In traditional university laboratories students conduct experiments under the supervision of an instructor. A remotely-operated laboratory for undergraduate education in electrical engineering which emulates a traditional laboratory has been set up by Blekinge Institute of Technology (hereafter referred to as BTH), Ronneby, Sweden. The laboratory is a client/server application and the Internet is used as the communication infrastructure. Most remote laboratories elsewhere are used for fixed experiments but in the BTH laboratory students around the world can assemble circuits simultaneously from electronic components in much the same way as they do in a traditional laboratory. The teacher or a member of the laboratory staff mounts the components to be used in the lab sessions in a circuit assembly robot in the experiment server in Ronneby. Students use the mouse to connect some of the corresponding virtual components on a virtual breadboard displayed on the client PC. Students thus control the robot by means of the wiring on the virtual breadboard. Virtual instrument front panels are used to control and read the instruments by means of remote control. To avoid potentially serious student mistakes e.g. overloading a component the teacher can preset limits to the source voltages which are accessible to students. The teacher can also restrict student circuits by, for example, dictating minimum impedance in loops created with aid of the components provided. The number of nodes provided on the virtual breadboard is adequate for experiments in undergraduate education. The laboratory is always open and can be used by registered students and guest users alike. The time-sharing scheme used allows simultaneous access for up to 8 client PCs. A 56 kbit/s modem and MS Internet Explorer are all that are required. The client software can be downloaded from the laboratory web site at http://distanslabserver.its.bth.se/. This paper discusses the remotely operated laboratory at BTH; it focuses on the virtual breadboard.


Mast cells have been traditionally associated with an acute allergic response. However, their role in regulating chronic inflammatory processes must also be considered in view of evidence that mast cells synthesize and release a number of cytokines. In this study, we have examined the effect of cholera toxin (CT) on peritoneal mast cell IL-6 and TNF-alpha production. Highly purified, freshly isolated, rat peritoneal mast cells from Brown Norway rats were cultured in the presence of CT or its B subunit (CTB) alone or in combination with anti-IgE or bacterial LPS. Histamine release was measured after 10 min; IL-16 and TNF-alpha production was assessed in supernatants after 18 h. We found that CT or CTB alone did not affect histamine release; however, mast cell IL-6 production was significantly enhanced by CT but not by CTB. In contrast, constitutive production of TNF-alpha was inhibited by CT. The effects of CT were similar to our previous observations of the actions of prostaglandin E2 on mast cells. We also examined the effects of CT in combination with other mast cell activating agents. CT had no significant effect on anti-IgE-induced histamine release. An additive effect on IL-6 production was observed in the context of LPS. Forskolin, an agent known to increase intracellular cAMP levels, also induced a significant increase in IL-6 production, whereas TNF-alpha production was decreased. These data have important implications for our understanding of the regulation of mast cell cytokine production and the effects of CT on local cytokine production.


In almost all languages all arguments to functions are to be given explicitly. The Haskell class system however is an exception: functions can have class predicates as part of their type signature, and dictionaries are implicitly constructed and implicitly passed for such predicates, thus relieving the programmer from a lot of clerical work and removing clutter from the program text. Unfortunately Haskell maintains a very strict boundary between the implicit and the explicit world; if the implicit mechanisms fail to construct the hidden dictionaries there is no way the programmer can provide help, nor is he able to override the choices made by the implicit mechanisms. In this paper we describe, in the context of Haskell, a mechanism that allows the programmer to explicitly construct implicit arguments. This extension blends well with existing resolution mechanisms, since it only overrides the default behavior. We include a description of the use of partial type signatures, which liberates the programmer from having to choose between specifying a complete type signature or no type signature at all. Finally we show how the system can easily be extended to deal with higher-order predicates, thus enabling the elegant formulation of some forms of generic programming.


Extracted from text ... W
Management Today April 2005 55
Organisational defence
routines
Armand Kruger is a psychologist,
professional coach and he trains in
neurolinguistic programming and
neurosemantics.
Why do good companies go bad?
"Because they engage in too much activity
- activity of the wrong kind ... Suffering
from active inertia, they get stuck
in their tried and true activities, " according
to Donald S Null. I deviate from Null
on the 'why' and 'how' the active inertia
happens.
The implicit assumption in most organisations
is that employees, especially
managers and professional contributors,
are intendedly rational, have a sense of
their stewardship ..


Linear inverse problems are ubiquitous. Often the measurements do not follow a Gaussian distribution. Additionally, a model matrix with a large condition number can complicate the problem further by making it ill-posed. In this case, the performance of popular estimators may deteriorate significantly. We have developed a new estimator that is both nearly optimal in the presence of Gaussian errors while being also robust against outliers. Furthermore, it obtains meaningful estimates when the problem is ill-posed through the inclusion of $\ell_1$ and $\ell_2$ regularizations. The computation of our estimate involves minimizing a non-convex objective function. Hence, we are not guaranteed to find the global minimum in a reasonable amount of time. Thus, we propose two algorithms that converge to a good local minimum in a reasonable (and adjustable) amount of time, as an approximation of the global minimum. We also analyze how the introduction of the regularization term affects the statistical properties of our estimator. We confirm high robustness against outliers and asymptotic efficiency for Gaussian distributions by deriving measures of robustness such as the influence function, sensitivity curve, bias, asymptotic variance, and mean square error. We verify the theoretical results using numerical experiments and show that the proposed estimator outperforms recently proposed methods, especially for increasing amounts of outlier contamination. Python code for all of the algorithms are available online in the spirit of reproducible research.


Celebrities and popular icons are increasingly ubiqultous figures of a 21st century postmodern world. Some, in death, blur age-old distinctions of sanctification and trespass on sacred ground long held exclusively by religious saints. An emerging continuum is transforming that sacred arena and raising a number of important issues, including the nature of the relationships between the worshipped and the worshipful and the types of institutions that sustain them. The Making of Saints: Contesting Sacred Ground investigates a number of religious leaders, healers, folk saints, and popular icons in seeking to identify their commonalities and discover how they speak to the same inner yearnings of human beings for gods and heroes. Issues of social relations, love, emotion, charisma, power, and sanctification are addressed by the contributors. Analyses of hagiographies, biographies, media, control of space, pilgrimage, and acts of devotion provide the bases for the authors' explorations of these issues. Among the sanctified included for analysis are the folk saints El Nino Fidencio and Teresa Urrea; the charismatic rabbis Baba Sall, Baba Baruch, and Ifargan; King Chalalongkorn of Thailand; two political figures, Evlta Peron and Che Guevara; and three celebrities: James Dean, Elvis Presley, and Japanese rock star, HIDE. The contributors challenge notions of what is sacred and who may be sanctified, and argue that a broadening of views is needed to accommodate and appreciate emerging contemporary realities.


Welfare Reform in European Countries: A Micro-Simulation Analysis* This Paper estimates the welfare and distributional impact of two types of welfare reform in 14 member countries of the European Union. The reforms are revenue neutral and financed by an overall and uniform increase in marginal tax rates on earnings. The first reform distributes the additional tax revenue uniformly to everybody (traditional welfare) while the second reform distributes tax proceeds uniformly to workers only (in-work benefit). We build a simple model of labour supply encompassing responses to taxes and transfers along both the intensive and extensive margin. We then use EUROMOD to describe current welfare and tax systems in all European Union countries (except Sweden) and use calibrated labour supply elasticities along the intensive and extensive margins to analyse the effects of the two welfare reforms. We quantify the equity-efficiency trade-off for a range of elasticity parameters. In most countries, because of the large existing welfare programs with high phase-out rates, the uniform redistribution policy is, in general, undesirable unless the redistributive tastes of the government are extreme. The in-work benefit reform, on the other hand, is desirable in a very wide set of cases. We discuss the practical policy implications for European welfare policy. JEL Classification: H20


ABSTRACT In research on authoritarian institutions, legislatures are portrayed as capable of resolving dilemmas between the leader and opposition members. Nevertheless, repeated interactions between a leader and their ruling coalition can lead to both contested dictatorships, in which institutions constrain the leader, and established dictatorships, in which the leader exercises near-complete control. To date, however, no one has examined the patterns by which powers vary across legislatures in different settings and over time. Using data from the Varieties of Democracy Project on legislative powers between 1900 and 2017, we conceptualize changes in the powers afforded to the national congress to characterize the development of regimes in either direction. The study expounds on the content of legislatures across regimes and the ways in which they change, encouraging scholars to further consider the relationship between regime dynamics and legislative institutionalization.


For a general complex scattering potential defined on a real line, we show that the equations governing invisibility of the potential are invariant under the combined action of parity and time-reversal (PT) transformation. We determine the PT-symmetric an well as non-PT-symmetric invisible configurations of an easily realizable exactly solvable model that consists of a two-layer planar slab consisting of optically active material. Our analysis shows that although PT-symmetry is neither necessary nor sufficient for the invisibility of a scattering potential, it plays an important role in the characterization of the invisible configurations. A byproduct of our investigation is the discovery of certain configurations of our model that are effectively reflectionless in a spectral range as wide as several hundred nanometers.


Family business has to face issues such as ownership issue, governance structure issue and succession issue, etc. in enterprise development history. Among them, the succession issue is an important transition point in enterprise's survival and development. It is thus thought of as one of the most important strategic and decision making issues in the enterprise. This article aims at investigating the succession model of Family business. First, reviews are done on the meaning of Family business. Next, reviews and comments are made on the related models of the succession of Family business. It can be seen from the research that the ways of succession of Family business can be divided into process point of view and psychological point of view. Finally, main conclusions of this article are summarized and perspectives are also made on the future researches.


