The use of whole-genome pooled shRNA libraries in loss-of-function screening in tissue culture models provides an effective means to identify novel factors acting in pathways of interest. Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) offer a unique opportunity to study processes involved in stem cell pluripotency and differentiation. Here, we report a genome-wide shRNA screen in ESCs to identify novel components involved in repression of the Gata6 locus, using a cell viability-based screen, which offers the benefits of stable shRNA integration and a robust and simple protocol for hit identification. Candidate factors identified were enriched for transcription factors and included known Polycomb proteins and other chromatin-modifying factors. We identified the protein Bcor, which is known to associate in complexes with the Polycomb protein Ring1B, and verified its importance in Gata6 repression in ESCs. Potential further applications of such a screening strategy could allow the identification of factors important for regulation of gene expression and pluripotency.


In recent years, state and local public health department budgets have been cut, sometimes drastically. However, there is no systematic tracking of governmental public health spending that would allow researchers to assess these cuts in comparison with governmental public health spending as a whole. Furthermore, attempts to quantify the impact of public health spending are limited by the lack of good data on public health spending on state and local public health services combined. The objective of this article is to integrate self-reported state and local health department (LHD) survey data from 2 major national organizations to create state-level estimates of governmental public health spending. To create integrated estimates, we selected 1388 LHDs and 46 states that had reported requisite financial information. To account for the nonrespondent LHDs, estimates of the spending were developed by using appropriate statistical weights. Finally, funds from federal pass-through and state sources were estimated for LHDs and subtracted from the total spending by the state health agency to avoid counting these dollars in both state and local figures. On average, states spend $106 per capita on traditional public health at the state and local level, with an average of 42% of spending occurring at the local level. Considerable variation exists in state and local public health funding. The results of this analysis show a relatively low level of public health funding compared with state Medicaid spending and health care more broadly.


Neurons encode information by means of the conducted nerve impulse, or action potential, a rapidly propagating electrical signal. During an action potential, the potential difference across the neuronal membrane transiently reverses so that the inside of the neuron becomes positive relative to the outside. Hodgkin and Huxley, whose groundbreaking research forms the basis for modern electrophysiology, showed that action potentials in the squid giant axon entail a rapid voltage-dependent increase in inward current, carried by sodium ions, and a slower voltage-dependent increase in outward current, carried by potassium ions. They developed a model to explain action potential generation based on the voltage-dependent gating of populations of ion channels, in which individual channels act independently of each other (see Gutkin and Ermentrout). Naundorf et al. analyzed action potentials recorded from cat cortical neurons in vivo and rat, mouse, and cat cortical neurons in vitro and found that action potential initiation occurred more abruptly, with a more rapid depolarizing phase, than predicted by the Hodgkin and Huxley model. Moreover, threshold (the voltage at which the action potential is triggered) varied more than predicted. To account for their observations, Naundorf et al. developed a model for action potential initiation in which neighboring sodium channels are activated cooperatively rather than independently of each other. When they applied the sodium channel blocker tetrodotoxin (to effectively reduce channel density), they saw action potentials more like those predicted by the Hodgkin and Huxley model. Thus, the authors propose that, in cortical neurons, action potential initiation depends on cooperative activation of sodium channels and that this may facilitate encoding of rapidly varying signals. B. Naundorf, F. Wolf, M. Volgushev, Unique features of action potential initiation in cortical neurons. Nature 440, 1060-1063 (2006). [PubMed] B. Gutkin, G. B. Ermentrout, Spikes too kinky in the cortex? Nature 440, 999-1000 (2006). [PubMed]


Background and aims: Since the recent introduction of the Case/Care Manager's professional figure, it is quite difficult to identify properly his/her own particular features, which could be mainly be found revising mainly in American studies. Therefore, the present study intended to identify the Case/Care Manager's skills and professional profile in an Intensive Care Unit experience, taking into consideration the staff's activities, perception and expectations towards the Case/Care Manager. In particular, it has been compared the experience of an Intensive Care Units where the Case/Care Manager's profile is operational to a different Unit where a Case/Care Manager is not yet in force. Method: a Levati's model was used to map the Case/Care Manager's skills, involving each unit whole working staff, executives and caregivers through semi-structured interviews. The comparative study has taken into consideration the Anaesthesia Unit and Emergency Unit of Cesena's healthcare organisation where the Case/Care Manager's profile has been implemented and a Cardiology Intensive Care Unit of Piacenza's healthcare organisation, where the Case/Care Manager's profile has not been experimented yet. Firstly, it a data collection in each healthcare organization has been organised. Subsequently, semi-structured interviews to doctors, unit nurses, caregivers, nurses' coordinators and medical staff have been used to compare the healthcare system. The interviewees' described their expectations in relation to the Case/Care Manager working in a critical area. Then, every data collected during interviews has been organised to map a Case/Care Manager's essential professional profile to work in a critical area together with medical staff. Results: Piacenza's O.U. critical area experience reported a major demand for patients' and patient's families' assistance. On the other hand, the very same aspects seem to have been better achieved in Cesena's O.U., where a Case/Care Manager's recent introduction has actually helped to overcome the void in organising systems. Conclusions: a Case/Care Manager's profile has been drafted on the basis of the comparative analysis conducted. It has been noted how the Case/Care Manager's professional profile can really improve relationships and communications between medical staff and patients, promoting a major unity among the working team. According to the present research, the Case/Care Manager's profile has been proved helpful in positively influencing the team activity and to elicit major satisfaction both in patients and their family.


The theory of Systemicity emerged from applying the principles of "The Bioethism Transdisciplinary Paradigm" to " Universal systems " and "Living systems" during their temporal survival" , which the author J.-J. Blanc has developed since 1996. "Systemicity" surge from interrelations, intrication [1] ... and a permanent interdependency of synergetic things. The systemicity of atomic and molecular cycles has made and goes on sustaining both cosmic systems and Life on planet Earth. In order to exist, cosmic objects and living creatures cope with environmental changing events, replicate and evolve within global, glocal and local areas, while permanently confronted with changes both at endogenous and external environmental ecosystems' milieus.  As a reminder, the author's past proceedings developed, part after part since 2004, are meant to show the structure and chapters of a "General Theory of X-dynamics Systemicity." One will observe that the building-blocks of the theory are being centred on the Universe dynamics diversity, such as peta [2] , teradynamics, gigadynamics', metadynamics', dynamics' and microdynamics' inducing results to a systemic feedback symbiosis named "Systemicity". The publication of the Systemicity theory is meant to support the acquisition of a wide transdisciplinary understanding of the x-dynamics' which systemicity sustains the whole evolution of the Universe ecosystem's components as well as those of the livings. While systems natural structure and behaviors are adapting with their milieu by "neighboring" within "neighborhoods" (ecosystems), they specifically cope with endogenous and exogenous events that induce the temporal retroactivity to result as structuring things. The Universe dynamics and Cosmo-planetary Metadynamics's systemicity have participated in the Sun and its planets to form, and particularly Earth orbiting around it on a right "habitable green zone." The General Theory shows the close links between cosmo-planetary and terrestrial x-dynamic systemicity, its strength, fluxes and moves cycles that made Life to have happened and thriven. Life emerged from the apparition of proto-organisms which, evolving, drove humans to develop, as forged with their individuality, social traits and behavioral statuses that have accounted for the species biodiversity developing, evolving or getting extinct over billions of years. For example, when the Earth became a "snowball" from a nearly total glaciation (-600 Mo/y), the survival of some bacteria and micro-organisms escaping the drastic extinction of most species, conversely boosted up an extraordinary explosion of marine species bearing quite new functions (- 545 Mo/y), that after volcanism reheated the planet from the systemicity of interrelated terrestrial and cosmic metadynamics. These giga and metadynamics are the main physicochemical drivers of the universal X-dynamics sets that are atomic, cosmic, galactic, stellar, planetary and terrestrial which as feedback processes, participate in forming matter and cosmic objects (nebulae, baby stars, stars and planets), within a molecular world originated from after the "Big Bang". The neighboring of sub-atoms, atoms, matters and gas, within a set of synergetic retroactivity results, promote dynamics (forces and fluxes) which systemicity permanently goes to specific directions in the 4D environment of the Universe. Life is a whole set of "neighboring" ecosystems, which components are confronted with gravitation, electromagnetism, chemical and physical phenomena ..., particularly with temperature, water and the " thermodynamics of entropy lethal effect". They are all being forces and fluxes which are driving the structure and behavior diversity of objects, species and things up within their systemic neighborhood and their intricate concomitance, in other words, integrating facts existing or occurring with or by something else.  Furthermore, ecosystemic neighborhoods (ecosystems) are confronted with the terrestrial x-dynamics cycles of water, minerals, and climates statuses which currents and physical effects permanently drive up their metabolism. Among drivers are the coalescence, conjunction, co-evolution, convergence, symbiosis, percolation, phase transition and threshold outputs that together comply with adaptations to neighborhood components varieties and temporal sustainability. At each step, perception means (chemical, biological, physiological, social...) are transducing a sense given from a variety of signals both endogenous and exogenous.  To convert energy from one form into another will infer from the level of survival need components. Then feedback driving the universal atomic, molecular and physicochemical worlds is permanently provoking a change and an evolution among the several x-dynamics systemicity cycles. The specific bonds and traits in the structures and behaviors of "living creatures" as well as in their evolution trends reveal the survival quality of their neighboring knowledge towards actions-reactions (drivers) events. The treatment of ago-antagonistic signals and stimuli emerging from their ecosystemic and socio-systemic metabolism and environmental conditions is of a major priority surviving. The confrontation between bodies and entities, their milieu components and the natural environment necessitates treating signals and information which perception is adequately setting with the fundamentals of "survival dynamics" and "drivers" like "symbiosis" and "feedback" according to the sense given over to sustaining.  Processing stimuli and signals is an adaptation of trends participating with the metabolic dynamic balance pertaining with both internal and external changing conditions as to cope with survival needs. Part 5 of this theory only describes some drivers: symbiosis, coalescence, convergence and synergy, percolation, phase transitions, threshold output, feedback ... that permanently influence the systemicity of cosmic and terrestrial matter, objects and things interacting among the universal networks of the 4D worlds. Feedback driving the survival metadynamics systemicity sustains "the atomic and molecular cycles from cradle to grave." Part 6 of this theory is describing some of the effects of neighboring between individuals and ecosystems which, among living species, characterize their apparition, their adaptation and evolution as well as the causes of their extinction. Both are a matter of balance. [1] - Intrication: Quantum entanglement is a physical phenomenon that occurs when pairs or groups of particles are generated or interact in ways such that the quantum state of each particle cannot be described independently-instead, a quantum state may be given for the system as a whole. Measurements of physical properties such as position, momentum, spin, polarization, etc. performed on entangled particles are found to be appropriately correlated, a neighboring end with a variable status. [2] - Petadynamics: in physics, multipliers are defined in powers of 10 from 10 -24 to 10 24 , proceeding in increments of three orders of magnitude (10 3 or 1,000).


