The ERS-1 Satellite was launched in July 1991 by the European Space Agency into a polar orbit at about 800 km, carrying a C-band scatterometer. A scatterometer measures the amount of backscatter microwave radiation reflected by small ripples on the ocean surface induced by sea-surface winds, and so provides instantaneous snap-shots of wind flow over large areas of the ocean surface, known as wind fields. Inherent in the physics of the observation process is an ambiguity in wind direction; the scatterometer cannot distinguish if the wind is blowing toward or away from the sensor device. This ambiguity implies that there is a one-to-many mapping between scatterometer data and wind direction. Current operational methods for wind field retrieval are based on the retrieval of wind vectors from satellite scatterometer data, followed by a disambiguation and filtering process that is reliant on numerical weather prediction models. The wind vectors are retrieved by the local inversion of a forward model, mapping scatterometer observations to wind vectors, and minimising a cost function in scatterometer measurement space. This thesis applies a pragmatic Bayesian solution to the problem. The likelihood is a combination of conditional probability distributions for the local wind vectors given the scatterometer data. The prior distribution is a vector Gaussian process that provides the geophysical consistency for the wind field. The wind vectors are retrieved directly from the scatterometer data by using mixture density networks, a principled method to model multi-modal conditional probability density functions. The complexity of the mapping and the structure of the conditional probability density function are investigated. A hybrid mixture density network, that incorporates the knowledge that the conditional probability distribution of the observation process is predominantly bi-modal, is developed. The optimal model, which generalises across a swathe of scatterometer readings, is better on key performance measures than the current operational model. Wind field retrieval is approached from three perspectives. The first is a non-autonomous method that confirms the validity of the model by retrieving the correct wind field 99% of the time from a test set of 575 wind fields. The second technique takes the maximum a posteriori probability wind field retrieved from the posterior distribution as the prediction. For the third technique, Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) techniques were employed to estimate the mass associated with significant modes of the posterior distribution, and make predictions based on the mode with the greatest mass associated with it. General methods for sampling from multi-modal distributions were benchmarked against a specific MCMC transition kernel designed for this problem. It was shown that the general methods were unsuitable for this application due to computational expense. On a test set of 100 wind fields the MAP estimate correctly retrieved 72 wind fields, whilst the sampling method correctly retrieved 73 wind fields.


A field study to determine the distribution and population densities of plant parasitic nematodes associated with beans was undertaken in Kakamega, Kiambu, Machakos and Siaya districts of Kenya. Meloidogyne spp. and Pratylenchus spp. were the most predominant endoparasites, occurring in 86 and 61% of the root samples, respectively. Ectoparasitic nematodes in the genera Scutellonema and Helicotylenchus were recovered in 86 and 59% of the soil samples, respectively. Field experiments were conducted to determine the efficacy of organic amendments (chicken manure, compost, neem leaves, baobab remains and farm yard manure) in the control of root-knot nematodes. The amendments showed varying levels of nematodes suppression with chicken manure being rated as the most effective with galling index of 2.4 while sisal wastes were least effective with galling index of 5.1. Another study was undertaken to determine the reaction of 35 bean genotypes to Meloidogyne incognita. Ten genotype were rated as susceptible while 3 and 22 genotypes were rated as resistant and moderately resistant, respectively. The potential of different Bacillus isolates to suppress galling by root knot nematodes in beans was investigated using sterile sand in Leonard jars under greenhouse conditions. The isolates had varying effect with the majority (93%) of the isolates causing a reduction in root galling when compared to the control (water). Twelve percent of the isolates were more effective than carbofuran (nematicide). In another greenhouse experiment investigating the interaction between Bacillus spp. and Rhizobium strains inoculations using N-free sterile sand, 4 out of the 20 Bacillus isolates significantly promoted nodulation in bean plants.


Scotiophyes subtriangulata, sp. nov., is described and illustrated. The new species is similar to S. faeculosa from which it can distinguished by the following: basal blotch and median fascia distinct; uncus subtriangular, narrowed gradually apically; sacculus smooth ventrally near base; arms of gnathos thick and short; and aedeagus slender. Photographs of adults and genitalia of S. faeculosa and S. subtriangulata are provided. A key to the known species of the genus is included. The type specimen of the new species is deposited in the Insect Collection of Nankai University, China.


While many beneficial host–microbiota interactions have been described, imbalanced microbiota in the gut is speculated to contribute to the progression and recurrence of chronic inflammatory diseases such as Crohn's disease (CD). This in vitro study evaluated the impact of a cranberry concentrate Type M (CTM) on adherent-invasive Escherichia coli (AIEC) LF82, a pathobiont associated with CD. Different stages of pathogenic infection were investigated: (i) colonization of the mucus layer, and (ii) adhesion to and (iii) invasion of the epithelial cells. Following 48 h of fecal batch incubation, 0.5 and 1 mM of CTM significantly altered AIEC LF82 levels in a simulated mucus layer, resulting in a decrease of 50.5% in the untreated blank, down to 43.0% and 11.4%, respectively. At 1 mM of CTM, the significant decrease in the levels of AIEC LF82 coincided with a stimulation of the metabolic activity of the background microbiota. The increased levels of health-associated acetate (+7.9 mM) and propionate levels (+3.5 mM) suggested selective utilization of CTM by host microorganisms. Furthermore, 1 mM of both fermented and unfermented CTM decreased the adhesion and invasion of human-derived epithelial Caco-2 cells by AIEC LF82. Altogether, this exploratory in vitro study demonstrates the prebiotic potential of CTM and supports its antipathogenic effects through direct and/or indirect modulation of the gut microbiome.


This paper aims to measure the impact of remittances (REMT) and foreign direct investment (FDI) on the economic growth in North Africa region. It used balanced Panel data over the period of 2000-2018 to estimate the impact of both REMT inflows as percent of gross domestic product (GDP) and FDI inflows as percent of GDP on the growth rate of GDP per capita in Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, and Tunisia. Both Wald and Hausman tests indicated that Random Effect Model approach (REM) is the appropriate static model for the data compared to both the Pooled Regression Model (PRM) and the Fixed Effect Model (FEM) approaches. Levin, Lin  Chu and Im, Pesaran  Shin panel unit root tests denoted that all variables are stationary at the first differences (I (1)). Kao and Pedroni Panel co-integration tests confirmed existing a long-run dynamic relationship between REMT, FDI and GDP per capita. Pooled Mean Group (PMG) approach was used to estimate a panel ARDL model. The main finding is that external sources of capital inflows such as remittances inflows and foreign direct investment has a different impact on the economic growth in North Africa countries, while REMT has a statistically significant positive impact, FDI has a statistically insignificant positive impact on GDP per capita in the end. The estimation of short-run model indicated that Error Correction Term (ECT) has a significant negative coefficient consistent with the theory; and its high value indicates the speed of returning to the long-term balance between the model variables.


Background and objective: Elderly are more vulnerable to stress than other age groups due to increase in stressors resulting from declining health and social relationship. Among Geriatric illnesses, geriatric sleep disturbance accounts for as high as 25% through 60%. The elderly tend to wake up more often during sleeping at night so in order to overcome sleep disorder, not only the drug treatment but also cognitive behavioural programs such as sleep hygiene education can be presented. Hence the study was set out to analyse the effect of sleep hygiene program on sleep quality and stress level in elderly population. Methodology: A cross-sectional survey design was used. 70 elderly subjects aged over 85 years were taken from community. They were assessed using following outcome measures: 1. Cohen Perceived Stress Scale 2. Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index A Sleep Hygiene Program was developed and its effect was analysed on sleep quality and stress level in the sample. Result: Within the study Sleep Hygiene Program found to be effective in improving the sleep quality of elderly (M ± SD=pre-1.41 ± .496, post-2.64 ± 0.742, t=-9.772, p=0.000). We identified that maximum number of participants had high stress level (55%) and the stress level of the participants was reduced after the implementation of sleep hygiene program. The findings also revealed that increase stress level was significantly associated with poor sleep quality (Pearson's r values=pre-0.95, post-0.92). Conclusion: From the result we concluded that Sleep Hygiene Program is an important tool for improving the sleep quality and stress level of elderly. There is positive association between sleep and stress.


Dendritic equiaxed growth from the melt by continuous cooling-down is investigated by quantitative 2D phase-field simulations. The results are compared with detailed data from solidification experiments on Al-4 wt.% Cu alloy with in situ X-ray monitoring. In a first step, the simulation of an isolated equiaxed alloy dendrite growing freely in -direction in the melt is performed. Then, the impingement between two grains is considered by simulating two dendritic crystals growing towards each other in -direction. From the phase-field simulations, the time evolution of the equiaxed crystals is characterized by measuring the lengths and tip velocities of the primary dendrite arms in free growth and in the presence of neighbor interaction, which enables the analysis of growth dynamics. In a second part, the results of the phase-field simulations are compared to data extracted from an experiment on Al - 4 wt.% Cu alloys carried out at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF), with in situ and real-time characterization by means of X-ray radiography, and to analytical relationship for dendrite tip growth. The limitations of 2D-phase-field simulations to fully describe the dynamic formation and interaction of dendritic equiaxed grains are briefly discussed.


