Between the 27th August and the 11th September 2013 Oxford Archaeology East carried out a trial trench evaluation on land north of Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire (547402, 222398). The 36.5 hectare site (Areas 1 to 4) is part of a larger 148 hectare development area proposing to contain some 2,700 dwellings, retail shops and other related infrastructure, alongside schools and areas of open space with differing functions.
This phase of trenching (Phase II) follows on from an initial phase carried out by Wessex Archaeology in August/September 2012. The Phase I evaluation covered the full 148ha. Within Areas 1 to 4 there were 20 Phase I trenches, ten of which contained archaeological features of pre-modern date. Two areas of prehistoric occupation were recorded within Area 1, evidence for field systems in Areas 2 & 3 and no archaeological features in Area 4.
In the Phase II trenching archaeological features were recorded across the site dating from the Late Bronze Age to Early Iron Age periods through Middle Iron Age, Late Iron Age and Romano-British. Low levels of post-medieval archaeology was also present. The south-eastern corner of Area 1 revealed four small storage pits (in Trenches 64 and 65) potentially dating from the Late Bronze Age period. A further pit was seen on the western side of Area 1 in Trench 72, in close proximity to a similar feature identified during the first phase of trenching in Trench 58.
Low levels of Middle and Late Iron Age pottery were recovered from ditches across the central and northern parts of Area 1. The majority of the features seen across site belong to an Early Roman field system running in a broadly north-east to south-west direction. These cultivation rows were identified throughout Area 1, in the western half of Area 2 (before the land drops of sharply to the north-east) and across Area 3. Low levels of highly abraded Middle Iron Age, Late Iron Age and Roman pottery were recovered from these ditches.
Post-medieval remains were seen in the form of a geophysical anomaly running through Trench 89 of Area 4 which was identified as a substantially sized north-west to south-east aligned ditch which contained fragments of brick and tile throughout the fills, dating the ditch to the 18th century. This feature corresponds with a line of trees seen on the 1879 Ordnance Survey map which continues into the adjacent field to the south of Dane O-Coys Road.


This study replicated the Stevenson (2001) study to determine the effectiveness of the Fast Start parent tutoring program on student success in reading achievement. The current study attempted to enlarge the original study's sample size, include kindergarten students in the program, and determine the optimal length of training time for parents needed. Additionally, data gathered from the parent participants were analyzed including parent' s perceptions of the program, their confidence level in tutoring their child, and the parents' level of mastery of the concepts of tutoring before working with their child. At the beginning of the school year, 36 kindergarten parent-student dyads and 52 first grade parent-student dyads were randomly assigned to one of two treatment groups or the control group for an 1 1 -week study. Parents in the first treatment group received one hour of training and parents in treatment two received two hours of training. Students in both treatment groups received homework material published by Scholastic (Padak & Rasinski, 2005) consisting of poems and differentiated emergent and beginning reading activities and materials. Parents in the control group did not receive training and the students in the control group received poems to take home without the activities. Fall pretest scores from Dynamic Indicators of Basic Literacy Skills (DIBELS) were compared to winter DIBELS scores. Raw score results did not show statistically significant reading gains for the treatment groups, however, more growth was evident in the treatment groups when the instructional recommendation level for each student and their level of being at risk was considered. Parents and students had favorable comments about the program. Parents receiving two training sessions had a higher level of confidence to tutor their child than those who attended only one session .


The Web 2.0 brought individuals to the forefront of creative processes, where Internet users generate their own content and share it with communities of their choosing. The availability of Internet access at low cost enables the distribution of creative materials to a large audience, thus increasing their potential impact on users. User Generated Content (UGC), which is emerging alongside the industrial production of content, is transforming the mechanisms for producing and sharing cultural goods. Copyright law, which was designed to serve the needs of the culture industry, may play a different role in the UGC environment and may carry different consequences when exercised by the key players in this environment: users-authors and social media platforms. Users-authors are generating content and at the same time using content originated by others. UGC is facilitated by social media platforms which enable users to share their content with one another and to collaborate in producing new works. These players have distinct stakes and interests, which are different from those involved in the mass production of content. Users in the UGC environment actively engage in creating cultural flows. In sharp contrast to the consuming audience of the old media, users-authors have greater capabilities to act upon creative materials, and therefore they have a special interest in appropriating and sharing creative works. At the same time, however, new modes of production enhance the commercial pressures on individual users as these users become an independent unit of production. Conflicting desires to share and control content may come into play. Moreover, unlike the content industry, social media platforms do not engage in mass production and distribution of content. They are not dependent upon exclusive control over creative works. Quite the contrary: social media platforms often seek to promote open access and free exchange of information in order to attract more users to their social networks. Copyright law, which enables the commercialization of creative works, finds itself at the center of these processes. This paper discusses the challenges to the copyright regime posed by the UGC environment and explores the emerging licensing practices for governing access. After a brief introduction to UGC in Part II, Parts III and IV take a closer look at social media platforms and users and discuss different challenges to the tenets of copyright law. Part III describes the rise of social media platforms as facilitators of UGC. It analyzes the interest of these new intermediaries and argues that their stake in copyright is very different from that of the old media. Part IV offers an analysis of key UGC features: that UGC reflects a wide range of creative activities, from an independent original creation to the appropriation of pre-existing works; that it is non-professional but not simply amateur; that it is generated by individual users but is sometimes the output of collaborative efforts; and that it is non-profit but at the same time might be vulnerable to commercial pressures. In Part IV, I explore the different mechanisms for governing access to creative works in Web 2.0 and examine their practical consequences as well as their normative implications. In Part V, I argue that the key UGC features discussed in Part III may have some important implications for governing access to creative works in the UGC environment. The rise of UGC requires us to reconsider the fundamental structure of copyright, which is based on exclusivity and central control, and to move instead towards a legal framework which enables collaboration. It also emphasizes the potential role of social media platforms in facilitating such a framework. Part VI offers some insights on the policy implications of this analysis.


High toxicity of the preservatives most frequently used in wood treatment and the resulting risks of handling pose a threat to small producers and to the environment. In an attempt to mitigate these problems, the present study was conducted with the objective of evaluating the preservative effect of tannic extract on biodeterioration of Acacia mearnsii wood. For this purpose, untreated and preserved specimens, some with tannin extract and some with a preservative mixture based on CCB (Chromated Copper Borate), were submitted to accelerated rotting trials with the fungus that causes white rot (Pycnoporus sanguineus) for 16 weeks. The evaluations were made with a basis on weight loss and chemical components analysis, and they showed that the natural resistance of Acacia wood is moderate when exposed to the white rot fungus. The tannin concentrations showed similar effects to those of the CBB mixture in all evaluations, i.e., they significantly increased the biological resistance of the material, which started to be classified as very resistant to the fungus. Overall, the results suggest that tannin can be considered as a potential natural preservative product.


A novel proxy for continental mean annual air temperature (MAAT) and soil pH, the MBT/CBT-paleothermometer, is based on the temperature (T) and pH-dependent distribution of specific bacterial membrane lipids (branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers – GDGTs) in soil organic matter. Here, we tested the applicability of the MBT/CBT-paleothermometer to sediments from Lake Cadagno, a high Alpine lake in southern Switzerland with a small catchment of 2.4 km2. We analysed the distribution of bacterial GDGTs in catchment soils and in a radiocarbon-dated sediment core from the centre of the lake, covering the past 11 000 yr. The distribution of bacterial GDGTs in the catchment soils is very similar to that in the lake's surface sediments, indicating a common origin of the lipids. Consequently, their transfer from the soils into the sediment record seems undisturbed, probably without any significant alteration of their distribution through in situ production in the lake itself or early diagenesis of branched GDGTs. The MBT/CBT-inferred MAAT estimates from soils and surface sediments are in good agreement with instrumental values for the Lake Cadagno region (~0.5 °C). Moreover, downcore MBT/CBT-derived MAAT estimates match in timing and magnitude other proxy-based T reconstructions from nearby locations for the last two millennia. Major climate anomalies recorded by the MBT/CBT-paleothermometer are, for instance, the Little Ice Age (~14th to 19th century) and the Medieval Warm Period (MWP, ~9th to 14th century). Together, our observations indicate the quantitative applicability of the MBT/CBT-paleothermometer to Lake Cadagno sediments. In addition to the MWP, our lacustrine paleo T record indicates Holocene warm phases at about 3, 5, 7 and 11 kyr before present, which agrees in timing with other records from both the Alps and the sub-polar North-East Atlantic Ocean. The good temporal match of the warm periods determined for the central Alpine region with north-west European winter precipitation strength implies a strong and far-reaching influence of the North Atlantic Oscillation on continental European T variations during the Holocene.


OBJECTIVE
Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is the prototypical systemic autoimmune disorder, with complex etiology and a strong genetic component. Recently, gene products involved in the interferon pathway have been under intense investigation in terms of the pathogenesis of SLE. STAT-1 and STAT-4 are transcription factors that play key roles in the interferon and Th1 signaling pathways, making them attractive candidates for involvement in SLE susceptibility.

METHODS
Fifty-six single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) across STAT1 and STAT4 on chromosome 2 were genotyped using the Illumina platform, as part of an extensive association study in a large collection of 9,923 lupus patients and control subjects from different racial groups. DNA samples were obtained from the peripheral blood of patients with SLE and control subjects. Principal components analyses and population-based case-control association analyses were performed, and the P values, false discovery rate q values, and odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals were calculated.

