To determine the occupational factors affecting nurses' decision to leave their profession before reaching retirement age, a large epidemiological study (Nurses' early exit study – NEXT)1 was carried out in ten European countries. Altogether 32,037 registered nurses answered a questionnaire, covering, for example, questions on job insecurity and intention to leave nursing work. The data were analysed statistically using Chi2 test and binary logistic regression models. Concern about becoming unemployed and difficulties to find a new job if laid off was reported by 40% of the respondents. More than half of the respondents were worried about their qualitative job security (being transferred to another job or changes in work schedule), while less than 40% had concerns about becoming unable to work. Thoughts about leaving the profession were reported by 15% of the respondents. The hypothesis, that nurses will show higher intention to leave if they experience high levels of job insecurity, was partly supported by the results of the study. The concern about the qualitative aspects of job security correlated positively with intent to leave nursing in almost all the participating countries; most strongly among the Finnish and Norwegian nurses. The relationship between the concern about employment security and intent to leave varied from country to country, probably due to differences in the labour market situation. The correlation was positive for the Dutch and British nurses while, for the Polish and German sample, nurses who reported worry about their employment security appeared to be less willing to leave the profession than those who were not too worried. The concern about being unable to work correlated positively with intent to leave in several countries, reflecting the demands of the profession. The effects of job insecurity can be reduced if nurses feel that they are important to the health care institution they work for, and that the institution cares about them, and values their opinion.


Educating the graduates with cognitive potentials and emotional tendencies for research and innovation has been the ideal for all the education systems throughout the world. It has been also considered a necessity and a national will for our country (Iran). There is no doubt that this important goal should become a reality by the most fundamental element of education i.e.The Teacher. The aim of the present research is investigating the effectiveness of teaching by the problem solving method. It is also to evaluate establishment and raising of research moral among the school students based on the research indexes. A pilot project took place consisting of two test groups and one control group. We selected a total of 68 students from two schools in Tehran (Iran). The students 1 Faculty member of Al-Zahra University 2 Faculty member of Islamic Free University Developing research morals through investigation of ... 122 were from three classes in fourth grade. The education year was of 2005-2006. The three independent variables were randomly applied on the mentioned population in the science and geography courses. These variables were: a) teaching by problem solving method along with the evaluation based on research indexes, b) teaching by problem solving method without the evaluation based on research indexes, and c) teaching based on traditional method. Research moral, as the dependent variable, was evaluated on the three indexes of A) attitude toward research, B) the pupils' performance in the examinations containing the questions about researching issues, and C) research oriented class activities. The obtained results showed that teaching by problem solving with/without the evaluation based on research indexes is more efficient than teaching by the traditional method. This was with the probability of 0.99. We found, there was no significant difference between the teaching with the evaluation based on research indexes and teaching without the evaluation based on research indexes. This similarity was in terms of their efficiency in raising research moral among the research population.


This project is a qualitative research study used to explore the experiences of older adults who have written advance directives. Advance directives are an often underutilized tool used by individuals to outline plans for end-of-life care, in the anticipation that the individual may not be able to verbalize his or her decisions when the time comes for choices to be made regarding care. The experiences of individuals who have written an advance directive may help clinical social workers when working with clients who are considering writing an advance directive. For the purpose of this study, six participants were recruited for a focus group in a Midwestern city using flyers posted at the focus group location. Participants were required to be at least 65 years old and have completed a form of an advance directive. The focus group found that participants had a positive experience writing an advance directive and that family members, namely children, were involved in the decision making process. Respondents agreed that they wrote advance directives to decrease potential burden to family members and had certain wishes that they wanted carried-out in the case that they become unable to verbalize them. Overall, focus group respondents agreed with literature review findings, but spoke of themes in a more personal and individual manner. Further research should be conducted with multiple focus groups in a larger geographic area with more varied demographics. Also, further research comparing similar individuals without an advance directive may help identify barriers to completion of directives. Running Head: INDIVIDUALS AND ADVANCE DIRECTIVES iv


We reported the case of a young man with ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction (STEMI), with ventricular fibrillation on debut and cardiogenic shock, who needed a complex interdisciplinary approach for a favourable long term outcome. A 43-year-old man was admitted with inferior STEMI and cardiogenic shock. First coronary angiography revealed total chronic occlusion of left anterior descending artery (LAD) and tight stenosis with thrombus on right coronary artery (RCA). Thrombus aspiration and stent implantation on RCA was performed with good results. LAD couldn't be opened. Intraaortic balloon pump was implanted. Forty-eight hours later, we try again to open LAD, without success. After a lot of complications, all solved with difficulty, patient was discharged cachectic and with progressive exertion on mild exercise. Two months later an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) was decided for persistent ventricular tachycardia and after one year he was referred to a cardiac surgery centre abroad for aneurismectomy with left ventricle (LV) reconstruction and mitral valve repair. The patient is currently asymptomatic with a normal social and professional life. In conclusion, high performance cardiac surgery, after a complete interventional treatment, can improve quality of life and long-term outcome to a patient with severe cardiovascular disease. Team work between clinical cardiologists, interventional cardiologists, electrophisyologists, intensi-vists and cardiac surgeons is the key to success.


In this project limit analysis for 3D structures is studied. The goal is to obtain for a certain structure the load factor that applied to the external loads induces collapse to the structure. The static theorem of limit analysis is the theoretical basis for the Structural Collapse Simulator (SCS), that is nding a stress distribution in equilibrium that does not violate yield criteria anywhere. This theorem is employed combined with linear programming techniques. Thereby a tutorial on LP problems is presented rst. Then a brief summary of the progresses in study of limit analysis for structures is o ered, being a useful introduction for understanding the very nature of SCS functioning. Moreover, limit analysis is developed and written as a LP problem, which consists of the maximization of the collapse load factor subject to
equilibrium and yield criteria.
Two major contributions are presented for nding the collapse load. Firstly,
the yield curve of standard 2D beam cross sections is adaptively approximated with inscribed and circumscribed polygons that yield to lower and upper bounds of respectively. Secondly, an interesting approach for accounting with uniform distributed loads is shown, producing bounding of the load factor. Combining these two techniques the bound gap can be reduced
arbitrarily, observing convergence of the upper and the lower bounds to the exact load factor. A tutorial for using SCS and computing structures is provided, and numerical examples are thoroughly studied in order to illustrate the functioning of the program and the limits of the method. Finally, recent developments and future branches of research are detailed in order to
widen the applicability range of SCS, the most important being the adaptive approximation of the yield surface for 3D beams.


1,25-Dihydroxy[3H]cholecalciferol was converted into several more-polar metabolites by a cultured pig kidney cell line (LLC PK1). The production of metabolites was stimulated by pretreating the cells with unlabelled 1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol. A similar profile of metabolites was observed on high-pressure-liquid-chromatographic analysis of an extract from the kidneys of rats dosed intravenously with 1,25-dihydroxy[3H]cholecalciferol. Among the metabolites detected were 1,24,25-trihydroxycholecalciferol, 1,25-dihydroxy-24-oxocholecalciferol, 1,23,25-trihydroxy-24-oxocholecalciferol and 1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol-26,23-lactone. The results are in accord with data reported for intestinal 1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol metabolism [Napoli, Pramanik, Royal, Reinhardt & Horst (1983) J. Biol. Chem. 258, 9100-9107]. These data indicate that C-23- and C-24-oxidation of 1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol are phenomena common to calciferol target tissues, and that regulation of 1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol homoeostasis is dependent on the rate of its metabolism in addition to the rate of its synthesis.


Background and objective: It is well known that inflammation may affect the platelets. However, there are inconsistencies between the results of observational studies investigating changes in platelet indices in inflammatory conditions. This study aimed to investigate the possible effects of acute inflammation on platelet indices in plantar inflammation model in rats.
Methods: A total of 20 rats, 10 in each group, were used in the study. Lambda-carrageenan and saline were applied subcutaneously to the right hind paw of the rats in the inflammation group and in the control group, respectively. Six hours after the administration, blood samples were taken from femoral arteries and femoral veins, and platelet indices were measured by a hematology analyzer. In addition, plantar tissue samples belonging to the control and inflammation groups were evaluated histopathologically.
Results: On histopathological examination, no pathological condition was observed in the control group, while there were changes consistent with acute inflammation in the lambda-carrageenan-injected group. There was no significant difference in terms of platelet indices between both the arterial and vein samples and between the control and inflammation groups.
Conclusions: Our results suggest that platelet indices cannot be used in the diagnosis of acute inflammatory conditions. However, in our opinion, these findings must not be interpreted as that acute inflammation does not affect platelet number and volume. Instead, we believe that it may be more appropriate to say that acute inflammation does not produce a quantitatively significant change in platelet indices due to the combination of the opposite effects.


