This article presents some preliminary results from field- work (observatory participation, in-depth interviews and focus-group discussions) conducted mainly in Tallinn both with Estonians and Russophones, i.e. it represents work in progress, as this data is cur- rently under review. However, before going into the presentation and analysis of these results, I will set up the framework that will let us have a more specific idea about how to read the results, and also, I will give a description of the methodological tools I used to obtain the available data. Finally, at the end of the article, I shall close with the most relevant conclusions we can arrive at, while at the same time giving some suggestions for further inquiry.


BACKGROUND
Suppression of the adrenal function after glucocorticoid treatment is common, potentially dangerous, and unpredictable. Identification of patients at risk is of clinical importance. We hypothesized that the dexamethasone suppression test predicts the development of corticosteroid-induced impaired adrenal function.

METHODS
We included 39 healthy male volunteers. After a 1-microg ACTH test, all participants underwent an overnight 0.5-mg dexamethasone suppression test. Participants then took prednisone, 0.5 mg/kg body weight, for 14-day. After the withdrawal of prednisone, a 1-microg ACTH test was performed and a clinical score was assessed on days 1, 3, 7, and 21.

RESULTS
On days 1, 3, 7, and 21, 100, 50, 26.5 and 32.4% of the participants had a suppressed adrenal function. The risk of developing suppressed adrenal function decreased from 44 to 0% in patients with cortisol levels after the administration of dexamethasone in the lowest and highest quartiles respectively. Receiver operating curve (ROC) analysis performed to predict a suppressed adrenal function on day 7 after the withdrawal of prednisone showed an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.76 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.58-0.89) for cortisol after the administration of dexamethasone, which was in the range of the AUC of 0.78 (95% CI 0.6-0.9) for pre-intervention cortisol after the administration of ACTH. Basal cortisol before intake of prednisone (AUC 0.62 (95% CI 0.44-0.78)) and the clinical score (AUC 0.64 (95% CI 0.45-0.79)) had significantly lower AUCs.

CONCLUSION
Circulating cortisol levels after a dexamethasone suppression test and a pre-intervention-stimulated cortisol level are predictive of later development of a suppressed adrenal function after a 14-day course of prednisone, and are superior to a clinical score or basal cortisol levels. This may allow a more targeted concept for the need of stress prophylaxis after cessation of steroid therapy.


We describe a method of identifying and counting whales using very high resolution satellite imagery through the example of southern right whales breeding in part of the Golfo Nuevo, Península Valdés in Argentina. Southern right whales have been extensively hunted over the last 300 years and although numbers have recovered from near extinction in the early 20th century, current populations are fragmented and are estimated at only a small fraction of pre-hunting total. Recent extreme right whale calf mortality events at Península Valdés, which constitutes the largest single population, have raised fresh concern for the future of the species. The WorldView2 satellite has a maximum 50 cm resolution and a water penetrating coastal band in the far-blue part of the spectrum that allows it to see deeper into the water column. Using an image covering 113 km2, we identified 55 probable whales and 23 other features that are possibly whales, with a further 13 objects that are only detected by the coastal band. Comparison of a number of classification techniques, to automatically detect whale-like objects, showed that a simple thresholding technique of the panchromatic and coastal band delivered the best results. This is the first successful study using satellite imagery to count whales; a pragmatic, transferable method using this rapidly advancing technology that has major implications for future surveys of cetacean populations.


We consider a random walk process on graphs introduced by Orenshtein and Shinkar (2014). At any time, the random walk moves from its current position along a previously unvisited edge chosen uniformly at random, if such an edge exists. Otherwise, it walks along a previously visited edge chosen uniformly at random. For the random $r$-regular graph, with $r$ a constant odd integer, we show that this random walk process has asymptotic vertex and edge cover times $\frac{1}{r-2}n\log n$ and $\frac{r}{2(r-2)}n\log n$, respectively, generalizing a result of Cooper, Frieze and the author (2018) from $r = 3$ to any odd $r\geqslant 3$. The leading term of the asymptotic vertex cover time is now known for all fixed $r\geqslant 3$, with Berenbrink, Cooper and Friedetzky (2015) having shown that $G_r$ has vertex cover time asymptotic to $\frac{rn}{2}$ when $r\geqslant 4$ is even.


Carl F. Cranor's Toxic Torts: Science, Law, and the Possibility of Justice is a sustained, comprehensive argument that the Daubert gatekeeping regime has tilted the playing field against injured plaintiffs in toxic tort litigation. More generally, Cranor joins those who argue that the Daubert regime has not fared well in practice. Complex scientific evidence is not handled well in trials because scientific methods, data, and inferential reasoning are not well understood by gatekeeping judges. Cranor's goal is to help solve this problem by offering a detailed description of the patterns of reasoning, evidence collection, and inference in nonlegal scientific settings. While numerous legal scholars are engaged in the tasks of criticizing and improving the Daubert regime, Cranor offers a more pragmatic, less idealistic, view of the scientific enterprise to counter the practices of those judges who reward experts claiming certainty and discredit experts who concede the uncertainties of science.


This paper introduces an alternative comprehensive approach to reduce sexual exploitation and child prostitution. The paper focuses on female devadasi temple prostitutes (Child sex workers but popularly understood as temple prostitutes in the name of dedication to deity) children in South India and the provision of support to integrate devadasi girls into the community and improve their psychosocial situation. The paper is designed broadly, taking cultural practices into consideration and also with a community participatory approach to achieve the goal. The broad objective of the paper is to promote alternative policy approaches, such as: 1. Community participation to integrate current devadasi girls into regular community life, 2. Community participation to avoid future initiation of young girls into the devadasi system, 3. Meeting the psychosocial needs through health, counseling and economical needs of devadasi girls in the community, 4. Assistance to devadasi girls as an alternative to devadasi service in the community. The policy advocacy includes participation by key community members and women's local Self-Help Groups (SHG's) networking to support existing devadasi girls to overcome stigma, social discrimination through cleansing rituals, and organizing vocational training skills to enhance their economic status. Other policy issues are integration of primary healthcare services to these girls and extending counseling services on sexual health and behavioral practices and also to introduce a micro credit system to existing devadasi girls. The paper draws its conceptual framework from psychosocial working group to provide comprehensive strategies to address community complexities. A community participatory approach has been proposed to adopt, in order to build a sustainable strategy to provide the psychosocial needs of the girls initiated into devadasi services, especially in South Indian states where it is prevalent.


This work focuses on the use of digital image analysis for automatic diagnose of Dry Eye. Recently, scaling of tear ferning images been used to diagnose dry eye. A classification approach in wavelet space is proposed as an initial step toward an automatic diagnose of dry eye. Correlation coefficient, in wavelet space, between a reference image and unclassified noisy tear ferning image, at different level of wavelet decomposition is used as classifier. The noise in the images has a great impact on the value of the correlation coefficient (CF). The noise reduction using wavelet technics at different level of wavelet decomposition (WD) provides a strong improvement for the classification (diagnose) of tear ferning noisy images. A set of reference image representing the scaling of the tear ferning images is used. The CFs between the reference images against each other was used in order to estimate the value of the background noise. The CF was first performed between the reference images and the noisy ones without wavelet decomposition. Then, CFs was obtained for five levels of WD. A comparison of the CFs at different wavelet levels is performed. It shows that CF values highly increase upon increasing the level of WD. This result provides strong evidence that the proposed new approach for automatic dry eye diagnosis is highly promising with the advantage of great accuracy and time processing reduction. Cloud computing is an emerging hypothesis of computing that replaces computing as a personal commodity by computing as a public utility. As such, it offers many advantages in terms of public utility system, in terms of economy of scale, flexibility and convenience. Here many issues rises like not least of which are: loss of control and security. The aim of this study, to understand the different approaches of virtualization and appropriate approach of virtualization in cloud computing.


Abstract The application of best-estimate codes [coupled neutron kinetics (NK)/thermal hydraulics (TH)] for safety analyses of research reactors (RRs) has gained considerable momentum during the past decade. Application of these codes is largely facilitated by the high level of technological maturity and expertise that these codes allow as a safety technology in nuclear power plants, and it is largely driven by International Atomic Energy Agency activities. The present study belongs in this framework and presents the development and application of the coupled NK and TH code THERMO-T to the analysis of protected reactivity insertion accidents and loss-of-flow accidents in a typical RR with standard Materials Testing Reactor plate-type fuel elements. The coupling is realized by considering the neutronic reactivity feedbacks of the fuel and coolant temperatures and a heat generation model for the reactor power. The neutron flux in the reactor core is solved by applying point reactor kinetic equations and employing radial and axial power distributions calculated from a three-dimensional full-core model by the continuous-energy Monte Carlo reactor physics code Serpent. The evolution of temporal and spatial distributions of the fuel, cladding, and coolant temperatures is calculated for all fuel channels by using a finite volume time implicit numerical scheme for solving a three-conservation equation model. In this study, additional features, such as critical heat flux ratio prediction and decay heat model, are implemented for both highly enriched uranium and low-enriched uranium cores, and a comprehensive comparison of THERMO-T results is performed against other codes.


