms of knowledge for this training and those needed to analyze contemporary challenges in a globalized world, besides debating the interfaces and mediations between the biological and the social in a teaching proposal. The second, by Trad, provides a current portrait of the subfield's output. The third, by Deslandes & Iriart, presents theoretical and methodological trends in recently published studies, identifying their gaps and characteristics. Bosi, author of the fourth article, fuels the debate on the criteria for evaluation of academic output in the field and analyzes their consequences. The Postscript, by Nunes, reclaims and updates the debate on the construction of identities in the social and Human Sciences in Public Health.


Scour is a phenomenon that occurs all over the world; it is a major cause of bridge failure and the implications of scouring events are large. Affecting the structural integrity of a bridge, the rate and occurrence of scour must be adequately monitored using up-to-date methods and technologies. This monitoring can help prevent a sudden and catastrophic collapse, potentially saving lives while reducing costs of replacing critical infrastructure. One method of monitoring scour is being implemented in the Tabasco region of Mexico on the Frontera Bridge, which shows advanced stages of deterioration. The system was developed by Advitam in collaboration with Euroestudios and installed during bridge strengthening works performed by Freyssinet Mexico. This paper will present the concept, uses and technical specifications of the new scour monitoring system's hardware and software as well as practical implementations on the Frontera Bridge in Mexico. doi: 10.12783/SHM2015/56


A gulf is widening between the technologies used by students, those used by educators and those provided by institutions. However, knowledge about the impact of so-called emerging technologies on learning or the readiness of higher education institutions (HEIs) to engage with such technologies in the South African context is relatively thin. This article uses Rogers' (2003) diffusion of innovations model as a conceptual framework to examine the diffusion, adoption and appropriation of emerging technologies in South African HEIs. We report on a survey which examined how emerging technologies are used in innovative pedagogical practices to transform teaching and learning across South African HEIs. The article concludes that, in order to foster a greater uptake or more institution-wide diffusion of use of emerging technologies, institutional opinion leaders need to purposefully create an enabling environment by giving recognition to and communicating with change agents, and developing policies that will encourage institutional-wide engagement with emerging technologies.


This thesis contributes to the understanding of consumer credit decisions from a psychological point of view by investigating the influence of cognitive processes on perceived credit attractiveness and credit choice. A total of seven empirical lab studies conducted with university students in 2014 and 2015 can be grouped into three connected streams:
The first stream focuses on the question whether the level of mental abstraction influences preferences for specific credit aspects (e.g., a low annual percentage rate). Participants' choice among several credit alternatives with full information on all credit aspects was not affected by construal level. Nor did construal level influence what participants perceived to be important when making up their mind about credit offers in general.
The second stream focuses on the question how mental abstraction and the 0 in 0%-interest credits interact to influence credit evaluation as well as the choice of the product that is to be financed. Contrary to assumptions based on previous findings, participants did not react particularly positive towards 0%-interest credit offers in general, nor did mental abstraction influence their reaction. Also, the other way round, additional findings suggest that the prominent display of the number 0 in 0%-interest credit advertisement does not induce a higher level of mental abstraction and consequently does not influence the type of product to be financed on credit.
The third stream focuses on the question whether consumers are more willing to take up a 0%-interest credit when they process information in a more intuitive and heuristic way. The idea behind this is that the central feature of a 0%-interest rate may divert attention from less advantageous aspects of such credits (e.g., an expensive mandatory residual debt insurance). The findings from the studies reject this hypothesis. Furthermore, it was investigated whether intended hedonic product use, as opposed to intended utilitarian product use, leads to higher credit attractiveness under intuitive information processing because of a carry-over effect of positive affect from anticipated use situations. No indication of such an interaction was found in the respective study.
The thesis offers detailed interpretation of the results with a focus on possible explanations for the absence of significant effects.
Despite the absence of significant results, the thesis makes a valuable contribution to the respective area of research. It highlights the need for research on 0%-interest credit offers as a new form of credit that is likely to accelerate the trend of growing debt accumulation. Also, the thesis is the first to apply two broadly successful theories – construal level theory and System 1 / 2 information processing – to aspects of decision-making in a consumer credit context. The results even more so show how little is known about how consumers process information when making such important decisions. The synthesis of previous findings reported in the theory section of this thesis furthermore points out the alarmingly low levels of credit understanding in the general population. This highlights the need for governments, and consumer protection institutions to invest more effort into the development and application of measures targeted to improve credit understanding and money management in a broader sense.


The thesis investigates the extent to which acting as a male provider remains an open avenue for coming of age and displaying gender belonging for the shabāb (lads) of the Shatila Palestinian Refugee Camp, in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon. The literature on Palestinians prior to 1948 suggests that a man would come of age by marrying at the appropriate age and bearing a son. For the Palestinian diaspora in Lebanon, and throughout the 1970s, acting as a fidāʾī (fighter) worked as an alternative mechanism for coming of age and displaying gender belonging. Accordingly, the central question of this thesis is how the shabāb today come of age and display their gender belonging, when on the one hand, Lebanese legislation, through forms of institutional violence, bars their free access to the labour market, forcing them to postpone marriage plans, and on the other hand, participation in the Palestinian Resistance Movement, at least in its military version, is not an option anymore.

 Through a plethora of investigative techniques – participant observation, questionnaires, focus groups, and open-ended interviews – I have registered the differences between the fidāʾiyyīn and their offspring in their coming of age and gender display. While the fidāʾiyyīn bore pure agency – understood as resistance to domination – and displayed their maturity through the fight to return to their homeland, their offspring have a far more nuanced relation to Palestine and articulate their coming of age and gender belonging in different ways, such as building a house and getting married.

 Effectively, by observing how the shabāb do their gender, it is not only the full historicity and changeability in time and space of masculinity that come to the fore, but also the scholarly concepts of agency and gender that can be transformed and undone. The tendency in studies of the Middle East to define gender strictly in terms of power and relations of domination fails to grasp the experiences of those, like the Shatila shabāb, with very limited access to power. It is not that the shabāb are emasculated, but rather that defining agency only in terms of resistance to domination and gender in terms of relations of power alone is rather restrictive.

 Throughout my fieldwork, I have also become acutely aware of anti-state forces at play in Shatila. Accordingly, this study portrays the (dangerous) liaisons between gender and agency as concepts and state machines. Thus, I reflect on what happens to gender (and agency) when state effects organizing and attempting to solidify a sex-gender system at the local level are of limited purchase. Ultimately, this ethnography points to an economics, a politics, a citizenship and sexes-and-genders of another kind, beyond the state.