THE PRESENT FORMS OUR PAST One of the central issues for those who try to scrutinize medieval texts is to contemplate how these texts can be used to think about still older times. For the present purposes, that would mean texts that were written long after the coming of Christianity to Iceland, but telling of events that are set in the earlier pagan times. In recent decades, scholarship has become more and more aware of how problematic this can be. Field-workers in folkloristics have even realized that all things people have to say about the past should first and foremost be treated as comments about the present, as Stephen Mitchell (2013) outlines in this issue with his discussion of the "performative turn" in folkloristics. Everything we have to say, both as scholars and persons in the real world outside academia, orally or in writing, reflects on our present conditions, interests, points of view, and so on. An older generation today can, for example, still tell their grandchildren stories about what it was like to grow up in a world before radio, television, and computers, making the present role of radio, television, and computers central to their restructuring of their own past--even though that past was by no means defined in its own time by the lack of these relatively recent technological phenomena, discoveries of the future yet to be made from the perspective of the narratives. This was fundamentally no different in the medieval world, but it takes a long time and much reflection to rethink all the conceptions and misconceptions that have come down to us as an integral part of received and accepted scholarly wisdom that shapes our understanding and reading of medieval texts. Before we engage in a debate about the historical authenticity of the medieval texts from Iceland as sources about much earlier pagan times, it can therefore be said with reasonable authority, without reading or analyzing anything in particular, that all the available texts should first of all be treated as sources about the time when they were written. Having said that, we cannot and should not ignore the fact that the same texts may also contain important information and be informative about their own pasts--just as the present generation of grandparents is able to mediate some information about the recent past, information they insist is authentic, correct, and historically accurate. But still, they mediate that information for reasons that are relevant in the present--and so the carousel continues. Bearing all of this in mind, we can then start to proceed slowly with comparative material from other cultures and disciplines, in order both to understand the oral performative aspects of traditional stories and poetry, and how the religious and mythological ideas that we find in these writings can be put into some cultural context and practice, using other sources and the living frame from fieldwork in order to create our own ideas about the pagan past that is so vividly portrayed in the texts. PAGAN-CHRISTIAN LABELS ARE MISLEADING One of the main received frameworks for our reception and interpretation of the medieval texts is the scholarly obsession with the binary opposition Pagan/Christian. It is no doubt possible to uncover historical reasons for this and, perhaps, these reasons could even be traced back to the time of the original writing of the texts. Some of these texts were written by people who clearly had an agenda favoring the presentation of a historical view of a new and superior religion taking over from earlier paganism. That view leaves our attention fixed on the two main labels for historical eras: Pagan and Christian. But just as the opposition between oral and written has been modified in thinking about the oral background of written texts, so the ideas about the effect of a dominating religious idea on everything in the culture must be modified. We must therefore be very cautious in our initial approach when we present the problem of past awareness in the medieval Christian environment. …


The spotted gum species complex represents a group of four eucalypt hardwood taxa that have a native range that spans the east coast of Australia, with a morphological cline from Victoria to northern Queensland. Of this group, Corymbia citriodora subsp. variegata (CCV) is widespread in south-eastern Queensland and northern New South Wales. It is currently the most commonly harvested native hardwood in Queensland. However, little basic knowledge of the reproductive biology of the species is available to inform genetic improvement and resource management programmes. Here we take an integrative approach, using both field and molecular data, to identify ecological factors important to mating patterns in native populations of CCV. Field observation of pollinator visitation and flowering phenology of 20 trees showed that foraging behaviour of pollinator guilds varies depending on flowering phenology and canopy structure. A positive effect of tree mean flowering effort was found on insect visitation, while bat visitation was predicted by tree height and by the number of trees simultaneously bearing flowers. Moreover, introduced honeybees were observed frequently, performing 73% of detected flower visits. Conversely, nectar-feeding birds and mammals were observed sporadically with lorikeets and honeyeaters each contributing to 11% of visits. Fruit bats, represented solely by the grey-headed flying fox, performed less than 2% of visits. Genotyping at six microsatellite markers in 301 seeds from 17 families sampled from four of Queensland's native forests showed that CCV displays a mixed-mating system that is mostly outcrossing (t m = 0.899 ± 0.021). Preferential effective pollination from near-neighbours was detected by means of maximum-likelihood paternity analysis with up to 16% of reproduction events resulting from selfing. Forty to 48% of fertilising pollen was also carried from longer distance (>60 m). Marked differences in foraging behaviour and visitation frequency between observed pollinator guilds suggests that the observed dichotomy of effective pollen movement in spotted gums may be due to frequent visit from introduced honeybees favouring geitonogamy and sporadic visits from honeyeaters and fruit bats resulting in potential long-distance pollinations.


This thesis argues that a systems and design thinking approach to education can have a transformational affect on individuals and organizations. This thesis looks at the Curtis Institute of Music and how the school is challenging students to expand their thinking by involving a diverse group of stakeholders in the complete redesign of performance experience. A description of an interactive planning and idealized design project, called the Curtis Leadership Workshop, is presented. This thesis specifically provides an overview of the theory, model and applied methodology, and an account of the preparation for and first critical steps of the project. Outcomes of critical steps are presented and a number of research questions for a formal impact analysis are proposed. Comments Submitted to the Program of Organizational Dynamics in the Graduate Division of the School of Arts and Sciences in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements of the Degree of Master of Science in Organizational Dynamics at the University of Pennsylvania. Advisor: John Pourdehnad This thesis or dissertation is available at ScholarlyCommons: http://repository.upenn.edu/od_theses_msod/41 A DESIGN THINKING APPROACH TO LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT


Background
In recent years Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) has gained increasing status as a promising approach to treating chronic pain physical functioning and psychological well-being. The basic premise of ACT as applied to chronic pain is that while pain hurts, it is the struggle with pain that causes suffering. This approach aims to restore effective and adaptive functioning for an individual within a context of continuing pain so that the individual can live a more vital and meaningful life.
There is a growing empirical support for the effectiveness of ACT however research has relied on self-reported quantitative outcomes, focused on addressing changes in pain intensity and the physical and psychological impact of chronic pain. There appears to be a gap in the literature on the exploration of the experience of attending an ACT programme for chronic pain from the patient???s perspective.
Aim
This study sought to explore the experience of attending an ACT programme for chronic pain within an outpatient NHS hospital setting. Furthermore the study sought to explore the modulating factors influencing clients learning and understanding of the construct of acceptance from the perspective of the participants. Additionally, the experience of attending a group based ACT intervention was explored.
Methodology
A qualitative methodology was chosen for the project. The study used a purposive sample of twelve participants, who had all attended the Luton & Dunstable Hospital ACT 8 week outpatient programme for chronic pain. The participants were interviewed through the use of a semi structured interviews, and the transcripts were transcribed and then analysed using Thematic Analysis. Identified themes were further organised using the tool of Thematic Network Analysis.
Results
Three global themes emerged from the analysis of the data. The first global theme encompassed the participant???s pre-programme expectations and this theme highlighted the participant???s feelings of hope and hopelessness prior to attending the programme. The second global theme demonstrated the on-going process of living with chronic pain and highlighted the benefits and barriers to adopting and ACT based approach to chronic pain. Finally the third global theme addressed the experience of a group based intervention and included the positive and negative aspects of this experience for the participants.
Clinical Implications & Conclusion
Based on the results of this study a number of clinical implications were highlighted in relation to the future development of ACT programmes for chronic pain. These included suggestions in relation to engaging participants in such programmes. Notably, timing issues, validation of physical symptoms, and consideration of the potential barriers to acceptance and understanding of the benefits of adopting and ACT group based pain management approach were discussed.


This report examines China's strategy for investing in Europe. While investing in Western Europe is primarily about obtaining access to advanced technologies, investing in Central and Eastern Europe is more about establishing a presence in the EU common market and expanding infrastructure—which also fits into the framework of the New Silk Road Initiative. An econometric analysis reveals that the investments largely follow conventional explanatory patterns. If we distinguish between different forms of market access, the determinants become much more specific. A high industrial share, sound institutions, and unit labor costs in the target country all have a negative impact on investment in new ventures, but not on investment in existing companies. Differing investment patterns, as well as the heterogeneous interests of the EU member states, make it difficult to implement a coordinated response to the Chinese investment offensive. At the very least, however, a kind of reciprocity should be introduced within the framework of an investment protection agreement between the EU and China. This could reduce the growing skepticism surrounding Chinese investment activities.


The present paper surveys various methods used to analyse market power in the retail food industry. The strengths and weaknesses of these approaches are explored and a review of the issues in using New Empirical Industrial Organization (NEIO) and time-series models is provided. The absence of a theory underlying time-series models is highlighted and a review of some theoretical models in retailing is presented. The impact of imperfect competition in the food processing sector on retailing is also examined. It is argued that a combination of the approaches that minimises the weaknesses and builds on the strengths of single approaches may prove more promising for examining non-competitive behaviour.


