With the advent of inexpensive, high-power telescopes priced at under $250, amateur astronomy is now within the reach of anyone, and this is the ideal book to get you started. The Illustrated Guide to Astronomical Wonders offers you a guide to the equipment you need, and shows you how and where to find hundreds of spectacular objects in the deep sky -- double and multiple stars as well as spectacular star clusters, nebulae, and galaxies. You get a solid grounding in the fundamental concepts and terminology of astronomy, and specific advice about choosing, buying, using, and maintaining the equipment required for observing. The Illustrated Guide to Astronomical Wonders is designed to be used in the field under the special red-colored lighting used by astronomers, and includes recommended observing targets for beginners and intermediate observers alike. You get detailed start charts and specific information about the best celestial objects. The objects in this book were chosen to help you meet the requirements for several lists of objects compiled by The Astronomical League (http://www.astroleague.org) or the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada (http://www.rasc.ca): Messier Club. Binocular Messier ClubUrban Observing ClubDeep Sky Binocular ClubDouble Star ClubRASC Finest NGC List Completing the list for a particular observing club entitles anyone who is a member of the Astronomical League or RASC to an award, which includes a certificate and, in some cases, a lapel pin. This book is perfect for amateur astronomers, students, teachers, or anyone who is ready to dive into this rewarding hobby. Who knows? You might even find a new object, like amateur astronomer Jay McNeil. On a clear cold night in January 2004, he spotted a previously undiscovered celestial object near Orion, now called McNeil's Nebula. Discover what awaits you in the night sky with the Illustrated Guide to Astronomical Wonders.


Diffeological spaces are generalizations of smooth manifolds. In this paper, we study the homotopy theory of diffeological spaces. We begin by proving basic properties of the smooth homotopy groups that we will need later. Then we introduce the smooth singular simplicial set S(X) associated to a diffeological space X, and show that when S(X) is fibrant, it captures smooth homotopical properties of X. Motivated by this, we define X to be fibrant when S(X) is, and more generally define cofibrations, fibrations and weak equivalences in the category of diffeological spaces using the smooth singular functor. We conjecture that these form a model structure, but in this paper we assume little prior knowledge of model categories, and instead focus on concrete questions about smooth manifolds and diffeological spaces. We prove that our setup generalizes the naive smooth homotopy theory of smooth manifolds by showing that a smooth manifold without boundary is fibrant and that for fibrant diffeological spaces, the weak equivalences can be detected using ordinary smooth homotopy groups. We also show that our definition of fibrations generalizes Iglesias-Zemmour's theory of diffeological bundles. We prove enough of the model category axioms to show that every diffeological space has a functorial cofibrant replacement. We give many explicit examples of objects that are cofibrant, not cofibrant, fibrant and not fibrant, as well as many other examples showing the richness of the theory. For example, we show that both the free and based loop spaces of a smooth manifold are fibrant. One of the implicit points of this paper is that the language of model categories is an effective way to organize homotopical thinking, even when it is not known that all of the model category axioms are satisfied.


Background: Prevalence of visual impairment is increasing all around the world and this impairment makes the medication management process more complicated. According to literature, Technology, particularly mobile technology has a significant impact on both medication adherence and improving quality of life for people with visual impairment. Due to aforementioned facts, the researchers decided to identify the user's goals for a mHealth-based medication management system for visually impaired individuals to help the developers to design and develop a medication management system for visually impaired individuals considering to improve their medication adherence and also preserve their independence.
Methods: A goal directed approach, introduced by Cooper, has been used in order to extract the goals of visually impaired users who would employ a medication management system. One the most important concepts of this method are designing personas. The needed data for designing personas were extracted from two literature reviews and interviews with 14 visually impaired individuals and three experts of this area. Therefore the personas' different goals were defined.
Results: As the results of this study, three personas were designed according to the extracted data and three categories of user goals including experience goals, end goals and life goals were determined for this system.
Conclusion: This study could help the researchers and developers to design and develop an appropriate digital product for people with visual impairment, in order to increase their medication adherence. In addition, the findings of this study could help the policy makers of different areas to increase the quality of life for the people with visual impairment by eliminating the barriers of independent and effective medication adherence.


Abstract Oxide dispersion strengthened (ODS) steel cladding on mixed-oxide fuel pins offers high-temperature strength and creep rupture resistance properties for a long-life fast reactor. The fabrication and irradiation of the large diameter ODS steel cladding with high-density mixed-oxide pellets were performed at the Argonne National Laboratory Experimental Breeder Reactor II. Two developmental ODS alloys and two fuel-pin designs were used in this study. The tests were continually monitored during irradiation followed by nondestructive and destructive examinations. Both designs were successful and demonstrated the potential of ODS steel as a cladding material.


This paper describes a goal-based architecture which provides a single source for all high level decisions made by AI players in real-time strategy games. The architecture is easily extensible, flexible enough to be rapidly adapted to multiple different games, and powerful enough to provide a good challenge on a random, unexplored map without unfair advantages or visible cheating. This framework was applied successfully in the development of two games at TimeGate Studios — Kohan2: Kings of War and Axis and Allies.


BACKGROUND
Teenagers have often been asked for their opinions about health services. However, relatively few studies have involved quantitative and qualitative methods of assessing them. Furthermore, there have been no United Kingdom studies of providers' views on the health of teenagers or of providers' opinions about their role in teenage health.

AIM
To determine how teenagers view primary care, to discover how primary care providers view teenage patients, and to note any differences in opinions between the two groups.

DESIGN OF STUDY
Questionnaire survey, focus group discussions, and semi-structured interviews.

SETTING
Two thousand two hundred and sixty-five teenage patients, 16 general practitioners (GPs), 12 practice nurses, and 12 general practice receptionists in South Wales valley communities.

METHOD
Selected practices provided age-sex registers of patients aged between 14 and 18 years and questionnaires were sent to these patients. Focus groups were assembled from those teenagers who had completed and returned the questionnaire. Semi-structured interviews between one member of the study team and GP surgery staff, chosen randomly from staff lists in the selected surgeries.

RESULTS
The teenagers reported a lack of knowledge of services available from primary care, a feeling of a lack of respect for teenage health concerns, poor communication skills in GPs, and a poor understanding of confidentiality issues. The providers did not always share these concerns and they also had differing views on communication and confidentiality issues.

CONCLUSION
The data demonstrated important findings about how teenagers would like primary care services to be improved. There was an apparent gulf between teenagers' own opinions about health care and the opinions held by primary care providers.


Background Encouraging children and young people (CYP) with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases (RMDs) and their families to adopt self-management behaviours from the point of diagnosis is likely to positively influence the long-term health and wellbeing of CYP. However, there is limited evidence of such interventions targeted at CYP and families. Objectives Therefore, the aim of this study was to identify What works, for whom, in what circumstances, and why. Methods The study was based on the logic of realist evaluation and the Individual and Family Self-Management Theory. Realist evaluation is a recognised model of theory-driven evaluation which enables an in-depth appreciation of how complex health interventions may or may not work in real-world settings. In this study, a realist evaluation was undertaken using qualitative research methods to explore and refine theories regarding self- and shared-management interventions. The realist evaluation began with a set of initial programme theories, which were initially tested through interviews with one group of stakeholders involved in providing self- and shared-management support. Interviews were transcribed intelligent verbatim and data were analysed in NVivo using a realist logic of analysis to identify contextual influencers, interventions mechanisms and outcomes. Results In order to refine and consolidate theories about the self- and shared-management of RMDs by CYP and their families, theory was gleaned from patient organisation representatives with experience of supporting CYP and families. Contextual influencers discussed included the characteristics of: i) individual CYP living with RMDs; ii) the family dynamic; iii) peer and social interaction among both CYP and families; iv) the educational environment; and v) Organisational processes and structures. Patient organisation representatives highlighted the family dynamic and navigating organisation processes and structures as key influencers on CYPs willingness and ability to begin their self-management journey in an age- and developmentally-appropriate manner. Conclusion Concepts gleaned during the first phase of the study, particularly around the influence of family dynamic, will be further tested, refined, and consolidated with other groups of stakeholders, including: CYP with RMDs; families; healthcare professionals from the paediatric rheumatology multi-disciplinary team; school staff; and patient organisation representatives. In time, it is anticipated that the findings will form a programme specification detailing what works, for whom, in what circumstances, and why with regards to the self- and shared-management of paediatric-onset RMDs. References [1] Pawson, R. & Tilley, N. (1997). Realistic Evaluation. London: Sage. Acknowledgement This work is supported by a University of Leeds School of Healthcare studentship. Disclosure of Interests Simon Stones Consultant for: SS has provided consultancy services to Envision Pharma Group, though this is not related to the contents of this abstract., Speakers bureau: SS has undertaken speaking engagements for Actelion, eyeforpharma, Four Health, Janssen and Roche, though these are not related to the contents of this abstract.


The involvement of immune mechanisms in the etiology of pre-eclampsia has been suggested in a number of publications. Basically, a state of tolerance to the half-foreign antigens of the fetus during normal pregnancy is widely accepted to explain the success of pregnancy and non-rejection. In pre-eclampsia, this immunological tolerance might not occur. Free HLA molecules or the so called soluble HLA (sHLA) molecules are known to have an immunomodulatory function. As sHLA antigens are present in the seminal plasma, they might cause tolerance in the mother to paternal antigens. In order to test this hypothesis, we used western blotting technique to qualitatively investigate whether sHLA class I and/or sHLA-II antigens are present in seminal plasma(sp) of husbands of pre-eclamptic women and compared the results with those from a matching group of husbands of wives with normal pregnancy. We also measured the levels of sHLA class I and sHLA class II molecules in sp from husbands of pre-eclamptic and normal pregnant controls by ELISA. sHLA class I and sHLA class II were detected in all pre-eclamptic and control groups. However, the levels of sHLA class I and sHLA class II were significantly lower in seminal plasma of husbands of preeclamptic women as compared to those of normal pregnancy control group.


