Professor Richard Pierce suggests that skeptics of cost-benefit analysis (CBA) stop "tilting at windmills." He creates the impression that there is a widespread consensus in support of CBA across all three branches of government that includes "all nine Justices of the Supreme Court" and even the most liberal members of Congress. This is a misleading picture, but to understand why, it is important to define key terms. CBA comes in many varieties, only the most formal of which typically draw criticism from skeptics. Additionally, consideration of costs can refer to a broad array of regulatory assessment methods that includes but is not limited to CBA. Thus, when all nine Justices equate reasonable regulation with consideration of costs — as they did last term in Michigan v. EPA — that's a very different matter from the Supreme Court unanimously endorsing CBA — especially the formal variety that Professor Pierce defends. Indeed, the Court has expressed considerable skepticism about formal CBA in recent decisions — and for good reason. With information that is inevitably incomplete, formal CBA produces results that are misleading at best and hopelessly indeterminate at worst.


Previous research has shown that over time, humans can develop learnt associations
between the sensory profile of a food and the energy it contains. These associations are
then used to guide appetite for the same food in future situations. However, whether
more acute, explicit information relating to the nutritional content of food can also
shape eating behaviours in non-dieting individuals remains undecided. Following a
review of previous literature, several methodological questions were raised relating to
the effectiveness and validity of experimental manipulations used in some previous
studies. The main aim of this thesis is to re-assess whether nutritional information
could influence eating behaviours when these factors have been taken into
consideration. In two initial experiments designed to address these issues, an
interesting association was observed between participants' initial expectations of a
preload and their ability to compensate for covert manipulations of its energy content.
In order to further investigate this association, measures were developed based upon
psychophysical analysis to provide an alternative method of measuring expectancies of
the satiating efficacy of a food. The use of this measure allowed a quantifiable
measurement of a participant's expectancies towards a food, while lessening the risk
that demand effects were contaminating results. The final experiments of this thesis
then re-examined the earlier observation that expectations of foods could mediate the
regulatory responses that ingesting the food creates. The observed results did not
support the proposal that expectancies of a preload were mediating compensatory
ability by prompting attention towards visceral cues. Instead, results suggested that
enhanced compensation was observed when participants were provided with an
unexpected deficit in energy intake, rather than an unexpected surplus. This introduces
the concept that an individual's short-term compensatory ability may be partly
determined by pre-existing expectations about the food they are eating. The
implications of this finding with regard to dietary preloading paradigms are discussed,
and the possibility that this mechanism could explain the poor compensatory ability
often associated with liquid loads is explored.


The Step-by-Step Guide to Building World-Class Portlet SolutionsFast! Portlet development traditionally has been difficult and time-consuming, requiring costly resources and specialized expertise in multiple technologies. IBM WebSphere Portlet Factory simplifies and accelerates portlet development, enabling developers to build world-class portlet solutions without in-depth knowledge of portal technology. Expert developer David Bowley walks you through several of todays most common portlet development scenarios, demonstrating how to create powerful, robust portlets quickly and cost-effectively. Each walkthrough contains all the step-by-step instructions, detailed guidance, fast answers, and working sample code you need to get tangible results immediately. The best resource available on WebSphere Portlet Factory, this bookreflects Bowleys unsurpassed experience constructing large enterprise portals. Bowley covers everything from back-end integration to user interface and AJAX techniques, helping you choose the right builder tool for each task, and define high-level instructions that generate superior code artifacts. His example projects are simple enough to understand easily, but sophisticated enough to be valuable in real-world development. This book will be indispensable to every developer who wants to succeed with WebSphere Portlet Factory, including Java, J2EE, and SOA developers at all levels of expertise, as well as Lotus Notes developers transitioning to WebSphere Portal. Coverage includes Creating robust portlets: tips, tricks, shortcuts, and previously undocumented gotchas Incorporating Web services, Domino views/forms, and SQL data sources into your portlets Formatting information for more effective display Adding UI controls, charts, validation, Java methods, and other capabilities Displaying context-sensitive content Using AJAX in your portlets Communicating between portlets Implementing error handling, logging, and security


While analysts hail the democratic peace as an empirical vindication of neoidealist precepts of world politics, actually it is inconsistent with them. Neoidealism focuses on the role of international regimes - not shared political regime type - in reducing the probability of interstate conflict. In this article, I suggest a more consistent neoidealist conceptualization of the stability among democratic dyads. Focusing on the postwar era, I maintain that a combination of factors, including bipolarity, nuclear deterrence, alliance membership, and trade links, contributed to the formation of an international security regime among the major power democracies and their minor power democratic allies. Further, I maintain that the presence of this international regime and not simply joint democracy allowed for the postwar stability among democratic dyads. While democracy may have been associated with the creation of a security regime at the behest of the Western democracies led by the USA, the expansion and maintenance of this regime (and its conflict dampening attributes) are rooted, to a greater extent, in the interplay of alliance-aggregation and security externalities of trade. This argument is consistent with neoidealist precepts and by focusing on the role of security regimes it contributes to the neoidealist research program.


Identifying the effect of climate on societies is central to understanding historical economic development, designing modern policies that react to climatic events, and managing future global climate change. Here, I review, synthesize, and interpret recent advances in methods used to measure effects of climate on social and economic outcomes. Because weather variation plays a large role in recent progress, I formalize the relationship between climate and weather from an econometric perspective and discuss their use as identifying variation, highlighting tradeoffs between key assumptions in different research designs and deriving conditions when weather variation exactly identifies the effects of climate. I then describe advances in recent years, such as parameterization of climate variables from a social perspective, nonlinear models with spatial and temporal displacement, characterizing uncertainty, measurement of adaptation, cross-study comparison, and use of empirical estimates to project the impact of future climate change. I conclude by discussing remaining methodological challenges.


This yearly meeting brings together BASHH and the Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Health (FSRH) at the Royal Society of Medicine (RSM) in central London during the winter sales on Oxford Street and attracts 300 delegates and a waiting list every year. Joint commissioning of STI and contraception services means that clinicians working in each discipline need to be updated and educated on appropriate clinical issues facing integrated services. The usual format is 12 lectures of no more than 30 min each ideally with time for questions. This year's conference comprised a contraception stream, an STI stream, a mental health, alcohol and porn stream and clinical cases presented by SRH trainees exemplifying changes to the UK Medical Eligibility Criteria (MEC). We encourage speakers to use case studies and promote delegate interaction by using the individual voting pads in the Guy Whittle lecture theatre at the RSM. The feedback from this …


The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of surgical induction of anterior disk displacement (ADD) on fibronectin amount and distribution in the rabbit craniomandibular joint (CMJ) tissues using an immunohistochemical technique. The right CMJ was exposed surgically, and all discal attachments were severed except for the posterior attachment. The disk was then repositioned anteriorly and sutured to the zygomatic arch. The left CMJ served as a sham-operated control. Ten additional joints were used as nonoperated controls. Deeply anesthetized rabbits were perfused with 2% buffered formalin 2 weeks (10 rabbits) or 6 weeks (10 rabbits) following surgery. Disks, bilaminar zones, condyles and articular eminences were excised. Condyles and articular eminences were decalcified in EDTA. All tissues were sectioned at 10 microns in a cryostat. Sections were incubated with monoclonal antibodies directed against fibronectin. Following incubation in the appropriate FITC-labeled secondary antibodies, tissue sections were studied under the fluorescence microscope. The results showed that at 2 weeks following induction of ADD, there was a reduction in fibronectin immunostaining in the condyle, articular eminence and articular disk. Depletion of fibronectin in these tissues was followed by restoration of its immunostaining at 6 weeks. Also, there was a progressive increase in fibronectin immunostaining in the bilaminar zone at 2 and 6 weeks. It was concluded that surgical induction of ADD in rabbit CMJ leads to alteration in the amount and distribution of fibronectin.


The strain hardening behavior of metals at large plastic strains is difficult to assess experimentally. Consequently, many different techniques have been used to study such behavior and no clear experimental picture has evolved. In this paper experiments are reviewed on finite plastic deformation with emphasis on work reported since the comprehensive review of Gil Sevillano, van Houtte, and Aernoudt. The macroscopic strain hardening behavior is the primary concern, but its dependence on crystal structure, purity, alloying, microstructure, stacking fault energy, grain size, and deformation mode, is also discussed.


In recent years, researcher has developed many actuators with different configurations
depending on application required. Linear actuator has become one of the most popular
actuator used in industry especially in factory automation. Linear motor, which have a
compact and simple structure are easy to control compare to rotational motor [1]. The
advantages of linear actuator are small size, low power and high thrust. The thrust of
linear motor can be applied on to the load without any mechanical loss as rotation motor.
But then, the generation of thrust produced by linear actuators is barely being fully
investigated. Therefore, problem arises in producing low cost machine but with higher
thrust production.
A study was conducted with the objective to investigate thrust density characteristics in
relation with dimension. Two designs were tested, that is Linear DC actuator using
electromagnetic application and Linear DC actuator which using permanent magnet application. The range of current supplied to wound coil is 1 A to 3 A, while permanent
magnet produced magnetic flux directly.
Expressions on the thrust generation on both linear actuators were derived in relation
with the dimension and size of the machine. Derivation was done based on a few
assumptions that may constitute to the objectives of this study. For clarification
purposes, experiment on both linear actuators was done depending on the physical
condition. Through the experimental result, comparison can be made between theoretical
and experimental result in order to find the thrust density characteristic of linear
actuator.
Basically, the objective of this study is achieved when comparison that has been made
for both type of linear actuator shows the largest error was only 20%. For future
improvement, a few prototype of linear actuator with different configuration of closed
loop path for the flux to flow can be made. This study only concentrated on the same
closed loop path of flux flows with a few assumption have to be taken which are the
temperature and type of material for yoke is neglected. It is important to take the a few
assumptions in order to focus on the thrust density characteristics in relation with the
dimension.


