Alphonsus de Liguori: Selected Writings. Edited by Frederick M. Jones. The Classics of Western Spirituality Series. New York: Paulist Press, 1999. xiii + 423 pp. $34.95 (cloth). It is always extremely interesting to trace the development of a tradition from its source. I remember the mixture of fascination and terror I felt as a child listening to the Redemptorist missioners in my local Catholic Church describing the afterlife for those who died in the state of sin. One would have thought they personally stoked the fires! But in reading the writings of the founder of the Redemptorists, Alphonsus de Liguori, I was struck at the distance his missioner sons of the mid-twentieth century had traveled from the understanding of the love of God that he himself taught and preached in the seventeenth century. This book, Alphonsus de Liguori: Selected Writings, is another in the excellent Classics of Western Spirituality Series of primary texts from Paulist Press. Frederick Jones, the editor, had a difficult choice in selecting from the 111 books and articles of Liguori's extant writings. The representative selection-of spiritual direction, devotional writings, moral theology and letters-- provides an interesting and valuable one-volume collection of Liguori's primary works. Jones and a team of Redemptorist scholars also translated the texts for the book. Liguori, 1696-1781, born in Naples of an aristocratic family, disappointed his father by choosing the priesthood rather than a career in the law, which would have had advantageous social and economical benefits for his family. Liguori, like the French Francis de Sales (1567-1622), realized the Church's responsibility towards developing spirituality among the laity (see Francis de Sales, Jane de Chantal: Letters of Spiritual Direction, New York: Paulist Press, 1988). He was among the first spiritual directors in the Catholic Church since monastic times to take seriously the belief that a life of holiness was not just for a few, but for clergy and laity alike. Acting on this insight, he directed his pastoral ministry towards the laity as a spiritual adviser and later diocesan bishop. He founded a religious order of priests who shared his vision and mission in the Italian church. To some extent Liguori's life is overexposed in that three biographers focused on him in his lifetime, but this book concentrates on the theological and moral insights of his writing more than an evaluation of his life. As expected in this series, the introduction to the texts is an essential feature of the book. …


The transient electric field governing the dynamics of space charge is investigated by time- and energy-resolved low-energy electron scattering. The space charge above a copper target is produced by high-intensity femtosecond laser pulses. The pump-probe experiment has a measured temporal resolution of better than 35 ps at 55 eV probe electron energy. The probe electron acceleration due to space charge is reproduced within a 3-dimensional non-relativistic model, which determines an effective number of electrons in the space charge cloud and its initial diameter. Comparison of the simulations with the experiments indicates a Coulomb explosion, which is consistent with transients in the order of 1 ns, the terminal kinetic energy of the cloud and the thermoemission currents predicted by the Richardson-Dushman formula.


This paper presents a new microphone array method to enhance speech signals in a noisy reverberant environment. A time-delay estimation method is used for the speech source localization. The robustness of the localization method in high noise levels is provided by a subband Kurtosis-weighted structure. The estimated inter-sensor time-delays are directly used in an adaptive soft-constrained subband beamformer. Evaluation in a simulated environment with real speech sequences shows promising results.


The First Semantic Web/Linked Data Conference of German libraries took place in Cologne on 24 and 25 November 2009 and revealed much interest in advancing from a web of documents to a web of data. The contributions covered advanced applications at the Library of Congress and the Swedish National library as well as advocacy for linked data approaches and the use of semantic web tools in the library and cultural heritage domain. The German National Library announced the publication of their authority files as linked open data, with first prototypes to become available in mid-2010, and this constituted a highlight of the conference. Discussions about ontologies to be used, application examples and a summary of practical experiences completed the event.


Fabrication of self-assembled nanostructures with defined size and morphology represents a formidable challenge and thus, has gained tremendous momentum in research because of their potential applications in various biological systems. Herein, we report on the synthesis of novel non-ionic amphiphiles using 2,2-di(prop-2-yn-1-yl)propane-1,3-diol as a core further functionalized with poly(ethylene glycol) monomethyl ether and alkyl chains employing a chemo-enzymatic approach. Surface tension and fluorescence measurements along with dynamic light scattering studies revealed that all of the amphiphilic systems spontaneously self-assemble in aqueous solution, which is further supplemented by cryogenic transmission electron microscopy. The solubilization behavior of these systems as evidenced from UV-Vis and fluorescence spectroscopy and high performance liquid chromatography suggested the effective encapsulation of hydrophobic entities like Nile red, nimodipine, curcumin and dexamethasone. A comparative study with a standard excipient, Cremophor® ELP demonstrated that our nanocarriers exhibited superior/equivalent solubilization behavior for curcumin. Confocal laser scanning microscopy revealed efficient uptake of encapsulated dye in the cytosol of lung cancer cells, thus suggesting, that the reported amphiphilic systems can transport drugs into cells. A study of cytotoxicity showed that the synthesized amphiphilic systems are non-cytotoxic at the concentrations studied. The release profile of encapsulated Nile red incubated with/without a hydrolase enzyme Candida antarctica lipase demonstrated that the dye is stable in the amphiphilic nanostructures in the absence of enzyme for up to 12 days, however, more than 90% release of the dye occurred in 12 days when incubated with lipase. The results advocate the potential of these nanostructures as prospective drug delivery vehicles.


A soft-x-ray optical system based on multilayer mirrors was designed and fabricated for the production of magnified images of micro-objects with a spatial resolution of ~0.2 μm at a wavelength λ ≈ 20 nm. The system consists of a laser-produced plasma source, a condenser mirror, a 20× Schwarzschild objective, a filter set, and a detector. The quality of the x-ray optics and the precision of the system adjustment enabled us to achieve, for the first time to our knowledge, ~0.2-μm resolution using the full aperture (numerical aperture 0.2) of the objective and a single shot of a frequency-doubled Nd laser (pulse energy ~0.5 J, pulse duration ~1.5 ns).


On November 7, 2008, the Durham Statement on Open Access to Legal Scholarship was released to the public. One of its main tenets ‒ that law schools and libraries "stop publishing journals in print format and rely instead on electronic publication coupled with a commitment to keep the electronic versions available in stable, open, digital formats" ‒ was an open call to law libraries to start thinking about digital preservation strategies for their law reviews.The Legal Information Preservation Alliance (LIPA) responded to the need by developing the Law Review Preservation Program, an initiative which archives law reviews hosted on the Bepress Digital Commons platform in Controlled LOCKSS (Lots of Copies Keep Stuff Safe), or CLOCKSS.For those law libraries without subscriptions to Digital Commons, there is an open-source, freely available alternative solution for ingesting digital law reviews into any preservation platform. This application, called the Submission Information Metadata Packaging, or SIMP tool was developed at the J. Willard Marriott Library at the University of Utah, initially as a solution for ingesting content into the Ex Libris Rosetta Digital preservation platform, as part of a CONTENTdm digital asset management workflow. Though the development of the SIMP tool was inspired by Marriott's need to ingest digital files from CONTENTdm to Rosetta, they built it to work with any Digital Asset Management System (DAMS) and Digital preservation platform.This article will explain these two strategies for digital preservation of law reviews, informing law librarians of the options which might best suit their needs.


Literature is human's expression. Almost all human lives have been written in literature. Poetry is the expression of imaginative experience expressed by the poet by using beautiful language. Song is short poem set to music and intended to be sung. Message is information, news or request sent to somebody. And, love is much more, it includes such as attitude, trust, positive approval, helpful criticism, positive acceptance, and wish for the well being of the loved one. The purpose of this study is to describe the general meaning, to know the detail meaning, and to know the message of song lyric.
In this study, the writer chose the descriptive qualitative method as a research design. The writer used objective approach, because the writer just wanted to observe content of its song with emphasis on the message and much concern with its object itself in Gary Barlow's lyrics song only. The object of this study was the lyrics "Forever Love", the data was derived from every sentence and phrase of the song dealing with general meaning, detail meaning, and message.
The general meaning of lyrical song "Forever Love" is about the poet's love to his lover. He really hopes sincere love, love that never lost by the time, eternal love from his lover and always to be together with her. The detail meaning of lyrical song "Forever Love"the first, the poet wants to tell that in love there are many beautiful ways to express the feeling, in love we can share everything with our couple such as about life, affection, feeling, expectations or wishes and hope all our expectations will be come true. The second, when we feel the true love, we will feel this is forever and etrenal. The third, we do not lie to ourselves that we really love, need, always wants beside him/her and when someone whom we love leave us alone it will be hard to face the life alone without him/her. The fourth, actually we need forever or eternal love from our couple. And the message found in the lyrical song "Forever Love" are the first, in relationship of love we can share everything with our couple, such as life and feeling. The second, we must brave to express our feeling and do not lie to ourselves that we really need, love and always wants to be together with her/him. The third, when we feel the true love, we believe that our love will be forever and eternal. The fourth, in relationship of love actually we need forever or eternal love from our couple.


