Immigrants can be classified into groups based on their country of origin. Group-level data concerning immigrant crime by country of origin was obtained from a 2005 Dutch-language report and were from 2002. There are data for 57 countries of origin.

The crime rates were correlated with country of origin predictor variables: national IQ, prevalence of Islam and general socioeconomic factor (S). For males aged 12-17 and 18-24, the mean correlation with IQ, Islam, and S was, respectively, -.51, .37, and -.42. When subsamples split into 1st and 2nd generations were used, the mean correlation was -.74, .34, and -.40. A general crime factor among young persons was extracted. The correlations with the predictors for this variable were -.80, .34, and -.43. The results were similar when weighing the observations by the population of each immigrant group in the Netherlands. The results were also similar when using crime rates controlled for differences in household income.

Some groups increased their crime rates from the 1st to 2nd generation, while for others the reverse happened.


Charitable donations by private individuals and firms can help fund the Millennium Development Goals. What are the prospects for increasing donations for international development, whether from small-scale donors, the super-rich (as in the recent gifts by Bill Gates and Ted Turner), or the corporate sector? The paper starts by reviewing how large are the sums currently given in OECD countries (including gifts of time) and the problems development has in competing with domestic causes. It then looks at possibilities for the future, including tax deductions, the new 'global funds', corporate social responsibility and 'cause-related marketing', the use of the Internet, and longterm donor education.


Dostoevsky was one of those writers of the nineteenth century who came to be regarded by many readers in the following century as a prophet. How does he remain prophetic for us now, in the early twenty-first century? Remembering the End explores and assesses Dostoevsky's critique of modernity, with particular focus on the Grand Inquisitor (in The Brothers Karamazov), where his prophetic vision finds its most intense expression. The authors write to elucidate the spiritual realism of Dostoevsky's biblically charged literary art, and to show how it can help us to remember who we are in this modern/postmodern moment in which--as individuals and members of communities--we are required to make critical choices about the meaning of justice, history, truth and happiness. The book will be of interest to readers in comparative literature, ethics, political theory, philosophy, religious studies and theology.


OBJECTIVE: To compare the efficacy, side effects, and complications of high-dose vaginal misoprostol with concentrated intravenous oxytocin plus low-dose vaginal prostaglandin (PGE2) for second-trimester labor induction. METHODS: One hundred twenty-six consenting women with maternal or fetal indications for pregnancy termination and no prior cesarean delivery were randomly assigned to receive either vaginal misoprostol 600 μg 1×, 400 μg every 4 hours 5× (misoprostol group, n = 60) or escalating-dose concentrated oxytocin infusions (277–1,667 mU/min) plus vaginal PGE2 10 mg every 6 hours 4× (oxytocin group, n = 66). Both groups received concurrent extra-amniotic saline infusion for cervical ripening. Women who failed their assigned regimen received 20 mg of PGE2 suppositories every 4 hours until delivery. Analysis was by intent to treat. RESULTS: Demographic characteristics were similar between study groups. Median induction-to-delivery interval was significantly shorter in the misoprostol group (12 hours) than in the oxytocin group (17 hours; P < .001). There was a higher induction success rate at 24 hours in the misoprostol group (95%) than in the oxytocin group (85%; P = .06), although this difference did not reach statistical significance. The incidence of live birth (25% versus 17%), chorioamnionitis (5% versus 2%), and postpartum hemorrhage greater than 500 mL (3% versus 3%) were similar between the misoprostol and oxytocin groups, respectively. Diarrhea (2% versus 11%; P = .04), nausea/emesis (25% versus 42%; P = .04), and retained placenta requiring curettage (2% versus 15%; P = .008) were significantly less common in the misoprostol group when compared with the oxytocin group, respectively. Isolated intrapartum fever, however, was more frequent in the misoprostol group (67%) than in the oxytocin group (21%; P < .001). CONCLUSION: Compared with concentrated oxytocin plus low-dose vaginal PGE2, high-dose vaginal misoprostol is associated with significantly shorter induction-to-delivery intervals, fewer side effects, a lower incidence of retained placenta, and comparable incidence of live birth. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: I


Cell pairs in the auditory cortex of the cat were recorded with one micro-electrode and a computer system which could distinguish between their spikes through a self-learning pattern recognition algorithm. Synaptic connections were derived from the cross-correlation function between the two spike-trains. Each pair was assigned to one of three classes: No connection (NC), excitatory connection (EXC) and common input from a third neuron (CI). Inhibitory influences could not be revealed due to their weak expression in cross-correlograms. We found 22% of cell-pairs having excitatory connections, and 52% which shared a common input. 36% of directly neighbouring neurons show no correlation between their spike-trains. 10% were of mixed EXC&CI type


The intervertebral disc (IVD) is one of the largest avascular organs in vertebrates. The nucleus pulposus (NP), a highly hydrated and proteoglycan-enriched tissue, forms the inner portion of the IVD. The NP is surrounded by a multi-lamellar fibrocartilaginous structure, the annulus fibrosus (AF). This structure is covered superior and inferior side by cartilaginous endplates (CEP). The NP is a unique tissue within the IVD as it results from the differentiation of notochordal cells, whereas, AF and CEP derive from the sclerotome. The hypoxia inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) is expressed in NP cells but its function in NP development and homeostasis is largely unknown. We thus conditionally deleted HIF-1α in notochordal cells and investigated how loss of this transcription factor impacts NP formation and homeostasis at E15.5, birth, 1 and 4 months of age, respectively. Histological analysis, cell lineage studies, and TUNEL assay were performed. Morphologic changes of the mutant NP cells were identified as early as E15.5, followed, postnatally, by the progressive disappearance and replacement of the NP with a novel tissue that resembles fibrocartilage. Notably, lineage studies and TUNEL assay unequivocally proved that NP cells did not transdifferentiate into chondrocyte-like cells but they rather underwent massive cell death, and were completely replaced by a cell population belonging to a lineage distinct from the notochordal one. Finally, to evaluate the functional consequences of HIF-1α deletion in the NP, biomechanical testing of mutant IVD was performed. Loss of the NP in mutant mice significantly reduced the IVD biomechanical properties by decreasing its ability to absorb mechanical stress. These findings are similar to the changes usually observed during human IVD degeneration. Our study thus demonstrates that HIF-1α is essential for NP development and homeostasis, and it raises the intriguing possibility that this transcription factor could be involved in IVD degeneration in humans.


The Marlborough District Council proposes to introduce a variation to the Marlborough
Sounds Resource Management Plan to apply controls on shipping activity in the Sounds.
This report provides an analysis of the proposed variation as required under section 32 of
the Resource Management Act, 1991 (RMA). Section 32 sets out the steps and issues that
must be considered when analysing provisions in policy statements and environmental
plans, dealing with inter alia the extent to which regulation is needed, alternatives, benefits
and costs, and whether the proposed regulation is necessary to achieve the purposes of the
RMA, is effective and efficient. It is concluded in the report that:
(a) The effects of ship waves are an environmental issue and should be considered
under the provisions of the RMA.
(b) The Second Schedule of the RMA contemplates that shipping is an activity that
may be controlled under the provisions of an [Environmental Management] plan,
and that it is appropriate for the Council to regulate such activity using the
Marlborough Sounds Resource Management Plan.
(c) There are various environmental effects of differing significance caused by ship
waves in the Marlborough Sounds, and that such environmental effects are now
widely recognised and managed at various sensitive sites around the world.
Examples are presented and discussed in the report.
(d) Different regulatory or legal approaches have been adopted around the world to
manage environmental effects from ship waves. Detailed examples discussed in
the report cover Denmark, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the USA.
(e) Various options for management control of ship wave environmental effects are
outlined in the report, but regulation is considered to be the most effective. It is
also considered that ship speed is one of the most important parameters to control
and is the easiest to monitor. It is concluded that setting a speed limit is the most
efficient approach to control for both shipping operators as well as the Council
subject to operators having the ability to seek an exemption to operate above the
specified speed limits if they can demonstrate that the environmental effects will be
acceptable.
The report presents an analysis of the characteristics of ship waves and the dependency of
these characteristics on various ship properties. It is demonstrated how the plan shape and
period of the waves depends on the ship�s speed, and how the height of the waves is
affected by the length, breadth, draft and speed of a ship and depth of the water.
Under the proposed regulations, operators may apply for an exemption from the speed
limits if they can demonstrate that, at a higher speed, the ship wave characteristics will
comply with the Wash Rule, namely:
Shipping Controls in the Marlborough Sounds
Final Version 6.1 – 11 September 2002
4
T
4.5 0.5 H ≤
in which H is the wave height in metres, and T is the corresponding wave period in
seconds, of the wave created by the vessel in 3 metres depth of water near the shoreline.
This rule, as applied under the regulations, and its method of enforcement, is harmonised
with the approach adopted in Navigation Bylaw 2000 that deals with safety issues in the
Marlborough Sounds caused by High Speed Craft. The Wash Rule is the same (with
improved definitions for H and T) as that adopted for similar purposes by the Danish and
Swedish Maritime Authorities. The rule is based on assuming that the wave effects caused
by conventional ships up to 2001 are generally acceptable and tolerated by the public. It is
considered that it would probably be unacceptable and inefficient to base the rule on a
much lower benchmark of natural wave effects in the Sounds.
Analysis is presented in the report that demonstrates or explains:
(a) How the Wash Rule has been derived and has been benchmarked against the wave
effect of conventional ships that have operated in the Marlborough Sounds during
the period 1982 � 2001 (noting that the benchmark excludes the Aratere).
(b) Why the form of the Wash Rule is appropriate to manage ship wave environment
effects such as wave breaking, wave run-up on beaches, beach face stability and
long-shore transport.
(c) How the Wash Rule compares with alternative forms of rules such as the �no
harm� rule applied in the Rich Passage of Puget Sound, Washington, USA.
(d) The details and accuracy of the method of transforming measured ship waves from
the point of measurement to a standard depth of 3 metres, used for monitoring
purposes.
The basis of the 15 knot and 18 knots speed limits for permitted and controlled shipping
activities respectively is studied in detail based on many measurements undertaken
between 1982 and 2001. It is found that:
(a) All conventional and High Speed Craft that currently operate, or have operated, in
the Marlborough Sounds will comply with the Wash Rule for speeds up to 15 knots
(the speed up to which ships are permitted to operate without constraint, i.e. is a
permitted activity).
(b) Most ships will comply with the Wash Rule for speeds up to 18 knots (the speed up
to which ships may operate as a controlled activity, i.e. operate provided that they
comply with the Wash Rule), including the currently operating High Speed Craft,
the Lynx (Incat 057). However, the Aratere has measurably more severe wave
effects than earlier conventional ferries operating in the Sounds and will sometimes
exceed the Wash Rule at 18 knots.
Shipping Controls in the Marlborough Sounds
Final Version 6.1 – 11 September 2002
5
(c) Increasing levels of non-compliance with the Wash Rule is generally observed for
larger ships and High Speed Craft for speeds above 18 knots (at which speed, ship
operations are a discretionary activity requiring a resource consent under the
proposed variation to the plan). The currently operating ships Aratere and Lynx
(Incat 057) will probably not comply with the Wash Rule at speeds above 18 knots;
there is no available data to assess if this will be the case for the Arahura.
Finally, some recommendations and observations are made in the report dealing with (i)
possible exemptions that may apply to allow ships to accelerate or decelerate through the
so called critical velocity; (ii) mechanisms to allow the issue of temporary resource consents
for ship field trials; (iii) possible statistical approaches to assessing compliance with the
Wash Rule; (iv) some ideal but not essential refinements to the ship wave analysis
methodology to allow for variations in local bathymetry; and (v) issues concerning real
time versus stored location and speed data from ships used for compliance monitoring
purposes.


