Biscuit is one of the most consumed cereal foods in Nigeria and research has shown that locally available tropical crops like cassava, sweet potato can be made into flour and used in the production of biscuits and other pastries. This study investigates some quality parameters in biscuits made from blends of wheat, cassava and carrot flour. The values of result of samples increased with increasing percentage substitution of cassava and carrot flour in some quality parameter like fiber, ash, gluten content, and carbohydrate. The protein content reduced significantly (P < 0.05) with increasing percentage substitution of cassava and carrot flour which ranged from 14.80% to 11.80% compared with the control sample which had 15.60%. There was a recorded significant increase (P < 0.05) in some mineral composition such as calcium, magnesium, sodium, iron, phosphorus, and vitamin A and C composition as the percentage substitution of cassava and carrot flour increased. During storage stability test, samples stored in the fridge and freezer were found to be the best storage location to preserve the sensory attributes and inhibit microbial growth when compared with storage under the sun and on the shelf. Biscuit made with blends of wheat, cassava and carrot flour can therefore serve as an alternative to biscuits made from 100% wheat flour, as they are richer in vitamin A, vitamin C, carbohydrate, dietary fiber and some essential minerals. Keywords—Biscuit, carrot, flour blends, storage.


An updated list of alien marine species recorded from the Maltese Islands and surrounding waters, compiled from scientific and 'grey' literature and from authenticated unpublished reports to the authors, is presented. The listed species are classified in one of four categories as regards establishment status: established, casual, invasive and questionable. Doubtful records are listed as '?'. A total of 48 species, including nine dubious ones, are included in the list. Of the accepted records, 64% are established, of which 15.4% are invasive, 18% are casual and 18% are questionable. The most represented groups are molluscs (14 species), fish (13 species) and macrophytes (10 species). Six species are classified as invasive in Maltese waters: Lophocladia lallemandii, Womersleyella setacea, Caulerpa racemosa var. cylindracea, Percnon gibbesi, Fistularia commersonii and Sphoeroides pachygaster; impacts of some of these species on local ecosystems are discussed. Since the early 1900s, there has been an increasing trend in the number of alien marine species reported from the Maltese Islands. Transportation via shipping and in connection with aquaculture, as well as the range expansion of Lessepsian immigrants, appear to be the most common vectors for entry, accounting for 20%, 11% and 32% respectively of the alien species included in this review. The general warming trend of Mediterranean waters and increasing marine traffic may be facilitating the spread of warm-water Atlantic and Indo-Pacific species to the central Mediterranean, including the Maltese Islands.


Botswana has the unusual reputation of being the only country in Southern Africa that has experienced consistently high rates of rapid economic growth since independence. Researchers emphasise this exceptionality, and many times the case of Botswana has been invoked to support the thesis that the feasibility of development in the Third World hinges on the existence of compatible political democratic structures and economic developmental efforts. The dynamics of internal development, however, have by and large been neglected, giving rise to undue and often misleading generalisations. This thesis is a critique of the Botswana postcolonial development model. It deploys a structural approach to dissect and analyse the economic development of Botswana in an historical perspective. Development literature is replete with macro-economic analyses that purport to illustrate how the Botswana state achieved optimal economic gains through prudent management of the economy and political liberalisation. However, there is, as yet, little else to indicate how the state has broadened the set of beneficiaries - especially amongst the peasantry. The present study demonstrates how agrarian transformation, stimulated by widespread borehole technology in the face of consistently available revenue from a booming mining sector, has influenced social relations of production and class differentiation in Botswana. It shows how the state ruthlessly exploited available revenue to sustain its hegemony - ensuring the preservation of a minority ruling class coalition and the marginalisation of well over two-thirds of the population in the process. The analysis thus demonstrates that Botswana, just like other mineral-rich African countries, has failed to direct development towards the rural sector. It essentially debunks the myth surrounding the exceptionality of the Botswana state.


A tectonosedimentary model is established for the Composite Reef at Far East Vertical Shaft, East Rand Proprietary Mine, Central Rand Goldfield. There the Composite Reef comprises the Main Reef and the Main Reef Leader, with the South Reef occurring sporadically in the hangingwall, redefining the Composite Reef stratigraphy for this area. Tectonic controls on sedimentation persisted throughout the deposition of the Composite Reef, influencing the nature and distribution of the conglomerates. Utilising the Composite Reef model, combined with structural and sedimentological modelling of the Central Rand Goldfield, a tectonosedimentary model for the Main Conglomerate Formation is proposed. Pre- and syn-depositional folding associated with regional basin-wide compression resulted in the formation of the Springs Monocline, the West Rand Syncline and associated DRD Anticline. This was overprinted by northwest to southeast oriented folding associated with left-lateral wrenching on the Rietfontein Fault, forming a corrugated palaeosurface, prior to Main Reef deposition, that controlled the palaeoflow direction. Brittle deformation initiated during Witwatersrand times in the form of Riedel and Riedel conjugate shears, normal faults, principal shears and P-shears associated with left-lateral wrenching caused northeast/southwest and east/west cross-cutting channel orientations and northeast/southwest oriented erosion channels. The deposition of the Black Bar, associated with a marine transgression, accumulated in topographically lower lying areas, smoothing the palaeotopography prior to Main Reef Leader deposition. This smoothing effect combined with syn-depositional folding resulted in a single Main Reef Leader channel complex associated with the Robinson Deep Syncline, and restricted Main Reef Leader deposition to an area bounded by the Springs Monocline in the east and the DRD Anticline in the west. Brittle deformation continued during Main Reef Leader deposition resulting in cross-cutting channels. The tectonosedimentary model that has been established increases the confidence of modelling the distribution of conglomerates of the Main Conglomerate Formation, thereby facilitating feasibility modelling of the down-dip, un-mined South Central Rand area.


This glossary, a revision of the IUPAC "Glossary for Chemists of Terms Used in Toxicology" [Pure Appl. Chem. 65, 2003 (1993)] incorporating new and redefined terms from the "Glossary of Terms Used in Toxicokinetics" [Pure Appl. Chem. 76, 1033 (2004)], contains definitions and explanatory notes, if needed, for terms frequently used in the multidisciplinary field of toxicology. The glossary is compiled primarily for those scientists and others who now find themselves working in toxicology or requiring a knowledge of the subject, especially for hazard and risk assessment. Many medical terms are included because of their frequent occurrence in the toxicological literature. There are three annexes, one containing a list of abbreviations and acronyms used in toxicology, one containing a list of abbreviations and acronyms used by international bodies and by legislation relevant to toxicology and chemical safety, and one describing the classification of carcinogenicity according to the weight of evidence available.


The closely related papilionoid tribes Mirbelieae and Bossiaeeae are a large (ca. 750 species) group of endemic Australasian legumes. Typically they are ericoid shrubs that are conspicuous understorey members of sclerophyll communities growing on poor soils of the southwest and southeast temperate biomes (Crisp et al. 2004). The centre of diversity is in Southwest Australia, a biodiversity hotspot, unglaciated since the Permian (ca. 250 Mya) and dominated by old landscapes with nutrient-deficient soils (Hopper and Gioia 2004). The crown clade age for the mirbelioids and their sister tribe Hypocalypteae is estimated to be ca. 55 Mya, suggesting that mirbelioids evolved in isolation, shortly after Australia separated from the Antarctic continent, having lost contact with other Gondwanan land masses (Sprent et al. 2013). Molecular-dated phylogenies indicate that the group radiated rapidly during the Mid-Cenozoic (ca. 25–10 Mya) period of climatic cooling and drying (Crisp et al. 2004). In common with most papilionoid legumes, Mirbelieae and Bossiaeeae species form nitrogen-fixing associations with rhizobia, usually with strains of Bradyrhizobium (Lafay and Burdon 1998; Stepkowski et al. 2012). Nodule morphology and structure has not yet been studied. This character trait has previously been found to be a useful phylogenetic and taxonomic marker (Sprent et al. 2013). Phylogenetic analyses place the mirbelioid legumes between the Dalbergioid and Indigoferoid clades, two groups that have quite different nodule structures (Sprent et al. 2013). This study aimed to characterise rhizobial microsymbionts of diverse mirbelioid species collected from sites across southwest Australia and to determine the mirbelioid nodule morphology and structure.


Trust has been consistently identified as an important enabling factor for joined-up government activity to generate strong, integrated and effective social policy. Despite this, there has been comparatively little detailed analysis of the complexities and dynamics involved. This paper provides a detailed examination of how trust is built, nurtured and, in some instances, lost during joined-up policy activity. It draws on interview and survey data that reveal the dynamics of relationships formed under the South Australian Health in All Policies initiative. The research extends the parameters of organisational analyses of trust. Previous typologies are mostly descriptive, with limited explanatory power, typically focusing on individuals and institutions separately rather than integrating these foci to consider how trust operates within whole systems. By integrating Giddens' theoretical perspectives on trust with existing typologies, the paper generates understanding about how trust operates as a resource within non-traditional joined-up government working relationships, serving to bridge the gap between the known and unknown, and acting as a productive resource to stimulate action within government systems that are perceived to feature high levels of risk. A model is provided to explain the interrelated dynamics of trust building, maintenance, monitoring and repair.


