Background: surgical burden of disease is enormous in sub-Saharan Africa where conditions amenable to surgery also contribute to high maternal mortality ratio in the region. Training of specialists in Obstetrics and Gynaecology must include acquisition of requisite surgical skills. Aim: To evaluate the impact of clinical rotations at rural hospitals on the clinical knowledge, and surgical and administrative skills of residents in Obstetrics and Gynaecology. Subjects and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study using mixed methods involving resident doctors in Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the Federal Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki, Nigeria who had undergone rural postings. Information was obtained from consented residents (June 2013 to February 2015) using a questionnaire and focused group discussion. Data was analyzed using Epi info (CDC, Atlanta USA). Results: Thirty-four questionnaires (89.5%) were analyzed; 70.6% were junior residents. Junior residents had a 900% and 460% rise in the rates of emergency and elective caesarean sections they performed, and had similar increases with regard to gynaecological procedures. Senior residents had a 100% and 80% rise in performance of total abdominal hysterectomy and myomectomy respectively. Seventy-five percent of all the residents believed that their surgical skills improved tremendously while 87.5% of the senior residents believed their administrative skills greatly improved also. Conclusion: Residents in Obstertics and Gynaecology at the Federal Teaching Hospital Abakaliki believed that supervised clinical rotations in rural hospitals offered them an opportunity to improve on their clinical knowledge and surgical skills. We advocate an objective assessment of the skills and knowledge of the residents against the claimed subjective improvement.


Phosphorus (P) loading in surface water can degrade water quality. Previous research has shown that soil test P levels are directly correlated to runoff P levels and that aluminum (Al) will bind P in the soil. Both water treatment residuals (WTR) and HiClay Alumina (HCA) are readily available waste materials high in Al. Water treatment residuals and HCA are by-products of the potable water treatment and commercial alum production process, respectively. Our objective was to determine if runoff P from fields excessively high in soil test P could be decreased by land applying these materials. Water treatment residuals and HCA were surface applied at rates of 0, 2.2, 9.0, and 18 Mg ha -1 to plots high in P. We used rainfall simulation to produce runoff 1 d, 1 mo, and 4 mo following application. The P adsorption capacity for the WTR was 20 times higher than HCA because it was predominantly clay (95%) and contained three times as much Al. High rates of WTR increased the total recoverable Al concentrations in the soil, whereas HCA had no effect. High rates of both materials decreased Mehlich III soil test P levels due to the increased levels of soil Al. The two highest rates of WTR decreased runoff P levels significantly below those of the control plots for all dates, whereas the two highest rates of HCA decreased P levels for only the first two dates. Relative to the control, runoff concentrations of either total or dissolved Al were not significantly increased by WTR.


The human cost of the Gulag, the Soviet labour camp system in which millions of people were imprisoned between 1920 and 1956, was staggering. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn and others after him have written movingly about the Gulag, yet never has there been a thorough historical study of this unique and tragic episode in Soviet history. This groundbreaking book presents the first comprehensive, historically accurate account of the camp system. Russian historian Oleg Khlevniuk has mined the contents of extensive archives, including long-suppressed state and Communist Party documents, to uncover the secrets of the Gulag and how it became a central component of Soviet ideology and social policy. Khlevniuk argues persuasively that the Stalinist penal camps created in the 1930s were essentially different from previous camps. He shows that political motivations and paranoia about potential enemies contributed no more to the expansion of the Gulag than the economic incentive of slave labour did. And he offers powerful evidence that the Great Terror was planned centrally and targeted against particular categories of the population. Khlevniuk makes a signal contribution to Soviet history with this exceptionally informed and balanced view of the Gulag.


My dissertation consists of four papers. The first two papers study regional economic development. In particular, they focus on broadband Internet and agglomeration economies in rural areas. One paper tests whether broadband improves rural economy and find positive broadband effects on new firm location choices. The other paper explores whether agglomeration economies operate even in rural areas and find that agglomeration economies are important for new firm location choices and commuting decisions. Those findings from the two papers have useful implications to regional economic development policies.My two other papers study choices under risk. One paper focuses on risk elicitation methods with a multiple price list format, which is widely used in the literature. The paper compares subjects' choices between the elicitation method and one question selected from the method. The paper finds significant differences in the comparison and show that the differences occur due to reference-dependent preferences. Those results suggest that the elicitation method is not reliable because loss aversion influences elicited risk aversion. The other paper tests whether pre-play learning removes inconsistent preference rankings between choice and pricing for lotteries. Inconsistent preference rankings have been studied last four decades because standard economic theory cannot explain inconsistent preference rankings. Pre-play learning is simple ex-ante lottery learning, where subjects observe playing lotteries before they make decisions. The paper finds that pre-play learning removes inconsistent preference rankings, which suggests that pre-play learning makes preference rankings consistent between choice and pricing as predicted in standard economic theory. Those results from the two papers have meaningful implications to the literature.


The musica secreta or concerto delle dame of Duke Alfonso II d'Este, an ensemble of virtuoso female musicians that performed behind closed doors at the castello in Ferrara, is well-known to music history. Their story is often told by focussing on the Duke's obsessive patronage and the exclusivity of their music. This book examines the music-making of four generations of princesses, noblewomen and nuns in Ferrara, as performers, creators, and patrons from a new perspective. It rethinks the relationships between polyphony and song, sacred and secular, performer and composer, patron and musician, court and convent. With new archival evidence and analysis of music, people, and events over the course of the century, from the role of the princess nun musician, Leonora d'Este, to the fate of the musica secreta's jealously guarded repertoire, this radical approach will appeal to musicians and scholars alike.


The Onverwacht pipe, situated on the leasehold of Eastern Chrome mines in the eastern limb of the Bushveld Complex, warrants preservation as a national monument, as it is the site of the oldest platinum mine in South Africa. The central part of the pipe consists of a relatively small, yet richly mineralized core-zone that has been mined out from a spectacular glory-hole. Onverwacht and the other three mineralized pipes that have been recognized in the Bushveld Complex do not only have their ultramafic composition in common but also reveal an unusual mineralogical-chemical zonation in which sharply defined magnesian and iron-rich ultramafic assemblages are juxtaposed. In the first in our series of contributions on the mineralized pipes, we ascribed formation of the Driekop pipe to orthomagmatic and partial melting processes (Scoon and Mitchell, 2009). Although we regard this as a universal principle, each locality is sufficiently distinct as to warrant separate explanations of their individual complexities. All of the mineralized pipes are aligned approximately perpendicular to the primary layering, but surface mapping has revealed Onverwacht to be more complex, far larger and far more irregular than previously reported. The three-dimensional shape of the unmineralized, magnesium-rich assemblage at Onverwacht is difficult to constrain. It is dominated by a stock-like body of magnesian dunite (approximately 100 m in diameter), surrounded by gently-dipping sheets, fingers, and lenses of magnesian dunite and harzburgite that splay outward for several hundreds of meters, ultimately merging imperceptibly into the wall rocks. The wall rocks, which belong to the uppermost part of the Lower Critical Zone, are dominated by a thick sequence of feldspathic orthopyroxenite, punctuated by prominent chromitite layers (LG5 through MG1). Palimpsest stratigraphy is defined by chromitite layers in the peripheral parts of the pipe. Structural disruptions have sterilized the LG6 chromitite layer, the principal orebody at Eastern Chrome mines, over a strike length >500 m, in part due to minor downwarping associated with the pipe. Irregular slabs of chromitite within the central parts of the pipe, interpreted as xenoliths of the LG6 layer by Wagner (1929) have been displaced downward over a few tens of metres. The mineralized core-zone originally formed a downward tapering ("carrot-shaped") body enclosed within the unmineralized magnesian dunite. It was composed of anomalous iron-rich dunite ("hortonolite dunite") and iron-rich wehrlite pegmatites (Wagner, 1929). Coarse crystals of hornblende and phlogopite, small grains of apatite, and meter-sized lumps of Ti-magnetite-ilmenite were reported as prominent accessories in the core-zone.

The existence of two principal assemblages in the pipe, i.e., magnesian ultramafics in the main stock and irregular outer envelope and iron-rich ultramafics in the core-zone, is confirmed by whole-rock and mineral compositions. The composition of the former is tightly constrained (olivine Fo83–80), whereas the latter exhibit a much broader range (olivine Fo64–44). The origin of the magnesian dunite comprising the main stock is ascribed to flowage differentiation of U-type magma injected upward through a vertical conduit, as discussed by Scoon and Mitchell (2009). The pipe-like form and occurrence of chromitite xenoliths confirm an intrusive origin. Heat associated with intrusion of the U-type magma triggered pervasive replacement of the orthopyroxenite wall rocks by magnesian olivine. The harzburgite is an arrested stage of this process. Chromitite layers are preserved in the periphery of the pipe due to their refractory nature, but those in the main stock and core-zone were dismembered. The iron-rich ultramafics in the core-zone reflect a complex genesis that will be addressed in conjunction with the origin of the mineralization in a subsequent contribution on the Mooihoek pipe.


