Due to the strongly exothermic nature of silicon nitridation, a clear understanding of the nitridation process and an effective control regime, especially when the nitridation involves a rather large mass of silicon are of commercial interest. The nitridation process was investigated by reacting "large masses" of silicon powder compacts (about 1.5 kg) in a nitriding atmosphere in which some auxiliary gases such as Ar or He were added. Because of the exothermic heat, the reaction kinetics were found to be influenced by the amount of silicon in the nitridation cycle. The effect of the additional gases (Ar and He) is enhanced as the mass of silicon loaded in the furnace increases. The kinetics and the corresponding mechanisms of the whole nitridation cycle are discussed and a mechanism for the second reaction maximum is proposed. 22 refs.


This paper explores bottled water sales before, during, and after tropical cyclones. We focus on bottled water because local, state, and federal guidelines assert that bottled water is an essential emergency preparedness good. We match a panel of supermarket scanner data with tropical storm and hurricane information. We find that bottled water sales increase modestly in coastal areas as hurricanes approach. We find sharp increases in bottled water sales across impacted stores after hurricane landfalls. Risk, demographics, and prior experience with storms predict response heterogeneity and stockpiling behavior. Hurricanes have measurable market effects on water prices and product composition.


Silicone (Si), a very abundant element in the Earth's crust, is beneficial for plants, animals and humans. Despite its abundance in nature, it is often unavailable in sufficient quantities. Cucurbits are believed to accumulate elevated quantities of Si and benefit from Si fertilization. It is believed that higher Si content in cucumber plant is connected with increased yields as well as improved resistance to diseases and tolerance to abiotic stresses, for example drought. The beneficial effects of Si have been confirmed by the present study, in which cucumbers were grown in soil and in liquid nutrient solutions. The aim of the experiments has been to evaluate the effect of several silicates supplementing peatbased growing substrates on yield and Si content in growing media and in cucumber plants. For this purpose, pot experiments were carried out in an unheated greenhouse in 20052007. Cucumber plants were cultivated in 12-liter containers filled with substrates amended with Na-, K-, Caand ammonium silicates at rates of 2 or 4 g per liter. The results indicated that slow-release Caand NH4-silicates contributed to increased yield and elevated Si content in cucumber leaves and fruits. The effect of the other silicates was not certain and, additionally, dependent on their concentrations. Water-soluble Naand K-silicates caused increased Na or K concentration and raised pH of substrates. The results revealed that increased yields depended on the number of fruits rather than their average weight. The silicates of calcium and ammonium can be valuable, slow-release fertilizers in cucumber cultivation on organic (peat) substrates. Even in quantities as high as 4 g per liter of substrate, they did not cause drastic changes of the pH and salinity of growing media and were a good source of Si available to cucumber plants.


Transbronchial needle aspiration under endobronchial ultrasound guidance (EBUS-TBNA) is recommended for the diagnosis and staging of lung cancer. Major complications following EBUS-TBNA are uncommon. We report a case of isolated tension pneumoperitoneum following EBUS-TBNA under deep sedation in an 80-year-old male patient affected by a right hilar mass suspicious for lung cancer. At the end of the procedure, the patient suddenly manifested desaturation, severe bradycardia and hypotension, and abdominal distension. After resuscitation, in the suspect of intraperitoneal free air, needle decompression led to respiratory and hemodynamic improvement. A total body CT-scan showed isolated pneumoperitoneum without signs of gastrointestinal perforation, confirmed by a subsequent upper digestive contrast study. The patient recovered well without the need of surgical exploration. Isolated tension pneumoperitoneum can be an exceptional complication of EBUS-TBNA; a conservative treatment can avoid unnecessary surgery in the absence of peritonism.


THE RETIREMENT OF GEORGE Perry and William Brainard as editors of the Brookings Papers gives us an opportunity to say publicly what we have often said privately: the Brookings Papers is an important national institution. It is important because it has set the right tone for U.S. macro-economic policy. George and Bill are both Keynesians, not just in the narrow tradition of IS-LM models with Phillips curves, but also in their broader methodological approach to macroeconomics. The Brookings Papers has always reflected their view that macroeconomics should be a pragmatic and judicious mixture of theory and common sense, informed by statistical analysis. That of course reflects the methodology of Keynes, throughout his life and especially in The General Theory. We think that U.S. macroeconomic policy has benefited enormously from such a balanced pragmatic-empirical approach. Anyone who doubts the benefits of such an approach to macroeconomics needs only look to the north--to Canada--where doctrinaire use of an extreme form of natural rate theory in the 1990s led policymakers to push inflation too low, resulting in an unusually wide unemployment gap relative to the United States. This is just one example where a more empirical, more nuanced macroeconomics--such as presented for the last thirty years in the Brookings Papers--has implications for national welfare. Macroeconomic policy, as no one appreciated better than Keynes, often even makes the difference between prosperity and depression. It will be a hard task for the new editors to take the place of George and Bill, and we wish them luck. Neither this Bill nor this George has ever envied George and Bill their difficult job. They have edited the Brookings Papers the hard way. The easy way is to trawl the conferences and the economics department hallways for the best of what already exists. Instead, for the most part, George and Bill recruited people to push forward their pragmatic agenda for macroeconomic research. The influence of George and Bill, even in the late stages of producing these papers, is clear to all members of the Brookings Panel. We have continued to be amazed at how George and Bill could take the meeting drafts, which were not always in the best of shape, and quickly tuna them into interesting, readable gems. In short, they have done the impossible: admittedly with some very good help from their authors, they have produced something like eight to twelve significant and relevant new papers on macroeconomics per year, year after year. Some Background on This Paper This volume in honor of George Perry and William Brainard is an opportunity to reflect back on the two Brookings Papers we wrote with Perry (with comments and occasional help from Brainard) on the macroeconomics of low inflation. (1) Although they took somewhat different approaches, these two papers had similar policy implications. Both found a significant cost of permanently low inflation in terms of permanently high unemployment. Each paper examined the effects of a different type of money illusion. The earlier paper, "The Macroeconomics of Low Inflation," examined the consequences of downward nominal wage rigidity, or resistance to nominal wage cuts. "Near-Rational Wage and Price Setting" examined the consequences of people thinking in nominal rather than in real terms when inflation is very low. When this happens, a trade-off will emerge between inflation and unemployment--not just in the short run, but also in the long run when actual inflation and expected inflation are equal. Although the existence of such a trade-off was previously well known, its magnitude was not. Both papers found surprisingly large long-run increases in unemployment from permanent reductions in inflation to zero. For example, in the benchmark simulation in the first paper, with limited nominal wage cuts for continuing workers, we found that a permanent reduction in annual inflation from 2 percent to zero would increase unemployment by 1. …


During the spring of 2006 (May 11 through May 18, 2006), the Center for Archaeological Research (CAR) at The University of Texas at San Antonio conducted testing at 41BP679, a site formally listed as a State Archaeological Landmark. Site 41BP679 is located in Bastrop County at the confluence of the Colorado River and Spring Branch Creek, one of its tributaries. The site is on land that is the proposed location for the City of Bastrop Wastewater Treatment Plant. The installation of outflow pipes will impact the northern portion of 41BP679. The testing was conducted under Texas Antiquities Permit No. 4117, with Kristi Ulrich serving as Principal Investigator and Cynthia Moore Munoz serving as the Project Archaeologist. The testing involved mechanical auger borings, backhoe trenching and the hand-excavation of a limited number of test units. Testing confirmed that 41BP679 is likely to be a single component site (30-70 cm below surface) dating from the Paleoindian to Archaic period. One temporally diagnostic artifact, a Clear Fork tool, was recovered. Testing efforts failed to encounter features, and the low density cultural materials consist primarily of lithic debitage, burned rock and a handful of lithic tools. A detailed debitage analysis of the samples from the site suggests that the debitage collection represents a focus on tool production. The low density cultural remains have been impacted by bioturbation and vegetation clearing or plowing and their research potential is limited. The portion of the site tested during the investigations reported herein, along with the materials recovered, do not contribute to the State Archeological Landmark eligibility of 41BP679. We therefore recommend that the planned construction be allowed to proceed. We also recommend that the portion of the site located to the south of the area tested by CAR remain protected. The Texas Historical Commission (THC) concurred with the conclusions and recommendations reached by the CAR. In addition, the THC requested that the portion of 41BP679 not assessed by CAR be protected from potential construction-related impacts by a fence. The desired location of the fence would be furnished by CAR to insure that intact portions of the site are not adversely affected by the fence's construction. Furthermore, if significant archaeological deposits are uncovered during plant construction, the THC requested that all work should stop in those immediate areas and the City of Bastrop should immediately contact the THC. CAR staff informed the City of the THC request. City representatives have indicated to CAR that fencing will be installed around the perimeter of the construction area both to keep people out of the construction area and keep construction impacts limited to the designated area. The fence will be a five-strand barbwire fence. All artifacts collected during this project are curated at the Center for Archaeological Research according to Texas Historical Commission guidelines.