RESULTS
We observed strong genetic associations with SLE and multiple SNPs located within STAT4 in different ethnic groups (Fisher's combined P = 7.02 x 10(-25)). In addition to strongly confirming the previously reported association in the third intronic region of this gene, we identified additional haplotypic association across STAT4 and, in particular, a common risk haplotype that is found in multiple racial groups. In contrast, only a relatively weak suggestive association was observed with STAT1, probably due to its proximity to STAT4.

CONCLUSION
Our findings indicate that STAT4 is likely to be a crucial component in SLE pathogenesis in multiple racial groups. Knowledge of the functional effects of this association, when they are revealed, might improve our understanding of the disease and provide new therapeutic targets.


Objective: To assess the safety and efficacy of minimally invasive percutaneous nephrolithotomy with fluoroscopy aided renal access in the lateral position, in patients who were high-risk cases for anesthesia in prone position.
Study Design: Prospective observational study.
Place and Duration of Study: Armed forces institute of Urology, Rawalpindi, from Jan 2018 to Dec 2019.
Methodology: Fifty-three patients with renal stones >1.8cm underwent minimally invasive percutaneous nephrolithotomy with fluoroscopy-guided renal access in the lateral position. All the patients were obese, some had severe ischemic heart disease, few had diabetes mellitus. All the patients were unfit for the prone position.
Results: Successful renal access was achieved in all the patients (100%). The mean size of stone was 28 + 13.2 mm, with an average operative time being 55 ± 13.56 minutes and the mean hospital stay was 1.8 ± 2.3 days (range 2-4 days). No visceral or pleural injuries were documented. In addition, only two patients required postoperative transfusion. After procedure, the rate of complete stone clearance initially was 90.6%, which improved to 96% after single session of extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy (ESWL). Only 2 (3.77%) patients had persistent residual stone fragment.
Conclusion: Minimally invasive percutaneous nephrolithotomy with fluoroscopy-guided renal access in the lateral decubitus flank position, is safe and convenient in high-risk patients where prone position is contraindicated.


Live biological specimens exhibit time-varying behavior on the microscale in all three dimensions. Although scanning confocal and two-photon microscopes are able to record three-dimensional image stacks through these specimens, they do so at relatively low speeds which limits the time resolution of the biological processes that can be observed. One way to improve the data acquisition rate is to image only the regions of a specimen that are of interest and so researchers have recently begun to acquire two-dimensional images of inclined planes or surfaces extending significantly into the z-direction. As the resolution is not uniform in x, y and z, the images possess non-isotropic resolution. We explore this theoretically and show that images of an oblique plane may contain spectral content that could not have been generated by specimen features lying wholly within the plane but must instead arise from a spatial variation in another direction. In some cases we find that the image contains frequencies three times higher than the resolution limit for in-plane features. We confirm this finding through numerical simulations and experiments on a novel, oblique-plane imaging system and suggest that care be taken in the interpretation of such images.


Using the Sustainable Livelihood Framework (SLF), this study traces the livelihood conditions of a coastal community located in Kanniyakumari district in south India. From a vulnerable, pre-modern phase, this fishing group, by adapting to technologically advanced craft and gears moved into a more dynamic phase of modernisation with diverse livelihood opportunities. Unfortunately later, this fishing community began to suffer economically as the use of harmful gears in their boats resulted in the decimation of marine resources and subsequently a reduction in their income. In the absence of any institutional support mechanism to sustain them, fishing households have begun looking outside their home environs for economic opportunities to better their living conditions. One of the more significant ways through which the fishing community has been able to cope with its strained circumstances is to migrate to the Gulf countries.


Urban deteriorated fabrics form remarkable parts of many cities of Iran. These regions have many structural, social and economic problems and cannot do function as urban regions owing to these problems. In order to solve these problems or at least reduce the negative impacts, before doing any interference action, detection of these urban deteriorated fabrics and prioritizing intervention zones is vital. A review at existing related literature indicates the prevalent efforts are associated with the rules approved by the High Council of Architecture and Urban Planning of Iran. According to their criteria, only physical indicators are used for detecting deteriorated urban fabrics and prioritization. Many urban experts believe that considering only physical indicators is not sufficient and there are more factors that incorporate in this matter. Accordingly, some urban researchers started to use more complete and efficient factors in this topic in recent years, although most of them suffice to give some limited indices or give some suggestions. So in this article we try to have more detailed and precise considerations for recognition of urban deteriorated fabrics and prioritizing of intervention zones in our study area. For this aim, we consider socio-economic and environmental indicators as well as physical factors. This paper scrutinizes the effect of including socio-economic and environmental indicators as well as physical factors in prioritizing the intervention zones of our study area. It also examined whether the interference of these factors, in addition to conventional measures, priorities will change as distinct or only in their scrutiny and the possibility of utilizing them can be used as alternative indicators? It's essential to be mentioned that in Iran there is no ability to access many necessary information for calculating socio-economic criteria so this limitation affects our analysis for sure, although there are more detailed indicators in evaluating our criteria compare to similar researches. Our study area was central urban deteriorated fabrics of Arak. This area is about 62 hectare with a population of 18478 people. The condition of this area is critical and about 85 percent of buildings should be demolished or repaired. For prioritizing vulnerable blocks of our study area according to above triplet indicators (functional, socio-economic and environmental indicators), at first some criteria were selected for every indicator. Then for creating prioritized maps related to every indicator and finally linking them and overlaying the maps, we used two methods of decision making, AHP and Delphi. In this way, we gathered our necessary information from master and detailed plans of Arak (standards of Council of Architecture and Urban Planning, approved in 1383), some related reports which has done in our study area by consulting companies and also some area visiting and filling questionnaires. As can be seen, in the final map, which resulted from overlaying all of criteria of triple indicators, prioritized regions are very similar to those according to functional indicators especially in the first and second priorities. So we can conclude if for any specific reason, information on functional factors is not accessible, socio-economic and environmental indicators for prioritizing of intervention zones can be replaced. Also by adding these information we can have more detailed and accurate view of the region which as well as improving prioritizing method of urban deteriorated fabrics, will help our managers in next steps that they should chose the action strategies for solving the problems in these prioritized regions.


Preeclampsia is a pregnancy-specific systemic disorder characterised by various manifestations of organ dysfunction, associated with different medical conditions that have been shown to increase the risk for this condition, including chronic high blood pressure, diabetes, renal diseases, obesity, and hypercoagulable states. Women who had preeclampsia in a previous pregnancy are also at a higher risk to develop preeclampsia during future pregnancies. In spite of all attempts to predict which patients are more likely to develop preeclampsia and eclampsia, no significant prevention method has been identified yet that could ensure better planning and intervention strategies in case of complications.


The Picuris-Pecos fault is a major strike-slip fault in northern New Mexico (USA) that exhibits ∼37 km of dextral separation of Proterozoic lithotypes and structures. The timing of dextral slip has been controversial due largely to a lack of definitive piercing points of Phanerozoic age. The Picuris-Pecos fault formed the western boundary of the late Paleozoic Taos trough. A distinctive metasedimentary terrane that shed detritus into the western Taos trough was exposed on the Uncompahgre uplift west of the fault during the early to middle Pennsylvanian. We use the distribution of metasedimentary clasts and the age of monazite grains within clasts from conglomeratic strata of the western Taos trough to determine the paleolocation of the southern boundary of this metasedimentary terrane during the middle Pennsylvanian (Desmoinesian), and thereby quantify the subsequent separation on the fault. The rematching of detrital petrofacies with source terranes in the adjacent uplift requires ∼40–50 km of dextral separation on the Picuris-Pecos fault since the early Desmoinesian. This exceeds the present ∼37 km dextral separation of Proterozoic features by the fault, and thus implies that an ∼3–13 km sinistral separation existed on the fault in the early Desmoinesian. The ∼40–50 km of post–early Desmoinesian dextral separation on the Picuris-Pecos fault is the result of slip that accumulated late in the Ancestral Rocky Mountain deformation and/or during the Laramide orogeny.


Idioms are usually defined in semantic terms as non-compositional units whose meaning does not result from the meaning of their parts. This definition implies that idioms have exactly one meaning. But if we examine idioms in context in large electronic corpora, we observe that the meaning of idioms is contextually variable, like that of words. We observe uses that exceed the range of the conventionalized and (lexicographically) codified meaning. A case study (the German idiom ins Gras beisen, literally "to bite into the grass", 'to die, to bite the dust') is used as an illustration of the relation between core meaning and contextual variability or meaning extension in idioms and the underlying mechanisms of this process.


The integrity of an electronic record is dependent upon the integrity of the electronic records management system in which it is recorded or stored. That dependence operates regardless what the local Evidence Act states or doesn't state. An electronic record in an electronic records management system is like a drop of water in a pool of water — it can be only what its records system allows it to be. The requirements for establishing that "records management system integrity" are defined by the National Standard of Canada, Electronic Records as Documentary Evidence CAN/CGSB-72.34-2005 ("72.34"). They are presented in detail in an appendix. Therefore, those Evidence Act admissibility provisions require proof of records system integrity, which should necessitate proof of compliance with that national standard. But in fact such proof is not required. Because there is no law of broad general application enforcing those records management requirements, and many organizations believe that they need only their most recently made and received records, records management defects, and defective software in records management programs, are very common. The acceptance of electronic records as evidence is comparable to receiving expert opinion evidence without evidence as to the qualifications of the expert witnesses.This article lists some of the major defects commonly found in electronic records management systems, and the frequency of software errors. It explains the "triangle of interdependent concepts" for the use of electronic records as evidence: (1) the "system integrity concept"; (2) the "prime directive" of the national standard; and, (3) the "proportionality principle" of electronic discovery proceedings. And it deals with the "triangle of interdependent proceedings": (1) electronic discovery proceedings; (2) admissibility proceedings concerning electronic records as evidence; and, (3) proof of compliance with authoritative standards for electronic records management technology. There is therefore an integration of law and ERMS practice in these six areas: (1) the laws of evidence; (2) the electronic commerce legislation; (3) the personal information protection and privacy laws; (4) the guidelines for electronic discovery in legal proceedings; (5) National Standards of Canada concerning electronic records management; (6) the records requirements of government agencies such as the Canada Revenue Agency.


