Can a case be made for the imposition of international minimum labour standards? And if so, on what grounds? The authors systematically present the existing theoretical and empirical arguments for and against introducing minimum labour standards on the international level, and discuss whether trade sanctions are the instrument of choice to improve labour standards around the world.


When it occurs at the end of a long life, death is often constructed as a natural and timely event. In care homes for older people the lack of medical intervention at the time of death serves to emphasize the seeming approprateness of death as natural and 'homely'. This chapter considers how death and bereavement are managed in these settings, where death is a controlled and timely product of homes in which older people accept the natural ending of their lives (Komaromy and Hockey, 2001). Goffman's (1959, 1961) work on institutions and the presentation of self helps to explain how 'performance' at the time of death enables professionals to produce 'good' deaths in this context.
The construction of death in this way can be partly explained by the way that death is culturally shaped by care home practices. Yet there is an inherent tension in homes that are both private ('domestic') and public ('institutional') settings, and care homes as public places vary considerably in the extent to which they are open to the wider community. Indeed, many care homes occupy a private space in the community, in which older people are ghettoized (Komaromy and Chant, 1999) and in which people live in a state of what Sudnow would call 'social' death (Sudnow 1967). My observations here are based on data from an ethnographic study of the management of death and dying in care homes for older people (Sidell et al. 1997); see box 8.1 for details of this project.


Open systems theory offers a conceptual platform to understand how systems can be effective in adapting to their environments through purposeful action. It is relevant to the performance of national systems of innovation: open‐oriented countries are more likely to be successful in innovation because of the knowledge exchange between international organizations and organizations within the same country. In this paper, the open systems concept is defined and measured by a number of factors including extent of open trade, information and communication technology development, and online government service measures. In this study, the relationship between the measures of openness and the level of innovation of each country (measured using the Global Innovation Index) is analysed using analysis of variance, with results indicating a positive relationship. The theoretical contribution resides in the argument that a nation's openness relates to innovation capability and that this can be assessed by the factors in the model used in the paper. We argue that rather than focusing on innovation, countries should consider developing an open systems platform for innovation by maximizing their interactions with the international environment and developing mechanisms to circulate knowledge internally within the country. This should result in a supportive context where innovations can emerge. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


At long last, the complex field of feminist legal theory is presented in accessible, teachable form by two of its experts, Nancy Levit and Robert R. M. Verchick. In this outstanding primer, the authors introduce the diverse strands of feminist legal theory and the array of substantive legal issues relevant to women's and gender studies. The book centers on feminist legal theories-including equal treatment theory, cultural feminism, dominance theory, critical race feminism, lesbian feminism, postmodern feminism, and ecofeminism. The authors also address feminist legal methods, such as consciousness raising and storytelling. The primer demonstrates the ways feminist legal theory operates in real-life contexts, including domestic violence, reproductive rights, workplace discrimination, education, sports, pornography, and global issues of gender. Levit and Verchick highlight a sweeping range of cutting edge topics at the intersection of law and gender, such as single sex schools, women in the military, abortion, same sex marriage, date rape, and the international trafficking in women and girls. At its core, Feminist Legal Theory shows the importance of the role of law and feminist legal theory in shaping contemporary gender issues.


This paper discusses the development of a smartphone app, MapLocal, which seeks to empower residents to gather spatial data about their neighbourhood. Responding to the new Neighbourhood Planning powers offered within the Localism Act, 2011, a pilot scheme was undertaken with 50 participants across two neighbourhoods in Birmingham, UK. The app allows the crowdsourcing of knowledge from individuals to report on different characteristics of their neighbourhood and to undertake visioning exercises developing possible schemes to improve it. We argue that the app enables wider engagement with the early phases of a planning process, partially mitigating the post-political challenge to planning, which seeks to marginalize dissenting voices in order to promote the interests of the powerful.


Abstract. Influenced by one of the largest Mediterranean rivers, Po, the northern Adriatic (NA) production is highly variable seasonally and interannually. The changes are especially pronounced between winters and seemingly reflect on total Adriatic bioproduction of certain species (anchovy). We analysed the long-term changes in the phytoplankton production in the region, as derived from monthly oceanographic cruises, in relation to concomitant geostrophic currents distribution in the area and to Po River discharge rates in days preceding the cruises. In winter and early spring the phytoplankton abundances depended on existing circulation fields, in summer and autumn they were related to Po River discharge rates 1–15 days earlier and on concomitant circulation fields, while in late spring phytoplankton abundances increased 1–3 days after high Po River discharge rates regardless of the circulation fields. During the entire year the phytoplankton abundances were dependent on forcing of the previous 1–12 months of surface fluxes and/or Po River rates. The role of wind was uncertain but that was partly due to unmatched sampling time frames between meteorological and sea data. Low evaporation rates in November reflected significantly on the next February circulation pattern and, although with somewhat lower significance, on large phytoplankton blooms in the same month. We showed that the role of wind in evaporative flux enhancements is not straightforward as evaporative fluxes are highly dependent on other factors, e.g. air–sea temperature difference. Wind-induced vertical mixing was only sporadically related to phytoplankton abundances. From 1990 to 2004 a shift towards large winter bioproduction induced by circulation changes appeared. The investigations performed represent the preliminary actions in the construction of an empirical ecological model of the NA which can be used in the sustainable economy of the region, as well as for validation of the numerical ecological model of the region, which is currently being developed.


We investigated chronological questions of five Late Neolithic settlements in the Hungarian Tisza-Maros region. Fifty new radiocarbon dates provide an internal chronology for the developmental phases of the tell settlements, and place them into the wider framework of the southeastern European Neolithic. An example is presented of how a unique type of stratigraphic excavation helps the interpretation of radiocarbon data, which are in contradiction with the stratigraphic position of the samples.


The increasing volume of road traffic and congestion strongly impact on air quality in most urban areas of the developing countries. This paper therefore investigates pollution from automobiles during traffic peak periods at intersections on some selected roads in Uyo, Nigeria. It estimates the level of some selected air pollutants which are largely products of internal combustion in motor vehicle engines, namely: Nitrogen dioxide (NO2), Carbon monoxide (CO), Sulphur dioxide (SO2), and Hydrogen sulphide (H2S), in six sample locations. Monitoring of ambient hourly concentration of NO2, CO, SO2 and H2S, took place at six major intersections in Uyo during morning and evening (peak traffic hours) and afternoon (off-peak hours), hence variations in concentration of these pollutants was determined. Emissions concentration for CO, was found to be higher during the peak periods due to traffic congestion and intersection, where long waiting time for vehicles were observed and however exceeded the Federal Ministry of Environment limits / Standards. Also, the concentration of SO 2 was alarmingly high, especially in location C. Levels of Nitrogen oxides (NO 2 ) and Hydrogen sulphide (H2 S ) measured, varied in time and space and was also above the recommended municipal and international standards in all the six locations during the peak traffic period. This finding thus has implications for public health in the region under study as such calls for the need to control emissions of these obnoxious air pollutants in the city.


Flexible electronics is a field gathering a growing interest among researchers and companies with widely varying applications, such as organic light emitting diodes, transistors as well as many different sensors. If the circuit should be portable or off-grid, the power sources available are batteries, supercapacitors or some type of power generator. Thermoelectric generators produce electrical energy by the diffusion of charge carriers in response to heat flux caused by a temperature gradient between junctions of dissimilar materials. As wearables, flexible electronics and intelligent packaging applications increase, there is a need for low-cost, recyclable and printable power sources. For such applications, printed thermoelectric generators (TEGs) are an interesting power source, which can also be combined with printable energy storage, such as supercapacitors. Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-poly(styrenesulfonate), or PEDOT:PSS, is a conductive polymer that has gathered interest as a thermoelectric material. Plastic substrates are commonly used for printed electronics, but an interesting and emerging alternative is to use paper. In this article, a printed thermoelectric generator consisting of PEDOT:PSS and silver inks was printed on two common types of paper substrates, which could be used to power electronic circuits on paper.


Under the regional programme Fisheries and HIV/AIDS in Africa, the University of Zambia, in collaboration with the WorldFish Center, has undertaken a baseline survey of the nutritional status and fish consumption of people living with HIV/AIDS in Zambia. Factors examined include household composition, education level, livelihood strategies, household food security, asset ownership, common ailments, sources of medication, the reason why children died, consumption of fish and other animal source foods, and level of nutrition education.


We measured the δ13C values of dominant primary consumers and their potential food sources in a groundwater‐fed lowland river. The δ13C of most consumers, such as Gammarus and Simulium, reflected that of the dominant forms of photosynthetic production, whereas the cased larvae of two caddis flies (Agapetus and Silo) were consistently 13C depleted (mean δ13C: ‐41.2% and ‐40.4%, respectively) throughout the year. The river water was supersaturated (approximately 50 times atmospheric) with methane, reflecting both supersaturation in the groundwater and local production in fine sediments. We measured appreciable rates of methane oxidation, relative to water only controls, in the biofilms on gravel, on the caddis fly cases, and on the bottom of larger rocks. In addition, there was a marked difference in the ratio of methane‐oxidizing potential to chlorophyll across those substrata. This ratio was below detection in the biofilm (i.e., no methane oxidation) on the tops of rocks, greater on the bottom of rocks, and maximal for the gravels and the caddis cases. If the caddis larvae acquire most of their carbon by grazing the tops of such rocks (where they are normally found), then they must acquire their depleted δ13C values by occasionally grazing biofilm where the ratio of methane oxidation to chlorophyll was much greater, and the most likely candidate is from their own or conspecific cases. Grazing methane‐oxidizing bacteria could provide the caddis larvae with up to 30% of their carbon, which could represent a true subsidy from an ancient groundwater source.


