Results for Gaussian relay channels typically focus on maximizing transmission rates for given locations of the source, relay, and destination. We introduce an alternative perspective, where the objective is maximizing coverage for a given rate. The new objective captures the problem of how to deploy relays to provide a given level of service to a particular geographic area, where the relay locations become a design parameter that can be optimized. We evaluate the decode-and-forward (DF) and compress-and-forward (CF) strategies for the relay channel with respect to the new objective of maximizing coverage. When the objective is maximizing rate, different locations of the destination favor different strategies. When the objective is coverage for a given rate, and the relay is able to decode, DF is uniformly superior in that it provides coverage at any point served by CF. When the channel model is modified to include random fading, we show that the monotone ordering of coverage regions is not always maintained. While the coverage provided by DF is sensitive to changes in the location of the relay and the path loss exponent, CF exhibits a more graceful degradation with respect to such changes. The techniques used to approximate coverage regions are new and may be of independent interest.


Abstract : Second-order nonlinear models have been increasingly used in recent years to model nonlinear processes in offshore engineering. We apply such models to study the global responses of a spar floating platform. Traditional linear models of wave loads on offshore structures tend to be inaccurate in the response predictions. Second-order nonlinear models although computationally more expensive provide an opportunity to better predict these loads. Recent tests conducted on a spar floating platform offer wave tank data for extreme conditions in both the Gulf of Mexico and the North Sea. We model the tested spar floating platform as a linear rigid-body with 6 degrees of freedom. The incident wave loads are modeled as a second-order phenomenon. Of interest is the global response of the spar, which here is the total horizontal displacement near the spar deck. Although the apparent transient response and the few measured response cycles pose difficulties in calibrating the model, we find the model to offer reasonable predictions when compared to the measured results in wave tanks.


Nonpolar (100) m-plane n-ZnO/p-GaN light-emitting-diodes (LEDs) were grown by chemical vapor deposition on p-GaN templates which was grown by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition on LiAlO2(100) substrate. Direct current (DC) electroluminescence (EL) measurements yielded a peak at 458nm. The EL peak position was independent of drive current and a full width of half maximum (FWHM) of 21.8 nm was realized at 20mA. The current-voltage characteristics of these diodes showed a forward voltage (Vf) of 6V with a series resistance of 2.2 × 105 Ω.


Andrei Bely (Boris Nikolaevich Bugaev, 1880-1934), one of the principal writers of the Russian Symbolist movement, produced a novel considered by many literary historians to be one of the greatest of the 20th century. Peterburg was first published serially in 1913-14 and in book form in 1916. Bely revised it--largely by making more or less random drastic cuts--for its republication in Berlin in 1922. The novel was reprinted in Soviet Russia with further changes in 1928 and 1935. Several reprintings of different versions have since appeared outside Russia. (3) While the cuts of the 1916 version may have improved the novel structurally, they resulted in dangling loose ends and unpursued hints. This in turn, incidentally, has had a negative effect on translations, giving rise to passages which make little sense. Possibly the most obvious resultant double ambiguity (one layer original and intentional, the other derived and accidental) concerns the character of Dudkin/Pogorel'sky, the revolutionary and fugitive living illegally with a false passport in St. Petersburg. In the novel Dudkin first appears characterized as the mysterious "unknown one" or "stranger" ("neznakomets") or "elusive one" ("neulovimy"). This figure has been described by some Bely scholars as characterized by sexual abnormalities, (4) but if the 1916 version is attentively read (many of the key passages were eliminated in the later versions), an interpretation emerges which removes most, if not all, of the examples of the "abnormalities" attached to it. Accompanying almost every mention of this character, whose alias is given as Aleksandr Ivanovich Dudkin (his "real" name is supposed to be Aleksei Alekseevich Pogorel'sky), is invariably the phrase "s chernymi usikami" ("with little black moustaches"). The emphatic constant repetition of this phrase attracts the attention of the reader to such a degree that he begins to suspect that there is something amiss with the little black moustache. While the act of shaving and clean-shaven faces are often mentioned relative to male figures (e.g., Lippanchenko and Likhutin) in the novel, nothing is ever said alluding to Dudkin's having shaved. In conversation, for instance with Nikolai Apollonovich, Dudkin sometimes plays with his moustache--as if it were unfamiliar to him. In sum, the "little black moustaches" seem unnaturally black and in general unnatural on Dudkin's face; they could be false, and a part of a disguise. When Dudkin makes his first appearance, coining out of his filthy tenement building in a Petersburg slum, the following significant scene takes place: ... then a black cat, turning up at his feet ... cut across the path, dropping chicken guts at the stranger's feet; a spasm distorted my stranger's face; his head was nervously thrown back, revealing his delicate neck. These movements were peculiar to young ladies of the good [old] times ... (... to chernaya koshka, okazavshayasya u hog ... peresekla dorogu, ronyaya k nogam neznakomtsa kurinuyu vnutrennost'; litso moego neznakomtsa peredernula sudoroga, golova zhe nervno zakinulas', obnaruzhiv nezhnuyu sheyu. Eti dvizheniya byli svoistvenny baryshnyam dobrogo vremeni ...) In this, Bely's earliest version of his novel in book form, it seems highly significant that we are presented with this suggestive scene immediately on being introduced to one of his four central figures. Although Dudkin, whose name we do not know at this point, is a hardened terrorist--one who has endured exile to sub-arctic regions and has escaped to Helsinki (when Finland was a part of the Russian Empire) and then to St. Petersburg, and who has apparently committed some violent crime--he cannot suppress a girlish twitch and grimace of disgust at the chicken guts, revealing a delicate, feminine neck. As readers, we are puzzled and at once alerted to be on the watch for other such signals. Then there is the matter of Dudkin's voice. …


Macrophages, the mature form of the monocytes, play a significant role in tissue homeostasis and immunity. In response to environmental cues, they can undergo classical or alternative activation, polarizing into specialized functional subsets. A common hallmark of the pathologic environment is represented by cigarette smoking. Although the contribution of cigarette smoke to various cellular processes has been extensively studied, its roles in macrophage polarization have been conflicting. This review discusses the molecular and functional differences of cigarette smoke-exposed macrophages that exist between pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory states. We also highlight the most recent advances in therapeutic potential of targeting signaling molecules associated with smoking to modulate macrophage plasticity and polarized activation.


Abstract In 2015, Europe's so-called 'migration crisis' hit the headlines. In one of the first pieces of research-based examination into the journeys of refugee arrivals around that time, this article explores the decision-making processes of (mainly) Syrians and Eritreans recently arrived in Germany, Spain and the UK. We investigate the dynamics underpinning trajectories towards Europe, placing particular emphasis on the factors that shape the 'where' and 'how' of journeys. A number of factors, already established within the broader literature, feature strongly in the decisions made by refugees: financial capital, social networks and the role of smugglers. But so too do refugees' and other migrants' own perceptions and feelings about where to go, when to do it, and how. Ultimately – and for our sample – we find that refugees' journeys are on the one hand the product of a profoundly contextual and subjective decision-making process, and on the other deeply transformative phenomena, guiding as they do perceptions and choices regarding destination and trajectories.


Retrosynthetic planning is a critical task in organic chemistry which identifies a series of reactions that can lead to the synthesis of a target product. The vast number of possible chemical transformations makes the size of the search space very big, and retrosynthetic planning is challenging even for experienced chemists. However, existing methods either require expensive return estimation by rollout with high variance, or optimize for search speed rather than the quality. In this paper, we propose Retro*, a neural-based A*-like algorithm that finds high-quality synthetic routes efficiently. It maintains the search as an AND-OR tree, and learns a neural search bias with off-policy data. Then guided by this neural network, it performs best-first search efficiently during new planning episodes. Experiments on benchmark USPTO datasets show that, our proposed method outperforms existing state-of-the-art with respect to both the success rate and solution quality, while being more efficient at the same time.


Autoantibodies to contactin-associated protein 2 (CASPR2) are found in patients with an immunothe- rapy-responsive encephalitis, and show a strong HLA-DRB1*11:01 restriction. However, no studies have focussed on how the autoreactive B cells are produced and perpetuate longitudinal autoantibody production. This question has therapeutic implications. To isolate B-cells reactive to CASPR2, we cultured naïve and memory B-cells from two CASPR2-antibody encephalitis patients and two healthy donors with screening for CASPR2-reactivity on live-cell based assays. CASPR2-reactive immunoglobulins were cloned and recombinantly expressed as monoclonal antibodies (mAbs). Naïve B-cell CASPR2-reactivity was detected in both patients and healthy donors, both at a frequency of ~ 1/250 B cells. However, memory B-cell CASPR2-reactivity was exclusive to patients at a frequency of ~1/250. CASPR2-specific mAbs showed discrete domain-specificities between the antigen-specific naïve and memory B-cell derived clones. Furthermore, only memory B-cell-derived CASPR2-specific mAbs were able to bind live rat hippocampal neurons and induce internalisation of surface CASPR2. In summary, we show that early B-cell tolerance against the neuronal antigen CASPR2 is not counter-se- lected in health; however, only patients have CASPR2-specific memory B-cells, suggesting that late B-cell tolerance dysfunction may have a key role in disease pathogenesis. firstname.lastname@example.com