UML is one of the major conceptual modeling tools in Object-Oriented software engineering. However, recently more and more concerns arise from the modeling quality of UML. Among them, limitation of the two-dimensional presentation of its notations is reported to be significant. By bringing in the concepts of Steoropsis (3-D appearance), animation, interaction and immersion, Virtual Reality may improve the UML modeling quality. Specifically, in this paper we analyze the modeling quality of UML by using recent published literature in conceptual modeling. We then recommend the use of Virtual Reality to enhance the modeling quality of UML. Some examples of how Virtual Reality can be used to improve UML modeling quality are given. Finally, we propose a research framework for enhancing the quality of UML conceptual modeling through the use of Virtual Reality.


One of the striking responses to the Occupy Movement of 2011 was the use of legal injunctions to prevent protest from occurring in places from Canary Wharf and Paternoster Square, both hubs of London's financial services industry, to New York's Chase-Manhattan Plaza.But these cases are not outliers, but instead reflect the decades-long neoliberalization of public space, which has often been promoted by the state itself, ostensibly acting in the public interest. The rise of privately owned public spaces (POPS) is politically consequential since this institution circumscribes citizens' freedom of assembly and expression in places that are understood to be public. But the privatization of public space is not merely limited to POPS. Indeed, it is argued here that such murky institutions are just one expression of a far more pervasive phenomenon of enclosure of public space. These new enclosures, I argue, are novel variations on a centuries-old theme by which access to common or public land has been curtailed by aristocratic elites. The new enclosures have occurred along four important dimensions, each of which are detailed in this paper in order to provide an analytic framework for theorizing about the privatization of public space. The first dimension, "enclosure for profit," involves the transfer of publicly owned land or resources to private entities seeking to enhance the "exchange value" of the space or of the resources associated with it. This is what most people mean by the term privatization. The second kind of privatization involves the "enclosure of behavior." Whereas enclosure for profit is about the transformation of ownership rights, this second dimension of enclosure involves rules that police the boundaries of acceptable behavior within a space. While this would include the state-regulation of publicly owned spaces, of particular interest here is the enclosure, through the regulation of use, by private entities which control POPS, such as those that prevented public demonstrations by Occupy movement protesters. In the first two types, enclosure does not involve the physical fencing-in of the private to prevent entry of the public; indeed part of the appeal of privately-owned public spaces is that people's quotidian interaction with them conveys the sense that they are indistinguishable from public spaces, except safer, better maintained, and free of poverty. However, as this paper will show, such a sanguine assumption soon evaporates when the public attempts to use such spaces for political purposes, rather than for work or consumption. In the third mode -- "enclosure of communities" -- that involves the new fences of gated communities, there is no such pretense of being public places. In order to gain entry, one usually has to gain permission of private residents behind the physical fences. The fourth and final type of enclosure to be investigated here, which I call the "enclosure of the public realm," involves the rebranding of public property in a private guise. I use the renaming of Pattison station, a Philadelphia public subway stop, as AT&T station to illustrate this method of enclosure. Each form of enclosure hampers the ability of urban citizens and residents to criticize and reshape the city and thereby circumscribe what Lefebvre and Harvey call our "right to the city."


Regeneration of many regions is essential to enable their sustainable re-development and more importantly to maintain their viability and creativity in this global and rapidly changing world. Recent environmental challenges have highlighted the social and ecological challenges we face and have exposed our false sense of security in our cities and their infrastructure resilient capabilities. The reality of climate change is one of the causes of the shift in city agenda that also include the general decline of infrastructure in cities, conspicuous resource depletion, and the emergence of ecology as a new paradigm in regional studies. We are losing Arctic ice at a rate of double the size of France every two years. Antarctic ice is accelerating in its decline by 70 percent over ten years. Increased storms and rising sea levels threaten cities everywhere, and the devastation of New Orleans by Cyclone Katrina remains a specter of what can happen. Now, such natural aggression has started to knock on our backyard.

More severe weather conditions should be expected. Should we build new engineering structures and defenses? In New Orleans the resilience of the city to withstand winds and waves from Katrina was significantly reduced by the loss of wetlands and mangroves around the Gulf shores, and by the inadequate infrastructure provided by the levees, errors that could be clearly observed in many coastal cities around the World. Flood-control infrastructures in our contemporary cities are not reliable mitigation defenses in the face of climate change uncertainties. Cumbria in UK has been suffering from severe and devastating flooding problems since Christmas and illustrates that engineering defenses are not the ideal solution.

We need a plan that re-creates natural systems within Cities, that not only develop our green economy but also protect it from the expected future fluctuation of severe weather conditions. We need to rethink the current economic measures that dominate our development choices in mega projects; an economy that undervalues environmental assets, privatises the gains, and socialises the losses.

When we are challenged, we have a choice, fear or hope. Prior to Katrina, New Orleans, a city that sits below sea level, was precariously unprotected by an aging levee system. The City didn't stand a chance. Since then, the levees have been rebuilt at a cost of billions of dollars, however that city remains exposed and unprotected should another Katrina occur. Fearful societies can resort to gimmick, short term ideas, and panicked decisions; fear does not build resilience. Confident hopeful cities are solution orientated, have long term plans and build alliances.

It has never been clearer that we need to channel our thinking into a new direction, one that is capable of extracting hope from the structures of fear that underpins an outdated and obsolete mitigation and adaptation agenda; a framework that neither protect our cities nor build societal resilience. Our vision for mega projects should be to create hope against increasingly adverse and challenging environments. It is through collective actions, consensus on future direction, and a positive agenda that Egypt could turn challenges, socio economic as well as environmental, into opportunities and fear into hope.

In the last five years, resilience has emerged as a key concept, supplanting sustainability in the urban design, planning, and socio-economic studies of cities. The ability of cities to bounce back from adversity has captured the imagination of planners, designers, and decision makers. Academics and policy makers have rushed to develop ready-made kits to enhance 'resilience' in projects and cities. Similar to sustainability, the term is now used to refer to any measure that would improve adaptation mechanisms, enhance mitigation efforts, limit impacts of adversities, or reduce the response time to natural or man made disasters. While all these measures are plausible to a certain degree, we have not been able to distinguish or develop meaningful applications for 'resilience in cities'. An alternative mitigation approach is needed. True resilience of our cities should employ a 'design with nature' approach. Hybrid ecology with smaller footprint, self-organising, decentralised, multi equilibrium, and fragile city ecosystem would be more effective than a large hierarchical, integral, and rigid one.

Climate change realities have already altered the balance in many cities, particularly in coastal cities. We should not only design our major projects with ecological principles but also prepare our community to take a more active and courageous leaderships for long term measures. We should not revert to expensive, disruptive, and inefficient engineering solutions to our cities. A more designed, integrated, ecological remedies should help us to maintain a beautiful, happy, and healthy Cities.