Abstract: Projection is a type of language phenomenon that does not function as a direct representation of non-linguistic experience but as representation of a linguistic representation. Projection consists of projecting source, projecting words, and the projected clause and the projecting words include projecting verbs, projecting nouns, projecting prepositions and projecting adjuncts, among which projecting verbs are used the most frequently. According to Chinese scholar Zenglei, we can not only judge whether the projection is about mental process or is about verbal process but also know author's attitude or interpersonal meaning conveyed by the author from projecting verbs. Therefore, this study investigates on projecting verbs from interpersonal perspective of systematic-functional grammar and makes a comparative study of them between news discourse and short novels in order to find out whether different genre will influence the application of projection verbs and to offer reasons for it.


Although, the distinction between the land cover classes was increased in large feature space of remote sensing images, but the low number of training data prevent this. In order to solve this problem, ensemble classification methods can be used instead of individual classifiers. In this paper, a new method for ensemble support vector machine was proposed called "Support Vector Random Machines (SVRMs(". In proposed method, bootstrap was produced using modification of training data and feature space. Simultaneous boosting SVM was used for basic classifiers. Then, classification map was resulted using SVM fusion of basic classifier. Hyperspectral and Polarimetric SAR data was chosen for evaluation performance of the SVRMs. Experiments were evaluated from three different points of view: First, evaluation against other ensemble SVM methods; second, evaluation against various feature selection methods in classification and third, evaluation against the various basic and new classification methods. As the results, proposed method is 16% better than the individual SVM classifier in hyperspectral data and this is 10% in PolSAR data. Also, the classification results of SVRMs in various classes compared to other SVM ensemble method were improved. The results reported from the proposed method compared to the other feature selection method (Genetic Algorithm) has the effectual performance in classification. The results show that the proposed method presents a better performance compared to the basic classification methods (maximum likelihood and wishart) and advanced classification (random forest and neural network).


Rotationally symmetric objects commonly occur at archaeological finds. Instead of creating 2D images for documentation purposes by manual drawing or photographic methods, we propose a method based on digitally colored surface models that are acquired by 3D scanners, thereby including color information. We then transform these highly-detailed meshes using simple geometrical objects such as cones and spheres and unwrap the objects onto a plane. Our method can handle curved vessel profiles by dividing the surface into multiple segments and approximating each segment with a cone frustum that serves as an auxiliary surface. In order to minimize distortions, we introduce a simple quality measure based on distances of points to a fitted cone. We then extend our method to approximately spherical objects by fitting a sphere on the surface of the object and applying a map projection, namely the equirectangular projection known from cartography. Our implementation generates true-to-scale images from triangular meshes. Exemplary results demonstrate our methods on real objects, ranging from small and medium-sized objects such as clay cones from the Ancient Orient and figural friezes of Greek vessels to extremely large objects such as the remains of a cylindrical tower of Heidelberg Castle.


Substructural logics remove from classical logic rules for reordering, duplication, or dropping of assumptions. Because propositions in such a logic may no longer be freely copied or ignored, this suggests understanding propositions in substructural logics as representing resources rather than truth. For the programming language designer, substructural logics thus provide a framework for considering type systems that can track the changing states of logical and physical resources.
While several substructural type systems have been proposed and implemented, many of these have targeted substructural types at a particular purpose, rather than offering them as a general facility. The more general substructural type systems have been theoretical in nature and too unwieldy for practical use. This dissertation presents the design of a general purpose language with substructural types, and discusses several language design problems that had to be solved in order to make substructural types useful in practice.


EFFECT OF PLANT GROWTH REGULATORS ON SEED TUBER YIELD IN POTATOES Manjula S. Bandara, Karen K. Tanino and Doug R. Waterer Dept. of Horticulture Science, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, S7N 5A8, Canada. Seed potato growers seek to maximize the number of desirable sized tubers. This study examined how foliar application of plant growth regulators (PGRs) influence total tuber number (TTN) and drop (25 -50 mm) seed tuber number (STN) in Norland (NOR), Russet Burbank (RB) and Shepody (SH) potatoes under field conditions in 1993 and 1994. In 1993, PGRs, paclobutrazol (PTZ; 300, 450, 600 mg/L), kinetin (KIN; 10 and 20 mg/L), all possible combinations of the above rates of PTZ and KIN and Methyl jasmonate (MJ; 10m7, 106, 10m5 and 104 M) were applied to NOR and RB potatoes. In 1994, PTZ (300 mg/L), both KIN rates, and the two lowest rates of MJ were eliminated and KIN 20 mg/L or GA3 250 mg/L were applied to some of the PTZ treatments. The potato cultivar, SH was also included. Plants were treated with the PGRs at two growth stages; NOR (1993), RB (1993 and 1994) SH (1994) were treated when tubers were <10 mm or <20 mm in diameter). NOR potatoes (1994) were treated at stolon initiation (no tubers) or early tuber initiation (<8 mm in diameter). PTZ increased STN in RB by 29 to 40% and in SH by 57 to 70 % over the controls. However, PTZ had no effect on TTN and STN in NOR in either year. MJ had no effect on STN in NOR (1993), in RB in either year or in SH in 1994. In 1994, the highest rate of MJ increased STN in NOR by 40% over the control. Application of KIN alone, in combination with PTZ or following PTZ treatment and GA3 to PTZ treated plants had no beneficial effect on either TTN or STN of all three cultivars, compare to the PTZ treatments applied alone. This study suggests that under field conditions PTZ can be used to increase seed tuber production in RB and SH while MJ appears to be effective in NOR potatoes.


Abstract Chaining and prescribed fire treatments have been widely applied throughout pinyon–juniper woodlands of the western United States in an effort to reduce tree cover and stimulate understory growth. Our objective was to quantify effects of treatment on woodland recovery rate and structure and the relative dominance of the two major tree species in our Great Basin study area, singleleaf pinyon (Pinus monophylla Torr. & Frém.) and Utah juniper (Juniperus osteosperma [Torr.] Little). We resampled plots after a 40-yr interval to evaluate species-specific differences in tree survivorship and establishment from posttreatment age structures. Tree age data were collected in 2008 within four chained sites in eastern Nevada, treated in 1958, 1962, 1968, and 1969 and originally sampled in 1971. The same data were collected at five prescribed burn sites treated in 1975 and originally sampled in 1976. All chained sites had greater juniper survival than pinyon survival immediately following treatment. Chained sites with higher tree survival also had the greatest amount of new tree establishment. During the interval between treatment and the 2008 sampling, approximately four more trees per hectare per year established following chaining than following fire. Postfire tree establishment only occurred for the initial 15 yr and was dominated by juniper. Establishment after chaining was dominated by juniper for the first 15 yr but by pinyon for 15–40 yr following treatment. Results support an earlier successional role for juniper than for pinyon, which is more dependent upon favorable microsites and facilitation from nurse shrubs. Repeated chaining at short intervals, or prescribed burning at infrequent intervals, will likely favor juniper dominance. Chaining at infrequent intervals (> 20–40 yr) will likely result in regained dominance of pinyon. Chaining treatments can be rapidly recolonized by trees and have the potential to create or amplify landscape-level shifts in tree species composition.


A novel molecular imprinted sensor based on CdTe@SiO2 quantum dots (QDs) was developed for norepinephrine (NE) recognition. The molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) on the surface of CdTe@SiO2 QDs (CdTe@SiO2@MIP) was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy and fluorescence spectroscopy. The synthesized nanosensor had a distinguished selectivity and high binding affinity to NE. Under optimal conditions, the relative fluorescence intensity of CdTe@SiO2@MIP linearly decreased with increase of the concentration of NE in the range of 0.04-10 μM. The limit of detection was 8 nM (3σ/K). The proposed method was applied to the analysis of NE in rat plasma, and the result obtained by the method was in good agreement with that assayed by the fluorescence derivatization method. The method developed is simple, fast, and can be applied to the determination of NE in biological samples.


PARALOG-SPECIFIC GENE COPY NUMBER DISCOVERY WITHIN SEGMENTAL DUPLICATIONS Emre Doğru M.S. in Computer Engineering Advisor: Can Alkan September 2019 With the advancing technology in genome sequencing and analysis, it has become evident that the structural variations are the main source of alteration in human genome. Despite their significance in understanding disease susceptibility, there is no algorithm yet to find all types and sizes of structural variations at once. Structural variation discovery remained problematic since they often overlap with the segmental duplications, nearly identical segments of DNA that appear more than once in the genome. Researchers often excluded these regions that made up ∼5% of the genome because of the complexity it brings to their studies. Only few of them are working in these regions, however, they require a special sequence alignment file where reads are mapped to multiple locations. Here, we present ParaCoND to discover paralog specific gene copy number within segmental duplications using a sequence alignment file with unique mapping. We utilize the singly unique nucleotides (SUN) that distinguish paralogs from each other in the sequence alignment of the duplicated regions. Our method is based on read depth and is limited to detect only duplications and deletions. We computed the absolute copy numbers of genes using only read depth of SUN. Furthermore, we also computed the paralog specific absolute copy numbers for genes residing in the same segmental duplication.


