Current attempts to answer the questions of how learning can be nurtured within projects; and, how it can be shared within the supply chain make a conscious stance in support of one of two seemingly conflicting perspectives. These are; a first generation knowledge management systems perspective, or a second generation socialisation perspective. This study shrewdly identifies that to categorically anchor to simply one perspective is fundamentally flawed. It is a strategy which regards each as mutually exclusive and therefore negates the advantages of its opposition.
Each perspective is suited to differing needs. A first generation perspective satisfies the desire of organisations to create a tangible representation of their knowledge base. However, purely focusing on this need ignores the requirement of socialisation, which is essential for effective tacit knowledge transfer. This has astutely been identified as causing cycles of disillusionment due to its inevitable inability to perform effective knowledge sharing. In comparison, a purely second generation approach fails to satisfy the desire to produce a tangible resource base, which thus reduces the incentives for organisations to provide vital socialisation opportunities.
It has been widely acknowledged that learning within projects is needed to make strides towards continuous improvement. If this is not the case, the industry will continue to repeat flawed practices or continuously reinvent solutions unnecessarily. This is resulting in significant inefficiencies within the industry, reduced quality outputs and supplying reduced value. Furthermore, it is not simply the case that learning within individual phases of the construction lifecycle, or within organisations will realise these benefits. For true efficiency benefits to be realised, knowledge and learning from projects has to be shared throughout the supply chain.
This research s contribution has been established through the development of a feedback framework predominantly between construction and design teams throughout a project s lifecycle. The framework provides the capability to transfer lessons to not only individual organisations, but across organisational boundaries also. It seeks to improve internal knowledge management through incorporating critical facets such as live capture, multimedia formats and the ability to network with other knowledge owners/seekers. Accordingly, this project has made a significant theoretical contribution through identifying the ability and need to combine first and second generation knowledge management perspectives.


OBJECTIVES
Preterm deliveries represent still one of the most important problems in contemporary obstetrics. They are associated with prematurity and higher rate of perinatal mortality and morbidity. During the last few years, the role of C-reactive protein (CRP) in prediction of threatening preterm delivery was emphasized. CRP is produced mainly inside the liver as a response to acute and chronic inflammatory processes.

AIM
The aim of this study was to assess relations between C-reactive protein, oxytocinase, izooxytocinase and vaginal culture in prediction of preterm delivery.

METHODS
This study was performed in the years 2000-2004 in the Department of Septic Obstetrics and Gynecology of Collegium Medicum of the Jagiellonian University. Some 389 patients hospitalized because of threatening preterm delivery or preterm delivery in tractu were enrolled into the trial.

CONCLUSION
C-reactive protein is a useful marker of threatening preterm delivery, overtaking the results of vaginal culture. CAP1 and CAP2 are effective biochemical markers in pregnancy monitoring.


The Bush administration has asserted a stunning broad vision of executive authority under the Constitution. The expansive scope of Article II power extends to matters both foreign and domestic. It includes, for example, claims of inherent authority in connection with the "war on terror" as well as administrative agency preemption of state law. This Article does not address the legality of any of the Bush administration's claims of executive power. It operates on the assumption that they are at the constitutional envelope. Its focus is on the appropriate role of courts in response to such envelope-pushing constitutional claims. The Article describes a structural equilibrium approach for courts to follow. Under this approach, the judiciary should respond to a constitutional change by preserving the foundational principles on which the Constitution is based. As the Article describes, the three foundational principles are: (1) a commitment to separation of powers both vertically and horizontally; (2) the maintenance of a role for the people in governing; and (3) the preservation of government functionality. In order to apply the theory of structural equilibrium, the Article further describes the salient features of the Bush vision of Article II executive power. Using a number of contemporary examples, the Article outlines a core feature of the Bush vision and three sub-attributes. The core feature is a commitment to the unilateral exercise of power. The three sub-attributes are: (1) power is often exercised in secret; (2) intolerance to criticism; and (3) retribution against critics. The Article then applies the structural equilibrium approach to the particular constitutional vision of the Bush administration. It does so by considering the October 2005 Term of the United States Supreme Court. It does not purport that the Court actually used the structural equilibrium approach. Rather, it considers the Term as if the Court had done so. Along the way, it discusses a number of recent high profile decisions, including those involving military commissions, campaign finance reform laws, assisted suicide, and partisan redistricting. It concludes that the October 2005 would have looked different in important respects had the Court used the structural equilibrium approach as part of its decision-making calculus.


Malaysia's surprising fourteenth general election result in May 2018 was widely hailed as the advent of a seismic shift for press freedom in the country. The country's draconian media control armoury was often wantonly and oppressively applied over six decades under previous rule. Key actors from that era are  now presiding over bold reforms that have been promised by the new government. In keeping with its election promises, the new government sought to repeal the hastily and badly drafted Anti-Fake News Act 2018 (AFNA). The Attorney-General Tommy Thomas wrote scathingly before the Act was passed and before taking office as the new A-G:The draconian effect of the entire bill renders it unconstitutional…This is a disgraceful piece of legislation drafted by a desperate government determined to crush dissent and silence critics. The bill is so hastily and poorly drafted that it cannot under any circumstances be improved by amendment. Instead, it must be rejected outright. (Thomas, 2018)The repeal effort, however, failed and the Act remains technically on the books. This article examines the Act against a backdrop of global responses to the 'fake news' phenomenon; provides an overview of Malaysia's draconian armoury of laws that impinge on freedom of expression; discusses the fading optimism for proper media regulation reform in Malaysia; and concludes that meaningful media regulation reform must go beyond repealing AFNA.


Background: Poor quality of life, fractures and disability are the consequences of preventable osteoporosis. Objectives: The aims of this study were to validate and assess Osteoporosis Self-efficacy Scale (OSES-A) Arabic version among Iraqi general population. Methods: A cross-sectional study with a random cluster sampling method from the community was used. Forward–backward-forward translation method was used to translate the questionnaire from English to Arabic. Beside OSES-A, Osteoporosis Knowledge Tool (OKT) and Osteoporosis Health Belief Scale (OHBS) Arabic versions were used to assess osteoporosis preventive behaviours. Results: The results showed good face validity and reliability. The construct validity showed two factors which explain 80.86% of the variance. In addition, the result showed low self-efficacy score (658.43±222.014) with 83.33% were found to have low OSES-A level. There were significant associations between age, gender, and self-reported osteoporosis with OSES-A levels. In addition, there were significant differences between age, gender, marital status, family history of osteoporosis, self-reported osteoporosis and osteoporosis diagnosis or screening in relation to total OSES-A scores. Moreover, there were positive correlations between the OSES-A total score with total knowledge and health belief. Multivariate analysis revealed that OKT levels, OHBS levels, age and gender were predictors for OSES-A levels. Conclusion: This study showed good cultural adaptation and psychometric properties of OSES-A tool and could be used in any osteoprotective educational program.


Cell therapy using mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) is a powerful tool for the treatment of various diseases and injuries. Still, important limitations including the large amounts of cells required for application in vivo and the age-related decline in lifespan, proliferation, and potency may hinder the use of MSCs in patients. In this regard, gene therapy may offer strong approaches to optimize the use of MSCs for regenerative medicine. Diverse nonviral and viral gene vehicles have been manipulated to genetically modify MSCs, among which the highly effective and relatively safe recombinant adeno-associated viral (rAAV) vectors that emerged as the preferred gene delivery system to treat human disorders. Yet, clinical adaptation of such gene vehicles may be limited by several hurdles, including the possibility of dissemination to nontarget sites and the presence of immune and toxic responses in the host organism that may impair their therapeutic actions. The use of smart biomaterials acting as interfaces to enhance the temporal and spatial presentation of therapeutic agents in the target place and/or acting as scaffolding for MSC growth is an innovative, valuable approach to overcome these shortcomings that else restrain the efficacy of such potent cell populations. Here, we provide an overview on the most recent tissue engineering approaches based on the use of biomaterials acting as vehicles for rAAV vectors to target MSCs directly in the recipient (in vivo strategy) or as supportive matrices for rAAV-modified MSCs for indirect cell reimplantation (ex vivo strategy) as means to activate the reparative processes in tissues of the musculoskeletal system.