In the blink of the jurisprudential eye, the Affordable Care Act went to the brink of unconstitutionality and back. Along that rapid journey, lawyers and scholars from across the philosophical spectrum, who were so focused on developing, refining, and advancing constitutional arguments at breakneck speeds, were often unable to pause, and appreciate the monumental importance of what was happening. This essay, as part of a symposium issue for the Chapman Law Review, takes a step back, and draws lessons from The Health Cases about the link between originalism and the state of constitutional law post-NFIB v. Sebelius.First, I analyze the significance of the decision not to advance an originalist challenge in NFIB, but rather to turn to appeals to popular constitutionalism to move the argument from "off-the-wall" to "on-the-wall." Second, I consider the effect that social movements, such as the Tea Party, had on shifting our "constitutional gestalt." Third, I advance a theory about how NFIB has shown that it is possible to advance originalism without using originalism. Fourth, I conclude by speculating about the vitality of originalism after NFIB.


In this article, an ac superconducting multiphase symmetric-winding machine is designed for a wind power generator to improve its performance and reduce losses, where four handpicked topological designs were explored and compared. In particular, it is found that using high-phase order of unique phasors further improves the performance. The iron losses are reduced, and the rippling behavior is lowered due to the smoother airgap magnetic flux density. Furthermore, a higher least common multiple is achieved due to a better slot-pole combination for fractional-slot concentrated windings without having space subharmonics. Nonetheless, it is shown that creating a smooth airgap magnetic flux density does not improve the ac hysteretic superconducting losses; thus, further research is needed using additional approaches. Moreover, it is found that the Meisner effect is present in the machine and is inversely proportional to the ac hysteretic superconducting losses. Finally, the work shows that a 13-phase ac-superconducting machine can achieve a theoretical limit approaching $\text{101.70 Nm/kg}$ for the torque-to-weight ratio, outperforming classic winding layouts.


The legal profession lags behind other occupations in achieving diversity, and its quest for equality is frustrated by conceptual disagreement and confusion about the meaning of diversity, means of pursuing it, and responsibility for doing so. As a result, while minority under-representation and inequity constitute a serious problem, the profession's diversity discourse is stuck in a state of counterproductive disarray. The goal of this article is to explore and clarify some of these confused conceptual dimensions of diversity in the hopes of moving the equality agenda forward. Part I unpacks the concept of diversity, demonstrating that while commentators often proceed on the assumption that diversity is a well-defined concept, several competing definitions and meanings are in fact being pursued by various constituencies. It then identifies two of its distinct yet often confused components: formal diversity, and substantive diversity, exploring their justifications and studying the complex relationship between these facets of diversity and the notions of equality and discrimination. Based on this framework, Part I concludes by examining accountability and responsibility for diversity, analyzing the circumstances under which legal actors and institutions are obligated to pursue it. It establishes that the legal profession and all of its constituencies and members have a non-utilitarian duty to pursue substantive diversity, and argues that leaders of the bar, as well as actors who cause, even unintentionally, under-representation have a heightened duty to pursue diversity.Part II applies this diversity framework by offering a contextual analysis of discrimination, underrepresentation and diversity in large law firms. For quite some time now large law firms have been in the forefront of diversity initiatives, committing significant resources to advancing diversity with somewhat disappointing results. Part II makes two contributions to understanding large law firms' diversity efforts, and, in particular, their relative failure to achieve their stated goals. First, it asserts that commendable as they are, diversity initiatives are mistakenly regarded as voluntary, and ought instead to be thought of as mandatory. This, to be clear, is far from semantic, as large law firms' tentative approach to diversity helps explain its shortcomings. Second, it explains why diversity efforts have not been as successful as expected and suggests ways of pursuing diversity more productively.


Wilder Penfeild, professor of neurology and neurosurgery at MC gill revolutionised our understanding of human brain .He was most famous for his experiments where he stimulated the brain of patients who had part of their skull removed during surgery, the Montreal procedure that allowed patients to remain awake during surgery. He recorded experiential responses, hallucinations, illusions, dejavu phenomena and interpretive responses.
He used information gained during this operations to create functional maps called homunculus. He also mapped primary sensory area, motor area, speech area and primary visual area .He also found the physical basis of memory. He was instrumental in construction of Montreal Neurological Institute as per his vision to create an institute where clinicians from different disciplines interact. Penfeild dissector, neurosurgical technique that produces less meningocerebral scar remains in regular use till date. The pioneering clinician and researcher is celebrated nationally and internationally for his miraculous experiments. He was known for his deep integrity and humanity among his colleagues and patients.
Penfeild devoted his thinking to understand whether there was any scientific basis for existence of the human soul.


Much of the literature on international students in U.S. higher education—as well as the perception of many within our institutional communities—focuses on the challenges these globally mobile students may experience. Challenges related to acculturation, English language proficiency, academic adjustment, and cross-cultural interactions are prevalent in research (Smith & Khawaja, 2011). However, research has also demonstrated international students' ability to succeed academically in spite of some of these challenges as a result of their motivation, effort, and persistence (Andrade, 2006). This maps with my own research finding that international students negotiate their sociaocademic experiences in the mainstream U.S. college curriculum with self-awareness and a sense of agency that allows them to shape their own learning experiences (Siczek, 2018).
This is the story of how a group of English for Academic Purposes (EAP) students at a private university in Washington, DC, demonstrated resilience and agency in the face of a global health pandemic.
In spring 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic began to affect the United States, these students were enrolled in my on-campus undergraduate course called "Oral Academic Communication for International Students." The main content of the course draws on students' global experiences and linguistic assets while preparing them to meet the communicative expectations of the U.S. undergraduate curriculum. It is usually a highly interactive and productive class that covers a variety of oral academic genres, with students gaining authority and voice as the semester progresses.
We were halfway through the semester when students at our university were told that they were expected to go home for spring break and await an announcement about whether they should return to campus. Of course, going home was not an easy option for a group of students from Austria, China, Germany, Pakistan, South Korea, and Taiwan. As the end of spring break neared, students were told that the rest of the semester would be taught online. International students could head home or petition the university for continued accommodation on campus. Students and their families were forced to make quick decisions, balancing the competing priorities of health and academics. By the final weeks of the semester, only three students in my class remained in the United States: One was in her third campus housing location in less than a month; one had moved to a local hotel, where she would stay to finish the semester; and one moved into a rented room in an AirBnB house in the suburbs of Washington, DC. The rest of my students endured long journeys to their home countries, often spending weeks in hotel- or facility-based quarantine before being allowed to return to their family homes. Throughout this disruption, online learning continued.
How did students manage the course despite this disruption and dislocation? They showed up; they engaged; they connected with and cared for one another; they learned. I was amazed and inspired by their response. The students who could joined synchronous sessions online during our usual class time, entering the "room" fully prepared and contributing actively to class activities and discussions. Those who could not join watched recorded versions of each class session and posted multimodal alternate assignments in which they engaged with the learning material as well as the ideas their classmates had discussed during the synchronous class.
While we were online during the second half of the semester, students virtually facilitated discussions on self-selected TED Talks covering global and cross-cultural themes, designed and shared internationally oriented infographics that applied best practices for visual communication, practiced vocal techniques for oral presentations, and designed and delivered individual presentations proposing an initiative to advance internationalization on campus. These persuasive presentations were grounded in scholarly literature on the internationalization of higher education and situated in the local context of the university and its needs. Students proposed initiatives such as an international research hub on campus, the enhancement of the university's foreign language requirement to promote global competence, a new curricular requirement focusing on global diversity and inclusion, a peer-pairing program for domestic and international students, and even a global health crisis headquarters so that the university could address pandemics like COVID-19 with a higher level of preparedness and coordination. Their presentations were uniquely informed by the global perspectives they had developed based on their own transnational migration experiences and were delivered with remarkable professionalism despite conditions being far different from the intended classroom-based presentation.
During our 6 weeks of online learning, my contact with students was high, and I had a new window into their lives outside of the classroom and the extent to which they invested in their educations. I was witness to the resilience these students displayed as they negotiated this unsettling global crisis. I posit that these international students were primed to adapt—and even thrive—during this global crisis because they themselves had crossed cultural, linguistic, geographical, and even epistemological boundaries to pursue higher education in the United States. Thus, my call to action as I wrap up this 10th anniversary essay for the Journal of International Students is that we continue to engage in qualitative inquiry into the lived experience of globally mobile students in our institutional settings, targeting research that illuminates their global interconnectedness and the agency they display as they navigate new and uncertain socioacademic terrain.


