eleed, Iss. 9 - Quality of education should be stable or permanently increased – even if the number of students rises. Quality of education is often related to possibilities for active learning and individual facilitation. This paper deals with the question how high-quality learning within oversized courses could be enabled and it presents the approach of e-flashcards that enables active learning and individual facilitation within large scale university courses.


The steady-state fluorescence of dibenzofuran (DBF) in aqueous solution is quenched in the presence of natural cyclodextrins (CDs), α, β, and γ-CD. The decrease in the fluorescence is static in nature for all the macrocycles and follows as a result of the formation of inclusion complexes of dominant 1:1 stoichiometry. With γ-CD, excimer emission is detected at high CD concentrations due to the formation of a complex of 2:2 stoichiometry, DBF2:γ-CD2. The binding constants have been determined from the fluorescence intensities through the analysis of the F0/F vs. [CD] plots, resulting in a stronger association for β-CD. The thermodynamic parameters of the binding, enthalpy and entropy, have been calculated from the temperature dependence of the formation constants. The different trend displayed by α-CD, in both the absorption and fluorescence spectra, seems to be related to a shallow inclusion of DBF, stabilized by hydrogen bonding between the oxygen atom of the furan ring and the hydroxyl groups of CD.


In this article, we present an intrinsically stable Model Predictive Control (IS-MPC) framework for humanoid gait generation that incorporates a stability constraint in the formulation. The method uses as prediction model a dynamically extended Linear Inverted Pendulum with Zero Moment Point (ZMP) velocities as control inputs, producing in real time a gait (including footsteps with timing) that realizes omnidirectional motion commands coming from an external source. The stability constraint links future ZMP velocities to the current state so as to guarantee that the generated Center of Mass (CoM) trajectory is bounded with respect to the ZMP trajectory. Being the MPC control horizon finite, only part of the future ZMP velocities are decision variables; the remaining part, called tail, must be either conjectured or anticipated using preview information on the reference motion. Several options for the tail are discussed, each corresponding to a specific terminal constraint. A feasibility analysis of the generic MPC iteration is developed and used to obtain sufficient conditions for recursive feasibility. Finally, we prove that recursive feasibility guarantees stability of the CoM/ZMP dynamics. Simulation and experimental results on NAO and HRP-4 are presented to highlight the performance of IS-MPC.


This paper is about a theoretical framework of the relationship between digital media and architecture. The objective of the paper is to better understand the nature of change that digital media bring and the ways they affect architecture, leading to a vision of how the profession might be practiced in the future. Three design models are presented, addressing the design tasks, the types of information used and the interaction among design participants. Digital media are examined with respect to the fundamental nature of their contribution to society in general and architectural practice in particular, concluding that, at an abstract level, the main contribution of digital media is increased speed in the production of analog media. This increase in speed, however, is so large that it presents significant opportunities to greatly improve the way we design, construct and operate buildings. The three design models are combined into one that facilitates the development of digital applications. The opportunities that digital media present are then described in detail, within the theoretical framework of the new model and a vision is presented for what is possible not only for building design, but for construction and operation as well. While the vision is based on technologies that are already available, its realization requires significant research and development efforts. Conceptual, technical and strategic challenges to realizing the vision are presented and discussed.


Under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, carbon dioxide emissions from bioenergy are counted as carbon stock losses in the land use sector rather than in the energy sector. This method omits many emissions since many nations that source biomass for bioenergy do not have greenhouse gas obligations. Accounting systems have been proposed to address this omission. This working paper describes and classifies these accounting systems into three basic types. Type 1 counts carbon dioxide emissions from bioenergy combustion unaccounted for in the energy sector. Type 2 counts bioenergy combustion emission accounted for in the energy sector. Type 3 counts all other emissions along the supply chain, which are the responsibility of end users. The accounting systems are evaluated against three criteria: comprehensiveness, simplicity and scale independence. They are also evaluated again three key stakeholder goals: stimulation of rural economies and food security, greenhouse gas emission reductions and preservation of forests. The paper describes four key conclusions. First, Type 2 approaches incorporate more emissions than Type 1 in the real-world situation. Second, a Type 2 system that includes carbon dioxide uptake by vegetation in the land use sector ranks highly if stimulation of rural economies and food security is a priority. However, it may not preserve forests or stimulate bioenergy development. Third, policies can make Type 1 approaches effective. However, this may be of limited value if many countries remain outside the accounting system. Fourth, a Type 3 approach supports greenhouse gas emission reductions and preservation of forests but is less simple, and stimulation of the rural economy depends on the structure of the cap-and-trade system.


Flattery citations of editors, potential referees, etc. is recurrently claimed to be a common strategy among academic authors. From a sociology of science perspective, as well as from a citation analytical perspective, it is both an interesting claim and a consequential one. Consequently, the claim deserves further analyses. The present paper presents a citation analysis of the editorial board members of four Library and Information Science journals analysed at five year intervals from 1995 to 2005. The results do not unambiguously show a tendency to give flattery citations to editors and members of editorial boards in these four journals. Furthermore, any potential effect is found to be irrelevant as the difference in citations is negligible.


In this paper, a development of a low order composite structure module has been introduced. This module can design the wing structure for the given aerodynamic load. The wing structure is broken down into non-spar elements and spars. The weight of non-spar elements is estimated by using empirical equations that were used by NASA for solar powered high altitude UAVs. The Spar is sized by using a numerical approach, which is developed in this paper. The spar is modelled as a composite rectangular wing-box and assumed to withstand the entire load with no contribution from the secondary wing components. The required numbers of laminate on each side of the spar are found iteratively until no failure or buckling is detected. The orientation of laminate of each side of spar was inspired by the existing high altitude aircraft structure. A linear finite beam element is used to evaluate the wing-box deflection under the internal and the aerodynamic loads while only a quasi-static equilibrium is considered during the sizing process. The module has been written in MATLAB. This tool can be used either in the conceptual design stage or in an optimisation process because it facilitates rapid computation. This module has been validated with a high order commercial package (ANSYS). The deflection calculation shows excellent agreement with less than 0.25 % error. The stress calculations show a reasonable agreement with ANSYS with maximum error margin of about 4% at the maximum shear stress level. However, this amount of error could be unimportant as a high factor of safety is usually taken in the design of composite structures. The weight prediction function also has been validated using reference to a NASA Pathfinder aircraft. The predicted weight seems reasonable with a 1.6 % difference from the expected weight of the case study.


Instructional Technology is a field having approximately a century old past. From its initial conceptualization to date, it has been in question in terms of its label, definition, and scope. Parallel to international interest, Turkey has embraced IT as a field of study and practice. This qualitative study aims to investigate the existing conceptions of experts on Instructional Technology in Turkey and reveal the current status of the field from their perspectives in terms of its definition, purpose, scope, and research approaches. The experts were chosen from among Turkish academics having a PhD degree in the field. The results showed that diverse definitions were made with an interchangeable use of the labels "Educational Technology" and "Instructional Technology". The emphasis for the purpose was on "how to" best support/facilitate/enhance/improve instruction and learning in a broad scope. The experts found gaps on the methodological aspects of existing studies. The results showed that there existed a dilemma between the conception of what IT should be and the practical use of what it really is. There were both common concerns with other countries and concerns unique to Turkey. The main challenges were discussed for further analysis.


Background This study aimed to compare incidence, management and outcomes of women transfused their blood volume or more within 24 hours during pregnancy or following childbirth. Methods Combined analysis of individual patient data, prospectively collected in six international population-based studies (France, United Kingdom, Italy, Australia, the Netherlands and Denmark). Massive transfusion in major obstetric haemorrhage was defined as transfusion of eight or more units of red blood cells within 24 hours in a pregnant or postpartum woman. Causes, management and outcomes of women with massive transfusion were compared across countries using descriptive statistics. Findings The incidence of massive transfusion was approximately 21 women per 100,000 maternities for the United Kingdom, Australia and Italy; by contrast Denmark, the Netherlands and France had incidences of 82, 66 and 69 per 100,000 maternities, respectively. There was large variation in obstetric and haematological management across countries. Fibrinogen products were used in 86% of women in Australia, while the Netherlands and Italy reported lower use at 35–37% of women. Tranexamic acid was used in 75% of women in the Netherlands, but in less than half of women in the UK, Australia and Italy. In all countries, women received large quantities of colloid/crystalloid fluids during resuscitation (>3·5 litres). There was large variation in the use of compression sutures, embolisation and hysterectomy across countries. There was no difference in maternal mortality; however, variable proportions of women had cardiac arrests, renal failure and thrombotic events from 0–16%. Interpretation There was considerable variation in the incidence of massive transfusion associated with major obstetric haemorrhage across six high-income countries. There were also large disparities in both transfusion and obstetric management between these countries. There is a requirement for detailed evaluation of evidence underlying current guidance. Furthermore, cross-country comparison may empower countries to reference their clinical care against that of other countries.


This thesis investigates the principle of co-ordination of chassis subsystems by proposing a new control structure for co-ordinating active steering technologies and a brake based directional stability controller.