ABSTRACTAsian dust storms markedly affect the ecosystem, environment, ocean biogeochemical cycle, and regional climate. Numerous measurements and model simulations have been performed to investigate the sources and transport of Asian dust. However, until now, few studies have performed a comprehensive quantification of the dust budget, resulting in significant uncertainty about the characterization of dust transport, emission, and deposition. In this study, a severe dust event in East Asia that occurred from April 28 till May 3, 2011, was analyzed in terms of dust transport characteristics based on multi-satellite observations and the Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT) model. In particular, the dust budget of the event was quantitatively estimated using a new atmospheric reanalysis dataset, namely the second Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA-2). The multi-satellite observations and models indicated that dust events such as this are uncommon. A two-layered dust structure was found in southeast China, the lower ( 3 km) layers of which mainly originated from the Gobi and Taklimakan Deserts, respectively. The dust budget in East Asia, as estimated from MERRA-2, revealed a high dust mass loading (5.7–6.6 Tg) between 70°E and 140°E from April 29 till May 1, with the highest daily dust loading (approximately 6.6 Tg) reported on April 30. The total dust emission was 6.3 Tg over a 6-day period (April 28–May 3), and the maximum amount (nearly 5.9 Tg) of dust was deposited on the ground in the region. The dust flux amounts horizontally transported across the longitudinal boundary of 70°E and 140°E were 1.7 and 2.8 Tg, respectively.


Ice formed from seawater, called sea ice, is both an important actor in and a sensitive indicator of climate change. Covering 7% of the World Ocean, sea ice damps the atmosphere-ocean exchanges of heat, radiation and momentum in polar regions. It also affects the oceanic circulation at a global scale. Recent satellite and submarine observations systems indicate a sharp decrease in the extent and volume of Arctic sea ice over the last 30 years. In addition, climate models project drastic sea ice reductions for the next century, in both hemispheres, with potentially large consequences on climate and ecosystems. Contrary to what is commonly believed, sea ice retains about 25% of the oceanic salt when it forms. As salt cannot lock in the ice crystalline lattice, it accumulates in liquid inclusions of salty water (brine). Under a temperature change, the inclusions freeze or melt and release or absorb huge amounts of latent heat. This affects heat transfer through and storage in sea ice, which may affect the mass balance of sea ice at a global scale. This is the central hypothesis of this work. In order to address this problem, the author develops two sea ice models and assesses their ability to simulate the recent evolution of the sea ice mass balance. Then, the physics of brine uptake and drainage are included in the models and sea ice desalination is investigated. Finally, the impact of sea ice salinity variations on the global sea ice mass balance is studied. The roles of sea ice thermal properties, of ice-ocean salt / fresh water fluxes and of oceanic feedbacks are evaluated. The new salinity module improves the simulation of ice and ocean characteristics compared to observations. Including salinity variations increases ice growth, reduces vertical mixing in the ocean and the ocean-to-ice heat flux. In conclusion, salinity variations should be included in future sea ice models used for climate projections.


OF DISSERTATION THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SELF-EFFICACY OF BALANCE SCALE (SEBS): INVESTIGATION OF PSYCHOMETRIC PROPERTIES IN FEMALE BASKETBALL PLAYERS Lower extremity injuries are the most common sports related injury. Many steps have been taken to attempt to identify individuals who might be at a higher risk for sustaining a lower extremity injury. Resource and time intensive screening techniques have been used previously to attempt to identify such individuals. However these techniques have focused heavily on postural control and landing mechanics in athletes, no psychological measure has been used to identify individuals who might be at a higher risk of lower extremity injury. Self-efficacy of balance can be defined as how capable an individual feels he or she can balance in different scenarios. Research in the balance deficient population (elderly, post-stroke, knee osteoarthritis) has revealed that selfefficacy of balance is a quantifiable psychological component of balance related behavior. As previously stated, current screening techniques for lower extremity injuries do not incorporate psychological measures. Research suggests that psychological indicators of balance confidence are important to measure in conjunction with balance test performance to establish the relationship between the two constructs. Assessment of these factors is necessary to examine how psychological measures affect performance on tests used in clinical balance assessments. The objective of this dissertation was to develop the Self-Efficacy of Balance Scale (SEBS), a psychometrically sound self-efficacy of balance instrument for use in the young, active population. The relationship between selfefficacy of balance and self-reported measures of lower extremity function, and clinical and laboratory measures of balance were also examined in the young, active population. It was hypothesized that a valid, reliable, responsive tool could be created to accurately and precisely measure self-efficacy of balance in a young, active population. It addition, it was hypothesized that high levels of selfefficacy of balance would have a significant, positive relationship with selfreported measure of lower extremity function, and clinical and laboratory measure of balance. Results from the three studies brought about several interesting observations. Studies one, two, and three demonstrated evidence of a psychometrically sound instrument. This indicates that the SEBS is a valid, reliable, responsive self-efficacy of balance instrument when evaluating young, active individuals. Study three demonstrated the relationships between selfefficacy of balance and self-reported measures of function, and objective measures of balance. These relationships revealed that while lower extremity function and some measures of balance influence scores of the SEBS, they do not account for all of the variability of the SEBS. This finding further supports the claim that balance behavior is changing as function and postural control change. Therefore, future research should include investigation regarding the utility of the SEBS, as well as longitudinal studies to establish effectiveness of identifying individuals at a higher risk of sustaining a lower extremity injury.


Design development processes, within engineering disciplines, lack the necessary mechanisms in identifying the specific areas where improved design development performance may be obtained. In addition, they lack the means to consider and align the goals and respective performance levels of related development activities with an organisation's overall goals and performance levels. Current research in organisational performance behaviour, formalised through performance frameworks and methodologies, has attempted to identify and focus upon those critical factors which impinge upon a wealth creation system while attempting to, simultaneously, remain representative of organisational functions, processes, people, decisions and goals. Effective process improvements remain conditional upon: the ability to measure the potential performance gains which may result from an improvement initiative; the ability to understand existing process dynamics and in turn understand the subsequent impact of some change to a system/process; and, the ability to identify potential areas for improvement. The objective of this paper is to discuss some of the management techniques, which are purported to support various process performance concerns and perspectives, and present the major factors that remain unsupported in identifying, measuring and understanding design process performance.


The adaptationist framework is necessary and sufficient for unifying the social and natural sciences. Gintis's "beliefs, preferences, and constraints" (BPC) model compares unfavorably to this framework because it lacks criteria for determining special design, incorrectly assumes that standard evolutionary theory predicts individual rationality maximisation, does not adequately recognize the impact of psychological mechanisms on culture, and is mute on the behavioural implications of intragenomic conflict.


PURPOSE
Identify the prevalence of and traits that may increase the risk of low bone mineral density (BMD) among 93 female adolescent competitive endurance runners.

METHODS
Participants were 93 high school runners, ages 13-18 yr, from southern California. Eating attitudes and behaviors were assessed using the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q). Menstrual and sports participation history were evaluated using an interviewer-assisted, self-report questionnaire. Bone mineral density (BMD) of the spine (L1-L4), total hip, and total body were measured by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry. The -2 and -1 BMD age-matched, gender-specific z-score cutoffs were used to categorize girls as having low bone mass for age.

RESULTS
Among the female runners, 11.8% and 28% met the -2 and -1 BMD z-score cutoffs, respectively, whereas 25.8% reported menstrual irregularity (MI). Total hip BMD, lumbar spine BMD, and lumbar spine BMD z-score were significantly lower in runners with MI after adjusting for body mass index (BMI) and lean tissue mass. Runners that participated in five or more compared with three seasons of endurance running exhibited a significantly lower total body and lumbar spine BMD z-score after adjusting for BMI, lean tissue mass, and number of menstrual cycles in the past year. Multiple regression analysis indicated that MI, participation in five or more seasons of endurance running, BMI, and lean tissue mass were independent predictors of low BMD.

CONCLUSION
Female adolescent endurance runners may represent a population with an increased risk of low bone mass. Future studies are necessary to further understand the factors contributing to low bone mass in young runners and to identify behavioral strategies that will promote optimal bone mineral accumulation during the adolescent years.


Recent years have witnessed a tremendous progress in 2D materials photodetector. Their unique properties including wide photoresponse wavelength, passivated surfaces, strong interaction with incident light, and high mobility enable dramatical superiority in photo- detector application. The photophysics, device structure, working mechanism, and performance of three kinds of 2D materials photodetectors including graphene, transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), and halide perovskite are discussed in detail to give a profound understanding for the readers. In addition, we highlight the challenges and opportunities faced in studying 2D materials photodetector, and various strategies are summarized to help on the development of photodetection research and find ways to approach major problems.


As the nation fervently and rightfully celebrates 'Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav', it is yet pertinent to investigate the status quo of scientific temper among the citizens to estimate the progress and development of our heterogeneous society. The very foundation of Indian democracy propagates the idea of a society with a scientific mindset. Two important areas, under the backdrop of the 'Swachh Bharat Mission', where the existence of scientific temper is to be investigated or rather reinvestigated are sanitation and menstrual hygiene because of certain deeply ingrained unscientific beliefs and practices dominant in our society. Cinema is a quintessential mass media to popularize the need for societal reforms. Taking leverage of it, cinema can act as an indispensable tool of change in society. In view of it, we embarked on evaluating the impact of four women-centric Bollywood films namely Toilet Ek Prem Katha (2017), PadMan (2018), Mission Mangal (2019) and Shakuntala Devi (2020)in instilling the spirit of scientific enquiry and reform. The study carries out a thematic analysis followed by a quantitative approach to decipher the mindset of people of various academic backgrounds and regions. It identifies two groups of women –(i) a neo-liberal group who is seen as a promoter of science and (ii) a group who is the bearer and victim of unscientific societal norms. It could also be inferred that due to the limited outreach of films, scientific temper is still managing to evade the doorstep of common people.