Important technical interoperability standards may be covered by hundreds or thousands of patents held by dozens of parties. Patent holders are often required to license these patents to others on terms that are "fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory" (FRAND), and litigation regarding the level of FRAND royalties is expanding. One serious problem that has emerged is the inherent difficulty of determining a "reasonable" royalty rate for a particular standard-essential patent in isolation from the many other patents covering the same standard. Reasonable royalty determinations in litigation are made in a bottom-up manner, patent holder by patent holder, patent by patent, usually in separate proceedings. While individual royalty determinations in these proceedings may seem to adhere to judicial and contractual requirements regarding "reasonableness," there is no reason to believe that the aggregate royalty rates established through these uncoordinated, serial processes will be reasonable in terms of the overall value that the patented technology contributes to the standard or the product. Unreasonable and inconsistent royalties on important interoperability standards create social costs by impeding value-creating transactions. To address this problem, we propose that the mechanism of statutory interpleader be used to join the holders of all patents covering a particular technology standard into a single proceeding in which an aggregate "reasonable" royalty may be determined and then apportioned among the holders of individual standards-essential patents. This approach will both enhance fairness of royalty determinations and reduce the costs inherent in multiple independent proceedings. Finding such a solution is particularly critical today, as technology convergence continues to impact standardization in key areas such as next-generation wireless communication and the "Internet of Things."


Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been playing an increasingly important role in biomedical research and in clinical diagnosis. The techniques of MRI have experienced rapid development and found wide applications in recent years. The technical development is marked not only by the improvement and optimization of conventional MR imaging techniques but also by the emergence of new pulse sequences such as CEST-MRI (Chemical Exchange Saturation Transfer MRI) and DWIBS (Diffusion-weighted Whole-body Imaging with Background body signal Suppression) and by new techniques such as compressed sensing MRI and MR fingerprinting. The wide proliferation of MRI techniques has led to ever-increasing applications of MR imaging and enormous new findings in basic biomedical research as well as clinical sciences. This special issue aims at reflecting the advances in MR imaging techniques and applications.

After rigorous review procedures, the selected papers in this special issue demonstrate how broad the field of MRI has become since Paul Lauterbur's classic paper in 1973. The types of papers include review articles as well as original research. Within this issue are papers that study not only data acquisition and reconstruction methods but also specialized analysis methods and new combinations of MR with therapeutic and interventional techniques. The imaging methods cover structural MRI, functional MRI, diffusion-weighted imaging, and diffusion tensor imaging. The applications addressed are similarly wide reaching, containing cancer, liver diseases, brain function, and so forth.

Of particular note, this special issue contains several papers on perhaps the most common use of MRI in MR research centers: functional MRI (fMRI) of the brain. Neuronal activation in the brain results in local increase in the oxygen-enriched blood in capillaries associated with the signal change measured in traditional BOLD-based fMRI. One paper (J. Chung et al.) examines the fusiform face region and the fundamental confoundedness of the signal of blood from large vessels causing a mismatch between the localization of neuronal activation and that of fMRI signal. Once considered to be simply "physiological noise," certain characteristic fluctuations in the fMRI signal during rest have been shown to be associated with specific neuronal networks. Due to the practical appeal of fMRI without tasks, we are including two review papers reflecting the recent great interest in clinical methods for "resting state" fMRI, one for multiple sclerosis (E. Sbardella et al.) and the other for psychiatric disorders (X. Zhan et al.). In a related paper (X. Li et al.), a temporal decomposition method is presented which decomposes a single brain functional network into several modes to explore dynamic brain functional networks in a continuous, "state-related," "finger-force feedback" fMRI experiment. Finally, two papers are included which highlight some of the many ways in which advanced data acquisition (D. Kang et al.) and image reconstruction methods (P. K. Han et al.), such as segmented echo-planar imaging (EPI) and compressed sensing, can help to overcome some of the image quality obstacles of fMRI at high field strength.

Two other neuro-MRI studies are presented as well regarding areas of strong interest in MR: diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and MR guidance. In the first paper (T.-K. Truong et al.), a new method is presented for the correction of eddy current-induced echo-shifting effect that produces three types of artifacts, namely, the eddy current induced signal loss, the artificial signal modulation due to eddy current-induced erroneous T2∗ weighting, and artificial signal elevation associated with partial Fourier reconstruction. The second paper (E. Vaghefi et al.) presents an MRI-based technique to guide the noninvasive transcranial brain stimulation without the use of a neuronavigation system.

As MR has matured technically primarily for neuroapplications, it has also proven to be increasingly useful for body imaging. An example is the technique of real-time MR thermometry guidance for ultrasound ablation of uterine fibroids, in which excessive skin heating has been an obstacle. To address this issue, the feasibility and safety of utilizing a water-cooled device in contact with the skin are proposed and examined in a paper (M. Ikink et al.). Another "hot topic" in body MR has been the study of liver fibrosis, using a variety of MR methods (e.g., MR elastography and DWI). In this issue, a paper (T. Yokoo et al.) is included which examines the use of a combined Gd and USPIO contrast agent together with texture analysis to better depict the reticular signal abnormalities associated with fibrosis. In a review of MRI for Crohn's Disease (K. Yoon et al.), a variety of methods are presented for inflammatory bowel disease including endoluminal and intravenous contrast agents, DWI, dynamic bowel motility imaging, and MR spectroscopy of fecal and urine samples. Finally, MR-based molecular imaging is presented in a review paper (J. H. Kim et al.) focusing on labelling stem cell with nanoparticles in urology to evaluate migration and survival of transplanted stems cells in prostate cancer and bladder dysfunction models.

With the many technical advances in the field, several MR methods have demonstrated their utility in terms of oncology. One paper (I. Thomassin-Naggara et al.) reviews the impact of perfusion and diffusion MRI and a new diagnostic MR scoring system (Adnex MR) upon the preoperative diagnostic accuracy in women with possible ovarian cancer. The utility of combining structural, perfusion, diffusion, and MR spectroscopy data is also presented in this issue for tumour relapse prediction using multiparametric analysis in glioblastoma patients (E. Vaghefi et al.). The use of MR (using diffusion MR and/or dynamic contrast enhancement) to predict the response to neoadjuvant therapy is presented in two papers (G.-Y. Zhang et al. and M. Petrillo et al.) focusing on nasopharyngeal carcinoma and rectal cancer, respectively.

In summary, the papers collected in this special issue cover a wide range of topics that are on the frontier of the MRI techniques and their applications.


In this paper, we propose a Bayesian network framework for managing interactivity between a tour-guide robot and visitors in mass exhibition conditions, through robust interpretation of multi-modal signals. We report on methods and experiments interpreting speech and laser scanner signals in the spoken dialogue management system of the autonomous tour-guide robot RoboX, successfully deployed at the Swiss National Exhibition (Expo.02). A correct interpretation of a user's (visitor's) goal or intention at each dialogue state is a key issue for successful speech-based interaction in voice-enabled communication between robots and visitors. We introduce a Bayesian network approach for combining noisy speech recognition results with noise-independent data from a laser scanner, in order to infer the visitors' goal under the uncertainty intrinsic to these two modalities. We demonstrate the effectiveness of the approach by simulation based on real observations during experiments with the tour-guide robot RoboX at Expo.02.


Increasing reliance on the electronic mail (e-mail) has attracted spammers to send more and more spam e-mails in order to maximizing their financial gains. These unwanted e-mails are not only clogging the Internet traffic but are also causing storage problems at the receiving servers. Besides these, spam e-mails also serve as a vehicle to a variety of online crimes and abuses. Although several anti-spam procedures are currently employed to distinguish spam e-mails from the legitimate e-mails yet spammers and phishes obfuscate their e-mail content to circumvent anti-spam procedures. Efficiency of anti-spam procedures to combat spam entry into the system greatly depend on their level of operation and a clear insight of various possible modes of spamming. In this paper we investigate directed graph model of Internet e-mail infrastructure and spamming modes used by spammers to inject spam into the system. The paper outlines the routes, system components, devices and protocols exploited by each spamming mode.


In 2008 the highest number of attacks recorded against ships in the world was reported to have taken place off the coast of Africa. These attacks were carried out at greater distances from land, along the east coast of Africa, than ever before. In this article the extent of piracy and armed robbery against ships in the African context and underlying causes of piracy and armed robbery against ships off the coast of East Africa will be presented. The objective is to analyse incidents and the land and sea based causes in East Africa to account for the shift in strategy from attacking ships in territorial waters to attacking ships on the high seas. A secondary aim is to determine, in view of the shifting background to the attacks, the responsibilities of navies and other role players in the process of countering such attacks. The article suggests that states need to review national legislation related to maritime security and that all state role players in the maritime domain need to cooperate more efficiently.


Allopatry and allopatric speciation can arise through two different mechanisms: vicariance or colonization through dispersal. Distinguishing between these different allopatric mechanisms is difficult and one of the major challenges in biogeographical research. Here, we address whether allopatric isolation in an endemic island lizard is the result of vicariance or dispersal. We estimated the amount and direction of gene flow during the divergence of isolated islet populations and subspecies of the endemic Skyros wall lizard Podarcis gaigeae, a phenotypically variable species that inhabits a major island and small islets in the Greek archipelago. We applied isolation‐with‐migration models to estimate population divergence times, population sizes and gene flow between islet–mainland population pairs. Divergence times were significantly correlated with independently estimated geological divergence times. This correlation strongly supports a vicariance scenario where islet populations have sequentially become isolated from the major island. We did not find evidence for significant gene flow within P. g. gaigeae. However, gene‐flow estimates from the islet to the mainland populations were positively affected by islet area and negatively by distance between the islet and mainland. We also found evidence for gene flow from one subspecies (P. g. weigandi) into another (P. g. gaigeae), but not in the other direction. Ongoing gene flow between the subspecies suggests that even in this geographically allopatric scenario with the sea posing a strong barrier to dispersal, divergence with some gene flow is still feasible.