While stereo matching was originally formulated as the recovery of 3D shape from a pair of images, it is now generally recognized that using more than two images can dramatically improve the quality of the reconstruction. Unfortunately, as more images are added, the prevalence of semi-occluded regions (pixels visible in some but not all images) also increases. We propose some novel techniques to deal with this problem. Our first idea is to use a combination of shiftable windows and a dynamically selected subset of the neighboring images to do the matches. Our second idea is to explicitly label occluded pixels within a global energy minimization framework, and to reason about visibility within this framework so that only truly visible pixels are matched. Experimental results show a dramatic improvement using the first idea over conventional multibaseline stereo, especially when used in conjunction with a global energy minimization technique. These results also show that explicit occlusion labeling and visibility reasoning do help, but not significantly, if the spatial and temporal selection is applied first.


A regional 3-dimensional ecosystem model is presented designed to simulate the nutrient and oxygen dynamics in the Benguela upwelling system. Strong upwelling driven by the southern trade winds supply cold, nutrient rich water. This supports a high primary production and results in a large flux of sinking detritus. Hence, a thick organic-rich mud belt is characteristic for the Namibian continental shelf. Both biological and hydrodynamic processes contribute to the very specific geochemistry on the Namibian shelf. Notably high rates of sulfate reduction in the sediment generate high concentrations of dissolved hydrogen sulfide in the surface sediment layers and may be released intermittently to the water column. Large chemoautotrophic sulfur bacteria thrive on hydrogen sulfide and form conspicuous mats on the sediment. Denitrification and nitrification are important components of the nitrogen cycle and anaerobic ammonium oxidation is known to play a significant role as a nitrogen sink in the Benguela upwelling system. Organisms at higher trophic levels like zooplankton play an important role for mineralisation but also for the vertical and lateral transport of organic matter. The physical model component is MOM-4 (Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, GFDL). The ecosystem model is a NPZDmodel (Nutrients-Phytoplankton-Zooplankton-Detritus) and is an extension of the ecosystem model ERGOM (Fennel & Neumann, 2004). Three phytoplankton and three zooplankton functional types are distinguished. All ecologically relevant processes mediated by prokaryotes in this ecosystem are implemented and the environmental conditions (e.g. oxygen concentration, temperature etc.) define the metabolic rates. The regional ecosystem model is tailored to the specific oxygen and sulfur dynamics on the shelf and simulates both processes in the water column and in the sediment. This model has been developed within the GENUS-project (Geochemistry and Ecology of the Namibian Upwelling System) funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF, reference number 03F0497A). It is an endorsed project of the Integrated Marine Biogeochemistry and Ecosystem Research (IMBER).


In this article, the authors construct a story of one woman's (Justine's) experience of learning to run within the context of a beginners group. Building on existing scholarship on narrative, aging, and physical activity, this work is part of a larger ethnographic project examining subjective accounts of the physically active aging body across the life course. Concerned with often simplistically linear problems of representation, the authors present a messy text that represents the complex and fluid nature of Justine's embodied tale. The aim is to show the intersection of biographical (storied) identity with health behavior choices and to interrogate the process of challenging narrative foreclosure. By using the emerging genre of messy text as a creative analytic practice, the authors avoid prompting a single, closed, convergent reading of Justine's story. Instead, they provoke interpretation within the reader as witness and expand the ways in which research on aging and physical activity has been represented.


Background Aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) is considered a major cause of morbidity and mortality. It accounts for about 85% of spontaneous SAH. Cerebral vasospasm is a devastating complication of aSAH. Aim The aim of this study was to evaluate the probable etiological determinant, the outcome of aSAH, and the role of inflammatory markers in predicting cerebral vasospasm post-SAH. Patients and methods A prospective cohort study was conducted on aSAH patients who attended the Emergency Unit, Outpatient Clinics of Neurosurgery Department, and the ICU in Nasser Institute of Research and Treatment during the period between July 2014 and September 2016. Inflammatory marker samples were collected on days 0, 1, 3, 7, and 9. Patients were divided into two groups: (i) group A, which included patients with cerebral vasospasm (n=35) and (ii) group B, which included patients without cerebral vasospasm (n=25). Results A total of 60 patients were enrolled. The mean age was highly significant between both groups (51.31±10.46 years in group A vs. 43.12±8.77 years in group B, P=0.002). The overall mortality was 18 patients, all of which in group A (P<0.001). The univariate analysis showed that C-reactive protein, total leukocytic count, and interleukin-6 had a significant statistical difference between both groups throughout the follow-up period (P<0.05). The optimal cutoff points as cerebral vasospasm indicator in days 0, 1, 3, 7, 9 were (i) 2.7, 4.6, 6.35, 7.45, and 3.8 mg/l for C-reactive protein; (ii) 9.79×109/l, 13.45×109/l, 9.75×109/l, 11.09×109/l, and 12.65×109/l for total leukocytic count; and (iii) 3.15, 3.95, 3.75, 5.1, and 5 pg/ml for interleukin-6, respectively. Conclusion A strong correlation exists between inflammation, cerebral vasospasm, and poor survival outcomes among patients presenting with aSAH. Inflammation and inflammatory markers are dependent risk factors for mortality after cerebral vasospasm.


Aim: The aim of the study is to investigate the influence of temperature rise on a single rooted tooth during biomechanical tooth preparation, obturation and root canal preparation for radicular post. Materials and Methods: Forty-five extracted human mandibular premolars with a single canal, extracted for orthodontic reasons, were stored in saline. Access cavity was prepared with endo access bur and pulp extirpations were done. The teeth were randomly divided into five groups of 9 teeth each. In group 1 and group 2 cleaning and shaping of the root canal was done using protaper file system and Hyflex system respectively. In group 3 and 4 obturation was done using Step-One obturation system and Calamus Dual respectively. In group 5 post space preparation was done using peeso reamers. Each sample tooth was embedded in alginate contained in Eppendorf tube. Tooth was placed in water bath with the two thermocouples attached at the apical and middle third which was in turn attached to thermometer. The rise in temperature was noted at the desired level and statistical analysis was done. Results and Conclusion: The mean temperature rise at the middle third for group 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 was 0.4°C, 0.15°C, 1.80°C,10.33°C, 9.46°C respectively. The mean temperature rise at the apical third for group 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 was 0.08°C, 0.08°C, 1.20°C, 6.91°C, 6.4°C respectively. ANOVA showed significant difference in mean temperatures of different methods. post hoc test comparison using Duncan′s test revealed maximum rise in temperature during obturation using Calamus dual (Group 4).


One primary focus in multimodal feature extraction is to find the representations of individual modalities that are maximally correlated. As a well-known measure of dependence, the Hirschfeld-Gebelein-Rényi (HGR) maximal correlation be-´ comes an appealing objective because of its operational meaning and desirable properties. However, the strict whitening constraints formalized in the HGR maximal correlation limit its application. To address this problem, this paper proposes Soft-HGR, a novel framework to extract informative features from multiple data modalities. Specifically, our framework prevents the "hard" whitening constraints, while simultaneously preserving the same feature geometry as in the HGR maximal correlation. The objective of Soft-HGR is straightforward, only involving two inner products, which guarantees the efficiency and stability in optimization. We further generalize the framework to handle more than two modalities and missing modalities. When labels are partially available, we enhance the discriminative power of the feature representations by making a semi-supervised adaptation. Empirical evaluation implies that our approach learns more informative feature mappings and is more efficient to optimize.


The backpropagation algorithm has experienced remarkable success in training large-scale artificial neural networks; however, its biological plausibility has been strongly criticized, and it remains an open question whether the brain employs supervised learning mechanisms akin to it. Here, we propose correlative information maximization between layer activations as an alternative normative approach to describe the signal propagation in biological neural networks in both forward and backward directions. This new framework addresses many concerns about the biological-plausibility of conventional artificial neural networks and the backpropagation algorithm. The coordinate descent-based optimization of the corresponding objective, combined with the mean square error loss function for fitting labeled supervision data, gives rise to a neural network structure that emulates a more biologically realistic network of multi-compartment pyramidal neurons with dendritic processing and lateral inhibitory neurons. Furthermore, our approach provides a natural resolution to the weight symmetry problem between forward and backward signal propagation paths, a significant critique against the plausibility of the conventional backpropagation algorithm. This is achieved by leveraging two alternative, yet equivalent forms of the correlative mutual information objective. These alternatives intrinsically lead to forward and backward prediction networks without weight symmetry issues, providing a compelling solution to this long-standing challenge.


In this paper, we set up the fundamentals overview of protocols, its architecture, its application and related requirements, its challenges and its solutions. Mobile Ad-hoc Network is vibrant and dynamic network occupied by mobile station. The stations are typically laptops, PDAs and mobile phones. These devices characteristics bluetooth and Wi-Fi Network crossing points and commune in a distributed way. Mobility is a main characteristic Of MOBILE AD-HOC Networks. This paper gives explanation about the Overview and main characteristics of Mobile Ad-hoc Network signifying the pros and corns of the Mobile Ad-hoc Network.


