This article presents the establishment of a model of understanding the access mode and railway station choice of Slovenian passengers. Therefore, a model has been designed to predict the determination of existing decision making preferences of railway users about the access mode and railway station choice with a stated preference survey and face to face method. The target group in the survey were railway passengers in the suburban environment that use the rail for work and school purposes. The total number of respondents was 412. The survey showed that most passengers access the railway station with car (60,2%), by foot (26,2%), with public transport (bus – 8,3%) and with bike (5,3%). Average distance to the station is 4,9 km, average time of access is 10,5 min. Upon exit most passengers walk to the final destination (84,5%), use the public transport (bus – 14,1%), car (1,2%) or bike (0,2%). Average time from exit of the train to final destination is 13,1 min, average distance is 1,58 km.


Immersive virtual reality (iVR) devices are rapidly becoming an important part of our lives and forming a new way for people to interact with computers and each other. The impact and consequences of this innovative technology have not yet been satisfactory explored. This empirical study investigated the cognitive and social aspects of collaboration in a shared, immersive virtual reality. A unique application for implementing a collaborative immersive virtual environment (CIVE) was developed by our interdisciplinary team as a software solution for educational purposes, with two scenarios for learning about hypsography, i.e., explanations of contour line principles. Both scenarios allow switching between a usual 2D contour map and a 3D model of the corresponding terrain to increase the intelligibility and clarity of the educational content. Gamification principles were also applied to both scenarios to augment user engagement during the completion of tasks. A qualitative research approach was adopted to obtain a deep insight into the lived experience of users in a CIVE. It was thus possible to form a deep understanding of very new subject matter. Twelve pairs of participants were observed during their CIVE experience and then interviewed either in a semistructured interview or a focus group. Data from these three research techniques were analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis, which is research method for studying individual experience. Four superordinate themes—with detailed descriptions of experiences shared by numerous participants—emerged as results from the analysis; we called these (1) Appreciation for having a collaborator, (2) The Surprising "Fun with Maps", (3) Communication as a challenge, and (4) Cognition in two realities. The findings of the study indicate the importance of the social dimension during education in a virtual environment and the effectiveness of dynamic and interactive 3D visualization.


The mean-shift algorithm has achieved considerable success in object tracking due to its simplicity and efficiency. Color histogram is a common feature in the description of an object. However, the kernel-based color histogram may not have the ability to discriminate the object from clutter background. To boost the discriminating ability of the feature, based on background contrasting, this letter presents an improved Bhattacharyya similarity metric for mean-shift tracking. Experiments show that the proposed tracker is more robust in relation to background clutter.


THE STORY OF TRACY BEAKER. I'm Tracy Beaker. This is a book all about me. I'd read it if I were you. It's the most incredible dynamic heart-rending story. Honest. SHORTLISTED FOR THE SMARTIES PRIZE AND THE CARNEGIE MEDAL. THE BED AND BREAKFAST STAR. I'm Elsa, and I'm hoping to be a big star one day. I tell jokes all the time to try and cheer my family up. Trouble is, no-one seems to laugh much any more. Not since we lost our lovely house and had to move into a bed and breakfast hotel ...WINNER OF THE YOUNG TELEGRAPH FULLY BOOKED AWARD.


This dissertation analyses imminent innovations in public policy that will impact upon the whisky industry, and, through linkage adjustments, the regional Scottish economy. An analysis of the interconnectedness between the whisky industry and the wider Scottish economy reveals that such linkages are substantial. A holistic conspectus of the whisky industry in the first part of the dissertation reveals that the predominant form of structural change in the past has been merger & acquisition. Such consolidation has permi tted economies in marketing & distribution, but it is contended that in this arena at least there is scope for further performance improvement in the industry. Nevertheless, with taxation forming such a significant proportion of the final price of the product, realising a sustained increase in demand is deemed to be largely outwith the capability of the industry. It is advanced, therefore, that two tax-related developments in public policy in the next few years will impact not merely upon the whisky industry, but materially upon the regional Scottish economy as well. The first of these imminent innovations examined is the proposed abolition of the intra-EU duty free concession in 1999. Whilst it is concluded that such a move is inevitable (and economically logical), it is nonetheless determined that this will have a meaningful detrimental impact upon the whisky industry and Scottish economy. Secondly, the current proposals of the European Commission for the harmonisation of alcohol excises across the European Union are critically appraised, and are shown to be grounded on no logical economic principles, but instead, enshr1ne protection for European vinicultures. The rationale for alcohol taxation is considered de novo, concluding that wi thin the Uni ted Kingdom & across the European Union, at a minimum all alcoholic beverages should be taxed on an equal basis according to alcoholic content, at a level sufficient to cover an estimate of the negative externalities associated with alcohol consumption. Mindful of the importance of the whisky industry to the Scottish economy, it is revealed that in times past, the public authorities have been proactive in intervening to secure the continuing prosperity of the whisky industry, and it is contended that such a stance may be required of the present government. The dissertation concludes by advocating a set of reforms to the structure of alcohol excises in the United Kingdom. An approximate halving of the excise applied to spirits, such that all alcoholic beverages are taxed equally according to alcoholic content, would ensure that the whisky industry & government could lobby with credibility for comparable structures to be adopted overseas, particularly in any revised proposals for European excise harmonisation. In addition, it is suggested that the fillip such a reform would give to domestic sales of whisky would mitigate the negative effects upon the whisky industry & regional Scottish economy of losing the intra-EU duty free concession in 1999.


"The Japanese Experience" is an authoritative history of Japan from the sixth century to the present day. Only a writer of W.G. Beasley's stature could render Japan's complicated past so concisely and elegantly. This is the history of a society and a culture with a distinct sense of itself, one of the few nations never conquered by a foreign power in historic times (until the twentieth century) and the home of the longest-reigning imperial dynasty that still survives. The Japanese have always occupied part or all of the same territory, its borders defined by the sea. They have spoken and written a common language, (once it had taken firm shape in about the tenth century) and their population has been largely homogeneous, little touched by immigration except in very early periods. Yet Japanese society and culture have changed more through time than these statements seem to imply. Developments within Japan have been greatly influenced by ideas and institutions, art and literature, imported from elsewhere. In this work Beasley, a leading authority on Japan and the author of a number of acclaimed works on Japanese history, examines the changing society and culture of Japan and considers what, apart from the land and the people, is specifically Japanese about the history of Japan. The arrival of Buddhism in the sixth century brought a substantially Chinese-style society to Japan, not only in religion but in political institutions, writing system, and the lifestyle of the ruling class. By the eleventh century the Chinese element was waning and the country was entering a long and essentially 'Japanese' feudal period - with two rulers, an emperor and a Shogun - which was to last until the nineteenth century. Under the Togukawa shogunate (1600-1868), Chinese culture enjoyed something of a renaissance, though popular culture owed more to Japanese urban taste and urban wealth. In 1868 the Meiji Restoration brought to power rulers dedicated to the pursuit of national wealth and strength, and Japan became a world power. Although a bid for empire ended in disaster, the years after 1945 saw an economic miracle that brought spectacular wealth to Japan and the Japanese people, as well as the westernization of much of Japanese life.


ABSTRACT: This study examines patterns of ethnic residential integration in Great Britain and the United States. Using data from 2000/2001 censuses from these two countries, we compute segregation indexes for comparably defined ethnic groups by nativity and for specific foreign-born groups. We find that blacks are much less segregated in Great Britain than in the United States, and black segregation patterns by nativity tend to be consistent with spatial assimilation in the former country (the foreign-born are more segregated than the native-born) but not in the latter. Among Asian groups, however, segregation tends to be lower in the United States, and segregation patterns by nativity are more consistent with spatial assimilation in the United States but not in Great Britain. These findings suggest that intergenerational minority disadvantage persists among blacks in the United States and among Asians in Great Britain. We caution, however, that there are important differences in levels of segregation among specific foreign-born Asian groups, suggesting that assimilation trajectories likely differ by country of origin. Finally, the fact that segregation levels are considerably higher in the United States for a majority of groups, including white foreign-born groups, suggests that factors not solely related to race or physical appearance drive higher levels of ethnic residential segregation in the United States.


This paper explores the four decades of intellectual relationship between the Austrian School economist Ludwig von Mises (1881-1973) and two major representatives of German ordoliberalism, Walter Eucken (1891-1950) and Wilhelm Ropke (1899-1966). The timespan covered starts in the early 1920s and terminates with Ropke's passing in 1966, a period featuring numerous encounters in person and several debates in published works, accompanied by exchange in correspondence. The central goal of the paper is to provide a more nuanced understanding of the reasons for the hostile climate and the confrontation patterns than earlier narratives in secondary literature. A key tool is the technique of embedding the scholarly component of the interactions into a complex network of interpersonal relationships. The four decades are separated into five distinct phases with differently nuanced communication patterns: 1) early socialization echoing the animosities between the Austrian School and the Historical School; 2) initial debates in the 1920s and early 1930s on business cycle theory and policy where seniority and maturity play an important role; 3) clashes on political economy and social philosophy at the Colloque Walter Lippmann in 1938 and during the two initial decades of the Mont Pelerin Society after 1947; 4) coexistence during the German "economic miracle"; 5) exchanges in the 1960s, including a discussion of archival materials never published before about Mises' only honorary doctorate in economics, awarded to him by the University of Freiburg in 1964. Based on this historical account at the heart of the paper, conjectures are formulated as to why – despite the common ground in the inquiries pursued – the protagonists continuously fail to engage in more fruitful scholarly debates, and hypotheses are formulated about the substantive core at stake. In addition, a critical overview of selected strands within the extensive historiographic literature exploring the Austrian School and ordoliberalism in recent decades is provided, including a specific reading of the concept of neoliberalism.