From his seat in Xanadu, the great Mongol Emperor of China, Kubla Khan, had long plotted an invasion of Japan. However, it was only with the acquisition of Korea, that the Khan gained the maritime resources necessary for such a major amphibious operation. Written by eastern warfare expert Stephen Turnbull, this book tells the dramatic story of the two Mongol invasions of Japan that pitted the masters of the steppes against the noble Samurai. Using detailed maps, illustrations, and newly commissioned artwork, Turnbull charts the history of these great campaigns, which included numerous bloody raids on the Japanese islands, and ended with the famous kami kaze, the divine wind, that destroyed the Mongol fleet and would live in the Japanese consciousness and shape their military thinking for centuries to come.


The hepatitis B X (HBx) protein is a crucial component in HBV infection in vivo and has been implicated in HCC. In this study, we aimed to detect and characterize peripheral HBx‐specific T cells in chronically infected patients at the inactive carrier state of the disease. HBx‐specific IFN‐γ–secreting T cells were found in 36 of 52 patients (69%), and 78% (28/36) of responding patients had T cells targeting epitopes in the carboxy‐terminal part of HBx. IL‐10 secretion after the stimulation of T cells with HBx‐derived peptides was weak or undetectable. IFN‐γ–secreting T cells recognized a previously unknown immunodominant CD4+ T cell epitope, HBx 126–140 (EIRLKVFVLGGCRHK), in 86% (24 of 28) of patients. This peptide bound several HLA‐DR molecules (HLA‐DRB1*0101, HLA‐DRB1*0401, HLA‐DRB1*1301, and HLA‐DRB5*0101). Its coding sequence overlaps a domain of the HBV genome encompassing the basic core promoter (BCP) region. Taking into account the selection of viral core promoter mutants during HBV infection, we found that HBV variants with BCP mutations were present in patient sera. We further demonstrated that these viral mutant sequences activated T cells specific for the immunodominant epitope only weakly, if at all. This is the first study linking BCP mutations and HBx‐specific T cell responses. Conclusion: Wild‐type and variant peptides may represent potential tools for monitoring the HBV‐specific T cell responses involved in sequence evolution during disease progression. Finally, the degenerate HLA‐DR binding of this promiscuous, immunodominant peptide would make it a valuable component of vaccines for protecting large and ethnically diverse patient populations. (HEPATOLOGY 2007;45:1199–1209.)


We Are Having This Conversation Now offers a history, present, and future of AIDS through thirteen short conversations between Alexandra Juhasz and Theodore Kerr, scholars deeply embedded in HIV responses. They establish multiple timelines of the epidemic, offering six foundational periodizations of AIDS culture, tracing how attention to the crisis has waxed and waned from the 1980s to the present. They begin the book with a 1990 educational video produced by a Black health collective, using it to consider organizing intersectionally, theories of videotape, empowerment movements, and memorialization. This video is one of many powerful yet overlooked objects that the pair focus on through conversation to understand HIV across time. Along the way, they share their own artwork, activism, and stories of the epidemic. Their conversations illuminate the vital role personal experience, community, cultural production, and connection play in the creation of AIDS-related knowledge, archives, and social change. Throughout, Juhasz and Kerr invite readers to reflect and find ways to engage in their own AIDS-related culture and conversation.


Intra-articular disorders of the hip in the elite athlete are common and potentially career threatening. Hip arthroscopy has been shown to be a safe and successful method of treating these conditions. This study examines the effectiveness of hip arthroscopy in facilitating an early return to professional level sport. We prospectively followed 65 professional athletes (mostly Australian Rules Football players) before and after hip arthroscopy using the Modified Harris Hip Score (MHS) and the Non-Arthritic Hip (NAH) Score. We followed them to the 1 year mark and recorded the time required for them to return to sport. Follow-up was achieved in 100% of patients. Intraoperative findings included femoroacetabular impingement, labral pathology and ligamentumteres injuries. Both MHS and NAH Scores showed highly statistically significant improvements up to the 1 year mark. All but 3 athletes returned to professional level sport. The mean return to sport time was 11.9 weeks. The use of arthroscopy to manage common intra-articular hip disorders in elite athletes is safe, effective and facilitates an early return to sport.


The Agricultural and Food Policy Center (AFPC) at Texas A&M University develops and maintains data to simulate 100 representative crop, dairy, and livestock operations in major production areas in 28 states. The chief purpose of this analysis is to project those farms' economic viability by region and commodity for 2006 through 2011. The data necessary to simulate the economic activity of these operations is developed through ongoing cooperation with panels of agricultural producers in each of these states. The Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute (FAPRI) provided projected prices, policy variables, and input inflation rates in their August 2006 Baseline. Under the August 2006 Baseline, 14 of the 65 crop farms are considered in good liquidity condition (less than a 25 percent chance of negative ending cash in 2011). Ten crop farms have between a 25 percent and a 50 percent likelihood of negative ending cash. The remaining 41 crop farms have greater than a 50 percent chance of negative ending cash. Additionally, 23 of the 65 crop farms are considered in good equity position (less than a 25 percent chance of decreasing real net worth during the study period). Six crop farms have between a 25 percent and 50 percent likelihood of losing real net worth, and 36 crop farms have greater than a 50 percent probability of decreasing real net worth. The following discussion provides an overall evaluation by commodity considering both liquidity and equity measures.


of Dissertation Transformational Learning in Health Care Students Through International Service in Developing World Environments Health care and health care education are in dynamic transition in attempting to address the increasing demands of a diverse global population across a widening gap in health resource constraints. Health care students must be prepared to care for a much wider patient population across a diverse spectrum of cultures, economics, and technologic facilities with resourceful approaches. Individual students and practitioners of the healing arts, and the educational system that supports them, should undergo transformational learning to address these new realities in expanding paradigms of health and health care. This study was designed to observe health care students and practitioners in the setting of international medical missions in the developing world. Almost all of the participants reported changes characteristic of transformational learning brought about through encounters with developing world patients, and most qualified these changes in both perceptions and practices as profound, life-changing experiences. These reported changes were measured with a previously validated quantitative instrument, Perceptions of an International Healthcare Mission Questionnaire, with responses correlated with demographics and answers to semistructured qualitative questions in essays and followup interviews. On the basis of these positive findings, it can be recommended that the opportunity of international health care missions be made more widely available for students. The students themselves benefit, as well as the developing world patients who


Introduction The ability to achieve high cycling rates in a lithium-ion battery is limited by the Li transport within the electrolyte; the transport of Li ions and electrons within the electrodes; and, when a phase transformation is induced as a result of the Li compositional changes within an electrode, the nucleation and growth of the second phase. The absence of a phase transformation involving substantial structural rearrangements and large volume changes is generally considered to be key for achieving high rates. This assumption has been challenged by the discovery that some nanoparticulate electrode materials, most notably LiFePO4, can be cycled in a battery at very high rates, even though they cycle between two phases during battery operation. This apparent contradiction has been reconciled by the hypothesis that a nonequilibrium solid solution can be formed during reaction to bypass the nucleation step. Phase transformation from LiFePO4 (blue) to FePO4 (red). The delithiation (indicated by yellow arrows) proceeds at high rates via the formation of a nonequilibrium solid solution phase LixFePO4 (intermediate purple color), avoiding a classical nucleation process (indicated by dashed arrows). When the reaction is interrupted, the particles relax into the equilibrium configuration (shaded region), where only single-phase particles of LiFePO4 and/or FePO4 are present. Rationale To test this proposal, in situ techniques with high temporal resolution must be used to capture the fast phase transformation processes. We performed in situ synchrotron x-ray diffraction (XRD), which readily detects the structural changes and allows for fast data collection, on a LiFePO4-Li battery at high cycling rates, conditions that are able to drive the system away from equilibrium. We used an electrode comprising ~190-nm LiFePO4 particles, carbon, and binder (30:60:10 weight %), along with an electrochemical cell designed to yield reproducible results over multiple cycles, even at high rates. The high carbon content ensures that the reaction at high rates is not limited by either the electronic conductivity or ionic diffusion within the electrode composite. We compared the experimental results with simulated XRD patterns, in which the effects of strain versus compositional variation were explored. We then adapted a whole-pattern fitting method to quantify the compositional variation in the electrode during cycling. Results The XRD patterns, collected during high-rate galvanostatic cycling, show the expected disappearance of LiFePO4 Bragg reflections on charge and the simultaneous formation of FePO4 reflections. In addition, the development of positive intensities between the LiFePO4 and FePO4 reflections indicates that particles with lattice parameters that deviate from the equilibrium values of LiFePO4 and FePO4 are formed. The phenomenon is more pronounced at high currents. Detailed simulations of the XRD patterns reveal that this lattice-parameter variation cannot be explained by a LiFePO4-FePO4 interface within the particles, unless the size of the interface is similar to or greater than the size of the entire particle. Instead, the results indicate compositional variation either within or between particles. Conclusion The results demonstrate the formation of a nonequilibrium solid solution phase, LixFePO4 (0 < x < 1), during high-rate cycling, with compositions that span the entire composition between two thermodynamic phases, LiFePO4 and FePO4. This confirms the hypothesis that phase transformations in nanoparticulate LiFePO4 proceed, at least at high rates, via a continuous change in structure rather than a distinct moving phase boundary between LiFePO4 and FePO4. The ability of LiFePO4 to transform via a nonequilibrium single-phase solid solution, which avoids major structural rearrangement across a moving interface, helps to explain its high-rate performance despite a large Li miscibility gap at room temperature. The creation of a low-energy nonequilibrium path by, for example, particle size reduction or cation doping should enable the high-rate capabilities of other phase-transforming electrode materials. Watching battery materials in action When batteries get rapidly charged and discharged repeatedly, they will often stop working. This is especially true when the cycling changes the crystal structure of the battery components. Liu et al. examined the structural changes in components of a type of lithium battery (see the Perspective by Owen and Hector). Their findings explain why LiFePO4 delivers unexpectedly good electrochemical performances, particularly during rapid cycling. Science, this issue p. 10.1126/science.1252817; see also p. 1451 X-ray diffraction reveals that metastable solid solution reactions undergird the high-rate capability of LiFePO4 electrodes. [Also see Perspective by Owen and Hector] The absence of a phase transformation involving substantial structural rearrangements and large volume changes is generally considered to be a key characteristic underpinning the high-rate capability of any battery electrode material. In apparent contradiction, nanoparticulate LiFePO4, a commercially important cathode material, displays exceptionally high rates, whereas its lithium-composition phase diagram indicates that it should react via a kinetically limited, two-phase nucleation and growth process. Knowledge concerning the equilibrium phases is therefore insufficient, and direct investigation of the dynamic process is required. Using time-resolved in situ x-ray powder diffraction, we reveal the existence of a continuous metastable solid solution phase during rapid lithium extraction and insertion. This nonequilibrium facile phase transformation route provides a mechanism for realizing high-rate capability of electrode materials that operate via two-phase reactions.