The growth of mobile commerce, or the purchase of services or goods using mobile technology, heavily depends on the availability, reliability, and acceptance of mobile wallet systems. Although several researchers have attempted to create models on the acceptance of such mobile payment systems, no single comprehensive framework has yet emerged. Based upon a broad literature review of mobile technology adoption, a comprehensive model integrating eleven key consumer-related variables affecting the adoption of mobile payment systems is proposed. This model, based on established theoretical underpinnings originally established in the technology acceptance literature, extends existing frameworks by including attractiveness of alternatives and by proposing relationships between the key constructs. Japan is at the forefront of such technology and a number of domestic companies have been effectively developing and marketing mobile wallets for some time. Using this proposed framework, we present the case of the successful adoption of Mobile Suica in Japan, which can serve as a model for the rapid diffusion of such payment systems for other countries where adoption has been unexpectedly slow.


Objective: The aim of this study was to explore the level of Medical prescription adherence among gynecological patients of Pakistan.Study Design: Cross-sectional study.Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted in Punjab province and data were collected from June 2015 to April 2016.Material and Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out in main cities of Punjab province of Pakistan; Lahore, Gujranwala, Faisalabad and Sheikhupura. The survey data was collected from different location of cities. Patients visiting the gynecological and going to chemists for getting the prescribed medicine were selected through probability based random sampling for this study. The questionnaire consisted on the extent to which they adhere to time, dose, frequency and procedure prescribed from their doctors. The questions were asked in native language (Urdu). The data analysis was performed by using SPSS software (Ver.21).Results: Results of this study, based on sample from four big cities of Punjab province of  Pakistan, showed that the level of medical prescription was associated with the age, qualification and background of the patients. Adherence level of patients reporting with rural background was observed higher than the adherence level of patients from urban areas.Conclusion: Over all the patient require counseling regarding adherence to medical   rescription irrespective of the nature of the disease.


The potential toxicity of pesticide residues in drinking water has meant a rigid regulation for the appearance of these pollutants. Thus, in this work, we developed a new immunosensor for atrazine detection. We focused on the optimisation of the antibody immobilisation method on sensor surface for the enhancement of the biosensor sensitivity. First, with site–directed immobilisation of rabbit anti–atrazine antibodies using goat anti–rabbit immunoglobulin, a detection limit of 0.5 ng/mL was obtained. This value is 20 times lower than the detection limit obtained with non–oriented antibodies. The second way to improve immunosensor sensitivity consisted of the addition of carbon nanotubes (CNT). As result of using these CNT, detection limit has been improved again from 0.5 ng/mL to 100 pg/mL.


Most boosting systems in internal combustion engines utilize 'pulse turbocharging' to maximize the energy extraction by the turbine. An internal combustion engine with more than four cylinders has a significant overlap between the exhaust pulses which, unless isolated, can decrease the overall pulse energy and increase the engine pumping loss. Thus, it is advantageous to isolate a set of cylinders and introduce the exhaust gases into two or more turbine entries separately.

There are two main types of multiple entry turbines depending on the method of flow division: the twin-entry and the double-entry turbine. In the twin-entry design, each inlet feeds the entire circumference of the rotor leading edge regardless of inlet conditions. In contrast, the double-entry design introduces the flow from each gas inlet into the rotor leading edge through two distinct sectors of the nozzle.

This paper compares the performance of a twin and double-entry mixed flow turbine. The turbines were tested at Imperial College for a range of steady-state flow conditions under equal and unequal admission conditions. The performance of the turbines was then evaluated and compared to one another. Based on experimental data, a method to calculate the mass flow under unequal admission from the full admission maps was also developed and validated against the test results.


The Uniqueness Thesis, or rational uniqueness, claims that a body of evidence severely constrains one's doxastic options. In particular, it claims that for any body of evidence E and proposition P, E justifies at most one doxastic attitude toward P. In this paper I defend this formulation of the uniqueness thesis and examine the case for its truth. I begin by clarifying my formulation of the Uniqueness Thesis and examining its close relationship to evidentialism. I proceed to give some motivation for this strong epistemic claim and to defend it from several recent objections in the literature. In particular I look at objections to the Uniqueness Thesis coming from considerations of rational disagreement (can't reasonable people disagree?), the breadth of doxastic attitudes (can't what is justified by the evidence encompass more than one doxastic attitude?), borderline cases and caution (can't it be rational to be cautious and suspend judgment even when the evidence slightly supports belief?), vagueness (doesn't the vagueness of justification spell trouble for the Uniqueness Thesis?), and degrees of belief (doesn't a finegrained doxastic picture present additional problems for the Uniqueness Thesis?).


Abstract. In recent years, an increase in international investment in hardware and software technology to support programs that adopt algorithms for photomodeling or data management from laser scanners significantly reduced the costs of operations in support of Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality, designed to generate real-time explorable digital environments integrated to virtual stereoscopic headset. The research analyzes transversal methodologies related to the acquisition of these technologies in order to intervene directly on the phenomenon of acquiring the current VR tools within a specific workflow, in light of any issues related to the intensive use of such devices , outlining a quick overview of the possible "virtual migration" phenomenon, assuming a possible integration with the new internet hyper-speed systems, capable of triggering a massive cyberspace colonization process that paradoxically would also affect the everyday life and more in general, on human space perception. The contribution aims at analyzing the application systems used for low cost 3d photogrammetry by means of a precise pipeline, clarifying how a 3d model is generated, automatically retopologized, textured by color painting or photo-cloning techniques, and optimized for parametric insertion on virtual exploration platforms. Workflow analysis will follow some case studies related to photomodeling, digital retopology and "virtual 3d transfer" of some small archaeological artifacts and an architectural compartment corresponding to the pronaus of Aurum, a building designed in the 1940s by Michelucci. All operations will be conducted on cheap or free licensed software that today offer almost the same performance as their paid counterparts, progressively improving in the data processing speed and management.


Forty-three species of sertulariid hydroids (Cnidaria: Hydrozoa: Sertulariidae), collected from the tropical western Pacific (Taiwan, Philippines, New Caledonia, French Polynesia, Vanuatu, Fiji, Tonga, Solomon Islands) during various expeditions of the French Tropical Deep-Sea Benthos program, are discussed. Of these, nine are new to science: Gonaxia nova sp. nov., G. plumularioides sp. nov., Sertularella folliformis sp. nov., Se. plicata sp. nov., Se. pseudocatena sp. nov., Se. splendida sp. nov., Se. tronconica sp. nov., Se. tubulosa sp. nov., and Symplectoscyphus paucicatillus sp. nov. The subspecies Symplectoscyphus johnstoni (Gray, 1843) tropicus Vervoort, 1993 is raised to species but, in order to avoid the secondary homonymy with Sy. tropicus (Hartlaub, 1901), the replacement name, Sy. fasciculatus nom. nov., is introduced. The male and female gonothecae of Diphasia cristata Billard, 1920, the male gonothecae of Gonaxia elegans Vervoort, 1993, as well as the female gonothecae of Salacia macer Vervoort & Watson, 2003, are described for the first time. Additional notes on the morphology of several other species are provided. All taxa are illustrated, in most cases using figures drawn at the same scale, so as to highlight the differences between related species.


of a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Landscape Architecture. Christchurch Central City Revitalisation Plan: Accommodating 30,000 Residents into Christchurch's Four Avenues by Susan Anderson Abstract Over the past few years Christchurch's Central City has fallen into a decaying state. Many key retailers, commercial, industry and residential dwellers have moved to the outer suburbs. Creating multiple sub-centres and leaving Christchurch with a broken heart. The Christchurch City Council is committed to revitalising the Central City in order to create a world class city with a vibrant heart (Christchurch City Council, 2006). One of the key goals of the Central City revitalisation is to increase the residential population to 30,000 by 2026. This dissertation takes a critical look at this goal and investigates whether this goal is achievable and if so, what the limitations or tradeoffs that need to be made to achieve it and demonstrates what the city may look like. The method of research through design has been used to investigate this research question and to test the 30,000 residents' goal. This has been done though modelling, density testing and establishing three landscape focused scenarios to test this goal within the current Central City infrastructure. Through testing the current and predicted densities of the Central City, it is apparent that the current density of the Central City is exceptionally low by international standards. It has also been established that the current zonings and development patterns are not suitable to encourage development and the residential population increase like that the City Council is aiming for. The target goal of 30,000 is achievable. The challenge is, how this residential development is is going to be implemented, in order to create a central city that is an appealing and desirable place to visit and live. As well as keeping the current character and creating an identity that is unique to Christchurch. This dissertation is not intended to be a final solution to the Central City revitalisation but more a stepping stone in the process of regenerating and establishing a vibrant city centre. The creation of a successful city centre is not solely through the introduction of more residential population but through may parallel projects and initiatives working towards the same goal.Over the past few years Christchurch's Central City has fallen into a decaying state. Many key retailers, commercial, industry and residential dwellers have moved to the outer suburbs. Creating multiple sub-centres and leaving Christchurch with a broken heart. The Christchurch City Council is committed to revitalising the Central City in order to create a world class city with a vibrant heart (Christchurch City Council, 2006). One of the key goals of the Central City revitalisation is to increase the residential population to 30,000 by 2026. This dissertation takes a critical look at this goal and investigates whether this goal is achievable and if so, what the limitations or tradeoffs that need to be made to achieve it and demonstrates what the city may look like. The method of research through design has been used to investigate this research question and to test the 30,000 residents' goal. This has been done though modelling, density testing and establishing three landscape focused scenarios to test this goal within the current Central City infrastructure. Through testing the current and predicted densities of the Central City, it is apparent that the current density of the Central City is exceptionally low by international standards. It has also been established that the current zonings and development patterns are not suitable to encourage development and the residential population increase like that the City Council is aiming for. The target goal of 30,000 is achievable. The challenge is, how this residential development is is going to be implemented, in order to create a central city that is an appealing and desirable place to visit and live. As well as keeping the current character and creating an identity that is unique to Christchurch. This dissertation is not intended to be a final solution to the Central City revitalisation but more a stepping stone in the process of regenerating and establishing a vibrant city centre. The creation of a successful city centre is not solely through the introduction of more residential population but through may parallel projects and initiatives working towards the same goal.