This article describes a novel staircase-like decanuclear copper(II) cluster [CuII10(cpdp)4(CO3)4(CH3OH)2]·3.33CH3OH·7.83H2O (1) (H3cpdp = N,N′-bis[2-carboxybenzomethyl]-N,N′-bis[2-pyridylmethyl]-1,3-diaminopropan-2-ol) composed of a pair of [CuII5] pentamers. In methanol, the reaction of H3cpdp with Cu(NO3)2·3H2O in the presence of K2CO3 leads to the isolation of complex 1. This complex has been characterized by various analytical techniques including single crystal X-ray crystallography. Structural analysis reveals that the two [CuII5] pentameric units are bridged together exclusively by two μ2:η2:η1 carbonate groups. Complex 1 shows a rare μ3:η2:η1:η1 bridging coordination mode of four benzoate groups of cpdp3− ligands with each bridging among three copper(II) ions. Complex 1 also represents the first example of a carbonate-coordinated decanuclear copper(II) cluster with any class of bridging or non-bridging ligand. Thermal, magnetic, EPR and electrochemical properties of this complex have been discussed. Variable temperature magnetic measurement discloses the antiferromagnetic interactions among the copper(II) ions. Electrochemical investigation of 1 in methanol solution using cyclic voltammetry reveals the presence of one metal-based quasi-reversible reduction at 870 mV (ΔEp = 190 mV).


State-space modeling of non-stationary natural signals is a notoriously difficult task. As a result of context switches, the memory depth of the model should ideally be adapted online. Stabilized linear forgetting (SLF) has been proposed as an elegant method for state-space tracking in context-switching environments. In practice, SLF leads to state and parameter estimation tasks for which no analytical solutions exist. In the literature, a few approximate solutions have been derived, making use of specific model simplifications. This paper proposes an alternative approach, in which SLF is described as an inference task on a generative probabilistic model. SLF is then executed by a variational message passing algorithm on a factor graph representation of the generative model. This approach enjoys a number of advantages relative to previous work. First, variational message passing (VMP) is an automatable procedure that adapts appropriately under changing model assumptions. This eases the search process for the best model. Secondly, VMP easily extends to estimate model parameters. Thirdly, the modular make-up of the factor graph framework allows SLF to be used as a click-on feature in a large variety of complex models. The functionality of the proposed method is verified by simulating an SLF state-space model in a context-switching data environment.


We propose a simple framework for estimating derivatives without _tting the regression function in nonparametric regression. Unlike most existing methods that use the symmetric difference quotients, our method is constructed as a linear combination of observations. It is hence very exible and applicable to both interior and boundary points, including most existing methods as special cases of ours. Within this framework, we define the variance-minimizing estimators for any order derivative of the regression function with a fixed bias-reduction level. For the equidistant design, we derive the asymptotic variance and bias of these estimators. We also show that our new method will, for the first time, achieve the asymptotically optimal convergence rate for difference-based estimators. Finally, we provide an effective criterion for selection of tuning parameters and demonstrate the usefulness of the proposed method through extensive simulation studies of the first-and second-order derivative estimators.


Today's workflow management systems represent a key technological infrastructure for advanced applications that is attracting a growing body of research, mainly focused in developing tools for workflow management, that allow users both to specify the "static" aspects, like preconditions, precedences among activities, and rules for exception handling, and to control its execution by scheduling the activities on the available resources. This paper deals with an aspect of workflows which has so far not received much attention even though it is crucial for the forthcoming scenarios of large scale applications on the Web: providing facilities for the human system administrator for identifying the choices performed more frequently in the past that had lead to a desired final configuration. In this context, we formalize the problem of discovering the most frequent patterns of executions, i.e., the workflow substructures that have been scheduled more frequently by the system. We attacked the problem by developing two data mining algorithms on the basis of an intuitive and original graph formalization of a workflow schema and its occurrences. The model is used both to prove some intractability results that strongly motivate the use of data mining techniques and to derive interesting structural properties for reducing the search space for frequent patterns. Indeed, the experiments we have carried out show that our algorithms outperform standard data mining algorithms adapted to discover frequent patterns of workflow executions.


The central theme of this work is the design of compact microstrip bandpass filters and
diplexers and the investigation of applications of these circuits in integrated transceiver
RF front-end. The core of this thesis therefore presents the following stages of the
work:
- Analysis of coupled pseudo-interdigital resonators and lines; formulation of
approximate transmission zero conditions and the investigation of coupling
between these two resonators and related structures.
- Development of compact, low loss and high selectivity microstrip pseudointerdigital
bandpass filters. The design procedure of the filter consists of three
simple steps, starting from the design of a parallel-coupled bandpass filter using
the image parameter method applied to coupled microstrip lines. The development
of compact microstrip diplexers composed of these filters uses the optimized
common-transformer diplexing technique. An experimental verification of the
developed filters and diplexers is made.
- Investigation of the use of stepped impedance resonators (SIR) for the design of
pseudo-interdigital bandpass filters with advanced characteristics. The design of
compact dual-band filter using SIR. The investigation of possible improvement of
the stopband of bandpass filters using bandstop generating structures. The
application of SIR, defected ground structures (DGS), spur-lines, and opencircuited
stubs in the design of compact bandpass filters with improved stopband.
- The application of the proposed filters and diplexers in the design of integrated
antenna filters and antenna diplexers. Improvement of performance of patch
antennas, such as suppression of spurious harmonics of single-band antenna and
improvement of bandwidth and selectivity of dual-band antenna, as a result of
integration with filters. Separation of antennas' bands and reduction of component
count in integrated antenna diplexers


This article reviews the empirical literature on the impacts of environmental regulations on firms' competitiveness as measured by trade, industry location, employment, productivity, and innovation. The evidence shows that environmental regulations can lead to statistically significant adverse effects on trade, employment, plant location, and productivity in the short run, in particular in a well-identified subset of pollution- and energy-intensive sectors, but that these impacts are small relative to general trends in production. At the same time, there is evidence that environmental regulations induce innovation in clean technologies, but the resulting benefits do not appear to be large enough to outweigh the costs of regulations for the regulated entities. As measures to address competitiveness impacts are increasingly incorporated into the design of environmental regulations, future research will be needed to assess the validity and effectiveness of such measures and to ensure they are compatible with the environmental objectives of the policies.


We present some techniques for planning in domains specified with the recent standard language PDDL2.1, supporting "durative actions" and numerical quantities. These techiques are implemented in LPG, a domain-independent planner that took part in the 3rd International Planning Competition (IPC). LPG is an incremental, any time system producing multi-criteria quality plans. The core of the system is based on a stochastic local search method and on a graph-based representation called "Temporal Action Graphs" (TA-graphs). This paper focuses on temporal planning, introducing TA-graphs and proposing some techniques to guide the search in LPG using this representation. The experimental results of the 3rd IPC, as well as further results presented in this paper, show that our techniques can be very effective. Often LPG outperforms all other fully-automated planners of the 3rd IPC in terms of speed to derive a solution, or quality of the solutions that can be produced.


Targeting the phosphorylation state of a T cell adaptor protein may enable modulation of T cell adhesion and activation. Shaping T cell activation Efficient activation of the T cell receptor (TCR) on T cells by antigen-presenting cells (APCs) requires the formation of a stable interface (the immunological synapse) between both cell types. T cell adhesion to APCs is mediated by the T cell integrin LFA-1, the activation of which depends on the small guanosine triphosphatase (GTPase) Rap1. Patients with mutations in the gene encoding Rap1 have an immunodeficiency caused by defective T cell adhesion. Azoulay-Alfaguter et al. used live-cell imaging to show that the adaptor protein CrkII, which is required for Rap1 activation, was recruited from the central region of the immunological synapse to the peripheral region where Rap1 and LFA-1 were localized. This translocation depended on the TCR-stimulated activity of the phosphatase SHP-1, which dephosphorylated the inactive (phosphorylated) form of CrkII. Together, these data suggest that targeting the phosphorylation state of CrkII may enable therapeutic modulation of T cell adhesion and activation. The adaptor protein CrkII regulates T cell adhesion by recruiting the guanine nucleotide exchange factor C3G, an activator of Rap1. Subsequently, Rap1 stimulates the integrin LFA-1, which leads to T cell adhesion and interaction with antigen-presenting cells (APCs). The adhesion of T cells to APCs is critical for their proper function and education. The interface between the T cell and the APC is known as the immunological synapse. It is characterized by the specific organization of proteins that can be divided into central supramolecular activation clusters (c-SMACs) and peripheral SMACs (p-SMACs). Through total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) microscopy and experiments with supported lipid bilayers, we determined that activated Rap1 was recruited to the immunological synapse and localized to the p-SMAC. C3G and the active (dephosphorylated) form of CrkII also localized to the same compartment. In contrast, inactive (phosphorylated) CrkII was confined to the c-SMAC. Activation of CrkII and its subsequent movement from the c-SMAC to the p-SMAC depended on the phosphatase SHP-1, which acted downstream of the T cell receptor. In the p-SMAC, CrkII recruited C3G, which led to Rap1 activation and LFA-1–mediated adhesion of T cells to APCs. Functionally, SHP-1 was necessary for both the adhesion and migration of T cells. Together, these data highlight a signaling pathway in which SHP-1 acts through CrkII to reshape the pattern of Rap1 activation in the immunological synapse.