Since 1988, Professor Geoffrey Wood of the Sir John Cass Business School, has written a regular column in the IEA's journal, Economic Affairs, in which he exposes popular economic fallacies. Fifty Economic Fallacies Exposed collects fifty of these columns and exposes numerous common fallacies. These lucid and stimulating columns are invaluable to students struggling to master some of the complexities of economic theory and its applications, who often find the most effective way to learn economic analysis is to see such fallacies exposed. It is a text particularly suitable for first year economics students, complementing existing textbooks as it does, and clarifying basic concepts in economics while demonstrating the practical uses of economic theory.


INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the role of cytoreductive nephrectomy (CN), which was an indispensable treatment in metastasis renal cell carcinoma (mRCC), compared with cytokine treatment, we assessed the survival benefit of CN in patients with mRCC treated by sunitinib in targeted therapy era. METHODS: This retrospective study compared the progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) between mRCC patients who did or did not undergo CN. We screened out and enrolled patients from April 2006 to November 2013 as suitable candidates for CN with primary kidney tumor in situ. Logistic regression models were used to measure the effects of the clinical and pathological covariates. The Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank test were performed to evaluate the possible survival differences between two groups. RESULTS: 70 patients were assigned to undergo CN followed with sunitinib and 48 received sunitinib alone. According to the survival analysis, the median PFS was 8.38 months and the median OS was 15.48 months, with 109 deaths observed. There were no significant difference between CN-sunitinib group and sunitinib-alone group in both PFS(7.2 versus 11.6 months, 95% confidence interval, 5.3 to 11.8; P=0.525) and OS (16.7 versus 15.2 months, 95% confidence interval, 12.0 to 18.9, P=0.839). However, stratified analysis revealed that PFS and OS might decrease after CN in the subgroups of patients with IMDC prognostic criteria of high-risk disease (PFS: 4.4 [95% CI, 3.5 to 5.3] vs. 6.3 [95% CI, 5.3 to 7.2]months, P=0.002; OS: 8.8 [95% CI, 7.0 to 10.6] vs 9.9 [95% CI, 10.0 to 11.8] months, P=0.011) and those with lymphatic metastasis (PFS: 4.4 [95% CI, 2.9 to 6.0] vs. 6.6 [95% CI, 2.1 to 11.2] months, P<0.001; OS: 8.8 [95% CI, 6.9 to 10.7] vs 9.9 [95% CI, 7.1 to 10.7] months, P=0.006). CONCLUSIONS: Cytoreductive nephrectomy may offer no survival benefits in those mRCC patients with primary kidney tumor in situ, and moreover, sunitinib-alone therapy perhaps contributes longer PFS and OS for the patients with IMDC high-risk disease and those with lymphatic metastasis. Source of Funding: This work is supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) 81202004 and Shanghai Natural Science Foundation of China 16ZR1406400.


Optimizing the performance of stencil algorithms has been the subject of intense research over the last two decades. Since many stencil schemes have low arithmetic intensity, most optimizations focus on increasing the temporal data access locality, thus reducing the data traffic through the main memory interface with the ultimate goal of decoupling from this bottleneck. There are, however, only a few approaches that explicitly leverage the shared cache feature of modern multicore chips. If every thread works on its private, separate cache block, the available cache space can become too small, and sufficient temporal locality may not be achieved. We propose a flexible multidimensional intratile parallelization method for stencil algorithms on multicore CPUs with a shared outer-level cache. This method leads to a significant reduction in the required cache space without adverse effects from hardware prefetching or TLB shortage. Our Girih framework includes an autotuner to select optimal parameter configurations on the target hardware. We conduct performance experiments on two contemporary Intel processors and compare with the state-of-the-art stencil frameworks Pluto and Pochoir, using four corner-case stencil schemes and a wide range of problem sizes. Girih shows substantial performance advantages and best arithmetic intensity at almost all problem sizes, especially on low-intensity stencils with variable coefficients. We study in detail the performance behavior at varying grid sizes using phenomenological performance modeling. Our analysis of energy consumption reveals that our method can save energy through reduced DRAM bandwidth usage even at a marginal performance gain. It is thus well suited for future architectures that will be strongly challenged by the cost of data movement, be it in terms of performance or energy consumption.


International research demonstrates diminishing trust in the food supply associated with food scares which undermine trust in expert advice. Even though Australia has not experienced major food scares, there is evidence of diminishing trust in the food supply. Interviews were conducted with 47 South Australian food shoppers from high (n = 17) and low (n = 16) socio-economic regions of Adelaide and from rural South Australia (n = 14) about food governance and trust in the Australian food supply. Participants display a high level of trust in the food supply associated with a perception that Australian food is safe; a lack of exposure to food risks; and trust in personal food safety practices. The media was the only factor which created distrust in the food system. Other participants express confidence in the food supply where confidence is understood as a lack of reflection. Contrary to concepts of reflexive modernisation which presume an increasing awareness of risk and placement of trust as a means of reducing uncertainly, participants adopt an 'innocent until proven guilty' approach displaying little knowledge or interest in knowing about food regulation relying instead on routine food safety practices as a means of managing uncertainty.


BACKGROUND
The proportion assisted ventilation (PAV) can improve patient-ventilator interaction, reduce the incidence of end-expiratory asynchrony and increase the time of synchrony. PAV could compensate for the leaks by Elastic and resistive unloading and thus is ideal for neonates with uncuffed airways. The aim of this study was to compare the relevant clinical parameters of neonates with respiratory distress syndrome(RDS) who are surported by PAV plus synchronized intermittent mandatory ventilation (SIMV) and SIMV.

METHODS
46 neonates daignozed as RDS who required mechanical ventilation were divided randomly into observer group (surport by PAV + SIMV mode, n = 23) and control group (surport by SIMV mode, n = 23). The X-ray grading situation, the number of asynchrony- delayed trigger, the mean arterial blood pressure (MABP), spontaneous respiratory rate(RR), heart rate(HR), blood gas analysis values and circulation and respiratory parameters at each timepoint after 30min, 12h, 24h, 48h and 72h of mechanical ventilation were observed.

RESULTS
The forty four neonates in two groups have been cured, the other 2 neonates (one in each group) gave up treatment and automatically discharged. There were no statistically significant differences in male, gestational age, body weight, The duration of mechanical ventilation, oxygen dependence and hospital stay between the two groups(all P>0.05). There were no statistically significant differences in MABP , HR and ratio of arterial-to-alveolar partial pressure of oxygen (a/APO2) at each time point after mechanical ventilation between the two groups(all P>0.05). The number of asynchrony- delayed trigger in observer group was lower than that in control group, the difference was statistically significant(P<0.05). The number of spontaneous RR in observer group was higher than that in control group, the difference was statistically significant(P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS
The PAV plus SIMV shows a good clinical effect in treatment of neonates with RDS. It could be better to use neonatal spontaneous breathing and might cause less damage to the lung than SIMV mode.


In a collective action, people act together with the intention of producing public goods. Public, or collective, goods are states or objects that benefit the many but only emerge if a sufficient number of persons make contributions. The present study explains de dynamics of participation in collective action campaigns by considering the interaction of different processes. With the resulting model it is possible to determine the optimal combination of diffusion measures for such a campaign. Before using the model for experimenting, we calibrate its parameters using data from a real world collective action. We find this to be a most important step in order to demonstrate that the model can be grounded empirically and to demonstrate the practical usefulness of simulation for consulting and design of real world processes. Finally, some "what if" scenarios reveal the model's power of explanation and prediction.