Equine assisted interventions is an umbrella term which links operations and interventions that uses horses for the purpose of improving health and well-being amongst humans. Science have shown good health effects of equine assisted interventions and the interest of using horses in human care and education is increasing. However, knowledge and awareness about the welfare of the horses involved in equine assisted interventions is important for the safety and the quality of the interventions as well as for the ethical acceptance. Therefore, the aim of this literature study was to investigate what factors that can affect the welfare of the horses involved in equine assisted interventions, how the horse may be physiologically and behaviorally affected of horse-based interventions, as well as conclude guidelines for how the welfare of the horses can be promoted in equine assisted interventions. The results showed that the behaviour and attitude of humans involved in equine assisted interventions and environmental factors such as novel stimuli and social separation can affect the horse's welfare during equine assisted interventions. The breed, experience and temperament of the horse can also influence how well the horse will manage challenging situations and thus how its welfare is affected of equine assisted interventions. The physiological and behavioral effects of horses in equine assisted interventions is not yet scientifically explained. Equine assisted interventions are characterized by a wide diversity of practice and human participants that affects the horse in many different ways. Future studies should take this into account and categorize equine assisted interventions depending on practice and participants to get clearer results about how the horses are affected. More research and attention to the horse's perspective of equine assisted interventions are needed to guarantee the welfare of the horses. In conclusion, this study has led to a summary of a few guidelines (Appendix 1) as an attempt to promote the welfare of the horse in equine assisted interventions.


The implementation of civic integration courses dates already more than a decade back and a lot research has been done about this topic. Researchers made specific studies about the efficiency of the trajectories in terms of learning and the chance for employment Furthermore evaluations about personal guides of the participants have been done, too. But the number of studies going in depth and ask about satisfaction or dissatisfaction of single participants is relatively limited. What are the factors leading to positive or negative feelings toward the trajectory? Therefore, this qualitative research tries to deepen the understanding why individual migrants appreciate a program or why not. This study firstly indicates that the reflection of quality of the trajectory, the right selection and how expectations and objectives are communicated play the most significant role in appreciating a trajectory or not. Furthermore, the chance for economic gain, the higher educational background as well as a younger age play a significant role on a person's positive attitude toward a civic integration course. Furthermore, gender has an impact on satisfaction with in terms of the selection procedure. Women who are willing to work tend to be unsatisfied with those civic integration courses which are related to child education. The existence of a native Dutch partner has a positive partner when he/she takes an active role in the integration process of the migrant.


A new small cynodont, Candelariodon barberenai gen. et sp. nov., from the Middle Triassic of Brazil (Santa Maria Formation) is reported. The new taxon is represented by a partial mandible having some complete teeth. The morphology of the dentary and splenial is similar to other carnivorous cynodonts, except for the absence of the angular process of the dentary. The anterior-most lower teeth are slightly expanded buccolingually with a tall and posteriorly curved main cusp and one or two accessory cusps. The posterior-most preserved lower postcanine, however, has lingual and buccal rows of cusps, each formed by four anteroposteriorly aligned cusps, separated by a shallow basin. This tooth resembles the posterior-most lower teeth of Aleodon Crompton 1955 from the Middle Triassic of Tanzania, but the anterior-most teeth of Candelariodon and Aleodon are essentially different. In this context, the phylogenetic relationships of the new taxon remain unclear until the discovery of more informative material.


The study examines the importance of community forest resources for income and employment in rural areas of Nepal by studying the effect of current forestry policy on forestland use. Using data from 259 households in six community forest user groups in three hilly districts (Dolakha, Kavre and Nuwakot), the results show that the resources available from private lands and community forests with current policies are inadequate to fully utilize the family labour force of many rural households and are insufficient to meet the bare survival income of the poorest households. Current government policy dictates the use of all community forestland for limited timber production and environmental conservation, and provides little scope for fodder and firewood production. The study shows that community forestland management with an agroforestry model could overcome rural unemployment problems and increase incomes.


Sustainable agriculture has remained a subject of debate in Nigeria for decades
without tangible results. Between 2001 and 2007, agricultural sector accounted for 40 percent
of Nigeria's Gross Domestic Products (GDP) and 51 percent of job creation. However, in 2015
agriculture accounted for only 17.77% of Nigeria's GDP (National Bureau of Statistics, 2015).
These figures are indications that agriculture has not met the need of the country, and reveal
the dwindling nature of the sector. The declining nature of agriculture calls for a new strategy
that will support agricultural development in Nigeria. This paper aims to advance
agripreneurship education in Nigerian Universities by attempting to develop a curriculum that
will trigger agriprenuership taught classes in Universities in Nigeria in attempt to increase
youth and farmers participation in agripreneurship and improve the agricultural sector in
general.


This thesis is concerned with gender segregation in entrepreneurship – a
phenomenon that is termed here entrepreneurial segregation. Researchers
studying occupational segregation have established that sex segregated
social networks and gender stereotyping play an integral role in driving sex
segregation in employment. Since women are embedded in female-dominated
networks and men move in male-dominated circles, they inevitably receive job
leads (resources) from members of the same sex. In addition, because of
gender stereotyping, those supplying the job leads (resource providers) offer
job seekers information about jobs in sectors that are perceived as
appropriate for the jobseeker's gender. Drawing on this knowledge,
Bourdieuian social capital theory and gender role congruency theory, this
thesis examines the social networks of men and women entrepreneurs in
gender congruent and incongruent business sectors, with the express
purpose of uncovering whether an inability to secure business resources
poses inhibitive effects on business development of entrepreneurs in gender
atypical sectors. Taking an inclusive approach, the purpose of the study was
to identify and explain any detriment in resource acquisition experienced by
women business owners by comparing their experiences in different industries
with those of men.
255 New York City based entrepreneurs operating firms in two maledominated
industries (construction and sound recording), one femaledominated
industry (childcare) and one integrated industry (publishing)
completed an online survey based on the Dutch Resource Generator social
network tool. Respondents indicated the specific resources they were able
and unable to secure through their networks, the sex of, and relationship to
each resource provider, and their experiences of gender stereotyping. A
mixture of bivariate and multivariate statistical analyses (Mann Whitney and
Kruskal Wallis tests, multiple regression and discriminant function analyses)
was used to examine the data. The findings revealed that the ability to
mobilize resources is strongly influenced by the sex composition of
entrepreneurs' networks, and an interaction between the sex of the business
owner and the gender-domination of the industry in which he or she operates.
In the female-dominated childcare industry, women were just as successful as
men in their attempts to secure resources. Women operating businesses in
male-dominated sectors suffered in terms of their ability to obtain resources,
particularly financial resources. Men owners of childcare firms did not suffer in
the same way, even though they reported relatively high levels of
discrimination against them by staff, customers, suppliers and colleagues. Networking strategy had little impact on the ability of nontraditional women to
secure resources. This suggests that nontraditional women are locked into a
kind of networking bind, a phenomenon that is dubbed the segregation-stereotyping
bind.


Should the Western democracies, contrary to their prevailing self-image as "planned" and "managed," be seen as highly disorganized systems of social power and political authority? If so, what are the symptoms, consequences of, and possible remedies for these disorganizing tendencies?In these ten essays, Claus Offe seeks to answer such questions. Moving beyond the boundaries of both Marxism and established forms of political sociology, he focuses on the growth of serious divisions within the work force (and between the employed and unemployed), the importance of the "informal" sector, the severe difficulties faced by trade unions in coping with the present economic crisis, the vulnerability of neocorporatist mechanisms, and the failures of state policymaking based on either majority rule or bureaucratic administration.In examining these and other fundamental problems of advanced capitalist democracies, Offe also contests some widely held assumptions of contemporary social science. He calls into question the neutrality of liberal democratic mechanisms of participation and representation, the centrality of the category of work and the division between labor and capital, and the feasibility and desirability of full employment.Claus Offe is the author of numerous books and essays, including Contradictions of the Welfare State (MIT Press paperback). He is currently Professor of Political Science and Sociology in the Faculty of Sociology, University of Bielefeld, West Germany. John Keane is Senior Lecturer in Political Theory and Sociology at the Polytechnic of Central London. Disorganized Capitalism is included in the series, Studies in Contemporary German Social Thought, edited by Thomas McCarthy.


University of the Pacific librarians used personal response systems (PRS) or clickers in first-year mandatory library instructional sessions to assess their effects on student engagement and retention of learning outcomes. Students who utilized clickers during their library session reported greater enjoyment and encouragement to participate (n=291). Students in the sessions not utilizing the clickers achieved better learning outcomes than their counterparts who utilized clickers (n=326). The implications of these results are discussed, specifically within the context of pedagogy and tailoring instruction to the Millennial generation.


Effective teaching is the backbone of any successful education system with many arguing that it is the single biggest contributor to student success. However despite such importance, significant differences in teacher effectiveness are still evident in Irish classrooms at all levels of education. This research investigates the influence that individual teachers can have on students' enjoyment of mathematics at second level and attempts to unravel the myth of effective teaching. The research started out as a followon study that further analysed data collected by the authors when they designed a pedagogical framework with the aim of promoting student interest in algebra through effective teaching of the domain. This paper focuses entirely upon the quantitative results of the evaluation of that study with regard to whether there are differences in the enjoyment scores of students' in different classes as a result of their individual teachers. The paper also looks to unravel the myth of effective teaching through a series of focus group interviews and a detailed literature review.


Introduction: Anaemia is common in the elderly. Little is known regarding anaemia in hospitalised elderly patients in South Africa. A retrospective study determined the prevalence and causes of anaemia in elderly patients hospitalised for acute medical problems. Methods: Patients with anaemia were identified from the computerised database of a geriatric unit. Laboratory tests and clinical information on these patients were reviewed to determine the cause of the anaemia defined according to the WHO criteria (haemoglobin level ≤ 12 g/l for women and ≤ 13 g/l men). Results: Of 759 consecutive geriatric patients, 236 (31.1%) were anaemic. The majority (n = 150; 63.6%) were female, with a mean age of 82.2 years. The male patients had a mean age of 80.8 years. The mean haemoglobin values were 10.7 g/l and 10.2 g/l for male and female patients, respectively. In 96 (40.7%) patients, the cause of anaemia could not be determined. Of the remaining 140 patients, 25.7% had anaemia of chronic disorders, 24.3% had iron deficiency anaemia and 13.6% had multiple causes. Conclusion: Approximately one-third of hospitalised elderly patients were anaemic on admission, although many were not adequately investigated. Chronic disorders and iron deficiency were the most common causes of anaemia.