In recent times, the United States has entered a particularly active phase in its use of military force. Since 1989, the United States has intervened in Panama, Kuwait, northern Iraq, Somalia, Bosnia, Haiti, Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Iraq. And, with the promulgation of the Bush Doctrine in the aftermath of the events of September 11, 2001, it appears that the United States is poised to continue its active intervention in the future. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Much is new in the world that helps to explain this increased frequency. First, the United States now stands unrivaled in the international system. This concentration of power permits US decision makers to consider the use of force in almost any crisis. Second, since the end of the Cold War, there has been a spate of violent regional and civil wars which, in addition to new information technologies, have led human rights activists to collect evidence of gross violations of international humanitarian laws and to launch intense advocacy campaigns across the world. This has pressured the United States to use its massive military arsenal to alleviate the extreme abuses and a flurry of new norms of humanitarian intervention. Third, a new wave of interventions has occurred in response to the emerging threats associated with terrorism and the illicit proliferation of WMD. Despite all that has changed since 1989 and, more recently, since September 11, 2001, much remains the same. US citizens have always been divided about when and where the United States should use military force. Except in rare occasions of extreme national emergency, US decisions concerning the use of force are almost always contested. Political elites, in particular, differ about the nature of threats and the costs and efficacy of the use of force. As a result, in almost every instance when a US President considers the use of US force in overseas combat missions, there are intense political debates among US foreign policy elites about whether or not force should be used. Ultimately, decisions to intervene are almost always based on tenuous coalitions--not consensus. Because rhetoric campaigns are such an integral part of the process to mobilize public and political support, the public frequently develops unrealistic expectations about the nature, likely cost, and efficacy of military intervention. These unrealistic expectations ultimately have profound implications not only for the intervention, but also for the long-term commitment to post war reconstruction. The Politics of Intervention Famed Christian theologian Reinhold Niebuhr once noted that "every nation is caught in the moral paradox of refusing to go to war unless it can be proved that the national interest is imperiled, and of continuing in the war only by proving that something much more than national interest is at stake." For the United States, this acute moral paradox has had a peculiar political twist. The debates over Federalism and Republicanism between Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson that surfaced in the early days of the United States were never resolved. They only marked the beginning of the enduring tension and confluence between realism and idealism that is still today the distinctive essence of US foreign policy. Throughout the past two centuries, we have grown accustomed to the differences between realists and idealists, interventionists and anti-imperialists and isolationists, and hawks and doves, among others. Today, we hear common references to hardliners, selective engagers, liberal internationalists, humanitarianists, isolationists, and pacifists. Whatever labels scholars or journalists attach to these differences, however, they all reflect one enduring element of US foreign policy: there is no singular or monolithic conception of national interest or of American values and principles. World War II is the only instance in history when the nature of the threat was so clear and unambiguous that it generated as close to a consensus as possible in US society. …


Child Health Services (CHS) in Sweden form a strategic arena for Swedish health promotion, from a societal as well as individual perspective. CHS nurses are important health promotion actors and health counsellors. They give the final sharp to health promotion in the individual meetings with parents and children. CHS nurse's educational activity is highly institutionalised, but not explicitly expressed, discussed or problematical from a health promotion aspect. During seven years Participatory Action Research (PAR) was accomplished in a Child Health Centre to improve health counselling in CHS. The Health Action process was used for the developing process. Grounded Theory (GT) was also used to increase theoretical understanding and to emerge theory for health counselling grounded in practice. The PAR and the Health Action process approach contributed to a learning process in which the nurses got more aware of the CHS context and got skills to continue improvement of health counselling. Through the GT studies the CHS nurses two missions: a public health mission (a government demand based on families as parts of the population), and a family health mission (a request from individual families) got obvious and how the CHS nurses' synthesise these two opposing missions and approaches in their practical work. PAR and GT are well corresponding for increased understanding of health promotion practice and development, and thereby supporting the transition practice - theory - practice for improving health counselling in CHS. Together a grounded theory and learning outcomes can be practice-based evidence useful to evolve evidence-based practice.


J.R.R. Tolkien's experiences of the Battle of the Somme forever imprinted on his mind, and became a dramatic source of inspiration for The Lord of the Rings. This absorbing book charts Tolkien's life from 1914 to 1918, using old postcards, maps and photographs to paint a picture of the places and times that relate to one of the leading authors of the twentieth century. Tolkien joined the army in 1915 and trained in Bedford and Brocton Camp on Cannock Chase while his wife lived in the village of Great Haywood, close to the camp. A number of the places in and around Great Haywood were destined to appear in his later works. In 1916 Tolkien learnt of the death of two of his school friends in the bloody Battle of the Somme. He contracted Trench Fever in late October 1916 and returned to Birmingham, his hometown, by hospital ship and train. The final part of the book covers his time in England, an era in which he was blighted by illness. Richly illustrated, this fascinating volume is an essential purchase for Tolkien-lovers everywhere.


An interview with California's unofficial state historian, exploring Starr's rationale for his work, along with his understanding of the nature of California values, and what it means to be a Californian. From here to Starr's recent book, Continental Ambitions , and the many figures and features that have influenced Starr's understanding of California, this interview moves forward in Starr's characteristic polymathic style, covering encyclopedic terrain. Additionally, it explores the role that religion and especially Roman Catholicism have played in California's narrative, and in Starr's own understanding of California and its place in the world.


This thesis examined natural recovery on tracks in seven alpine or subalpine vegetation communities within the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area in Tasmania, Australia. In acknowledgement of the slow vegetation recovery in such communities, a chronosequence (space for time) approach was used to investigate patterns of recovery, the influence of environmental factors on such recovery and the relative resilience of the vegetation. These analyses included assessment of sites up to 23 years post trampling disturbance.
The pattern of species recovery over time in the two most widespread vegetation communities, heath and sedgeland, were explored to answer the following question: What are the patterns of recovery at the species and life form level? The relative resilience (ability to recover) of these two vegetation communities 13-15 years following closure, was measured by the similarity of composition and abundance between disturbed areas and undisturbed areas. A further five vegetation communities were included in analyses to address the following questions: firstly, what is the relative resilience of these seven vegetation communities; secondly, how do environmental factors influence natural recovery; and finally, what is the relationship between (previously reported) resistance to trampling and the resilience of these communities?
Further exploratory studies using paired photograph studies of tracks closed 20 years previously were used to determine the spatial patterns of recovery answering the question: what are the small-scale spatial patterns of natural recovery? Together, these data were examined to address the question of how natural recovery can be used to inform future rehabilitation or restoration programs.
The present study found that there were no exclusive primary colonists in alpine or subalpine vegetation and that all colonising species occur within the adjacent undisturbed vegetation, albeit, often in lower abundance, frequency or both. Bryophytes (including mosses and liverworts) were the most frequent and abundant colonists of disturbed areas. Other strong colonists included many vegetatively reproducing graminoids such as sedges and some grasses. These species were found to largely colonise areas from lateral expansion at the edge of disturbances a phenomenon also found for other species in the spatial pattern studies. These data proved that the size, and hence edge to area ratio, can be critical in the ability of alpine and subalpine sites to recover.
The high resilience of these graminoids and grasses led to greater relative resilience of communities where they are the dominant components; sedgeland and grassland. In general, this resilience also correlated well with the relatively high level of resistance in these communities which was found to be due to the dominance of flexible graminoids and grasses. However, this study also showed resistance and resilience do not always show similar responses. It was found that factors which may lead to higher resilience, such as higher available moisture, can also result in lower resistance to impacts.
Environmental factors were also shown to be a major determinant of resilience of vegetation communities. This study found that sedgeland communties with mineral soils and higher compaction levels had greater persisting bare ground than those on organic soils with lower compaction. This study found that recovery in heath communities was influenced by the amount of solar radiation, with sites of lower potential, such as those on south easterly aspects, being less resilient.
From the results of this study, it can be concluded that whilst recovery in alpine and subalpine areas is slow as expected, this natural recovery is highly variable between vegetation communities and environmental conditions. This differing resilience should be considered before areas are closed with the presumption they will recover or before restoration efforts are commenced. If not,l


In this paper, a new Lagrangian cloud model (LCM) is introduced in which the flow field is simulated by large-eddy simulation, and the droplets are treated as Lagrangian particles responding to the simulated flow field. In order to handle the extremely large number of droplets within a cloud, the concept of a super-droplet, which represents a large number of real droplets of the same size, is introduced, and the number of contributing real droplets is called the weighting factor. A novel method is developed to realize the collision/coalescence of droplets, in which the consequent variation of the droplet spectrum is represented in terms of the modification of the radius and weighting factor of super-droplets, while keeping the number of super-droplets unchanged. Using an idealized single cloud and trade wind cumuli, the LCM is shown to reproduce the general features of shallow cumulus clouds in agreement with traditional bulk models. The droplet spectrum simulated by the LCM, using collision kernels with and without the effects of turbulence, also shows a pattern consistent with the spectral bin model. Furthermore, the sensitivity of the LCM to two model parameters, the time step and the number of super-droplets, is examined.


The effect of Cordyceps sinensis crystal (CS-Cr) on stimulating proliferation of erythroid progenitor cells (CFU-E and BFU-E) in LACA mouse marrow in vivo and in vitro by methyl cellulose gel culture system is reported. The numbers of CFU-E and BFU-E were increased after 5 consecutive daily treatment with 100, 150 and 200 mg/kg of CS-Cr with a peak at 150 mg/kg. Higher doses (> 150 mg/kg) of CS-Cr resulted in a reduction of the peak of CFU-E and BFU-E and then, the numbers returned to the control level with increased doses. The cytosine arabinoside (Ara-C) suicide test showed significant increases in the percentage of CFU-E and BFU-E in S-phase after CS-Cr treatment. Pretreatment of mice with CS-Cr could protect CFU-E and BFU-E against the cytotoxic agent--harringtonine. Addition of CS-Cr to culture system also promoted the generation of CFU-E and BFU-E at concentrations of 150-200 micrograms/ml in vitro. With a liquid culture technique, a stimulatory action of CS-Cr on fibroblast colony-forming units (CFU-F) proliferation was seen in vivo and in vitro.


Abstract. The paper presents a strategy able to derive and process high resolution images created by means of gnomonic projections. The implemented pipeline can be split into two phases: first, the sensor resolution of the camera is physically increased by acquiring and merging a set of images with a rotating camera equipped with a long focal lens; then the new set of gnomonic projections is processed with a 3D reconstruction methodology able to deal with very large images. Several issues are addressed in the paper, starting from image acquisition up to 3D modelling. Gnomonic projections have been demonstrated to be powerful tools when traditional pinhole images do not allow the reconstruction of small and fine details. Examples and comparisons aimed at determining the correctness of the mathematical approach for image orientation are illustrated as well.