This study focuses on a secondary contact zone between two sister species of woodrat, Neotoma fuscipes (dusky-footed woodrat) and N. macrotis (big-eared woodrat). Along the Nacimiento River, on the border of southern Monterey and northern San Luis Obispo counties, the ranges of these sister species of woodrats meet and overlap forming a secondary contact zone. The zone of secondary contact is estimated to include a 500-meter (~1,650 linear feet) portion of the Nacimiento River riparian corridor. This research examines quantifiable morphological change that is likely associated with heightened inter-specific competition within the contact zone. When in sympatry the sister species may compete for resources indirectly through exploitative competition, or directly through contest competition, or through a combination of these two processes. The prediction that heightened competition has resulted in distinctive morphological character shifts between allopatric and sympatric populations was tested my examining size and shape of adult woodrats along a 20-kilometer transect. It was confirmed that adults woodrats of the two sister taxa are morphologically distinct (N = 607) and that the phallus morphology was indeed a reliable means to identify adult male woodrats as to species (p < 0.0001, N = 331). A two model approach was used to examine convergence and divergence in size and shape of woodrats across the transect. Neotoma fuscipes exhibited a statistically significant divergerence from N. macrotis with regard to breadth of rostrum (p < 0.0001, N = 414) in a region of sympatry along the Nacimiento River. Based on the results on one statistical model, N. macrotis exhibited a statistically significant convergence with regard to body-size (p = 0.0240, N = 587) and length of hind foot (p < 0.0001, N = 563) towards those of N. fuscipes between zones of sympatry and allopatry. Alternatively, based on the results of a second statistical model that accounted for environmental variation within the system both species exhibited a statistically significant divergence with regard to body-size (p = 0.0054, N = 587) and towards that of N. fuscipes between zones of sympatry and allopatry. Also, N. macrotis exhibited a statistically significant convergence with regard to length of ear (p = 0.0022, N = 563) towards that of N. fuscipes. Based on the results of both models, detectable re-patterning of size-independent traits was observed to varying degrees. The morphological character shifts between sympatric populations and allopatric populations of woodrats suggest that ecological interactions between the species are …


This essay examines the literary representation of the overlap between event and insidious traumas in Vyvyane Loh's Breaking the Tongue, while gesturing towards the larger implications that such linkages create for the politics of reading diasporic Chinese women's literature. it argues that Breaking the Tongue refines and resituates the array of affective and objective responses to traumatic situations by using three specific narrative techniques: nonlinear narrative structure; shifting points of view; and cross-linguistic testifying as technologies of memory. These techniques disrupt any superficial rendering of physical suffering and deconstruct our positions of safety when reading about traumatic experiences. This analysis demonstrates how Loh's novel produces a powerful feminist intervention into the politics of trauma, its representations, and the production of cultural memory and identity. We are positioned within the language and bodies of trauma to better understand the potential for survival where there is lack, the possibility of healing where there is violence, and the creative energy for change where there is destruction.


In this paper we consider a ring of N ≥ 1 queues served by a
single server in a cyclic order. After having served a queue
(according to a service discipline that may vary from queue to
queue), there is a switch-over period and then the server serves
the next queue and so forth. This model is known in the literature
as a polling model .
Each of the queues is fed by a non-decreasing Levy process, which can
be different during each of the consecutive periods within the
server's cycle. The N -dimensional Levy processes obtained in
this fashion are described by their (joint) Laplace exponent, thus
allowing for non-independent input streams. For such a system we
derive the steady-state distribution of the joint workload at
embedded epochs, i.e. polling and switching instants. Using the Kella-Whitt martingale,
we also derive the steady-state distribution at an arbitrary epoch.

Our analysis heavily relies on establishing a link between fluid
(Levy input) polling systems and multi-type Jiřina processes
(continuous-state discrete-time branching processes). This is done
by properly defining the notion of the branching property
for a discipline, which can be traced back to Fuhrmann and Resing.
This definition is broad enough to contain the most important
service disciplines, like exhaustive and gated.


Cooperative communication has recently become a key technology for modern wireless networks such as 3GPP long-term evolution and WiMAX, because in such networks the transmission rate, the communication reliability, and coverage problems could be improved in a cost-effective manner. This, however, faces many design challenges. First, cooperative transmission typically involves a relaying phase which requires extra resources. This may cause a reduction in the spectral efficiency. Second, extra control signaling increases the complexity of operation, which may limit practical implementation. In addition, a wireless channel is time-varying, mainly due to the multipath propagation. As a result, a careful design of efficient cooperative communication systems is required, not only to enhance the spectral efficiency and maintain the quality-of-service (QoS), but also to be practical. In this dissertation, we aim to address the challenges imposed by cooperative communication and wireless transmission, and design the efficient and distributed systems which can be practically implemented in existing wireless systems. The research work is divided into two main topics: 1) adaptive cooperative wireless systems with variable-rate transmission, and 2) cooperative wireless systems with a power consumption constraint. The first topic investigates how the spectral efficiency of cooperative wireless communication systems can be improved while maintaining the QoS in terms of bit error rate and outage probability. The spectral efficiency enhancement is achieved by using three techniques: adaptivity over the relay node (i.e., relay node is active or not), adaptivity over the modulation mode, and relay selection. Based on that, we propose several adaptive cooperative schemes for both the decode-and-forward (DF) and amplify-and-forward (AF) protocols. To evaluate these schemes, we provide performance analysis in terms of average spectral efficiency, average bit error rate (ABER), and outage probability over Rayleigh fading channels. We start with the single-relay cooperative system using DF protocol, in which two adaptive cooperative schemes with variable-rate transmission are proposed. The first scheme, called the minimum error rate scheme (MERS), aims to exploit the transmit diversity to improve the bit error rate. By trading the multiplexing gain against the diversity gain, we propose the second scheme, called the maximum spectral efficiency scheme (MSES), iii in which cooperative transmission is avoided whenever it is not beneficial. The MERS improves the ABER significantly and achieves equal or better average spectral efficiency compared to the fixed (i.e., non-adaptive) relaying scheme. In contrast, the MSES provides the best average spectral efficiency due to its ability to not only adapt to the channel variation but also to switch between cooperative and non-cooperative transmissions. To further increase the spectral efficiency, we then propose the third scheme, called variablerate based relay selection (VRRS) scheme, in which a relay node is selected from among the available relay nodes, based on a predefined criterion. Furthermore, we propose two AF adaptive cooperative schemes, mainly to enhance the spectral efficiency. In the first scheme, we introduce a generalized switching policy (GSP) for a single-relay cooperative wireless system that exploits the variable-rate transmission and useful cooperative regions. The second scheme, called the AF efficient relay selection (AFERS) scheme, extends the GSP to also consider the relay selection technique. Analytical and simulation results verify that the AFERS scheme not only outperforms conventional direct transmission in terms of the average spectral efficiency, but also the AF fixed relaying and the outage-based AF adaptive cooperative scheme. The second topic investigates the fair power consumption of the relay nodes for AF cooperative wireless communication systems. The fairness is defined as to achieve equal power consumption over the relay nodes. We focus on how the relay selection process can be controlled in a distributed manner so that the power consumption of the relay nodes can be included in relay selection. We first introduce a simple closed-form expression for the weight coefficient used in order to achieve the considered fairness that depends only on the local average channel conditions of the relay path. We then derive closed-form expressions of the weighted outage probability and ABER and show that our proposed strategy not only has less complexity than the conventional centralized one but also provides better accuracy in distributing the total consumed power equally among the relay nodes without affecting the performance.


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How well can people detect shape with their fingers? How accurately can they discriminate between two small shapes? To study this problem, the Biorobotics Lab will test people's ability to detect which of two spherical ball bearings is ``perfect'' and which is out-of-round. To create test objects for this work, we need a method to produce out-of-round spheres. Starting with factory made ball bearings, this report describes procedures we have developed to grind, sand, and polish the balls into a deformed shape with deformations as low as 0.002 inches. Care is taken to make sure surface texture is removed as a clue.


Cyclicality in the supply of business credit has been the focus of a considerable amount of research. This cyclicality can stem from shocks to borrowers' collateral, which affect firms' ability to raise capital if agency and information problems are significant (Ben S. Bernanke and Mark Gertler, 1989). Or it can stem from shocks to bank capital, which affects the supply of bank loans if agency and information problems limit the ability of banks to raise additional capital (Bernanke, 1983). In this paper, we examine cyclicality in the supply of credit in the context of modern forms of banking, often referred to as the "originate-to-distribute" model. In particular, we focus on the role of syndicated lending.


Law and economics models of litigation settlement, based on the behavioral assumptions of rational choice theory, ignore the many psychological reasons that settlement negotiations can fail, yet they accurately predict that vast majority of lawsuits will settle short of formal adjudication. What explains this? We present experimental data that suggests lawyers might evaluate the settlement vs. adjudication decision from a perspective more closely akin to "rational choice theory" than will non-lawyers and, consequently, increase the observed level of settlement. We then evaluate whether the hypothesized difference between lawyers and non-lawyers is likely to lead to more efficient dispute resolution, concluding that lawyers are efficiency enhancing when differences between lawyers and non-lawyers can be attributed to "cognitive error" on the part of the latter but not when those differences are due to differences in preference structures and litigation goals. Finally, we suggest a framework that lawyers concerned with efficient dispute resolution should adhere to when counseling clients during settlement negotiations.


We estimate demand for residential broadband using high-frequency data from subscribers facing a three-part tariff. The three-part tariff makes data usage during the billing cycle a dynamic problem; thus, generating variation in the (shadow) price of usage. We provide evidence that subscribers respond to this variation, and use their dynamic decisions to estimate a flexible distribution of willingness to pay for different plan characteristics. Using the estimates, we simulate demand under alternative pricing and find that usage-based pricing eliminates low-value traffic. Furthermore, we show that the costs associated with investment in fiber-optic networks are likely recoverable in some markets, but that there is a large gap between social and private incentives to invest.