A new unsupervised approach based on a hybrid wavelet transform and Fuzzy Clustering Method (FCM) with Multiobjective Particle Swarm Optimization (MO-PSO) is proposed to obtain a binary change mask in Landsat images acquired with different atmospheric conditions. The proposed method uses the following steps: preprocessing, classification of preprocessed image, and binary masks fusion. Firstly, a photometric invariant technique is used to transform the Landsat images from RGB to HSV colour space. A hybrid wavelet transform based on Stationary (SWT) and Discrete Wavelet (DWT) Transforms is applied to the hue channel of two Landsat satellite images to create subbands. After that, mean shift clustering method is applied to the subband difference images, computed using the absolute-valued difference technique, to smooth the difference images. Then, the proposed method optimizes iteratively two different fuzzy based objective functions using MO-PSO to evaluate changed and unchanged regions of the smoothed difference images separately. Finally, a fusion approach based on connected component with union technique is proposed to fuse two binary masks to estimate the final solution. Experimental results show the robustness of the proposed method to existence of haze and thin clouds as well as Gaussian noise in Landsat images.


Presently, studies on inducible anti-herbivory responses in seaweeds focused on grazer-mediated changes in algal palatability of subsequent consumption by conspecifics. Yet, in natural systems multiple species interact, suggesting the existence of more complex, indirect interactions. Feeding-assayed induction experiments in the laboratory were conducted to test for direct and indirect induction of anti-herbivory resistance in the brown seaweed Fucus vesiculosus. For induction, algae were exposed for 14 d to either the isopod Idotea baltica or the periwinkle Littorina littorea. For testing effects of induced resistance, fresh and reconstituted Fucus feed were offered in 3 d long feeding assays to conspecific and non-conspecific herbivores. The experiment was simultaneously executed with organisms shared by the North and Baltic Sea to test for system-spanning patterns. Experiments revealed direct induction effects. Idotea-grazing reduced the palatability of Fucus-pieces from the North Sea for naοve conspecifics, but not in Fucus from the Baltic Sea. Grazing by Littorina also lowered the level of palatability in Fucus-pieces for naοve conspecifics, but only in algae from the Baltic and not from the North Sea. Moreover, indirect effects were observed. Idotea-exposed Fucus did not influence algal palatability for subsequently grazing periwinkles at both sites, while Littorina-exposed Fucus from both sites was significantly less consumed by Idotea. Palatability patterns in assays using reconstituted food matched with those using fresh Fucus-pieces, suggesting an induction of chemical anti-herbivory defences in Fucus. Furthermore, the observation of detrimental Littorina effects on Idotea-consumption at both sites suggests a system-spanning grazer-specificity of indirect. This study shows that indirect effects may commonly affect trophic interactions in and thus add a novel level of complexity to the development of macrophytobenthic communities.


ABSTRACT The kinetic effects of DBSA (dodecyl benzene sulfonic acid) and a linear amphihile on asphaltene aggregation was investigated, using dissipative particle dynamics molecular simulations. The simulation results indicated that without inhibitor, diffusion-limited asphaltene aggregation can be initiated by a kinetic/diffusive capture process between polar side chain groups rather than by interaction between polyaromatic rings. The most likely reason for this is that the side chains have higher diffusive mobility than the more massive aromatic ring structures. The DBSA acidic head groups adhered to the asphaltene side chain polar groups (the basic functional groups), resulting in lowered mobility of the side chain/DBSA complexes, thereby suppressing asphaltene aggregation initiation. A more mobile amphiphilic inhibitor without the aromatic ring gave a higher asphaltene aggregation rate. Adsorption of asphaltenes on a solid surface was suppressed with DBSA, due to an adsorbed mono-layer of DBSA that occupied a significant fraction of the surface area. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT


"The Politics of Women's Education: Perspectives from Asia, Africa, and Latin America" reveals the complex changes in women's education throughout the world. Although women have made remarkable progress, their educational equity remains illusive and politically contested. This volume offer the first comprehensive assessment of what has been attempted, what remains to be done, and what are the options for reform. The book presents the authentic voice of third world women and men, relating their efforts to improve the position of women through education. It raises important questions for readers from both high- and low-income countriesabout whether formal or non- formal education will best serve women's needs; whether state or private initiatives are more likely to succeed in raising women's status through the delivery of transforming knowledge; and whether Western dreams of modernization have any relevance to non-Western societies. Countries covered include India, Pakistan, Korea, the Philippines, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Mexico, Peru, and Brazil. Each author locates women's education in the larger national context, thus unraveling the matrix that links gender and education to race, ethnicity, social class, and political change. The story is told directly, by women and men passionately committed to improvement through education. The book's immediacy will appeal to academic and general readers alike, and it will be a stimulus to thought and action forcitizens who wonder what's wr ong with the schools in their neighborhood. ." . . provides many insights into the lives, aspirations, achievements, and frustrations of women in Asia, Africa, and Latin America as they wrestle with issues of education and social change."--Journal of Asian Studies Jill Ker Conway is Visiting Scholar in the Program of Science, Technology and Society, MIT. Susan C. Bourque is Professor of Government, Smith College.


Pharmacology is the branch of medicine and biology concerned with the study of drug action. More specifically, it is the study of the interactions that occur between a living organism and chemicals that affect normal or abnormal biochemical function. The field encompasses drug composition and properties, interactions, toxicology, therapy, and medical applications and antipathogenic capabilities [2].


Hascher Journal of International Arbitration Volume 27 Issue 1 2010 Articl The arbitration world has long struggled with how best to ensure fairness in the appointment of arbitrators in disputes among three or more parties. The French Cour de cassation's 1992 Dutco decision is widely credited with calling attention to the question and with spurring leading arbitration institutes to revise their rules to address the appointment process in multiparty cases. Although the solutions adopted differ in some particulars, most major sets of rules now either permit, or else require, the institute to designate the entire tribunal in certain multiparty instances. A number of national arbitration laws also address the question in various ways, with one common thread existing in a sizeable subset of these laws: their protective provisions apply whenever one party enjoys a privileged role in the designation process. This article also examines the relatively modest body of arbitral and judicial precedents existing on the question, and this examination reveals two emerging trends: treating multiple parties named on the same "side" of a dispute as a single entity, and finding that those multiple parties have similar interests. Either of these "solutions" allows multiparty arbitrations to be handled as if they were classic bipartite arbitrations, and for difficulties in the constitution of tribunals to be avoided. The authors conclude that the simplest solution is for parties more routinely to use their arbitration agreements to empower respected arbitration institutes to appoint the entire tribunal, either in all cases or upon the appearance of a disagreement as to a designation among multiple parties on either side.


Transposon-based insertional mutagenesis is a valuable method for conducting unbiased forward genetic screens to identify cancer genes in mice. We used this system to elucidate factors involved in the malignant transformation of neural stem cells into glioma-initiating cells. We identified an RNA-binding protein, La-related protein 4b (LARP4B), as a candidate tumor-suppressor gene in glioma. LARP4B expression was consistently decreased in human glioma stem cells and cell lines compared with normal neural stem cells. Moreover, heterozygous deletion of LARP4B was detected in nearly 80% of glioblastomas in The Cancer Genome Atlas database. LARP4B loss was also associated with low expression and poor patient survival. Overexpression of LARP4B in glioma cell lines strongly inhibited proliferation by inducing mitotic arrest and apoptosis in four of six lines as well as in two patient-derived glioma stem cell populations. The expression levels of CDKN1A and BAX were also upregulated upon LARP4B overexpression, and the growth-inhibitory effects were partially dependent on p53 (TP53) activity in cells expressing wild-type, but not mutant, p53. We further found that the La module, which is responsible for the RNA chaperone activity of LARP4B, was important for the growth-suppressive effect and was associated with BAX mRNA. Finally, LARP4B depletion in p53 and Nf1-deficient mouse primary astrocytes promoted cell proliferation and led to increased tumor size and invasiveness in xenograft and orthotopic models. These data provide strong evidence that LARP4B serves as a tumor-suppressor gene in glioma, encouraging further exploration of the RNA targets potentially involved in LARP4B-mediatd growth inhibition. Cancer Res; 76(8); 2254-64. ©2016 AACR.


Parallels are demonstrated between changes in Swedish attitudes toward peace and war, reflected in the image of the `war-hero', Karl XII, and the increasing peacefulness of Swedish society. The value changes are documented through analyses of four literary works: those of Geijer and Tegner, who glorified Karl XII as `war-hero', and Heidenstam and Strindberg, who described the same Karl XII as a psychopath and villain and as a scourge for his country. As Geijer and Tegner wrote at the beginning of the 19th century, whereas Heidenstam and Strindberg produced their works at the end of it, the value changes occurring during this century can be demonstrated in these literary works. Relations between changed mentalities, as reflected in the literary works, and political decisions are explored. Finally, as a resulting implication, the potential impact of critical attitudes of the electorate on a leader's election and on his license for engaging in impulsive wars is discussed.