This book explores the extent to which ten characteristics of the concept of disease management are advisable in the long-term for certain types of patient care in the Netherlands. The care in mind for this concept covers certain patient populations as well as a number of health problems. For this purpose, the authors have taken as their starting point the following definition of disease management: the programmatical and systematic approach of specific diseases and health problems by using the management instruments that aim at the advancement of quality and efficiency. This definition is based on the literature study that was carried out by C. Spreeuwenberg for his research into the material covered in the first chapter.
The ten characteristics of disease management that were derived from the general literature by the aforementioned author are as follows:
1. relates to one health problem and is aimed at clearly-defined patient populations and sub-populations
2. methodological education and the advancement of self-management
3. orientation on the integration of the various parts of the care processes including preventive interventions
4. disease management protocols that are based on evidence-based diagnostics and treatment
5. classification of patients in clinical pathways based on sub-characteristics
6. substitution of care from physicians to nurses
7. use of information and communication technology
8. focus on the use of a range of management instruments such as benchmarking and feedback
9. large-scale and a robust organizational structure
10. direction and funding coming from a central point
The characteristics are thus classified according to patient care (characteristics 1 through 5) organization of the patient care (characteristics 6 and 7) and the management of patient care (characteristics 8 through 10).
The patient populations that were studied were those of cystic fibrosis (chapter 2), diabetes (chapter 3), depression (chapter 4), heart failure (chapter 5), and palliative patients (chapter 6). The choice for these patient populations was made by representatives of the Dutch Council for the Chronically Ill and Disabled (CG Raad). The idea was to cover a wide range of disorders affecting the young (cystic fibrosis) to the old (heart failure, palliative care) to psychiatric (depression) and somatic illnesses (other patient populations) and on the common disorders (diabetes, heart failure) and less common disorders (cystic fibrosis, palliative care). Authors were sought with a wide range of expertise on the development of integrated care for the patient population concerned. They used knowledge from five sources: 1) their own personal experience and expertise (see author information in appendix II), 2) recent published articles covering the period 1999-2004, specifically searched through Pubmed and Google; 3) the travel reports of Marianne Acampo who visited one location per patient group in the United States, 4) expert meetings in the spring of 2004 whereby leading care professionals for each patient population, project leaders and policy-makers in the area of integrated care in the Netherlands were present, and, 5) individual analytical and judgemental skills. On the basis of this last-mentioned factor, the authors reached their conclusions on whether or not disease management should eventually be introduced in the Netherlands for their respective patient populations. In short, their answer was: Yes, disease management is a desirable concept but only if…


Topological Data Analysis (TDA) is an emergent field that aims to discover topological information hidden in a dataset. TDA tools have been commonly used to create filters and topological descriptors to improve Machine Learning (ML) methods. This paper proposes an algorithm that applies TDA directly to multi-class classification problems, even imbalanced datasets, without any further ML stage. The proposed algorithm built a filtered simplicial complex on the dataset. Persistent homology is then applied to guide choosing a sub-complex where unlabeled points obtain the label with most votes from labeled neighboring points. To assess the proposed method, 8 datasets were selected with several degrees of class entanglement, variability on the samples per class, and dimensionality. On average, the proposed TDABC method was capable of overcoming baseline classifiers (wk-NN and k-NN) in each of the computed metrics, especially on classifying entangled and minority classes.


The Edinburgh Duck is one of the highly-efficient wave energy converters (WECs). Compared to the spine-connected Duck configuration, the solo Duck will be able to use the point absorber effect to enhance its power capture performance. In this paper, a 3D computational fluid dynamic (CFD) model is developed to predict the hydrodynamic performance of the solo Duck WEC in regular waveswithin a wide range ofwave steepness until the Duck capsizes. A set of experiments was designed to validate the accuracy of the CFD model. Boundary element method (BEM) simulations are also performed for comparison. CFD results agree well with experimental results and the main difference comes from the friction in the mechanical transmission system. CFD results also agree well with BEM results and differences appear at large wave steepness as a result of two hydrodynamic nonlinear factors: the nonlinear waveform and the vortex generation process. The influence of both two nonlinear factors iscombined to be quantitatively represented by the drag torque coefficient.The vortex generation process is found to cause a rapid drop of the pressure force due to the vortexes taking away the kinetic energy from the fluid.


A single half-meter-thick bed in the upper part of the Bursum Formation near Cibola Spring contains abundant carbonate nodules with distinctive knobby surface texture. These structures are shown to consist of the remains of a diverse assemblage of organisms, mainly foraminifers, which encrusted skeletal substrates and built finger-like columns with intervening uncolonized areas. The nodules are similar to previously described ones of comparable age from Kansas, Texas, southern New Mexico and other areas (variously termed "Osagia", "Ottonosia"or "osagid grains"). However, they differ greatly from most "oncolites" or "algal biscuits" in lacking through-going laminations as well as lacking predominant macroscopic or microscopic algal contributors. The Bursum nodules are inferred to have formed in moderately deep waters (below normal wave base) in an open shelf setting. 369


Host–parasitoid metapopulation models have typically been deterministic models formulated with population numbers as a continuous variable. Spatial heterogeneity in local population abundance is a typical (and often essential) feature of these models and means that, even when average population density is high, some patches have small population sizes. In addition, large temporal population fluctuations are characteristic of many of these models, and this also results in periodically small local population sizes. Whenever population abundances are small, demographic stochasticity can become important in several ways. To investigate this problem, we have reformulated a deterministic, host–parasitoid metapopulation as an integer–based model in which encounters between hosts and parasitoids, and the fecundity of individuals are modelled as stochastic processes. This has a number of important consequences: (1) stochastic fluctuations at small population sizes tend to be amplified by the dynamics to cause massive population variability, i.e. the demographic stochasticity has a destabilizing effect; (2) the spatial patterns of local abundance observed in the deterministic counterpart are largely maintained (although the area of 'spatial chaos' is extended); (3) at small population sizes, dispersal by discrete individuals leads to a smaller fraction of new patches being colonized, so that parasitoids with small dispersal rates have a greater tendency for extinction and higher dispersal rates have a larger competitive advantage; and (4) competing parasitoids that could coexist in the deterministic model due to spatial segregation cannot now coexist for any combination of parameters.


We use ab initio density functional theory + U calculations to characterize the oxide ion diffusion process in bulk Sr2Fe1.5Mo0.5O(6-δ) (SFMO) by analyzing the formation and migration of oxygen vacancies. We show that SFMO's remarkable ionic conductivity arises from its intrinsic content of oxygen vacancies and a predicted very low migration barrier of such vacancies. Theoretical analysis of the electronic structure reveals a crucial role played by strongly hybridized Fe 3d/O 2p states to achieve the attendant mixed ion-electron conductor character so important for intermediate temperature fuel cell operation. We predict a next-nearest-neighbor-type migration pathway for the O(2-) ion should dominate. The low energy barrier of this pathway is mainly related to electrostatic interactions with homogeneously distributed Mo in the SFMO sublattice. We identify the reasons why Fe-rich perovskites, with the key addition of a certain concentration of Mo, produce excellent electronic and ionic transport properties so crucial for efficient operation of intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cells.


Mere probable cause that a crime might have been committed did not suffice to justify a criminal arrest or search under framing-era law. Rather, James Madison innovated when he used bare "probable cause" as the minimum standard for issuing warrants in the Fourth Amendment because the federal Framers were primarily concerned with regulating revenue search warrants, and that was the unique area in which bare probable cause of a violation had emerged as the accepted standard. However, there is no indication that the federal Framers meant for that standard to undercut the more rigorous common-law standards for criminal arrests or searches. At common law, arrest warrants and warrantless arrests for felonies typically required both (1) proof that a crime had been committed "in fact" and (2) information showing probable cause of suspicion as to the identity of the culprit. Because hearsay evidence was generally banned at common law, this effectively meant that no arrest could be made unless a potentially accountable complainant made or was prepared to make a sworn accusation of crime. Warrantless arrests for less than felony were limited to instances in which the arresting person witnessed an ongoing breach of the peace such as a fight; there was no arrest authority for minor offenses, which were handled with a summons. Additionally, criminal search authority was usually only an appendage of arrest authority. Search warrants for stolen property, which also required an allegation of felony "in fact," seem to have been used only when an arrest warrant could not. There was no recognition of warrantless criminal search authority other than that arising from a lawful arrest. The state and federal Framers attempted to preserve these common-law standards in provisions that forbade a person being arrested except according to "the law of the land" or "due process of law." However, the original understanding of those provisions was lost when nineteenth-century judges followed English judges in adopting bare probable cause that a felony might have been committed as a justification for a warrantless arrest by a police officer. That relaxed warrantless arrest standard then opened the way for the development of modern policing, and investigatory criminal procedure displaced accusatory procedure. Additionally, the Supreme Court invented the notion that bare probable cause could provide a justification for a warrantless criminal search even in circumstances when an arrest could not be lawfully made in the 1925 decision in Carroll v. United States. Thus, claims in recent decisions, including those in Atwater v. Lago Vista (2001) and Virginia v. Moore (2009), that mere probable cause always sufficed to justify criminal arrests and searches are gross judicial distortions of authentic historical doctrine. In addition, the redefinition of probable cause in Illinois v. Gates (1983) as information that merely indicates a "fair probability" or "substantial chance" of crime substantially degraded the historical meaning of that term. Prior Supreme Court decisions had instead invoked the definition used consistently from the time of the framing to the effect that probable cause meant evidence creating a such a strong suspicion of guilt as would justify a prudent person in believing that the person to be arrested had committed the alleged crime. This relaxation of the probable cause standard, which effectively created discretionary arrest and search authority, further magnified the expansion of government arrest and search powers that occurred when the bare probable cause standard was substituted for the common-law standards for criminal arrests and searches.