ABSTRACT In 2018, the Government of Yemen and the Houthis concluded the UN-mediated Stockholm Agreement in which they agreed on a ceasefire in Hodeidah to be overseen by a UN monitoring mission. As of 2020, the implementation of the ceasefire is stalled, and the humanitarian situation has not improved. The purpose of this article is to provide a descriptive analysis of the challenges that UNMHA monitors have faced in Yemen. The empirical analysis builds on the literature on ceasefires and monitoring missions and focuses on four key factors: agreement quality, changes in the operational environment, the monitoring mission's relation to the mediator, and conflict parties' commitment to the ceasefire. I apply a qualitative case-study method, reviewing primary and secondary sources and conducting interviews with monitoring officers and local Yemenis. I find that monitors' ability to carry out their mandate was hampered by the quality of the agreement and conflict parties' perception of bias. Second, I find that the Houthis, operating from a position of relative strength prevented monitors from carrying out their mandate. Findings from the Yemeni case are relevant for other monitoring missions that are deployed in ongoing violent contexts, such as Libya or Ukraine.


Aim The effects of ongoing global change are causing increasing concern about the ability of species or biomes to shift or adapt. Tremendous efforts have been made to develop ever more sophisticated species distribution models to provide forecasts for the future of biodiversity. All these models rely on species occurrence data, either for calibration or validation. Here we evaluate (i) whether distribution data diverge among widely used sources, for supposedly well-known taxa, and (ii) to what extent these divergences affect species distribution models. Location Europe (as an example). Methods We compared the distribution maps of 21 of the most common European trees, according to four large-scale, putatively reliable sources of distribution data. For each species, we compared the outputs of correlative species distribution models built using occurrence data from each of these sources of data. We also investigated how discrepancies in large-scale occurrence data affected the validation scores of two process-based tree distribution models. Results Maps of tree occurrence diverged in 8–74% of the forested area, depending on species. These discrepancies affected projections of niche models: for example, 22–75% of the area projected as suitable by at least one model generated using one source of data was not projected as such by all other models. For most species, this proportion increased under scenarios of climate change, whatever the model used. To a lesser extent, uncertainties on current species distributions also affect the validation score of process-based distribution models. Main conclusions Reliable, widely used sources of occurrence data strongly diverge even for well-known taxa – the most common European trees. Scientists and stakeholders should acknowledge this gap in knowledge, since accurate data are a prerequisite to providing stakeholders with robust forecasts on biodiversity. Participatory science programmes and remote sensing techniques are promising tools for rapidly gathering such data.


This paper describes an optimization of TDMC‐VQ based speaker recognition model. Two‐dimensional mel‐cepstrum (TDMC) is defined as the two‐dimensional Fourier transform of a mel‐frequency scaled logarithm spectra in the frequency and time domains. It consists of averaged and dynamic spectral features of the two‐dimensional mel log‐spectra in the analyzed interval. It has been demonstrated that TDMC is very effective for word recognition and robust for a noisy environment. The speaker model is based on vector quantization of the TDMC parameter and is created by a self‐organizing algorithm. In this study, TDMC and a conventional mel‐cepstrum were used as the speech parameter. An optimization by a weighting function applied to the components of the speech parameter and a combination of the two parameters were studied. In order to evaluate the proposed model, text‐independent speaker identification experiments for eight female speakers were carried out. Each model learns speech data of about 18‐s length and i...


Multilingual training of neural machine translation (NMT) systems has led to impressive accuracy improvements on low-resource languages. However, there are still significant challenges in efficiently learning word representations in the face of paucity of data. In this paper, we propose Soft Decoupled Encoding (SDE), a multilingual lexicon encoding framework specifically designed to share lexical-level information intelligently without requiring heuristic preprocessing such as pre-segmenting the data. SDE represents a word by its spelling through a character encoding, and its semantic meaning through a latent embedding space shared by all languages. Experiments on a standard dataset of four low-resource languages show consistent improvements over strong multilingual NMT baselines, with gains of up to 2 BLEU on one of the tested languages, achieving the new state-of-the-art on all four language pairs.


This paper examines the rise of the social protection agenda in Zambia, and demonstrates that this has two alternative drivers: shifting dynamics within Zambia's political settlement and the promotional efforts of a transnational policy coalition. We compare the cases of social cash transfers and social health insurance to investigate how the interplay of these drivers has shaped the uneven commitment to the respective policies. Social protection has yet to displace existing interests, ideas, and rent-allocation practices. However, cash transfers are gaining localized support. What matters now is the way in which such transfers become integrated within Zambia's distributional regime.


Introduction One of the problems the Probation Service has is that it is not very photogenic. We live with an image driven media and society and unfortunately probation doesn't present itself well, certainly on television. There is something about learning to play the media in a way that suits our needs and trying to accept that we are not like the police, we are not like prisons, we don't look good on television, so we actually need to play to our strengths and to give an impression of an organisation that knows what it is doing and has a very hardheaded realistic approach to crime management. Christine Lawrie, Chief executive of PBA (quoted in Fletcher 2007:9) The work of Probation Trusts is particularly open to misrepresentation. Some of you may have watched the recent BBC drama, 'Public Enemies'. This was drama, not documentary, and therefore no closer to the real life of probation staff than the body count among staff at Holby General in 'Casualty' is a true representation of life expectancy in the NHS. The difference, however, is that we all have our own experience of doctors and nurses that allow us to put the drama in perspective, whereas the great majority of people have no source of information about what probation does other than what they read and what they see on TV. Those of us who know could simply sigh resignedly at the ninth or tenth serious misrepresentation of probation practice in the first episode: others are likely to have believed what they saw (Graham Nicholls (2012), retiring Chief Officer, Lincolnshire Probation Trust) The representation of criminal justice officials in the media--both news media and entertainment media--has been a legitimate subject for academic enquiry since the 1970s. There had been literary critical studies of the crime fiction genre well before this, which commented, incidentally or directly, on those criminal justice occupations that were covered in such literature--police officers, private detectives, lawyers, sometimes psychiatrists--but no studies of the same occupations in film or television, despite their predominance in post-war cinema and broadcasting. This changed in the 1970s, which saw the emergence of cultural studies, and saw criminologists become interested in sources of public opinion about crime and punishment, and in the impact of media imagery on the legitimacy or otherwise of criminal justice agencies. A decade or so later, as visibility in the media became progressively more unavoidable, both social work and probation in England and Wales began to take a more systematic interest in its public image, having made only intermittent, short-lived, forays into this field in the past (Cousins 1987; Fry 1988; Maruna 2007). The following survey of fictional representations of probation in Britain over a sixty year period, premised on the idea that a) fiction is not necessarily untruthful or unrealistic (though it may be), and that b) on some matters it can frame and inform public understanding as much if not more than factual data, is intended to serve academic, media and probation interests. It is no more than an overview, complementing studies of probation imagery in the news media (Byers 2008; Jewkes 2008), and some of the specific representations mentioned here warrant more detailed analysis, and proper contextualisation in the time and place in which they were produced. In the period since the end of WW2, the police and the private detective have been predominant in all forms of crime fiction--literary, cinematic and televisual--mirroring and augmenting (in respect of the police if not the private eye) the dominance of police stories in news media (press and television) (Reiner, Livingstone and Allen 2000). Within the various and changing forms of police story it is possible to discern a vernacular history of policing itself, and of changing police ideals--from the beat policing of local communities in Dixon of Dock Green (BBC1955-1976), through the introduction of motor patrols in Z-Cars (BBC 1962-1978), the emergence of regional crime squads in Softly, Softly (BBC 1969-76), the war on London's organised crime in The Sweeney (ITV 1975-1978) to the emergence of the hero-pathologist and forensics expert, prefigured in The Expert (BBC1968-1974) but more fully realised in Silent Witness (1996 onwards) and "cold case" series like Waking the Dead (BBC 2000-2011), and in related (often American) television programmes and novels Leishmann and Mason 2003; Reiner 2004). …


The aim of this study is to present the results of testing a damage detection and damage localization system based on fiber Bragg grating sensors. The objective of the system is to detect and locate damage in structures such as those found in aerospace applications. The damage identification system involves Bragg gratings for sensing ultrasound by detecting the linear strain component produced by Lamb waves. A tuneable laser is used for the interrogation of the Bragg gratings to achieve high sensitivity detection of ultrasound. The interaction of Lamb waves with damage, e.g., the reflection of the waves at defects, allows the detection of damage in structures by monitoring the Lamb wave propagation characteristics. As the reflected waves produce additional components within the original signal, most of the information about the damage can be found in the differential signal of the reference and the damage signal. Making use of the directional properties of the Bragg grating the direction of the reflected acoustic waves can be determined by mounting three of the gratings in a rosette configuration. Two suitably spaced rosettes are used to locate the source of the reflection, i.e., the damage, by taking the intersection of the directions given by each rosette. A genetic algorithm (GA) can be used to calculate that intersection and to account for any ambiguities from the Lamb wave measurements. The performance of the GA has been studied and optimized with respect to the localization task. Initial experiments are carried out on an aluminum structure, where holes were drilled to simulate the presence of damage. The results show very good agreement between the calculated and actual positions of the damage.