The Great Dismal Swamp on the Virginia/ North Carolina border has highly diverse vegetation, largely due to past alteration by lumbering, fire and drainage. Vegetation maps are presently being completed using National Aeronautics and Space Administration high and low altitude color infrared photographs and 1:100,000 and 1:24,000 scale black and white orthophoto bases. Having mapped the vegetation to the required precision for management needs, we are now evaluating the application potential of Landsat data to provide a cost-effective, repet~tive information source for furture monitoring and map revision. Three data sets were prepared for analysis using two Landsat scenes (Image #1583-15100, February, 1974; Image #163715085, April, 1974) which were geometrically corrected, resampled and temporally registered by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. All four bands were used to analyze individual dates; bands 5 and 7 for each date were used to analyze the temporal composite. Each of the three data sets provides information on specific aspects of vegetation classification. In addition, comparison of the individual dates and the temporal composite allows further interpretation beyond the information provided by individual analyses. Using February data, three evergreen classes may be separated; pine, Atlantic white cedar and the dense evergreen shrub community. Deciduous classes may be 9ivided only on the basis of the ground cover: heavy evergreen understory, spa:se (mostly deciduous) understory or stand~ng water. No deciduous canopy species can be identified with February data. 3B-l Using April data, the boundaries of the pine and cedar classes become less distinct. The evergreen shrub class remains welldefined. Deciduous canopy species may be separated in areas where one species predominates. By comparing the April and February data, stands of cypress can be identified. The overlap between pine and evergreen understory in February data can be resolved in April by leaf-out of deciduous canopy. The temporally registered data gives classes much closer in areal extent and location to the classes mapped at 1:100,000 scale from color infrared photographs. The area classified as deciduous over standing water is almost identical to that mapped as cypress/tupelo. The pine, cedar and evergreen shrub catagories separate extremely well. A large deciduous class can be identified as mostly maple with some yellow poplar, sweet gum and tupelo. In addition, a class consisting of broad-leaved evergreen shrubs, trees and vines could only be separated using the temporal data. No single data set provided adequate information for vegetative classification in the Great Dismal Swamp. Seasonal and temporal comparisons provide approximately 70% of the desired precision in vegetative boundary determination and class separation.


The experience and perceptions of 80 people residing in four separate sites, which feature reclaimed water systems, are considered in this paper in relation to the benefits and costs of residential water reuse applications. Reclaimed water is used for non-potable applications by residents in Florida mainly for garden irrigation and in Australia for both irrigation and toilet flushing. All respondents value reclaimed water and although the benefit of water conservation is identified they are more enthusiastic about the personal cost benefit involved in using this cheaper alternative to potable water. Many are willing to handle the water but the extent to which this increased exposure is seen as a good development depends on the quality of information provided to users. In relation to reclaimed water for toilet flushing, there is a strong indication that the water conservation and cost saving benefit is small compared to the initial cost and the increased cross connection risk.


Using a discrete time general equilibrium model of the term structure of interest rates, we seek to determine the sign of the liquidity and solidity premiums—which jointly characterize the term structure—depending on the nature and structure of the uncertainty. We choose to study two different structures. In the first one, associated with a wealth effect, the messages that the agents can receive only reveal the present state of the economy. In the second one, associated with an information effect, the messages bring an information about the futur state of the economy. We define a polarized information as an information which can be unambiguously viewed as a good or a bad news. We study these effects in different types of economy—from an exchange economy to a production economy—using some quite general assumptions on the individuals' preferences. In doing so, we reexamine and extend the work of Woodward (1983), and of Benninga and Protopapadakis (1986). In particular, using the concept of polarized information, we show that the comparison between the short and long bonds, from the point of view of risk management, does not strongly depend on the availability of a production technology.


The wireless sensor networks have emerged as a promising tool for monitoring the physical world. Recently directional sensor networks (DSNs) consisting of directional sensors have gained attention. DSNs comprise a large number of sensors equipped with limited angles of sensing range and a limited battery. In DSNs, maximizing network lifetime while covering all the targets in a given area is still a challenge problem. A major technique to save the energy power of sensors is to use a node wake-up scheduling protocol by which some sensor nodes stay active to provide sensing service, while the others are inactive for conserving their energy. In this paper, we first address the MSCD (Maximum Set Cover for DSNs) problem that is known as NP-complete and then present a new target coverage scheduling scheme to solve this problem with a greedy algorithm. To verify and evaluate the proposed scheme, we conduct simulations and show that it can contribute to extending the network lifetime largely. By the simulations, we also present an energy-efficient strategy to choose a sensor in order to organize a scheduling set in the greedy scheme.


Energy-based models (EBMs) have become increasingly popular within computer vision in recent years. While they are commonly employed for generative image modeling, recent work has applied EBMs also for regression tasks, achieving state-of-the-art performance on object detection and visual tracking. Training EBMs is however known to be challenging. While a variety of different techniques have been explored for generative modeling, the application of EBMs to regression is not a well-studied problem. How EBMs should be trained for best possible regression performance is thus currently unclear. We therefore accept the task of providing the first detailed study of this problem. To that end, we propose a simple yet highly effective extension of noise contrastive estimation, and carefully compare its performance to six popular methods from literature on the tasks of 1D regression and object detection. The results of this comparison suggest that our training method should be considered the go-to approach. We also apply our method to the visual tracking task, achieving state-of-the-art performance on five datasets. Notably, our tracker achieves 63.7% AUC on LaSOT and 78.7% Success on TrackingNet. Code is available at this https URL.


A series of tests was made at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) free-spinning tunnel to determine the effect of systematic changes in wing and tail arrangement upon steady-spinning and recovery characteristics of a conventional low-wing monoplane model for a basic loading condition. Eight wings and three tails, covering a wide range of aerodynamic characteristics, were independently ballasted so as to be interchangeable with no change in mass distribution. For each of the 24 wing-tail combinations, observations were made of steady spins for four control settings and of recoveries for five control manipulators. The results are presented in the form of charts comparing the spin characteristics. The results showed that, with a poor tail arrangement, wing plan form and tip shape had a considerable effect on the spinning characteristics.


The causative introduces an external agent into the clausal structure. When an additional agent is introduced into the event, and when it is construed as the agent ultimately responsible for the occurrence of the event, then this ultimate agent is encoded as the subject, and the one that is less responsible for the event is encoded as the direct or oblique object.Causative constructions can be classified according to two parameters; one is a formal (or morphological) parameter and the other is semantic. As for the semantic distinction, we have shown that the difference between distant and contact causation is reflected formally in many languages including Korean. In Korean, semantic differences between distant and contact causatives generally correspond to those between the analytic and the morphological types. The essential difference between distant and contact causatives is the degree of control exercised by the causee. The causee in distant causatives has some control over the action, whereas the causee in contact causatives has no control over the action. That is, the causer of contact causatives behaves like the agent of a typical transitive verb, in that he or she both initiates and directly carries out the action. One interesting aspect of this, with respect to the control parameter of the causee, is that distant causatives usually require animate causes. Where the causee is inanimate, the distant causative suggests that the causer might invoke some external force, such as "magical power", in view of the indication that there is an absence of physical contact between causer and causee.The other issue that we have investigated is the morphological encoding of the causee. We established the case hierarchy for the Korean causative construction as accusative > dative > nominative, which coincides with the degree of control exercised by the causee, from least to greatest. We also investigated the validity of Comrie's (1981) hierarchy account through a careful examination of data from Korean. We have shown that there are many languages that do not conform to this hierarchy, and that allow doubling on certain grammatical relations. Korean permits doubling on Direct Object, Indirect Object, and even on subject positions. Most importantly, Comrie's hierarchy account fails to explain why case-markings are used contrastively. For example, the case-marking contrast of the causee between the accusative and the dative/oblique indicates a semantic contrast. Basically, Comrie's hierarchy account is rooted in a purely syntactic perspective without considering the semantic function of case-markers. We have shown that there is a possible semantic contrast between different encodings of the causee in causative constructions. As the basic morphological encoding of the patient, the accusative typically refers to an entity (causee) with a very low degree of control. On the other hand, the oblique case (or whatever case that might be selected for passive agents) is frequently used for an entity with a high degree of control. As the typical exponent of the experiencer or recipient role, the dative occupies an intermediate position.


To address rural diversity, a place-based approach to sustainable development becomes more relevant. Place-based approaches to development are said to strengthen the resilience of rural areas against global pressures by decreasing state dependencies and increasing the economic competitiveness of rural areas. How can such place-based trajectories be analysed and understood in the context of European rural regions? On the basis of empirical research undertaken in 2008 and 2010 as well as (updated) data since then, this paper traces the rural changes in time on the Shetland Islands in the UK.

We have applied the model of the rural web as an analytical tool. While the web has been used to 'picture' the interactions between domains of the web at a specific and static moment in time, we test if the rural web can be used to analyse changing rural relations over time, thus capturing rural dynamics and describing varied development trajectories. The case of the Shetlands Island illustrates such competing development trajectories, expressed in conflicts over land use, the branding strategy and its contested policies towards a large wind energy project. Our hypothesis is that in Shetland we can witness elements of bio- and eco-economic development trajectories, each underpinning an alternative model for economic growth and sustainable development. These trajectories frame notions of place, space and time in different ways.

The central question addressed in this paper is: how can the rural web be applied to analyse rural dynamics and development trajectories, in the empirical case of the Shetlands Islands?

The process of unfolding of the rural web in Shetland indicates dependence on its place-based specificities, resting on a complex interplay between the agency of individual and institutional actors as well as wider structural conditions and pressures. The outcome of the unfolding of this web may be implicated in the development of an eco-economy. On the other hand, the planned new large wind farm has led to contestation over the future development trajectory of Shetland; this can be considered as an ambitious bio-economic project to substitute for oil as a large-scale corporate-led investment.