Title of the Study: Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) as predictor of medication adherence in patients infected with Human Immune-deficiency Virus (HIV). Summary: Quality of life (QoL) is a broad term which involves evaluation of all aspects of life including, health, education, family life, housing, friendship, marriage, standard of living, and work. Health is one of the domains that affect our quality of life. The measurement of HRQoL is becoming an increasingly common activity in healthcare systems around the world. Health-related quality of life or biological outcome of treatment might predict adherence to HIV medication. This research is aimed to study the effect of HRQoL on medication adherence in patients infected with HIV. The original study was funded by NIH and conducted by Dr. Cynthia Willey, at University of Rhode Island during the years 1995-98. The purpose of the original project was to assess the stages of changes for adherence with HIV-Related Medications. The sample consisted of 145 patients. The questionnaire was developed by AIDS Clinical Trial Group (AACTG). Questionnaires were distributed to the patients in Rhode Island at different sites affiliated with Brown University AIDS program. These sites included: 1. The Miriam Hospital Immunology Center: This center serves majority of the HIV positive women in Rhode Island. 2. Stanley Street Treatment and Resources: This center serves the Greater Fall River Massachusetts area and provides care to indigent and intravenous drug users. 3. Veteran Affairs Medical Center in Providence, Rl: This center treats approximately 60 HIV positive men. Methodology: The data was collected by administering a standardized selfreported questionnaire to the subjects to assess the compliance to HIV drugs. The questionnaire covered various aspects like, Demographic, Economic status, Coping, Quality of life, Medication, etc. Four domains of health-related quality of life were measured using 12 questions based on SF-36 included in the questionnaire. Medication adherence was assessed as self-reported adherence and also using Medication Adherence Scale. Univariate and bivariate tests were run to check for confounding variables in the data set. Logistic regression was used to determine any interaction between independent variables. The effect of Quality of life domains on medication adherence were assessed by running logistic regression model after controlling for potential confounding factors. Results: The results of this study indicate that "vitality/fatigue" is significantly associated with 95% self-reported adherence in patients taking protease inhibitors. This study thus confirms that patients with better mental health are more likely to adhere to their medication regimen. This is consistent with previous findings by other researchers. No other meaningful association was found between any other domain of QoL and medication adherence.


The rupture dynamics of earthquakes span a considerable range, from slow to super-shear ruptures. Rupture speed has a major influence on the generation of strong ground motions, yet our understanding of the mechanisms causing these variations in the rupture speed are still elusive. Laboratory friction experiments also bring evidences of the variability in rupture speed [Rubinstein et al., 2006; Ben-David et al., 2010]. Compared to real earthquakes, experimental ruptures occur in a controlled environment and can thus provide dense information to study the dynamics of slip events. We use a finite element method, which allows us to access detailed information on the dynamics of friction, to simulate the propagation of slip fronts at frictional interfaces. The studied setup is similar to the experimental setup used by Ben-David et al. [2010]. It consists of a block of viscoelastic material in contact with a rigid body. A velocity-weakening friction law controls the friction at the interface. We apply a shear load to the block, either on the top surface of the block or on one side. In both cases, the resulting shear tractions at the interface are non-uniform. The stress distribution presents a high concentration close to the edge when the load is applied on the side. The speed of the applied shear load, which is displacement controlled, is several orders of magnitude slower than the elastic shear wave speed. Applying a non-uniform shear loading, we observe a sequence of slip precursors, which initiate at shear levels well bellow the global static friction threshold. These precursors stop before propagating over the entire interface, and their lengths increase with increasing shear force (Figure 1). Our results are consistent with previous experimental observations [Rubinstein et al., 2007]. We also show that the velocity of the slip front varies with changing static stress state along the interface, as recently observed experimentally [Ben-David et al., 2010]. However, a simple static stress criterion is not enough to describe the propagation speed. We thus show that an energetic criterion, relating the slip front speed with the relative rise of the energy density at the slip tip is more appropriate [Kammer et al., 2012].


In 1998 Indonesia embarked on an ambitious course of decentralisation. Over a period of a few years, facilitated by financial transfers from the central government, responsibility for many public services and administrative tasks were devolved to local authorities. This process is continuing. Regional development is now very much in the hands of the four sub-national tiers of government. However, the speed of the devolution means that much is being done without the required accompanying skills, technical capacities, resources and oversight. As a result, while good progress has been made nationally along a number dimensions, outcomes in health, education, infrastructure, corruption and the provision of other social services have not improved as quickly as was hoped, and the variance in results across the regions has been enormous. Rather than simply devolving more and more responsibilities to sub-national authorities, the central government needs to take a more strategic view of regional economic development. This includes monitoring the performance of sub-national governments, providing them with technical assistance where needed, encouraging them to emulate the best performers and in the short- to medium-term using grants to direct spending to priority areas. The inter-governmental transfer framework also would benefit from better oversight and a strategic vision. Moreover, the perverse incentives it embodies are driving rent-seeking and the fragmentation of local jurisdictions. In the longer term the objective should be tax autonomy and transfers based exclusively on block grants although this should be conditional on adequate oversight and administrative capacities within the sub-national authorities. Conflicting and overlapping laws and regulations across levels of government are also inhibiting regional development by obstructing private business development and investment. This Working Paper relates to the 2016 OECD Economic Survey of Indonesia (www.oecd.org/eco/surveys/economic-survey-indonesia.htm).


The Ordovician (Caradoc) volcanic rocks of NE Snowdonia constitute two major groups, the Llewelyn Volcanic Group and the Snowdon Volcanic Group, which accumulated predominantly in shallow-water marine conditions. The younger Snowdon Volcanic Group comprised a bimodal, basalt-rhyolite suite and included a major caldera-forming eruption of acidic ash-flow tuffs superseded by both Surtseyan and Strombolian basaltic volcanism. Rhyolite domes were intruded into the volcanic sequence in the vicinity of the caldera. The Snowdon Cu-Pb-Zn vein mineralization comprises five paragenetic mineral assemblages. The veins cut rocks deposited within and over the caldera and it is proposed that the dominant controls of mineralization were volcanogenic. Circulation in hydrothermal cells, involving both juvenile fluids and seawater, deposited the minerals at a late stage in the evolution of the caldera.


Bespalov-Talanov theory on small-scale self-focusing is extended to include medium loss for a divergent beam. Gain spectrum of small-scale perturbation is presented in integral form, and based on the derived equations we find that the cutoff spatial frequency for perturbation keeps a constant value. The larger the medium loss is, the smaller the fastest growing frequency and the maximum gain of perturbation with defined propagation distance are. For a given medium loss the maximum gain of perturbation becomes larger, while the fastest growing frequency becomes smaller as the propagation distance becomes longer. Furthermore, physical explanations for the appearance of these features are given.


Phenethyl alcohol inhibits the growth of many microorganisms. It is believed that the growth inhibition is mediated by its effect on the cell membrane. Differences between sensitive and resistant strains are suggested to be due to alterations in membrane structure. We report that, in some strains, an unexpected relationship exists between auxotrophy for tryptophan, tyrosine and phenylalanine and sensitivity to phenethyl alcohol.


In the quantitative analysis of dynamic contrast‐enhanced magnetic resonance imaging compartment models allow the uptake of contrast medium to be described with biologically meaningful kinetic parameters. As simple models often fail to describe adequately the observed uptake behaviour, more complex compartment models have been proposed. However, the non‐linear regression problem arising from more complex compartment models often suffers from parameter redundancy. We incorporate spatial smoothness on the kinetic parameters of a two‐tissue compartment model by imposing Gaussian Markov random‐field priors on them. We analyse to what extent this spatial regularization helps to avoid parameter redundancy and to obtain stable parameter point estimates per voxel. Choosing a full Bayesian approach, we obtain posteriors and point estimates by running Markov chain Monte Carlo simulations. The approach proposed is evaluated for simulated concentration time curves as well as for in vivo data from a breast cancer study.


HARMI (Human and Robotic Musical Improvisation) is a software and hardware system that enables musical robots to improvise with human performers. The goal of the system is not to replicate human musicians, but rather to explore the novel kinds of musical expression that machines can produce. At the same time, the system seeks to create spaces where humans and robots can communicate with each other in a common language. To help achieve the former, ideas from contemporary compositional practice and music theory were used to shape the system's expressive capabilities. In regard to the latter, research from the field of cognitive psychology was incorporated to enable communication, interaction, and understanding between human and robotic performers. The system was partly developed in conjunction with a residency at High Concept Laboratories in Chicago, IL, where a group of human improvisers performed with the robotic instruments. The system represents an approach to the question of how humans and robots can interact and improvise in musical contexts. This approach purports to highlight the unique expressive spaces of humans, the unique expressive spaces of machines, and the shared spaces between the two.


Yves Meyer has made numerous contributions to mathematics, several of which will be reviewed here, in particular in number theory, harmonic analysis and partial differential equations. His work in harmonic analysis led him naturally to take an interest in wavelets, when they emerged in the early 1980s; his synthesis of the advanced theoretical results in singular integral operator theory, established by himself and others, and the requirements imposed by practical applications, led to enormous progress for wavelet theory and its applications. Wavelets and wavelet packets are now standard, extremely useful tools in many disciplines; their success is due in large measure to the vision, the insight and the enthusiasm of Yves Meyer.


WorldCat, an aggregate database of library catalogues worldwide, was primarily set up to aid libraries in carrying out their work in areas such as cataloguing or resource sharing. But the information it carries about much of the world's accumulated published output is also a a unique source of information for answering a wide range of questions about world literature and other forms of creative expression. Brian Lavoie offers an insight into the types of questions WorldCat data can provide answers to, and how research of this kind also amplifies the value and impact of library collections.