Core-diameter adjustment, in analogy to doping management, is proposed in this letter for balancing thermal load and nonlinear effects. In this scheme, the core-to-cladding ratio increases with increasing core diameter along the direction of signal and pump propagation. An all-fiber-integrated Yb-doped master oscillator power amplification (MOPA) is successfully demonstrated. Two segments of fiber with different core diameters but same inner-cladding diameters and doping levels are spliced together and used as gain fibers in the last stage. A maximum average output power of 200 W at an overall slope efficiency of 71% is achieved from the MOPA with a pulse energy of 2 mJ and peak power as high as 80 kW.


Sedimentary mineral assemblages commonly contain detrital zircon crystals as part of the heavy-mineral fraction. Age spectra determined by U-Pb isotopic analysis of single zircon crystals within a sample may directly image the age composition—but not the chemical composition—of the source region. Rare earth element (REE) abundances have been measured for zircons from a range of common crustal igneous rock types from different tectonic environments, as well as kimberlite, carbonatite, and high-grade metamorphic rocks, to assess the potential of using zircon REE characteristics to infer the rock types present in sediment source regions. Except for zircon with probable mantle affinities, zircon REE abundances and normalized patterns show little intersample and intrasample variation. To evaluate the actual variation in detrital zircon REE composition in a true sediment of known mixed provenance, zircons from a sandstone sample from the Statfjord Formation (North Sea) were analyzed. Despite a provenance including high-grade metasediment and granitoids and a range in zircon age of 2.82 b.y., the zircon REEs exhibit a narrow abundance range with no systematic differences in pattern shape. These evidences show zircon REE patterns and abundances are generally not useful as indicators of provenance.


Want to know how best to use eBay? Whether you're a newcomer or longtime user, eBay Hacks will teach you to become efficient as both a buyer and seller. You'll find a wide range of topics, from monitoring the bidding process, getting refunds, and fixing photos so that sale items look their best, to in-depth tips for running a business on eBay and writing scripts that automate some of the most tedious tasks. That's just the nuts and bolts. The book also gives you an inside look into the unique eBay community, where millions of people gather online to buy and sell. Author David Karp--an eBay user himself, with years of experience--teaches you how to work within this community to maximize your success. eBay Hacks includes four powerful sections: "Hacks for All" covers eBay's diplomacy and feedback system, describing how you can maintain a good feedback profile and use it to inspire trust in others. "Hacks for Buyers" shows you how to focus your searches to find auctions before anyone else--including ways to create an automated search robot. Then, learn how bidding works in the real world, using eBay's proxy bidding system to improve your win rate while spending less money. "Hacks for Sellers" teaches strategies for competitive selling, like promoting your items without spending extra money and protecting yourself from deadbeat buyers. Learn how to run a fulltime business on eBay by streamlining the listing process, communications and checkout. "Hacks for Developers" delves into eBay's API, an interface for writing programs that do the work that most users have to do by hand through a web browser. With eBay Hacks, you'll be more than a buyer or seller. You will become a savvy power user who knows the smart way to save time, save money, and dramatically improve auction success.


This PhD thesis used survival analysis methods in a novel way to examine differences in long-term outcomes of patients diagnosed with serious, acute conditions in the Northern Territory of Australia. In particular, the thesis compared long-term outcomes for Indigenous patients against those for non-Indigenous patients. It is intended to function at two levels: at the theoretical level, this thesis investigates the potential of using survival analysis to produce useful information from existing data to improve our knowledge about long-term outcomes after acute care. At the practical level, it undertakes four illustrative studies to examine the long-term health outcomes for Indigenous patients compared with non-Indigenous patients after diagnosis and treatment for four severe and acute health conditions: sepsis, stroke, cancer and rheumatic heart disease (RHD). All four studies found that long-term health outcomes after serious illness were poorer for Indigenous people than they were for non Indigenous people. Indigenous sepsis patients had higher excess mortality. Indigenous stroke patients had higher case-fatality, stroke recurrence and long-term mortality; comorbidities explained part of the Indigenous disparity in longterm survival after a stroke, but did not explain the disparity in stroke recurrence. Indigenous RHD patients had higher mortality; of which 28% of the excess mortality was explained by comorbid renal failure and hazardous alcohol use. Indigenous cancer patients had a lower net survival rate for breast, colorectal, lung, head and neck cancers. In the presence of competing risk, Indigenous cancer patients with all types of cancer had higher probability of cancer death and higher probability of non-cancer death (except for those with lung cancer and head and neck cancers - both smoking-related cancers). This thesis has demonstrated the great potential of survival analysis to produce useful information from linked administrative data to improve our knowledge about long-term health outcomes.


High-velocity plunging water jets, such as those formed by spillways of high-head dams, cause scour on the rock foundations. The scour process is the result of complex physical phenomena concerning the three media involved, namely, water, rock and air. Air is entrained in the jet during the travel through the air and at the impinging point into the plunge pool. The air bubbles flow in the plunge pool influence energy dissipation and dynamic pressures. The bubbles may also enter rock fissures, where they will completely change properties of the propagation of pressure waves. The detailed knowledge of air bubbles behavior in plunge pools and of their influence in pressure fluctuations in the water-rock interface and inside fissures under prototype conditions is still lacking. Froude, Weber and Reynolds dependent phenomenon, observations on near-prototype scale models and consideration of fully transient pressures are necessary to appropriately assess the effect of jet impingement and air entrainment in the development of rock scour. The objective of this study is to assess experimentally air concentrations at different positions throughout the shear layer of impinging aerated jets and relate them with the dynamic pressures occurring around a confined block located at the bottom of the plunge pool. The experimental facility can reproduce vertical near-prototype jets, whose velocities vary between 4.9 and 22.1 m/s, impinging in an 80 cm deep plunge pool. Corresponding pool depth - jet diameter ratio is 11.1, creating developed jet impact on the bottom. Compressed air is added to the jet by means of 6 small openings in the nozzle. Air-to-water ratios of the jets vary from 0 to 23%. A double fiber-optic probe is used in different depths and radial distances from the jet axis in the plunge pool. Thus, air concentration, bubble rate and the vertical component of flow velocity are obtained. A metallic cube, with a edge of 200 mm, is inserted into the bottom of the plunge pool representing a confined rock block, allowing to measure dynamic pressures at 12 points around it. Using a systematic experimental approach, for the first time dynamic pressures occurring around a confined block could be related to air concentrations in a plunge pool impacted by aerated near-prototype jets. Air concentrations, bubble rate and flow velocity at each position of a plunge pool impacted by aerated water jets are clearly influenced by two opposing features, namely, the kinetic energy reduction of the jet and the jet aeration itself. Furthermore, kinetic energy reduction governs the lowering of mean pressures and their oscillations on the water-rock interface and underlying fissures. These results are part of an on-going research that aims at a physically-based description of the influence of air entrainment for scour assessment.


Modern online services continuously generate data at very fast rates. This continuous flow of data encompasses content – e.g. posts, news, products, comments –, but also user feedback – e.g. ratings, views, reads, clicks –, together with context data – user device, spacial or temporal data, user task or activity, weather. This can be overwhelming for systems and algorithms designed to train in batches, given the continuous and potentially fast change of content, context and user preferences or intents. Therefore, it is important to investigate online methods able to transparently adapt to the inherent dynamics of online services. Incremental models that learn from data streams are gaining attention in the recommender systems community, given their natural ability to deal with the continuous flows of data generated in dynamic, complex environments. User modeling and personalization can particularly benefit from algorithms capable of maintaining models incrementally and online. The objective of this workshop is to foster contributions and bring together a growing community of researchers and practitioners interested in online, adaptive approaches to user modeling, recommendation and personalization, and their implications regarding multiple dimensions, such as evaluation, reproducibility, privacy and explainability.


Review of 'Feldenkrais for Actors – How to Do Less and Discover More' by Victoria Worsley, illustrated by James Humphries; Nick Hern Books London 2016; 272 pages
How do we train actors to develop an organic competence of their craft? How do we educate young people to become agile, creative, sensitive and affective performers in a cultural context that affords an increased disembodiment of everyday life experience? How do we encourage open-ended inquiry within a corporate increasingly goal-oriented and fast-paced vocational educational training system?
Victoria Worsley, London based actor and Feldenkrais® practitioner, published the book Feldenkrais for Actors – How to Do Less and Discover More as a resource for students and teachers in 2016. Her writings emerged from her rich experience as an artist, teacher of Movement for Actors in Drama Conservatories, and as Feldenkrais practitioner who works with the general public. Her book offers a convincing resource for student-actors, professionals and pedagogues, with an historical introduction that links the work of Moshe Feldenkrais to theatre practice and to the current work Feldenkrais/Theatre peer-practitioners in the UK, a large experiential part linked to the needs of the student actor, and an appendix with useful links to resources for further study.


In light of Ursula Heise's recent critiques of the concept of a "sense of place" in ecocriticism as well as the vibrant social movement for food justice emerging in the United States, Fiskio asks whether the concept of place can be reformulated in ways that are inclusive of communities on the borders of the food system and compelling to contemporary ecocriticism. Ecocriticism has relied until now on traditional agrarian ideals that privilege long-term inhabitation of place as a basis for responsible citizenship. Through close readings of Wendell Berry's stories and essays, Helena Maria Viramontes's novel Under the Feet of Jesus, and the documentary film The Garden, Fiskio argues for an agrarianism of the margins that unsettles these fundamental assumptions, illuminating the ethical agency of migrant and transnational laborers in situations of transience, and opening a space for multiple ways of producing food, community, and place.