The web as a framework for retrospective and comparative analysis has enabled us to study the ongoing change Shetland has undergone from a "peripheral", "clientelist countryside" to a "segmented area", characterised by a unique and shifting configuration of rural development domains. The web, used in the manner attempted here, highlights the dynamism and captures the multidimensionality inherent in rural development processes. The findings can inform the debate on how to achieve an effective interplay between agency and institutions, and balance 'bottom–up' versus 'top–down' approaches to development.


ABSTRACT Far-right groups increasingly use social media to interact with other groups and reach their followers. Social media also enable 'ordinary' people to participate in online discussions and shape political discourse. This study compares the networks and discourses of Facebook pages of Western European far-right parties, movements and communities. Network analyses of pages indicate that the form of far-right mobilization is shaped by political opportunities. The absence of a strong far-right party offline seems to be reflected in an online network in which non-institutionalized groups are the most prominent actors, rather than political parties. In its turn, the discourse is shaped by the type of actor. Content analyses of comments of followers show that parties address the political establishment more often than immigration and Islam, compared to non-institutionalized groups. Furthermore, parties apply less extreme discursive practices towards 'the other' than non-institutionalized groups.


A basic investigation on the adsorption Cr(VI) ions from aqueous solution by Pistia stratiotes biomass was investigated under batch mode. The influence of solution pH, sorbent dose, initial chromium(VI) concentration, contact time, stirring rate and temperature on the removal process were investigated. A biosorbent dosage of 5 g L -1 showed maximum metal uptake capacity (qe) of 7.24 mg g -1 for an initial metal ion concentration of 10 ppm. Sorption equilibrium time was observed in 15 min. The equilibrium adsorption data were analyzed by the Freundlich, Langmuir, Dubinin-Radushkevich and Temkin adsorption isotherm models. The kinetics of chromium(VI) ion was discussed by pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second-order and intra-particle diffusion models. It was shown that the adsorption of chromium(VI) ions could be described by the pseudo-second order kinetic model. Thermodynamic parameters such as Gibbs free energy (G o ), the enthalpy (H o ) and the entropy change of sorption (S o ) have also been evaluated and it has been found that the adsorption process was spontaneous, feasible and endothermic in nature. Desorption experiments with 2 M NaOH inferred the reusability of the adsorbent. The results indicated that Pistia stratiotes biomass can be used as an effective and low-cost adsorbent to remove Cr(VI) ions from aqueous solutions.


An accurate estimate of observation errors is crucial to the retrieval of atmospheric profiles from satellite data using a variational method. In practice, observation errors, both systematic and random, are often estimated from the difference between satellite observations and simulated satellite observations obtained from a radiative‐transfer operator with a 12 h forecast as its input. Observation errors estimated by this approach may be contaminated by errors in the 12 h forecast. This work describes a practical way to eliminate the 12 h forecast error and improve the estimate of the observation error in the Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit (AMSU) data. Following the philosophy of the National Meteorological Center (NMC) method (that derives the statistics of forecast error from the differences between pairs of forecasts at disparate ranges valid at the same time), in this study the pairs of forecasts at different ranges in the NMC method are first converted to brightness temperatures in the AMSU channels by a radiative‐transfer operator. The 12 h forecast errors are then determined from the representations of these forecasts in radiance space spanned by the AMSU channels. Since most AMSU channels have beam position‐dependent systematic observation errors, the procedure further takes into account this dependence by performing the statistics separately for sub‐groups of data in each AMSU channel with different beam positions. In a case‐study, after eliminating the 12 h forecast error obtained by this procedure from the total estimated observation error, the remaining random error of the satellite observation is shown to be smaller than the background error (provided by 12 h forecasts of a numerical weather‐prediction model) in most of the AMSU temperature sounding channels. Using the error‐corrected AMSU data in these channels, a retrieval experiment using a one‐dimensional variational scheme shows an improvement of 0.2–0.4 K over the background error in the retrieved temperature profiles above 780 hPa. Copyright © 2004 Royal Meteorological Society


Abstract Nondestructive testing in the field of defects identification in metallic elements plays a remarkable role with special regard to those sectors where the integrity of the material is strictly required. As a consequence, the detection of defects and discontinuous deformations1 in metallic plates and bars (inverse problem), together with the relevant shape classification, provides the operator with useful information on the actual mechanical integrity of the specimen. In the study of solid-solid-phase transformations, the loss of uniqueness in the solution together with the relevant fragmentation of the strain fields inside the solid the equilibrium comes out as a solution represented from a fine mixture among phases. The first part of this work is devoted to a partial theoretical characterization of a monodimensional model with respect to the computational aspects. A comparison is then carried out with an experimental consideration of a nondestructive investigation technique based on the eddy current principle. Finally, a novel approach to solve the inverse problem by means of fuzzy inference systems is proposed. In particular, Sugeno's inferences have been taken into account to investigate the local discontinuities of the metallic specimen subject to plastic deformations due to phase transformations by application to experimental mono-axial traction. Having acquired this result, we can calculate the stress field by applying the relevant constitutive law, which is not otherwise directly measurable.


This volume contains the papers presented at the Third International Conference on Thin-Walled Structures, Cracow, Poland on June 5-7, 2001. There has been a substantial growth in knowledge in the field of Thin-Walled Structures over the past few decades. Lightweight structures are in widespread use in the Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Aeronautical, Automobile, Chemical and Offshore Engineering fields. The development of new processes, new methods of connections, new materials has gone hand-in-hand with the evolution of advanced analytical methods suitable for dealing with the increasing complexity of the design work involved in ensuring safety and confidence in the finished products. Of particular importance with regard to the analytical process is the growth in use of the finite element method. This method, about 40 years ago, was confined to rather specialist use, mainly in the aeronautical field, because of its requirements for substantial calculation capacity. The development over recent years of extremely powerful microcomputers has ensured that the application of the finite element method is now possible for problems in all fields of engineering, and a variety of finite element packages have been developed to enhance the ease of use and the availability of the method in the engineering design process.


Purpose – The objective of this study is two-fold. First, it provides guidance to educators and trainers on establishing a cooperative learning environment. Second, it examines final-year undergraduate accounting students' opinions on the effectiveness of a cooperative learning environment in delivering generic skills for their future professional accountancy careers. In particular, the study examines relative perceptions of effectiveness between students of differing academic abilities. Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire was administered to elicit students' views on whether they believed cooperative learning had enhanced their generic skills development. The data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics and Mann-Whitney U tests of differences. Findings – Students found the cooperative learning approach beneficial in developing their generic skills. Further, no significant differences were found between the perceptions of the less and more able students. Research limitations/implications – The study addresses perceptions of the benefits derived from cooperative learning rather than measuring benefits using an objective measure of achievement. Therefore, an interesting extension of this work would be to chart changes in personal development as a consequence of implementing cooperative learning over a number of years. Practical implications – The findings provide some level of assurance for educators in accounting and other vocational disciplines that students of different academic abilities believe they have enhanced their generic skills as a result of engaging in cooperative learning. Originality/value – This paper provides guidance to educators on establishing a cooperative learning environment and provides empirical evidence on its contribution to the enhancement of generic skills.


In this work we present a second s-z mapping (ST2) as an extension of a first one, the s-z mapping (ST1), presented in a previous work done by the authors. In that work, the ST1 mapping used only one tuning parameter (csi) ξ to: 1) map the (asymptotically stable) left half s plane in the interior of the unitary circle in z plane; and 2) attain the asymptotical stabilization of a benchmark harmonic oscillator driven by a PD discrete controller with various sampling periods. In both tests, the ST1 mapping behaved better than other mappings listed in the literature (Tustin, Backward, Shneider-Kaneshige-Groutage, etc.). In this work we use two tuning parameters csi1 and csi2 in the ST2 mapping to see how both tests behave, including numerical simulations comparing the ST2 mapping with those other mappings ((ST1 and Tustin). Through the numerical results obtained in this work we may perceive that the two new-rules presented are more robust to the fading effects due the increasing of aliasing phenomenon in comparison with the Tustin rule. An analytical description of these new-rules is presented.


We model a family of peer-reviewing processes as gametheoretic problems. The model helps to understand elements of existing peer-reviewing procedures, and to predict the impact of new mechanisms. The peer-reviewing for evaluation of scientific results submitted to conferences involves complex decision processes of independent participants. Significant tax-payer money is spent by governments for the advancement of science, and such governmental decisions are often based on outcomes of peer-reviewing in scientific conferences. Here we propose to analyze and design improved mechanisms for conference peer-reviewing, based on gametheoretic approaches. Real world conference peer-reviewing processes are overly complex and here we define and analyze a simplified (toy) version, called the Peer-Reviewing Game. While our toy version may have significant assumptions, it provides an interesting game and a first step towards formalizing and understanding the real world problem. The players of this game are the researchers that participate as authors and reviewers. A funding agency tries to maximize the social value by providing rewards to researchers based on their publications. In this work the conference chair is assumed to be a trusted party, enforcing policies agreed by the funding agency and making publication decisions based on the recommendation of the reviewers. We uncover relations between Peer-Reviewing games and Prisoner's Dilemma games. Examples of mechanisms are described and analyzed both theoretically and experimentally.