Switched Reluctance Motor (SRM) is one of the candidates for substituting permanent magnet motor in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV) application. Compared to permanent magnet motor, SRM is relatively low cost, robust, high reliability, and possible for high-temperature operation because of the absence of permanent magnet. One significant problem in SRM is the high acoustic noise and vibration. The vibration in SRM is caused by the radial forces acting at the stator teeth. Because of the saliency pole configuration in SRM, vibration is prominent. Many studies tried to reduce acoustic noise and vibration in SRM. In this paper, several controls for acoustic noise and vibration reduction are shown. The acoustic noise and vibration reduction from the experiment are also compared in each method.


Abstract An important task in the analysis of multiagent systems is to understand how groups of selfish players can form coalitions, i.e., work together in teams. In this paper, we study the dynamics of coalition formation under bounded rationality. We consider settings whereby each team's profit is given by a submodular function and propose three profit-sharing schemes, each of which is based on the concept of marginal utility. The agents are assumed to be myopic, i.e., they keep changing teams as long as they can increase their payoff by doing so. We study the properties (such as closeness to Nash equilibrium or total profit) of the states that result after a polynomial number of such moves, and prove bounds on the price of anarchy and the price of stability of the corresponding games.


In nature, sulfur occurs in many different oxidation states and is one of the most versatile elements in life. Reduced inorganic sulfur compounds serve either as sources for sulfur assimilation and incorporation into organic compounds or as the basis for oxidative energy-related processes. Sulfur-based energy transformation with concomitant mass transformations occurs almost exclusively among prokaryotes (Archaea and Bacteria). Dissimilatory sulfur oxidation in Eukarya is mediated by lithotrophic bacterial endosymbionts. Oxidation of reduced inorganic sulfur species by bacteria is a vital part of the global sulfur cycle and has applied importance in agriculture, waste treatment, biocorrosion and biomining. This article focuses on oxidation of reduced inorganic sulfur compounds and discusses the sulfur-oxidizing reactions of selected phototrophic and chemotrophic prokaryotes.

Keywords:

sulfur oxidation;
phototrophic sulfur bacteria;
chemotrophic sulfur bacteria


Riverbank erosion is a ubiquitous, natural process. Typically, it occurs during larger flood events when the applied forces exerted by the flowing water on a bank exceed some erosion-resistance threshold. Riverbank protection may be needed when critical infrastructure is present or planned near eroding banks, which requires the quantification of the risk of infrastructure failure by bank erosion. Similarly, renaturalization of many European streams, for example through removal of bank protection measures, necessitates the quantification of expected river width adjustment. Unfortunately, we have been unable to accurately quantify bank erosion rates to date. Limitations exist in characterizing both the applied and resisting forces. For example, bank roughness co-evolves with erosion, which makes it difficult to adequately resolve the forces acting on the bank material. Bank material erosion-resistance of fine-grained soils varies significantly, that is over orders of magnitude, both spatially and temporally. Moreover, existing techniques to measure bank material erosion-resistance do not always produce repeatable results. As a consequence, existing bank erosion models, such as the widely used Bank Stability and Toe Erosion Model (BSTEM), require extensive calibration and validation. This is often unsatisfactory to river engineering professionals that have to make decisions on where to place bank protection measures and the level of protection required. The decision-making process could benefit from a risk-based analysis that quantifies the uncertainty in calculated bank retreat rate. Recent enhancements to the BSTEM model allow users to input probability density functions of (measured) bank roughness and bank material erosion-resistance properties. A Monte Carlo analysis then quantifies the effects of both variability and uncertainty in these parameters on bank retreat. We will present how the shape of different probability density functions affect the probability density function of bank retreat. Results will be further presented of application of the new model to assist in prioritizing riverbank restoration measures along the Lower American and Sacramento Rivers, CA, USA, to prevent failure of levees that protect the City of Sacramento from flooding.


We consider the nonlinear dynamics occurring when an optical beam couples to dielectric material polarization in an unbiased photorefractive crystal undergoing a ferroelectric phase transition. The polarization profile produced by the light-induced electric field is evaluated by means of the Landau-Ginzburg approach and is found to manifest new thermodynamical states with their own specific nonlinear optical effects. We show that a temperature T(C), lower than the critical one, exists such that (a) if T>T(C) the optical beam experiences an increasing self-focusing for decreasing temperatures and (b) if T<T(C) the optical beam allows the existence of thermodynamically metastable states associated with an optical ultra-self-focusing effect.


This report adopts a criminological approach to the problem of fast driving, and its main focus is on motivations for high speeding, strategies of prevention and deterrence, and the socio-cultural context in which speeding takes place. The research conducted included depth interviews with fast drivers, traffic police offiers, magistrates and driving instructors; a survey of users of a road where cameras had been installed; and a multi-variate study using aggregate statistical data to explore compliance with speed limits in the USA. Given that solutions are likely to arise from a combination of external and internal approaches, these are reflected in the report's conclusions. The main conclusion is that the problem of speeding is a socio-cultural one and cannot be located solely with the individual driver; in our westernised car culture with everything geared towards speed and mobility, the state must take the lead in attempting to modify drivers' attitudes as to the desirability of high speed. Further, the strong impression was that those who drive fastest do so partly because they feel most invincible and most in control, and research is encouraged to understand how this misperception of invulnerability arises and how it can be changed. (A)


In 2006, the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) sued Target Corporation alleging that the retailer's website was inaccessible to the blind, in violation of the Americans with Disability Act (ADA) and various California statutes. Target eventually settled the case for US$9.7 million. The Target case presents an interesting dilemma to private sector healthcare providers. What corporate strategy is appropriate in the case of web accessibility? US Federal and state laws do not specifically require a private company to make its website accessible to customers with disabilities. However, the adverse media exposure from a private class action suit by a disability group can significantly damage a company's reputation for corporate social responsibility (CSR). We develop a model of corporate web accessibility behavior based on literature linking CSR activities to corporate financial performance. We test its use within the healthcare industry focusing on private-sector companies that deliver online healthcare information. We compare our sample to a group of non-healthcare companies with a reputation for corporate social responsibility for the years before and after the onset of the Target litigation. Results reveal significant differences in the way healthcare corporations choose to address web accessibility.


Winner of the Pulitzer Prize in 1979, this masterful examination of the most famous example of judicial failure-the case referred to as "the most frequently overturned decision in history." On March 6, 1857, Chief Justice Roger B. Taney delivered the Supreme Court's decision against Dred Scott, a slave who maintained he had been emancipated as a result of having lived with his master in the free state of Illinois and in federal territory where slavery was forbidden by the Missouri Compromise. The decision did much more than resolve the fate of an elderly black man and his family; Dred Scott v. Sanford was the first instance in which the Supreme Court invalidated a major piece of federal legislation. The decision declared that Congress had no power to prohibit slavery in the federal territories, thereby striking a severe blow at the the legitimacy of the emerging Republican party and intensifying the sectional conflict over slavery. This book represents a skillful review of the issues before America on the eve of the Civil War. The first third of the book deals directly with the with the case itself and the Court's decision, while the remainder puts the legal and judicial question of slavery into the broadest possible American context. Fehrenbacher discusses the legal bases of slavery, the debate over the Constitution, and the dispute over slavery and continental expansion. He also considers the immediate and long-range consequences of the decision.


This article critically analyses the introduction and development of a system of competition law in Poland prior to 2016, a period when the country underwent two fundamental transitions: from a centrally planned economy to free markets and from communism to democracy. In particular, the study focuses on the competition agency's setup, advocacy and enforcement efforts. It also examines the position and input of the judiciary, practitioners and the broader epistemic community. The study uniquely benefits from in-depth interviews with individuals who shaped the Polish system over nearly 30 years of its existence (inclusive of all former heads of the agency, judges, leading practitioners, and agency advisors) and from analysis of newly gathered data and statistics. It also draws on broader scholarship on new competition regimes. The findings are aimed to inform refinements in Poland and other countries establishing or developing competition law systems. This study will be particularly salient in countries that are undergoing or have undergone similar economic and/or political transitions.


"April is the cruelest month", said the poet, and Alice McKinley would agree. April is a hard month. Not that she doesn't have some fun. It does begin with a wonderful April Fool's Day joke on her brother, Lester. But it also begins with Aunt Sally reminding her that she will soon be thirteen (as if anyone could forget something so important) and then she will be Woman of the House, since her mother is long dead. It is an awesome responsibility. All her life she had assumed that her father and Lester were there to take care of her; now she is going to have to take care of them. Taking care of Lester, alone, could be a full-time job, she thinks. Being Woman of the House has all sorts of drawbacks. For example: It never occurred to her that when she suggested her father and Lester ought to have physical checkups, her father would insist that she have one too. How could you let a doctor see you naked? Of course, Alice is still in school. And there she faces another crisis. She might be Woman of the House at home, but in school she needs a different kind of name, one given by a table full of boys in the cafeteria Depending on their figures, girls are being given state names-- some states have mountains and others do not. Will flat, flat Delaware or Louisiana be her fate? Alice lives in fear that it might be, though even worse is the fear that she might not get a name at all. The month ends with a dinner party for her father's birthday (part of being Woman of the House) that has more downs than ups-- and with a totally unexpected event that makes Alice and everyone she knows grow up a little and wonder a little deeper about life and the future. April is a hard month, but reading about "Alice in April" is to find that most tragedies (though not all) pass and tears can turn to laughter and delight.