At the risk of seeming to make exaggerated claims for visual methodologies,
what I set out to do is lay bare some of the key elements of working with the visual as a set of methodologies and practices. In particular, I address educational research in South Africa at a time when questions of the social responsibility of the academic researcher (including postgraduate students as new researchers, as well as experienced researchers expanding their repertoire of being and doing) are critical. In so doing I seek to ensure that the term "visual methodologies" is not simply reduced to one practice or to one set of tools, and, at the same time, to ensure that this set of methodologies and practices is appreciated within its full complexity. I focus on the doing, and, in particular, on the various approaches to doing through drawings, photo-voice, photo-elicitation, researcher as photographer, working with family photos, cinematic texts, video production, material culture, advertising campaigns as nine key areas within visual methodologies. Keywords : educational research; social change; visual methodologies South African Journal of Education Vol. 28 (3) 2008: pp. 365-383


We introduced an open quantum system model to describe the statistical fluctuations of a spin ensemble in NMR. The model considers an ensemble measurement where the detection coil does not distinguish spins, and accounts for the state update rule. The analysis brings clarity and accuracy in describing the notion of spin noise and derives a correct statistical distribution and correlation function for the spin noise signal. We propose a proof-of-principle experiment to encode one logical qubit in the noise protected subspace of three identical spins in a methyl group. We use a symmetry analysis to derive the dipole moment allowed transitions, which enable us to access the noiseless subsystem. We further analyze the symmetry of the hetronuclear dipolar relaxation, which is one of the responsible mechanisms for observing a noise protected state. Our analytical calculations predict features of of the NMR peaks that are in agreement with the experimental observations. We propose a quantum key distribution protocol that simplifies the task of classical data processing in a trusted relay network. A new announcement strategy is proposed which leads to reassigning the task of error correction and privacy amplification from the intermediate user to the end-node users. We examine the security of the proposed protocol analytically, derive the key rate for two well-known examples of BB84 and 6-state protocols numerically, and consider a few imperfections arising in practical QKD.


This article traces the use of pearls from antiquity to the initial appearance of cultured pearls in the 1920s. The first section touches on the early fascination wi th pearls as revealed througll historical literature, including Cleopatra's pearls, Roman pearl jewelry, and medicinal pearl recipes o j t h e Middle Ages. During the ~ e n a i s s ~ n c ~ , Spain's exploration of the N e w Worldresulted in the discovery of vast quantitiesof valuable pearls that were eventually spread throughout Europe. Queen Elizabeth 1's magnificent collection of pearls and the intriguing baroque pearl figurines of the later Renaissance are also discussed. The article concludes w i th a review of pearl fashion from 1800 to 1930, including delicate Victorian seed-pearl jewelry, Queen Alexandra's dog-collar chokers, and Art Deco pearl-inlaid jewelry.


With huge amounts of training data, deep learning has made great breakthroughs in many artificial intelligence (AI) applications. However, such large-scale data sets present computational challenges, requiring training to be distributed on a cluster equipped with accelerators like GPUs. With the fast increase of G PU computing power, the data communications among GPUs have become a potential bottleneck on the overall training performance. In this paper, we first propose a general directed acyclic graph (DAG) model to describe the distributed synchronous stochastic gradient descent (S-SG D) algorithm, which has been widely used in distributed deep learning frameworks. To understand the practical impact of data communications on training performance, we conduct extensive empirical studies on four state-of-the-art distributed deep learning frameworks (i.e., Caffe-MPI, CNTK, MXNet and TensorFlow) over multi-GPU and multi-node environments with different data communication techniques, including PCIe, NVLink, 10GbE, and InfiniBand. Through both analytical and experimental studies, we identify the potential bottlenecks and overheads that could be further optimized. At last, we make the data set of our experimental traces publicly available, which could be used to support simulation-based studies.


Integrated STEM education comprises an exploration of the interconnections between science, technology, engineering and mathematics in order to reflect on how each discipline operates within real world contexts. Students benefit from the integrated STEM approach because it values students' real-life experiences and hands-on applications that mirror professional STEM work. However, Integrated STEM instruction remains ill defined, with many gaps in the existing research. The school setting central to this study was a suburban public middle school with a nationally recognized integrated STEM program. Through the use of hermeneutic phenomenological inquiry, I focused on both teachers' and students' experiences of participation in one integrated STEM model. I analyzed data using thematic moment clusters and event mapping to look at patterns of experiences across time. I found that participation in this integrated STEM model included six common experiences: (1) project-based learning, (2) flexible instructional time, (3) consistent co-teaching with two or more teachers, (4) social skills development, (5) extensive use of computer-based technology, and (6) the use of school spaces beyond the classroom for instruction purposes. The students viewed their involvement in the integrated STEM model positively and many noted an interest in pursuing a STEMrelated career in the future. The teachers reported an enhancement of their professional repertoire through consistent planning, co-teaching and observational practices. After five years of enactment, challenges that persisted for this integrated STEM team included pressures to adhere to state and district demands, as well as the need for non-traditional spaces to engage students in creative ways. This model provides further evidence of the need to reorganize school content, space, and time.


OBJECTIVE
Previously, we demonstrated that forced aerobic exercise (FE) increases the pattern of neural activation in Parkinson's disease. We sought to evaluate whether FE, when coupled with repetitive task practice, could promote motor recovery poststroke.

METHOD
A 46-yr-old man with ischemic stroke exhibited chronic residual upper-extremity deficits, scoring 35/66 on the Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA) at baseline. He completed 24 training sessions comprising 45 min of FE on a motorized stationary bicycle followed by 45 min of upper-extremity repetitive task practice.

RESULTS
From baseline to end of treatment, the FMA score improved by 20 points, perceived level of recovery on the Stroke Impact Scale increased by 20 percentage points, and cardiovascular function measured by peak oxygen uptake improved 30%. These improvements persisted 4 wk after the intervention ceased.

CONCLUSION
FE may be a safe and feasible rehabilitation approach to augment recovery of motor and nonmotor function while improving aerobic fitness in people with chronic stroke.


Programming models based on algorithmic skeletons promise to raise the level of abstraction perceived by programmers when implementing parallel applications, while guaranteeing good performance figures. At the same time, however, they restrict the freedom of programmers to implement arbitrary parallelism exploitation patterns. In fact, efficiency is achieved by restricting the parallelism exploitation patterns provided to the programmer to the useful ones for which efficient implementations, as well as useful and efficient compositions, are known.
 In this work we introduce muskel , a full Java library targeting workstation clusters, networks and grids and providing the programmers with a skeleton based parallel programming environment.
 muskel is implemented exploiting (macro) data flow technology, rather than the more usual skeleton technology relying on the use of implementation templates. Using data flow, muskel easily and efficiently implements both classical, predefined skeletons, and user-defined parallelism exploitation patterns. This provides a means to overcome some of the problems that Cole identified in his skeleton manifesto as the issues impairing skeleton success in the parallel programming arena. We discuss fully how user-defined skeletons are supported by exploiting a data flow implementation, experimental results and we also discuss extensions supporting the further characterization of skeletons with non-functional properties, such as security,
 through the use of Aspect Oriented Programming and annotations.


Abstract This paper presents a comparison between computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis and experiments in order to help pressurized water reactor (PWR) plants develop a methodology for estimating the amount of insulation debris that may transport to the sump screens of an emergency core cooling system (ECCS). This information is essential for the resolution of Generic Safety Issue-191 on the safety margins of the ECCS systems subsequent to debris accumulation and head loss at the screen. Tests were carried out on a simulated containment floor in the laboratory to determine the flow velocities in which different types of objects including insulation debris would move along the floor. CFD analyses were independently carried out to determine the flow velocities in the containment under different flow rates and break locations. It was shown that the flow regimes predicted by the CFD analyses compare well with the experimentally observed movement along the floor. Based on this observation the transport fraction of different types of insulation debris can be estimated specific to any PWR plant.


This paper is an experiment using digital video to locate and identify the abstract in everyday life and nature. The abstract moment occurs when the image that is captured by video loses its connection with the original context, allowing the images to be viewed in an entirely new way. The abstract moment is initiated by a transformative instant, that instant in which perception is altered and the viewer sees the intended content of composition of light and sound. The project contains four digital videos that record the artist's progress and interests.


This study examines the impact of internal and external knowledge on fi rm productivity in the Swedish agricultural sector. It combines theories from regional economics about the geographical aspects of knowledge with traditional theories on the role of knowledge in productivity in agriculture. The study is a fi rm-level analysis using an unbalanced panel between the years 2002 and 2011 in Sweden. The results show that these fi rms are positively affected by employees with formal education related to the sector. Higher knowledge levels have a greater impact than lower levels. External knowledge, such as localised spillovers, is also important, but the results on this factor are more ambiguous.


Background: Front-of-pack nutrition labels (FoPLs) aim at increasing transparency and consumers' awareness of the nutritional composition of pre-packed food products in order to improve the nutritional quality of their food choices. Nevertheless, the legitimacy of the Nutri-Score - the FoPL officially adopted in France and several other European countries - is subject to both technical and political controversy, particularly in Italy. In this study, we investigated how and by whom the legitimacy of the Nutri-Score, recognized by several institutional authorities, could be deconstructed within a specific system of norms, values and beliefs among Italian stakeholders. Methods: A netnography completed with qualitative interviews with eight Italian and French nutrition and public health experts were carried out to highlight the dimensions (pragmatic, normative and cognitive) in which the Nutri-Score's legitimacy is being challenged among the stakeholders involved in FoPLs' implementation in Italy. The degree of influence and the position of these stakeholders on the debate around the Nutri-Score were assessed through the Stakeholder Theory (SHT), using their respective level of power, legitimacy and urgency. Furthermore, we compared the Italian and the French contexts on the issue. Results: The direct implication of political parties and media outlets in framing the Italian debate around Nutri-Score as well as the high influence of corporate unions, led to a different political outcome than in France. Results also show that the deconstruction of the legitimacy of the Nutri-Score in Italy pertained mainly to its pragmatic dimension according to the Italian public health experts. Nevertheless, its two other dimensions (normative and cognitive) are also questioned by high-influence stakeholders. Conclusion: Due to the limited mobilization of scientific expertise over the issue, the debate in Italy stayed centered around the "attack" of the Nutri-Score to the Italian way of life, mixing up concepts such as Made in Italy products and the Mediterranean diet.