Medicinal plants are the nature's gift to human being to make disease free healthy life. It plays a vital role to preserve our health. India is one of the most medico-culturally diverse countries in the world where the medicinal plant sector is part of a time-honored tradition that is respected even today. Medicinal plants are believed to be much safer and proved elixir in the treatment of various ailments. In our country more than two thousand medicinal plants are recognized. Asparagus racemosus Willd. (Asparagaceae) is an important medicinal plant of tropical and subtropical India. Its medicinal usage has been reported in the Indian and British Pharmacopoeias and in traditional systems of medicine such as Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani. A. racemosus has been described as a rasayana herb and has been used extensively as an adaptogen to increase the non-specific resistance of organisms against a variety of stresses. Besides use in the treatment of diarrhoea and dysentery, the plant also has potent antioxidant immunostimuulant, anti-dyspepsia and antitussive effects. The present article includes the detailed exploration of pharmacological properties of A. racemoses is an attempt to provide a direction for further research.


Vineyards in the Eastern United States are often prone to excessive vegetative growth. In order to suppress excessive vine vigor, many viticulturists have employed cover cropping strategies. Cover crops provide a myriad of agronomic benefits, however they are known to compete with the vine for water and nutrients. Due to the widespread use of cover crops in Eastern vineyards, many vineyards experience nitrogen (N) deficiencies in both the vegetative vine tissue and yeast assimilable nitrogen (YAN) in the juice. Soil applications of calcium nitrate and foliar applications of urea were assessed as a means of vineyard N amelioration at cover cropped sites comprised of Petit Manseng and Sauvignon blanc (Vitis vinifera L.). Perennial White and Crimson clover cover crops and foliar urea applications were also used in a Vidal blanc (Vitis spp.) vineyard. Treatments were imposed in the Sauvignon blanc vineyard for five years. The Petit Manseng and Vidal blanc vineyards were subjected to treatments for two years. Soil-applied N at bloom was most effective at increasing leaf petiole N at véraison, season-long chlorophyll content index (CCI), vine capacity and fruit yield. Fruit yield was increased due to more berries per cluster and greater berry weights. Increased rates of soilapplied N decreased the fruit weight:pruning weight ratio. Foliar-applied N after fruit set was most effective at increasing berry YAN. While most of the measured amino acids in fruit increased in concentration with the application of either soil or foliar N, foliar applications were more effective at increasing fruit amino acids. Clover cover crops offered little to no benefit as a N source in the two-year period of evaluation. None of the N management schemes negatively impacted canopy density, fruit zone light interception, or botrytis bunch rot incidence. The combination of both a soil-applied and foliar-applied N fertilizer may be the most effective means to increase both vine capacity and YAN in vineyards where vineyard floor cover crops are compromising vine N status.


Indian space activities have made tremendous progress in the past 50 years with successful programmes of
Indian communication satellites in INSAT; Indian EO satellites in IRS and Indian launch vehicles in the PSLV
and GSLV. India has also had a mission to Moon - Chandrayaan-1; a mission on-way to Mars and the IRNSS.
Successful foray into global markets have also been achieved. In the 12th Five Year Plan (2012-2017), India is
planning for 58 missions with an investment of almost 6 B USD (at 2013 rates).
Today, Indian Space Programme is at a cusp with the need for a LONG TERM STRATEGY FOR SPACE –
basically creating a roadmap that will look 30-50 years ahead and address several key questions in the public
domain. Indian space needs to orient for a quantum jump in technological growth, adopt organisational models
and collaborative strategies that will ensure economic efficiency and position a vibrant private sector. Important
questions are being raised on the public and national consequences for Indian human space-flight and planetary
exploration programme; how India must quest for a larger share and role in global space market; strategies to
deal with changing political and economic environments and focused imperatives of international cooperation.
Based on the in-depth analysis the evolving eco-system, unique performance dimensions, achievements and
critical gaps of the past 40 years, along with a careful analysis of the existing policies – SATCOM-1999 policy
and RSDP -2000/2011, the future contours of next 10-20 years of Indian Space activities have been studied.
Looking ahead, a comprehensive "Indian Space Policy" which addresses the long-term strategy of Indian space
– public goal of space as a national capability building; a national commitment to provide operational space
service in the country; a good regulatory regime that promotes the Indian Space enterprise; enabling a vibrant
and equitable eco-system of government-private sector partnership; systems to undertake advanced technology
development; public and national commitment for human space-flight and planetary exploration mission
investments; performance and social audits of space exploration activities etc.
The paper, resulting from 2 papers that NIAS prepared as part of its Policy Research studies and presented in
International Astronautical Congress, discuses salient aspects of the newer policy regime (in a way –
(new)Space for India) and outlines key highlights and strong arguments for a 2-pronged strategy for future –
one, for growth of innovation and advanced space technologies through public investments that will spur riskbased
future technologies and applications development AND second, carving a clearly larger role for Indian
private sector that takes over operational space assets manufacturing/ownership/services and downstream
application services – apart from becoming a "space-hub" for global space manufacturing.


An experimental analysis of the conformal properties of an antipodal exponentially tapered antenna in the UWB range is presented. The ability to be conformal, due to a thin dielectric layer, allows the antenna to be curved in both the principal planes. With the antenna located in the YZ plane, this study considers the conformity for a fixed radius in the XZ and XY planes. The investigation includes numerical and experimental work on an empty and full water pipe, considering that the antenna can be placed on the surface of a flow meter system, like a water tank. Initially the planar free space antenna is compared with the conformal free space antenna; then the antenna is attached to the empty pipe and the pipe finally filled with water. The effect of the conformity has a small influence on the antenna performance, mainly seen as increased cross polar levels. The presence of the pipe affects the reflection coefficient without significantly degrading the UWB performances, but with a reduction of the efficiency. The close proximity to a lossy material in the case of the full water pipe shows a notable reduction in gain. It was observed that the water effect can be mitigated by shifting the antenna away from the pipe surface, guaranteeing good performance.


Background: Heckman-type selection models have been used to control HIV prevalence estimates for selection bias when participation in HIV testing and HIV status are associated after controlling for observed variables. These models typically rely on the strong assumption that the error terms in the participation and the outcome equations that comprise the model are distributed as bivariate normal. Methods: We introduce a novel approach for relaxing the bivariate normality assumption in selection models using copula functions. We apply this method to estimating HIV prevalence and new confidence intervals (CI) in the 2007 Zambia Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) by using interviewer identity as the selection variable that predicts participation (consent to test) but not the outcome (HIV status). Results: We show in a simulation study that selection models can generate biased results when the bivariate normality assumption is violated. In the 2007 Zambia DHS, HIV prevalence estimates are similar irrespective of the structure of the association assumed between participation and outcome. For men, we estimate a population HIV prevalence of 21% (95% CI = 16%–25%) compared with 12% (11%–13%) among those who consented to be tested; for women, the corresponding figures are 19% (13%–24%) and 16% (15%–17%). Conclusions: Copula approaches to Heckman-type selection models are a useful addition to the methodological toolkit of HIV epidemiology and of epidemiology in general. We develop the use of this approach to systematically evaluate the robustness of HIV prevalence estimates based on selection models, both empirically and in a simulation study.


Abstract Melting and subsolidus experiments were carried out on Fe–Si–S alloys (2.2–2.7 wt% Si + 2.0–2.1 wt% S) up to 146 GPa in a laser-heated diamond-anvil cell (DAC). The melting and subsolidus phase relations were examined on the basis of in situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction measurements and ex situ textural and chemical characterizations of recovered samples. The subsolidus phase assemblage changed from Fe-rich hexagonal closed-packed (hcp) phase + Fe3S into a single phase of hcp Fe–Si–S alloy above 80 GPa at ~2500 K. The melting curve was obtained on the basis of the appearance of diffuse X-ray scattering and/or melting texture found in the cross section of a recovered sample. Microprobe analyses of quenched molten samples showed that liquid Fe–Si–S coexisted with Fe-alloy solid, which is depleted in sulfur but enriched in silicon compared to the liquid. This result indicates that the liquid evolves toward a Si-poor and S-rich composition upon crystallization. Our data further suggest that the ternary eutectic liquid composition is Si-deficient and close to the tie line between the eutectic points in the Fe–Si and Fe–S binary systems at each pressure. The composition of Fe–Si–S liquid that accounts for the outer core density is outside the liquidus field of solid Fe at the inner core boundary (ICB) pressure. Accordingly, the solid alloy crystallizing from such an outer core liquid must be more enriched in silicon/sulfur than the coexisting liquid and thus cannot form the denser inner core required from seismic observations. Furthermore, neither liquid Fe–Si–C nor Fe–Si–O can crystallize a dense solid at the ICB. These results reinforce the conclusion that silicon is not an important light element in the core.