The higher taxonomy of the 20 known genera of Afrotropical freshwater crabs is revised to reflect the evolutionary relationships revealed by the consensus of a series of recent morphological and molecular phylogenetic studies of the group. The Afrotropical freshwater crab genera fall into two monophyletic groups, one from Socotra with two genera (Potamidae) and another that includes the remaining 18 genera. The latter group, which includes the bulk of the region's freshwater crab fauna, forms a well-supported monophyletic clade. We recognize two monophyletic sister groups (subfamilies) within the Potamonautidae, one for seven genera from Africa (the Potamonautinae) and one for 11 genera from Africa, the Seychelles, and Madagascar (the Deckeniinae). The Deckeniinae includes two monophyletic groups (tribes), one with seven genera from Madagascar (the Hydrothelphusini), and one with four genera from Africa and the Seychelles (the Deckeniini). The Deckeniini is further divided here into two subtribes, the Deckeniina and the Globonautina. The Platythelphusidae is not recognized, and the Deckeniidae and Globonautinae are lowered in rank. There is no phylogenetic support for the continued inclusion of any genus from the Afrotropical region in the Gecarcinucidae which is treated here as an exclusively Oriental family. The Afrotropical freshwater crabs (excluding those from Socotra) form a monophyletic assemblage that has no representatives outside of the region. The wider biogeographical implications of the taxonomic revision are discussed. © 2008 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2008, 93, 399–413.


Chemical Exchange Saturation Transfer (CEST) is often overlooked as a method for the investigation of metabolites in vivo due to the time required to obtain a full spectrum. We investigated the feasibility and optimization of a pulsed CEST technique that interleaves an echo planer imaging (EPI) readout with saturation in order to reduce time. In addition, we incorporated a multi-shot EPI sequence that reduces distortions. To achieve this, computer simulations based on the Bloch equations were used to optimize scan parameters while keeping scan time in the clinical timeframe. To analyze the data, a number of Lorentizian fitting algorithms were investigated to evaluate their ability to isolate CEST contrast. By using a 30 ms pulse at 2 μT, we were able to achieve CEST contrast on the order of 2% and could provide APT maps based on an adapted Lorentzian fitting method. In the process of this fitting, it was also discovered that MTR contrast could also be recovered from the CEST data, allowing for MT and CEST to be acquired at the same time.


Sequential Monte Carlo (SMC) algorithms were originally designed for estimating intractable conditional expectations within state-space models, but are now routinely used to generate approximate samples in the context of general-purpose Bayesian inference. In particular, SMC algorithms are often used as subroutines within larger Monte Carlo schemes, and in this context, the demands placed on SMC are different: control of mean-squared error is insufficient—one needs to control the divergence from the target distribution directly. Towards this goal, we introduce the conditional adaptive resampling particle filter, building on the work of Gordon, Salmond, and Smith (1993), Andrieu, Doucet, and Holenstein (2010), and Whiteley, Lee, and Heine (2016). By controlling a novel notion of effective sample size, the ∞-ESS, we establish the efficiency of the resulting SMC sampling algorithm, providing an adaptive resampling extension of the work of Andrieu, Lee, and Vihola (2013). We apply our results to arrive at new divergence bounds for SMC samplers with adaptive resampling as well as an adaptive resampling version of the Particle Gibbs algorithm with the same geometric-ergodicity guarantees as its nonadaptive counterpart.


Imaging arrays can be constructed from photodiode sensor elements using integrated circuit fabrication techniques. Such imaging arrays have proved to be useful in the field of observational astronomy, chiefly because of their linearity and good spectral response in the near infra red region. A photodiode array has been developed by the Plessey Co. Limited, in collaboration with the Royal Greenwich Observatory. This array incorporates certain novel techniques, including an "on-chip" charge amplifier on each element, and a multiplexing scheme that allows correlated double sampling and non-destructive readout. The array was originally designed to be used in an electron counting mode, installed in an electronographic tube. The Nuclear Instrumentation Group of Durham University has investigated the application of this array to direct optical imaging, in particular for astronomical spectroscopy. The characteristics of the array when used in the photon integration mode have been investigated, and measurements have been made of responsivity, thermal leakage, linearity, noise components, and other properties. A CAMAC based computer control system has been designed and constructed, and the required software developed, to operate the array as an observing instrument. The array has been used in observational tests at the Coude spectrograph of the 30 inch telescope of the Royal Greenwich Observatory, and a quantity of spectral data has been obtained.


Two different methods, namely chemical and physical modification in the Druvather® reactor DVT5 and Krauss Maffei twin-screw extruder ZE25R x 40D UTXi were used to prepare cationically modified starches, and the properties of those were compared. The reactive extrusion process consisted of two stages. In the first one, the mixture of reaction components at the molar ratio starch : 2,3-epoxypropyltrimethyl-ammonium chloride : NaOH : H2O = 1 : 0.125 : 0.04 : 3.5 was obtained. In the second one, the derived mixture was extruded by using a twin-screw extruder. The extrusion temperature varied from 20 to 140 °C, the screw speed was 50 rpm, and the mixture feed rate was about 1.5 kg/h. Four different samples of extruded cationic starches were obtained. The main characteristics such as the degree of substitution of cationic groups (DS), reaction efficiency, particle size and the polydispersity index were determined and compared with those of a non-extruded control sample of cationic starch of similar DS. Also, the parameters well defining the behavior of samples in water, such as the swelling power (SP) and the solubility index (SOL) at 75 °C were determined for extruded and control samples. It was established that the properties of extruded and non-extruded cationic starches were different. The following observations can be drawn with respect to the obtained data: the particle size of the extruded samples is much lower and the SP values are 7–13 times lower than those of the control sample; the SOL values of the extruded samples are twice as high, reaching 76–92 %, and even might be higher.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.ct.68.1.18876


This article explores the interaction of two forms of authority: organisational authority and citizen's authority. The concept of citizen's authority derives from Pettit, and organisational authority has theoretical roots in Weber. Citizen's authority entails the right to be the author of your own life decisions, while organisational authority is the right of an actor to speak on behalf of an organisation. With inspiration from Goffman and Austin, we take a performative ethnographic approach to the analysis of 23 video-recorded consultations with homeless individuals (23), their family members (3) and service providers (43) in three Danish shelters. While those with organisational authority (staff) can prevail over those with only citizen's authority (clients), they typically refrain from doing so in an overt manner. We demonstrate that social actors are skilled at performing different kinds of authority simultaneously; they draw upon conflicting identities as clients, professionals and citizens in a changing front-stage and back-stage environment. The homeless and staff deploy rules and procedures as well as emotion and laughter in their encounters with each other.


East of Ankara, Turkey, within the major thrust-bound tectonic units of the Ankara melange (Karakaya and Anatolian Nappes), are numerous blocks of low-grade metamorphosed submarine basaltic lavas. Stable incompatible element geochemistry indicates that the majority of these basalts are alkaline and exhibit a range of characteristics typical of many within-plate oceanic islands (OIB). There is a broad chemical overlap between alkaline basalts from within the Triassic Karakaya Nappes (metamorphic and limestone block melanges) and the Cretaceous Anatolian Nappe (ophiolitic melange). A complete sequence of submarine alkaline basalt lavas was sampled within the ophiolitic melange (the 500 m Kiliclar section) to illustrate the variation and petrogenesis of a small seamount-related crustal segment, prior to tectonic dismemberment. The basalts can be divided into three chemical groups that relate to discrete petrographic segments of the lava pile and probably reflect variable degrees of partial melting of a garnet-bearing enriched source. The chemistry of alkaline basalts within the ophiolitic melange, together with their sedimentary associations, suggests an initial submarine environment adjacent to the volcaniclastite debris-filled moats of oceanic islands or seamounts and their volcanically-active arches. Dismemberment of the seamount-related basalts and pelagic sediments took place during subduction of the oceanic crust and their eventual accretion within a forearc platform.


The complex challenges and cost of intervention in acquiring representative subsea fluid sampling has necessitated an optimised novel approach to compositional fluid tracking to improve estimation of the local fluid properties for facility design optimisation and operations of subsea production systems. This enables computation of the local thermodynamic and hydrodynamic equilibrium in a pipeline flow simulation that accurately takes into account the fluid compositional changes in space and time, and continuously calculates physical properties based on the in-situ hydrocarbon and aqueous compositions. The present paper demonstrates confidence in the application of compositional fluid tracking with transient multiphase dynamic flow model on subsea fluid sampling and allocation of each well production.


Many desert organisms exhibit convergence, and certain physical factors such as windblown sands have generated remarkably similar ecomorphs across divergent lineages. The burrowing geckos Colopus, Chondrodactylus and Palmatogecko occupy dune ecosystems in the Namib and Kalahari deserts of southwest Africa. Considered closely related, they share several putative synapomorphies, including reduced subdigital pads (toe pads) and spinose digital scales. Though recognized as part of Africa's ecologically diverse Pachydactylus Group, the burrowing geckos' precise phylogenetic affinities remain elusive. Convergent pedal modification provides a tenable alternative explaining the geckos' derived terrestriality and adaptation to Namib and Kalahari sands. We generated a molecular phylogeny for the Pachydactylus Group to examine evolutionary relationships among the burrowing geckos and infer historical patterns of pedal character change. Bayesian and parsimony analyses revealed all three burrowing genera to be deeply nested within Pachydactylus, each genus belonging to a separate clade. Strong support for these distinct clades indicates ecomorphological adaptations for burrowing have evolved independently three times in the southern Pachydactylus Group. We argue that the physical properties of Namib and Kalahari sands played a principal role in selecting for pedal similarity.