In the implementation phase of transportation infrastructure projects, unplanned events will inevitably occur. Although this is increasingly acknowledged, little systematic research has been conducted into what management strategies are best for dealing with these unplanned events. This article investigates how managers respond to unplanned events that occur in the context of a project during implementation, and which management responses produce satisfactory outcomes. To evaluate what strategies work in what contexts, we introduce multi-value Qualitative Comparative Analysis (mvQCA) and apply it to the Dutch A2 Maastricht transportation infrastructure project (the Netherlands). We produced systematic evidence that (a) internally oriented private management is associated with low satisfaction; (b) externally oriented management is associated with high satisfaction in responding to social, local unplanned events; and (c) that internally oriented management is associated with high satisfaction, depending in particular on the nature of the cooperation between principal and contractor in the project.


Fluctuating flow and water levels in the St. Lawrence River, whether natural or human-induced, are of concern to the various stakeholders (government organizations, research scientists, industries and the general public) that have been involved for several years in managing water resources and their use, and in maintaining the physical chemical and biological integrity of the ecosystem. Such concerns are particularly justified in the current context of climate change, which is likely to significantly influence socio-economic and environmental policy decisions. In recent years, Environment Canada research scientists have been studying the problem of fluctuating flows and water levels in the fluvial portion of the St. Lawrence. Much of their research has been carried out in the context of the work of the International Joint Commission and, more specifically, the International Lake Ontario–St. Lawrence River Study Board, which has a mandate to evaluate the procedures and criteria used to regulate outflows from Lake Ontario and manage water levels in Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River. This document is the product of the work of several of the above-mentioned Environment Canada research scientists. It is a synthesis of the current state of knowledge and of certain recommendations relating to the possible impacts of fluctuating flows and water levels on various environmental and socio-economic factors. The following is a brief summary of each of the 13 chapters of the report. Chapter 1 describes the issue of water availability for the St. Lawrence. The authors summarize the major changes that have occurred in the Great Lakes–St. Lawrence system and present the institutional framework applicable to fluctuating water levels in the St. Lawrence. They review the various laws, policies and federal-provincial agreements regarding water resources and flood control, wetland conservation, fish habitat management, species at risk, etc. They then provide a historical account of efforts to review the management of water levels in the St. Lawrence. The chapter ends with a discussion of the current challenges and issues relating to the sustainability of the St. Lawrence ecosystem. Chapter 2 provides a synthesis of the current state of knowledge of the physiographic and hydrological characteristics of the fluvial section of the St. Lawrence downstream of Cornwall. It describes the various components (flow, inflows, anthropogenic features, the seaway, ice management, regulation, etc.) and the fluctuating flows (short-term, seasonal and long-term) and water levels. Chapter 3 covers the dominant physical processes at play in the St. Lawrence River, the modelling of these processes and the integration of the resulting models in an ecosystem modelling system. On the basis of topometric information, bedrock and aquatic vegetation mapping and analysis of the fluvial hydrology, the authors present the steps involved in and results of the modelling of currents, waves, water masses and other physical variables that are important to the analysis and modelling of flora and fauna. Chapter 4 deals with the modelling of the spatial distribution of and temporal changes in the aquatic vegetation of the St. Lawrence River. On the basis of information derived from physical changes as a function of flow and from a very large number of field observations, the authors show how modelling is used to understand changes in the aquatic vegetation and major wetland classes along the river's edge. Chapter 5 studies the effects of the St. Lawrence River hydrological regime on plant diversity and productivity. The author presents in detail the characteristics of each of the primary producer compartments (phytoplankton, metaphyton, periphyton, and macrophytes) from the point of view of biodiversity, biomass and productivity. The author also discusses temporal variations as a function of water levels and threats to the integrity of organisms and their habitats posed by human activities (excavation of the river bed and basin tributaries, regulation and dams) and climate change. Chapter 6 concentrates on the impacts of fluctuating water levels on reptiles and amphibians. The author reviews the direct and indirect effects of a decrease or increase in water levels on the various species of reptiles and amphibians that occur in the St. Lawrence Valley. The author also discusses the anticipated effects of climate change and gives an overview of the other environmental pressures on the herpetofauna of the St. Lawrence (i.e. habitat fragmentation, chemical pollution, infectious diseases, introduced species, etc.). Chapter 7 focusses on fish communities in the lower St. Lawrence River. The authors analyze how the nature and the extent of hydrological variability influence fish dynamics and attempt to provide a prognosis in terms of the potential effects of regulation on ecosystem integrity and the dynamics of fish communities in the river. Chapter 8 examines wetland birds. The authors provide a current picture of the bird species and habitats of the St. Lawrence and go on to analyze the role of fluvial dynamics on bird assemblages. One section is devoted specifically to species at risk. The chapter concludes with recommendations concerning the regulation of water levels for the benefit of bird species. Chapter 9 presents a discussion of the muskrat, the only herbivorous mammal that has a direct impact on the dynamics of St. Lawrence wetlands. The authors cover certain aspects of the biology of this mammal and its interaction with wetlands before addressing the impacts of water-level fluctuations in winter and the ecological implications of regulating St. Lawrence River flows. Chapter 10 looks specifically at species at risk. The author presents the current situation on the fluvial section of the St. Lawrence and the legislation protecting species at risk, followed by a section on species at risk whose survival depends on hydrological conditions. The author then discusses the performance of regulation plans from the perspective of various species and concludes with a number of recommendations aimed at improving our understanding and limiting the negative impacts of waterlevel fluctuations on these species. Chapter 11 addresses St. Lawrence water use. The authors review the main water requirements for human activities (public supply, hydroelectric power generation, commercial shipping and recreational boating, etc.) and discuss the threats and issues associated with water availability. The authors conclude by evaluating the role of the adaptations to be considered to counteract human pressure on water resources. Chapter 12 describes the concept of performance indicators and the various methods and approaches used to evaluate the regulation plans that have been proposed to replace the current plan. The chapter concludes with an overview of the research that remains to be done. Chapter 13 presents the overall prospects for an integrated approach to the management of the waters of the St. Lawrence. The authors discuss the scientific base and the multiplicity of players and users as agents of integrated management. They conclude by providing a number of directions for the development of policy capacity and strategies based on comprehensive integration.


Liver is a vital organ play a major role in metabolism and excretion of xenobiotics from the body. Liver injury or liver dysfunction is a major health problem that challenges not only health care professionals but also the pharmaceutical industry and drug regulatory agencies. Liver cell injury caused by various toxic chemicals (certain anti-biotic, chemotherapeutic agents, carbon tetrachloride (CCL4), thioacetamide (TAA) etc.), excessive alcohol consumption and microbes is well studied. Herbal medicines have been used in the treatment of liver diseases for a long time. A number of herbal preparations are available in the market. The present review is aimed at compiling data on promising phytochemicals from medicinal plants that have been tested in hepatotoxicity models using modern scientific system. A large number of populations suffer due to various reasons from hepatic diseases of unknown origin. The development of antihepatotoxic drugs being a major thrust area has drawn the attention of workers in the field of natural product research because synthetic drugs may cause serious side effects. The present research was aimed to study the in vivo hepatoprotective activity of methanolic extract of Digitali Purpurea L. in CCl4 induced hepatotoxicity in albino rats. The level of serum aspartate aminotransferase (SGOT), alanine aminotransferase (SGPT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and total bilirubin (T. BILI.) were determined to assay hepatotoxicity. CCl4 administration caused severe hepatic damage in rats as evidenced by elevated serum SGOT, SGPT, ALP and T. BILI. Levels. The extract of Digitalis Purpurea L. and silymarin administration prevented the toxic effect of CCl4 on the above serum parameters in both preventive and curative models. The present study concludes that, methanolic extract of Digitalis Purpurea L has significant hepatoprotective activity against CCl4 induced hepatotoxicity, which support folkloric utilization and further confirmed by the histological investigation. The observed activity may be associated with its high bioactive compounds including Purpurea glycoside –A, Digitoxin (a), Glucoodoroside–H, Gitoxin, Odoroside – H, Verodoxin, Digitalin, β-sitosterol, Cholesterol, Campesterol, Apigenin.


Strobilanthinae comprise approximately 350 species from south and southeast Asia and Melanesia. Three main classifications of Strobilanthinae have been advocated, differing markedly in the number of groups recognised, their circumscription, and the rank assigned to them. But there remains no consensus concerning the best approach to the classification of the group. To investigate this issue, a morphological cladistic analysis of the southern Indian and Sri Lankan Strobilanthinae, comprising 66 species, is described. The results of the analysis demonstrate significant limitations of all three historical approaches to the classification of the group and, furthermore, suggest that any attempt to provide an informative formal classification of Strobilanthinae will be problematic. The only satisfactory approach consistent with these results is to place all previously recognised taxa in synonymy of an expanded Strobilanthes and to recognise informally those infrageneric monophyletic groups that can be clearly diagnosed.