Abstract.
 We present a review and analysis of the conservation status and International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) threat categories of all 360 currently recognized species of extant and recently extinct turtles and tortoises (Order Testudines). Our analysis is based on the 2018 IUCN Red List status of 251 listed species, augmented by provisional Red List assessments by the IUCN Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group (TFTSG) of 109 currently unlisted species of tortoises and freshwater turtles, as well as re-assessments of several outdated IUCN Red List assessments. Of all recognized species of turtles and tortoises, this combined analysis indicates that 20.0% are Critically Endangered (CR), 35.3% are Critically Endangered or Endangered (CR+EN), and 51.9% are Threatened (CR+EN+Vulnerable). Adjusting for the potential threat levels of Data Deficient (DD) species indicates that 56.3% of all data-sufficient species are Threatened. We calculated percentages of imperiled species and modified Average Threat Levels (ATL; ranging from Least Concern = 1 to Extinct = 8) for various taxonomic and geographic groupings. Proportionally more species in the subfamily Geoemydinae (Asian members of the family Geoemydidae) are imperiled (74.2% CR+EN, 79.0% Threatened, 3.89 ATL) compared to other taxonomic groupings, but the families Podocnemididae, Testudinidae, and Trionychidae and the superfamily Chelonioidea (marine turtles of the families Cheloniidae and Dermochelyidae) also have high percentages of imperiled species and ATLs (42.9-50.0% CR+EN, 73.8-100.0% Threatened, 3.44-4.06 ATL). The subfamily Rhinoclemmydinae (Neotropical turtles of the family Geoemydidae) and the families Kinosternidae and Pelomedusidae have the lowest percentages of imperiled species and ATLs (0%-7.4% CR+EN, 7.4%-13.3% Threatened, 1.65-1.87 ATL). Turtles from Asia have the highest percentages of imperiled species (75.0% CR+EN, 83.0% Threatened, 3.98 ATL), significantly higher than predicted based on the regional species richness, due to much higher levels of exploitation in that geographic region. The family Testudinidae has the highest ATL (4.06) of all Testudines due to the extinction of several species of giant tortoises from Indian and Pacific Ocean islands since 1500 CE. The family Testudinidae also has an ATL higher than all other larger polytypic families (≥ 5 species) of Reptilia or Amphibia. The order Testudines is, on average, more imperiled than all other larger orders (≥ 20 species) of Reptilia, Amphibia, Mammalia, or Aves, but has percentages of CR+EN and Threatened species and an ATL (2.96) similar to those of Primates and Caudata (salamanders).


A multiyear international data collection, data review, modeling, and implementation project was recently completed, producing stress corrosion crack growth rate (CGR) reference curves for irradiated austenitic stainless steels in light water reactor (LWR) environments that were adopted as ASME B&PV Section XI Code Case N-889. As described in a technical basis Part 1 paper, over 800 CGR data points were collected from six laboratories worldwide, an international expert panel reviewed and ranked the data, and the better-ranked data were used to calibrate empirical models for irradiation-assisted stress corrosion cracking (IASCC) CGR in boiling water reactor (BWR) normal water chemistry (NWC), BWR hydrogen water chemistry (HWC) and pressurized water reactor (PWR) primary water environments. Part 1 also describes the custom fitting process, quality of fit, and comparisons with related literature and data not used for fitting. This technical basis Part 2 paper describes shifting the mean models to the 75th percentile of the calibration data, simplifying to produce the N-889 curves, and comparing with previous reference curves and over 500 data points not used for developing the N-889 curves, including weld, cast, and heat-affected-zone (HAZ) materials, additional wrought laboratory data, and field data from repeated inspection of BWR core shrouds. Part 2 also describes the irradiated yield stress model in Case N-889, compares that model with its calibration data and other data not used for calibration, and presents example calculations using both yield stress and CGR equations.


Invasive plants reduce the capacity of ecosystems to provide goods and services required by society, alter ecological processes, and can displace desirable species. They can reduce wildlife habitat quality, riparian area integrity, rangeland economic value, and enterprise net returns. The invasion process is regulated by characteristics of the invading plant and the community being invaded. The presence and spread of invasive plants is often symptomatic of underlying management problems that must be corrected before acceptable, long-term rangeland improvement can be achieved. Disturbance appears to be important early in the invasion process because it creates vacant niches that alien plants can occupy. Control of invasive plants may only open niches for establishment of other undesirable plants unless desirable plants are present to fill the vacated niches. In many instances, rangelands have deteriorated to the point that desirable species are either not present, or in such low abundance that plant community recovery is slow or will not occur without revegetation after invasive plants are controlled. Integrated weed management employs the planned, sequential use of multiple tactics (e.g. chemical, biological, cultural, and mechanical control measures) to improve ecosystem function (energy flow and nutrient cycling) and maintain invasive plant damage below economic levels, and emphasizes managing rangeland ecosystem functions to meet objectives rather than emphasizing a particular weed or control method. Sustainable, integrated invasive plant management strategies require assessing plant impacts, understanding and managing the processes influencing invasion, knowledge of invasive plant biology and ecology, and are based on ecological principles. Invasive plant management programs must be compatible with and integrated into overall rangeland resource management objectives and plans. Because of the complexity of managing invasive plants, it is imperative that relevant ecological and economic information be synthesized into user-friendly decision support systems. DOI:10.2458/azu_jrm_v54i5_masters


This paper describes the impact of a natural exploration approach in thematic learning to develop environmental attitudes and deeper understanding of the 3R principles (Reduce/Reuse/Recycle) in elementary school students. This research involved a single group (pretest-posttest) of fourth grade students from a public elementary school in Indonesia during the year 2014/2015. Participants were recruited randomly in a class that numbered 36 students. The pedagogical approach used to implement thematic learning with a natural exploration approach were: (1) exploration activities, involving exploration and observation in the local school environment; (2) elaboration activities, where students worked in groups to make predictions about the rubbish problem in their school environment and to propose alternative solutions; (3) confirmation activities, where students in groups communicated their group's results in a collage exhibition; and (4) assessment activities, using performance capabilities and measuring the students' environmental attitudes and their understanding of the 3R principles. The research instruments used were: (1) an observation sheet; (2) interviews; and (3) a questionnaire. Data analysis was performed using a dependent t-test. The research demonstrates that a "natural exploration" thematic learning approach can be very effective in improving the environmental attitudes and understandings of 3R principles in fourth grade primary school students.


Objectives: The aim of this study was to review the literature about the effect of whole body vibration exercise in the BMD in patients with postmenopausal osteoporosis without medications. Methods: A systematic review was performed. Results: The frequency of the mechanical vibration used in the protocols has varied from 12 to 90 Hz. The time used in the protocols varied from 2 up to 22 months. Techniques with X-rays were used in nine of the twelve publications analyzed, the Dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) in eight studies and the High resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography (HR-pQCT) in one publication. The concentration of some biomarkers was determined, as the sclerostin, the bone alkaline phosphatase, N-telopeptide X and 25-hydroxyvitamin D. Among the twelve articles analyzed, seven of them have shown an improvement of the BMD of some bone of postmenopausal women exposed to whole body vibration exercises not associated to medications; as well as modifications in biomarkers.


The consistent ranking of multivariate volatility models by means of statistical loss function is a challenging research field, because it concerns the quality of the proxy chosen to replace the unobserved volatility, the set of competing models to be ranked and the kind of loss function. The existent works only consider the ranking of multivariate GARCH (MGARCH) models, based on daily frequency of the returns. Less is known about the behaviour of the models that directly use the realized covariance (RCOV), the proxy that generally provides a consistent estimate of the unobserved volatility. The aim of this paper is to evaluate which model has the best forecast volatility accuracy, from a statistical and economic point of view. For the first point, we empirically rank a set of MGARCH and RCOV models by means of four consistent statistical loss functions. For the second point, we evaluate if these rankings are coherent with those resulting from the use of an economic loss function. The evaluation of the volatility models through the economic loss function is usually done by looking at the Value at Risk (VaR) measures and its violations. A violation occurs every time the portfolio losses exceed the VaR. To assess the performances of the volatility models from an economic point of view, different tests regarding the violations have been proposed. In this work, the unconditional and conditional tests are considered. The analysis is based on a Monte Carlo experiment that samples from a trivariate continuous-time stochastic process a vector of observation each five minutes per two years.


Melanoma accounts for the majority of skin cancer deaths worldwide and has dramatically increased in incidence over the past half-century. Despite recent trends showing improved survival, and stabilization of incidence rates in younger Americans, melanoma incidence and mortality continue to rise unabated in older individuals, particularly in men over age 65. Efforts at early clinical detection of melanoma in older individuals should take into account the differences in melanoma subtypes in older individuals, potentially reduced access to medical specialists in this population, as well as comorbidities that may affect ability to undergo treatment for advanced disease. Secondary melanoma prevention should be focused on targeted education to older men and their spouses for early detection and reduction of mortality in this extremely high-risk group.


Abstract
The great chartered companies that spearheaded early modern European empire combined economic accumulation and the projection of sovereign power. They operated through networks of geographically dispersed imperial agents, experiencing bottlenecks in the long-distance flow of goods and enforcement and significant lags in communication with, and among, their agents. We develop an agent-based model, comparing an entrepot and networked structure of metropole and outpost relations. The model enables us to highlight the associated outcomes of a range of dyadic and triadic colonial networks exemplified by the Dutch East Indies Company and English East India Company, respectively. It captures basic network structure and the impact of temporal lags bound up with the policing of agents and delivery of goods over great distances. We conclude, first, that overall profits are higher for the triadic form, but as the colonial entrepot becomes a bottleneck, it accrues a disproportionate share of those profits. Second, we reveal the potential impact of the bottleneck on the evolving triadic form. The closer the entrepot is to the metropole, the better the outposts perform; however, the entrepot itself fares much worse, ultimately depressing profits at the system level. Time lags are shown to pose significant challenges for both competitiveness and control; they are a seedbed of colonial autonomy.