BRCA1 mutation is associated with carcinogenesis, especially of breast tissue. Telomere maintenance is crucial for malignant transformation. Being a part of the DNA repair machinery, BRCA1 may be implicated in telomere biology. We explored the role of BRCA1 in telomere maintenance in lymphocytes of BRCA1/2 mutation carriers and in in vitro system by knocking down its expression in non-malignant breast epithelial cells. The results in both systems were similar. BRCA1/2 mutation caused perturbation of telomere homeostasis, shortening of the single stranded telomere overhang and increased the intercellular telomere length variability as well as the number of telomere free chromosomal ends and telomeric circles. These changes resulted in an increased DNA damage status. Telomerase activity, inducibility and expression remained unchanged. BRCA1 mutation resulted also in changes in the binding of shelterin proteins to telomeres. DNMT-1 levels were markedly reduced both in the carriers and in in vitro system. The methylation pattern of the sub-telomeric regions in carriers suggested hypomethylation in chromosome 10. The expression of a distinct set of genes was also changed, some of which may relate to pre-disposition to malignancy. These results show that BRCA gene products have a role in telomere length homeostasis. It is plausible that these perturbations contribute to malignant transformation in BRCA mutants.


SUMMARY Participatory forest management in China has been a dynamic and evolving process towards sustainable forest management, gradually integrating forest management with rural development by enhancing community participation and benefits derived from forest management. Participatory forest management has been increasingly supported by fiscal policy, land tenure reforms, management models and capacity building initiatives. It has also become an important discourse for sustainable forest management (SFM) in China. Since the early 1990s, we have seen participatory forest management piloted at community levels, scaled to regional levels and institutionalized in policy at the national level. However, obvious challenges for enhanced adoption exist, including institutional barriers, little research, poor practices and a failure to replicate lessons learned from successful cases. To enhance SFM through participatory forest management, it is recommended that China decentralizes forest management, resolves forest tenure issues, improves multi-sectoral cooperation, incorporates the concept of participatory forest management into key forestry programs and enhances capacity for research and practice.


An automatic image analysis method was developed to determine the shape and size of spheroidal cells from a time series of differential interference contrast (DIC) images. The program incorporates an edge detection algorithm and dynamic programming for edge linking. To assess the accuracy and working range of the method, results from DIC images of different focal planes and resolutions were compared to confocal images in which the cell membrane was fluorescently labelled. The results indicate that a 1‐µm focal drift from the in‐focus plane can lead to an overestimation of cell volume up to 14.1%, mostly due to shadowing effects of DIC microscopy. DIC images allow for accurate measurements when the focal plane lies in a zone slightly above the centre of a spherical cell. In this range the method performs with 1.9% overall volume error without taking into account the error introduced by the representation of the cell as a sphere. As a test case, the method was applied to quantify volume changes due to acute changes of osmotic stress.


Humans are social animals that experience intense suffering when they perceive a lack of social connection. Modern societies are experiencing an epidemic of loneliness. While the experience of loneliness is universally human, some people report experiencing greater loneliness than others. Loneliness is more strongly associated with mortality than obesity, emphasizing the need to understand the nature of the relationship between loneliness and health. While it is intuitive that circumstantial factors such as marital status and age influence loneliness, there is also compelling evidence of a genetic predisposition towards loneliness. To better understand the genetic architecture of loneliness and its relationship with associated outcomes, we conducted a genome-wide association (GWAS) meta-analysis of loneliness (N=475,661), report 12 associated loci (two novel) and significant genetic correlations with 34 other complex traits. The polygenic basis for loneliness was significantly enriched for evolutionary constrained genes and genes expressed in specific brain tissues: (frontal) cortex, cerebellum, anterior cingulate cortex, and substantia nigra. We built polygenic scores based on this GWAS meta-analysis to explore the genetic association between loneliness and health outcomes in an independent sample of 18,498 individuals for whom electronic health records were available. A genetic predisposition towards loneliness predicted cardiovascular, psychiatric, and metabolic disorders, and triglycerides and high-density lipoproteins. Mendelian randomization analyses showed evidence of a causal, increasing, effect of body fat on loneliness, and a similar weaker causal effect of BMI. Our results provide a framework for ongoing studies of the genetic basis of loneliness and its role in mental and physical health.


We theoretically study a pulsed stimulated two-photon Raman outcoupler for an atom laser using a full three-dimensional description. A finite-temperature trapped Bose-condensed atomic gas is treated self-consistently by the Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov equations. The model is closely related to a recent experiment on optical outcoupling [E.W. Hagley et al., Science 283, 1706 (1999)]. We analyze the momentum distribution of the output atoms and show how the output beam may be used as a probe of the quantum state for the trapped atomic gas and how it could be engineered and controlled in a nonlinear way.


The conceptual design of the BRIKEN neutron detector at the radioactive ion beam factory (RIBF) of the RIKEN Nishina Center is reported. The BRIKEN setup is a complex system aimed at detecting heavy-ion implants, β particles, γ rays and β-delayed neutrons. The whole setup includes the Advanced Implantation Detection Array (AIDA), two HPGe Clover detectors and up to 166 3He-filled counters embedded in a high-density polyethylene moderator. The design is quite complex due to the large number and different types of 3He-tubes involved and the additional constraints introduced by the ancillary detectors for charged particles and γ rays. This article reports on a novel methodology developed for the conceptual design and optimisation of the 3He-counter array, aiming for the best possible performance in terms of neutron detection. The algorithm is based on a geometric representation of two selected detector parameters of merit, namely, the average neutron detection efficiency and the efficiency flatness as a function of a reduced number of geometric variables. The response of the neutron detector is obtained from a systematic Monte Carlo simulation implemented in GEANT4. The robustness of the algorithm allowed us to design a versatile detection system, which operated in hybrid mode includes the full neutron counter and two clover detectors for high-precision gamma spectroscopy. In addition, the system can be reconfigured into a compact mode by removing the clover detectors and re-arranging the 3He tubes in order to maximize the neutron detection performance. Both operation modes shows a rather flat and high average efficiency. In summary, we have designed a system which shows an average efficiency for hybrid mode (3He tubes + clovers) of 68.6% and 64% for neutron energies up to 1 and 5 MeV, respectively. For compact mode (only 3He tubes), the average efficiency is 75.7% and 71% for neutron energies up to 1 and 5 MeV, respectively. The performance of the BRIKEN detection system has been also quantified by means of Monte Carlo simulations with different neutron energy distributions.


We use data for 436 rural districts from the 2001 Census of India to examine whether different aspects of social divisions help explain the wide variation in access to tap water across rural India. Studies linking social fragmentation to public goods usually aggregate different types of fragmentation into one index. In contrast, we use disaggregated measures of social fragmentation to show that different types of social fragmentation are associated with dramatically different outcomes for access to tap water in rural India. Communities that are heterogeneous in terms of caste (within the majority Hindu religion) have lower access to tap water than correspondingly homogeneous communities. Communities that are fragmented across religions have higher access to tap water than correspondingly homogeneous communities. This underscores the importance of heterogeneity both within and across religions. Therefore, relying on aggregate measures of social fragmentation may conceal different effects of the component measures and obscure important information regarding the design of policies related to public goods.


Abstract. Leaf transpiration and energy exchange are coupled processes that operate at small scales yet exert a significant influence on the terrestrial hydrological cycle and climate. Surprisingly, experimental capabilities required to quantify the energy–transpiration coupling at the leaf scale are lacking, challenging our ability to test basic questions of importance for resolving large-scale processes. The present study describes an experimental set-up for the simultaneous observation of transpiration rates and all leaf energy balance components under controlled conditions, using an insulated closed loop miniature wind tunnel and artificial leaves with pre-defined and constant diffusive conductance for water vapour. A range of tests documents the above capabilities of the experimental set-up and points to potential improvements. The tests reveal a conceptual flaw in the assumption that leaf temperature can be characterized by a single value, suggesting that even for thin, planar leaves, a temperature gradient between the irradiated and shaded or transpiring and non-transpiring leaf side can lead to bias when using observed leaf temperatures and fluxes to deduce effective conductances to sensible heat or water vapour transfer. However, comparison of experimental results with an explicit leaf energy balance model revealed only minor effects on simulated leaf energy exchange rates by the neglect of cross-sectional leaf temperature gradients, lending experimental support to our current understanding of leaf gas and energy exchange processes.


Regional Health Information Organizations (RHIOs) in rural areas promise improved health care for many underserved populations. However, implementation in rural areas faces many challenges. One of the most rural states in the United States is in the process of creating a second comprehensive health information network and offers an opportunity to look at success factors for implementation of rural RHIOs. Methods: Documentation was reviewed and summarized and a core group of Vermont Information Technology Leaders (VITL, Inc.) were interviewed to ascertained lessons learned in the development of Vermont's RHIO. Results: Lessons were grouped into five major categories: early planning, organization, education and marketing, technology, and financial sustainability. Conclusion: There are a number of commonalities about all RHIOs but also a number of differences predicated on location. RHIOs must remain dynamic and learn from others in order to survive.