Understanding how memory, learning and reward work in unison to form adaptive and sometime maladaptive behaviour is at the forefront of modern neuroscience. The largest unmet need in treating maladaptive reward learning behaviours such as addiction is maintaining long-term abstinence and preventing relapse after re-exposure to drug-associated cues. Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChR) have been implicated in responses to drugs of abuse other than nicotine (Rahman et al., 2015) and the aim of this work was to characterise the role of α7 nAChRs in morphine reward learning using conditioned place preference (CPP). The α7 nAChR antagonist methyllycaconitine (MLA) was used to determine if these receptors contribute to specific stages of drug-paired learning, namely acquisition, expression, reconsolidation or reinstatement of morphine-CPP. In 7-8week old C57BL/6J mice MLA (4mg/kg, s.c), given 20 minutes prior to a conditioning dose of morphine (10mg/kg, i.p) or post-test trial, had no effect on the acquisition, reconsolidation or expression of morphine-CPP. However, when given 20 minutes prior to a priming dose of morphine (5mg/kg, i.p), MLA (4mg/kg, s.c) significantly inhibited drug-induced reinstatement. The mechanisms of this effect were investigated using glutamate receptor autoradiography. Changes in 2-Amino-3-(3-hydroxy-5-methyl-isoxazol-4-yl)propanoic acid (AMPA) and N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) binding were examined in mice treated with either saline or MLA at morphine reinstatement. There were no significant changes in NMDA receptor binding (using [3H]MK-801) but morphine reinstatement significantly increased [3H]AMPA binding in the CA1/2 of the ventral but not dorsal hippocampus, or in any other brain regions examined (including mPFC, nucleus accumbens, amygdala and VTA). The selective increase in the hippocampus was partially antagonised by MLA, linking α7 nAChR activation to glutamatergic synaptic plasticity in the hippocampus. Intracranial infusions of MLA into the ventral but not the dorsal hippocampus or medial prefrontal cortex blocked reinstatement to morphine-CPP in male Wistar rats.


Hereditary hemochromatosis (HH) is a common inherited metabolic disorder characterized by systemic iron over- load (1,2). HH affects approximately 1 in 200 people and is most common in persons of Northern European origin. Organ damage in the pancreas, liver, heart, endocrine glands, skin, and joints has been described in HH. There is evidence that the frequency and extent of organ damage may be changing with time, perhaps due to earlier diagnosis and treatment (3). In persons of Northern European origin, homozygosity for the C282Y mutation in the HFE gene found on chromosome 6 is present in more than 90% of patients with unequivocal HH (4), whereas in Southern Europe, as many as 30% of cases may be heterozygous or wild type for this mutation (5). The clinical manifestations of the disorder were first comprehensively reviewed by Sheldon in 1935, but interestingly, in his description, an arthropathy is not recorded (6). It was not until Schumacher described 2 cases and reported a peripheral arthritis in 5 of 23 hospital cases of idiopathic hemochromatosis in 1964 that arthropathy was identified in hemochromatosis (7). Subsequent studies have confirmed the presence of a clinically recognizable arthropathy (8–17). Although clinically and radiologically characteristic and highly suggestive of the joint disorder often found in HH, the arthropathy is not specific for hemochromatosis, since it cannot be differentiated from monarticular osteoarthritis (OA) in the same target joints or from the form of polyarticular OA provisionally classi- fied as the type 2 polyarticular OA phenotype, an example of which is depicted in Figure 1 (18,19). Moreover, differentiation from pyrophosphate deposition disease, diabetes mellitus with metacarpophalangeal (MCP) joint involvement, and even rheumatoid arthritis (RA) can sometimes be difficult (8,20).


OBJECTIVE Ways to prevent gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) remain unproven. We compared the impact of three lifestyle interventions (healthy eating [HE], physical activity [PA], and both HE and PA [HE+PA]) on GDM risk in a pilot multicenter randomized trial. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Pregnant women at risk for GDM (BMI ≥29 kg/m2) from nine European countries were invited to undertake a 75-g oral glucose tolerance test before 20 weeks' gestation. Those without GDM were randomized to HE, PA, or HE+PA. Women received five face-to-face and four optional telephone coaching sessions, based on the principles of motivational interviewing. A gestational weight gain (GWG) <5 kg was targeted. Coaches received standardized training and an intervention toolkit. Primary outcome measures were GWG, fasting glucose, and insulin sensitivity (HOMA) at 35–37 weeks. RESULTS Among the 150 trial participants, 32% developed GDM by 35–37 weeks and 20% achieved GWG <5 kg. HE women had less GWG (−2.6 kg [95% CI −4.9, −0.2]; P = 0.03) and lower fasting glucose (−0.3 mmol/L [−0.4, −0.1]; P = 0.01) than those in the PA group at 24–28 weeks. HOMA was comparable. No significant differences between HE+PA and the other groups were observed. CONCLUSIONS An antenatal HE intervention is associated with less GWG and lower fasting glucose compared with PA alone. These findings require a larger trial for confirmation but support the use of early HE interventions in obese pregnant women.


It is often said that in times of war, law is silent, but this essay argues that the experience of the twentieth century provides a sharp contrast to this old saying. It is not just that law was not silent during warfare, but that law provided a language within which war could be seen. War is not a natural category outside the law, but is in part produced by it. Across decades of conflict, law was a marker that defined for the nation some of those times when conflict would be contemplated as a war, and helped cabin other uses of force as peacekeeping, or other non-war actions. The laws of war, by identifying forms of warfare that crossed the humanitarian line, also helped carve out forms of warfare that were right and noble. It was in the realm of international law that law was turned to with utopian hopes more than once during the century, first to outlaw war itself, and then the more modest, but still ill-fated, quest to create a world body that would broker disputes between nations and avoid the inevitability of war. If law helped to make war, war also made law in the twentieth century. While it has been common to see war's impact on American legal history as episodic, this essay argues instead that the impact of war and national security was central and continuing. War is the mother of states, political scientists have argued. As an engine of statebuilding, war also fueled the development of law related to American statebuilding. Government programs and regulations created during a war did not go away but were drawn upon afterward to serve new purposes. In this way, war-related legal developments became entrenched. The Supreme Court was affected by wartime pressures. While the beginnings of what is sometimes called the New Deal revolution happened before the U.S. entered World War II, caselaw on Congressional power was consolidated and extended during the war. When the Court turned to individual rights, the story has not been a simple one of a pendulum swinging between rights and security. Instead, security concerns often informed the Court's jurisprudence, but security might be advanced by contracting, expanding or modifying rights, depending on the context. In Brown v. Board of Education, for example, racial discrimination was an international embarrassment, and expanding rights enhanced national security. The story of Brown helps us to see another important way that law and war together made America during the twentieth century. Projecting an image of American justice can be central to maintaining a conception of American democracy - a story of America for the world. This was seen as essential to U.S. prestige and national security during the Cold War. This became a central issue again after September 11, especially after the exposure of abuses at the hands of Americans at Abu Ghraib. The U.S. seemed to retreat from subordination to legal regulation, as if law itself would undercut American security. But the story of the war, and conceptions of its lawfulness, informed the world's understandings of American identity in a way that no president could control. The 12/6/06 version includes the draft bibliographic essay.