A non-linear vehicle handling model was developed for this study using the Mattab and Simulink tools. This consists of a 4 degree of freedom (d. o. f) lumped-parameter model that includes longitudinal, lateral, yaw and roll motions with quasi-static longitudinal load transfer effects including non-linear suspension and tyre descriptions. The non-linear vehicle dynamics are discussed for the whole operating
regime and two specific driving tasks are identified, steerability and stability. In the context of the vehicle states these are yaw rate control and side slip angle bounding respectively.

Linear active steering controllers for front, rear and four wheel steering are designed and evaluated in the context of the vehicle handling problem throughout the non-linear operating regime to assist the driver in the two driving tasks previously defined. It is shown through the analysis of the vehicle dynamics in the Chapter 3 that linear controllers can be used to significantly improve the handling behaviour of a non-linear vehicle when only one active input is considered, however when controlling two active inputs, non-linear multivariable approach is required to deal with the strongly coupled nature of the vehicle handling with respect to front and rear steering inputs.

A brake based stability system that reflects the state of the art is implemented.

The work then proposes a novel co-ordination controller structure for coordination of an active steering controllers and a brake based stability controller for
improving to vehicle handling control. The controller was assessed both in steady state and transient tests selected to simulate real world driving manoeuvres over the whole non-linear vehicle handling regime.

The co-ordination controller is found to lead to a trade-off between stability and limit cornering performance. The proposed structure improves vehicle stability and reduces interactions in the longitudinal vehicle motion.

A detailed discussion of the implications of a coordinated control approach showing it to be a powerful tool providing, the interactions can be conveniently
related vehicle handling task and that an appropriate measure of vehicle performance is available. The limitations of the approach are discussed. The most
significant limitations being a) the difficulty in proving the optimalty of a heuristic control structure, b) the difficult in assessing the controller behaviour and its
interaction with a real driver and c) the likely complexity of the rule base for coordinating more than 2 or 3 systems or describing more complex interactions than were observed here.


We demonstrate that a combination of multipole and Bloch methods is well suited for calculating the modes of air core photonic crystal fibers. This includes determining the reflective properties of the cladding, which is a prerequisite for the modal calculations. We demonstrate that in the presence of absorption, the modal losses can be substantially smaller than in the corresponding bulk medium.


The clonogenic assay is a well‐established in vitro method for testing the survival and proliferative capability of cells. It can be used to determine the cytotoxic effects of various treatments including chemotherapeutics and ionizing radiation. However, this approach can also characterize cells with different phenotypes and biological properties, such as stem cells or cancer stem cells. In this study, we implemented a faster and more precise method for assessing the cloning efficiency of cancer stem‐like cells that were characterized and separated using a high‐speed cell sorter. Cell plating onto a microplate using an automatic cell deposition unit was performed in a single‐cell or dilution rank mode by the fluorescence‐activated cell sorting method. We tested the new automatic cell‐cloning assay (ACCA) on selected cancer cell lines and compared it with the manual approach. The obtained results were also compared with the results of the limiting dilution assay for different cell lines. We applied the ACCA to analyze the cloning capacity of different subpopulations of prostate and colon cancer cells based on the expression of the characteristic markers of stem (CD44 and CD133) and cancer stem cells (TROP‐2, CD49f, and CD44). Our results revealed that the novel ACCA is a straightforward approach for determining the clonogenic capacity of cancer stem‐like cells identified in both cell lines and patient samples. © 2013 International Society for Advancement of Cytometry


A veil of mystery still often surrounds private equity as an asset class. After having defined what constitutes a private equity investment, the authors trace the origins of the asset class - venture capital, as it is known today, how it got its start with the authorization of small business investment companies in 1958 - and its evolution through several cycles and significant market events. They discuss the mechanics of private equity partnerships and the performance record of the asset class as a whole. An important element of private equity investment is also identified: their relative tax-efficiency, as returns tend to be predominantly long-term in nature and thus exposed to lower rates of taxation. The authors conclude with the suggestion that individual investors should find private equity investments attractive, if they can deal with their relative illiquidity.


Most law schools suspended their live classroom teaching in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and quickly transitioned to online programming. Although professors can be commended for rapidly adapting to an emergency situation, some commentators have nevertheless suggested that the emergency online product delivered to students was substandard. Based on our own experiences in designing and delivering online courses, we caution against embracing a broad-reaching, negative conclusion about the efficacy of online education. Indeed, much of this emergency online programming would be more properly defined as "emergency remote teaching," as opposed to "online education." Delivering online education to students involves more than giving the same classroom lecture on Zoom. Online education requires professors to design their courses to be delivered at a distance, with the goal being to create a course driven by pedagogy using technological tools to inform and enhance the learning experience. COVID-19 is going to be with us for the foreseeable future, and because some schools might be unable to bring all of their students back into the classroom in the fall, we urge faculty to prepare to deliver their courses online. Law schools and faculty should not wait for another emergency and should prepare to deliver at least some of their courses online in the fall. To aid with this transition, this Article offers some guidance on how to develop and implement an effective asynchronous distance-learning course for law students.


Report issued by the University of California Lawrence Radiation Laboratory discussing a method of updating library circulation records on an IBM 1401 computer. The report describes the methods of generating and updating the records using transaction cards to create computer tapes that are sorted and updated to prepare current reports of circulation information.


1 The affinity of the α1‐adrenoceptor antagonist SB 216469 (also known as REC 15/2739) has been determined at native and cloned α1‐adrenoceptor subtypes by radioligand binding and at functional α1adrenoceptor subtypes in isolated tissues. 2 In radioligand binding studies with [3H]‐prazosin, SB 216469 had a high affinity at the α1A‐adrenoceptors of the rat cerebral cortex and kidney (9.5–9.8) but a lower affinity at the α1B‐adrenoceptors of the rat spleen and liver (7.7–8.2). 3 At cloned rat α1‐adrenoceptor subtypes transiently expressed in COS‐1 cells and also at cloned human a α1‐adrenoceptor subtypes stably transfected in Rat‐1 cells, SB 216469 exhibited a high affinity at the α1a‐adrenoceptors (9.6–10.4) with a significantly lower affinity at the αlb‐adrenoceptor (8.0–8.4) and an intermediate affinity at the α1d‐adrenoceptor (8.7–9.2). 4 At functional α1‐adrenoceptors, SB 216469 had a similar pharmacological profile, with a high affinity at the α1A‐adrenoceptors of the rat vas deferens and anococcygeus muscle (pA2 = 9.5–10.0), a low affinity at the a α1B‐adrenoceptors of the rat spleen (6.7) and guinea‐pig aorta (8.0), and an intermediate affinity at the α1D‐adrenoceptors of the rat aorta (8.8). 5 Several recent studies have concluded that the α1‐adrenoceptor present in the human prostate has the pharmacological characteristics of the a α1A‐adrenoceptor subtype. However, the affinity of SB 216469 at human prostatic α1‐adrenoceptors (pA2 = 8.1) determined in isolated tissue strips, was significantly lower than the values obtained at either the cloned a α1a‐adrenoceptors (human, rat, bovine) or the native α1A‐adrenoceptors in radioligand binding and functional studies in the rat. 6 Our results with SB 216469, therefore, suggest that the α1‐adrenoceptor mediating contractile responses of the human prostate has properties which distinguish it from the cloned αla‐adrenoceptor or native a α1‐adrenoceptor. Since it has previously been shown that the receptor is not the α1B‐ or α1D‐adrenoceptor, the functional a α1‐adrenoceptor of the human prostate may represent a novel receptor with properties which differ from any of the α1‐adrenoceptors currently defined by pharmacological means.


Public–private partnerships mean different things to different people, depending on the values of the individuals and organizations concerned. They raise numerous political, social, public health, economic and commercial issues. Partnerships formed to promote product research, development and access, however, can only work effectively if the collaborating organizations have a common goal, however their values may differ. In developed economies, members of the public and private sectors are continually discussing shared concerns, often through well-defined structures. Despite tension, a modus operandi has emerged whereby legislative, market and societal forces can operate to accommodate the needs of both sectors. This can result in a sustainable balance of power and flow of resources and rewards while generating wealth that leads to progress in health. In many developing economies, however, a sustainable balance of this kind does not exist. It is widely believed that in addition to national inputs, external resources will be required if health is to be improved. External resources can come through donor governments, international organizations, philanthropic foundations, nongovernmental organizations and the private for-profit sector. The underlying question about investment for health in developing countries is: who haswhat responsibilities and obligations? Closely related is the issue of the power of developing countries in relation to that of other stakeholders in defining the goals, values and mechanisms of the partnerships. The situation today is perhaps more promising than ever before in terms of the political will to mobilize resources to reduce global health inequities. Public–private partnerships are increasingly being explored as a mechanism tomeet the needs involved, and this has given rise to much debate. In addition to the general questions above, the following more specific ones arise. First, regarding appropriateness: when, if at all, are public–private partnerships necessary and desirable? Second, regarding trust: can goals be clearly distinguished from values as an aid to dialogue? Should differences in values ever preclude cooperation or partnership? How best can trust be generated when potential stakeholders differ sharply on values? Third, regarding risks and benefits: what are they for each party involved in a public– private partnership? What operational value can each contribute to such a partnership? What special role can it play? n


This represents two chapters of a proposed book co-authored by Bob Evenson and myself. The subject is relationships between agricultural productivity, research and information. The first chapter of this part is concerned with the "theory" of the value of information. Among other things, the Bayesian learning model is used as a vehicle for describing optimal learning from experience. The second chapter presents results for a number of empirical studies concerned with relationships between education and allocative efficiency. Section I is reprinted from my J.P.E. paper "Education in Production". Section II is the "Scale Economy" paper of mine which has existed in various unpublished versions for two years now. The final section summarizes recent discussions by Wallace Huffman (Chicago), Nabil Khaloi (SMU) and Charles Fane (Harvard).