My thesis explores representations of the tramp in British literature during the interwar period. I argue that the figure of the tramp evolved out of the vagabond in response to industrialism, and propose the idea that the tramp symbolically denotes resistance to the goal driven logic of capitalism, as well as normative values that provide a supportive framework for growth within disciplinarian society. I propose that any attempt to speak negatively of tramps in a way that goes beyond a concern with their suffering betrays the underlying ideological agenda. Against this, I suggest that positive descriptions of the tramp might serve as a form of political protest against the productivist paradigm. My thesis then focusses on the interwar period in Britain; a time when unemployment soared, levels of homelessness rose, and the figure of the tramp gained prominence. I ask whether these texts denigrate or celebrate the tramp, and attempt to demonstrate how this ties into the individual contexts within which they were written. To do this, I centre on three manifestations of tramp writing during the interwar period: social exploration writing, the tramp memoir, and tramp fiction. In Chapter One I trace the origins of social exploration before introducing six interwar authors who disguised themselves as tramps in order to infiltrate and write about the tramp community. In Chapter Two I trace the history of tramp life-writing. I then introduce ten interwar memoirists – all of whom, though with a variety of backgrounds, self-identified as tramps. In Chapter Three I focus on six interwar novelists who feature the tramp in their work. In each chapter I provide biographical information for the various authors and consider critical responses to their work.


The primary function of the heart is to supply blood and nutrients to the body. The regular beating of the heart moves the blood throughout the body. Each heartbeat is controlled by electrical impulses traveling through the heart. In the normal heart these electrical impulses occur in regular intervals. When something goes wrong with the heart's electrical system, the heart does not beat regularly. The irregular beating results in a rhythm disorder, or arrhythmia. ECG is a record of electrical impulses which precede the heart contractions. A single sinus (normal) cycle of the ECG, corresponding to one heart beat, is traditionally labeled with the letters P,Q,R,S and T which correspond to Pwave, PQ interval, QRS complex, QT interval, ST interval and T-wave. Heart arrhythmias result from any disturbance in the rate, regularity, and site of origin or conduction of the cardiac electric impulse. Premature ventricular contraction (PVC), left bundle brunch block (LBBB), and right bundle branch block (RBBB) are the three cardiac arrhythmias which can lead to or indicate the risk of heart failure. Our research is focused on constructing model parameters in order to generate different morphologies for the PQRST-complex. By prescribing specific characteristics of the heart rate dynamics such as the mean and standard deviation of the heart rate, spectral properties etc, we built a database which will be used for calculating the effectiveness of different techniques for noise and artifacts removal as well as for designing a pattern classifier able to recognize the above cardiac arrhythmias.


Growth of laser damage on SiO(2) optical components used in high power lasers can be reduced or eliminated by pre-exposure to pulses of a few hundred ps in duration. Such pre-exposure would cause weak locations on the optics surface to self-identify by initiating very small damage sites. The sites which initiate will be only a few microns in diameter and will have a very low probability of growing even without any further treatment. Repairing damage sites when small is important because both laser mitigation and acid etching are very successful in preventing such small sites from growing.


From the findings of a study examining the perspective of parents using Intensive Family Support Service based in northern England, this paper examines the constituent elements required for effective relationship-based practice. Although the study is based in a single site in England, the findings are more broadly relevant, given both national and international interests in relationship-based practice in child protection. The participants in this study – parents whose children had been assessed as being 'at the edge of care' – were asked to comment on the intervention they had received. Analysis of parents' interviews suggests that the service user–worker relationship was critical to their positive experience of the service. The paper provides an analysis of parents' descriptions of 'positive relationships' and identifies the key themes. It then considers these findings in the context of contemporary children and families' social work practice. Engaging with current debates, the paper makes reference to the impact of modernization, which has served to erode effective faceto-face work with families, given excessive 'backroom' demands of administration and audit. Discussion engages with an emerging emphasis on effective relationship-based practice following reports from Munro and the Social Work Reform Board. In this context, the paper concludes that the views of these families whose children are on the 'edge of care' offers insights into the skills required for relationship-based practice.


According to a well-established and substantively significant finding in the interna-tional political economy literature, democratic host countries are better able to attract foreign direct investment (FDI). However, I show that the supposed association be-tween democracy and FDI disappears once I control for a selection bias in which FDI tends to originate from democratic home countries. I then provide empirical evidence to support a novel claim that it is not democracy by itself but political similarity be-tween the home and host countries that attracts FDI. Additionally, I suggest a causal explanation for why FDI tends to flow between politically similar countries.


It is reported that the scientific investigations, case studies or any other researches are of little value until they have been published, and their publication has little validity until it has been properly documented. For this documentation, author should have the work of his own along with the materials of various other sources which he has referred to do his work. The sources which are being referred are considered as References which supports the work of the author. Thus it is the obligation of the author to write the relevant references cited by him as the token of nobility to the referred. The seers of Ayurveda , in this regard did not step back and cited the references of scholar personally or a system or systems or the other scientific sources wherever it is relevant.


OBJECTIVE Based on its role as an energy storage compartment and endocrine organ, white adipose tissue (WAT) fulfills a critical function in the maintenance of whole-body energy homeostasis. Indeed, WAT dysfunction is connected to obesity-related type 2 diabetes triggered at least partly by an inflammatory response in adipocytes. The pseudokinase tribbles (TRB) 3 has been identified by us and others as a critical regulator of hepatic glucose homeostasis in type 2 diabetes and WAT lipid homeostasis. Therefore, this study aimed to test the hypothesis that the TRB gene family fulfills broader functions in the integration of metabolic and inflammatory pathways in various tissues. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS To determine the role of TRB family members for WAT function, we profiled the expression patterns of TRB13 under healthy and metabolic stress conditions. The differentially expressed TRB1 was functionally characterized in loss-of-function animal and primary adipocyte models. RESULTS Here, we show that the expression of TRB1 was specifically upregulated during acute and chronic inflammation in WAT of mice. Deficiency of TRB1 was found to impair cytokine gene expression in white adipocytes and to protect against high-fat diet–induced obesity. In adipocytes, TRB1 served as a nuclear transcriptional coactivator for the nuclear factor κB subunit RelA, thereby promoting the induction of proinflammatory cytokines in these cells. CONCLUSIONS As inflammation is typically seen in sepsis, insulin resistance, and obesity-related type 2 diabetes, the dual role of TRB1 as both a target and a (co) activator of inflammatory signaling might provide a molecular rationale for the amplification of proinflammatory responses in WAT in these subjects.


In order to study the effect of surface defect on the fatigue performance of metal component, the Lemaitre and Chaboche fatigue model is investigated. Then the finite element implementation of a continuum damage mechanics formulation for multiaxial fatigue is presented, in which the coupling relationship between the damage field and the stress field is taken into account. This FE method is validated according to the experimental results for defected multiaxial fatigue for LY7075. At last the influence of defect geometry size and residual stress on structure fatigue life is analysed.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.mech.21.1.7923


This study presents a novel NodeMCU based web server to validate cost-effective and smart e-health diagnosis. Proposed work implements a novel Naive Bayes Classifier for automatic fever type detection as a proof of concept. The application is currently accessible on local network. Network users (patients) are first required to submit eight symptoms e.g. "fatigue", "fever", "chills", "sore throat", "cough", "headache", "muscle pain", and "sneezing" on web portal in form of yes "y" or no "n". Implied Naive Bayes Classifier engine predicts the probability of occurrence of fever either from flu or common cold as per symptoms provided earlier. The patients are simultaneously diagnosed by a medical practitioner from whom patient wise predictive percentage was received. The probabilistic values were then paired against flu and common cold typed fever patients independently. 22 patients were voluntarily gone through this experiment where p (0.089>0.05) and p (0.068>0.05) were not found to be statistically significant (i.e. no difference between proposed classifier and doctor's diagnosis) for flu and common cold fever types, respectively.


Collective motion is commonly modeled with simple interaction rules between agents. Yet in nature, numerous observables vary within and between individuals and it remains largely unknown how animals respond to this variability, and how much of it may be the result of social responses. Here, we hypothesize that Guppies (\textit{Poecilia reticulata}) respond to avoidance behaviors of their shoal mates and that "socially competent" responses allow them to be more effective leaders. We test this hypothesis in an experimental setting in which a robotic Guppy, called RoboFish, is programmed to adapt to avoidance reactions of its live interaction partner. We compare the leadership performance between socially competent robots and two non-competent control behaviors and find that 1) behavioral variability itself appears attractive and that socially competent robots are better leaders that 2) require fewer approach attempts to 3) elicit longer average following behavior than non-competent agents. This work provides evidence that social responsiveness to avoidance reactions plays a role in the social dynamics of guppies. We showcase how social responsiveness can be modeled and tested directly embedded in a living animal model using adaptive, interactive robots.


Extracted from text ... Kathryn Strachan, i Sarah Davidsii and Wendy Hallii
iFreelance Journalist
iiHealth Systems Trust
Voices of Hospital
Superintendents/Managers
Introduction
Hospital Superintendents are among those health professionals at the
forefront
of the
transformation and delivery of health services. 1 Hospitals have always
been, and will remain central to the
health care system and adequate health
care cannot be provided without them.
This chapter is based on interviews with 15 Hospital Managers from 8
provinces. the
managers were purposefully chosen for convenience of access
and availability. There is an approximate 50-50 split ..