"A Canadian online floral delivery company considers whether to source more flowers from its existing growing locations and which of those would be optimal given its current market. What would be the advantages of opening a logistics facility in Miami? Students must consider the transportation costs per standard box from each origin or transshipment center to each production facility as well as data about the available supply at each origin and projected demand at each facility per week."


Abstract In the manganesiferous ores associated with the metacherts of the ophiolitic sequences at the Cerchiara mine, Eastern Liguria (Italy), a new Mn-bearing mineral belonging to the mica group has been recently found and characterized. High resolution transmission electron microscopy and electron diffraction tomography studies confirm that the mineral belongs to the mica group. Unit-cell parameters from the powder diffraction pattern are: a = 5.149(1), b = 8.915(1), c = 10.304(1) Å, β = 102.03(1)°, space group C2 or C2/m. On the basis of the electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopic results, the Mn4+ content represents a very subordinate fraction of the total Mn, the remaining occurring as Mn3+. The Raman spectrum clearly indicates the presence of OH groups in the structure. Laser-ablation inductively-coupled-plasma mass-spectrometry measurements assess the presence of considerable amounts of Li. Assuming all Mn as Mn3+ and 22 negative charges, the empirical formula can be expressed as: (K0.83□0.17)(Mn3+1.14Mg0.80Li0.20Fe3+0.02)(Si3.89Al0.10)O10[(OH)1.92F0.08] with the sum of the octahedral cations indicating a 'transitional' character between a di- and a tri-octahedral structure. This formula corresponds ideally to the Mn3+ analogue of celadonite, thus expanding the range of solid solution in the celadonite family. The ideal end-member formula KMn3+MgSi4O10(OH)2 can be easily related to celadonite by the homovalent substitution VIMn3+ → VIFe3+. The mineral and its name have been approved by the Commission on New Minerals, Nomenclature and Classification of the International Mineralogical Association, (IMA 2015-052).


Streams and rivers constitute a dense network with a large interface to the surrounding landscape and are thus highly susceptible to anthropogenic pressures related to land‐use activities in adjacent riparian and upland areas. In the present study, we investigated the influence of catchment characteristics on potential propagule and species recruitment from sediment in lowland stream ecosystems. We tested the following hypotheses: (1) catchment characteristics affect species recruitment from stream sediment in both stream and riparian habitats and (2) recruitment of species associated with undisturbed fen‐meadow habitats is higher in places with natural vegetation in the riparian zones. A large number of wetland species emerged from the stream sediment and sediment recruitment and therefore can act as an important dispersal corridor for common species in stream ecosystems. The recruited propagules were dominated by terrestrial species, but amphibious and aquatic species also appeared, particularly in the artificial stream channels. These included among others species within the genera Ranunculus sp., Callitriche sp. and Potamogeton sp. The large between‐site differences in land‐use characteristics in the riparian zones of the studied stream reaches, both locally and along upstream reaches, were not reflected in species recruitment from the stream sediments. Thus, most recruited species were common and widely distributed, and they were dominated by species with ruderal and competitive life history strategies, whereas only few species associated with fen‐meadow vegetation were recruited. From these findings, we infer not only that hydrochorous dispersal of species can be a potential efficient dispersal vector in agricultural landscapes but also that limitations can exist as to which species can be recruited. We suggest that further studies are performed to elucidate this issue further. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Recently a novel clock distribution scheme called Branch-and-Combine(BaC) has been proposed. The scheme guarantees constant skew bound irrespective of the size of the clocked network. It utilizes simple nodes to process clock signals such that clock paths are adaptively selected to guarantee constant skew bound. The paper uses a VLSI model to compare the properties of the new scheme to those of the well established H-Tree approach. The H-Tree is a binary tree of simple buffers which is laid out such that leaves are at equal distances from the root. Our study considers clocking 2-D processor meshes of arbitrary sizes. We evaluate and compare the relevant parameters of both schemes in a VLSI layout context. We utilize parameters such as clock skew, link costs, node costs and area efficiency as the basis for comparison. We show that for each BaC network, there is a certain threshold size after which it outperforms the corresponding tree network in terms of skew. We also show that except for node costs, BaC networks outperform the H-Tree, especially when the size of the clocked network is large. As an extension we show that BaC clocking does not suffer from potential pulse disappearance, no matter how large the network is.


This study reports microfluidic generation of Janus droplets that consist of a liquid crystal component (a cholesteric aqueous suspension of cellulose nanocrystals, Ch-CNC) and a mineral oil (MO) component. The composition of the droplets was controlled by varying the relative flow rates of MO and Ch-CNC suspension. The shape of the Ch-CNC component of the droplets was changed from a truncated sphere to a hemisphere to a crescent moon. For these three Ch-CNC phase shapes, the Ch packing of the CNC pseudolayers was preserved, however the Ch pitch reduced, which was ascribed to the change in CNC orientation at the Ch-CNC/MO interface from perpendicular to parallel. The shape of the compound droplets was tuned from a dumbbell to a sphere by reducing interfacial tension between the Ch-CNC suspension and MO phases. Photopolymerization of the monomer mixture introduced in the Ch-CNC phase of the droplets and the removal of the sacrificial MO phase enabled the generation of Ch microgels. The results of this work can be used for exploring new applications of Janus colloids and the fabrication of programmable active soft matter.


Bringing together a collection of previously published work, this book provides a timely discussion of major considerations relating to the construction of econometric models that work well to explain economic phenomena, predict future outcomes and be useful for policy-making. Analytical relations between dynamic econometric structural models and empirical time series MVARMA, VAR, transfer function, and univariate ARIMA models are established with important application for model-checking and model construction. The theory and applications of these procedures to a variety of econometric modeling and forecasting problems as well as Bayesian and non-Bayesian testing, shrinkage estimation and forecasting procedures are also presented and applied. Finally, attention is focused on the effects of disaggregation on forecasting precision and the new Marshallian Macroeconomic Model that features demand, supply and entry equations for major sectors of economies is analysed and described. This volume will prove invaluable to professionals, academics and students alike.


Kleene algebras with domain are Kleene algebras endowed with an operation that maps each element of the algebra to its domain of defi-nition (or its complement) in abstract fashion. They form a simple algebraic basis for Hoare logics, dynamic logics or predicate transformer semantics. We formalise a modular hierarchy of algebras with domain and antidomain (domain complement) operations in Isabelle/HOL that ranges from domain and antidomain semigroups to modal Kleene algebras and divergence Kleene algebras. We link these algebras with models of binary relations and program traces. We include some examples from modal logics, termination and program analysis.


This paper examines the contemporary relationship between fashion brands and celebrities. Noting the historic role of celebrities in fashion and their current prevalence in the industry, the paper moves beyond discussion of the motives and effectiveness of celebrity endorsement, and instead explores its nature and practice in the fashion sector. The paper proposes a new definition of celebrity endorsement in fashion, offers a classification of celebrities involved in fashion brand endorsement, and presents a typology examining the contemporary means by which a fashion brand may collaborate with celebrities. The typology is defined in context of the nature, length and cost to the brand of the relationship between it and the celebrity. The methodology uses secondary sources and qualitative primary research in an exploratory agenda in order to propose conclusions and suggest ideas for further research.


This thesis describes studies in which the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae was used as a model organism for unveiling the mechanisms underlying longevity regulation and
extension by genetic, dietary and pharmacological interventions. We found that a diet known as caloric restriction (CR) modulates oxidation-reduction processes and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in yeast mitochondria, reduces the frequency of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations, and alters the abundance and mtDNA-binding activity of mitochondrial nucleoid-associated proteins. Our findings provide evidence that these mitochondrial processes play essential roles in regulating longevity of chronologically active yeast by defining their viability following cell entry into a quiescent state. Based on these findings, we propose a hypothesis that ROS, which are mostly generated as by-products of mitochondrial respiration, play a dual role in regulating longevity of chronologically aging yeast. On the one hand, if yeast
mitochondria are unable (due to a dietary regimen) to maintain ROS concentration below a toxic threshold, ROS promote aging by oxidatively damaging certain mitochondrial
proteins and mtDNA. On the other hand, if yeast mitochondria can (due to a dietary regimen) maintain ROS concentration at a certain "optimal" level, ROS delay chronological aging. We propose that this "optimal" level of ROS is insufficient to damage cellular macromolecules but can activate certain signaling networks that extend
lifespan by increasing the abundance or activity of stress-protecting and other anti-aging proteins. In addition, studies presented in this thesis imply that mtDNA mutations do not contribute to longevity regulation in yeast grown under non-CR conditions but make important contribution to longevity regulation in yeast placed on a CR diet. The
nonreducing disaccharide trehalose has been long considered only as a reserve carbohydrate. However, recent studies in yeast suggested that this osmolyte can protect cells and cellular proteins from oxidative damage elicited by exogenously added ROS. Trehalose has been also shown to affect stability, folding and aggregation of bacterial and
firefly proteins heterologously expressed in heat-shocked yeast cells. Our investigation of how a lifespan-extending CR diet alters the metabolic history of chronologically aging yeast suggested that their longevity is programmed by the level of metabolic capacity - including trehalose biosynthesis and degradation - that yeast cells developed prior to entry into quiescence. To investigate whether trehalose homeostasis in chronologically aging yeast may play a role in longevity extension by CR, we examined how single-genedeletion mutations affecting trehalose biosynthesis and degradation impact 1) the agerelated
dynamics of changes in trehalose concentration; 2) yeast chronological lifespan under CR conditions; 3) the chronology of oxidative protein damage, intracellular ROS
level and protein aggregation; and 4) the timeline of thermal inactivation of a protein in heat-shocked yeast cells and its subsequent reactivation in yeast returned to low temperature. Our data imply that CR extends yeast chronological lifespan by altering a pattern of age-related changes in trehalose concentration.