This thesis is first and foremost about oppression - the oppression experienced in our society by those with particular impairments. It is also about technology - the new information and communication systems which have increasing primacy in today's world. Specifically it is about the ways in which the communication systems of a
disablist society hold both opportunities and threats for disabled people and their organisations in the twenty first century, perhaps changing the boundaries of the
disabled category. In drawing on literature from both the sociology of technology and disability studies, it contributes to two bodies of academic work. It is intended as a welcome palliative to the growing tendency towards speculative futurology that characterises both disciplines, since it places an empirical study at centre stage. It is
unusual in that its main emphasis is on domestic usage of communication systems, not on their use in employment. The research participants were largely unwaged people, many of them in older age groups. The study gave participants the
opportunity to describe their experiences and opinions of technological developments in the last throes of the twentieth century. Access to communications systems
emerged as a major issue, with disabled people facing a variety of barriers to their beneficial use of technology. Concerns were voiced however about the provision of
such systems constituting little more than a 'technical fix', cutting welfare costs,enforcing further segregation and distracting attention from the real source of
disabled people's oppression. These findings highlight the increasing importance of more radical social transformation. The opportunities and threats presented by the utilisation of communication systems are examined through an analysis of their usevalue - how they allow or disallow the satisfaction of basic unmet needs. In
conclusion, various recommendations are proposed which will go some way towards making technology more accessible and appropriate for disabled people. It is however acknowledged that this will merely treat a symptom of their oppression, not eradicate the cause.


This article endeavours to visualise the thoughts of children about a specially selectedsubject, namely the environment. The aim is to make this thinking visible and to interpretthe meaning of these thoughts. The theoretical starting points for the study are to befound within the phenomenology of the lifeworld. The study is based on empirical materialconsisting of interviews with sixteen children, and the interviews were carried out ontwo occasions with all sixteen persons. During the interview analysis eight themesemerged consisting of thoughts which focus on the following perspectives: pragmaticperspectives, teaching-and-learning perspectives, responsibility perspectives, emotionalperspectives, future and visionary perspectives, philosophical perspectives, aestheticperspectives and romantic perspectives. The thoughts about the environment, whichhave emerged in this study have many nuances and are multi-faceted. If these thoughts are to be taken seriously, it is necessary in the teaching situation to take the thinking ofyoung citizens into account.


This paper focuses on the combined effects of loss factors and zonal pricing in a system that takes as a starting point the procedures of transmission pricing in the Norwegian power system. It interprets the notion of loss factors in an AC power flow model, and develops a method for finding zonal prices consistent with a restricted AC optimal power flow. The effects of decomposing the nodal prices to find a loss factor to cover the marginal cost of losses, and letting the congestion management be resolved by zonal prices based on a DC approximation of the flows, are evaluated by comparing the resulting net prices to those of an optimal AC power flow (ACOPF).


Sponges are abundant and species-rich in Antarctic waters, and play important roles in the benthic ecosystems of the continent. The taxonomy of Antarctic sponges is, to some extent, well established, yet the phylogenetic relationships of this fauna remain unknown. Here, the first contributions to the knowledge of the evolution of Antarctic sponges are presented. A molecular phylogeny for the common Antarctic shelf glass sponge genus Rossella is provided. Based on nuclear and mitochondrial markers, it is shown that many of the species described for the genus, which usually are morphologically poorly defined and difficult to differentiate, likely, represent a single species (Rossella racovitzae) or a species complex.

The deep Southern Ocean has yielded numerous, most likely new, species of the demosponge Familiy Cladorhizidae. Cladohizidae groups sponges largely known by their carnivorous habit, which is usually accompanied by the lack, or strong modification, of the sponge aquiferous system and by a distinct stipitate body shape. Cladorhizids are also important for the broader understanding of the phylogenetic relationships of the Order Poecilosclerida. In this study, the debated phylogenetic position of the genus Abyssocladia is clarified using recent collections of cladorhizid sponges and a (remarkable) new species of the genus Phelloderma (Phellodermidae) from the Southern Ocean, and partial sequences of the (nuclear) 28S rDNA and of the (mitochondrial) COI. The results show that Abyssocladia is a cladorhizid sponge and that Cladorhizidae is monophyletic, the consequences of these results for the prevalent interpretation of the evolution of poecilosclerid sponges are also discussed.

The diversity of Antarctic sponges occurring on the shelf has been compared to that of tropical and subtropical ecosystems. Less is known about the sponge communities inhabiting the deeper waters of the Southern Ocean. The lack of information on deep benthic habitats, mainly due to the fact that sampling remote ecosystem such as Antarctica or the deep sea is expensive and technically difficult, hampers the determination of the number of species that inhabit the vast area of the deep Southern Ocean. In this work, estimation methods are used to predict lower bounds for the number of deep sea sponge species occurring in the Weddell Sea, Western Antarctica, and to show that the deep sea can be as rich as the shelf and that the total number of sponge species in Antarctica could be more than previously considered.

Finally, a middle throughput DNA barcoding workflow for processing sponges was established and the performance of this analytical pipeline was analyzed based on a large collection (∼8300 specimens) of sponges from Australia avail- able for DNA barcoding. The barcoding workflow was also used to provide a comprehensive DNA-barcode database for the Ross Sea comprising ∼50 species of demosponges and covering ∼80% of the sponge species characteristic for this area. The generated barcode database was used to provide evidence for a long history of in situ evolution in Antarctic sponges, which is congruent with previous biogeographic hypotheses suggesting an ancient origin for Antarctic sponges.


A patient, nowadays, acquires health information from the Web mainly through a "human-to-machine"
communication process with a generic search engine. This, in turn, affects, positively or negatively, his/her
empowerment level and the "human-to-human" communication process that occurs between a patient and a
healthcare professional such as a doctor. A generic communication process can be modelled by considering
its syntactic-technical, semantic-meaning, and pragmatic-effectiveness levels and an efficacious
communication occurs when all the communication levels are fully addressed. In the case of retrieval of health
information from the Web, although a generic search engine is able to work at the syntactic-technical level,
the semantic and pragmatic aspects are left to the user and this can be challenging, especially for elderly
people. This work presents a custom search engine, FACILE, that works at the three communication levels
and allows to overcome the challenges confronted during the search process. A patient can specify his/her
information requirements in a simple way and FACILE will retrieve the "right" amount of Web content in a
language that he/she can easily understand. This facilitates the comprehension of the found information and
positively affects the empowerment process and communication with healthcare professionals.


With the rapid increase of monitoring devices and controllable facilities in the demand side of electricity networks, more solid information and communication technology (ICT) resources are required to support the development of demand side management (DSM). Different from traditional computation in power systems which customizes ICT resources for mapping applications separately, DSM especially asks for scalability and economic efficiency, because there are more and more stakeholders participating in the computation process. This paper proposes a novel cost-oriented optimization model for a cloud-based ICT infrastructure to allocate cloud computing resources in a flexible and cost-efficient way. Uncertain factors including imprecise computation load prediction and unavailability of computing instances can also be considered in the proposed model. A modified priority list algorithm is specially developed in order to efficiently solve the proposed optimization model and compared with the mature simulating annealing based algorithm. Comprehensive numerical studies are fulfilled to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed cost-oriented model on reducing the operation cost of cloud platform in DSM.


This
article describes the optical properties of nanostructures composed of silver
particles embedded into a gold matrix. In previous studies these materials were
shown to exhibit temperature dependent transitions to a highly conductive and
strongly diamagnetic state. Here we describe the anomalous optical properties
of these nanostructures. Most notably, these materials fail to obey Mie theory
and exhibit an unconventional resonance with a maximum at about 4 eV, while the
usual gold and silver localized surface plasmon resonances are suppressed. This
effect implies a significant deviation from the bulk dielectric functions of gold
and silver. We further resolved this resonance into its absorbance and
scattering sub-parts. It is observed that the resonance is largely comprised of
scattering, with negligible losses even at ultraviolet frequencies.


The recent surge of intelligent personal assistants motivates spoken language understanding of dialogue systems. However, the domain constraint along with the inflexible intent schema remains a big issue. This paper focuses on the task of intent expansion, which helps remove the domain limit and make an intent schema flexible. A con-volutional deep structured semantic model (CDSSM) is applied to jointly learn the representations for human intents and associated utterances. Then it can flexibly generate new intent embeddings without the need of training samples and model-retraining, which bridges the semantic relation between seen and unseen intents and further performs more robust results. Experiments show that CDSSM is capable of performing zero-shot learning effectively, e.g. generating embeddings of previously unseen intents, and therefore expand to new intents without re-training, and outperforms other semantic embeddings. The discussion and analysis of experiments provide a future direction for reducing human effort about annotating data and removing the domain constraint in spoken dialogue systems.


This paper examines the role of institutions in the development process of African countries. It has been shown that, whereas institutions have played a greater role in the economic development of several East Asian countries, in Africa they are weaker and ineffective because of poor enforcement of the rule of law, corruption, mismanagement, absence of strong civil society and political interference. It is argued that well‐functioning institutions can promote growth and reduce poverty in Africa by providing a conducive environment for implementation and sustainable development programmes. Therefore, African countries should endeavor to establish effective, responsive and democratic institutions that will promote accountable and transparent governance and sustainable socioeconomic development.


Congress enacted the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) in 1977. It has since become an important factor in American firms decision-making in acquiring foreign targets, but its economic impact has gone largely unexamined. I analyze the influence of the risk of an enforcement action under the FCPA on the prices of cross-border mergers and acquisitions (CBMA). In a sample of 13,002 CBMA deals by American acquirers from 1996-2010, I find statistically significant results, suggesting that firms pay on average 3.9 – 5.1% less to acquire targets in countries with higher risk of attention from the FCPA.