Globalization has been greatly supported by wireless applications and as a result, African countries have connectivity to other parts of the world through satellite for instance. On a national level, wireless applications have proved to be invaluable where mobile services can be the means by which lives can be saved. In a developing country such as Ghana, mobile services are used not only in entrepreneurial activities, but are a means for enhancing the quality of life. Whereas wireless transmitters and receivers can be designed based on specifications, the structures of buildings considering parameters such as height and slopes of roofs vary considerably from place to place. It therefore becomes imperative to evaluate the propagation through the radio space particularly in places where such differences are observed in close proximity. This paper presents a study of propagation in the Greater Accra region of Ghana where some sections have structures of relatively similar heights close to areas where building heights greatly vary. The study is done employing the Hata-Okumura model which is widely used in telecommunications industry, particularly in West Africa. A comparative study on path loss between Hata-Okumura model, and measurement data using the received power obtained from Base station in a Code Division Multiple Access-2000 (CDMA2000®) cellular network in Ghana has been carried out. The analysis shows that Hata-Okumura prediction for suburban area (University of Ghana) response achieved is close to the measurement plot. Hata-Okumura prediction models applied in urban (medium city) and rural (open) areas for the selected areas such as Osu and Tema respectively in Greater Accra (GA) region show a little agreement. Osu and Tema are each more densely populated and have buildings that have more variation in height than the suburban area of University of Ghana.


I Introduction Religious congregations, in addition to their spiritual impact, are an important economic force in the United States. The Independent Sector (1988) has estimated that there are over 300,000 religious congregations in this country, and their combined annual revenue exceeds $50 billion. Almost all of their income comes from charitable contributions from congregation members. Much of their revenue is used to provide goods and services to the membership. Biddle (1992) has estimated that American congregations spend 71% of their income on activities that only benefit their membership. These congregations can be regarded as mutual benefit organizations, not unlike country clubs or other social clubs. They are quite appropriately analyzed by an economic theory of clubs model. As clubs, religious congregations have an optimal size in terms of their number of members. The purpose of this study is to determine the optimal size of congregations for four different denominations. The optimal size of a congregation will be defined as the number of members that maximizes total contributions. While most religious congregations would surely argue that their goals have little or nothing to do with maximizing contributions, economists recognize that people's willingness to pay for a good (even through philanthropy) serves as a valuable measure of their satisfaction with that good. This is especially true since religious congregations exhibit a rare combination in the nonprofit sector: mutual benefit activities supported by voluntary contributions. Moreover, religious congregations must compete for members, since participation is voluntary. Therefore, the market test of people's willingness to pay for the services of their congregation through voluntary contributions is an appropriate one. This study considers the optimal size in terms of maximizing contributions, rather than minimizing costs. There is an historical justification for this. During the early and mid 20th century, the concept of an optimal-sized congregation was a key concern among Protestant church leaders in the United States. Madison (1986) describes the movement among church reformers at the turn of the century to reduce costs by combining small rural congregations into fewer, larger congregations. Finke and Stark (1992) indicate that the same debate took place at mid-century concerning small suburban churches. In both cases, the reform movement was unsuccessful. It was rejected by churchgoers who derived utility from a sense of commitment that would be greatly diminished if they were forced to become members of larger congregations. Churchgoers' objections exhibited a belief in an optimal size based upon maximizing individual utility rather than minimizing average cost. The approach taken in this paper is consistent with that viewpoint. In the following sections, religious congregations will be analyzed as clubs. A club-theoretic model will be described. A mathematical model of a congregation's contributions and optimal size is then developed and tested. The empirical results will be analyzed to determine the optimal congregation size for the following denominations: Roman Catholic, United Methodist, Lutheran, and Episcopalian. As described below, differences in denominational attitudes toward church attendance, policies regarding the creation of new congregations, the relative surplus or shortage of clergy, and other denominational polity issues could all result in different congregational optimal sizes for these denominations. II Religious Congregations as Clubs The economic theory of clubs literature is well developed and will only be briefly summarized here (see Cornes and Sandler, 1986 and Sandler 1992). It suffices to say that the three most important characteristics of clubs are that they must be voluntary, involve sharing, and have the ability to exclude "free riders." By this description, U. …


In this study, a total of 160 one day old broiler chicks were devided into two groups consisting of 60 chicks in control group and 100 chicks in treatment group. The birds in treatment group received 50 ppm, 25 ppm, 37.5 ppm and 50 ppm danofloxacin via drinking water between the days during 0-7, 8-21, 22-35 and 36-42 respectively. Live weight, liver weight, serum total protein, albumin, globulin, copper, zinc and magnesium levels as well as γ-GT, GOT and GPT activities of 15 birds from control group and 25 birds from treatment group were determined on days 15, 21, 35 and 42. Histological examinations were carried out on liver samples. The live weight of birds in treatment group was slightly higher than controls troughout the experiment, but only the difference on day 35 was found statistically important. In histological examinations, lipid infiltration in liver cell was determined on days 15 and 21 in both groups. Although, the lipid infiltration decreased in control group on days 35 and 42, it countinued in treatment group. Compare to control group, there were no statistically significant differences in liver weight, serum total protein, albumin and magnesium levels in treatment group. The globulin level on day 35, the activities of γ-GT on days 21 and 42, GOT on day 42 decreased but the activity of GPT on day 42 and the levels of zinc on day 15 increased and copper on day 21 increased and decreased on day 35.


This paper illustrates the insecurity perceptions and security practices of the Paharis, an indigenous people of the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) in Bangladesh. It adopts an interpretive ethnographicapproach in which it posits, based on fieldwork experiences, that the security perceptions of the CHT indigenous people are primarily formed by the experiences of marginalisation. Marginalisation has resulted mainly from the assimilationist nation-building policies and ill-conceived development projects pursued by first Pakistan and later Bangladesh, which have not only threatened the Paharis' group identity but have also generated threats of violence in their everyday lives. The macro-level threat to identity and the micro-level threat of violence in everyday life operate in parallel and in an intertwined fashion. To cope with these threats, the Paharis have employed an array of different strategies at both macro and micro levels, which are analysed in this paper.


FORMALIZING THE SSA-BASED COMPILER FOR VERIFIED ADVANCED PROGRAM TRANSFORMATIONS Jianzhou Zhao Steve Zdancewic Compilers are not always correct due to the complexity of language semantics and transformation algorithms, the trade-offs between compilation speed and verifiability, etc. The bugs of compilers can undermine the source-level verification efforts (such as type systems, static analysis, and formal proofs) and produce target programs with different meaning from source programs. Researchers have used mechanized proof tools to implement verified compilers that are guaranteed to preserve program semantics and proved to be more robust than ad-hoc non-verified compilers. The goal of the dissertation is to make a step towards verifying an industrial strength modern compiler—LLVM, which has a typed, SSA-based, and general-purpose intermediate representation, therefore allowing more advanced program transformations than existing approaches. The dissertation formally defines the sequential semantics of the LLVM intermediate representation with its type system, SSA properties, memory model, and operational semantics. To design and reason about program transformations in the LLVM IR, we provide tools for interacting with the LLVM infrastructure and metatheory for SSA properties, memory safety, dynamic semantics, and controlflow-graphs. Based on the tools and metatheory, the dissertation implements verified and extractable applications for LLVM that include an interpreter for the LLVM IR, a transformation for enforcing memory safety, translation validators for local optimizations, and verified SSA construction transformation. This dissertation shows that formal models of SSA-based compiler intermediate representations can be used to verify low-level program transformations, thereby enabling the construction of highassurance compiler passes.


Wetlands account for approximately 20% of annual global methane emissions. Many wetlands receive inputs of organic matter, nutrients, metals and various toxic compounds from adjacent agricultural and industrial areas. The present study aimed to investigate the microbial composition of a natural methanogenic consortium. A consortium-based molecular approach to study diversity of methanogenic microbial communities in a natural wetland at the primary inflow was used. Key microorganisms of a nethane producing consortium were identified. Extracted high molecular mss DNA ws analysed by PCR combined with denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis and subsequent sequencing of 16S rDNA. This study was also aimed to identify syntrophic microorganisms in the wetland system. The data obtained suggest a well established syntrophic relationship within the wetland.