Background: Implant-based breast reconstruction after mastectomy has recently been reported to be the preferred type of surgery among breast-specific surgeons and plastic surgeons. Aims: To explore the significant clinicopathological factors associated with long-term outcome related to local recurrences of the nipple among patients who underwent immediate breast reconstruction with tissue expander or implant after mastectomy. Study Design: Retrospective cohort. Methods: From January 2007 to January 2013, 51 breast cancer patients who underwent immediate breast reconstruction with tissue expander or implant were retrospectively analysed. Patients' demographic data, clinicopathological characteristics, and clinical outcome by disease-free survival and disease-specific survival analyses were determined. Results: The median follow-up was 64 (31-114) months. Of the 57 mastectomies, 41 were skin sparing mastectomy (72%) and 16 were nipple-areola sparing mastectomy (28%). Immediate breast reconstruction surgery included tissue expander (n=46, 81%) or implant (n=11, 19%) placement. The molecular subgroups of 47 invasive cancers were as follows: luminal A (n=23, 49%), luminal B (n=16, 34%), non-luminal HER2 (n=5, 10.6), triple negative breast cancer (n=3, 6.4%). The 5-years disease-specific survival, disease-free survival, and locoregional recurrence-free survival rates were 96.8%, 90%, and 97.6% respectively. Patients with luminal A cancer were found to have an improved 5-year disease-free survival time than other (luminal A; 100% vs. non-luminal A; 78%; p=0.028). Of the 14 nipple-areola sparing mastectomy, 13 had a close median tumour distance to nipple-areola complex (<20 mm) with a 5-year locoregional recurrence free survival of 100%. Conclusion: Immediate breast reconstruction with implant or tissue expander can be safely applied in patients undergoing skin sparing mastectomy or nipple-areola sparing mastectomy. Patients with luminal-A type show the most favourable outcome. During the 5-year follow-up period, patients even with close margins (<20 mm) to nipple-areola complex with nipple-areola sparing mastectomy have excellent locoregional and overall survival when treated by contemporary multidisciplinary oncological management.


Eleven white, well-educated students from the University of Cape Town, all actively involved in the field of HIV/AIDS, were interviewed through a freeassociative-narrative method. This study sought to explore these students' perceptions of and associations with HIV/AIDS and those infected, in an attempt to assess the extent to which stigma may occur amongst these students. To the authors' knowledge, no other studies exploring HIV/AIDS-related stigma have been done on young adults who are actively engaging with, and highly educated on, issues around HIV and AIDS. The accounts revealed that underneath the overt denials of fear, the epidemic does seem to evoke various fears and anxieties for these students. Through their constructions of HIV/AIDS, the participants tend to 'other' the epidemic and those infected and thus distance themselves from a sense of threat. Such representations therefore appear to serve a protective function, enabling the participants to defend themselves from the anxieties they experience surrounding the epidemic. In line with psychosocial understandings of HIV/AIDS stigma, the results from this study indicate that this 'atypical' group of students may possess certain stigmatizing tendencies. This points to the fact that HIV/AIDS stigma may not be the product of a lack of education or 'faulty' thinking. There were however multiple, often contradictory and conflicting voices heard throughout the interviews. Many participants expressed an awareness of, and uneasiness with, their 'othering' and potentially stigmatizing tendencies. It is in this space, that the potential for change, and stigma reduction may exist. The findings from this study thus have both theoretical and practical implications for conceptualizing, and challenging HIV/AIDS stigma.


The Devils Hole calcite vein contains a long-term climatic record, but requires accurate chronologic control for its interpretation. Mass-spectrometric U-series ages for samples from core DH-11 yielded 230Th ages with precisions ranging from less than 1,000 years (2σ) for samples younger than ∼140 ka (thousands of years ago) to less than 50,000 years for the oldest samples (∼566 ka). The 234U/238U ages could be determined to a precision of ∼20,000 years for all ages. Calcite accumulated continuously from 566 ka until ∼60 ka at an average rate of 0.7 millimeter per 103 years. The precise agreement between replicte analyses and the concordance of the 230Th/238U 234U/238U ages for the oldest samples indicate that the DH-11 samples were closed systems and validate the dating technique in general.


Currently, we observe extensive use of products made of polymeric composite materials in various industries. These materials are being increasingly used to manufacture large-sized structural parts that bear significant loads. However, increase in the volume of composites used in critical structures is impeded by the instability of properties of the resulting products. In most cases, the reason for this is the residual thermal stress–strain behaviour of the composite structure. This paper deals with the development of a method to predict the residual stress–strain behaviour depending on the heating conditions and distribution of the temperature field over the thickness of the moulded composite package. The method establishes the relationship between moulding process parameters and the effect of the auxiliary and basic equipment on the distribution of the temperature field, stresses, and strains in the moulded product. It is shown that the rate of temperature change at the stage of heating has its effect on the amount of residual deformation of the structure. Experimental studies have been carried out to determine the influence of several factors (rates of heating and cooling) on the residual deflection of the composite panel. Experimental data proves that specimens moulded under conditions of an increased heating rate get a greater deflection than those moulded at a lower heating rate. The error of results during the full-scale experiment did not exceed 6.8%. Our results provide an opportunity to determine the residual thermal stress–strain behaviour of the moulded structure with the required degree of accuracy without a series of experiments. It allows us to significantly simplify the practical implementation of the developed method and avoid any additional production costs.


This article argues that despite the great diversity in the uses of the term 'empowerment' it is possible to distinguish two basic approaches in conceptualising women's empowerment. The first identified here as 'liberal empowerment' regards women's empowerment as an instrument for development priorities be they the eradication of poverty or the building of democracy. Consistent with liberal ideals the focus in this approach is on individual growth but in an atomistic perspective – on the notion of the rational action of social actors based on individual interests. Moreover it de-politicises the process of empowerment by taking 'power' out of the equation. In contrast in the approach here termed 'liberating empowerment' power relations are the central issue. Women's empowerment is regarded both on 'intrinsic grounds' as the process by which women gain self-determination as well as an instrument for the eradication of patriarchy. This is simultaneously both instrumental for social transformation as well as an end in and of itself as it entails women's liberation from the chains of patriarchal domination. Such an approach is consistent with a focus on women's organising on collective action though not disregarding the importance of the empowerment of women at an individual level. As shall be seen this is the approach sustained by Latin American feminists as evident in different projects and programmes implemented by feminists in the region.


We suggest a probabilistic voting model where voters' preferences for alternative public goods display habit formation. Current policies determine habit levels and in turn the future preferences of the voters. This allows the incumbent to act strategically in order to influence the probability of re-election. Comparing to a benchmark case of a certain re-election, we demonstrate that the incumbent's optimal policy features both a more polarized allocation between the alternative public goods and a debt bias. JEL Classification: D72, D78, H62


Patients with congenital tricuspid valve problems or post surgical complications often need biological vale implants quite early on in child hood with risk of size/growth mismatch, valve degeneration and severe stenosis or mixed disease, which expose them to the high risk of multiple redo surgeries. We report 3 cases of transcatheter tricuspid valve in valve implants in the last 18 months, additionally one of them had a percutaneous pulmonary valve implantation (PPVI) at the same procedure after ensuring a widely patent tricuspid valve. Patient ages 19, 11, 26 yrs. The failing valves in all 3 were a perimount valves, sizes 23 to 31mm. The inserted valves were Sapien Edwards valves 20 to 29 mm, we used the ViV surgically oriented app which guides the best size, the wire park in the on of the branch pulmonary artery over which the valve mounted onto a balloon within the IVC then manipulated into position within the old valve. Rapid LV pacing would reduce the cardiac output to ensure minimal valve movements during implantation. The valve is deployed with fluoroscopy and TOE guidance, excellent final result with Drop of the mean PG across the valve from 9 to 1 mmHg with no valvar or paravalvar leak, Conclusion Percutaneous Tricuspid valve implant is a save procedure in patients with failed surgical biological tricuspid valves, and seems to be the logical way forward to avoid redo surgical procedures and more scarring of the right atrium and right ventricle, heart block and arrhythmias.


Purpose
The cultural and legal differences between foreign acquirers and African target firms can be substantial. There is also a large variation in cultures and legal systems within Africa. However, there is limited research on merger and acquisition (M&A) performance by foreign firms in Africa. The purpose of this paper is to fill this gap by exploring the "spillover by law" hypothesis (Martynova and Renneboog, 2008) that focuses on the influence of the external environment on the governance and performance of foreign M&As in Africa.

Design/methodology/approach
The data set covers 415 M&A transactions by foreign firms in Africa during the period of 1999–2016. Dynamic data covering the country's legal, cultural and political environment are collected from the World Bank, the Heritage Foundation and Transparency International.

Findings
The authors find that the legal environment significantly affects the returns of bidders on African firms. For complete acquisitions, bidder returns are significantly higher when the bidder's country has higher shareholder protection and higher creditor protection compared with the target firm's country. The results show that the effects are significant when there is a full control change (including a change in the target firm's nationality) but not in the case of partial control transfers. The results are consistent with the "spillover by law" hypothesis.

Originality/value
The authors contribute to the literature on cross-border M&As by separately studying the valuation effects of full, majority and minority changes in control; by being the first study of the legal spillover effects in Africa; and by being the most extensive study of the legal determinants of the valuations of non-African acquirers of African firms.