Self-organizing maps (Kohonen 1997) is a type of artificial neural network developed
to explore patterns in high-dimensional multivariate data. The conventional version
of the algorithm involves the use of Euclidean metric in the process of adaptation of
the model vectors, thus rendering in theory a whole methodology incompatible with
non-Euclidean geometries.
In this contribution we explore the two main aspects of the problem:
1. Whether the conventional approach using Euclidean metric can shed valid results
with compositional data.
2. If a modification of the conventional approach replacing vectorial sum and scalar
multiplication by the canonical operators in the simplex (i.e. perturbation and
powering) can converge to an adequate solution.
Preliminary tests showed that both methodologies can be used on compositional data.
However, the modified version of the algorithm performs poorer than the conventional
version, in particular, when the data is pathological. Moreover, the conventional ap-
proach converges faster to a solution, when data is \well-behaved".
Key words: Self Organizing Map; Artificial Neural networks; Compositional data


ABSTRACT This paper outlines a collaborative project between a group of Fine Art and Geography students who helped develop and contribute to a conversation about recording 'place'. Introducing methodologies from both disciplines, the project started from the premise of all environmental 'recordings' being 'inputs' and so questioned what could be defined as 'data' when encountering a location. Brunel's Grand Entrance to the Thames Tunnel (London) provided the motivation for 10 objective and subjective 'recordings' which were subsequently distilled into a smaller subset and then used to produce a short film that was presented at an international conference. Important to the collaborative nature of the project were ongoing opportunities to share equipment, techniques, material and references across disciplines. It was an experiment to measure the potential for 'mapping' to capture physical and historical information, as well as embodied experience.


ABSTRACT A firm's response to economic volatility is a topic of interest to managers and academics alike. This study examines the relationship between resources for marketing and financial capabilities and performance of firms in recovery from economic crisis in Thailand. The authors researched this timely topic by collecting data from the Thailand market. Marketing capabilities (market orientation & strategic flexibility) and financial capabilities (financial strength & financial diversification) were chosen as independent variables. The results indicated that financial strength and financial diversification, as well as strategic flexibility, had positive influences on firms' performance. However, financial capabilities had greater influences on performance than marketing capabilities. Comparing these two types of capabilities sheds light on the resource allocation decision between the two functional areas when firms operate amid an economic crisis. INTRODUCTION In the global economy, domestic and international firms become more susceptible to economic crises, regardless of where they originate. Increased globalization and emergence of the network economy bring more direct and indirect effects of an economic crisis to firms (Achrol & Kotler, 1999). Although the Asian financial crisis, which began in Thailand in 1997, has passed, it continues to impact market conditions and firm performances in Asia and beyond. Among firms that have survived such a difficult time, it seems important to address the question of why some have recovered and now perform well while others do not. What we learn on how they have utilized certain strategies and resources will provide much insight to practitioners and researchers. Here we draw from a resource-based view in strategic management for identifying and justifying key determinants (Morash & Lynch, 2002). An understanding of the importance of the relationship between resources and performance and how these resources can be used to help a firm respond effectively to major crises may shed light on resource allocation decisions between the two functional areas: marketing and financial capabilities. This study also examines whether marketing capabilities play a more critical role than financial capabilities in explaining changes in a firm's recovery from economic crisis. LITERATURE REVIEW AND HYPOTHESES Relevant literature on economic crises, marketing capabilities and financial capabilities are reviewed in this section. Economic crises affect the ability of firms to manage a critical event. We use the resource-based view to help us understand how these firms exploit their capabilities to face the challenges of an economic crisis. Comparable effects of marketing and financial capabilities in managing this critical event are also considered. Economic Crisis International economic crises have emerged many times over the past decades. In the Central and South America crisis of 1982-1983, Mexico, Brazil, and Argentina were unable to make regular payments to international creditors. In 1992, a wave of speculation attacked the European Monetary Systems (Kim & Haque, 2002). When the Mexican government devalued its currency against the U.S. dollar in 1997, the crisis had widespread effects on currencies of both Latin and non-Latin American countries (Koo & Kiser, 2001). The Asian financial crisis which emerged in Thailand in 1997, rapidly affected economic systems and stability in many countries in Asia and beyond (Wong, 2001). It was a surprise to people, managers, and researchers because economic growth of these countries had been fast and showed healthy signs since 1990. This crisis raised many questions. Why had the crisis occurred? How can we prevent an economic crisis from recurring? How do we manage if it recurs? Thus, the emergence of the Asian financial crisis has become an interesting academic study. …


The development of 2-dimensional materials has expanded beyond the realm of graphene, and now includes inorganic 2-dimensional transition metal oxides/hydroxides, which show promise for a wide range of applications. As an emerging class of nanoscale materials, they show unprecedented properties that are unattainable in their bulk lamellar systems, which can be attributed to their confined thickness compared to several tens of micrometer lateral dimensions. Such qualities make them viable candidates for battery and supercapacitor applications. There are a few challenges ahead for 2-dimensional transition metal oxides/hydroxides, including the limited types of 2-dimensional parent materials in bulk form, the controlled synthesis of 2-dimensional nanostructures with nonlayered structures, and the ability to control the properties of layers by tuning the chemistry and nanoscopic features. This Focus Review will cover the research landscape of 2-dimensional transition metal oxides/hydroxides, ranging from synthetic approaches, to understanding the properties that emerge at the single-layer scale, to exploiting these properties in both new and existing technologies.


From 23–28 August 2016, Chinua University of Petroleum-Beijing (CUPB) hosted the finals for the 4th National Exploration Geophysics Competition for College Students (NEGCCS). After a heated preliminary contest, which lasted eight months, 30 teams from 17 organizations reached the finals. The teams were from Peking University, University of Science and Technology of China, Jilin University, Tongji University, CUPB, China University of Petroleum (East China), China University of Geosciences (Beijing), Chang'an University, China University of Mining and Technology, Ocean University of China, Yangtze University, Geology and Geophysics Research Institute of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Northeast Petroleum University, Southwest Petroleum University, Chengdu University of Technology, Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration & Development of CNPC, and National Central University (Taiwan).


A coprocessing solvent extraction flowsheet for recovery and purification of light water reactor (LWR) fuels has been developed. This flowsheet never completely separates uranium from plutonium. The flowsheet has changed operation of the partitioning contactor to achieve partial partitioning of uranium and plutonium. Partial partitioning has been demonstrated with simulated feeds and irradiated LWR fuel solutions with hydroxylamine nitrate reductant to concentrate the plutonium by factors of 6 to 27.4. Nitrite was shown to interfere with the reduction of plutonium. Increased hydroxylamine concentrations gave normal reduction behavior. 7 figures, 5 tables.


An assessment of heavy metal and pesticide pollution was conducted at a commercial airport in Pietermaritzburg, which is the base for a local crop spraying operation, as well as a small-scale aircraft maintenance centre. The study investigated the presence of heavy metals from the aircraft activities (tyre wear, emission and aircraft body attrition) along ftie edges of the runway. In addition, the study assessed the pollution of the soil in different parts of the airport (areas adjacent to the crop sprayer hangar and maintenance hangars drainage ditch) caused by organic chemicals (pesticides) originating from the washing and maintenance of the crop spraying aircrafts. A total of 37 samples were taken from the top soil (0-15 cm) adjacent to both sides of the runway, approximately 100 meters apart, for heavy metal assessment. Total metal concentrations were determined on a 1:1 HNO3 acid extract analysed using inductively coupled plasma spectroscopy and the results compared with the baseline concentrations of heavy metals in the soils of South Africa. The average levels of the heavy metals in the soils were: Cd 4.4, Co 76, Cr 142, Mn 6580, Pb 64 and Zn 70 mg/kg. The Cd and Co concentrations of all samples and the Pb and Zn concentrations of 86% of the samples were above the South African guidelines for the maximum permissible contents of these metals (2 mg/kg Cd, 20 mg/kg Co, 6.6 mg/kg Pb, 46.5 mg/kg Zn) in soils. In addition, the concentration of Cr was significantly above these guidelines (80 mg/kg Cr ) in 51% of the samples. All the metals, except zinc, were highly correlated with one another indicating the source for these heavy metals is the same. In addition the concentration of these metals was high at sampling points adjacent to the runway where pronounced aircraft tyre wear marks were observed, suggesting that the aircraft activities are the sources of these heavy metals. A total of 13 samples were collected from areas adjacent to the crop sprayer hangar and the drainage ditch (at the maintenance hangars) in order to determine the qualitative presence of organic pollutants. The samples were prepared using soxhlet extraction. Cypermethrin, deltamethrin, azoxystrobin, fusillade and fluazifop-p-butyl as well as fuel oils Jet Al and Avgas were qualitatively determined using GC/MS. Only fusillade and fluazifop-p-butyl were detected, in some of the samples. No quantitative analyses of the organic chemicals was attempted due to time constraints.


What social value do Likes on Facebook hold? This research examines people's attitudes and behaviors related to receiving one-click feedback in social media. Likes and other kinds of lightweight affirmation serve as social cues of acceptance and maintain interpersonal relationships, but may mean different things to different people. Through surveys and de-identified, aggregated behavioral Facebook data, we find that in general, people care more about who Likes their posts than how many Likes they receive, desiring feedback most from close friends, romantic partners, and family members other than their parents. While most people do not feel strongly that receiving "enough" Likes is important, roughly two-thirds of posters regularly receive more than "enough." We also note a "Like paradox," a phenomenon in which people's friends receive more Likes because their friends have more friends to provide those Likes. Individuals with lower levels of self-esteem and higher levels of self-monitoring are more likely to think that Likes are important and to feel bad if they do not receive "enough" Likes. The results inform product design and our understanding of how lightweight interactions shape our experiences online.


Helminths: Handbook for Identification and Counting of ParasiticHelminth Eggs in Urban Wastewater is the result of several studies that the public entity for sanitation and wastewater treatment in Murcia Region (ESAMUR), has undertaken regarding the presence of helminth eggs in both urban wastewater and reclaimed water, and their behavior in the Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP) processes.

