Heatwaves are often responsible for many deaths due to high temperature indoors. Energy savings is a key element in building design and refurbishment works to reduce the impact of climate change. Natural ventilation is often promoted as an indoor space cooling solution thanks to its energy saving potential. The paper deals with prediction of heat-related health risks situations in naturally ventilated dwellings. In these spaces, indoor thermal conditions depend on windows opening and on difference between outdoor and indoor temperatures. The efficiency of temperature control also depends on especially building thermal inertia, solar gains and occupants' behaviour. Yet, meteorological variability and occupants' behaviour are difficult to predict. Thus, operating limits of technical solutions using natural ventilation are not totally reliable because of uncertainties on the variability of these parameters. In order to decrease uncertainties in prediction of heat-related health risks and to secure building design, the first step of a science-based methodology is proposed to help building sector professionals. It links consensual indicators, including ergonomics of the thermal environment standards, to distinguish between a moderately warm situation from heat stress causing unhealthy indoor environment for occupants. Simulations are performed for a dwelling with different air flow rates under contrasting meteorological conditions to illustrate the methodology and the potential limits of natural ventilative cooling, according to health risks. In tested dwelling, natural ventilation can reduce indoor temperature but doubt remains about providing comfortable conditions. According to ergonomics standards scopes, a gap occurs between "moderate thermal environment" and "heat stress" areas. Further investigations are needed to bridge the observed gap.


ABSTRACT Indifferent lies have been proposed as a counterexample to the claim that lying requires an intention to deceive. In indifferent lies, the speaker says something she believes to be false (in a truth-warranting context) but does not really care about whether the addressee believes what she says. Krstić (2019) argues that in such cases, the speaker deceives the addressee intentionally and, therefore, indifferent lies do not show that lying does not require an intention to deceive. While we agree that the speaker deceives the addressee intentionally, we resist Krstić's conclusion by pointing out that there is a difference between deceiving intentionally and intending to deceive. To this aim, we presented 268 participants with a new variant of an indifferent lie and asked whether the speaker lied, whether she had an intention to deceive, and whether she deceived intentionally. Whereas the majority of participants considered the speaker to have deceived the addressee intentionally, most denied that the speaker had an intention to deceive the addressee. Hence, indifferent lies still challenge widely accepted definitions of lying.


Experiments performed on a cell line (A498) derived from a human kidney carcinoma revealed non-centrosomal microtubules in the peripheral lamella of many cells. These short microtubules were observed in glutaraldehyde-fixed cells by indirect immunofluorescence, and in live cells injected with rhodamine-labeled tubulin. The non-centrosomal microtubules were observed to form de novo in living cells, and their complete disassembly was also observed. Low-light-level fluorescence microscopy, coupled to imaging software, was utilized to record and measure the dynamic behavior of both ends of the non-centrosomal microtubules in these cells. For each, the plus end was differentiated from the minus end using the ratio of their transition frequencies and by measuring total assembly at each end. For comparative purposes, dynamics of the plus ends of centrosomally nucleated microtubules were also analyzed in this cell line. Our data reveal several striking differences between the plus and minus ends. The average pause duration was nearly 4-fold higher at the minus ends; the percentage of time spent in pause was 92% at the minus ends, compared to 55% at plus ends. Dynamicity was decreased 4-fold at the minus ends, and the average number of events per minute was reduced from 7.0 at the plus end to 1.5 at the minus ends. The minus ends also showed a 6-fold decrease in frequency of catastrophe over the plus ends. These data demonstrate that in living cells, microtubules can form at sites distant from the perinuclear microtubule organizing center, and once formed, non-centrosomal microtubules can persist for relatively long periods.


SUMMARY Several reports of tree planters from the Patagonian Andes region of Chubut (Argentina) have pointed out that seedlings of Pinus ponderosa, obligate ectotrophic species, produced in greenhouses with high levels of fertilization without ectomycorrhizal inoculum applications, showed low or null ectomycorrhizal infection at the end of nursery stage but had excellent performance in plantation sites during the first years. This study was planned to evaluate if those seedlings develop mycorrhizal associations once installed in plantations, and if those associations are originated from inoculums acquired in the nursery. Three evaluations were done: 1) analyses of seedlings at the end of nursery period, to evaluate their initial mycorrhizal condition, 2) analyses after 6 month, with seedlings transplanted into pots with semi-sterile substrate, to establish if there exists inoculum in the system that did not express because of the high fertilization levels and, 3) analyses after 24 month, with seedlings planted in a field distant from any source of ectomycorrhizal inoculum, to evaluate the associations developed in the planting site. Results showed that: 1) the studied nursery produced seedlings with null or very low levels of mycorrhization, with low morphotypes' richness; 2) seedlings showed very high mycorrhizal percentages after 6 months (under greenhouse conditions) and after 24 months (in field conditions); 3) different mycorrhizal fungi behave differently under fertilization. The analyzed nursery fortuitously incorporated mycorrhizal inoculum that rapidly colonized seedlings, immediately after fertilization was interrupted. This fact demonstrates that the hypothesis that ponderosa pine seedlings can establish and grow in anectotrophic environments without EM symbioses is false.