Theoretical studies based on first-principles theory are presented for a number of different magnetic systems. The first part of the thesis concerns spin dynamics and the second part concerns properties of magnetic multilayers. The theoretical treatment is based on electronic structure calculations performed by means of density functional theory. A method is developed for simulating atomistic spin dynamics at finite temperatures, which is based on solving the equations of motion for the atomic spins by means of Langevin dynamics. The method relies on a mapping of the interatomic exchange interactions from density functional theory to a Heisenberg Hamiltonian. Simulations are performed for various magnetic systems and processes beyond the reach of conventional micromagnetism. As an example, magnetization dynamics in the limit of large magnetic and anisotropy fields is explored. Moreover, the method is applied to studying the dynamics of systems with complex atomic order such as the diluted magnetic semiconductor MnGaAs and the spin glass alloy CuMn. The method is also applied to a Fe thin film and a Fe/Cr/Fe trilayer system, where the limits of ultrafast switching are explored. Current induced magnetization dynamics is investigated by calculating the current induced spin-transfer torque by means of density functional theory combined with the relaxation time approximation and semi-classical Boltzmann theory. The current induced torque is calculated for the helical spin-density waves in Er and fcc Fe, where the current is found to promote a rigid rotation of the magnetic order. Properties of magnetic multilayers composed of magnetic and nonmagnetic layers are investigated by means of the Korringa-Kohn-Rostocker interface Green's function method. Multilayer properties such as magnetic moments, interlayer exchange coupling and ordering temperatures are calculated and compared with experiments, with focus on understanding the influence of interface quality. Moreover, the influence on the interlayer exchange coupling of alloying the nonmagnetic spacer layers with small amounts of a magnetic impurity is investigated.


Despite the recent misfortunes of many dotcoms, e-commerce will have major and lasting effects on economic activity. But the rise and fall in the valuations of the first wave of e-commerce companies show that vague promises of distant profits are insufficient. Only business models based on sound economic propositions will survive. This book provides professionals, investors, and MBA students the tools they need to evaluate the wide range of actual and potential e-commerce businesses at the microeconomic level. It demonstrates how these tools can be used to assess a variety of existing applications. Advances in web-based technology--particularly automation and delegation technologies such as smart agents, shopping bots, and bidding elves--support the further growth of e-commerce. In addition to enabling consumers to conduct automated comparisons and sellers to access visitors' background information in real time, such software programs can make decisions for individuals, negotiate with other programs, and participate in online markets. Much of e-commerce's economic value arises from this kind of automation, which not only reduces operating costs but adds value by generating new market interactions. This text teaches how to analyze the added value of such applications, considering consumer behavior, pricing strategies, incentives, and other critical factors. It discusses added value in several e-commerce arenas: online shopping, business-to-business e-commerce, application design, online negotiation (one-to-one trading), online auctions (one-to-many trading), and many-to-many electronic exchanges. Combining insights from several years of microeconomic research as well as from game theory and computer science, it stresses the importance of economic engineering in application design as well as the need for business models to take into account the "total game." As the only serious treatment of the microeconomics of e-commerce, this book should be read by anyone seeking e-commerce solutions or planning to work in the field.


Background: Vitamin D deficiency is an epidemiological problem considered as a risk factor for diseases. Vitamin D deficiency may be a factor involved in of Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT)pathogenesis. Study Aim : assessment of vitamin D impact on the course of HT in patients of Holy Cross Region.Material and Methods: We examined 310 adults: 155- HT, 155 healthy ones. The HT was divided into subgroups: H – hypothyroid, treated with l-thyroxine (N = 110), E – euthyroid, not treated (N = 45). In 71 HT's patients it was rated the mutation in HLA-DRB1.Results: The median of 25OHD3 in HT was significantly lower – 23,20 ng/mL (18,60-29,00) than in the control – 25,60 ng/mL (21,01-31,35) (p <0,001), but not in the E subgroup - 28,7 (21,4-33,2). There was a negative correlation of 25OHD3 with duration of the HT (p <0,001), but no with time <2 years. In the H - the median of 25OHD3 was significantly lower – 21.50 ng/ml (17.80-27.30) than in the E – 28,7 ng/mL (21,40-33,02) (p <0.001 ). In patients (-)a/TPO/a/Tg, the median of 25OHD3 was significantly higher – 32 (25,63-37,68)/28.7 (23,20-32,70) ng/ml, than in (+)/TPO/a/Tg – 22,1 (18,1-28,4)/20.2(15,4-23,6) ng/ml (p <0,001). The allele DRB1*11:04 was significantly more frequent and twice increased the risk of HT; DRB1*15:01 was significantly lower and twice reduced the risk. The proper concentration of 25OHD3 was more frequent at the presence of DRB1*13:03.Conclusions: It was shown high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in patients with HT and may have an adverse effect on the course of the disease. This justifies the indications for the evaluation of the 25OHD3 concentration in patients with HT.


In the aftermath of the shock result of the Nice Treaty referendum in Ireland in June 20011 it
was commonly stated that the result did not represent the electorate's rejection of European
Union (EU) enlargement. In fact both supporters and opponents of the Nice Treaty agreed
wholeheartedly on this point. The Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) and his Foreign Minister
assured their counterparts in the EU and the candidate states of Central and Eastern Europe
(CEE) that purely domestic factors explained the result –enlargement had not been an issue.
Opponents of the Treaty, similarly, couched every public statement with an insistence that
they were in favour of enlargement. These claims were treated with some scepticism in the
CEE candidate states. Not only would the result complicate the ongoing enlargement
negotiations; it might postpone accession indefinitely.
This article has one central objective: it seeks to analyse the extent to which the issue of EU
enlargement really mattered in the 2001 and 2002 Nice Treaty referendum campaigns and,
more generally, in the evolving European debate in Ireland. The analysis proceeds through an
examination of four crucial issue areas that figured prominently in the Nice Treaty campaign
of 2001 and have remained to the fore in discussion at the National Forum on Europe
throughout 2002.2 On each of these issues there exist profound disagreements between
Ireland's pro-Europeans and an emerging Euro-sceptic lobby. Analysis of each individual
issue is set out against the contextual arguments deployed regarding enlargement. Further, it is
contended the range of concerns expressed in Ireland about enlargement, whether with respect
to institutional reform or policy issues, also exist in many other EU states. Indeed, fear and
unease about the implications of enlargement permeate political dicsourse across the EU. This
article begins by analysing the reaction to the shock 2001 referendum result across Europe.


In this study, two oxazol-5-one derivatives, C20H20N2O2 (1) and C21H22N2O2 (2), were synthesized by getting condensed p-N,N-diethylaminobenzaldehyde with two presented hippuric acid derivatives and in further studies they were analysed spectrochemically. Molecular and crystal structures of the compounds were determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction and the results revealed that the molecular packing of the crystal structures were stabilized by weak intraand intermolecular interactions also with C-O∙∙∙π, C-H∙∙∙π and π∙∙∙π stacking interactions. Computational studies were also performed using DFT method at B3LYP/6-311G(d,p) level of theory. Vibrational modes and chemical shifts were calculated and compared with the experimental data. In addition, frontier molecular orbitals and molecular electrostatic potential surfaces were simulated. The calculated results show that the optimized geometries can well reproduce the crystal structure. Purpose of this study was to survey the effects of the reactants, which were condensed with each other to produce oxazol-5-one, upon the characteristic properties and crystal forms of the final oxazol-5-one.


Abstract Although Computerized Numerical Controlled (CNC) machines are currently regarded as the heart of machining workshops they are still suffering from machine blindness, hence, they cannot automatically judge the performance of applied machining parameters or monitor tool wear. Therefore, parts produced on these machines may not be as precise as expected. In this research an innovative system is developed and successfully tested to improve the performance of CNC machines. The system utilizes twin-camera computer vision system. This vision system is integrated with the CNC machine controller to facilitate on-line monitoring and assessment of machined surfaces. Outcome from the monitoring and assessment task of is used to real-time control of the applied machining parameters by a developed decision making subsystem which automatically decides whether to keep or alter the employed machining parameters or to apply tool change. To facilitate the integration of computer vision with CNC machines a comprehensive system is developed to tackle a number of pinpointed issues that obstruct such integration including scene visibility issue (e.g. effects of coolant and cut chips as well as camera mounting and lighting), effects of machine vibration on the quality of obtained roughness measurement, selection of a the most proper roughness parameter to be employed, and assessment of machining parameters effects on acquired roughness measurement. Two system rigs employing different models of CNC machines are practically developed and employed in the conducted tests to beneficially generalize the findings. Two cameras are mounted on the machine spindle of each of the two employed CNC machines to provide valid image data according to the cutting direction. Proper selection and activation of relative camera is achieved automatically by the developed system which analyze the most recent conducted tool path movement to decide on which camera is to be activated. In order to assess the machining surface quality and cutting tool status, image data are processed to evaluate resulting tool imprints on the machined surface. An indicating parameter to assess resulting tool imprints is proposed and used. The overall results show the validity of the approach and encourage further development to realize wider scale applications of vision-based-CNC machines.


Current work in surface realization concentrates on the use of general, abstract algorithms that interpret large, reversible grammars. Only little attention has been paid so far to the many small and simple applications that require coverage of a small sublanguage at different degrees of sophistication. The system TG/2 described in this paper can be smoothly integrated with deep generation processes, it integrates canned text, templates, and context-free rules into a single formalism, it allows for both textual and tabular output, and it can be parameterized according to linguistic preferences. These features are based on suitably restricted production system techniques and on a generic backtracking regime.