The objective of this study was to assess how the relative efficiency of N95 respirators and surgical masks might vary with different challenge aerosols, utilizing a standardized manikin head form as a surrogate to human participation. A Collision nebulizer aerosolized B. anthracis Sterne strain endospores and polystyrene latex (PSL) particles to evaluate 11 models of N95 respirators and surgical masks. An automated breathing simulator, calibrated to normal tidal volume and active breathing rate, mimicked human respiration. A manikin head form with N95 respirators or surgical masks, and manikin head form without N95 respirators or surgical masks were placed in the bioaerosol chamber. An AGI-30 sampler filled with phosphate buffered water was fitted behind the mouth of each manikin head form to collect endospore bioaerosol samples. PSL aerosols concentrations were quantified by an ARTI Hand Held Particle Counter. Geometric Mean (GM) relative efficiency of N95 respirators and surgical masks challenged with endospore bioaerosol ranged from 34–65%. In PSL aerosol experiments, GM relative efficiency ranged from 35–64% for 1.3 μm particles. GM filtration efficiency of all N95 and surgical N95 respirators filter media evaluated was ≥99% when challenged with particles ≥0.1 μm. GM filtration efficiency of surgical mask filter media ranged from 70–83% with particles ≥0.1 μm and 74–92% with 1.3 μm PSL particles. Relative efficiencies of N95 respirators and surgical masks challenged with aerosolized B. anthracis endospores and PSL were similar. Relative efficiency was similar between N95 respirators and surgical masks on a manikin head form despite clear differences in filtration efficiency. This study further highlights the importance of face seal leakage in the respiratory protection provided by N95 respirators, and demonstrates it on a human surrogate.


Integrated optics is becoming increasingly important for applications in quantum information processing, quantum sensing and for advanced measurement. Intrinsically stable and low-loss it provides essential routing and coupling for quantum optical experiments offering functions such as interconnects, couplers, phase delays and routing. Silica-onsilicon has particular attractions, and in this work the fabrication approaches and advantages of the technique will be explored. In particular, UV direct writing of waveguides and Bragg gratings proves useful for its rapid-prototyping capability and its ability to provide grating for characterization of components for loss, birefringence and coupling ratio. This review concentrates on the fabrication of planar waveguide devices, and ways in which direct UV writing provides important functionality. Examples of applications of silica-on-silicon waveguides include quantum enhanced interferometry, teleportation, boson sampling as well as hybrid operation for single photon detection with transition edge sensors directly placed onto waveguide devices.


In recent years, many computationally efficient bidirectional reflectance models have been developed to account for angular effects in land remote sensing data, particularly those from the NOAA advanced very high resolution radiometer (AVHRR), polarization and directionality of the Earth's reflectances (POLDER), and the planned EOS moderate-resolution imaging spectrometer (MODIS) and multi-angle imaging spectroradiometer (MISR) sensors. In this study, we assessed the relative ability of 10 such models to predict commonly used remote sensing products (nadir reflectance and albedo). Specifically, we inverted each model with ground-based data from the portable apparatus for rapid acquisition of bidirectional observations of the land and atmosphere (PARABOLA) arranged in subsets representative of satellite sampling geometries. We used data from nine land cover types, ranging from soil to grassland (First International Satellite Land Surface Climatology Project (ISLSCP) Field Experiment (FIFE)) to forest (Boreal Ecosystem-Atmosphere Study (BOREAS)). Retrieved parameters were used in forward model runs to estimate nadir reflectance and spectral albedo over a wide range of solar angles. We rank the models by the accuracy of the estimated products and find results to be strongly dependent on the view azimuth angle range of the inversion data, and less dependent on the spectral band and land cover type. Overall, the nonlinear model of Rahman et al. [993] and the linear kernel-driven RossThickLiSparse model [Wanner et al., 1995] were most accurate. The latter was at least 25 times faster to invert than the former. Interestingly, we found these two models were not able to match the various bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) shapes as well as other models, suggesting their superior performance lies in their ability to be more reliably inverted with sparse data sets. These results should be useful to those interested in the computationally fast normalization of bidirectional reflectance data and the estimation of radiation flux parameters (albedo, absorbed radiation) over diverse land covers.


Solubilization of sparingly soluble solutes into aqueous surfactant solutions has attracted considerable attention in view of its application in many areas. Earlier studies differ, both qualitatively and quantitatively, in their conclusions about the beneficial role played by micelles on the rate of solubilization. In the present work, a general model is developed to explain the solubilization kinetics in the presence of micelles. The model considers molecular solubilization and exchange of solute between the micelles and the continuous phase to be the basic steps in the dissolution of solutes. Additionally, in the case of ionic surfactants, contact between the micelles and the solute surface is prohibited to account for ionic repulsion. It is shown that when the partition coefficient of the solute between the micellar phase and the continuous phase is small and the diffusion coefficient of the micelles is comparable to that of the solute in the continuous phase, the micelles and the continuous phase exist in equilibrium. This occurs even if direct contact between the micelles and the solute surface is prevented. Under these circumstances, the solubilization occurs by diffusion, in parallel, through the continuous and the micellar phases. Due to the latter, the solubilization rate can be enhanced in proportion to the magnitude of the partition coefficient and the amount of surfactant added. If the partition coefficient is large and the diffusion coefficient of the micelles is small, the enhancement factor is considerably smaller than that when the two phases are in equilibrium. The enhancement factor in this limit is proportional to the square root of the amount of surfactant added. Under such circumstances, the exclusion of direct contact between the micelles and the solute surface, and surface resistance if present, lower the enhancement factors further. The model quantitatively predicts the observations on the dissolution rates of decane and benzene drops into SDS solutions reported by Todorov et al. (J. Colloid Interface Sci. 2002, 245, 371). For benzene drops, the surface resistance is negligible, the micelles are in equilibrium with the continuous phase, and the enhancement factor is proportional to the surfactant concentration. On the other hand, for decane drops, the micelles are not in equilibrium with the continuous phase, and the enhancement is proportional to the square root of the surfactant concentration. The enhancements in Ostwald ripening rates in the presence of surfactants are also predicted from the model, and these are in good agreement with observations for decane emulsions in sodium dodecyl sulfate. The model is also applied to dissolution of fatty acids into SDS solutions in the rotating disk setup. It is observed that surface resistance plays an important role and that the diffusivities of micelles obtained here are different from the ones obtained in dissolution of benzene drops.


Stuart Goldman convincingly argues that a little-known, but intense Soviet-Japanese conflict along the Manchurian-Mongolian frontier at Nomonhan influenced the outbreak of World War II and shaped the course of the war. The author draws on Japanese, Soviet, and western sources to put the seemingly obscure conflict--actually a small undeclared war-- into its proper global geo-strategic perspective. The book describes how the Soviets, in response to a border conflict provoked by Japan, launched an offensive in August 1939 that wiped out the Japanese forces at Nomonhan. At the same time, Stalin signed the German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact, allowing Hitler to invade Poland. The timing of these military and diplomatic strikes was not coincidental, according to the author. In forming an alliance with Hitler that left Tokyo diplomatically isolated, Stalin succeeded in avoiding a two-front war. He saw the pact with the Nazis as a way to pit Germany against Britain and France, leaving the Soviet Union on the sidelines to eventually pick up the spoils from the European conflict, while at the same time giving him a free hand to smash the Japanese at Nomonhan. Goldman not only demonstrates the linkage between the Nomonhan conflict, the German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact, and the outbreak of World War II, but also shows how Nomonhan influenced Japan s decision to go to war with the United States and thus change the course of history. The book details Gen. Georgy Zhukov s brilliant victory at Nomonhan that led to his command of the Red Army in 1941 and his success in stopping the Germans at Moscow with reinforcements from the Soviet Far East. Such a strategy was possible, the author contends, only because of Japan s decision not to attack the Soviet Far East but to seize the oil-rich Dutch East Indies and attack Pearl Harbor instead. Goldman credits Tsuji Masanobu, an influential Japanese officer who instigated the Nomonhan conflict and survived the debacle, with urging his superiors not to take on the Soviets again in 1941, but instead to go to war with the United States.


The Web Advanced Learning Technologies (WebALT) project, financed through the European Union's eContent programme, is working to provide pan-European (and eventually world-wide) multilingual and multicultural internet access to a repository of algorithmically generated exercises for students and teachers of mathematics at the secondary and tertiary education levels, building as much as possible on existing frameworks, standards, and software. The two-year WebALT project has reached its quarter mark now, and we can now report early results. We are working on a framework in which a large percentage of undergraduate and highschool mathematics exercises can be created in the language independent form of content markup in a way that captures both the meaning of the simple sentences and the formulas embedded in them that together make up a math problem. Such content, expressed in OpenMath because it is more easily extended with the extra concepts required here, is then localized using language-specific content-topresentation markup stylesheets for the embedded formulae, and natural language generation techniques for rendering the embedding sentences that tell the students what to do with those formulae in the language of their choice.