As transportation costs rise, rail stock material improvements are critical to improving efficiency, durability, and performance. Steel wheels have been a consistent part of rail equipment, but it may be time to assess potential other alloys and materials in anticipation of future demands. Strength requirements are steadily increasing with rail car capacity, while weight savings in equipment can reduce fuel costs and/or increase carrying capacity. Herein, the current requirements for railroad wheels are discussed and compared with experimental evaluation of a potential alternative material, austempered ductile iron (ADI).ADI is an attractive wheel material because of its higher strength-to-weight ratio (as compared to steel) and its wear resistance. ADI castings are also typically cheaper to produce than steel. While ADI can meet or exceed the strength of steel components, it is also comparable in ductility and impact strength, so conversion to ADI does not bring additional risk of brittle fracture, as is commonly the case when achieving higher strengths.There are challenges with its implementation, however. AAR certification of new materials is costly and time consuming, so adoption is unlikely until there is a very compelling business case. Heat produced during on-tread braking has the potential to damage the heat-treated structure of ADI. The regular exchange of cars across different sections of track and therefore different managing companies requires that new wheel materials be fully backwards compatible, so alterations in design are severely limited. This paper will take initial steps toward assessing the potential of ADI railroad wheels by investigating the performance of ADI at elevated temperatures, and comparing the results to measured and simulated wheel temperatures.Copyright © 2014 by ASME


This paper investigates the impact of various vegetation types on water balance variability in semi-arid Mediterranean landscapes, and the different strategies they may have developed to succeed in such water-limited en- vironments. The existence of preferential associations be- tween soil water holding capacity and vegetation species is assessed through an extensive soil geo-database focused on a study region in Southern Italy. Water balance constraints that dominate the organization of landscapes are investigated by a conceptual bucket approach. The temporal water balance dynamics are modelled, with vegetation water use efficiency being parameterized through the use of empirically obtained crop coefficients as surrogates of vegetation behavior in var- ious developmental stages. Sensitivity analyses with respect to the root zone depth and soil water holding capacity are car- ried out with the aim of explaining the existence of preferen- tial soil-vegetation associations and, hence, the spatial distri- bution of vegetation types within the study region. Based on these sensitivity analyses the degrees of suitability and adapt- ability of each vegetation type to parts of the study region are explored with respect of the soil water holding capacity, and the model results were found consistent with the observed affinity patterns.


Fung and Olin-Wright argue for small scale politico-economic institutions as a means of facilitating greater participatory governance. Similarly, Polanyi emphasised the distinction between large scale 'General Purpose Money' and smaller scale non-national 'Special Purpose Currencies' (SPCs). Non-national currencies, by complementing existing national currencies, form alternative or Complementary Currencies (CCs). CC advocates observe that while institutions which issue General Purpose Money tend to use closed (non-transparent and non-participatory) governance processes, CC institutions, particularly when sponsored by local communities, may offer potential models for more participatory forms of monetary governance. This study applies established governance principles to monetary decision-making, highlighting the importance of regulatory frameworks, transparency, accountability and direct participatory input for all currency users. It further explores whether national regulations and scale inhibit attempts by monetary institutions to allow full stakeholder access to monetary governance. To facilitate this exploration, a comparative analytical framework, called "Shared Monetary Governance" (SMG), is developed that allows the evaluation of distinct types of currency institutions. Its application in the cases of four currencies from the USA - the US Dollar, Humboldt Exchange Dollars, Time Dollars, and Deli Dollars - aims to enhance our understanding of how the degree of SMG is affected by three interrelated factors: national regulatory frameworks, internal decision-making processes, and scale. The four currencies are therefore evaluated across three sets of criteria: Regulatory Framework toleration (11 indices), Participatory Internal Decision-making (15 indices), and scale (indexed by function and geography). This methodology empirically compares each set to determine how each interrelated influence affects monetary governance and therefore stakeholder ability to influence priority setting. It finds that community-based currency institutions, part of the group of CCs, tend to allow greater SMG. Such findings imply that a multi-level interconnected monetary system including community-based, national and international money may facilitate greatest stakeholder access.


Ever-changing business needs have prompted large companies to rethink their enterprise IT. Today, businesses must allow interaction with their customers, partners, and employees at more touch points and at a depth never thought previously. At the same time, rapid advances in information technologies, like business digitization, cloud computing, and Web 2.0, demand fundamental changes in the enterprises' management practices. These changes have a drastic effect not only on IT and business, but also on policies, processes, and people. Many companies therefore embark on enterprise-wide transformation initiatives. The role of Enterprise Architecture (EA) is to architect and supervise this transformational journey. Unfortunately, today's EA is often a ponderous and detached exercise, with most of the EA initiatives failing to create visible impact. The enterprises need an EA that is agile and responsive to business dynamics. Collaborative Enterprise Architecture provides the innovative solutions today's enterprises require, informed by real-world experiences and experts' insights. This book, in its first part, provides a systematic compendium of the current best practices in EA, analyzes current ways of doing EA, and identifies its constraints and shortcomings. In the second part, it leaves the beaten tracks of EA by introducing Lean, Agile, and Enterprise 2.0 concepts to the traditional EA methods. This blended approach to EA focuses on practical aspects, with recommendations derived from real-world experiences. A truly thought provoking and pragmatic guide to manage EA, Collaborative Enterprise Architecture effectively merges the long-term oriented top-down approach with pragmatic bottom-up thinking, and that way offers real solutions to businesses undergoing enterprise-wide change. Covers the latest emerging technologies affecting business practice, including digitization, cloud computing, agile software development, and Web 2.0 Focuses on the practical implementation of EAM rather than theory, with recommendations based on real-world case studies Addresses changing business demands and practices, including Enterprise 2.0, open source, global sourcing, and more Takes an innovative approach to EAM, merging standard top-down and pragmatic, bottom-up strategies, offering real solutions to businesses undergoing enterprise-wide changes


6016 Background: The outcomes in childhood cancers have dramatically improved since 1950. However, it is unclear to what extent this improvement has been a result of continuous progress with experimental treatments, or a consequence of variable successes and failures of the new treatments according to the equipoise hypothesis (Cur Oncol Rep 2001;3:389).

METHODS
To accurately describe the outcomes of innovations, tested in randomized controlled trials (RCTs), three factors are paramount: publication rate, quality of trials and the choice of control intervention. We reviewed all completed phase III RCTs conducted by the Children's Oncology Group (1972 to 2000). Published and unpublished data were used. Seventy three (104 comparisons) RCTs were identified. The success rate of experimental vs. standard treatment was evaluated both semi-quantitatively (on a scale 1-6 describing the authors' conclusions about treatment success) and quantitatively using a standard meta-analytic technique.

RESULTS
Overall, the trials were of high methodological quality. Publication rate was 97% (72/74; 4 abstracts, 68 papers). Innovative treatment was favored in 45% of trials, with a hazard ratio (HR) of 0.91 (95% CI 0.86, 0.96) for event-free survival (p=0.0001), and a HR 0.96 (95% CI 0.89, 1.05) for overall survival (p=0.3). There was no difference in results when restricting analyses to primary outcome measures or according to the type of treatment, disease or comparator.

CONCLUSIONS
There is no predictable pattern of innovative successes in pediatric oncology. Even in situations where in retrospect, tremendous improvements in therapeutic outcomes occur, there is no evidence that the outcomes of RCTs, in aggregate, consistently and predictably favor experimental over control interventions, in spite of the trialists' hopes that the new interventions are better. Nevertheless, individual experimental treatments can be more or less successful. However, identifying which experimental treatment is a success is only known after a RCT is conducted. Improvement in clinical outcomes can only come from continuing empirical testing of new treatments in RCTs. [Table: see text].


Purpose:Dental shade guides are commonly used for color determination and should be disinfected and sterilized. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the color change of Vita 3D Master shade tabs after disinfection and sterilization. Material and methods:Overall, 98 samples (shade tabs) were randomly selected from 14 new, unused Vita 3D sets, including the following shades: 2M1, 3L1.5, 3M1, 3M2, 3M3, 3R1.5 and 4M1. In each set, values of 2, 3 and 4, chroma of 1, 2 and 3 and hue were selected for the comparison of different shades. All tabs were measured using the Vita Easyshade device at baseline. The first group was disinfected with Deconex and the second group was sterilized by autoclaving in a simulated annual application. All the tabs were measured again using the same device. This process was repeated to simulate 2 and 3 years of usage. Statistical analysis was conducted by repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) and independent t-test and paired sample t-test. Results:In the disinfected group, we observed significant differences in value and chroma in all periods (p˂0.001). However, hue showed no significant difference after the first year of simulated treatment (p=0.527), though it was significantly different in the second and third simulations (p˂0.001). In the sterilized group, all variables showed a significant difference for each year (p˂0.05). Considering total color difference (ΔE), there was a significant difference between the two groups in the first, second and third simulated years; ΔE increased in the sterilized group more than in the disinfected samples (p˂0.001).  Conclusions:  The color change of shade tabs was significant both after disinfection by a chemical solution and by sterilization through autoclaving. However, although disinfectants may not have a clinically important effect, sterilization should be considered as an interfering factor during color-matching procedure.