[1] The fireball producing a crater-forming meteorite fall near Carancas, Peru, on 15 September 2007 has been analyzed using eyewitness, seismic, and infrasound records. The meteorite impact, which produced a crater of 13.5 m diameter, is found to have released of order 1010 J of energy, equivalent to ∼2–3 tons of TNT high explosives based on infrasonic measurements. Our best fit trajectory solution places the fireball radiant at an azimuth of 82° relative to the crater, with an entry angle from the horizontal of 63°. From entry modeling and infrasonic energetics constraints, we find an initial energy for the fireball to be in the 0.06–0.32 kton TNT equivalent. The initial velocity for the meteoroid is restricted to be below 17 km/s from orbit considerations alone, while modeling suggests an even lower best fit velocity close to 12 km/s. The initial mass of the meteoroid is in the range of 3–9 tons. At impact, modeling suggests a final end mass of order a few metric tons and impact velocity in the 1.5–4 km/s range. We suggest that the formation of such a substantial crater from a chondritic mass was the result of the unusually high strength (and corresponding low degree of fragmentation in the atmosphere) of the meteoritic body. Additionally, the high altitude of the impact site (3800 m.a.s.l) resulted in an almost one order of magnitude higher impact speed than would have been the case for the same body impacting close to sea level.


ABSTRACT—The cranium of Vintana sertichi preserves the first associated upper dentition of a gondwanatherian mammal. Gondwanatherians are known almost exclusively from isolated teeth, particularly molariforms. As such, referral of V. sertichi to the Gondwanatheria, differentiation of V. sertichi from other gondwanatherians, and determination of the relationships of V. sertichi to other gondwanatherians must rely heavily on dental morphology. The hypsodont nature, gross morphology, enamel microstructure, and wear pattern of its molariform teeth serve to unequivocally identify the cranium of V. sertichi as that of a sudamericid gondwanatherian. Based on available morphology, V. sertichi appears to have had an upper dental formula of 22.214.171.124. There are two long, curved alveoli in each premaxilla for enlarged, buccolingually compressed, procumbent incisors that were well separated from the cheek teeth by a long diastema. There is no evidence of a canine. The single premolariform tooth appears to have been small and two-rooted, but neither the left nor the right crowns are preserved. Of the eight upper molariform alveoli, four are preserved with teeth in situ, three in the left maxilla (antepenultimate, penultimate, and ultimate) and one in the right (penultimate). The molariform cheek teeth have several salient characteristics: large size, hypsodont crowns, roughly quadrangular outlines, occlusal surfaces worn essentially flat, numerous cementum-filled infundibula, cementum-filled furrows that invaginate from the buccal side but do not extend to the base of the crown, and multiple, short root apices. The relative amounts of wear on the molariform cheek teeth of V. sertichi indicate a mesial-to-distal eruption sequence. SUPPLEMENTAL DATA—Supplemental materials are available for this article for free at www.tandfonline.com/UJVP


Unlike in oil firing, the effective role of additives to alleviate deposition in coal fired power generation is still regarded with much scepticism and controversy amongst the power generators and boiler operators. The objectives of this research study were principally to explore the mechanisms involved in formation of coal ash deposits and thus determine the effectiveness of a magnesium based additive, namely Lycal 93HS, in reducing the bonding strength of ash deposits on boiler tube surfaces, by making them friable and easily removed by sootblowers during normal operation of the boiler.The experimental techniques developed involved visual, optical and scanning electron microscopy examination of a wide range of matured deposit samples collected over a period of two years, with and without injection of Lycal 93HS into the boilers at West Belfast power station. Specimen deposit samples "fashioned" into the form of Seger cones and "reconstituted" from their crushed, powder form were tested for their softening behaviour at elevated temperatures with and without further additions of Lycal 93HS. This technique was further used to evaluate the effect of Lycal 93HS on the softening behaviour of a range of coal ash components separated by high temperature ashing of coarse particles of coal as well as the bulk ash from the coarse and fine sizes of coal particles. The softening behaviour on heating and crystallisation tendency behaviour on cooling for a selected range of the ash components was investigated without and with additions of Lycal 93HS, using Hot-Stage Microscopy. The possibility of surface adhesion between the fly ash and injected Lycal 93HS within the boiler environment was investigated through a series of laboratory based Surface leaching experiments of deposit and particulate samples with and without injection of Lycal 93HS. The variation in concentration profiles of silicon, iron and magnesium within the collected solutions over a period of time were analysed, using Atomic Absorption Flame Spectroscopy. The elemental chemical composition of bulk deposit samples, the average high temperature ash and its separated components was carried out using X-Ray Fluorescence. Qualitative study of the mineralogy of low temperature ash, selected ash components, as well as a range of deposit samples with Lycal injection was conducted using X-Ray Diffractometry.The results of Lycal injection into a boiler were clearly evident from inspections of the boiler where Lycal injection over different periods of time had resulted in significantly cleaner boiler tube surfaces. Examination of deposit samples with Lycal injection showed lightly sintered, porous, friable textures compared to the highly sintered, fused and dense structures for samples without Lycal injection. The effect of Lycal on the softening behaviour of reconstituted deposit samples and various components of ash was shown to be dependent on their chemical composition, with iron oxide playing an important role. For a number of highly acidic ash components, additions of 5 and 10 mass% Lycal promoted crystallisation of their fluid melt, when cooled to specific temperatures. For the more ferriferous ash components, additions of 1 and 3 mass% Lycal enhanced the surface formation of spikes when their melts were cooled to specific temperatures. The results of leaching experiments showed that the initial magnesia concentrations were generally much higher for the deposit samples and fly ash particles from ash hoppers and grit arrestors with Lycal injection than those without.


The Brazilian Landless Workers Movement (MST) is one of the largest and most influential social movements in Latin America. Since the very beginning of the movement's agrarian reform struggle, MST leaders have developed a broad-based program of leadership, political training, and education for all participants in the movement. The MST's educational demands are organically connected to the movement's attempt to create, in the present, a new social order based on social justice, participatory democracy, autonomy, and humanistic and socialist values. The goal of this article is to introduce to an English-speaking audience the main contours and components of the MST's educational proposal. The first part of this article discusses the three theoretical foundations of the movement's educational approach and its five pedagogical practices. The second part of the paper presents two concrete experiences of educational institutions administered by the MST leadership: the "Itinerant Schools" in Paraná, a network of public schools located inside MST occupied encampments, and the MST's national political training school, the Escola Nacional Florestan Fernandes (ENFF). Together, these two cases offer concrete examples of how the MST's educational proposal is implemented in diverse Brazilian contexts.


Since the disintegration in the eighteenth century of their once-mighty 'Kingdom' of Lan Xang, the ethnic Lao have maintained a struggle for political and cultural independence against waves of foreign dominance. Over the centuries, the Lao have faced the cultural hegemony of their linguistic cousins the Siamese, the territorial ambitions of the Vietnamese, the ethnocentrism of French colonialists, and the cataclysmic anti-communist imperialism of the United States of America. In this more peaceful era, Lao articulation of their worldview remains constrained by powerful external forces. Engaging in debates within critical development studies and applied linguistics, and drawing on understandings from sociology, this inter-disciplinary study examines how the cultural hegemony of the past is perpetuated in the dominant development discourse and, in turn, enacted at project level. With a particular development assistance project serving as a lens for viewing broader development issues, the study ultimately presents a glimpse of an alternative development possibility. The study thus adds to the voices of those who argue against the exclusive Eurocentric view of modernity, and for the possibility of what Tu Wei-ming (1999) refers to as 'multiple modernities'. Beginning with an examination of the Buddhist-legitimated socio-political organisation of the pre-colonial Lao, based primarily on the work of Martin Stuart- Fox (1998), the study argues that the pre-colonial worldview has continued to inform the values and actions of the ethnic Lao throughout their history of foreign domination, and despite the more recent political embracing of Marxism-Leninism. Drawing on the work of critical development theorists such as Escobar (1984; 1995a; 1995b), Tucker (1997a; 1999) and Munck and O'Hearn (1999), and illustrated with Lao examples, the study then examines the disjunctions between these values and those of the dominant development discourse with its roots in the Eurocentric notion of modernity, and its current neo-liberal economic agenda. The theme of disjunction features throughout this study, which centres on an AusAID-funded project in the Lao PDR aimed at implementing a competency-based English language curriculum for Lao government officials. As well as the disjunction between Lao values and those of the dominant development discourse, the thesis includes a practitioner's first-hand insight into the disjunctions between Lao values and the curriculum model, and between the project design and Lao social reality. However, a major aim of this ethnographic study is to give voice to Lao stakeholders at policy, management and classroom levels. Their voices are woven into a series of narratives through which we are afforded insights into the disjunctions between Lao and donor priorities. As a result of these disjunctions, as the three-year AusAID project drew to a close the Lao demonstrated a commitment to the program but revealed a range of political, cultural and pedagogical factors which threatened its stability and ultimate sustainability. These Lao stories, together with those articulating the unfolding of events over the ensuing eighteen months, exemplify the conflict inherent in development assistance. On the one hand the accounts reveal how the unequal balance of power works to stifle the articulation of worldviews other than that of the dominant West, and how development workers inadvertently perpetuate the discourse's 'regime of truth' (Foucault, 1980) that holds the Lao worldview irrelevant in a 'modern' world. On the other hand, we hear through the Lao voices how the agency of local stakeholders subverts the imposition of values, so that the English language program better reflects Lao priorities. As the thesis demonstrates, the subversion is in the form of a Buddhist-infused 'middle way solution' to the culturally problematic values underpinning the competency-based curriculum, which effectively restructures the approach to fit within acceptable, albeit modified, socio-cultural boundaries. The solution provides a tool for the analysis of the appropriateness of the curriculum model, the project design and, ultimately, the dominant development discourse for the Lao context. Standing as a metaphor for diverse possibilities, the Middle Way Solution suggests the need for development donors and practitioners to engage reflexively in our own practice, and offers a distinctly Lao alternative to the dominant discourse.