The focus of this book is the modeling of the location of economic activities, measured in terms of employment, in land-use and transportation systems. These measures are key inputs to models at intra-urban scales of the flows of persons and goods for both urban and transport planning. The models described here are either components of comprehensive models or specialist studies. Economic activities can be defined in terms of jobs or private-sector firms and public service organisations. Different levels of aggregation are used both in terms of organisational and geographical dimensions. In the case of firms and public organizations, a distinction can be made between the organizations themselves and corresponding establishments. For urban simulation models, it is the location of establishments that is important. At the more coarse levels of aggregation that are usually used in comprehensive models, firms and organizations are aggregated into sectors.


Role-based access control (RBAC) is a powerful means for laying out and developing higher-level organizational policies such as separation of duty, and for simplifying the security management process. One of the important aspects of RBAC is authorization constraints that express such organizational policies. While RBAC has generated a great interest in the security community, organizations still seek a flexible and effective approach to impose role-based authorization constraints in their security-critical applications. In particular, today often only basic RBAC concepts have found their way into commercial RBAC products; specifically, authorization constraints are not widely supported. In this paper, we present an RBAC administration tool that can enforce certain kinds of role-based authorization constraints such as separation of duty constraints. The authorization constraint functionality is based upon the OCL validation tool USE. We also describe our practical experience that we gained on integrating OCL functionality into a prototype of an RBAC administration tool that shall be extended to a product in the future.


Chlamydia trachomatis (Ct) and human papilloma virus (HPV) are common infections in sexually active young women. The risk factors for acquiring each of these sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are similar. Although each infection causes a distinct disease entity, the consequences of having Ct infection in the context of HPV infection may be even more significant. Specifically, Ct infection may increase a woman's risk of cervical dysplasia, which could progress to cervical cancer.

Does chlamydial infection increase the risk of cervical dysplasia, otherwise known as cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN)? On the surface, this research question seems straightforward. In reality, addressing this question is complex and requires careful consideration of the study population, study design and, importantly, the underlying theoretical causal model for the relationship. In this issue of Sexually Transmitted Infections , Lehtinen et al present an interesting and suggestive study of the relationship between chlamydial infection and CIN based on a retrospective cohort analysis of the placebo arms of the FUTURE (Females United to Unilaterally Reduce Endo/ Ectocervical Disease) trials.1 This secondary analysis is not the first to suggest an association between chlamydial infection and CIN and/or cervical cancer.2–7 But each of these studies, like the Lehtinen et al study, has significant methodological issues, which cloud interpretation of the results. Using the placebo arms of the FUTURE trials is opportunistic, but this approach also has major limitations, including concerns regarding temporality, uncertainty of Ct infection status prior to enrolment, limited behavioural information and inconsistent results between Ct and high-grade dysplasia (CIN-2 vs CIN-3). Consequently, we …


ABSTRACT This article examines how COVID-19 has impacted Nepalese migrants' vulnerability and the actions they have taken to adapt to the situation. It investigates the problems created by COVID-19 from a disaster-risk management approach, the preparatory measures taken to deal with the disaster, and efforts by state and non-state actors in migrants' rescue, relief, and reintegration into society. Marginal migrants, including unskilled workers, women, undocumented individuals, have been most affected by the pandemic, something which was also overlooked by government policies. The study shows that because government subsidies for migrants were too meagre and came too late, migrants have started going back abroad, despite COVID-19 risks. Furthermore, the study reveals that Nepalese migrants' vulnerability depends on their levels of education, skills, gender, and legal status. In the light of these findings, the Nepal government needs a stronger institutional structure to help migrants navigate transnational spaces.


Mobile banking service, M-Shwari, allows users to save, earn interest and borrow loan over a short period of time using their mobile phones. The service has a potential to spur economic growth if consumers could understand the concept, its' benefits and adopts it. In our study, we investigated factors that influence the adoption of mobile banking services in Kenya. In particular we have shown empirically that the influence of the intervening demographic factors and the consumer perception may have differential impact in emerging market as compared to developed market situations. We extracted and grouped factors that were perceived by the clients as important in adoption of mobile banking. We then tested if the differences in perceptions on some of the factors extracted by exploratory factor analysis significantly differ between gender categories. The results indicated that there was no significant difference in the perception of ease of use and risk of use between genders in the decision to adopt mobile banking service in emerging market. The findings of our study will therefore provide the financial industry with a better understanding of the factors underlying consumer adoption of mobile banking services and help them formulate marketing and promotional strategies for mobile banking services.


In this paper we evaluate and compare six well-known foreground from background subtraction methods against a standard database. To be able to compare these algorithms objectively, we have chosen three challengeable scenarios from this database. The algorithms were applied to image sequences of length 100 to 800 frames. We examined the results thoroughly and supported the experimental results with a careful analytical study. We concluded that each algorithm might perform satisfactory in dealing with some particular challenges. That is, for example where we encounter background changes, illumination changes and flickering screens. This evaluation study assists the reader to be able to choose the most appropriate algorithm (among the six) for any particular situation.


This article examines the constitutional validity of President Obama's decision, as part of his 2015 agreement with Iran, effectively to repeal 17 different sanctions laws for the 15-year life of the agreement. Although Congress had legislated extensively in this area, the President effected this change by entering into a "nonbinding political agreement" with Iran and by aggregating individual waiver provisions in the sanctions laws into an-across-the-board waiver of sanctions. We argue that the commitments made by the President in the Iran agreement violate a fundamental separation-of-powers limit on executive power—what we term "the Steel Seizure principle," after the Youngstown Steel Seizure Case. As the Supreme Court reaffirmed in the Steel Seizure Case, the President does not have lawmaking power even where national-security and foreign-relations concerns are at stake. A vast literature has grown around the Steel Seizure Case, especially the influential concurring opinion by Justice Robert Jackson. Yet relatively little attention has been paid to the majority view of the Justices that President Truman's seizure order was unlawful not because it contravened any express statutory prohibition but because it flouted the congressional "plan" for addressing the particular policy issue. This central aspect of the Steel Seizure Case highlights what is particularly problematic about President Obama's decision to aggregate authorities in the sanctions laws and to commit the United States to an across-the-board waiver of nuclear-related sanctions pursuant to his agreement with Iran. The President treated the waiver provisions as an invitation to end the congressionally prescribed sanctions regime for addressing Iran's nuclear weapons program and to replace it with his own non-sanctions regime for addressing the same issue. Yet the President lacks the unilateral power to overturn Congress's prescribed policy and to replace it with his own.The President is both an agent and, particularly in the foreign relations area, can be viewed as a co-principal with Congress. The Steel Seizure principle highlights the limits of the co-principal conception of the President. Once Congress has developed a legislative framework for a subject matter, that framework occupies the field; the President's role becomes one of a responsible agent. In the Iran sanctions laws, Congress provided bounded waiver authority, acting responsibly to allow limited executive discretion rather than requiring the President to seek new legislation each time flexibility was needed. It did not, however, invite the President to override the sanctions framework altogether, as occurred in connection with the Iran nuclear agreement. An emergent literature in administrative law has praised Congress's delegation of waiver authority to the executive branch as providing needed flexibility and other policy benefits. Yet that literature recognizes that the President's exercise of waiver authority must be carefully circumscribed to avoid the problem of the President revising a statutory regime out of disagreement with Congress's policy choices. Such limiting principles are no less necessary in the foreign-affairs context, where the President has used purported waiver authority in the Iran sanctions statutes to pursue his own independent policy in defiance of Congress.


Objectives A number of technologies can reduce overall costs for the prevention or management of chronic illnesses. These include devices that constantly monitor health indicators, devices that auto-administer therapies, or devices that track real-time health data when a patient self-administers a therapy. Because they have increased access to high-speed Internet and smartphones, many patients have started to use mobile applications (apps) to manage various health needs. These devices and mobile apps are now increasingly used and integrated with telemedicine and telehealth via the medical Internet of Things (mIoT). This paper reviews mIoT and big data in healthcare fields. Methods mIoT is a critical piece of the digital transformation of healthcare, as it allows new business models to emerge and enables changes in work processes, productivity improvements, cost containment and enhanced customer experiences. Results Wearables and mobile apps today support fitness, health education, symptom tracking, and collaborative disease management and care coordination. All those platform analytics can raise the relevancy of data interpretations, reducing the amount of time that end users spend piecing together data outputs. Insights gained from big data analysis will drive the digital disruption of the healthcare world, business processes and real-time decision-making. Conclusions A new category of "personalised preventative health coaches" (Digital Health Advisors) will emerge. These workers will possess the skills and the ability to interpret and understand health and well-being data. They will help their clients avoid chronic and diet-related illness, improve cognitive function, achieve improved mental health and achieve improved lifestyles overall. As the global population ages, such roles will become increasingly important.


We present an efficient and scalable pipeline for fabricating full-colored objects with spatially-varying translucency from practical and accessible input data via multi-material 3D printing. Observing that the costs associated with BSSRDF measurement and processing are high, the range of 3D printable BSSRDFs are severely limited, and that the human visual system relies only on simple high-level cues to perceive translucency, we propose a method based on reproducing perceptual translucency cues. The input to our pipeline is an RGBA signal defined on the surface of an object, making our approach accessible and practical for designers. We propose a framework for extending standard color management and profiling to combined color and translucency management using a gamut correspondence strategy we call opaque relative processing. We present an efficient streaming method to compute voxel-level material arrangements, achieving both realistic reproduction of measured translucent materials and artistic effects involving multiple fully or partially transparent geometries.