This exploratory study sought to assess the differences in perceptions among allied health managers and subordinates regarding motivation in the workplace due to a paucity of literature in this area. With an increased demand for higher productivity, an everchanging health care system and managed care restrictions, it is also important to understand what may motivate individuals who are functioning within different work environments than in the past. The hygiene and motivator factors from Herzberg's two factor theory created the independent variables which overlap with Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs descriptions. These included Basic (job security, salary etc.), Safety (work conditions, pension), Ego-Status (opportunity for status improvement), and Actualization-Self-Expression (opportunities for freedom and experimentation. Participants included a random and convenience sample of physical and occupational therapists. Data was collected using work motivation inventories. Results from the t-test and ANOVA procedures consistently showed no statistical differences among allied health managers and subordinates regarding their perceptions of what motivates the employee in the workplace. Motivator factor issues were identified as constraints to work motivation more than hygiene factors. The convenience sample identified Categories D and E more frequently as constraint categories (Sig. at.10 level). Clearly, additional research is needed in this area.


We present an interface design for creating informal animations from sketches. Current tools for creating animation are extremely complex. This makes it difficult for designers to prototype animations and nearly impossible for novices to create them at all. Simple animation systems exist but severely restrict the types of motion that can be represented. To guide our design of an animation sketching interface, we conducted field studies into the needs of professional and novice animators. These studies show the wide variety of motions that users desire in informal animations and indicate how to prioritize these types of motion. The interface described here allows the most important types of motion to be defined with pen gestures, and gives visual feedback for coordination of events.


Image annotation has been identified to be a suitable means by which the semantic gap which has made the accuracy of Content-based image retrieval unsatisfactory be eliminated. However existing methods of automatic annotation of images depends on supervised learning, which can be difficult to implement due to the need for manually annotated training samples which are not always readily available. This paper argues that the unsupervised learning via Probabilistic Latent Semantic Analysis provides a more suitable machine learning approach for image annotation especially due to its potential to based categorisation on the latent semantic content of the image samples, which can bridge the semantic gap present in Content Based Image Retrieval. This paper therefore proposes an unsupervised image categorisation model in which the semantic content of images are discovered using Probabilistic Latent Semantic Analysis, after which they are clustered into unique groups based on semantic content similarities using K-means algorithm, thereby providing suitable annotation exemplars. A common problem with categorisation algorithms based on Bag-of-Visual Words modelling is the loss of accuracy due to spatial incoherency of the Bag-of-Visual Word modelling, this paper also examines the effectiveness of Spatial pyramid as a means of eliminating spatial incoherency in Probabilistic Latent Semantic Analysis classification.


Abstract : We consider the geometric random graph where n points are distributed independently on the unit interval [0, 1] according to some probability distribution function F. Two nodes communicate with each other if their distance is less than some transmission range. When F admits a continuous density f which is strictly positive on [0, 1], we show that the property of graph connectivity exhibits a strong critical threshold and we identify it. This is achieved by generalizing a limit result on maximal spacings due to Levy for the uniform distribution.


We present an approach to study macromolecular assemblies by detecting component proteins' characteristic high-resolution projection patterns, calculated from their known 3D structures, in single electron cryo-micrographs. Our method detects single apoferritin molecules in vitreous ice with high specificity and determines their orientation and location precisely. Simulations show that high spatial-frequency information and—in the presence of protein background—a whitening filter are essential for optimal detection, in particular for images taken far from focus. Experimentally, we could detect small viral RNA polymerase molecules, distributed randomly among binding locations, inside rotavirus particles. Based on the currently attainable image quality, we estimate a threshold for detection that is 150 kDa in ice and 300 kDa in 100 nm thick samples of dense biological material. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.25648.001


The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of significant others in socialization into sports of secondary school athletes in Kenya. Data were collected through questionnaire from 636( 320 males and 316 females) purposely selected from forty (40) secondary schools in Kenya. Data were analysed through chi-square rest of independent measures and student t-test findings revealed that 500(7.8 61%)ofthe athletes took part in sport while in primary school as opposed to 136(2.1 4%)who did not take part with no 'gender differences. It was apparent that there were significant differences (p<.05) between male and female athletes on their initial entry into sport. Findings also revealed that a majority of 546(85.80%) of the athletes had their family members participate in sport while 90(14.20%) of the athletes family members did not participate ill sport with no gender differences (p<.05). the influence of significant others in socialization into sport is mostly by the coach, followed by friends, P.E." teachers, brothers, father, sisters and the mother with significant differences (p<.05) between male and female athletes. It was recommended that parents needed to encourage their siblings to participate in sport and P.£' teachers and coaches needed to refocus on their roles in sport socialization illto sport of secondary school athletes in Kenya.


Over the last century and a half, global technological leadership has shifted from Great Britain to the United States. In this paper we argue that China is positioning itself to assume global leadership in technology within the coming few decades. We identify three sources of competitive advantage for China's ascent in the global technology stakes: its massive domestic market, its centralized power and willingness to employ state-sponsored industrial policy and government support, and the process of globalization that continues to transform markets worldwide. After acknowledging skeptical views of China's capacity to achieve global technology leadership, we survey the present state of affairs and assess its prospects for growth based on statistical evidence and multiple illustrative examples. We argue that the three sources of competitive advantage we explicate offer China a path to imminent global technological leadership.


Analysis systems incorporating atmospheric observations could provide a powerful tool for validating fossil fuel CO2 (ffCO2) emissions reported for individual regions, provided that fossil fuel sources can be separated from other CO2 sources or sinks and atmospheric transport can be accurately accounted for. We quantified ffCO2 by measuring radiocarbon (14C) in CO2, an accurate fossil-carbon tracer, at nine observation sites in California for three months in 2014–15. There is strong agreement between the measurements and ffCO2 simulated using a high-resolution atmospheric model and a spatiotemporally-resolved fossil fuel flux estimate. Inverse estimates of total in-state ffCO2 emissions are consistent with the California Air Resources Board's reported ffCO2 emissions, providing tentative validation of California's reported ffCO2 emissions in 2014–15. Continuing this prototype analysis system could provide critical independent evaluation of reported ffCO2 emissions and emissions reductions in California, and the system could be expanded to other, more data-poor regions.


We present the results of a semicoherent search for continuous gravitational waves from the low-mass X-ray binary Scorpius X-1, using data from the first Advanced LIGO observing run. The search method uses details of the modelled, parametrized continuous signal to combine coherently data separated by less than a specified coherence time, which can be adjusted to trade off sensitivity against computational cost. A search was conducted over the frequency range from 25 Hz to 2000 Hz, spanning the current observationally-constrained range of the binary orbital parameters. No significant detection candidates were found, and frequency-dependent upper limits were set using a combination of sensitivity estimates and simulated signal injections. The most stringent upper limit was set at 175 Hz, with comparable limits set across the most sensitive frequency range from 100 Hz to 200 Hz. At this frequency, the 95 pct upper limit on signal amplitude h0 is 2.3e-25 marginalized over the unknown inclination angle of the neutron star's spin, and 8.03e-26 assuming the best orientation (which results in circularly polarized gravitational waves). These limits are a factor of 3-4 stronger than those set by other analyses of the same data, and a factor of about 7 stronger than the best upper limits set using initial LIGO data. In the vicinity of 100 Hz, the limits are a factor of between 1.2 and 3.5 above the predictions of the torque balance model, depending on inclination angle, if the most likely inclination angle of 44 degrees is assumed, they are within a factor of 1.7.


How intensively should financial markets be regulated? Given the talk of regulatory convergence in financial markets, one would think that this is a question on which there would be a robust academic literature with clear implications as to how a particular jurisdiction should go about determining its optimal level of financial regulation. As it turns out, no such literature or guidance exists. This Article begins with a discussion of the considerable difficulties of conducting a theoretically complete analysis of the costs and benefits offinancial regulation, as well as the problems associated with making international comparisons between observed levels of the intensity offinancial regulation. Notwithstanding these difficulties, I next present preliminary data about the direct regulatory costs of financial regulation in the United States and offer some tentative international comparisons. Even after adjusting for the size of U.S. financial markets, the direct costs of financial regulation in the United States are substantially higher than the costs observed in most other jurisdictions, in some cases as much as an order of magnitude higher. Moreover, common law jurisdictions seem to incur substantially higher direct regulatory costs than do civil law jurisdictions. I also present additional evidence about the level of enforcement activity in U.S. securities markets, reporting data on both public and private securities enforcement actions in recent years. Compared to at least the United Kingdom and Germany, the intensity of securities enforcement actions in the United States appears to be strikingly higher. Not only are there more financial regulators in the United States, but they also carry bigger sticks than their foreign counterparts. While the laws on the books may be converging, the level of enforcement efforts seems to vary widely across national boundaries and even within regions such as Europe. The Article concludes with some thoughts about additional lines of research in this area and the implications of this data for the ongoing debate over regulatory convergence.


Since the publication in 1896 of Andrew Dickson White's classic "History of the Warfare of Science with Theology in Christendom", no comprehensive history of the subject has appeared in the English language. Although many twentieth-century historians have written on the relationship between Christianity and science, and in the process have called into question many of White's conclusions, the image of warfare lingers in the public mind. To provide an up-to-date alternative, based on the best available scholarship and written in nontechnical language, the editors of this volume have assembled an international group of distinguished historians. In eighteen essays prepared especially for this book, these authors cover the period from the early Christian church to the twentieth century, offering fresh appraisals of such encounters as the trial of Galileo, the formulation of the Newtonian worldview, the coming of Darwinism, and the ongoing controversies over 'scientific creationism'. They explore not only the impact of religion on science, but also the influence of science and religion. This landmark volume promises not only to silence the persistent rumors of war between Christianity and science, but also serve as the point of departure for new explorations of their relationship. Scholars and general readers alike will find it provocative and readable.