A microwave-assisted extraction method for the determination of 15 alkyl, aryl, and halogenated phenols in sewage sludge and biosolids samples was developed and optimized. The effects of solvent, temperature, time, moisture content, acid, and number of extractions on the recovery of phenols were evaluated. Results indicated that extraction solvent had the greatest impact on the recovery of all phenols while pH had the largest effect on recovery of hexachlorophene and pentachlorophenol. Wet sludge samples were extracted with acetone-hexane mixture in the presence of glacial acetic acid. The extract was evaporated, acetylated by acetic anhydride and cleaned up by silica gel. For dry sludge samples, an optional procedure for the simultaneous extraction and acetylation of phenols was also proposed. Triclosan (TCS) and the alkyl and aryl phenols in sludge extracts were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) in electron-impact mode while polyhalogenated phenols were analyzed by GC-MS in negative ion chemical ionization mode. Method detection limits were ca. 200 ng/g for nonylphenol,


Cross selling is one of the most prominent approaches towards retaining customers in conventional financial industry. The objectives include increase in types of products purchased per customer, increase switching cost, improve market share, long term customer relationship, profitability for financial institutions, and saving cost for customers. Some issues of cross selling have received research attention in conventional finance industry; however, there is a lack of critical exploration of cross selling in the unique context of the Islamic financial services industry (IFSI). This research has endeavored to explore cross selling in the unique context of Islamic financial institutions. This study claims to be the first in its kind to explore the reasons why cross selling is practiced in IFSI, and first to explore how cross selling is practiced in IFSI and the challenges it faces in implementing cross selling. This study also claims to be the first to explore how cross selling in IFSI compares to cross selling in conventional banks.
17 Executive and senior managers were interviewed from 9 Islamic banks in the UAE. Thematic analysis was employed to extract meaningful data from the interviews. The findings of this research implies that cross selling in IFSI, in practical terms, is not exactly the same as in conventional banks due to the sharia inherent issues and differences of policies around working mechanisms within IFSI. The study finds that these issues have further complicated the standardisation and regulatory issues in IFSI for cross selling purposes. This has further manifested into processing and product development issues and as a consequence has limited cross selling potential in IFSI to a certain extent. The study proposes a cross selling conceptual framework for future managerial implication and a guide map for future research to empirically establish the relationship between the elements that interplay to influence cross selling efforts in IFSI.


This mixed methods study investigated the contextual and educational dimensions of engaging language teachers in second language acquisition (SLA) theory and research to inform second language pedagogy. To this end, 132 Iranian English teachers completed the questionnaire designed by Nassaji (2012) that includes both Likert-scale items and openended questions. The participants had academic degrees in majors related to English language. They constituted two groups of public sector (n=66) and private sector (n=66). Each group was divided in two sub-groups, one with Bachelors of Arts (B.A.) and the other with Master of Arts (M.A.). Quantitative data analyses revealed a significant difference between the perceptions of the participants of public and private sector with B.A and M.A. degrees towards the relevance and usefulness of SLA research, the role of teachers and researchers, and perceiving teacher as researcher. Moreover, analyzing the open-ended questions revealed instances of attitudes, motivations, and challenges experienced by the participants reflecting the need to use SLA theory and conduct research to enrich pedagogical practices, ability to conduct research, access, understanding research articles, and dealing with institutional constraints. The findings have implications for policy makers to encourage practice-oriented research courses and research-oriented practicums across both contexts of public and private sectors.


SiO2/TiO2/methylcellulose composite materials processed by the sol-gel technique were studied for optical waveguide applications. With the help of methylcellulose, an organic binder, SiO2/TiO2/methylcellulose hybrid thick films were prepared by a single spin-coating processes. After annealing at 70 Celsius degree for an hour, 2.5-?m crack-free and dense organic--inorganic hybrid optical films with a refractive index of 1.537 were achieved. Optical losses of plane waveguide made up of those films and ordinary slide glass substrate are around 0.3 dB/cm at 650 nm. Scanning electronmicroscopy (SEM) and UV-visible spectroscopy (UV-VIS), have been used to characterize the thick films.


This Article presents a systematic consideration of how administrative law doctrines apply to banking supervision, an unusual form of administrative practice that rests on an iterative relationship between banks and supervisors. First, it describes the rationales for, and process of, bank supervision. Second, this Article uses recent administrative law arguments lodged by banking interests against key supervisory practices as the springboard for an analysis of why our largely "trans-substantive" administrative law can be problematic in the context of specific mandates given by Congress to administrative agencies. It argues that courts considering how administrative law doctrine applies to agency practices must contemplate more fully the substantive law the underpins the mission and organization of the agency. When these statutory provisions are taken appropriately into account, arguments that supervisory practices are consistent with administrative law requirements are substantially strengthened. Third, this Article demonstrates how even a more tailored application of contemporary administrative law doctrines would miss a critical feature of banking supervision—that it is premised on an ongoing relationship between banks and supervisors. Judicial review of agency action usually focuses on discrete agency actions, thereby eliding this critical fact. As a result, administrative law doctrines such as the "practically binding" test for agency guidance are peculiarly inapposite. Lastly, this Article offers a tentative proposal for shifting the administrative law review of supervisory actions to focus on how banking agency processes manage the iterative nature of the supervisory relationship.


The vibration load subjected to many products is the combination of several random processes corresponding to different application conditions, such as the various field road load inputs for automotive components. Sometimes the input loads are the combination of random and sinusoidal vibration. Due to the convenience of test setup and monitoring, the sinusoidal vibration sweep tests are often used for product durability validation by many automotive and consumer product manufacturers. It is therefore important to correctly correlate the sweep test to the field vibration. This work presents a tool for transferring the measured field random vibrations into a sinusoidal sweep test by using the damage equivalence technique. This requires that fatigue damage generated in the sinusoidal sweep be equivalent to the damage during the desired lifetime in the field operation. Based on this approach, a correlated lab-test specification, including the vibrations level and test duration, can be determined according to the field random load input, the desired product life goal of a product, and the material structural properties.


A nationwide sample of university students completed a survey that asked questions about their perceptions of the factors that can cause problems which exist with online or general group work. Data were obtained from 173 students at more than 18 different universities in the United Kingdom. Three main problems that exist in group collaboration are identified through an extensive review of literature and addressed as problem scenarios in the survey. These include: poor motivation, lack of individual accountability and negative interdependence. Findings from the survey include that on average more than five factors are acknowledged by the students for each subcategory of problem, and for each scenario the factors that affect the group work are ranked by importance level. Furthermore, we find no statistically significant association between the students' backgrounds and their perceptions of the factors identified. Keywords-students' perception; group collaboration; poor motivation; lack of individual accountability; negative interdependence; survey


Singh, S., Singh, H., Sharma, A., Meeta, M., Singh, B., Joshi, N., Grover, P., Al-Yassin, A. and Kumar, S. 2014. Inheritance of spot blotch resistance in barley (Hordeum vulgare L.). Can. J. Plant Sci. 94: 1203-1209. Spot blotch, caused by Bipolaris sorokiniana, is a major disease of barley hampering its commercial production in many parts of the world. Growing resistant cultivars is the most effective, economical and eco-friendly approach to control the disease. To understand the inheritance of resistance, F1, F2 and F3 generations of two crosses, involving susceptible (PL426 and RD2503) and resistant (BL9 and BL10) parents were studied. The susceptibility of F1 plants and a ratio of 13 susceptible:3 resistant in F2 populations in both crosses indicated that the reaction to spot blotch is hypostatic and is governed by two genes with an epistatic/inhibitory effect of first on the second one. The resistant reaction appeared due to the presence of dominant allele of the second gene. The first gene in dominant homozygous or heterozygous condition had an inhibitory effect over the second gene. The inheritance pattern was confirmed from the segregation pattern of F3 progenies of both the crosses. One hundred-fifty F2:6 recombinant inbred lines (RIL) derived from PL426/BL10 cross gave a good fit to the ratio of 1 resistant:3 susceptible lines under artificial and natural epiphytotic conditions. Recovery of transgressive segregants in the RIL population indicated the presence of some modifiers or minor genes. Test of allelism involving susceptible (PL426)×susceptible (RD2503) and resistant (BL9)×resistant (BL10) parents revealed that both the susceptible parents as well as resistant parents were allelic to each other.


This study poses the question 'health informatics: which piper, which tune, and who pays?' to explore issues of power and influence in the use of personal health information in Australia. It draws on the work of Michel Foucault to explore how understandings about the use of personal health information facilitate its expanding use. Of particular interest is the way in which the health informatics community influences these understandings.
The study begins with the argument that increasing use of personal health information for secondary purposes is symptomatic of a broader societal trend of expanding information gathering and surveillance practices. It further argues that many of these practices move beyond accepted monitoring to become surveillance which may result in discrimination, disadvantage or social exclusion. The discipline of surveillance studies provides the context for exploring these arguments. Surveillance scholars draw on a range of sociological theories to explore and explain expanding uses of personal information in contemporary society. However, surveillance literature focuses primarily on the processes and consequences of these activities rather than on explaining how or why they occur. Michel Foucault's conceptualisation of information gathering and surveillance as part of a network of modern disciplinary power provides an explanation of the how and why. Therefore, this study locates its analysis within the context of contemporary surveillance studies while utilising Michel Foucault's arguments about the relationship between modern power, knowledge and discourse. This enables the study to explore links between the views of the health informatics community, the construct of the Australian privacy framework and systemic expansion of information gathering practices.
The study reviewed legislation and associated documents related to Australia's privacy framework. It identified a privacy/public interest dichotomy as the dominant approach to managing use of personal information and argues that this construct facilitates expanded uses of personal information on the basis of public interest. A Foucauldian influenced discourse analysis of the academic discipline of health informatics identified six discourses, all of which constructed information management issues in terms of this privacy/public interest balance. The study concludes that the health informatics community is a claim-making site with the potential to shape understandings about the use of personal health information in Australia. However, aspirational goals of the discipline work to discourage critical analyses of the privacy/public interest dichotomy. This creates the potential for the health informatics community, either wittingly or unwittingly, to support expanding use of personal information for activities that may result in increased monitoring and control of individuals, groups and the community as a whole.