ABSTRACT Purpose The purpose of this study was to investigate reductions of muscle stiffness induced by static stretching in older and younger men. Methods Twenty older (62–83 yr) and 20 younger (21–24 yr) men were recruited. Ankle dorsiflexion static stretching was consisted of 90 s × 5 repetitions. Before and after the stretching, the dorsiflexion range of motion (RoM), passive plantar flexion torque, and shear modulus (an index of stiffness) of the medial (MG) and lateral gastrocnemius and the soleus were measured. Results RoM, passive torque, and shear modulus of the triceps surae measured at the maximal dorsiflexion angle before stretching were significantly lower for the older group than the younger group. This suggests a weak stretching intensity for older compared with younger people. The stretching significantly improved RoM for both groups. For the older group, a significant reduction in passive torque was only observed at a 15° dorsiflexion angle, and the shear modulus was significantly decreased only for the distal region of MG. For the younger group, passive torque was significantly reduced for the entire RoM, and a significant decrease in shear modulus was found for the central and distal regions of MG and lateral gastrocnemius. A significant correlation between the muscle shear modulus measured at the maximal dorsiflexion angle before stretching and a stretching-induced decrease in muscle shear modulus was observed for older and younger participants. This indicates that the higher stretching intensity can reduce more muscle stiffness. Conclusion Static stretching can reduce muscle stiffness regardless of age, although the stretching effect on muscle stiffness was limited for older people. This might be due to a lower stretching intensity for older than younger people.


Vegetation influences water flow and solute transport in a soil not only because of its transpiration and root uptake of solutes, but also because of its impact on precipitation redistribution on the soil surface. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of the precipitation redistribution (stemflow and throughfall) under a beech tree (Fagus sylvatica L.) on the water regime and Al transport within the one‐ and two‐dimensional soil profiles using the HYDRUS‐1D and HYDRUS 2D/3D simulation models. The field study was performed at the Smědava Mountain in the Jizera Mountains in the Czech Republic. Simulations were performed for one selected soil (Haplic Podzol) on a relatively steep hillside. The simulation results for the 1D and 2D scenarios showed that the spatially redistributed precipitation under the beech tree caused funneled water flow and solute transport near the stem base. For the 1D scenarios, slightly higher weighted average water and solute discharge at the bottom were calculated as compared to those for the uniformly distributed precipitation. This spatial difference in discharge was simulated although the weighted average infiltration under the beech tree was lower than that for the uniformly distributed precipitation because runoff during stemflow around the tree bases was also obtained. For the 2D scenarios, all the fluxes simulated by assuming a spatially redistributed precipitation under the trees were higher than the fluxes obtained with the uniformly distributed precipitation because of the higher applied potential infiltration rates along the top boundary for that case. The funneled water and solute flow near the stem base caused the intensive simulated Al leakage around the tree stem. The Al content increased in the subsurface layer at the lower part of the simulated vertical transect as compared to that for the uniformly distributed precipitation. The results suggest that spatially redistributed precipitation should not be neglected when predicting potential leaching of toxic substances toward ground and surface water bodies.


Over 11,000 entries
 This dictionary explores the history, meanings, and origin of place names around the world. It covers continents, countries, regions, islands, bays, capes, cities, towns, deserts, lakes, mountains, and rivers, giving the name in the local language as well as key historical facts associated with many place names.
 The fifth edition includes two recent county name changes: that of Swaziland to Eswatini and the final resolution of the long-running dispute about the name of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, which has become Northern Macedonia.
 In addition to the entries themselves, the dictionary includes a glossary of foreign word elements which appear in place-names and their meaning, as well as a list of personalities and leaders who have influenced the naming of places around the world.


Increasing interest in ultra-wideband (UWB) communications has engendered the need for a test bed for UWB systems. An FPGA-based software-defined radio provides both post-fabrication definition of the radio and ample parallel processing power. This thesis presents the FPGA design for a software-defined radio targeted to impulse ultra-wideband signals. The system is capable of an effective sampling frequency of up to 8 G-samples/s using time interleaved sampling with eight 1-GHz ADCs. The system is also capable of transmitting UWB pulses using a transmitter board controlled by the FPGA. In this thesis, the FPGA design used to capture and export data from the eight ADCs is presented, along with two systems which make use of the transceiver: a pilot-based matched filter communications system, and a remote vital signs monitor.


Sponges produce an impressive variety of secondary metabolites that perform a variety of ecological functions. Many marine sponges even harbor diverse carotenoid compounds, an unusual class of secondary metabolites that animals are incapable of producing. Furthermore, sponges serve as hosts to an astonishingly diverse microbial community that can occupy up to sixty percent of a sponge's biomass. Our research ultimately hopes to link microbial species to the production of secondary compounds, like carotenoids, and to assess the ecological role of such compounds and their effect on sponge life history strategy. This study describes the ecological distribution of two species of sponge, Clathria prolifera and Halichondria bowerbanki, from the Chesapeake Bay (Virginia, USA) as well as analyzes their general larval behavior. Culturable and non-culturable microbial communities harbored by both species of sponge were examined. A diverse group of pigmented microbes were isolated and identified as Roseobacterl Rhodobacteraceae sp, Shewanella sp, and Pseudoalteromonas sp. Our data indicates that the symbiotic bacteria may be producing compounds that influence aspects of the sponge phenotype, behavior, and distributional patterns.


Last year's Eighth Circuit decision of Anastasoff v. United States drew new attention to the much-debated rules limiting citation to unpublished judicial decisions. The scholarly opinion of Chief Judge Richard Arnold sent a shockwave through the bench, bar, and legal academy by ruling that no-citation rules were an unconstitutional expansion of the federal judiciary's Article III powers. Post Anastasoff scholarly commentary has focused on Article III arguments and remolded policy arguments that were made prior to the decision. Little attention has been paid, however, to the way in which no-citation rules impair constitutional rights of individual litigants. This Note traces the historical practice of using prior judicial decisions in arguments to courts, dating back to thirteenth century England. The author then argues that current rules prohibiting the citation of unpublished decisions remove a deeply-rocited common law procedure, and, therefore, deprive litigants of their procedural due process rights.


Objective: To examine prospective parents' perceptions of management options and outcomes in the context of threatened periviable delivery, and the values they apply in making antenatal decisions during this period. Study design: Qualitative analysis of 46 antenatal interviews conducted at three tertiary-care hospitals with 54 prospective parents (40 pregnant women, 14 partners) who had received counseling for threatened periviable delivery (40 cases). Results: Participants most often recalled being involved in resuscitation, cerclage, and delivery mode decisions. Over half (63.0%) desired a shared decision-making role. Most (85.2%) recalled hearing about morbidity and mortality, with many reiterating terms like "brain damage", "disability", and "handicap". The potential for disability influenced decision making to variable degrees. In describing what mattered most, participant spoke of giving their child a "fighting chance"; others voiced concerns about "best interest", a "healthy baby", "pain and suffering", and religious faith. Conclusions: Our findings underscore the importance of presenting clear information on disability and eliciting the factors that parents deem most important in making decisions about periviable birth. ARTICLE HISTORY Received 26 January 2017 Revised 11 October 2017 Accepted 12 October 2017


The present study investigates English spelling performance of Dutch grammar school students to establish whether Dutch grammar school students are able to spell words differing in complexity, as well as whether they are sensitive to the information available in the spellings (phonological, orthographical, and lexical frequency). Twenty-one Dutch foreign language learners of English were presented with an English dictation task (from Kemp, Parrila, & Kirby, 2009). They had to spell base (uninflected) and derived (inflected) words and pseudowords which were matched on the basis of their phonological or orthographical patterns. Students also had to complete a Dutch dictation task, and a word and pseudoword reading task. Findings show that the students obtained higher scores on spelling words versus pseudowords, base versus derived targets, and on phonological versus orthographical targets. There was no correlation between Dutch and English spelling proficiency. These data are interpreted within a usage-based model of language acquisition.