Abstract In bioreactor systems for the treatment of metal-contaminated water, pretreatment with zerovalent Fe can be exploited for oxygen consumption and H2 production. In this study, a column experiment is used to investigate the changes in surface chemistry and solid phase products that result from the reaction of a Zn-sulphate-lactate solution with zerovalent Fe filings. The results of this study indicate that zerovalent Fe is very effective in immobilizing dissolved Zn with a porewater residence time of 1.3 - 3.1 days. A combination of X-ray diffractometry, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and mineral equilibria calculations indicates that Zn precipitates as Zn(OH)2 and zincite at pH 9 - 10. At pH ≈6, Zn primarily adsorbs to abundant ferric oxyhydroxides, although incorporation in green rust is also considered. During the course of the experiment, the surface mineralogy changes from magnetitelepidocrocite- goethite to green rust-akaganéite-goethite. The results suggest that the zerovalent Fe surface becomes passivated by a surface film of ferric oxyhydroxides, green rust and organic material, so that the rate of electron transfer and proton consuming reactions (i.e. oxygen consumption, H2 generation) declines, resulting in a decrease in solution pH.


Your CECH Library guide to finding Ohio's Learning Standards by area, other relevant standards, library materials, and historical curriculum guides.


Abstract The waterfront is recognised as the zone of interaction between a city and a river. In Malaysia, waterfront developments were established when the country was first settled, mainly as a transport route and for trading. Waterfronts became more urbanised and commercialised from the early 1990's onwards. However, due to constraints such as ineffective governance as well as inadequate federal, state and municipal planning guidelines, the waterfronts have problems such as environmental degradation, crime and flooding. Although some waterfront development projects continue to remain profitable, with good public access, many do not. This paper examines the effectiveness of governance for waterfront developments in Malaysia. The data presented in this paper was obtained from in-depth interviews with stakeholders involved in waterfront development projects in Malaysia; in particular, from three selected case study areas: Kuching Riverfront, Malacca Waterfront and Glenmarie Cove Riverfront. The interview results show that Malaysia does not have effective governance for waterfront developments for several reasons. A low level of cooperation between stakeholders involved in waterfront development projects was identified as a main contributor to the governance problems. These results will be used to provide information for developing guidelines for best practice for waterfront developments in Malaysia.


Leaf rust of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is caused by Puccinia triticina Ericks and is a common disease of this plant species in northwest, southern, southeast, and eastern Europe. It has been shown that the severity of leaf rust increased in the last years in many regions of Europe and highlighted the need for selection of wheat cultivars with race specific resistance genes. In order to select wheat resistant lines and develop efficient management programs for disease control, the characterization (phenotypic and molecular) of leaf rust races isolated from specific area is an important step of researches. To date, several molecular markers have been used to describe variation in P. triticina in Europe and worldwide. The aim of this work was to study the molecular diversity of P.triticina collected from Romanian fields (Fundulea, Livada, Pitesti). Single-uredinial isolates were obtained from several populations of P.triticina and used for inoculation of detached wheat leaves cultivar F133. Genomic DNA was isolated from 20 fresh single-uredinial samples (2-10 mg spores) and from eight populations of P. triticina urediniospores (10-20 mg spores) using OmniPrep for Fungus kit. The molecular polymorphism was evaluated through RAPD (with eight decameric primers) and by using 15 SSR primers and two ISSR primers. Results showed a reduced polymorphism at population level, but not identity, as indicated the RAPD analysis. No more than two alleles were detected in the leaf rust populations with the SSR markers used in experiments according to our separation protocol. Differences in the SSR loci were detected in the single-uredinial isolates. Similar results were obtained with ISSR primers: ISSR 17898A primer allowed the detection of the highest polymorphism among the individual isolates. Evidence for molecular variability between single urediniospores isolates will be correlated with the virulence phenotypic analysis in further studies.


The Collective Article 'New Mediterranean Biodiversity Records' of the Mediterranean Marine Science journal offers the means to publish biodiversity records in the Mediterranean Sea. The current article is divided in two parts, for records of native and alien species respectively. The new records of native fish species include: the slender sunfish Ranzania laevis and the scalloped ribbonfish Zu cristatus in Calabria; the Azores rockling Gaidropsarus granti in Calabria and Sicily; the agujon needlefish Tylosurus acus imperialis in the Northern Aegean; and the amphibious behaviour of Gouania willdenowi in Southern Turkey . As regards molluscs, the interesting findings include Ischnochiton usticensis in Calabria and Thordisa filix in the bay of Piran (Slovenia). The stomatopod Parasquilla ferussaci was collected from Lesvos island (Greece); the isopod Anilocra frontalis was observed parasitizing the alien Pteragogus trispilus in the Rhodes area. The asteroid Tethyaster subinermis and the butterfly ray Gymnura altavela were reported from several localities in the Greek Ionian and Aegean Seas. The new records of alien species include: the antenna codlet Bregmaceros atlanticus in Saronikos Gulf; three  new fish records and two decapods from Egypt ; the establishment of the two spot cardinal fish Cheilodipterus novemstriatus and the first record of the Indo-Pacific marble shrimp Saron marmoratus in semi-dark caves along the Lebanese coastline; the finding of Lagocephalus sceleratus, Sargocentron rubrum, Fistularia commersonii and Stephanolepis diaspros around Lipsi island (Aegean Sea, Greece); the decapod Penaeus hathor in Aegean waters; the decapod Penaeus aztecus and the nudibranch Melibe viridis in the Dodecanese islands; the finding of Pinctada imbricata radiata in the Mar Grande of Taranto (Ionian Sea, Italy) and the Maliakos Gulf (Greece).


The interview is the most widely used tool by selection practitioners and is also one of the most hotly debated in terms of its reliability and validity. In New Zealand Maori occupy a disadvantaged position in the labour market. As such the interview may act in a gatekeeping manner denying Maori full and equal participation in the labour market. The present study was conducted as two distinct phases of research. First ly, the pattern of stereotype attitudes of selection interviewers towards the five largest ethnic groups in New Zealand (Maori, Pacific Island group, Chinese, NZ European/Pakeha and British/UK group) was investigated . Secondly, t he current interview techniques and practice of people involved in conducting employment interviews in New Zealand were examined. The mailin ethnic attitude questionnaire was completed by 107 employment interview practitioners. The attitudes towards the five ethnic groups were measured using an attitude scale consisting of 12 semantic differential dimensions. An overall differential pattern of attitude stereotyping was revealed for the five groups. The second phase involved 26 participants who w ere involved in an interview conducted by the researcher to ascertain their interviewing practice, knowledge about interview research and EEO considerations regarding the employment interview. The responses gained from the participants indicate that the common technique utilised is the unstructured interview with questions developed on an ad hoc basis. There was also a considerable lack of formal interview training and most participants reported a lack of familiarity with published research. EEO initiatives were uncoordinated and participants generally reported a lack of direction regarding the implications of EEO pol icies. The results ind icate the opportunity for current selection practice to act as a barrier to full and equal Maori participation in the labour market. Additionally the current approach to EEO Maori is inadequate to deal with the additional status of Maori as tangata whenua of Aotearoa/New Zealand.


Abstract: Proposed are four decision-making technologies based on the use of comparison standards: one for optimal strategies in cooperative n-person games determination, the second – for summarizing the results of voting, the third for processing of experts assessments and the fourth – for the use of comparison standards to solve extreme multi-criteria problems. The first one is an alternative to the use of guaranteeing strategies whereas the second approach can be an alternative to the use of traditional technologies, selecting winner by relative or absolute majority and the third one is a further development of a method of binary comparisons. The fourth direction is the alternative to the methods of lexicographical ordering of criteria and their weighted sum. The main provisions of the proposed approach are illustrated by examples.


The vibration damping property of plant fibres composites is of practical interest for commercial applications of biobased and eco-composites. Damping behaviour has been observed by experimentation and exploited in the marketing of sporting equipment but the origins of this behaviour have so far been only based on conjectures. In this thesis, the damping capacity of plant fibre composites was attributed to their chemical composition and the reversible interactions enabled by the breaking and reforming of hydrogen bonds under stress. The approach to explaining the mechanisms started with the characterisation of different plant fibre types to search for correlations between their physical and chemical structure. The investigation continued with quantifying the effect of hydrogen bonding compounds such as water, glycerol and polyglycerol on the damping coefficient of fibres and reinforced composites. The results of the polyol impregnation indicated that applying a pretreatment enhanced the vibration damping performance of flax reinforced composites, validating the hypothesis of the essential role played by hydrogen bonds in the fibres. The improvement in the damping coefficient of the composites was shown to be to the detriment of their stiffness. The compromised between the two properties was investigated in the final part of this thesis by using hybrid flax-carbon fibre reinforced composites. Deputy Vice-Chancellor's Office Postgraduate Office


The nitrogen oxide gases are subject to fast chemical reactions. The time scales characterizing these reactions are of the order of tens of seconds and thus, comparable with residence time of pollutants in street canyons. The objective of the present study is the performance of small-scale computations for an urban 3D by using a CFD (computational fluid dynamics) code (ANSYS-CFX) to provide steady state wind and pollutant concentration fields. A fast chemistry module simulating chemical reactions taking place within street canyons right after traffic pollutants are emitted is implemented to the model in order to assess the concentrations of NOx and ozone in space. Circulations created by the city itself and that affect pollutant dispersion are accounted for and hotspot concentrations that depend on street canyon scale effects are also computed. Reactive pollutant dispersion in the street canyon has been numerically investigated using CFD numerical simulation by means of k-e turbulence model and transport equations for NO, NO2, and O3 with simple photochemistry. The area emission source is divided to sub-domains describing NOx vehicles' emissions. The Background of O3 was specified, and the gases were allowed to mix and react.