It has become customary in recent years to represent the successes of the Northern Ireland peace process internationally as a model to be seriously considered in other conflict-ridden or transitional societies. A healthy academic scepticism about such claims has not prevented politicians and media commentators in particular from presenting the transformation in Northern Ireland as miraculous. If such an intransigent conflict as the long-standing Irish one could be thus solved, why not other such conflicts? This chapter seeks to examine this wisdom in depth, looking particularly at the British state's role during the distinct periods of violent political conflict dating from the late 1960s and the subsequent peace process from the 1990s to the present day. Specifically, it will interrogate the state's own claims about its contribution both to conflict management in the earlier period and conflict resolution in the more recent period. On the basis of that interrogation, the question of the exportability of the lessons of Northern Ireland can perhaps be assessed in a more sober fashion.


Background: Suicidal behaviors are recently being documented on social media and the Internet. Online social media such as Facebook represent a new dimension for global information transfer. Suicidal behaviors and their consequence on social media are yet to be evaluated in professional articles. This article seeks to discuss the potential effects of suicidal behaviors on Facebook and to bring forth the need for awareness among health-care professionals and the general public. Methodology: We present ten cases of suicidal announcement on social media platforms and discuss the challenges associated with social media announcement of suicide. Results: In the ten cases we presented, there were warning signs of suicide posted by the individuals on their Facebook walls, but help was not provided on time or after the incident with resultant completion of suicide. In some of the cases, there was an attempt to alert some friends on the suicidal ideation, but most friends thought that the statement was not related to suicide. While in others, caring and empathic support with quick intervention from friends and family led to the rescue of the suicidal individuals. Limitation: The mental health status of the individual before they showed warning signs of suicide was not known, and therefore it was not possible to assess their mental states. Other reports have shown that not all individuals with suicidal signs will proceed to attempt suicide or complete the suicide. Conclusion: Suicide announcement through social media is being recognized as probably a unique form of suicidal behavior which has the potential for prevention of suicide through early identification of high-risk individuals. Suicide knowledge and attitude and less stigmatization toward mental illness may help in encouraging help-seeking behavior and the general populations' understanding of suicidal warning signs while operationalizing methods of assisting such individuals.


Algorithms for binary classification based on adaptive tree partitioning are formulated and analyzed for both their risk performance and their friendliness to numerical implementation. The algorithms can be viewed as generating a set approximation to the Bayes set and thus fall into the general category of set estimators. In contrast with the most studied tree-based algorithms, which utilize piecewise constant approximation on the generated partition [IEEE Trans. Inform. Theory 52 (2006) 1335-1353; Mach. Learn. 66 (2007) 209-242], we consider decorated trees, which allow us to derive higher order methods. Convergence rates for these methods are derived in terms the parameter $\alpha$ of margin conditions and a rate $s$ of best approximation of the Bayes set by decorated adaptive partitions. They can also be expressed in terms of the Besov smoothness $\beta$ of the regression function that governs its approximability by piecewise polynomials on adaptive partition. The execution of the algorithms does not require knowledge of the smoothness or margin conditions. Besov smoothness conditions are weaker than the commonly used Holder conditions, which govern approximation by nonadaptive partitions, and therefore for a given regression function can result in a higher rate of convergence. This in turn mitigates the compatibility conflict between smoothness and margin parameters.


This article reconstructs the forgotten past of the Gnawa who, over many generations, productively negotiated their forced presence in Morocco to create acceptance and group solidarity. The diaspora of black West Africans in Morocco, the majority of whom were forcefully transported across the Sahara and sold in different parts of Morocco, shares some important traits with the African trans-Atlantic diaspora, but differs at the same time. There are two crucial differences: the internal African diaspora in Morocco has primarily a musical significance and it lacks the desire to return to the original homeland. This diaspora is constructed positively around the right to belong to the culture of Islam, unlike the construction of the African American diasporic double consciousness. Black consciousness in Morocco exists in analogy to the Berber consciousness or the Arab notion of collective identity; it does not constitute a contradiction with itself. Black Moroccans perceive themselves first and foremost to be Muslim Moroccans and only perceive themselves secondarily as participants in a different tradition.