Much research on the toxic alga Aureococcus anophagefferens (brown tide) has focused on its effects on bivalve suspension feeding, but less is known about how brown tide influences bivalve growth. This study examined the extent to which background levels, defined as concentra- tions too low for toxicity to inhibit bivalve feeding, of A. anophagefferens influenced the growth and feeding physiology of northern quahogs Mercenaria mercenaria compared to other phytoplankton common to Long Island, New York, waters. Juvenile quahogs were fed either unialgal cultures of A. anophagefferens, non brown tide species, or diets mixed with background levels of brown tide. Absorption efficiency (AE) was determined using the 14 C: 51 Cr dual-tracer method, and growth was determined by overall biomass change. Results showed that unialgal diets resulting in the highest AE, specifically Isochrysis galbana and Thalassiosira pseudonana, were associated with rapid M. mercenaria growth. Conversely, Nitzschia closterium resulted in a comparatively low AE and a loss in quahog biomass. Diets mixed with brown tide resulted in a significantly lower AE than the cor- responding unialgal diet for all phytoplankton species except N. closterium. Additionally, mixed diets exerted a small negative influence on quahog growth compared to unialgal diets. These observations suggest that quahogs may suffer subtle, chronic effects when A. anophagefferens is present in the field at background levels. Moreover, the different responses of M. mercenaria to each experimental diet have broad implications for understanding how phytoplankton community composition may influence bivalve growth patterns in the field.


OBJECTIVE
To determine whether detection of virus-specific serum antibodies correlates with resistance to challenge with virulent feline herpesvirus 1 (FHV-1), feline calicivirus (FCV), and feline parvovirus (FPV) in cats and to determine percentages of client-owned cats with serum antibodies to FHV-1, FCV, and FPV.

DESIGN
Prospective experimental study.

ANIMALS
72 laboratory-reared cats and 276 client-owned cats.

PROCEDURES
Laboratory-reared cats were vaccinated against FHV-1, FCV, and FPV, using 1 of 3 commercial vaccines, or maintained as unvaccinated controls. Between 9 and 36 months after vaccination, cats were challenged with virulent virus. Recombinant-antigen ELISA for detection of FHV-1-, FCV-, and FPV-specific antibodies were developed, and results were compared with results of hemagglutination inhibition (FPV) and virus neutralization (FHV-1 and FCV) assays and with resistance to viral challenge.

RESULTS
For vaccinated laboratory-reared cats, predictive values of positive results were 100% for the FPV and FCV ELISA and 90% for the FHV-1 ELISA. Results of the FHV-1, FCV, and FPV ELISA were positive for 195 (70.7%), 255 (92.4%), and 189 (68.5%), respectively, of the 276 client-owned cats.

CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE
Results suggest that for cats that have been vaccinated, detection of FHV-1-, FCV-, and FPV-specific antibodies is predictive of whether cats are susceptible to disease, regardless of vaccine type or vaccination interval. Because most client-owned cats had detectable serum antibodies suggestive of resistance to infection, use of arbitrary booster vaccination intervals is likely to lead to unnecessary vaccination of some cats.


Besides the known effects on sleep disorders, studies show that melatonin, a hormone produced mainly by the pineal gland, plays a key role in energy expenditure, food intake, glucose metabolism in adipocytes and regulating the secretion of various cytokines involved in weight control and appetite, such as leptin. In vitro and in vivo, both in animals and in humans, they demonstrate the potential benefits of melatonin supplementation on various diseases, including the metabolic disorders. This work aims to review the physiology of this hormone, its association with diseases such as obesity and diabetes, the benefits of supplementation of this hormone and the importance of research in the area for scientific evidence about the substance of this type. On the other hand, some countries, like Brazil, has regulated the marketing of this product which reduces the clinical research and the benefits that melatonin could bring to several patients.


The thermodynamic properties of CO2-mixtures are essential for the design and operation of CO2 Capture and Storage (CCS) systems. A better understanding of the thermodynamic properties of CO2 mixtures could provide a scientific basis to define a proper guideline of CO2 purity and impure components for the CCS processes according to technical, safety and environmental requirements. However the available accurate experimental data cannot cover the whole operation conditions of CCS processes. In order to overcome the shortage of experimental data, theoretical estimation and modelling are used as a supplemental approach. In this thesis, the available experimental data on the thermodynamic properties of CO2 mixtures were first collected, and their applicability and gaps for theoretical model verification and calibration were also determined according to the required thermodynamic properties and operation conditions of CCS. Then in order to provide recommendations concerning calculation methods for engineering design of CCS, totally eight equations of state (EOS) were evaluated for the calculations about vapour liquid equilibrium (VLE) and density of CO2-mixtures, including N2, O2, SO2, Ar, H2S and CH4. With the identified equations of state, the preliminary assessment of impurity impacts was further conducted regarding the thermodynamic properties of CO2-mixtures and different processes involved in CCS system. Results show that the increment of the mole fraction of non-condensable gases would make purification, compression and condensation more difficult. Comparatively N2 can be separated more easily from the CO2-mixtures than O2 and Ar. And a lower CO2 recovery rate is expected for the physical separation of CO2/N2 under the same separation conditions. In addition, the evaluations about the acceptable concentration of non-condensable impurities show that the transport conditions in vessels are more sensitive to the non-condensable impurities and it requires very low concentration of non-condensable impurities in order to avoid two-phase problems. Meanwhile, the performances of evaporative gas turbine integrated with different CO2 capture technologies were investigated from both technical and economical aspects. It is concluded that the evaporative gas turbine (EvGT) cycle with chemical absorption capture has a smaller penalty on electrical efficiency, while a lower CO2 capture ratio than the EvGT cycle with O2/CO2 recycle combustion capture. Therefore, although EvGT + chemical absorption has a higher annual cost, it has a lower cost of electricity because of its higher efficiency. However considering its lower CO2 capture ratio, EvGT + chemical absorption has a higher cost to avoid 1 ton CO2. In addition the efficiency of EvGT + chemical absorption can be increased by optimizing Water/Air ratio, increasing the operating pressure of stripper and adding a flue gas condenser condensing out the excessive water.


OBJECTIVE
To quantitate the contribution of postprandial blood glucose, which improves with the short-acting insulin analog lispro [Lys(B28),Pro(B29)] in type 1 diabetes, to the overall 24-h blood glucose concentration and the long-term HbA1c concentration under conditions of different postabsorptive blood glucose.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS
A total of 24 type 1 diabetic patients on long-term intensive therapy with premeal human regular insulin (Hum-R) and bedtime NPH were randomly assigned to a continuation of Hum-R (group 1, n = 8), lispro (group 2, n = 8), or lispro + NPH (in variable proportions) administered at mealtime (group 3, n = 8) for 3 months, NPH administered at bedtime was continued in all three groups. Data from home blood glucose monitoring were collected, and a 24-h plasma glucose and insulin profile was obtained during a 2-day hospital visit to calculate areas under the postprandial glucose curve (3.5 h after breakfast, 3.5 h after lunch, and 3.0 h after dinner for a total of 10.0 h) and the postabsorptive blood glucose curve (the remaining 14.0 h out of 24.0 h) (AUC). Eight nondiabetic subjects were also studied.

RESULTS
The substitution of Hum-R with lispro (group 2) resulted in lower postprandial blood glucose, but greater postabsorptive blood glucose (P < 0.05 vs. group 1). The postprandial blood glucose AUC was lower (161 +/- 19 vs. 167 +/- 20 mg.100 ml-1.h-1), but the postabsorptive blood glucose AUC was greater (155 +/- 22 vs. 142 +/- 19 mg.100 ml-1.h-1) (P < 0.05). Therefore, the 24-h blood glucose AUC was no different (NS). Consequently, HbA1c was no different (NS). This occurred because in group 2, mealtime lispro resulted in normal prandial plasma insulin, but also resulted in lower interprandial concentration (P < 0.05 vs. group 1). When NPH was added to lispro (30% at breakfast, 40% at lunch, 10% at dinner) in group 3, postabsorptive plasma insulin was similar to group 1 (NS), in group 3, the postprandial blood glucose AUC (153 +/- 17 mg.100 ml-1.h-1) was lower and the postabsorptive blood glucose AUC was no different, as compared with group 1 (NS). Therefore, the 24-h blood glucose AUC was lower (147 +/- 17 vs. 155 +/- 21 and 158 +/- 20 mg.100 ml-1.h-1), and HbA1c was lower (6.41 +/- 0.12 vs. 6.84 +/- 0.2 and 6.96 +/- 0.2% (groups 3, 1, and 2 respectively, P < 0.05). Frequency of hypoglycemia was greater in group 2 (P < 0.05), but not in group 3 (NS) vs. group 1.


Network Address Translation (NAT) allows multiple devices with private addresses to share one public address. NAT was mainly confined to home gateways, but with the exhaustion of the IPv4 address space, large-scale NATs have been deployed. Other technologies causing large-scale address sharing are on the rise as well (e.g. VPNs). Large-scale address sharing is problematic, since it limits the number of concurrent TCP connections and severely limits geolocation and geoblocking. We investigate the presence of large-scale address sharing in the Internet, including how frequently it occurs, in which types of organisations it occurs, where it occurs geographically, how many users share addresses, and whether its presence is linked to IPv4 address shortage. Our results show that there are thousands of addresses with significant large-scale sharing with up to a few thousand users sharing a single address. Most of this sharing occurs within ISPs, many of which are located in countries with IPv4 address shortage, indicating that large-scale NATs may be a consequence of IPv4 shortages.


Designing Geodatabases for Transportation addresses the development of a GIS to manage data relating to the transportation facilities and service commonly organized around various modes of travel for accurate and reliable data exchange. Transportation involves several modes of travel, and although the details of each mode can be quite different, this book demonstrates how all follow a basic conceptual structure. That structure consists of an origin, a destination, a path between the two, and a conveyance that provides the ability to move along the path to establish a common data structure.