We introduce an emulsification technique that creates monodisperse double-emulsion drops with a core-shell geometry having an ultra-thin wall as a middle layer. We create a biphasic flow in a microfluidic capillary device by forming a sheath flow consisting of a thin layer of a fluid with high affinity to the capillary wall flowing along the inner wall of the capillary, surrounding the innermost fluid. This creates double-emulsion drops, using a single-step emulsification, having a very thin fluid shell. If the shell is solidified, its thickness can be small as a hundred nanometres or even less. Despite the small thickness of this shell, these structures are nevertheless very stable, giving them great potential for encapsulation. We demonstrate this by creating biodegradable microcapsules of poly(lactic acid) with a shell thickness of a few tens of nanometres, which are potentially useful for encapsulation and delivery of drugs, cosmetics, and nutrients.


An effective terrorism alert system in a federal government has one central task: to motivate actors to take costly protective measures. The United States' color-coded Homeland Security Advisory System (HSAS) failed in this mission. In federal systems, national leaders cannot compel protective actions by setting an alert level; they must convince constituent governments and private parties that the desired actions are worth the costs. Such beliefs can be generated either by sharing the information behind an alert or by developing enough confidence in the alert system that the government's word alone suffices. The HSAS did neither, largely because it was not designed to generate confidence. Rather, the system's creators assumed that the public would trust the national leadership and believe in the utility of the system's information. Over time, as the HSAS became increasingly perceived as politically manipulated, there was no built-in mechanism to recover confidence in the system. An alternative, trust-based terrorist alert system could solve this problem. Building on the notion of procedural fairness from the psychological and legal traditions, this system would retain the political advantages of the HSAS, facilitate greater compliance among the requisite actors, and ameliorate many of the strategic problems inherent in terror alert systems.


The axial filament nerves of Vampyroteuthis infernalis are joined to two separate parts of the brain. One branch of the nerve, apparently efferent, arises from the anterior portion of the middle subesophageal mass, and the other, apparently afferent. enters the ventral magnocellular lobe. Since this innervation is entirely different from that of the arms, the filaments can no longer be considered homologous with the arms. The validity and primitive nature of the order Vampyromorpha, therefore, needs to be reexamined.


Supply chain management concepts and models are not just confined to improving business operations in the manufacturing sector. They can also be developed and applied in the service industry by focusing on the service based supply chain. This paper will explore the application of academic supply chain management at an educational institution namely, RMIT University Vietnam. This paper will first identify the upstream and downstream activities at RMIT University Vietnam with reference to the ITESCM (Integrated Tertiary Educational Supply Chain Management) model developed by Habib and Jungthirapanich (2008). It will then do a thorough analysis of the internal and external environment. Finally, based on the analysis, this paper will apply the Supply Chain Operations Reference (SCOR) model developed by the Supply-Chain Council to build a robust supply chain relationship for RMIT Vietnam. Keywords supply chain management; academic application; SCOR model


The paper examined causes, effect and abatement measures of flooding in River Ajilosun drainage basin in Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria. Data were collected on morphometric variables such as channel width and channel depth which were measured with ranging pole and tie rod. Channel efficiency was derived from a mathematical relationship between the channel capacity and the wetted perimeter of the channel. Data on slopes were obtained with Abney level. Data were also obtained on distance of buildings to river valley with a tape measure. 150 copies of questionnaire were also administered systematically to landlords of houses along River Ajilosun in order to obtain information on experience and effect of flooding in the basin. The study employed both descriptive and inferential statistics to analyze the data. The outcome of the descriptive analysis revealed illegal dumping of refuse in stream channel as the principal cause of flooding in River Ajilosun. Other causes of flooding are the heavy and frequent tropical rainfall in the area. The results of the quantitative analysis showed that the geomorphological variables accounted for about 80% of the total variation in spatial extent of flooding in the drainage basin. The analysis also revealed the number of channel obstructions (+29.6%) as the best predictor of flooding in the drainage basin. Other close predictors are channel slope (8.6%) and channel width (6.3%). Effects of flooding in the basin include erosion of foundation of houses, refuse sedimentation of streets and destruction of riparian vegetation among others. The paper recommends effective floodplain/slope management, provision of adequate waste disposal facilities and implementation of Town Planning Regulations as some of the measures that can be adopted to mitigate flooding in the drainage basin.


The absorption spectrum of α-pinene gas, a biogenic
volatile organic compound, was directly measured with a pulsed
mid-infrared laser. The maximum absorption wavelength was found to
be ∼3.42 µm, and an absorption cross section of 4.8 ×
10-23 m2 molec-1 was
obtained. A simple theoretical calculation with the measured
spectral data showed that several hundreds of parts in 1012
(ppt) of α-pinene gas in forest–mountain areas over a range of
∼10 km were detectable by a long-path-averaged hard-target absorption
lidar. Requirements for system development were also
discussed.


The three pocketbooks comprising the "English Through Pictures Series" are the remarkable invention of I A Richards and Christine Gibson, who designed them to help the learner speak, read and write English in the quickest and clearest possible way - through pictures. The authors have made a careful selection of the most widely useful English words, choosing those with the power to define other words, and have put them to work in key patterns that offer the learner the ability to communicate successfully in English. Book 1 contains a vocabulary of 250 such words, with an additional 500 developed in Book 2; these 750 words are then used in Book 3 to build a command of 1000 words which, by their defining power, hold the possibility of understanding as much as another 20,000 words of English. Throughout "English Through Pictures", responsibility for learning is placed directly on the learner, who from the very start enjoys the ability to put essential words to work creating key sentence patterns where meaning is clearly shown in pictures. These simplified drawings allow learners to focus on the sentence and to enjoy growing confidence as they successfully take control of language, with the workbooks in Books 1 and 2 challenging and reinforcing their growing competence as both speakers and readers. Motivated and inspired, learners will soon find to their delight that fluent communication in English - the common language of today's world - lies well within their grasp. "English Through Pictures" has already been used successfully by millions of learners in over forty countries.


Gammaproteobacteria belonging and related to the genus Microbulbifer are an emerging group of complex carbohydrate-degrading marine bacteria. Previously, all of the representatives were placed within Microbulbifer or were unclassified. Recently, a new genus, Teredinibacter, represented by a single species, Teredinibacter turnerae, was formed to include an endosymbiotic branch of these organisms. In this study, based on 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity and phenotypic analyses, a new genus, Saccharophagus, is proposed to accommodate the most versatile marine carbohydrate degrader yet identified, Saccharophagus degradans gen. nov., sp. nov. 2-40(T) (=ATCC 43961(T)=DSM 17024(T)). S. degradans strain 2-40(T) can degrade 10 tested complex polysaccharides: agar, alginate, chitin, cellulose, fucoidan, laminarin, pectin, pullulan, starch and xylan. S. degradans 2-40(T) shares 90.5% 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity with the type strain of the Microbulbifer type species, Microbulbifer hydrolyticus IRE-31(T), and 91.5% with T. turnerae T7902(T), and can be further distinguished from members of these two genera by 16S rRNA gene cluster analysis, the ability to utilize 10 different complex polysaccharides as sole carbon sources, a significantly lower G+C content and differences in fatty acid content. The three genera of complex polysaccharide-degrading, marine bacteria now encompass 20 strains from diverse marine niches.


This article analyzes recommendations in the Rethinking Negotiation Teaching (RNT) series. Instructors teaching negotiation and other dispute resolution subjects have long had a hard time trying to cover everything they would like in their courses. The RNT project has documented (and, to some extent, stimulated) a growing profusion of ideas and techniques for teaching negotiation, which has multiplied instructors' dilemmas in designing their courses. Since instructors cannot teach everything they would like, this article suggests some general principles for making decisions about what to include and how to conduct these courses. Clearly, there is no single right or best way to teach negotiation, so instructors should select approaches based on the particular audiences, settings, and goals of the instruction. It is valuable to include a widely-taught "canon of negotiation," so that people can have a common "language" of negotiation theory and practice, while also tailoring instruction to the particular circumstances of each course. This tailoring should be oriented to the assumptions, ideas, and values that students bring into the classroom, as they will have to integrate new ideas and experiences into their pre-existing mindsets. Instructors should also design their courses to promote students' motivation to engage in the course activities productively. This article catalogs a wide range of instructional enhancements beyond the traditional canon of negotiation, including a range of perspectives, theories, assumptions, topics for instruction, teaching methods, and related issues.