In 1988, Nahavandi and Malekzadeh suggested that differences between acquired and acquiring companies' cultures did not necessarily cause members of the former to evaluate the acquirers' cultures negatively. Although their work was widely cited, the questions of how members of acquired companies form their cultural evaluations and what drives the evaluation dynamics remain unexplored. We attribute this to the lack of a theoretical language in the acquisition literature for talking about the subjectivities of the people in the acquired companies and their understanding of cultures. In this paper, we extend Nahavandi and Malekzadeh's work by introducing a conceptualization of subjectivity based on a post-structuralist perspective, as constituted by various discourses in their environment. In three cases of acquired companies, we explore the discursive frames employees use to form their cultural evaluations, and the links between these discursive frames and the employees' accounts of immediate events, in order to understand the changes in cultural evaluations over time. The findings indicate (i) a temporal aspect in people's use of different discursive frames to construct their cultural evaluations, and (ii) that the shifts in the use of discursive frames lead to changes in cultural evaluations.


Abstract Drawing on anthropological research in Oaxaca, Mexico, this article describes the role of health seeking in women's experiences with Pentecostal conversion. The present study confirms that Pentecostalism's promise of reforming problematic male behavior is a significant draw for women. Women's stories of conversion are strikingly consistent in their accounts of male drinking, womanizing, and domestic violence. However, the findings also demonstrate that when efforts to domesticate men fail—and they often do—women still find significant ways in which Pentecostalism addresses suffering. The study provides a unique contribution to the literature by exploring that paradox in detail.


In this issue of the Report, Arthur Frank recommends a "Socratic approach" to the ethical evaluation of contested surgeries. Consumer protectionist bioethics--his term for the mainstream bioethical offshoot of modern liberalism--focuses on risks and benefits, adequate disclosure, and the "consumer's" sovereign choice. Socratic bioethics, by contrast, asks questions about the good life and its relation to health; it takes seriously the effects of someone's choice on the choices open to others. Without judging some types of surgery morally acceptable and others beyond the pale, Socratic bioethics can prove liberating, he argues, by expanding our awareness of options. Moreover, it can "show how decision-making can proceed in ways that command respect." Accordingly, Frank's aim is "not to offer guidelines for practice" but "to open up the discourses in which people both professionals and potential patients--are able to think about how their actions affect themselves and their communities." Frank discusses four types of surgery: surgically shaping women's feet to fit into designer shoes, limb-lengthening surgery on children with congenital dwarfism, intersex surgery on children with anomalous genitalia, and craniofacial surgery on children with major facial deformities. His commentary on these surgeries is very valuable--open-minded yet critical, and insightful about cultural dimensions. While he emphasizes process--improving the way we think, talk, and decide about contested surgeries he hardly abstains from moral judgments about the surgeries, even though he avoids the language of right and wrong. But while I generally agree with his judgments, I respectfully disagree with several aspects of his approach. Frank dichotomizes modern liberal bioethics and the Socratic approach. But the latter is a methodology, or style of questioning, whereas the former is a moral-political worldview. I reject the dichotomy. Indeed, I think vigorous use of the Socratic approach will vindicate some version of the modern liberal worldview. Moreover, I suspect that a robust liberalism better supports Frank's moral judgments than does the postmodernism that he apparently embraces. Craniofacial surgery on children is often justified because, as Frank's observations suggest, it frequently serves the children's best interests; whether repeated follow-up surgeries are warranted depends largely on whether they help the children. But evidence abounds that many intersex surgeries on children have not only followed an anemic or even deceitful proxy consent process, but have violated the best interests standard: many who have undergone the procedure deeply regret the choice made for them. …


Many piled foundations have been destroyed under significant cyclic loads in earthquakes. Centrifuge modelling of a single pile subjected to cyclic loads has been conducted to investigate the influence of cyclic loads on the axial performance of the single pile. Different pile installation procedures were applied to compare the axial behaviour of different piles under cyclic loads. Pile head permanent settlements accumulated due to cyclic axial loads, and these increased with the increasing load amplitude. Also the pile head axial secant stiffness decreased with the increasing number of axial load cycles, and with increasing amplitude. Furthermore, the axial pile performance is influenced significantly by different installation methods. © 2010 ASCE.


Since the golden era of silent movies stars have been described as screen gods, goddesses and idols. But why did Hollywood, that most modernity industry, first look back to antiquity as it build its stars? This book presents a unique insight into the origins of screen stardom in the 1910s and 20s to explore how the myth and iconography of ancient Greek and Roman was deployed to create modern Apollo and Venuses of the screen. Drawing from extensive research into studio production files, fan-magazines and the popular reception of stars in America in Britain, this study explores how the sculptural gods of the past enabled the flickering shadows on the screen to seem more present and alive. Classicism permitted films to encode different sexualities for their audience, and present stars who embodied traditions of the Grand Tour for a post-war context where the ruins of past civilisations had become strangely resonant. The book presents detailed discussion of leading players such as Ramon Novarro, Greta Garbo and Rudolph Valentino and major films such as Ben-Hur and Flesh and the Devil to show how classicism enabled star discourse to transform actors into icons. This is the story of how Olympus moved to Hollywood to divinise stars as icons for a modern age and defined a model of stardom that is still with us today


The sample contamination in a loadlock chamber, caused by particle sticking, adsorption of gas and moisture in a loadlock chamber and back stream from pumping systems, was investigated. In order to eliminate the first two sources of contamination, a clean silicon sample was prepared in a glove box filled with particle-free nitrogen gas, and the sample was transferred to the loadlock chamber without exposing to air. To observe the contamination during pumping, the last source of contamination, a clean sample was set in the loadlock chamber and after evacuation surface contaminant was evaluated by C1s intensity of XPS spectra. Several evacuation procedures were compared and we concluded that oil-free pumping system is essentially important for contaminant-free introduction of a clean sample.


Overcoming the COVID-19 pandemic requires motivating the vast majority of Americans to get vaccinated. However, vaccination rates have become politically polarized, and a substantial proportion of Republicans have remained vaccine hesitant for months. Here, we explore how endorsements by party elites affect Republicans' COVID-19 vaccination intentions and attitudes. In a preregistered survey experiment (n = 1,480), we varied whether self-identified Republicans saw endorsements of the vaccine from prominent Republicans (including video of a speech by former President Donald Trump), from the Democratic Party (including video of a speech by President Joseph Biden), or a neutral control condition including no endorsements. Unvaccinated Republicans who were exposed to the Republican elite endorsement reported 7.0% higher vaccination intentions than those who viewed the Democratic elite endorsement and 5.7% higher than those in the neutral control condition. These effects were statistically mediated by participants' reports of how much they thought Republican politicians would want them to get vaccinated. We also found evidence of backlash effects against Democratic elites: Republicans who viewed the Democratic elite endorsement reported they would be significantly less likely to encourage others to vaccinate and had more negative attitudes toward the vaccine, compared with those who viewed the Republican elite endorsement or the neutral control. These results demonstrate the relative advantage of cues from Republican elites—and the risks of messaging from Democrats currently in power—for promoting vaccination among the largest vaccine-hesitant subgroup in the United States.


This essay examines the strategies adopted by the Swedish parliamentary parties against the Pirate Party (Piratpartiet). The study uses the PSO-theory, which attempt to explain the success of niche parties as a consequence of the established parties' strategies against the new competitor. A qualitative analysis and a comparison of the parties' manifestos from the 2002, 2006 and 2010 national elections is used to determine which strategies are adopted. Results show that a mixture of accommodative and dismissive strategies is used, which could help explain the failure of the Pirate Party in the elections.


Two novel heteroleptic ruthenium sensitizers, TT204 and TT205, containing bulky substituents at the 4,4-positions of the ancillary 2,2-bipyridine ligand, were synthesized and characterized. They exhibit absorption maxima in the visible region at 520–530 nm due to metal-to-ligand charge transfer (MLCT) transitions. The EHOMO and ELUMO values indicate sufficient driving force for efficient dye regeneration by the iodide/tri-iodide redox electrolyte and efficient electron injection into the TiO2 conduction band following photoexcitation, respectively. The performance of these heteroleptic sensitizers in dye sensitized solar cells was investigated where TiO2 sensitization was carried out both in the presence and absence of chenodeoxycholic acid. The best efficiency among these sensitizers was recorded in the presence of chenodeoxycholic acid which generated a high short circuit current of 18.7 mA cm−2, an open circuit potential of 0.72 V and a fill factor of 73% with a resulting total power conversion efficiency of 9.81% under AM 1.5G 1 sun illumination. Comparison with the reference dye C101 indicates that though bulky groups can prevent aggregation resulting in high photocurrents even in the absence of chenodeoxycholic acid, they can also lead to lower cell voltages due to inefficient dye packing on the TiO2 surface.


Objective To evaluate reticulocyte haemoglobin content (CHr), compared with ferritin, transferrin saturation (TS) and mean corpuscular volume (MCV), as a marker of iron deficiency (ID). Design Retrospective analysis of clinically indicated blood samples taken between February 2010 and October 2012. Setting Single-centre neonatal care unit. Patients 210 very preterm (gestational age <32 weeks) or very low birthweight infants (birth weight <1500 g) at 3–4 months corrected age. Main outcome measures Complete blood count, CHr, ferritin and TS determined as part of a standard follow-up examination. To detect the optimal CHr cut-off, ID was defined by the presence of more than two of the following three criteria: MCV <75 fL, TS <10%, ferritin <30 µg/L. Results 210 preterm infants were included at a corrected age of (median (IQR)) 3.5 (3.0–4.0) months and with a CHr of 29.7 (28.6–30.7) pg. There were correlations between CHr and MCV (r=0.54, p <0.0001) and between CHr and TS (r=0.44, p <0.0001). There were 27 (13.4%) iron-deficient infants, and two infants (1%) fulfilled criteria of ID-anaemia. CHr was lower in infants with ID (26.4 (23.8–28.7) pg) than in those without (29.9 (29.0–30.8) pg, p <0.0001). The optimal CHr cut-off for detecting ID was 29 pg (sensitivity 85%, specificity 73%). Areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve for detection of ID tended to be higher for CHr compared with ferritin (0.92 vs 0.75), TS (0.90 vs 0.82) and MCV (0.81 vs 0.72). Conclusions CHr seems to be a suitable marker for latent ID in preterm infants at 3–4 months corrected age and may be superior to ferritin, TS and MCV.