In 1836 the American sailor and trader Horace Holden published an account of two years' captivity on the island of Tobi, western Carolines, to which he appended a short vocabulary and numerous sentences in 'the language of Tobi'. Examination of this material shows that most of the identifiable items in the vocabulary can be traced to Tobian, a Western Chuukic language, which is part of the Nuclear Micronesian subgroup within Austronesian, and for which we have a reasonable amount of modern data. However, the structural and especially syntactic features of the sentences appended in the five 'dialogues' consistently show few if any of the morphological features of modern Tobian. This chapter discusses the status of Holden's material as a probable pidgin with a lexicon showing some admixture from Malay, Palauan and maybe Spanish.


Introduction Most of the studies investigating the effect of early rearing environment in dogs used laboratory dogs and reported that early experiences markedly affect the puppies' behavior. However, the subjects of these experiments cannot be considered as representatives of family dogs. Methods In this study, we investigated whether different raising conditions shape social behavior toward humans in 8-week-old family dog puppies of two breeds, Labrador and Czechoslovakian wolf dog. The puppies were tested in a series of tests that represented typical situations of family dogs. Results We found that Czechoslovakian wolf dog puppies were more active than Labrador puppies in general, as they were more likely to explore the environment and the objects and spent more time doing so. Tendency to gaze at humans also varied between breeds, but in a context-specific way. Additionally, puppies housed separately from their mother interacted more with toys, puppies housed in a kennel tended to stay closer to the experimenter than puppies raised in the house, and puppies housed in a kennel tended to stay in the proximity of the experimenter more than puppies raised in the house. Conclusions Our results provide evidence for early keeping conditions influencing social behavior and also highlight breed differences in puppies' behavior. Whether these differences are due to different developmental patterns and/or behavioral predispositions remains to be explored.


Research Summary
Firms make footprints as they internationalize. Going beyond simple measures of firms' internationalization, we conceptualize and measure the extent of a firm's international footprint as the number of location‐mode combinations it is active in, whereas the boldness of the footprint shows how widespread (across modes and locations) firms' international activities are, compared to other firms with similar extent. Extent describes the complexity of international activities, and boldness captures the risk‐taking associated with operating in less know contexts. Consistent with a microfoundations lens on global strategy, we find that boldness correlates with managerial risk‐taking attributes, while the extent of internationalization strongly correlates with capabilities conducive to managing more complex operations. These measures offer a highly suitable tool for analyzing the relationship between internationalization and performance.

Managerial Summary
Traditional ways of measuring firms' international footprints do not describe well what they do globally. We develop a more nuanced and sharper view of firms' international footprints and a new way of thinking about the roles of complexity and risk‐taking in internationalization; what we call the extent and the boldness of a footprint, respectively. The new measures are potentially particularly useful for analyzing the relationship between internationalization and performance, which is at the core of what strategy research may offer to managers and business decision‐makers. The new measures are a stepping‐stone toward a better and managerially relevant understanding of global strategy decisions.


Viral marketing mechanisms use the existing social network between customers to spread information about products and encourage product adoption. Existing viral marketing models focus on the dynamics of the diffusion process, however they typically: (a) only consider a single product campaign and (b) fail to model the evolution of the social network, as the trust between individuals changes over time, during the course of multiple campaigns. In this work, we propose an adaptive viral marketing model which captures: (1) multiple different product campaigns, (2) the diversity in customer preferences among different product categories, and (3) changing confidence in peers' recommendations over time. By applying our model to a real-world network extracted from the Digg social news website, we provide insights into the effects of network dynamics on the different products' adoption. Our experiments show that our proposed model outperforms earlier nonadaptive diffusion models in predicting future product adoptions. We also show how this model can be used to explore new viral marketing strategies that are more successful than classic strategies which ignore the dynamic nature of social networks.


An alternative history of art in Berlin, detaching artistic innovation from art world narratives and connecting it instead to collective creativity and social solidarity. In pre- and post-reunification Berlin, socially engaged artists championed collective art making and creativity over individual advancement, transforming urban space and civic life in the process. During the Cold War, the city's state of exception invited artists on both sides of the Wall to detour from artistic tradition; post-Wall, art became a tool of resistance against the orthodoxy of economic growth. In Free Berlin, Briana Smith explores the everyday peculiarities, collective joys, and grassroots provocations of experimental artists in late Cold War Berlin and their legacy in today's city.
 These artists worked intentionally outside the art market, believing that art should be everywhere, freed from its confinement in museums and galleries. They used art as a way to imagine new forms of social and creative life. Smith introduces little-known artists including West Berlin feminist collective Black Chocolate, the artist duo paint the town red (p.t.t.r), and the Office for Unusual Events, creators of satirical urban political theater, as well as East Berlin action art and urban interventionists Erhard Monden, Kurt Buchwald, and others. Artists and artist-led urban coalitions in 1990s Berlin carried on the participatory spirit of the late Cold War, with more overt forms of protest and collaboration at the neighborhood level. The temperament lives on in twenty-first century Berlin, animating artists' resolve to work outside the market and citizens' spirited defenses of green spaces, affordable housing, and collectivist projects.
 With Free Berlin, Smith offers an alternative history of art in Berlin, detaching artistic innovation from art world narratives and connecting it instead to Berliners' historic embrace of care, solidarity, and cooperation.


[1] We have used plasma drift and magnetic field measurements during the 2001–2009 December solstices to study, for the first time, the longitudinal dependence of equatorial ionospheric electrodynamic perturbations during sudden stratospheric warmings. Jicamarca radar measurements during these events show large dayside downward drift (westward electric field) perturbations followed by large morning upward and afternoon downward drifts that systematically shift to later local times. Ground-based magnetometer measurements in the American, Indian, and Pacific equatorial regions show strongly enhanced electrojet currents in the morning sector and large reversed currents (i.e., counterelectrojets) in the afternoon sector with onsets near new and full moons during northern winter warming periods. CHAMP satellite and ground-based magnetic field observations indicate that the onset of these equatorial afternoon counterelectrojets is longitude dependent. Our results indicate that these large electrodynamic perturbations during stratospheric warming periods are due to strongly enhanced semidiurnal lunar wave effects. The results of our study can be used for forecasting the occurrence and evolution of these electrodynamic perturbations during arctic winter warmings.


In 2006 the South African Institution of Civil Engineering (SAICE) released the first ever "report card" of the state of engineering infrastructure in South Africa. This report highlighted "the observations of the professionals responsible for the planning, construction, operation and maintenance of our nation's life-support system". It graded infrastructure on a scale from A+ through E-. The purpose of the report card was to draw the attention of government, and of the public at large, to the importance of maintenance, and to factors underlying the state of repair of infrastructure. The success of this report card was such that SAICE, with the assistance of CSIR, has prepared the next report card, to appear early in April 2011. It is anticipated that this next report card will be even more widely debated, because, since 2006, service delivery problems, particularly those attributable to operation and maintenance of infrastructure, have received heightened attention across the country.


Most of the mathematical models that are employed to model the performance of bubble columns are based on the assumption that either plug flow or complete mixing conditions prevail in the liquid phase. Although due to the liquid-phase axial dispersion, the actual flow pattern in bubble columns is usually closer to being mixed flow rather than plug flow, but still not completely mixed flow. Therefore, the back flow cell model (BFCM), that hypothesises both back flow and exchange flow to characterise the liquid-phase axial dispersion, is presented as an alternative approach to describe the hydrodynamics and mass transfer of ozone bubble columns. BFCM is easy to formulate and solve. It is an accurate and reliable design model. Transient BFCM consists of N BFCM ordinary-first-order differential equations in which N BFCM unknowns (Y j ) are to be determined. That set of equations was solved numerically as N BFCM linear algebraic equations. Steady-state BFCM consists of 3 × N BFCM non-linear algebraic equations in which 3 × N BFCM unknowns (q G,j , X j , and Y j ) are to be determined. Those non-linear algebraic equations were solved numerically using Newton–Raphson technique. Steady-state BFCM was initially tested using the pilot-scale experimental data of Zhou. BFCM provided excellent predictions of the dissolved ozone profiles under different operating conditions for both counter and co-current flow modes.


Exponential growth bias (EGB) is the pervasive tendency of people to perceive a growth process as linear when, in fact, it is exponential. In this paper, we document that people exhibit EGB when asked to predict the number of COVID-19 positive cases in the future. The bias is positively correlated with optimistic expectations about the future macroeconomic conditions and personal economic circumstances, and investment in a risky asset. We design four interventions to correct EGB and evaluate them through a randomized experiment. In the first treatment (Step), participants make predictions in several short steps; in the second and third treatments (Feedback-N and Feedback-G) participants are given feedback about their prediction errors either in the form of numbers or graphs; and in the fourth treatment (Forecast), participants are offered a forecast range of the future number of cases, based on a statistical model. Our results show that a) Step helps mitigate EGB relative to Baseline, b) Feedback-N, Feedback-G, and Forecast significantly reduce bias relative to both Baseline and Step, c) the interventions decrease risky investment and help moderate future economic expectations through the reduction in EGB. The results suggest that nudges, such as behaviorally informed communication strategies, which correct EGB can also help rationalize economic expectations.