During the past two decades, Dengue virus-3 (DENV-3) has re-emerged in the Western Hemisphere causing significant epidemics of dengue fever (DF) and dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF). In an effort to understand the molecular evolution of DENV-3 and their relationships to other DENV-3 circulating in the western hemisphere, we conducted a phylogenetic study on DENV-3 isolates made between 2002 and 2007 in the metropolitan area of Medellín, Colombia. An unexpected co-circulation of two different variants of DENV-3 subtype III during at least 5 years in Medellín was found. In addition, a more complete analysis of DENV-3 viruses isolated in other South American regions revealed the existence of three different subtype III lineages, all derived from independent introductions. This study documents significant genetic diversity of circulating viruses within the same subtype and an unusual capacity of the population of this city to support continuous circulation of multiple variants of dengue virus.


Besides the rather scanty material collected before 1900 the Phyllophorinае of the Leiden and the Amsterdam Museums consist of many of Karny's type specimens, and a number of specimens collected in New Guinea, especially by Van Kampen and by Versteeg. Though various authors (Kirby, 1899; Griffini, 1908) published papers of fundamental value concerning this subfamily of the Tettigoniidae, the general survey given by Caudell (1912) was little critical, in different genera even species are placed here of which the synonymy had already been established before (cf. Karny, 1924, pp. 19, 20). A modern revision of the subfamily was given by Karny (1924). Though Karny based his paper on a rather large number of specimens and a great deal of literature, it appears that there exist more species. The Leiden as well as the Amsterdam collections contain some specimens which could not be identified with the help of Karny's keys, and which did not fit in with the descriptions of the species already known. For that reason I feel justified to describe these as new species. All specimens dealt with below, Karny's type specimens included, were carefully compared with the descriptions to avoid misinterpretations of Karny's view. In a few cases, however, I cannot agree with Karny's views concerning certain details in the keys as well as in the descriptions and I have given some additional notes when dealing with the genera or species under consideration. I abstained from giving a new key as that of Karny will do for the present when my remarks are taken into account. Sasima Bolivar


In claiming the writers Claude McKay and Eric Walrond for the Harlem Renaissance, literary scholars have often elided these writers' Caribbean origins, treating them as a seamless part of that move-ment's nationally-oriented racial contestation. More recently, McKay and Walrond have been held up as exemplars of black transnationalism, in which their peripatetic careers illustrate the restless, expansive networks of diasporic connection forged in the early part of the twentieth century. This essay instead examines the two authors with an eye toward their status as displaced exiles from the Caribbean who consciously sought both personal and professional success in the United States. Focusing particularly on Walrond's Tropic Death (1926) and McKay's A Long Way from Home (1937) the essay explores the authors' ambivalent (and differently classed) embrace of the United States as a crucial site of artistic and political possibility. In doing so, it demonstrates how, for Walrond and McKay, the United States represented a complicated horizon of aesthetic production, functioning simultaneously as a liberating, bohemian site for experimental literary practice and as a frightening locus of racializing imperial power. Against the reflexive dismissal of the United States as merely a reprehensible perpetrator of global imperialism, the essay employs these two authors' experience to suggest that the affective, aspirational aspects of United States culture can also be seen, from particular vantages in the Global South, to offer (in both literal and figurative ways) an attractive, politically productive form of belonging in the world.


This dissertation explores operating system mechanisms to allow resource-aware applications to be involved in the process of managing resources under the premise that these applications (1) potentially have some (implicit) notion of their future resource demands and (2) can adapt their resource demands. The general idea is to provide feedback to resource-aware applications so that they can proactively participate in the management of resources. This approach has the benefit that resource management policies can be removed from central entities and the operating system has only to provide mechanism. Furthermore, in contrast to centralised approaches, application specific features can be more easily exploited.

To achieve this aim, I propose to deploy a microeconomic theory, namely congestion or shadow pricing, which has recently received attention for managing congestion in communication networks. Applications are charged based on the potential "damage" they cause to other consumers by using resources. Consumers interpret these congestion charges as feedback signals which they use to adjust their resource consumption. It can be shown theoretically that such a system with consumers merely acting in their own self-interest will converge to a social optimum.

This dissertation focuses on the operating system mechanisms required to decentralise resource management this way. In particular it identifies four mechanisms: pricing & charging, credit accounting, resource usage accounting, and multiplexing. While the latter two are mechanisms generally required for the accurate management of resources, pricing & charging and credit accounting present novel mechanisms. It is argued that congestion prices are the correct economic model in this context and provide appropriate feedback to applications. The credit accounting mechanism is necessary to ensure the overall stability of the system by assigning value to credits.


In this study, we investigate pauses and durational patterns in Mandarin spontaneous conversation, as well as investigate how reliably such elements can serve as boundary-marking predictors across different types of speech modes and how language activities are affected by their cognitive correlates. Our results show that pause duration is significantly correlated with specific boundary status. We show that the duration elements are a fundamental component of discourse organization in spontaneous speech and simultaneously reflect exigencies of both cognitive processes and interactive communicative exchange.


Summary 1. Climate change is recognized as a major threat to the survival of species and integrity of ecosystems world-wide. Although considerable research has focused on climate impacts, relatively little work to date has been conducted on the practical application of strategies for adapting to climate change. Adaptation strategies should aim to increase the flexibility in management of vulnerable ecosystems, enhance the inherent adaptability of species and ecosystem processes, and reduce trends in environmental and social pressures that increase vulnerability to climate variability. 2. Knowledge of the specific attributes of climate change likely to impact on species or habitats is central to any adaptive management strategy. Temperature is not the only climate variable likely to change as a result of anthropogenic increases in greenhouse gases. In some regions changes in precipitation, relative humidity, radiation, wind speed and/or potential evapotranspiration may be more marked than for temperature. 3. Uncertainty exists in the response of species and ecosystems to a given climate scenario. While climate will have a direct impact on the performance of many species, for others impacts will be indirect and result from changes in the spatiotemporal availability of natural resources. In addition, mutualistic and antagonistic interactions among species will mediate both the indirect and direct effects of climate change. 4. Approaches to predict species' responses to climate change have tended to address either changes in abundance with time or in spatial distribution. While correlative models may provide a good indication of climate change impacts on abundance, greater understanding is generated by models incorporating aspects of life history, intra- and interspecific competition and predation. Models are especially sensitive to the uncertainty inherent in future climate predictions, the complexity of species' interactions and the difficulties in parameterizing dispersal functions. Model outputs that have not been appropriately validated with real data should be treated with caution. 5. Synthesis and applications . While climate impacts may be severe, they are often exacerbated by current management practices, such as the construction of sea defences, flood management and fire exclusion. In many cases adaptation approaches geared to safeguard economic interests run contrary to options for biodiversity conservation. Increased environmental variability implies lower sustainable harvest rates and increased risks of population collapse. Climate change may significantly reduce habitat suitability and may threaten species with limited dispersal ability. In these cases, wellplanned species translocations may prove a better option than management attempts to increase landscape connectivity. Mathematical models, long-term population studies, natural experiments and the exploitation of natural environmental gradients provide a sound basis for further understanding the consequences of climate change.


Loan guarantees are arguably the most widely used policy intervention in credit markets, especially for consumers. This may be natural, as they have several features that, a priori, suggest that they might be particularly effective in improving allocations. However, despite this, little is actually known about the size of their effects on prices, allocations, and welfare. ; In this paper, we provide a quantitative assessment of loan guarantees, in the context of unsecured consumption loans. Our work is novel as it studies loan guarantees in a rich dynamic model where credit allocation is allowed to be affected by both limited commitment frictions and private information. ; Our findings suggest that consumer loan guarantees may be a powerful tool to alter allocations that, if carefully arranged, can improve welfare, sometimes significantly. Specifically, our key findings are that (i) under both symmetric and asymmetric information, guaranteeing small consumer loans nontrivially alters allocations, and strikingly, yields welfare improvements even after a key form of uncertainty?one's human capital level?has been realized, (ii) larger guarantees change allocations very significantly, but lower welfare, sometimes for all household-types, and (iii) substantial further gains are available when guarantees are restricted to households hit by large expenditure shocks.