Sauropodomorph dinosaur trackways from the Fleming Fjord Formation of East Greenland: Evidence for Late Triassic sauropods. L.B. 2017. Sauropodomorph dinosaur trackways from the Fleming Fjord Formation of East Greenland: Evidence for Late Triassic sauropods. Acta Palae onto-logica Polonica 62 (4): 833–843. The Late Triassic (Norian–early Rhaetian) Fleming Fjord Formation of central East Greenland preserves a diverse fossil fauna, including both body and trace fossils. Trackways of large quadrupedal archosaurs, although already reported in 1994 and mentioned in subsequent publications, are here described and figured in detail for the first time, based on photogrammetric data collected during fieldwork in 2012. Two trackways can be referred to Eosauropus , while a third, bipedal trackway may be referred to Evazoum , both of which have been considered to represent sauropodomorph dinosaur tracks. Both the Evazoum and the Eosauropus trackways are distinctly larger than other trackways referred to the respective ichnogenera. The trackmaker of the best preserved Eosauropus trackway is constrained using a synapo-morphy-based approach. The quadrupedal posture, the entaxonic pes structure, and five weight-bearing digits indicate a derived sauropodiform trackmaker. Other features exhibited by the tracks, including the semi-digitigrade pes and the laterally deflected unguals, are commonly considered synapomorphies of more exclusive clades within Sauropoda. The present trackway documents an early acquisition of a eusauropod-like pes anatomy while retaining a well-developed claw on pedal digit IV, which is reduced in eusauropods. Although unequivocal evidence for sauropod dinosaurs is no older than the Early Jurassic, the present trackway provides evidence for a possible Triassic origin of the group.


This report outlines the current state of the LSE's research into the UK Government's identity card proposals and provides an assessment of developments since the publication of our first report in June 2005. The first section of this document outlines developments since our first report. The second assesses planning dynamics and contradictions in the government's case. The third discusses questions about the scheme that remain unanswered. The fourth recommends some ways forward.


Twenty professional wine experts were asked to describe their prototypical construct of a representative young red wine from each of the 12 Protected Geographical Indications (PGI) of mainland Portugal. No samples were assessed; the experiment was based on memory alone by completion of 12 extended self-reported sensory questionnaires. Four large-scale areas were differentiated, the typicality being statistically validated and described from a sensory standpoint. Alcohol, acidity, bitterness, and astringency were cross-linked; the respective variations were correlated with published literature and expressed as key factors for the regional macroscale area differentiation. Bitterness and astringency were found to be sensory different and related on a geographical scale, as bitterness was primarily affected by inland/coastal influence; while astringency confirmed its customary north/south dependence that finding is to be considered a new understand- ing. Moreover, with the proposed methodology, it was possible to achieve a novel nationwide sensory characterization of PGIs, overcoming present day limitations on macroscale sensory research and sample representativeness. Results by uncalibrated prototypical memory assessment of single PGI Beira Atlântico were compared with the outcome of calibrated wine sampling assessment by local experts, using the same sensory questionnaire, and were found significantly correlated. The need for a calibration stage was found uneven regarding the overall group of scrutinized wine descriptors.


This paper addresses the problem of semantic image labeling of urban remote sensing images into land cover maps. We exploit the prior knowledge that cities are composed of comparable spatial arrangements of urban objects, such as buildings. To do so, we cluster OpenStreetMap (OSM) building footprints into groups with similar local statistics, corresponding to different types of urban zones. We use the per-cluster expected building fraction to correct for over- and underrepresentations of classes predicted by a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN), using a Conditional Random Field (CRF). Results indicate a substantial improvement in both numerical and visual accuracy of the labeled maps.


The composition of diets for farm animals, as well as their supplementation with different feed additives in order to obtain better performance, has evolved over past decades. However, the performance response to many feed compounds and additives, especially in growing animals, is often variable. Specific interactions between dietary components and the gastrointestinal tract (GI) functions can help us to understand the sources of this variability. Furthermore, a physiological approach towards animal diets may assist in formulation of the modern diets that on the one hand will assure animals' health but also will be financially viable.Thus the primary objective of this report is present the influence of selected feed compounds and feed additives on GI tract homeostasis. Specifically, to demonstrate the relationship between specific dietary protein and peptides, selected feed additives including feed antibiotics, amino acids, and feed acidifiers, as well as selected secondary plant products (plant lectins) on physiological functions of the gastrointestinal tract (including GI motility, gastric and pancreatic secretion, intestinal absorption, GI microflora) in animals, particularly during their growth and development.


Purpose: The oncogenic miR-155 is upregulated in many human cancers, and its expression is increased in more aggressive and therapy-resistant tumors, but the molecular mechanisms underlying miR-155-induced therapy resistance are not fully understood. The main objectives of this study were to determine the role of miR-155 in resistance to chemotherapy and to evaluate anti-miR-155 treatment to chemosensitize tumors. Experimental Design: We performed in vitro studies on cell lines to investigate the role of miR-155 in therapy resistance. To assess the effects of miR-155 inhibition on chemoresistance, we used an in vivo orthotopic lung cancer model of athymic nude mice, which we treated with anti-miR-155 alone or in combination with chemotherapy. To analyze the association of miR-155 expression and the combination of miR-155 and TP53 expression with cancer survival, we studied 956 patients with lung cancer, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, and acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Results: We demonstrate that miR-155 induces resistance to multiple chemotherapeutic agents in vitro, and that downregulation of miR-155 successfully resensitizes tumors to chemotherapy in vivo. We show that anti-miR-155-DOPC can be considered non-toxic in vivo. We further demonstrate that miR-155 and TP53 are linked in a negative feedback mechanism and that a combination of high expression of miR-155 and low expression of TP53 is significantly associated with shorter survival in lung cancer. Conclusions: Our findings support the existence of an miR-155/TP53 feedback loop, which is involved in resistance to chemotherapy and which can be specifically targeted to overcome drug resistance, an important cause of cancer-related death. Clin Cancer Res; 23(11); 2891–904. ©2016 AACR.


The first retrospective look at the irreverent and boisterous artwork of painter Erik Parker. With deep roots in alternative comics, illustration, and graffiti, internationally acclaimed artist Erik Parker's work bridges underground culture and the pop-surrealism movement. Erik Parker: Colorful Resistance presents his intense compositions, originating from word clusters, viscera-like forms, and animated figurines. Parker's work aggressively takes on the issues of the day through an antiauthoritarian approach to established ideologies. "[Parker's] unpredictable forms are contained by, but also disrupt, relatively geometric framing devices whose radiating curves and bands of color bring to mind proscenium arches or movie marquees. In nearly every painting we seem to be witnessing the emergence of some extravagant freak of nature or perhaps consciousness--a hallucination of the first order." --Roberta Smith, New York Times


Human mast cells can be divided into two distinct phenotypes based on their content of neutral serine proteases, suggesting that they serve differing biologic and pathologic roles. Recently, it has been demonstrated that human mast cells are a source of several pleiotropic cytokines including IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-8, and TNF-alpha, but not all mast cells contain all of these cytokines, suggesting that there is also functional heterogeneity with respect to cytokine expression. In this study, we have examined the relationship between mast cell neutral protease expression and cytokine content using immunohistochemistry. Bronchial mucosal biopsies from five normal subjects and five patients with allergic asthma, and nasal mucosal biopsies from five normal subjects and three patients with allergic rhinitis were embedded in glycol methacrylate. Sections (2 microns) were stained for IL-4, IL-5, and IL-6, adjacent to serial sections stained for tryptase and chymase. The distribution of cytokines among the tryptase+ chymase- mast cells (MCT) and tryptase+ chymase+ mast cells (MCTC) was examined by co-localization of cytokines to MCTC or MCT in serial sections using the camera-lucida. Although IL-4 was distributed among both mast cell phenotypes, it was expressed preferentially by the MCTC subset (overall 85% MCTC:15% MCT). In contrast, IL-5 and IL-6 were restricted almost exclusively to the MCT subset. Immunostaining of isolated skin mast cells (> 99% MCTC) supported these findings, with strong immunoreactivity present for IL-4 but very little for IL-5 or IL-6. These results indicate that in addition to exhibiting heterogeneity with respect to neutral protease content of the secretory granules, human mast cells are also heterogeneous with respect to cytokine content. This suggests that the biologic functions of MCTC and MCT cells differ as a result of their capacity to generate and release different cytokine profiles.