We analyzed the highly siderophile element (HSE) contents and bulk Ge isotopic compositions of large metal grains in the CB chondrites Bencubbin (CBa), Gujba (CBa), and HaH 237 (CBb). Our results suggest that the large grains were formed by the aggregation of smaller condensed grains, and the two Benccubinite groups are distinguishable based on their bulk metal δ74/70Ge mass‐dependent isotopic values of 0.99 ± 0.30‰ (CBa) and −0.65 ± 0.10‰ (CBb). Based on our observations of these three samples, the isotopic compositions of metal in CBa chondrites are best explained by condensation at slow cooling rates in the center of an impact plume, whereas the metal in CBb chondrites formed under fast cooling rates along the plume edges. We also analyzed the Ge contents and isotopic compositions of the core, intermediate, and rim fractions of two Gujba metal grains, which were separated by sequential digestion. These results show a gradual decrease in δ74/70Ge and [Ge] from core to rim. We suggest that these δ74Ge zonations result from near‐equilibrium condensation and evaporation processes in a heterogeneous plume. We propose a model for their formation in which (1) small grains (to become grain cores) condensed at equilibrium; (2) these grains were transported to a warmer region of the plume where they reached temperatures lower than that of Fe‐Ni condensation, but high enough for the rapid evaporation of Ge; (3) Ge evaporation followed by slow cooling enriched the grains in heavy Ge isotopes and the surrounding gas in light Ge isotopes; and (4) equilibrium recondensation of metal from the gas and around the small grains formed the light Ge isotopic zonations observed in grain rims.


Background and Purpose— Silent ischemic brain lesions frequently occur in migraine with aura and are most often located in cerebellar border zones. This may imply an impairment of cerebellar blood flow autoregulation. This study investigated the characteristics of interictal cerebellar autoregulation in migraine with and without aura. Methods— Thirty-four patients (n=17, migraine without aura; n=17, migraine with aura) and 35 age- and sex-matched controls were studied. Triple simultaneous transcranial Doppler monitoring of one posterior inferior cerebellar artery, right posterior cerebral artery, and left middle cerebral artery was performed. Autoregulation dynamics were assessed from spontaneous blood pressure fluctuations (correlation coefficient index Dx) and from respiratory-induced 0.1-Hz blood pressure oscillations (phase and gain). Results— Compared with controls, the autoregulatory index Dx was higher (indicating less autoregulation) in the posterior inferior cerebellar artery (P=0.0062) and middle cerebral artery (P=0.0078) in migraine with aura, but not in migraine without aura. Phase and gain did not significantly differ between migraine patients and controls. No significant associations of autoregulation with clinical factors were found, including frequency of migraine attacks and orthostatic intolerance. Conclusions— This first-time analysis of cerebellar autoregulation in migraine did not show a specific cerebellar dysautoregulation in the interictal period. More static autoregulatory properties (index Dx) are, however, impaired in persons with migraine with aura both in the cerebellar and anterior circulation. The cerebellar predilection of ischemic lesions in migraine with aura might be a combination of altered autoregulation and additional factors, such as the end artery cerebellar angioarchitecture.


Public relations practitioners are moving fast into the technologically complex 21st century, purchasing a wider, more sophisticated spectrum of products and services than ever before. A recent PRJ reader survey sheds light on these purchasing trends and how they relate to the current practice of public relations in all types of businesses. Besides media monitoring and distribution services, public relations professionals today are buying research tools, such as on-line databases, equipment and programs for use in desktop publishing, and many other communications services. Of course, practitioners continue to handle media relations and schedule press conferences, but they are also the purchasing decision-makers or strong buying influencers for goods and services that go far beyond traditional press release monitoring and tracking. Today's public relations executives are involved in purchasing virtually all services related to internal and external communications, marketing and advertising, a recent Public Relations Journal survey found. The survey tracked what types of services corporations and not-for-profit organizations are buying from public relations firms as well as purchases by the firms themselves. PRJ's latest profile of the purchasing power of public relations practitioners also explores their specialties and gives insights into the hottest practice areas. Identifies new services The world has certainly changed since PRJ's last published survey in 1988. Public relations professionals are more actively involved than ever in environmental affairs, crisis and issues management, strategic planning, special events and sports marketing. As in the past, corporations and other organizations with in-house public relations staffs frequently engage public relations firms to perform time-honored specialized services such as media training and speechwriting and often hire outside counsel to handle legislative/regulatory affairs or trade press relations. Our latest survey was based on a scientifically drawn sample of PRJ's entire readership, including PRSA members and nonmembers. Globe Research Corp., an independent research company specializing in the magazine industry, conducted the survey of readers in two categories: public relations firms and other companies/organizations. Besides measuring respondents' buying habits, the study charted their activities, background and length of time in the public relations profession. The survey was mailed twice to 1,050 subscribers. There was a 58% response rate, with 300 firm practitioners responding and 306 "company" replies. Survey respondents represented a variety of work settings and practice areas. More than 40% are employed by independent public relations firms. Respondents who work in other kinds of companies/organizations include those employed at industrial and technical concerns as well as suppliers of services, such as communications, media, retailing and real estate. One in six of these "company" respondents work in for-profit industrial manufacturing concerns. In the non-profit sector, 8% work in trade/professional associations and 10% in education. Annual public relations expenditures of the companies/organizations represented in the sample averaged more than $2.5 million. About 25% spent more than $1 million annually on outside firms, activities, services, products and equipment for public relations purposes. At the high end, 6.4% spent more than $10 million annually, and just over 1% spent $25 million or more. Just over 72% of all company respondents spent at least $100,000 on public relations goods and services. About half of the corporate group surveyed recommend using the services of an outside public relations firm. And almost 60% use more than one outside firm for that extra help. In many cases, functions were performed both within and outside the organization contracting for outside services. The balance of the survey sample, those who work at "firms," include workers TABULAR DATA OMITTED in independent firms (44%), public relations departments of advertising, marketing or promotion agencies (16%), sole practitioners (19%), and others, including in-house agencies at corporations or non-profit organizations (11%). …


There are several researches that deal with the behavior of SEs and their relationships with different economical factors. These range from papers dealing with this subject through econometrical procedures to statistical methods known as copula. This article considers the impact of oil and gold price on Tehran Stock Exchange market (TSE). Oil and gold are two factors that are essential for the economy of Iran and their price are determined in the global market. The model used in this study is ARIMA-Copula. We used data from January 1998 to January 2011 as training data to find the appropriate model. The cross validation of model is measured by data from January 2011 to June 2011. We conclude that: (i) there is no significant direct relationship between gold price and the TSE index, but the TSE is indirectly influenced by gold price through other factors such as oil; and (ii) the TSE is not independent of the volatility in oil price and Clayton copula can describe such dependence structure between TSE and the oil price. Based on the property of Clayton copula, which has lower tail dependency, as the oil price drops, stock index falls. This means that decrease in oil price has an adverse effect on Iranian economy.


Who among the many researchers is most likely to usher in a new era of scientific breakthroughs? This question is of critical importance to universities, funding agencies, as well as scientists who must compete under great pressure for limited amounts of research money. Citations are the current primary means of evaluating one's scientific productivity and impact, and while often helpful, there is growing concern over the use of excessive self-citations to help build sustainable careers in science. Incorporating superfluous self-citations in one's writings requires little effort, receives virtually no penalty, and can boost, albeit artificially, scholarly impact and visibility, which are both necessary for moving up the academic ladder. Such behavior is likely to increase, given the recent explosive rise in popularity of web-based citation analysis tools (Web of Science, Google Scholar, Scopus, and Altmetric) that rank research performance. Here, we argue for new metrics centered on transparency to help curb this form of self-promotion that, if left unchecked, can have a negative impact on the scientific workforce, the way that we publish new knowledge, and ultimately the course of scientific advance.


This paper proposes a dimension of iconicity in metaphor variation at the level of linguistic instantiation, which would be novel in respect of Kovecses's (2005) "kinds of variation in the linguistic expression of the same conceptual metaphor". Such a criterion of iconicity is taken from Hiraga's (2005) understanding of the mappings of the motor-sensory images evoked by linguistic expressions as "iconic moments in metaphor". A review of cases of metaphor variation between English and Chinese studied by Ning Yu (1995; 2001; 2003) enlightens us about the interest of looking at this dimension. I discuss the pertinence of my proposal within Grady's (1997) theoretical framework. Some cases of metaphor variation between Spanish and Chinese are briefly analysed, according to the prominence of the 'imagic mapping' (cf. Hiraga 2005).


This article critically examines the main characteristics of cultural flows in the era of digital platforms. By focusing on the increasing role of digital platforms during the Korean Wave (referring to the rapid growth of local popular culture and its global penetration starting in the late 1990s), it first analyzes whether digital platforms as new outlets for popular culture have changed traditional notions of cultural flows—the forms of the export and import of popular culture mainly from Western countries to non-Western countries. Second, it maps out whether platform-driven cultural flows have resolved existing global imbalances in cultural flows. Third, it analyzes whether digital platforms themselves have intensified disparities between Western and non-Western countries. In other words, it interprets whether digital platforms have deepened asymmetrical power relations between a few Western countries (in particular, the United States) and non-Western countries.