Motivated by application of complex-valued signal processing techniques in statistical pattern recognition, classification, and Gaussian mixture (GM) modeling, this paper derives analytical expressions for computing the Bhattacharyya coefficient/distance (BC/BD) between two improper complex-valued Gaussian distributions. The BC/BD is one of the most widely used statistical measures for evaluating class separability in classification problems, feature extraction in pattern recognition, and for GM reduction (GMR) purposes. The BC provides an upper bound on the Bayes error, which is commonly known as the best criterion to evaluate feature sets. Although the computation of the BC/BD between real-valued signals is a well-known result, it has not yet been extended to the case of improper complex-valued Gaussian densities. This paper addresses this gap. We analyze the role of the pseudocovariance matrix, which characterizes the noncircularity of the signal, and show that it carries critical second-order statistical information for computing the BC/BD. We derive upper and lower bounds on the BD in terms of the eigenvalues of the covariance and pseudocovariance matrices of the underlying densities. The theoretical bounds are then used to introduce the concept of $\beta $ -dominance in the context of statistical distance measures. The BC is pseudometric, since it fails to satisfy the triangle inequality. Using the Matusita distance (a full-metric variant of the BC), we propose an intuitively pleasing indirect distance measure for comparing two general GMs. Finally, we investigate the application of the proposed BC/BD measures for GMR purposes and develop two BC-based GMR algorithms.


The global air conditioning (AC) market is still a rapidly growing one.
People in countries like India and China also want the luxury of living and
working in air conditioned rooms, which will create a huge energy demand.
With the limited resources of fossil energy left, there is a need for a different
approach for cooling. Due to the limited time and resources it is not possible
to focus on the project in a general way; thus it is approached in a practical
fashion, exploring the possibility of cooling a building of the Technical University
of Lodz by only using green energy taken from the sun to power an AC
device. In detail, the task was to first compute the actual cooling needs of the
building. After that, a proper technique that could provide these amounts of
cooling needs was found, as well as the appropriate device that could be implemented
in the building. Finally, a business part of the project was done
and the project was evaluated on a financial basis.

For the calculation of the cooling needs, some research was done to
all the data and formulas that contribute to a building heat gains and losses.
After acquiring the ones the team had access to, MATLAB was used to program
a thermal model of the building, in reverse engineering was applied to
estimate missing values and finally calculate the actual cooling needs of the
building. This was then used to choose a suitable air conditioning device
based on research and inquiries with the manufacturers. The final part, the
business plan, consists of Microsoft Excel calculations based on Polish energy
costs, prices of acquiring and installing solar panels and the solar irradiation
in the area.
It was possible to show that the project, even when calculated with the
worst case scenario, will turn a profit within 20 years after installation of the
solar panels, most likely even earlier. Considering the longevity of modern
panels, which exceeds 25 years, and a number of additional benefits coming
from a self-energy generating building, the realisation of this project is strongly
recommended. Furthermore, it is meant to encourage anyone to think
about whether private solar panels would make sense in their situation and
provide a small tool for that purpose on the team's website as well


ABSTRACT Neoproterozoic carbonate successions provide a new taphonomic window into the diversification of eukaryotes. We report recently discovered macroscopic organic warty sheets (MOWS) in macerates of limestone from the ca. 662–635 Ma Taishir Formation (Tsagaan Olom Group, Mongolia). Sheets are applanate. One surface contains raised ridges and conspicuous, ∼ 100-µm-tall warty protuberances with depressed tops that enclose internal cavities containing cellular structures. The Taishir MOWS may be the remains of unusual bacterial, protistan, or fungal biofilms, or a previously undocumented, extinct taxon. However, multiple lines of evidence including the morphology of warty protuberances and the presence of cellular architecture within protuberances support the interpretation of MOWS as marine algae, perhaps a member of the Rhodophyta. Regardless of their specific taxonomic affiliation, MOWS increase the diversity of biota reported from the Cryogenian glacial interlude and indicate the presence of macroscopic and morphologically complex multicellular organisms in the Cryogenian.


Brassinosteroids are phytohormones possessing a wide spectrum of antistress activity. To seewhether this hormone is able to ameliorate the effects of water stress, the effects of 24-epibrassinolise onplant growth, accumulation of osmolytes (proline, sugars and ions), lipid peroxidation and electrolyte leakagewere investigated in Colza (Brassica napus L. cv. Fusia) plants which were under water stress. The seedswere sown in plastic pots containing sand, clay and peat (in a proportion of 1:1:1). Solution of 24-epibrassinolidat 10-7 M concentration containing 0.01% Tween-20 (polyoxyethylene sorbitan) was sprayed onleaves at intervals of 1, 2 and 3 weeks after sowing. Control plants were sprayed with 0.01% Tween-20, andwater treatment was applied 26 days after germination, withholding water for 3 or 4 days. One month aftersowing, plants were harvested. Lipid peroxidation and electrolyte leakage significantly increased under waterstress, but when plants were pretreated with 24-epibrassinolid and put under water stress these parametersdecreased, revealing that less oxidative damage occurred in this group. Proline and reduced sugars contentwas increased when 24-epibrassinolide were applied. FW and DW were significantly decreased under waterstress. Water stress also increased the uptake of K and Ca, but the uptake of Na significantly decreased. 24- epibrassinolide considerably increased ions uptake by plants. Taken together, these results showed that 24- epibrassinolide alleviated the effects of water stress and increased the tolerance of plants to stress byincreasing osmolytes accumulation and therefore could be used to improve crops in harsh conditions.


The Kara Sea, due to its geographic location downstream of the main eastward Atlantic Water inflow through the Barents Sea, is strongly influenced by the history of the Atlantic Water masses which enter at its western entrances: the Kara Strait and the passage between Franz Josef Land and Novaya Semlya. Little is known about the interannual variability of temperature, salinity and volume fluxes through these entrances.The present investigation analyzes model results from 1979 to 1999 and compares them to hydrographic observations in the Barents and Kara seas with respect to the interannual variability of Atlantic Water flow through the western entrances of the Kara Sea. Model results and observations suggest the propagation of sequences of warm and cold anomalies through the area of investigation. Most prominent are anomalously cold years 1986, 1993 and 1998 for the Kara Strait throughflow which are associated with weak eastward or even westward flow over periods up to several months. For the passage between Franz Josef Land and Novaya Semlya, the entire period of the 1990s is characterized by warm deep water temperatures. In the early and late 1990s also the eastward volume fluxes are at their maximum. We discuss an Empirical Orthogonal Function analysis of the velocity in the Barents and Kara Seas. The warm and cold phases are associated with the first two modes of the velocity pattern in the domain. The links of these velocity patterns with the large scale sea level pressure are discussed.


Just three days prior to the inauguration of Donald J. Trump as president of the United States, Rep. Jody B. Hice (R-GA) introduced the Sanctity of Human Life Act (H.R. 586), which, if enacted, would provide that the rights associated with legal personhood begin at fertilization. While often touted as a means to outlaw abortion, protecting the "lives" of single-celled zygotes may also have implications for the practice of reproductive medicine and research. Indeed, such personhood efforts stand apart and distinct from more incremental attempts to restrict abortion that target the abortion procedure and those who would perform it. While personhood efforts have not been successful to date at either the state or federal levels, abortion opponents may find a friend in President Trump and his Supreme Court nominees. What is more, because the recent decision by the Court in Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstedt makes it more difficult for states to impose incremental restrictions on the abortion procedure, restrictions focused on the status of the unborn may assume increasing importance. Personhood rhetoric is often seen in proceedings involving the disposition of unused embryos and in laws that restrict access to abortion on the basis of gender, race, or disability. Laws outlawing abortion on the basis of fetal pain are also on the rise. With so much uncertainty surrounding the political landscape, this essay places the personhood movement in historical context with other anti-abortion strategies. This essay further explores the theoretical underpinnings of the personhood movement and considers its future prospects with regard to abortion and other reproductive services.


Media outlets in multiparty electoral systems tend to report on a wider range of policy issues than media in two‐party systems. They thus make more competing policy frames available to citizens. This suggests that a "free press" is insufficient to hold governments accountable. Rather, we should observe more challenges to the governments' preferred frames and more politically aware citizens in multiparty democracies. Such citizens should thus be better equipped to hold their leaders accountable, relative to their counterparts in two‐party democracies. I propose a mechanism through which democratic publics can sometimes constrain their leaders in foreign policy. I test hypotheses derived from my theory with cross‐national data on the content of news coverage of Iraq, on public support for the war, and on decisions to contribute troops to the Iraq "Coalition of the Willing." I find that citizens in countries with larger numbers of parties confronted more critical and diverse coverage of Iraq, while those with more widespread access to mass media were more likely to oppose the war and their nations likely to contribute fewer troops to the Coalition.