Identifying the functions of proteins, which associate with specific subnuclear structures, is critical to understanding eukaryotic nuclear dynamics. Sp100 is a prototypical protein of ND10/PML nuclear bodies, which colocalizes with Daxx and the proto-oncogenic PML. Sp100 isoforms contain SAND, PHD, Bromo, and HMG domains and are highly sumoylated, all characteristics suggestive of a role in chromatin-mediated gene regulation. A role for Sp100 in oncogenesis has not been defined previously. Using selective Sp100 isoform-knockdown approaches, we show that normal human diploid fibroblasts with reduced Sp100 levels rapidly senesce. Subsequently, small rapidly dividing Sp100 minus cells emerge from the senescing fibroblasts and are found to be highly tumorigenic in nude mice. The derivation of these tumorigenic cells from the parental fibroblasts is confirmed by microsatellite analysis. The small rapidly dividing Sp100 minus cells now also lack ND10/PML bodies, and exhibit genomic instability and p53 cytoplasmic sequestration. They have also activated MYC, RAS, and TERT pathways and express mesenchymal to epithelial transdifferentiation (MET) markers. Reintroduction of expression of only the Sp100A isoform is sufficient to maintain senescence and to inhibit emergence of the highly tumorigenic cells. Global transcriptome studies, quantitative PCR, and protein studies, as well as immunolocalization studies during the course of the transformation, reveal that a transient expression of stem cell markers precedes the malignant transformation. These results identify a role for Sp100 as a tumor suppressor in addition to its role in maintaining ND10/PML bodies and in the epigenetic regulation of gene expression.


Previous models of neuromodulation in cortical circuits have used either physiologically based networks of spiking neurons or simplified gain adjustments in low-dimensional connectionist models. Here we reduce a high-dimensional spiking neuronal network model, first to a four-population mean-field model and then to a two-population model. This provides a realistic implementation of neuromodulation in low-dimensional decision-making models, speeds up simulations by three orders of magnitude, and allows bifurcation and phase-plane analyses of the reduced models that illuminate neuromodulatory mechanisms. As modulation of excitation-inhibition varies, the network can move from unaroused states, through optimal performance to impulsive states, and eventually lose inhibition-driven winner-take-all behavior: all are clear outcomes of the bifurcation structure. We illustrate the value of reduced models by a study of the speed-accuracy tradeoff in decision making. The ability of such models to recreate neuromodulatory dynamics of the spiking network will accelerate the pace of future experiments linking behavioral data to cellular neurophysiology.


Exploring crowd dynamics is essential in understanding crowd scenes, which still remains as a challenging task due to the nonlinear characteristics and coherent spatio-temporal motion patterns in crowd behaviors. To address these issues, we present a Coherent Long Short Term Memory (cLSTM) network to capture the nonlinear crowd dynamics by learning an informative representation of crowd motions, which facilitates the critical tasks in crowd scene analysis. By describing the crowd motion patterns with a cloud of keypoint tracklets, we explore the nonlinear crowd dynamics embedded in the tracklets with a stacked LSTM model, which is further improved to capture the collective properties by introducing a coherent regularization term; and finally, we adopt an unsupervised encoder-decoder framework to learn a hidden feature for each input tracklet that embeds its inherent dynamics. With the learnt features properly harnessed, crowd scene understanding is conducted effectively in predicting the future paths of agents, estimating group states, and classifying crowd events. Extensive experiments on hundreds of public crowd videos demonstrate that our method is state-of-the-art performance by exploring the coherent spatio-temporal structures in crowd behaviors.


Accurate remote contactless angular sensing at high accuracy often requires emissive sensors with high energy consumption, complex processing and high cost. Thanks to active micro-vibrations applied to its elementary retina, our low-cost bio-inspired optical position sensing device is able to measure the angular position of a contrasting edge at low cost with hyperacuity. This sensor is able, for example, to estimate the elevation of a real edge such as the horizontal roof of a distant building with a resolution (0.025°) at least 160-fold better than the sensors's static resolution (4°), despite any changes in the contrast and illuminance. The visual processing algorithm is based on just a few linear filters and arithmetic operations, which require few computational resources. The high performances and low cost of this novel position sensing device make it suitable for applications in the fields of metrology, astronomy, robotics, automotive and aerospace.


Based on type material and old unpublished collections as well as recently collected material Australoecetes Just, 1983 is fully described. A. sellicki (Sheard, 1936) and A. australis (Stebbing, 1910) are redescribed and lectotypes selected. Australoecetes jervisi n. sp. is described. Based on morphological and correlated biological differences two subgenera are recognized: Australoecetes (with A. sellicki, east to west southern Australia) and Stebbingoecetes n. subgen. (with A. australis, type-species, and A. jervisi; both from south-eastern Australia). JUST, J., 1985. Siphonoecetinae (Crustacea: Amphipoda: Corophiidae) 4: Australoecetes Just, 1983, including Stebbingoecetes n. subgen. Records of the Australian Museum 37(6): 325-341.


In the decade since Fred Wiersema coauthored the #1 bestseller "The" "Discipline of Market Leaders," a momentous shift has occured. We have entered an age of customer scarcity--an age in which exciting, often unorthodox companies are revolutionizing the global marketplace. In this path-cutting work, Wiersema provides new benchmarks for ranking businesses in this new economy and reveals the strategies that set winning companies apart. After tracking 5,000 companies worldwide for over six years, Wiersema discovered that just a few hundred of these of these exert tremendous influence on the new economy. Here, he explains why traditional measures of competitive prowess no longer apply and, using new yardsticks, identifies today's 100 most influential businesses. With practical strategies for managers and investors, Wiersema then shows how to recognize and emulate these dynamic new market leaders.


The Croatian electricity demand exceeds domestic production and about 30% of additional power is covered from imports. The Croatian government is planning to add domestic production capacity, using natural gas and coal as the main fuel. Due to the attractive solar irradiation in Croatia, these new projects offer the possibility to build these thermal power plants as hybrid plants by adding solar energy within the production. The present paper will investigate the potential of solar energy in the Southern Croatian region and its possible contribution in a hybrid set-up. The paper assesses the required input data and presents a hybrid Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) design. The results demonstrate the potential of adding a CSP in a hybrid power plant in Southern Croatia.


There is a substantial and powerful literature in statistics and computer science clearly demonstrating that modern machine learning procedures can forecast more accurately than conventional parametric statistical models such as logistic regression. Yet, several recent studies have claimed that for criminal justice applications, forecasting accuracy is about the same. In this paper, we address the apparent contradiction. Forecasting accuracy will depend on the complexity of the decision boundary. When that boundary is simple, most forecasting tools will have similar accuracy. When that boundary is complex, procedures such as machine learning, that proceed adaptively from the data will improve forecasting accuracy, sometimes dramatically. Machine learning has other benefits as well, and e↵ective software is readily available.


The shift of focus to basin margin areas, prompted by the UK 29th Licensing Round, has led to re-evaluation of the Palaeozoic, including the Zechstein. The Zechstein reservoir interval in the Northern Permian Basin (NPB) is encompassed by the Halibut Carbonate Formation, equivalent to the entire Z1 (highstand and lowstand systems tracts) and lower part of the Z2 (highstand systems tract) cycles of the Southern Permian Basin (SPB). However, previously, little attempt has been made to extend the SPB sequence stratigraphic understanding into the NPB. The Zechstein is a major reservoir in the Argyll and Auk fields. Historically, opinions have varied as to the interpretation of the Zechstein reservoir facies in these fields. Some former interpretations suggest deposition on a shallow carbonate shelf, with the main reservoir consisting of peritidal stromatolites. However, after re-examined of the core from these fields within the context of a regional study, it has been concluded that deposition took place in a basinal position. The main reservoir of the Auk and Argyll fields is interpreted as a lowstand deposit. Its microbial nature is a reflection of the hypersalinity that characterised lowstand deposition in the Zechstein. This microbial facies can be recognised regionally and is present under thick Zechstein salt (again indicative of a basin centre position) in a well in the northern part of the Central Graben, where the upwards change to microbial facies is abrupt and associated with the immediate cessation of clastic input, indicating a major change in basin hydrology. Analogous lowstand carbonates are similarly recorded in the centre of the SPB, developed offshore from anhydrite platforms. A possible small scale modern analogue is Great Salt Lake, Utah, where microbialites cover >1200 km 2 of the lake floor. This study shows that it is possible to extend a unified Zechstein sequence stratigraphic model across both the SPB and NPB. This has shed new light on the depositional architecture of the Zechstein system, leading to revised interpretations of the origin and distribution of microbial reservoir facies. Additionally, it highlights the dangers of only considering highstand depositional models when searching for reservoir analogues. Recent results from the 38/02-1Z exploration well are interpreted in the light of this new sequence stratigraphic study, resulting in further insights into the palaeogeography of early Zechstein deposition.