The handbook is a useful tool for anyone who is involved in preserving water quality. The identification of parasitic helminth eggs has been simplified with an easy identification key and specific identifying sheets in order to achieve the highest standards within this indicative parameter in water quality.

The treatment and disinfection of urban waste water, before its release into the river system or re-use for agricultural or industrial purposes, has been one of the greatest advances within the field of health.

The control and study of possible pathogenic parasites that exist in water is an important aspect of the work undertaken at the Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP), to guarantee water quality and its safety for release into the river system or for re-use as regenerated water.

This handbook has been produced as a result of the information gathered by ESAMUR (Regional Entity for Sanitation and Wastewater Treatment in Murcia Region) and can be used for teaching and as a useful reference source when preserving water quality

Helminths: Handbook for Identification and Counting of ParasiticHelminth Eggs in Urban Wastewater is a valuable handbook for managers of Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTP), university teachers, laboratory managers, qualified operators, responsible for the reuse of reclaimed water, and general staff involved in related wastewater treatment processes

ISBN: 9781780407159 (eBook)

ISBN: 9781780407142 (Print)


A major theme of election law scholarship over the last decade has been that judicial oversight of the devices of democracy is desirable to foster adequate political competition. Under this view, politicians' self-interest should preclude them from deciding the conditions for their own future races, such as the location of legislative districts. Apart from the merits or problems with this approach, the reality is that courts increasingly are called upon to engage in political regulation. Election law litigation has more than doubled in the last decade.Turning to judges as political regulators can be problematic in two ways. First, judges, like politicians, might act in self-interest to favor their past or present political party or to keep themselves in office. Second, apart from self-interest, judges come to these cases with their own world views and might not apply "neutral" principles in deciding election law cases. If either of these two concerns has merit, then the role of judges as political regulators needs further examination. Under what circumstances should judges decide issues of political regulation? What changes in the structure of adjudication or legislative drafting could be made to minimize the problems with judicial regulation of politics? Are there other institutions that may be designed for the regulation of politics?This paper does not answer these questions, but sets forth some of the evidence bearing on them as well as an agenda for future research. Part I briefly describes the case for judicial intervention in politics and describes the litigation explosion in the election law area in the last decade. Part II discusses the literature and open questions regarding how judges decide political regulation cases. It draws upon, among other things, a study on judges and the "single subject rule" applicable to initiatives. Part III considers whether changes in legislative drafting or institutional design could improve the field of political regulation. In particular, it considers whether "New Institutionalist" proposals may be relied upon to lessen the public's dependence upon judges as political regulators.


been tried and failed. If surgery does succeed, then certainly both stress incontinence and urgency incontinence can be cured. Similarly, when the detrusor is stable both stress and urgency incontinence may be present. The aetiology of the latter is uncertain. Following surgery it has been shown that where frequency is impro-ved urgency incontinence is also improved and vice versa. It is this imprecise nature of "clinical urgency" which demands urodynamic investigation. It is not clear from the comments of Mr Lees and Mr Singer on the cases quoted why the decision to delay surgery had been correct. I should like to know how they gauged the effectiveness of their operation without objective evidence. The simple procedure of coming to the examination couch with an empty bladder will naturally fail to disclose stress incontinence. Do they therefore ensure that patients are examined with the same volume of fluid in the bladder at each visit ? How did they diagnose that the patient with recurrent incontinence had genuine stress incontinence rather than incontinence due to detrusor instability ? Finally, while readily accepting the importance of elevation of thle bladder neck and proximal urethra in the control of incontinence, I should like to know what evidence there is that the pubocervical fascia is the essential element in this manoeuvre. STUART STANTON


This article discusses the diffusion of a regulatory system against money-laundering in Southeast Asia. To this end, the article reconstructs how the Financial Action Task Force has securitised the issue of money-laundering into a global problem requiring a global solution and how this has spread to developing nations. The article seeks to demonstrate how these international norms and practices spread and are transformed into national law within Southeast Asia. The article further shows that these transformations reflect an increasing level of multilateral cooperation within the region and that this phenomena can be better understood as the articulation of a global expression of governmentality where a set of strategies and policing techniques emerges to effect control.


An electronic Data Sharing Agreement (DSA) is the machine-processable transposition of a traditional paper contract regulating data sharing among different organizations. DSA conveys different information, like the purpose of data sharing, the parties stipulating the contract, the kind of data, and a set of rules stating which actions are authorized, prohibited, and obliged on such data. Possibly edited by different actors from various perspectives such as the legal and the business ones a DSA could quite naturally include conflictual data sharing rules: the same data access request could be permitted according to some rules and denied according to others. Starting from the DSA definition, this paper describes the design of a DSA analysis framework and the development of the associated analysis tool. The DSA-Analyser proposed here evaluates the DSA rules by simulating all the possible contextual conditions, which may occur at access request time and which are linked to the vocabulary associated to the rules themselves. The output of the tool conveniently guides the editor, pointing to those rules, which are potentially conflicting, and highlighting the reasons leading to those conflicts. We have experimented the DSA-Analyser performances in terms of execution time, by varying the number of rules in the DSA, as well as the terms in the DSA vocabulary. Our findings highlight the capability of the analyser to deal with hundreds of rules and dozens of contexts in a reasonable amount of time. These results pave the way to the employment of the analyser in a real-use context.


In this paper, two single-phase liquid cooling strategies for electronics thermal management are compared and contrasted; impinging jet arrays and laminar flow in microchannels. The comparison is posed for a situation in which an electronic device must dissipate 250 W/cm2 while being maintained at a temperature of 85degC. The calculations indicate that both the impinging jet and microchannel heat sinks can provide the necessary cooling with less than 0.1 W of pumping power. Microchannels achieve this heat transfer target with such low pumping power by the relatively high pressure drop being offset by a low volumetric flow rate. In contrast, impinging jet heat sinks require a lower pressure drop and higher volumetric flow rate. From a practical point of view, lower operating pressure and larger mass flow rates are desirable characteristics, since they will be less prone to leakage and will provide better temperature uniformity across the heated component.


Background The recent literature pertaining to delayed cerebral ischemia following aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage has downplayed the role of angiographic vasospasm. However, it is our hypothesis that angiographic vasospasm has a significant pathophysiological role in this disease. We undertook an observational radiographic study of patients who presented in a delayed manner (>72 h from ictus) with evidence of severe angiographic vasospasm on initial angiography in order to describe an apparent association between vasospasm and infarct location. Methods This was a retrospective study of consecutive patients treated at our unit. Initial, subsequent, and follow-up cross-sectional imaging with CT or MRI was analyzed in conjunction with initial angiography. Sites of angiographic narrowing, angiographic hypoperfusion, and subsequent sites of infarction were assessed. Results Thirteen patients (6 women, 7 men) of mean age 49 years were assessed. Mean time to presentation was 6 days. All had severe angiographic vasospasm. Nine of the 13 patients suffered infarction; the infarcts in seven of the nine patients were large. There was correlation between sites of angiographic narrowing and infarction in all cases and eight of the nine cases showed angiographic hypoperfusion in a location corresponding to eventual infarct location. Conclusions Severe angiographic vasospasm may be linked to infarction in patients who present late. These infarcts are mostly large despite maximal treatment. We question the notion that proximal vasospasm has a minor role in delayed ischemia.


This article investigates why the governments of Australia and Poland decided to contribute military forces to the United States led invasion of Iraq in March 2003 when a majority of Australian and Polish citizens were opposed to national involvement in the invasion. The objective of the article is to increase understanding of the conditions under which governments ignore the public in their foreign policymaking. The article examines the explanatory power of four intervening variables: issue salience, elite debate, timing of the next election and the importance assigned to international gains by the government. On the basis of the Direct Method of Agreement, the article concludes that government perceptions of international gains and the timing of the next election were potentially necessary factors for the outcomes of the cases, while issue salience and elite debate were not necessary conditions. A distant election may, thus, provide sufficient electoral protection for a government that conducts a foreign policy to which the public is opposed.


Purpose: This paper aims to incorporate model uncertainty in variable selection and forecasting in the monetarist money demand model and check whether the emerging economies such as the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Russia, Mexico, Brazil, Turkey, India, Republic of South Africa, and Indonesia follow this model in the long-run. The case of the United Kingdom serves as a benchmark for the study. Design/Methodology/Approach: In dynamic econometric modeling, the number of potential explanatory variables increases rapidly, and model uncertainty grows very fast. Consequently, empirical modeling of money demand needs a comprehensive strategy for model selection and forecasting. We use Bayesian averaging of classical estimates (BACE) as an appropriate model reduction strategy. The monetary model serves as the theoretical basis for empirical equilibrium error-correction models (EqCM) and employing the Bayesian averaging of classical estimates (BACE) approach for variable and model selection and forecasting. Findings: Four theoretical and competitive model specifications are proposed and empirically tested. We found that monetary systems in Indonesia and other analyzed economies are both stable and theory consistent. The forecasts generated for Indonesia are accurate. The robustness of the model selection based on the BACE procedure was strongly confirmed. Practical Implications: The proposed procedure is valid for practical application, particularly in dynamic model selection and forecasting. Originality/Value: The novelty of this research lies in employing the BACE approach to model the demand for money with the equilibrium error correction (EqCM) mechanism.