Two monolithic matrix amplifiers for ECM and ESM military equipment have been designed and realized using 0.25 μm GaAs PHEMT technology from UMS. Design trade-offs and performances are discussed in detail. The effects of the biasing network, termination load and total gate periphery on the performance of the amplifiers were considered for optimum design. The first amplifier, designed for gain flatness and noise figure yields gain of 19 ± 1 dB and a typical noise figure of 4 dB. The second unit exhibits a positive linear gain slope from 16 dB to 20 dB. Output power at 1 dB compression point is +12 dBm. The die size and bandwidth of each MMIC is 7 mm2 and 0.5-20 GHz respectively.


Sedimentary deposits in Stoddard County, southeastern Missouri, reveal a K-Pg transition sequence represented by the uppermost Maastrichtian Owl Creek Formation and the Paleocene Clayton Formation. The Clayton Formation is characterized by a basal fossiliferous coquinite that contains reworked late Maastrichtian macrofossils. Dinoflagellate biostratigraphy is used to determine the age of the coquinite layer and specifically whether or not it is an end-K tsunamite deposit resulting from the Chicxulub impact event. Results indicate a mixed assemblage of late Maastrichtian and early Danian dinocysts within the basal coquinite of the Clayton Formation. Maastrichtian dinocyst taxa identified are Riculacysta amplexa, Pierceites pentagonus, Phelodinium tricuspe and Dinogymnium sp. and dinocysts utilized as global indicators of the basal Danian, also present in the coquinite, consist of Senoniasphaera inornata, Carpatella cornuta, Damassadinium californicum, and Lanternosphaeridium reinhardtii. A gray mud occurring above the coquinite in the middle of the Clayton Formation contains the mid-Danian dinoflagellate Senegalinium iterlaaense. Collectively, these data suggest that the coquinite was deposited well after the K-Pg event but before the middle Danian. The mixed assemblage of Late Cretaceous and Paleocene dinocysts preserved in the coquinite weakens the hypothesis that it is an end-K tsunamite deposit and suggests instead that it may result from a long-term transgressive lag. We also extend the stratigraphic range of the Paleocene Senegalinium simplex downward into the uppermost Maastrichtian.


A theoretical framework for detection or discrimination tasks with list-mode data is developed. The object and imaging system are rigorously modeled via three random mechanisms: randomness of the object being imaged, randomness in the attribute vectors, and, finally, randomness in the attribute vector estimates due to noise in the detector outputs. By considering the list-mode data themselves, the theory developed in this paper yields a manageable expression for the likelihood of the list-mode data given the object being imaged. This, in turn, leads to an expression for the optimal Bayesian discriminant. Figures of merit for detection tasks via the ideal and optimal linear observers are derived. A concrete example discusses detection performance of the optimal linear observer for the case of a known signal buried in a random lumpy background.


We develop a multilevel theory of the activation and regulation of bio-emotional energy in entrepreneurial systems to explain the transformational endogenous dynamics by which the entrepreneur's vision of a new future enterprise is realised. We begin with the premise that the entrepreneur is passionately committed to the implementation of a 'new' idea that moves beyond the norms or rationality of the existing business order, and that the entrepreneurial system is an order for generating innovative and/or radical economic change. Drawing on Bradley and Pribram's (1998) holographic theory of social communication, in which the principles of quantum holography are combined with complex dynamical systems theory, we describe how the socioemotional and psychophysiological energetic interactions within the entrepreneurial system operate to generate a stable platform of psychosocial organisation for building a transformational enterprise that is intuitively in-formed (given shape) by the entrepreneur's passionately-held vision of the future.


It has been suggested that class schemas are appropriate for analysing class relations among men but not among women.This article examines wage growth patterns, i.e. a crucial aspect of class relations. There are several reasons why class would be less effective as a predictor of wage growth for women than for men: for example, that factors such as discrimination blur this association for women; and that women are over-represented in occupational sectors where this association is less strong.The analyses are based on a Swedish panel data set of employees (age 30—35 years) in large private firms and in the public sector who had the same employer in 1999 and 2003 (N about 99,000). Class is measured using the European Socio-economic Classification — ESeC. Contrary to some expectations class patterns of wage growth are similar for women and men and for different sectors of the labour market.


The counterfactual regret minimization (CFR) algorithm is state-of-the-art for computing strategies in large games and other sequential decision-making problems. Little is known, however, about CFR in games with more than 2 players. This extended abstract outlines research towards a better understanding of CFR in multiplayer games and new procedures for computing even stronger multiplayer strategies. We summarize work already completed that investigates techniques for creating "expert" strategies for playing smaller sub-games, and work that proves CFR avoids classes of undesirable strategies. In addition, we provide an outline of our future research direction. Our goals are to apply regret minimization to the problem of playing multiple games simultaneously, and augment CFR to achieve effective on-line opponent modelling of multiple opponents. The objective of this research is to build a world-class computer poker player for multiplayer Limit Texas Hold'em.


BACKGROUND
 Terms and conditions define the relationship between social media companies and users. However, these legal agreements are long and written in a complex language. It remains questionable whether users understand the terms and conditions and are aware of the consequences of joining such a network. With children from a young age interacting with social media, companies are acquiring large amounts of data, resulting in longitudinal data sets that most researchers can only dream of. The use of social media by children is highly relevant to their mental and physical health for 2 reasons: their health can be adversely affected by social media and their data can be used to conduct health research.

 OBJECTIVE
 The aim of this paper is to offer an ethical analysis of how the most common social media apps and services inform users and obtain their consent regarding privacy and other issues and to discuss how lessons from research ethics can lead to trusted partnerships between users and social media companies. Our paper focuses on children, who represent a sensitive group among users of social media platforms.

 METHODS
 A thematic analysis of the terms and conditions of the 20 most popular social media platforms and the 2 predominant mobile phone ecosystems (Android and iOS) was conducted. The results of this analysis served as the basis for scoring these platforms.

 RESULTS
 The analysis showed that most platforms comply with the age requirements issued by legislators. However, the consent process during sign-up was not taken seriously. Terms and conditions are often too long and difficult to understand, especially for younger users. The same applies to age verification, which is not realized proactively but instead relies on other users who report underaged users.

 CONCLUSIONS
 This study reveals that social media networks are still lacking in many respects regarding the adequate protection of children. Consent procedures are flawed because they are too complex, and in some cases, children can create social media accounts without sufficient age verification or parental oversight. Adopting measures based on key ethical principles will safeguard the health and well-being of children. This could mean standardizing the registration process in accordance with modern research ethics procedures: give users the key facts that they need in a format that can be read easily and quickly, rather than forcing them to wade through chapters of legal language that they cannot understand. Improving these processes would help safeguard the mental health of children and other social media users.


This article deals with certain legal and policy issues in the non-state insular areas of the United States (American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands), and less directly with islands in "free association" with the United States (Federated States of Micronesia, Marshall Islands, Palau.) Many, perhaps most, insular areas of the world, due in large part to geographic separation, maintained their traditional cultures well into the 20th Century. With the onslaught of modern communications and transportation, preserving those cultures or even parts of them, now requires conscious effort. The author agrees that cultural preservation is a worthwhile objective, but notes that not everyone does; for example, those who believe that cultural preservation laws (e.g., laws restricting alienation of land) interfere with the "invisible hand" of the market and retard economic progress. The article notes that in U.S. areas there is another potential barrier to cultural preservation, the United States Constitution. Law restricting ownership of land to indigenous people, for example, have been challenged as alleged violations of the equal protection principle. The author argues that well-designed cultural preservation laws, including laws prohibiting or regulating sale of land to outsiders, should pass muster on both legal and policy grounds. The author examines the unique cultures of some of these islands and notes that they have many qualities worth emulating. He also challenges the argument that cultural preservation retards economic progress. On the law side, he examines the historical development of doctrines pertaining the application of the U.S. constitution in non-state areas. The article then focuses on the important Ninth Circuit case of Wabol v. Villacrucis. That case, quoting from an earlier article by this author, fashioned a rule that allows for the application of important constitutional protections in territories, but also permits exceptions when strict application might jeopardize the indigenous culture. The author argues that Wabol was correctly decided, and should remain the controlling precedent in this area of law (despite some current criticism of the case).


BACKGROUND
The standard method of ascertaining Alzheimer's disease (AD) remains postmortem assessment of amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary degeneration. Vascular pathology, Lewy bodies, TDP-43, and hippocampal sclerosis are frequent comorbidities. There is therefore a need for biomarkers that can assess these etiologies and provide a diagnosis in vivo.

OBJECTIVE
We conducted a systematic review of published radiological-pathological correlation studies to determine the relationship between antemortem magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and neuropathological findings in AD.

METHODS
We explored PubMed in June-July 2015 using "Alzheimer's disease" and combinations of radiological and pathological terms. After exclusion following screening and full-text assessment of the 552 extracted manuscripts, three others were added from their reference list. In the end, we report results based on 27 articles.

RESULTS
Independently of normal age-related brain atrophy, AD pathology is associated with whole-brain and hippocampal atrophy and ventricular expansion as observed on T1-weighted images. Moreover, cerebral amyloid angiopathy and cortical microinfarcts are also related to brain volume loss in AD. Hippocampal sclerosis and TDP-43 are associated with hippocampal and medial temporal lobe atrophy, respectively. Brain volume loss correlates more strongly with tangles than with any other pathological finding. White matter hyperintensities observed on proton density, T2-weighted and FLAIR images are strongly related to vascular pathologies, but are also associated with other histological changes such as gliosis or demyelination.

CONCLUSION
Cerebral atrophy and white matter changes in the living brain reflect underlying neuropathology and may be detectable using antemortem MRI. In vivo MRI may therefore be an avenue for AD pathological staging.