So far we have shown that 3SAT is no harder than Quadratic Equations, Independent Set, Maximum Cut, and Longest Path. But to show that these problems are computationally equivalent we need to give reductions in the other direction, reducing each one of these problems to 3SAT as well. It turns out we can reduce all three problems to 3SAT in one fell swoop. In fact, this result extends far beyond these particular problems. All of the problems we discussed in Chapter 14, and a great many other problems, share the same commonality: they are all search problems, where the goal is to decide, given an instance x, whether there exists a solution y that satisfies some condition that can be verified in polynomial time. For example, in 3SAT, the instance is a formula and the solution is an assignment to the variable; in Max-Cut the instance is a graph and the solution is a cut in the graph; and so on and so forth. It turns out that every such search problem can be reduced to 3SAT.


This attractive volume is a worthy contribution to the series Ancient Cultures, which aims to present 'enjoyable, straightforward surveys of key themes in ancient culture' to new-comers to the study of the ancient world. A short time-line, map of the Mediterranean and excellent illustrations of animals and plants from Dioscorides (ed. A. Matthioli, 1598) and of culinary realia add to the book's usefulness and appeal. Each chapter, written by Wilkins (W.), Professor of Greek Culture at Exeter, is preceded by a short introduction by Hill (H.), chef and Honorary Research Fellow at Exeter. A comprehensive Bibliography (281-89), an Index (290-300) and three recipes (277-80) appear at the end.


Over the last 15 years there have been many experiments with joined-up (also known as whole of) government practices, aimed at horizontal coordination to overcome the fragmentation of vertical governmental structures due to departmentalism and New Public Management. These practices were initiated to address wicked problems and to better interact with society at large. Now that there are signs that the rhetoric of joined-up government is winding down and many joined-up government developments are being dismantled, it is time to evaluate this approach. This is especially appropriate as some suggest that the overall impact of these developments may be relatively small, despite (overly) optimistic claims made in the past. In this article we take experiences with joined-up government in the Netherlands as the departing point for a critical discussion of this approach. By comparing the Dutch experiences with those in other countries, we will draw a picture of the challenges and dilemmas of horizontal coordination in the vertical world of government.


12.1 Theory

Two-photon excitation microscopy is typically associated with the following characteristics: (1) the wavelength for two-photon absorption is typically (though not always) twice the wavelength for single-photon excitation; (2) the penetration depth of the excitation light is considerably greater since the longer-wavelength light shows less scatter and therefore can penetrate deeper into highly scattering specimens; (3) the longer-wavelength near-infrared light is less damaging to live cells and tissues; however, specimens with high absorption coefficients in the infrared can still show thermal damage; (4) the axial optical sectioning capability is intrinsic to the physics of the two-photon absorption process; hence, confocal pin-holes are not required; (5) descanning of the emission is not required; and (6) a high SNR can be achieved since the excitation and emission wavelengths are widely separated.

As shown in the foregoing chapter, the two-photon process occurs through a virtual intermediate state. What is not mentioned is the process in which the first photon excites the molecule into a real, intermediate state, and the second photon excites the molecule from the intermediate state to the final excited state. This process is resonant two-photon excitation.

The physics of the two-photon excitation process leads to some extremely useful consequences. The probability of the electronic transition depends on the square of the instantaneous light intensity; this quadratic dependence follows from the requirement that the fluorophore must simultaneously (within the lifetime of the virtual state) absorb two photons per excitation process.

The laser light in a two-photon excitation microscope is focused by the microscope objective to a focal volume. Only in this volume is there sufficient intensity to generate appreciable excitation. The low photon flux outside the volume results in a negligible amount of fluorescence signal. In summary, the optical sectioning (depth discrimination) capability of a two-photon excitation microscope originates from the nonlinear quadratic dependence of the excitation process and the strong focusing capability of the microscope objective.

Most biological specimens are relatively transparent to near-infrared light. The focusing of the microscope objective results in two-photon excitation of ultraviolet-absorbing fluorochromes in a small focal volume. It is possible to move the focused volume through the thickness of the sample and thus achieve optical sectioning in three dimensions.


Corporate scandals and diminished confidence in financial reporting among investors and creditors have renewed corporate governance as a top-of-mind priority for boards of directors, management, auditors, and stakeholders. At the same time, the number of companies trying to manage risk across the entire enterprise is rising sharply. So, we ask, how can enterprise risk management (ERM) be integrated effectively with corporate governance? RISK, ERM, AND GOVERNANCE To begin, business risks, of course, are uncertainties that can impinge on a company's ability to achieve its objectives and can result in many interdependent outcomes--some negative, some positive. Moreover, risks are a function of severity and likelihood; they may or may not manifest themselves. If they do, a variety of exposures is possible. Business risks relate to business objectives because risk taking is a prerequisite to success--without risk, there is no reward. Accordingly, some risks must be exploited to take advantage of strategic opportunities. Conversely, risks that threaten success must be mitigated. These risks include threats of problems occurring, such as misappropriation of assets, or opportunities not occurring, such as a failure to achieve strategic goals. Meanwhile, ERM--a structured and disciplined approach to help management understand and manage uncertainties--encompasses all business risks using an integrated and holistic approach. A report from the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) captures the essence of ERM: "The goal of ERM is to create, protect, and enhance shareholder value by managing the uncertainties surrounding the achievement of the organization's objectives." (1) The professional literature indicates that ERM is relatively well understood, especially by the companies striving to implement it. Finally, corporate governance is a process a board carries out to provide direction, authority, and oversight of management for the company's stakeholders. (2) Unfortunately, directors, management, internal and external auditors, and risk managers do not understand corporate governance well--especially from a day-today perspective. They sometimes consider it a nebulous topic: It "means different things to different people." (3) Moreover, while the board of directors is the owner of the governance process, day-to-day guidance and oversight by the board clearly is not feasible; the board must rely on other parties--executives, managers, and auditors--to help it fulfill its governance responsibilities. But practical, how-to guidance for executives, managers, and auditors who are involved in corporate governance on a day-to-day basis is sparse. AN ERM AND GOVERNANCE FRAMEWORK Our ERM and governance framework, as illustrated in Figure 1, consists of four components: corporate stakeholders, the governance "umbrella" provided by the board of directors, risk management, and assurance. The arrows within and between the four components represent the various channels of ERM and corporate governance communications. [FIGURE 1 OMITTED] Who Should Be Responsible for What? Boards of directors, senior management, internal auditors, and external auditors are "the cornerstones of the foundation on which effective corporate governance must be built," according to a position paper from the IIA. (4) Our conceptual framework also includes "risk owners." These are the people in a corporation who are responsible and accountable for managing specific risks, such as the chief legal officer, who is responsible for a company's legal risk. Only senior management and risk owners should be directly responsible for risk management. In Table 1 we delineate the primary risk management roles people in each group have as part of a company's governance. Board of Directors. The board of directors is not directly responsible for risk management--that is management's job. …


Background: Body mass index (BMI) rebound refers to the beginning of the second rise in BMI during childhood. Accurate estimation of an individual's timing of BMI rebound is important because it is associated with health outcomes in later life. Methods: We estimated BMI trajectories for 6545 children from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children. We used a novel Bayesian two-phase piecewise linear mixed model where the "change point" was an individual-level random effect corresponding to the individual-specific timing of BMI rebound. The model's individual-level random effects (intercept, prechange slope, postchange slope, change point) were multivariate normally distributed with an unstructured variance–covariance matrix, thereby, allowing for correlation between all random effects. Results: Average age at BMI rebound (mean change point) was 6.5 (95% credible interval: 6.4 to 6.6) years. The standard deviation of the individual-specific timing of BMI rebound (random effects) was 2.0 years for females and 1.6 years for males. Correlation between the prechange slope and change point was 0.57, suggesting that faster rates of decline in BMI prior to rebound were associated with rebound occurring at an earlier age. Simulations showed that estimates from the model were less biased than those from models, assuming a common change point for all individuals or a nonlinear trajectory based on fractional polynomials. Conclusions: Our model flexibly estimated the individual-specific timing of BMI rebound, while retaining parameters that are meaningful and easy to interpret. It is applicable in any situation where one wishes to estimate a change-point process which varies between individuals.


This monograph offers the first comprehensive history of the decolonization of the Indonesian economy, a process with a different momentum and timing from the achievement of political independence. It traces the origins of economic decolonization to the late-colonial period, covers developments during the Japanese occupation and the Indonesian Revolution as well as continued operations by Dutch enterprises in Indonesia during the 1950s. The account culminates with the takeover and nationalization of Dutch private enterprises in the late 1950s.


It has been recognised for some time that traditional rural buildings are a cultural and/or practical "resource" of the countryside. Inappropriate re-conversions can result in the waste of valuable economic resources and the loss of local heritage. Thus, before reconstruction is started the possible types of re-use should be accurately evaluated. This work develops a method, based on the Analytic Hierarchy Process, for identifying the best re-use of an abandoned village that was built in the first half of the last century. The method uses the guidelines of the countryside plan, and our work is a case study designed to verify whether or not it is suitable in this context. Five requisites for sustainable intervention were identified, as well as three alternative re-uses and five indicators. The hierarchical analysis was developed using two different approaches, one used three hierarchical levels, and the other used four. The results obtained for both approaches agree in suggesting the same model for re-use, but the four level approaches also supplied additional information which would be useful when planning projects with major social and cultural impact.