Title of dissertation: ELECTROMAGNETIC BANDGAP STRUCTURES FOR BROADBAND SWITCHING NOISE MITIGATION IN HIGH-SPEED PACKAGES Shahrooz Shahparnia, Doctor of Philosophy, 2005 Dissertation directed by: Professor Omar M. Ramahi Mechanical Engineering Department, Electrical and Computer Engineering Department For the past two decades, silicon-based complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology and circuits have been advancing along an exponential path of shrinking device dimensions, increasing density, increasing speed, and decreasing cost. Electronic design complexity is in constant acceleration and new designs have to incorporate new features, which inevitably will require faster processing time. In recent years this acceleration rate has drastically decreased because of various constraints, such as static power dissipation due to leakage current, the effect of wires and interconnects and the decreased immunity of modern devices to noise, interference and voltage fluctuations on their Power Distribution Network (PDN). Lowering the power supply voltages and hence the power consumption of a single transistor, has been possible due to the fact that these new technologies are able to provide smaller and faster transistors with lower threshold levels. The benefits associated with lowering the threshold levels of the transistors used in a given device comes at a high-price, specifically the decrease of immunity of such device to noise and fluctuations of the power supply voltage. The research work carried out in this dissertation, addresses the concept of embedding Electromagnetic Bandgap (EBG) structures in conventional power distribution networks in order to increase the immunity of the circuits that feed from such networks to noise and voltage fluctuations. Underlying theories of Embedded EBG (EEBG) structures and design methodologies are presented. Various design concepts, based on simulations, measurements and different modeling techniques developed during this research work are presented. The accuracy of these methods is analyzed by comparing results of these techniques with experimental results. Also, this work shows that EEBG structures are not only very effective in the suppression of switching noise in high-speed circuit but also they suppress Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) caused by such switching and they provide increased immunity for their PDN to external sources of noise. Finally new EEBG configurations, topologies and miniaturized structures are introduced that overcome the limitations of current switching noise mitigation techniques, including initial EEBG designs to provide immunity against high-bandwidth noise, voltage fluctuations and radiation, new EEBG configurations, topologies and miniaturized structures are introduced and their efficacy is demonstrated. The novel designs developed during this research provide noise mitigation over a wide range of frequencies, and also extends the suppression frequency range into the sub-gigahertz region, only using a single EBG design with smaller patches than those used in previous works.


Introduction: The use of cell phones is widespread and there are public concerns regarding its possible deleterious effects on human health especially on the pregnancy outcomes. In this study, structural changes of the placenta after applying the cell phone radiation were examined in the mice model. Materials and methods: For this work, 40 pregnant Balb/C mice were randomly allocated to one control and one experiment groups. The experimental animals were exposed to cell phone fields with a carrier frequency of 915 MHz, for 4 h a day continuously, during 5-17 days of gestation. On the 18 day of pregnancy, the half of each groups were sacrificed and placentas specimens were taken for histological studies. In the rest of animals, the neonates were counted and the offspring's survival rates were determined. Also, morphometrical aspects of the placentas were studied. Results: There were no morphometric as well as light microscopic changes in the placentas between two groups. Ultrastructural results of the treated group revealed a slight elevation in the number of intra cytoplasmic droplets in the labyrinth interhemal membrane. In addition, in the electromagnetic fields (EMFs) exposed mice, the nucleus of the cytotrophoblast cells occasionally was large in the size and irregular in the shape and also had compact nucleoli. Finally, the survival rate of the neonate was not significantly affected by cell phone exposition. Conclusion: according to the results of the present study, the cell phone radiation at 915 MHz may exert deleterious effects on the placenta in the mice model.


The present paper gives an overview of our recent research on the neurocognition of language acquisition. Our research aims to gain a more detailed understanding of the developmental stages of the language acquisition process and its underlying brain mechanisms. Here, we utilize the method of event-related brain potentials, which has revealed specific electrophysiological indices for various aspects of language processing in adults. These electrophysiological parameters can serve as templates to define the hallmarks of language acquisition. The research presented demonstrates that the method of event-related brain potentials is a powerful tool to investigate and monitor early stages of language acquisition and provides further insights into the neural correlates of language processing in infants and children.


Relying on something it calls "supervisory power" or "supervisory authority," the Supreme Court regularly prescribes rules of procedure and evidence for inferior courts. Both scholars and the Court have treated the Court's exercises of this authority as unexceptional exercises of the inherent authority that Article III grants every federal court to regulate procedure in the course of adjudication. Article III's grant of inherent authority, however, is conventionally understood as permitting a federal court to regulate its own proceedings. When the Supreme Court exercises supervisory power, it regulates the proceedings of other federal courts. More than a reference to every court's inherent authority, therefore, is required to justify the Court's action. If the Supreme Court possesses a unique ability to regulate federal court procedure, it must be because of some unique attribute of the Supreme Court. This Article explores a justification that may well animate the Court's assertions of supervisory power: the notion that the Court possesses supervisory power by virtue of its constitutional supremacy. Analyzing this justification requires pursuit of two questions that are wholly unexplored in the literature and case law. Does Article III's distinction between supreme and inferior courts operate only as a limit on the way that Congress can structure the judicial department, or does it also operate as a source of inherent authority for the Supreme Court? And assuming that the Court's supremacy grants it inherent authority over inferior courts, is supervisory power over procedure part of the authority granted?


This short review tells the story of how Reversed Chloroquine drugs (RCQs) were developed. These are hybrid molecules, made by combining the quinoline nucleus from chloroquine (CQ) with moieties which are designed to inhibit efflux via known transporters in the membrane of the digestive vacuole of the malaria parasite. The resulting RCQ drugs can have potencies exceeding that of CQ, while at the same time having physical chemical characteristics that may make them favorable as partner drugs in combination therapies. The need for such novel antimalarial drugs will continue for the foreseeable future.


Restoring Justice: An Introduction to Restorative Justice offers a clear and convincing explanation of restorative justice, a movement within criminal justice with growing worldwide influence. It explores the broad appeal of this new vision and offers a brief history of its development. The book presents a theoretical foundation for the principles and values of restorative justice and develops its four cornerpost ideas of encounter, amends, inclusion and reintegration. After exploring how restorative justice ideas and values may be integrated into policy and practice, it presents a series of key issues commonly raised about restorative justice, summarizing various perspectives on each. * Van Ness and Strong are renowned scholars in the field of restorative justice.* Appendices include a case study to help illustrate the concepts of the text and internet resources on topics in restorative justice.


The picture on disparities in productivity growth and in unemployment across European regions reveals the existence of a slow and not very systematic convergence of labor productivity toward a common level, and of an even more uncertain convergence of unemployment rates. This paper uses a unified framework to study both phenomena. We adopt a three-sector perspective (agriculture, industry and services) to assess whether sectoral dynamics helps explaining the observed heterogeneity in the growth and employment regional performances. The main theoretical hypotheses upon which our empirical investigation is based are obtained by models on the dual-economy (e.g. Mas Colell and Razin 1973), where predictions on how out-migration from agriculture can generate convergence are formulated; and by Baumol (1967), where the role of an expansion of services on aggregate growth is studied. Part of our evidence is based on the use of cluster analysis to identify subsets of regions homogeneous in terms of variables such as sectoral dynamics, labor market dynamics, and overall productivity growth. The results are largely consistent with the adopted theoretical framework. Regions that start from a low agricultural share are the richest and grow relatively slowly; regions that start from very high agricultural shares are characterized by a fast decline of that share and by higher than average growth rates; they also show a limited decline in their employment rates. Regions specialized in service activities show a particularly slow rate of productivity growth and a rising employment rate. More generally, we find a large body of evidence suggesting that convergence in aggregate productivity is strongly associated with out-migration from agriculture, and that the magnitude of the impact of the latter on aggregate regional growth depends significantly on which sector absorbs the migrating workers.


Ocular infection by Chlamydia trachomatis (Ct) results in trachoma, the leading infectious cause of blindness. Infection clears naturally, but repeated exposure in endemic areas and resulting inflammation promote tissue damage leading eventually to blinding sequelae. Antibiotic treatment as part of community-based intervention reduces prevalence of infection and disease but rarely eliminates the problem completely and progression to scarring and blindness does still occur. Sixty years of vaccine trials have produced variable results therefore new candidate antigens and better understanding of the underlying causes of infection and disease are required.
Serum samples from trachoma-endemic communities in The Gambia were tested against the arrayed Ct proteome to identify antibody responses associated with protection from infection and from scarring disease. More focussed global antibody profiles were associated with partial immunity to infection. Several antibody targets were identified as individually associated with infection and disease outcome. Clinical Ct isolates collected from Guinea-Bissau were screened for evidence of natural selection to identify further immune targets and to validate those discovered through serological techniques. Evidence of positive selection was found for known Ct virulence factors, there was little evidence of balancing selection. Antibody targets associated with susceptibility to infection and scarring had evidence of purifying selection. One of the Ct antigens, CT442, identified as being an immune target and under natural selection was characterised further using cell-culture models. It was localised to the inclusion membrane through immunofluorescence microscopy, the primary point of contact with the host, and potentially interacted with pathways involved in intracellular vesicular trafficking based on interacting proteins identified through mass spectrometry.
Ct infection is shown to stimulate a broad, polyclonal antibody response, individuals with more focussed responses are better protected from persistent infection and scarring progression. Purifying selection in antibody targets which associate with poor resolution of infection suggests two possible hypotheses for Ct evasion of immune responses. The decoy hypothesis, in which Ct actively promotes immune responses against irrelevant, decoy antigens to divert antibody responses away from protective antigens, and the blocking hypothesis, in which antibodies against certain Ct surface antigens block the binding of neutralising antibodies. Evidence of selection in CT442 show it is important but unlikely essential for Ct survival, the functions that are driving this evolution require further study.