Reoffending rates for youth offenders have, not only shown to increase over the past ten years, but also exceed the reoffending rates for adult offenders. It is imperative that focus is drawn to reducing such reoffending rates in youths, particularly as they may be more responsive to intervention. Current intervention programmes for youth offenders have shown to have some promising elements but there are also limitations to many of the commonly used intervention programmes. Societal changes also dictate the need to continue to support or develop existing programmes. As such, it is key to explore the underlying factors that may lead to offending. The Integrated Psychosocial Model of Criminal Social Identity (IPM-CSI) forms the basis for such research, however, gaps have been noted in the samples adopted. Limited research utilises youth offender samples and/or female or mixed gender samples. The present thesis aims to address this gap in research by testing the IPM-CSI in a mixed gender youth offender sample.

The Measure of Delinquent Social Identity (MDSI) was devised and validated to address the previous void in a lack of measure of criminal social identity specified for juveniles. In order to test the MDSI a sample of five hundred and thirty-six (N = 536) youth offenders (males n = 348; females n = 188) was selected from UK community youth offending teams. This sample was also utilised in subsequent chapters. Using confirmatory factor analysis, the model identified as being the best fit for the data was a bifactor model with three grouping factors (cognitive centrality, in-group affect, and in-group ties), while controlling for the general factor. Using composite reliability, the MDSI was shown to have good reliability. The MDSI was then utilised in subsequent chapters.

The subsequent empirical chapter aimed to test the constructs of the Integrated Psychosocial Model of Criminal Social Identity (IPM-CSI) in a sample of youth offenders. Previous research has tested the separate entities of the IPM-CSI model, but it has not been tested as a whole. In order to test the model, two separate path analyses were performed for the two genders. Findings indicated some constructs of the model were only significant for males, e.g. a negative correlation between self-esteem and cognitive centrality for males only. Findings also indicated that some constructs of the model were only significant for females, e.g. a positive correlation between affective responsiveness and in-group ties for females only. The findings provide some support for aspects of existing interventions programmes while suggesting other target areas. Furthermore, the present research supports the implementation of gender specific intervention programmes.

The third empirical chapter aimed to explore the effects of each of the four psychopathy facets (affective responsiveness, cognitive responsiveness, interpersonal manipulation, and egocentricity) on the relationship between associations with other offenders and delinquent social identity. Moderated regression and simple slop analyses revealed the relationship between criminal friends index and the facets of delinquent social identity were moderated by varying levels of interpersonal manipulation, cognitive responsiveness, affective responsiveness, and egocentricity. It is recommended that future research utilise a larger or more proportionate sample in order to consider gender differences in the moderating role of psychopathy.

To summarise, the present thesis has identified support for some areas of the IPM-CSI. As such, these elements can be incorporated into interventions programmes with a view to reducing reoffending. The present thesis highlighted gender similarities and differences indicating which areas of interventions programmes can be utilised for both genders and which areas ought to be tailored to gender specific needs.


Electronic Textiles (eTextiles) and open source material has been entangled with "DIY" movements and hands on work to create new interactive interfaces. Studies have shown the potential these have to bring computational knowledge closer to new audiences. We address how eTextiles can approach a traditional textile art, specifically "Arpilleras" from Chile, to understand how each field contributes from a symbolic, material and technical perspective. Following participatory approach methods and STEAM guidelines to create an educational program, we observed how eTextiles can influence the creation of soft interactive interfaces that enhance the communicative character and cultural heritage of a craft, and the potential of their use in a pedagogical context by using a specially designed kit. Our study suggests that connecting technology with strong cultural identity craft, can help to reach new audiences, revitalize the traditional technique, and create new tools for expression and creativity.


For all road managers, inclement weather events are a source of uncertainty that can affect traffic operations and safety. Regarding safety, various studies reveal significant effects of adverse weather conditions on the frequency and severity of crashes. Regarding mobility, because of a lack of data, there are few comprehensive studies, although the quantification of the effects of adverse weather on traffic represents the first step toward the development of weather-responsive traffic management strategies. This study deals with the analysis of the impact of rain on drivers' behavior and traffic operations. First, a generic methodology for assessing the effect of weather on traffic is proposed through a multilevel approach: from individual traffic data, the rain impact is assessed at a microscopic level (time headways, spacing). Next, the same data were used to extend the study to a mesoscopic and a macroscopic level. The mesoscopic level deals with the effects of rain on platoons, and the macroscopic level resides in the analysis of the impact of rain on the fundamental diagram enabling weather-responsive macroscopic traffic simulation. Second, following this approach, an empirical study is carried out from individual data collected on a French interurban motorway. Weather data were provided by a weather station located near the test site. The results exhibit a significant impact of rain on drivers' behavior and traffic operations, which increases with the intensity of rainfall.