Data comprise elemental and radionuclide concentrations in freeze-dried Mediterranean plants, seeds and oven dried soil. The samples were collected in June 2014 along a transect located in the Monfrague National Park which is within the province of Caceres, western Spain (start: N 33° 49' 47.2'', W 006° 01' 55.4'', end: N 390 49'46.8'', W 0060 02' 05.1'' (geocentric World Geodetic System 1984 (GPS WG 884)). Thirty plant species (Agrostis pourretii; Campanula rapunculus; Taraxacum sp.; Taraxacum officinale; Rumex scutatus; Hypericum perforatum; Schoenoplectus pungens; Erica umbellata; Phillyrea angustifolia; Myrtus communis; Cytisus sp.; Vitis vinifera subsp. Sylvestris; Crataegus monogyna; Daphne gnidium; Quercus ilex; Ruscus aculeatus; Olea europaea subsp. Europaea; Hordeum murinum; Pistacia terebinthus; Acer monspessulanum; Ficus carica; Cistus ladanifer; Eryngium campestre; Carlina vulgaris; Asparagus acutifolius; Viburnum tinus; Tamarix gallica; Jasminum fruticans; Rubia peregrine; Trifolium campestre) and three soil samples were collected and analysed by ICPMS (Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry) or ICPOES (Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectroscopy) to determine their elemental concentrations. Seeds from six of the plant species were also collected and analysed. Plant samples of sufficient mass (n=16) and the three soil samples were also analysed for selected gamma emitting radionuclides (Be-7, Cs-137 and K-40). The work described here was conducted under both the COMET framework (Fission-2012-3.4.1-604794) (http://www.comet-radioecology.org/) and the TREE project (http://tree.ceh.ac.uk/) funded by the Natural Environment Research Council, Environment Agency and Radioactive Waste Management Ltd. It was also supported by the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology which is part of the Natural Environment Research Council of the UK.


Recent work on fairness in machine learning has focused on various statistical discrimination criteria and how they trade off. Most of these criteria are observational: They depend only on the joint distribution of predictor, protected attribute, features, and outcome. While convenient to work with, observational criteria have severe inherent limitations that prevent them from resolving matters of fairness conclusively.
Going beyond observational criteria, we frame the problem of discrimination based on protected attributes in the language of causal reasoning. This viewpoint shifts attention from "What is the right fairness criterion?" to "What do we want to assume about the causal data generating process?" Through the lens of causality, we make several contributions. First, we crisply articulate why and when observational criteria fail, thus formalizing what was before a matter of opinion. Second, our approach exposes previously ignored subtleties and why they are fundamental to the problem. Finally, we put forward natural causal non-discrimination criteria and develop algorithms that satisfy them.


OBJECTIVE
To (1) evaluate radiographic changes associated with osteoarthrosis (OA) before and after tibial tuberosity advancement (TTA) and (2) determine if these changes are indicative of limb function as determined by kinetic gait analysis.

STUDY DESIGN
Prospective clinical study.

ANIMALS
Dogs (n=35) with cranial cruciate ligament (CCL) deficient stifles (38).

METHODS
Variables recorded were: complete or partial CCL rupture, meniscal lesions, arthroscopically graded cartilage lesions, complications, and revision surgeries. Radiographic evaluation and kinetic gait analysis (vertical ground reaction forces [GRFs]) were conducted pre- and 4-16 months postoperatively (mean, 5.9 months). Radiographs were evaluated without knowledge of operative findings and functional outcome. A score (0-3) based on new bone production at 11 specific sites was used to grade OA. Soft tissue changes were classified separately as normal or excessive. Preoperative scores were correlated with clinical variables. Postoperative scores and progression of OA scores were correlated with clinical variables and GRFs.

RESULTS
OA remained unchanged in 17 joints and progressed in 21 (55%). Dogs with meniscal lesions had higher OA scores preoperatively, but not at follow-up. Dogs with severe cartilage lesions at surgery had more progression of OA. GRFs improved after surgery and were not correlated with any of the radiographic OA scores.

CONCLUSION
Progression of OA was greater in the presence of severe cartilage lesions at surgery. OA scores were not correlated with GRFs.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE
Progression of OA is generally expected to occur after TTA despite improvement of limb function.


This thesis focuses on how access management in the Personal Health Record (PHR) plays its part in the interoperability and information exchange of the future environment of patient-centered care. Personal health records and state of the art access management mechanisms are introduced and a categorization of existing PHR solutions from different viewpoints is performed. Architectural differences are then discussed in detail. Furthermore, this thesis analyzes different approaches as to how an access management scheme using the eXtensible Access Control Markup Language (XACML) can be implemented for interoperable PHRs. Using concrete usage scenarios, it evaluates this approach in different architecture environments. Finally, a case study concerning pregnancy care presents a suggestion to how this access management scheme can be implemented in the Norwegian health care environment, interoperable with systems already present. Through the conceptual architecture analysis and the case study, this thesis has shown that utilizing the flexibility of XACML, several architectures and development environments may adopt this scheme independent of the impact of future health care networks.


Immunoglobulin G (IgG) therapy is an established long‐term treatment in chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) that is commonly administered intravenously (IVIg). The subcutaneous immunoglobulin (SCIg) administration route is a safe and effective alternative option, approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2018, for maintenance treatment of adults with CIDP. Physicians and patients alike need to be aware of all their treatment options in order to make informed decisions and plan long‐term treatment strategies. In this review, we collate the evidence for SCIg in CIDP from all published studies and discuss their implications and translation to clinical practice. We also provide guidance on the practicalities of how and when to transition patients from IVIg to SCIg and ongoing patient support. Evidence suggests that IVIg and SCIg have comparable long‐term efficacy in CIDP. However, SCIg can provide additional benefits for some patients, including no requirement for venous access or premedication, and reduced frequency of systemic adverse events. Local‐site reactions are more common with SCIg than IVIg, but these are mostly well‐tolerated and abate with subsequent infusions. Data suggest that many patients prefer SCIg following transition from IVIg. SCIg preference may be a result of the independence and flexibility associated with self‐infusion, whereas IVIg preference may be a result of familiarity and reliance on a healthcare professional for infusions. In practice, individualizing maintenance dosing based on disease behavior and determining the minimally effective IgG dose for individuals are key considerations irrespective of the administration route chosen.


This paper suggests that the active approach is preferrabe to the passive approach when it comes to teaching and learning robotics. Unlike the passive approach, the active approach puts more emphasis on the bodies and their motion and, consequently, less emphasis on coordinate frames and changes of coordinates. While the active view is straightforward to teach and learn, it is mathematically equivalent to the standard passive approach. Ultimately, the choice between the two approaches is a matter of personal preference and depends on familiarity and personal taste.


BACKGROUND
eHealth can enhance the delivery of clinical cancer care by offering unique education opportunities for oncology nurses, patients, and family caregivers throughout the cancer trajectory.

OBJECTIVES
This article reviews eHealth technology that can be applied to oncology education, such as mobile health applications, text messaging, web-based education, and audio- and videoconferencing.

METHODS
Case studies provide exemplars of eHealth technologies used for delivering oncology education to nurses, patients, and caregivers.

FINDINGS
By using eHealth technologies to obtain and provide education, oncology nurses are well positioned to improve the lives of patients and caregivers.


Objective: The efficacy of therapeutic vaccines against HIV-1 infection has been modest. New inerts to redirect responses to vulnerable sites are urgently needed to improve these results. Design: We performed the first-in-human clinical trial with naked mRNA (iHIVARNA) combining a dendritic cell activation strategy (TriMix:CD40L+CD70+caTLR4 RNA) with a novel HIV immunogen sequences (HTI immunogen). Methods: A dose escalation, phase I clinical trial was performed in 21 chronic HIV-1-infected patients under ART who received three intranodal doses of mRNA (weeks 0, 2 and 4) as follow: TriMix-100 g, TriMix-300 g, TriMix-300 g with HTI-300 g, TriMix-300 g with HTI-600 g, TriMix-300 g with HTI-900 g. Primary end-point was safety and secondary-exploratory end-points were immunogenicity, changes in viral reservoir and transcriptome. Results: Overall, the vaccine was secure and well tolerated. There were 31 grade 1/2 and 1 grade 3 adverse events, mostly unrelated to the vaccination. Patients who received the highest dose showed a moderate increase in T-cell responses spanning HTI sequence at week 8. In addition, the proportion of responders receiving any dose of HTI increased from 31% at w0 to 80% postvaccination. The intervention had no impact on caHIV-DNA levels, however, caHIV-RNA expression and usVL were transiently increased at weeks 5 and 6 in the highest dose of iHIVARNA, and these changes were positively correlated with HIV-1-specific-induced immune responses. Conclusion: This phase I dose-escalating trial showed that iHIVARNA administration was safe and well tolerated, induced moderate HIV-specific T-cell responses and transiently increased different viral replication readouts. These data support further exploration of iHIVARNA in a phase II study. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02413645


This stunning new translation presents the only truly complete edition of the plays of one of the greatest dramatists in history. Anton Chekhov is a unique force in modern drama, his works interpreted and adapted internationally and beloved for their brilliant wit and understanding of the human condition.This volume contains work never previously translated, including the newly discovered farce The Power of Hypnotism, the first version of Ivanov, Chekhov's early humorous dialogues, and a description of lost plays and those Chekhov intended to write but never did.