As Clausewitz wrote in On War: "the events of every age must be judged in the light of its own peculiarities." In Colombia, we were in a battle against an enemy that we could not see; an enemy we had to learn to know. I believe those wars—the ones we do not see, the ones we are not prepared for—are the worst wars. The Colombian war is complex with many dimensions which are invisible to those whom have not been fighting in its midst. I would like to share my thoughts on the hidden peculiarities of our war.  The Colombian military is currently suffering the moral and psychological effects of what we know as judicial and judiciary warfare, two sub-categories of political warfare imposed on us by the Marxist insurgents.


This report covers two ringing years, 1st July 1972 to 30th June 1974; no report was prepared for the 1972-73year because the number of recoveries awaiting publication at that time was very small. A number of changes have been incorporated in the present report and deserve some explanation. Only Palaearctic species are given in Table 1: in previous years Table 1 was becoming rather long and was beginning to resemble a check-list of East African birds; in the interests of economy, Ethiopian Region species are now omitted. A summary of Ethiopian species ringed is given in Table 2. Table 4 is new and it is hoped will prove useful. It summarises all recoveries received by 18th September 1974 and, for each species, the total number ringed and recovered is given. An examination of the figures in this table will show the almost incredible good fortune East African ringers have had with recoveries to Eurasia, bearing in mind the comparatively small numbers ringed here. The table, and Table 1, will also show that some species, although ringed in fair numbers, have yet to provide a recovery: why should the 1079 Reed Warblers Acrocephalus scirpaceus have resulted in two recoveries while the 2224 of the similar Marsh Warbler A. palustris have given none? This example is the more surprising since a proportion of the Marsh Warblers must come from Europe where the chances of recovery are greater than in Asia, whereas the East African Reed Warblers are almost certainly all Asian in origin. (The European population of the Marsh Warbler winters in eastern Africa and a Czechoslovakian-ringed Marsh Warbler was controlled in Nairobi in 1971).


The punched card tabulating and sorting equipment generally used in statistical and accounting work has been applied to the analysis of complex spectra into term values. The wave numbers of the lines are punched on the special cards provided for use with the machines. The method enables one either to determine wave number differences which frequently occur or to isolate those line pairs showing a given frequency difference. The advantages of the method include high speed, accuracy as high as desired without checking with an adding machine, and the fact that only one simple modification is needed of standard equipment that is available almost everywhere.


Background Acrocallosal syndrome (ACLS) is a rare recessive disorder characterised by corpus callosum agenesis or hypoplasia, craniofacial dysmorphism, duplication of the hallux, postaxial polydactyly, and severe mental retardation. Recently, we identified mutations in KIF7, a key component of the Sonic hedgehog pathway, as being responsible for this syndrome. Methods We sequenced KIF7 in five suspected ACLS cases, one fetus and four patients, based on facial dysmorphism and brain anomalies. Results Seven mutations were identified at the KIF7 locus in these five cases, six of which are novel. We describe the first four compound heterozygous cases. In all patients, the diagnosis was suspected based on the craniofacial features, despite the absence of corpus callosum anomaly in one and of polydactyly in another. Hallux duplication was absent in 4/5 cases. Conclusions These results show that ACLS has a variable expressivity and can be diagnosed even in the absence of the two major features, namely polydactyly or agenesis or hypoplasia of the corpus callosum. Facial dysmorphism with hypertelorism and prominent forehead in all the cases, as well as vermis dysgenesis with brainstem anomalies (molar tooth sign), strongly indicated the diagnosis. KIF7 should be tested in less typical patients in whom craniofacial features are suggestive of ACLS.


The rapid development of new and emerging science & technologies (NESTs) brings unprecedented challenges, but also opportunities. In this paper, we use bibliometric and social network analyses, at country, institution, and individual levels, to explore the patterns of scientific networking for a key nano area – nano-enabled drug delivery (NEDD). NEDD has successfully been used clinically to modulate drug release and to target particular diseased tissues. The data for this research come from a global compilation of research publication information on NEDD directed at brain cancer. We derive a family of indicators that address multiple facets of research collaboration and knowledge transfer patterns. Results show that: (1) international cooperation is increasing, but networking characteristics change over time; (2) highly productive institutions also lead in influence, as measured by citation to their work, with American institutes leading; (3) research collaboration is dominated by local relationships, with interesting information available from authorship patterns that go well beyond journal impact factors. Results offer useful technical intelligence to help researchers identify potential collaborators and to help inform R&D management and science & innovation policy for such nanotechnologies.


This dissertation explicitly examines the structure of interdependencies that firms are subjected to within a platform-based ecosystem and its implications for firm performance. Two theoretical themes emerge from this dissertation: (1) a firm's interdependence with other actors in the ecosystem matters both for its performance and the sustainability of its superior performance; and (2) a manager's understanding of these interdependencies can have significant implications on firm performance and the choice of governance structures. The first essay explores how a firm's innovation differs with respect to its interdependence with various elements of the ecosystem and examines its implications on the innovation's commercialization success. The core set of data is based on all the apps that were launched in the Apple iPhone ecosystem from 2008 to 2013. The results suggest that firms can enhance the value of their innovation by drawing on the broader set of complementary technologies that are available in the ecosystem. But, these complementarities also subject firms to an array of bottlenecks limiting their innovation's value creation. The second essay examines how ecosystem-level interdependencies affect the extent to which firms can sustain their value creation in a platform-based ecosystem. The analysis is based on a panel dataset of top-performing app developers in the iOS and Android ecosystems from January 2012 to January 2014. The results suggest that a firm's ability to sustain its superior performance is facilitated by the technological interdependence faced by its innovation within an ecosystem and the experience gained within the ecosystem, but hampered by technological transitions initiated by the central firm. The third essay addresses the performance consequences of misrepresentation of interdependence structures in the alliance context using an agent-based simulation. The results suggest that the misrepresentation of interdependence structures plays an important role in determining performance consequences of various governance modes to manage the alliance relationship. Specifically, overrepresentation of interdependence structures requires fully integrated or more hierarchical governance modes, whereas underrepresentation of interdependence structures requires more decentralized governance modes. Collectively, these essays contribute to the literature on ecosystems and alliances, shedding new light on the role of structure of interdependence ins shaping firm's performance. Degree Type Dissertation Degree Name Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Graduate Group Management First Advisor Harbir Singh Second Advisor Rahul Kapoor This dissertation is available at ScholarlyCommons: https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/2157 Subject Categories Business Administration, Management, and Operations | Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods This dissertation is available at ScholarlyCommons: https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/2157 THREE ESSAYS ON INTERFIRM INTERDEPENDENCE AND FIRM PERFORMANCE


Context. Thirteen years after the discovery of the first afterglows, the nature of dark gamma-ray bursts (GRB) still eludes explanation: while each long-duration GRB typically has an X-ray afterglow, optical/NIR emission is only seen for 40–60% of them. Aims. Here we use the afterglow detection statistics of the systematic follow-up observations performed with GROND since mid-2007 in order to derive the fraction of "dark bursts" according to different methods, and to distinguish between various scenarios for "dark bursts". Methods. Observations were performed with the 7-channel "Gamma-Ray Optical and Near-infrared Detector" (GROND) at the 2.2 m MPI/ESO telescope. We used the afterglow detection rate in dependence on the delay time between GRB and the first GROND exposure. Results. For long-duration Swift bursts with a detected X-ray afterglow, we achieve a 90% (35/39) detection rate of optical/NIR afterglows whenever our observations started within less than 240 min after the burst. Complementing our GROND data with Swift/XRT spectra we construct broad-band spectral energy distributions and derive rest-frame extinctions. Conclusions. We detect 25–40% "dark bursts", depending on the definition used. The faint optical afterglow emission of "dark bursts" is mainly due to a combination of two contributing factors: (i) moderate intrinsic extinction at moderate redshifts, and (ii) about 22% of "dark" bursts at redshift >5.


The problem of reducing the mass of modern equipment while increasing its working properties is challenging today. The application of aluminium alloys in the oil and gas industry creates an oxide layer on their surfaces, with wear resistance of up to the level (or above) that of the steel materials that are currently applied. The effects of ozone and the use of ultrasound to increase the hardness, wear resistance and corrosion resistance of the anode coating have been determined. Three facilities for the anodizing of aluminium and its alloys have been patented. The injection of ozone into the air mixture increases the thickness of the alumina by 45–53% and an additional application of the ultrasound increases the microhardness of the coating by almost a factor of 1.5. The facts are explained by the increase of the proportion of the alumina crystals in the coating. The structure of the anode film has been studied with an increase of more than 2200 times. First, the possibility of the formation of secondary channels due to the amorphous component of the coating has been established. On the basis of the obtained data, a technology for anodizing the real parts of the oil and gas equipment made from aluminium alloys instead of steel equipment has been developed. The nozzle and the mixing chamber of the jet pump, the sliding bearing collar, safety shirts, guide vanes and intersection pump packings for maintaining the reservoir pressure have been manufactured from the alloy D16. Anodized aluminium parts are successfully operated in an aggressive environment without shock loads. The magnitude of wear decreased by more than a factor of seven in comparison with the serial parts.