A small 33 _ 0.8 Ma lamproite pluton is exposed in the midst of a 23 -26 Ma basalt-rhyolite province in Middle Park, NW Colorado. It contains abundant phlogopite phenocrysts in a fine-grained groundmass of analcime pseudomorphs after leucite, biotite, potassic fichterite, apatite, ilmenite and accessory diopside. The phlogopite phenocryst cores contain -4 wt.% TiO2, 1% Cr20:~ and 0.2% BaO. The smallest groundmass biotites have normal pleochroism but compositions unlike any previously reported, with -2% A1203, -8% TiO2 and F <1.5%. Apart from those elements affected by leucite alteration, both the elemental and isotopic composition of this lamproite are close to those of the Leucite |]ills, Wyoming. Its Nd-isotopic model age (TDM = 1.6 Ga) is outside the Leucite Hills range but within that of other Tertiary strongly potassic magmatism in the region underlain by the Wyoming craton. Evidence from both teleseismic tomography and the mantle xenoliths within other western USA mafic ultrapotassic igneous suites shows that the total lithospheric thickness beneath NW Colorado was probably --150-200 km at 33 Ma, when the Middle Park lamproite was emplaced. This is an important constraint on tectonomagmatic models for the Cenozoic evolution of this northernmost part of the Rio Grande rift system.


Asian sea bass or barramundi (Lates calcarifer) performs optimally over a wide temperature range and also maintains high levels of growth performance outside of its optimum range. Limiting environmental conditions, particularly those imposed by sub-optimum temperatures test the adequacy of nutrient supply and the efficiency of growth. Consequently, Asian sea bass provides a model species with which to study how environmental factors affect growth processes. Protein metabolism was investigated in detail: protein synthesis was modeled in relation to temperature and nutritional factors such as time after feeding, dietary protein content and protein source. Daily rates of protein synthesis were related to changes in protein degradation, investigation of autophagic-lysosomal and ubiquitin-proteasome protein degradation pathways showed a significant increased gene expression of Cathepsin D but no other significant changes. Combining data from a series of experiments highlight mechanisms underlying changes in growth performance at extreme temperatures and suggested an increase in the use of dietary amino acids for energy and increased metabolism via deamination and excretion. The use of model species to study nutritional physiology and implications for understanding possible impacts of climate change will be discussed further.


The "Nicomachean Ethics" is one of Aristotle's most widely read and influential works. Ideas central to ethics - that happiness is the end of human endeavor, that moral virtue is formed through action and habituation, and that good action requires prudence - found their most powerful proponent in the person medieval scholars simply called "the Philosopher." Drawing on their intimate knowledge of Aristotle's thought, Robert C. Bartlett and Susan D. Collins have produced here an English-language translation of the "Ethics" that is as remarkably faithful to the original as it is graceful in its rendering. Aristotle is well known for the precision with which he chooses his words, and in this elegant translation his work has found its ideal match. Bartlett and Collins provide copious notes and a glossary providing context and further explanation for students, as well as an introduction and a substantial interpretive essay that sketch central arguments of the work and the seminal place of Aristotle's "Ethics" in his political philosophy as a whole. The "Nicomachean Ethics" has engaged the serious interest of readers across centuries and civilizations - of people ancient, medieval, and modern; pagan, Christian, Muslim, and Jewish - and this new edition will take its place as the standard English-language translation.


Weak lensing experiments such as the future ESA-accepted mission Euclid aim to measure cosmological parameters with unprecedented accuracy. It is important to assess the precision that can be obtained in these measurements by applying analysis software on mock images that contain many sources of noise present in the real data. In this Thesis, we show a method to perform simulations of observations, that produce realistic images of the sky according to characteristics of the instrument and of the survey. We then use these images to test the performances of the Euclid mission. In particular, we concentrate on the precision of the photometric redshift measurements, which are key data to perform cosmic shear tomography. We calculate the fraction of the total observed sample that must be discarded to reach the required level of precision, that is equal to 0.05(1+z) for a galaxy with measured redshift z, with different ancillary ground-based observations. The results highlight the importance of u-band observations, especially to discriminate between low (z < 0.5) and high (z ~ 3) redshifts, and the need for good observing sites, with seeing FWHM < 1. arcsec. We then construct an optimal filter to detect galaxy clusters through photometric catalogues of galaxies, and we test it on the COSMOS field, obtaining 27 lensing-confirmed detections. Applying this algorithm on mock Euclid data, we verify the possibility to detect clusters with mass above 10^14.2 solar masses with a low rate of false detections.


The aim of this project was to investigate the impact of the Optimising HEalth LIterAcy (OPHELIA) approach on a population of 'hard to reach' men from Launceston's northern suburbs who are at increased risk of cardio-vascular disease (CVD). It was hoped that the intervention would enable positive lifestyle changes in the study population, through the community organisations and general practices which care for them and deliver CVD-prevention messages or activities. The study was based on the hypotheses that the OPHELIA approach would lead to improvements in health literacy measures in patients at risk of CVD who were disadvantaged by poorer access to health services and lower socio-economic status; and that the OPHELIA approach to health literacy would also produce targeted interventions which would have a positive effect on lifestyle behaviours, the risk of CVD, use of health services for primary prevention and care, and quality of life for this group. The OPHELIA-CVD project recruited participants from Ravenswood through Mr Mick Goss and the Ravenswood Neighbourhood House (Starting Point). While difficulties were encountered both in recruiting the numbers of participants originally anticipated, and in retaining participants to enable the envisaged longitudinal study, underscoring the 'hard to reach' nature of the target group, the researchers adopted a pragmatic approach, using the data obtained in the initial health literacy survey and individual interviews to provide vignettes of the target group. The vignettes distilled the issues raised by the surveys and interviews and allowed the OPHELIA approach to be used in the target audience of one general practice and Starting Point-based groups by acting as triggers to discussion. The facilitated discussions also encouraged an active role for the target audience in designing interventions to improve the health literacy and mental and physical health, including reducing risk factors for cardio-vascular disease, of 'hard to reach' men. During the research, funding was achieved to develop first the Ravenswood and then the Rocherlea Men's Sheds, subsequently named the Ravenswood Men's and Community Sheds (MACS) and 'The Shed (Rocherlea)'. While the OPHELIA-CVD project takes no credit for these outcomes, they closely corresponded with the information obtained from the study's participants. The OPHELIA approach has led to a range of other funded projects including 'Healthy Sheds', a highly successful intervention program, which was funded by the Tasmanian State Government under the Healthy Tasmania program, in direct response to the needs identified during the OPHELIA-CVD project. The OPHELIA-CVD project also led to the granting of anticipatory care funding in 2018 to the neighbourhood houses in Ravenswood and Rocherlea to develop projects designed to improve the health of people living in Launceston's northern suburbs. A request for numeracy training by men using the Ravenswood Men's and Community Shed has also led to a grant to develop a program with them in 2019. Working closely with the Northern suburbs community, subsequent programs will hopefully provide the basis for further research and have or will provide interventions to improve health literacy and reduce the risk of cardiovascular and other disease in this and other target groups of the initial OPHELIA-CVD project.


Large-scale direct shear tests were performed to explore the behavior of rail ballast-geogrid interfaces and establish the role of geogrid aperture size on the interface shear strength. Fresh latite ballast with an average particle size (D50) of 35 mm, and seven geogrids with equivalent aperture sizes ranging from 20.8 to 88 mm were used for this current study. The laboratory experimental results confirm that the interface shear strength is influenced by the geogrid aperture size. The interface efficiency factor (α), defined as the ratio of the shear strength of the interface to the internal shear strength of the ballast varies from 0.8 to 1.16, and the ballast-geosynthetic interface friction angles vary from 52 to 67°. Moreover, a criterion to determine the minimum and maximum aperture sizes required to generate the beneficial effects of the geogrid has been identified in this study.


This paper considers cost-reducing R&D investment with spillovers in a Cournot oligopoly with overlapping ownership. We show that overlapping ownership leads to internalization of rivals' profits by firms and find that, for demand not too convex, increases in overlapping ownership increase (decrease) R&D and output for high (low) enough spillovers while it increases R&D but decreases output for intermediate levels of spillovers. There is scope for overlapping ownership to improve welfare provided that spillovers are sufficiently large. The socially optimal degree of overlapping ownership increases with the number of firms, with the elasticity of demand and of the innovation function, and with the extent of spillover effects. In terms of consumer surplus standard, the desirability of overlapping ownership is greatly reduced even under low market concentration. When R&D has commitment value and spillovers are high the optimal extent of overlapping ownership is higher. The results obtained are robust in the context of a Bertrand oligopoly model with product differentiation.


Summary
I
1.
Specimens of feces containing cysts of E. histolytica but no trophozoites were injected directly into the large bowel of kittens. Using material not more than six days old, 6 out of 8 animals were infected.
2.
The circumstances of the experiments suggest very strongly indeed that excystation occurred in the large bowel.
3.
Additional evidence was obtained that stasis is an important factor in producing an infection of the intestine with E. histolytica.
II
4.
Kittens were infected with E. histolytica and the large intestine was then deprived of its normal supply of water by placing a ligature around the gut.
5.
The amoebae disappeared promptly in three animals in which this procedure was carried out early in the course of the infection. The progress of the disease was not checked in one animal in which the operation was delayed for several days after symptoms appeared.
III
6.
According to our conception, the cysts of E. histolytica when ingested by mouth are carried rapidly by peristalsis through the small bowel and set up lesions at points of stasis in the large intestine. In 3 kittens amoebic infection of the colon readily invaded the ileum when the ileo-colic sphincter was rendered functionless. Under the conditions of these experiments, the sphincter was an important factor in the mechanical protection of the ileum.
7.
In 3 animals, ligation of the small bowel and inoculation of active amoebae immediately above the ligature failed to produce an infection. This failure to produce a primary infection of the small intestine suggests that the environmental conditions in the ileum are somewhat unfavorable for the development of amoebae. It does not necessarily indicate that the mucosa per se of the ileum is less susceptible than that of the colon to the action of E. histolytica.