The majority of adult B lymphocytes in the mouse bear two immunoglobulin isotypes, IgM and IgD (μ(+)δ(+) cells) (1). A small population of IgM-bearing cells lacks, or expresses very low levels of IgD (μ- predominant [μp] cells) (1). These cells are believed to constitute a less mature subset of B cells analogous to neonatal B cells (2). Based on the time during ontogeny when responses to T-independent (TI) and T-dependent (TD) antigens appear (3, 4) and the ability to block in vitro responses with anti- μ or anti-δ (5, 6, D. Mosier, personal communication), it has been suggested that the precursors of two TI-1 responses, trinitrophenyl (TNP)- Brucella (TNP-BA) and TNP-lipopolysaccharide (TNP-LPS) are μp cells (5, 6), whereas the precursor for a TD response, TNP-sheep erythrocytes (TNP-SRBC), bears both IgM and IgD (6). However, the possibility cannot be excluded that IgD is present on some or all of the TI precursors, but that it is not obligatory for triggering. In the present experiments we have examined the phenotypes of TI and TD precursors by treating cells with C' and either anti-μ or anti-δ before stimulation with antigen. Our results suggest that the majority of B cells that respond to TNP-BA, TNP-LPS, and TNP-SRBC bear IgD, even though in the case of the two TI antigens, IgD is not required for triggering.


AbstractUniversity of ManchesterName: Demosthenes DellagrammaticasDegree title: Doctor of MedicineThesis title: Cerebral haemodynamic control and carotid endarterectomy (CEA): comparison of general (GA) and locoregional (LA) anaesthesia.2011The role of CEA for stroke prevention in the presence of symptomatic carotid artery stenosis is well established. In order to maximize the benefit of surgery, several perioperative processes of care have been under scrutiny, of which one is the choice of anaesthetic method. The differing effects of GA vs. LA on the cerebral circulation after CEA may be of significance, since changes in the cerebral circulation post-CEA may give rise to cerebral hyperperfusion and intracerebral haemorrhage. This work assessed the effect of GA vs. LA on cerebral haemodynamic control after CEA using transcranial Doppler (TCD) techniques, and correlated these changes with serum markers of cerebral injury.Subjects undergoing CEA had perioperative TCD monitoring of middle cerebral artery blood flow velocity (MCAV). Pre- and postoperative (within 48 hours of surgery) testing of cerebral autoregulation [CA] (tilt-testing) and cerebral vasoreactivity to CO2 [CVR] (rebreathing expired air) was conducted. Cerebral haemodynamic parameters and clinical outcome were correlated with changes in jugular venous and peripheral levels of protein S100? and neurone-specific enolase (NSE).The change in CA and CVR was not different between GA (n=16) and LA (n=20). Overall, CA and CVR improved significantly within 48 hours of CEA for patients with preoperative impairment of these parameters, although some patients with normal baseline CA and CVR exhibited postoperative impairment. Increase of MCAV >100% from baseline after restoration of carotid blood flow was observed in patients with impaired CVR, but resolved by the first postoperative day. Transient elevation in jugular venous (but not peripheral) S100? during surgery was seen. Both jugular and peripheral NSE levels dropped during surgery. Neither anaesthetic method nor CA or CVR status had any effect on changes in serum S100? or NSE.Cerebral autoregulatory parameters thus improve rapidly after CEA, but appear unaffected by anaesthetic technique. This supports the concept that cerebral hyperperfusion is dependent on factors in addition to impaired CA or CVR. Changes in serum S100? or NSE do not reflect cerebral haemodynamic changes. However, the variability encountered between patients warrants further investigation. The implications for clinical practice and directions for further research are discussed.


We study differences in life-cycle labor supply among white, black, and Hispanic women, focusing on the interaction between race/ethnicity, education, and fertility. We use panel data that capture women's labor market and fertility histories and an econometric model that accounts for the endogeneity of labor market and fertility decisions, the heterogeneity of the effects of children and their correlation with the fertility decisions, and the correlation of sequential labor market decisions. Our results show an intricate connection between race/ethnicity, education, and fertility as determinants of women's life-cycle labor supply. For all levels of education, white women have fewer children, have the first birth later in life, and space subsequent births more closely together. The level of labor market involvement before the first birth is highest for white women and lowest for Hispanic women, but children reverse the relationship between race/ethnicity and level of labor market involvement. The negative effects of children are largest for white women and smallest for Hispanic women, and as a result, among women with two children, black and Hispanic women work more than white women. Racial/ethnic differences in fertility decisions, pre-natal labor supply, and labor supply responsiveness to children decline with the level education. Educational differences contribute to the racial/ethnic differentials in labor supply. White women have the highest levels of education and Hispanic women have the lowest levels of education. Other things equal, women with higher education have fewer children, have the first birth later in life, space subsequent births more closely together, work more before the birth of the first child, but face larger negative effects of children on their level of labor market involvement.


We investigate the recovery chances of highly spinning waveforms immersed in LIGO S5-like noise by performing a matched filtering with 106 randomly chosen spinning waveforms generated with the LAL package. While the masses of the compact binary are reasonably well recovered (slightly overestimated), the same does not hold true for the spins. We show the best fit matches both in the time-domain and the frequency-domain. These encompass some of the spinning characteristics of the signal, but far less than what would be required to identify the astrophysical parameters of the system. An improvement of the matching method is necessary, though may be difficult due to the noisy signal.


Orally disintegrating tablets (ODTs) are an attractive solid dosage form for patients who suffer from dysphagia, a difficulty in swallowing, which is particularly prevalent in paediatric and geriatric populations. ODTs and fixed dose combination (FDC) formulations are popular as they improve patient compliance and combination of the two has not previously been explored. The requirement for ODTs to disintegrate rapidly whilst also being mechanically robust means that high drug loading is a significant challenge. An ODT formulation for the betalactam antibiotic flucloxacillin was developed at doses of 250 and 125 mg. ODTs were mechanically robust, however this limited disintegration to within 3 mins, with mannitol fragmentation being a major limitation. Polymeric film coating was devised as a potential technique to enhance ODT mechanical properties. Due to high attrition during fluidisation a novel stationary coating technique was developed as a proof of concept. ODTs coated in this way, coupled with a postcoating curing step, demonstrated an increase in hardness of almost double and essentially zero friability. This novel coating technique could prove hugely beneficial in the formulation of high dose or poorly compactable drugs. The application of ODTs for FDCs was tested with four model drugs: amlodipine (5 mg), atorvastatin (10 mg), isoniazid (50 mg) and rifampicin (75 mg). ODT formulations for single and FDCs showed rapid disintegration and good mechanical properties. Comparison of single and FDC dissolution profiles was performed using FDA recommended f1 and f2 testing. Bioavailability from ODTs was assessed using in vitro Caco-2 permeability and dissolution data and in silico physiologically based pharmacokinetic modelling. Bioequivalence was demonstrated between single and FDC for each drug in both fed and fasted states, whilst atorvastatin showed a positive food effect (enhanced peak plasma concentration and area under the curve), due to reduced metabolism by CYP3A4.


Macadamia canopies tend to grow large and complex due to vigorous recurrent flushes of vegetative growth. New shoot growth can occur at any time of the year from apical and axillary buds, elongating existing axes and forming new axis orders, respectively. The macadamia canopy is relatively unmodified and low yielding, thus yield efficiency and management practices would benefit from an increased understanding of canopy growth dynamics and architecture. Here we detail a range of investigations into the architectural development of macadamia over different scales, and methods for modifying architecture with a view to this information being incorporated into the design of improved orchard systems. For isolated shoots we have documented the elongation of internodes and the whole growth unit (GU), and their relationship to thermal time. We have also undertaken a detailed architectural study on two cultivars of young trees leading up to their first flowering, in an attempt to compare and understand patterns of early vegetative development. At the tree scale there were no differences in canopy volume or tree height between cultivars, however, detailed scales revealed differences in canopy components such as GU number, GU length and branching patterns. Shoot bending can modify vegetative architecture and reproductive development in temperate crops, although responses in subtropical crops could be more complicated. Bending first-order shoots in macadamia reduced apical growth and induced axillary release. When shoots are bent at the time of floral initiation raceme number was increased on the first-order shoot axis, possibly due to a coincidence between bending-induced axillary bud release and time-dependent floral signals. Observing interactions between components at different scales aids understanding of the mechanisms and relationships controlling the structure and function of the growing macadamia canopy, thus providing opportunities to modify macadamia growth for the benefit of production efficiency.


Religion, customs, age-old prejudices, etc. have put Indian women in a subservient and exploitable position in many domains of life. Low rates of participation in education, lack of economic independence, value biases operating against them, etc, have resulted in the women being dependent on men folk and other institutions of authority like the family, neighborhood and the society. They are usually ignorant of their rights and even if they are not, they do not have easy access to justice. The issues related to women are being raised and discussed in various fora, in the recent times. Of these, 'violence against women' is gaining more and more support and recognition, the world over. But despite the enactment of laws, formulation of reformative legal processes, provision of legal aid to the needy, extensive use of the provision of Public Interest Litigation, conduct of Family Courts, Women/Family counseling centers etc., women in India have a long way to go in concretizing their Constitutional Goals into reality.


The early acceleration of stellar winds in massive stars is poorly constrained. The scattering of hard X-ray photons emitted by the pulsar in the high-mass X-ray binary Vela X-1 can be used to probe the stellar wind velocity and density profile close to the surface of its supergiant companion HD 77581.
We built a high signal-to-noise and high resolution hard X-ray lightcurve of Vela X-1 measured by Swift/BAT over 300 orbital periods of the system and compared it with the predictions of a grid of hydrodynamic simulations.
We obtain a very good agreement between observations and simulations for a narrow set of parameters, implying that the wind velocity close to the stellar surface is twice larger than usually assumed with the standard beta law. Locally a velocity gradient of $\beta\sim0.5$ is favoured. Even if still incomplete, hydrodynamic simulations are successfully reproducing several observational properties of Vela X-1.