Abstract Youth is commonly conceptualised as a period of transition in which young people strive to meet the social markers of adulthood, such as getting work, starting families and being recognised as full and productive citizens. Here we extend our analysis of youth to capture the developmental needs of young people in this process of 'becoming'. In doing so we explore the literature on developmental psychology and youth well-being that has been well explored in the Global North, but less so in the Global South. From this, we highlight that development studies must look more broadly at the developmental processes occurring through youth of building foundations, building blocks, building support structures and building dreams. Young people's current and future outcomes cannot be understood fully without understanding these processes, which are critical behavioural drivers. We then move on to explore the literature on urban youth in Sub-Saharan Africa to assess whether or not these four critical developmental processes are accessible to young people in Sub-Saharan Africa's towns and cities. The literature recognises the difficulties urban youth in Sub-Saharan Africa face in navigating these pathways and the subsequent 'transitional limbo' they themselves in. Urban areas characterised by weak job creation, informality and tough competition offer few social and economic opportunities to young people. We draw upon our earlier review of literature from developmental psychology to explore the implications of this on young people's development. At such a formative stage in the life cycle it leads to crises in personal identity formation and prevents the development of important internal developmental assets (like self-confidence and self-belief) that young people need to thrive and flourish. Urban poverty and processes of urban social change have also eroded the social support systems necessary to nurture these vital assets. Together these dampen and constrain young people's ability to envision, strive for and plan to meet opportunities today and into the future.


Online consumer reviews have become an important source of information for understanding
markets and customer preferences. When making purchase decisions, customers
increasingly rely on user-generated online reviews; some even consider the information
in online reviews more credible and trustworthy than information provided
by vendors. Many studies have revealed that online reviews influence demand and
sales. Others have shown the possibility of identifying customer interest in product
attributes. However, little work has been done to address customer and review diversity
in the process of examining reviews. This research intends to answer the research
question: how can we solve the problem of customer and review diversity in the context
of online reviews to recommend useful reviews based on customer preferences and
improve product recommendation? Our approach to the question is through personalization.
Similar to other personalization research, we use an attribute-based model
to represent products and customer preferences. Unlike existing personalization research
that uses a set of pre-defined product attributes, we explore the possibility of a
data-driven approach for identifying more comprehensive product attributes from online
reviews to model products and customer preferences. Specifically, we introduce
a new topic model for product attribute identification and sentiment analysis. By
differentiating word co-occurrences at the sentence level from at the document level,
the model better identifies interpretable topics. The use of an inference network with
shared structure enables the model to predict product attribute ratings accurately.
Based on this topic model, we develop attribute-based representations of products,
reviews and customer preferences and use them to construct the personalization of online reviews. We examine personalization from the lens of consumer search theory
and human information processing theory and test the hypotheses with an experiment.
The personalization of online reviews can 1) recommend products matching
customer's preferences; 2) improve custom's intention towards recommended products;
3) best distinguish recommended products from products that do not match
customer's preferences; and 4) reduce decision effort.


Research at the intersection of machine learning, programming languages, and software engineering has recently taken important steps in proposing learnable probabilistic models of source code that exploit the abundance of patterns of code. In this article, we survey this work. We contrast programming languages against natural languages and discuss how these similarities and differences drive the design of probabilistic models. We present a taxonomy based on the underlying design principles of each model and use it to navigate the literature. Then, we review how researchers have adapted these models to application areas and discuss cross-cutting and application-specific challenges and opportunities.


This study examines the prevalence of physical and sexual abuse by intimate and commercial sexual partners among street-based sex workers and explores correlates of partner abuse by commercial partners using the following factors: sociodemographics, substance abuse, sexual behavior, and physical and sexual childhood abuse. One hundred thirteen street sex workers were recruited from December 1996 through May 1997 while receiving services from the Foundations for Research on Sexually Transmitted Diseases (FROST'D), a nonprofit organization based in New York City. Partner abuse is a common occurrence among street sex workers. Two of three street prostitutes have experienced lifetime physical or sexual abuse by either an intimate or commercial partner. In addition, one of eight reported physical and sexual abuse by both intimate and commercial partners during her lifetime. Women who were homeless in the last year, those who reported exchanging for drugs and money as their main source of income, used injection drugs in the past year and had sex in crack houses, and who were human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive were more likely to be report combined physical and sexual abuse. Understanding the relationship between partner violence, victim's substance abuse, and HIV-risk behavior is important for the development of public policies and treatment and prevention strategies to address the constellation of problems that drug-using female street sex workers face.


In this book we successfully demonstrate a millimeter-precision laser rangefinder using a low-cost photon counter. An application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) comprises timing circuitry and single-photon avalanche diodes (SPADs) as the photodetectors. For the timing circuitry, a novel binning architecture for sampling the received signal is proposed which mitigates non-idealities that are inherent to a system with SPADs and timing circuitry in one chip.


Several previous studies have examined the traceable regional impacts of El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) on groundwater level (GWL) but it remains a question whether the ENSO impacts on groundwater can be established in smaller basins using statistical techniques. The present study attempts to record the ENSO impacts on the groundwater availability in Venna basin, Maharashtra by proposing a combination of statistical and spatial analysis. Utilizing the GWL, the study estimates the spatial variability of GWL, groundwater anomalies, groundwater recharge and discharge using geographic information system (GIS) and quantitative variations in groundwater using statistical techniques. The study also highlights the applicability of the Kolmogorov–Smirnov test in hydrometeorological studies. Analyses reveal the association of deeper GWLs and higher discharge with the El Niño, as opposed to shallower GWLs and higher recharge with La Niña. The two-sample Kolmogorov–Smirnov test confirms the discrepancy in the cumulative distribution of GWL between different ENSO phases. Mann–Kendall, Sen slope and Mann–Whitney tests ascertain the variation of GWL and recharge as well as ENSO impacts in the command area (area irrigated by reservoir using the canal networks) and non-command areas. A significant difference in recharge between El Niño and La Niña is observed in the command as well as in the non-command areas.


In-line Inspection (ILI) technologies have been routinely employed for assessing threats to pipeline integrity such as metal loss, mechanical damage and cracks for many years. When the frequency of in-line predictions is nil then discovery of conditions and remediation can be straightforward and safety insured with minimal impact to pipeline integrity resources. When significant numbers of conditions are reported by in-line inspection an understanding of the performance of in-line tools for detection and discrimination can be used to insure immediate and future safety while optimizing resources employed responding to the in-line tool predictions. ILI vendors routinely claim performance specifications for the more established technologies such ILI tools for metal loss based on laboratory level tests conducted on artificial or real metal loss features. However, it is not possible for such tests to account for and quantify all sources of error that could be encountered when ILI is used in real pipelines. For example, magnetic flux leakage (MFL) technology metal loss sizing performance can be significantly affected by defect size and shape. For this reason industry has recognized the role and value for comparison of ILI predictions with actual conditions determined by direct examination for the purposes of managing risk associated with false acceptance of ILI predictions as safe and to feed back to the ILI vendors performance data that can be used to improve the technologies which is typical for most expert systems. API 1163 was developed by industry to help facilitate such qualification of ILI data. This paper describes factors that must be considered when selecting conventional or advanced non-destructive examination (NDE) to determine true ILI performance and the role of true ILI performance in managing both safety and resources when responding to ILI predictions.


Financial policy differs from one country to another depending on the country's economic potential, the level of economic development, natural resources, national or international conditions, methods of managing the national economy, the interests of political parties and other factors. But, we should not overlook the fact that economic and financial experience of countries can provide models to be applied in other countries. In terms of financial policy, budgetary policy and fiscal policy are the most important. This paper aims to compare the objectives of fiscal policy in Romania during the last three programs of government in the period 2001-2012 and, under the Romanian fiscal responsibility law, to underline the principles they are based on.


In the UK, there is a growing interest in constructing on-farm irrigation reservoirs, however deciding the optimum reservoir capacity is not simple. There are two distinct approaches to generating the future daily weather datasets needed to calculate future irrigation need. The change factor approach perturbs the observed record using monthly change factors derived from downscaled climate models. This assumes that whilst the climate changes, the day-to-day climate variability itself is stationary. Problems may arise where the instrumental record is insufficient or particularly suspect. Alternatively, probabilistic weather generators can be used to identify options which are considered more robust to climate change uncertainty because they consider non-stationary climate variability. This paper explores the difference between using the change factor approach and a probabilistic weather generator for informing farm reservoir design at three sites in the UK. Decision outcomes obtained using the current normal practice of 80% probability of non-exceedance rule and simple economic optimisations are also compared. Decision outcomes obtained using the change factor approach and probabilistic weather generators are significantly different; whether these differences translate to real-world differences is discussed. This study also found that using the 80% probability of non-exceedance rule could potentially result in maladaptation.


Abstract. A widespread loss of glacier area and volume has been observed in the European Alps since the 1980s. In addition to differences among various regions of the Alps, different responses to climate change characterize neighboring glaciers within the same region. In this study we describe the glacier changes in the Ortles-Cevedale group, the largest glacierized area in the Italian Alps. We analyze the spatial variability, the drivers, and the main factors controlling the current loss of ice in this region, by comparing mean elevation changes derived from two digital terrain models (DTMs), along with glacier extents and snow-covered areas derived from Landsat images acquired in 1987 and 2009, to various topographic factors. Glacier outlines were obtained using the band ratio method with manual corrections. Snow was classified from a near-infrared image after topographic correction. The total glacierized area shrank by 23.4 ± 3% in this period, with no significant changes in the mean altitude of the glaciers. In 2009 the snowline was 240 m higher than in the 1960s and 1970s. From the snow-covered area at the end of summer 2009, which fairly represents the extent and local variability of the accumulation areas in the 2000s, we estimate that approximately 50% of the remaining glacier surfaces have to melt away to re-establish balanced mass budgets with present climatic conditions. The average geodetic mass budget rate, calculated for 112 ice bodies by differencing two DTMs, ranged from −0.18 ± 0.04 to −1.43 ± 0.09 m w.e. a−1, averaging −0.69 ± 0.12 m w.e. a−1. The correlation analysis of mass budgets vs. topographic variables emphasized the important role of hypsometry in controlling the area and volume loss of larger glaciers, whereas a higher variability characterizes smaller glaciers, which is likely due to the higher importance of local topo-climatic conditions.