To deliver financial services to the poor has remained a challenge for many decades. However, the growth of technology has emerged as a key solution of financial service delivery to the poor. Financial services delivery through mobile phone platforms can be provided where formal financial institution like banks cannot reach. Despite these developments, the use of these services by the poor in the unbanked areas is very low. This study investigated the factors influencing the adoption of mobile financial services in the unbanked population. We employed a cross-sectional design by collecting data at a single point in time. We used six variables in the study based on the Technology Acceptance Model, TAM. The variables were Perceived usefulness, Perceived ease of use, Perceived trust, Perceived cost, Perceived risk and Social influence. The construct validity of the measurement items was established by using confirmatory factor analysis conducted using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) and the reliability was established by using Cronbach's Alpha coefficient. The hypothesis was tested by using multiple regression analysis. The sample size used was 250 respondents selected from the study area. The study revealed that perceived usefulness, perceived cost and social influence had a significant influence on the adoption of mobile financial services. Perceived ease of use, perceived risk and perceived trust were found to have an insignificant influence on the adoption of mobile financial services. The implication of the findings forms the basis for product or service development, pricing, marketing and policy formulation. In this study we recommend a longitudinal research to be conducted in order to understand the influences of the adoption behaviour at different level of market maturity and points of time. Keywords: Mobile financial services, Adoption, Tanzania


In this article, one of the brightest representatives of Uzbek poetry, Usman Azim's poetry is analyzed. In his poetry the symbol of tree, the images of leave, rod and tree are described as symbol. Usman Azim opens the way to philosophical thought through the image of the tree, leaves and symbols. To prove that these images are important, in their turn, to give new insights. Usman Azim opens the way to philosophical thought through the image of the tree, leaves and symbols. This embodiment leads to philosophical reasoning, such as life, time, and death. The poet can also display the path to the termination through the image of the leaf. Most importantly, the reader will be able to watch all of this process as a third person. The lyric hero of Usman Azim is sometimes described as a leaf, and sometimes it becomes a tree. When the lyrical character of the leaf appeals to the tree and tree also addresses to the leaf, which indicates the importance of the poet's creativity. The article will focus on one of the Uzbek researchers, M. Yuldosheva. M. Yuldosheva connects the symbols of the tree and leaf, in the works of Usman Azim, with human consciousness and its activity. Poet's idea is dwell on to understand correctly. The image (tree), created by Usman Azim, has been formed as an image that can not bear fruit and can not attract others by its beauty. For this reason, this image is important. Because the poet's image can not produce fruits, yet he can see his symbol as firewood. To share it's warmth to the nation is a sign of its happiness. Moreover, the image created by the poet is also important as the symbol of human life. This is because this image is an endless boundary of human life, where the concept of parting is embedded in the image of the life is also associated with the art... This symbol, which is closely attached to the ground by roots in both parts of the border, is a specific hierarchy of human fate, which also helps to clarify the relation to this symbol. Comparative analysis of the poet's lyrical image and symbols with images of other poets. Particularly, such an image is one of the Uzbek poets' appearance in the Ulugbek Hamdam's creativity, but it has been clarified and compared with the images and the difference in image styles.


Introduction: The aim of this study was to assess the patient, practice and practice management related factors contributing to non-adherence of type 2 diabetes mellitus clinical practice guideline in Estonia.Methods: Descriptive postal survey using a self-administered questionnaire. Results: Of the 354 doctors who received the questionnaire 46% (n=163) responded. 76% of them have type 2 diabetes guidelines. Low awareness of diabetes and its complications among patients as well as their low motivation to change their lifestyle were considered to be the biggest difficulties in managing individual patients. In addition to the most often listed problems, non-compliance with medical regimen, patients' financial problems and their non-attendance were mentioned. The greatest health care systems related barriers to practices providing desirable care wereinadequate number of patients` educational materials, the lack of special diabetes education for nurses and underfunding. The patient related issues were regarded as problems in 96% of the cases and health care system related factors were mentioned in 79% of the cases.


The knowledge of the temperature behavior of Ohmic contacts is an important issue to understand the device operation. This work reports an electrical characterization as a function of the temperature carried out on nickel silicide (Ni2Si) Ohmic contacts, used both for n-type and p-type implanted 4H-SiC layers. The temperature dependence of the specific contact resistance suggested that a thermionic field emission mechanism dominates the current transport for contacts on p-type material, whereas a current transport by tunneling is likely occurring in the contacts on n-type implanted SiC. Furthermore, from the temperature dependence of the electrical characteristics, the activation energies for Al and P dopants were determined, resulting of 145 meV and 35 meV, respectively. The thermal stability of the electrical parameters has been demonstrated upon a long-term (up to ~100 hours) cycling in the temperature range 200-400°C.


Platinum Metals Rev., 2004, 48, (1), 15 The selling price of chemicals that contain the platinum group metals (pgms) is made up of two major aspects: manufacturing costs and the metal price. For metal compounds made from the most used (and more costly) pgms: platinum, palladium and rhodium, the manufacturing element of the total cost is relatively small, typically around 0.5 to 1.5%. Therefore, for large-scale use of manufactured metal compounds involving platinum, palladium and rhodium (1), the overall cost is directly related to the intrinsic metal value in the compound. This cost is, however, often offset as these metals can be recycled, and this reduces the impact of the market price on the overall economics of the process. However, for the less commonly used (and less expensive) pgms: iridium, ruthenium and osmium, the manufacturing element of producing metal compounds can range from 20 to 70% of the total cost. The price of such compounds is still influenced by movements in the intrinsic metal price, but to a lesser extent. The human, technological and investment efforts required of the primary producers (the mining companies) to extract and refine the ore cannot be overstated (2). While the market, responding to supply and demand, functions for the well-being of the pgm industry as a whole. JOHN E. GOURD


In few subjects it is as easy to talk past each other as when discussing consciousness. Not only is the subject elusive and everyone has their own opinion of what it is all about; different people also make quite different use of words and language when discussing consciousness. This contribution tries to exemplify some common misunderstanding between people with different starting points and different use of language. The suggestion is that 'the problem of consciousness' is after all quite similar to all of us, although this is muddled by the way we talk about it, and the way we have locked ourselves into our different slogans and world views.


This lucid and informative book analyzes the problem of clusters in transition through studies of agglomerations at different stages of development in various East Asian countries.


States and localities are increasingly experimenting with higher minimum wages in response to rising income inequality and stagnant economic mobility, but commonly used public datasets offer limited opportunities to evaluate the extent to which such changes affect earnings growth. We use administrative earnings data from the Social Security Administration linked to the Current Population Survey to overcome important limitations of public data and estimate effects of the minimum wage on growth incidence curves and income mobility profiles, providing insight into how cross-sectional effects of the minimum wage on earnings persist over time. Under both approaches, we find that raising the minimum wage increases earnings growth at the bottom of the distribution, and those effects persist and indeed grow in magnitude over several years. This finding is robust to a variety of specifications, including alternatives commonly used in the literature on employment effects of the minimum wage. Instrumental variables and subsample analyses indicate that geographic mobility likely contributes to the effects we identify. Extrapolating from our estimates suggests that a minimum wage increase comparable in magnitude to the increase experienced in Seattle between 2013 and 2016 would have blunted some, but not nearly all, of the worst income losses suffered at the bottom of the income distribution during the Great Recession.


In off-policy deep reinforcement learning with continuous action spaces, exploration is often implemented by injecting action noise into the action selection process. Popular algorithms based on stochastic policies, such as SAC or MPO, inject white noise by sampling actions from uncorrelated Gaussian distributions. In many tasks, however, white noise does not provide sufficient exploration, and temporally correlated noise is used instead. A common choice is Ornstein-Uhlenbeck (OU) noise, which is closely related to Brownian motion (red noise). Both red noise and white noise belong to the broad family of colored noise. In this work, we perform a comprehensive experimental evaluation on MPO, SAC and TD3 to explore the effectiveness of other colors of noise as action noise. We find that pink noise, which is halfway between white and red noise, significantly outperforms white noise, OU noise, and other alternatives on a wide range of environments. Thus, we recommend it as the default choice for action noise in continuous control.


This paper presents the enhanced stiffness modeling and analysis of robot manipulators, and a methodology for their stiffness identification and characterization. Assuming that the manipulator links are infinitely stiff, the enhanced stiffness model contains: 1) the passive and active stiffness of the joints and 2) the active stiffness created by the change in the manipulator configuration, and by external force vector acting upon the manipulator end point. The stiffness formulation not accounting for the latter is known as conventional stiffness formulation, which is obviously not complete and is valid only when: 1) the manipulator is in an unloaded quasistatic configuration and 2) the manipulator Jacobian matrix is constant throughout the workspace. The experimental system considered in this study is a Motoman SK 120 robot manipulator with a closed-chain mechanism. While the deflection of the manipulator end point under a range of external forces is provided by a high precision laser measurement system, a wrist force/torque sensor measures the external forces. Based on the experimental data and the enhanced stiffness model, the joint stiffness values are first identified. These stiffness values are then used to prove that conventional stiffness modeling is incomplete. Finally, they are employed to characterize stiffness properties of the robot manipulator. It has been found that although the component of the stiffness matrix differentiating the enhanced stiffness model from the conventional one is not always positive definite, the resulting stiffness matrix can still be positive definite. This follows that stability of the stiffness matrix is not influenced by this stiffness component. This study contributes to the previously reported work from the point of view of using the enhanced stiffness model for stiffness identification, verification and characterization, and of new experimental results proving that the conventional stiffness matrix is not complete and is valid under certain assumptions.