Facebook is a global phenomenon, yet little is known about use of the site in urban parts of the developing world where the social network's users are increasingly located. We qualitatively studied Facebook use among 28 young adults living in Viwandani, an informal settlement, or slum, in Nairobi, Kenya. We find that to overcome the costs associated with Internet use, participants consolidated diverse online activities onto Facebook; here we focus on the most common practice--using Facebook to support income generation. Viwandani residents used the site to look for employment opportunities, market themselves, and seek remittances from friends and family abroad. We use our findings to motivate a design agenda for the urban poor built on an understanding that Facebook is used, with mixed-success, to support income generation. A key part of this agenda calls for developing ICT interventions grounded in users' existing practices rather than introducing new and unfamiliar ones.


Author(s): Cronin, Drew T.; Benbow, Sophie; Bergl, Richard A.; Bourgault, Liz; Caro, Lina; Dancer, Anthony; Davies, Alasdair; Joachim, Denton; Lewis, Claire; Lynam, Antony J.; Maaz, Julio; Muntifering, Jeff; O'Donnell, Stephanie; Palmer, Jonathan; Slade, James; Spina Avino, Felipe; Stevens, Xia; Wyatt, Alex | Abstract: Protected areas are key to biodiversity conservation and ranger-based monitoring, and law enforcement is the cornerstone upon which effective protected areas are built. Frontline practitioners, however, are often asked to protect large swathes of land or sea with limited resources, support, infrastructure, capacity, and/or training. Technology, when applied effectively and appropriately, has the capacity to empower practitioners, revolutionize ranger operations, improve ranger safety, and enhance wildlife protection and conservation outcomes. To do so, technology must be recognized, from the frontlines through to key decisionmakers, as a force multiplier, but only when it is fit for purpose, accessible, cost-effective, and supportive of rangers' needs. In this paper we detail the general state of conservation technology and innovation within the ranger context and provide a series of detailed recommendations to help the Universal Ranger Support Alliance (URSA) meet the needs of rangers around the world, including: demystifying technology and clarifying what it can and cannot do, connecting the right technology with the right people and places, focusing technology development and investment on substantive improvements and support, broadening ranger familiarization with technology, building technology capacity in rangers, fostering greater community building and creating opportunities around technologies, engaging the technology sector to innovate and design technology to support rangers, and supporting technology as a complement to traditional knowledge and skills, rather than a replacement. These recommendations constitute an ambitious vision which cannot be delivered by URSA in isolation. Rather, we propose URSA leverages existing efforts to ensure rangers are supported around the world.


In early vertebrate eye development, the retinal anlage is specified in the anterior neuroectoderm. During neurulation, the optic vesicles evaginate from the lateral wall of the prosencephalon. Here we describe the temperature-sensitive mutation eyeless in the Japanese medakafish. Marker gene analysis indicates that, whereas, specification of two retinal primordia and proximodistal patterning takes place in the mutant embryo, optic vesicle evagination does not occur and subsequent differentiation of the retinal primordia is not observed. The mutation eyeless thus uncouples patterning and morphogenesis at early steps of retinal development. Temperature-shift experiments indicate a requirement for eyeless activity prior to optic vesicle evagination. Cell transplantation shows that eyeless acts cell autonomously.


This chapter assesses what a director is and the different types of director that exist. Section 250 of the Companies Act 2006 (CA 2006) provides that a director 'includes any person occupying the position of director, by whatever name called'. A person validly appointed as a director is known as a de jure director, whereas a person who has not been validly appointed, but who acts as a director, is known as a de facto director. A shadow director is 'a person in accordance with whose directions or instructions the directors of a company are accustomed to act'. Other types of director include executive director, non-executive director, and alternate director. Meanwhile, certain persons such as major shareholders or creditors may have the power to nominate a person to the board, and this nominated person is known as a nominee director. Many companies will appoint some of its directors to specific board roles.


The Mexican cichlid, Cichlasoma beani has potential to be a candidate for the aquarium trade and the food industry. However, currently there are no studies regarding the effect of environmental factors on the species in culture conditions. The aim of this study was to assess the potential of C. beani to be maintained in cultured conditions. Additionally, the fish were exposed to different temperatures to examine the effect of temperature on growth, condition and survival of cultured juveniles in 26, 28 and 30°C, for six weeks in recirculation systems. Fish were fed 2.4 mm pellets (40% protein, 15% fat) at a ration rate of 5% body weight per day (dry weight food: wet weight fish). An aggressive behavior in all treatments led to lowered survival, making it impossible to conclude that temperature had an effect on the recorded variables. However the results showed a tendency that indicated the final weight and specific growth rate at 30°C was greater than in 26 and 28°C, perhaps due to a better metabolism and nutrient assimilation.


This study focused on exploring COVID 19 information seeking behavior of IDPs Nigerian using IDPs in the federal capital territory, Abuja, Nigeria as a case study The study adopted a descriptive survey design Four objectives were laid down for the study and a structured questionnaire was used to elicit information from the respondents The findings revealed that the COVID 19 information needs of IDPs are information on symptoms of COVID 19, how it spreads, preventive measures against COVID 19, the causes of COVID 19 and how to get medical attention should anyone be confirmed infected at the IPD camp among others The study also found that the sources of COVID 19 information available to IDPs include friends and family at the camp;social media such as Facebook and WhatsApp;radio;Internet and health workers i e doctors and nurses The study revealed that the major use COVID 19 information were to know the symptoms of the virus;know to prevent themselves from being infected with the virus;know how to reach out to health workers in case of suspected COVID 19 patients and knowing the drugs combination for self treatment in case of infection Lack of frequent visitation to the camps by health official, lack of access to television at the camp, distorted information from friends and family, too many information on COVID 19, among others were revealed as the barriers to COVID 19 information seeking and access among the IDPs The study recommends that efforts should be made by the Federal government of Nigeria to pay special attention to the information needs of the IDPs and devise necessary means of getting timely and accurate information across to them as this will help to keep them up to date about information on COVID 19 among others © 2021 All Rights Reserved


This paper presents an overview of the works on design and validation of distributed control in process industry. Due to the significant market demand for distributed reconfigurable systems, not just in manufacturing industry but also in process industry, several researches are undertaken to look at the design techniques in implementation of such a decentralized control approach. It has shown that a distributed control can bring benefits such as flexibility, reconfigurability and software reusability. International standards such as IEC61499 and IEC61804 are established for such distributed application with newly introduced Function Block (FB) concepts. Intelligent control and multi-agents approach are emerging techniques for distributed control application. In particular, a process control system is generally considered as a hybrid system because it usually contains both discrete and continuous dynamics. Therefore when handling validation of distributed systems, hybrid verification and simulation will have an important role.


We consider a symmetric homogeneous Cournot duopoly operating under increasing marginal costs. One of the firms owns a patented superior technology that reduces the intercept of the marginal cost function. We compare the incentives of the insider patentee to license the technology to the rival firm either through a fixed fee or through a royalty. We obtain that royalty licensing does not necessarily dominates in our setting: when decreasing returns are important, a royalty is superior only for small enough innovations, whereas a fixed fee is chosen for large innovations. Aditionally, we show that our model is able to replicate the results in Wang (2002), which analyzes the same question in a differentiated duopoly with constant marginal costs. K


Distributed embedded computing systems are special-purpose computer systems designed for particular applications and set up in a networked or distributed manner. A practical application domain for such a distributed system setup is the domain of wireless sensor network (WSN) applications. In this thesis, studies of architectures, applications, and methodologies for distributed embedded systems will be covered by addressing a number of important energy and performance optimization problems for translating highlevel representations of distributed embedded applications into system implementations. This thesis is also concerned about systematic design methodologies and optimization problems for both software and hardware implementations.
With advances in integrated circuit technology, distributed embedded platforms such as wireless sensor nodes can be equipped with increasing amounts of computational resources, such as digital signal processing (DSP) subsystems that can handle intensive computational tasks. By incorporating such dedicated DSP processing, a distributed embedded platform can enhance its functional capabilities for processing data before transmitting the data to other parts of the network or to an associated base station (central node). Therefore, this thesis presents a design methodology for distributing DSP applications across wireless sensor networks and optimizing associate trade-offs between computation and communication.
A low-power, application-specific sensor node platform for distributed WSN systems is designed and demonstrated in this thesis. This platform provides mixed-signal integration of streamlined digital circuits for protocol control and data processing, along with required analog subsystems, such as transceiver circuitry. Building on this optimized platform, this thesis demonstrates a complete system design of an application-specific WSN system with compact size and low power features. This system design is the result of an integrated effort across design space exploration, algorithm development, cross-layer protocol design, and most importantly, the completion of various hardware prototype implementations for validating and demonstrating proposed design techniques.
This thesis also presents a system-level synthesis methodology for finding the most suitable resource configurations for distributed, embedded systems. System-level synthesis is attractive because the carefully designed system-level models can be analyzed and evaluated rapidly, and the complex, inter-related design decisions can be explored and evaluated at a high level before mapping into low level implementations. We demonstrate the accuracy and efficiency of our system-level synthesis approach, and its ability to capture an important range of high level interactions that are relevant to the design of distributed, embedded systems.