The aim of the research project discussed in this thesis was to study the inhibition of aerobic glycolysis, that is the metabolic pathway exploited by cancer cells for the ATP generation. This observation has led to the evaluation of glycolytic inhibitors as potential anticancer agents. Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) is the only enzyme whose inhibition should allow a blocking of aerobic glycolysis of tumor cells without damaging the normal cells which, in conditions of normal functional activity and sufficient oxygen supply, do not need this enzyme. In preliminar experiments we demonstrated that oxamic acid and tartronic acid, two LDH competitive inhibitors, impaired aerobic glycolysis and replication of cells from human hepatocellular carcinoma. Therefore, we proposed that the depletion of ATP levels in neoplastic cells, could improved the chemotherapeutic index of associated anticancer drugs; in particular, it was studied the association of oxamic acid and multi-targeted kinase inhibitors. A synergistic effect in combination with sorafenib was observed, and we demonstrated that this was related to the capacity of sorafenib to hinder the oxidative phosphorylation, so that cells were more dependent to aerobic glycolysis. These results linked to LDH blockage encouraged us to search for LDH inhibitors more powerful than oxamic acid; thus, in collaboration with the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences of Bologna University we identified a new molecule, galloflavin, able to inhibit both A and B isoforms of LDH enzyme. The effects of galloflavin were studied on different human cancer cell lines (hepatocellular carcinoma, breast cancer, Burkitt's lymphoma). Although exhibiting different power on the tested cell lines, galloflavin was constantly found to inhibit lactate and ATP production and to induce cell death, mainly in the form of apoptosis. Finally, as LDH-A is able to bind single stranded DNA, thus stimulating cell transcription, galloflavin effects were also studied on this other LDH function.


Despite an apparently ever-growing number
of crises in Europe over the past decade, the
fundamental rationale of the European Union
(EU) and its member states actively and
jointly exerting leadership in international climate
and energy policy has not changed. The
members of the Union remain bound together
by common policies closely linked to the single
market. They also have a common interest in
fighting climate change and enhancing energy
security and reaping the many economic
opportunities of the 'new climate economy'.
And, with individual member states being vulnerable
and lacking clout, they share a strategic
interest in jointly shaping evolving international
climate and energy governance. The
crises therefore do not call for scaling down EU
climate leadership ambitions, but for adjusting
the leadership strategy.


We give a deterministic, nearly logarithmic-space algorithm that given an undirected graph $G$, a positive integer $r$, and a set $S$ of vertices, approximates the conductance of $S$ in the $r$-step random walk on $G$ to within a factor of $1+\epsilon$, where $\epsilon>0$ is an arbitrarily small constant. More generally, our algorithm computes an $\epsilon$-spectral approximation to the normalized Laplacian of the $r$-step walk.
Our algorithm combines the derandomized square graph operation (Rozenman and Vadhan, 2005), which we recently used for solving Laplacian systems in nearly logarithmic space (Murtagh, Reingold, Sidford, and Vadhan, 2017), with ideas from (Cheng, Cheng, Liu, Peng, and Teng, 2015), which gave an algorithm that is time-efficient (while ours is space-efficient) and randomized (while ours is deterministic) for the case of even $r$ (while ours works for all $r$). Along the way, we provide some new results that generalize technical machinery and yield improvements over previous work. First, we obtain a nearly linear-time randomized algorithm for computing a spectral approximation to the normalized Laplacian for odd $r$. Second, we define and analyze a generalization of the derandomized square for irregular graphs and for sparsifying the product of two distinct graphs. As part of this generalization, we also give a strongly explicit construction of expander graphs of every size.


Report issued by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory discussing quarterly progress made by the Homogeneous Reactor Program. Descriptions of progress and studies conducted are presented. This report includes tables, illustrations, and photographs.