Abstract : The Arabian Sea is strongly forced by monsoon winds. Surface moorings deployed in the Arabian Sea are exposed to high winds and large waves. The waves, generated by strong wind events, impose a dynamic load on all mooring components. The dynamic cycling of mooring components can be so severe that ultimate strength considerations are superseded by the fatigue properties of the standard hardware components. Concerns about all in-line mooring components and their fatigue endurance dictated the need for an independent series of cyclic fatigue tests. The components tested included shackles of various sizes and configurations, wire rope, instrument cages, chain, and a variety of interconnecting links such as weldless sling links and end links. The information gained from these tests was used in the design of the surface moorings deployed in the Arabian Sea by the Upper Ocean Processes group of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. The results of the cyclic fatigue tests conducted in support of the Arabian Sea surface mooring design effort are presented in this report. Recommendations are made with regard to all in-line components for surface moorings where dynamic conditions might be encountered for extended periods. The fatigue test results from shackles, and sling links were compiled to generate an S/N diagram where the cyclic stress amplitude is plotted versus the number of cycles to failure. In addition the wire rope test results were compiled with historical wire rope data from US Steel to generate a S/N diagram for torque balanced 3 x 19 wire rope. These results can be used in conjunction with future design efforts. (MM)


The year is 1997, and despite the machinations of its rivals, Microsoft is master of the digital universe and the darling of corporate America. Windows and Office generate staggering profits, the company's share price is stratospheric, and Bill Gates is the preeminent icon of the information age. No outsider could guess what Gates knew -- that the most powerful threat to Microsoft's prized Windows platform came not from Sun or Netscape or AOL or even from the U.S. Department of Justice, but from within the company's own ranks. "Breaking Windows" tells the story of the battle for the soul of Microsoft that raged inside the company from 1997 to 2000 and continues to reverberate today. Drawing on hundreds of e-mails among Microsoft executives, trial testimony, and exclusive interviews with Gates and his chief lieutenants, "Wall Street Journal" reporter David Bank reveals the bitter maneuvering between what he calls Microsoft's "Windows hawks" and its "Internet doves." On one side were the fierce defenders of the hegemony of Windows, on the other those who championed a new way of doing business based on the Internet's "open standards." The reformers wanted to break free from the legacy of Windows and dare to compete on the merits of their software. At the center of this pitched battle stood Gates, the tactical genius who had created the company in his own image and who now accepts full responsibility for his fateful choices. "Every mistake you can lay at my feet," he told Bank, who takes him at his word -- offering the first critique of Gates's leadership not from the perspective of government prosecutors or envious software rivals but from "inside the company itself." Ambitiousin scope and surprising in its conclusions, "Breaking Windows" contains sharply drawn portraits of key past and present executives, including Steve Ballmer, Jim Allchin, Brad Silverberg, Adam Bosworth, and Paul Maritz. Bank argues persuasively that the rifts within Microsoft underlie many of its recent troubles -- from the antitrust courtroom debacle to the exodus of many of the company's most talented employees to Gates's own fall from grace as a corporate leader and technology visionary. Yet even now, Bank contends, Gates could embrace the new rules of competition and restore Microsoft to leadership, perhaps ushering in a new era of openness and innovation. "Breaking Windows" breaks new ground in its analysis of Microsoft's past and future business strategies. As Microsoft faces the waning importance of Windows, rallies behind XML, and confronts the open-source insurgency, the past Bank reveals is vital to understanding the future of this company and the still unfinished digital revolution it helped unleash.


Abstract In 2011, price peaks in retail gasoline prices caused public outrage and attracted the attention of German regulatory agencies. After having examined the market, competition authorities concluded that tacit collusion existed but could not easily be prosecuted under given competition law. In several other countries, various types of regulatory schemes are implemented to tackle tacit collusive behavior, e.g., there are price ceilings established in Luxembourg or per day limits of price increases given in Austria. However, research has found that none of them has led to satisfactory results. Hence, the following paper proposes a different regulatory approach, i.e., the implementation of corrective taxes. Results show that a specially tailored tax on price successfully manages to render collusion an unprofitable business by collecting marginal profits and that the inherent vice of the gasoline retail market, i.e., the transparency that enables tacit—and therefore non-prosecutable—collusion, could be turned into a regulatory virtue as it becomes a powerful means to help successfully tackle imperfect competition and to bring about a more efficient market outcome.


Summary

Laparoscopy is a reliable, minimally-invasive technique to obtain reproductive information from wild and captive sturgeon. While generally considered safe, the physiological consequences of laparoscopy in sturgeon are unknown. Therefore clinical pathology changes in juvenile, Atlantic sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus) following experimental laparoscopy at 10 and 22°C were described. Control fish were anesthetized with MS-222 according to the same protocols as surgical fish, but were not incised. Surgical procedures did not affect heart and ventilation rates, signs of stress (skin redness) or time to recover from anesthesia in comparison to control fish. Anesthesia with MS-222 produced a transient (by 1 h) hemo-concentration (elevated protein and electrolytes), erythrocyte swelling (increased PCV and MCV) and stress response (elevated cortisol and glucose); and a delayed (by 24 h) increase in RBC, leukopenia and increased N : L ratio. Surgical procedures resulted in a delayed (by 24 h) decrease in plasma proteins, electrolytes, RBC and PCV relative to control fish, which may have resulted from surgically-induced hemorrhage. Plasma enzyme activities increased in response to anesthesia and surgery and may indicate general stress and tissue damage. Anesthesia had a greater effect on blood value response than surgery, and the proportion of effect increased with temperature as MS-222 potency and toxicity increases with water temperature. Repeated handling and blood draws within 24 h resulted in a 7% increase in cortisol, 10–14% increase in CK and 9–11% increase in LDH values. Except for plasma enzyme activities, blood values of all fish recovered within 1 week following anesthesia and surgeries. Relative experience of surgeons had no effect on hematology and biochemistry of fish, but healing rates of incisions were improved with better suture technique. Results of this study conclude that the physiological effects of laparoscopy are largely related to the anesthetic, MS-222, and are generally mild and short-lived. Improvements in laparoscopic technique might be gained by exploring alternate anesthetic protocols with faster induction and recovery times and reduced physiological effects.


Background: In Multiple Myeloma (MM) the individuation of bone lesions at baseline is mandatory because the detection of cortical damage reflects prognostic implications. Conventional Radiography (CR) shows osteolytic bone lesions only when the cortical bone damage is more than 30%. Whole-body 64-slice multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) has recently been employed for detecting early osteolytic disease. Patients and Methods: Twenty-height patients with Asymptomatic MM according to IMWG criteria underwent a 64 MDCT. Results: In our experience MDCT revealed osteolysis in 14/28 patients with normal skeletal survey and in 6 patients with normal Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). Patients with radiological evidence of bone disease on MDCT were at high risk of progression with a median time to progression of 5 months (range 1 - 26 months) in comparison with patients without radiological evidence of bone disease who, conversely, showed a median time to progression of 20 months (range 8 - 40 months) (P = 0.0001). Conclusions: MDCT is able to identify MM patients with a high risk of progression, who might benefit from early therapy.


This Article provides the first analysis of wrongful death damages from the perspective of individual justice accounts of tort law. There is a widespread belief that wrongful death damages are incoherent. Currently, tort law responds only to the harms of the decedent's living relatives. Drawing on deterrence rationales, Cass Sunstein, Kip Viscusi, and others have recommended altering these damage awards so that they respond to the harms of the decedent herself by providing "lost life" damages. This Article offers a different and powerful new foundation for lost life damages rooted in corrective justice and its main competitor, civil recourse. At first blush, both corrective justice and civil recourse appear to undercut lost life damages. Once properly understood, however, each theory supports a life-projects approach to lost life damages. The normative underpinnings of these tort theories suggest that tort damages should respect the ends that the victim set for herself, and should refrain from valuing the victim only as a means. Our current tort practices do the reverse. The victim is valued only through the effects she had on others — only as a means of her family's flourishing — rather than as an equal person with her own life projects. Lost life damages can respect the victim's ends in several ways. One possibility includes awarding money to her estate. The victim's will or other testamentary instrument would then direct that award to further whatever life projects she felt were important enough to survive her death.


We discuss projection based Pad e-Jacobi approximants in general and present in particular an exact rational approximation to the Sign function. This serves as vehicle to analyze the behavior of Pad e-Jacobi approximants for discontinuous functions. The analysis shows that the Pad e-Jacobi approximant is superior in several ways to classic polynomial approximations of discontinuous functions, provided the parameters in the approximations are chosen carefully. Guidelines for this is obtained through the analysis.


This paper describes the conceptual design of several processes for performing the stages of building design, construction scheduling, and cost estimating within an object-oriented environment. There are four major processes to be performed within the environment: (a) Conceptual Design From Project Scope, in which design components are generated from a set of given project parameters; (b) Initial Scheduling, in which an initial construction schedule is generated based on the design components; (c) Refined Scheduling, in which the initial schedule is revised and updated based on task durations; and (d) Cost Distribution, in which costs are distributed and aggregated into activity, building system, and budget hierarchies based on task costs. These processes are part of a prototype system which focuses on mid-rise building construction and is now under development in an object-oriented programming environment on a personal computer.


New York State's lawmakers passed 2,603 bills over the course of the 2013-14 session, 658 of which passed both houses. Although counties and local governments are likely focusing their attention on budget-related items such as the property tax freeze/rebate program, local governments — and zoning and planning officials and practitioners in particular — should also take note of the newly enacted Community Risk and Resiliency Act (CRRA).