In-work poverty (IWP) received increasing attention over the last years, both in political and scientific debates, not least due to its overall increase. This article documents the diffusion, persistency and the drivers of in-work poverty in Italy from 2000 to 2016, based on the Survey on Household Income and Wealth of the Bank of Italy (SHIW data). In line with recent publications, IWP affects around 10 to 12% of the relevant working population, but it is strongly stratified by individual and family level characteristics, like education, employment position and contract, as well as by the household composition. The presence of a (whatever type of) second income plays an important role for keeping families out of poverty. Moreover, IWP reveals a very sticky phenomenon, leading not only to the accumulation of inequalities but also to their persistency over time. Interestingly enough, the strong persistency can almost exclusively be attributed to structural individual factors and the household composition, rather than to genuine state dependency. The article concludes with a discussion of these findings in terms of policy implications.


Street names represent a monument in the everyday world that commemorates the contributions of people in a particular community, and often of a particular era. The present study investigates how street names in the neighbourhood (suburb) Universitas in Bloemfontein serve as monuments to the contributions of academics at the University of the Orange Free State (UOFS), as well as its predecessors, the Grey University College (GUC) and University College of the Orange Free State (UCOFS) – currently the University of the Free State or UFS. The main streets in this neighbourhood are identified using network theory, and it is indicated that it is especially academics belonging to the two oldest faculties at this university, namely Natural Sciences and the Humanities, after which key streets are named. In addition, it is indicated that, to a large extent, the importance of streets also reflects the UFS's past Afrikaans character as the main streets are named after academics who worked for the Department of Afrikaans and Dutch (for example DF Malherbe and H van der Merwe Scholtz), but also other leaders, such as Wynand Mouton's outstanding contributions to the establishment of the UFS as a research university, are commemorated.


This mixed methods evaluation reports on the impact of training intellectual disability nurses and social workers to understand, and work with trauma from a psychodynamic perspective with people with intellectual disabilities who present with challenging behaviour; a project jointly funded by the commissioners of this evaluation, and the Winterbourne View Joint Improvement Programme in the UK.

The evaluation needs to be placed within a contemporary context of intellectual disability services in the UK. This context includes a recent BBC Panorama investigation into the abuse inflicted upon residents of Winterbourne View Hospital for people with intellectual disabilities with challenging behaviours (BBC, 2011). A subsequent serious case review found a background of inadequate staffing, poor leadership, training, and recruitment (Flynn, 2012). It is regrettable that this incident was not isolated; rather it was the latest exposure in a lineage of similar failings in standards of care for people with intellectual disabilities. For example, the Health Care Commission found that at the Merton and Sutton NHS Trust people with intellectual disabilities were fed too quickly to enjoy their food at mealtimes, some people only had a few hours activity a week, care plans were only available for a minority of people, there was evidence of poor communication with people with intellectual disabilities, as well as unsatisfactory environments with inadequate access, poor furnishings and insufficient space (Health Care Commission, 2007). An enquiry in Cornwall investigated over 64 incidents of abuse over a five-year period to October 2005. Here it was found that all patients were abused but two were targeted frequently (Health Care Commission and CSCI, 2006). Finally, findings of a recent parliamentary joint select committee noted its disappointment at the continued abuse of people with intellectual disabilities and, 'that it continues ten years after the Human Rights Act 1998' (House of Lords House of Commons Joint Committee on Human Rights, 2008).

In was in this context that RESPOND5 and Hertfordshire County Council, Adult Social Care sought to explore the impact of training on senior practitioners through a project using a psychodynamic perspective that would focus on past trauma as the root of challenging behaviour, encouraging them to work in new ways and involve the networks of other staff that surround the individual in the therapeutic process.


In recent years the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) community has discovered the enormous amount of information that can be extracted from a video camera. It can be used for collision avoidance, navigation, velocity estimation, terrain mapping, object detection and object tracking in addition to many other applications. This thesis looks into several different ways a video camera in the payload of a fixed-wing UAV can be utilized. The first part investigates a way to calculate the body-fixed velocity of the UAV with the images captured by the camera. It can be achieved with optical flow and measurements of the roll angle, pitch angle and the altitude of the UAV. The calculated body-fixed velocity can be used as a measurement in the navigation system. This thesis looks into a navigation system based on a nonlinear observer that estimates attitude, position, velocity and gyro bias. In order to estimate these states the nonlinear observer utilizes measurements from an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU), a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receiver and a video camera. The second part looks into moving object detection and tracking. An algorithm for detection of moving objects has been developed. It utilizes the navigation states of the UAV and optical flow in order to extract the moving objects from the images. Furthermore a tracking system based on the moving object detection algorithm has been proposed. The tracking system consists of the moving object detection algorithm, a classifier that describes each object and a discrete Kalman filter that estimates the motion of the object. The objects are tracked in the image plane and the estimates are transformed to the North-East-Down (NED) coordinate system. A fixed-wing UAV experiment has been carried out to gather images captured from an airborne UAV and collect data from an IMU and a GPS receiver. The navigation system has been evaluated offline by computer simulations based on the data collected at the experiment. The tracking system and the moving object detection algorithm have also been evaluated in computer simulations. Promising and accurate results were shown for both the navigation system and the proposed tracking system.


Executive Summary
Public health analysis suggests that many lives can be saved if the UK population actually followed dietary guidelines on fruit and vegetable daily intake. The Government's Eatwell Plate suggests that more than a third of UK daily diets should comprise fruit and vegetables and yet currently less than a quarter of diets are taken from this source. A UK debate on the status of the horticultural industry and its potential to meet a recommended increase in consumption is long overdue.

This paper, largely based on secondary sources of data, presents current national levels of fruit and vegetable production and consumption. It outlines the origins of what horticultural produce is consumed here and the potential for meeting demand should diets adapt to those suggested by government guidelines. The Briefing provides a summary of key facts on UK horticulture based on information that is publicly available. An FRC seminar is planned to take account of non-documented industry views in order to complete or correct the picture presented here but our current objective is to outline the situation as it appears from published data:
• There has been a big decline in area given to horticultural production. From 1985 to 2014, there has been a decline of 27% for fruit and vegetables combined. The area growing vegetables has declined by 26% and the area growing fruit by 35%.
• Fruit and vegetables are by far the greatest source of imports in the UK food system. The trade gap in horticulture has risen to £7.8 billion a year, about 37% of the UK's total food trade gap of £21 billion in 2014. Although some growers have extensive growing operations in Southern Europe and further afield, this makes sense for them as commercial enterprises but still does not resolve the serious lack of UK horticultural output. This is important to meet the 21st century challenge of increasing production for health everywhere and to ensure that rich consumer societies do not excessively distort international trade for their purposes.
• Some imports (e.g. pineapples, avocados) could not be grown in the UK (or not yet) but others which could be UK grown (e.g. brassicas, mushrooms, lettuce) have seen massive drops in production.
• The proportion of the adult population (over 16 years) in the UK consuming five or more portions of fruit and vegetables per day stood at only 26% in 2013.
• Only 16% of children achieved an intake of 5-a-day or more in 2013.
• The Consumer Price Index for food items as a whole has shown a significant increase of 35% in 2007-2013. Within this, the price of vegetables has increased by 27% and fresh fruit by 26%, less than the average for the food sector as a whole.
• Horticulture is unevenly distributed across the country, partly for climatic reasons, but areas that used to have sizeable sectors (e.g. the South West) have seen a heavy decline. A 're-boot' of regional strategies is overdue to incorporate a review of planning and financial regulations and to rebuild bioregional resilience where appropriate.
• Land used for horticulture is highly productive. Only 3.5% of UK croppable land is down to horticulture, yet producing £3.7 billion worth of produce. For every one hectare of land under fruit and vegetables, 4.5 hectares are used for wheat for animal feed- with the inevitably slower and less efficient energy conversion rates.
• Horticultural wages for seasonal workers are low, not helped by the abolition of the Agricultural Wages Board. Horticulture occupies only 2% of the farmed area in England yet employs 12% of the agricultural labour force and at least 35% of the UK's casual farm labour force.

The Briefing makes a series of recommendations:
• The Government (DEFRA) forthcoming 25 year Food Strategy should apply a 'health lens' to its proposed focus on 'Brand Britain'
• Government, growers, land use specialists, industry and regional bodies should begin to plan the infrastructure needed for a massive reinvestment in, and policy support for, horticulture.
• Both academics and civil society should examine the scope for encouraging demand for more home produced, sustainable horticulture and higher consumption of fruit and vegetables in the UK
• Public health and environmental analysts should work more clearly on how to narrow the gap between supply of, and demand for, fruit and vegetables. Modelling studies as well as practical investigations should be funded.
• A new research strand should be set up by the Government Research Councils into how to build demand for more sustainable home production.
• A new more unified voice between all parties is needed to champion the British horticultural sector; this lack should be the subject of a joint inquiry by the Parliamentary Health, Environmental Audit and Environment, Food & Rural Affairs Committees.