The Turkish women's movement started during the Ottoman era, and it is still in process in the newly established Turkish Republic. This paper examined the Turkish women's movement, which began after 1923 and found that the Turkish women's movement had two abeyance cycles. The first abeyance period in the Turkish women's movement took place between 1935 and the 1960s. In the first abeyance period, the reasons for the abeyance were economic problems, World War II, and the changing political arena in Turkey. In 1945, Turkey became a multi-party democracy, and this changed political opportunity structures. After 1960, the Turkish women's movement picked up, but it was not very active until the 1980s. During this time, leftist organizations were very active, and they mobilized women in their organizations. The second abeyance period started after the 2010s when the religious Justice and Development Party in Turkey started to consolidate its power. From 2010 onwards, the political opportunity structures are closed for women, and women have a hard time to find elite allies for their causes. In the current political climate, even though there are many active women's organizations, they are not effective.


Background: The nexus between appetitive traits, dietary patterns and weight status has predominantly been studied in a mixed sample (healthy weight, overweight and obese sample). Aim: This cross-sectional study examined associations between overweight/obese children's appetitive traits, dietary patterns and weight status. Methods: We studied children (N = 58, body mass index z-score: 2.25±0.46), 4–12 years attending the School Kids Intervention Program. Children's appetitive traits and dietary patterns were measured with the Child Eating Behaviour Questionnaire and Children's Dietary Questionnaire, respectively. Children's height and weight were used to compute body mass index z-score; waist circumference was also measured and waist-to-height ratio was calculated. Results: After controlling for children's age and gender, hierarchical linear regression analyses showed that lower scores for slowness in eating were associated with higher body mass index z-scores in children (β = −0.31, p = 0.01). Higher scores for emotional overeating were associated with higher waist-to-height ratio in children (β = 0.48, p = 0.01). Higher scores for fussiness were correlated with lower scores for fruits and vegetables (β = −0.59, p < 0.001) and higher scores for non-core foods (β = 0.26, p = 0.04). Conclusion: Results observed in the current sample of overweight and obese children are consistent with previous studies examining healthy-weight children. Slowness in eating may foster an obesity 'protective' effect, whereas emotional overeating may promote susceptibility to weight gain. Fussy eating may impair diet quality by lower consumption of vegetables and fruits and higher intake of non-core foods. This evidence will support dietitians to consider children's appetitive traits when providing dietary consultation to support obesity management among overweight/obese children.


The effect of nitrogen fertigation of two watermelon cultivars grown on the very light soil in the central part of Poland, during 2012–2014, was evaluated. The field experimental design was a split-plot with four replications. The main plot was the drip fertigation with nitrogen applied in two combinations: drip irrigation + broadcasted nitrogen fertilization (DI) used as a control, and drip irrigation + fertigation with nitrogen (DF); where, two cultivars: Bingo and Sugar Baby were used as a split-plot. The phosphorus and potassium fertilizers were applied pre plant in the spring, whereas, three rates of 40 kg ha−1 of nitrogen fertilizer were applied during the growing season. The fertigation was performed using a proportional mixing dispenser. The ripened fruits were harvested progressively as they mature. The marketable fruit yield, the single fruit weight and the number of fruits per plant, were evaluated. Tested factors presented a significant effect in the yield characteristics, further the interaction among the factors was important. DF, comparing to DI, notably improved fruit traits. Bingo cultivar had higher yield than Sugar Baby, but Sugar Baby cultivar produced more fruits than the Bingo under the DF treatment. This study provides the evidence that on a very light soil with low water and nutrients retention capacity the performance of watermelon can be optimized when nitrogen is applied directly through drip irrigation.


This study aims to determine the effect of Kaizen culture, training standard and discipline on the employees' performance of front office division at Aston Priority Simatupang, South Jakarta. The study of 36 respondents is based on the employees of Aston Priority Simatupang, South Jakarta by using a quantitative descriptive approach. The analysis used is multiple linear regression. The results indicate that the variable for the culture has no effect on performance, but the variable for training standard and discipline affect the performance of the employees of the front office division on Aston Priority Simatupang Hotel, South Jakarta. This is evidenced by the results of a simultaneous test (F test) and the results of the partial test (t-test) also showed a significant value of two independent variables that support the hypothesis. Results of this study show that there is significant simultaneously Relationship between the training standard variable and the discipline variable against the employees' performance in the front office division at Aston Priority Simatupang Hotel, South Jakarta.


Alpacas and llamas are induced ovulators. They show marked reproductive seasonality in the Andean region, but under Northern Hemisphere conditions of feeding and management, they are non-seasonal breeders. Puberty is attained when they reach 50% of adult body weight. When they are not exposed to a male, females show successive waves of follicular maturation and atresia. Growth, maintenance and regression of a follicle each require an average of 4 and 6 days in alpacas and llamas, respectively. After sterile mating, progesterone concentrations in blood were increased from day 5, reached maximum concentrations on day 7-8, and declined rapidly at 9-10 days after mating. A fertile mating results in formation of a corpus luteum that remains functional throughout gestation. The duration of gestation is 340-346 days. Almost all fetuses were found to occupy the left uterine horn, even though ovulation occurs from both ovaries with equal frequency. Several methods of pregnancy diagnosis have been described. Mating is recommended within 15-20 days after parturition to obtain good fertility rates and one offspring per year. The factors that contribute to high rates of embryonic mortality are unknown. Reproductive technologies, such as AI, superovulation, embryo transfer and IVF, have not been used very extensively in these species but can be successfully applied.


Acoustic radiation from stiffened double concentric large cylindrical shells with periodic cavities is analytically examined in the medium and high frequency range using the Sommerfeld-Watson transform. Creeping wave acoustic model of the stiffened double cylindrical shells in the shadow, penumbra and illuminated regions is established by the residue theorem. An asymptotic expression of far-field acoustic pressure is derived in the geometrical acoustic zone according to the stationary phase method. Sound field of the bare or stiffened double cylindrical shells with annular fluid is determined by the creeping wave poles in the broad circumferential region. Mechanisms of creeping wave propagation through the stiffened double cylindrical shells are shown. There are a great many elastic and acoustic waves that can't transmit through the annular fluid, annular bulkheads and periodic cavities with a moderate gap between the double circular cylindrical shells. Acoustic boundary layer theories are proposed to describe sound propagation through the annular fluid and bulkheads for the creeping waves.


This paper is based on a multidisciplinary field and laboratory study of carbonate concretions developed in poorly lithified Quaternary, syn-kinematic sediments along the Quattro Castella Anticline, Northern Apennines, Italy. The studied concretions consist of both tabular (parallel to bedding) and elongate single to coalescent concretionary bodies oriented at different angles to the bedding throughout the exposed stratigraphic succession. The dimensions of the concretions range from a few centimetres for single elongate concretions up to several metres for tabular to coalescent concretions. Field observations and petrophysical data indicate that the concretions developed preferentially in sediments characterized by mean grain sizes of 90–290 μm and a permeability ranging from 7 × 102 to 7 × 104 mD. Carbon and oxygen stable isotope analyses in conjunction with the petrographic investigations indicate that the precipitation of concretionary calcite occurred in a meteoric vadose realm during early eogenesis and subsequently in a meteoric phreatic environment. Diagenetic data and concretion patterns in syn-tectonic sediments suggest they formed during the lateral propagation of the anticline, which, in turn, promoted a change in the local topographic–hydraulic gradient from fold axial parallel to fold orthogonal. The integrated analysis of carbonate concretions provides a useful tool with which to unravel the palaeo-fluid flow history and therefore to predict fluid circulation patterns in folded siliciclastic rocks. Supplementary material: Complete isotopic data from both hand samples and thin sections, together with statistical analysis, scanning electron microscope cement images and grain size distributions with the standard operative procedure tests performed, and detailed permeability measurements are available at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.4087019


Network intrusion detection is one of the main problems in ensuring the security of modern computer networks, Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN), and the Internet-of-Things (IoT). In order to develop efficient network-intrusion-detection methods, realistic and up-to-date network flow datasets are required. Despite several recent efforts, there is still a lack of real-world network-based datasets which can capture modern network traffic cases and provide examples of many different types of network attacks and intrusions. To alleviate this need, we present LITNET-2020, a new annotated network benchmark dataset obtained from the real-world academic network. The dataset presents real-world examples of normal and under-attack network traffic. We describe and analyze 85 network flow features of the dataset and 12 attack types. We present the analysis of the dataset features by using statistical analysis and clustering methods. Our results show that the proposed feature set can be effectively used to identify different attack classes in the dataset. The presented network dataset is made freely available for research purposes.