What does it mean to be at home in a hot city? One response is to shut our doors and close ourselves in a cocoon of air-conditioned thermal comfort. As the climate warms, indoor environments facilitated by technical infrastructures of cooling are fast becoming the condition around which urban life is shaped. The price we pay for this response is high: our bodies have become sedentary, patterns of consumption individualized, and spaces of comfortable mobility and sociality in the city, termed in this paper as "infrastructures of care," have declined. Drawing on the findings of a transdisciplinary pilot study titled Cooling the Commons, this paper proposes that the production of the home as an enclosed and private space needs to be rethought as an infrastructure that potentially undermines more social, convivial, and environmentally sensitive responses to a warming world. The paper asks, what role might design now play in developing alternative infrastructures of care that start with the idea of "home" as a distributed proposition?


Patricia Zavella was born in Tampa, Florida in 1949, the oldest of twelve children in a working-class family and often cared for her siblings. Her mother and father were both born in the United States and the primary language spoken in her family was English. She spoke English to her maternal grandmother who was born in the U.S. Her father was in the air force and they moved frequently when she was a child. Zavella was often one of very few Mexican-American children in the schools she attended. Teachers were often "surprised" at Zavella's stellar performance in the classroom. When she was ten years old, the family settled in Ontario in Southern California. It was here that there were more Mexican-Americans in her classrooms; this prompted her critical thinking about race relations and the Spanish language. In 1968, Zavella went to Chaffey Community College, in Alta Loma near her family's home. There she heard both Dolores Huerta and Cesar Chavez speak and became involved with the Chicano/a movement, developing into a student activist supporting some of the first classes in Mexican-American studies. Her recollections of these early days of the movement are a vital part of this oral history. Zavella participated in the Chicano Moratorium in August 1970, a demonstration of about 25,000 activists who protested in East Los Angeles against the Vietnam War. She joined MEChA [Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan] and began to claim an identity as a Chicana. Zavella went on to complete her BA in anthropology at Pitzer College (one of the Claremont Colleges) and then attended graduate school at UC Berkeley, where she earned her PhD in anthropology in 1982. As a graduate student, she continued to be deeply involved in and inspired by the Chicano/a movement. Her dissertation Women's Work in Chicano Families: Cannery Workers of the Santa Clara Valley developed into her first book. Through Zavalla's reflection we learn of the influence social movements had on her identity formation and search for community-centered knowledge. Zavella was one of the first scholars to analyze the intersections of race, gender, class for Chicana women workers, a research approach that emerged from feminist of color activisms of the late 1960s and 1970s. Before coming to UC Santa Cruz, Zavella taught courses at California State University at Hayward, UC Berkeley, and UC Santa Barbara and worked as a postdoc researcher at Stanford University with the Center for Chicano Research. In 1983 she was hired by UCSC's community studies program, first for a temporary position and after a year for a permanent position. Later she transferred to the Latin American and Latino Studies department. Zavella directed the Chicano and Latino Research Center from 1999 to 2003 and was a founder of both the BA and PhD program in the Latin American and Latino Studies Department at UC Santa Cruz. She has also served as UCSC's representative to the UC Committee on Latino Research. Zavella considers both her scholarship and her teaching forms of activism. Her research focuses on migration, gender and health in Latina/o communities, Latino families in transition, feminist studies, and ethnographic research methods. She has worked on many collaborative projects, including an ongoing partnership with Xochitl Castaneda with whom she has written four articles, two in English and two in Spanish. In 2010, the Society for the Anthropology of North America awarded Zavella the Distinguished Career Achievement in the Critical Study of North America Award. She has published many books including, most recently, I'm Neither Here Nor There, Mexicans' Quotidian Struggles with Migration and Poverty (Duke University Press, 2011), which focuses on working class Mexican Americans' struggle for agency and identity in Santa Cruz County.


This study investigated the relative effectiveness of computer-based science simulations on students' achievement in chemistry at the secondary school level when compared with guided-discovery and the traditional expository teaching methods. The study used non- randomized pre-test – post-test control group design. The study sample was 89 Senior Secondary II (SSII) chemistry students drawn from Uyo Local Government Area, Akwa lbom State, Nigeria. Criterion sampling technique was used for sampling. Two hypotheses were tested. The instrument used in collecting data was a researcher-developed 25-item 4-option multiple choice test - the Chemistry Achievement Test (CAT) - designed to measure students' achievement in the area of chemical combination. The test had a reliability index of 0.72 determined using test-retest approach. The results of data analysis using Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) showed that students taught by computer-based science simulations performed significantly better than those taught using the traditional expository method, (mean diff. = 4.34; sig. = .032), but had comparable performance with those taught with guided-discovery approach (mean diff. = .85; sig. =.869). That is, computer based simulation method is as effective as guided-discovery, but significantly better than the traditional expository method; and that gender is not a strong determinant of students' performance in chemistry. Based on the findings, it was recommended, among others, that chemistry teachers should adopt computer-based simulation technique in teaching chemistry concepts in view of its high facilitative effect on students' performance.


The major objective of this study was to explore the involvement of rural
Malaysian women in the process of decision making in rural farmers organizations. The
major objective of the study was to examine the participation of rural Malaysian leaders
in decision making in elation to their empowerment and share of power at societal level.
The specific objectives were: (a) to examine the socio':'demographic, economic, and
leadership characteristics of rural women leaders in rural/farmers organizations, (b) to
examine the levels of participation of rural women as members and leaders in
rural/farmers organizations, (c) to examine rural women leaders' perception on decision
making inputs in rural farmers organizations, (d) to determine the factors that contribute
to rural women leaders perception on decision making inputs and, to (e) to identify the
gender based inequalities, institutional and organizational constraints that hinder
women's participation in decision making.Farmers Organizations' Authority (FOA) a nation wide farmers organization was
selected as the case study. Both quantitative and qualitative approaches were used to
encompass the objectives of the study.
The secondary data showed that even though women constitute 21 percent of the
membership of the organization, but their representation as leaders consist
only 6 percent. A combination of personal, characteristics gender and
institutional/organizational factors were found to be behind their low representation as
leaders. The study hypothesised nine predictor variables of the personal characteristics to
affect women's perception on their decision making inputs. Only age was found to have
a significant effect at pc 0.05.
The study suggested the gender factors as deep rooted within the cultural set up
of the society and their transcendence is a long term process related to changes of the
value systems of the society. Hence the organizational and institutional factors are seen
to be the potential subject of short term actions to overcome the reality of women's low
representation in rural farmers' organizations. Among other recommendations, gender
sensitization of policy makers was suggested as a priority to effect institutional and
organizational change.
It was concluded that the coalition of market/business oriented policies together
with the patriarchal mode of production have contributed to further subordination of
rural Malaysian women in the aftermath of traditional agricultural production.


In International Irrigation Management Institute (IIMI). Advancements in IIMI's research 1989-91: a selection of papers presented at Internal Program Reviews. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Irrigation Management Institute (IIMI).


The Holy Qur'an has addressed the needs of women and their status in a way
never done before in any other religious text. Woman's exalted position in Islam
is due, primarily, to her role as a child rearer. It is she who is considered the
"first madrasah" (first school) by Islam, and it is from her that children will learn
about their responsibility as future 'standard bearers' of Islam and society.
The research examines stories and biographies of women in the Qur'an, narrated
by various prophets (peace be upon them) through the ages. These stories have
been drawn from sound Islamic sources. not the doubtful narrations of Israelite
scriptures, showing, through their life stories, women's attitude nature, some
positive and others negative. This provides an authentic and comprehensive view
of Muslim women from the Qur'anic perspective. It puts forward an educational
model for women to realize their true role in the challenging times in which we
live. By studying the attitudes and dispositions of women in the Holy Qur'an
and the Sunna of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) the
research illustrates the merits. morals and role of women as educators in the family, as well as society. It also shows the extent to which a Muslim women
can harm or benefit each member of her family. The study also shows the scope
of educational techniques in the Holy Qur'an and their impact on the attitudes
and character of women. It delineates the educational role of women and the
features of women's character through investigation of previous religions and
comparison with those in Islam. In this way, we can become more acquainted
with the characteristics of women, her tasks, rights, duties and the type of work
suited to her outside the family.


OBJECTIVE
To explore the effects of bufalin (BUF) combined with doxorubicin (DOX) on the proliferation and apoptosis in human lung cancer cell line A549 in vitro.
 Methods: Methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT) assay was used to measure the inhibitory effects of BUF, DOX and their combination on the growth of A549 cells. Hoechst 33342 staining was used to observe the changes of nucleus. Flow cytometry was used to investigate the apoptosis and cell cycle distribution of A549 cells. Western blot was used to examine the expression of apoptotic protein.
 Results: BUF and DOX showed inhibitory effect on the A549 cells in a dose and time-dependent manner. Compared with BUF or DOX alone, combination of BUF (1, 20, 100 nmol/L) with DOX (1.0 μg/mL) could significantly increase the growth inhibition rate of A549 cells at 24, 36, 72 h, respectively (all P<0.05). BUF and DOX alone could induce apoptosis, and their combination could significantly increase the apoptosis ratio. In addition, BUF combined with DOX could block the cell stage of A549 cells, keep the cell stage stay in S stage and up-regulate the expression of caspase-3.
 Conclusion: BUF combined with DOX can significantly inhibit the proliferation of A549 cells, which might be related to the induction of apoptosis, cell cycle S phase arrest and caspase-3 up-regulation.