PACAP-38–mediated delayed activation and sensitization of central trigeminovascular neurons may contribute to migraines. More than just a throbbing headache, migraines also cause hypersensitivity to light and sound, nausea and vomiting, and other sensory disturbances. Exactly what goes wrong during these episodes of excruciating pain is not completely clear, and it is debated whether the salient mechanism is a peripheral or central (with the central nervous system) phenomenon. Akerman et al. provide evidence from rats that migraine is triggered by central effects on trigeminocervical neurons and identify a therapeutic target, PAC1 receptors. Of two similar vasodilator neuropeptides, VIP and PACAP-38, only PACAP-38 causes migraine in patients. PACAP-38, but not VIP, increased the spontaneous firing of central trigeminovascular neurons. PACAP-38 also enhanced responses to sensory stimulation, but this was independent of any peripheral changes. Of the PACAP-type receptors, only the centrally located PAC1 receptors mediated dural-nociceptive trigeminocervical neurons. Thus, migraine may be triggered by PACAP-38 acting on PAC1 receptors within the brain. S. Akerman, P. J. Goadsby, Neuronal PAC1 receptors mediate delayed activation and sensitization of trigeminocervical neurons: Relevance to migraine. Sci. Transl. Med. 7, 308ra157 (2015). [Abstract]


We evaluate the role of a fossil fuel tax and research subsidy in directing innovation from fossil fuel toward renewable energy technologies in the electricity sector. Using a global firm-level electricity patent database from 1978 to 2011, we find that the impact of fossil fuel taxes on renewable energy innovation varies with the type of fossil fuel. Specifically, a tax on coal reduces innovation in both fossil fuel and renewable energy technologies while a tax on natural gas has no statistically significant impact on renewable energy innovation. The reason is that easily dispatchable energy sources like coal-fired power plants need to complement renewable energy Technologies in the grid because renewables generate electricity intermittently. Our results suggest that a tax on natural gas, combined with research subsidies for renewable energy, may effectively shift innovation in the electricity sector towards renewable energy. In contrast, coal taxation or a carbon tax that increases coal prices has unintended negative consequences for renewable energy innovation.


The somewhat new Federal Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act (the "PTFA"), as recently amended, still leaves many questions of interpretation in states with the foreclosure by advertisement process, and in states with laws related to issues on which the PTFA is silent. The PTFA is vague in places, and does not address certain issues raised by the foreclosure processes in certain states, where state law is not clearly preempted. This article will examine how the PTFA, including the recent amendments and any recent judicial and advisory opinions, applies in states with the foreclosure by advertisement process (as opposed to judicial foreclosure). The article will use Michigan as a case study for this inquiry, briefly discussing other states with a similar process. In so doing, the article will discuss issues raised in these states concerning matters on which the PTFA's terms are vague or wholly silent. To that end, this article picks up where the article, "Interpreting the Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act of 2009," 19 J. of Affordable Housing & Community Dev Law 205 (Winter, 2010), by Allyson Gold, left off. Of particular assistance will be the recent statutory amendments, any relevant case law, interpretive statements from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the "working interpretation" adopted by legal services providers and others agencies dealing with the foreclosure crisis. Consequently, this article will conclude with a proposal for a reasonably fair interpretation of the PTFA in states with foreclosure by advertisement and in states where the PTFA is not expressly preempted but still leaves questions.


The structure of class I N-deoxyribosyltransferase from Lactobacillus helveticus was determined by X-ray crystallography. Unlike class II N-deoxyribosyltransferases, which accept either purine or pyrimidine deoxynucleosides, class I enzymes are specific for purines as both the donor and acceptor base. Both class I and class II enzymes are highly specific for deoxynucleosides. The class I structure reveals similarities with the previously determined class II enzyme from Lactobacillus leichmanni [Armstrong, S. A., Cook, W. J., Short, S. A., and Ealick, S. E. (1996) Structure 4, 97-107]. The specificity of the class I enzyme for purine deoxynucleosides can be traced to a loop (residues 48-62), which shields the active site in the class II enzyme. In the class I enzyme, the purine base itself shields the active site from the solvent, while the smaller pyrimidine base cannot. The structure of the enzyme with a bound ribonucleoside shows that the nucleophilic oxygen atom of Glu101 hydrogen bonds to the O2' atom, rendering it unreactive and thus explaining the specificity for 2'-deoxynucleosides. The structure of a ribosylated enzyme intermediate reveals movements that occur during cleavage of the N-glycosidic bond. The structures of complexes with substrates and substrate analogues show that the purine base can bind in several different orientations, thus explaining the ability of the enzyme to catalyze alternate deoxyribosylation at the N3 or N7 position.


Purpose: The purpose of the article is to determine the intensity of CSR activities undertaken by enterprises in Poland and to assess their profitability in terms of stakeholder groups. Design/Methodology/Approach: Questionnaire surveys were conducted on a representative group (by size and sectors of the economy) of 722 large and medium-sized enterprises in Poland in 2019. Respondents were CSR managers, among which three groups of people were identified for whom managing CSR is the only responsibility, is one of the basic responsibilities, CSR activities are one of the many responsibilities. The research hypotheses set out in the article regarding the intensity and profitability of CSR activities directed at individual stakeholders, as well as the complementarity of these activities and the characteristics of the respondents that differentiate their responses, were verified using arithmetic means, Pearson correlation coefficients and Chi-squared test. Findings: Research results indicate that enterprises direct CSR activities to primary stakeholders in the first place. Also, the profitability of CSR activities is usually higher valued in the case of primary stakeholders, while activities directed to the local community and the natural environment received higher ratings than activities directed at public authorities and capital providers. Respondents treat CSR activities directed at all stakeholders as complementary. The respondents' strongest opinions about the orientation of CSR activities and their profitability differentiate the workplace next is sector of the economy and the size of the enterprise has the least difference in assessment. Practical Implications: The results obtained encourage corrections of strategic directions of CSR activities, in the form of an increase in the importance (intensity) of CSR activities directed to local communities and the natural environment. Originality/Value: The research presented is so innovative that CSR managers were selected as the group of respondents. Assuming that the directions (intensity) of CSR activities are adopted (imposed) at the strategic level, the profitability of these activities determined at the operational level verifies the correctness of their orientation.


The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) application on the micro-tensile bond strength of resin composite to demineralized dentin. Artificially demineralized lesions were formed on bovine dentin surfaces and treated with 10, 30, 50, 70 and 100 wt% HEMA aqueous solution. The surfaces were then applied and covered with SE Bond and AP-X according to the manufacturer's instruction. After immersion in 37 degrees C water for 24 h, bond strength were measured using a universal testing machine. Bond strengths to both demineralized dentin and normal dentin, without HEMA application, were also measured. Scanning electron microscopic (SEM) observation and confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) analysis at the resin-dentin interface were also performed. The bond strength data were statistically compared with anova and Scheffe's test (P < 0.05). Bond strength to demineralized dentin treated with over 30 wt% HEMA aqueous solution were significantly higher than that to demineralized dentin without HEMA application, but significantly lower than that to normal dentin. SEM observation revealed that the hybrid layer and resin-tags thickened and lengthened with HEMA application. In CLSM, the diffusion of adhesive primer into demineralized dentin increased with HEMA application. These results indicated that HEMA application might increase the bond strength to demineralized dentin by the enhancement of resin monomer penetration of HEMA.


In contemporary Philippine society, homosexuals are discriminated against and viewed as a comedic symbols. This is in contrast to the accounts of Philippine history which feature a wealth of tales and lore that depict homosexuals as an accepted part of the society. This paper introduces an anthropological and cultural study on the history of homosexuals from the precolonial to contemporary Philippines. it analyzes the influence of colonizers in the modern perception of homosexuals in the media today.The paper traces the early experiences and portrayals of homosexuals in the confesionarios, diccionarios, guidelines, and manuals of spanish missionaries. These experiences and portrayals are compared to the contemporary guidelines set forth by the Movie and Television Classification and review Board (MTrCB). in the end, this paper aims to eradicate the misconception about the modern bakla and present more of their richer traditions as asog, bayoguin, and binabayi.


Stakeholder frameworks document the nature of sport franchise owners' interactions with local residents, but there has been little attention on understanding why interactions develop a contentious or collaborative tenor. There has also been little emphasis on understanding whether and how interactions affect revenue-side outcomes. This paper uses the team identification literature to buttress the idea that owners are meaningful points of attachment for fans. It also uses consumer political ideology scholarship to explain that owners' ideologies—never more visible than today—are important predictors of consumption. The paper proposes and tests a series of hypotheses about the effect of owners' and residents' ideological divergence on attendance and spending. Similar ideologies between residents and long-tenured owners were associated with about $8–$10 more spending per fan per game, as well as 2,400–3,950 more fans per game. Implications for academics and practitioners are provided.


At the time of writing L'Être et le Néant, Sartre intended both to give a new account of human experience and action, and, subsequently, to offer a 'new morality'. It is clear that he wished to keep the two enterprises separate, the former not entailing the latter (720:625–626) but also that they would together form an integrated Weltanschauung, as he puts it. But Sartre's philosophical account of human life cannot, I shall argue, be integrated with any morality whatsoever, since his account really entails the impossibility of the moral life. It is not surprising that doubts about what remains of morality, once the Sartrean picture has been accepted, are prominent in the last pages of L'Être et le Néant; I intend to show that they deserve more serious attention than some commentators have thought, and that the major problem over Sartre's moral philosophy is not the interpretation of authenticity but the investigation of his account of moral choice.