We propose a continuous-wave (CW) middle infrared (MIR) and long infrared (LIR) dual-band laser for the calibration and effect research of infrared detecting and imaging systems. A total output power of 18 W is achieved by the proposed dual-band laser through one DF gain medium module and one parallel placed CO2 gain medium module using a common stable resonator and output mirror with nominal transmissivities of ~5% in the MIR band and ~10% in the LIR band. Spectra of dual-band laser are acquired. The power extracting efficiency of this dual-band laser can be significantly improved, as validated by a single-band test of optimized parameters.


Finite-state automata are a very effective tool in natural language processing. However, in a variety of applications and especially in speech precessing, it is necessary to consider more general machines in which arcs are assigned weights or costs. We briefly describe some of the main theoretical and algorithmic aspects of these machines. In particular, we describe an efficient composition algorithm for weighted transducers, and give examples illustrating the value of determinization and minimization algorithms for weighted automata.


Plant gas exchange is regulated by guard cells that form stomatal pores. Stomatal adjustments are crucial for plant survival; they regulate uptake of CO2 for photosynthesis, loss of water and entrance of air pollutants such as ozone. We mapped ozone hypersensitivity, more open stomata and stomatal CO2-insensitivity phenotypes of the Arabidopsis thaliana accession Cvi-0 to a single amino acid substitution in MAP kinase 12 (MPK12). In parallel we showed that stomatal CO2-insensitivity phenotypes of a mutant cis (CO2-insensitive) were caused by a deletion of MPK12. Lack of MPK12 impaired bicarbonate-induced activation of S-type anion channels. We demonstrated that MPK12 interacted with the protein kinase HT1, a central node in guard cell CO2 signaling, and that MPK12 can function as an inhibitor of HT1. These data provide a new function for plant MPKs as protein kinase inhibitors and suggest a mechanism through which guard cell CO2 signaling controls plant water management.


The paper deals with the analysis of informational efficiency of the European emissions trading scheme (EU ETS) with the goal of stating whether or not the system has been able to achieve its proclaimed cost-efficiency within the first two trading periods. The efficient market hypothesis suggests that profiting from predicting price behaviour is difficult as the market price should incorporate all available information at any time. I analyse the EU emission market to see if it shows evidence of the weak form of informational efficiency. In order to analyse the weak form of informational efficiency assessments I analyse random walk properties such as, the unit root, autocorrelation and variance ratio tests. The results reveal the existence of informational efficiency only in the second trading period.


Management of blood glucose level is the hallmark in the treatment of diabetes.
 Much work has not been done on the management of diabetes using the stem
 tuber extract of Colocasia esculenta. The objective of this study was to evaluate
 the antihyperglycemic and hematological parameter on Colocasia esculenta
 aqueous stem extract in alloxan induced diabetic rats. Sixty (60) male rats were
 used in the study. Seven days of acclimatization, the rats were divided randomly
 into six groups of five in each group. Group 1: Served as normal control, Group
 2: Diabetic control group (negative control), Group 3: Diabetic group and
 "Glucinorm-M80" (positive control), Group 4: Diabetic group and extract at 200
 mg/kg bodyweight, Group 5: Diabetic group and extract at 400 mg/kg, Group 6:
 Diabetic group and extract at 600 mg/kg. Diabetes was induced in albino rats by
 intraperitoneal injection of alloxan at a single dose of 120 mg/kg body weight in
 groups 2 to 6 after starving them for 24 hrs. The animals were given feed and
 water ad libitum. The albino rats were administered for twenty eight days with the
 aqueous Colocasia esculenta stem tuber, after which they were fasted overnight,
 anaesthetized with chloroform and sacrificed. The result showed that there was a
 significant increase (p<0.05) in mean body weight of the positive control and the
 treatment groups (200 mg/kg to 600 mg/kg) when compared with the negative
 control which has a significant decrease (p<0.05) in mean body weight. The
 result showed that there was a substantial decrease in blood glucose of animals
 administered with different doses of aqueous extract of Colocasia esculenta
 stem tuber and the positive control group. The result showed that a significant
 difference (P<0.05) in the concentrations of RBC, PCV, HB, PLT and MCH of the
 treatment groups and negative group when compared with the normal control
 group. Also there was a significant difference in glycosylate hemoglobin of the
 treatment groups when compared with the control group and negative group. This
 study has demonstrated that aqueous stem tuber extract of Colocasia esculenta
 has a significant increase on body weight which may have a role of improving the
 states of possible weight loss following complicated diabetes. Also, aqueous stem
 tuber extract of Colocasia esculenta has an ameliorative effect on sugar level and
 some hematological parameters of alloxan induced diabetic rats showing effective
 diabetic control and management of diabetes.


PLAIO is pleased to include this brief developed by the Center for Postsecondary and Economic Success at CLASP (Center for Law and Social Policy). CLASP's overview is as follows: "To accelerate student completion postsecondary institutions and states have been adopting credit for prior learning (CPL) providing options for students to earn academic credit for learning outside traditional coursework and classroom seat time. CPL is also referred to as Prior Learning Assessment (PLA). This brief summarizes some recent statewide policy initiatives, postsecondary institution advances in CPL, including research/reports. "Policy and implementation issues vary from state to state and from institution to institution. Some common themes include: Availability of faculty time required to complete student assessments and how faculty are paid to complete assessments; Assessment rigor and CPL evaluation standards to ensure credit awarded reflects competencies of given coursework; Transcription of CPL credits and how credits are interpreted cross-institution including transcription process; Testing out of courses variation by degree program and from year to year depending on industry needs. "The Wisconsin Technical College System is currently focused on policy and implementation of CPL statewide including military transcripting. This technical assistance brief supports the progress underway with these efforts. The brief is ordered with national resources first, followed by regional consortiums and states. An addendum is included in this brief of resources of potential sources of open source online intake and assessment tools for students to compare their knowledge with the competencies of various courses." Reference CLASP. (2018, January). Wisconsin Career Pathways technical assistance policy brief [Presentation slides]. Retrieved from http://www.plaio.org/index.php/home/article/view/146/178 Note Special thanks to CLASP for allowing us to share this resource with our readers.


Only one association football (soccer) player in history has declared his homosexuality during his professional active playing career. Before or since that player's death in 1998, no other professional footballer player has come out. The prohibitively traditional culture of association football is popularly regarded as being responsible for this. Fans habitually use homophobic epithets to abuse players. In recent years, England's governing organizations have cautiously addressed this state of affairs, though ineffectually. The present study uses online methods to explore fans' and industry professionals' perspectives on gay players and the impact their failure to come out has had on the sport. The article, which is based on the responses of 3,500 participants, seeks to answer three questions: (1) Why do fans, who urge gay players to come out, use homophobic language to barrack players? (2) If gay players disclosed their sexual orientations publicly what effect would this have on them personally, on football culture generally and on conceptions of masculinity in sports? (3) What prevents gay football players coming out? The overwhelming majority (93%) of participants in the study oppose homophobia and explained the homophobic abuse as good-humored banter or, in their argot, "stick." An unusual logic is employed to make this intelligible. Participants argue that an athlete's ability to play football is the only criterion on which he is judged and his sexuality is of little consequence to their evaluations. Although few participants encourage forcible outing, the majority welcome openly gay players, whose impact would be transformative. Football clubs and agents are cited as the principal impediments to a more open and enlightened environment: participants argue that they pressure gay players to keep their sexuality hidden and so contribute to a culture of secrecy, which permits and perhaps commissions continued homophobic abuse. Participants speculate that the continued absence of openly gay players actually reproduces the apparent prejudices. One fan concludes, "The homophobia in football will remain for longer if no gay players come out."


Nowhere in the world is poverty more visible, more destructive and more pervasive than in Africa. Too often, Africa is associated with stories of failure and pessimism, of wars and famines, floods and unrest. Africa appears to be slipping back on many development indicators, even as other parts of the world move ahead.

In 2003, however, there are prospects of achieving progress in water, sanitation and hygiene in Africa. Across the continent, there is a strong sense of the need for peace, democracy and co-operation. Through the Highly Indebted Poor Countries initiative, industrialised countries are finally proposing to write off a significant part of the debt into which the poorest countries have fallen. Many African countries have written Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers, which give clarity and direction to the development work in those countries. Within the water sector itself, the African Ministerial Conference on Water (AMCOW) has been formed to share ideas and lessons and to provide mutual support and active direction. Recent meetings, especially the World Summit on Sustainable Development (August 2002), are giving fresh political impetus to this work.

This paper suggests five priorities for achieving the water and sanitation Millennium Development Goals in Africa. It relates them to practical examples of inspiring and positive initiatives in water and sanitation from across the continent. These examples have worked, or have the potential to work, at a large scale, are demonstrably sustainable, and do not benefit from too many unique local conditions. These characteristics enable the lessons from these examples to be useful for other people in, and indeed outside, Africa.