Abstract. The pragmatist concept of praxis involves more than conventionalised practices. It also regards performative dynamics which derive from the fact that practices actually never are enacted in an exemplary manner. Each and every execution of a practice always bears the chance of success but also the risk of failure. Furthermore, the execution of a practice can be fractured in many ways. As situations are always unique, a variety of different dynamics can evolve, each of which might lead to further events which in turn might even result in an alteration of the convention of the practice. Due to such performative dynamics, individuals might experience diverse qualities of emotions, insights, and practical skills that are not inherent to the practices. Those individuals who are engaged in practices thus develop not only an understanding of conventionalised practices (unversalities) but also personal attitudes towards and opinions about these practices (singularities). The example of medical practices in Botswana can function as a role model to illustrate this notion of praxis. A juxtaposition of modern and traditional medicine shows that analysing the way how such fields of practice are epistemologically founded helps us to understand why they are incommensurable.


Abstract Electron Cyclotron Resonance Heating (ECRH) is used for the formation of the axial confining potential by plug/barrier-ECRH (P/B-ECRH) and for the bulk electron heating in the central-cell by central-ECRH (C-ECRH) in GAMMA 10. The plasma performance was increased with ECRHs injection. However the degradation of the plasma parameter was occasionally observed during C-ECRH injection. Increase of the number of the loss particle was also observed at the same time. The mechanism of the degradation of the plasma parameter was investigated in terms of the particle balance.


From the Publisher:
Though most programmers use two or more languages, they usually have a mastery of one. Although Microsoft has advertised that the .NET runtime is language agnostic and that C# and Visual Basic .NET are so close that switching between the two is really quite easy, that's only true up to a point. Some of the differences are obvious, but others are very subtle. C# & VB.NET Conversion Pocket Reference helps you easily make the switch from one language to another.
The differences occur in three main areas: syntax, object-oriented principles, and the Visual Studio .NET IDE. Syntax concerns the statements and language elements. Object oriented differences are less obvious, and concern differences in implementation and feature sets between the two languages. IDE differences include things like compiler settings or attributes. There is also a fourth area of difference: language features that are present in one language but have no equivalent in the other. These unique language features are also covered in this book.
C# & VB.NET Conversion Pocket Reference is a perfect companion for documents and books that don't have examples using your mastered language. Author Jose Mojica expects that you know one of the two languages, but does not make an assumption about which one. He presents the information in a language-neutral point of view so that programmers from either background can read a section and feel that it is targeted to them.


The thesis is concerned with static frequency changers, using solid-state switching devices, capable of directly (i.e. without an intermediate dc link) converting polyphase ac power of a given frequency to single or polyphase power of a chosen frequency. The thesis consists of two parts. The first part, comprising five chapters, is devoted to the study of ideal frequency changers operated from ac Sources having zero internal impedance. The second part, comprising two chapters, considers sources with finite internal impedances . Chapter 1 introduces the basic concepts of static frequency conversion, outlines the basic mathematical models representing static frequency changers and defines the output and input performance indicators. Chapter 2 presents a detailed investigation of that class of three-pulse frequency changers which will be studied in the thesis. A large portion of the chapter is devoted to the study of output waveform generation. The mathematical tools of the investigation, existence matrices and modulating functions, are introduced and defined. Analytical expressions for output waveforms corresponding to various practical modulating functions are derived and the related performance indicators are computed. Assuming a given desired output performance, criteria for an optimal modulating function are established. It is proved that only one system can generate an output waveform conforming to the postulated prerequisites. This system is termed the "Unrestricted" Frequency Changer. Expressions for the input current waves are also derived in this chapter and the corresponding input performance indicators are determined . The concept of a new frequency changer having the unique property of providing unity input power factor, regardless of the load, is introduced. This system is termed the "Unity Power Factor" Frequency Changer. In Chapter 3 the previous results are extended to systems having pulse numbers which are integral multiples of three. Chapter 4 is devoted to the study of output voltage control. Three basic methods are analysed and detailed quantitative data for output voltage and input current waves, and the related performance indicators, are presented in graphical form. In Chapter 5 special aspects of static frequency changing are investigated. It is shown that the input displacement factor is variable. The concept of the "Controlled Displacement Factor" Frequency Changer is introduced It is proven that the naturally commutated cycloconvertor is theoretically equivalent to a particular "Controlled Displacement Factor" Frequency Changer. Chapter 6 presents a detailed analysis of the "Unrestricted" Frequency Changer, operated from an ac source with finite internal impedance. The basic conditions are defined and an outline is given of the techniques of symmetrical components used for the analysis. The input current, input terminal voltage and output voltage waveforms are expressed in terms of the input terminal impedance and the positive, negative and zero sequence components of the output currents. The equivalent sequence impedances and the output impedance matrix are derived . The output voltage unbalance is computed under various conditions and presented in graphical form. The relationships between the amplitudes of the unwanted components in the output waveform and the resonant frequency of the input terminal circuit are also graphically presented. The results obtained are verified by computer simulations. In Chapter 7 a similar analysis of the "Unity Power Factor" Frequency Changer is carried out . The computed data are also graphically presented. Again, the results are verified by appropriate computer simulations.


[Abstract]: Graphical and statistical evaluations of the OSU91A, EGM96, EIGEN2/EGM96, UCPH2/EGM96 and PGM2000A global geoid models and of the bi-cubic and bi-linear
interpolations of the SBA Technique, the RBA Technique, AUSGeoid93 and AUSGeoid98 gravimetric geoid models of Australia are made over the Great Dividing Range escarpment at Toowoomba using a set of 116 empirically derived geoid heights. Absolute and relative comparisons made between each geoid model over a 46.2 km Global Positioning System (GPS) and digital levelling traverse, against all 116 control points (6,670 possible baselines) and over Australian Height Datum (AHD) elevations greater than 200 m through to greater than 600 m show that AUSGeoid98 is the superior geoid model for the conversion of GPS-derived ellipsoid heights to AHD elevations on
the Toowoomba Bypass project.

The results from this study confirm the benefits of including additional topographic data and satellite altimeter-derived gravity data in the production of the SBA Technique, the RBA Technique and AUSGeoid98, which were not used for AUSGeoid93. Conclusions made in this study are qualified by the fact that empirical validation of gravimetric geoid models on land does not provide an unequivocal assessment of the data, theories and techniques used to compute each geoid model due to the errors residing in the empirical geoid heights estimated to be ±0.0371 m evaluated at the 95% confidence level. However, land-based comparisons with GPS and levelling data
remain the most practical method of verifying the integrity of gravimetric geoid models.


The Coast Guard plans to operate an Automatic Identification System (AIS) Digital Selective Calling (DSC) based transponder system as part of the Ports and Waterways Safety System (PAWSS) in the lower Mississippi River. The AIS uses two duplex channels for ship-to-shore and shore-to-ship digital data transmissions
and a simplex channel for channel management. The duplex channels are identified as AIS working channels.The PAWSS relies on a combination of voice and AIS working channels in the VHF maritime mobile band to provide signal coverage n the Vessel Traffic Service Area (VTSA). The proposed coverage area for the VTSA encompasses the Mississippi river starting at river mile 255 to the sea buoy located at Southwest Pass and also includes an area in the Gulf of Mexico for ships approaching the sea buoy. Other waterways such as the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet and the Industrial Canal are also included in the proposed VTSA. A contractor has installed government owned equipment at five tower sites along the river to provide the coverage for both the voice and data channels. Each tower provides coverage for part of the VTSA. Before the system can reach operational status, the coverage of the RF portion of the system must be measured and documented. The Coast Guard funded NTIA to perform coverage tests on the system to examine and evaluate the adequacy of the RF coverage of the channels used for voice and AIS data transmissions. The tests were performed August 4-10, 1999 by NTIA ,Coast Guard, and SETA personnel with vans carrying the necessary test equipment. Two vans were used to make measurements on top of the river levee every three miles. One van went upriver on top of the levee and the other van went down river on top of the levee. For measurements taken in the southern part of the area covered by the tower located at Venice, a ship was used to take measurements down to the sea buoy and out into the Gulf of Mexico.
The objective of these tests was to verify the signal coverage in the VTSA. This was accomplished using quantitative and qualitative methods. For the quantitative methods, the strength of the signal that was received from each of the five towers on simplex voice channels 11 and 14 was measured. The signal strength of the shore-to-ship side of the duplex AIS working channels 90 and 94 was also measured. For the qualitative methods, Channel 70 functions were measured by noting the time it took for the transponders to switch to the AIS working channel. For qualitative voice measurements, hand held and fixed mount radios were used to establish communications with personnel at the Vessel Traffic Center (VTC) for each tower on channels 11 and 14 via land lines. The communications were qualitatively rated as good, poor, or bad. To prevent emissions from adjacent towers affecting the tests, each tower was tested with the other four turned off.
During the tests, it was observed that other authorized users were present on the voice channels, the shipto-shore side of the AIS working channels, and possibly channel 70. These other users could degrade the quality of the voice measurements and effect the transponder's ability to switch to the AIS working channel. In addition,loading on channel 70 due to the test configuration may have affected the transponders ability to switch to the working channel. The results of the tests for each of the five towers are represented by signal strength graphs of the voice and AIS working channels, AIS observations, and voice communication observations. The test results show that there are RF coverage gaps for the voice and AIS data services that require corrective measures to ensure that the Coast Guard PAWSS can operate in the proposed VTSA. These corrective measures may include adding base iii stations at additional tower locations, moving existing base stations to other tower locations, and/or changing the orientation/height of the antennas on towers at existing at base stations. The results and conclusions of this report can also be used by the Coast Guard to develop coordination
procedures with Public Correspondence System operators, so that both of their systems can operate in the VHF maritime mobile band with a minimal amount of mutual interference.