Platelets play a key role in haemostasis, inflammation and cancer biology. They show specific structural elements, including invaginations of the plasma membrane, a network of residual smooth endoplasmic reticulum, a highly specialized cytoskeleton maintaining the discoid structure of platelets and several kinds of organelles. Stimulation occurs by adhesion of platelets to sub-endothelial matrix proteins, through the action of specific adhesion-signalling receptors; soluble agonists (including ADP, thrombin, thromboxane A2) act as amplifiers of activation. A series of reactions (collectively forming the 'outside-in signalling') triggers platelet spreading, granule secretion, aggregation and clot retraction. Defects in these complex signalling networks determine inherited or acquired platelet disorders, mainly characterized by altered haemostasis. Nowadays, genomic and post-genomic techniques allow better identification and classification of platelet-related diseases.

Key Concepts

Platelets are anucleated cells playing a crucial role in haemostasis and thrombosis, as well as in innate immunity, angiogenesis and cancer promotion.
Platelet activation is a complex signalling network encompassing the response to multiple agonists and acting via interactions among several molecules (including integrins, G-protein-coupled receptors, protein kinases and phospholipases).
Ultrastructural studies and omics approaches are ideal ways to investigate platelet sub-cellular compartments and signalling pathways, playing a fundamental role in the pathogenesis of several pathologies.
The recent identification of specific sub-network defects in inherited platelet disorders will lead to understanding of the correlation between signal transduction pathways and cell functions.
The identification of specific sub-network defects in inherited platelet disorders will allow better classification of platelet-related diseases.

Keywords:

platelets;
signalling networks;
platelet disorders;
cytoskeleton;
secretory granules


Aims: To determine whether fatigue and need for recovery are risk factors for being injured in an occupational accident. Methods: These associations were investigated within the Maastricht Cohort Study of "Fatigue at Work", a prospective cohort study of employees from a wide range of companies and organisations. For 7051 employees information was available on fatigue as measured with the Checklist Individual Strength (CIS), need for recovery as measured with the VBBA, and possible confounding factors such as age, smoking, alcohol consumption, educational level, shift work, and work environment. Information on the risk factors was collected in May 1999 and January 2000, before the occurrence of the occupational accidents. The incidence of being injured in an occupational accident was inventoried over the year 2000. A total of 108 employees reported having been injured in an occupational accident in 2000. Results: For the highest CIS fatigue score tertile a for age, gender, educational level, smoking, shift work, and work environment, adjusted relative risk for being injured in an occupational accident of 1.29 (95% CI: 1.03 to 2.78) was found compared to the lowest tertile, and for the highest tertile of need for recovery a relative risk of 2.28 (95% CI: 1.41 to 3.66) was found. Conclusions: Fatigue and need for recovery were found to be independent risk factors for being injured in an occupational accident. This means that in the push back of occupational accidents, fatigue, and even more importantly need for recovery, need special attention.


More than 4 billion people still don't have internet access. Most of them are in developing countries. Only 28% of the African population is connected and those internet users are in a few countries: South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Morocco and Egypt. In a hyper-connected world, it means that over half of the world population is missing out on the opportunities provided by the internet: those who are the most vulnerable remain trapped in a vicious cycle where not having access to information prevents them from gaining the skills and the opportunities that could get them out of poverty.

Aware of the challenges of establishing internet connection in contexts where it can be very expensive, slow or even forbidden - e.g., in numerous refugee camps - Libraries Without Borders (LWB) and many other organisations, such as the Arizona State University, Kiwix, Learning Equality, Rumie, LibraryBox, Internet-in-a-Box have developed technologies that enable access to digital contents without an internet access. Offline Internet consists in uploading digital contents onto a local server, which emits a wifi hotspot ; users connect to this network using a computer, a tablet or their smartphone and navigate the uploaded contents as if they were on the internet.

In January 2018, LWB and the Arizona State University, with the support of the IFLA, organized a Summit around Offline Internet in Phoenix (Arizona). This led to the creation of the Offline Internet Consortium (cf. Tempe Declaration: http://bit.ly/2GN8cxk), which aims at establishing common standards for offline internet.

Libraries could play a key role in leveraging these technologies and increasing the diversity of offline accessible contents. Curating high-quality, contextualized and open access contents remains indeed a major challenge for offline internet actors. Our presentation will highlight the main areas of work of the Offline Internet Consortium, the remaining challenges, as well as a few ongoing initiatives such as IdeasCube, SolarSpell, Kiwix, Learning Equality, LibraryBox, Rumie, etc. More importantly we will describe the role that African libraries could play in developing further the offline internet offer, and thus extending the reach of physical and digital libraries in Africa.