Disorders of consciousness (DOC) is a consequence of severe brain injuries. DOC diagnosis is quite challenging because it may require patient collaboration. Investigations of brain activity in resting conditions propose that healthy brain is organized into large-scale resting state networks (RSNs) of sensory/cognitive relevance. The complete set of RSN together with their corresponding interaction induce a functional network of brain connectivity (FNC). Recently, the connectivity pattern between pairs of RSNs have been explored as biomarker of loss of consciousness. The role of this FNC in the DOC conditions remains poorly understood. In this work, we propose to use a network analysis method to explore complex properties of the functional brain network induced by the connectivity among RSNs. In particular, we aim to characterize the communication quality among network nodes, which have been suggested to be linked to altered states of consciousness. The proposed approach was evaluated on a population of 27 healthy controls and 49 subjects with DOC conditions. fMRI data was obtained and processed for each subject to built a FNC at individual level. The communication quality among network nodes was quantified by using global efficiency, average characteristic path, diameter, radius, average strength and average clustering coefficient. Our results suggests that the information efficiency transfer at the global level decrease with the level the severity of the loss of consciousness condition. These results highlight the importance of graph based features to characterize brain complexity, and in particular, complex phenomena as consciousness emergence. In addition, our results can be potentially used in the development of novel methods to support diagnosis of patients with DOC conditions.


In her review on Nicholas Wapshott's book Keynes and Hayek (see Botos, 2016), Katalin Botos elaborates on her thoughts regarding the two economists as the subject of Wapshott's work and discusses one of the key economic policy issues associated with their conceptual framework (Botos, 2016). In this article I propose a few clarifications and may even challenge certain issues, while also taking a stand on the fundamental issue. I attempt to argue that the market versus state debate has long been resolved in practice, that is, with respect to economic policy; indeed, the issue may never even have been on the agenda. At the same time, I also try to argue that economists wary of government intervention will always be present in economic thinking. The reasons behind this should be sought quite simply in the development of economics, although they are not entirely independent of the Mont Pelerin Society either.


In formulating a response to I the risk of future human influence on the climate, it is important to understand what has happened in the recent past. Has the climate actually been changing? And if so, how do we know if we are causing it? These two simple questions raise some of the most contentious and complicated topics in the whole climate change debate: the detection and attribution of change. To introduce this complex topic, a look at a more familiar problem may be useful. Suppose you step onto your bathroom scale some morning and look down to find the number is one pound higher than you expected. You then call out, "Honey; I'm gaining weight. I've been eating too much!" What does it take to reach such a conclusion with any degree of confidence? First, how do you know your weight is actually higher? You may suspect that the accuracy of your bathroom scale is not that great: you paid only $19.95 for it. You have also observed that readings on your health club scale differ from those at home. So there is error in the measurement itself: you can detect your weight increase only with some error. Thus informed, you might say, "There is a 90 percent probability that my weight is between 0.8 and 1.2 pounds higher than the last time I looked!" Second, does this measurement indicate a change that might have some underlying cause, like eating too much? Here another complexity enters: your body weight may go up and down by amounts comparable to your observed gain this day regardless of what you eat, in response to changes in temperature and humidity or your psychological state--perhaps your boss is on vacation for the month. If the magnitude of this natural variability is similar to the change you are seeing on the bathroom scale, you should be cautious when saying that you have detected something significant. You have a problem of sorting the "signal" of a significant change in your body, perhaps attributable to food intake, from the "noise" of its natural fluctuations. So a still more accurate statement might be, "There is a 70 percent probability that my weight has gone up between 0.8 and 1.2 pounds for some reason other than natural variability." The third question that arises is, why the apparent change? Weight gain does have a basis in physiology; and this knowledge may be bolstered by past experience and observation of others. But the relationship cannot be stated precisely because it depends on many factors, such as adjustments in metabolism and amount of physical activity, that are poorly understood. This gives rise to a fourth question, how accurately have you recorded or recalled your food intake, physical activity level, and other factors that you know affect your weight? With this uncertainty about the relationship of food intake to weight, the most that can be said with scientific accuracy about attribution may be something like, "There is a 90 percent chance that at least one-half of the increase shown on this scale is due to my eating too much." Or, where formal analysis is missing, "Honey, the preponderance of the evidence suggests that I'm eating too much." To summarize, detection of weight gain and its attribution to increased food intake involves four elements: * An estimate of the weight change and the potential for error in measuring it, * Knowledge of the natural variability in your body weight, * An understanding of the mechanisms by which body weight responds to food intake and other factors, and a model of the relationships, and * A record of food intake and understanding of its accuracy. Detection and Attribution Now consider the global climate system. We have only imperfect measurements of how climate has changed over past decades, and our understanding of patterns of natural climate variability is limited. Moreover, our models of the interacting chemistry; physics, and biology of the global system are as yet incomplete, and we do not have an accurate inventory of past changes in factors, human and natural, that could have altered the Earth's radiation balance, the so-called radiative forcing. …


The study aims to analyze the influence of feed given (rice straw) of methane gas generated from the digestion occurs in the rumen, production and quality of milk produced, and the influence of methane gas generated on the production and quality of milk produced. Materials used is 12 tail of dairy cow FH (Friesian Holland) inlactation 2 – 4 at KUNAK, rice straw and elephant grass feed, concentrates, pulp, animal feces, 500 ml fresh milk samples of each dairy cattle, and others. Variables measured was feed intake and digestibility,production of methane gas, as well as the production and quality of milk. The data was processed with SPSS using random design complete with 3 treatments, each 4 dairy cattle. The results showed that the average feed intake and digestibility was found highest on treatment by rice straw feed, production of methane gas generated is also the highest of 6601.90 KJ/d due to high crude fiber content, but most milk production low at 10.06 l / head / day because it is influenced bymethane gas generated on the production.On average the quality of milk in rice straw feeding treatment was higher than other treatments.


The class of threshold functions is known to be characterizable by functional equations or, equivalently, by pairs of relations, which are called relational constraints. It was shown by Hellerstein that this class cannot be characterized by a finite number of such objects. In this paper, we investigate classes of threshold functions which arise as intersections of the class of all threshold functions with clones of Boolean functions, and provide a complete classification of such intersections in respect to whether they have finite characterizations. Moreover, we provide a characterizing set of relational constraints for each class of threshold functions arising in this way.


In response to changing demographics and cultural shifts in the U.S. population, the Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture has initiated a range of "culturally transforming" management practices and priorities aimed at better reflecting both the current and future U.S. population (USDA 2011). This makeover also calls attention to the various publics served by the Forest Service and questions whether the Agency's services and programming are reasonably accessible by racial and ethnic minority populations within the U.S. populace. Although a priority for upper level management, the actual implementation of recreation visitor services may be difficult to achieve given competing management demands. The present study is an effort to generate greater understanding of the priority given to visitor diversity by forest managers in two of the Forest Service's most racially and ethnically diverse regions: the 13 Southern States (not including Puerto Rico) that compose Region 8, and Region 5 (California only). Importantly, we want to understand better what this emphasis on visitor diversity means from the perspective of National Forest recreation managers. We identify management priorities and challenges facing recreation managers in their attempts to connect with (i.e., outreach and/or engage) and understand culturally and ethnically diverse visitors. Results indicate that managers in both regions consider visitor diversity important, but fiscal constraints and understaffing inhibit more targeted programming. As expected, results indicate more programming aimed at diverse recreation visitors in Region 5 compared to Region 8, although racial, ethnic, and, increasingly, cultural diversity are prevalent in a number of key areas adjacent to National Forest lands in the South.


This study, based on Health Belief Model (HBM) and Protective Action Decision model (PADM), aims to examine public risk perceptions and their response to governmental-advised protective measures during pandemic influenza (H7N9) emergency in China. Data were collected during the month of July 2013 by personally handing over the questionnaires to inhabitants and residents in Hefei, Huainan, Huaibei, Suzhou, Bozhou and Guangde city of province Anhui in China. The results indicate that sharing a restroom with the patient received the highest hazardous rating of likelihood of getting infected, rather than touching the birds and animals. Individual's compliance with recommended behavior was identified, and assessed by the ratings on the six hazard-related and resource-related attributes of seven protective actions. The profiles of the information sources demonstrate that local health department personnel, provincial or national public health department personnel were high in protection responsibility, expertise and trustworthiness. People are more likely to comply with the recommended behavior from these sources. In addition, since the females and the people with past experience of taking protective actions tend to comply with protective recommendations, it's very essential for local officials to adopting audience segmentation strategies during H7N9 emergency.


OBJECTIVEL5-S1 stand-alone anterior lumbar interbody fusion (ALIF) is a reliable technique to treat symptomatic degenerative disc disease but remains controversial for treatment of isthmic spondylolisthesis. In the present study the authors aimed to identify risk factors of instrumentation failure and pseudarthrosis after stand-alone L5-S1 ALIF and to evaluate whether instrumentation failure influenced the rate of fusion.METHODSThe study included 64 patients (22 [34.4%] male and 42 [65.6%] female, mean age 46.4 years [range 21-65 years]) undergoing stand-alone L5-S1 ALIF using radiolucent anterior cages with Vertebridge plating fixation in each vertebral endplate. Clinical and radiographic data were reviewed, including age, sex, pelvic parameters, segmental sagittal angle (SSA), C7/sacro-femoral distance (SFD) ratio, C7 sagittal tilt, lumbar lordosis (LL), segmental LL, percentage of L5 slippage, L5-S1 disc angle, and posterior disc height ratio. Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to identify risk factors of instrumentation failure and pseudarthrosis.RESULTSAt a mean follow-up of 15.9 months (range 6.6-27.4 months), fusion had occurred in 57 patients (89.1%). Instrumentation failure was found in 12 patients (18.8%) and pseudarthrosis in 7 patients (10.9%). The following parameters influenced the occurrence of instrumentation failure: presence of isthmic spondylolisthesis (p < 0.001), spondylolisthesis grade (p < 0.001), use of an iliac crest bone autograft (p = 0.04), cage height (p = 0.03), pelvic incidence (PI) (p < 0.001), sacral slope (SS) (p < 0.001), SSA (p = 0.003), and LL (p < 0.001). Instrumentation failure was statistically linked to the occurrence of L5-S1 pseudarthrosis (p < 0.001). On multivariate analysis, no risk factors were found.CONCLUSIONSL5-S1 isthmic spondylolisthesis and high PI seem to be risk factors for instrumentation failure in case of stand-alone L5-S1 ALIF, findings that support the necessity of adding percutaneous posterior pedicle screw instrumentation in these cases.