Using relayers in wireless networks enables higher throughput, increased reliability or reduced delay. However, when building networks using commercially available hardware, concurrent transmissions by multiple relayers are generally not possible. Instead one specific relayer needs to be assigned for each transmission instant. If the decision regarding which relayer to assign, i.e., which relayer that has the best opportunity to successfully deliver the packet, can be taken online, just before the transmission is to take place, much can be gained. This is particularly the case in mobile networks, as a frequently changing network topology considerably affects the choice of a suitable relayer. To this end, this paper addresses the problem of online relay assignment by developing a low-complexity algorithm highly likely to find the optimal combination of relaying nodes that minimizes the resulting error probability at the targeted receiver(s) using a mix of simulated annealing and ant colony algorithms, such that relay assignments can be made online also in large networks. The algorithm differs from existing works in that it considers both unicast as well as broadcast and assumes that all nodes can overhear each other, as opposed to separating source nodes, relay nodes and destination nodes into three disjoint sets, which is generally not the case in most wireless networks.


Australian broadacre agriculture is typified by strong cross-commodity relationships, where sheep and cattle grazing enterprises compete for pasture and both compete with wheat and other crops for land. Further, some commodities produced by multi-product farms are also used in the production of final products that are substitutes in demand, such as beef and lamb. Economic analyses of the beef market, for example, should also include consideration of the market for the related product, lamb. In this paper the effects of exogenous demand and supply shifters on the wholesale-farm price ratio in two closely related industries, beef and lamb, are examined in a Gardner type of model and the effects of excluding consideration of the cross-commodity interactions is measured. Parameter values were chosen based on previous empirical estimates and the judgement of the authors. Due to uncertainty about many of these parameters, a stochastic approach to sensitivity analysis was adopted where an appropriate probability distribution for each of the unknown parameters was chosen and 5,000 values from each of these distributions were drawn to construct estimated frequency distributions of results. It was found that the value for the general equilibrium elasticity of the beef wholesale to farm price ratio with respect to an exogenous demand shift was slightly larger with lamb cross-commodity effects imposed than without. Therefore the inclusion of cross-commodity relationships increases the responsiveness of the beef/cattle price ratio to the demand shift, but only slightly. The results further suggest that the demand and supply cross-price effects are additive rather than counteracting. Therefore incorrectly excluding the cross-commodity effects may result in large errors.


This qualitative case study is designed to determine students' views on and processes of constructing proofs. The participants were two females and one male freshman students in a mathematics teacher training program. The participants were selected representing their proficiency level in Intro to Analysis II as low, medium and high achievers. Data were gathered through classroom observations, structured interviews and papers where students reflected their proof processes. The data were analyzed through content analysis by using a qualitative analysis software program, Nvivo 7. The findings describe students' proof schemes and approaches, as well as display the patterns in showing the relationship between proof schemes and approaches.


As a location-based services problem, the concierge service problem is to find a minimum total cost for purchasing predetermined types and quantities of items with the shortest paths connecting the locations where the items are available. These locations are defined as points of interest (POIs). The total cost includes purchasing and stopping costs at POIs as well as the travel cost from origin to destination. To respond to a request for such a service, a search algorithm should be reasonably fast in computational time and high in accuracy. A heuristic search algorithm was developed by a Euclidean distance approach using a geographic information system. The algorithm was implemented with 1,248 POIs in the Seoul, South Korea, metropolitan area as a case study site. The road network is composed of 52,915 nodes and 77,339 links, and the existing subway network, and all existing bus routes were used for the implementation. Four scenarios were examined: a request for a service in peak and off-peak periods with and without turning restrictions. The results indicate that the computational time in each case is less than 4 s with the transit networks only and less than 30 s if the road network is used. The paper also evaluates the solutions generated from the algorithm.


During the nation's worst conflicts, soldiers have wrestled with the morality of killing during combat Pete Kilner argues that leaders have a responsibility to train combat soldiers to kill during combat but leaders also have an obligation to explain the moral justification for such killing. He further argues that leaders must explain the morality of killing so soldiers can live with themselves in the years after combat. THE METHODS that the military currently uses to train and execute combat operations enable soldiers to kill the enemy, but they leave soldiers liable to postcombat psychological trauma caused by guilt. This is a leadership issue. Combat training should be augmented by explaining to soldiers the moral justification for killing in combat to reduce postcombat guilt. Soldiers deserve to understand whom they can kill morally and why those actions are indeed moral. Military leaders are charged with two primary tasks-to train and lead units to fight effectively in combat in accordance with the war convention and to care for the soldiers they command. Military professionals generally hold these two tasks to be complementary, accepting Field Marshal Erwin Rommel's statement that the best form of welfare for troops is first-class training. American military leaders have been very successful in creating combat-effective units. In response to the U.S. War Department's research indicating that less than half of World War II riflemen fired their weapons at the enemy in combat, the military instituted training techniques. These techniques-fire commands, battle drills, and realistic marksmanship ranges-resulted in much-improved combat firing rates. During the Vietnam war, similar research reveals combat firing rates of 90 percent.1 Unfortunately, this improved combat effectiveness has come at a cost to soldiers' welfare. The training techniques leaders have employed to generate the advances in combat firing rates have resulted in increased rates of postcombat psychological trauma among combat veterans. Training that drills soldiers on how to kill without explaining to them why it is morally permissible to kill is harmful to them, yet that is currently the norm. Modem combat training conditions soldiers to act reflexively to stimuli, such as fire commands, enemy contact, or the sudden appearance of a "target," that maximizes soldiers' lethality, but it does so by bypassing their moral autonomy. Soldiers are conditioned to act without considering the moral repercussions of their actions; they kill without making the conscious decision to do so. In and of itself, such training is appropriate and morally permissible. Battles are won by killing the enemy, so military leaders should strive to produce the most efficient killers. The problem, however, is that soldiers who kill reflexively in combat will likely one day reconsider their actions reflectively. If they are unable to justify to themselves that they killed another human being, they will likely, and understandably, suffer enormous guilt. This guilt manifests itself as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and it has damaged the lives of thousands of men who performed their duty in combat.2 This article argues that military leaders' important and legitimate role-transforming civilians into combat soldiers who kill to defend their country-- carries with it the obligation to help soldiers cope with the moral repercussions of their actions. If military leaders train soldiers to kill others in combat, they should also educate soldiers to live with themselves in the years after combat. Military leaders should augment current training by morally justifying killing in combat to soldiers.3 This education would improve the U.S. Army's mission effectiveness. Why Soldiers Deserve a Moral Justification for Killing Military leaders should be concerned with morally justifying killing in combat; it stems from their duty to care for their troops. …


The Upper Sinemurian condensed sections of the edge of the Morvan (France) are known to have been part of an outer carbonate platform that was little affected by subsidence. In this paper, the facies distribution is arranged within a time of 14 horizons in order to identify and explain variations in sediment accommodation potential. The condensed sections are valuable inasmuch as they fit into a simplified model in which accommodation space is not modified by the invariably negligible sedimentary input and palaeobathymetric variations directly reflect relative sea level variations. Four facies associations correspond to lower offshore, and upper offshore environments. Facies stacking in each section is analysed and set against biostratigraphic data from three viewpoints. 1 - Facies stacking between two discontinuity surfaces, corresponding either to erosion or to non deposition, allows us to identify preserved sediment volumes, which have been dated (i.e. horizon identified) for 178 of the 189 levels in the 20 sections surveyed. In this narrowly constrained biostratigraphic context where decimetric beds can be correlated over large distances, each maximum biohorizon extension is considered to be a maximum transgression. A Wheeler diagram and a frequency variation curve of horizon occurrence bring out the transgressive-regressive variations. The transgressive maxima are dated to H2, H5, H10 and H13. They coincide with the transgressive maxima at the scale of northern Europe. 2 - Facies stacking between two deepness maxima encompassing a maximum of facies regression or minimum depth allows us to identify regressive-transgressive cycles or genetic units. By setting the genetic units against the horizon boundaries, it is possible to date the deepening maxima or to determine whether a biohorizon contains a deepening maximum locally. The percentage of sections where a given horizon contains a deepening maximum allows us to construct a frequency curve of maximum deepening against time. Comparison of the frequency curves of horizon occurrence and maximum deepening leads us to divide the late Sinemurian into two periods. The first (Obtusum and Oxynotum zones) is characterized by synchronism between deepening maxima and transgression maxima and therefore the absence of any local tectonic factor. The second (Raricostatum zone) is characterized by diachronism between the two maxima and attests to the occurrence of local tectonic movements (corresponding to the "Lotharingian crisis" of the literature) and the rejuvenation of differentially subsiding fault-bounded blocks. 3 - Finally, facies stacking of the overall condensed section of each site allows us to distinguish three types of sections, depending on the intensity of condensation and the amplitude of the sedimentary gaps. These correspond to three types of sedimentary preservation area related to reactivated block faulting of the platform with differential subsidence.