Fountain et al. report the identification and characterization of an ATP receptor in Dictyostelium discoideum that is homologous to vertebrate P2X receptors. When heterologously expressed in the human embryonic kidney (HEK) cell line, the protein was localized to the plasma membrane, was activated by ATP or ATP analogs, was a cation channel permeable to calcium and smaller cations, and appeared to form a trimer. Furthermore, mutagenesis studies showed that certain residues critical for ATP binding and channel activity in the vertebrate P2X receptors were conserved in the DdP2X. One key difference between the known vertebrate receptors and the DdP2X receptors was that in vivo, the DdP2X receptor was localized to the membrane of the contractile vacuole instead of the plasma membrane. Thus far, all vertebrate P2X receptors have been reported to act at the plasma membrane. Pharmacological blockade or genetic knockout of DdP2X function produced Dictyostelium that could not osmoregulate properly under hypotonic conditions. They swelled and, although filling of the contractile vacuole was normal, contraction and emptying of the vacuole, which is critical for osmoregulation, was impaired. S. J. Fountain, K. Parkinson, M. T. Young, L. Cao, C. R. L. Thompson, R. A. North, An intracellular P2X receptor required for osmoregulation in Dictyostelium discoideum. Nature 448, 200-203 (2007). [PubMed]


Background: Drug abuse is serious global health problem. Drug users aged 10-59 years in Indonesia has been increasing steadily. According to data from National Board for Drug Abuse (Badan Narkotika Nasional, BNN), the prevalence of drug users in East Kalimantan was 59,195 (3.07%) of population aged 10-59 years of 1,930,936 people. This study aimed to investigate the psycho-social determinants of drug use among adolescents in Samarinda, East Kalimantan, using Theory of Planned Behavior. Subjects and Method: This was an analytical observational study with cross-sectional design. The study was carried out at Badan Rehabilitasi Tanah Merah, Samarinda, East Kalimantan, from July to August, 2017. A sample of 150 adolescents were selected for this study by fixed disease sampling, including 50 adolescent drug users, and 100 adolescent non drug users. The dependent variable was drug use. The independent variables were intention, attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavior control, peer group, parenting style, and family harmony. The data were collected by pre-tested questionnaire and analyzed using path analysis. Results: Drug use was directly determined by strong intention (b= 2.18; 95% CI= 1.22 to 3.14; p<0.001), negative attitude (b= 1.79; 95% CI= 0.76 to 2.82; p=0.001), low subjective norm (b= 1.13; 95% CI= 0.09 to 2.17; p= 0.034), and weak perceived behavior control (b= 2.83; 95% CI= 1.48 to 4.19; p<0.001). Intention was determined by weak perceived behavior control (b= 1.18; 95% CI = 0.14 to 2.22; p<0.001). Subjective norm was determined by family harmony (b= 2.03; 95% CI= 0.96 to 3.09; p<0.001), authoritarian parenting style (b= 1.25; 95% CI= 0.15 to 2.36; p=0.026), and peer group (b= 1.46; 95% CI= 0.37 to 2.54; p=0.009). Conclusion: Drug use is directly determined by intention, attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavior control. Family harmony, authoritarian parenting style, and peer group affect drug use indirectly. Keywords: drug use, Theory of Planned Behavior, path analysis


We present a survey of possible algorithms and their rounding off trancation, arithmetic error bounds. Experimental results confirm these errors and illustrate the dangers of some algorithms because of errors in the means. Specific recommendations are made as to which algorithms should be used.


Why do some federations implement highly progressive intergovernmental transfer schemes while others do not? First, this essay establishes some stylized facts, using provincial-level data from nine federations to measure the extent of inter-regional redistribution achieved through intergovernmental transfers in each country. Second, it explores sources of institutional variation that might help account for these persistent cross-country differences, focusing on theories of legislative bargaining, representation, and the distribution of income across regions. Third, it examines the historical conditions under which the basic institutions of federalism were selected. JEL Codes: D72 H77 H73


The largest collection of cello music in the world is located at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro's Jackson Library, thanks to the vision and efforts of Elizabeth Cowling (1910-1997), 30-year UNCG cello professor who in 1963 asked the Friends of the Library to purchase the collection of her mentor--Italian cellist, scholar, pedagogue, and arranger Luigi Silva. The collection grew when similar donations came in from Cowling herself (1977), Rudolf Matz (1986), Maurice Eisenberg (1989), and Janos Scholz (1994), who all wanted their collections to be housed with that of their colleague. Some of the collections--those of Silva, Matz, Scholz, and Cowling--have been cataloged and are available on WorldCat through the efforts of Cataloger Joan Staples and recently retired library Director Doris Hulbert.


The contrast sensitivity of the human eye for sinusoidal illuminance changes was measured as a function of spatial frequency, for monochromatic light with wavelengths of 450, 525, and 650 nm. At each wavelength, data were obtained for a number of illuminance levels. All observations were taken at equal accommodation, and corrected for chromatic aberration. If the wavelength-dependent effects of diffraction on the modulation transfer are taken into account, no difference is found between the photopic contrast-sensitivity functions for red, green, or blue. For mean retinal illuminances B0 smaller than 300 td, threshold modulation M at a given frequency is found to increase in proportion to B0-12 (de Vries–Rose law). For B0 greater than 300 td M remains a constant fraction of it (Weber–Fechner law). After separation of the optical modulation transfer of the eye media from the measured psychophysical data, the remaining function can be considered as composed of a neural and a light-diffusion transfer function. The latter can be compared with the analytic transfer function of photographic film.


Nurses must be prepared to care for patients following a disaster, including patients exposed to hazardous contaminants. The purpose of this study was to examine the use of virtual reality simulation (VRS) to teach the disaster-specific skill of decontamination. A quasi-experimental design was used to assign nursing students from 2 baccalaureate nursing programs to 1 of 2 groups to learn the disaster skill of decontamination—printed written directions or VRS. Performance, knowledge, and self-efficacy were outcome measures. Although students in the treatment group had significantly lower performance scores than the control group (p = 0.004), students taking part in VRS completed the skill in a significantly shorter amount of time (p = 0.008). No significant group differences were found for self-efficacy (p = 0.172) or knowledge (p = 0.631). However, students in the VRS treatment group reported high levels of satisfaction with VRS as a training method. The disaster-specific skill of decontamination is a low-volume, high-risk skill that must be performed with accuracy to protect both exposed patients and providers performing decontamination. As frontline providers for casualties following a disaster event, emergency nurses must be prepared to perform this skill when needed. Preparation requires cost-effective, timely, and evidence-based educational opportunities that promote positive outcomes. Further investigation is needed to determine the benefits and long-term effects of VRS for disaster education.


After the dust cleared in the early 1990s, the institutional framework for realizing the peaceful unification of Europe was laid down at the Copenhagen European Council in June 1993. The statement by the EU at Copenhagen that it was ready to accept new members that fulfill certain criteria led to applications from ten countries of Central and Eastern Europe. As laid down in the Treaties, it fell to the Commission to provide advice on these applications to the Member States of the EU, which it did in July of 1997 in its ambitious program of reform, known as Agenda 2000. Agenda 2000 sought to look at the prospect of enlargement not as a simple addition to the existing EU, but as a process that would have an impact on the way in which it should be governed and funded at what was already a time of massive change. Agenda 2000 also took a close look at the future of the main EU policies, particularly those of agriculture and regional policy, which were already in a process of reform, and which would be strongly affected by the arrival of new members. Agenda 2000 was accompanied by a set of Opinions from the European Commission on the applications for membership that had been received by ten countries of Central and Eastern Europe that enjoyed association agreements with the EU. The Opinions were able to conclude that a number of the candidates were already in a position to begin negotiating their membership in the EU. However, the Commission was conscious of the need to avoid the appearance of new divisions in Europe, this time between those candidates whose recent progress in economic and political reform had brought them to the negotiating table, and those who had started from more difficult positions, such as Romania and Bulgaria, or who had, like Slovakia, not yet convinced the EU of their commitment to functioning democratic practices. The Commission therefore proposed an inclusive system, whereby we would revisit the progress made with the Copenhagen criteria every year, both for those who were not yet negotiating, and for those who were. The combination of strict application of the objective criteria and readiness to welcome progress along the way will result in a well-prepared enlargement of the EU. Now, in autumn 2002, the end of the road is in sight, at least for the best-prepared candidates. This essay outlines how the negotiations that began in 1998 have brought us to this point. They have been a test for all concerned, but a test that demonstrates clearly the ability of the EU to act in an area of decisive interest.


We present a novel control method achieving stable multiple-degrees-of-freedom electroacoustic resonators. Such broadband absorbers, composed of a feedback-controlled electrodynamic loudspeaker, have many practical applications to real-world acoustic engineering problems, such as low-frequency industrial noise reduction in the range of [20 - 200 Hz]. The proposed control architecture combines a conventional microphone-based feedback control loop and a current-driven direct acoustic impedance control scheme, proven to perform optimally in recently reported acoustic impedance synthesis methods. This paper presents a methodology for designing the transfer function to be implemented in the controller, after specifying a target multiple-degree-of-freedom acoustic resonator impedance. Numerical simulations presents the expected acoustic performances, confirmed by experimental assessments in an impedance tube.


Hollow-core photonic crystal fibres have excited interest as potential ultra-low loss telecommunications fibres because light propagates mainly in air instead of solid glass. We propose that the ultimate limit to the attenuation of such fibres is determined by surface roughness due to frozenin capillary waves. This is confirmed by measurements of the surface roughness in a HC-PCF, the angular distribution of the power scattered out of the core, and the wavelength dependence of the minimum loss of fibres drawn to different scales.