Stretchable electronic devices have recently gained a lot of attention because of their applications in healthcare and wearable electronics and their other innovative applications. The approach to make stretchable electronic systems commonly utilizes a soft stretchable matrix embedded with rigid islands such that the softer part undergoes mechanical deformation during stretching while the stiff portion remains unaffected. In this paper, we have worked on developing these soft–stiff systems using a preparation scheme, which is extremely simple; one-step and is capable of fabricating highly stretchable substrates. The stretchable substrate composed of a soft matrix and rigid islands has elastic modulus values of ∼0.04 MPa and ∼2.6 MPa, respectively. The fabrication process involves adding poly(dimethylsiloxane)-poly(ethylene oxide) (PDMS-b-PEO) and benzophenone (BP) to an elastomer poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) followed by ultra-violet light exposure using a photomask. PDMS-b-PEO reduces the elastic modulus of PDMS, while BP helps the photopatternability. This fabrication strategy enabled the preparation of locally tunable elastic substrates that are reversibly stretchable up to 200% while the softer region stretches up to ∼300%. Further, the metal films coated on rigid islands show no change in conductivity under tensile loading. Finally, we transferred an organic thin film transistor (OTFT) on the stiffer regions of the stretchable substrate and demonstrated that the electrical characteristics of OTFT remain unaffected under various degrees of applied strain.


Inhibition of streptolysin O activity by cholesterol depends on the latter being in free form. The normal esterified and protein-bound cholesterol fractions in serum do not influence streptolysin O activity. However, high cholesterol levels in rabbits fed cholesterol with cholic acid were associated with an increased antistreptolysin O effect. It is suggested that this occurs when all available protein sites are saturated and where a true `free' cholesterol fraction is present. Splitting the esterified cholesterol fraction of human sera with raised cholesterol levels, by means of pancreatin, produced an increased antistreptolysin O effect, again presumably because of saturation of protein-binding sites. Similarly, removal of non-esterified cholesterol from sera of cholesterolfed rabbits, by means of digitonin, reduced antistreptolysin O activity of the sera. Evidence is presented that combination of bovine serum albumin and streptolysin O has a steric hindrance effect on attachment of cholesterol to streptolysin O. The method described for the estimation of free cholesterol is extremely sensitive, being capable of detecting concentrations of less than 1·0 μg/ml.


In this discussion of Adam Smith's impartial spectator I draw an analogy between the impartial spectator and prices. In both cases we have a socially rooted yet generally impersonal phenomenon. The price analogy also helps in realizing that 'impartial spectating' may be a term that has multiple dimensions. I argue that one dimension in particular is at the heart of the meaning of the impartial spectator.


Neuroscientific research increasingly sparks the imaginations and hopes of policymakers. Whilst the diversity of assertive statements being made on the basis of neuroscience has been well documented, less frequently explored are more contingent discourses regarding studies of the brain. In this paper, we analyze how social policy and service actors discuss their engagements with neuroscientific terms, concepts and findings. These are mobilized, for one, to substantiate and enlarge the focus of existing policy—for example to attract funding for different target groups (such as babies, people who just retired, etc.)—as well as to help develop (new) policies and services. We show how, in so doing, invocation of the neurosciences can act to align "mutual imagined understandings" among policy actors, practitioners and parents. Tentativeness and ambivalence also figured within our respondents' accounts of the use of the neurosciences. They argued that research had to be simplified in order to make it relevant for wider stakeholders (including politicians), whilst simultaneously considering simplification problematic in some cases. Our analysis foregrounds the different complexities, ambivalences, reductions and instrumentalizations involved in policy and service engagements with the neurosciences, rendering challengeable any notion that (ideas about) neuroscientific research "determines" policy in a linear sense.


An innovative high-precision digital instrument for position measurement of particle accelerators collimators is proposed. The instrument relies on Linear Variable Differential Transformers by exploiting the three-parameter sine fit to estimate the amplitudes of their secondary signals.

Moreover, the crucial problem of interfering magnetic fields is analyzed by means of two different models: analytical, aimed at capturing the main physics of the phenomenon, and predictive, based on Finite Elements Method, for assessing the interference effects accurately.

Both the models were validated by means of simulations and experimental tests. They provided a sound basis for defining design guidelines to an application-independent solution of the interference problem.

The experimental validation of the models included the development of a measurement method and a measurement system for the general characterization of external magnetic fields as influence quantities for the position measurement by means of Linear Variable Differential Transformers. Different prototypes were also built and characterized in laboratory.

Preliminary on-field results, gathered during Large Hadron Collider commissioning and operations at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), confirming the laboratory results and discussed.

Therefore, the instrument was qualified as complying with the demanding requirements of Large Hadron Collider at CERN and is currently integrated in its collimators control system.


We propose a new method for the estimation and the correction of directional effect on satellite derived surface reflectance time series. The correction assumes that the shape of the bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) varies much more slowly than the reflectance magnitude. The BRDF shape is quantified by two parameters R and V which account primarily for surface scattering and volume (canopy) scattering processes. Assuming a constant shape throughout the year permits an easy inversion of the two parameters that are used for a normalization of the reflectance time series to a standard observation geometry. Using this method, the corrected time series of data from the moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer show much less high frequency variability than the original input data. A refinement of the method accounts for a slow variation of R and V, linearly with the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) accounting for vegetation dynamics, and produces an even better correction of directional effects and noise reduction in the time series. The nonlinear short-term variations in the reflectances, which are interpreted as ldquonoise,rdquo are strongly reduced, by a factor of two to four. The reduction in noise in the NDVI time series is less, as the index already implicitly corrects for the directional effects. Nevertheless, the noise in the NDVI time series is reduced by typically 30%-40%. Although the main output of processing using the method is the corrected reflectance, estimates of R and V are also generated. Global and regional map of these parameters show coherent patterns consistent with landcover.


As part of the aging process, our bodies accumulate increasing damage at the tissue, cellular and molecular levels, leading to a loss of function and to an increased risk of morbidities and of mortality. Increasing life expectancy has been associated with increasing risk of aging-associated diseases, including cardiovascular disease (CVD). CVD is responsible for over than 4 million deaths in Europe every year.

The majority of CVD is caused by risk factors that can be controlled, treated, or modified, such as high blood pressure, cholesterol, overweight/obesity, tobacco use, lack of physical activity, and diabetes. However, there are also other major CVD risk factors that cannot be controlled. The normal process of aging is associated with progressive deterioration in structure and function of the heart and vasculature that likely contribute to the development of CVD, including coronary heart disease, hypertension, and heart failure. Since elderly is one of the fastest growing segments of the population, it is of vital importance that we have a thorough understanding of the physiological changes that occur with aging that could contribute to the increased risk for CVD in elderly population. More investigation at both the basic and clinical levels is necessary to identify therapies that will benefit older patients on the basis of both the pathophysiology of age-related CVD and the frequent presence of comorbid diseases.

This special issue includes review and original research articles. In one article, E. Bronze-da-Rocha reviews the biogenesis and processing of miRNAs, as well as their release, stability, and modulation. The potential use of miRNAs expression profiles as biomarkers for some human heart diseases and aging is highlighted. In another review article, G. D. Kolovou et al. reviewed some of mechanisms associated with ageing, such as the pathways involved in oxidative stress, lipid and glucose metabolism, inflammation, DNA damage and repair, growth hormone axis, and insulin-like growth factor, and some environmental factors. Moreover, some theories of ageing were also discussed. J. Wu et al. reviewed the role of oxidative stress and inflammation in cardiovascular aging. M. Janic et al. reviewed the different pharmacological therapeutic options for decreasing arterial stiffness. The influence of several groups of drugs is described: antihypertensive drugs, statins, peroral antidiabetics, advanced glycation end-products cross-link breakers, anti-inflammatory drugs, endothelin-A receptor antagonists, and vasopeptidase inhibitors. Concerning the research articles, Y. Chen et al. report an in vitro study showing that icariin, an important and active component in Herba Epimedii, upregulated the expression of SIRT6 gene and had an inhibitory effect on NF-κB inflammatory signaling pathways. These results provided some evidence that icariin could reduce the body's inflammatory response and delay aging. S. Coimbra et al. showed that adiponectin and leptin levels in elderly patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus are closely linked to obesity and to the length of the disease. Moreover, they showed that circulating chemerin concentrations are increased and are independent of the length of the disease and of the body mass index, suggesting that adipocyte dysfunction is enhanced with aging. M. d. Sameiro-Faria et al. showed that in the end-stage renal disease patients under hemodialysis bilirubin seem to confer protection for cardiovascular diseases, independently of age. C. Rammos et al. showed that nitrate dietary supplementation is associated with a reduction of circulating proinflammatory cytokine macrophage migration inhibitory factor levels, which is associated with an improvement in vascular function. This work supports the concept of dietary approaches to modulate age-related changes of vascular functions. C.-J. Lee et al. evaluate the relationship between fasting osteopontin serum concentration and carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity in geriatric persons. They showed that osteopontin, which seems to have a role in atherosclerosis, was an independent predictor of carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity in geriatric persons. J. M. Morillas-Ruiz et al. showed that the use of polyunsaturated fat at breakfast is advisable in women at risk of CVD, since margarine improved the plasma lipid profile. A. Gawron-Skarbek et al. reported no differences in total antioxidant activity between men with and without coronary heart disease. They also demonstrated no changes of the antioxidant capacity of human blood serum with age. M. A. Meraz-Rios et al. demonstrated that allele 18-vWA (von Willebrand factor) and 9-human thyroid peroxidase (TPOX) and 12-TPOX are related with high venous thromboembolism risk, by using a case-control study. C. E. Wyers et al. showed that with increasing age the prevalence of CVD, venous thromboembolic events, hypertension, and diabetes mellitus type 2 increased up to half in men older than 70 years and in women older than 80 years. M. E. Mortby et al. provide further evidence of the protective effect of education for brain health and cognition. They also highlighted the importance of considering the possible interactive effects of comorbid CVD risk factors in increasing the risk of white matter pathology, irrespective of the protective effect provided by education-related cognitive and neural reserve. Finally, Y. H. Kim et al. describe the possibility of using Hachinski ischemic score in the community dwelling elderly population for the evaluation of the quantity of vascular factors. Association of high Hachinski ischemic score in, elderly community dwelling, with lower cognitive function, especially in elderly with poorly controlled vascular factors, was also demonstrated.