Abstract. Modern surveying techniques, with the combined use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) with low-cost photographic sensors, and photogrammetric techniques, allows obtaining a precise virtual reconstruction of environment and object with centimetre accuracy. Recently, the diffusion of UAV allows the survey of extensive areas significantly reducing survey time and costs. The raw output obtainable from such survey operations consists of a three-dimensional point cloud. Numerous applications in architecture, monitoring and surveying and structural analysis require objects identification in the 3d scene to classify different element in the acquired scene and extract relevant information. Point cloud analysis, and in particular segmentation and classification techniques, are actually used to identify objects within the scenes, assign to a specific class and use them for subsequent studies. These techniques represent an open research theme and the key to add value to the entire process. Actual methodologies are based on 3d spatial analysis on the point cloud. In this paper, starting from photogrammetric reconstruction, a methodology for segmentation and classification of point cloud based on image analysis is presented. The object identification on the image's dataset is performed using a Neural Network and subsequently the identified object on dataset are transfer into the 3d environment. This classification is performed to segment structural parts of bridges and viaduct, acquire geometric information, and perform a structural analysis to preserve relevant and ancient structure. A case study for the segmentation of the point cloud acquired with an aerial survey of a Viaduct is presented. The performed segmentation allows obtaining structural elements of different type of viaduct and bridges, is propaedeutic to verify the health of the structure and schedule maintenance intervention. The methodology can be applied to different type of bridges, from reinforced concrete to ancient masonry to preserve the state of conservation.


Blown All to Nothing is a work of creative non-fiction which recounts the events of 2 April 1916, when an explosives factory near Faversham in Kent exploded, killing 108 people and injuring many more. The book combines an intimate account of the disaster itself with reflections on the resulting landscape, the context of war and industry, and the representation of such events in art, film, literature and popular culture. It will be published in hardback in the UK in autumn 2013; it will be about 80,000 words in extent.

This is a book about a specific moment and a specific place, about the people whose lives were destroyed or affected by the conjunction of the two. But it is also about related historical events – the invention of gunpowder, the fate of the Titanic for which the Explosives Loading Company had manufactured distress flares – and the broader context of the First World War, not to mention the long and terrible history of killing by explosives that has followed since. In a sense, the man-made explosion – be it accidental or deliberate, the product of a nuclear weapons programme or the ambitions of a lone terrorist – is an exemplary image of the last century or so: a very modern form of death and destruction.

Research for the book has been undertaken at the site itself, where the ruins of the factory are still visible, at the nearby Oare works, which is now a heritage site, at the Faversham Museum and at the National Archives. Further research will take place at the Imperial War Museum, the extant archives of companies involved such as ICI, and comparable sites in Britain, Europe and America.


Nanoscale gold particles are being used as a radiation dose enhancer in cancer research. The purpose of this study was to optimize the uptake of polyethylene glycol (PEG) functionalized gold nanoparticles (GNPs) for an enhanced therapeutic effect during radiation therapy. PEG is widely used in providing NPs with stealth properties, thus prolonging blood circulation times. However, PEG minimizes PEG-GNP interaction with cell surface ligands resulting in significantly lower in vitro cellular uptake. As intracellular localization of GNPs maximizes its therapeutic enhancement, there is a need to improve the uptake of PEG-GNPs. To enhance uptake, RGD peptide containing an integrin binding domain was conjugated along with PEG. Spherical GNPs of diameters 14 and 50 nm and PEG chain lengths of 2 kDa were used for the study. Nanoparticles functionalized with both RGD peptide and PEG had higher uptake than NPs functionalized with PEG alone. The enhancement in uptake was higher for 14 nm NPs as compared to 50 nm NPs. Our radiation therapy results showed that smaller NPs conjugated with PEG and RGD peptides have a three-fold therapeutic enhancement as compared to larger NPs in MDA-MB-231 cells at clinically relevant 6 MV energy. This study will shed light on clinical use of GNPs in radiation therapy in the near future.


Two possible explanations for the type SNe Ia supernovae observations are a nonlinear, underdense void embedded in a matter-dominated Einstein-de Sitter spacetime or dark energy in the $\Lambda$CDM model. Both of these alternatives are faced with Copernican fine-tuning problems. A case is made for the void scenario that avoids introducing undetected dark energy.


Hussein H. Ghouz A Novel Compact Ultra-wideband Monopole Microstrip Filtenna In this study, a novel compact ultra-wideband monopole microstrip filtenna having two built in band-rejection filters has been proposed and presented. The first filter is inverted U-shape slot etched within the patch, while second one is two concentric rectangular slots etched within the partial ground under feeder. These filters reject WiMax/LTE band (3.3 4.0 GHz) and WLAN band (5.0 5.9 GHz). The proposed filtenna has been designed, investigated and optimized using the microwave CST_Studio simulator. The presented filtenna structure is mounted on FR4-substrate, and it resonates within the band from 3.0 GHz up to 10.2 GHz. Simulation results shows that using defective partial ground (DEPG) along with the patch slots (PS), the resonance frequencies as well as the operating bands of the patch filtenna can be controlled. The proposed filtenna has been fabricated and its parameters are measured. Good agreement has been obtained between simulated and measured parameters.


OBJECTIVE
Colorectal cancer screening program using fecal immunochemical test had been conducted on an isolated island named Nii-jima. However, the participation rate of the program had been approximately 12%, which was lower than average level of Japan. This study aimed to evaluate the participation rate, safety and efficacy of a colorectal cancer screening program using colonoscopy on the island.

METHODS
Educational campaigns were actively conducted every month using information bulletins and special propaganda pamphlets. The primary recommended modality was colonoscopy, followed by fecal immunochemical test. The participants of this program were 1671 individuals aged 40-79 years (men, 819; women, 852).

RESULTS
A total of 789 (47.2%) individuals provided consent for this screening program, and 89.2% (704/789) of participants chose colonoscopy as the primary screening procedure. The completion rate of total colonoscopy was 99.7%, and there was no complication during this program. Detection rates of invasive cancer, intramucosal cancer, advanced neoplasia and any adenoma were 0.9% (n = 6), 2.4% (n = 17), 11.8% (n = 83) and 50.0% (n = 352), respectively. The adenoma detection rate and incidence of advanced neoplasia were significantly higher in men than in women in all age groups.

CONCLUSIONS
The  colorectal cancer screening program using colonoscopy that was conducted on an island achieved considerably higher participation rate than the conventional screening program using fecal immunochemical test. Completion rate and safety of screening colonoscopy were excellent during this program.


BACKGROUND
There is a trend toward linking the reimbursement for health care services to clinical outcome. One such pay-for-performance proposal that affects orthopaedic surgeons is linking reimbursement for hip and knee replacements to measures such as the percentage of patients receiving antibiotics before surgery. We analyzed the risk factors associated with failing to optimally administer preoperative antibiotics before primary hip and knee arthroplasty.

METHODS
Data on 988 elective primary total hip and knee replacements done at one institution were collected. Multivariate analysis was performed to determine clinical factors associated with administration of antibiotics outside the recommended window (within one hour before the incision).

RESULTS
Thirteen percent of the patients did not receive optimal antibiotic therapy (within the one-hour window prior to the elective arthroplasty). Five patients (0.5%) received no documented preoperative antibiotics. Patients undergoing total hip arthroplasty were more likely to receive antibiotics outside the one-hour window than were patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty. Longer induction times were associated with administration of antibiotics outside the one-hour window. Certain individual surgeons and anesthesiologists were more likely to administer antibiotics on time. The anesthesiologist effect was more significant than the surgeon effect.

CONCLUSIONS
Approximately 13% of the patients did not receive optimal antibiotic therapy before total hip and knee replacement. Surgeons can improve their performance score for this measure by focusing antibiotic strategies on patients receiving a hip replacement and on complex cases, by developing systems for antibiotic dosing with the anesthesia team, and by improving documentation.


Spent bleaching earth (SBE) generated from the palm oil refinery is convertible into value-added products instead of being discarded as waste to landfills. An alternative approach is to develop SBE-based bio organic fertiliser through co-utilisation with other sources of biomass of contrasting nutrients properties. The feasibility of blending SBE with various forms of biomass – oil palm trunk (OPT), oil palm frond (OPF), empty fruit bunch (EFB) and chicken litter (CL) – in different mixing ratios was studied and its optimum ratio determined. The mixtures of SBE and various biomass at different mixing ratios were analysed for their macronutrient and micronutrient content, pH, organic carbon (OC), total nitrogen, carbon:nitrogen ratio (C:N) and organic matter (OM) content. The optimised blend of SBE:OPT:CL at the ratio of 1:1:0.5 exhibited sufficient nutrient contents (N: P 2 O 5 : K 2 O = 0.65:1.59:1.63) and good physicochemical properties (pH = 5.4, OM = 40% and C:N = 36:1) as a base material for bio organic fertiliser production. This optimum formulation was further enriched with urea (46% N), Christmas Island rock phosphate (CIRP, 25% P 2 O 5 ) and muriate of potash (MOP, 66% K 2 O) to produce a bio organic fertiliser suitable for vegetable crops with desired nutrients N:P 2 O 5 :K 2 O ratio of 2:2:2.


Since the late 1960s, participation in political protests has become more common in Sweden. Today, a large majority of Swedes have at one point joined a demonstration or would be willing to join a demonstration, and around six percent of the population participates in a demonstration at least once a year. This article uses survey data to discuss the changing protest patterns in relation to the country's traditional corporatist political culture, with a focus on which groups participate in contemporary political protests.


Beowulf is the greatest surviving work of literature in Old English, unparalleled in its epic grandeur and scope. It tells the story of the heroic Beowulf and of his battles, first with the monster Grendel, who has laid waste to the great hall of the Danish king Hrothgar, then with Grendel's avenging mother, and finally with a dragon that threatens to devastate his homeland. Through its blend of myth and history, Beowulf vividly evokes a twilight world in which men and supernatural forces live side by side, and celebrates the endurance of the human spirit in a transient world.