The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the learning experiences of students undertaking health and social care programmes across the globe. In the UK, the Nursing and Midwifery Council introduced emergency standards for undergraduate programmes in 2020, making significant short-term changes to programme delivery. However, the mandate for all students to undertake interprofessional education remained. Interprofessional education is key to preparing students on health and social care programmes, as it enables students to work as effective members of multi-agency/multi-professional teams on qualification. It is an important element of training, as it has a direct impact on quality of care and service user experience. This series of articles will explore the experiences of 'lockdown learning' from the perspective of academics, students and service users from a global perspective in relation to the delivery of interprofessional education during the pandemic, which necessitated a wholesale move from face-to-face, blended and online learning to include emergency remote teaching. The series was written by members of the Centre for the Advancement of Interprofessional Education Research Subgroup (Interprofessional Education Experiences) and aims to identify barriers and facilitators to successful shared learning and provide suggestions for how lessons learned can be taken forward to further enhance this important element of pre-registration education. The perceptions and attitudes of academics and students on such comprehensive changes are a unique and rich data source to explore and inform future provision.


Background: Host factors regulating hepatitis B virus (HBV) entry receptors are not well defined. Results: Chemical screening identified that retinoic acid receptor (RAR) regulates sodium taurocholate cotransporting polypeptide (NTCP) expression and supports HBV infection. Conclusion: RAR regulates NTCP expression and thereby supports HBV infection. Significance: RAR regulation of NTCP can be a target for preventing HBV infection. Sodium taurocholate cotransporting polypeptide (NTCP) is an entry receptor for hepatitis B virus (HBV) and is regarded as one of the determinants that confer HBV permissiveness to host cells. However, how host factors regulate the ability of NTCP to support HBV infection is largely unknown. We aimed to identify the host signaling that regulated NTCP expression and thereby permissiveness to HBV. Here, a cell-based chemical screening method identified that Ro41-5253 decreased host susceptibility to HBV infection. Pretreatment with Ro41-5253 inhibited the viral entry process without affecting HBV replication. Intriguingly, Ro41-5253 reduced expression of both NTCP mRNA and protein. We found that retinoic acid receptor (RAR) regulated the promoter activity of the human NTCP (hNTCP) gene and that Ro41-5253 repressed the hNTCP promoter by antagonizing RAR. RAR recruited to the hNTCP promoter region, and nucleotides −112 to −96 of the hNTCP was suggested to be critical for RAR-mediated transcriptional activation. HBV susceptibility was decreased in pharmacologically RAR-inactivated cells. CD2665 showed a stronger anti-HBV potential and disrupted the spread of HBV infection that was achieved by continuous reproduction of the whole HBV life cycle. In addition, this mechanism was significant for drug development, as antagonization of RAR blocked infection of multiple HBV genotypes and also a clinically relevant HBV mutant that was resistant to nucleoside analogs. Thus, RAR is crucial for regulating NTCP expression that determines permissiveness to HBV infection. This is the first demonstration showing host regulation of NTCP to support HBV infection.


Background Learning is broadly divided into visual, auditory, reading-writing and kinesthetic groups, and each student varies in their capacity to learn, majority being reading-writing learners. Medical education is mainly imparted via lectures and bedside teaching, which is mostly auditory. Methods This was a prospective open labelled study to assess the capacity of the students to comprehend a topic taught solely by means of lectures. Fifty students undertook the study by listening to a topic for 10 minutes and then answering questions by writing, which was evaluated and graded from 0 to 10 points. Results Only 3 students, 6.8% scored above 7 points, whereas majority were poor or average performers. Conclusion Students learn by a variety of techniques, and the predominant method may vary from person to person, preferably reading and visualizing in the majority. Dermatology being a vast subject, we may have to change our teaching methods to incorporate various innovative techniques.


Solid-solid interfaces between insulating materials dictate the long-term electrical properties of the complete insulation system. This paper presents theoretical and experimental investigations aiming to address the impact of the material elasticity on tangential AC breakdown strength (BDS) of interfaces between polymers. Four different polymers with different elastic moduli were tested using: Cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE), filled epoxy resin (EPOXY), polyether ether ketone (PEEK) and silicone rubber (SiR). The interfaces were formed between identical specimens and were breakdown tested at various contact pressures. It was found that elastic modulus and contact pressure had pronounced effects on the BDS of interfaces. Higher elastic modulus correlated with decreased BDS by a factor of 1.6 at the same contact pressure. On the other hand, the increase of contact pressure by a factor of 3 elevated the interfacial BDS by a factor of 1.4 in the case of the lowest elastic modulus (SiR-SiR) whereas that for the highest modulus (PEEK-PEEK) was about 2.4 times higher. Using the proposed theoretical approach, we postulated that discharged cavities govern the interfacial BDS at the interface together with the electric treeing resistance of contact area between the cavities. Although the electrical treeing resistance increases with a higher modulus, local field enhancements due to discharged cavities also increase significantly. Therefore, the observed reduction of the BDS with the increase of the elastic modulus is ascribed to the larger cavity size and hence the smaller contact area. It is concluded that increased elastic modulus reduces the dominance of the discharged cavities over the interface breakdown and increase the governance of the electrical treeing resistance of the contact spots.


Today, social media platforms continue to grow. Users of these platforms are also spending extended periods of time on them. Researchers in the literature are finding that social media use can have detrimental effects on a user's wellbeing. This study is a replication with extension of a 2015 study by Lup, Trub, and Rosenthal. This study uses a moderated mediation model to explore the association between Instagram use and depressive symptoms through negative social comparison and moderated by amount of strangers followed and type of Instagram use. One hundred and forty two participants between the ages of 18-29 completed anonymous online questionnaires. This questionnaire measured demographic information, frequency of Instagram use, amount of strangers followed, social comparison, depression symptomology, and type of use. Instagram use mediated by social comparison and moderated by type of Instagram use was a significant indicator of depressive symptoms.


In total, 366 birds representing 55 species in 24 families and eight orders, were examined for chewing lice (Phthiraptera: Amblycera, Ischnocera) in two high‐altitude localities in Yunnan Province, China. In Ailaoshan, almost all of the birds examined were resident passeriforms, of which 36% were parasitized by chewing lice. In Jinshanyakou, most birds were on migration, and included both passerine and non‐passerine birds. Of the passerine birds caught in Jinshanyakou, only one bird (0.7%) was parasitized by chewing lice. The prevalence of Myrsidea and Brueelia‐complex lice on birds caught in Ailaoshan was higher than in previous reports. Of the chewing lice identifiable to species level, three represent new records for China: Actornithophilus hoplopteri (Mjöberg, 1910), Maculinirmus ljosalfar Gustafsson & Bush, 2017 and Quadraceps sinensis Timmermann, 1954. In total, 17 new host records are included, of which we describe two as new species in the Brueelia‐complex: Guimaraesiella (Cicchinella) ailaoshanensis sp. nov. ex Schoeniparus dubius dubius (Hume, 1874) and G. (C.) montisodalis sp. nov. ex Fulvetta manipurensis tonkinensis Delacour & Jabouille, 1930.


Background The time interval between diagnoses of breast cancer (BC) and endometrial cancer (EC) is not well established in women with metachronous primary tumors. We sought to examine this interval and identify associations with treatment-related and clinicopathologic factors. Methods We identified 141 patients who developed both cancers during 1966 to 2013. Patients were divided into 2 groups: group 1, BC first, and group 2, EC first. Subanalysis performed of group 1 (59 patients) stratified around adjuvant tamoxifen use: pre-1990 BC diagnosis and post. Results Fifty-nine and 82 patients were in groups 1 and 2, respectively. The mean time interval was comparable (76 vs 74 months, P = 0.861). Subanalysis divided group 1 into pre- (n = 27) and post- (n = 32) 1990 and resulted in different mean time intervals between diagnosis of metachronous cancers (106 vs 50 months, respectively [P = 0.042]). Median progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) for EC were longer in the pre group (PFS, 51 vs 26 months [P = 0.169]; OS, 59 vs 27 months [P = 0.190]). Median PFS and OS for BC were also longer in this group (PFS, 147 vs 109 months [P = 0.005]; OS, 166 vs 114 months [P < 0.001]). Conclusions Our data indicate the mean time interval between the diagnosis of EC and BC was approximately 6 years. Disease-specific EC survival was worse for patients with a previous diagnosis of BC. Stratification around implementation of tamoxifen use shows comparable grade and stage but different time interval and survival, suggesting resulting effects from adjuvant therapy for BC. These results are useful in counseling women at risk.