Much research has been conducted on the life cycle of T. gondii by means of
investigation of experimentally infected animals. However, much less has been
achieved in studies of naturally infected populations. In particular, controversy
surrounds the relative importance of congenital transmission, which is generally
believed to be very low. I report a detailed analysis of T. gondii transmission,
with specific reference to congenital transmission, in a naturally infected sheep
population.
Nucleic acid amplification methods (PCR) were developed for use in the
detection of T. gondii from artificially and naturally infected tissue samples.
PCR amplification of both the SAG1 gene and TOX element were optimised to
enable definitive detection of T. gondii in tissue samples from a range of animals
including experimentally infected mice and naturally infected sheep.
A study of the relationship between lamb mortality and T. gondii was carried out
at a farm in Worcestershire (Average lamb mortality for Suffolk Cross was
10.5%). A single study of a lambing period in spring 1999, using PCR
amplification techniques, demonstrated that congenital transmission was
occurring in 61% of lambings (n=88) (Duncanson et al, 2001). To further
confirm these results, a three-year longitudinal study was conducted using a
sample of 255 ewe pregnancies. This extended study also revealed high levels of
congenital transmission (59%). Separate studies on two independent flocks (Suffolk Cross and Charollais) showed levels of congenital transmission at 61%
and 53% respectively.
One implication of these high levels of congenital transmission is that a
significant number of lambs may be born infected with T. gondii but show no
significant detrimental effects to health. Due to the lack of clinical disease
demonstrated in live born lambs congenitally infected with T. gondii, these
animals enter the food chain for consumption and potential transmission of the
parasite to humans.


Summary Birds often use colorful traits to mediate resource competitions, and typically individuals with bright or large patches of color are more competitive than or dominant to those with drab or small color patches. Male House Finches (Carpodacus mexicanus) are an exception, however, as drab males tend to be more aggressive than bright males during the breeding season and in winter. One hypothesis for this 'negatively correlated handicap' is that drab male house finches, being comparatively sexually unattractive and in poor health and condition, have more to gain by elevating aggression and increasing access to food and pursuit of (especially extra-pair) mates. It would seem important then to test this hypothesis during the period of molt, when birds are actively acquiring the foods and carotenoid pigments that make them colorful and a time in which there is a clear link between plumage color and nutrition/health in this species. We conducted two captive dominance experiments with male House Finches from the southwestern United States (their native range) to examine the relationship between carotenoid-based plumage coloration and aggression during molt. In the first experiment, where birds exhibited their natural, currently growing plumage color, we found that drab males were significantly more aggressive than bright males. However, when plumage colors were manipulated with art markers in a second experiment, color display was no longer significantly predictive of agonistic outcomes. These results suggest that: (1) drab male dominance is not an artifact in eastern US populations and instead is a conserved property of native and non-native House Finches, (2) like in our previous studies in winter, plumage color is correlated with dominance but does not serve as a visual signal of social status in this species, and (3) drab males should have a competitive advantage over access to important carotenoid-rich foods during molt, but apparently do not become as colorful because they do not adequately locate carotenoid-rich foods or do not use them efficiently for energetic or health reasons, which are perhaps exacerbated by elevated testosterone levels.


In recent times, a significant shift has emerged throughout the world from planning and
construction of water resource projects to the efficient operation of existing systems due to
many reasons. The reasons may include the non-availability of water resources for further
development, the limited availability of funds for capital works and the spirited lobbying of
environmental groups against construction of major water resource projects. Therefore, it is
necessary to determine the optimum operating rules for water resource systems.
The generalised water supply simulation model (REALM) is been currently used by many
water authorities around Australia for planning and operation of urban water supply
systems. The operating rules used in REALM are the restriction rules and target storage
curves. These operating rules currently in use do not produce the optimum operation and
are based on the subjective operator experience. Therefore, the need to determine optimum
operating rules in the form of restriction rules and target reservoir curves was important.
A general approach was used to produce the 'optimum' operating rules for an urban water
supply system. Melbourne water supply system is considered as the case study. An
objective methodology and computer software (namely Restrictions and Targets) were
developed to derive the operating rules in terms of restriction rules and target storage
curves.
The restriction rules were derived using a direct search method known as the Hookes and
Jeeves method. The objective function used was the maximisation of releases to demand
zones. The constraints of current security criteria were considered. A lumped single
reservoir and single demand centre approach was used in the study, however, the effects of
multi-reservoir interactions such as reservoir evaporation losses, spills from the system,
effect of carrier capacity on releases and demand shortfalls were considered implicitly in
the approach.
The target storage curves were derived using Discrete Differential Dynamic Programming
(DDDP), with the objective function of maximisation of releases to demand zones.
REALM system data of the Melbourne system was used and therefore all system details
incorporated in a planning study of the system were included in DDDP. Water allocation
among various parts of the water supply system was done through network linear
programming (NLP). REALM is used by Melbourne Water in their planning studies. The
Restrictions and Targets software were developed for the Melbourne water system in this
study.
Both Restrictions and Targets software were used for the Melbourne system using system,
streamflow and demand data provided by Melbourne Water (MW) in early 1994. The
restriction rules and target storage curves were derived for both static and dynamic
demands. The behaviour of the Melbourne system was analysed under the derived and
current MW rules using a REALM simulation model of system for the planning period of
1994 to 2026, and a comparison study was performed. The restriction rules derived under
both static and dynamic demand analysis performed better than the current MW restriction
rules. It was also found that the restriction rules derived from the static demand analysis
were consistently better than those of the dynamic demand analysis while the target storage
curves derived from DDDP slightly under-performed the MW current target storage curves.
Finally, the target curves derived were fine-tuned using simulation results and expert
knowledge, and the system behaviour improved significantly.
It is recommended that the operating rules (both restriction rule curves and target storage
curves) derived from the static demand analysis be used for the Melbourne system for long
term operation as Melbourne system cannot be augmented by constructing reservoirs in the
MW catchments due to lack of suitable hydrologic sites.


Lantaneae are a morphologically variable group of 300-400 species, representing the largest tribe within Verbenaceae. They are widespread and diverse in the new world tropics and subtropics; some members are native to Africa, and others, most notably the Lantana camara complex, have spread across the globe as noxious weeds. Complex patterns of morphological parallelism have hindered taxonomic efforts within Lantaneae, and previous molecular phylogenetic studies have failed to resolve relationships within the tribe. The lack of variability among loci commonly used to infer phylogeny at the species level in plants suggests that Lantaneae are recently radiated. With growing interest in the taxonomy of this difficult group, and growing recognition of the worldwide ecological and economic impacts of Lantana camara , there is a clear need for a well resolved phylogenetic hypothesis for Lantaneae. Species-level phylogenetic reconstruction in taxonomically complex, recently radiated lineages is a major challenge in plant systematics, and represents an opportunity to test the limitations of the molecular methods that are currently prevalent in modern systematic biology. Here, I have taken a multi-locus approach to resolve the pattern of diversification among a broad representative sample of the morphological, taxonomic, and geographic diversity of Lantaneae, demonstrating the effectiveness of the PPR gene family as phylogenetic tools. The results reveal that major genera are not monophyletic, with Lantana species belonging to two main clades, derived within a background of Lippia species. The small African genus Coelocarpum is the sister group to the tribe. Different loci reconstruct the species of Aloysia , and its affiliated genera, differently: either in a paraphyletic grade to the Lantana-Lippia complex, or as its sister group. A species tree reconstruction supports the hypothesis of sister clades. Within the Lantana-Lippia complex, fleshy fruits have evolved four times independently from dry-fruited ancestors, and are associated with higher speciation rates. At a broad scale, there is no clear pattern suggesting that fleshy fruits confer a dispersal advantage over dry fruits. My results place the origin of core Lantaneae in the Miocene, in subtropical South America, with different lineages subsequently migrating independently throughout the neotropics, into North America, and twice to Africa.


AbstractThe current study tested the effectiveness of a computer-supported collaborative learning tool-HyLighter-on undergraduate students' learning, affect for learning, and complex cognitive skills. The HyLighter group (N = 23) (1) digitally highlighted and annotated a reading article, and (2) reviewed and expanded on peers' and instructor's highlights and annotations. The control group (N=27) read the article in hard copy without using HyLighter and practicing its learning activities. The dependent variables included: (a) performance on a reading quiz, (b) a number of affective variables related to the reading assignment, and (3) students' cognitive modeling of the article's content. Although students reported high rates of satisfaction with the HyLighter tool, performance on the reading comprehension quiz did not differ significantly between the two groups. Students using HyLighter tended to score higher on both the positive-valence and negative-valence emotions. However, these students also showed significant and substantial superiority in mental model similarity indices. Thus, HyLigher use in the learning process was apparent in the learners' content-conceptualization more so than in quiz performances. These findings have significant implications for both instructional and research purposes.Keywordssocial annotation, distance education, computer-supported collaborative learning, complex thinking skills, HIMATT, HyLigther, text summaries, reference modelsIntroductionCollaborative learning is characterized by groups of learners actively communicating and interacting with each other to set up a shared focus aimed at reaching a common goal (Akkerman et al., 2007; Beers, Boshuizen, Kirschner, & Gijselaers, 2006). In fact, "the widespread and increasing use of collaborative learning has been a success story" (Johnson & Johnson, 2009, p. 365). Amongst most important characteristics of collaborative learning are the following: (1) positive mutual dependence where the learners depend on each other to complete a shared task, (2) individual accountability where each learner in the group shares responsibility for the end result, and (3) social skills where the members develop social skills to work together successfully (see van der Meijden, 2007). The success of collaborative learning can be attributed to its allowing increased active engagement in the learning process and longer retention of the learned material (Morgan, Whorton, & Gunsalus, 2000), improving students' complex thinking skills (Sloffer, Dueber, & Duffy, 1999), and overall enabling more self- regulation in students (Van Boxtel, Van der Linden, & Kanselaar, 2000). Several concepts inherent in different disciplines can help at least partially explain why students, given the right circumstances, learn more optimally from actively communicating with one another.According to classical cognitive developmental perspective, collaborative learning works efficiently because it promotes learning within a zone of proximal development (see Vygotsky, 1978). Hence, the scaffolding of the learning material by the more capable learner transfers to the less capable learner. Moreover, collaborative learning works because it supports the development of new cognitive schemas (Fawcett & Garton, 2005); hence, more advanced representations are formed and implemented by the learner. Finally, collaborative learning works because it creates social cohesion resulting in group members' desire to help each other in the learning task (see Janssen, Kirschner, Erkens, Kirschner, & Paas, 2010). This said, collaborative learning environments may differ in size, group characteristics, learning focus, learning goals, and supportive technologies (Kirschner, Paas, & Kirschner, 2009).Within technologically supported learning environments, computer-supported collaborative learning draws ample research (Gress, Fior, Hadwin, & Winne, 2008). …