Background Mixed breeding systems with extended clonal phases and weak sexual recruitment are widespread in nature but often thought to impede the formation of discrete evolutionary clusters. Thus, cyclic parthenogens, such as cladocerans and rotifers, could be predisposed to "species problems" and a lack of discrete species. However, species flocks have been proposed for one cladoceran group, Eubosmina, where putative species are sympatric, and there is a detailed paleolimnological record indicating a Holocene age. These factors make the Eubosmina system suitable for testing the hypotheses that extended clonal phases and weak sexual recruitment inhibit speciation. Although common garden experiments have revealed a genetic component to the morphotypic variation, the evolutionary significance of the morphotypes remains controversial. Methodology/Principal Findings In the present study, we tested the hypothesis of a single polymorphic species (i.e., mixing occurs but selection maintains genes for morphology) in four northern European lakes where the morphotypes coexist. Our evidence is based on nuclear DNA sequence, mitochondrial DNA sequence, and morphometric analysis of coexisting morphotypes. We found significant genetic differentiation, genealogical exclusivity, and morphometric differentiation for coexisting morphotypes. Conclusions We conclude that the studied morphotypes represent a group of young species undergoing speciation with apparent reproductive barriers despite coexistence in the freshwater pelagic zone.


A computationally efficient global optimization method, the Particle Swarm Optimization algorithm (PSO), is proposed for the synthesis of uniform amplitude arrays of two classes, i.e., unequally spaced arrays with equal phases and unequal phases. Phase-only synthesis and the synthesis of uniformly exited unequally spaced arrays (position only synthesis) are compared and it is seen that, by using the unequal spacing, the number of array elements can be significantly reduced for attaining reduced sidelobe levels. From the PSO -based synthesis of unequally spaced arrays with uniform amplitudes and unequal phases, it is found that a tradeoff exists between the size of the unequally spaced arrays and the range of phases for the same radiation characteristics. The proposed synthesis technique using uniform amplitudes, unequal spacing, and unequal phases (position-phase synthesis) not only decreases the size of the array for the same sidelobe level compared to both the phase-only synthesis and position-only synthesis but also retains their advantages.


Martin Amis's life could itself provide the formula for an enthralling work of fiction. Son of one of the most popular and best-loved novelists of the post-War era, he has forged a groundbreaking manner of writing that owes nothing to the style of his father, nor indeed to anyone else. He relished and recorded the bizarre, turbulent atmosphere of Britain and the US during the 1970s and 80s, arguably the transformative period of the late 20th century. No other contemporary writer has proved so magnetic for the popular press: he has, despite himself, achieved celebrity status. Of late, his reputation as a novelist has been matched by his outspoken, challenging writing on contemporary global politics, and he has earned the status as the Orwell of the early 21st century. Martin Amis offers the real Martin Amis, a cabinet of contrasts: tortured, eloquently aloof, kind, obsessive, loved by women, a dedicated family man, often the architect of his own undoing, and a literary genius. Moreover, this fascinating biography discloses the autobiographical thread that runs through Amis's books. Richard Bradford has talked with Amis at length, questioned him on his childhood, his private history, his opinions and the inspiration for his fiction, and these exchanges are supplemented by interviews with a large number of his friends and fellow writers. Praise for Richard Bradford's previous titles: Praise for Lucky Him: The Life of Kingsley Amis: 'Nearly all critical biographies relate the work to the life - insidiously, tendentiously, helplessly. Richard Bradford is different: he does it convincingly, and with vigour. The result is an original and stimulating book'. Martin Amis 'I found Bradford's approach refreshing. Rare among literary academics he writes clearly, doesn't show off and knows a lot about his subject. He presents a fascinating chronicle of the development of Amis's brilliant ear for speech...He also brings out the full extent of the symbiosis between Amis and his best friend Philip Larkin: in a way Larkin invented Amis.' Craig Brown 'At his better moments Bradford...rises to Amis's stylistic level.' Humphrey Carpenter


A toroid cavity autoclave (TCA) is a metal pressure vessel that simultaneously functions as an NMR resonator. Since the introduction of the TCA concept, many adaptations and optimizations were put together to suit particular applications such as catalysis in supercritical fluids, rotating-frame imaging of materials, and evaluation of transport phenomena. In this article, we present recent achievements in TCA engineering that were carried out for both major fields of research with TCAs, i.e., high-pressure and imaging studies. A new modular TCA design is introduced that makes it possible to easily access all individual parts of the autoclave for maintenance and replacement. The TCA is double tuned to a high frequency for 1H and 19F resonances and a low frequency for hetero nuclei. It withstands pressures up to 400 bar at room temperature and 300 bar at temperatures up to 100°C. The autoclave sample volume is electrically separated into two compartments with only the lower compartment NMR sensitive. With the two-compartment TCA, it is possible to monitor multiple-phase systems or gas/liquid reactions in situ without sacrificing high-resolution qualities of the probe. In addition, special features are presented, such as the utilization of a second pressure line for injecting key reagents that initiate a chemical reaction or for vigorously mixing gases with a reactive solution. A newly designed resistive heater that does not introduce stray magnetic fields is also described.


MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of non-coding RNAs that are intensively studied as biomarkers of various diseases. In this study, the attention was aimed at the research of miR-34a-5p related to head and neck cancer (HNC) and prostate cancer (PCa). MiR-34a-5p belongs to the miR-34 family and its directly linked to p53 and Wnt pathways. beside the classical molecular biology techniques of miRNA study (PCR, Northern Blotting, microarrays technologies), new biophysical approaches were applied. The results from the PCR analysis were complemented with UV absorption spectra, CD spectra and linear sweep voltammetry in connection with adsorptive stripping (AdTS) technique indicating significant differences in miR-34a-5p expression status.


Background: Oral Submucous Fibrosis (OSMF) is a collagen related disorder seen in habitual betel-quid chewers. This is a high risk precancerous condition which clinically presents vertical palpable fibrous bands in buccal mucosa, generalized fibrosis of oral soft tissues with restricted mouth opening. Present study was undertaken to ascertain the changes occurring in collagen type I & III and elastic fibres in OSMF in relation to orientation, density and thickness.
Study Methods: The study was performed on 15 cases in each group such as Stage I OSMF, Stage II OSMF, Stage III OSMF and normal oral mucosa (NOM). The biopsied samples were routinely processed for paraffin embedding; stained with Hematoxylin and Eosin as well as special stains like Masson's Trichrome (MT), Verhoeff Van Gieson (VVG) and Picrosirius red (PSR) and examined under light and polarized microscope respectively. MT stain demonstrated all types of collagen fibers collectively while PSR stain under polarized microscopy demonstrated collagen type I and type III separately with enhanced birefringence. VVG stain demonstrated very fine black colored elastic fibers, thus changes taken place could be accurately ascertained with progression of the disease.
Results: Change in the orientation of collagen type I has been observed in stage II and stage III of OSMF from haphazard to parallel in relation to surface epithelium, while no change was noted in type III collagen fibres as well as elastic fibres in any stage of OSMF, and remained haphazardly arranged. Increased  density of type I  collagen was observed  with increasing stage of OSMF from moderately dense to dense, while decrease  in density of type III collagen was noticed in stage III than in stage II OSMF from moderately dense to sparse. The density of elastic fibres was decreasing from dense in stage I to sparse in stage III. Thickness of collagen type I was increasing with increasing grades while type III collagen and elastic fibres remained unchanged.
Conclusion: The alterations in orientation, density and thickness of collagen fibres and density of elastic fibres in various grades of OSMF contribute to the clinical presentation of trismus with progression of the disease.

Key Words: Collagen type I, Collagen type III, Elastic fibres, Masson's trichrome stain, Verhoeff Van Gieson stain, Picrosirius red stain


We study the early adoption of Twitter in the 111th House of Representatives. Our main objective is to determine whether successes of past adopters have the tendency to speed up Twitter adoption, where past success is defined as the average followers per Tweet — a common measure of "Twitter success" — among all prior adopters. The data suggests that accelerated adoption can be associated with favorable past outcomes: increasing the average number of followers per Tweet among past adopters by a standard deviation (of eight followers per Tweet) accelerates the adoption time by about 112 days. This acceleration effect is weaker for those who already have adopted Facebook and those who have access to information about a large number of past adopters. We later find a positive relationship between an adopter's own success and the success of adopters preceding him/her. Thus, there may exist benefits associated with adopting Twitter based on past successes of others. In general, the patterns we find are consistent with predictions generated by a simple model of adoption delay with learning.


The author explores tensions between teacher-centered styles of teaching and play-based approaches that invite students to be creators of their own learning. Through narrative inquiry, the author uses a metaphor of wildflowers growing in natural environments to explore a child-led process of learning through play that fosters creativity and deep thinking. Teaching Kindergarten for the first time, the author reflects on challenges of living "secret stories" in the classroom that differ from "sacred stories" of the school's pedagogical practices, feeling a need to create a "cover story" to present her pedagogy as conforming, yet capable and successful.


Artificial drainage is successfully used to improve the moisture conditions of agricultural soils, but there are drawbacks, such as nutrient export and wetland destruction. This Special Section: Artificial Drainage of the Vadose Zone Journal features eight papers comprising diverse subjects, including the history of land drainage in England, monitoring strategies, nutrient losses under different management systems, and constructed wetlands to mitigate pollution from tile drainage. Still, there are issues such as catchment‐scale management approaches or the influence of drainage management measures on carbon cycling upon which scientists will have to work in the 21st century.


Aorto-Cavitary Fistulae Secondary to Streptococcal Endocarditis
Multiple aorto cavitary fistulae formation is a very rare and extremely serious complication of infective endocarditis (IE). We report a case of native aortic valve IE complicated by perivalvular abscess leading to formation of fistulae to the right atrium and right ventricle. It was successfully treated by early cardiac surgery.