BACKGROUND
About 15% to 25% of people with diabetes will develop a foot ulcer. These wounds are often resistant to healing; therefore, people with diabetes experience lower limb amputation at about 20 times the rate of people without diabetes. If an ulcer does not heal with standard wound care, other therapeutic interventions are offered, one of which is hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT). However, the effectiveness of this therapy is not clearly known. The objectives of this health technology assessment were to assess the safety, clinical effectiveness, and cost-effectiveness of standard wound care plus HBOT versus standard wound care alone for the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers. We also investigated the preferences and perspectives of people with diabetic foot ulcers through lived experience.

METHODS
We performed a review of the clinical and economic literature for the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of hyperbaric oxygen therapy, as well as the budget impact of HBOT from the perspective of the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care. We assessed the quality of the body of clinical evidence using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) Working Group criteria. To better understand the preferences, perspectives, and values of patients with diabetic foot ulcers and their experience with HBOT, we conducted interviews and administered an online survey.

RESULTS
Seven randomized controlled trials and one nonrandomized controlled trial met the inclusion criteria. Comparing standard wound care plus HBOT with standard wound care alone, we found mixed results for major amputation rates (GRADE quality of evidence: low), a significant difference in favour of standard wound care plus HBOT on ulcers healed (GRADE quality of evidence: low), and no difference in terms of adverse events (GRADE quality of evidence: moderate). There is a large degree of uncertainty associated with the evaluation of the cost-effectiveness of standard wound care plus HBOT. However, results appear to suggest that this treatment results in lower costs and better outcomes than standard wound care alone. Funding HBOT will result in a budget impact of $4 million per year in immediate treatment costs for the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care. This cost decreases to $0.5 million per year when downstream costs are considered. There is a substantial daily burden of care and emotional weight associated with living with diabetic foot ulcers, both of which are compounded by concern regarding possible amputation. Patients feel that HBOT is an effective treatment and reported that they were satisfied with how their ulcers healed and that this improved their quality of life.

CONCLUSIONS
The evidence makes it difficult to draw any definitive conclusions on the clinical and cost effectiveness of standard wound care plus HBOT versus standard wound care alone for the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers.


We propose a family of novel hierarchical Bayesian deep auto-encoder models capable of identifying disentangled factors of variability in data. While many recent attempts at factor disentanglement have focused on sophisticated learning objectives within the VAE framework, their choice of a standard normal as the latent factor prior is both suboptimal and detrimental to performance. Our key observation is that the disentangled latent variables responsible for major sources of variability, the relevant factors, can be more appropriately modeled using long-tail distributions. The typical Gaussian priors are, on the other hand, better suited for modeling of nuisance factors. Motivated by this, we extend the VAE to a hierarchical Bayesian model by introducing hyper-priors on the variances of Gaussian latent priors, mimicking an infinite mixture, while maintaining tractable learning and inference of the traditional VAEs. This analysis signifies the importance of partitioning and treating in a different manner the latent dimensions corresponding to relevant factors and nuisances. Our proposed models, dubbed Bayes-Factor-VAEs, are shown to outperform existing methods both quantitatively and qualitatively in terms of latent disentanglement across several challenging benchmark tasks.


Background: Selfie deaths have become an emerging problem and we performed this study to assess the epidemiology of selfie-related deaths across the globe. Subject and Methods: We performed a comprehensive search for keywords such as "selfie deaths; selfie accidents; selfie mortality; self photography deaths; koolfie deaths; mobile death/accidents" from news reports to gather information regarding selfie deaths. Results: From October 2011 to November 2017, there have been 259 deaths while clicking selfies in 137 incidents. The mean age was 22.94 years. About 72.5% of the total deaths occurred in males and 27.5% in females. The highest number of incidents and selfie-deaths has been reported in India followed by Russia, United States, and Pakistan. Drowning, transport, and fall form the topmost reasons for deaths caused by selfies. We also classified reasons for deaths due to selfie as risky behavior or non-risky behavior. Risky behavior caused more deaths and incidents due to selfies than non-risky behavior. The number of deaths in females is less due to risky behavior than non-risky behavior while it is approximately three times in males. Conclusion: "No selfie zones" areas should be declared across tourist areas especially places such as water bodies, mountain peaks, and over tall buildings to decrease the incidence of selfie-related deaths.