This paper presents a genealogy of "art mod" (artistic videogame modification) definitions and frameworks. Such frameworks serve, either intentionally or unintentionally, to establish modding within a tradition of analysis and critique: whether participatory design, alternative media, folk art, and/or fine art. By situating the definition and history of art mods within a particular discourse, researchers construct the ground from which to make arguments towards organizing the reception and critique of these works. Such arguments include whether mods in general (and art mods in particular) are inherently political or banal (even boring), whether these works speak back at all to games themselves (and whether they should), whether these works are powerful and disruptive; or compromised (by virtue of their parasitic position), and as a result marginal. A genealogy of art mod frameworks highlights the boundary politics of the critique of art mods, and the problem of presenting transparent interpretive lenses in an interdisciplinary field such as game studies.


Growing global commitments to open learning through the use of Open Educational Resources (OERs) are accompanied by concerns over what "to do" with that learning when learners present it to traditional institutions for assessment and accreditation. This paper proposes that established RPL (recognizing prior learning) protocols, in place at many institutions worldwide, can offer a pedagogically sound framework that supports the spirit of open learning and respects the diversity of learners' efforts.


Stevenson (1983) holds that entrepreneurial management, defined as a set of opportunity-based man-agement practices, can help firms remain vital and contribute to firm and societal level value creation. While his conceptualization has received much attention, little progress has been made because of a lack of empirical tools to examine his propositions. This article seeks to resolve this by describing a new instrument that was developed specifically for operationalizing Stevenson's conceptualization. After two pre-tests, the instrument was tested full scale on a very large (1200+ cases) stratified random sample of firms with different size, governance struc-ture, and industry affiliation. The results show that both in the full sample and in various sub-samples it was pos-sible to identify six sub-dimensions with high discriminant validity and moderate to high reliability, which rep-resent dimensions of Stevenson's theoretical reasoning. We label these Strategic Orientation, Resource Orienta-tion, Management Structure, Reward Philosophy, Growth Orientation and Entrepreneurial Culture. We were further able to show that these dimensions only partly overlap with 'Entrepreneurial Orientation', the hitherto best established empirical instrument for assessing a firm's degree of entrepreneurship. Our instrument should open up opportunities for researchers to further evaluate entrepreneurship in existing firms.


Question answering requires close attention to the common ground to determine what the questioner wants to know. Because attentiveness to others is more likely to be a self-defining goal when the self is thought of as interdependent with others rather than independent of others, we predicted that self-construal influences attentiveness to the common ground. In Experiment 1, participants' temporary self-construal was manipulated through a priming technique. As predicted, interdependence-primed participants were more likely than independence-primed participants to take the recipient's knowledge into account and avoided providing redundant information in a self-administered questionnaire. Drawing on chronic differences in self-construal, Experiment 2 replicated these findings with participants from independent (Germany) and interdependent (China) cultures. Throughout, participants' differential attentiveness to the common ground resulted in differential question order effects, raising important methodological issues for cross-cultural research.


Background: The way doctors communicate with their patients has basic effects on patient outcomes. The aim of this study was to use a rating scale based on Calgary-Cambridge guide for evaluating doctor and patient communication skills.
Methods: This was a cross-sectional performance-based assessment study, done during 2016-2017 in Shiraz Medical School. This project was performed on 125 last year medical students (Interns). An observational rating scale was used based on Calgary-Cambridge guide to medical interview. The validity and reliability of the rating scale was determined in our previous study. The researcher observed the interns' behavior and scored the scale based on the performance of each intern. The scores of each item in the rating scale were from 1 (very weak) to 5 (excellent).
Results: Of the 128 interns who were included in the study, 81 (63%) were women and 47 (37%) were men. The general communication skill score between doctors and patients in this study was 3.18 out of 5. The level of communication skills of the female interns was higher than the male interns. This difference was statistically significant (P<0001). The highest average communication skill between the doctor and the patient was in the ward with low crowding. This difference was statistically significant (P<0001).
Discussion: The mean communication skills score in this study showed that communication skills training was insufficient and should be emphasized more. Medical students' preparation in communication skills must put emphasis on identifying opportunities to advance communication skills that improve their future patient experience. It is necessary to have emphasis on communication skills training in the core curriculum.


With the wide availability, high information content, and suitability for human environments of low-cost color cameras, machine vision is an appealing sensor for many robot platforms. For researchers interested in autonomous robot teams operating in highly dynamic environments performing complex tasks, such as robot soccer, fast colorbased object recognition is very desirable. Indeed, there are a number of existing algorithms that have been developed within the community to achieve this goal. Many of these algorithms, however, do not adapt for variation in lighting intensity, thereby limiting their use to statically and uniformly lit indoor environments. In this paper, we present a new technique for color object recognition that can adapt to changes in illumination but remains computationally efficient. We present empirical results demonstrating the performance of our technique for both indoor and outdoor environments on a robot platform performing tasks drawn from the robot soccer domain. Additionally, we compare the computational speed of our new approach against CMVision, a fast opensource color segmentation library. Our performance results show that our technique is able to adapt to lighting variations without requiring significant additional CPU resources. Index Terms – Robot vision, adaptation, object recognition.


In this paper, we consider online F-measure optimization (OFO). Unlike traditional performance metrics (e.g., classification error rate), F-measure is non-decomposable over training examples and is a non-convex function of model parameters, making it much more difficult to be optimized in an online fashion. Most existing results of OFO usually suffer from high memory/computational costs and/or lack statistical consistency guarantee for optimizing F-measure at the population level. To advance OFO, we propose an efficient online algorithm based on simultaneously learning a posterior probability of class and learning an optimal threshold by minimizing a stochastic strongly convex function with unknown strong convexity parameter. A key component of the proposed method is a novel stochastic algorithm with low memory and computational costs, which can enjoy a convergence rate of O(1/√n) for learning the optimal threshold under a mild condition on the convergence of the posterior probability, where n is the number of processed examples. It is provably faster than its predecessor based on a heuristic for updating the threshold. The experiments verify the efficiency of the proposed algorithm in comparison with state-of-the-art OFO algorithms.


Variations in the annual mean of the galactic cosmic ray flux (GCR) are compared with annual variations in the most common meteorological variables: temperature, mean sea-level barometric pressure, and precipitation statistics. A multiple regression analysis was used to explore the potential for a GCR response on timescales longer than a year and to identify 'fingerprint' patterns in time and space associated with GCR as well as greenhouse gas (GHG) concentrations and the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO). The response pattern associated with GCR consisted of a negative temperature anomaly that was limited to parts of eastern Europe, and a weak anomaly in the sea-level pressure (SLP), but coincided with higher pressure over the Norwegian Sea. It had a similarity to the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) in the northern hemisphere and a wave train in the southern hemisphere. A set of Monte Carlo simulations nevertheless indicated that the weak amplitude of the global mean temperature response associated with GCR could easily be due to chance (p-value = 0.6), and there has been no trend in the GCR. Hence, there is little empirical evidence that links GCR to the recent global warming.


A number of prominent political philosophers, including Will Kymlicka and Joseph Carens, have suggested that one reason for limiting immigration is to protect culture. I situate this claim in the context of liberal nation-building and suggest that the arguments for the protection of culture are often vague, confused or tend to conflict with liberal commitments. When clear, they gain their plausibility from other concerns (e.g., self-defense), not cultural protection. Finally, given plausible empirical assumptions, the dangers to societal culture are considerably exaggerated and provide little reason for preventing immigration. I then briefly consider the case of general culture and whether there are some grounds to limit immigration to protect it, using the example of Iceland and aboriginal cultures to situate my arguments. Once again, I conclude that the appeal to culture to limit immigration is weak and philosophers searching for arguments against open borders should turn elsewhere.