During World War II, American women entered the workforce in unprecedented numbers, and many of them relied on federally funded child care programs. At the end of the war, working mothers vigorously protested the termination of child care subsidies. In Citizen, Mother, Worker , Emilie Stoltzfus traces grassroots activism and national and local policy debates concerning public funding of children's day care in the two decades after the end of World War II. Using events in Cleveland, Ohio; Washington, D.C.; and the state of California, Stoltzfus identifies a prevailing belief among postwar policymakers that women could best serve the nation as homemakers. Although federal funding was briefly extended after the end of the war, grassroots campaigns for subsidized day care in Cleveland and Washington met with only limited success. In California, however, mothers asserted their importance to the state's economy as "productive citizens" and won a permanent, state-funded child care program. In addition, by the 1960s, federal child care funding gained new life as an alternative to cash aid for poor single mothers. These debates about the public's stake in what many viewed as a private matter help illuminate America's changing social, political, and fiscal priorities, as well as the meaning of female citizenship in the postwar period. |Stoltzfus traces grassroots activism and national and local policy debates surrounding public funding of childcare services for working parents in the two decades after the end of World War II. Using case studies from Cleveland, Washington, D.C., and the state of California, she explains why we still don't have adequate child care in America. The book helps illuminate America's changing social, political, and fiscal priorities, as well as the meaning of female citizenship in the postwar period.


We present the first thermoelectric measurements on pentacene field effect transistors. We report high values of the Seebeck coefficient at room temperature between 240 and 500 micro V/K depending on the dielectric surface treatment. These values are independent of the thickness of the channel and of the applied gate voltage. Two contributions to the Seebeck coefficient are clearly identified: the expected contribution that is dependent on the position of the transport level and reflects the activated character of carrier generation, and an unexpected intrinsic contribution of 265 plus minus 40 micro V/K that is independent of the temperature and the treatment of the oxide surface. This value corresponds to an unusually large lattice vibrational entropy of 3 kB per carrier. We demonstrate that this intrinsic vibrational entropy arises from lattice hardening induced by the presence of the charge-carrier. Our results provide direct evidence of the importance of electronic polarization effects on charge transport in organic molecular semiconductors.


The localization transition and the critical properties of the Lorentz model in three dimensions are investigated by computer simulations. We give a coherent and quanti tative explanation of the dynamics in terms of continuum percolation theory and obtain an excellent match ing of the critical density and exponents. Within a dynamic scaling Ansatz incorporating two divergent length scales we achieve data collapse for the mean-square displacements and identify the leading corrections to scal ing. We provide evidence for a divergent non-Gaussian parameter close to the transition.


Evidence is reported for the existence and the perceptual relevance of a hitherto rather unattended regularity of melodic patterns in Western music. An inquiry into the occurrence of within-octave melodic intervals in a large variety of examples of Western music showed small intervals to be predominantly descenders and large ones to be ascenders. The perceptual relevance of the distributional regularity in question was tested. Subjects were required to discriminate between computer-generated melodic patterns that were endowed either with the discovered regularity of shape distribution over intervals or with the reversed structure. The results were convincingly positive. Music-theoretical intuitions of Meyer (1956, 1973) are used to account for the data and to claim their generalizability to non-Western melodic patterns. Finally, the outcome of this study is discussed with respect to its relevance to various musicological and music-psychological issues.


Recent findings in permanent cell lines suggested that SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.1 induces a stronger interferon response than Delta. Here, we show that BA.1 and BA.5 but not Delta induce an antiviral state in air-liquid interface (ALI) cultures of primary human bronchial epithelial (HBE) cells and primary human monocytes. Both Omicron subvariants caused the production of biologically active type I (α/β) and III (λ) interferons and protected cells from super-infection with influenza A viruses. Notably, abortive Omicron infection of monocytes was sufficient to protect monocytes from influenza A virus infection. Interestingly, while influenza-like illnesses surged during the Delta wave in England, their spread rapidly declined upon the emergence of Omicron. Mechanistically, Omicron-induced interferon signalling was mediated via double-stranded RNA recognition by MDA5, as MDA5 knock-out prevented it. The JAK/ STAT inhibitor baricitinib inhibited the Omicron-mediated antiviral response, suggesting it is caused by MDA5-mediated interferon production, which activates interferon receptors that then trigger JAK/ STAT signalling. In conclusion, our study 1) demonstrates that only Omicron but not Delta induces a substantial interferon response in physiologically relevant models, 2) shows that Omicron infection protects cells from influenza A virus super-infection, and 3) indicates that BA.1 and BA.5 induce comparable antiviral states.


Abstract Oxide scale cross-sections of CeO2 coated FeCr based solid oxide fuel cell interconnect materials were examined using secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) depth profiling. A duplex spinel∶chromia scale was formed after 1 h at 850°C. Ti and ceria were observed between these layers. Additionally, minor concentrations of Mn, Si and Nb were observed at the oxide/metal interface. Furthermore, Al and Ti were concentrated primarily in the metal surface close to the oxide/metal interface. Secondary ion mass spectrometry sputter depth profiles using different ion sources; 69Ga+, Bi3+/Cs+ and C60+/C602+ were compared with TEM oxide scale cross-section and field emission gun–Auger electron spectroscopy depth profiling. Secondary ion mass spectrometry depth profiling with 69Ga+, Bi3+/Cs+ showed decreased secondary ion yields in the metallic matrix. This decrease could be avoided using oxygen flooding. The C60 cluster ion depth profiles were less sensitive to type of matrix and gave the best correspondence to the TEM cross-section. However, the impact energy has to be high enough to avoid carbon deposition.


For many years, institutional psychiatry was a major tool in the suppression of political dissent. Moreover, it appears painfully clear that, while the worst excesses of the past have mostly disappeared, the problem is not limited to the pages of history. What is more, the revelations of the worst of these abuses (and the concomitant rectification of many of them) may, paradoxically, have created the false illusion that all the major problems attendant to questions of institutional treatment and conditions in these nations have been solved. This is decidedly not so. Remarkably, the issue of the human rights of persons with mental disabilities had been ignored for decades by the international agencies vested with the protection of human rights on a global scale. Within the legal literature, it appears that the first time disability rights were conceptualized as a human rights issue was as recently as 1993 when, in a groundbreaking article, Eric Rosenthal and Leonard Rubenstein first applied international human rights principles to the institutionalization of people with mental disabilities. For people with mental disabilities, in particular, the development of human rights protections may be even more significant than for people with other disabilities. Like people with other disabilities, people with mental disabilities face degradation, stigmatization, and discrimination throughout the world today. But unlike people with other disabilities, many people with mental disabilities are routinely confined, against their will, in institutions, and deprived of their freedom, dignity, and basic human rights. People with mental disabilities who are fortunate enough to live outside of institutions often remain imprisoned by the social isolation they experience, often from their own families. They are not included in educational programs, and they face attitudinal barriers to employment because they have not received the education and training needed to obtain employment or because of discrimination based on unsubstantiated fears and prejudice. Only recently have disability discrimination laws and policies in the United States and elsewhere focused on changing such attitudes and promoting the integration of people with disabilities into our schools, neighborhoods, and workplaces. The question remains, however: to what extent has institutional, state-sponsored psychiatry been used as a tool of political suppression, and what are the implications of this pattern and practice? After an Introductory section (Part I), I discuss, in Part II, the first revelations of the dehumanization inflicted on persons with mental disabilities, primarily (but not exclusively) in Soviet Bloc nations. In Part III, I discuss developments after these revelations were publicized. In Part IV, I weigh the extent to which the post-revelation reforms have been effective and meaningful. In Part V, I explain the meanings of sanism and pretextuality, and discuss how they relate to the topic at hand. Then, in Part VI, I raise questions that have not yet been answered, and that, I believe, should help set the research agendas of those thinking about these important issues.


Over the last few decades, many robust statistics have been proposed in order to assess the fit of structural equation models. To date, however, no clear recommendations have emerged as to which test statistic performs best. It is likely that no single statistic will universally outperform all contenders across all conditions of data, sample size, and model characteristics. In a real-world situation, a researcher must choose which statistic to report. We propose a bootstrap selection mechanism that identifies the test statistic that exhibits the best performance under the given data and model conditions among any set of candidates. This mechanism eliminates the ambiguity of the current practice and offers a wide array of test statistics available for reporting. In a Monte Carlo study, the bootstrap selector demonstrated promising performance in controlling Type I errors compared to current test statistics.


Abstract This paper outlines research into the emotional competences that mature, higher education students, undertaking part-time blended learning degrees within a School of Education, value in their tutors. A mixed methods approach was adopted to conduct a detailed exploration of eight tutors' practice whilst teaching a module, with data gathered from three principal sources. Learners' perceptions of their experiences were assessed using a questionnaire; interviews with tutors explored their approaches to delivery and considered factors that impacted on quality; and, an analysis of the content and communications in the virtual learning environment provided insight into tutors' online practice. Goleman's (2001) Framework of Emotional Competences provided a lens through which to analyse blended tutors' practices in relation to learner perceptions. The paper proposes a framework of emotional competences that appeared to contribute to tutor effectiveness in this context. This research questions the value of some of Goleman's relationship management competences, with the proposed framework developed to add further self-management competences. This was due, in part, to the measures evident by some tutors to effectively support these particular learners at a distance. The proposed framework could support recruitment and selection within higher education, and provide a language for discussing further research into blended and online tutors' emotional competences.