Eddy covariance data are increasingly used to estimate parameters of ecosystem models. For proper maximum likelihood parameter estimates the error structure in the observed data has to be fully characterized. In this study we propose a method to characterize the random error of the eddy covariance flux data, and analyse error distribution, standard deviation, crossand autocorrelation of CO 2 and H2O flux errors at four different European eddy covariance flux sites. Moreover, we examine how the treatment of those errors and additional systematic errors influence statistical estimates of parameters and their associated uncertainties with three models of increasing complexity – a hyperbolic light response curve, a light response curve coupled to water fluxes and the SVAT scheme BETHY. In agreement with previous studies we find that the error standard deviation scales with the flux magnitude. The previously found strongly leptokurtic error distribution is revealed to be largely due to a superposition of almost Gaussian distributions with standard deviations varying by flux magnitude. The crosscorrelations of CO2 and H2O fluxes were in all cases negligible (R2 below 0.2), while the autocorrelation is usually below 0.6 at a lag of 0.5 h and decays rapidly at larger time lags. This implies that in these cases the weighted least squares criterion yields maximum likelihood estimates. To study the influence of the observation errors on model parameter estimates we used synthetic datasets, based on observations of two different sites. We first fitted the respective models to observations and then added the random error estimates described above and the systematic error, respectively, to the model output. This strategy enables us to compare the estimated parameters with true parameters. We illustrate that the correct implementation of the random error standard deviation scaling with flux magnitude significantly reduces the Correspondence to: G. Lasslop (email@example.com) parameter uncertainty and often yields parameter retrievals that are closer to the true value, than by using ordinary least squares. The systematic error leads to systematically biased parameter estimates, but its impact varies by parameter. The parameter uncertainty slightly increases, but the true parameter is not within the uncertainty range of the estimate. This means that the uncertainty is underestimated with current approaches that neglect selective systematic errors in flux data. Hence, we conclude that potential systematic errors in flux data need to be addressed more thoroughly in data assimilation approaches since otherwise uncertainties will be vastly underestimated.


Effectively utilizing agro residues, when abundantly available, can help energy conservation efforts and increase farmers' incomes. This article highlights the
effective utilization of agro and industrial biomass residues in the form of briquettes. The various types of feedstock used and the technologies adopted in the
briquetting process are discussed. Process parameters and feedstock variables influencing briquetting are described. Combustion studies undertaken using briquettes are comprehensively detailed. This literature review reveals that the combustion characteristics of briquettes not only depend on the type of the feedstock but also on the density, moisture content, binder percentage, and
method used for briquetting. Higher ash content lowers the calorific value. The ash formed during combustion causes slagging and fouling which in turn lead to corrosion. It is concluded that biomass briquettes can meet the energy
demands for cooking and heating needs, especially in rural areas where abundant biomass feedstock is available. It is recommended that research focuses more on investigating emissions along with the combustion of briquettes manufactured from different origins.


Microorganisms are vital to environmental health, yet their association with disease often overshadows these benefits. Building citizen-science activities around the positive role of microorganisms and an understanding of their ubiquity can begin to dispel misconceptions while simultaneously engaging the public in research. Here, we describe a citizen-science microbiology project geared toward implementation in middle and high school classrooms. Students culture environmental microorganisms and document microbial diversity of plant root systems compared with adjacent bulk soil. Results contribute data toward research on microbiome recruitment of weeds and other successful plants while addressing core topics in science education.


The analysis of linear ill-posed problems often is carried out in function spaces using tools from functional analysis. However, the numerical solution of these problems typically is computed by first discretizing the problem and then applying tools from (finite-dimensional) linear algebra. The present paper explores the feasibility of applying the Chebfun package to solve ill-posed problems. This approach allows a user to work with functions instead of matrices. The solution process therefore is much closer to the analysis of ill-posed problems than standard linear algebra-based solution methods.


Several unmet needs have been identified in allergic rhinitis: identification of the time of onset of the pollen season, optimal control of rhinitis and comorbidities, patient stratification, multidisciplinary team for integrated care pathways, innovation in clinical trials and, above all, patient empowerment. MASK-rhinitis (MACVIA-ARIA Sentinel NetworK for allergic rhinitis) is a simple system centred around the patient which was devised to fill many of these gaps using Information and Communications Technology (ICT) tools and a clinical decision support system (CDSS) based on the most widely used guideline in allergic rhinitis and its asthma comorbidity (ARIA 2015 revision). It is one of the implementation systems of Action Plan B3 of the European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing (EIP on AHA). Three tools are used for the electronic monitoring of allergic diseases: a cell phone-based daily visual analogue scale (VAS) assessment of disease control, CARAT (Control of Allergic Rhinitis and Asthma Test) and e-Allergy screening (premedical system of early diagnosis of allergy and asthma based on online tools). These tools are combined with a clinical decision support system (CDSS) and are available in many languages. An e-CRF and an e-learning tool complete MASK. MASK is flexible and other tools can be added. It appears to be an advanced, global and integrated ICT answer for many unmet needs in allergic diseases which will improve policies and standards.


Phenol is one of the most common compounds found in the effluents of many industries such as petroleum refining and petrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, pesticides, paint and dye industries, organic chemicals manufacturing, etc. Due to the high toxicity of phenol, the contamination of bodies of water with this chemical is a serious problem for the environment and human health. In this study, the sonochemical, photochemical, and photosonochemical degradation of phenol in an aqueous solution were investigated. The sonochemical and photochemical experiments were carried out using a bath sonicator (500 W) working at 35 and 130 kHz frequencies and a 400W medium pressure UV lamp. Experiments were performed at initial concentrations varying from 1 to 100 mg L-1. The effects of such parameters as pH, initial phenol concentration, and oxidation period have been determined. Results showed that the effects of ultrasound wave for phenol oxidation were mainly due to hydroxyl radical production during cavitation-induced water decomposition. However, low rates of sonochemical destruction of phenol in water solution obtained. In the sonochemical process, phenol underwent degradation at a faster rate at 130 kHz than 35 kHz. Besides, it was shown that reaction rates involving hydroxyl radicals (hydrogen peroxide formation and phenol oxidation) had a maximum value at higher frequencies. The best yield was observed at 130 kHz for phenol degradation perhaps due to the greater availability of hydroxyl radical on the outer surface of cavitation bubbles. It was found that the rate of photochemical degradation of phenol was higher than sonochemical destruction. Also, the results showed that the combination of ultrasound wave and ultraviolet irradiation was considerably more effective than either ultrasound or ultraviolet light alone. Thus, based on the results of this study, the synergistic action of ultrasound and ultraviolet light is confirmed. This may be the result of three different oxidative processes: direct photochemical action, high frequency sonochemistry, and reaction with ozone (produced by UV irradiation of air). The results of the study showed that the degradation of phenol was increased by decreasing both pH value and phenol concentration in all the processes used.


I thank Roger Gordon and a referee for very helpful suggestions; Carlo Favero for several discussions that helped clarify the issues, and for pointing out a crucial mistake in an earlier version of the paper; Yuriy Gorodnichenko, who discussed an earlier version at the NBER-IGIER TAPES conference held in Varenna, Italy in June 2010; and Morten Ravn for very useful comments. Elia Pietro Boe provided excellent research assistance. This paper was produced as part of the project Growth and Sustainability Policies for Europe (GRASP), a Collaborative Project funded by the European Commission's Seventh Research Framework Programme, contract number 244725. The views expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Bureau of Economic Research.


The use of technology while being mobile now takes place in many areas of people's lives in a wide range of scenarios, for example users cycle, climb, run and even swim while interacting with devices. Conflict between locomotion and system use can reduce interaction performance and also the ability to safely move. We discuss the risks of such "interaction in motion", which we argue make it desirable to design with locomotion in mind. To aid such design we present a taxonomy and framework based on two key dimensions: relation of interaction task to locomotion task, and the amount that a locomotion activity inhibits use of input and output interfaces. We accompany this with four strategies for interaction in motion. With this work, we ultimately aim to enhance our understanding of what being "mobile" actually means for interaction, and help practitioners design truly mobile interactions.


The fashion industry is beginning to understand the need to move strategically towards sustainability. Yet there appears at present little coordination between global fashion brands and their supply chains to pursue strategic sustainable development and ensure the long term resilience of their business. We asked: What does a fashion brand need to know about its first tier suppliers in China in order to form a strategy towards sustainability? We utilised a scientific, principle-based definition of sustainability and framework to identify the underlying challenges faced by two Chinese garment factories in moving strategically towards sustainability. The challenges enabled us to inform three strategic guidelines that a fashion brand should consider when working with its supply chain towards sustainability. Research draws on literature, interviews among industry experts, interviews with a major fashion brand, and on-site workshops with two of its first-tier garment factories in China. The results of our research indicate: 1) the specific challenges factories face are commonly associated with internal corporate culture, the fashion brand's directives, and the regulatory environment in China; 2) the fashion brand should aim to broaden its purchasing priorities, generate increased collaboration with suppliers and build awareness towards empowerment and ownership of sustainability and associated strategies and actions.


Objectives To investigate earnings among people with multiple sclerosis (PwMS) before and after MS diagnosis compared with people without MS, and if identified differences were associated with educational levels and types of occupations. Furthermore, to assess the proportions on sickness absence (SA) and disability pension (DP) in both groups. Design Population-based longitudinal cohort study, 10 years before until 5 years after MS diagnosis. Setting Working-age population using microdata linked from nationwide Swedish registers. Participants Residents in Sweden in 2004 aged 30–54 years with MS diagnosed in 2003–2006 (n=2553), and references without MS (n=7584) randomly selected by stratified matching. Outcome measures Quartiles of earnings were calculated for each study year prior to and following the MS diagnosis. Mean earnings, by educational level and type of occupation, before and after diagnosis were compared using t-tests. Tobit regressions investigated the associations of earnings with individual characteristics. The proportions on SA and/or DP, by educational level and type of occupation, for the diagnosis year and 5 years later were compared. Results Differences in earnings between PwMS and references were observed beginning 1 year before diagnosis, and increased thereafter. PwMS had lower mean earnings for the diagnosis year (difference=SEK 28 000, p<0.05), and 5 years after diagnosis, this difference had more than doubled (p<0.05). These differences remained after including educational level and type of occupation. Overall, the earnings of PwMS with university education and/or more qualified occupations were most like their reference peers. The proportions on SA and DP were higher among PwMS than the references. Conclusions The results suggest that the PwMS' earnings are lower than the references' beginning shortly before MS diagnosis, with this gap increasing thereafter. Besides SA and DP, the results indicate that educational level and type of occupation are influential determinants of the large heterogeneity of PwMS' earnings.