Background Almost 30% of children in Southern Africa are HIV exposed but uninfected (HEU) and experience exposures that could increase vulnerability to infectious diseases compared to HIV unexposed (HU) children. The mechanisms of HEU infant vulnerability remain ill-defined. This review seeks to appraise the existing clinical evidence of the pattern of HEU infant infectious morbidity to aid understanding of the potential mechanism of susceptibility. Methods A systematic search was conducted of scientific literature databases and conference proceedings up to December 2015 for studies comparing adequately defined HEU (in whom HIV-infection had been excluded through age-appropriate testing) and HU infants for all-cause mortality, all-cause hospitalization, or an infection-related morbidity. The systematic review was complemented by a narrative review of additional studies detailing the pattern of infectious morbidity experienced by HEU children without comparison to HU children or without conclusive exclusion of HIV-infection in HIV-exposed infants. Results Only 3 of 22 eligible identified studies were designed to primarily compare HEU and HU infants for infectious morbidity. Fourteen were conducted prior to 2009 in the context of limited antiretroviral interventions. Three patterns emerge: (1) causes of morbidity and mortality in HEU infants are consistent with the common causes of childhood morbidity and mortality (pneumonia, diarrheal disease, and bacterial sepsis) but occur with greater severity in HEU infants resulting in higher mortality, more frequent hospitalization, and more severe manifestations of disease; (2) the greatest relative difference between HEU and HU infants in morbidity and mortality occurs beyond the neonatal period, during mid-infancy, having waned by the second year of life; and (3) HEU infants are at greater risk than HU infants for invasive streptococcal infections specifically Group B Streptococcus and Streptococcus pneumonia. Conclusion To definitively understand HEU infant infectious morbidity risk, substantially larger prospective studies with appropriate HU infant comparison groups are necessary. HEU children would benefit from collaboration among researchers to achieve the quality of evidence required to improve HEU infant outcomes globally. HEU infant health and well-being, beyond avoiding HIV-infection, deserves a more prominent position in the local and international HIV research agendas.


The present paper examines Frege's notion of judgement, particularly the relation between judgement and truth and the possibility of false judgements. In the first section I will argue that the performance of a judgement consists neither in predicating truth nor in referring to the True; nor do we judge in thinking the Fregean sense of the word "true" in addition to a thought. The second section discusses two problems arising from Frege's standard definition of judgement as acknowledging the truth of a thought. First, I shall argue that judgements do not imply truth; i.e. Frege's use of "acknowledge" is not factive. Second, judgements are not comprised of an act of merely entertaining a thought and an act of acknowledging its truth; i.e. judgements are not cumulative. Rather, a judgement is one single act of acknowledging a thought as true or thinking truly. For this reason, the last section offers a new interpretation which takes Frege's adverbial definition very serious. I will show that adverbialism with re- gards to judgements has no factive reading and allows for the normativity of truth. Hence, the adverbial theory of judgement fits logical inferences as well as spontaneous judgements.


ABSTRACT: Background: Parkinson's disease (PD) patients frequently report a family history of PD and this may provide etiological clues to PD. It has also been suggested that a report of a negative family history is reliable. We studied the prevalence of PD in relatives of PD patients to assess the reliability of family history and to evaluate possible explanations of "familial PD"(fPD). Methods: 81 of 650 (12.5%) PD probands (all PD patients seen at clinic in 4 years) reported a positive family history of PD. Each fPD proband was matched with non-familial PD (nfPD) proband by gender and year of birth. Screening and follow-up questionnaires were mailed to relatives to obtain information concerning pedigree and presence of neurodegenerative disease. Available family members (regardless of disease status) were examined. Results: On examination, 8 persons, said to be "normal" by probands, relatives and themselves, had definite or possible PD (5 fPD, 3 nfPD). The prevalence rate of PD among first and second degree living relatives of probands varied significantly between fPD and nfPD groups (6269/100 000 versus 1190/100 000; p < 0.001). The weighted prevalence (taking into account the proportions of fPD and nfPD within the clinic) was 1822/100 000, a value more than 5 times higher than reported prevalence rates of PD in the general population (p < 0.001). The prevalence rate was greater in first degree relatives than second degree. Conclusions: "Familial parkinsonism" cannot be explained merely by size of or advanced age within families. Significant numbers of previously unrecognized PD patients may be identified despite a "negative" family history. That is, the patient's report of an absence of familial parkinsonism is frequently inaccurate. The prevalence rate in relatives of PD patients appears to be higher than the general population – regardless of the family history reported by a PD patient. We believe our study suggests that genetic influences or early life environmental exposures are likely to be of etiological importance in PD.


0. Introduction The last five or six years have seen a substantial change in the nature of research into phonological theory. This change has been marked by the development of several new theoretical frameworks, for which we can use the somewhat awkward and misleading term "nonlinear phonology". In this short essay, I hope to give an introduction to the various ideas underlying nonlinear phonology, as well as to provide an outline of the mechanics of formal analy-sis under this rubric. Because of rigid constraints of space, I cannot do justice to every viewpoint, nor can I present full-fledged arguments. But I do try to provide something of a retro-spective on what has already been achieved and the reasons behind it, and I offer a lengthy bibliography to those whose interest is stimulated by this survey. The structure of this presentation is as follows. In the first section I describe the basic notions of the theory in Chomsky and Halle (1968), particularly those less well-known features that are essential to understanding the subsequent development of non-linear phonology. In the following sections I characterize the two most important and extensive such nonlinear theories, the metrical and the autosegmental, including the topic of syllable structure in the former. The concluding section deals with a recent area of research, the unification of the autosegmental and metrical theories.


The Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE) has built the largest moderately high-resolution (R ≈ 22,500) spectroscopic map of the stars across the Milky Way, and including dust-obscured areas. The APOGEE Stellar Parameter and Chemical Abundances Pipeline (ASPCAP) is the software developed for the automated analysis of these spectra. ASPCAP determines atmospheric parameters and chemical abundances from observed spectra by comparing observed spectra to libraries of theoretical spectra, using χ2 minimization in a multidimensional parameter space. The package consists of a fortran90 code that does the actual minimization and a wrapper IDL code for book-keeping and data handling. This paper explains in detail the ASPCAP components and functionality, and presents results from a number of tests designed to check its performance. ASPCAP provides stellar effective temperatures, surface gravities, and metallicities precise to 2%, 0.1 dex, and 0.05 dex, respectively, for most APOGEE stars, which are predominantly giants. It also provides abundances for up to 15 chemical elements with various levels of precision, typically under 0.1 dex. The final data release (DR12) of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey III contains an APOGEE database of more than 150,000 stars. ASPCAP development continues in the SDSS-IV APOGEE-2 survey.


Abstract: We studied the effect of climate on the plant-pollinator communities in the West Indies. We constructed plots of 200 m × 5 m in two distinct habitats on the islands of Dominica, Grenada and Puerto Rico (total of six plots) and recorded visitors to all plant species in flower. In total we recorded 447 interactions among 144 plants and 226 pollinator species. Specifically we describe how rainfall and temperature affect proportional richness and importance of the different pollinator functional groups. We used three measures of pollinator importance: number of interactions, number of plant species visited and betweenness centrality. Overall rainfall explained most of the variation in pollinator richness and relative importance. Bird pollination tended to increase with rainfall, although not significantly, whereas insects were significantly negatively affected by rainfall. However, the response among insect groups was more complex; bees were strongly negatively affected by rainfall, whereas dipterans showed similar trends to birds. Bird, bee and dipteran variation along the climate gradient can be largely explained by their physiological capabilities to respond to rainfall and temperature, but the effect of climate on other insect pollinator groups was more obscure. This study contributes to the understanding of how climate may affect neotropical plant-pollinator communities.


Fitness center activities have gained popularity. One central role fitness staff members have is to help participants to become or maintain health and fitness. In recent years, a new phenomenon – orthorexia nervosa, which M.D. Bratman coined in the late 1990s – has emerged. He termed orthorexia as "a fixation on eating healthy food". Research has mentioned that participants in sports and fitness activities may be at higher risk of becoming orthorexic. Since the late 1990s, orthorexia has been noticed, also in Swedish newspaper articles. In so doing, the 'condition' has evolved to include fanatic exercise and eating behaviours. Fitness professionals might thus work with individuals that are considered to suffering from orthorexia. The purpose of this presentation is to elucidate and problematize ethical issues that are raised during the research that deals with personal trainers and group fitness instructors talk of health and orthorexia. The material will consist of four focus groups with 18 fitness professionals that work in Swedish fitness centers. It will be carried out as a qualitative study. This study raises ethical issues, including for instance: a) by focusing and giving attention to orthorexia, the study may contribute to categorizing "the problem", as well as enlarge it. This paradoxical situation as the aim is to contribute scientific knowledge that can problematize orthorexia; b) the challenge to manage and balance a critical approach without causing harm (e.g. introduce orthorexia to fitness professionals who might have an erroneous perspective of and/or have little knowledge about orthorexia) (cf. Halse & Honey, 2005).


Despite substantial public, political, and scholarly attention to the issue of immigration and crime, we know little about the criminological consequences of undocumented immigration. As a result, fundamental questions about whether undocumented immigration increases violent crime remain unanswered. In an attempt to address this gap, we combine newly developed estimates of the unauthorized population with multiple data sources to capture the criminal, socioeconomic, and demographic context of all 50 states and Washington, DC, from 1990 to 2014 to provide the first longitudinal analysis of the macro-level relationship between undocumented immigration and violence. The results from fixed-effects regression models reveal that undocumented immigration does not increase violence. Rather, the relationship between undocumented immigration and violent crime is generally negative, although not significant in all specifications. Using supplemental models of victimization data and instrumental variable methods, we find little evidence that these results are due to decreased reporting or selective migration to avoid crime. We consider the theoretical and policy implications of these findings against the backdrop of the dramatic increase in immigration enforcement in recent decades.