In the present thesis, the effects of combined additions of Ca and Sb on microstructure, tensile, creep and corrosion behaviour of AZ91 alloy fabricated by squeeze-casting have been investigated. For comparison, the same has also been studied on the squeeze-cast AZ91 alloy with and without individual additions of Ca and Sb. The composition of all the fabricated alloys are AZ91+0.59Sb (AZY911), AZ91+0.89Ca (AZX911), AZ91+0.91Ca+0.31Sb (AZXY9110), AZ91+0.89Ca+0.62Sb (AZXY9111) and AZ91+1.80Ca+0.33Sb (AZXY9120) (wt.%).
A detailed microstructural characterization of all the fabricated alloys has been done. Tensile tests of all the specimens at ambient, 423 K and 473 K temperatures have been carried out. The impression creep tests are conducted in the stress range of 300 to 480 MPa and temperature range of 423 to 523 K for a dwell time of 7200 s. A detailed microstructural analysis of the creep tested specimens has been carried out to further interpret creep behaviour of the alloys. Compressive creep tests are carried out on all the modified alloys at a temperature 473 K and stress of 70 MPa. The corrosion tests have been performed in 0.5NaCl (wt.%) solution at neutral pH with specimen exposed area of 0.5 cm2 at ambient temperature.
The results indicate that both individual and combined additions refine the grain size and β-Mg17Al12 phase, which is more pronounced with combined additions. Besides, α-Mg and β-Mg17Al12 phases, a new reticular Al2Ca and rod-shaped Mg3Sb2 phases are formed following individual additions of Ca and Sb in the AZ91 alloy. With combined additions, an additional Ca2Sb phase is formed suppressing Mg3Sb2 phase. Additions of both Ca and Sb increase yield strength (YS) at both ambient and elevated temperatures up to 473 K. However, both ductility and ultimate tensile strength (UTS) decrease first up to 423 K and then increase at 473 K. The increase in YS is attributed to the refinement of grain size, whereas, ductility and UTS are deteriorated by the presence of brittle Al2Ca, Mg3Sb2, and Ca2Sb phases. The best tensile properties are obtained in the AZXY9110 alloy owing to the presence of a lesser amount of brittle Al2Ca, and Ca2Sb phases resulted from the optimum content of 1.0Ca and 0.3Sb (wt.%). The fracture surface of the tensile specimen tested at ambient temperature reveals cleavage failure that changes to quasi-cleavage at 473 K. All the modified alloys exhibit superior creep resistance than the base AZ91 alloy. The combined additions of Ca and Sb are more effective in improving creep resistance than the individual additions. Individual Ca added AZX911 results superior creep resistance than the Sb added AZY911 is owing to the higher thermal stability of the Al2Ca phase in the former alloy compared to that of the Mg3Sb2 phase in the later one. The AZXY9120 alloy pertaining 2.0Ca and 0.3Sb (wt.%) exhibit the best creep resistance due to reduced amount of β-Mg17Al12 phase and presence of higher amount of dense network of thermally stable Al2Ca phase at grain boundaries. Post creep microstructural observation confirms the ability of the Al2Ca phase to withstand applied high stresses at elevated temperature without undergoing significant changes in its structure. The values of stress exponents and activation energies are in the range of 4.3 to 6.5 and 111.9±1.1 to 114.9±3.0 kJ/mol, which concludes dislocation climb controlled by pipe diffusion is the dominant creep mechanism for all the alloys in the temperature and stress level employed. The observed trend in creep rates with respect to the individual and combined additions of Ca and Sb in the AZ91 alloy was further confirmed by carrying out conventional compressive creep tests on all the alloys. It has been observed that the trend in creep rates, i.e., impression velocities in impression creep, and strain rates in compression creep obtained with respect to the individual and combined additions of Ca and Sb to the AZ91 alloy is the same. Corrosion resistance of all the modified alloys is better owing to the refined and reduced volume fraction of β-Mg17Al12 phase as well as grain refinement. Individual additions are better than mixed additions. The AZX911 alloy comprising individual Ca addition with a continuous network of Al2Ca phase reveals the lowest corrosion rate. Among the alloys comprising combined additions, the AZXY9120 alloy exhibits the best corrosion resistance due to higher and lower volume fraction of Al2Ca and Ca2Sb phases, respectively.
To conclude, the individual and combined additions of Ca and Sb to the AZ91 alloy resulted in improved ambient and elevated temperature tensile properties as well as impression and compression creep behaviour without deteriorating corrosion resistance. Among the modified alloys, the AZXY9120 alloy exhibited the best properties considering its targeted powertrain application at elevated temperature. In addition, the tensile and creep properties of the squeeze-cast alloys in the present investigation were superior as compared to that of the alloys developed by gravity-cast.


Abstract. A new physically based parameterisation of black carbon (BC) in snow was developed and implemented in the Canadian Atmospheric Global Climate Model (CanAM4.2). Simulated BC snow mixing ratios and BC snow radiative forcings are in good agreement with measurements and results from other models. Simulations with the improved model yield considerable trends in regional BC concentrations in snow and BC snow radiative forcings during the time period from 1950–1959 to 2000–2009. Increases in radiative forcings for Asia and decreases for Europe and North America are found to be associated with changes in BC emissions. Additional sensitivity simulations were performed in order to study the impact of BC emission changes between 1950–1959 and 2000–2009 on surface albedo, snow cover fraction, and surface air temperature. Results from these simulations indicate that impacts of BC emission changes on snow albedos between these 2 decades are small and not significant. Overall, changes in BC concentrations in snow have much smaller impacts on the cryosphere than the net warming surface air temperatures during the second half of the 20th century.


Designing microscopic and nanoscopic self-propelled particles and characterising their motion have become a major scientific challenge over the past few decades. To this purpose, phoretic effects, namely propulsion mechanisms relying on local field gradients, have been the focus of many theoretical and experimental studies. In this review, we adopt a tutorial approach to present the basic physical mechanisms at stake in phoretic motion, and describe the different experimental works that led to the fabrication of active particles based on this principle. We also present the collective effects observed in assemblies of interacting active colloids, and the theoretical tools that have been used to describe phoretic and hydrodynamic interactions.


In this report I investigate the relationship between an ideology of civil society and everyday practices in a Russian environmental youth NGO called PiM. Data for this report was gathered in 2004 during fieldwork conducted in Murmansk, Russia. The term civil society is a common reference in development aid programmes directed towards Russia, and is as such part of a process of constructing 'the other', e.g. the recipients of development aid. A general description of the concept 'civil society' in development discourse is followed by a discussion of everyday practises in PiM. In order to discuss the relationship between ideology and everyday practices, three empirical levels are separated and analysed: (i) individual strategies and perceptions; (ii) internal organisational practices and cooperation between PiM and its Norwegian partner; and (iii) external organisational practices as PiM advocates for change in environmental policies. I find that among members of PiM, the possibility of gaining personally from voluntary work is imperative, hence that accumulation of individual social capital is significant as PiM provides a platform in which members can access valuable capital, maintain networks and the like. Nonetheless, members involve themselves in and voice an altruistic ideology. Thus, I find that self-interest and altruism seem to dialectically reinforce each other. Social capital may also enhance PiM's operational skills, but as individuals compete for scarce resources, individual accumulation may be parasitical. PiM is to a significant degree subject to governance, and contributes to its own self-governance by adjusting to the demands of its Norwegian donor and partner. Thus, a relationship of dependency is created, where PiM is the weaker part. When PiM members try to advocate change in environmental policies they are considered by their adversaries (such as politicians and industrial managers) as ignorant persons, and treated as intruders in a field perceived as belonging to experts. Finally, I elaborated upon the term habitus in order to suggest that negative experiences of the past form practices at present in NGO life.


When we introduced the Deadwood Report in our Winter 2008 issue, we staked out two main positions on what we would treat as scholarship when assessing faculty productivity. Fair Warning to Law Schools..., 11 GREEN BAG 2D 139, 144. We are standing by one of those positions and abandoning the other, at least for now. First we said, "Not all writing is scholarship and not all scholarship is the same" - a position we still like. For now we plan to proceed with a simple independent-sufficiency-for-tenure standard: We know that a professor can satisfy the scholarship requirement for tenure with a record consisting exclusively of articles in scholarly journals or exclusively of books. We know of no law school that grants tenure based on a record consisting exclusively of any other form of publication. But the Green Bag is not all-knowing, and so, as we said in our Winter 2008 issue, we will make exceptions. We do hope to provide some insight into one touchy area: the relative worth of student, faculty, and practitioner judgments about scholarly value. As with the weighting of teaching, we will be asking deans for help. See Deadwood Report Update: Pick Your Own Weight, 11 GREEN BAG 2D 275. The draft survey below invites deans to assign weights to a variety of scholarly products, including articles appearing in journals edited by students, professors, and practitioners. As before, we welcome your comments on the draft. Second we said, "Inbreeding is bad policy" - a position we cannot justify now. For a variety of reasons, works appearing in organs published by your school or your students, or on which a member of your faculty serves as an editor or in some similar capacity, do count.


The study of offense narratives emphasizes the agency of the offender which brings psychology closer to law. As an effort to create a standardized and quantitative method to evaluate offender narratives, Youngs and Canter developed the Narrative Roles Questionnaire (NRQ) based on the content analyses of the crime narratives of offenders in UK prisons. The current study aims to investigate the applicability of offense narrative roles framework among Turkish offenders. The application of the offense narrative roles model to a non-Western country is the first step toward the acceptance of criminal narrative theory as a universal explanation of criminal behavior. A translation of the NRQ was administered to 468 Turkish male inmates who have committed a wide range of offenses from fraud to murder. The results of an MDS analysis yielded four roles, namely Professional, Revenger, Hero, and Victim, echoing the original formulation proposed by Youngs and Canter. The reliability coefficients of scales derived for these roles were all at desired levels. The results support the applicability of the NRQ framework in a non-English context.


Measuring impact may be challenging, but does that mean we should accept a lack of ambition? Researchers in all fields are grappling with the challenge of how to measure impact (in many different contexts, which naturally leads to many different approaches), and so perhaps it is not surprising that the 'impact culture' is spreading to public engagement. But is the field rising to the challenge or should we think more broadly about how we demonstrate impact, perhaps freeing individual and smaller projects from the need to measure public impact and allowing them instead to focus on formative development? This editorial explores some of the issues in the field.


In 1938 the Faculty of Theology Section B was established at the University of Pretoria, which could be likened to a small fountain. As the fountain flowed through the decades of history, it grew and became a river that made a huge impact on the university, the Church and society. The aim of this article, coinciding with the centenary of the University of Pretoria, is to focus on the positive contribution of the Faculty of Theology towards university, church and society. Like any river it went through different stages. There were times of peace and tranquillity, but also times of raging rapids. At certain stages of growth and development both lecturers and students made a huge impact, playing leading roles in Church and society, clearly voicing the call of the Church. The voice of the Faculty was not always welcome and was at times met by strong reaction, which was possibly one of the reasons for the murder of Prof. J.A. Heyns. In 2000 a new era dawned when the stream that became a river was joined by streams of different denominations. This made the river even stronger, with much more impact. This article tells the story of the origin, growth and struggle of the Dutch Reformed Church at the Faculty of Theology at the University of Pretoria from 1938 to 2008.