The present issue constitutes an important update in a constantly developing field. We hope this special issue will provide new inputs for those who are interested in aging and/or in cardiovascular risk factors.

Elisio Costa

Alice Santos-Silva

Constanca Paul

Javier Gonzalez  Gallego


Staphylococcus aureus is one of the most common pathogens that cause recurrent, chronic, and biofilm-related diseases. Biofilms are the major form of bacterial struc-tures capable of secreting polysaccharides that provide intrinsic protection against environmental stress like high concentrations of antibiotics. This, along with the emergence of multidrug-resistant strains, has made S. aureus infections a worldwide problem as a result of the inefficiency of the conventional medications. Plant essential oils (EOs) are an important source for drug discovery and pharmaceutical development due to their diverse biological activities, such as antimicrobial agents. The EOs' microbicide action is extensively reported at the scientific literature and frequently associated with bioactive molecules, such as aldehydes and terpenes. However, the ability of some EOs to inhibit biofilm formation has been poorly explored and it is still unclear how they could be applied in specific treatments against well-known infections. Therefore, this chapter will address virulence factors and biofilm formation of S. aureus , as well as bioprospecting of essential oil as a promising source in the search for new bioactive compounds employed in the fight against this microorganism.


Pressure training (PT) strategically increases pressure in training to prepare athletes to perform under pressure. Although research has studied how to create pressure during training, PT's effectiveness may depend on more than creating pressure. A practitioner's delivery of sport psychology interventions can moderate their effectiveness, so the current study explored perspectives of sport psychologists and athletes on the characteristics of effective PT delivery in applied settings. Eight international-level athletes and eight sport psychologists participated in semistructured qualitative interviews in which they described their experience participating in or conducting PT, respectively. Thematic analysis produced four themes relating to effective delivery: (a) collaboration with athletes and coaches: "with," not "to"; (b) integration into training; (c) upfront transparency; and (d) promoting learning before and after PT. The themes provide guidance for planning, conducting, and following up on PT sessions in applied settings. The best practices discussed could increase athletes' receptiveness to PT.


The principles and foundation of our understanding of the universe are one; to that of the effect of an end found in that of the inquiry of man supported by the sentience of its meaning in all that is; the verifiable true consideration is one word; the eventual ending of a pretense found in that of what is disclosed as fact; as in either of what we so consider the eventual; the end of what is so; is a new beginning in that of life; the future as a world in one; as love; of the incarnation of all that is; the given of life to it's true form and kind treatment of another; as cooperatively all beings respectfully are endowed with the given of love; the explanation of which is the choice to deliver life upon life as the infinite compassion of which is the release to freedom from constraint; and the given of return of kindness as known for that of kind in meaning; the giving of a people to knowable in all eventualities is explained as the principle of motion of the immobility of the heart to meaning to all of existence to the truth of understanding in principle nature; to the given of what is being; the standing of its continuance only then found in that of the giving of life; by the endowment of one for attention to their and other's considerations prior to another; as the expressed choice to one's self; and the forgiveness of all equivalences of people; worlds; and meanings found in the natural laws of this world; the next; and nature of a future yet to be; for then in what is; the given of each; is the endowed of all; and throughout what is creation; every being is dependent on the remainder of all of existence; as no such principle exemplified by purpose can mistreat another; the withholding of which is it's purpose to continuance in being and the only means of it's survival; the open difference of which is our inheritance; since as such as one is; all such other given's of people do require another to support a self; a world; and this given; finally as known; since one self so only remains to exist if and in being as such as all such other supports do; foundationally true as one before another always is. Pertinence has followed in due; to the given of a priorly given; to know; that what was held is now the free expressed right of a person; as once it had only been them; it is now the truth by the indivisible moment of a truth in passing that all in existence now face the same; as once as they had done an other; of whom so suffered their beings; the new ending in one of a promise they had held from time's beginning to it's eternal end; in one given; the only one they had known; as the guarantee they had so granted themselves from the beginning of their wakeful existence.


This dissertation investigates the causes and consequences of the goodwill reporting choices made by Canadian firms following the adoption of revised standards on purchased goodwill in 2002. Standard setters believed that by forcing firms to test goodwill for impairment every year, its economic value would be better reflected on the balance sheet, and its reliability and relevance improved. However, critics were worried that the fair value could not be measured reliably enough to warrant the move towards an impairment-only approach, they were concerned about the potential for management interpretation and bias, and they doubted that goodwill impairment losses would provide timely information to market participants. The empirical analyses contained in this dissertation are motivated by this debate. First, the dissertation shows that transitional goodwill impairment losses are associated with managers' incentives to both overstate and understate them, after controlling for economic impairment. Furthermore, independent board of directors and audit committees act as a constraint on Canadian managers' transitional goodwill reporting choices to ensure that the economic value of goodwill is better reflected in financial statements. Second, it is shown that investors perceive goodwill as an asset, and goodwill impairment losses as sufficiently reliable measurements of a reduction in the value of goodwill to incorporate them in their valuation assessments. Lower valuation weights are put on transitional goodwill impairment losses reported by firms with an independent board of directors while a higher valuation weight is put on transitional goodwill impairment losses recorded by firms with market value of equity lower than book value. Finally, the dissertation shows that transitional goodwill impairment losses were impounded in stock prices prior to the adoption of SFAS 142/Section 3062. Overall, the empirical evidence contained in the dissertation is consistent with SFAS 142/Section 3062 improving the quality of the financial information on goodwill provided in the financial statements.


Current first-line treatments for major depressive disorder (MDD) include pharmacotherapy and cognitive-behavioral therapy. However, one-third of depressed patients do not achieve remission after multiple medication trials, and psychotherapy can be costly and time-consuming. Although non-implantable neuromodulation (NIN) techniques such as transcranial magnetic stimulation, transcranial direct current stimulation, electroconvulsive therapy, and magnetic seizure therapy are gaining momentum for treating MDD, the efficacy of non-convulsive techniques is still modest, whereas use of convulsive modalities is limited by their cognitive side effects. In this context, we propose that NIN techniques could benefit from a precision-oriented approach. In this review, we discuss the challenges and opportunities in implementing such a framework, focusing on enhancing NIN effects via a combination of individualized cognitive interventions, using closed-loop approaches, identifying multimodal biomarkers, using computer electric field modeling to guide targeting and quantify dosage, and using machine learning algorithms to integrate data collected at multiple biological levels and identify clinical responders. Though promising, this framework is currently limited, as previous studies have employed small samples and did not sufficiently explore pathophysiological mechanisms associated with NIN response and side effects. Moreover, cost-effectiveness analyses have not been performed. Nevertheless, further advancements in clinical trials of NIN could shift the field toward a more "precision-oriented" practice.


The interpretation of an eventuality embedded in a deverbal adjective is typically non-episodic; specifically it is dispositional, habitual or modal. This article examines these readings based on a case study of three productive adjectivalizing suffixes in Spanish. It is proposed that the same structure can underlie these three non-episodic readings. Which is selected in each case is a function of different pieces of linguistic information, including the causal link between subject and eventuality, and the status of external circumstances relevant for the situation. This approach suggests an underspecification view of polysemy, makes it possible to account for the range of non-episodic readings without using designated null aspectual operators, and provides a natural explanation of the asymmetries between these readings with respect to adjective-to-noun conversion and combination with animate nouns.


This is a living document that summarizes principles and recommendations to those planning to embark on data collection on the impact of COVID-19 (coronavirus) on violence against women and girls (VAWG). It was informed by the needs and challenges identified by colleagues in regional and country offices and has benefited from their input. It responds to the difficulties of adhering to methodological, ethical and safety principles in the context of the physical distancing and staying at home measures imposed in many countries.


The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PA) has planned, designed, and begun constructing an APM system at the Newark International Airport (EWR). This system, called the Monorail, uses the Von Roll Transport Systems, Inc. (VRTSI) technology, upgraded to meet project requirements. The Monorail initially connects the three terminals and the remote parking lots. The design and implementation of this APM are described in other papers. This paper focuses on expanding and connecting the Monorail with off-airport transit systems. The PA included expansion and extensions from the beginning of planning for the Monorail. The VRTSI contract includes the capability to extend the system on-airport and/or off-airport and to coordinate with any fixed guideway system brought onto the airport. The Monorail is designed so that the initial system can meet the expected ultimate capacity level by lengthening the initial 6-car vehicles to 7-car vehicles; all facilities and subsystems have been designed to accommodate this expansion without other changes. The PA, New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT), and New Jersey Transit (NJT) are investigating connecting the Monorail with off-airport rail and transit systems by extending the Monorail off-airport and by bringing a new fixed-guideway transit system onto the airport. Off-airport extensions require coordination among these agencies and other public and private groups. Issues now being investigated for such an extension include land use and acquisition, environmental impacts, impacts on existing rail operations, location and design of a transfer station, ridership and service levels, costs, and funding.