Tactile communication systems provide an alternative channel of communication for people with all levels of sensory capabilities and can help those with sensory impairments to receive information through another sensory modality. Recently, a TActile Phonemic Sleeve (TAPS) has been developed with the objective of enabling people to "hear through the skin." This thesis presents three studies that evaluate the feasibility of the TAPS system for phoneme and word acquisition and for two-way tactual communication. The TAPS system is based on a phonemic-based coding scheme that uses an array of 24 (6-by-4) tactors to convey haptic stimuli on the forearm. In Study 1, an effective mechanism for learning phonemes and words with TAPS based on the theory of memory consolidation was explored. Four naive participants learned to recognize 51 words made up of 10 phonemes within 60 min of experimental time. A fifth naive participant demonstrated the ability to learn all 39 phonemes of the English language as haptic codes after a total of 80 min with a phoneme identification score of 93.8%. We found that with the distinctive set of haptic symbols that had been developed prior to this thesis, participants were able to learn phonemes and words in a short amount of time. We also validated the memory consolidation theory by showing an improvement of phoneme recognition score when the fifth naive participant was re-assessed the day after he had learned the phonemes. In Study 2, we evaluated the learning performance of longer (four-phoneme) words. A total of three experienced participants spent 20 min per day for 3 days to review 39 phonemes and 500 words (with most of the words containing two or three phonemes) that they had learned in an earlier study. They then spent 10 more days to practice and test with a word list consisting of 100 four-phoneme words (List #1). A generalization study was conducted by testing the same participants with a different set of 100 four-phoneme words (List #2) during the last 2 days of the experiment. After the 15-day experimental period, the average word percent-correct (PC) scores of the three participants for List #1 and List #2 were 80.2% and 72.3%, respectively. Both results were well above the corresponding chance levels (1% for the closed set of words in List #1 and near 0 for the open set of words in List #2) which demonstrated that the participants were able to learn longer words with the TAPS system within a reasonable amount of time. In Study 3, the feasibility of TAPS for tactile communication of spontaneous speech was evaluated. Two of the three experienced participants from Study 2 sent text messages to each other through two identical TAPS systems with an open set of words. The average percent-correct (PC) scores for the two participants for messages (PCmsg) and words (PCword) were 73.4% and 81.7%, respectively. These results are impressive considering that the participants had to recognize words and phrases using an open vocabulary. Overall, the three studies demonstrate that the users of the TAPS system can successively receive phonemes, isolated words up to 4 phonemes in length, phrases, and sentences in a two-way exchange that simulates daily communication scenarios. Future work will explore the design of additional haptic symbols for conveying punctuation marks and investigate the efficacy of the TAPS system in helping people with sensory impairments to communicate via the sense of touch.


In order to fit with the present and future needs of the Datacom transceiver market, newly designed high rate transmitter optical subassemblies (TOSAs) have to be compact, low cost and compatible with mass production. We propose here an innovative design strategy that reaches all these targets by integrating a 10Gbps 850nm VCSEL laser diode and its laser driver with other functionalities (e.g. power monitoring and thermal monitoring) in a small form factor package. Taking advantages of the optical properties of the VCSEL and using flip-chip techniques, the transmitter exhibits excellent hyperfrequency performances and compatibility with mass production due to the use of collective manufacturing technologies and passive optical alignment. This versatile approach is also applicable to high rate receivers, parallel optics emitters, and singlemode low cost transmitter integrating long wavelength VCSELs.


Aim: Cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) has already been shown to be highly effective, namely in psycho-oncology field. There are few descriptions of how a CBT programme for cancer patients groups can be structured and delivered, as well as, there are few efficacy studies of this programs, especially in Portugal. We present a description of an 8-session CBT programme that has been developed by our team, for delivery to breast cancer survivors groups, as well as, the preliminary results of its efficacy. Method: It was used a sample of 20 participants selected fromReach to Recovery of Centre Delegation of Portuguese Cancer League (16 was submitted to the intervention program described and four performed the control group). Evaluation procedures consisted on voluntary fill-out of the following instruments: Courtauld Emotion Control Scale (CEC), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Clinical Inventory of Self-concept (ICAC), Life Orientation Test Revised version (LOT-R) and the Quality of Life Questionnaire of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC QLQ C-30 and supplement BR-23). Description of components and contents of the sessions are presented. Results: Preliminary results of the programme application are presented. Until now, it was not possible to verify significant results from preto post-test. Conclusion: It is important to take in consideration the group therapy programme presented and replicate it with cancer patients in order to obtain clear results of its efficacy. The relevance of this conclusion is emphasized by the cost-effectiveness associated with the group therapy format.


Estimation of design flood at a desired location on a river is important for planning, design and management of hydraulic structures. This can be carried out through frequency analysis by fitting of probability distribution to the series of recorded annual Peak Flood Discharge (PFD) data. In this paper, Extreme Value Type-1 (EV1) and Log Pearson Type-3 distributions are adopted for frequency analysis of annual PFD data of Giri and Jalal rivers. Maximum likelihood method is used for determination of parameters of the distributions. Goodness-of-Fit tests viz., Anderson-Darling and Chi-square are applied for checking the adequacy of fitting of probability distributions to the recorded data. Diagnostic test, viz., D-index is used for the selection of most suitable distribution for estimation of PFD. The GoF test results and D-index values show the estimated PFD from LP3 distribution could be used for design of hydraulic structures in Giri and Jalal rivers and design of flood in river protection works of Yamuna river basin.


What does "natural" mean in Husserl's phenomenology? Would it be something of an exaggeration to claim that there is a kind of phenomenological naturalism? To answer these questions, I will compare Husserl's rediscovery of the "lifeworld" and McDowell's call for a partial re-enchantment of nature. My aim is to show that the mechanicistic approach to nature criticized by Husserl does not consider organic life as an essential component of nature. However, the Aristotelian idea that a mature human being is a rational animal recaptured by McDowell's naturalism lets us to think that the first level of an ontology of the lifeworld coincides with a phenomenology of organism.