College presidents should strive to engage their colleges and communities to develop a college town atmosphere and economy. Introduction A college president has a tremendous responsibility to not only run the institution wisely, but also to cultivate a strong relationship with the town that houses the institution. This means, in part, being both as good a neighbor as possible and a careful steward of the institution's economic influence on the community. While historically there has often been conflict, or at least discord, between town and gown, it has become increasingly important for colleges to be actively involved in promoting economic and cultural development within their communities and, more generally, to have a strong, positive influence on the community overall. While this may be expressed in specific projects and activities, ultimately what colleges can do best is help to instill a "college town" ambiance within their communities. As college recruiters and academic leaders confirm, the economic, cultural, and intellectual atmosphere typical of a college town helps recruit and retain students and staff and improves the quality of life for both community members and college personnel. Thesis There are a number of benefits, both tangible and intangible, that result from developing partnerships intended to create a college town atmosphere. These benefits accrue to both the institution and the community. Of course, these partnerships are rife with potential pitfalls and, at the very least, often have a history of ambivalence to overcome. Nonetheless, college presidents should strive to engage their colleges and communities in partnerships to develop a college town atmosphere and economy. In this way, colleges can both create a positive environment for their staff and students and play a constructive role in their communities. College Towns Defined In suggesting that college presidents can benefit their institutions by helping to establish a college town atmosphere, we should begin by asking, "What exactly is a college town?" While a college town is often viewed positively, it has some negative aspects as well, as a study by Blake Gumprecht (2003) confirms. On the positive side, college towns typically have a lower median age, higher educational attainment, greater white-collar employment, lower overall unemployment, higher family income, and more cosmopolitan and diverse environment. Conversely, college towns typically have more people renting and living in group housing with living habits that can cause entire areas around the college to be eschewed by the community (often called "student slums") and higher transiency rates that lead to a disconnect between students and townspeople. The resulting negative impact on property values has led many cities to adopt ordinances designed to protect single-family neighborhoods from becoming "group homes" for students (Gumprecht 2003). However, students' enormous purchasing power can also have a strongly positive effect on the local economy. Restaurants, pubs, music and book stores, trendy shops, and even tattoo parlors spring up in business districts around the college, providing employment, an increased tax base, and economic diversity. Perhaps most important, in communities with a strong college town ambiance, the institution is central to the community and has a strong cultural and aesthetic impact on it. The college's open, often historic, green space provides a pastoral, parklike atmosphere, and the influx of young people creates a kind of city-within-the-city. The college provides the community with cultural outlets it might not ordinarily have and an economic base that allows entertainment districts to succeed. This is not altogether accidental, as colleges typically seek to provide students with a broad range of "learning" activities that extend beyond the traditional classroom (although alcohol abuse and other untenable habits are often found in these districts). …


[1] We present a reconstruction of the Greenland Ice Sheet surface mass balance (SMB) from 1870 to 2010, based on merged Twentieth Century Reanalysis (20CR) and European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) meteorological reanalyses, and we compare our new SMB series with global and regional climate and atmospheric circulation indices during this period. We demonstrate good agreement between SMB annual series constructed from 20CR and ECMWF reanalyses for the common period of overlap and show statistically significant agreement of long-term modeled snowfall with ice-core-based accumulation data. We analyze variations in SMB for the last 140 years and highlight the periods with significantly increased runoff and decreased SMB since 1870, which have both been enhanced in the period since 1990, as well as interannual variations in SMB linked to Greenland climate fluctuations. We show very good agreement of our SMB series variations with existing, independently derived SMB series (RACMO2) variations for the past few decades of overlap but also a significant disparity of up to ∼200 km3 yr−1 in absolute SMB values due to poorly constrained modeled accumulation reflecting a lack of adequate validation data in southeast Greenland. There is no significant correlation between our SMB time series and a widely referenced time series of North Atlantic icebergs emanating from Greenland for the past century, which may reflect the complex nature of the relationship between SMB and ice dynamical changes. Finally, we discuss how our analysis sheds light on the sensitivity and response of the Greenland Ice Sheet to ongoing and future global climate change, and its contribution to global sea level rise.


This work verified if higher inflation can lead to currency appreciation in Nigeria using an annual data from 1981 to 2013. The ordinary least square (OLS) method was adopted because of its best linear unbiased estimator property. The result showed that current inflation does not lead to currency appreciation in Nigeria, and rather what leads to currency appreciation is expected inflation. Although, monetary policy rate and export were significant in determining Naira value but they did not show the expected signs. The estimated model showed stability and all the explanatory variables used for the analysis accounted for 96% variation in explaining the direction of value of Naira as regards to appreciation or depreciation. The co-integration test showed that a long term relationship existed among the variables and they were stationary at order one I (1). Keywords: Currency, Inflation, Co-integration and Appreciation


The resonance condition of a leaky mode propagating in a dielectric multilayer, which is supported by a mirror and excited by a free-space wave from the cover medium, is simply derived from the phase of the reflection at the mirror and cover interfaces. The leaky mode resonance is used to obtain 100% first-order diffraction efficiency in a reflection resonant grating by destructive interference in the direction of Fresnel reflection. A number of examples support the validity of this condition for high efficiency and illustrate the usefulness of this intelligible representation of the diffraction phenomena for the synthesis of novel diffractive elements.


ObJectIVe: Turkish Society of Nephrology registry collects data on hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis and transplantation on annual basis. Registry reports are printed every year as a booklet and this is the 24th year of registry reports. The registry is in close collaboration with international registries. MAteRIAl and MethODS: In this paper data from the 2013 registry report are summarized, additionally yearly trends in the management of end stage renal disease are also provided. ReSultS: The number of patients on renal replacement therapy is rapidly increasing, at the end of 2013, 66711 patients were on renal replacement therapy. The prevalence and incidence of end stage renal disease was 870 and 138 per million population respectively. Diabetes was the most important cause of end stage renal disease. Hemodialysis (79%) was the most common type of treatment modality, followed by transplantation (14%) and peritoneal dialysis (7%). cOncluSIOn: End stage renal disease is a very important and growing health problem for our country. Renal registry is a leading tool for providing current and sound data on this public health problem. key wORDS: Kidney Disease, Registry, Hemodialysis, Peritoneal dialysis, Renal transplantation


In this essay, we argue that industry receives little attention in information systems research and theory, despite its increasingly important influence on IS activities. This is evident both in the narrow range of industries examined in IS research and the infrequent consideration of industry in theory. We base these observations on an analysis of IS publications in two top-tier journals (MIS Quarterly and Information Systems Research) over eight years. Drawing from institutional theory, we consider various ways industry can be addressed and assess how industry influences IS activities. We conclude that industry provides an important contextual "space" to build new IS theory and to evaluate the boundaries of existing IS theory. We outline a range of strategies for incorporating industry into IS research.


Joaquín Roy (Lic. Law, University of Barcelona, 1966; Ph.D, Georgetown University, 1973), is Jean Monnet Professor and Director of University of Miami European Union Center of Excellence. He has published over 200 academic articles and reviews, and he is the author or editor of 39 books. He has also published over 1,400 columns and essays. He was awarded the Encomienda of the Order of Merit by King Juan Carlos of Spain.


Very early on in the AIDS epidemic publications indicated that HIV infection is associated with a variety of oral lesions that often occur early in the course of the disease, and tend to increase in prevalence with the decline of the infected individual's immune function. In order to carry out proper epidemiological studies on the occurrence of these lesions a sound classification had to be constructed. In September 1992 members of the EC Clearinghouse on Oral Problems Related to HIV Infection met in London, together with members of the US Workshop on Oral Manifestations of HIV Infection, to review the previously published classification of the oral manifestations of HIV infection and their diagnostic criteria. A consensus was reached; the classification incorporated a group of oral lesions based on their frequency of occurrence.


Modern attacks against computer systems ask for a combination of multiple solutions in order to be prevented and detected. This paper will do the analysis of the capacities of commercial tools, with minimal configuration, to detect threats. Traditionally, companies use antivirus software to protect against malware, and a firewall combined with an IDS to protect against network attacks. This paper will analyze the efficacy of the following three combinations: antivirus, antivirus plus host IDS, and antivirus combined with a host IDS plus application whitelisting in order to withstand application attacks. Before doing the tests we predicted that the antivirus will block 20% of the attacks, the HIDS will detect an additional 15%, and McAfee Application Control will protect at least against 50% more of the attacks executed by an average attacker using known exploits, without much obfuscation of the payload. The success of defensive commercial tools against attacks will justify the investment a company will be required to make.


We give an overview about equations of state (EOS) which are currently available for simulations of core-collapse supernovae and neutron star mergers. A few selected important aspects of the EOS, such as the symmetry energy, the maximum mass of neutron stars, and cluster formation, are confronted with constraints from experiments and astrophysical observations. There are just very few models which are compatible even with this very restricted set of constraints. These remaining models illustrate the uncertainty of the uniform nuclear matter EOS at high densities. In addition, at finite temperatures the medium modifications of nuclear clusters represent a conceptual challenge. In conclusion, there has been significant development in the recent years, but there is still need for further improved general purpose EOS tables.