This work explores the history of oppression in nursing education and how this oppression serves to perpetuate hostility, mistrust, and rigidity in nursing programs. It looks at how oppressive behaviors are learned and transmitted in nursing programs. Transference of oppressive behaviors occurs as graduates enter the practice arena. This serves to further the gap between nursing education and practice. Examples of oppression in nursing have been included and are based upon the writer's impression of behaviors manifested among faculty, students, and practitioners, not through the systematic review of empirical data. These examples illustrate how oppressive behaviors and practices have served to fragment, disempower, and dehumanize the nursing profession. The writer's examination of her own experiences within nursing education and personal conscious raising is integrated into this work. Liberation pedagogy provided the philosophical and theoretical framework for the development of a model that would promote the humanization of nursing education and build community between nursing education and practice. Building upon this pedagogy, the Clinical Teaching Associate (CTA) model is described. This model has provided a conduit for a dialogue to occur among faculty, students, and practitioners that has led to the formation of new and successful alliances and partnerships between and among nursing education faculty, students, and practice that engenders collaboration, collegiality, and caring.


This paper addresses the task of explaining anomalous predictions of a black-box regression model. When using a black-box model, such as one to predict building energy consumption from many sensor measurements, we often have a situation where some observed samples may significantly deviate from their prediction. It may be due to a sub-optimal black-box model, or simply because those samples are outliers. In either case, one would ideally want to compute a responsibility score indicative of the extent to which an input variable is responsible for the anomalous output. In this work, we formalize this task as a statistical inverse problem: Given model deviation from the expected value, infer the responsibility score of each of the input variables. We propose a new method called likelihood compensation (LC), which is founded on the likelihood principle and computes a correction to each input variable. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first principled framework that computes a responsibility score for real valued anomalous model deviations. We apply our approach to a real-world building energy prediction task and confirm its utility based on expert feedback.


Abjection in Shelley's Frankenstein Madleen Abu Irayeh 1 Bethlehem University 1 Published in September 2019 This paper analyzes Mary Shelley's Frankenstein through Julia Kristeva's theory of abjection. The main argument is that Victor Frankenstein and his creature experience and reflect abjection, which Kristeva defines as the breakdown of meanings when humans encounter fear or phobias. These fears and phobias are a response to what is avoided or not acceptable in the symbolic order (language, law, rules). Moreover, Victor's first encounter with abject can be seen in his early childhood when he is separated from his mother. I will show that these fears can be seen in Victor's phobia of the corpses of Clerval, Elizabeth and his mother as well as the creature's selfloathing. First, the corpse elicits abjection through evoking the mortality of human beings. Upon beholding the corpses of his family, Victor suffers delirium, visual hallucinations, nightmares and fever all of which represent the corpse as the "utmost of abjection" (Kristeva 4). Second, the creature experiences abjection which can be seen in his thorough awareness of his deformity and defilement. The creature tries in vain to be accepted in the symbolic order. However, he realizes that he is the abject or the source of fear from which humans flee.


As the US health care delivery system undergoes rapid transformation, there is an urgent need to define a comprehensive, evidence-based role for the family physician. A Role Definition Group made up of members of seven family medicine organizations developed a statement defining the family physician's role in meeting the needs of individuals, the health care system, and the country. The Role Definition Group surveyed more than 50 years of foundational manuscripts including published works from the Future of Family Medicine project and Keystone III conference, external reviews, and a recent Accreditation Council on Graduate Medical Education Family Medicine Milestones definition. They developed candidate definitions and a "foil" definition of what family medicine could become without change. The following definition was selected: "Family physicians are personal doctors for people of all ages and health conditions. They are a reliable first contact for health concerns and directly address most health care needs. Through enduring partnerships, family physicians help patients prevent, understand, and manage illness, navigate the health system and set health goals. Family physicians and their staff adapt their care to the unique needs of their patients and communities. They use data to monitor and manage their patient population, and use best science to prioritize services most likely to benefit health. They are ideal leaders of health care systems and partners for public health." This definition will guide the second Future of Family Medicine project and provide direction as family physicians, academicians, clinical networks, and policy-makers negotiate roles in the evolving health system.


Recently, offspring sex has been widely used as a natural experiment and argued to induce changes in political orientation among parents. However, prior results have been contradictory: in the UK, researchers found that having daughters led to parents favoring left-wing political parties and to holding more liberal views on family/gender roles, whereas in the United States scholars found that daughters were associated with more Republican (rightist) party identification and more conservative views on teen sexuality. We propose and examine three plausible explanations to account for these puzzling results using data from the General Social Survey and the European Social Survey; contextual (period/country) differences, heterogeneous treatment effects, and publication bias. In an analysis of thirty-six countries, we obtain null effects of the sex of the first child on party identification as well as on political ideology while ruling out country heterogeneity. Further, we observe no evidence of other heterogeneous treatment effects based on the analysis of Bayesian Additive Regression Tree models. As a corrective to the source of publication bias, we here add comprehensive null findings to the polarized canon of significant results.


Despite gains made by Title IX in the past 36 years, including increased female participation in high school and collegiate sport, there is evidence that gender equity in sport is not fully achieved. Researchers target the media because they tend to shape social values and disseminate information to the masses (Kane, 1978, in Fink & Kensicki, 2002). As sports become more pervasive, framing theory has become particularly relevant. The purpose of this study is to build on the Hardin et al. (2002) study by examining the relationship among media sports coverage, gender equity in sport and the perceptions young sports fans begin to form about gender and sport based on media consumption. The researcher hypothesized that since women face discrimination in sport starting from the time that they choose to participate, children will perceive male athletes and their sports as more legitimate. Additionally, the media play a major role in shaping the views of audiences, so the way that they represent male and female athletes, including juxtaposing them, may have an impact on children. The researcher conducted a content analysis of 24 Sports Illustrated for Kids issues from 1996 to 1999 and 24 issues from 2006 to 2007. The researcher analyzed the content of photographs (N=3219) and of headlines (N=762) by using the definitions determined by Hardin et al. (2002). We found that there is a disproportionate amount of coverage devoted to male athletes and that the discrepancy between media representation between men and women in sport has grown since the mid-1990s. This study also includes a focus group conducted with three children from a community swimming program in a northeastern town and found that those children were acutely aware of the differences between men and women in sport based on the discussion. The researcher does not attempt to find a causal relationship between these children's perceptions and the way media represents them, but rather uses the focus group to complement the content analysis. As children become sports consumers in later life, future research exploring the relationship between children's perceptions and the media's representations need to be done before causality and the significance of media effects are determined.


Many starting teachers of computer science have great professional skill but often lack pedagogical training. Since providing expert mentorship directly during their lessons would be quite costly, institutions usually offer separate teacher training sessions for novice instructors. However, the reflection on teaching performed with a significant delay after the taught lesson limits the possible impact on teachers. To bridge this gap, we introduced a weekly semi-structured reflective practice to supplement the teacher training sessions at our faculty. We created a paper diary that guides the starting teachers through the process of reflection. Over the course of the semester, the diary poses questions of increasing complexity while also functioning as a reference to the topics covered in teacher training. Piloting the diary on a group of 25 novice teaching assistants resulted in overwhelmingly positive responses and provided the teacher training sessions with valuable input for discussion. The diary also turned out to be applicable in a broader context: it was appreciated and used by several experienced university teachers from multiple faculties and even some high-school teachers. The diary is freely available online, including source and print versions.


In this paper it is argued that teacher education has already gone through two major stages (or waves) in its development, and is perhaps about to embark on a third. The first part presents a broad history of various models in terms of three major variables: where pre-service learning is located, how the study of education is constituted, and who controls accreditation. It is suggested that Australia is likely to return to an earlier model of teacher education unless teacher educators themselves produce a better way in which to meet current criticisms. A new' educological' model is proposed which involves a wider definition of the professional teacher, a pre- and in- service concentration of the development of professional judgement, and a radical reconstruction of educational knowledge.


Deniers and ducats, groats and guilders, crowns and cruzados: this fun, engaging and beautifully illustrated little book explores the role of money and medals in William Shakespeares world and work. "A fascinating account of Shakespeare's cosmopolitan world, illustrated with breathtaking images that bring to life the rich material culture that shaped Shakespeare's writings and his age. This is a superb volume, one that will have pride of place on my bookshelf." (Professor James Shapiro, author of "1599", "Contested Will", and "Angels & Ducats: Shakespeare's Money and Medals"). "Barrie Cook knows more about coins and medals in Shakespeare's world and works than anyone alive; Angels and Ducats is an invaluable guide for anyone interested in how money mattered in Elizabethan and Jacobean England." (Professor James Shapiro, author of "1599" and "Contested Will").