Carbon dioxide (CO2) is increasingly released to the environment as a result of the extensive use of various industrial facilities. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Report (2015), cumulative emissions of CO2 largely determine global mean surface warming by the late 21st century and beyond". Different technologies can be applied for capturing and storing CO2 such as sequestration and carbonate mineral storage. Biominerals are of great importance due to their huge impact on the global biogeochemical cycle. Carbonates such as limestone and dolomite are important carbon reservoirs. Calcium carbonate formation and its burial in marine sediments account for approximately 80% of total carbon removal from the Earth's surface by abiotic and biotic precipitation. The biotic precipitation of calcium carbonates, is performed by various organisms, including bacteria, and has been widely reported and discussed in the literature, while, the formation of high-magnesium calcites is extremely challenging, due to the high level of hydration of Mg2+ ions, which promote the formation of Mg-free aragonite, rather than calcite. The dynamic evaporitic systems characteristic of sabkhas are crucial for the precipitation of minerals, and a role for microorganisms in sabkhas in the process of mineralization has been proposed. In this study the Dohat Faishakh Sabkha in Qatar was investigated for evidenc of the role of aerobic bacteria in mediating the formation of high magnesium carbonates and dolomite, two minerals that commonly occur in the sabkha sediments. 29 strains of aerobic microbes isolated from the sabkha and identified by 16S rDNA sequencing as belonging to the genera Bacillus, Salinivibrio, Staphylococcus and, primarily, Virgibacillus. All strains examined caused the pH of the artificial growth medium to increase from 7 to 8.5; however, not all were capable of mediating mineral formation. Only Salinivibrio and Virgibacillus spp. isolates mediated the formation of detectable solid phases within the agar plates. Light microscopy, scanning electron microscopy energy dispersive X-ray (SEM/EDX), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses indicate that the solid phase produced in the presence of these bacterial strains is MgCa(CO3)2 with a MgCO3 mol% varying from 0% to 40%. The results of these laboratory experiments suggested that, in the Dohat Faishakh Sabkha, aerobic bacteria may contribute in the formation o very high Mg calcite, a mineral that is considered the precursor of ordered dolomite.


Improving the diagnostic process is a quality and safety priority.1 With the digitization of health records and rapid expansion of health data, the cognitive demand on the diagnostician has increased. The use of artificial intelligence (AI) to assist human cognition has the potential to reduce this demand and associated diagnostic errors. However, current AI tools have not realized this potential, due in part to the long-standing focus of these tools on predicting final diagnostic labels instead of helping clinicians navigate the dynamic refinement process of diagnosis. This Viewpoint highlights the importance of shifting the role of diagnostic AI from predicting labels to "wayfinding" (interpreting context and providing cues that guide the diagnostician).


Unscavenged prechamber ignition has recently been developed at LENI-EPFL to reduce the emissions from cogeneration spark ignition gas engines (natural gas and biogas) within the Swiss Motor project supported by the Federal Office of Energy. Prechambers fitted with conventional spark plug allow a 40% reduction of the CO emissions and a reduction of the NOx emissions below the Swiss limits of the OPair law (Swiss emissions legislation), and a reduction of 55 % of the HC emissions. Unfortunately, spark plugs are weak components in therms of lifetime, reliability and maintenance. There consequently exists a strong motivation to develop new ignition systems which include: pilot injection of fuel, direct injection of fuel with a glow plug or hot gas jets from a prechamber where the comustion is initiated by auto-ignition, controlled mainly by pressure and temperature conditions. In this mode, the prechamber auto-ignition replaces the spark plug and the combustion mode is similar to a HCCI (Homogeneous charge compression ignition) one. The first step in the development of the system is the simulation of the auto-ignition in the prechamber in order to understand the phenomena and later to control them. As HCCI combustion is strongly dependent on chemical kinetics and fluid dynamics, a CFD code and a chemical reactions solver have to be numerically linked. First the 3D fluid flows in the prechamber and in the engine cylinder has been modelled with the well known KIVA 3-V code. Those results will be taken as reference for further calculations and initial conditions for the chemical reaction calculations. To elaborate and validate an auto-ignition reaction mechanism for natural gas, auto-ignition delays for various gas mixtures have been measured in the rapid compression machine of Lille [1[. The data identification will be performed using the GRI mechanism as a base for the auto-ignition delays simulation with Chemkin-II. The next step will be the development of an interface between the Chemkin-II solver and a CFD code NSMB (Navier Stokes Multi Block solver [2,3]). NSMB is an in-house code developed to deal with large meshes on parallel computers and to be coupled with other applications. It has been modified to support dynamic meshes. The coupling is under development.


It is now well established in the literature that oil consumption, oil price shocks, and oil price volatility may impact the economic activities negatively. Studies identifying the relationship between energy and/or oil consumption and output primarily take two different approaches. One approach includes energy or oil consumption in addition to output, labour, and capital and the other approach takes energy and/or oil, output and prices. Based on any of these two models most of the previous studies devised energy conservation policies for different economies. However, none of the previous studies considered both of these models jointly to make policy implications and there are not much studies investigating oil consumption-output relationship in a multivariate model in the context of developing economies. Furthermore, one of the important variables in making any conservation policies, carbon emission, kept out of their models.
Similarly, there has been a large body of literature investigating the impact of oil price shocks in different economies. Nevertheless, studies analysing the impact of oil price volatility on economic activities are very limited. More importantly, studies analysing the impact of oil price volatility in developing economies are almost non-existent. In the light of increasing demand for oil from the developing nations, comprehensive studies on identifying the impact of oil consumption, oil prices, and oil price volatility on developing economies is warranted.
Hence, in this thesis, the contribution of oil in economic development is investigated with the help of two different models. The first model, termed as production-side approach, analyses the contribution of oil consumption in economic activities within the traditional production function framework. The second model, termed as demand-side approach, analyses the contribution of energy consumption in economic activities in two stages. In the first stage, oil consumption demand is analysed by a tri-variate model having oil prices as the third variable in addition to oil consumption and GDP. In the second stage, carbon emission output is determined in a tri-variate model with carbon emission as the third variable along with oil consumption and output. Furthermore, this thesis performs a unique task of analysing the impact of volatility on world crude oil prices on the economic activities of six Asian developing economies. The countries selected for this purpose are, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand.
With respect to the oil consumption-output relationship, despite dissimilarities in results for causality relationships between oil consumption and output in three different models for different countries, one common premise has emerged. Except for the Philippines, all other countries are found to be oil dependent either from supply-side or from demand-side or from both of the sides. Which implies that for all the considered developing economies, except for the Philippines, oil conservation policies seems to be harder to implement as that may retard their economic growth. In addition to that, one very important findings of the empirical analysis based on the equation regarding pollutant emission output is that for all the countries, except for Malaysia, output Granger causes pollutant emission (CO2) both in the short run and long run.
With respect to the impact of oil price volatility on economies, this study finds that oil price volatility seems to impact all the economies in the short run. According to the results, oil price volatility affect GDP growth in China and Malaysia, GDP growth and inflation in India and Indonesia, while in the Philippines volatility in oil prices impact inflation. However, in Thailand the impact channels are different for pre- and post-Asian financial crisis period. For Thailand, it can be inferred that oil price volatility impacts output growth for the whole period; however, after the Asian financial crisis the impact seems to disappear.
Based on a comprehensive study within three different theoretical frameworks the policy implications regarding oil consumption-output relationship can be devised as follows. For the Philippines, where unidirectional causality from income to oil consumption is found, she may contribute to the fight against global warming directly implementing energy conservation measures. The direction of causality indicates that the oil conservation policies can be initiated with little or no effects on economic growth. For rest of the oil dependent countries where either bi-directional causality or unidirectional causality from oil consumption to output is found in any of the models, since oil is a critical determinant of economic growth in these countries, its shortage may retard economic growth. Nevertheless, all of these countries may initiate environmental policies aimed at decreasing energy intensity, increasing energy efficiency, and developing a market for emission trading. These countries can invest in research and development to innovate technology that makes alternative energy sources more feasible, thus mitigating pressure in environment.
According to the impact analysis of oil price volatility on economic activities, the policy implications are as follows. In Thailand, the results after the financial crisis show that adverse effect of oil price volatility has been mitigated to some extent. It seems that oil subsidization of the Thai government by introduction of the oil fund and the flexible exchange rate regime plays a significant role in improving economic performance by lessening the adverse effect of oil price volatility on macroeconomic indicators. For all other countries, the impact of oil price volatility is also of short term. Hence, the short-term impact of oil price volatility on the concerned economies may be excreted though the uncertainty born by the fluctuations in the crude oil price in the world market. As far as the impact on GDP growth is concerned, the short-run impact may also be transmitted through the investment uncertainties resulted from increased volatility in oil prices. However, from the Thai experience it can be inferred that flexible exchange rate regime insulate the economy in the short run from any adverse impact from oil price volatility on growth. Hence, it can be suggested that good subsidization policy with considerable knowledge on international currency market, both spot and future, may shield the economies from adverse consequences due to the fluctuation in oil prices in the short run. Nevertheless, this may affect other sectors of the economy like, inflation, interest rate, government budget deficit, etc.