ABSTRACT Adolescents with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) experience a range of cognitive, behavioral, and physical difficulties, including difficulties with self-regulation. We investigated self-regulation strategy use in adolescents with FASD who completed a self-regulation intervention program. The intervention was an adapted version of the Alert Program®, and it was delivered in hospital settings in two Canadian cities. We explored the types of strategies chosen by adolescents in the intervention, reported strategy use outside of the intervention, and feedback from adolescent participants about the program. We used both descriptive statistics and qualitative data to examine self-regulation strategy use in adolescents with FASD. Adolescents with FASD were found to use both sensory and non-sensory strategies to help them regulate at the beginning of each intervention session. Participants reported increasingly using the information they learned from the intervention program outside of the intervention, and the majority of participants reported using the information to help them at school. Overall, 96% of participants reported that they enjoyed the program, and 91% of participants reported that the things they learned in the program are helpful in their daily lives. Three themes emerged from a qualitative analysis of data gathered on the adolescents' experiences in the program: increasing capacity, sharing knowledge, and connecting meaningfully. These themes highlight important components of the intervention program. Implications for the use of a self-regulation intervention for adolescents with FASD are discussed. We specifically note the importance of differentiating between sensory and non-sensory regulation strategies, and the need for more research to increase our understanding of the use and impact of self-regulation strategies in adolescents with FASD.


Who said "Neither a lender or borrower be", who loved "not wisely but too well" and whose "salad days" are now behind her? If you have ever struggled to remember a Shakespeare quote, this is the book for you. It has over 3,000 quotes from single lines to quite long extracts, organized by topic and by play, with a key word index making it very easy to use. The dictionary also includes a glossary of unfamiliar terms and a brief biography of Shakespeare. It is very easy to dip into by word, theme or by play and the key word index means you can track down a half-remembered quote easily. A beautifully produced small format hardback with a colourful jacket, book ribbon and a bookplate, this is great gift for literary types, after dinner speakers and crossword fillers!


The preference of behavioral law and economics (BLE) for regulatory approaches that preserve "freedom of choice" has led to incomplete policy analysis and inefficient policies. BLE has been broadly regarded as among the most promising new developments in public policymaking theory and practice. As social science, BLE offers hope that better understanding of human behavior will provide a sounder foundation for policy design. As politics, BLE offers a possible political consensus built around minimalist forms of government action — "nudges" — that preserve freedom of choice. These two seductive dimensions of BLE are, however, in deep tension. Put simply, it would be surprising if the evidence documenting the failure of individual choice implied a turn toward regulatory tools that preserve individual choice.Developing BLE fully along its social-scientific dimension would reveal two categories of recurring limitations in BLE. First, BLE often artificially excludes traditional regulatory tools, such as direct mandates, from its analysis of policy options. However, BLE's preferred nudges are, in important cases, not likely to be effective — ironically, for reasons BLE itself identifies. BLE has also neglected the ways in which behavioral failures interact with traditional market failures and the implications of this interaction for policy design. A more complete framework generates policy recommendations beyond both nudges and neoclassical economic prescriptions.Second, BLE does not properly evaluate, at times, how its own regulatory tools actually function. Many of these seemingly choice-preserving tools are not nearly as light touch as advertised. The default rules so central to BLE are often better viewed as preserving the formality of choice while, for many individuals, functioning as effective mandates. The view that people can always rationally opt out has led policymakers to set these powerful defaults at the wrong levels, resulting in counterproductive policies.We illustrate the costs of BLE's commitment to freedom of choice by analyzing three of the most important areas for current policy: retirement savings, consumer credit, and environmental protection.


The wet removal of airborne particulates is a significant component of atmospheric deposition in the Eastern United States. This study analyzed the daily wet deposition of major ions at the Canaan Valley site in Appalachian Mountains in Eastern US, for the time interval 2000–2014. The site is part of the Atmospheric Integrated Research Monitoring Network (AIRMoN), and is significantly impacted by acid precipitation, caused largely by anthropogenic sources of SO_2 and NO_x. Results show that the precipitation rate, R, varies mainly in the interval [0.01-100] mm day^(-1), and the daily wet deposition flux, F, varies about two orders of magnitude for most ions. The largest daily wet depositions are for SO_4 ^(2-) and NO_3 ^- with extreme values over 30 mg m^(-2) day^(-1). In the case of NH_4 ^+, the largest daily wet depositions are over 10 mg m^(-2) day^(-1). Seasonal variations are illustrated by contrasting the winter and summer. In general, there are much larger daily wet deposition fluxes in summer than in winter. For SO_4 ^(2-) there is more conversion of SO_2 to SO_4 ^(2-) in the gas phase and in cloud droplets during summer. Similarly, NH_4 ^+ has a distinct seasonal variation with a maximum in summer, consistent with larger sources of NH_3 during the growth season. NO_3 ^- has a maximum concentration in precipitation during winter, and a maximum daily wet deposition flux during summer, especially during the most intense rain events. The Na^+ and Cl^- ions have the highest wet deposition in winter due to storms that bring air masses from Atlantic. Analysis shows that precipitation events are more frequent and more intense in summer than in winter. For the Canaan Valley, the summer precipitation events are effective in wet removal of aerosols providing episodes with some of the highest rates of acid deposition.


Abstract— We explore the likely production and fate of 14C in the thick nitrogen atmosphere of Saturn's moon Titan and investigate the constraints that measurements of 14C might place on Titan's photochemical, atmospheric transport and surface‐atmosphere interaction processes. Titan's atmosphere is thick enough that cosmic‐ray flux limits the production of 14C: absence of a strong magnetic field and the increased distance from the Sun suggest production rates of ˜9 atom/cm2/s, ˜4x higher than Earth. The fate and detectability of 14C depends on the chemical species into which it is incorporated: as methane it would be hopelessly diluted even in only the atmosphere. However, in the more likely case that the 14C attaches to the haze that rains out onto the surface (as tholin, HCN or acetylene and their polymers), haze in the atmosphere or recently deposited on the surface would be quite radioactive. Such radioactivity may lead to a significant enhancement in the electrical conductivity of the atmosphere which will be measured by the Huygens probe. Measurements with simple detectors on future missions could place useful constraints on the mass deposition rates of photochemical material on the surface and identify locations where surface deposits of such material are "freshest".


Background: Flax seeds have been shown to have multiple benefits in cardiovascular disorders. Objective: To evaluate Antihyperlipidemic activity of methanolic fraction of flax lignan concentrate (MF-FLC) obtained from Linum usitatissium L., Linaceae in nicotinamide-STZ induced diabetic hyperlipidemia rats. Methods: Male Wistar rats were used for the study. The IAEC of Poona college of Pharmacy approved the proposal. Protocol no. CPCSEA/01/14. Diabetes was induced in rats by nicotinamide-STZ. Diabetic animals were divided into five groups: Diabetic atherosclerosis control, Atorvastatin (10 mg/kg), MF-FLC (200 mg/kg), MF-FLC (400 mg/kg), and MF-FLC (800 mg/kg). After the confirmation of diabetes, rats were treated with cholesterol (4% w/w) and cholic acid (1% w/w) for 45 days. After 15 days of cholesterol treatment, atorvastatin and MF-FLC treatment was given to respective groups for 30 days. Non-diabetic atherosclerosis group received cholesterol-cholic acid treatment alone. The control group was given coconut oil as vehicle. Results: Treatment of MF-FLC (400 mg/kg) and atorvastatin (10 mg/kg) significantly reduced systolic blood pressure (p<0.01), diastolic blood pressure (p<0.01), mean arterial blood pressure (p<0.001) and left ventricular end diastolic pressure (p<0.001) whereas there was significant increase in Max dp/dt (p<0.001) and Min dp/dt (p<0.01) indicating the effect on cardiac contractility. These findings were confirmed in histopathology. MF-FLC (400 mg/kg) showed significant (p<0.01) reduction in the glucose level. MF-FLC (400 mg/kg) was found to be effective, increase in the dose (800 mg/kg) there showed a ceiling effect. Conclusion: The treatment with MF-FLC showed significant increase in the both max and min dp/dt. Atorvastatin (10 mg/kg) also showed significant increase in the both max and min dp/dt. This suggests that MF-FLC provides sufficient contractile reserve to ameliorate the detrimental effects of diabetes on cardiac contractility. MF-FLC had additional benefit of anti-hyperglycemic effect when compared to atorvastatin.


How are the voices of marginalised and disadvantaged communities to be heard in a large conurbation? This article argues the importance of community media, and particularly community radio, in providing such communities with opportunities to express their cultures and concerns. Its main focus is London, whose size and geography pose special problems for broadcast coverage, but comparisons are made with other European capital cities – Budapest, Cardiff and Stockholm - and the historical legacy of London's problems, which has defeated other attempts in the past to use radio to meet the needs of London communities, is briefly summarised. The research which is reported is ongoing; at the time of writing a series of media policy workshops is being planned with the hoped-for involvement of the London Mayor's office and of local authorities. Policy interventions are never final, so this is an account of work in progress.


In spite of various agricultural development efforts by national and international agencies, which have brought about technological innovations such as improved crop varieties and animal breeds as well as better production techniques, the resultant increase in farm output has not necessarily translated to increased farm income for farmers in Nigeria. This is mostly due to lack of market access and other market related factors. Suffice it to say that the development efforts had hitherto concentrated on the upstream agriculture at the expense of the downstream. Thus the objective of this study is to determine the role of market factors in the translation of incremental agricultural outputs into incremental farm incomes of rural households. Data from 400 households, randomly selected from 100 villages spread across 10 Local Government Areas in the four Agricultural Development Programme (ADP) Zones of Kebbi state, Nigeria were used to model the effect of some market-specific factors on rural households' farm income using Tobit Regression analysis. The result of the analysis revealed that the distance of the farm to the market, cost of transportation, medium of sales of farm produce, fees paid for space to display farm produce in the market and lack of up-to-date market information, had significant impacts on the farm income accruable to rural farming households in the study area. In addition to these, cost of transportation contributed the highest to the transaction cost of marketing farm produce. Therefore, the policies for increasing farming households' income require an integrated approach to intervention in downstream agriculture to enhance the market access, particularly in the area of fees paid to display farm produce in the market and transportation.