We describe a method for tracking animals in wildlife footage. It uses a CONDENSATION particle filtering frame-work driven by learnt characteristics of specific animals. The key contribution is a periodic model of animal motion based on the relative positions over time of trackable features at significant body points. We also introduce techniques for maintaining a multimodal state density within the particle filter over time to enable consistent tracking of multiple animals. Initial experiments show that the approach has considerable potential.


Resistance of cells to the actions of insulin is a prominent feature of type 2 diabetes. As early as 1876, reports emerged that high doses of aspirin could help decrease concentrations of glucose in the blood of diabetic patients, an action that could reflect enhanced insulin action in target cells. Yuan et al. are finally able to provide a mechanism that may explain this effect. Their studies show that aspirin in high doses inhibits the protein kinase IKKβ, which mediates the actions of pro-inflamatory cytokines. Furthermore, heterozygous mice that had lost one allele encoding IKKβ were protected against insulin resistance when fed a high-fat diet. Thus, IKKβ may be a useful target for therapeutic agents designed to ameliorate insulin resistance. M. Yuan, N. Konstantopoulos, J. Lee, L. Hansen, Z.-W. Li, M. Karin, S. E. Shoelson, Reversal of obesity- and diet-induced insulin resistance with salicylates or targeted disruption of Ikkβ. Science 293, 1673-1677. [Abstract] [Full Text]


Although effects of land use/cover on nutrient concentrations in aquatic systems are well known, half or more of the variation in nutrient concentration remains unexplained by land use/cover alone. Hydrogeomorphic (HGM) landscape features can explain much remaining variation and influence food web interactions. To explore complex linkages among land use/cover, HGM features, reservoir productivity, and food webs, we sampled 11 Ohio reservoirs, ranging broadly in agricultural catchment land use/cover, for 3 years. We hypothesized that HGM features mediate the bottom‐up effects of land use/cover on reservoir productivity, chlorophyll a, zooplankton, and recruitment of gizzard shad, an omnivorous fish species common throughout southeastern U.S. reservoirs and capable of exerting strong effects on food web and nutrient dynamics. We tested specific hypotheses using a model selection approach. Percent variation explained was highest for total nitrogen (R2 = 0.92), moderately high for total phosphorus, chlorophyll a, and rotifer biomass (R2 = 0.57 to 0.67), relatively low for crustacean zooplankton biomass and larval gizzard shad hatch abundance (R2 = 0.43 and 0.42), and high for larval gizzard shad survivor abundance (R2 = 0.79). The trophic status models included agricultural land use/cover and an HGM predictor, whereas the zooplankton models had few HGM predictors. The larval gizzard shad models had the highest complexity, including more than one HGM feature and food web components. We demonstrate the importance of integrating land use/cover, HGM features, and food web interactions to investigate critical interactions and feedbacks among physical, chemical, and biological components of linked land‐water ecosystems.


INTRODUCTION: Both genetic and infectious diseases can result in skeletal muscle degeneration, inflammation, pain, and/or weakness. Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is the most common congenital muscle disease. DMD causes progressive muscle wasting due to mutations in Dystrophin. Influenza A and B viruses are frequently associated with muscle complications, especially in children. Infections activate an immune response and immunosuppressant drugs reduce DMD symptoms. These data suggest that the immune system may contribute to muscle pathology. However, roles of the immune response in DMD and Influenza muscle complications are not well understood. Zebrafish with dmd mutations are a well-characterized model in which to study the molecular and cellular mechanisms of DMD pathology. We recently showed that zebrafish can be infected by human Influenza A virus (IAV). Thus, the zebrafish is a powerful system with which to ask questions about the etiology and mechanisms of muscle damage due to genetic and/or infectious diseases. METHODS: We infected zebrafish with IAV and assayed muscle tissue structure, sarcolemma integrity, cell-extracellular matrix (ECM) attachment, and molecular and cellular markers of inflammation in response to IAV infection alone or in the context of DMD. RESULTS: We find that IAV-infected zebrafish display mild muscle degeneration with sarcolemma damage and compromised ECM adhesion. An innate immune response is elicited in muscle in IAV-infected zebrafish: NFkB signaling is activated, pro-inflammatory cytokine expression is upregulated, and neutrophils localize to sites of muscle damage. IAV-infected dmd mutants display more severe muscle damage than would be expected from an additive effect of dmd mutation and IAV infection, suggesting that muscle damage caused by Dystrophin-deficiency and IAV infection is synergistic. DISCUSSION: These data demonstrate the importance of preventing IAV infections in individuals with genetic muscle diseases. Elucidating the mechanisms of immune-mediated muscle damage will not only apply to DMD and IAV, but also to other conditions where the immune system, inflammation, and muscle tissue are known to be affected, such as autoimmune diseases, cancer, and aging.


This article, through a close engagement with John Updike's work, explores the manner in which the postwar liberal temper shaped American fiction. By contextualizing the novelist's early writings within the changing intellectual climate of the period, it demonstrates how his liberal sensibilities deeply informed his literary imagination. The essay employs new archival material about Updike's Harvard education and sketches his political biography—the first of its kind—to offer a fresh and more nuanced understanding of Updike as not only a gifted writer but also a political thinker. Although he chose the less traveled road of fiction to do so, Updike expressed a particular temperament pervasive among many liberal intellectuals at the time. By challenging the widely held view of him as an apolitical writer, the article also enriches our understanding of the meanings and complexities of postwar liberalism while illuminating the often overlooked link between literature and politics.


The new standards from the Project Management Institute (PMI) provide guidance and universal principles for the generation, development, and application of the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS). Created by the experts who wrote the PMI WBS Practice Standard, this handbook explains what the standard covers and how to go about successfully implementing the WBS process from start to finish. An included CD contains examples from the book, presentations describing the applications of the content, as well as example documents, matrices, and forms.


Summary Introduction Cissel, John H.; Swanson, Frederick J.; Grant, Gordon E.; Olson, Deanna H.; Stanley, Gregory V.; Garman, Steven L.; Ashkenas, Linda R.; Hunter, Matthew G.; Kertis, Jane A.; Mayo, James H.; McSwain, Michelle D.; Swetland, Sam G.; Swindle, Keith A.; Wallin, David O. 1998. A landscape plan based on historical fire regimes for a managed forest ecosystem: the Augusta Creek study. Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-422. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 82 p. The Augusta Creek project was initiated to establish and integrate landscape and watershed objectives into a landscape plan to guide management activities within a 7600-hectare (19,000-acre) planning area in western Oregon. Primary objectives included the maintenance of native species, ecosystem processes and structures, and long-term ecosystem productivity in a federally managed landscape where substantial acreage was allocated to timber harvest. Landscape and watershed management objectives and prescriptions were based on an interpreted range of natural variability of landscape conditions and disturbance processes. A dendrochronological study characterized fire patterns and regimes over the last 500 years. Changes in landscape conditions throughout the larger surrounding watershed due to human uses (e.g., roads in riparian areas, widespread clearcutting, a major dam, and portions of a designated wilderness and an unroaded area) also were factored into the landscape plan. Landscape prescriptions include an aquatic reserve system comprised of small watersheds distributed throughout the planning area and major valley-bottom corridor reserves that connect the small-watershed reserves. Where timber harvest was allocated, prescriptions derived from interpretations of fire regimes differ in rotation ages (100 to 300 years), green-tree retention levels (15to 50percent canopy cover), and spatial patterns of residual trees. General prescriptions for fire management also were based on interpretations of past fire regimes. All these prescriptions were linked to specific blocks of land to provide an efficient transition to site-level planning and project implementation. Landscape and watershed conditions were projected 200 years into the future and compared with conditions that would result from application of standards, guidelines, and assumptions in the Northwest Forest Plan prior to adjustments resulting from watershed analyses. The contrasting prescriptions for aquatic reserves and timber harvest (rotation lengths, green-tree retention levels, and spatial patterns) in these two approaches resulted in strikingly different potential future landscapes. These differences have significant implications for some ecosystem processes and habitats. We view this management approach as a potential postwatershed analysis implementation of the Northwest Forest Plan and offer it as an example of how ecosystem management could be applied in a particular landscape by using the results of watershed analysis.


The enormous individual, familial, and societal burden of child sexual abuse has underscored the need to address the problem from a public health framework. Much work remains, however, at the first step of this framework—defining and understanding the scope of the problem, or establishing incidence and prevalence estimates. In this occasional paper, we provide an overview of the ways researchers have defined and estimated the scope of child sexual abuse, focusing on agency tabulations and large-scale surveys conducted over the last several decades. More precise estimates of the number of children affected by child sexual abuse would improve the ability of the public health, child welfare, pediatrics, and other communities to prevent and respond to the problem. We recommend using a comprehensive surveillance system to assess and track the scope of child sexual abuse. This system should be grounded by common definitional elements and draw from multiple indicators and sources to estimate the prevalence of a range of sexually abusive experiences.


Here we propose an account of the link between exchange structure and the emergence of solidarity capable of accounting for the conflicting evidence social scientists have found regarding the relationship between social exchange structures and the emergence of intangible, affectively laden group sentiments. We argue that benefits received through exchange foster group identification and solidarity but that this effect is stronger in generalized exchange systems—in which giving and receiving of resources occurs unilaterally among three or more individuals—than direct exchange systems—which feature reciprocal transfers of resources between two people. At low levels of benefit to recipients, generalized and direct exchange systems will produce similarly low levels of group identification. At high levels of benefit, however, generalized exchange will result in relatively higher levels of identification. Higher levels of identification leads individual members in turn to view the group as higher in solidarity. We find support for this mediated moderation model in two survey-based case studies of organizations designed to facilitate these forms of exchange: one of Freecycle, a large-scale, online generalized exchange system, the other of Craigslist, a comparable direct exchange system. The results further suggest that generalized exchange is likely to emerge where a critical mass of exchange benefits creates positive sentiments toward the group, sentiments that help fuel further contributions in the exchange system.