Head-controlled human machine interfaces have gained popularity over the past years, especially in the restoration of the autonomy of severely disabled people, like tetraplegics. These interfaces need to be reliable and robust regarding the environmental conditions to guarantee safety of the user and enable a direct interaction between a human and a machine. This paper presents a hybrid MARG and visual sensor system for head orientation estimation which is in this case used to teleoperate a robotic arm. The system contains a Magnetic Angular Rate Gravity (MARG)-sensor and a Tobii eye tracker 4C. A MARG sensor consists of tri-axis accelerometer, gyroscope as well as a magnetometer which enable a complete measurement of orientation relative to the direction of gravity and magnetic field of the earth. The tri-axis magnetometer is sensitive to external magnetic fields which result in incorrect orientation estimation from the sensor fusion process. In this work the Tobii eye tracker 4C is used to increase head orientation estimation because it also features head tracking even though it is commonly used for eye tracking. This type of visual sensor does not suffer magnetic drift. However, it computes orientation data only, if a user is detectable. Within this work a state machine is presented which enables data fusion of the MARG and visual sensor to improve orientation estimation. The fusion of the orientation data of MARG and visual sensors enables a robust interface, which is immune against external magnetic fields. Therefore, it increases the safety of the human machine interaction.


Recharge can take two main forms, direct recharge from rainfall infiltrating the ground or
indirect recharge from leakage from wadi beds. The recharge processes operating in the West
Bank can be summarised as rainfall recharge, wadi recharge, urban recharge processes and
irrigation losses. Rainfall recharge is the predominant form of recharge, whilst wadi recharge,
urban and irrigation losses are only minor components. However, these minor components
can be locally important.
The recharge processes operating in the Wadi Natuf catchment are varied and complex. The
four main geological strata through which recharge takes place are:
• Jerusalam
• Upper Lower Beit Kahil
• Lower Beit Kahil
• Hebron
The main aquifer units are karstic which receive recharge once a wetting threshold is
exceeded. This assumption is supported by field observations (Messerschmid, 2003) and a
field experiment close to the study area (Lange et al., 2003). Other minor aquifers receive
recharge and distribute water laterally to springs. Flow from springs, if not used for water
supply or irrigation, can then be routed to other aquifer units or as loss from wadis.
High intensity rainfall can produce overland runoff and wadi flow. Flowing wadis loose
water to all but the Yatta formation.
Recharge can, therefore, occur by two methods, direct infiltration from rainfall and from
losses from wadi beds.
There are four main recharge processes operating in the aquifers of the West Bank;
1. Direct recharge from rainfall
2. Indirect recharge from wadi losses
3. Recharge from urban water supply and waste water proceses
4. Recharge from irrigation losses
The difference between rainfall and potential evaporation, known as effective rainfall, is the
main control on direct recharge from rainfall. Rainfall is greatest in the north and west
whereas potential evaporation is the highest in the south and east. The greatest potential for
rainfall recharge is, therefore, in the north and west. Soil cover also controls the amount of
rainfall recharge and is highly variable over the West Bank. In particular, the main soil types
have patchy coverage, over only 30-50 % of the ground surface, the rest being bare rock. The
patchiness of the soil means that soil moisture is not developed in the same way as for soils
with uniform coverage.
To determine the rainfall recharge mechanisms operating in the West Bank, a combination of
factors such as rainfall, potential evaporation, soil cover, land use, etc need to be assessed.
Combining these factors mean that recharge processes based on soil moisture are most likely
to be operating in the north-west of the West Bank. Elsewhere, direct recharge will be based
on how the soil and rocks combined as single system respond to the balance between rainfall
and evaporation (e.g. Lange et al., 2003). Indirect recharge occurs due to wadi flows over the whole of the West Bank. Runoff from
intense rainfall events will collect in valley bottoms and create surface water flows. Recharge
from wadi beds will form the predominant source of recharge in the south and east of the
West Bank, where the climate is more arid.
Urban recharge processes reflect leakage from pipes and sewers and increased runoff from
paved surfaces, roofs, roads, etc. The enhanced runoff in the urban environment is routed to
wadis and enhances flows after rainstorms. This can increase indirect recharge from wadi
beds.
Losses from irrigation systems can enhance recharge. The main areas for irrigation are the
north-west of the West Bank, in the vicinity of Jericho and the Upper Jordan Valley.
A significant amount of work has been undertaken on calculating recharge to the aquifers in
the West Bank and in the Western Aquifer Basin by measuring discharge and abstraction as a
surrogate for recharge. However, most of the estimates rely on empirical relationships
between annual rainfall and recharge. Estimates undertaken using an empirical method are
not physically based, but nonetheless can be used as a guide to determine whether the
recharge calculated by the modelling are realistic. The estimates for the Western Aquifer
Basin are around 350 Mm3 a-1 and 800 Mm3 a-1 for the West Bank as a whole.
To enable recharge to be calculated using a physical basis over aquifer outcrops, a distributed
recharge model has been developed and tested. An existing object-oriented groundwater flow
model has been adapted from an existing code. An object-oriented approach was chosen to
enable a range of recharge mechanisms to be incorporated easily into the model. Recharge is
calculated at a node, which is held on a grid and enables a distributed recharge estimate to be
undertaken. Four types of recharge node can be specified; soil moisture balance method,
wetting threshold, urban recharge process and irrigation losses. In addition to these
mechanisms, runoff routing to wadis and subsequent infiltration is implemented.


Whether on an urban or planetary scale, covering time scales of a few minutes or a few decades, the societal need for more accurate weather, climate, water, and environmental information has led to a more seamless thinking across disciplines and communities. This challenge, at the intersection of scientific research and society's need, is among the most important scientific and technological challenges of our time. The "Science Summit on Seamless Research for Weather, Climate, Water, and Environment" organized by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in 2017, has brought together researchers from a variety of institutions for a cross-disciplinary exchange of knowledge and ideas relating to seamless Earth system science. The outcomes of the Science Summit, and the interactions it sparked, highlight the benefit of a seamless Earth system science approach. Such an approach has the potential to break down artificial barriers that may exist due to different observing systems, models, time and space scales, and compartments of the Earth system. In this context, the main future challenges for research infrastructures have been identified. A value cycle approach has been proposed to guide innovation in seamless Earth system prediction. The engagement of researchers, users, and stakeholders will be crucial for the successful development of a seamless Earth system science that meets the needs of society.


This issue of "Clinics in Geriatric Medicine" focuses on the past, present, and future of home health care, a rapidly growing subspecialty of Geriatric Medicine. Guest Edited by Peter Boling, the issue describes the population in need (age range, numbers, projected growth), range of service needs, social vs. medical models of care, international and state-to-state comparisons to show the wide range of strategies that have been tried. It also includes a brief snapshot of the history of home care research, absence of integration of medical model home care and continuity of care for home-bound and function-limited persons in the US.


This qualitative, inductive study analyzed online recruiting information posted at the websites of five major aerospace and defense corporations to recruit college juniors, seniors, and recent graduates. Recruitment of this group is critical to staff the personnel for the scientific, technical, and management needs of aerospace and defense industries. The study sought: (1) to determine the use of multiple recruitment factors inferred from the literature and recommended for successful recruitment of college graduates, (2) to determine use of online social media (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn) to recruit this population, and (3) to explore commonalities among these corporations regarding online recruiting information to determine if a model for online recruitment now exists. A matrix of recruitment factors was developed from a review of the literature on the personnel needs of this industry and on effective recruiting factors for this group. Content analysis involved filtering information at each website with the matrix. Conclusions of this study include: (1) the matrix of recruitment factors and the rating scale developed for the purposes of this study provide a tool for researching, documenting, and comparing recruitment information on the internet; (2) that while these corporations represent the latest applications in technology in their manufacturing processes and products, they do not use social networking technology to the extent the popular and scholarly literature indicate is typical for the target group. Given that the current generation exhibits extensive use of social media, several of these corporations' websites appear not to utilize this networking technology. Informally, these corporations argue that cyber-security prevents extensive use of social networking sites. Thus, these corporations must determine how to maintain cyber-security while at the same time adopting more accepted use of social networking platforms.


EMERALDS (Extensible Microkernel for Embedded, ReAL-time, Distributed Systems) is a real-time microkernel designed for small-memory embedded applications. These applications must run on slow (15-25MHz) processors with just 32-128 kbytes of memory, either to keep production costs down in mass-produced systems or to keep weight and power consumption low. To be feasible for such applications, the OS must not only be small in size (less than 20 kbytes), but also have low-overhead kernel services. Unlike commercial embedded OSs which rely on carefully-crafted code to achieve efficiency, EMERALDS takes the approach of re-designing the basic OS services of task scheduling, synchronization, communication, and system call mechanism by using characteristics found in small-memory embedded systems, such as small code size and a priori knowledge of task execution and communication patterns. With these new schemes, the overheads of various OS services are reduced 20-40% without compromising any OS functionality.