This paper deals with the international transmission of the effects of budget deficits on world rates of interest and spending. The model assumes a two-country world within which capital markets are integrated, individuals behave rationally, and the behavior of individuals and governments are governed by temporal and intertemporal budget constraints. Adopting Olivier Blanchard's formulation it is assumed that due to the probability of finite life individuals behave as if their horizon was finite. This formulation generates asimple pattern of aggregate behavior of the two-country world, and it assures that the model is not subject to the Ricardian proposition according to which budget deficits do not matter. It is shown that, for a given time path of government spending, a budget deficit raises world rates of interest and domestic wealth while it lowers foreign wealth. Thus, the deficit is transmitted negatively to the rest of the world. The channel of transmission is the world capital market and the negative transmission results from the higher rate of interest. The paper proceeds with an analysis of balanced-budget changes in government spending. It is shown that a transitory current rise in government spending raises interest rates and lowers domestic and foreign wealth while an expected future rise in government spending lowers interest rates, reduces the value of domestic wealth and raises the value of foreign wealth. The effect of a permanent rise in government spending on the rate of interest depends on whether the domestic economy is a net saver or dissaver in the world economy, i.e., if it has acurrent account surplus or deficit. If the home country runs a current account surplus then a rise in government spending raises world interest rates and lowers domestic and foreign wealth, and if the home country runs a current account deficit then a permanent balanced-budget rise in government spending lowers interest rates and domestic wealth and raises foreign wealth.


The relation of Georg Lukacs and Henrik Ibsen, uncomplicated in terms of their single instance of personal contact, is intricate indeed with respect to the former's early writings on theater, the surprisingly few references to Ibsen's drama, and--especially--the implications of Lukacs's theory with regard to two of the playwright's late plays in particular. In these instances, a reading of Lukacs against, or in concert with, the dramatist's portraits of selfhood (Halvard Solness and Arnold Rubek), his modernist associations with a heritage of tragic drama, and a related application of Lukacs's conception of "real life," provide a multidimensional standpoint on Ibsen's art in his final years. While most of what follows is concerned with two of Lukacs's renowned essays in dramatic theory, "The Sociology of Modern Drama" and "The Metaphysics of Tragedy," I begin with a brief allusion to one of his later statements on character in drama. In "The Intellectual Physiognomy in Characterization," Ibsen is given only passing attention. He is mentioned along with many other writers, mostly novelists, but with Strindberg included also. The essay dates to 1936, several years after Lukacs's conversion to Marxism--and following, significantly, his renunciation of the critical writings of younger days. (1) His intention is not, however, to feature particular writers or writings--although the Symposium is identified as a model for character portrayal with a basis in intellectual standpoints--but rather to argue the necessity for ideology in the composition of vital, if fictional, personages. (2) Singling out Diderot and Balzac along with Plato, Lukacs declares that in works by figures such as these, "characters are individualized through their dynamic personal, vital positions on abstract questions; the intellectual physiognomy again is the chief factor in creating living personality." (3) With respect to Ibsen, the example of Peer Gynt is referenced briefly in the context of a loss of cohesiveness in character, with the well-known metaphor of the peeled onion described in this connection. For Lukacs, the "extreme subjectivism in modern ideology, the increasing refinement in the depiction of the unique, and the increasingly exclusive emphasis on the psychological lead to the dissolution of character." Ibsen, he suggests, "had already given this philosophical attitude poetic expression. He has the ageing Peer Gynt meditate on his past and on his personality and its evolution while peeling an onion. He compares each skin with a phase in his life until he recognizes with despair that his life consists of skins without a core, that he has lived through a series of incidents without having achieved a character." (4) Again, it is not Lukacs's primary business here to delve into specific characterizations. At the same time, it is noteworthy that no other of Ibsen's characters is mentioned--either in the context of a questioning of self or, perhaps more significantly, with reference to composing a vital "physiognomy" in relation to given dramas or social applications. Moreover, and even with the author's political transformation and renunciations taken into account, it is striking that his own past relationship to the playwright goes without mention or nuance. Strindberg, instead, is credited among modern playwrights with exhibiting "the greatest virtuosity with dialogue." (5) There is no doubt that for the younger Lukacs, Ibsen was an object of veneration and emulation. And yet, in neither of the aforementioned essays in dramatic theory (each from 1911, when the author was twentysix), is there significant mention of the playwright's name or works, nor is there reference to characters such as Halvard Solness and Arnold Rubek who might have served, I argue, as noteworthy exceptions or as especially illustrative examples. (6) In truth, the influence of Ibsen and his works upon the young Lukacs was extraordinarily strong and long-lasting. …


Decaying coarse woody debris can affect the underlying soil either by augmenting nutrients that can be exploited by tree roots, or by diminishing nutrient availability through stimulation of microbial nutrient immobilization. We analyzed C, N, microbial biomass C and root length in closely paired soil samples taken under versus 20–50 cm away from large trunks of two species felled by Hugo (1989) and Georges (1998) three times during wet and dry seasons over the two years following the study conducted by Georges. Soil microbial biomass, % C and % N were significantly higher under than away from logs felled by both hurricanes (i.e., 1989 and 1998), at all sampling times and at both depths (0–10 and 10–20 cm). Frass from wood boring beetles may contribute to early effects. Root length was greater away from logs during the dry season, and under logs in the wet season. Root length was correlated with microbial biomass C, soil N and soil moisture (R = 0.36, 0.18, and 0.27, respectively; all p values < 0.05). Microbial biomass C varied significantly among seasons but differences between positions (under vs. away) were only suggestive. Microbial C was correlated with soil N (R = 0.35). Surface soil on the upslope side of the logs had significantly more N and microbial biomass, likely from accumulation of leaf litter above the logs on steep slopes. We conclude that decaying wood can provide ephemeral resources that are exploited by tree roots during some seasons.


We investigate possible tests of CPT invariance on the level of event rates at neutrino factories. We do not assume any specific model, but phenomenological differences in the neutrino-antineutrino masses and mixing angles in a Lorentz invariance preserving context, which could be induced by physics beyond the Standard Model. We especially focus on the muon neutrino and antineutrino disappearance channels in order to obtain constraints on the neutrino-antineutrino mass and mixing angle differences. In a typical neutrino factory setup simulation, we find, for example, that |m3 − m3| . 1.9 · 10 −4 eV and |θ23 − θ̄23| . 2 .


We present measurements of the transmission and dispersion properties of coupled-resonator optical waveguides (CROWs) consisting of weakly coupled polymer microring resonators. The fabrication and the measurement methods of the CROWs are discussed as well. The experimental results agree well with the theoretical loss, waveguide dispersion, group delay, group velocity, and group-velocity dispersion (GVD). The intrinsic quality factors of the microrings were about 1.5/spl times/10/sup 4/ to 1.8/spl times/10/sup 4/, and group delays greater than 100 ps were measured with a GVD between -70 and 100 ps/(nm/spl middot/resonator). With clear and simple spectral responses and without a need for the tuning of the resonators, the polymer microring CROWs demonstrate the practicability of using a large number of microresonators to control the propagation of optical waves.


From antiquity, one of the primary goals of medicine has been the alleviation of patients' suffering. Despite remarkable advances in modern science and technology, patients continue to experience suffering, which is frequently unnoticed and unaddressed by physicians. Phenomenology incorporates an understanding of illness-as-lived, which provides the physician with a view more expansive than the purely biomedical model of disease. There exists a decisive gap between the way a physician thinks about disease and the way illness is experienced by the patient. As a result, there is a separation between the "lifeworlds" of the physician and patient. A fuller description of suffering in illness offers the physician an expanded paradigm of illness to enable her to narrow the gap between her own lifeworld and that of the patient. This thesis employs a clinically based phenomenological approach, observing the phenomena of disease and illness as they are encountered in the clinical setting, the nucleus of which is the doctor-patient relationship. Suffering is certainly something that should be eliminated by all reasonable means and costs. It is also clear, however, that sometimes suffering is unavoidable in the patient's experience of illness. We hold these two truths in tension. On the one hand, it is a duty for physicians to try to alleviate unnecessary suffering. But what about inescapable suffering, particularly in cases of chronic and terminal illness? Viktor Frankl notes that meaning can be a powerful avenue to the elevation of the human person in moments of unavoidable suffering. This thesis proposes that suffering can be transfigured by way of meaning and that physicians can play a powerful role toward this end. The will to meaning is a means to gains such as love, selftranscendence, achievement of a good, and the dignity of the person amid the losses experienced in suffering. This work offers a novel contribution to the medical literature by demonstrating that unavoidable suffering potentially can be transformed into a positive experience and that the doctor-patient encounter can be instrumental in this pursuit. Rather than waiting for systemic changes in health care or medical education, this thesis argues that physicians can be instrumental in the alleviation and transformation of suffering simply by adopting phenomenological personalism in the practice of medicine. Premised on a heightened attentiveness to the patient's lifeworld, phenomenological personalism serves as a catalyst for the patient's discovery of meaning in unavoidable suffering. This approach does not exclude the biomedical model, but rather expands the lifeworld of the physician so that she is able to acknowledge and address the uniqueness of the patient's experience of suffering in illness. Thus, in moments of unavoidable suffering, a personal tragedy is transfigured into a human triumph.