Cancer has become number one cause of death. Conventional treatment includes surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or combination. The combinatorial therapy in one system is highly efficient and economical. Herein, two drug delivery systems with chemo and photothermal therapy are developed in order to enhance the therapeutic efficacy in A549 human lung cancer cells. The first one is hollow copper sulfide nanoparticle carrying doxorubicin (PEG-HCuSNPs-DOX). The second one is mesoporous silica coated CuS nanoparticles (CuS NPs) loaded with doxorubicin (DOX) (PEG-CuS@MSNs-DOX). Both nano-drug delivery systems are pH sensitive, laser responsive, and photothermal convertible. CuS NPs are the photothermal sensitizers in both drug delivery systems. However the drug loading efficiency is much higher in the PEG-CuS@MSNs-DOX, whereas its drug release rate is much slower. In addition, the anti-cancer efficacy of PEG-HCuSNPs-DOX is higher than that of PEG-CuS@MSNs-DOX. Five chapters are prepared in this thesis. Each chapter includes an independent manuscript and separate abstract. Chapter 2 serves as preparation experiment for chapter 3. Chapter 4 is a review that expands the application of CuS NPs to transdermal delivery. Chapter 5 is a mini review on the in vivo application of CuS NPs 1. Cancer Photothermal Chemo Therapy Using Hollow Copper Sulfide Doxorubicin Nanoparticles The design and synthesis of the multifunctional nanoparticles responsive to external stimuli provides potential applications in biomedical fields such as controlled drug delivery. Here, near infrared (NIR) laser-controlled fast and effective tumor cell killing is achieved based on the pH sensitive and NIR light responsive hollow copper sulfide nanoparticles chelated with doxorubicin molecules (HCuSNPs-DOX). Laser exposure at 900 nm and acidic environment facilitate the release of DOX from HCuSNPs-DOX. Spontaneously, the released DOX forms DOX/Cu complex and generates cell-killing reactive oxygen species. Laser exposure to HCuSNPs-DOX also disrupts the integrity of the cell membrane instantly. The IC50 of HCuSNPs-DOX with and without laser treatment was 4.0 and 7.6 μg/mL CuS, respectively. The approach developed here offers compelling chances for quick-responsive anticancer therapy. 2. Facile Direct Dry Grinding Synthesis of Monodisperse Lipophilic CuS Nanoparticles Copper sulfide with near-infrared light absorption property is recently attracting broad interest as a photothermal carrier for smart cancer therapy. Lipophilic copper sulfide nanoparticle is preferred for high performance biomedical applications due to the high affinity with tissues. But it requires complex multi-step synthetic process under severe condition. Here, synthesis of hydrophobic copper sulfide possessing surface plasmon resonance was retained by direct dry grinding of copper(II) acetylacetonate with sulfur under ambient environment. The formed CuS nanoparticles were in uniform size of ~10 nm, and they were monodispersed in pure chloroform. Each covellite CuS nanocrystal surface was modified with oleylamine through hydrogen bonding between sulfur atoms and amine groups of oleylamine. While those oleylamine capped CuS nanoparticles showed uniform morphological features, they demonstrated near-infrared light absorption for photothermal applications. The facile and mild synthetic methodology described here opened a powerful pathway for the design and preparation of photothermal lipophilic copper sulfide nanomaterials for smart cancer therapy. 3. Multifunctional Mesoporous Silica-Coated CuS Nanoparticles for Cancer Therapy: Synthesis, Characterization and in vitro Evaluation Chemo therapeutic drug-caused side effects are commonly seen in clinical practice due to nonspecific toxicity and low therapeutic efficiency. Herein, we reported a cancer chemo-photothermal multifunctional drug delivery system. Polyethylene glycol decorated mesoporous silica nanoparticles entrapping CuS nanoparticles (PEG-CuS@MSNs) were successfully synthesized and characterized for the drug delivery application. Doxorubicin (DOX)-loaded PEG-CuS@MSNs showed laser stimulated and pH-responsive properties. In vitro cell experiments demonstrated that DOX-loaded PEG-CuS@MSNs combining laser exposure achieved the highest rate of death of A549 cells, in comparison to that of PEG-CuS@MSNs-DOX chemotherapy alone. These findings provided a promising drug delivery system for cancer combinatorial therapy, which could significantly reduce drug dose and improve patient compliance. 4. Laser ablation-enhanced transdermal drug delivery Transdermal delivery offers an excellent route for drug and vaccine administration. Nonetheless, it presents a critical challenge due to the skin's lipid-rich outer stratum corneum layer. Laser ablation perforates epidermis through selective photothermolysis, making skin more permeable to hydrophilic and macromolecular drugs such as peptides, proteins, and genes. This review summarizes recent applications to laser ablation-enhanced transdermal delivery. Needleand pain-free transcutaneous drug delivery via laser ablation provides an alternative approach to achieve local or systemic therapeutics. 5. Cancer Photothermal Therapy and CuS Nanoparticles This manuscript is being prepared according to the format of Lasers in Medical Science as a review article.


1. An intestinal perfusion technique has been used to study absorption in vivo of l-cystine and l-cysteine in six normal human subjects and three patients with homozygous cystinuria. 2. No significant absorption of l-cystine was detected during perfusion of the cystinuric patients, whereas l-cysteine absorption was normal. These results imply that l-cystine and l-cysteine are normally absorbed by different transport processes. 3. No significant reduction of l-cystine to l-cysteine occurred in the gut lumen during the perfusion experiments. No more oxidation of l-cysteine to l-cystine occurred in the gut lumen during the perfusion experiments than in the test solutions which were simultaneously incubated in vitro.


Current research on the sharing or collaborative economy has by large adopted a user-centric approach, and studies at the meso-level (firm/organization level) have received little attention and is called for both in the literature and by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). This paper contributes to the meso-level by presenting a framework — a typology — based on the literature and an analysis of 54 services in the collaborative economy ( e.g. , Airbnb, Uber, and Blablacars). The paper suggest that when classifying sharing services, we need to direct our analytical lens to dimensions from the organization and strategy literature, such as two-sided business models and organizing principles, network effects and value, and other strategic dimensions. A definition of the collaborative economy that includes these dimensions is proposed, which is helpful for regulators, start-ups, and for researchers in avoiding research flaws.


In this book, Rebecca Salter takes us through the history of Japanese woodblock, discusses the materials, tools and papers available and their Western equivalents) and shows how to get the most of of them thorugh interesting step-by-step projects. The work of an international group of artists shows the varied and exciting work being produced today.

This is the first detailed book published in English on the technique of Japanese woodblock since the 1960s. The book is the result of research into Japanese traditional woodblock printing techniques, using English and Japanese sources plus interviews with practitioners.

Salter's research on the traditional method began with secondary sources available in this country in English, the majority of which referred back to two or three early twentieth century publications. Research using Japanese databases provided further Japanese language secondary sources which were used to cross-reference the information from the English material. This stage of the project was followed by several visits to Japan to conduct interviews with carvers and printers practicing the technique in the traditional manner. These interviews also revealed previously undocumented regional differences in the application of several of the traditional methods.

For the technique to be practiced successfully outside Japan, it was necessary to also research the manufacture of the tools and materials required so that alternatives could be suggested. As well as information from secondary sources in English and Japanese, Salter interviewed makers and specialists in every required field and constructed an overview of the materials and process used which was then employed to suggest alternatives for use outside Japan. These alternatives were then tested and assessed for their efficacy and suitability.


Misconduct in civil litigation is not a new phenomenon. Nor is it confined to particular types of cases. Because of their characteristic intensity. however, intellectual property cases may be more likely to inspire bad behavior than other types of cases. The associated pressures seem, on occasion, to lead litigants and trial lawyers to succumb to the temptation to step outside the bounds of vigorous advocacy.Trial and appellate judges in a number of recent IP cases have wrestled with the issue of whether certain litigation tactics crossed the line between advocacy and abuse. For example, trial judges have recently rebuked counsel for:• trying to prejudice jurors against the plaintiff patentee by asking them if they had "a problem with a company that puts its headquarters offshore on a Caribbean island in order to avoid paying U.S. taxes", in violation of an order in limine;• "prolong[ing] the proceedings unnecessarily (thus unduly imposing upon the jury's time), [seeking] to mislead both the jury and the Court, and [flouting] the governing claim construction as set forth by the Federal Circuit";• "persist[ing] in improperly trying to equate [the patentee's] infringement case with the current national banking crisis implying that [the patentee] was a banker seeking a 'bailout'" • knowingly pursuing a meritless lawsuit; and• contributing to a "massive discovery failure".In several of these and other cases, however, sanctions awards have been subsequently reversed or modified, including because the conduct at issue was viewed as insufficiently egregious, as not unreasonable, or even as entirely within the rights of the sanctioned firm or attorney. These reversals raise a number of issues, including whether reviewing courts are too tolerant, how trial judges are affected by litigation misconduct, sanctions proceedings, and reversals, what motivates aggressive litigation behavior, and the collateral consequences of litigation misconduct. Whatever the outcome, these decisions serve as sobering examples of how even intelligent, experienced counsel can get caught up in the heat of the battle that is modern intellectual property litigation, and the potentially devastating consequences of that conduct.


Extracted from text ... Asia: huge impact on
the developing world
"On the road to Mandalay,
Where the flyin' fishes play,
An' the dawn comes up like thunder outer China 'crost the
Bay!"
Rudyard Kipling, Mandalay
China under communist rule was never an economic threat to anyone.
Now, suddenly this vast country - and huge potential market - has woken
up to the economic realities of the world and suddenly everyone has to
take note - to the point where Tom Peters considers it only one of two - the
other being automation - factors to be taken seriously when companies,
and countries ..


This paper focuses on the evaluation of the approach to risk management in management systems in technical industries. The underlying framework is the updated standard ISO 9001 which is compared to the requirements of specific standards for the automotive industry, the aviation industry, the railway industry and the chemical and processing industries that fall under major accident prevention (SEVESO). This article aims to compare the requirements of these management systems for individual areas from the perspective of systemic risk prevention.