The examination of urine in children can be very complex, due to the difficulty to obtain clean urine specimens in infants and toddlers. Clean catch is an easy system to obtain urine but patience is needed. Transurethral catheterization or suprapubic aspiration is useful in infants and toddlers with sign of pyelonephritis. Urine bag specimens are not useful in the diagnosis of urinary tract infection because of the high rate of false positive cultures. The 24 hours urine collection is frequently replaced by a spot urine and the ratio of the measured substances with the urine creatinine are calculated. Urine microscopy is needed for the evaluation of pathological results in the dipstick testing: confirm that red urine is due to haematuria by demonstration of red blood cells on urine microscopy, dysmorphic cells and red-cell casts are pathognomonic of glomerular bleeding, white-cell casts signify glomerular inflammation and bacteria are easily seen in unstained urine. A urine culture is pathologic if the colony count exceeds 10(4) in the transurethral catheterization or clean void. In the suprapubic aspiration is any number of colony pathologic. Urate crystals in the urine of infants may cause a pink discoloration to nappies. Urine screenings are not very useful and should be performed only at the age of 5 years or by sexual-active adolescents.


The post-translational modification of proteins with poly(ADP-ribose) (PAR) occurs as an early response to genotoxic insults. The nuclear poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase 1 (PARP-1) reacts to DNA nicks, activating its catalytical function and thereby producing large amounts of PAR. The substrate for this reaction is NAD+. Negatively charged linear PAR chains of up to 200 ADP-ribose monomers with maximal 3% branching are formed within minutes. Most of PAR is covalently bound on PARP-1 itself. Only 5-10% of PAR molecules are attached to other acceptor molecules. The turnover of PAR is tightly regulated. Its catabolic half-life ranges from seconds to hours depending on polymer size, complexity, protein association and the particular stress conditions to which cells are exposed. PAR glycohydrolase (PARG) degrades PAR via endo- and exoglycosidic activity. PARG produces primarily monomeric ADP-ribose albeit a few PAR polymers may arise. The coordinate action of PARP and PARG is required for proper cellular response to DNA damage and maintenance of genomic stability. Although the role of PARP-1 has been extensively studied, the biological function of PARG is not well established so far. Several studies with inhibitors and partial knockout models of PARG pointed to a possible role for PARG enzyme in the regulation of cell death or survival after alkylation- and oxidant-induced DNA damage. However, the lack of potent and cell permeable inhibitory molecules for PARG and the lethal phenotype of parg-/- mutants prevented the discovery of distinct functions in the cell death and survival network. Therefore we developed a RNA interference (RNAi) approach against PARG to reduce the amount of PARG protein in human and murine cells. Silencing of the parg gene resulted in a time-dependent reduction of parg mRNA, PARG protein and enzymatic activity which was maximal after 72 h of siRNA transfection. We found that as little as 10% of PARG protein is sufficient to ensure basic cellular functions as cell proliferation and DNA damage repair after sublethal doses of oxidative stress (H2O2). Cell survival following higher concentrations of H2O2 was increased in cells lacking PARG. In fact, the resident time of PAR molecules after oxidative stress was prolonged in cells silenced for PARG resulting in a protective phenotype. Dawson and collaborators demonstrated that PAR may act as a cell death signal upstream of apoptosis-inducing factor (AIF). In particular, PAR was found to mediate between DNA damage and translocation of AIF from mitochondria to the nucleus. On the basis of this information we used siRNA in human cells (HeLa) to selectively down-regulate the PAR metabolizing enzymes PARP-1, PARP-2 and PARG, either separately or in combination, to determine their individual contribution to modulate PAR as a cell death factor. Cell death mediated by the alkylating agent MNNG is characterized by the activation of PAR synthesis, moderate changes in ATP/ADP ratio of cells, activation of caspases 7 and 9 and finally AIF translocation from mitochondria to nucleus. We observed that only PARP-1, and not PARP-2 and PARG, are involved in this type of alkylation-induced cell death. PAR synthesized by PARP-2 as well as modified PAR molecules due to PARG reduction were unable to promote AIF translocation. We further investigated molecular signal cascades in oxidant-induced cell death in the presence or absence of PARG. As previously shown, PARG silenced cells are less sensitive to H2O2-induced cytotoxicity. The hypothesis was that specific PAR metabolites can act as a signalling factor in cell death, in particular monomeric ADP-ribose, that has been shown to bind to specific Ca2+ channels in vitro. We established a fluorescence spectroscopic determination of the influx of Ca2+ ions into the cytosol as an immediate response to an oxidative insult in mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) with a manipulated PAR metabolism. Using a set of PARP inhibitors, RNAi against PARP-1 and parp-1-/- cells, we investigated a PARP-dependent elevation of cytosolic Ca2+ after lethal doses of H2O2. Moreover, the translocation of AIF from mitochondria to nuclei was abolished when PARP function was eliminated leading to reduced cell death rates. Melastatin-like transient receptor potential channels 2 (TRPM2) were identified earlier required for Ca2+ gating from the extracellular space into the cytosol after oxidative insults. TRPM2 channels become activated by monomeric ADP-ribose, but not PAR and have been reported to act downstream of PARP-1. As free ADP-ribose is the final product of PARP/PARG cycle we tested the hypothesis, that PARG inhibition by RNAi could abolish the Ca2+ gating function of TRPM2. Indeed, we could demonstrate that cytososlic Ca2+ elevations after H2O2 were diminished when cells are silenced for the parg gene leading to a reduced cytotoxicity mediated by an impaired AIF translocation. Moreover, RNAi against TRPM2 as well as chemical inhibition of this channel showed a similar pattern in cytosolic Ca2+ fluxes after an oxidative insult. ADP-ribose loading of cells induces TRPM2 mediated Ca2+ fluxes in the absence of oxidative stress, suggesting that ADP-ribose is the key metabolite of the PARP/PARG cycle regulating TRPM2. We conclude that the interplay of PARP-1 and PARG controls a cell death pathway that operates between nucleus, cytoplasm, cell membrane and mitochondria and communicates via three types of chemical messengers: a nucleotide, a cation and proteins. Overall the results of this study contribute to the understanding of the specific involvements of PARP-1, PARP-2 and especially PARG in the response to DNA damage and the subsequent signal cascade that translates the duration of genotoxic insults into the cell fate of programmed cell death.


The status and rating of nations today in the League of Nations is dependent on the capacity to meet domestic needs of citizens as well as positing products in the global marketplace. Innovation in Technical and Vocational Education occupies important place in ability of nations to achieve this. This paper advocates needed innovations in the curriculum of technical and vocational institutions through an integrations of entrepreneurship education programmes. Suggestions for improvement in the entrepreneurship qualities of Technical and Vocational graduates were also proffered.


This paper discusses three relevant logics (S*fde , dS*fde , crossS*fde) that obey Component Homogeneity - a principle that Goddard and Routley introduce in their project of a logic of significance. The paper establishes two main results. First, it establishes a general characterization result for two families of logic that obey Component Homogeneity - that is, we provide a set of necessary and sufficient conditions for their consequence relations. From this, we derive characterization results for S*fde , dS*fde , crossS*fde. Second, the paper establishes complete sequent calculi for S*fde , dS*fde , crossS*fde. Among the other accomplishments of the paper, we generalize the semantics from Bochvar, Hallden, Deutsch and Daniels, we provide a general recipe to define (a given family of) containment logics, we explore the single-premise/single-conclusion fragment of S*fde , dS*fde , crossS*fde and the connections between crossS*fde and the logic Eq of equality by Epstein. Also, we present S*fde  as a relevant logic of meaninglessness that follows the main philosophical tenets of Goddard and Routley, and we briefly examine three further systems that are closely related to our main logics. Finally, we discuss Routley's criticism to containment logic in light of our results, and overview some open issues.


Quantitative stability of optimal values and solution sets to stochastic programming problems is studied when the underlying probability distribution varies in some metric space of probability measures. We give conditions that imply that a stochastic program behaves stable with respect to a minimal information (m.i.) probability metric that is naturally associated with the data of the program. Canonical metrics bounding the m.i. metric are derived for specific models, namely for linear two-stage, mixed-integer two-stage and chance-constrained models. The corresponding quantitative stability results as well as some consequences for asymptotic properties of empirical approximations extend earlier results in this direction. In particular, rates of convergence in probability are derived under metric entropy conditions. Finally, we study stability properties of stable investment portfolios having minimal risk with respect to the spectral measure and stability index of the underlying stable probability distribution.


Indigenous religions are now present not only in their places of origin but globally. They are significant parts of the pluralism and diversity of the contemporary world, especially when their performance enriches and/or challenges host populations. Indigenous Diasporas and Dislocations engages with examples of communities with different experiences, expectations and evaluations of diaspora life. It contributes significantly to debates about indigenous cultures and religions, and to understandings of identity and alterity in late or post-modernity. This book promises to enrich understanding of indigenity, and of the globalized world in which indigenous people play diverse roles.