Abstract Density functional perturbation theory is used to calculate the Raman spectrum of forsterite (Mg2SiO1). In addition to the fundamental mode frequencies and atomic displacements, the scattering intensities are computed from first principles for the first time. Six independent single-crystal Raman spectra are measured for synthetic forsterite, and good agreement is found between calculation and experiment over a range of nearly six orders of magnitude of scattered intensity. Calculated atomic displacements of these fundamental Raman modes generally agree closely with the results of previous lattice dynamics studies. Modes with frequencies above 500 cm-1 consist primarily of motions internal to the SiO4 tetrahedra, while those below 500 cm-1 are dominated by Mg2 displacements mixed with SiO4 translations and rotations. The considerably larger Raman amplitudes for modes above 500 cm-1 appear to be due to displacements within the highly polarizable oxygen environments surrounded by covalently bonded Si4+ and ionically bonded Mg2+. With regard to calculated frequencies, the theory underestimates frequencies by as much as 8 cm-1 for modes over 500 cm-1, while it generally overestimates frequencies by as much as 17 cm-1 for modes below 500 cm-1. An equivalent set of Raman spectra were measured for the Fe end-member of the olivine solid-solution series, fayalite (Fe2SiO4), and compared to the results for forsterite


Background. This study investigated the use of deceased heart-beating donor livers offered for transplantation during a 10-year period, during which there has been an increasing disparity between organ supply and demand in the United Kingdom. Methods. Summary data from the National Transplant Database were analyzed on all 7107 heart-beating cadaveric donor livers offered for transplantation in the United Kingdom between 1996 and 2006, with particular attention to livers that were not retrieved, not transplanted, or that subsequently failed to function after transplantation. Results. The difference between the number of patients registered for liver transplantation in the United Kingdom and those transplanted increased from 132 in 1996 to 333 in 2006, leading to a 77% increase in the number of waiting list deaths. Mean donor age increased by 6.1 (5.7−6.6) years during the period studied, in part because of a reduction in the proportion of donors arising from road fatalities. Despite this, the rate of primary nonfunction remained low (1.7% during 1996–2006). The absolute risk increase of primary nonfunction arising from receipt of a moderately as opposed to mildly steatotic organ was 2.6%, which translates to a "number needed to harm" of 41 patients. Conclusions. The decline in both the number and the quality of livers offered for transplantation in the United Kingdom during the past 10 years has not been associated with a change in the rate of primary nonfunction. In these times of acute donor shortage, these data may justify a more liberal use of marginal grafts.


One key factor of reducing the costs of photovoltaic systems is to increase the reliability and the service life time of the PV modules. Today's statistics show degradation rates of the rated power for crystalline silicon PV modules of 0.8%/year Jordan11. To increase the reliability and the service life of PV modules one has to understand the challenges involved. For this reason, the international Task 13 expert team has summarized the literature as well as their knowledge and personal experiences on actual failures of PV modules. The target audience of this work is PV module designers, PV industry, engineering lines, test equipment developers, testing companies, technological research laboratories, standardisation committees, as well as national and regional planning authorities. In the first part, this document reports on the measurement methods which allow the identification and analysis of PV module failures. Currently, a great number of methods are available to characterise PV module failures outdoors and in labs. As well as using I-V characteristics as a diagnostic tool, we explain image based methods and visual inspection. For each method we explain the basis, indicate current best practice, and explain how to interpret the images. Three thermography methods are explained: thermography under steady state conditions, pulse thermography and lock-in thermography. The most commonly used of these methods is thermography under steady state conditions. Furthermore electroluminescence methods have become an increasingly popular standard lab approach for detecting failures in PV modules. 2A less common but easier to use method is UV fluorescence. This method can be used to detect module failures similar to those detected with thermography and electroluminescence techniques; however, the PV modules must be sited outdoors for at least one and a half years for the method to be effective. For visual documentation of module conditions in the field, we set up a standard which is now accepted and used by all authors documenting such tests. This standard format allows the documentation of visible module failures in standardised way and makes the data accessible for statistical evaluation. Furthermore we introduce a signal transition method for the detection of defective circuits in installed PV modules. All methods are linked to the PV module failures which are able to be found with these methods. In the second part, the most common failures of PV modules are described in detail. In particular these failures are: delamination, back sheet adhesion loss, junction box failure, frame breakage, EVA discolouration, cell cracks, snail tracks, burn marks, potential induced degradation, disconnected cell and string interconnect ribbons, defective bypass diodes; and special failures of thin-film modules, such as micro arcs at glued connectors, shunt hot spots, front glass breakage, and back contact degradation. Where possible, the origin of the failure is explained. A reference to the characterisation method is given to identify the failure. If available, statistics of the failure type in the field and from accelerating aging tests are shown. For each failure, a description of safety issues and the influence on the power loss is given, including typical follow-up failure modes. In the third part, new test methods are proposed for detection of PV module failures in the field. A special focus is made on mechanical tests because many problems have arisen in the last few years from the mechanical loading of modules. These mechanical loads occur during transportation and from snow loads on modules mounted on an incline. Furthermore, testing for UV degradation of PV modules, ammonia corrosion (sometimes found in roofs of stock breeding buildings) and potential induced degradation are described. The latter method caused some controversy within the international standardization committee until the finalization of this report because many alternative suggestions from different countries were proposed. The test methods are explained in detail, linked to failure descriptions and the results are compared to real failure occurrences, where possible. During a past Task 13 project phase, we recognised that the topic �3.2 Characterising and Classifying Failures of PV Modules� is an important on-going subject in the field of PV research. The current review of failure mechanisms shows that the origin and the power loss associated with some important PV module failures is not yet clear (e.g. snail tracks and cell cracks). There are also still some questions as to how best to test for some types of failure (e.g. potential induced degradation and cell cracks). Furthermore, despite the fact that a defective bypass diode or cell interconnect ribbon in a PV module may possibly lead to a fire, very little work has been done to detect these defects in an easy and reliable way once installed in a PV system. However, there are research groups currently working on those topics in order to overcome these challenges. Therefore, it is planed to continue our in-depth review of failures of photovoltaic modules in an extension of the TASK 13 project.


This dissertation reports on research and design of artificial intelligence and bioinformatics approaches and their application in the field of functional genomics. A novel approach to construction of genetic networks from data on mutations is proposed. Network construction involves two steps. The first step, inference of relations between genes, is characterized as abductive. Genetic experiments are the observations that need to be explained and relations between genes are abduced in order to provide explanation of the experimental observations. The second step involves integration of relations into a qualitative network. Several algorithms for construction and interpretation of qualitative networks are presented. Such a network enables qualitative reasoning about the underlying genetic mechanisms.

The dissertation also describes a computer program called GenePath, a practical implementation of the approaches proposed in this dissertation. GenePath allows online analysis of genetic data on mutations, emphasizing the importance of exploratory data analysis, transparency of results and machine-based explanation.

Additionally, the dissertation analyzes the possibility of constructing genetic networks from quantitative data on gene expression measurements using DNA microarray technology. A previously proposed distance-based approach to inference of relations between genes is described and augmented with a method for estimating their significance. Two alternative statistical approaches are proposed which can handle noise and missing data. The proposed approaches are experimentally evaluated. The utility of GenePath is demonstrated on a number of well-studied genetic analysis problems from D.discoideum and C.elegans. The approaches that deal with quantitative data are applied to study D.discoideum strains with single and double knock-out mutations in genes yakA, pkaC, pkaR, pufA and regA.


How should we live? According to philosopher and biologist Massimo Pigliucci, the greatest guidance to this essential question lies in combining the wisdom of 24 centuries of philosophy with the latest research from 21st century science. In Answers for Aristotle, Pigliucci argues that the combination of science and philosophy first pioneered by Aristotle offers us the best possible tool for understanding the world and ourselves. As Aristotle knew, each mode of thought has the power to clarify the other: science provides facts, and philosophy helps us reflect on the values with which to assess them. But over the centuries, the two have become uncoupled, leaving us with questions--about morality, love, friendship, justice, and politics--that neither field could fully answer on its own. Pigliucci argues that only by rejoining each other can modern science and philosophy reach their full potential, while we harness them to help us reach ours. Pigliucci discusses such essential issues as how to tell right from wrong, the nature of love and friendship, and whether we can really ever know ourselves--all in service of helping us find our path to the best possible life. Combining the two most powerful intellectual traditions in history, Answers for Aristotle is a remarkable guide to discovering what really matters and why.


OBJECTIVES
To describe the demographic characteristics, utilization of medical services, and health status of uninsured children compared with insured children in the United States and to assess the factors associated with lack of health insurance among children. An estimated 8 million children in the United States are uninsured. Medicaid expansions and tax credits have had little impact on the overall problem. An understanding of the characteristics of uninsured children is essential for the design of appropriate outreach and enrollment strategies, benefit packages, and health care provision arrangements for uninsured children.

METHODS
Analysis of the 1988 Child Health Supplement of the National Health Interview Survey.

RESULTS
Diverse groups of children in the United States lack health insurance. Residence in the South (odds ratio [OR], 2.3) and West (OR, 1.9. [corrected]) and being poor (OR, 2.2) or nearly poor (OR, 2.1) are independently associated with being uninsured. Substantial differences in both sources of care and utilization of medical services exist between uninsured and insured children. Uninsured children lack usual sources of routine care (OR, 3.1) and sick care (OR, 3.8) and also lack appropriate well-child care (OR, 1.5) compared with insured children. Neither being in fair or poor health nor emergency department use are significant independent predictors of being uninsured among children. Children who have a chronic disease, such as asthma, face difficulties of access to care and utilize substantially fewer outpatient and inpatient services.

CONCLUSIONS
Universal health insurance, rather than efforts directed at specific groups, appears to be the only way to provide health insurance for all US children. Uninsured and insured children reveal marked discrepancies in access to and utilization of medical services, including preventive services, but have similar rates of chronic health conditions and limitations of activity. Uninsured children do not appear to form a population that will incur higher mean annual expenditures for medical care compared with insured children.