It is undeniable that the energy consumption will continue to grow and the negative impact of using fossil fuels to produce it will favor the use of alternative energies. There has been an intensive research to develop clean energies from some decades now. As a result electric energy can now be generated using photovoltaic cells, wind power, fuel cells among other clean sources. Each source has advantages and disadvantages, hence, it is generally accepted that a combination of them is the best. Power electronics specialists have started to develop schemes to allow sources of different characteristics to cooperate to power a load. The device that achieve this goal has been called "energy router" by some researchers. In this work, it is shown that common multi-input power converter can function as energy routers if they are properly controlled. A control algorithm is proposed for these converters.


PURPOSE
To determine the sensitivity of the Seoul National University (SNU) computerized color vision test for detecting diabetic macular edema.

METHODS
From May to September 2003, a total of 73 eyes of 73 patients with diabetes mellitus were examined using the SNU computerized color vision test and optical coherence tomography (OCT). Color deficiency was quantified as the total error score on the SNU test and as error scores for each of four color quadrants corresponding to yellows (Q1), greens (Q2), blues (Q3), and reds (Q4). SNU error scores were assessed as a function of OCT foveal thickness and total macular volume (TMV).

RESULTS
The error scores in Q1, Q2, Q3, and Q4 measured by the SNU color vision test increased with foveal thickness (P < 0.05), whereas they were not correlated with TMV. Total error scores, the summation of Q1 and Q3, the summation of Q2 and Q4, and blue-yellow (B-Y) error scores were significantly correlated with foveal thickness (P < 0.05), but not with TMV.

CONCLUSIONS
The observed correlation between SNU color test error scores and foveal thickness indicates that the SNU test may be useful for detection and monitoring of diabetic macular edema.


Aim Our aim is to highlight perceptions of fibromyalgia among health care personell.MethodsA systematic literature review conducted with a deductive approach.FindingsHealth care personell felt insecure because of a lack of understanding which lead to avoiding contact with these patients. Many felt that the fibromyalgia patient was categorised and that they would have been better served with another name of their disease. There was a great distrust against the diagnosis and its aetiology. The patient was perceived as troublesome, illness-fixated and draining the personell of energy. The paradox that the patient is looking so healthy but bearing so much pain was confusing for the health care personell.Conclusions Communication and an empathic encounter was identified as important elements for patient care. The health care personell should try to look past their own perceptions of fibromyalgia and meet the patient with affirmation and respect.Key wordsFibromyalgia, attitudes, perception, health care personell, communication.


The rapid development of nanotechnology has raised great concern over its effect on environmental health and safety (EHS). Due to their novel physicochemical properties, metal nanoparticles (MNPs) are the most widely adopted engineered nanomaterials that have been utilized in industrial production, environmental governance and commercial products. Although significant progress has been made towards the toxicity assessment of pristine MNPs, knowledge gaps regarding their EHS impacts have yet to be addressed. Transformation of MNPs in the environment can result in toxicity of transformed nanoparticles being different from that of pristine particles. Despite recent investigations into MNP-mediated toxicity, most of them only focused on the toxic effects of pristine nanoparticles, which does not fully elucidate the harmful effects of MNPs under environmental exposure conditions. Therefore, it is crucial to achieve a comprehensive understanding of the transformation-related toxic properties of MNPs. In this review, we briefly presented the main transformation processes in the natural environments followed by summarizing the toxicity of transformed MNPs in organisms and cells compared to that of the pristine forms. Finally, we also hypothesized possible mechanisms through which transformation could affect MNP-induced toxicity under environmental exposure.


Since 2005, all European listed companies must comply with IFRS in the preparation of their consolidated financial statements. Several studies have investigated the consequences of this political decision, comparing various dimensions of accounting quality before and after IFRS implementation. But they do not really address the following question: will the adoption of a common set of accounting standards result in a standardisation of accounting quality throughout Europe, or will national differences persist due to the influence of local characteristics? In order to provide evidence on this issue, we measure the value relevance of accounting earnings in 16 European countries over the period 2006–2007. The results show that country differences persist despite the use of common accounting standards, which is consistent with the idea that legal and regulatory country characteristics as well as market forces still impact the association between market returns and accounting data.


Human health courses at universities are facing different challenges to provide students with real laboratory experiences due to the combination of large course cohorts with a shortage of academic staff, resources and time. Future health professionals are encouraged to have a complete understanding of human anatomy and histology as well as to have some pathology and diagnostic skills including the necessary skills to use a microscope. However, students often find learning histology challenging as they usually need to learn how to use a microscope in a limited time during a practical timetabled with several peers, in which they are also required to undertake other activities such as tissue embedding, cutting and staining. To address these factors, different web-based resources have been made available to enhance learning of anatomy and histology, however they are directed to medical students so their use by non-medical students (e.g. pharmacy, biomedical science, nursing, etc.) is limited due to their complexity. As a result, De Montfort University (DMU, UK) is leading an international project to develop an on-line package for teaching and learning biology, named DMU e-Biology, which will cover not only the foundation but also the latest scientific knowledge on human biology. This novel resource is also equipped with a Virtual Microscope and a Virtual Laboratory. The Virtual Laboratory will present different subsections with a range of units regarding biomedical techniques and equipment, which will be developed following previous successful experience from the team. Units will be highly engaging and will contain short videos of academics and/or technicians working hands-on with equipment and/or techniques to bring the laboratory to the student's house. Videos will be enhanced with audio and subtitles in English and the user will be able to complete a series of voluntary self-assessments throughout each unit to enhance engagement and provide the user with tools to evaluate their acquisition of knowledge. A subsection will cover all the elements to perform routine histological techniques in a biomedical laboratory, including the use and practicalities of the microtome, how to perform paraffin embedding and tissue sampling, and common staining techniques such as haematoxylin & eosin (H&E) and periodic acid–Schiff stain (PAS). The histology section will be publicly available from the DMU website in late 2018 here http://parasitology.dmu.ac.uk/ebiology/ biologyLaboratory_units.htm. Additionally, this resource is supported by a virtual microscope in which the user will be able to explore a library of virtual histological slides from different human tissues and organs; the virtual microscope will transfer the practicalities of a microscope to study human histology. These resources will be tested with first year BSc Biomedical Science and BMedSci Medical Science students enrolled in the module Basic Anatomy and Physiology at DMU by implementing blended learning, i.e. a pedagogy that integrates e-learning resources and materials with formal teaching (lectures, workshops and practicals), as different studies have pointed out that this pedagogy can enhance self-learning and facilitate acquisition of knowledge and long-term retention of information. This paper will provide a description of these novel resources and explore their practicalities with non-medical science students.


Abstract. A set of experiments is performed with coupled atmosphere-ocean configurations of the Planet Simulator, an Earth-system Model of Intermediate Complexity (EMIC), in order to identify under which set of parameters the model output better agrees with observations and reanalyses of the present climate. Different model configurations are explored, in which the atmospheric module of PlaSim is coupled with two possible ocean models, either a simple mixed-layer (ML) ocean with a diffusive transport parameterization or a more complex dynamical Large-Scale Geostrophic (LSG) ocean, together with a sea-ice module. In order to achieve a more realistic representation of present-day climate, we performed a preliminary tuning of the oceanic horizontal diffusion coefficient for the ML ocean and of the vertical oceanic diffusion profile when using LSG. Model runs under present-day conditions are compared, in terms of surface air temperature, sea surface temperature, sea ice cover, precipitation, radiation fluxes, ocean circulation, with a reference climate from observations and reanalyses. Our results indicate that, in all configurations, coupled PlaSim configurations are able to reproduce the main characteristics of the climate system, with the exception of the Southern Ocean region in the PlaSim-LSG model, where surface air and sea surface temperatures are warm-biased and sea ice cover is by consequence highly underestimated. The resulting sets of tuned parameters are used to perform a series of model equilibrium climate sensitivity (ECS) experiments, with the aim to identify the main mechanisms contributing to differences between the different configurations and leading to elevated values of ECS. In fact, high resulting global ECS values are found, positioned in the upper range of CMIP5 and recent CMIP6 estimates. Our analysis shows that a significant contribution to ECS is given by the sea-ice feedback mechanisms and by details of the parameterization of meridional oceanic heat transport. In particular, the configurations using a diffusive heat transport in the mixed layer present an important sensitivity in terms of radiative forcing to changes in sea-ice cover, leading to an important contribution of sea-ice feedback mechanisms to ECS.


In this study, we examine citizens' perceptions of recent livestock production in Germany. Thereby, we focus against the backdrop of seven animal species-specific guidelines written by Scientific Advisory Board on Agricultural Policy, Food and Consumer Health Protection at the Federal Ministry (WBA, 2015). We combine a qualitative study with focus group discussions about pig, cattle and poultry production systems and a quantitative online survey with factor analysis. Based upon the findings of the exploratory factor analysis, a cluster analysis was conducted to assign respondents to groups. The results provide
an overview of citizens' recent perceptions an
attitudes, show differences and commonalities with regard to the three main livestock production systems pig, cattle and poultry production. We sum up our qualitative results as thesis for each animal species. Furthermore, we show relevant factors for respondents and divide them into clusters. We discuss these results against the background of the guidelines stated by the WBA.