The value of the Indian Rupee (INR) is generally affected by demand and supply economics. India's demand for oil and gold creates a demand for US dollars to settle the payments, as these payments need to be settled in hardcore currency. Along with this, any Indian firm's investment outside the country also creates the demand for US Dollars for paying for the investment. On the other hand, the export of Indian goods and services, foreign direct investments (FDIs) by companies in Indian companies and subsidiaries, and the investment by foreigners in Indian stock and bond markets typically create the supply of US Dollars. Whenever the demand of INR exceeds the supply of INR, the currency appreciates and vice versa. The present paper is an effort to understand the major determinants of Indian rupee valuation conceptually. Inputs given in the paper are based on many previous studies on the same.


The hypothesis of the research is "conceptual graphs are a suitable knowledge-base decision
support tool for use by managemenat ccountants in strategic planning", explained as follows.
Knowledge-based approaches can help accountants apply their skills in the direction of
strategic management problems. Such problem domains cannot be modelled effectively by
computer alone, hence we are only interested in those advanced knowledge-based
methodologies that can be adequately reviewed by strategic management accountants in the
light of their own continually changing tacit and implicit knowledge.
Structured diagram techniques, such as flowcharting, are well known by accountants and are a
clearly understandable yet important aid in problem review. Apart from being founded on a
logically complete reasoning system, the knowledge-based methodology of conceptual graphs
was formulated to be an enhancement of these other methods. Furthermore the graphical form
of conceptual graphs enjoy an apparent similarity to the 'negating' brackets in the accountant's
traditional bookkeeping model.
After conducting a comparative study with two similar methodologies in current use showing
the technical advantages of conceptual graphs, the Conceptual Analysis and Review
Environment computer software was devised and implemented. CARE was used to test the
- accepted graphical form of conceptual graphs through a series of user evaluation sessions. The
evaluations started out with subjects from the conceptual graphs community itself, then key
business school staff, and culminated in a session with senior practising accountants. In
addition, CARE was enhanced iteratively in accordance with the results of each evaluation
session.
Despite their strong prima facie attractiveness and positive response from the conceptual
graphs community session, as the user evaluations progressed it became increasingly evident
that the inherent complexity of conceptual graphs fundamentally undern-tined them as a viable
tool, other than for very trivial problems well below the level needed to be viable for strategic
management accountancy. Therefore the original contribution of this research is that its
hypothesis turns out to be false.


Discussions of the relation of religion and secular law of the United States often center on constitutional controversies arising out of the Religion Clauses of the First Amendment. That narrow focus, however, overlooks the practical and conceptual importance of the thousands of ways in which sub-constitutional sources of law such as statutes and common law rules also play a defining role in mapping the boundaries of civil and religious authority. This encyclopedia entry discusses, in particular, the many federal and state statutes that explicitly provide religious institutions and religiously-motivated individuals with exemptions from otherwise applicable secular law. Such statutes seek, variously, to accommodate religious conscience, recognize the relevance of religious norms, minimize intrusion into religious life, acknowledge religious diversity, adjust regulatory regimes to take religious facts into account, or simply oblige religious interest groups. Exemption statutes have been criticized on various grounds, and sometimes pose particular difficulties, though courts have generally indicated that they are not unconstitutional simply for setting out distinctive legal treatment for religion and religious persons. In any event, their existence and variety is a vital feature of the legal landscape of religion in the United States whose practical significance and larger meaning needs to be appreciated and understood. They also suggest, especially in the light of the recent constriction of the constitutional doctrine of free exercise, a particular legislative capacity, not only to respect religious conscience but to recognize, in an almost political sense, the diversity and dignity of non-state normative perspectives. This entry does not attempt an exhaustive account of statutory exemptions. It does try to provide a framework for considering a range of examples, and to suggest how such provisions illuminate the law's effort to understand and accommodate the reality of religious life.


Evidence-based research is widely recognized as an essential input in effective economic policymaking. However, for the results of their research to influence policy, the research community must overcome a variety of challenges, including the absence of adequate and relevant data, differences of research results on the same policy issue, and deficiencies in effectively communicating policy conclusions to the policymakers. This paper stresses the need for increased investment in the generation of adequate and relevant data, and the responsibility of the researchers to seek to reach a consensus or narrow the range of and explain the reasons for their differences, thus enabling the policymakers to exercise their judgment. The direct and indirect channels through which effective interaction between the researchers and policymakers can be enhanced are examined.


Abstract Rocks above and below the Precambrian-Palaeozoic unconformity at the base of many Palaeozoic sedimentary basins of mid-continental North America are distinguished by secondary K-feldspar, chlorite and illite. Thrusting of the Appalachian foreland is generally considered responsible for the fluid migrations which caused this alteration. We have examined secondary chlorite and illite from Cambro-Ordovician rocks which overlie the unconformity in southern Ontario, Canada. This area is situated along the interface between the Michigan and Appalachian basins. Water involved in chloritic alteration at ~150°C has an O isotope composition compatible with a basinal brine evolved from seawater. Brine migration was probably triggered by the Taconic Orogeny to the east. In comparison, the secondary illite (365-321 Ma) largely postdates the Acadian Orogeny, and the illite-forming fluids have stable isotopic compositions typical of tepid (~40-55°C) meteoric water. We suggest that basement arches beneath southern Ontario were reactivated by this orogeny, which facilitated introduction of meteoric water. Similar alteration in underlying Precambrian rocks shows that fluid flow was focused along the unconformity during the regional Ordovician brine migration, as well as during the localized Mississippian introduction of fresh water.


We assessed the validity, repeatability and practicality of a standardized exercise challenge protocol for measuring airway responsiveness in epidemiological studies of asthma in children aged 8-11 yrs. The construct validity of the exercise challenge was assessed by comparing response to exercise with other measures of asthma, i.e. wheeze frequency, diagnosed asthma, asthma medication use, atopy and urgent doctor visits (n = 802), and by comparison with response to histamine challenge (n = 201). Repeatability was assessed by comparison of responsiveness to two exercise challenges within 3 days (n = 113), and practicality was assessed by measurement of consent, compliance and throughput rates (n = 802). There was a significant relationship between frequency of wheeze attacks and % fall in forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) to exercise. The correlation (r) between % fall in FEV1 to exercise challenge and dose-response ratio to histamine challenge was 0.59. The repeatability of the exercise challenge was +/- 12% fall in FEV1. Consent and compliance rates for exercise challenge were 78 and 99%, respectively, and the mean throughput rate was 45 children per school day for a team of seven researchers. In conclusion, this exercise challenge was found to have good validity and to be reliable and practical. Thus, this challenge could be used as a standardized epidemiological tool to investigate the prevalence, aetiology and mechanisms of asthma.


The idea of a cosmopolitan Europe continues to be central to contemporary debates within post-national citizenship. However, much of the writing in this area remains disconnected from the need to reinvent European social democracy that questions the centrality of work and racist nationalism. This article argues that a revived European Left would need to move beyond specifically liberal concerns with procedure to articulate a view of European futures that both deconstructed neo-liberalism and embraced more convivial collective futures. This would entail the combination of a post-material politics that sought to critique the centrality of employment while granting citizens a basic income or forms of civic labour and a more concerted attempt to break with a racialized politics based upon the fear of the 'Other'. In conclusion, it is argued that the urgent political task of the future is to reinvent a sense of Europeaness that has both a substantive content, but that does not become mobilized by an exclusive cultural politics.


While central banks have existed since the seventeenth century, their purpose, functions, and operations have evolved over time. Over the past two decades, the pace of reforms in terms of institutional independence and transparency has been particularly brisk. This paper examines the current level of central bank independence (CBI) and transparency in a broad sample of countries using newly constructed measures, and looks at the evolution in both measures from an earlier time period. The legal independence of central banks (measured using an index first constructed by Cukierman, Webb, and Neyapti, 1992) has increased markedly since the 1980s, while the rise in transparency since the late 1990s (measured using an index based upon the work of Eijffinger and Geraats, 2006) has been less impressive. Increases in CBI have tended to occur in more democratic countries and in countries with high levels of past inflation. More independent central banks in turn tend to be more transparent, while transparency is also positively correlated with measures of national institutional quality. Exploiting the time dimension of our data to eliminate country fixed effects and using instrumental variable estimation to overcome endogeneity concerns, we present robust evidence that greater CBI is associated with lower inflation. We also find that enhanced transparency practices are associated with the private sector making greater use of information provided by the central bank, consistent with a simple signal extraction model in which the public signal becomes more precise as our transparency measure increases.


An LIBS/LEAFS (laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy/laser-excited atomic Fluorescence spectrometry) combination with the use of simple open-air ultraviolet (UV) ablation has been investigated in terms of its analytical possibilities for the determination of cobalt in three solid sample matrices: graphite, soil, and steel. The fluorescence of cobalt was excited from a level which was already populated in the ablation plasma and was monitored at the Stokes-shifted wavelength. The optimal time delay between the ablating and exciting pulses was 16 μs. Detection limits in the ppb to ppm range and linearity over about four orders of magnitude were obtained. Excellent correlation of the LIBS/LEAFS with laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) and the certified value for Co in an SRM soil standard showed that both the precision and the accuracy of the LIBS/LEAFS method were satisfactory.