The presented data of this doctoral thesis suggest that the transcription factor GFI1/Gfi1 plays an important role in the progression and manifestation of AML. AML patients with low GFI1 expression in their blasts showed an inferior prognosis and a shortend EFS and OS. Furthermore, the KD of GFI1 resulted in a block of differentiation in the bone marrow of mice. The KO and the KD of GFI1/Gfi1 lead to an enhanced AML progression in the MLL-AF9 mouse model. In addition, upregulation of Gfi1 resulted in an increase of differentiation of bone marrow cells and a decrease of monocytosis in a persisting AML.
It could be shown that the KO of Gfi1 impeded AML progression whereas the KD of GFI1 accelerated AML progression in the NUP98/HOXD13 mouse model. In cooperation with the the IRCM in Canada it could also be shown that H3K9 acetylation at GFI1 target genes is increased in the bone marrow of GFI1-KD-NUP98/HOXD13 mice. Further analysis of gene expression (Gene Set Enrichement Analysis) showed an upregulation of those genes that belong to "cluster 5" which were defined by Valk et al. as a subgroup of AML patients with poor prognosis. These data suggest, that the GFI1-KD-NUP98/HOXD13 mice recapitulate the situation of AML patients with an inferior prognosis very well.
Moreover, the essential role of GFI1/Gfi1 for AML progression and manifestation in AML1-ETO9a- and CBFB-MYH1- mouse models could be demonstrated.
Furthermore the here depicted results open up new vistas in treating AML patients with epigenetic drugs. As well as in murine as in human leucemic bone marrow cells it could be shown that cells with low GFI1 expression responded better to the treatment with the HATi CTK7a. This could be also confirmed in first in vivo experiments.
Taken together, the presented data suggest that GFI1/Gfi1 plays a level- and dose-dependent role in progression of AML in the here used mouse models and that different GFI1/Gfi1 expression levels could be exploited as new prognostic factor in order to establish a new epigenetic therapy for MDS/AML patients.


AIM
The aim of this study was to investigate the dose dependence of citicoline's previously-reported effects on recovery of peripheral nerve injury.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
Right sciatic nerves of sixty adult female Wistar Albino rats were incised and primary anastomosis was performed. Rats were then divided into four groups: Control group received 2 ml of saline intraperitoneally, while rats in C-300, C-600 and C-900 groups received 300 μmol/kg, 600 μmol/kg and 900 μmol/kg citicoline dissolved in 2 ml saline, respectively. Rats were tested for sciatic functional index (SFI) on the 4th, 8th and 12th weeks and electrophysiological recordings were obtained on the 12th week. Rats were then sacrificed to investigate nerve adhesions and perform histomorphological examinations.

RESULTS
Our results showed that rats in C-600 and C-900 groups had significantly lesser neural adhesion and greater SFI and electrophysiological score than those in the Control and C-300 groups (p < 0.05). Mean density and total number of functionally myelinated axons were significantly increased in C-900 group, while perineural scar tissue formation was reduced in all citicoline-treated groups.

CONCLUSION
We conclude that citicoline exhibits dose-dependent effects on axonal regeneration and recovery without scar formation in a rat model of peripheral nerve incision and primary anastomosis.


In the process of industrializing, countries typically increase energy consumption during pe- riods of rapid economic growth. China has been no exception, until recently. According to official statistics, China's energy consumption rose at an average annual rate of 6% between 1990 and 1996, flattened in 1997, and then suddenly dropped by more than 9% over the next two years be- fore beginning to rebound in 2000. This paper is a preliminary examination of the causes of this decline, examining the energy forms, economic sectors, and localities for which the decline was most pronounced. It attributes the decline in energy consumption solely to a decline in coal end- use, primarily in the industrial sector. Between 1996 and 2000, GDP continued to increase—both at the national aggregate level as well as in the industrial sectors of the provinces that experienced the largest magnitudes of decline in industrial energy use: Hunan, Liaoning, Jilin, Sichuan, Shaanxi, and Jiangsu. This paper also identifies the subsectors of industry where the decline was most pronounced, including textiles, chemicals, ferrous and nonferrous metals production, building materials, and coal extraction, where state control allowed for greater intervention. The paper con- cludes that government industrial policy was a primary factor in the energy decline, supported by ongoing programs to increase energy efficiency. Implications of this decline for international cli- mate change efforts are offered.


Abstract. Elemental carbon (EC) in size-segregated aerosol samples were determined at five urban, one suburban, and one rural locations in the Pearl River Delta region in South China during 2006–2008 period. The size modal characteristics of EC were different at the urban and suburban/rural locations. The urban EC had a dominant condensation mode with a mass median aerodynamic diameter (MMAD) in the 0.36–0.43 μm range and a slightly less abundant mode in the droplet mode size (MMAD: 0.8–1.1 μm), while the suburban/rural EC had a prominent mode in the droplet mode size (MMAD: 0.7–1.1 μm) and a minor condensation mode (MMAD: 0.22–0.33 μm). Calculations using Mie theory and the measured size distributions of EC, organic carbon, and major inorganic ions indicate that EC-containing particles contributed 76±20% of the observed light extinction at the urban sites. Among the EC-containing particles, EC mass alone contributed 21±11% of the observed light extinction while non-EC materials on the EC particles (i.e., organic matter, ammonium sulfate, and water) contributed 55±15%. At the suburban/rural locations, EC-containing particles contributed 37–48% of the measured light extinction, with EC mass contributing 4–10% and non-EC coating materials contributing the remaining light extinction. Our results suggest that EC-containing particles were important to the overall light extinction in the urban atmospheres due to their more abundant presence from vehicular emissions. The EC-containing particles in the suburban/rural locations had a reduced but still significant contribution to light extinction budget.


ORIGINAL ARTICLE Background: Smoking is one of the leading causes of disease and death in the world. There is a growing trend of smoking in Iran, especially among youth and women. This study has been conducted to identify the factors related to smoking and solutions that can lead to its control in Tehran. Methods: This study was conducted qualitatively from August 2015 to August 2016 in Tehran. The data collection tool included cognitive interviews and deep, semi-structured interviews. The participants consisted of 7 men and 5 women who smoked cigarettes; they were selected through purposive sampling with maximum diversity and snowball technique which continued until data saturation. The data was analyzed through qualitative conventional content analysis. Results: Two main classes with 15 subclasses were extracted from the participants' responses. The causes of smoking and the solutions for its control are evaluated along these two classes. The subclasses include factors like being accustomed to smoking, considering smoking as a normal behavior, easy access to cigarettes, recreation and entertainment; lack of recreational facilities, way of relaxing, increasing the price of cigarettes, the importance of making cigarettes scarce, and cultural and individual volition. Conclusion: Being accustomed to smoking and considering it as an entertainment are the most important causes of smoking, and the importance of creating an anti-smoking culture and individual volition have been introduced as the most important solutions for controlling smoking in Tehran. Furthermore, it seems that reducing the public access to cigarette through various ways such as increasing the price, reducing the imports, the decline in production and supply, as well as creating a culture against smoking can reduce the amount of smoking considerably.


Problem statement: Recent neoclassical theoretical study, particularly in the endogenous growth literature, has studied the nature of the relationship between economic growth and product quality. However, little attention has been given to the impact of a rise in product quality on effective demand under stagnation. This is because previous models have assumed that demand is always met with supply in labor and products markets. Therefore, the question remains as to whether a rise in product quality increases effective demand when stagnation occurs. Approach: This study applied an idea of stagnation and combined it with a quality ladder model to account for the relationship between product quality and effective demand under stagnation. Using this extended framework, this study examined the impact on effective demand of an R and D subsidy that improved product quality when stagnation occurs. Results: The results indicated that a rise in product quality increased the efficiency of consumption utility function and thereby enabled people to enjoy higher utility while consuming the same amount. However, under stagnation, people chose not to increase their utility, causing realized consumption to decrease and saving to increase. Consequently, effective demand decreased and the stagnation worsened. Conclusion: From the results, it can be concluded that use of R and D subsidies that improves product quality is not appropriate for a country where stagnation occurs.


This interactive panel session will introduce and debate the notion of Open Peer Review (OPR), an emerging approach to peer review that stems from the Open Science Movement. In essence, OPR makes all aspects of the peer review process transparent and open to authors, reviewers and readers. Audience members will be polled on their knowledge of and attitudes towards OPR at the beginning of the session and will have an opportunity to join the debate after the panelists have provided their perspectives on the issues related to peer review and the potential for OPR. We welcome remote attendees to join the panel at https://tennessee.zoom.us/j/5849681809 (audio & video or audio only; computer or mobile) [Please contact firstname.lastname@example.com or email@example.com to sign up]


Proprioceptive signals from mechanoreceptors embedded in ligaments, tendons, and muscles are essential for the control of muscle tone and voluntary movement. Numerous neurological and orthopedic disorders are associated with proprioceptive dysfunction that impairs the control of balance and/or fine motor function. However, obtaining objective measures of proprioceptive function is difficult in most clinical settings, because available assessment methods rely on specialized equipment, expertise, or are too time-consuming. This paper presents a new tablet-based system that objectively measures finger position sense by implementing a psychophysical threshold search method. We here provide initial data that demonstrate the ease-of-use and efficacy of the system.