Ground water is the primary source of water supply in most areas of Marylands Atlantic Coastal Plain, including Southern Maryland. The counties in this area are experiencing some of the most rapid growth and development in the State, resulting in an increased demand for ground-water production. The cooperative, basic water-data program of the U.S. Geological Survey and the Maryland Geological Survey has collected long-term observations of ground-water levels in Southern Maryland and parts of the Eastern Shore for many decades. Additional water-level observations were made by both agencies beginning in the 1970s, under the Power Plant Research Program of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. These long-term water levels commonly show significant declines over several decades, which are attributed to ground-water withdrawals. Ground-water-level trends since 1980 in major Coastal Plain aquifers such as the Piney Point-Nanjemoy, Aquia, Magothy, upper Patapsco, lower Patapsco, and Patuxent were compared to water use and withdrawal data. Potentiometric surface maps show that most of the declines in ground-water levels can be directly related to effects from major pumping centers. There is also evidence that deep drawdowns in some pumped aquifers may be causing declines in adjacent, unpumped aquifers. Water-level hydrographs of many wells in Southern Maryland show linear declines in levels year after year, instead of the gradual leveling-off that would be expected as the aquifers equilibrate with pumping. A continual increase in the volumes of water being withdrawn from the aquifers is one explanation for why they are not reaching equilibrium. Although reported ground-water production in Southern Maryland has increased somewhat over the past several decades, the reported increases are often not large enough to account for the observed water-level declines. Numerical modeling simulations indicate that a steady, annual increase in the number of small wells could account for the observed aquifer behavior. Such wells, being pumped at rates below the minimum legal reporting threshold of 10,000 gallons per day, might be the source of the additional withdrawals. More detailed water-use data, especially from domestic wells, central- pivot irrigation wells, and other small users not currently reporting withdrawals to the State, may help to determine the cause of the aquifer declines.


Book synopsis: The most debated issue in aesthetics today
Written by an international team of leading experts
Addresses growing methodological concerns in the field
Includes an extensive introduction which illuminates key issues
Through much of the twentieth century, philosophical thinking about works of art, design, and other aesthetic products has emphasized intuitive and reflective methods, often tied to the idea that philosophy's business is primarily to analyze concepts. This 'philosophy from the armchair' approach contrasts with methods used by psychologists, sociologists, evolutionary thinkers, and others who study the making and reception of the arts empirically. How far should philosophers be sensitive to the results of these studies? Is their own largely a priori method basically flawed? Are their views on aesthetic value, interpretation, imagination, and the emotions of art to be rethought in the light of best science? The essays in this volume seek answers to these questions, many through detailed studies of problems traditionally regarded as philosophical but where empirical inquiry seems to be shedding interesting light. No common view is looked for or found in this volume: a number of authors argue that the current enthusiasm for scientific approaches to aesthetics is based on a misunderstanding of the philosophical enterprise and sometimes on misinterpretation of the science; others suggest various ways that philosophy can and should accommodate and sometimes yield to the empirical approach. The editors provide a substantial introduction which sets the scene historically and conceptually before summarizing the claims and arguments of the essays.


In spite of ongoing research on IS risks and the increased sophistication of the tools and techniques developed, IS risks continue to be a challenge to IS professionals and managers. Increased complexity leads to increased risks. When we are confronted with a complex system, our knowledge and understanding of how different components work and interact, and accordingly how the system as a whole works, will always be incomplete. While many researchers have dwelt on project management techniques, it is apparent that we cannot have all the answers in advance since we cannot foretell the future. Due to the increasing complexity of IS solutions it is seen that existing information system development methodologies do not tackle this adequately. The primary purpose of this paper is to highlight how System Dynamics which employs systems thinking can be used to deal with the study of organizations (companies, public institutions, and other human organizations) as complex systems of human activity, with plurality of interest and values. It also shows how System Dynamics models can help companies to manage the risks and uncertainties related to complex IS projects. This paper partly describes some variables in an ongoing research where we aim to use the system dynamics methodology to create a better understanding of the link between information quality and customer satisfaction. We critically look at two variables that we deem important in the search for this relationship. These are complexity and risk in IS projects.


It has been understood that the presence of coliphages (bacteriophages specific for E. coli) in water is an indirect measurement of fecal contamination. Bacteriophages have been suggested to hold an important role in regulating the bacterial population. This pilot study analyzes the relationship between the presence of coliphages in the water in the aviary at Brookgreen Gardens and how environmental factors such as temperature, pH, and turbidity affect the presence of these viruses over the time period of three months (June 2017 through August 2017). Coliphages found in volary water sources were speculated to be deposited directly by birds that live in the Brookgreen Gardens aviary. These birds remain in an enclosed area, thus making the location a reservoir potentially rich in bacteriophage number and diversity. Plaque assays were conducted to look for the presence of the coliphages. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis was conducted on all samples collected in order to characterize any possible coliphages identified via plaque assays. The results gathered from both microbial (plaque assay) and molecular (PCR) methods varied immensely, with numerous positive results found at each site for each week of analysis over the three-month period. All PCR tests conducted on samples were deemed negative for coliphage presence, indicating that these coliphages are especially unique or may be RNA-based. These findings confirm that there are indeed bacteriophages present in the Brookgreen Gardens aviary, and that pH, turbidity, and temperature did not appear to play a prominent role in the presence of the coliphages. The location in the aviary which yielded the most positive results (Site 1) was the site at which the birds were most frequently observed defecating, providing indirect evidence that the fecal matter of the birds is the most important factor in bacteriophage presence.


There is a strong case for boosting public investment in many countries based on identified country-specific structural weaknesses and the relatively low levels of such investment. This paper analyses the potential macroeconomic benefits of increased public investment using simulations on NiGEM. The results suggest that the supply-side benefits from raising potential output are likely to lead to more favourable macroeconomic outcomes than those from using many other standard fiscal instruments, although it takes many years for the full effect on potential output to accumulate. Variant model simulations also suggest that a fiscal stimulus will be more effective in the short term the less it is offset by monetary policy, making well-targeted policy initiatives especially effective when policy interest rates are at the zero lower bound. Globalisation implies that spillover effects from collective action are larger than in the past, boosting multipliers relative to the case where countries take individual action, particularly in the first two years after the policy change. Such spillovers are likely to be particularly important in small open European economies, especially those strongly integrated in European value chains.


The year 2017 marked an inflection point in the evolution of social norms regarding sexual harassment. While victims of workplace harassment had long suffered in silence, the surfacing of serious sexual misconduct allegations against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein encouraged many more victims to tell their personal stories of abuse. These scandals have spread beyond Hollywood to the rest of corporate America, leading to the departures of several high-profile executives as well as sharp stock price declines at a number of firms. In the past year, shareholders at four publicly traded companies have filed lawsuits alleging that corporate directors and officers breached their fiduciary duties and/or violated federal securities laws in connection with sexual harassment scandals at those firms. More such suits are likely to follow in the months ahead.
In this Article, we examine the role of corporate and securities law in regulating and remedying workplace sexual misconduct. We specify the conditions under which corporate fiduciaries can be held liable to shareholders under state corporation law for perpetrating sexual misconduct or allowing it to occur at their firms. We also discuss the circumstances under which federal securities law requires issuers to disclose sexual misconduct allegations against top executives and to reveal payments made to settle sexual misconduct claims. After building a doctrinal framework for analyzing potential liability, we consider the strategic and normative implications of using corporate and securities law as tools to address workplace-based sexual misconduct. We conclude that corporate and securities law can serve to publicize the scope and severity of sexual harassment, incentivize proactive and productive interventions by corporate fiduciaries, and punish individuals and entities that commit, conceal, and abet sexual misconduct in the workplace. But we also address the potential discursive and distributional implications of using laws designed to protect shareholders as tools to regulate sexual harassment. We end by emphasizing the promise as well as the pitfalls of corporate law as a catalyst for organizational and social change.


This work discusses the design and development of a fault tolerant flight control system as a part of the research requirement of the Author's Master's Degree Thesis. The requirements of safety critical systems, reliable systems, fault tolerant systems, avionics and embedded systems were considered for this project. Byzantine resilience and common mode fault avoidance are considered beyond the scope of this work at this time. The fault tolerant system designed for this work was set up as a triple modular redundant system to tolerate the existence of one fault within the system. The system was implemented with the PC/104 embedded PC platform. Microsoft flight simulator was used as a test platform to generate input data and to demonstrate successful operation by showing a flight under control by the flight control system. The end results show that a fault tolerant system can be developed to successfully tolerate one fault while the system is in operation.


The key United States law regulating employment discrimination against employees with disabilities is the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Title I of the ADA prohibits employment discrimination against any 'qualified individual with a disability'. This proscription includes traditional prohibitions of 'disparate treatment' and 'disparate impact'. Another form of employment discrimination prohibited by the ADA is the failure to provide a 'reasonable' workplace 'accommodation' to a qualified individual with a disability. The statute defines those individuals as workers who are capable of performing the essential job functions of the respective positions sought, either with or without provision of reasonable accommodations. Because reasonable accommodations are the focus of scholarly and political debate over the ADA, while also being the main innovation in disability employment discrimination worldwide, this chapter focuses on accommodations. Although the ADA is a United States statute, it has had considerable influence on disability-related employment laws internationally. This is true for systemic national laws such as the United Kingdom's Disability Discrimination Act that are closely modeled on the ADA as well as for international acts that borrow specific concepts from the ADA (Stein and Stein 2007). Notably, the ADA's reasonable accommodation mandate has been adopted by the United Nations.