Introduction to Mathematical Oncology presents biologically well-motivated and mathematically tractable models that facilitate both a deep understanding of cancer biology and better cancer treatment designs. It covers the medical and biological background of the diseases, modeling issues, and existing methods and their limitations. The authors introduce mathematical and programming tools, along with analytical and numerical studies of the models. They also develop new mathematical tools and look to future improvements on dynamical models. After introducing the general theory of medicine and exploring how mathematics can be essential in its understanding, the text describes well-known, practical, and insightful mathematical models of avascular tumor growth and mathematically tractable treatment models based on ordinary differential equations. It continues the topic of avascular tumor growth in the context of partial differential equation models by incorporating the spatial structure and physiological structure, such as cell size. The book then focuses on the recent active multi-scale modeling efforts on prostate cancer growth and treatment dynamics. It also examines more mechanistically formulated models, including cell quota-based population growth models, with applications to real tumors and validation using clinical data. The remainder of the text presents abundant additional historical, biological, and medical background materials for advanced and specific treatment modeling efforts. Extensively classroom-tested in undergraduate and graduate courses, this self-contained book allows instructors to emphasize specific topics relevant to


Abstract This paper probes behind the assumptions underpinning the violence reduction agendas of the UN and the World Bank: that all forms of violence are commensurate and fit neatly into causal models; that violence is 'development in reverse' and inseparable from state fragility; and that security is a self-evident public good. It presents a framework to classify global, state and non-state or local violences and the interactions amongst them. It suggests that the starting point for any evaluation of security as well as violence reduction should be the vernacular understandings and day-to-day experience of poor, excluded and vulnerable people, including those living at insurgent margins.


Abstract In Australia and worldwide, open cut mining has become increasingly common over the last few decades through changes in excavation technology and ore economics. However, such operations frequently leave a legacy of open mine pits once mining ceases. Pit lakes will then form in mine pits that extend below the water table when dewatering operations cease. Pit lake waters are typically contaminated with metals, metalloids, saline or acidic/alkaline and rarely approach natural water body chemistry. Physically, pit lakes have unique bathymetries, are often strongly wind sheltered and have very small catchments. Nevertheless, pit lake waters often constitute a vast resource but of limited beneficial use (due to water quality issues); with a potential to contaminate regional surface and ground water resources. Water in pit lakes has the potential to be useful for a range of purposes in the Australian context of characteristic hot, dry climate and relatively few natural water bodies. Consequently, pit lakes can be seen to represent either a significant liability or a water resource to mining companies and regional communities. However, the lack of knowledge on pit lakes continues to hinder their proper management. This paper summarises the limited information currently available on water quality associated with Australian pit lakes. Information on pit lake occurrence, distribution and water quantity and quality is not nationally collated and requires immediate and ongoing attention from both mining companies and regulating authorities. Lack of a readily available database for pit lake occurrence, distribution and water quality fails to realise the potential for these water resources by both mining companies and Australian communities. Lack of access to pit lake quantity and water quality data may also lead to failure to manage this significant source of mining environmental risk.


Fragipans form by various physical and chemical processes. The objective of this study was to elucidate the role of free Si, Al, and Fe in weak cementation of fragipan soils. We studied a toposequence of soils in which natural drainage ranged from poor to good on a dissected pre-Wisconsinan plain covered with loess in southern Indiana. Soils were sampled in 10 to 15 cm layers. In the laboratory, strength was determined by a rupture test on disturbed samples, and Si, At, and Fe were determined on citrate-bicarbonate-dithionite (CBD) extracts (with d subscripts). Strength reached a profile maximum in the fragipan. With molar Si d /(Si d + Al d ) ratio of ≤0.5 there was no correlation between this ratio and strength, but in horizons in which the ratio was >0.5, mainly in fragipans, the correlation was strong. Strength was also correlated with exchangeable Mg. In fragipans the molar Al d /(Al d + Fe d ) ratio was 0.20, and above the fragipan the ratio was greater. We propose that in the fragipan most of the Al d is derived from At substituted for Fe in Fe oxides, but in horizons above the fragipan there is more At than the Fe oxides can accommodate. The extra Ald combines with free Si in these horizons to form aluminosilicates. In the fragipan, however, most free At is tied up in the Fe oxides and cannot react with Si, so the free Si that is translocated from upper horizons bonds to clay minerals, and especially to Fe oxides, to cause cementation.


Considering OLAF's far-reaching investigation powers, the article deals with the question what role judicial review can or should play in effectively protecting the fundamental rights of persons under investigation by OLAF. The article gives an overview of the different kinds of judicial review which are relevant in this respect, including interim relief. It also includes considerations on the possible contribution of the fundamental right to an effective remedy (Art. 47 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU) to the debate on judicial review of OLAF investigative acts. The article focuses in particular on the case law on the inadmissibility of actions for annulment against OLAF investigative acts. This case law is based on the view that such acts do not to bring about a distinct change in the legal position of the applicant. In the article, it is proposed that an action for annulment could be considered admissible against an OLAF investigative act if such an act is shown to have deprived the applicant of the effective exercise, or of the benefit, of a fundamental right, thus opening a review limited to examining the compatibility of that specific act with fundamental rights.


Optical phased array antennas (OPAs) have significant potential for optical beam steering, which has the application to high speed optical wireless links. In this paper, the characteristics of a two dimensional OPA with a structure composed of 2×2 and 4×4 antenna elements are verified. Beam steering by wavelength tuning of -0.16°/nm is measured and a required steering range of 1.97 ° is achieved within a -3dB coverage range of 5° in the theta direction and 7° in the phi direction.


Abstract Multisensory stimuli can improve performance, facilitating RTs on sensorimotor tasks. This benefit is referred to as the redundant signals effect (RSE) and can exceed predictions on the basis of probability summation, indicative of integrative processes. Although an RSE exceeding probability summation has been repeatedly observed in humans and nonprimate animals, there are scant and inconsistent data from nonhuman primates performing similar protocols. Rather, existing paradigms have instead focused on saccadic eye movements. Moreover, the extant results in monkeys leave unresolved how stimulus synchronicity and intensity impact performance. Two trained monkeys performed a simple detection task involving arm movements to auditory, visual, or synchronous auditory–visual multisensory pairs. RSEs in excess of predictions on the basis of probability summation were observed and thus forcibly follow from neural response interactions. Parametric variation of auditory stimulus intensity revealed that in both animals, RT facilitation was limited to situations where the auditory stimulus intensity was below or up to 20 dB above perceptual threshold, despite the visual stimulus always being suprathreshold. No RT facilitation or even behavioral costs were obtained with auditory intensities 30–40 dB above threshold. The present study demonstrates the feasibility and the suitability of behaving monkeys for investigating links between psychophysical and neurophysiologic instantiations of multisensory interactions.


The use of the private car is one of the key factors that have shaped the contemporary urban milieu and daily life in the city. The paper examines what kind of temporal relations are produced between the driver and the environment in the context of habitual everyday driving routes. The data – utilizing go-along interviews, participant-produced visual material and recorded videos of drives – is examined by focusing on the temporal character of the routes by utilizing a 'rhythmanalytical' framework. The analysis examines ways in which spatial rhythms are produced and interacted with in and beyond the car-space. Focusing on the rhythmicities of everyday driving routes – as sites of everyday life and contexts for the urban experience – uncovers relations, experiences and meanings embedded in these mobile spaces and practices.


How are we to get beyond the literary metaphor Augst asserts is central problem with film analysis? How are we to step outside the "shot" as the unit of analysis the "shot" which Bonitzer claims is useless for analysis because of researchers' "endlessly bifurcated" definitions of "shot? We have had success with a form of computational structural analysis which incorporates the viewer into the model. Comparing changes in levels of Red, Green, and Blue from frame to frame and comparing the patterns of change with an expert film theorist's model. We are currently analyzing discontinuities in the entire data stream of a film. We are asking just what aspects of the data stream account for viewer reactions. We are examining distribution of color, edges, luminance, and other components. By modeling changes in the various stimuli over time within a vector space model and comparing those changes with the responses of (at first) an expert viewer, then with a variety of viewers we should be able to make strides in matching forms of representation to the most effective mode of representation for the individual user; and at the same time provide a set of analytic tools that account for the multiple time-varying signals that make up a movie, whether a cell phone video or Hollywood blockbuster. Significantly, we now step outside the frame as the unit of analysis and look to the possibilities of analysis at the sub pixel level. That is, analysis of one component of a pixel location such as luminance or merely the green component (no red or blue provides a very fine grained level of examination. At the same time, the vector space model provides a way of examining the stimulus effect of multiple threads that do not necessarily change in synch. As we consider these possibilities, we begin to see a general model of a document as a continuous stream of data that either (as a whole or in part) functions as a stimulus or does not. Our poster will present graphical representations of changes in the data stream for the "Bodega Bay" sequence of Hichcock's THE BIRDS and the reactions of Raymond Bellour, whose analyses and modeling of Hichcok's works and of classic Hollywood film in general are held in high regard. We begin with Bellour and the Bodega Bay sequence because we have already published research on this data and, thus, have a significant foundation upon which to build. We will then apply the same techniques to a set of other works.


BACKGROUND
Aside from the possibility of a direct relationship between individual and familial posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), there is accumulating evidence that implicates a family history of psychiatric and substance use disorders as an important risk factor in the development of PTSD and associated symptoms.

METHOD
The familial risk of DSM-III-R PTSD was examined within a family study of clinical- and community-ascertained probands (N = 263) and their 1206 adult first-degree relatives.