In this paper, we use industry data for 11 OECD countries over the period 1984-2007 to test for productivity, wages and employment effects of employment protection legislation (EPL). In accordance with conventional competitive theory, we find that EPL both lowers productivity and produces a compensating wage differential that lowers wages. Manufacturing appears more constrained by EPL than services. In both sectors, an important result is that employment is not reduced by EPL. The downside seems to be an increase in hours worked per worker, which implies that EPL concentrates employment on those who already have it.


CONTEXT
Angiopoietin-like protein 8 (ANGPTL8)/betatrophin is a secreted protein initially involved in β-cell replication. Recent data in humans and mice models suggest that ANGPTL8/betatrophin is more related to lipid metabolism.

OBJECTIVE
The aim of the present study was to compare the circulating concentrations of ANGPTL8/betatrophin in individuals with dyslipidemia defined as having high or low levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol or triglycerides, respectively.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS
Serum concentrations of ANGPTL8/betatrophin were measured by an ELISA in 177 subjects. We studied two different selected case-control dyslipidemic cohorts including individuals with high (n = 43) or low (n = 46) circulating concentrations of HDL-cholesterol or with low (n = 48) or high (n = 40) levels of triglycerides.

RESULTS
Circulating concentrations of ANGPTL8/betatrophin were significantly lower in individuals with dyslipidemia (P < .001) in both males (controls 27.8 ± 15.2 vs dyslipidemic 17.0 ± 11.2 ng/mL) and females (controls 50.0 ± 22.2 vs dyslipidemic 27.0 ± 16.5 ng/mL). The magnitude of the differences was higher in dyslipidemic patients with low HDL-cholesterol than in those with high triglyceride concentrations. ANGPTL8/betatrophin levels were lower in subjects with type 2 diabetes (P < .001), but the impact of type 2 diabetes vanished (P = .257) when the effect of dyslipidemia was included in the analysis.

CONCLUSIONS
We conclude that serum ANGPTL8/betatrophin concentrations are altered in human dyslipidemia. ANGPTL8/betatrophin emerges as a potential player in dyslipidemia with a strong association with HDL-cholesterol and a potential therapeutic tool for the treatment of dyslipidemia.


Summary and Conclusions
1.
Only three previous attempts have been reported in which the guinea-pig has been exposed to infection with Endamoeba histolytica. Two of these (Baetjer and Sellards, 1914 and Chatton, 1917) were partially successful in producing tissue invasion and one (Werner, 1908) was unsuccessful.
2.
The study herein reported consisted of a planned experiment to inoculate stock guinea-pigs under strictly aseptic technic with a strain of Endamoeba histolytica of human origin. Cultured trophozoites in numbers varying from 200,000 to 7,000,000 were introduced into the terminal ileum and the animals were sacrificed in groups of five at daily intervals from one to seven days following inoculation. Six uninoculated animals served as controls.
3.
On sacrifice the terminal ileum and entire large intestine were removed intact, as was the liver. The several levels were grossly inspected for suspicious amebic lesions, then these levels, designated A (terminal ileum), I (cecum), II (ascending colon), III (transverse colon), IV (descending colon) and V (rectum), were separated from one another, pH determinations made on representative animals at levels I, III and V, the fecal contents carefully studied for evidences of E. histolytica and for the natural parasites of the guinea-pig's intestine, and segments of the intestinal wall at each level fixed in Bouin's fluid, sectioned and studied microscopically.
4.
The natural parasites of the guinea-pig which were identified from cecal and colonic feces were: Balantidium caviae, Chilomastix intestinalis, Trichomonas caviae, Spiromonas angusta, a Bodo-like flagellate, Eimeria caviae and once the oxyuroid nematode Paraspidodera uncinata. Except for B. caviae and Eimeria caviae, none of these organisms are tissue invaders. In no instance was there evidence that any of these organisms had assisted in the production of the amebic lesion. It was found that examination of passed fecal pellets was an unreliable method of diagnosing these infections.
5.
Endamoeba histolytica was recovered from the intestinal feces in 8 of the 15 animals sacrificed on days 1–3 after inoculation, whereas typical amebic lesions were found in all 15. During days 4–7 the amebae were found in 19 of the 20 sacrificed animals and typical amebic lesions in 19, although the exceptions in each category were not coincidental. With two exceptions the lesions were confined to the cecal area; E. histolytica trophozoites were most frequently and abundantly recovered from this level but they were relatively common in the feces at levels A and II, occasionally at levels III and IV, and once at level V. The six control animals had the same natural fauna and flora found in the experimental series; in none of them were there any lesions of the intestinal wall in levels A and I–V.
6.
The amebic lesions consisted of two types, (1) shallow excavations with a relatively wide diameter, and (2) deeply penetrating ones with a small orifice. Histologically some lesions consisted essentially of lytic necrosis without evidence of bacterial invasion and without host-cell reaction, and others with inflammatory reaction in which neutrophilic leukocytes and fibrocytes were predominant.
7.
Amebic infection produced an appreciable increase in the pH at level I, slight increase at level III and no change at level V.
8.
Spontaneous amebic lesions of the liver were found to be uncommon compared with lesions of undetermined origin observed in the guinea-pig's liver.
9.
Amebiasis in the guinea-pig causes loss in weight, anorexia, reduced activity and deterioration in the appearance of the fur.
10.
This study has conclusively demonstrated the high susceptibility of the guinea-pig to infection with a pathogenic strain of Endamoeba histolytica under the conditions of the experiment. It suggests the need to determine the role of the bacteria associated with the amebae in the inoculum, the relation of the nutritional status to susceptibility, the relative infectivity of cysts inoculated by mouth or intragastrically vs. trophozoites introduced into the terminal ileum, and possible differences in infectivity of other strains of E. histolytica.


This article introduces the notion of sustainability objects as a label for objects that come with a claim of promoting a more sustainable mode of living. The purpose is to show that organizations that develop such objects construct a performative definition of sustainability. A case study of the development of a facility for the pre-treatment of food-waste-based biogas and biofertilizers serves as an empirical example of the development of sustainability objects. The analysis demonstrates that this development and concomitant defining of sustainability have involved the contextualizing of biogas and biofertilizers, entangling them in nets of relationships and endowing them with an agency of their own. With sustainability objects embodying definitions of sustainability, their success or failure as objects derive from the success or failure of the performative definitions that they embody, and vice versa. Asking why sustainability objects gain or lose ground is therefore suggested as a way of understanding the character and evolution of sustainability transition.


The objectives of this study were to investigate the multiple-dose tolerability, safety, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics of the dual orexin receptor antagonist almorexant. Healthy subjects received daily doses of almorexant (100, 200, 400 or 1000 mg) or placebo in the morning for four days followed by two days with evening administration (Days 5–6). Each dose level was investigated in a new group of 10 subjects (eight active, two placebo, 1:1 sex). Dose-dependent increases in frequency and intensity were observed for somnolence and other adverse events. Pharmacokinetics at steady state showed rapid absorption, low concentrations eight hours post-dose, and minimal accumulation. Following evening, administration absorption was delayed and Cmax decreased. Almorexant at 400 and 1000 mg administered in the morning reduced vigilance, alertness, visuomotor coordination, and motor coordination assessed in a psychometric test battery. Polysomnography recordings following evening administration showed a trend towards shorter latency to sleep stages 3 and 4, and shorter latency to, and longer time in, rapid-eye-movement sleep at higher doses when compared to placebo. Whether these findings in healthy subjects translate into relevant sleep-enabling effects in insomnia patients needs to be investigated in future studies.


John Milton's political philosophy, and its relation to the events and ideologies of the English Revolution (16401660), is the subject of fierce debate among literary scholars and students of political thought. In 1977 the great English social historian Christopher Hill published a monumental work, Milton and the English Revolution, which portrayed the epic poet as a political radical. This thesis challenges Hill's analysis of Milton based on a new socioeconomic and political contextualization of Milton's regicide tract, The Tenure of Kings and Magistrates, published in 1649. The thesis employs an Aristotelian theory of oligarchic government, an understanding of political ideology inspired by Marx, and Robert Brenner's study of the role of colonial interloping merchants in English politics during the Revolutionary period, to argue that The Tenure reflects the political consciousness of oligarchic republicanism. Milton wrote the tract to defend the execution of Charles I, an act carried out against the will of the political nation by an oligarchic revolutionary alliance. The Tenure evidences an ideology of aristocracy to justify the actions of this oligarchy, and makes its case in the political language of oligarchic republicanism. The thesis also outlines Milton's personal affiliation with key members of the revolutionary alliance. The political ideology of Milton's regicide tract, his connection to revolutionaries, and his service on behalf of the oligarchic Commonwealth regime; point toward the conclusion that John Milton was a political oligarch.