The aim of this study was to describe the possibility of influencing components of hospital delay time within the emergency department (ED) among patients with ST-elevation on the initial electrocardiogram (ECG). Nurses recorded seven patient time points: (1) ED admission; (2) ECG recording; (3) decision by nurse/ED physician; (4) cardiologist ED arrival; (5) decision of coronary care unit (CCU) admission; (6) ED departure; (7) CCU arrival. After special training in ECG, nurses in the ED were subsequently delegated to send patients directly to the CCU if showing ST-elevation on the admission ECG without contacting either the physician in ED or the cardiologist on call (intervention). Delay times between hospital admission and admission to the CCU were evaluated during the 9 months prior to and during the 6 months after the start of this intervention. Fifty patients (66% men) participated in the first study during 3 months (prior to intervention). Patients with suspected or confirmed acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in the ED had a median delay time from ED arrival to CCU arrival of 55.5 minutes (34.5 minutes for patients with confirmed AMI; ST elevation on admission). Time interval from decision to admit to CCU and ED departure was an average of 31% of the total delay. A mean of 21% of total delay occurred between ED decision to cardiologist arrival, and 19% during the time interval from cardiologist ED arrival until decision to CCU admission. Among patients receiving thrombolysis, the median delay time from hospital admission to CCU admission was reduced from 40 minutes during the 9 months prior to start of the intervention (nurses sending patients directly to the CCU) to 22 minutes during the 6 months thereafter (p = 0.02). The largest proportion of hospital delay components for acute coronary syndrome patients occurred between the cardiologist's decision to admit to the CCU and departure from the ED, and the interval following the decision by the nurse or physician to the cardiologist ED arrival. When nurses were delegated to transfer patients with ST-elevation on admission directly to the CCU without contacting a physician, the delay time from ED admission to CCU admission was reduced by nearly 50%.


The discrimination of the direction of movement of sensory images is critical to the control of many animal behaviors. We propose a parsimonious model of motion processing that generates direction selective responses using short-term synaptic depression and can reproduce salient features of direction selectivity found in a population of neurons in the midbrain of the weakly electric fish Eigenmannia virescens. The model achieves direction selectivity with an elementary Reichardt motion detector: information from spatially separated receptive fields converges onto a neuron via dynamically different pathways. In the model, these differences arise from convergence of information through distinct synapses that either exhibit or do not exhibit short-term synaptic depression—short-term depression produces phase-advances relative to nondepressing synapses. Short-term depression is modeled using two state-variables, a fast process with a time constant on the order of tens to hundreds of milliseconds, and a slow process with a time constant on the order of seconds to tens of seconds. These processes correspond to naturally occurring time constants observed at synapses that exhibit short-term depression. Inclusion of the fast process is sufficient for the generation of temporal disparities that are necessary for direction selectivity in the elementary Reichardt circuit. The addition of the slow process can enhance direction selectivity over time for stimuli that are sustained for periods of seconds or more. Transient (i.e., short-duration) stimuli do not evoke the slow process and therefore do not elicit enhanced direction selectivity. The addition of a sustained global, synchronous oscillation in the gamma frequency range can, however, drive the slow process and enhance direction selectivity to transient stimuli. This enhancement effect does not, however, occur for all combinations of model parameters. The ratio of depressing and nondepressing synapses determines the effects of the addition of the global synchronous oscillation on direction selectivity. These ingredients, short-term depression, spatial convergence, and gamma-band oscillations, are ubiquitous in sensory systems and may be used in Reichardt-style circuits for the generation and enhancement of a variety of biologically relevant spatiotemporal computations.


Experiments were conducted to standardize a method for the management of nematode induced disease complex in bell pepper (Capsicum annuum L.), caused by the interaction of the nematode Meloidogyne incognita with the bacterium Ralstonia solanacearum, using the combination formulation of Pseudomonas fluorescens and Paecilomyces lilacinus. The use of this formulation as seed treatment and subsequent application in the nursery and in the field, as a method for the management of this disease complex, was standardized. Ten grams of this formulation was used for the seed (1 kg) treatment, 5 g for treating 1 kg of substrate (coco peat) and 5 kg for the enrichment of a vermi-compost (500 kg) which was applied to the field before transplanting bell pepper seedlings. This method reduced the population of M. incognita and the disease incidence. The plant growth components (shoot and root length), nematode egg parasitization and crop yield were also significantly increased. The colonization of the roots by P. fluorescens did not affect that by P. lilacinus.


A seismically active low-angle normal fault is recognized at depth in the Northern Apennines, Italy, where recent exhumation has also exposed ancient examples at the surface, notably the Zuccale fault on Elba. Field-based and microstructural studies of the Zuccale fault reveal that an initial phase of pervasive cataclasis increased fault zone permeability, promoting influx of CO2-rich hydrous fluids. This triggered low-grade alteration and the onset of stress-induced dissolution–precipitation processes (e.g. pressure solution) as the dominant grain-scale deformation process in the pre-existing cataclasites leading to shear localization and the formation of a narrow foliated fault core dominated by fine-grained hydrous mineral phases. These rocks exhibit ductile deformation textures very similar to those formed during pressure-solution-accommodated 'frictional–viscous' creep in experimental fault rock analogues. The presence of multiple hydrofracture sets also points to the local attainment of fluid overpressures following development of the foliated fault core, which significantly enhanced the sealing capacity of the fault zone. A slip model for low-angle normal faults in the Apennines is proposed in which aseismic frictional–viscous creep occurs on a weak, slow-moving (slip rate <1 mm a−1) fault, interspersed with small seismic ruptures caused by cyclic hydrofracturing events. Our findings are potentially applicable to other examples of low-angle normal faults in many tectonic settings.


A key feature of the Occupy movement has been the General Assembly (GA), in which participants, gathered in outdoor public space, engaged in emergent forms of direct deliberative democratic practice. GAs created opportunities for renewed, co-constructed discourses about human rights, collectivity and autonomy, and the nature of fairness. The physical, durative occupation of public space and establishment of encampments enabled participants to converse and collaborate meaningfully about these matters and their implications for action. An attested ideology of horizontalism was produced and reflected in practices of decision-making within a direct participatory democratic framework. The generation of local intersubjectivity and global solidarity as well as the embodied augmentation of personal and group agency were lodged within face-to-face interactions at Occupy GAs. Participants developed and adapted specific embodied tools for assembly use, including hand signals and the human mic, to facilitate a discursive praxis of egalitarianism within the context of a speech exchange system suited to a large outdoor deliberative body. These practices are central to the Occupy movement, as they constitute the discursive experiments in direct democracy set in motion by a shared recognition of social crisis and systemic injustice felt increasingly around the world. This paper examines how several embodied practices at Occupy Los Angeles attend to participants' attested ideologies and the practical problems of open, large-group direct democracy. Keywords: Occupy; people's mic; human mic; hand signals; assembly; interaction; horizontalism; stance; direct democracy; deliberative democracy; public space; embodiment; discourse analysis; participation


This paper proposes a face hallucination method for the reconstruction of high-resolution facial images from single-frame, low-resolution facial images. The proposed method has been derived from example-based hallucination methods and morphable face models. First, we propose a recursive error back-projection method to compensate for residual errors, and a region-based reconstruction method to preserve characteristics of local facial regions. Then, we define an extended morphable face model, in which an extended face is composed of the interpolated high-resolution face from a given low-resolution face, and its original high-resolution equivalent. Then, the extended face is separated into an extended shape and an extended texture. We performed various hallucination experiments using the MPI, XM2VTS, and KF databases, compared the reconstruction errors, structural similarity index, and recognition rates, and showed the effects of face detection errors and shape estimation errors. The encouraging results demonstrate that the proposed methods can improve the performance of face recognition systems. Especially the proposed method can enhance the resolution of single-frame, low-resolution facial images.


The objective of this study was to unveil the importance of emotions and feelings in developing mobile-based tourism applications. We gathered and analyzed emotional requirements to develop a mobile context-aware application for tourists. Emotional requirements are non-functional requirements affecting users' emotional experiences around using applications, which are important for sustainable application usage. Many tourism applications exist, but were designed without considering emotional requirements or related UX factors and emotions. We developed a proof-of-concept prototype service-based context-aware tourism application (SCATA), and users participated in the design and evaluation processes. Emotional requirements are key to sustainable usage, especially regarding security. This paper details the application design and evaluation processes, emotional requirements analysis in each design phase, and the emotional effects of content accessibility in the application's offline mode in unknown environments. The results show that trust, security, adjustability, and reliability are important factors to users, especially in unknown environments.


In "Virtue and Right," Robert Johnson argues that virtue ethics that accept standards such as Virtuous Agent (A's x-ing is right in circumstances c iff a fully virtuous agent would x in c) are incomplete, since they cannot account for duties of moral self-improvement. In this paper I offer four solutions to the problem of incompleteness. The first discards Virtuous Agent and counts actions as wrong iff a vicious person would perform them. The second retains Virtuous Agent but counts self-improving actions as countererogatory: wrong but nonetheless good to do. The third replaces Virtuous Agent with a standard appealing to the Mengzian virtue of righteousness, understood as situational appropriateness. The fourth replaces Virtuous Agent with a standard that holds an action right if it promotes the agent's virtue. Each solution accommodates duties of moral self-improvement, so a virtue ethics embracing any of them would not be incomplete.