Context: Anemia has a high prevalence among postmenopausal Indian females. Aim and Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate dietary intake, prevalence, and the effect of anemia on various morphophysiological variables among postmenopausal women. Setting and Design: This was a community-based sample survey. Materials and Methods: A total of 250 postmenopausal women aged 45–80 years from various parts of North India participated in the study. Anthropometric measurements, hemoglobin concentration, and bone mineral density (BMD) (using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry) of each participant were assessed. A 24-h dietary recall method for three consecutive days was employed. Statistical Analysis: The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 20 was used for statistical considerations. Results: An age-associated decline in the mean values of hemoglobin concentration and the prevalence of anemia was reported to be 85.2% among postmenopausal women. Anemic women were lighter and had lesser circumferential measurements as well as lower BMD than their nonanemic counterparts. The intake of nutrients such as protein, calcium, and iron and energy was lower among anemic women than nonanemic women. Binary logistic regression analysis identified age (odds ratio = 1.04, 95% confidence interval = 1.00–1.09)* as the possible predictor of anemia. Conclusions: Anemia was not only the result of aging process but also inadequate and unbalanced dietary intake.


This work investigates whether in vivo magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) and diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DW-MRI) can be used for non-invasive monitoring of treatment response in an experimental tumor model. Twenty-nine nude mice with colorectal adenocarcinoma HT29 xenografts on each flank were included into 2 separate experiments. In the first experiment control tumors were compared to tumors irradiated with 15 Gy at Day 2. MR baseline values were established at Day 1 followed by 4 post-treatment MR examinations. Mice were sacrificed for histological response evaluation and high-resolution ex vivo magic angle spinning (HR-MAS) MRS of tumor tissue samples for correlation with in vivo MR data. The second experiment included 3 groups recieving combined chemoradiation therapy; Control group, Capecitabine (359 mg/kg daily Day 1 - Day 5) group and Capecitabine (359 mg/kg daily Day 1 - Day 5) + Oxaliplatin (10 mg/kg at Day 2) group. All left-sided tumors were irradiated with 15 Gy at Day 2. Three repeated MR examinations were compared to the MR baseline values established at Day 1. After MR examinations the mice were sacrificed for histological response evaluation. The choice of chemoterapy was based on a clinical patient study currently running at Rikshospitalet-Radiumhospitalet HF, the LARC-RRP (Locally Advanced Rectal Cancer - Radiation Response Prediction) study. In Experiment 1, localized 1H MR spectra were acquired at short (35 ms) and long (144 ms) echo times (TEs) using a single-voxel technique. The metabolite choline is related to tumor growth. The choline peak area relative to the unsuppressed 35 ms TE water area in the same voxel, i.e. the normalized choline ratio, was assessed in all MRS examinations. For both TEs, the choline ratio increased after irradiation, followed by a decrease and a renewed increase 12 days after irradiation. In Experiment 1, statistically significant differences at the 0.1 level were observed between the choline ratios at Day 5 and Day 12 (p = 0.068) for short TE and between the ratios at Day 3 and Day 8 (p = 0.05) for long TE. The change in choline ratio was in accordance with the tumor necrotic fraction (NF) found in histological analyses. Principal component analysis (PCA) revealed a correlation between the score values of ex vivo HR-MAS MR spectra and necrosis. This suggests a correlation between ex vivo and in vivo MRS. In both experiments, the diffusion in the HT29 xenografts varied during treatment. There was a correlation between the amount of necrosis in tumor and the calculated apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) obtained from DW-MRI examinations. In Experiment 1, statistically significant differences at the 0.1 level were observed between the ADCs at Day 3 and Day 5 (p = 0.05), between Day 5 and Day 12 (p = 0.068), and between Day 8 and Day 12 (p = 0.068). The HT29 xenografts responded to treatment with an initial increase of necrosis due to the short-term effect of treatment, stimulating development of fibrosis. In accordance to the change in choline and ADC, the level of necrosis increased 8 - 12 days after start of treatment, which might correspond to the long-term effect of treatment. The findings in this work shows that in vivo MRS and DW-MRI can be used for non-invasive monitoring of treatment response in an experimental tumor model. This suggests that in vivo MRS and DW-MRI could yield important information about a tumors response to therapy.