Abstract : In this dissertation, the author studies the dynamics and control of coupled mechanical systems. A key feature of this work is the systematic use of modern geometric mechanics, including methods based on symplectic geometry, Lie symmetry groups, reductions, Lagrangian mechanics, and Hamiltonian mechanics to investigate specific Eulerian many-body problems. A general framework for gyroscopic systems with symmetry is introduced and analyzed. The influence of the gyroscopic term (linear term in Lagrangian) on the dynamical behavior is exploited. The notion of gyroscopic control is proposed to emphasize the role of the gyroscopic term in designing control algorithms. The block-diagonalization techniques associated with the energy-momentum method proved to be very useful in determining stability for simple mechanical systems with symmetry. These techniques are successfully extended to gyroscopic systems with symmetry. The techniques developed here are applied to several interesting mechanical systems. These examples include the dual-spin method of attitude control for artificial satellites, a multi-body analog of the dual-spin problem, a rigid body with momentum wheels in a central gravitational force field, and a rigid body with momentum wheels and a flexible attachment.


WITH THE ABUNDANCE of excellent primary and secondary internet sources available, teaching about the 2004 elections in social studies classes at the secondary and middle school levels is a cinch. The September issue of SOCIAL EDUCATION contained articles and online internet links addressing various aspects of the upcoming elections. While this piece will first review some basic online sources, such as links to the candidates, the issues, the Democratic and Republican Conventions, and to teacher resources and lesson plans relating to the current elections, the primary focus will be on looking at the elections through the lens of various international media--those that are online and in English. "What is being reported about the U.S. elections in the international media? How does one use these media, with their varied perspectives, to develop lessons on the U.S. elections? How should students evaluate news reports and identify the assumptions and values underlying the assessments of various journalists and pundits? As students tackle the elections from a comparative media approach, they will need to check the content for accuracy concerning the issues and the positions of candidates. To do this, students may want to refer to the official candidate and party convention websites. Alphabetically, they are located at the following URIc: the George W. Bush official website, georgewbush.com; the John Kerry official website, www.jhohnkerry.com; and Ralph Nader's website, www.votenader.com. The Democratic National Convention is located at www.2004dnc.com, with the Republican National Convention at www.2004nycgop.org. Additionally, students should be cognizant of election issues from the various American perspectives, ranging from the more mainstream sources detailed below, to those of the left, such as MichaelMoore.com at www.michaelmoore.com/mustread/index.php and the right-wing Fox News at www.foxnews.com. Probably one of the best news websites to bookmark for exhaustive information on the U.S. elections is Politinfo.com, a self-described independent and non-partisan portal for political resources, news, and information. Designed for political professionals, and academic researchers, PolitInfo.com is also aimed at students, librarians, political activists, media editors, and journalists. PolitInfo.com is one of the most comprehensive online resources for politics, political science, and political information (us.politinfo.com). Politinfo.com includes links to official government sites, the American and foreign media, the candidates and their campaigns, foreign policy and the elections, the issues, polls, the U.S. election process, the Electoral College, and much more. A sampling of articles currently featured on the sidebar includes selections from The Guardian Unlimited (a liberal publication from London), "White House Race Gets Nasty," from BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) News (a venerable world news source from London), "'Bush Stands by al-Qaeda Alert," and the Scotsman.com News International, "US Obsession with First Ladies Stretches Back a Century" Polotinfo.com and these articles may be accessed at us.politinfo.com/Directory/Issues/Presidential_Election_2004 /presidential_election_2004.html. Some other excellent sources for election coverage from primarily mainstream U.S. perspectives include CNN on the 2004 elections at www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2004, The New York Times Campaign 2004 site at www.nytimes.com/pages/politics/campaign, National Public Radio's election news at www.npr.org (click "Politics and Society"), USA Today's pages on the candidates, issues, polls, with cartoons and editorials, www.usatoday.com/news/politicselections/front.htm, and C-SPAN's 2004 Election web pages at www.cspan.org. PBS TeacherSource at www.pbs.org/teachersource/social_studies/high_civics_campaign.shtm provides a series of quality ready-made lesson plans on various election topics, ranging from analysis of political ads to exploring "rhetorical strategies and the difficulties inherent in trying to advance arguments in the fact of partisan opposition" Project Vote Smart, a citizen's organization, has developed a Voter's Self-Defense system to provide you with the necessary tools to self-govern effectively: abundant, accurate, unbiased and relevant information. …


Four industrial processes for smoking food were studied through their effects on the organoleptic properties of smoked salmon and on the occurrence of 20 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) known as being contaminants of smoking processes. The contamination by PAHs of the food might be measured by their corresponding toxic equivalent quantity (TEQ) expressed in mu g kg(-1). The results show a significant correlation between the smoking process parameters, the odour of the smoked fish and the presence of PAHs. Smouldering, thermostated plates and friction smoking processes allow smoked fish with very close odorant characteristics to be obtained. However, differences of pyrolysis temperature (between 380 and 500 degrees C) causes significant differences of PAHs concentration even if the contents are under the legal threshold concerning benzo (a) pyrene (5 mu g kg(-1)). Smoked fish obtained by liquid smoke vaporisation presented the lowest level of PAHs but benzo(a)pyrene concentration is nevertheless important. The odours brought by the liquid smoke process are more 'cold smoke' and 'vegetal/green' than the other techniques, which are smokier and fishier. (c) 2007 Society of Chemical Industry.


William Blake - poet, printmaker, artist - drew inspiration from the Bible throughout his life. Shortly before his death in 1827, he began an illuminated manuscript of the "Book of Genesis", revisiting such key themes as creation, division, and forgiveness. Blake was also concerned with questions of biblical interpretation: his two depictions of the creation of Eve, for instance, demonstrate his engagement with theories of "Genesis" as a composite text. This landmark edition of Blake's "Genesis" provides the first full-size color reproduction of the Huntington Library's manuscript. Blake completed 11 pages of text decorated with pencil and watercolor designs, including two vibrantly colored title pages. Blake's unfinished pages offer rare insights into his process of composition, such as the way in which he conceived of and worked up his designs from preliminary sketches. Mark Crosby and Robert N. Essick's detailed critical commentary considers the way in which Blake read his "Genesis", Blake's relationship with patron John Linnell, and the iconography of Blake's designs and their relation to earlier works.


We evaluated general patient features related to depression and frequency of Emergency Department (ED) use in a large integrated health care system. Electronic Health Records of 287,281 adults from a general patient population were studied retrospectively over a 10-year period. Patients with a history of depression were more likely to be seen in the ED and at higher frequency than those without. Frequent ED users were more likely to have a history of depression or psychiatric medication orders than infrequent users. ED visits by depression patients and frequent users have highly correlated complaints and discharge diagnoses with other ED users, often related to pain. Poorly managed depression may be playing a role in frequent ED utilization which may be addressed by universal screening for depression, evaluation of barriers to treatment, and other novel interventions to improve care coordination.


This study was designed to analyze the consumption of tobacco, alcohol and other health-harmful substances, as well as its relationship to daily physical activity and sport practice habits in a representative sample of secondary education students from Aviles. Both tobacco and alcohol consumption start at 13 years. Percentage of sporadic or frequent smokers is clearly higher among girls and there are no gender differences in alcohol consunmption. Cannabis consupmtion develops at 14 years and a third of subjects have consumed by 15 years. The next more frequently used illegal substances are stimulating pills. When individuals are classified attending to their daily physical activity, expressed in kilocalories per kilogram and day, although only a 4% are considered as very inactive, 51% of the total are out of the active categories. Mean physical activity of groups with a high consumption of tobacco, alcohol or cannabis is more elevated than those from subjects with a low consumption. There is a tendency to the decrease of tobacco and alcohol consumption when time dedicated to sport practice increases. KEY WORDS: physical activity, tobacco, alcohol, drugs


'Teenage dreams, so hard to beat.'
If any sentence were to sum up what it means to be a teenager, it would probably be this line from the classic song 'Teenage Kicks' by The Undertones. This is an age at which everything changes. If we were to put all those learners that we teach on a continuum, we would have young learners at one end and adults at the other. While we would all agree that teenagers lie somewhere in the middle of such a scale, it would nonetheless be difficult to place them exactly, regardless of the criterion.
While young learners are so full of zest that most activities are met with bundles of enthusiasm, adult learners are much more focused on meeting their language goals, while also bringing a wealth of knowledge, skills and experience to the language classroom. Teenagers are clearly different, and this is never clearer than when it comes to trying to motivate them.
Although teens can be as knowledgeable and perceptive as their adult counterparts, they are not usually the most talkative of age groups. Naturally, this can leave us as teachers feeling frustrated and discouraged by their perceived lack of interest. Nevertheless, teens aren't that different and by no means unreachable in terms of motivation. As with any other age group, it's simply a case of finding ways to pique interest. With this in mind, here are three strategies that anyone can use to increase teenage student motivation in the language classroom.


Geographically distributed systems often rely on replicated eventually consistent data stores to achieve availability and performance. To resolve conflicting updates at different replicas, researchers and practitioners have proposed specialized consistency protocols, called replicated data types, that implement objects such as registers, counters, sets or lists. Reasoning about replicated data types has however not been on par with comparable work on abstract data types and concurrent data types, lacking specifications, correctness proofs, and optimality results. To fill in this gap, we propose a framework for specifying replicated data types using relations over events and verifying their implementations using replication-aware simulations. We apply it to 7 existing implementations of 4 data types with nontrivial conflict-resolution strategies and optimizations (last-writer-wins register, counter, multi-value register and observed-remove set). We also present a novel technique for obtaining lower bounds on the worst-case space overhead of data type implementations and use it to prove optimality of 4 implementations. Finally, we show how to specify consistency of replicated stores with multiple objects axiomatically, in analogy to prior work on weak memory models. Overall, our work provides foundational reasoning tools to support research on replicated eventually consistent stores.