One woman and many men: Habsburg idols found their place on Vienna's Ringstrasse alongside those of the bourgeoisie. Like the buildings that line the Ringstrasse, its monuments are also informed by the notion of the historical Gesamtkunstwerk (total work of art), and also reveal the dualism between the ruling dynasty and the wealthy middle classes. Monuments such as that to Maria Theresa and successful generals such as Archduke Karl and Prince Eugene on Heldenplatz were intended to reinforce and enshrine the mythic status of the Habsburgs as the ruling dynasty. By contrast, the middle classes immortalized themselves in statues of writers and musicians. In the open area between the two court museums which was also intended to be part of the 'Imperial Forum' a monument to Maria Theresa by Caspar von Zumbusch was erected to honour her importance as monarch. It was the largest of the Ringstrasse monuments, and at 800,000 gulden, around eight times the cost of a conventional statue, also the most expensive. It was paid for out of the Wiener Stadterweiterungsfonds (Vienna City Expansion Fund). While most of the men commemorated were depicted as single figures in heroic poses, Maria Theresa sits elevated on a throne, but is not alone, being surrounded by her advisors, an element lacking in the monuments of her male counterparts. Her monument resembles rather a glorification of an entire epoch: at her feet are clustered 24 men, the 'props of the throne', personalities from the fields of foreign and domestic politics, the Army, administration, art and science. Another monument in the series of martial heroes of Habsburg history was that commemorating Field Marshal Schwarzenberg dating from 1867, executed by Ernst Hahnel for the square named after the prince. These representations of imperial claims to power contrast with the 'heroes' of 'German culture' and 'patriotic' art commemorated by the liberal middle classes, such as Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1900, by Edmund Hellmer), Friedrich Schiller (1876, by Johann Schilling), Franz Schubert (1872, by Karl Kundmann), Ludwig van Beethoven (1880, by Caspar von Zumbusch) and Mozart (1896, by Viktor Tilgner).


Model selection and associated issues of post-model selection inference present well known challenges in empirical econometric research. These modeling issues are manifest in all applied work but they are particularly acute in multivariate time series settings such as cointegrated systems where multiple interconnected decisions can materially affect the form of the model and its interpretation. In cointegrated system modeling, empirical estimation typically proceeds in a stepwise manner that involves the determination of cointegrating rank and autoregressive lag order in a reduced rank vector autoregression followed by estimation and inference. This paper proposes an automated approach to cointegrated system modeling that uses adaptive shrinkage techniques to estimate vector error correction models with unknown cointegrating rank structure and unknown transient lag dynamic order. These methods enable simultaneous order estimation of the cointegrating rank and autoregressive order in conjunction with oracle-like efficient estimation of the cointegrating matrix and transient dynamics. As such they offer considerable advantages to the practitioner as an automated approach to the estimation of cointegrated systems. The paper develops the new methods, derives their limit theory, discusses implementation, reports simulations, and presents an empirical illustration with macroeconomic aggregates.


Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is one of many crops into which novel traits have been incorporated using recombinant DNA technology, and thus may require segregation from nontransgenic wheat. Volunteer wheat populations, which cannot be selectively removed from wheat crops, pose a challenge to segregation because they may serve to facilitate trait movement. However, diverse flowering phenologies among wheat genotypes planted at various densities may result in flowering asynchrony, thus minimizing pollen-mediated gene flow (PMGF). We tested this theory with a comparative analysis that examined the influence of crop plant population density, genotype, and height on flowering phenology and synchrony between volunteer and cropped wheat populations. We found that time from crop sowing to first flower, peak flowering, and flowering cessation varied significantly among genotypes. Increasing crop plant population density resulted in accelerated crop flowering for all genotypes, but had little effect on flowering synchrony. Although not always significant, the time interval from sowing to 5, 50, and 95% flowering, as well as the flowering duration of the volunteer population, were also greater at low crop plant population densities. Synchronicity of flowering varied among genotypes, with tall genotypes consistently exhibiting more flowering synchrony with volunteer wheat than short genotypes. However, the response of flowering synchrony to height may have been a product of the genotypes tested and further study to confirm these results is needed. The results of this study suggest that, despite a short flowering period, there is considerable potential for flowering synchrony between cropped and volunteer wheat populations. Nevertheless, opportunity exists to reduce flowering synchrony between cropped and volunteer wheat populations by utilizing genotypic variation for flowering phenology to minimize flowering overlap, provided that an adequate crop plant population density is attained.


This article contrasts 'mainstream' narrative analysis, and the study of researcher-elicited narrative accounts, with conversation analysis and the study of naturally occurring narratives-in-interaction. Our analysis extends previous conversation analytic and discursive psychological work on storytelling (i.e., how stories get embedded in sequences of talk; the actions storytelling does), by focusing on the location and function of speakers' story formulations and orientations to narrative (e.g. "I think we should start at the beginning", "You want the full story, or…?", "there's always two sides to every story"). Rather than treating such 'meta-formulations' as partial expressions of a general folk theory of narrative, we examine their action-orientation and the way they are shaped for the occasions of their production; how members' commonsense notions of stories are displayed in the interactional contexts in which they are put to use. The argument is illustrated by a range of brief examples from mundane conversation, police interrogation, and neighbour dispute mediation.


Abstract Background: Vitamin D insufficiency has deleterious consequences on health outcomes. In elderly or postmenopausal women, it may exacerbate osteoporosis. Scope: There is currently no clear consensus on definitions of vitamin D insufficiency or minimal targets for vitamin D concentrations and proposed targets vary with the population. In view of the potential confusion for practitioners on when to treat and what to achieve, the European Society for Clinical and Economic Aspects of Osteoporosis and Osteoarthritis (ESCEO) convened a meeting to provide recommendations for clinical practice, to ensure the optimal management of elderly and postmenopausal women with regard to vitamin D supplementation. Findings: Vitamin D has both skeletal and extra-skeletal benefits. Patients with serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-(OH)D) levels <50 nmol/L have increased bone turnover, bone loss, and possibly mineralization defects compared with patients with levels >50 nmol/L. Similar relationships have been reported for frailty, nonvertebral and hip fracture, and all-cause mortality, with poorer outcomes at <50 nmol/L. Conclusion: The ESCEO recommends that 50 nmol/L (i.e. 20 ng/mL) should be the minimal serum 25-(OH)D concentration at the population level and in patients with osteoporosis to ensure optimal bone health. Below this threshold, supplementation is recommended at 800 to 1000 IU/day. Vitamin D supplementation is safe up to 10,000 IU/day (upper limit of safety) resulting in an upper limit of adequacy of 125 nmol/L 25-(OH)D. Daily consumption of calcium- and vitamin-D-fortified food products (e.g. yoghurt or milk) can help improve vitamin D intake. Above the threshold of 50 nmol/L, there is no clear evidence for additional benefits of supplementation. On the other hand, in fragile elderly subjects who are at elevated risk for falls and fracture, the ESCEO recommends a minimal serum 25-(OH)D level of 75 nmol/L (i.e. 30 ng/mL), for the greatest impact on fracture.


CAPTCHA is a standard security technology. To date, the most commonly used are various types of visual CAPTCHAs, in which a challenge often appears as an image of distorted text that the user must decipher. The proposed scheme is used visual cryptography encryption protocol to encrypt CAPTCHA image in perfectly secure way, such that only the human visual system can easily decrypt the CAPTCHA image with animated arrangement. Numbers of blurring image process are implemented on the CAPTCHA images, to make this test difficult for current computer systems. The new animated CAPTCHA is more secure than the current versions and easier for humans to pass.


This report documents the targets and indications that can support, guide and track progress towards a substantial change in the health of Australia. The work comes for a national coalition through the operations of seven working groups and other supporting organisations.


We aim to tackle a novel task in action detection - Online Detection of Action Start (ODAS) in untrimmed, streaming videos. The goal of ODAS is to detect the start of an action instance, with high categorization accuracy and low detection latency. ODAS is important in many applications such as early alert generation to allow timely security or emergency response. We propose three novel methods to specifically address the challenges in training ODAS models: (1) hard negative samples generation based on Generative Adversarial Network (GAN) to distinguish ambiguous background, (2) explicitly modeling the temporal consistency between data around action start and data succeeding action start, and (3) adaptive sampling strategy to handle the scarcity of training data. We conduct extensive experiments using THUMOS'14 and ActivityNet. We show that our proposed methods lead to significant performance gains and improve the state-of-the-art methods. An ablation study confirms the effectiveness of each proposed method.


Abstract This article summarizes the results of the safety evaluation of the Evaporation of Lithium and Vapor Extraction (EVOLVE) W-alloy first wall (FW) and blanket concept1. We have analyzed the EVOLVE design response during a confinement bypass accident. A confinement bypass accident was chosen because, based on previous safety studies2, this accident can produce environmental releases by breaching the primary radioactive confinement boundary of EVOLVE, which is the EVOLVE vacuum vessel (VV). As a consequence of a bypass accident, air from a room adjoining the reactor enters the plasma chamber by way of a failed VV port. This air reacts with the high temperature metals inside of the VV to release energy in the case of a lithium spill, or to mobilize radioactive material by oxidation, and then transport this material to the environment by natural convection airflow through the failed VV port. We use the MELCOR code3 to analyze the response of EVOLVE during this accident. Based on these results, the EVOLVE concept can meet the no-evacuation dose goal set by the DOE Fusion Safety Standard4 if the EVOLVE confinement building ventilation system is closed within two hours of the onset of this accident.