Volgens amptelike onderwysdokumentasie in Suid-Afrika is Ubuntu 'n "vital sentiment" wat na vore gekom het uit die politieke en onderwysstryd voor 1994. 'n Ontleding toon dat hierdie kernsentiment tot dusver nie gelei het tot enige betekenisvolle verbetering in die Suid-Afrikaners se lewensgehalte nie. Dit blyk onder meer uit die toename in misdaad en geweld, ook in skole. Hoewel Ubuntu inderdaad 'n aantal hoe morele beginsels beliggaam en ook 'n vorm van spiritualiteit omvat wat potensieel kan lei tot verbetering in Suid-Afrikaners se lewensgehalte, kon dit tot dusver nie omgesit word tot praktyk in die bree gemeenskap in die algemeen en in die skole/onderwys in die besonder nie. Daar word aan die hand gedoen dat die Ubuntu-lewensfilosofie in verskillende opsigte "opdateer" moet word sodat dit beter kan voldoen aan die morele en geestelike behoeftes van 21ste eeuse Suider-Afrikane.
Ubuntu values : societal and educational expectations
According to the South African Ministry of Education's Manifesto on Values, Education and Democracy (2001), Ubuntu can be seen as a vital sentiment that emerged from the pre-1994 struggle period. In 2008, President Mbeki gave an illustration of this by referring to the recipients of national awards as "the guardians of Ubuntu". Ubuntu indeed has a special place in the hearts and minds of the people of sub-Saharan Africa, as can be observed in debates about human rights, education, spirituality and quality of life. Those currently in power in South Africa obviously wish to employ it as an instrument for nation-building. In their opinion, adherence to the precepts of Ubuntu could help individuals and their communities to overcome cultural and racial differences in their quest for national unity. Although Ubuntu has traditionally been regarded by the inhabitants of sub-Saharan Africa as a source of traditional moral values, those values seem not to have been converted into morally justifiable (political) behaviour. How else could one explain the extent of criminal behaviour and the perpetrations of moral injustice (wars, violence, murders, genocide, xenophobia, discrimination against minorities, etc.) across the length and breadth of southern Africa? This article consists of a report on two investigations into the question of why the lofty moral values embodied in Ubuntu have not (yet) been transformed into morally acceptable behaviour. The first involved an analysis of Ubuntu to see what exactly it entailed as a traditional southern-African philosophy of life, as well as to determine why it has so far failed to have the expected favourable impact on community life in the region. The second focused on an analysis of Ubuntu-spirituality because of its potential benefits for communal life in general and for education in particular. The problem was approached from two methodological angles. The first was an interpretivistic-hermeneutic approach to Ubuntu as such and to the spirituality embodied in it. This was followed by transcendental-pragmatic reflection on the possibility of "thickening" the as yet "thin" Ubuntu values for the purpose of discovering what could possibly be of advantage to 21st century sub-Saharan Africans (transcendental) as we understand the concept at this particular point in time (pragmatic). The above-mentioned investigations revealed several reasons why Ubuntu might have failed to meet the societal and pedagogical expectations of, for example, the South African government and educational authorities. One of them is the fact that some of its proponents have romanticized a return to Ubuntu as well as to Ubuntugogy, i.e. education based on Ubuntu tenets. It would be unrealistic to expect 21st century Africans to return to Ubuntu in its traditional tribal form, namely an essentially communal life view shrouded in a haze of mystic antiquity. Another reason for its failure to have a benevolent effect on behaviour can be found in the fact that Ubuntu values tend to be "thin", in other words, in need of being "thickened" or strengthened by specific religious and/or life view moral content. Because Ubuntu values have not yet been life-conceptually "thickened", they could not be converted into morally justifiable actions and behaviour. As a result, the term "Ubuntu" began to be used as a relatively meaningless slogan. Despite all these negatives, however, Ubuntu will always have a special place in the hearts, minds and lives of sub-Saharan Africans. It is the typical life view of Africa and as such, it will always signify the embodiment of the shared humanity of the people of Africa. The transformation of Ubuntu into a national life view that could serve as a guide for improving the quality of the lives and education of (South) Africans will depend on the effectiveness of its "updating" or "modernizing". Unless this is done, Ubuntu will be doomed to remain a "vital sentiment" and/or a protean term. It will continue in failing to serve as a guiding light for acceptable moral behaviour and as an instrument for procuring national cohesion. One of the ways in which Ubuntu could be modernized is by filling the as yet "empty" or "thin" Ubuntu values (such as "respect for human dignity") with "thickened" content from other life views. The traditional horizontal spirituality of Ubuntu could also be updated. Instead of seeing a person's worth in terms of the practices and rituals of his or her group, a person should also be recognized as worthy in his or her own right. The same applies for the traditional vertical spirituality of Ubuntu. This could be updated by toning down the view of an individual being as a vital link in the cosmic chain, connected to gods, ancestors and descendants. Modern Africans tend not to conceptualize a person's duties, privileges and responsibilities as injunctions from gods or ancestors. Both individuals and groups should instead be made more aware of social contracts that they might have entered into as individuals and in groups, such as those contained in a Manifesto on Human Rights. In addition, they should feel themselves bound to the moral imperatives fl owing from their personal religious convictions and life views which, in modern times, tend to be something other than the Ubuntu life view. This approach gives new meaning to individual and group duties and responsibilities. Ubuntu-based education (that is, Ubuntugogy) as well the Western-style education and training that Africa inherited from its colonial past also need transformation to make them more compliant with the requirements of 21st century life. Their respective views of humanity should be "updated", for instance. The dominant cerebral-analytical bias of Western education should be relinquished in favour of taking into account all the aspects of being human (such as emotion and conation). Western-style education should learn from the "adapted version" of Ubuntu and Ubuntugogy mentioned above that educators need to unfold all the facets and potentials of learners as human beings. Conversely, Ubuntugogy should learn from Western-style education that education entails more than the preparation of an individual for a place and role in communal life. In sum, the "new" education for (southern) Africa should become an existential, holistic and integrated process of equipping children with the knowledge, attitudes and responsibilities required for meaningful existence in modern, globalized, industrialized and urbanized communities. Only in this adapted form will Ubuntu values and Ubuntugogy be able to meet the societal and educational expectations of life in 21st century southern Africa.


As the field of Science and Technology Studies (STS) has become more established, it has increasingly hidden its philosophical roots. While the trend is typical of disciplines striving for maturity, Steve Fuller, a leading figure in the field, argues that STS has much to lose if it abandons philosophy. In his characteristically provocative style, he offers the first sustained treatment of the philosophical foundations of STS and suggests fruitful avenues for further research. With stimulating discussions of the Science Wars, the Intelligent Design Theory controversy, and theorists such as Donna Haraway and Bruno Latour, Philosophy of Science and Technology Studies is required reading for students and scholars in STS and the philosophy of science.


We construct an explicit family of 3XOR instances which is hard for $O(\sqrt{\log n})$ levels of the Sum-of-Squares hierarchy. In contrast to earlier constructions, which involve a random component, our systems can be constructed explicitly in deterministic polynomial time.
Our construction is based on the high-dimensional expanders devised by Lubotzky, Samuels and Vishne, known as LSV complexes or Ramanujan complexes, and our analysis is based on two notions of expansion for these complexes: cosystolic expansion, and a local isoperimetric inequality due to Gromov.
Our construction offers an interesting contrast to the recent work of Alev, Jeronimo and the last author~(FOCS 2019). They showed that 3XOR instances in which the variables correspond to vertices in a high-dimensional expander are easy to solve. In contrast, in our instances the variables correspond to the edges of the complex.


We have studied local magnetic moment and electronic phase separation in superconducting K$_{x}$Fe$_{2-y}$Se$_2$ by x-ray emission and absorption spectroscopy. Detailed temperature dependent measurements at the Fe K-edge have revealed coexisting electronic phases and their correlation with the transport properties. By cooling down, the local magnetic moment of Fe shows a sharp drop across the superconducting transition temperature (T$_c$) and the coexisting phases exchange spectral weights with the low spin state gaining intensity at the expense of the higher spin state. After annealing the sample across the iron-vacancy order temperature, the system does not recover the initial state and the spectral weight anomaly at T$_c$ as well as superconductivity disappear. The results clearly underline that the coexistence of the low spin and high spin phases and the transitions between them provide unusual magnetic fluctuations and have a fundamental role in the superconducting mechanism of electronically inhomogeneous K$_{x}$Fe$_{2-y}$Se$_2$ system.


Reconciliation: a gift from God This article analyses the work of reconciliation based on Prof P Meiring, especially his work with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The article takes seriously the theological aspect of reconciliation that leads to peace. This ritual is helpful in making sure that victims hear the stories of how their beloved were killed in Apartheid times. The TRC thus created a space where victims of injustices could have a privilege of meeting with perpetrators, in a way of reconciliation. It finally looks at the suffering experienced by them and the response by government.