This chapter presents an overview of research in support of Skill Acquisition Theory and the claim that contextualized oral practice in conjunction with feedback promotes continued second language growth. Skill acquisition is explained as a gradual transition from effortful use to more automatic use of the target language, with the ultimate goal of achieving faster and more accurate processing. By reviewing different yet compatible theoretical orientations of knowledge representations (e.g., implicit/explicit knowledge, exemplar-based/rule-based representations), the interplay between declarative and procedural knowledge is explained as bidirectional and relative to the context of instruction. The differential effects of guided practice and communicative practice are addressed and their benefits in conjunction with feedback are highlighted through reference to classroom-based second language acquisition (SLA) research. Finally, future directions regarding research on practice effects and types of practice are suggested.


This paper attempts to reduce the uncertainty about the dynamics of the monetary transmission mechanism. Central to this attempt is the identification of monetary policy shocks. Recently, VAR approaches that use over-identifying restrictions have shown success in isolating such shocks. This paper examines monetary shocks identified by longrun cointegration restrictions and the assumption of long-run money neutrality in exactly identified VAR models across six industrialized countries. The short-run dynamics corresponding to a monetary shock can be interpreted as a monetary policy shock. The results suggest that the stock of money has an active role in the transmission mechanism.


Recent genome wide association studies (GWAS) have identified a locus on chromosome 11p15.5, closely associated with serine/threonine kinase 33 (STK33), to be associated with body mass. STK33, a relatively understudied protein, has been linked to KRAS mutation-driven cancers and explored as a potential antineoplastic drug target. The strongest association with body mass observed at this loci in GWAS was rs4929949, a single nucleotide polymorphism located within intron 1 of the gene encoding STK33. The functional implications of rs4929949 or related variants have not been explored as of yet. We have genotyped rs4929949 in two cohorts, an obesity case-control cohort of 991 Swedish children, and a cross-sectional cohort of 2308 Greek school children. We found that the minor allele of rs4929949 was associated with obesity in the cohort of Swedish children and adolescents (OR = 1.199 (95%CI: 1.002–1.434), p = 0.047), and with body mass in the cross-sectional cohort of Greek children (β = 0.08147 (95% CI: 0.1345–0.1618), p = 0.021). We observe the effects of rs4929949 on body mass to be detectable already at adolescence. Subsequent analysis did not detect any association of rs4929949 to phenotypic measurements describing body adiposity or to metabolic factors such as insulin levels, triglycerides and insulin resistance (HOMA).


Abstract The United States Clean Water Act (CWA) is one of the key legal means in the USA to 'restore and maintain the chemical, physical and biological integrity of the nation's waters'. Given the pervasive influence of human development and associated climate change in increasing water temperatures in streams of the USA, salmonids are particularly susceptible to reduction in productivity and geographic distribution. Native and introduced, self-sustaining salmonid populations can be found in most of the 50 States of the US. Despite this commonly shared resource, the highly similar temperature sensitivity among salmonids, and the legal imperative under the CWA to provide full protection to the most sensitive uses, the States supporting these thermally sensitive species have adopted a wide range of standards. As these standards are so divergent, even though the protection goal under the CWA applies uniformly to all States, it is clear that water temperature standards have been developed under conflicting interpretations of the best science available or there is a misunderstanding of the level of protection needed. The current EPA Gold Book guidance for development of protective standards, dating from 1973, still recommends the use of MWAT (maximum weekly average temperature) as a means of assigning protective chronic temperature standards to coldwater fisheries. MWAT, applied according to EPA guidance, is typically used in conjunction with an acute upper limit. From its inception, evidence was available to show that MWAT was inadequate to protect against chronic thermal impairment. This review of temperature standards, applied across the 50 States, collectively reveals a set of ecologically based principles that can be extracted from available standards and would provide a better measure of protection. It is deduced that standards might better apply to optimum temperatures for each life-history stage to protect against chronic thermal effects. These should include: geographic identification of core spawning and rearing areas; recognising cumulative warming from multiple sources; a limit on rate of warming or cooling; special standards for salmonids with exceptionally lower specific temperature requirements, requiring natural thermal patterns on a daily, seasonal, and annual cycle; and regulating the frequency of exceedence of standards on a multi-year basis. The diverse temperature standards found in the statutes of individual States to protect fish species with highly similar biological requirements are indicative of the failure of States to provide consistently high levels of protection and of the EPA to ensure State application of the best science through its standards approval process. In addition to appropriate standards, monitoring, listing of streams as water quality impaired, and development of restoration plans are essential to the success in protecting the coldwater fish resource.


The epoc Blood Analysis System (Alere, Orlando, FL) performs blood gases, electrolytes, and metabolites using a Blood Gas Electrolyte and Metabolite (BGEM) Test Card panel on 92 uL of whole blood. The BGEM test card uses potentiometric sensors to measure sodium, potassium, ionized calcium, pH, pCO2; amperometric sensors to measure pO2, glucose, and lactate; and a conductometric sensor to measure hematocrit. Results are available in 3-10 minutes, depending upon the time between calibration and patient testing. TJUH implemented the epoc in its ICUs in 2012 to provide Point of Care (POC) results. Alere recently added creatinine and chloride sensors to its BGEM cartridge. At the request of our Emergency Department, we evaluated creatinine and chloride on the epoc.


A polarization grating (PG) written in an azo-dye-doped film of polymer-ball-type polymer-dispersed liquid crystals was investigated. The writing beams were two mutually orthogonal (s- and p-polarized) polarized beams. The PG resulted from molecular reorientation of the liquid crystals as a result of their interaction with the dye molecules adsorbed on the surface of the polymer balls. Polarization characteristics of the diffracted beams and the grating pattern were studied under a polarizing optical microscope with a crossed analyzer. The results indicate that the PG diffracts the linearly polarized incident light into beams with various polarizations. Accordingly, the grating can be used as an unpolarized or a polarized beam splitter, depending on the polarization of the incident light. A model based on the Jones matrix approach was developed, and it closely fits the experimental results.


Private pension provision faces the challenging task of providing stable income streams during retirement. The challenge has increased markedly in the last decades due to volatile financial markets, falling interest rates and the withdrawal of employers and external insurers as risk bearers of systematic financial and longevity risks. Partly because of these developments, policyholders desire pensions tailored to their individual needs. This paper proposes a new type of pension: the Personal Pension with Risk sharing (PPR). By unbundling and valuing the investment, (dis)saving, insurance and risk-sharing functions of pensions, PPRs allow risk management and (dis)saving to be customized to the specific features of heterogeneous individuals. Moreover, unlike variable annuities, PPRs allow investment risks to be combined with longevity insurance without giving rise to high year-on-year volatility in consumption streams or opaque and rigid valuation and smoothing rules. The unbundling of functions in the PPR also deepens the internal markets for financial and insurance products while at the same time accommodating the diverse traditions of countries in terms of occupational pension provision. Finally, the PPR reconciles financial, fiscal and macroeconomic stability with growth by increasing the supply of long-term risk-bearing and illiquid capital, complementing public retirement provision, reducing the interest-rate sensitivity of pensions and smoothing shocks.


This paper documents the evidence for a productivity based model of the dollar/euro real exchange rate over the 1985-2001 period. We estimate cointegrating relationships between the real exchange rate, productivity, and the real price of oil using the Johansen (1988) and Stock-Watson (1993) procedures. We find that each percentage point in the US-Euro area productivity differential results in a five percentage point real appreciation of the dollar. This finding is robust to the estimation methodology, the variables included in the regression, and the sample period. We conjecture that productivity-based models cannot explain the observed patterns with the standard set of assumptions, and describe a case in which the model can be reconciled with the observed data.


Although recent research into resilience acknowledges the importance of attachment to place and claims that place is often the basis for community development, this relationship has not yet been explored in great detail. We research the link between people, place, and community resilience by examining and unravelling the role of place attachment in rural communities. We address the gap in current research by conducting interviews and eliciting mental maps from residents in two remote rural villages in Scotland. The relationship between people and place can be explained by heterogeneity in a community, and this is influenced by the different aspects of place attachment: social, personal, and environmental. We therefore introduce two types of place attachment: changeoriented and stability-oriented. Both types of place attachment influence individual and community resilience. Resilience and change-oriented place attachment can be restored after a disturbance and both are able to adapt to change. Stability-oriented place attachment, in contrast, can result in nostalgia and fear of loss or change of existing place aspects. However, this inclination towards protective behaviour can also enhance community resilience. Long-term residents and in-migrants each have different types of place attachment, and each can strengthen or weaken community resilience. Long-term residents are more likely to have nostalgic feelings which result in stability-oriented attachment, making them less able to adapt to change. We argue that length of residence is not a factor in resilience building as such, and therefore this paper makes an original contribution to the debate on resilience.


This paper reviews the government role in the legalized gambling sector and addresses some of the major issues relevant to any normative analysis of what the government role should be. In particular, the paper reviews evidence identifying the economic "winners" and losers" associated with the three largest sectors of the industry: commercial casinos, state lotteries, and Native American casinos. The paper also includes a discussion of the growing Internet gambling industry. In addition to reviewing existing literature and evidence, the paper raises relevant questions and policy issues that have not yet been adequately addressed in the economics literature.


Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the performance and the relationship between competitiveness, real gross domestic product (GDP) growth and human development in 20 countries of the Latin America and Caribbean region during the 2006-2015 period. The main argument to uphold here is that – from the perspective of virtuous circle – countries with better conditions of competitiveness are those with better economic performance and with better conditions for human development.

Design/methodology/approach
Time series data were organized at three levels: individual countries, groups of nations and Latin America and Caribbean as a whole. Indicators used were: index of competitiveness, rates of change in real GDP and Human Development Index. Cluster analysis tests were performed: data ranges were determined and quintiles were established. Countries were ranked in five categories and comparative position matrices were determined for each variable. Linear correlations between indexes were calculated. Linear correlation coefficients were determined in terms of groups of countries and considering Latin America and Caribbean as a whole.

Findings
Findings revealed that decreasing conditions in competitiveness and economic growth indicators are the representative situation since 2009. The most competitive country in the region is Chile, and the weakest is Venezuela. Nevertheless, all Latin American and Caribbean countries analyzed seem to have made progress in terms of human, economic and social development. Regarding correlations, Dominican Republic showed an inverse relationship between competitiveness and economic growth, while Jamaica and Venezuela showed inverse relationships between competitiveness and human development. At the individual country level, no statistically significant relationship between economic growth and human development was detected.

Research limitations/implications
Findings highlight the necessity of future research that result in a deeper understanding of the transmission mechanisms between economic and social performance in Latin American and Caribbean countries. Particular reasons at the micro level that explain improvements or deteriorations in competitiveness and human development must also be analyzed. Based on the degrees of freedom, time series could have included more years, but a lack of information was found for some countries. It would also be necessary to observe each particular case considering the type of economy, production characteristics and export/import composition.

Practical implications
Results complement the existing literature by exploring competitiveness and its relationship with economic and social variables in developing countries. The authors also believe that this paper is relevant for macroeconomic and social policy debates involving competitiveness and human well-being in this region of the world.

Originality/value
This paper supports an important argument: human well-being and national development must be the ultimate goal of competitiveness. Traditional literature focuses on levels and determinants of competitiveness in developed countries, but it usually does not take into account social and human aspects of the process in developing countries. Little attention has been paid to analyze the relationship between competitiveness and socioeconomic variables in developing countries. Methods and findings of this paper complement the existing literature by studying the relationships among competitiveness, real GDP growth and human development in Latin American and Caribbean countries, using correlation analysis.


Today, online learning is prospering from the widely
 available and easily accessible connection to the Web. Massive open
 online course (MOOC) platforms such as Coursera, edX, and Udemy have
 made available several thousands of short courses at several
 difficulty levels in a wide variety of disciplines, ranging from
 business, computer science to literature, for learners to select
 from. Learners who are looking to earn credentials for career
 advancement or personal interest would find MOOCs attractive not
 only because of the time and place flexibility these courses offer,
 but also because of the free enrollment or the very small
 certificate fee upon completion, as well as the emergent recognition
 these courses are receiving for their high quality learning delivery
 from leading educational institutions. Learners who enroll in a MOOC
 would typically need to participate in various learning activities
 and complete a few assessment tasks to complete the course. However,
 it has been commonly reported that the completion rates of MOOCs are
 low. Based on the common notion that when learners are more
 motivated to learn, they are likely to better engage in learning and
 have a higher likelihood to complete a MOOC, this study adopted the
 Motivation and Engagement Scale (MES) by Martin (2007, 2009) to
 collect responses from university students to examine whether
 positive motivation resulted in positive engagement; whether
 negative motivation resulted in negative engagement; and how
 positive or negative engagement swayed learners' inclination to
 complete a MOOC if they were to enroll in one. Findings show that
 there was a statistically significant positive relationship between
 positive motivation and positive engagement, between negative
 motivation and negative engagement, and between positive engagement
 and inclination to complete a MOOC. However, the relationship
 between negative engagement and inclination to complete a MOOC was
 statistically not significant. Findings of this study can be useful
 to MOOC providers and learners in their effort to develop strategies
 to increase completion rates of MOOCs.


Abstract Since 2002 Kruger National Park (KNP) has subjected to a commercialisation strategy. Regarding income generation, SANParks (1) sees KNP as the goose that lays the golden eggs. As part of SANParks' commercialisation strategy and in response to providing services that are efficient, predictable and calculable for a large number of tourists, SANParks has allowed well-known branded restaurants to be established in certain rest camps in KNP. This innovation has raised a range of different concerns and opinions among the public. This paper investigates the what and the where of casual dining experiences in KNP; describes how the catering services have evolved over the last 70 years; and evaluates current visitor perceptions of the introduction of franchised restaurants in the park. The main research instrument was a questionnaire survey. Survey findings confirmed that restaurant managers, park managers and visitors recognise franchised restaurants as positive contributors to the unique KNP experience. Park managers appraised the franchised restaurants as mechanisms for funding conservation.


Fiber lasers and amplifiers have undergone rapid development in the past two decades, evidenced by the almost exponential rise in their output powers. This project investigates various concepts relating to high-power operation of fiber sources, focussing particularly on mode-area scaling, with the goal of developing a strategy for further power-scaling of fiber sources. The first concept examined is the phenomena of multimode interference (MMI), which occurs when fiber core areas are scaled to the extent that they support the propagation of more than one mode. MMI gives rise to self-imaging, whereby the initial phase relationship and spatial profile of an input beam is recovered at the output. This was investigated using a multimode ytterbium doped fiber amplifier, seeded with a wavelength tunable single mode ytterbium fiber laser. Tuning of the seed source showed that the amplifier underwent periodic self imaging of the fundamental mode beam incident from the seed, with a measured self-imaging wavelength period of 0.7 nm, consistent with predicted values. Despite significant higher order mode presence, self imaging yielded an excellent M2 value of 1.16. The laser beam M2 value in a non-self-imaging state reached a maximum value of 1.6. To illustrate the repercussions of these cyclical changes, the output of this amplifier was coupled into a single mode fiber. As the seed source was tuned the coupling efficiency underwent drastic changes from a maximum of 0.7 to a minimum of 0.04 due to changes in the amplifier's beam pointing and quality as a result of MMI. A novel concept for mode selection was introduced which would preclude the negative effects of MMI by virtue of operating only on a single selected mode. The concept involves exploiting the mode-dependent spectral response of the reflectivity of fiber Bragg gratings. Experimental work with a multimode thulium fiber laser undertaken in collaboration with colleague Jae Daniel. Selected fundamental mode operation was successfully achieved, with an excellent M2 value of 1.1 compared to 3.3 for the same laser free-running without mode selection. Other higher-order modes could be selected by tuning the fiber laser. Analytical and numerical modelling showed that the reduced spatial overlap between the fundamental mode and the gain profile of the fiber would have minimal effect on the laser slope efficiency if operated at least 8 times above threshold. We speculate scalability of this novel technique to core diameters of up to 70 µm. To lay the groundwork for the transfer of the mode-selection technique to Q-switched multimode thulium fiber lasers, benchmarking experiments were conducted to probe the maximum achievable pulse energies and peak power from a thulium fiber. The highest pulse energy recorded was 618 µJ, with a corresponding peak power of 23 kW. However, the output pulse shape contained multiple peaks separated by one round-trip time (50ns). This multipeak phenomena was investigated numerically. It was found that the multipeak behaviour is initiated by the transient ASE wave injected into the cavity by the Q-switch as it is switched. A novel and elegant method for obtaining singly-pulsed, potentially high peak power output from a highly pumped Q-switch fiber source via regenerative amplification was proposed. This was proven experimentally in a Q-switched thulium fiber. We observed single-peaked pulses with a pulse width of < 14 ns. However, measured pulse energies and peak powers were low (20 µJ and 1.5 kW) due to high cavity losses and deleterious parasitic lasing. Inspection of the output spectrum confirmed that the Q-switched system was in fact a Q-switched ASE source. It is hoped that a more optimal experimental setup will yield better results in terms of the pulse energies and peak powers obtained


The author examines corruption within labor unions and the responses to that corruption with the use of two laws, the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 and the Hobbs Act. While the LMRDA guarantees union members important rights, corruption and the influence of organized crime has severely weakened members' ability to exercise those rights. The author argues that RICO actions can and should be pursued against those who extort and otherwise violate union members' rights because the remedies available under RICO are stronger than those available under the Hobbs Act. The author contends that the Hobbs Act should be amended to include allowing actions that violate the intangible rights guaranteed to unions and their members under the LMRDA.


This study presents an approximate method which is based on the continuum approach and one dimensional finite element method to be used for lateral static and dynamic analyses of wall-frame buildings. In this method, the whole structure is idealized as an equivalent sandwich beam which includes all deformations. The effect of shear deformations of walls is considered and incorporated in the formulation of the governing equations. Initially the differential equations of this equivalent sandwich beam are written; then shape functions and stiffness matrix can be obtained by solving the differential equations. For static and dynamic analysis the lateral forces and masses were applied on the storey levels. Angular frequency and modes were obtained by using system mass and system stiffness matrices. Finally, numerical examples have been solved using MATLAB to verify the presented method. The results of these examples display the agreement between the proposed method existing methods.