The prevalence of asthma-related mortality (ARM) varies significantly among different countries, possibly influenced by various socioeconomic and environmental conditions (SEC). In-depth epidemiological research is necessary to understand the causal relationship between different SECs and ARM and to develop public health strategies to reduce the global burden of asthma. Our research aimed to identify the key SECs which may be attributed to ARM worldwide and to study the relationship between ARM and asthma prevalence. We included twenty-two countries with available data on SECs (2014-2015) and divided them into four groups: Asia, Africa, Europe, and Miscellaneous (Australia and North and South America). Tertiary school enrollment (TSE), gross domestic product (GDP), air pollution index, and male and female smoking prevalence rates were analyzed as predictors of ARM, using multiple linear regression. We found that ARM and asthma prevalence had an inverse relationship and developing countries compared to developed countries experienced higher ARM despite having lower asthma prevalence. Asian and African countries, compared to Europe and Miscellaneous countries, experienced poorer SECs, possibly associated with higher ARM. Among SECs, TSE and GDP had strongest association with ARM. In conclusion, lack of education and uneven distribution of resources may have an influence on the increased ARM in developing countries.


INTRODUCTION
Data on physical activity levels of adolescents are mostly derived from self-reported instruments, and the vast majority of studies using objective measures are from high-income countries. The aim of this study was to describe the patterns of objectively measured physical activity in Brazilian adolescents.

METHODS
In 2004-2005 (mean age of 13.3 yr), a subsample of the 1993 Pelotas (Brazil) Birth Cohort with data on all previous visits was approached. Physical activity was measured using the ActiGraph GT1M accelerometer (ActiGraph Corporation, Pensacola, FL). Demographic and other variables were assessed by self-report.

RESULTS
A total of 486 individuals (51% boys) provided valid data on objectively measured physical activity (response rate = 95.1%). The mean registered time of accelerometer data was 1191 min·d (SD = 112). The mean times (in minutes) spent in sedentary, light, moderate, and vigorous activities were 962 (SD = 114), 176 (SD = 46), 36 (SD = 16), and 17 (SD = 10) min·d, respectively. More than 30% of the adolescents accumulated ≥60 min·d of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). Physical activity intensity (counts per minute) and the prevalence of accumulation ≥60 min·d of MVPA were higher among boys and in those who walked or cycled to school. The prevalence of accumulation >60 min·d of MVPA was 125% higher in those from lower economic levels compared with higher economic levels (P < 0.001).

CONCLUSION
A large proportion of Brazilian adolescents of the 1993 Pelotas Birth Cohort do not achieve the current recommendation for health-related physical activity, and active commuting to school may be a target for interventions aimed at increasing physical activity. Physical activity levels are higher in lower socioeconomic groups than that in higher groups.


Operations capabilities have been a popular research area for many years and several frameworks have been proposed in the literature. The current frameworks do not take specific contexts into consideration, for instance a high cost environment. This research gap is of particular interest since a manufacturing relocation process has been ongoing the last decades, leading to a huge amount of manufacturing being moved from high to low cost environments. The purpose of this study is to identify critical operations capabilities in a high cost environment. The two research questions were: What are the critical operations capabilities dimensions in a high cost environment? What are the critical operations capabilities in a high cost environment? A multiple case study was conducted and three Swedish manufacturing firms were selected. The study was based on the investigation of an existing framework of operations capabilities. The main dimensions of operations capabilities included in the framework were: cost, quality, delivery, flexibility, service, innovation and environment. Each of the dimensions included two or more operations capabilities. The findings confirmed the validity of the framework and its usefulness in a high cost environment and a new operations capability was revealed (employee flexibility).


Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) (Smith, 1995) was applied to data from 21 out of 50 participants who had shared their training experiences during semi-structured interviews.  Subjects were chosen from trainees and trainers in the USA and UK, to include 'generations' from those trained by transactional analysis originator Dr Eric Berne through to recently qualified transactional analysis psychotherapists, and including some who had ceased training before qualifying. Results suggest that TA psychotherapy training is experienced by some as a transformational, life enhancing and reparative experience that culminates in a satisfying and rewarding career, whilst for others it is perceived as an abusive, punitive and punishing experience, bringing disillusionment, disappointment and dissatisfaction.  The main contributing factors were the students' personal belief systems, motivations for undertaking the training, and relationships with the trainer, peers and the profession as a whole. Analysis of the themes suggested that subsequent anxieties raised by participants concerned lack of information, inconsistencies in training offered by different establishments, reasons for trainees entering training and trainers' reasons for accepting them, and the significant time and resource requirements of the training.  The paper includes recommendations aimed at making the training experience one that upholds the basic philosophical principles and values of TA, and promotes, develops and enhances TA psychotherapy training.


The efficacy of foliar applications of oxamyl were evaluated for the management of Rotylenchulus reniformis on cotton in Mississippi. Two tests were established in Tallahatchie County on a fine sandy loam soil (56.8% sand, 37.8% silt, 5.3% clay, pH 5.4, and 0.3% OM) naturally infested with R. reniformis. Oxamyl was applied as a foliar spray at 0.14, 0.27, or 0.53 kg a.i./ha to cotton plants that had reached the sixth true leaf growth stage. A second oxamyl application was applied 14 days after the first treatment at the same rates. All oxamyl treatments also received aldicarb at 0.59 kg a.i./ha at planting. Controls consisted of aldicarb alone, disulfoton (which is not a nematicide), and an untreated control. Oxamyl reduced R. reniformis numbers at 79 and 107 days after planting in Test 1 and at 62 and 82 days after planting in Test 2 compared to aldicarb at 0.59 kg a.i./ha alone and the controls that received neither material. Average reniform population densities in oxamyl-treated plots were 24.5% and 30% lower than with aldicarb alone and the controls. Cotton plant height was greater in plots that received oxamyl at all rates than in the controls. Cotton in oxamyl plus aldicarb and aldicarb alone treatments produced more bolls per plant and had a greater total boll weight than disulfoton and the untreated control. Seed cotton yields were greater in oxamyl-treated plots than for disulfoton-treated and the untreated control.


This study focuses on the impact of the disposal of Tirunelveli city municipal waste in the quality of groundwater in Ramayanpatti village where the waste is disposed; the study also assesses the quality of the groundwater suitability in irrigation in the disposed region. Tirunelveli city generates municipal waste of nearly 15 MLD of domestic wastewater and 100 tons of solid waste in a day. The domestic wastewater is treated by waste stabilization pond. The solid waste is dumped in the open yard. These two disposal sites are located in the Ramayanpatti area and their boundaries are at a distance of 500m from each other. Ground water resources are extracted in use for agriculture in the area of Ramayanpatti. Around thirty, locations have been identified in the Ramayanpatti area for sampling, based on the contour and flow direction. The dominant chemical cation species in the majority of the groundwater samples are in the order of Na>Ca>Mg>K and anion species are in the order of HCO3>Cl>SO4>NO3. Gibbs plot shows that the region is dominated by evaporation and dilution phenomenon. Rhode's plot shows that there is no reduction in the rate of infiltration of soil in the Ramayanpatti region. Dendrogram shows that the leachates infiltration is predominant in the winter season. The study shows that the groundwater quality, nearer and to the southeastern side of the disposal sites are most affected and contaminated by solid waste leachates. The inference with various irrigation plots show that the quality of groundwater in the southeastern region is doubtful for use in irrigation and the groundwater needs to be assessed in order to use in irrigation for agriculture.


Sustainability involves a combination of environmental, economic and social responsibilities. With on-going environmental and energy concerns interest has shifted considerable to more sustainable concept in architecture. The concept of sustainability is driven by the need to protect the environment and save energy Other factors include health related concerns and the need to improve the quality of life of the population at large . In architecture the concept of sustainable construction is about the formulation of climate responsive designs This paper presents a study of sustainable housing construction in Saudi Arabia. To achieve its aims firstly; it will present a broad understanding of current housing construction methods and practices in Saudi Arabia . Furthermore , the study will use the international standard of sustainable buildings BREEAM. An investigation will be carried to analyse energy consumption levels of current houses. In addition the study will also incorporate To successfully achieve the aims, the study will also incorporate these objectives:

 To show the importance of sustainable construction
 To promote sustainability in developing countries
 To limit the impact of construction to climate change
 To evaluate current construction techniques in Saudi Arabia
 To identify any challenges in implementing sustainable construction
 To identify sustainable processes in housing construction in Saudi Arabia

This research gives a more comprehensive approach to new and old construction methods in achieving sustainability. It will also provide a new meaning to sustainability by identifying design related faults in modern construction and will educate the entire population about the need for sustainability in Saudi Arabia . Finally, this thesis will recommend a set of methods and guidelines to be used in the development of sustainable buildings in Saudi Arabia.


This commentary and portfolio of works documents my compositional research into algorithmically driven synthesis and feedback systems. The foundation on which all my work rests consists of self-reference, feedback, emergent properties and algorithmically mediated interaction. Feedback is the lowest common denominator in this process and is for me an essential part of evolution and life and provides a means to create organic sonic forms that generate complex behaviours and phenomena. The predominant approach taken to realise such behaviours is by means of sound synthesis. The preference for sound synthesis is also a means by which compositional elements can interact with each other in a purely sonic manner. To me working with synthesis is like working with organic and living material instead of piling static sounds on top of, or next to each other. In order to work with complex synthesis in an intuitive and direct way I have investigated and developed new methods to control the large number parameters required. To achieve this my main tool has been algorithmically mediated interaction in combination with simple input devices such as a joystick.

When sound files are utilised in a piece they are means to engender a way of working that is outside of my comfort zone. This 'painting oneself into a corner' is an important practical and aesthetic choice and is demonstrated in a number of documented instances in the creative portfolio.

Even though a large part of my work consists of solo work my main source of inspiration comes from working with other people whether it is performing, composing, rehearsing, or building sound installations. All the collaborations I have
been part of have been of great importance for me but I have chosen to discuss those that have been significant in the development of my aesthetics, my performance and studio set-up as well as my working methods.