This dissertation studies local and asymptotic properties of distributions (generalized functions) in connection to several problems in harmonic analysis, approximation theory, classical real and complex function theory, tauberian theory, summability of divergent series and integrals, and number theory.
In Chapter 2 we give two new proofs of the Prime Number Theory based on ideas from asymptotic analysis on spaces of distributions. Several inverse problems in Fourier analysis and summability theory are studied in detail. Chapter 3 provides a complete characterization of point values of tempered distributions and functions in terms of a generalized pointwise Fourier inversion formula. The relation of the Fourier inversion formula with several summability procedures for divergent series and integrals is established. This work also provides formulas for jump singularities, that is, detection of edges from spectral data, which can be used as effective numerical detectors. Chapters 5 and 6 introduce new summability methods for the determination of jump discontinuities. Estimations on orders of summability are given in Chapter 8.
Chapters 4 and 9 give a tauberian theory for distributional point values; this theory recovers important classical tauberians of Hardy and Littlewood, among others, for Dirichlet series.
We make a complete wavelet analysis of asymptotic properties of distributions in Chapter 11. This study connects the boundary asymptotic behavior of the wavelet transform with asymptotics of tempered distributions. It is shown that our tauberian theorems become full characterizations.
Chapter 10 makes a comprehensive study of asymptotic properties of distributions. Open problems in the area are solved in Chapter 10 and new tools are developed. We obtain a complete structural description of quasiasymptotics in one variable.
We introduce the phi-transform for the local analysis of functions, measures, and distributions. In Chapter 7 the transform is used to study distributionally regulated functions (introduced here). Chapter 12 presents a characterization of measures in terms of the boundary behavior of this transform. We characterize the support of tempered distributions in Chapter 13 by various summability means of the Fourier transform.


Abstract Modern studies indicate that the kinematic behaviour of tidewater glaciers is a crucial part of ice-sheet dynamics. A similar relationship may be expected for ancient ice sheets, but can the kinematics of ancient tidewater ice margins be recognized? The paper addresses this methodological issue by pointing to the high-resolution stratigraphic record of marine moraines, thus far little explored. On the basis of a series of case studies, a range of field criteria are proposed for the recognition of short-term grounding-line movement and possible oscillations in moraine outcrop sections. The method combines allostratigraphic mapping and architectural facies analysis of the moraine sedimentary units formed during glacier advance, subaqueous stillstand and eventual subaerial stillstand, with recognition of the successive ice-contact surfaces. The stacking architecture of the sedimentary units and their ice-contact bounding surfaces reveal the time–distance trajectory of the grounding-line positions. It is also possible to recognize changes in the mode and rate of subglacial sediment delivery, as well as fluctuations in the ice flux and meltwater discharge. This methodology invites detailed studies of marine moraines. Systematic case studies on a regional scale may provide new information on the behaviour of tidewater ice margins and lead to unprecedented insights into the dynamics of ancient ice sheets.


The moveout characteristic of converted-wave (P-S or S-P) seismic data differs subtly, yet significantly, from the moveout characteristic of unimodal (P-P or S-S) seismic data. Converted-wave velocity analyses and moveout corrections that the use the standard hyperbolic approximation can be problematic, primarily when data with offset-to-depth ratios are of 1:1.5 or more are used. Improved traveltime estimation can be achieved by adding another degree of freedom into the analysis, for example by using higher-ordered traveltime equations. However, in doing so, simplicity in the analysis is lost, and more effort is required for accurate seismic data processing. In this paper we present a new formula that combines the compactness of the standard equation (currently the industry workhorse) with the accuracy of higher-ordered equations. It is derived both empirically and analytically and is shown to be in the form of a time-shifted hyperbola---a curve which others already have shown better fits the travehime curve of unimodal data. The performance of the new equation is illustrated with a number of practical examples.


Annual precipitation on the Caribbean island of Puerto Rico decreased steadily during the 20 century, on average by 16 %. The reduced rainfall manifested itself in the form of regular water rationings during the 1990s which hit millions of inhabitants. Simultaneous with the reduction in rainfall there was widespread deforestation, notably in the coastal lowlands. This paper examines the link between the reduction in precipitation and the land cover change using a combination of energy balance measurements and mesoscale atmospheric modelling. The explanation of the reduction in precipitation appears to be quite different than expected. Based on measurements made earlier over rainforest and pasture in the Amazon, a forest covered island would be expected to be cooler because the higher transpiration -of the forest compared to grasslandtends to cool the surface. During an intensive measurement campaign on Puerto Rico, the opposite appeared to be the case: transpiration by a coastal wetland forest proved to be less than that for a grassland. In addition, the forest albedo was 8 % lower than that for grassland. Together, these two factors caused the sensible heat flux over the forest to be twice as high as that over the grassland, whereas forest evaporation was lower. The surface energy balance observations over forest and grassland were used to derive proper land surface parameterizations, which were implemented in a mesoscale atmospheric circulation model (RAMS) to simulate the meteorological effects of island wide deforestation. The model simulations indicated that the development of a sea breeze during the day dominates climate on the island. Sea breezes develop when the land surface is warmer than the surrounding ocean. In model runs, where the island was assumed to be completely covered with forest, the sea breeze was considerably stronger than in model runs where the vegetation had been transformed to grassland. Along the sea breeze front, convergence caused upward air motions. As this happens more strongly over a forested island, more clouds are formed but at a higher elevation, with an estimated 10-20 % enhancement of precipitation compared to a deforested island. In the deforested scenario the cloud base was typically lowered by 200 m. Refinement of the model is required to obtain more accurate estimates of the changes in precipitation, although most likely the relevant processes have been determined. This project has offered new insights into the effects of climate change and may contribute to improved land use and water resources policies on Puerto Rico.


This thesis considers cultural diffusion in the context of oriental carpets. Geometrical symmetry and its classification are an important feature. Literature review covers a wide range of relevant concepts from the disciplines of anthropology, sociology and psychology and includes consideration of aspects from the work of Boas [1938, 1940, 1948], Burton [1992], Levi-Strauss [1963], Jung [1959] and Koffka [1935]. The published work of Woods [1935, 1936], Washburn and Crowe [1988], and Hann [1991, 1992], from the area of geometrical symmetry and its
classification, is also considered in some detail and further conceptual development proposed, including a range of concepts relating to the classification of two-colour
counterchange patterns. The principle emphasis in the research is on the analysis of patterns and motifs with respect to their symmetry characteristics.

Data were collected from 1,000 Persian and Anatolian carpets, and similarities and differences are highlighted. Case studies are presented of the Pazyryk carpet (the oldest known complete pile-woven carpet, held in the Hermitage Museum, St.Petersburg) and the Ardabil carpets (the only dated pair of Safavid carpets, one held in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, and the other in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles). The geometrical characteristics of each carpet are examined, compared to the results of the larger survey of Persian and
Anatolian carpets, and a discussion is developed relating to cultural diffusion.