Many private hospitals and physician groups are exploring the possibility of expanding their facilities to include advanced ancillary services. Services such as a sports performance center provide additional opportunities for quality patient care and at the same time augment the bottom line. By offering additional ancillary services, healthcare organizations such as an orthopaedics practice can become a full-service center enabling clinicians to more fully provide care to their patients. Marketing and promotion play a crucial role in this type of service. These activities must be designed and carried out in a way that encourages productive results and collaboration as the organization strives to position itself as a full-service center and as a sports specialist in its community.


Since 2008, Kosovo has been eager to modernize its laws to establish an independent juridical identity and to prepare for future membership in the European Union. The potential for future EU membership has been a political incentive to adopt egalitarian property laws. Property rights issues in Kosovo are politically salient and highly charged: the restoration of property to the Serbian minority population; the allocation of formerly socially owned properties; legalizing the many illegally constructed building in Pristina; and the privatization of large government properties with contested ownership between Serbia and Kosovo. These are legally complex issues in which the solutions are not always obvious. Women's property rights in Kosovo are a minor concern in comparison. They are not as legally complex, nor is it unclear how to go about enforcing them. Women's property rights are the low hanging fruit of property issues in Kosovo. Yet, there is little compliance with the law regarding women's property rights and thus significant barriers to women's engagement in the economy. In Kosovo laws exist protecting women's property rights. Yet, despite legal protection women own less than 8% of all property and only 6.5% of businesses. Merely having equitable law is insufficient for women to substantively engage in the economy. This paper examines Kosovo's creation and enforcement of women's property rights in the shadow of an anticipated EU accession process. When we turn our focus from the creation of law to its enforcement our attention shifts from international and national political arenas to the locality and to the exercise of authority within communities and through the judiciary. If Kosovo is unable to enforce women's property rights, this bodes ill for its ability to address other significant and unresolved property issues.


The aim of this study was to improve our understanding of the structure and composition of native palm communities in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. This study was carried out at "Parque Estadual da Serra Furada" (PAESF), a protected area located in southern state of Santa Catarina. A palm community survey was carried out in Dense Ombrophilous Forest in five 20 m × 100 m sampling units, totaling 1ha. All palm individuals were measured, totaling 11,183 plants, belonging to four genera and five species: Bactris setosa Mart., Euterpe edulis Mart., Geonoma gamiova Barb.Rodr., Geonoma schottiana Mart. and Syagrus romanzoffiana (Cham.) Glassman. Euterpe edulis was the most common species, contributing the most to all phytosociological parameters; however, relatively few large individuals were found. Our study demonstrates the limitations of traditional forest surveys that ignore smaller diameter palm species and highlights the importance of the role of this group in the floristic diversity, ecosystem function, environmental services and carbon dynamics.


Clinical Scenario: Hamstring strains are a common sport-related injury, which may limit athletic performance for an extended period of time. These injuries are common in the soccer setting. As such, it is important to determine an appropriate prevention program to minimize the risk of such an injury for these athletes. Eccentric hamstring training may be an effective and practical hamstring strain prevention strategy.

CLINICAL QUESTION
What is the effect of eccentric exercises on hamstring strain prevention in adult male soccer players? Summary of Key Findings: Current literature was searched for studies of level 2 evidence or higher that investigated the effect of eccentric exercises in preventing hamstring strains in adult male soccer players. Three articles returned from the literature search met the inclusion criteria. A fourth article looked at differences in strength gains between eccentric and concentric hamstring strengthening exercises, but did not record hamstring strain incidence. A fifth article, a systematic review, met all the criteria except for the correct population. Of the 3 studies, 2 were randomized control trails and 1 was a cohort study. Clinical Bottom Line: There is robust supportive evidence that eccentric hamstring exercises can prevent a hamstring injury to an elite adult male soccer player. Therefore, it is recommended that athletic trainers and other sports medicine providers evaluate current practices relating to reducing hamstring strains and consider implementing eccentric exercise based prevention programs. Strength of Recommendation: All evidence was attained from articles with a level of evidence 2b or higher, based on the Center for Evidence-Based Medicine (CEBM) criteria, stating that eccentric exercises can decrease hamstring strains.


Biological membranes and their related molecular mechanisms are essential for all living organisms. Membranes host numerous proteins and are responsible for the exchange of molecules and ions, cell signaling, and cell compartmentation. Indeed, the plasma membrane delimits the intracellular compartment from the extracellular environment and intracellular membranes. Biological membranes also play a major role in metabolism regulation and cellular physiology (e.g., mitochondrial membranes). The elaboration of membrane based biomimetic systems allows us to reconstitute and investigate, in controlled conditions, biological events occurring at the membrane interface. A whole variety of model membrane systems have been developed in the last few decades. Among these models, supported membranes were developed on various hydrophilic supports. The use of solid supports enables the direct use of surface sensitive techniques (e.g., surface plasmon resonance, quartz crystal microbalance, and atomic force microscopy) to monitor and quantify events occurring at the membrane surface. Tethered bilayer membranes (tBLMs) could be considered as an achievement of the first solid supported membranes described by the McConnell group. Tethered bilayers on solid supports were designed to delimit an inside compartment from an outside one. They were used for measuring interactions with ligands or incorporating large membrane proteins or complexes without interference with the support. In this context, the authors developed an easy concept of versatile tBLMs assembled on amino coated substrates that are formed upon the vesicle fusion rupture process applicable to protein-free vesicles as well as proteoliposomes. The phospholipid bilayer (natural or synthetic lipids) incorporated 5% of 1,2-distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine-poly ethylene glycol-N-hydroxy succinimide to ensure the anchorage of the bilayer to the amino coated surface. The conditions for the formation of tBLMs on amino-coated gold and glass were optimized for protein-free vesicles. This biomimetic membrane delimits an inside "trans" compartment separated from an outside reservoir "cis." Using this tBLM construction, the authors were interested in deciphering two complex molecular mechanisms involving membrane-associated proteins. The first one concerns two mitochondrial proteins, i.e., the porin voltage dependent anion channel (VDAC) embedded in the outer membrane and the nucleotide transporter (adenine nucleotide translocase) that interacts dynamically during mitochondrial pathophysiology. The purified VDAC porin was first reconstituted in proteoliposomes that were subsequently assembled on an amino coated support to form a biomimetic membrane. As a major result, VDAC was reconstituted in this tBLM and calcium channeling was demonstrated across the lipid bilayer. The same two-compartment biomimetic membrane design was further engineered to study the translocation mechanism of a bacterial toxin, the adenylate cyclase toxin, CyaA, from Bordetella pertussis. As a result, the authors developed an elegant in vitro translocation toolkit applicable to potentially a large panel of proteins transported across membranes.


PT.Garuda Indonesia (Persero) Tbk has obtained the approval to do Initial Public Offering (IPO) according to the approval for privatization from the House of Representatives which is stipulated in the Letter of The Chairperson of the Indonesian House of Representatives No.PW.o1/5972/DPR RI/IX/2009 on September 16, 2009. The result of the research showed that the mechanism of IPO of PT.Garuda Indonesia (Persero) Tbk was done in three stages; preparation, registration to Bapepam LK and recording. The implementation of the principal of full disclosure is an obligatory for bankers, emission guarantor, and the other stakeholders. From judicial point of view, the principle of full disclosure is the guarantee for aspiring investors to keep people's trust on capital market, to create the effisient mechanism of market an to forestall deception. In its development, the first day of listing the stocks in the Indonesia Stock Exchanges after doing IPO, the stocks of PT.Garuda Indonesia (Persero) Tbk decreased from Rp.750 per stock to Rp.620 per stock ordecreased 17.33 %. Since the Initial Public Offering from 2011 to 2014, the stock price has decreased and never increased above the level of IPO.


This report summarizes materials issues associated with advanced micromachines development at Sandia. The intent of this report is to provide a perspective on the scope of the issues and suggest future technical directions, with a focus on computational materials science. Materials issues in surface micromachining (SMM), Lithographic-Galvanoformung-Abformung (LIGA: lithography, electrodeposition, and molding), and meso-machining technologies were identified. Each individual issue was assessed in four categories: degree of basic understanding; amount of existing experimental data capability of existing models; and, based on the perspective of component developers, the importance of the issue to be resolved. Three broad requirements for micromachines emerged from this process. They are: (1) tribological behavior, including stiction, friction, wear, and the use of surface treatments to control these, (2) mechanical behavior at microscale, including elasticity, plasticity, and the effect of microstructural features on mechanical strength, and (3) degradation of tribological and mechanical properties in normal (including aging), abnormal and hostile environments. Resolving all the identified critical issues requires a significant cooperative and complementary effort between computational and experimental programs. The breadth of this work is greater than any single program is likely to support. This report should serve as a guide to plan micromachines development at Sandia.