RESULTS
Although PTSD among probands was not found to significantly elevate the risk of PTSD among first-degree relatives, an elevated rate of PTSD was found among the relatives of drug abusing probands compared with the relatives of probands with alcoholism, other anxiety disorders, and normal controls. Additionally, affective disorders were significantly associated with PTSD in relatives (p < .01). When these familial and individual associations were examined according to gender, drug disorders in probands were significantly associated with PTSD only among male relatives (p < .01), while the association between PTSD and comorbid affective disorders was seen primarily among female relatives (p < .01).

CONCLUSION
Although probands in the present family study were not selected specifically for PTSD, the data afforded a unique opportunity to examine the profile of familial psychopathology as a part of the complex picture of susceptibility for PTSD. Future family study research will be able to determine the generalizability of the present findings through more complete measurement of diverse forms of trauma.


"We, the readers and students of literature, have been hijacked. The literary critics, our teachers, those assassins of culture, have put us up against the wall and held us captive." So begins Jonah Raskin s The Mythology of Imperialism. When first published in 1971, this book was nothing short of a call to arms, an open revolt against the literary establishment. In his critique of five well-known British writers Joseph Conrad, Rudyard Kipling, D. H. Lawrence, E. M. Forster, and Joyce Cary Raskin not only developed the model for a revolutionary anti-imperialist criticism, but, through this book s influence on Edward Said, helped usher in the field of postcolonial studies.Nearly four decades later, The Mythology of Imperialism is all the more relevant. Its readings of British literature still offer bold and original insight into the relationship between text, artist, and historical context. But, perhaps more crucially, this book sends a revolutionary message to all readers and students of literature. Against much of today s postcolonialism diluted by postmodern obfuscation and largely detached from its historical roots Raskin locates the center of his anti-imperialist criticism in the anti-imperialist struggle itself and takes his cues not from "the assassins of culture" in the academy but from the national liberation movements of his time.Written with absorbing passion and machete-sharp analysis, this new edition of The Mythology of Imperialism includes the original text, a new introduction and afterword by the author, and a preface by Bruce Robbins."


With the rapid growth of multimedia data, such as image and text, it is a highly challenging problem to effectively correlate and retrieve the data of different media types. Naturally, when correlating an image with textual description, people focus on not only the alignment between discriminative image regions and key words, but also the relations lying in the visual and textual context. Relation understanding is essential for cross-media correlation learning, which is ignored by prior cross-media retrieval works. To address the above issue, we propose Cross-media Relation Attention Network (CRAN) with multi-level alignment. First, we propose visual-language relation attention model to explore both fine-grained patches and their relations of different media types. We aim to not only exploit cross-media fine-grained local information, but also capture the intrinsic relation information, which can provide complementary hints for correlation learning. Second, we propose cross-media multi-level alignment to explore global, local and relation alignments across different media types, which can mutually boost to learn more precise cross-media correlation. We conduct experiments on 2 cross-media datasets, and compare with 10 state-of-the-art methods to verify the effectiveness of proposed approach.


The purpose of this project is to design and build a low cost, portable USB data logger for electrical engineering labs. This data logger connects to any computer through a USB port and appears as a keyboard to the host's operating system. The logger performs electrical measurements and records the data by emulating keyboard strokes inside any spreadsheet program or analysis tool without the need for software or ancillary hardware. The logger is capable of measuring voltage and current. The end result of this project is to create a low cost, easy to use solution for data collection that can be replicated by other students.


Although George Herbert recently turned 400, only during the past decade has he really come out in society. Herbert has of course long been a major figure for serious scholarly study, and the subject of many important monographs treating his religion and art from the 1950s on. However, it was not until the 1990s that literary critics began to deal much with Herbert in a fuller political and social setting, to connect his heavenly art with its earthly contexts of court, Parliament, city, country, village, parish, and family.


STFM has the privilege of leading the advocacy effort for the 4 academic family medicine organizations that make up the Council of Academic Family Medicine (CAFM). We lead and staff the Academic Family Medicine Advocacy Committee (AFMAC) which has representatives from the CAFM organizations, as well as the AAFP. One of the 3 main goals of the CAFM organizations is to provide a unified voice for academic family medicine, and a key part of the STFM strategic plan is advocacy.

With advocacy for academic family medicine as its mandate, AFMAC has been critically involved in the development of policy on issues such as Medicare graduate medical education reform and Title VII primary care training funding. Our efforts to translate our policy interests into action require the involvement of the membership of all the CAFM organizations. We have designed a portfolio of tools and systems to aid our members in this activity. Within this portfolio is information on our online advocacy course and our new grassroots advocacy network.

About a year ago we unveiled the online advocacy course. This course is free to family medicine physicians, educators, residents, and students. It delivers a quick yet complete course of several modules with the skills needed to begin work in the advocacy arena. It takes less than an hour to complete and one can take it in several sittings. You can go to http://stfm.org/ advocacy to register for the course. In combination with the Family Medicine Congressional Conference (FMCC) in the spring of each year, CAFM members can earn a certificate of achievement as a family medicine advocate.

We are excited to share a significant new effort this year, the creation and development of a grass roots advocacy network. Each department chair and residency director is being asked to name a member of their faculty to be the CAFM Advocacy Network (CAN) Representative for their program or department. The basic strategy is to have a motivated person in each department or program acting as a key advocate to respond to alerts and inform their colleagues, as a way to help amplify our advocacy efforts. Each CAFM Advocate will receive national recognition as your program or department's advocacy representative, recognition within their program as an expert on federal academic family medicine issues, ongoing support from CAFM's Government Relations office in Washington, DC, including a brief information sheet about your representative/senators, access to the aforementioned free online advocacy course to learn the skills needed to be an effective advocate, and the opportunity to develop enhanced leadership and negotiation skills. A key aspect of this effort is to teach our members to report their advocacy activities and their response to our alerts with a form they can find on the STFM website. There is a new email address gro.mfts@ycacovdamfac for all CAN representatives who have questions about legislative issues or advocacy in general. The CAN network is off to a terrific start with over 50 persons signed up in the first month. Anyone who would like to join us as a CAFM Advocate can go to http://www.stfm.org/advocacy/network.cfm to find out more about this program and can sign up by emailing your name and all your contact information to gro.mfts@ycacovdamfac.

Turning from our theoretical plans to expand our advocacy efforts to specific advocacy goals, we have had some success moving forward with our Medicare primary care graduate medical education reform pilot. The concept of this reform pilot was developed in the fall of 2008 and has been a key advocacy effort of CAFM and the AAFP since then. Briefly, our proposal would direct a share of existing GME funding to specific pilot projects to test 4 different models of primary care training. Payments would be made by Medicare in a similar manner as the current GME payment process, but to the medical education entities (based on the number of residents training), rather than directly to hospitals. The bill authorizes the Secretary of HHS to test 2 sites for each of these 4 models: a community entity working with 2 or more hospitals; 2 hospitals working together to develop a primary care program; a hospital subsidiary or independent corporation working with the community to further primary care; and a medical school/university collaborating with a hospital. In addition, these entities would be allowed to grow their complement of residents by 50% for the term of the pilot (until completion of residency) without an impact on a hospital's resident cap.

In December, a bill to legislate the pilot was introduced in the House of Representatives. The bill, HR 3667, the Primary Care Workforce Access Improvement Act of 2011, was introduced by Representatives Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and Mike Thompson (D-CA). We are now in the process of encouraging other representatives to sign on as cosponsors. This will be a first test of our CAN members as well—asking that they respond to our GME alert. For more information about the bill, including talking points, FAQ's, etc, as well as how to respond to the alert, please go to http://www.stfm.org/advocacy/index.cfm.

As the current session of Congress moves forward, there is another key arena that we will need committed advocacy support. Discretionary health spending is under the eye of appropriators for cuts. As part of the Budget Control Act of 2011, approximately 1.2 trillion dollars in cuts must be made or an automatic reduction of funding, called a sequester, will occur. At risk are all health programs we care about, including Title VII, primary care training, funding for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), as well as cuts to entitlement funding, such as Medicare GME payments.

We look to all of the family of family medicine—members of the CAFM organizations and AAFP—to help us in our advocacy efforts in the coming year and beyond. If advocacy has not yet been an arena you have entered, please consider making it a priority for your development as a faculty member. We need everyone to be involved as we struggle to build and sustain the infrastructure of family medicine education and scholarship.

Should you have any questions please feel free to contact us at gro.mfts@ycacovdamfac.


The Vela pulsar is the brightest persistent source in the GeV sky and thus is the traditional first target for new γ -ray observatories. We report here on initial Fermi Large Area Telescope observations during verification phase pointed exposure and early sky survey scanning. We have used the Vela signal to verify Fermi timing and angular resolution. The high-quality pulse profile, with some 32,400 pulsed photons at E 0.03 GeV, shows new features, including pulse structure as fine as 0.3 ms and a distinct third peak, which shifts in phase with energy. We examine the high-energy behavior of the pulsed emission; initial spectra suggest a phase-averaged power-law index of Γ = 1.51+0.05 −0.04 with an exponential cutoff at Ec = 2.9 ± 0.1 GeV. Spectral fits with generalized cutoffs of the form e−(E/Ec) b require b 1, which is inconsistent with magnetic pair attenuation, and thus favor outer-magnetosphere emission models. Finally, we report on upper limits to any unpulsed component, as might be associated with a surrounding pulsar wind nebula.