Spatial optimization of best management practices (BMPs) is an effective way to select and allocate BMPs for watershed management such as soil and water conservation and nonpoint source pollution reduction. The commonly used spatial units for BMP configuration (or BMP configuration units) include subbasins, hydrologic response units (HRUs), farms, and fields. Normally, these spatial units are not homogeneous functional units from the perspective of physical geography at the hillslope scale (in terms of geomorphic and hydrologic conditions of the hillslope, for example), and thus cannot effectively represent the spatial relationships between BMPs and spatial locations with respect to hillslope processes from upstream to downstream. This makes it difficult to efficiently and rationally construct spatial optimizations for watershed BMPs. This paper proposes a spatial BMP optimization approach based on slope position units, which are homogeneous spatial units with physical geographic features. In the proposed approach, slope position units are used as BMP configuration units by which the relationships between BMPs and slope positions along a hillslope can be explicitly considered during BMP scenario initialization and optimization via genetic algorithm (i.e., NSGA-II). A distributed and physically based watershed model was used to evaluate the environmental effectiveness (i.e., the reduction rate of soil erosion), and a simple estimation method was developed to calculate the net cost of BMP scenarios. A case study was conducted in a small hilly watershed in the typical red-soil region of the Fujian Province in southeastern China, which suffers severely from soil erosion. A simple system of three types of slope positions (i.e., ridge, backslope, and valley) was used to delineate BMP configuration units. Four BMPs that are used in actual Chinese red-soil regions (closing measures, arbor-bush-herb mixed plantation, low-quality forest improvement, and orchard improvement) were considered in the proposed approach to achieve the multiple optimization objectives, which included maximizing the reduction ratio of soil erosion and minimizing the net cost of the BMP scenario. The proposed approach was compared with the standard random optimization approach, which selects and allocates BMPs randomly on BMP configuration units. The results show that the proposed approach is more effective and efficient for proposing practical and effective BMP scenarios than the random approach.


The Swedish pulp and paper industry is struggling with lower revenues and high raw material cost. The implementation of biorefinery concepts is not only interesting from a diminishing fossil feedstock perspective but also as a way of creating new revenue streams for the pulp and paper industry. Production of dissolving pulp would be beneficial both due to the higher market price of the pulp but also since the hemicellulose extracted could be upgraded to value-added by-products.
The conversion from Kraft to dissolving pulp production has been evaluated in a case study of Sodra Cell Varo pulp mill. An energy analysis has been performed with pinch technology and the potentials for steam savings and electricity production have been quantified for different levels of process integration.
It has been shown that the softwood Kraft pulp mill at Varo can be converted to a dissolving pulp mill by introducing extraction of hemicelluloses prior to the digestion step. The proposed dissolving pulp plant would not only be self sufficient energy wise but in fact be able to produce both more electricity and excess steam than today.
The most rigorous process integration proposed enable 71 MW electricity production as well as a surplus of 38 MW LP steam. A less rigorous option with lower investment cost can maximize the electricity production of the current back pressure turbine to 62 MW (from the current capacity at 51 MW), while leaving 28 MW of LP steam available for use elsewhere. The future saw mill and pellet factory, which is planned to be built close by, will require 20 MW of LP steam which has to be subtracted when assessing the steam surplus. Furthermore there might be an additional demand of LP steam for upgrading the extracted hemicellulose.


According to Mayan (2009) being a qualitative researcher means to "enjoy living and learning with people to collectively make sense of our world. Qualitative research is not only done with people, it is also accomplished through people..." (p. 12). By virtue of its various definitions, qualitative research involves a great deal of human communication. Communication has a major role in all aspects of qualitative research from planning to execution. While many new qualitative research technologies have evolved over the past few decades, the most critical and influential ones are those related to communication technologies. As there is limited data about the use of communication technologies in qualitative research, the purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the new emerging technologies in qualitative research. We provide descriptions of the evolving technologies and highlight the importance of qualitative researchers being up to date with these developments.


International audience

 Using the re-emergence of the /h/ onset from Early Modern to Present-Day English as a case study, we illustrate the making and the functions of a purpose-built web application named (an:a) lyzer for the interactive visualization of the raw n-gram data provided by Google Books Ngrams (GBN). The database has been compiled from the full text of over 4.5 million books in English, totalling over 468 billion words and covering roughly five centuries. We focus on bigrams consisting of words beginning with graphic  preceded by the indefinite article allomorphs a and an, which serve as a diagnostic of the consonantal strength of the initial /h/. The sheer size of this database affords us the possibility to attain a maximal diachronic resolution, to distinguish highly specific groups of -initial lexical items, and even to trace the diffusion of the observed changes across individual lexical units. The functions programmed into the app enable us to explore the data interactively by filtering, selecting and viewing them according to various parameters that were manually annotated into the data frame. We also discuss limitations of the database, of the app and of the explorative data analysis. The app is publicly accessible online at https://osf.io/ht8se/.


In this paper, a game-theoretic model for studying power control for wireless data networks in frequency-selective multipath environments is analyzed. The uplink of an impulse-radio ultrawideband system is considered. The effects of self-interference and multiple-access interference on the performance of Rake receivers are investigated for synchronous systems. Focusing on energy efficiency, a noncooperative game is proposed in which users in the network are allowed to choose their transmit powers to maximize their own utilities, and the Nash equilibrium for the proposed game is derived. It is shown that, due to the frequency selective multipath, the noncooperative solution is achieved at different signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratios, respectively of the channel realization. A large-system analysis is performed to derive explicit expressions for the achieved utilities. The Pareto-optimal (cooperative) solution is also discussed and compared with the noncooperative approach.


Creator Spirit: The Holy Spirit and the Art of Becoming Human. By Steven R. Guthrie. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2011. Pp. 240. $24.99.During a homily at St. John the Baptist Cathedral in Charleston in 2009, the homilist made a humble yet striking prediction: For much of Christendom's history the Holy Spirit has operated invisibly in the background; but in the new millennium, the suggestion was, we would be hearing "a lot more" about the Spirit. Interesting, but what would that mean? What a spirit-infused creativity might look like is the question Steven R. Guthrie sets out to answer. The result is a rich and detailed meditation on the Creator's and the artist's work in making artwork, though it is not without a couple of bumps.Creator Spirit is ostensibly aimed largely at the artist, who echoes God's work of making - as when God made humankind "male and female," according to the first Genesis account. As such, the book reads as a prescription: an outline or sketch of how to engage the Holy Spirit in an age and in a milieu that has lost track of God. That is, much of the contemporary art world has rejected God altogether - art criticism along with it - and therefore, just knowing how to begin the engagement is impossibly onerous, left unaided. In the introduction there are examples of recent popular books (e.g., The Zen of Creativity), and Chapter One draws many references from Robert Wuthnow's Creative Spirituality: The Way of the Artist (2001), yet Creator Spirit is squarely a work of theological aesthetics. Guthrie tries to cast a wide net, satisfying the concerns of art makers, scholars, and appreciators, alike - a difficultbalancing act, but this is the reality of the specific-yet-diverse audience for art and religion.The book intends to offer "a Theology of the Spirit," words at which some rightly wince. Spirituality exists precisely as something that is ineffable, by definition indefinable. The author tempers the desire to get a handle on the ungraspable by appealing to mystery - yet throughout the book prescription tends to outweigh mystery. It may be that the newness of the spirit - the newness of our awareness of it - calls for greater specificity, though at times exploration can read as command: "The new creation will be beautiful because there will be harmony and right relationship ...," a line much later in the book reads (205). Theology /Spirit is just one of many dichotomies that Guthrie aims to harmonize. He frequently alludes to John Coltrane as an example of the musical artist's particular gift for praying while playing - invoking the spirit, co-collaborating with structure, adding the specific flavors that only that particular individual or instrument can. Both humanity and community are broken and need to be remade, and Guthrie's notion of artistic "freedom in submission" is a fairly compelling one (chapter four). It is also a somewhat brave use of terminology, given the potential pitfalls. Spirit is gift, but one must be sensitized and sensitive enough to receive it.The second part of the book treats the tensions inherent to an exploration of concepts of the spiritual versus concepts of the creator. The ancient examples, Guthrie argues, are as dissatisfying as the postmodern: the Platonic rhapsode Ion is possessed by (the ancient Greek version of) spirit and so has no voice of his own. He further argues that the postmodern dilemma is a lot like the old: we are but products of a repressive regime, therefore there is no "author." The "given-ness" of the Spirit is the remedial third option: pulling from the likes of Moltmann, Augustine, Athanasius, and Barth, Guthrie argues that the Spirit is both a gift received and a gift to give, a complementarity of "receptivity and creativity" (130). These conceptions are rather satisfying precisely because Guthrie takes time to clarify and even emphasize that one has his or her own voice to find. Nietzsche's complaint that "the priest or the prophet is [merely] the mouthpiece of God" was one bound up with class and vocational warfare (138) - the priesthood irreparably stained by wealth and power. …