Background Gastrointestinal bleeding is a common and potentially life-threatening condition. The incidence of gastrointestinal bleeding has not decreased despite new prophylaxis and treatments. Ulcer is still one of the most common etiologies for upper gastrointestinal bleeding. It is routinely treated with proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) and endoscopic interventions, sometimes endovascular procedures, and rarely today, open surgery with suture to stop the bleeding. The fibrinolytic tranexamic acid (TXA) has a role in bleeding treatment, and is routinely used for example within trauma care, postpartum bleeding and orthopedic surgery. The aim of this study is to assess the incidence of gastrointestinal bleeding. A further aim was to investigate if TXA has any role in medical treatment of gastrointestinal bleeding today. Methods We performed a retrospective cohort study with a review of medical records, involving patients with clinical signs of gastrointestinal bleeding and endoscopically verified ulcers between the years of 2010 and 2016 at the University Hospital of Linkoping, Sweden. The cities of Motala and Linkoping have the primary acute admissions at this Hospital. Results We found in total 1,331 patients with gastrointestinal bleeding. The overall incidence for patients with gastrointestinal bleeding was 98.6 (98.6/100,000 inhabitants and year). For those with endoscopically verified ulcer (386 patients), the incidence for peptic ulcer was 28.6/100,000/year. In the group with endoscopically verified ulcer, 25 patients died, giving the 30-day mortality of 6.4%. TXA is still used for treatment of bleeding ulcers. We had two groups, those with and without TXA treatment. They were equal in age, gender and comorbidity. Clinically we saw no major differences in respect to hemodynamic stability. There were more patients with overt bleeding symptoms in the TXA group. We also saw more patients in need of intensive care in the TXA group. Conclusions The incidence of gastrointestinal bleeding has not significantly decreased during the last years. There was no significant positive effect of TXA in patients with upper gastrointestinal bleeding in this study. The difference between the two groups is probably more a question of whom we treat with TXA (e.g., the patients in worse condition or at higher risk) than a difference in drug effect. It is time to quit with TXA treatment in all patients with gastrointestinal bleeding, even those at intensive care unit (ICU).


We investigate the existence of spatial optical solitons supported by an interface between two nonlinear lattices with different saturation parameters. Dipole, quadrupole, and vortex solitons are found in the nonlinear surface lattices. The slight different saturation degree between two sides of the interface leads to a remarkable asymmetry of solitons with higher power. We reveal that multipole and vortex solitons are stable when their power exceeds a threshold value, and stable localized surface nonlinear modes with very high peaks are possible.


The techniques of laser Doppler and time-varying speckle can both be used to measure velocities. The two techniques have developed separately, and there has been little interchange of ideas between them. The essential equivalence of the two techniques for measuring line-of-sight velocities is demonstrated, and ways in which the two techniques might learn from each other are suggested.


Scheduling amounts to allocating optimally channel, rate and power resources to multiple connections with diverse quality-of-service (QoS) requirements. It constitutes a throughput-critical task at the medium access control layer of today's wireless networks that has been tackled by seemingly unrelated information-theoretic and protocol design approaches. Capitalizing on convex optimization and stochastic approximation tools, the present paper develops a unified framework for channel-aware QoS-guaranteed scheduling protocols for use in adaptive wireless networks whereby multiple terminals are linked through orthogonal fading channels to an access point, and transmissions are (opportunistically) adjusted to the intended channel. The unification encompasses downlink and uplink with time-division or frequency-division duplex operation; full and quantized channel state information comprising a few bits communicated over a limited-rate feedback channel; different types of traffic (best effort, non-real-time, real-time); uniform and optimal power loading; off-line optimal scheduling schemes benchmarking fundamentally achievable rate limits; as well as on-line scheduling algorithms capable of dynamically learning the intended channel statistics and converging to the optimal benchmarks from any initial value. The take-home message offers an important cross-layer design guideline: judiciously developed, yet surprisingly simple, channel-adaptive, on-line schedulers can approach information-theoretic rate limits with QoS guarantees.


Nanocomposites obtained by integrating iron oxide magnetic nanoparticles (Fe3O4) into a metal–organic framework (HKUST-1 or Cu3(BTC)2, BTC = 1,3,5-benzenetricarboxylate) are synthesized through conversion from a composite of a Cu-based ceramic material and Fe3O4. In situ small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and wide-angle X-ray scattering (WAXS) measurements reveal that the presence of Fe3O4 leads to the fast conversion and synthesis of HKUST-1 with small particle sizes. The prepared MOF composite (Fe3O4@HKUST-1) is found to catalyze the one-pot sequential deacetalization–Knoevenagel condensation reaction as a magnetically collectable and recyclable catalyst. In addition, Pd nanoparticles are also incorporated into the material (Pd/Fe3O4@HKUST-1) by addition of a Pd colloidal solution during the conversion of the precursor composite to HKUST-1. The resulting Pd/Fe3O4@HKUST-1 can be utilized for hydrogenation of 1-octene in the liquid phase.


Excessive transforming growth factor (TGF)-β signaling has been implicated in pulmonary hypoplasia associated with bronchopulmonary dysplasia, a chronic lung disease of human prematurity featuring pulmonary fibrosis. This implies that inhibitors of TGF-β could be useful therapeutic agents. Because exogenous TGF-β ligands are known to inhibit lung branching morphogenesis and cytodifferentiation in mouse embryonic lungs in ex vivo culture, we examined the capacity of a naturally occurring inhibitor of TGF-β activity, the proteoglycan decorin, to overcome the inhibitory effects of exogenous TGF-β. Intratracheal microinjection of a recombinant adenovirus containing decorin cDNA resulted in overexpression of the exogenous decorin gene in airway epithelium. Although exogenous TGF-β efficiently decreased epithelial lung branching morphogenesis in control cultures, TGF-β-induced inhibition of lung growth was abolished after epithelial transfer of the decorin gene. Additionally, exogenous TGF-β-induced antiproliferative effects as well as the downregulation of surfactant protein C were abrogated by decorin in cultured embryonic lungs. Moreover, lung branching inhibition by TGF-β could be restored by the addition of decorin antisense oligodeoxynucleotides in culture, indicating that decorin is both specifically and directly involved in suppressing TGF-β-mediated negative regulation of lung morphogenesis. Our findings suggest that decorin can antagonize bioactive TGF-β during lung growth and differentiation, establishing the rationale for decorin as a candidate therapeutic approach to ameliorate excessive levels of TGF-β signaling in the developing lung.


The evolution of Gini coefficient for personal incomes in the USA between 1947 and 2005 is analyzed and modeled. There are several versions of personal income distribution (PID) provided by the US Census Bureau (US CB) for this period with various levels of resolution. Effectively, these PIDs result in different Gini coefficients due to the differences between discrete and continuous representations. When all persons of 15 years of age and over are included in the PIDs, Gini coefficient drops from 0.64 in 1947 to 0.54 in 1990. This effect is observed due to a significant decrease in the portion of people without income. For the PIDs not including persons without income, Gini coefficient is varying around 0.51 between 1960 and 2005 with standard deviation of 0.004, i.e. is in fact constant. This Gini coefficient is practically independent on the portion of population included in the PIDs according to any revision of income definitions. The driving force of the model describing the evolution of individual incomes (microeconomic level) and their aggregate value (macroeconomic level) is the change in nominal GDP per capita. The model accurately predicts the evolution of Gini coefficient for the PIDs for people with income. The model gives practically unchanged (normalized) PIDs and Gini coefficient between 1947 and 2005. The empirical Gini curves converge to the predicted one when the number of people without income decreases. Asymptotically, the empirical curves should collapse to the theoretical one when all the working age population obtains an appropriate definition of income. Therefore the model Gini coefficient potentially better describes true behavior of inequality in the USA because the definitions of income used by the US Census Bureau apparently fail to describe true income distribution.


What gives a particular state the right to exercise jurisdiction and enforcement power over a particular territory? Why does the state of Denmark have rights over the territory of Denmark, and not over the territory of Sweden, and vice versa? This paper first considers a popular argument that purports to ground state territorial rights in citizens' rights of land ownership. On this view, the state has jurisdiction over territory insofar as its people owns the territory, and delegates jurisdictional powers over their land to the state. It is argued that we should reject this approach, because it is unable to explain: (a) how the state can establish a continuous territory; (b) why later generations consent to the state's jurisdiction; and (c) why non-consenting property owners cannot secede. Rather than considering state jurisdiction to be derived from the people's prior property rights, this paper claims that we should consider state jurisdictional rights over territory to be primitive. It defends an alternative Kantian account of territorial rights. On this view, a state's claim to jurisdiction over territory is justified if that state imposes a system of property law that meets certain basic conditions of legitimacy. This Kantian approach, it is argued, allows us to make better sense of state territorial rights.


We describe the theory, computation and results of a multiperiod general equilibrium model designed to assist an urban water authority in its pricing and investment decisions. The model includes gestation periods in the creation of dams, main sewers and treatment plants. It allows for lumpy capital items and recognizes cost differences in the provision of services in peak and non-peak times. Its general equilibrium framework is convenient for handling links between the water authority and the rest of the economy, especially the housing sector. We have used two computational approaches. In the first, we reformulate the model as a single-entity optimization problem and then apply a linear programming package. We have found that a better approach is to apply Newton-Raphson methods to a formulation of the model as a set of equations depicting purely competitive behaviour in all productive activities. A special feature of this paper is an integration of the model's results, obtained under the assumption of certainty, with data on weather-induced variations in streamflow and demand. Using Monte Carlo techniques we assess the risks of water shortages associated with the investment and pricing strategies that our model indicates.