Nisan and Szegedy [15] conjectured that block sensitivity is at most polynomial in sensitivity for any Boolean function. There is a huge gap between the best known upper bound on block sensitivity in terms of sensitivity which is exponential, and the best known separating examples which give only a quadratic separation between block sensitivity and sensitivity. In this paper we give various new constructions of families of Boolean functions that exhibit quadratic separation between sensitivity and block sensitivity. Some of our constructions match the current largest separation between sensitivity and block sensitivity by Ambainis and Sun [5]. Our constructions have several novel aspects. We use more general function compositions instead of just OR-composition, and give constructions based on algebraic operations. In addition, we give the first direct constructions of families of Boolean functions that have both 0-block sensitivity and 1-block sensitivity quadratically larger than sensitivity.


The objective of the project was to promote learning for pharmacy
students beyond the classroom by transferring their knowledge to
the community. Using the campus-based radio station, Radio Turf
FM, the University of Limpopo Pharmacy Students' Association
(ULAPS) presented a weekly health talk on a variety of subjects,
including the role of the pharmacist, heart attack, first aid, adherence
to drugs, tuberculosis and contraception. The ULAPS talk show was
aired live on Wednesday evenings between 20H00 and 21H00. The
topics were chosen for their relevance to the target audience, their
importance to the health of the community, and the benefit that
might accrue from increased community awareness thereof. Where
applicable, the discussions emphasised the preventive measures
for the conditions and the non-pharmacological management of
chronic conditions in addition to the drug treatment. The response
received since the launch of the ULAPS radio talk show has been
positive and plans are underway to broaden the participation to
include other health science students, lecturers and other
professionals in the next academic year.


This Essay attempts to determine the correct regulatory takings compensation policy given the general doctrinal framework in other bodies of American law. In particular, it addresses the following questions. First, given a compensation requirement for eminent domain, is it sensible to interpret the government's regulatory authority as permitting the elimination of property value without compensation? Second, since regulations often produce benefit as well as harm, how can a regulatory givings be incorporated into a consequentialist analysis of regulatory takings compensation? Should the right of property owners to benefit from capital appreciation caused by regulations without returning the windfalls to the government be interpreted as implying a denial of right to receive compensation where the regulations produce adverse effects? Third, given the likelihood that overlapping regulations will produce both benefit and harm for property owners over time, should land use regulations remain uncompensated in light of the probability of a future or past beneficial land use regulation? Fourth, in light of the ubiquity of ad valorem property taxes, should regulations that adversely affect property be seen as implicitly accompanied by compensation given that a reduction in housing values will lead to lower tax payments just as an increase in property prices caused by a public action will increase tax liabilities for property owners?The findings of the Essay may be summarized as follows. The case for takings compensation is far from perfect, and serious arguments can and have been made against compensation. However, once compensation is a required accompaniment to eminent domain takings, it is extremely difficult to draft a cogent argument for ruling out compensating for regulatory takings in general. Adding consideration of givings and taxes to the picture further demonstrates the problematic nature of much of the law of takings, but does not make a compelling case against compensating for regulatory takings.


A large number of governance interventions are being developed in order to reduce deforestation and enhance the sustainability of commodity supply chains across the tropics. The extent to which individual agricultural commodity supply chain interventions can achieve scale, and environmental or social objectives, depends in part on the ways in which those interventions interact with other interventions. We use a case-study of the new Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN) cattle certification program in Brazil to explore the different ways in which governance interventions interact. We examine the broad landscape of policies and programs that affect sustainability in the cattle supply chain in Brazil, and assess whether such interventions support or constrain the scaling up of the SAN cattle program. We conducted semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders from government, private sector, and civil society organizations. We found that multiple interventions are acting in a complementary manner to enhance sustainability and therefore enable the scaling up of the SAN program, by aiding compliance with environmental laws, adoption of good production practices, and improved monitoring. At the same time, limited development, implementation, and complementarity of some interventions could be antagonistic to the SAN program's expansion because they maintain a context in which many actors operate far below the sustainability criteria required by the program. Our holistic approach enables us to identify specific gaps in the complex landscape of governance interventions in Brazil. Greater strategic complementarity and coordination between interventions may catalyze a more coherent and effective pathway to reduced deforestation and enhanced sustainability.


We assumed that the ionospheric plasma at high latitudes has a tendency to corotate about the geographic pole and that magnetospheric convection is relative to the geomagnetic pole. With this assumption we calculated plasma drift patterns over the polar cap for a range of constant magnetospheric electric fields as well as for asymmetric electric fields with enhanced plasma flow on either the dawnside or the duskside of the polar cap. We calculated the drift patterns in both the geographic inertial and the geomagnetic inertial frame taking into account the displacement between the geographic and geomagnetic poles. We found that this displacement between the poles has an important effect on the plasma drift patterns. In particular, we found the following: (1) A time-independent magnetospheric electric field produces a flow pattern in the magnetic inertial frame that does not vary with universal time. (2) This flow pattern becomes UT dependent in the geographic inertial frame because of the motion of the geomagnetic pole about the geographic pole. (3) The UT variation of the plasma flow pattern in the geographic inertial frame occurs on a time scale that is comparable to satellite orbital periods and that is much less than typical plasma convection flow times over the polar cap. (4) In the geographic inertial frame the main region of very low speed flow is not centered at 1800 LT but moves from about 1300 to 2300 LT during the course of a day. (5) In the geographic inertial frame a throatlike feature appears at certain universal times owing to the relative motion of the geographic and geomagnetic poles. This feature is not seen in the geomagnetic inertial frame and is not connected with our model of the magnetospheric electric field. These results and others described in the paper have important implications for both the interpretation of satellite data related to high-latitude ionospheric dynamics and the formation of ionospheric troughs.


Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most common endocrine disorder in women of reproductive age group, but it affects women's health and quality of life across the life course. During different stages of life, the PCOS phenotype can change, which requires a personalized diagnostic approach and treatment. With increasing age, the syndrome evolves from a reproductive disease to a more metabolic disorder. Along with various metabolic disturbances like insulin resistance and abnormalities of energy expenditure, PCOS is recognized as a major risk factor for the development of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease (CVD) in later life. The aim of the current review was to conduct a nonsystematic review of published literature and research that has been presented so far regarding menopausal women with PCOS as well as the associated changes in hormone profile, their lipid profile, and various metabolic changes that occur. The current review may also contribute to raise awareness about the risk of hypertension and CVDs in postmenopausal women with PCOS.


This paper explores the use of cloud computing for scientific workflows, focusing on a widely used astronomy application-Montage. The approach is to evaluate from the point of view of a scientific workflow the tradeoffs between running in a local environment, if such is available, and running in a virtual environment via remote, wide-area network resource access. Our results show that for Montage, a workflow with short job runtimes, the virtual environment can provide good compute time performance but it can suffer from resource scheduling delays and widearea communications.


To mitigate degradation of open-access natural resources, government officials and resource users often share responsibilities in monitoring and enforcing management rules. Common pool resource (CPR) theory provides diagnostics for assessing the robustness of such rule arrangements. In this paper, we employ CPR theory to examine co-management efforts involving a government land management agency and a climber advocacy organization in a rock climbing destination in Utah, USA. Based on interviews and site visits, we find variation in perceptions of compliance and moderate accordance with the principles of robust rule design offered by CPR theory. The contributions of this paper are both practical and theoretical. Practically, we identify potential methods for strengthening management strategies for an open-access natural resource. Theoretically, we explore the generalizability of CPR theory to a non-traditional CPR setting, offer precise conceptualization and operationalization of the CPR design principle components, and find elite influence in facilitating communication and collective decision-making in the establishment of management rules.


Robles et al. investigated calcium (Ca2+)-dependent regulation of neurite outgrowth and discovered that the Ca2+-activated protease calpain can regulate growth cone guidance in response to integrin-mediated cues. Proper development of the nervous system depends on the ability of filopodia, fingerlike projections that extend from neuronal growth cones, to recognize and respond to environmental cues. Transient localized changes in filopodial intracellular calcium ([Ca2+]i) occur from numerous stimuli that affect neurite outgrowth. These changes have been linked to various growth cone behaviors; the downstream effectors linking [Ca2+]i signals to guidance mechanisms, however, have remained unclear. Robles et al. investigated the role of calpain in mediating filopodial guidance in Xenopus spinal neurons grown on different substrata. Calpain inhibition promoted the outgrowth of neurons grown on tenascin, an integrin-binding extracellular matrix protein that stimulates high-frequency filopodial Ca2+ transients, by increasing filopodial motility. Calpain inhibition had little effect on neurites grown on substrata that either did not stimulate high-frequency Ca2+ transients or did not bind integrins. Both substratum-dependent Ca2+-signaling and high-frequency [Ca2+]i transients were produced by photolysis of caged Ca2+-activated calpain, as determined with a fluorescent calpain substrate. Localized photolysis of caged Ca2+ promoted growth cone turning, which depended on calpain activity. Immunofluorescence analysis indicated that Ca2+- and substratum-dependent calpain activity decreased phosphotyrosine levels and Src tyrosine kinase autophosphorylation. Consistent with this, pharmacological inhibition of Src family kinases promoted filopodial stability and inhibited neurite outgrowth on a substratum that did not promote calpain signaling, but had little effect on neurite outgrowth on tenascin. Thus, calpain-dependent regulation of phosphotyrosine levels appears to play a role in mediating Ca2+-dependent guidance in response to inhibitory integrin-dependent signals. E. Robles, A. Huttenlocher, T. M. Gomez, Filopodial calcium transients regulate growth cone motility and guidance through local activation of calpain. Neuron 38, 597-609 (2003). [Online Journal]