This study was carried out on the poisoning cases admitted in National Poison Control Centre, Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center, Karachi, from January 1999 to December 2002. The poisoning cases dealt during this period were classified into 6 groups such as, chemicals, heavy metals, plant and natural alkaloids, animal bites, body packers, and unknown poisoning. Chemical group has been further classified into 7 subgroups, which were organophosphate, corrosives, rodenticide, kerosene oil, drug overdose, naphthalene, and alcohol. Heavy metals were sub grouped into mercury, lead arsenic, and copper sulfate. Plant group comprises of 2 sub groups, which were datura and opium and its derivatives. Lastly animal group was subdivided into snakebite and insect bite. Overall 14 subgroups were studied during this 4-year period. Total number of various poisoning cases admitted in NPCC was 4894. Chemicals constitute the largest group of poisoning that comprises of 3334 (68.12%) patients. In this study every patient was examined and his/her mode of presentation was noted, after which he/she was treated according to the said protocol. Each patient was subject to diagnostic evaluation in terms of blood picture and chemistry, urine analysis, radiological examination like X-ray and ultrasound and electrocardiogram. Specific examinations were also carried out as and when required. During the stay in the word, day to day evaluation was done in terms of their clinical response and laboratory data. It was noted that out of 4894 cases of poisoning the male population was 2956 (60.40%) in comparison to females, which was 1938 (39.60%). The male versus female pattern of suffering appears to change in the recent years. The medico legal aspect that comes to be apparent was that, suicidal attempt was the major cause of poisoning and it alone constitutes 2504 (51.16%) cases. Accidental poisoning comes next and had 1702 (34.78%) cases, whereas homicidal poisoning had the least number of patients which were 310 (6.33%)

Significant increase in the incidence of poisoning in our social setup is definitely alarming and needs special attention. Above all the suicidal attempt reflects the social tendency was, economic crisis as well as joblessness or even the emotional urge of love and hatred. Intolerant behavior and decline in the family values/split families, is also a contributing factor. The media unfortunately is no saint, which plays an important role by displaying fiction serials and dramas, which has mostly no part in real life, but definitely may have a negative impact on the younger generation. The younger, especially and females are more demanding even beyond the means of the earning member in the family resulting in development of disputes, and leading to the unfortunate attempt of suicide. The majority of accidental cases were due to carelessness or preoccupied mind and also due to unawareness. Simple awareness programs for the publics can be much helpful in reducing the incidence of accidental poisoning. National Poison Control Center launches several awareness programs for the public on chemical safety, but still there is further need for more and a continuous flow of awareness either through seminars of through press and electronic media

In this study we have introduced some new protocols of treatment according to our need, in reference to a developing country where most of the population is still unable to take care of their medical bills. Glycopyrrolate was cried in organophosphate poisoning in combination with atropine instead of pralidoxime, which is a costly drug, and found successful

This was the first detailed study of poisoning cases in our country that included types of poisoning gender ratio, age group, route of administration, clinical presentations, diagnostic data analysis, complication of poisonings, outcome in terms of recovery and death, and medico legal aspects in terms of suicide, accident or homicide. No aspect of medical and social importance of poisoning was overlooked. A sincere effort to the best of our capability was made to attain the objectives and reach a conclusion to manage poiosoning cases along with reducing its rate of incidence while providing awareness and providing better medical care


The evaluation of the product of two matrices can be very computationally expensive. The multiplication of two n×n matrices, using the "default" algorithm can take O(n3) field operations in the underlying field k. It is therefore desirable to find algorithms to reduce the "cost" of multiplying two matrices together. If multiplication of two n× n matrices can be obtained in O(nα) operations, the least upper bound for α is called the exponent of matrix multiplication and is denoted by ω. A bound for ω < 3 was found in 1968 by Strassen in his algorithm. He found that multiplication of two 2× 2 matrices could be obtained in 7 multiplications in the underlying field k, as opposed to the 8 required to do the same multiplication previously. Using recursion, we are able to show that ω ≤ log2 7 < 2.8074, which is better than the value of 3 we had previously. In chapter 1, we look at various techniques that have been found for reducing ω. These include Pan's Trilinear Aggregation, Bini's Border Rank and Schonhage's Asymptotic Sum inequality. In chapter 2, we look in detail at the current best estimate of ω found by Coppersmith and Winograd. We also propose a different method of evaluating the "value" of trilinear forms. Chapters 3 and 4 build on the work of Coppersmith and Winograd and examine how cubing and raising to the fourth power of Coppersmith and Winograd's "complicated" algorithm affect the value of ω, if at all. Finally, in chapter 5, we look at the Group-Theoretic context proposed by Cohn and Umans, and see how we can derive some of Coppersmith and Winograd's values using this method, as well as showing how working in this context can perhaps be more conducive to showing ω = 2.