Among the latest achievements in gasification technology, one may list the development of a method to preheat gasification agents using switched ceramic honey combs. The best output from this technology is achieved with use of water steam as a gasification agent, which is heated up to 1600 °C. The application of these temperatures with steam as a gasification agent provides a cleaner syngas (no nitrogen from air, cracked tars) and the ash melts into easily utilised glass-like sludge. High hydrogen content in output gas is also favourable for end-user applications.Among the other advantages of this technology is the presumable application of fixed-bed-type reactors fed by separately produced and preheated steam. This construction assumes relatively high steam flow rates to deliver the heat needed for endothermic reactions involving biomass. The biomass is to be heated uniformly and evenly in the volume of the whole reactor, providing easier and simpler control and operation in comparison to other types of reactors. To provide potential constructors and exploiters of these reactors with the kinetic data needed for the calculations of vital parameters for both reactor construction and exploitation, basic experimental research of high-temperature steam gasification of four types of industrially produced biomass has been conducted.Kinetic data have been obtained for straw and wood pellets, wood-chip charcoal and compressed charcoal of mixed origin. Experiments were conducted using two experimental facilities at the Energy and Furnace Division of the Department of Material Science and Engineering (MSE) at the School of Industrial Engineering and Management (ITM) of the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) and at the Combustion Laboratory of the Mechanical Engineering Department of the University of Maryland (UMD), USA.The experimental facility at the Energy and Furnace Division has been improved with the addition of several constructive elements, providing better possibilities for thermo-gravimetric measurements.The obtained thermo-gravimetric data were analysed and approximated using several models described in the literature. In addition, appropriate software based on the Scilab package was developed. The implementation of the isothermal method based on optimisation algorithms has been developed and tested on the data obtained under the conditions of a slow decrease of temperature in experiments with the char gasification in small-scale experimental facilities in the Energy and Furnace Division.The composition of the gases generated during the gasification of straw and wood pellets by high-temperature steam has been recorded and analysed for different experimental conditions.


Metal nanoparticles (NPs) of silver (Ag), copper (Cu), zinc oxide (ZnO), cadmium oxide (CdO) and tin (Sn) were synthesized by laser ablation of a solid target in de-ionized water (DI). X-ray diffraction patterns showed the formation of AgO, Ag, Cu, ZnO, CdO, and Sn NPs. Absorbance spectrum of the produced nanoparticles was measured by UV-Vis spectrophotometer which showed that Ag and CdO NPs shifted to the short wavelength (blue shift), indicating the formation of NPs with smaller sizes, whereas CuO showed the formation two peaks. ZnO and Sn NPs shifted to the long wavelength (red shift) which indicates the formation NPs with  larger size. Zeta potential results proved that ZnO nanoparticles were more stable (-26.53mV) than the other metal nanoparticles, while CdO nanoparticles had more aggregation (-16.65mV).


The aim of structural performance monitoring is to infer the state of a structure from measurements and thereby support decisions related to structural management. Complex structures may be equipped with hundreds of sensors that measure quantities such as temperature, acceleration and strain. However, meaningful interpretation of data collected from continuous monitoring remains a challenge. MPCA (Moving principal component analysis) is a model-free data interpretation method which compares characteristics of a moving window of measurements against those derived from a reference period. This paper explores a data cleansing approach to improve the performance of MPCA. The approach uses a smoothing procedure or a low-pass filter (moving average) to exclude the effects of seasonal temperature variations. Consequently MPCA can use a smaller moving window and therefore detect anomalies more rapidly. Measurements from a numerical model and a prestressed beam are used to illustrate the approach. Results show that removal of seasonal temperature effects can improve the performance of MPCA. However, improvement may not be significant and there remains a trade off when choosing the window size. A small window increases the risk of false-positives while a large window increases the time to detect damage.


Should an employer be required to cover a gay employee's partner under its insurance plan? Do schools have a responsibility to protect gay students from harassment and violence? Is public safety compromised if police and fire departments openly hire gay employees? These are a few of the contentious questions at the center of the struggle for -- and against -- gay rights in cities large and small across the country. By interviewing activists and officials on both sides of the battles, the authors of Private Lives, Public Conflicts examine the on-going political debate surrounding gay rights, specifically: the politics of enacting gay rights policies; the impact of gay rights laws on public schools, the police, and businesses; and the political opposition to this movement.


In the Alpine valleys, life is under pressure. Since very few children live in these areas,
schools in small towns such as Vrin in the Lumnezia valley (Grisons, Switzerland)
are closing, and infrastructures and public life are more and more concentrated
in larger centres. Moreover, communities behave differently nowadays:
people live and move around the whole valley, and old villages are becoming residential
areas. While most of the time architecture in urban areas is driven by the
investors' interest, things are different in the mountains. In the Alps, where statistics
and the market are not leading criteria for constructing new buildings, architects
can explore new directions and think about innovative and specific solutions
that may accompany the development of living societies. The recent works by
Gion A. Caminada in Valendas and Almens, the buildings by Capaul & Blumenthal
or the architecture projects by Men Duri Arquint in Chur are but a few examples of
a different way of looking at the opportunities that architecture may offer to Alpine
communities.


By enhancing some of the solutions proposed in a previous study on female work and family needs, the essay focuses on the role of family as a privileged forum to reconcile family plans and professional careers. The research aims at proposing a convergence of social family policies (macro-choice) and the choices shared among individual family members (micro-choice). The article, therefore, examines the policies carried out by some European states to support families and the different models of social support to the family in Europe, including the one that has recently inspired the Job's act in Italy. Through a (re) reading of some constitutional principles on the family social factor and an analysis on the way to intend subsidiarity, in view of the enhancement of the right to conciliation, the authors also propose a regulatory model that, summing up the already existing sectoral legislation in favor of the family in a systematic way, introduces new "reconciliation measures", some of which may be proposed directly to businesses for their implementation as virtuous models to adopt spontaneously.


ABSTRACT This project examined conspiracy theory use across three types of groups: radical violent extremists (RVE), nonviolent extremists, and moderates. Using the theory of significance quest, or the desire for one's life to have meaning, the current project determined whether RVE groups were more likely to use conspiracy theories and promote loss of significance in violent passages than the other groups. Using text analysis software, researchers coded passages from six groups—two from each level of extremism—for conspiratorial and/or violent content. RVE groups were significantly more likely than the other groups to use conspiracy theories and promote violence. This pattern held for groups focused on radical Islamic fundamentalism as well as white supremacy groups. The pattern was more complex for loss of significance: in violent passages, neo-Nazis were significantly more likely than ISIS and Al Qaeda to promote loss of significance. Implications of the findings are discussed.


Text-level discourse parsing aims to unmask how two segments (or sentences) in the text are related to each other. We propose the task of Visual Discourse Parsing, which requires understanding discourse relations among scenes in a video. Here we use the term scene to refer to a subset of video frames that can better summarize the video. In order to collect a dataset for learning discourse cues from videos, one needs to manually identify the scenes from a large pool of video frames and then annotate the discourse relations between them. This is clearly a time consuming, expensive and tedious task. In this work, we propose an approach to identify discourse cues from the videos without the need to explicitly identify and annotate the scenes. We also present a novel dataset containing 310 videos and the corresponding discourse cues to evaluate our approach. We believe that many of the multi-discipline Artificial Intelligence problems such as Visual Dialog and Visual Storytelling would greatly benefit from the use of visual discourse cues.


Value co-creation (VCC) requires firms to shift their operations from firm-centric, closed systems to more collaborative environments dedicated to the creation of reciprocal value for their network of value partners and consumer communities. This article presents the development of the DART scale that measures dimensions of Dialogue, Access, Risk assessment, and Transparency in customer interactions within the service experience environment. Evaluating the four dimensions allows firms to assess their institutional readiness for strategic value co-creation and encourages firms to reflect upon their use of structures and policies that support a climate conducive to strategic value co-creation.


After many millennia of being tortured in hell, Raymond K. Hessle has fnally earned a chance to appeal his sentence of eternal damnation. When he arrives at the "appeals" gate of heaven, he is greeted by the angel who will preside over his case. As Raymond waits at the edge of paradise, he will finally have a chance to prove just how worthy he is.


In theory, and even more in the practice of sustainability communications, the gender dimension of sustainability has been neglected relative to other fields of the science. The aim of this paper is to show the relevance of gender as an analytical category for research and the importance of gender competence as an indispensable skill for professional sustainability communicators. Understanding how gender norms have contributed to inhibiting sustainable development is key to well-targeted means to communicate visions of sustainable ways of life. Traditional norms of masculinity are clearly in tension with the ethical, ecological and social implications of Sustainable Development, whereas the norms of femininity work against empowerment and participation of women. Current changes in gender relations and gender identities in the western world do not automatically solve this conflict of norms. Therefore, sustainability communication must and can contribute to shaping the social construction of gender towards new "sustainable" norms and ideals for the various gender identities in western societies. In order to achieve this, gender mainstreaming (GM) needs to be implemented in the field of sustainability communication, from capacity building for communicators to project design and research. Gender and diversity competence is to become a professional requirement, assuring that traditional "doing gender" is avoided, cultural diversity respected and structural inequalities are made visible. Visions of sustainable societies should include changes in gender relations. The argument is based on sociological studies, gender theories, gender policies, and environmental and sustainability communication studies, empirically supported by biographical studies and media analyses over the last twenty years in Western Europe, mainly Germany.