Japanese government debt is at unprecedented levels with a gross debt to gross domestic product ratio of over 230 per cent and a net debt to gross domestic product ratio of 150 per cent. There are three big challenges to fiscal sustainability: the huge amount of government bonds outstanding; continued budget deficits; and the growing age-related spending. The debt is sustainable as long as the market as a whole believes it is. The path to fiscal consolidation requires increasing the tax rate, reducing spending, broadening the tax base and growing the economy out of trouble. The longer the delay before moving to a more sustainable consolidation path, the larger the risks and closer Japan moves towards a financial crisis. The policy goal is to keep government debt sustainable, not to repay it all. Just as Japan has done since the burst of the asset bubble in the early 1990s, there is every likelihood that the Japanese economy will muddle through.


Finding the sparsest solution to underdetermined systems of linear equations y = Φx is NP-hard in general. We show here that for systems with "typical"/"random" Φ, a good approximation to the sparsest solution is obtained by applying a fixed number of standard operations from linear algebra. Our proposal, Stagewise Orthogonal Matching Pursuit (StOMP), successively transforms the signal into a negligible residual. Starting with initial residual r0 = y, at the s -th stage it forms the "matched filter" ΦTrs-1, identifies all coordinates with amplitudes exceeding a specially chosen threshold, solves a least-squares problem using the selected coordinates, and subtracts the least-squares fit, producing a new residual. After a fixed number of stages (e.g., 10), it stops. In contrast to Orthogonal Matching Pursuit (OMP), many coefficients can enter the model at each stage in StOMP while only one enters per stage in OMP; and StOMP takes a fixed number of stages (e.g., 10), while OMP can take many (e.g., n). We give both theoretical and empirical support for the large-system effectiveness of StOMP. We give numerical examples showing that StOMP rapidly and reliably finds sparse solutions in compressed sensing, decoding of error-correcting codes, and overcomplete representation.


Although much as been written about how to make better decisions, a decision by itself changes nothing. The big problem facing managers and their organizations today is one of implementation--how to get things done in a timely and effective way. Problems of implementation are really issues of how to influence behavior, change the course of events, overcome resistance, and get people to do things they would not otherwise do. In a word, power. Managing With Power provides an in-depth look at the role of power and influence in organizations. Pfeffer shows convincingly that its effective use is an essential component of strong leadership. With vivid examples, he makes a compelling case for the necessity of power in mobilizing the political support and resources to get things done in any organization. He provides an intriguing look at the personal attributes--such as flexibility, stamina, and a high tolerance for conflict--and the structural factors--such as control of resources, access to information, and formal authority--that can help managers advance organizational goals and achieve individual success.


In FY 2016, the research team evaluated Security Cards, STRIDE (Spoofing identity, Tampering with data, Repudiation, Information disclosure, Denial of service, Elevation of privilege), and persona non grata (PnG) for effectiveness in threat identification. Security Cards is an approach that emphasizes creativity and brainstorming over more structured approaches such as checklists. STRIDE involves modeling a system and subsystem and related data flows. PnGs represent archetypal users who behave in unwanted, possibly nefarious ways. The team used two scenarios: an aircraft maintenance scenario and a drone swarm scenario, both described in this technical note in detail, along with the project outcomes. No individual threat modeling method included all identified threats. The research team subsequently developed the Hybrid Threat Modeling Method (hTMM), considering the desirable characteristics for a Threat Modeling Method. At a high level, the hTMM includes the following steps, described in detail in the technical note: (1) Identify the system you will be threat modeling. (2) Apply Security Cards according to developers' suggestions. (3) Prune PnGs that are unlikely or for which no realistic attack vectors could be identified. (4) Summarize results from the above steps, utilizing tool support. (5) Continue with a formal risk assessment method.


While photography is one of the most common attributes of tourist behavior, its role in tourism has never been studied. This paper draws attention to three unexamined topics: the relationship between certain tourist types and patterns of photographic behavior and/or content of photographs; the culturally variable standards of appropriate subject matter and camera use in different parts of the world; and the variety of responses exhibited by host communities to being photographed. Examples are given of host sensitivities and camera-related disturbances. A trend is noticed in which host communities specify which images are appropriate and inappropriate for tourist photography.


A large fraction of the smallest transiting planet candidates discovered by the Kepler and CoRoT space missions cannot be confirmed by a dynamical measurement of the mass using currently available observing facilities. To establish their planetary nature, the concept of planet validation has been advanced. This technique compares the probability of the planetary hypothesis against that of all reasonably conceivable alternative false positive (FP) hypotheses. The candidate is considered as validated if the posterior probability of the planetary hypothesis is sufficiently larger than the sum of the probabilities of all FP scenarios. In this paper, we present pastis, the Planet Analysis and Small Transit Investigation Software, a tool designed to perform a rigorous model comparison of the hypotheses involved in the problem of planet validation, and to fully exploit the information available in the candidate light curves. pastis self-consistently models the transit light curves and follow-up observations. Its object-oriented structure offers a large flexibility for defining the scenarios to be compared. The performance is explored using artificial transit light curves of planets and FPs with a realistic error distribution obtained from a Kepler light curve. We find that data support the correct hypothesis strongly only when the signal is high enough (transit signal-to-noise ratio above 50 for the planet case) and remain inconclusive otherwise. PLAnetary Transits and Oscillations of stars (PLATO) shall provide transits with high enough signal-to-noise ratio, but to establish the true nature of the vast majority of Kepler and CoRoT transit candidates additional data or strong reliance on hypotheses priors is needed.


Mentalization is concept with almost 30 years of history and it is the core of mentalization-based therapy, a form of psychotherapy initially designed for borderline personality disorder. Mentalization based treatment (MBT) includes techniques focused upon practicing with the patient on how to make representations of internal states, analyzing current problems and not the past ones, and constructing mentalizing capacities instead of creating insight. A review of current data regarding the efficacy of MBT include randomized trials for borderline personality disorder and major depressive disorder, but also protocols for further studies and conceptual discussions about MBT in eating disorders, severe borderline personality disorder and psychotic disorders. Several references have been found on MBT-derived approaches in alcohol and drug related disorders, as well as several studies about attachment styles and mentalization deficits as risk factors or associated factors in cell phone addiction, Internet and food addiction. An evaluation and treatment framework for patients with behavioral addiction is suggested, with validated psychometric scales applied initially and periodically, throughout the duration of MBT. Therapeutic techniques should focus on the difficulties the subject has in controlling his/her own emotional impulses, and on mentalizing the internal and environmental cues that trigger the addictive behavior. Key-Words: mentalization, mentalization based treatment, behavioral addictions, Internet addiction, cell phone addiction, food addiction, psychotherapy


Recurrent cyclonic storms in the Bay of Bengal inflict massive losses on the coastal regions of Bangladesh and India. Information on occurrences and severities of cyclones is necessary for understanding household and community responses to cyclone risks. This paper constructs a georeferenced panel database that can be used to obtain such information for Bangladesh, West Bengal, and Odisha. Cyclone strike locations and impact zones are analyzed for several historical periods between 1877 and 2016. The findings indicate that although the median location has shifted eastward, there is a marked variability in location, especially after 1960. Impacts also have varied considerably within and across zones over time, with the highest-impact zones in northern Odisha and the Sundarbans region of West Bengal. The pronounced spatial and temporal variation in cyclone impacts will provide robust controls for comparative research on household and community adaptation to cyclones in the study region. The methodology developed in the paper is general and could be expanded to an arbitrarily large set of coastal locations.


This study is a part of the research endeavor since 1970s in searching for a satisfactory
exchange rate forecasting model. The main objective is to evaluate the forecast
performance of the relevant monetary exchange rate models, which are determined by the
linear and non-linear approaches. Particularly, the long-run cointegration relationship
between yen-based currencies of five major South East Asian countries including
Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines (collectively known as
ASEAN-5) and their fundamentals are investigated using the carefully designed testing
procedures that include integration order, cointegration and exogeneity tests. The set of
potential exchange rate determinants including domestic and Japanese money supplies,
aggregate output levels, aggregate price levels and interest rates are included in this study.
In this respect, several versions of monetary exchange rate models are considered. The
lately developed non-linear stationary and non-linear cointegration tests are also
employed aiming to provide complementary if not improvement to the robustness of conventional tests. Towards the end of this study, the valid monetary exchange rate
models are estimated for the ultimate purpose of forecast performance evaluation.
The major finding of this study is that both the purchasing power parity model and the
reduced form forward-looking monetary model can have excellence predictive power for
the dynamic behaviour of yen-based ASEAN-5 nominal exchange rates, over forecast
horizon of 24 months or less, based non-linear smooth transition regression (STR)
modeling procedures. Hence, this study is able to provide evidence to contradict the
assertion that empirical exchange rate models have weak predictive power at horizons
less than two years (Lycons, 2002). Importantly, the empirical forecasting performance of
non-linear STR modeling procedures is for the first time revealed in this study.
Besides, this study identifies that, as far as ASEAN-5 is concern, current and past values
domestic money supply, domestic aggregate output, Japan money supply, Japan
aggregate output are the main driving forces of the current exchange rate dynamic, in
addition to the past values of exchange rates. Furthermore, this study uncovers that rather
than the long-perceived linear and symmetrical behavior, the nominal exchange rates
adjust towards monetary fundamentals in a non-linear and asymmetrical fashions with
respect to appreciation and depreciation of exchange rates, inflation and deflation,
expansionary and contractionary monetary policy, as well as the economic cycles of both
domestic and Japan countries. Taken together, these findings have important impacts on
policy-decision and implementations as pointed out in the last chapter of this study.