Several orchard floor management strategies were evaluated beginning in the fall of 1993 in experiments on the Yuma Mesa in a Limoneira 8A Lisbon lemon grove and in a Valencia orange grove at the University of Arizona Citrus Agricultural Center (CAC) in Waddell, Arizona . On the Yuma Mesa, disking provided satisfactory weed control except underneath the tree canopies where bermudagrass, purple nutsedge, and other weed species survived. Mowing the orchard floor suppressed broadleaf weed species allowing the spread of grasses, primarily bermudagrass. Preemergence (Solicam and Surflan) and postemergence (Roundup and Torpedo) herbicides were used to control weeds in the clean culture treatment in Yuma. After two harvest seasons (1994 -95 and 1995 -96), the clean culture treatment resulted in greater yield than the other treatments. At the CAC, clean culture (in this location no preemergence herbicides were used), mowed resident weeds, and Salina strawberry clover orchard floor management schemes were compared. Again the clean culture treatment yielded more than the mowed resident weeds. The yield of the strawberry clover treatment was somewhat less than the clean culture yield but not significantly less. The presence of cover crops or weeds on the orchard floor were found to modulate tree canopy temperatures, and to have beneficial effects on soil nitrogen and soil organic matter content, but no effect on citrus leaf nutrient content. The decrease in yield in the mowed resident weed treatments compared to the clean culture treatment in both locations was attributed to competition for water.


Information about the strength of donor–acceptor interactions in push–pull alkenes is valuable, as this so-called "push–pull effect" influences their chemical reactivity and dynamic behaviour. In this paper, we discuss the applicability of NMR spectral data and barriers to rotation around the CC double bond to quantify the push–pull effect in biologically important 2-alkylidene-4-oxothiazolidines. While olefinic proton chemical shifts and differences in 13C NMR chemical shifts of the two carbons constituting the CC double bond fail to give the correct trend in the electron withdrawing ability of the substituents attached to the exocyclic carbon of the double bond, barriers to rotation prove to be a reliable quantity in providing information about the extent of donor–acceptor interactions in the push–pull systems studied. In particular all relevant kinetic data, that is the Arrhenius parameters (apparent activation energy Ea and frequency factor A) and activation parameters (ΔS‡, ΔH‡ and ΔG‡), were determined from the data of the experimentally studied configurational isomerization of (E)-9a. These results were compared to previously published related data for other two compounds, (Z)-1b and (2E,5Z)-7, showing that experimentally determined ΔG‡ values are a good indicator of the strength of push–pull character. Theoretical calculations of the rotational barriers of eight selected derivatives excellently correlate with the calculated CC bond lengths and corroborate the applicability of ΔG‡ for estimation of the strength of the push–pull effect in these and related systems.


Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) has enabled scientists to look into the active brain. However, interactivity between functional brain regions, is still little studied. In this paper, we contribute a novel framework for modeling the interactions between multiple active brain regions, using Dynamic Bayesian Networks (DBNs) as generative models for brain activation patterns. This framework is applied to modeling of neuronal circuits associated with reward. The novelty of our framework from a Machine Learning perspective lies in the use of DBNs to reveal the brain connectivity and interactivity. Such interactivity models which are derived from fMRI data are then validated through a group classification task. We employ and compare four different types of DBNs: Parallel Hidden Markov Models, Coupled Hidden Markov Models, Fully-linked Hidden Markov Models and Dynamically Multi-Linked HMMs (DML-HMM). Moreover, we propose and compare two schemes of learning DML-HMMs. Experimental results show that by using DBNs, group classification can be performed even if the DBNs are constructed from as few as 5 brain regions. We also demonstrate that, by using the proposed learning algorithms, different DBN structures characterize drug addicted subjects vs. control subjects. This finding provides an independent test for the effect of psychopathology on brain function. In general, we demonstrate that incorporation of computer science principles into functional neuroimaging clinical studies provides a novel approach for probing human brain function.


The challenge in recovering hydrocarbons from shale rock is its very low permeability, which requires cost-effective fracturestimulation treatments to make production economic. Technological advances and improved operational efficiency have made production from shale resources around the globe far more viable; however, while the wells being completed today are proving to be reasonably economical, the question that remains is if the operators are truly capitalizing on their full potential. In recent years, the industry has been in search of a better method to enable well operators to capitalize on the natural fractures commonly found in shale reservoirs. If properly developed, these natural fractures will create a network of connectivity within the reservoir, potentially improving long-term production when they have been propagated. In most shales, however, the stress anisotropy present can prevent sufficient dilation of the natural fractures during stimulation treatments. To induce branch fracturing, far-field diversion must be achieved inside the fracture to overcome the stresses in the rock holding the natural fractures closed. Increasing net pressure during the treatment will enhance dilation of these natural fractures, creating a complex network of connectivity, and the greater the net pressure within the hydraulic fracture, the more fracture complexity created. Most of the various processes introduced previously are limited because multiple perforated intervals or large open annular sections are treated at one time. Also, to achieve the high injection rates required, they are treated down the casing, so that any changes made to the treatment require an entire casing volume to be pumped before these changes reach the perforations. This paper presents a case history of a multistage-fracturing process that allows real-time changes to be made downhole in response to observed treating pressure. This functionality enables far-field reservoir diversion to be achieved, ultimately increasing stimulated reservoir contact (SRC).


This paper investigates how the properties of multiblock copolypeptides can be tuned by their block architecture, defined by the size and distribution of blocks along the polymer chain. These parameters were explored by the precise, genetically encoded synthesis of recombinant elastin-like polypeptides (ELPs). A family of ELPs was synthesized in which the composition and length were conserved while the block length and distribution were varied, thus creating 11 ELPs with unique block architectures. To our knowledge, these polymers are unprecedented in their intricately and precisely varied architectures. ELPs exhibit lower critical solution temperature (LCST) behavior and micellar self-assembly, both of which impart easily measured physicochemical properties to the copolymers, providing insight into polymer hydrophobicity and self-assembly into higher order structures, as a function of solution temperature. Even subtle variation in block architecture changed the LCST phase behavior and morphology of these ELPs, measured by their temperature-triggered phase transition and nanoscale self-assembly. Size and morphology of polypeptide micelles could be tuned solely by controlling the block architecture, thus demonstrating that when sequence can be precisely controlled, nanoscale self-assembly of polypeptides can be modulated by block architecture.


This paper discusses challenges and opportunities arising during the development of open educational resources (OERs) to support communicative language teaching (CLT) with interactive whiteboards (IWBs). iTILT1 (interactive Technologies in Language Teaching), a European Lifelong Learning Project, has two main aims: (a) to promote "best practice" or effective CLT teaching with IWBs, and (b) to support continuing professional development among language teachers both in formal training contexts and through informal independent study. Some 40 teachers in seven European countries, working with learners of six foreign languages at various educational and proficiency levels, were trained and followed over one school year in order to collect over 200 video examples of classroom practice. These short (3-minute) class videos were selected collaboratively by teachers and researchers, and supported by learner and teacher commentaries. The main outcome of the project is an open-access website (http://itilt.eu), a searchable repository of training materials (manual, sample materials) and classroom illustrations (video clips, participant comments). This study explores the action research dimension of successive phases of the project from the development of appropriate training materials, data collection in language classrooms, selection of illustrative teaching episodes, and preparation for online presentation for future teacher education. It investigates the influence of research-based training on teacher development and the inclusion of participant perspectives, and explores how this kind of OER can support open practices. The paper also raises issues with respect to "best practice" and user requirements. The paper concludes with "lessons learned" throughout the project, showing both the advantages and drawbacks to this kind of collaboration between teachers and researchers, as well as furnishing suggestions for future OER development.