The Z-scan experimental technique is used to measure the concentration-dependent Soret coefficient of surfacted magnetic nanoparticles in water [pure ferrofluid (FF)] and in a micellar lyotropic mixture [lyotropic doped with ferrofluid (FL)]. In both cases, the magnetic-particle contribution to the Soret coefficient is shown to be proportional to its concentration. In the case of the ferrofluid-doped lyotropic system, it was possible to evaluate the Soret coefficient associated with the micelles under a temperature gradient. The thermal diffusion coefficients keep the relation DFLT ≃ 0.4 ×D FFT. The Soret effective mobilities evaluated are μFFs ∼ 6×1011 s kg−1 and μFLs ∼ 2 × 1011 s kg−1 for the pure ferrofluid and micellar media, respectively. From a nanoscopic point of view, the smaller value of μFLs when compared to μFFs could be pictured as an additional resistance of the micellar medium to the particle's flow imposed by the temperature gradient. This procedure gives a new way of determining the Soret coefficient of a weakly absorbing medium.


Recent IPCC report and several other studies indicate a probability of 10-40% loss in crop production in India and other countries of South Asia with increases in temperature by 2080-2100 and decrease in irrigation water. India could lose 4-5 million tons wheat production with every rise of 1C temperature throughout the growing period even after considering carbon fertilization (but no adaptation benefits). The losses would be even higher in case irrigation would decrease in future. Losses for other crops are still uncertain but they are expected to be smaller, especially for monsoon season crops. These modeling-based estimates are in line with the recent field observations. Droughts, floods, tropical cyclones, heavy precipitation events, hot extremes, and heat waves are known to negatively impact agricultural production, and farmers' livelihood. The projected increase in these events will result in greater instability in food production and threaten livelihood security of farmers. Increased production variability could be perhaps the most significant impact of global impact change on India. All agricultural commodities even today are sensitive to such variability. Early signs of decrease in yields due to changing weather have started becoming visible. Analysis of the historical trends in yields of crops in the Indo-Gangetic plains using regional statistics, long-term fertility experiments, other conventional field experiments and crop simulation models has shown that rice yields during last three decades are showing a declining trend and this may be partly related to the gradual change in weather conditions during last two decades. Apple yields are showing a declining trend in lower hills of Himachal Pradesh due to non-fulfilment of chilling requirement essential for proper flowering and fruiting. Producing enough food for meeting the increasing demand against the background of reducing resources in a changing climate scenario, while also minimizing further environmental degradation, is a challenging task. This would require increased adaptation and mitigation research, capacity building, changes in policies, regional cooperation, and support of global adaptation and mitigation funds and other resources. Simple adaptations such as change in planting dates and crop varieties could help in reducing impacts of climate change to some extent. Losses in wheat production can be reduced from 4-5 million tons to 1-2 million tons if a large percentage of farmers could change to timely planting. This may, however, not be easy to implement due to constraints associated with wheat planting time in rice-based cropping systems. Additional strategies for increasing our adaptive capacity include bridging yield gaps to augment production, development of adverse climate tolerant genotypes and land use systems, assisting farmers in coping with current climatic risks through providing weather linked value-added advisory services to farmers and crop/weather insurance, and improved land and water use management and policies. INDIAN AGRICULTURE UNDER CLIMATE CHANGE SCENARIO R.P. Samui* and M.V. Kamble Agricultural Meteorology Division, India Meteorological Department, Shivajinagr, Pune – 411 005, India *Corresponding author (email@example.com)


Recently, protein-fortified milk powders are being widely consumed in Korea to prevent sarcopenia, and the demand for high-protein food powders is continuously increasing in the Korean market. However, spray-dried milk proteins have poor flowability and wettability owing to their fine particle sizes and high inter-particle cohesive forces. Fluidized bed agglomeration is widely used to improve the instant properties of food powders. This study investigated the effect of fluidized bed agglomeration on whey protein isolate (WPI)-fortified skim milk powder (SMP) at different SMP/WPI ratios. The fluidized bed process increased the particle size distribution, and agglomerated particles with grape-like structures were observed in the SEM images. As the size increased, the Carr index (CI) and Hausner ratio (HR) values of the agglomerated WPI-fortified SMP particles exhibited excellent flowability (CI: <15) and low cohesiveness (HR: <1.2). In addition, agglomerated WPI-fortified SMP particles exhibited the faster wetting time than the instant criterion (<20 s). As a result, the rheological and physical properties of the WPI-fortified SMP particles were effectively improved by fluidized bed agglomeration. However, the fluidized bed agglomeration process led to a slight change in the color properties. The L* (lightness) value decreased, and the b* (yellowness) value increased because of the Maillard reaction. The apparent viscosity (η a,10 ) and consistency index (K) values of the rehydrated solutions (60 g/ 180 mL water) increased with the increasing WPI ratio. These results may be useful for formulating protein-fortified milk powder with better instant properties.


Abstract To prepare U. S. preservice teachers for online teaching and reaching diverse learners and to provide English instruction to Taiwanese students, American and Taiwanese university students corresponded by e-mail. U.S. preservice teachers explored theory and practice of online instruction, corresponded as tutors to teach English language and American culture, and reflected on their experiences. Taiwanese students practiced English and exchanged cultural information. This research explores documentation of the online teaching and learning experience to identify benefits and limitations of online teaching and learning, online teaching strategies, and cultural aspects associated with cross-cultural collaboration.


This paper is an attempt to examine aspects of the consequences of the transfer of individual culturally charged material items (principally artefacts) between societies that have different cultural values. This is an especially urgent matter, epistemologically, aesthetically, and ethically, when the societies concerned are likely to develop or are already in an unequal power relationship. One pressing set of circumstances in which individual material items changed hands was the expansion of European (in the extended sense) interests in the sixteenth through twentieth centuries. Many of the things acquired by Europeans entered collections initially or eventually devoted to the emerging field of ethnography. In this paper I claim that when an object moves from one society to another, one or more of three attitudes is in play, each of which involves aesthetic judgment: (1) supersession: the new users employ and interpret it solely on their own terms without regard to the uses and interpretations of its earlier users, either oblivious to those earlier uses, or purposefully to expunge them; (2) assumption: the new users discern familiar characteristics that they value, including aesthetic characteristics, and that they assume earlier users also discerned and valued; (3) translation: the new users attempt to learn the terms of use, interpretation and value of the earlier users by means of cultural acquisition and translation, acknowledging that these may differ from their own wholly or in part, but in the belief that their acquisition will bring them advantages. In this paper I examine the character and some of the epistemological, aesthetic, and ethical ramifications of each of these three attitudes for both European communities and for communities that encountered Europeans.


Extraction of latent sources of complex stimuli is critical for making sense of the world. While the brain solves this blind source separation (BSS) problem continuously, its algorithms remain unknown. Previous work on biologically-plausible BSS algorithms assumed that observed signals are linear mixtures of statistically independent or uncorrelated sources, limiting the domain of applicability of these algorithms. To overcome this limitation, we propose novel biologically-plausible neural networks for the blind separation of potentially dependent/correlated sources. Differing from previous work, we assume some general geometric, not statistical, conditions on the source vectors allowing separation of potentially dependent/correlated sources. Concretely, we assume that the source vectors are sufficiently scattered in their domains which can be described by certain polytopes. Then, we consider recovery of these sources by the Det-Max criterion, which maximizes the determinant of the output correlation matrix to enforce a similar spread for the source estimates. Starting from this normative principle, and using a weighted similarity matching approach that enables arbitrary linear transformations adaptable by local learning rules, we derive two-layer biologically-plausible neural network algorithms that can separate mixtures into sources coming from a variety of source domains. We demonstrate that our algorithms outperform other biologically-plausible BSS algorithms on correlated source separation problems.


"In modern nations, political disagreement is the source of both the gravest danger and the greatest security," writes Cass Sunstein. All democracies face intense political conflict. But is this conflict necessarily something to fear? In this provocative book, one of our leading political and legal theorists reveals how a nation's divisions of conviction and belief can be used to safeguard democracy. Confronting one explosive political issue after another, from presidential impeachment to the limits of religious liberty, from discrimination against women and gays to the role of the judiciary, Sunstein constructs a powerful new perspective from which to show how democracies negotiate their most divisive real-world problems. He focuses on a series of concrete concerns that go to the heart of the relationship between the idea of democracy and the idea of constitutionalism. Illustrating his discussion with examples from constitutional debates and court-cases in South Africa, Eastern Europe, Israel, America, and elsewhere, Sunstein takes readers through a number of highly charged questions: When should government be permitted to control discriminatory behaviour by or within religious organizations? Does it make sense to govern on the basis of popular referenda? Can the right to have an abortion be defended? Can we defend Internet regulation? Should the law step in if children are being schooled in discriminatory preferences and beliefs? Should a constitution protect rights to food, shelter, and health care? Disputes over questions such as these can be fierce enough to pose a grave threat. But in a paradox whose elaboration forms the core of Sunstein's book, it is a nation's apparently threatening diversity of opinion that can ensure its integrity. Extending his important recent work on the way deliberation within like-minded groups can produce extremism, Sunstein breaks new ground in identifying the mechanisms behind political conflict in democratic nations. At the same time, he develops a profound understanding of a constitutional democracy's system of checks and balances. Sunstein shows how a good constitution, fostering a "republic of reasons," enables people of opposing ethical and religious commitments to reach agreement where agreement is necessary, while making it unnecessary to reach agreement when agreement is impossible. A marvel of lucid, subtle reasoning, DESIGNING DEMOCRACY makes invaluable reading for anyone concerned with the promises and pitfalls of the democratic experiment.