There is no consensus in the literature regarding what motivates firms to voluntarily publish corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports or who are the intended audiences of such reports. To help address this gap in the literature, I test whether the degree of information asymmetry between the firm and its owners is a significant factor contributing to the publication of CSR reports. The study is the first to analyze the reporting frequencies of both publicly-traded firms and privately-held firms whose ownership is subject to less information asymmetry. Using a sample of 239 of the largest private companies in the U.S. matched with publicly-traded firms, the effect of ownership structure on CSR reporting frequency is tested using logistic regression. Factors suggested by stakeholder and legitimacy theories, including firm size, firm visibility, customer power, and employee power are also tested. Results indicate that private firms are much less likely to publish a CSR report than similar public firms. Public firms are also found to follow the Global Reporting Initiative guidelines at a higher rate than private firms, in-keeping with a greater need to signal report quality to dispersed investors. Private firms reporting to the SEC because they have over 300 shareholders, anticipate an IPO, or have publicly-traded debt are found to be similar to public firms in their reporting behavior. Since the information environment of these firms represents a middle-ground between public companies and typical private firms, their reporting behavior reinforces the argument that information asymmetry is a motivation for voluntary CSR disclosure.


Searches that include both feasible and infeasible solutions have proved to be efficient algorithms for solving some scheduling problems. Researchers conjecture that these algorithms yield two primary benefits: 1) they tend to focus on solutions close to the boundary between feasible and infeasible solutions, where active constraints are likely to yield optimal values, and 2) moves that include infeasible solutions may uncover short-cuts in a search space. Researchers have published empirical studies that confirm the value of searching along the feasible-infeasible boundary, but until now there has been little direct evidence that in-feasible search yields short-cuts.

We present empirical results in two oversubscribed scheduling domains for which boundary region search in infeasible space appears to offer advantages over search in strictly feasible space. Our results confirm that infeasible search finds shortcuts that may improve search efficiency more than boundary region search alone. However, our results also reveal that inefficient infeasible paths which we call detours may degrade search performance, potentially offsetting efficiency shortcuts may provide.


ABSTRACT Systems models can support community planning, and by engaging local government and community stakeholders, these models can be designed to capture a comprehensive but manageable range of key interests, concerns, and values. This study explores a participatory approach for designing a community systems modeling exercise. The research involved convening focus groups of local government and diverse community stakeholders in Squamish, Canada, in order to discuss local issues and possible futures for the community. Focus group feedback was used to inform the development of a model of relationships between development paths (reflecting different densities) and multiple community outcomes, such as access to amenities and education, walkability, parks/trails, food and farm systems, public transit, housing affordability, and local employment. A participatory approach to modeling yielded many benefits, including alignment with normative participatory planning concepts, effective model scoping, accessing additional information sources, and enhancing local social capital and investment in the project.


The Internet is now an integral part of contemporary life, and linguists are increasingly studying its influence on language. In this student-friendly guidebook, leading language authority Professor David Crystal follows on from his landmark bestseller Language and the Internet and presents the area as a new field: Internet linguistics. In his engaging trademark style, Crystal addresses the online linguistic issues that affect us on a daily basis, incorporating real-life examples drawn from his own studies and personal involvement with Internet companies. He provides new linguistic analyses of Twitter, Internet security, and online advertising, explores the evolving multilingual character of the Internet, and offers illuminating observations about a wide range of online behaviour, from spam to exclamation marks. Including many activities and suggestions for further research, this is the essential introduction to a critical new field for students of all levels of English language, linguistics and new media.


In the present paper we consider neutrino events due to quasi-elastic scattering (QEL) as the most reliable events among various candidate events to be analyzed, and have carried out the first step of an L/E analysis which aims to confirm the survival probability with a Numerical Computer Experiment. The most important factor in the survival probability is Lnu and Enu, but this cannot be measured for such neutral particles. Instead, Lmu and Emu is utilized in the L/E analysis, where Lnu, Lmu, Enu and Emu denote the flight path lengths of the incident neutrinos, those of the emitted leptons, the energies of the incident neutrinos and those of the emitted leptons, respectively. According to our Computer Numerical Experiment, the relation of Lnu/Enu is nearly equal to Lmu/Emu doesn't hold. In subsequent papers, we show the results on an L/E analysis with the Computer Numerical Experiment based on our results obtained in the present paper.


Patient motion is an important factor affecting the quality of external beam radiotherapy in breast patients. We analyse the motion of a dense set of surface points on breast patients throughout their treatment schedule to assess the magnitude and stability of motion, in particular, with respect to breast volume. We use an optical sensor to measure the surface motion of 13 breast cancer patients. Patients were divided into two cohorts dependent upon breast volume. Measurements were made during radiotherapy treatment beam delivery for an average of 12 fractions per patient (total 158 datasets). The motion of each surface point is parameterized in terms of its period, amplitude and relative phase. Inter-comparison of the motion parameters across treatment schedules and between patients is made through the creation of corresponding regions on the breast surfaces. The motion period is spatially uniform and is similar in both patient groups (mean 4 s), with the small volume cohort exhibiting greater inter-fraction period variability. The mean motion amplitude is also similar in both groups with a range between 2 mm and 4 mm and an inter-fraction variability generally less than 1 mm. There is a phase lag of up to 0.4 s across the breast, led by the sternum. Breast patient motion is reasonably stable between and during treatment fractions, with the large volume cohort exhibiting greater repeatability than the small volume one.


We report a curious porous molecular
crystal that is devoid of the common traits of related systems. Namely, the molecule
does not rely on directional hydrogen bonds to enforce open packing; and it
offers neither large concave faces (i.e., high internal free volume) to
frustrate close packing, nor any inherently built-in cavity like in the class
of organic cages. Instead, the permanent porosity (as unveiled by the X-ray
crystal structure and CO2 sorption studies) arises from the strong
push-pull units built into a Sierpinski-like molecule that features four
symmetrically backfolded (SBF) side
arms. Each side arm consists of the 1,1,4,4-tetracyanobuta-1,3-diene acceptor
(TCBD) coupled with the dimethylaminophenyl donor, which is conveniently installed
by a cycloaddition-retroelectrocyclization (CA-RE) reaction. Unlike the poor/fragile
crystalline order of many porous molecular solids, the molecule here readily
crystallizes and the crystalline phase can be easily deposited into thin films
from solutions. Moreover, both the bulk sample and thin film exhibit excellent
thermal stability with the porous crystalline order maintained even at 200 °C. The intermolecular forces underlying this robust porous molecular crystal likely
include the strong dipole interactions and the multiple C···N and C···O short
contacts afforded by the strongly donating and accepting groups integrated
within the rigid molecular scaffold.


The FTT-SE protocol provides adaptive real-time communication on Ethernet networks. To assure a continued real-time behavior, FTT-SE integrates admission control with a quality-of-service mechanism, which screen all adaptation and reconfiguration requests, accepting only those that do not compromise the system timeliness. The adaptability and reconfigurability have been deeply studied in the case of single switch FTT-SE architectures, whereas the extension of that for the multi-hop FTT-SE architecture was not yet investigated. Therefore, in this paper we study the challenges of enabling dynamic reconfiguration in multi-hop FTT-SE networks, we propose two methods (one centralized and one distributed) and we present a qualitative comparison between them.


Khark and Kharko Islands are located at far northern point of fringing coral reefs in the Iranian coast of the Persian Gulf. These coralline are the habitats of the wildlife refuge with total area of 2400ha and located in the territory of Bushehr province. The present study was carried out from July 2006 to June 2007 over 12 stations. Sampling was conducted obliquely from bottom using Bongo-net plankton sampler with 500µ of mesh size. In total, 1808 specimens, both in pre and post flexion stages were collected and examined. They were belonging to 45 families from different ecological groups (21 coralline and 24 non coralline fish larvae families). 96% of examined fish larvae were in preflexion stage. Some families are new ones from the area. Among identified families, Clupeidae, Blenniidae, Sillaginidae, Atherinidae and Tripterygiidae; were dominant families in studied area and the peaks were estimated in spring. The mean abundance of total fish larvae was 18.71 per 10m² of sea surface. The most abundant families were Clupeidae, Sillaginidae, Blenniidae, Atherinidae and Tripterygiidae in which comprised 65% of fish larvae. Abundance in spring showed significant difference with other seasons. The distribution pattern of fish larvae changed seasonally in both groups, increasing in east coasts of Khark Island and in three coastal stations during summer and autumn and in west coast of Khark in spring. The distribution of fish larvae seemed to be correlated to sea currents.


Extracted from text ... Number 51 - Part 1
CJ Roth and EvdM Smit*
Optimal initial margin levels in South African futures markets: An empirical analysis
* Graduate School of Business, University of Stellenbosch, PO Box 610, Bellville, 7535, Republic of South Africa.
E-mail:
firstname.lastname@example.com
1. Introduction
Futures margins are initial deposits ensuring investors perform according to the terms of the futures contract. Long contracts on futures
are contracts to buy the underlying instrument at the maturity date and are taken out when the purchaser expects the price of the
underlying instrument at maturity to be more than the current futures price. Theoretically, at ..