BACKGROUND
Gene therapy is a potent alternative for long-lasting inhibition of alcohol consumption. This study compares the purification of a recombinant adenoviral vector serotype 5 (rAdV5) for use in gene therapy against alcoholism using two anion-exchange methods.

RESULTS
Two anion-exchange chromatography methods using fast protein liquid chromatography were compared using a packed-bed column (Q-Sepharose™ XL) and two monolithic columns (CIM™ QA-1 and CIM™ DEAE-1). An improved and reproducible separation of recombinant adenovirus type 5 from cell lysate contaminants was achieved using the two strong anion-exchange columns in a two-step gradient chromatography. Higher adenovirus yields were achieved using the CIM QA-1 tube monolithic column at sample volumes of both 1 and 10 mL compared with the Q-Sepharose XL column. At higher flow rates, the CIM QA-1 tube monolithic column achieved better separation of the target fraction. Process recovery was improved from 28% using the Q-Sepharose XL column to 34% with the CIM QA-1 tube monolithic column quantified as vector genome. Analysis by SDS-PAGE demonstrated a purity of 70% for purified adenovirus using the CIM QA-1 tube monolithic column.

CONCLUSION
This study indicated that the use of a CIM QA-1 tube monolithic column is a better alternative than Q-Sepharose XL, and CIM DEAE-1 tube monolithic columns for the primary purification process of rAdV5 carrying the human aldehyde dehydrogenase-2 antisense gene. This purification strategy has been used as a basis to scale-up a GLP process for the production of material at the National Research Council of Canada to be used in preclinical trials of this gene therapy against alcoholism. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry


This Essay prepared for the Wisconsin Law Review's symposium on Intergenerational Equity lays the groundwork for a broader understanding of the goals of IP law in the United States by arguing that there is room for a normative commitment to intergenerational justice. First, we argue that the normative basis for IP laws need not be utilitarianism. The Constitution does not require that we conceive of IP in utilitarian terms or that we aim only to promote efficiency or maximize value. To the contrary, the IP Clause leaves open a number of ways to conceive of Progress; courts' and scholars' overwhelming acceptance of the utilitarian approach reflects nothing more than a modern policy choice. Second, we argue that acceptance of the utilitarian frame has led too easily to reliance on markets as the exclusive mechanism for achieving Progress, which has had a dramatic impact on the path of IP law and discourse. Specifically, we argue that, because it relies so heavily on the market, and because the market is inherently short-sighted, IP is less future regarding than it could be. This is disappointing because the subject matter of IP makes it particularly susceptible to the promotion of intergenerational progress. In the end, we conclude that a commitment to intergenerational justice is both compatible with Progress and normatively attractive.


An image registration algorithm based on combining phase differences at uniformly distributed spatial frequencies is described. The scheme accomodates 2-d disparities and when incorporated within a coarse-to-fine analysis over scale, allows for fast registration even in the presence of large disparities. Experiments performed on random noise stereo pairs demonstrate the potential of the approach.


Bat populations in the eastern U.S. continue to decline due to white-nose syndrome (WNS), a fungal pathogen known to produce abnormal behavior and tissue damage in bats. As a result, the composition of bat communities has changed significantly, in part due to the dramatic decrease of cave hibernating bat species. These species rely on forests for summer roosting sites and foraging. Maine is a heavily forested state where timber harvesting is a large source of revenue; therefore it is necessary to understand the factors influencing the presence of vulnerable bat species. However, little is currently known about suitable habitat for these species in Maine. This study had two main objectives: (1) to identify habitat features that influence Myotis bat presence across a range of environmental conditions; and (2) to document bat species present at our study site, the Penobscot Experimental Forest (PEF) in Bradley Maine. During the summer of 2015, we placed ten AnaBat acoustic detectors at a total of 46 locations throughout the PEF, stratified by four cover types: open, closed canopy, small canopy gaps, and large canopy gaps. Detectors were moved to new locations on a weekly basis. We analyzed nine potential predictor variables, creating a separate logistic regression model for each. The models were evaluated using Akaike's corrected information criterion (AICc), assuming that the model with the lowest AICc score was the most influential. We found that the number of trees per hectare (in quadratic form) was the best predictor of Myotis species presence, with proportion of canopy openness and gap size also contributing to variation among sites. In total, we detected eight bat species at the PEF representing the full set of species occurring in Maine. Our expectation is that findings from this study will provide a foundation for future investigations into forest use by threatened bats in this region.


Objective: To evaluate and correlate the values of radiographic bone density, peri-implant bone height and resonance frequency analysis (RFA) of short or conventional implants placed in the posterior region of the mandible after installing a prosthesis. Material and method: Eleven patients were selected for this prospective parallel pilot study. The prostheses were supported by two types of implants: short implants (n = 18) (5.0 x 5.5 mm and 5.0 x 7.0 mm) and conventional implants (n = 23) (4.0 x10 mm and 4.0 x 11.5 mm). The implants were evaluated by RFA, by measuring the bone height, and peri-implant bone density. The implants were evaluated at the periods T0 (immediately after installation of the prosthesis), T1 (after 90 days), and T2 (after 180 days). Result: There were no statistically significant differences between groups with respect to radiographic bone density (152.50 ± 15.39 vs. 157.60 ± 28.46, for conventional and short implants, respectively at T2), stability of the implants (Conventional implants: 66.76 ± 10.39 at T0, and 61.85 ± 8.38 at T2 vs. Short implants: 57.50 ± 12.17 at T0, and 61.53 ± 7.39 at T2) and peri-implant bone loss (0.03 mm vs.-0.17 mm, for conventional and short implants, respectively at T2). Additionally, a significant correlation between the evaluated parameters was not detected. Conclusion: The short and conventional implants presented similar stability, bone level and density after the activation of occlusion loading. Descriptors: Bone resorption; bone density; prostheses and implants. Ibelli, Assaf, Santos et al. Rev Odontol UNESP. 2017 Nov-Dec; 46(6): 319-324 320


A method for sizing remotely powered unmanned aerial vehicles is presented to augment the conventional design process. This method allows for unconventionally powered aircraft to become options in trade studies during the initial design phase. A design matrix is created that shows where, and if, a remotely powered vehicle fits within the design space. For given range and power requirements, the design matrix uses historical data to determine whether an internal combustion or electrical system would be most appropriate. Trends in the historical data show that the break in the design space between the two systems is around 30 miles and 1 kW. Electrical systems are broken into subcategories of onboard energy sources and remote power sources. For this work, only batteries were considered as an onboard energy source, but both lasers and microwaves were considered for remote power transmission methods. The conventional sizing method is adjusted to so that it is based on energy consumption, instead of fuel consumption. Using the manner in which microwaves and laser propagate through the atmosphere, the weight fraction of a receiving apparatus is estimated. This is then used with the sizing method to determine the gross takeoff weight of the vehicle. This new sizing method is used to compare battery systems, microwave systems, and laser systems.