We evaluate the state of the art of solvers for hard argumentation problems—the enumeration of preferred and stable extensions—to envisage future trends based on evidence collected as part of an extensive empirical evaluation. In the last international competition on computational models of argumentation a general impression was that reduction-based systems (either SAT-based or ASP-based) are the most efficient.
Our investigation shows that this impression is not true in full generality and suggests the areas where the relatively under-developed non reduction-based systems should focus more to improve their performance. Moreover, it also highlights that the state-of-the-art solvers are very complementary and can be successfully combined in portfolios: our best per-instance portfolio is 51% (resp. 53%) faster than the best single solver for enumerating preferred (resp. stable) extensions.


This paper seeks to understand the reasons behind the considerable complications facing the project to develop a new, second generation version of the Schengen Information System (SIS II). Despite the centrality of this large-scale EU database for immigration and border control purposes and the increasing prioritisation of security technologies within the EU's internal security strategy, the project has encountered substantial delays, an escalating budget, political crises and criticisms of the new system's potential impact on fundamental rights.
To uncover the underlying causes of these difficulties and deficiencies, the paper examines the decision-making processes that have shaped the development of SIS II over the last decade. It argues that there are strong parallels between the policy processes surrounding SIS II and
decision-making under the old Schengen regime, where expert driven, security oriented and fragmented decision-making took place outside the EU framework and beyond the reach of
democratic and judicial oversight. The paper contends that decision-making on SIS II undermines principles of proportionality, accountability and fundamental rights and, by extension, puts into question the political legitimacy of the EU's Area of Freedom, Security and Justice. The paper concludes with a set of policy recommendations intended to inform the future development of large-scale EU IT systems.


Introduction: A racemosa, commonly known as "Tabon-tabon" in the Philippines, is found to be native to some parts of Northern Mindanao and has been known for its ethnomedicinal uses. Objectives: In this study, preliminary investigation on the cytotoxic activity, i.e. brine shrimp lethality, of the fruit extracted with a safer solvent such as acetic acid was conducted. Materials and Methods: Extraction of Atuna racemosa Raf. halved fruits was carried out using 1, 3 and 5% aqueous acetic acid. The cytotoxic properties of the aqueous acetic acid extracts were determined using Brine Shrimp Lethality Assay (BSLA). Results and Discussion: Alkaloids, anthraquinones, flavonoids, phenols and saponins were all detected in the 1%, 3% and 5% acetic acid extracts of A. racemosa fruits. Percent mortality of brine shrimp nauplii is an indication of the cytotoxic effects of the aqueous acetic acid fruit extracts of A. racemosa. The percentage mortality of the nauplii is directly proportional to the concentration of the extracting solvent. Percent mortality of the brine shrimp nauplii exposed to 5% aqueous acetic acid extract was statistically higher as compared to that of 1 and 3%. The concentration of the acetic acid may have influenced the extractability of cytotoxic compounds from the fruits of A. racemosa. Conclusion: The present findings imply that the aqueous acetic acid extracts of A. racemosa fruits were cytotoxic against brine shrimp nauplii. This property may be accounted to the detected phytochemicals in the extracts.


A mean function in a reproducing kernel Hilbert space (RKHS), or a kernel mean, is an important part of many algorithms ranging from kernel principal component analysis to Hilbert-space embedding of distributions. Given a finite sample, an empirical average is the standard estimate for the true kernel mean. We show that this estimator can be improved due to a well-known phenomenon in statistics called Stein's phenomenon. After consideration, our theoretical analysis reveals the existence of a wide class of estimators that are better than the standard one. Focusing on a subset of this class, we propose efficient shrinkage estimators for the kernel mean. Empirical evaluations on several applications clearly demonstrate that the proposed estimators outperform the standard kernel mean estimator.


Benchmarking is the practice of establishing the relative performance of a business or enterprise against an appropriate standard, generally industry standards derived from a survey of farms. The Policy Commission into the Future of Farming and Food (2002) highlighted a need to spread and improve benchmarking on farms. The requirements of effective benchmarking are illustrated in a ten step framework. The ten steps illustrate the range of expertise and resources a manager requires before being able to justify allocating resources to benchmarking. A comparison of alternative farm surveys and methodologies used to collect, analyse and report industry standards illustrates the difficulties farmers can have in identifying appropriate, robust and accurate industry standards. It is concluded that there needs to be a thorough rationalisation of farm surveys and agreement on methodologies to make benchmarking more effective and more efficient.


Drought is a major factor affecting cereal production in most the rainfed areas of West Asia and North Africa. Recent increases in drought frequency in Morocco have resulted in the yields of field crops being extremely variable and generally low. The objective of this study is to assess drought severity in the main cereal production areas of Morocco and to evaluate its effects on grain yield. Also the study seeks to evaluate if the standardized precipitation index (SPI) may be used as a tool to predict drought and crop yield early in the season. Data analysis showed that for the period 1988 to 2008, yields fluctuated from 150 to 3000 kg/ha with a coefficient of variation of between 30 and 50% in the north and 60 and 70% in the south. Based on the SPI, the regions studied experienced, on average, a drought once every 2.6 years. However, very severe droughts were observed only once in 7 years. The SPIs computed for the periods October to June and January to March were highly correlated. Moreover, there was a high positive correlation between the yield and the SPI calculated for the period January to March. The coefficients of determination varied between around 0.20 and 0.62 for bread and durum wheats, and between 0.28 and 0.69 for barley. It is concluded that soil moisture levels during the tillering and stem elongation periods of the cereals are the most important determinants of yield. Hence an SPI computed for the period January to March can be used to predict drought severity and yields early in the season.

 Key words: Rainfall, drought, cereals, yield, standardized precipitation index, predictions.


The endo16 gene of Strongylocentrotus purpuratus encodes a secreted protein of the embryonic and larval midgut. The overall functional organization of the spatial and temporal control system of this gene are relatively well known from a series of earlier cis-regulatory studies. Our recent computational model for the logic operations of the proximal region of the endo16 control system (Module A) specifies the function of interactions at each transcription factor target site of Module A. Here, we extend sequence level functional analysis to the adjacent cis-regulatory region, Module B. The computational logic model is broadened to include B/A interactions as well as other Module B functions. Module B drives expression later in development and its major activator is responsible for a sharp, gut-specific increase in transcription after gastrulation. As shown earlier, Module B output undergoes a synergistic amplification that requires interactions within Module A. The interactions within Module B that are required to generate and transmit its output to Module A are identified. Logic considerations predicted an internal cis-regulatory switch by which spatial control of endo16 expression is shifted from Module A (early) to Module B (later). This prediction was confirmed experimentally and a distinct set of interactions in Module B that mediate the switch function was demonstrated. The endo16 computational model now provides a detailed explanation of the information processing functions executed by the cis-regulatory system of this gene throughout embryogenesis. Early in development the gene participates in the specification events that define the endomesoderm; later it functions as a gut-specific differentiation gene. The cis-regulatory switch mediates this functional change.


Ral-binding protein 1 (RalBP1) is a putative effector protein of Ral and exhibits a GTPase activating activity for Rac and CDC42. To clarify the function of RalBP1, we isolated a novel protein that interacts with RalBP1 by yeast two-hybrid screening and designated it POB1 (partner of RalBP1). POB1 consists of 521 amino acids, shares a homology with Eps15, which has been identified as an epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor substrate, and has two proline-rich motifs. The POB1 mRNA was expressed in cerebrum, cerebellum, lung, kidney, and testis. POB1 interacted with RalBP1 in COS cells and the C-terminal region of POB1 was responsible for this interaction. The binding domain of RalBP1 to POB1 was distinct from its binding domain to Ral. Ral and POB1 simultaneously interacted with RalBP1 in COS cells. The binding of POB1 to RalBP1 did not affect the GTPase activating activity of RalBP1. Furthermore, POB1 bound to Grb2 but not to Nck or Crk. POB1 was tyrosine-phosphorylated in COS cells upon stimulation with EGF and made a complex with EGF receptor. These results suggest that RalBP1 makes a complex with POB1 and that this complex may provide a link between tyrosine kinase, Src homology 3 (SH3)-containing protein, and Ral.