This paper uses a cross-sectional approach to analyze the impacts of climate change on animal husbandry and the way farmers adapt. The study is based on surveys of almost 5000 livestock farmers across ten countries in Africa. A traditional Ricardian regression finds that the livestock net revenues of large farms in Africa are more sensitive to temperature than those of small farms. Cross-sectional analysis also reveals that large farms (but not small farms) have fewer animals per farm in warmer places. Farmers tend to select beef cattle and chickens in cool climates and goats and sheep in hot climates. Using the Ricardian results and examining climate scenarios for 2060 and beyond, the net revenues of small farms are predicted to increase as much as 120% (+USD6 billion) but those of large farms are predicted to fall by 20% (-USD12 billion). The impact estimates in any given period also depend on the rainfall predictions. The results suggest that large livestock farms in Africa are more sensitive to temperature than small ones, primarily because of their dependence on cattle.


Japan Alteplase Clinical Trial (J-ACT), a prospective multicenter clinical trial, demonstrated good clinical outcome in patients treated with 0.6 mg/kg of alteplase, being similar to that with 0.9 mg/kg of alteplase in the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) study. On that basis, intravenous aplteplase therapy was approved in Japan in October, 2005. This therapy resulted in better efficacy and similar safety in our stroke care unit (SCU) as compared to J-ACT or other clinical studies performed outside Japan. Our nation-wide survey demonstrated that the approval of the therapy resulted in dramatic changes in the processes of management for acute stroke patients. Preliminary results of the post-marketing surveillance study of alteplase in Japan suggested similar efficacy and safety profiles of the therapy to those reported by a European study, Safe Implementation of Thrombolysis in Stroke-Monitoring Study (SITS-MOST). There are several limitations and problems in the therapy that will be overcome by new therapeutic strategies including the development of new-generation therombolytic agents having longer therapeutic time window, applications of magnetic resonance imaging techniques, and combination therapies with neuroprotective agents, sonothrombolysis, intraarterial application of the agent, or mechanical thrombectomy.


In business co-operation standards are often used to facilitate interactions between companies. In this paper, we discuss and compare seven suggested standardisation efforts in order to answer the question of what role standardisation will play in such co-operations. The comparison shows that standardisation indeed is becoming an important part of business processes, particularly in those that flow across organisational boundaries. Commercial as well as non-profit organisations are joining hands in developing standardisation efforts to smooth, speed up and automate the way in which business is done in various trading communities.


Abstract The Neogene volcanic region of Cabo de Gata, Almería, SE Spain, is dotted with many outcrops of bentonite, some of them of significant economic interest. The bentonites have their origin in the hydrothermal alteration of pyroclastic rocks (15-7 Ma). The deposits are usually associated with fractures. The major mineral is a dioctahedral Fe- and Mg-smectite (89-75%) and this is accompanied by minor amounts of feldspars, quartz, amphiboles, pyroxenes, biotite, zeolites, disordered tridymite, calcite, etc. This paper describes the geological background, the general characteristics of the bentonites and major aspects of their formation, e.g. type of low-temperature hydrothermal solutions, mass balance, chemical evolutions of the smectites and geochemistry of trace elements. Finally, the characteristics of three of the most important deposits are described.


In Malawi, district pharmacies use a computerised information system which helps drug logistics and health managers to determine which health facilities are understocked or overstocked. But drug logistics information generated from this system is only in a table format. The reporting of the drug logistics information could be enriched through use of GIS for drug logistics and health managers at a district level. They would use GIS to get additional information in a form of maps which would show actual locations of health facilities and other spatial information. Some opportunities and challenges of introducing GIS in Drug LMIS basically involve technologies, organisation, standards and data integration. It has been observed that the technical side of implementing the GIS in the drug LMIS is not difficult because some computer technologies have been introduced before so some required tools and equipment are available that can be used in GIS. The main issue for the successful implementation of GIS is organisational.


The context of this work examines the influence of zinc sulfide (ZnS) and other inorganic substances (Sb2O3, Sb2S3, Sn, Zn ) on the cross-linking reactions of the conjugated double bond sequences, which are generated as a consequence of thermal dehydrochlorination reactions of poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC). With increasing cross-linking grade, the flammability of the corresponding PVC would be decreased due to the suppression of fragmentation reactions. In this work element balances of thermal degrading PVC samples with inorganic additives are analyzed, as well as thermogravimetric investigations are consulted. Apart from qualitative views a kinetic model of the dehydrochlorination reactions is developed using multivariate nonlinear regression analysis of thermogravimetric data. The changes in the thermally stressed polymer samples under argon and under oxygen admission are observed using different analytic techniques (visual video monitoring, infrared spectrometry, and scanning electron microscopy). It can be shown that during the thermal degradation of PVC the cross-linking reactions can be increased by several inorganic additives.


The paper demonstrates the association between geometry and material behavior, specifically the elastic properties of resin impregnated latex membranes, by means of homogenizing protocols which translate physical properties into geometrical functions. Resin-impregnation patterns are applied to 2-D pre-stretched form-active tension systems to induce 3-D curvature upon release. This method enables form-finding based on material properties, organization and behavior. Some theoretical foundations for material-computation are outlined. A digital tool developed in the Processing (JAVA coded) environment demonstrates the simulation of material behavior and its prediction under specific environmental conditions. Finally, conclusions are drawn from the physical and digital explorations which redefine generative material-based design computation, supporting a synergetic approach to design integrating form, structure, material and environment.


I. INTRODUCTION While the glass ceiling and sexual harassment continue to pose formidable obstacles to women's advancement in the workplace, many women are also harmed by another form of gender discrimination known as the "maternal wall." (2) Women run up against the maternal wall when they are discriminated against in the workplace because of past, present or future pregnancies or because they have taken one or more maternity leaves. Women also may experience discrimination when they adopt part-time or flexible work schedules. In recent years, women have increasingly sought legal relief to remedy discrimination related to the maternal wall. In 1992, women filed 3,385 charges of pregnancy discrimination, pursuant to the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, (3) with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and state and local Fair Employment Practices Agencies, and by 2004 that number had increased by nearly forty percent to 4,512. (4) In 1992, the total monetary benefits recovered as a result of the filing of these charges, excluding monetary benefits obtained through litigation, nearly tripled from $3.7 million in 1992 to $11.3 million in 2004. (5) Likewise, complaints filed with the U.S. Department of Labor concerning the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) (6) are on the rise. Administrative complaints to the U.S. Department of Labor increased by twenty percent in the past three years from 2,790 in 2001 to 3,350 in 2004. (7) Of those complaints, the majority involved employees who asserted that they were terminated after they sought FMLA leave. (8) In addition to filing complaints with administrative agencies, women who have experienced maternal wall discrimination are increasingly seeking to vindicate their civil rights through litigation. One recent study of FMLA litigation identified 140 written opinions issued between 1995 and 2003 concerning childbirth or adoption leave. (9) Termination of employees after FMLA leave was the primary reason that employees filed a complaint (32% of complaints). Employer refusal to restore the employee to an equivalent position after leave had ended produced the second highest number of complaints (23% of complaints), followed closely by the denial of FMLA leave (22% of complaints), and termination as the result of requesting leave (18% of complaints). (10) With many cases being brought pursuant to the FMLA, as well as Title VII of the Civil Rights Act (Title VII) (11) and the Equal Pay Act, (12) a substantial body of case law has developed in which plaintiffs have prevailed. These cases reveal that, notwithstanding widespread criticisms of these civil rights laws, many mothers--and others who have been discriminated against because of their caregiving responsibilities--are suing, and courts are often finding in their favor. This article is the product of collaboration between a seasoned civil rights litigator, Elizabeth Westfall, and the director of the Center for WorkLife Law at University of California, Hastings College of the Law, Joan Williams. WorkLife Law is dedicated to decreasing the economic vulnerability of "carers" by working with all sides--employers and employees, (13) plaintiffs' (14) and management-side employment attorneys, (15) as well as unions, (16) and the press. (17) This article examines some of the recent, groundbreaking case law from the perspective of plaintiffs' employment lawyers. Part II of this Article discusses the impact of recent case law on the development of maternal wall jurisprudence. Part III discusses where courts have narrowly construed the civil rights statutes under which plaintiffs have brought their claims or imposed other barriers to obtaining relief, and suggests strategies plaintiffs' lawyers can use to overcome these hurdles and redevelop the case law. Finally, Part W explores the potential of existing statutes to challenge the legality of specific practices--such as the requirement that employees conduct all work in the office and during particularized hours--that unfairly disadvantage many carers. …