Magnetic skyrmions, vortex-like swirling spin textures characterized by a quantized topological invariant, realized in chiral-lattice magnets are currently attracting intense research interest. In particular, their dynamics under external fields is an issue of vital importance both for fundamental science and for technical application. Whereas observations of magnetic skyrmions has been limited to metallic magnets so far, their realization was also discovered in a chiral-lattice insulating magnet Cu2OSeO3 in 2012. Skyrmions in the insulator turned out to exhibit multiferroic nature with spin-induced ferroelectricity. Strong magnetoelectric coupling between noncollinear skyrmion spins and electric polarizations mediated by relativistic spin–orbit interaction enables us to drive motion and oscillation of magnetic skyrmions by application of electric fields instead of injection of electric currents. Insulating materials also provide an environment suitable for detection of pure spin dynamics through spectroscopic measurements owing to the absence of appreciable charge excitations. In this article, we review recent theoretical and experimental studies on multiferroic properties and dynamical magnetoelectric phenomena of magnetic skyrmions in insulators. We argue that multiferroic skyrmions show unique coupled oscillation modes of magnetizations and polarizations, so-called electromagnon excitations, which are both magnetically and electrically active, and interference between the electric and magnetic activation processes leads to peculiar magnetoelectric effects in a microwave frequency regime.


In this article, we use the example of e-commerce giant Alibaba and its outbound activities in the Asia-Pacific to illustrate how China's digital platforms have become part of a "digital empire in the making." The article examines how this emergent digital empire is a manifestation of "going out," a term used by the Chinese government to rally the private sector (particularly platform capitalists) to internationalize, and how digital champions such as Alibaba have responded to and embraced an outward-bound strategy. Though the Asia-Pacific represents an important region for Chinese economic security, especially when one considers the established business interests there, extension of Chinese influence to central Asia conjures up a different kind of  weida fuxing  (great rejuvenation), one that evokes a great historical past—namely, the Chinese empire. Accordingly, we speculate on how digital technologies, platforms, and business mergers will facilitate Chinese influence along the digital Silk Roads.


The thesis describes experimental work on the possibility of using deflection baffles in conventional distillation trays as flow straightening devices, with the view of enhancing tray efficiency. The mode of operation is based on deflecting part of the liquid momentum from the centre of the tray to the segment regions in order to drive stagnating liquid at the edges forward. The first part of the work was a detailed investigation into the two-phase flow patterns produced on a conventional sieve tray having 1 mm hole size perforations. The data provide a check on some earlier work and extend the range of the existing databank, particularly to conditions more typical of industrial operation. A critical survey of data collected on trays with different hole sizes (Hine, 1990; Chambers, 1993; Fenwick, 1996; this work) showed that the hole diameter has a significant influence on the flow regime, the size of the stagnant regions and the hydraulic and mass transfer performance. Five modified tray topologies were created with different configurations of baffles and tested extensively in the 2.44 m diameter air-water pilot distillation simulator for their efficacy in achieving uniform flow across the tray and for their impact on tray loading capacity and mass transfer efficiency. Special attention was given to the calibration of the over 100 temperature probes used in measuring the water temperature across the tray on which the heat and mass transfer analogy is based. In addition to normal tray capacity experiments, higher weir load experiments were conducted using a 'half-tray' mode in order to extend the range of data to conditions more typical of industrial operation. The modified trays show superior flow characteristics compared to the conventional tray in terms of the ability to replenish the zones of exceptionally low temperatures and high residence times at the edges of the tray, to lower the bulk liquid gradient and to achieve a more uniform flow across the tray. These superior flow abilities, however, tend to diminish with increasing weir load because of the increasing tendency for the liquid to jump over the barriers instead of flowing over them. The modified tray topologies showed no tendency to cause undue limitation to tray loading capacity. Although the improvement in the efficiency of a single tray over that of the conventional tray was moderate and in some cases marginal, the multiplier effect in a multiple tray column situation would be significant (Porter et al., 1972). These results are in good agreement with an associated CFD studies (Fischer, 1999) carried out by partners in the Advanced Studies in Distillation consortium. It is concluded that deflection baffles can be used in a conventional distillation sieve tray to achieve better liquid flow distribution and obtain enhanced mass transfer efficiency, without undermining the tray loading capacity. Unlike any other controlled-flow tray whose mechanical complexity impose stringent manufacturing and installation tolerances, the baffled-tray models are simple to design, manufacture and install and thus provide an economic method of retrofitting badly performing sieve trays both in terms of downtime and fabrication. NOTE APPENDICES 2-5 ARE ON A SEPARATE FLOPPY DISK ONLY AVAILABLE FOR CONSULTATION AT ASTON UNIVERSITY LIBRARY WITH PRIOR ARRANGEMENT


In this chapter the author explores the problematic relationship of the Czech novelist Milan Kundera to the translation of his work. On the one hand, translation offers authors who write in languages of limited diffusion entree onto the world stage. On the other hand, translation entails the author's loss of control over his work. The author traces the emergence of what may be a fictitious translator, conjecturing that this translator was in fact Kundera himself. The chapter raises important questions about the translator's agency, the nature of literature in translation, and the very idea of a national literature.


Since 2015, there have been 8 fatal shootings by the San Francisco Police Department and no officers have faced any administrative discipline. This paper works to demonstrate how the San Francisco Police Department escapes administrative discipline in situations of officer involved shootings (OIS) through the combination of flawed accountability procedures, state laws and government leaders who fail to push against these protective forces. My project will show how the combination of little authoritative power from the Department of Police Accountability and protective state laws in favor of police privacy complicate the investigation procedures that determine whether or not officers face accountability for their actions in officer involved shootings. Through understanding the history of policing and the legacy of discretionary practices in the San Francisco Police Department, we better understand why our civilian oversight agency's implementation into San Francisco police culture has resulted in a non threatening oversight body that is operated on nonaggressive policies. This project analyzes the 2016 police reform efforts that produced a recommendation report and two ballot measures that directly shape the Department of Police Accountability. My research shows how these new policies fail to combat the stronger policies and procedures in place that contribute to poor DPA officer involved shooting investigations, which typically result in unsustained findings. I offer recommendations that directly address the laws and policies that allow these institutions to continue to release officers with no sustained findings that result in administrative charges. I will show how the policies pertaining to police accountability in San Francisco, although they appear strong on paper, and not upheld within the SFPD and thus perpetuate a police culture that allows officers to act with no threat of civilian monitoring.


We present improved algorithms for the SMx (x = 1, 1a, 2, 3) solvation models presented previously [see the overview in C. J. Cramer and D. G. Truhlar, J. Comp.‐Aided Mol. Design, 6, 629 (1992)]. These models estimate the free energy of solvation by augmenting a semiempirical Hartree‐Fock calculation on the solute with the generalized Born (GB) model for electric polarization of the solvent and a surface tension term based on solvent‐accessible surface area. This article presents three improvements in the algorithms used to carry out such calculations, namely (1) an analytical accessible surface area algorithm, (2) a more efficient radial integration scheme for the dielectric screening computation in the GB model, and (3) a damping algorithm for updating the GB contribution to the Fock update during the iterations to achieve a self‐consistent field. Improvements (1) and (2) decrease the computer time, and improvement (3) leads to more stable convergence. Improvement (2) removes a small systematic numerical error that was explicitly absorbed into the parameterization in the SMx models. Therefore, we have adjusted the parameters for one of the previous models to yield essentially identical performance as was obtained originally while simultaneously taking advantage of improvement (2). The resulting model is called SM2.1. The fact that we obtain similar results after removing the systematic quadrature bias attests to the robustness of the original parameterization. © 1995 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.


The advent of the word processor has led to the slow demise of cursive writing, including the decline in time spent teaching this form of writing in public schools today. The topic of the value and role of cursive writing in the public school has been surfacing frequently in the news media and social media of the last five years. Thus a research question forms for a literacy specialist as to what is the role of cursive writing on the curricular landscape of public schools today? The most appropriate way to address this question is with empirical research using thematic analysis of a collection of news media and social media documents as found on the internet. Results of this analysis find that most of the writings occur in news venues (major online newspapers and smaller news venues online) and in the form of articles and comments on articles, with while newspaper articles more than double any non-comment genre. The second finding is that teachers and educators comprise the largest identifiable writer type, accounting for nearly 55% of known writers; parents, news reporters, and students for second place. A third finding is that the data content supportive of retaining cursive writing in schools is at least 2 to 1, meaning that support for retaining cursive writing in schools is more than double the support for removing it from school curriculum. THE ROLE OF CURSIVE WRITING p. 3


This paper presents results on a user interface model for providing universal access to mobile computing devices. The model uses a continuous speech understanding engine to provide access to a virtual keyboard and mouse through speech input. This research has been targeted towards users with permanent motor disabilities. However, these results also apply to able-bodied users with temporary, taskinduced motor disabilities, such as users performing alphanumeric data entry through a cellular phone keypad. The proposed solution might complement (or even replace) miniaturized keyboards and other physical keyboard alternatives, such as stylus-type "soft" keyboards. Since it only requires a microphone (and perhaps a speaker for feedback) which are already included in many mobile devices, it may allow such devices to shrink considerably in size, as alphanumeric input is no longer bound to a physical area. The paper describes the underlying architecture employed by the system. It presents empirical results addressing the effectiveness of this interface over alternative input methods for alphanumeric data entry. Finally, it discusses implications and future directions.