Coronary atherosclerosis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are
highly prevalent, and two of the commonest causes of morbidity and mortality in the
Australian population. They share cigarette smoking as an important risk factor, and
frequently coexist. Drugs which act on the beta-adrenergic receptor are important
therapeutic tools in both diseases. However, beta-receptor antagonists, which are
commonly used to treat cardiac disease, theoretically may cause adverse respiratory
effects and are traditionally avoided in patients with obstructive airways disease.
This work seeks to explore the short and longer term effects of beta-blocker
medications, when used for treatment of cardiac disease in patients with coexisting
obstructive airways disease. Specifically, the aims of this research are:
1. To estimate the prevalence of coexisting obstructive airways disease amongst
patients with cardiac disease
2. To investigate current beta-blocker prescribing practice in patients with
obstructive airways disease
3. To document adverse respiratory effects of beta-blocker medications, in
terms of symptoms, lung function and other longer term health outcomes.
Within 24 hours of hospital admission for suspected cardiac disease, patients were
screened for airways obstruction, using spirometry. Spirometry results demonstrated
a high level of coexistence of cardiac disease and obstructive airways disease, about
twice that cited in previously published estimates. Documentation of beta-blocker prescribing practices within the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital's Cardiology Unit
revealed minimal prescription of these medications to patients with previously
diagnosed chronic obstructive airways disease and asthma, despite limited evidence
of adverse effects of beta-blocker use in such patients. This notably occurred even
when guidelines recommended beta-blockade as first line therapy, and where
survival benefit was established. However, many patients with obstructive
spirometry, but no formal diagnosis of obstructive airways disease, did receive betablockers.
Longitudinal analysis of symptom assessment, lung function and health
outcomes was performed. Lung function and respiratory symptoms data were
collected over a twelve month period and data pertaining to beta-blocker
discontinuation, respiratory exacerbations, acute cardiac events and survival were
collected over almost six years. There was no indication of a statistically significant
adverse beta-blocker effect on lung function, respiratory symptoms or survival but
beta-blocker medications did appear to increase respiratory exacerbation rates.
This work confirms the very high frequency of obstructive airways disease existing
in combination with cardiac disease in an Australian urban population, which had
been suspected but not previously documented. However, its major contribution is to
provide prospective long term respiratory health outcome data for the use of betablocker
medications in this group.


Greater participation of women in water management and decision-making is expected to improve outcomes for both women and the wider community. Global evidence indicates that women's participation in Water User Committees (WUCs) has been limited; yet their involvement in management has correlated with more effective water systems. This analysis of water inventory data from Vanuatu considers how women's participation in WUCs affects water management and system functionality. Women represent only 16 per cent of committee membership; however, their involvement in key WUC roles was associated with more effective water management, including regular meetings and revenue collection, and improved functioning of water systems. This evidence of women's involvement is proving useful in advocacy efforts to improve the gender balance in WUCs, and targets for female membership are being considered for inclusion in water supply legislation.


The fishing operations of a reference fleet of French commercial deep-water bottom trawlers from Lorient operating to the west of the British Isles have been described between 1999 and 2001, and their subsequent impact on several species of deep-water chondrichthyans from the area were assessed. Landings from a three-year market sampling programme showed that the deep-water fishery is highly seasonal in nature operating at greater depths in the summer months. The depth fished by vessels is primarily related to the targeted species of the fishery. Biological data from research cruises and discard observer trips have indicated that most chondrichthyan species in this study exhibit strict baythymetric distributions. The quantity and species of chondrichthyans caught as bycatch or discarded from the fishery are therefore dependent on which targeted species is caught and at what depth, and these factors can vary considerably over a limited depth range. Data collected on the reproductive biology of these species have shown that, in most instances, deep-water chondrichthyans have extremely low reproductive rates with low fecundities, slow growth and that they mature at large sizes, suggesting that they are susceptible to overfishing. A limited analysis conducted in ICES Divison VIa between preand post-fishery research cruises showed a decrease in catch rates for Centroscymnus coelolepis, Centrophorus squamosus and Chimaera monstrosa by decade and gear type, suggesting that these species may be some of the most vulnerable deep-water chondrichthyans when faced with intensive commercial fishing. Nevertheless data used in multivariate models were fragmentary and unbalanced in nature, and therefore results should be treated with caution. More species-specific fisheries and biological data are required in the northeast Atlantic to provide accurate management programs for deepwater chondrichthyans.


We present a linguistic analysis of Named Entities in Spanish texts. Our work is focused on the determination of the structure of complex proper names: names with coordinated consituents, names with prepositional phrases and names formed by several content words initialized by a capital letter. We present the analysis of circa 49.000 examples obtained from Mexican newspapers. We detailed their structure and give some notions about the context surrounding them. Since named entities belong to open class of words they are being created daily, so the challenge for a named entity recognizer is to precisely determine the boundaries of new entity names in any text and to analyze thoroughly their components for deep semantic analysis. Knowing their general classes of structure it should be possible to drive useful heuristics or a specific grammar for natural language processing applications


This is a participatory case study together with the Non Governmental Organization (NGO)
Cetap (Centro de Tecnologias Alternativas Populares) in Brazil and the farmers in two of the groups with whom Cetap cooperates. The objective of the study is to describe and evaluate the process of agroecological transition with the aim of improving it. One of the groups is made up of about 40% of the members of the village Vaca Morta. The village is localized in a strongly hilly area difficult to mechanize and the village is known for its internal strong organizational culture. Although participating they have maintained a certain independce from outsiders such as farmers unions and social movements. The second group is made up of farmers spread out over a whole municipality called Ibiraiaras. The landscape here is flatter and the agriculture more mechanized. The organizational culture of the group is weaker but a strong interconnection with farmers unions and social organization stands out in this group. These properties were chosen as criteria for election of the groups for the study since Cetap feel that they are important ingredients in several of the groups they work with.

The focus of the study is to understand and hopefully improve a complex reality with all its variation in perceptions. To reach this profound understanding of the situation, as
experienced by the participants, Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) was the chosen
methodology.

An important conclusion of the study is that agroecology is an approach and a process instead of a steady, defined state. Thereby there cannot be a transition to it. Transition is an intrinsic part of agroecology which could be defined as; Agroecology is a way of understanding and approaching the rural situation. By the help of the underlying premises and basic principles it helps us to develop a strategy of how to coevolve in a sustainable way with our natural and social environment.

A biological and technological view dominates the agroecological transition in literature. This case study shows that other issues must be given more importance as:
Knowledge
Family Subsistence
Social and Cultural Acceptance and Valuation
Personal and Family Motivation
Power
A Plan
Cooperation

The two groups find themselves in quite different sociopolitical and biophysical situations which have led to quite different processes of agroecological transition. This is also reflected in which of the above mentioned elements they found most important to work with in order to improve their development.


Essayist Nichols introduces Totino's work by discussing the representation of flesh, both by Jean Genet's "Our Lady of the Flowers" and in de Kooning's figural abstractions of the 1950's: the materiality as well as the symbolic function of the image. She identifies in Totino's richly worked painterly canvases the presence of narrative (images taken from the media) and anti-narrative (the expressionistic interplay between colour and form) each one undermining the purity of the other. In-depth analysis of all works in the exhibition. Biographical notes. 6 bibl. ref.


Abstract The fossil foraminiferal faunas preserved in intertidal sediment in six cores document the impact of human activities on the ecosystems of the north‐east arm of the Manukau Harbour, Auckland, New Zealand. They indicate that Polynesian forest clearance and horticulture had negligible impact on the harbour biota. Before 1960, organic‐rich discharges from four large meat works around the head of Mangere Inlet produced changes in nearby foraminiferal faunas but did not affect faunas in the more seaward part of the arm. Initial early European increases in organic nutrients from the meat works resulted in the development of weak hypertrophic zones around the outfalls, characterised by higher absolute abundances of benthic foraminifera and ostracods and possible benthic algal blooms. Higher organic nutrient levels in one core closer to an outfall produced eutrophic and anoxic conditions with no foraminifera (abiotic zone). In 1960 the Mangere Sewage Treatment Plant (MSTP) was opened and the meat works and other outfalls progressively closed. This change coincided with a sharp increase in zinc (Zn) and lead (Pb) levels in sediments throughout the arm, attributed to a rapid increase in motor vehicle numbers and stormwater run‐off. The MSTP discharged vast quantities of nutrient‐ and mud‐rich fresh water into the seaward part of the arm, resulting in an order of magnitude increase in sedimentation rates throughout most of the arm and a widespread change in the foraminiferal faunas. Foraminiferal abundance generally decreased and species diversity increased with the appearance of numerous juvenile foraminiferal shells carried in by the incoming tide from subtidal habitats nearer the harbour mouth. Also appearing in large numbers in the post‐1960 sediment are planktic foraminifera, large diatom valves, and sponge sterrasters, all of which are inferred to have been transported in. The sudden increase in displaced microfossils may be a result of a combination of fresh water‐induced flocculation and increased "stickiness" of the substrate from the growth of benthic algal mats, resulting from the high nutrient output from the MSTP.