An enhanced attitudes methodology within the framework of the Graph Model for Conflict Resolution (GMCR) is developed and applied to a range of environmental disputes, including a sustainable development conflict, an international climate change negotiation and a selection of brownfield conflicts over a proposed transfer of ownership. GMCR and the attitudes framework are first defined and then applied to a possible Sino-American climate negotiation over reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. A formal relationship between the attitudes framework and relative preferences is defined and associated mathematical theorems, which relate the moves and solution concepts used in both types of analysis, are proven. Significant extensions of the attitudes methodology are devised in the thesis. The first, dominating attitudes is a methodology by which the importance of a decision maker's (DM's) attitudes can be used to evaluate the strength of a given state stability. The second, COalitions and ATtitudes (COAT), is an expansion of both the attitudes and coalitions frameworks which allows one to analyze the impact of attitudes within a collaborative decision making setting. Finally, the matrix form of attitudes is a mathematical methodology which allows complicated solution concepts to be executed using matrix operations and thus make attitudes more adaptable to a coding environment. When applied to environmental management conflicts, these innovative expansions of the attitudes framework illustrate the importance of cooperation and diplomacy in environmental conflict resolution.


Porewater chemistry gives some indication as to specific diagenetic reactions occurring in sediments. Reduction of manganese and iron oxides can occur due to abiotic reactions with sulfide or microbially mediated as electron acceptors in the degradation of organic matter. Sedimentary porewaters obtained from the Bay of Concepcion (36°38'S; 73°02'W) and continental shelf (36°31'S; 73°08'W) were analised to determine the distribution of remobilised Fe2+ and Mn2+. Sampling of the area coincided with the presence of the strong "1997-98 El Nino event". Porewaters were extracted under a nitrogen atmosphere and analised by atomic absorption spectrometry. Subsurface maxima are observed for Fe2+ during "El Nino event" in the bay and adjacent continental shelf (86.8 ± 9.3 µM y 59.3 ± 35.5 µM, respectively). A year later when the oxygen minimum is present, the production of Fe2+ on bay surface sediments increases 3-fold. Maxima concentrations for Mn2+ appear on surface sediments during and after "El Nino event" within the bay. It is postulated that vertical displacement of maxima concentrations observed for Fe2+ and Mn2+ in these sediments are modulated by changes of the oxygen minimum depth in the water column and the amount and quality of organic matter deposited in surface sediments


Purpose: This phase I study assessed the maximum tolerated dose (MTD), safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics (PK), and pharmacodynamics (PD) of SJG-136, a sequence-specific DNA cross-linking agent, in patients with advanced cancer. Experimental Design: In schedule A, seven patients received escalating doses of SJG-136 (6, 12, 24, and 48 μg/m2) daily for 5 of 21 days. Blood samples were collected for PK analysis on days 1 and 5 of cycle 1. In schedule B, SJG-136 was given daily for 3 of 21 days (N = 17; doses 20, 25, 30, and 35 μg/m2). Blood samples were collected on days 1 and 3 of cycles 1 and 2 for PK and PD analysis. Patients in schedule B received dexamethasone and early diuretic care. Results: Schedule A—dose-limiting toxicities included grade 3 edema, dyspnea, fatigue, and delayed liver toxicity (grade 3–4). PK analysis revealed dose-dependent increases in AUC and Cmax. Substantial changes in volume of distribution at steady-state occurred after repeated dosing in some patients prior to the onset of edema. Schedule B—the same toxicities were manageable with steroid premedication and diuretic support. No significant myelosuppression occurred on either schedule. DNA interstrand cross-links correlated with systemic exposure of SJG-136 following the second dose in cycle 1 and were still detectable immediately before cycle 2. Conclusions: The MTD of SJG-136 in this study was 30 μg/m2 administered on a daily 3× basis with no myelosuppression effects. Coupled with supportive management, SJG-136 is now advancing to a phase II trial in ovarian cancer. Clin Cancer Res; 17(11); 3794–802. ©2011 AACR.


On April 4th, 1980, Puerto Rican artist Elizam Escobar was arrested along with other members of the Fuerzas Armadas de Liberación Nacional (FALN) in Evanston, lllinois. All the members of the FALN claimed to be combatants in an anticolonial struggle against the US government and were found guilty of seditious conspiracy against the government of the United States in a series of trials in which none of them participated. Escobar's art, theory and criticism cannot be detached from the criminal proceedings brought against him, the consequences of which have also been influential in Escobar's cultural production. In this essay, I will explore the relationship of art, law and politics in Elizam Escobar's La ficción, a painting from 1992 in which the Puerto Rican artist imagines his own funeral taking place in US Supreme Court. I will argue that the figure of the enemy in Escobar's La ficción, with its projection of the death of the juridical subject in all its undecidability, opens up the possibility of questioning the limits of art, politics, and law. As it invites us to consider the death of politics in connection to the figure of the enemy, Escobar's La ficción unfolds as a spectral return of the political.


The excitation efficiencies of the dominant and low-order modes in an optical fiber are theoretically determined for an incident Gaussian beam that is offset with respect to the fiber axis. The excitation efficiencies are shown to be strongly influenced by both the numerical aperture of the fiber and the wavefront curvature of the incident beam.


The costs and benefits of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) have been oft-debated since the inception of the Act. Much of the extant literature has assessed the costs and benefits of SOX to publicly-traded companies. We focus on the costs of SOX compliance for private firms wanting to exit the private market via either an acquisition by a public firm or an IPO. Consistent with our predictions we establish three principal findings. First, SOX appears to have shifted the incentive for firms to exit the private market via IPO to exit via acquisition by a public acquirer. Second, private target deal multiples are increasing in variables that proxy for a private target's level of pre-acquisition SOX compliance. For our median-sized private target, the estimated dollar value decrease in deal proceeds when one moves from a high level to a low level of pre-acquisition SOX compliance is $1.3 million. Finally, public target deal multiples are not affected by a public target's level of pre-acquisition SOX compliance. These findings suggest that SOX-related costs have both restricted the action space of possible exit strategies for private firms and led to lower deal multiples for those private acquisition targets that are less likely to be SOX compliant prior to acquisition. We believe that the implications from our tests will be relevant to regulators in the U.S. and many countries outside the U.S. that are attempting to improve their country's governance and listing standards and potentially seeking alternatives to SOX-like standards, especially with respect to internal controls. International regulators need to assess the total costs of SOX, including costs imposed on private company shareholders, when contemplating the net benefits of SOX-like regimes.


The family of Baculoviridae comprises occluded double-stranded DNA viruses with rod-shaped, enveloped virions infecting larval stages of the insect orders Lepidoptera, Diptera and Hymoptera. Due to their narrow host range, their high virulence to target insects and the absence of adverse effects to human health and the environment, several baculovirus species are already in use as biological control agents in pest control.
One possibility for their use, is for control of cutworms. Cutworms are severe soil pests of many agricultural and horticultural crops that live near or underneath the soil surface and feed polyphagous on seedlings, stems, roots and other parts of the plant and among other species they also comprise the genus Agrotis. In the past, four baculovirus species were isolated from Agrotis segetum and A. ipsilon, namely: Agrotis segetum nucleopolyhedrovirus A (AgseNPV-A), Agrotis segetum nucleopolyhedrovirus B (AgseNPV-B), Agrotis ipsilon nucleopolyhedrovirus (AgipNPV) and Agrotis segetum granulovirus (AgseGV). All these species are promising candidates for a baculovirus based plant protection product for the control of cutworms. The focus here was laid on AgseGV and AgseNPV-B, as these species have already been extensively investigated at the Julius Kuhn Institute in Darmstadt.
The European isolate AgseGV-DA was identified as a slow-killing type I granulovirus due to the low dose mortality response and the tissue tropism of infection restricted solely to the fat body of infected larvae. The fully NGS sequenced genome of AgseGV-DA showed no sequence variation and was more than 99% identical to those of the Chinese isolates AgseGV-XJ and AgseGV-L1. The AgseGV-DA genome is 131,557 bp in length and contains 149 putative open reading frames, including 37 baculovirus core genes and the per os infectivity factor ac110 as well as one putative non-hr like origin of replication. AgseGV has a distinct enhancin gene, with a distant relation to the enhancins from the genus Betabaculovirus. Although all three isolates belong to the species Agrotis segetum granulovirus, AgseGV-DA was proposed as the type isolate due to the complete sequence and pathology description to the International Committee for Virus Taxonomy (ICTV). The permissivity of the insect cell culture AiE1611T was evaluated for AgseGV-DA and AgseNPV-B which is the prerequisite for in vitro experiments. While AgseGV and AgseNPV-B can co-infect susceptible larvae, it has been demonstrated that AiE1611T is only permissive for AgseNPV-B but not for AgseGV, as evidenced by two experiments with baculovirus derived DNA transfected cells and in infections with hemolymph containing budded virus from infected larvae. AgseNPV-B produced large numbers of occlusion bodies and the virus was selected in one round of plaque purification for additional experiments. Among the twelve genetical and morphological identical isolates, one isolate termed PP2 was used in particular to investigate the virus stability in ten consecutive passages in AiE1611T cells. The cell culture was further used to generate a recombinant AgseNPV-B clone, the bacmid bAgseNPV-B. AgseNPV-B PP2 showed endured a high genomic stability during the passages, while the dose-mortality responses in larvae were scattering over ten passages. A loss of virulence was observed right after the first round of passaging, then the activity of PP2 remained stable over ten passages. This was observed by the absence of few polyhedra phenotypes in phase contrast microscopy and by next-generation sequencing (NGS) of five selected passages. NGS sequencing revealed that defective particles were absent over ten passages. The few single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) detected by this approach were mostly within homologous repeat sequences, which make a correct mapping of the short sequencing reads difficult due to their repetitive nature. Thus, no conclusions were drawn from these SNPs. The proof of method for detecting large deletions was given by sequencing the bacmid bAgseNPV-B (chapter V). This bacmid was deleted by roughly 43 kb in the AgseNPV-B genome but still possesses the full bacterial recombinant DNA inserted by homologous recombination into hr6 of AgseNPV-B. The deletion additionally affected 42 orfs and two hrs. In consequence, AiE1611T cells could be transfected with DNA of bAgseNPV-B and showed cytopathological effects, however the infection was blocked at an early stage with missing DNA replication and no spreading of virus infection was observed. This is possibly correlated to the deletion of lef-1, lef-2 and me53 in bAgseNPV-B
The second baculovirus example presented here, is the use of Cydia pomonella granulovirus (CpGV). CpGV has a narrow host range and is highly virulent against the Lepidopteran pest species Cydia pomonella (codling moth; CM) and to a lower extent to a very few closely related Tortricids and has been developed and intensively used as a commercial biocontrol agent of CM in virtually all pome fruit production areas. CpGV comprises several isolates and extensive phylogenetic has brought evidence that all isolates can be divided into five genome groups or lineages. The basics for this classification are distinct trends on the genome level such as, insertions and deletions, and as focused here genome group specific SNPs. Data-sets generated of NGS of commercially available CpGV isolates were combined with their responses to codling moth types expressing different types (I - III) of CpGV resistance. In infection experiments, CpGV-0006 and CpGV-R5 were able to break type I resistance and to a lower extent also type III resistance, whereas CpGV-V15 overcame type I and the rarely occurring type II and type III resistance. Based on the distribution of SNPs in Illumina sequencing reads it was found that both CpGV-0006 and CpGV-R5 have highly similar genome group compositions, consisting of about two thirds of the CpGV genome group E and one third of genome group A. In contrast, CpGV-V15 is composed of about equal parts of CpGV genome group B and E. According to the identified genetic composition of these isolates, their efficacy towards different resistance types can be explained and predictions on the success of resistance management strategies in resistant CM populations can be made for future CpGV isolates based in this.