An increasing number of earthquake precursors have been observed by geoelectromagnetic stations; however, the statistical characteristics of the earthquake and geoelectric field (GEF) are not well known. Based on the sliding correlation method (SCM) and its validity test, we analyzed 125 months of continuous data from the Pingliang (PL) GEF station in China. Two factors, seismic energy and epicentral distance (D), were used to select the earthquake events. When the lower limit of the magnitude energy is set as 10 6 J/km 2 , the number of earthquake events in area A (D < 200 km) is 36, and the number of seismic events in area B (200 km ≤ D < 365 km) is 34. In the analysis of the calculated results, the mean value of 1000 times random test SCM calculation is taken as the anomaly standard. In addition, it is found that the anomalies occurring north-south, and north-east of PL station are the most significant in area A, and the anomalies are concentrated approximately 8-26 days before the earthquakes. There is no obvious correlation east-west of PL station in area A, and there is no similar abnormal phenomenon in area B. The reasons and probably mechanism of the investigation results are analyzed and discussed in combination with the fault belt features of the study area, numerical simulation, and laboratory rock fracturing experiments. The uniqueness of the results is verified by reducing the energy standard of a single earthquake. This investigation supports the statistical point of view of the microcosmic interpretation of GEF abnormalities, provides significant suggestions for the selection of electrode- layout orientations used for GEF observations and also provides a reference for the gathering of the seismic precursor information.


Contemporary Cairo encompasses fragments that represent a symbiosis of urban, natural, cultural and economic processes. Much of what manifests itself today as Egyptian politics, knowledge and culture was and is the product of the modern physical, socio-cultural and socio-economic realities of this city. History adds another dimension to Cairo's architecture and urbanism. It reflects the intersection between place, society, culture and technology. This has made it a complex and diverse city with over 18 million inhabitants and a range of established traditions, where the symbols of religious, political, institutional and economic power are often competing (Salama, 2002). Accelerated population growth has had a severe impact on the city's infrastructure and services where the capacity to cope with that growth is really limited. Immigrants from rural areas to the urban metropolis continue to live in squatters' settlements on the urban peripheries of the city. This in turn has increased the pressure on the public services thereby attracting substantial political attention at the expense of other issues where the need for open green spaces has become an urgent necessity. Al Azhar Park is a new project that was inaugurated in Cairo in March 2005. The project is regarded by the local authorities, the developers, and the planning and design team as a catalyst for social, economic and cultural sustainability and is believed to have far reaching consequences for the 200,000 residents of the neighboring Darb al-Ahmar district. It was conceived in the mid-eighties as a metropolitan park that offers much needed greenery and open space to the residents of Cairo. Characterized by distinctive spatial qualities the planning of the park is conceptualized as a series of self contained zones along a central circulation spine and secondary axes (AKTC, 2004). The project was –and still is – celebrated in the media, and has received a considerable coverage in over 100 publications in different languages including local newspapers, tourist information packages, and specialized international and regional architectural trade magazines.


J. Garcia-Sansegundo & J. Poblet write: Based on the relationships between the mesoscopic structures and the contact metamorphic porphyroblasts related to the Maladeta grano-diorite (Pyrenean Axial Zone), Evans et al. 1998 state that the batholith emplacement is coeval with the main Hercynian deformation phase (D2). This hypothesis was already suggested by Gleizes et al. (1997a, b) for the Hercynian granitoids located in the Pyrenean Axial Zone using the anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility. However, as pointed out recently (Laumonier 1997; Garcia-Sansegundo & Poblet 1997), this hypothesis does not take into account the cross-cutting relationships between the granitoids and some macrostructures showed by previous workers. In this paper, we will discuss the relative chronology of the Maladeta granodiorite and the surrounding Hercynian structures as well as some problems that arise from the geological map and cross section presented by Evans et al. 1998. Evans et al. 1998 show a map and a cross section across the aureole (see Evans et al. 1998, figs 4 and 6) in which the main structures consist of a large, recumbent, south-facing fold deformed by smaller-scale, upright, south-facing folds belonging to the main phase (D2). Recent geological maps and cross sections across this region and adjacent areas are substantially different from the ones presented by Evans et al. 1998. Thus, previous studies do not describe the occurrence of recumbent, south-facing folds, but they evidence north-facing folds developed before the main phase (Poblet & Casas 1993, figs 2, 4, 6; Garcia-Sansegundo 1996, fig. 6). Both Dl and D2


Complex plasmas consist of neutrals, ions, electrons and additional micrometer-sized grains. Fluxes of plasma particles onto the grain surface charge it, and the microparticles interact with each other. When the particles are illuminated, e.g., with a laser, recording the scattered light allows to perform fully resolved kinetic studies at all relevant frequencies, e.g., the Einstein frequency, Debye frequency, and plasma frequency.

In this thesis, dynamical effects in fluid complex plasmas are investigated using the PK-3 Plus setup, consisting of a radio-frequency plasma chamber, on the International Space Station (ISS), during a parabolic flight, and on the ground. The objective is the study of dynamical phenomena on the particle level, e.g., to determine when "corpuscular" effects become important and when fluid dynamics provides an accurate description. "Periodgrams" are used to examine the global dynamic structures. Velocities and forces acting on individual particles were analyzed by studying the particle motion.

In the ground laboratory, self-excited highly resolved wave structures were analyzed. Thermophoresis was used to vary the extent to which the particles were pushed into the sheath regions of the chamber. The self-excitation of the waves is due to the free energy in plasma ions, which stream fast relative to the microparticles, especially in the sheath region. This excitation mechanism also explains the observed pressure dependence of the excitation threshold. Using a simple model of the microparticle dynamics, the grain charge is estimated, which agrees well with that calculated using known theories. Self-excited waves were neither observed when the particles were completely suspended in the center of the chamber by the thermophoretic force nor during dedicated experiments during the microgravity phase of the parabolic flight.

Microparticle waves were externally excited in a complex plasma under microgravity conditions on board the ISS by a variable, low frequency modulation voltage. In addition to the vertical slashing at the externally imposed frequency f_mod, waves propagated both in the vertical and horizontal
direction. The horizontal oscillation did not depend on f_mod. When f_mod was resonant with the frequency of the horizontal oscillation, the excitation region of the vertically propagating waves started spreading obliquely towards the left part of the cloud. The dispersion relation of the oblique waves was quasi-sound like. Around f_mod = 9 Hz, the wave activity spread over the whole cloud. At higher frequencies, the oblique waves disappeared. The particle dynamics resembled those accompanying the self-excited waves observed in the ground setup.

Under similar conditions as for the self-excited waves, a new phenomenon occurring near the surface of the particle cloud was investigated - the formation of microparticle bubbles, blobs, and surface cusps. The behavior of microparticles was similar to that observed in fluid drops and with sedimenting particles, including the breakup mechanism and vortex motion of particles inside the blobs. The forces acting on the microparticles are analyzed and the velocity scaling with pressure is shown to be compatible with a possible flow induced by thermal creep inside the plasma chamber. Various effects indicate the presence of surface tension, such as the formation of cusps with angles like in Taylor cones, the self-confinement of blobs inside the void, and the break-up of bubble lids. Qualitative agreement with the Rayleigh-Taylor instability is demonstrated.


UzUnova, K., R. Binev, Y. Mitev, v. Radev, C. Miteva, t. Slavov and t. Penev, 2013. Rapid identification of the temperament type in Dachshund, Pekinese and Japanese Chin companion dog breeds. Bulg. J. Agric. Sci., 19: 1134-1139 The aim of this study was to rapidly identify the temperament type which greatly influences the extent of the dog socialization in young puppies using the statuette test. For that, a total of 27, 7 week old puppies from 3 breeds used worldwide as companions (Dachshund, Pekinese and Japanese Chin breeds, 9 puppies from each breed) were tested 2 times after placing an odourless dog statuette in an empty and unfamiliar room, for specific behavioural activities (purposefulness / orientation, confidence, curiosity, indifference, fear and aggressive traits), leading to the establishment of the temperament type. The L (sanguine) type characterizing a strong and balanced temperament (highly correct orientation, high curiosity, no indifference, no fear, and high confidence and no aggressiveness) was encountered in 6 Dachshund, 5 Pekinese and only in 3 Japanese puppies. Two puppies from each breed exhibited the second strong temperament, the F (choleric) type, differing from the first by a weakly lower orientation and by some aggressive traits. The weak and balanced temperament (low orientation, weak confidence and curiosity but fear signs and no aggressiveness), the G (phlegmatic type) was found in only one Dachshund dog but in 4 Pekinese and Japanese Chin dogs whereas the last weak and unbalanced temperament, the A (melancholic or antisocial) type was evidenced only in 2 Japanese dogs. These results show that the strong temperament types (L and F at a lesser extend) leading to a stable and rapid socialisation can be rapidly and easily determined by the statuette test and were more frequently evidenced in the Dachshund than in Pekinese or Japanese Chin dogs.


Background: Establishment of epidural analgesia is one of the most difficult technical skills in which to become proficient. We explored the current United Kingdom system of training in epidural insertion amongst trainee members of the Obstetric Anaesthetists' Association (OAA). Methods: An electronic questionnaire was sent to 452 OAA trainee members in May 2012. Questions were based upon own personal experience, challenges currently faced and the use of epidural simulation to enhance training. Results: Although the majority felt ready and prepared when initially performing epidurals solo, 66% found the experience very stressful and 25% felt under considerable time pressure. Although senior support was readily available, 36% felt uncertain much of the time and 9% were unsure when to call for help. The European Working Time Directive was felt to have impacted upon training by 54% of respondents. 40% believe that there exists more challenging patients who require more experienced operators. Although 53% had used an epidural simulator previously, 84% would recommend its use for trainees and 49% would support simulator use as a compulsory element of training. Conclusions: In spite of changes to the medical profession, there appears to be a robust system of training for epidural analgesia. However, there still exists the need to reduce the impact of the learning curve upon workplace stress for trainees. Whether this involves increased direct supervision for more than just the bare minimum, structured feedback tools to enhance the supervisor/trainee experience or the use of high-fidelity epidural simulation remains to be seen.