Numerical simulation of deformation of a droplet in a stationary electric field is performed in the present research. The droplet is suspended in another immiscible fluid with the same density and viscosity but a different dielectric property (permittivity). By applying the electric field, the fluids are polarized that gives rise to mechanical forces and deformation. A two-way coupling occurs because of the forces exerted from the electric field on the droplet and the deformation of the droplet which changes the geometry for the electric field calculations. The droplet continues to deform until a force balance between the electric force, pressure and the surface tension is achieved and the droplet becomes a spheroid.
An electromechanical approach is adopted to solve the above mentioned problem, which includes solving the governing equations of both the electric and fluid fields, computing the coupling forces and capturing the movement of the interface of the droplet and the surrounding fluid. A one-fluid approach is followed, which enables us to solve one set of the governing equations for both the droplet and the surrounding fluid. The interface is represented as the zero iso-value of a level set function and an advection equation is solved to find the movement of the interface. A diffuse interface model is used to regularize the jump in the fluid and electric properties.
The governing equations of the electric and fluid fields and the level set advection equation are discretized using the Discontinuous Galerkin Finite Element method (DG) in the BoSSS code for solving conservation laws. The electric field is computed from the electric potential by considering the electrostatic equations. To find the electric potential, a Laplace equation is solved which has a jump in the permittivity at the interface. The Laplace equation is discretized using the interior penalty method (IP) which we modified for the case of high jumps in the permittivity. Assuming that the fluids are linear dielectric materials, the electric force is the dielectrophoretic force which is computed from the Kortweg-Helmholtz formula. This force is added as a body force to the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations, which are the governing equations for the fluid flow. Considering that there is no jump in the fluid properties, a single phase solver of the Navier-Stokes equations including the surface tension at the interface is developed. The surface tension force is added as a body force to the Navier-Stokes equations using the continuum surface force model (CSF). This model is known for producing a spurious velocity field. To decrease the spurious velocities, the surface tension term is calculated by using high degree polynomials for a precise calculation of the normal vector and curvature.
To solve the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations using the DG method, a projection scheme with a consistent Neumann pressure boundary condition is employed and the same polynomial order for the velocity and pressure (equal-order method) is applied. Using the above-mentioned pressure boundary condition leads to an optimal convergence rate of k + 1 in the L2-norm for the pressure, which is not reported from other DG solvers. However, using the DG method, we have observed that discontinuities in the solutions at the cell boundaries can affect the solution accuracy and even cause a numerical instability. These accuracy and stability issues occur when the derivatives of the solution are computed. Therefore a flux-based method for calculation of the derivatives of the flow variables was adopted. As the results showed considerably improved accuracy and stability characteristics, we used the proposed method also in solving the above mentioned coupled problem.


The commercial banks in Kenya are now operating in a more competitive business environment
than before, and the importance of strategic management cannot be overemphasized, because it
determines how an organization reacts to competition and other business environmental
challenges. The way a commercial bank reacts strategically, to this challenges will determine its
survival and even prosperity.
The purpose of this study was to find out the kind of challenges that the Kenyan commercial
banks face from competition. This study also documents the strategic responses that these banks
have put in place and how they have performed on the basis of these responses.
The study was conducted in Nairobi where all the commercial banks have their head offices. The
convenient or purposive sampling method was used in this study. Data for this study was
collected by means of questionnaires, observation and interviews. The quantitative data was
analyzed using descriptive statistics like the measures of central tendencies, frequencies and
tables and with the help of the Statistical Package of Social Sciences the analyzed data is
presented in charts, graphs and cross tabulations.
The findings of this study reveal the nature of challenges faced by the commercial banks in
Kenya as a result of competition. The study findings also indicate how these banks have
responded to these challenges and the success of these strategies.


The paper describes and analyzes the responses of insurance companies to global climate politics. It shows how these responses failed to live up to the initial optimism of environmentalists and commentators about the potential of the involvement of insurers in climate politics. It then attempts to explain why insurers have disappointed environmentalist expectation. It shows that part of this is due to constraints and opportunities within the insurance business itself. But it then shows how much of the reason is to do with a simplistic understanding by environmentalists of the power of insurers. Examining the political-economic contexts in which insurance companies operate provides a clearer picture as to the limits to the role insurers can play in mitigating global warming.


CASE. Jenny, a 4-year-old child adopted from an orphanage in St. Petersburg, Russia, at 6 months of age, is seen for an initial office visit by a new pediatrician. According to the parents, she received poor nutrition and limited stimulation in the orphanage setting. During her first several months after arrival in her new home, Jenny avoided the gaze of her parents and looked away when they attempted to engage her in play or participation in feeding. She did not demonstrate any preference for her parents for several months. She appeared to be quite aloof and solemn. She was easily frightened by certain visual and auditory stimuli, such as ceiling fans. By 1 year of age she spoke several words, followed simple directions, and walked. Jenny had difficulty tolerating many textures of foods. She often mouthed inedible objects during her second year of life and performed repetitive behaviors including dumping and filling containers. She was clumsy for her age. Her parents felt that she was on the fringe of the family. Jenny received occupational and speech and language therapy at a functional feeding program that addressed her food Intolerance and oral sensitivity. During her third year, defiance, noncompliance, and anger occurred frequently. She often placed herself in dangerous situations. She burned her hand and lower lip on a light bulb after being told to stay away from it. She frequently ate out of the garbage. Jenny was described as highly verbal and superficially charming. Jenny followed women other than her mother in public spaces and wanted to hold their hands and sit on their laps. She began play therapy at age 3 years, while her mother received individual counseling with another therapist because she was having difficulty bonding with Jenny and felt rejected. At age 4 years, Jenny is described as aloof and-often angry. She is extremely jealous of attention directed toward her 6- and 3-year-old brothers. Her mother feels she is stuck like glue to her. She will often talk nonstop and ask repetitive questions. Jenny has difficulty drawing a circle. She seems to be obsessed with the color purple, certain toys, and anything to do with The Llon King. She has been asked to leave every preschool and camp she has attended because of nonstop talking, severe noncompliance, and unacceptable behaviors such as constantly asking her peers, Do you poop in your pants? Recently, Jenny has performed more dangerous behaviors such as running into streets and climbing onto the roof from a window. She said to her mother, The cars will not kill me. She frequently imitates behaviors of the family cat and eats from the floor. Challenged by Jenny's background and current behaviors, her pediatrician attempts to understand Jenny's developmental course and develop a plan for effective interventions.


Background:
Annual reviews of people living with long-term conditions (LTCs) are mostly conducted by practice nurses (PNs), who focus on the physical needs of patients. The broader mental well-being and social needs of patients are also important if they are to live well. The Patient Centred Assessment Method (PCAM) is a new tool to help PNs conduct biopsychosocial assessments of patients' needs.

Research questions:
Is it feasible and acceptable to use the PCAM in primary care nurse-led reviews for those with LTCs? Is it feasible and acceptable to run a cluster randomised trial of the PCAM in primary care?

Methods:
Four practitioner and two patient focus groups explored the acceptability and implementation requirements of the PCAM, which was then tested in a feasibility cluster randomised controlled trial aiming to recruit eight general practitioner (GP) practices and 16 nurses. Baseline data collection was conducted with nurses prior to randomisation, with a cohort of 10 patients per nurse, including patient demographics, patient evaluation of consultation, patient-completed outcomes (measured via the Consultation and Relational Empathy, Patient Enablement Instrument, Warwick–Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale, General Health Questionnaire and the Short Form questionnaire-12 items) and nurse referrals/signposting to services. Patient follow-up questionnaires were completed at 8 weeks. Practices were then randomised to the PCAM intervention or care as usual (CAU). Data collection was repeated for a second cohort of patients. Fidelity was tested by comparing a sample of recorded consultations before and after PCAM training. Qualitative interviews were conducted with PCAM nurses and a sample of patients.

Results:
Approaches to 159 eligible practices resulted in the recruitment of six practices (10 nurses), with five practices (seven nurses) completing both data collection phases. Nurses collected baseline data on 113 patients, 71 of whom (62.8%) completed follow-up questionnaires. Five practices were randomised: three practices (six nurses) to the PCAM arm and two practices (four nurses) to the CAU arm. In phase 2, seven nurses collected data on 77 patients, of whom 40 (52%) completed follow-up. Only four PCAM nurses agreed to recording consultations, with five pre- and four post-PCAM recordings obtained. Post PCAM training, there was evidence of more attention being given to patients' mental well-being and social issues. The PCAM was fairly easily integrated into consultation, although some nurses reflected that this benefited from early support. Patients were not always aware of its use, but most were happy to have their needs assessed.

Limitations:
Recruitment of GP practices, and nurse recruitment and retention.

Conclusions:
The PCAM is feasible and acceptable for use by primary care nurses and may have potential for encouraging biopsychosocial assessment of patients. Efforts required to recruit and retain staff indicate that a full trial is not feasible or cost-effective at this time.

Future work:
The PCAM intervention warrants further exploration as an effective mechanism for improving care for people with LTCs; this could be conducted within an implementation study.

Trial registration:
Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN98973169.

Funding:
This project was funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Health Services and Delivery Research programme and will be published in full in Health Services and Delivery Research Vol. 6, No. 4. See the NIHR Journals Library website for further project information.


In 1502, the first African slaves were taken to Hispaniola. In 1888, Brazil became the last nation in the Western Hemisphere to outlaw slavery. For the nearly 400 years in between, slavery played a major role in linking the histories of Africa, North and South America, and Europe. Beginning with an overview of African slavery in the New World, Postma provides a detailed examination of five separate aspects of the phenomenon: the capture of slaves and the Middle Passage the identities of the enslaved and their lives after capture the economics of the slave trade the struggle to end slavery the legacy of the slave trade. Following these extensive analytical essays are biographies of important individuals - both black and white - in the history of the slave trade. Thirteen primary documents written by enslaved Africans and white officials, an annotated bibliography, and a timeline complete the book, making it a comprehensive and accessible introduction to the subject.


We constantly link different things together: new kids and their names, faces and voices, green eggs and ham. How does our brain achieve this? The purpose of this study was to understand how the brain creates these links. What happens in brain cells when we learn that two things (e.g., a new kid and her name) go together? In an experiment we asked human participants to learn to link different items together. As the participants learned these links, we found that nerve cells in their brains also linked these items together. These nerve cells were found in a region of the brain called the hippocampus. In this article, we will first explain how it is possible to listen to nerve cells in the human brain. Then we will show some examples of the responses of these nerve cells, and finally, how the cells can link different items together.