Abstract Sound rangeland management requires accurate information on rangeland condition over large landscapes. A commonly applied approach to making spatial predictions of attributes related to rangeland condition (e.g., shrub or bare ground cover) from remote sensing is via regression between field and remotely sensed data. This has worked well in some situations but has limited utility when correlations between field and image data are low and it does not take advantage of all information contained in the field data. I compared spatial predictions from generalized least-squares (GLS) regression to a geostatistical interpolator, regression kriging (RK), for three rangeland attributes (percent cover of shrubs, bare ground, and cheatgrass [Bromus tectorum L.]) in a southern Idaho study area. The RK technique combines GLS regression with spatial interpolation of the residuals to improve predictions of rangeland condition attributes over large landscapes. I employed a remote-sensing technique, object-based image analysis (OBIA), to segment Landsat 5 Thematic Mapper images into polygons (i.e., objects) because previous research has shown that OBIA yields higher image-to-field data correlations and can be used to select appropriate scales for analysis. Spatial dependence, the decrease in autocorrelation with increasing distance, was strongest for percent shrub cover (samples autocorrelated up to a distance [i.e., range] of 19 098 m) but present in all three variables (range of 12 646 m and 768 m for bare ground and cheatgrass cover, respectively). As a result, RK produced more accurate results than GLS regression alone for all three attributes when predicted versus observed values of each attribute were measured by leave-one-out cross validation. The results of RK could be used in assessments of rangeland conditions over large landscapes. The ability to create maps quantifying how prediction confidence changes with distance from field samples is a significant benefit of regression kriging and makes this approach suitable for landscape-level management planning.


The language of balancing is pervasive in constitutional rights jurisprudence around the world. In this book, Jacco Bomhoff offers a comparative and historical account of the origins and meanings of this talismanic form of language, and of the legal discourse to which it is central. Contemporary discussion has tended to see the increasing use of balancing as the manifestation of a globalization of constitutional law. This book is the first to argue that 'balancing' has always meant radically different things in different settings. Bomhoff uses detailed case studies of early post-war US and German constitutional jurisprudence to show that the same unique language expresses both biting scepticism and profound faith in law and adjudication, and both deep pessimism and high aspirations for constitutional rights. An understanding of these radically different meanings is essential for any evaluation of the work of constitutional courts today.


Background and purpose Vascular cognitive impairment (VCI) affects up to half of stroke survivors and predicts poor outcomes. Valid and reliable assessement for VCI is lacking, especially for the Chinese population. In 2005, the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke and Canadian Stroke Network (NINDS-CSN) Harmonisation workshop proposed a set of three neuropsychology protocols for VCI evaluation. This paper is to introduce the protocol design and to report the psychometric properties of the Chinese NINDS-CSN VCI protocols. Methods Fifty patients with mild stroke (mean National Institute of Health Stroke Scale 2.2 (SD=3.2)) and 50 controls were recruited. The NINDS-CSN VCI protocols were adapted into Chinese. We assessed protocols' (1) external validity, defined by how well the protocol summary scores differentiated patients from controls using receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve analysis; (2) concurrent validity, by correlations with functional measures including Stroke Impact Scale memory score and Chinese Disability Assessment for Dementia; (3) internal consistency; and (4) ease of administration. Results All three protocols differentiated patients from controls (area under ROC for the three protocols between 0.77 to 0.79, p<0.001), and significantly correlated with the functional measures (Pearson r ranged from 0.37 to 0.51). A cut-off of 19/20 on MMSE identified only one-tenth of patients classified as impaired on the 5-min protocol. Cronbach's α across the four cognitive domains of the 60-min protocol was 0.78 for all subjects and 0.76 for stroke patients. Conclusions The Chinese NINDS-CSN VCI protocols are valid and reliable for cognitive assessment in Chinese patients with mild stroke.


Russia is a power unlike others in Central Asia, given its role as the region's former coloniser, which started in the 19th century and even in the 18th for some of the northern parts of Kazakhstan. This legacy has its positive and negative aspects: it has been positive insofar as it has involved a long period of Russo–Central Asian cohabitation that has given rise to a common feeling of belonging to the same 'civilisation'; it has been negative insofar as it has accrued all the political resentment and cultural misinterpretations of the coloniser–colonised relationship. Russian–Central Asian relations are therefore complex, with each of the actors having a highly emotional perception of its relation to the other. This paper looks at the prospects for collaboration between the EU and Russia in this region: How can the currently competitive mindset be turned into the atmosphere of cooperation that the Central Asian states actively call for?


Abstract Oily wastewaters from different onshore and offshore installations and from maritime transport pose a serious threat to the environment so they must be treated by multistage separation also including membrane processes. The main advantages of such membranes are high performance and selectivity, high resistance for temperature and pressure, resistance for acids, bases and solvents, long service life and for application - significant reduction of industries and transport environmental impact. This work presents the results of the process of separation of oil from the emulsion with NaCl addition. Research was performed with a use of laboratory installation with ceramic 300 kDa membrane. The analysis concerned performance and selectivity of a membrane in the function of time and test results have been subsequently compared with the requirements of the IMO.


The assumption of Gradient Symbolic Representations (Smolensky & Goldrick 2016; Rosen 2016) allows a unified account of lexical exceptions to phonological generalizations or processes. It states that phonological elements can have different degrees of presence in an underlying representation, expressed as numerical activities. In this paper, I strengthen the argument for Gradient Symbolic Representations and provide a case study of two seemingly unrelated exceptions in the tonal phonology of San Miguel el Grande Mixtec that receive a unified explanation under the assumption of gradient activity. In addition, I argue for a modification of the original Gradient Symbolic Representation assumption and propose the existence of gradient activity in the output. This assumption allows to predict markedness-driven exceptionality patterns that remain unexplained in the original proposal.


Objectives The Evidence-based Practice Center systematically reviewed evidence addressing strategies to reduce cesarean birth. Data Sources We searched MEDLINE® via PubMed and the Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature as well as the reference lists of included studies. Review Methods We included studies published in English from 1968 to February 2012. We excluded publications that did not address a Key Question, were not an eligible study design, or did not aim to reduce cesarean birth among low-risk women. Results Of the 97 studies included, 16 were good quality, 28 fair, and 53 poor. In this review, all studies compared the novel strategy to usual care or to variations in the same strategy. Few studies addressed prenatal strategies; the one such strategy that reduced cesarean was treatment of the cervix with hyaluronidase in the clinic at term to promote cervical softening. Strategies intended for use in labor included four trials that favored active management of labor, with 2.8- to 7.4-percent decreases in cesarean; one study showed a significant decrease. Doula support in labor was associated with significant reductions in cesarean (5.0 to 22.0%) in three studies. One of six trials of fetal assessment reported a significant reduction in total cesareans (20.6%). Three of eight trials of amnioinfusion reported a significant reduction in total cesareans (15 to 34.2%). Virtually all studies within health care systems that changed policies or procedures evaluated strategies with more than one component. Seventeen of 31 studies reported statistically significant reductions in cesarean from 1.6 to 17.0 percent. Ten of the 17 effective strategies included audit and feedback of cesarean trend data to participating units and/or care providers, 7 included protocols for vaginal birth after prior cesarean, 6 included agreement on overarching labor and delivery guidelines, and 5 included active management of labor protocols. Overall, it is not possible to determine which components are definitively associated with reductions. Conclusions No single strategy was uniformly successful in reducing cesareans. Strength of evidence was low to insufficient for all strategies. No approach dominated as a strategy appropriate to reduce use of cesarean among low-risk women in the United States.