&NA; For this technology overview, the tools of evidence‐based medicine were used to summarize information on the indications, effectiveness, and failure rates of modern metal‐on‐metal hip resurfacing technology. The task was complicated by the fact that resurfacing arthroplasty is commonly offered only to a subset of patients who are candidates for total hip replacement, often prohibiting direct comparisons. Comprehensive literature searches were conducted to address four key questions addressing revision rates, patient characteristics, effectiveness of treatment, and whether improved technique, surgeon experience, and/or patient selection lead to improved outcomes. Despite data limitations, it is apparent that revision rates are higher after resurfacing than after total hip arthroplasty. Potential prognostic indicators did not yield a consistent predictor of patient‐oriented outcomes (eg, pain relief) for either resurfacing arthroplasty or total hip replacement. Because of differences between patients who received hip resurfacing and those who received total hip arthroplasty, the results of studies comparing these techniques cannot be interpreted. Finally, changes in technique and increased experience result in a decrease in revision rates and femoral neck fractures and improved pain and hip scores in resurfacing.


Urban regeneration (UR) projects encompass complex decision-making processes that usually comprise a great amount of information collected from numerous data sources which may be uncertain, inconsistent or incomplete. Many stakeholders and other actors provide subjective judgments that need to be considered throughout the decision process. To support the decision-making procedure while handling the large and complex quantitative data along with qualitative information, a belief rule-base inference methodology (RIMER) has been proposed to be used in this research. The initial finding of the research based on RIMER shows promising results in terms of flexibility, accuracy, and applicability based on some case studies relevant to urban regeneration decision making problems. Furthermore, most factors involved in regeneration projects (i.e. indicators or alternatives) are geographically referenced, making spatial component a key input in the decision making process. Although there is a substantial body of literature regarding the combination of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Decision Support Systems (DSS) to tackle spatial decision problems, there is still a lack of empirical and comparative studies able to measure in real terms the results and effects when using both GIS and DSS together against the use of DSS or GIS technologies alone. Therefore, this research proposes to include a spatial analysis along with the RIMER approach for comprehensive analysis of input indicators. To demonstrate so, this paper presents a comparative study developed using real data of the Greater Belfast Area (GBA). First, an approach of the UR decision problem from a RIMER-based DSS point of view shows in numerical terms the benefits of using spatial analysis for a further adjustment of DSSs. Then, an analysis is executed from an entirely GIS perspective, based on the recently proposed Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR) model. To finish off, the empirical comparative study of both approaches is then conducted. The promising results retrieved in this empirical study indicate that RIMER-based DSS can provide a well-established base to implement further research in combination with different GIS methods to effectively handle the UR decision problem from an IT perspective, compared with GWR model in terms of flexibility, interpretation, accuracy, and applicability.


In Sweden close to 500 people are killed and several thousands severely injured in traffic each year. This is one of the largest health problems for society in both Sweden and the whole world. In the cars of tomorrow will the main instrument panel and the centre console be screen-based instead of the current solution with "iron instruments" and other physical devices. This future driver environment opens for a flexible and situation-dependent usage of presentation resources. The purpose of this thesis is to explore these possibilities from a warning system perspective.The project had its main focus on designing warning system concepts using the HUD and vibrotactile information in a coordinated way based on established HMI principles. Another goal for this thesis work was to generate a functional concept for demonstration and evaluation in the virtual reality lab at the University of Linkoping.The method of realization was divided into three phases – information gathering, concept generation and implementation. These phases are commonly used in design projects. This way of work supplies structure to the project and makes it possible to achieve an iterative design process.The information gathering involved a thorough theoretical study of HMI, interface design and warning design. A state of the art investigation was then conducted to find out how the warning systems, relevant to this thesis, are presented today.The concept generation was divided into two parts – warning system design and visual design. The Warning system design concepts were based on different combinations from a morphologic matrix and relevant theory. Consideration was also taken to when the systems are likely to be activated and which modality, or modalities, that then was suitable to use. The visual design concepts were developed by using creative product development methods and the iterative Simulator-Based Design (SBD) theory.After concluding the concept generation was the visual design results given functionality by programming software. The visual warning system were then integrated in the simulator software and fully implemented in the simulator cockpit at the university.The implemented warning systems were then evaluated by a pilot study conducted in the simulator. Test persons were invited to the VR-lab and given an introduction to the warning systems. They were then asked to drive a predetermined route with a number of different warning system conditions. These test results were later statistically analyzed and evaluated.


Testing components, prototypes and products comprise essential, but time consuming activities throughout the product development process particularly for complex iteratively designed products. To reduce product development time, testing and design processes are often overlapped. A key research question is how this overlapping can be planned and managed to minimise risks and costs. The first part of this research study investigates how a case study company plans testing and design processes and how they manage these overlaps. The second part of the study proposes a significant modification to the existing process configuration for design and testing, which explicitly identifies virtual testing, that is an extension to Computer Aided Engineering which mirrors the testing process through product modelling and simulation, as a distinct and significant activity used to (a) enhance and (b) replace some physical tests. The analysis shows how virtual testing can mediate information flows between overlapping (re)design and physical tests. The effects of virtual testing to support overlap of test and (re)design is analysed for the development phases of diesel engine design at a case study company. We assess the costs and risks of overlaps and their amelioration through targeted virtual testing. Finally, using the analysis of the complex interactions between (re)design, physical and virtual testing, and the scope for replacing physical with virtual testing is examined.


Abstract We present an updated geospatial approach to estimation of earthquake‐induced liquefaction from globally available geospatial proxies. Our previous iteration of the geospatial liquefaction model was based on mapped liquefaction surface effects from four earthquakes in Christchurch, New Zealand, and Kobe, Japan, paired with geospatial explanatory variables including slope‐derived V S 30 , compound topographic index, and magnitude‐adjusted peak ground acceleration (PGA) from ShakeMap. The updated geospatial liquefaction model presented herein improves the performance and the generality of the model. The updates include (1) expanding the liquefaction database to 27 earthquake events across six countries, (2) addressing the sampling of nonliquefaction for incomplete liquefaction inventories, (3) testing interaction effects between explanatory variables, and (4) overall improving the model's performance. We inspected 14 geospatial proxies for soil density and soil saturation; the most promising of these are slope‐derived V S 30 , modeled water table depth, distance to coast, distance to river, distance to the closest water body, and precipitation. We found that peak ground velocity (PGV) performs better than PGA as the shaking intensity parameter. We present two models which offer improved performance over prior models. We evaluate model performance using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, and the Brier score. The best‐performing model in a coastal setting uses distance to the coast but is problematic for regions away from the coast. The second best model, using PGV, V S 30 , water table depth, distance to the closest water body, and precipitation, performs better in noncoastal regions and thus is the model we recommend for global implementation.


This paper studies three digital media development models in virtual world. We characterize the revenue mechanisms behind each model, by incorporating the concept of horizontal and vertical supply chain integration of digital media industry. We incorporate the core value of digital media development in the first model, which considers digital media as information goods. Pricing, quality differentiation, quantity discrimination, and content design combined determine the VW popularity and the financial performance. Based on the first model, the second model incorporates the advertising revenue. It becomes essential to optimize both information goods revenue and advertising revenue, while increasing one would decrease the other due to the traffic dynamics. Based on the first two models, the third model considers both vertical and horizontal supply chain integration in the digital media industry. In this model, we add one extra dimension of network externality that leads to better understanding of consumers, suppliers, and their mutual interest. Based on these three models, we suggest several strategic implications that facilitate operations, increase revenue, and enhance consumer experience, including strategic alliance, reduction of virtual-real world barriers, and tailored advertisement.


When magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) are used as a contrast agent for magnetic particle imaging (MPI), they are rapidly excreted during systemic circulation by the reticuloendothelial system such as Kupffer cells in the liver. Therefore, when considering clinical applications of MPI such as long-term monitoring of cardiovascular diseases, increasing the blood circulation time of MNPs by encapsulating the MNPs into actual cells such as red blood cells (RBCs) as a carrier may be practical. The purpose of this study was to create a biocompatible tracer for MPI by encapsulating MNPs (Resovist) into RBCs, and to investigate the effect of the encapsulating procedure on the properties of the RBCs loaded with MNPs (L-RBCs). MNPs were encapsulated into RBCs by the hypotonic dialysis method using a hypotonic buffer solution at three different osmotic pressures. Transmission (TEM) and scanning electron microscopic (SEM) images of the L-RBCs were obtained, and the saturation magnetic moment (Ms) was measured using vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM) . From the response to a permanent magnet, the findings on TEM images, and the Ms values measured by VSM, we confirmed that RBCs were successfully loaded with MNPs using the hypotonic dialysis method. When the osmotic pressure was 80 mOsm, MNPs were not retained sufficiently inside the RBCs but were adhered to the membrane surface (TEM images), and RBCs lost their biconcave disc shape and shrunk after resealing (SEM images). At 160 mOsm, the Ms value was much lower than those at 80 and 120 mOsm. At 120 mOsm, the shape of RBCs was preserved (SEM images) and the Ms value was the highest when 0.2 ml (5.6 mg of Fe) of Resovist was added to the dialysis tube for loading. In conclusion, we successfully encapsulated MNPs into RBCs using the hypotonic dialysis method. Our results suggest that an osmotic pressure of 120 mOsm is optimal for encapsulating MNPs into RBCs using the hypotonic dialysis method.