This study presents a few bis(histidine) ligands working to build a small peptidic model system of zinc structural sites. Ferrocene-peptide conjugates Fc[CO-His(Trt)-His(Trt)-OMe]2 (3), Fc[CO-His(Trt)-Asp(OMe)-OMe]2 (4), and Fc[CO-His(Trt)-Glu(OMe)-OMe]2 (5) were synthesized and characterized spectroscopically. 1H-NMR and IR spectroscopic studies reveal hydrogen bonding interactions and while more detailed circular dichroism studies show a 1,2'-P helical "Herrick conformation" for Fc-conjugates 4 and 5, we discovered M-helical chirality in Fc-peptide 3. The half-wave potentials (E1/2) of ferrocene-peptides follow the sequence 3 < 5 < 4 which is rationalized by the capability of the peptide side chains to stabilize the oxidized ferrocene-peptide form. The diffusion coefficient (D) and electron transfer rate constant (ksh) values for all Fc-conjugates were determined by their resultant cyclic voltammetry data. The interactions for all Fc-conjugates were probed with metal ions Zn2+, Cd2+, Ni2+, Cu2+, Mn2+, and Mg2+ which were detected to interact at 1 : 1 ratio between the ligand and metal ion verified by 1H-NMR and UV titration studies, electrochemical investigations, and ESI-MS experiments. Electrochemical studies for all Fc-conjugates exhibit anodic potential shifts upon the addition of metal ions, which follow the order Cu2+ > Zn2+ > Ni2+ > Cd2+ > Mn2+ > Mg2+. NMR spectroscopic experiments show that the two nitrogen atoms present on each imidazole ring of His residues are the site of metal coordination. There is a strong indication that peptide conjugates 4 and 5 in the presence of Zn2+ enforce a coordination number of four as the CD spectra of Fc-conjugates 4 and 5 exhibited a red shift which corresponds to the third and fourth coordination sites occupied by neutral carbonyl oxygen donor atoms, in addition, carbonyl amide appears downward shifted in wavenumber upon metal addition.


""Kandak", from Patrick Hennessey, author of the TV Book Club pick, "The Junior Officers' Reading Club", is 'a rich depiction of life and death, love and sorrow ...read this brilliant book". ("Evening Standard"). When Patrick Hennessey returned home from Afghanistan, he left behind him the surreal intensity and exhilaration of battle. He also left behind lasting bonds of friendship formed with his Afghan comrades Qiam, Syed and Majhib. "Kandak" is the story of how, in the heat of the moment between living and dying, unlikely alliances can be forged. Patrick Hennessey tells of their awkward first meetings, mutual suspicion and incomprehension, and how this eventually turned into brotherhood. "A passionate tribute to the Afghan soldiers he fought alongside in Helmand ...excellent". ("Sunday Times"). "This beautifully-written sequel to his first book tells us much about the bonds forged by combat in the dust and heat and danger, when there was no "them and us"". ("Mail on Sunday"). "His prose is lean and muscular, characterised by dry wit and acute intelligence. He also has a novelist's eye for the vivid image and the telling detail". ("Daily Mail"). "An erudite account ...this topical book, beautifully written, gives important insights at a crucial time in Afghanistan's transition". ("Daily Telegraph"). Patrick Hennessey was born in 1982 and educated at Berkhamsted School and Balliol College, Oxford, where he read English. He joined the Army and served from 2004 to 2009 as an officer in The Grenadier Guards. In between guarding towers, castles and palaces he worked in the Balkans, Africa, South East Asia, the Falkland Islands and deployed on operational tours of Iraq and Afghanistan. On leaving the Army he wrote his first book "The Junior Officers' Reading Club". He is now a barrister.


Inside individual cells, expression of genes is inherently stochastic and manifests as cell-to-cell variability or noise in protein copy numbers. Since proteins half-lives can be comparable to the cell-cycle length, randomness in cell-division times generates additional intercellular variability in protein levels. Moreover, as many mRNA/protein species are expressed at low-copy numbers, errors incurred in partitioning of molecules between the mother and daughter cells are significant. We derive analytical formulas for the total noise in protein levels for a general class of cell-division time and partitioning error distributions. Using a novel hybrid approach the total noise is decomposed into components arising from i) stochastic expression; ii) partitioning errors at the time of cell-division and iii) random cell-division events. These formulas reveal that random cell-division times not only generate additional extrinsic noise but also critically affect the mean protein copy numbers and intrinsic noise components. Counter intuitively, in some parameter regimes noise in protein levels can decrease as cell-division times become more stochastic. Computations are extended to consider genome duplication, where the gene dosage is increased by two-fold at a random point in the cell-cycle. We systematically investigate how the timing of genome duplication influences different protein noise components. Intriguingly, results show that noise contribution from stochastic expression is minimized at an optimal genome duplication time. Our theoretical results motivate new experimental methods for decomposing protein noise levels from single-cell expression data. Characterizing the contributions of individual noise mechanisms will lead to precise estimates of gene expression parameters and techniques for altering stochasticity to change phenotype of individual cells.


The impact of climate change is typically cast in terms of the change in one of
a few climate parameters (for example, temperature, precipitation, or water
vapor). Another category of impact, and one that is relatively poorly
understood, is the direct impact to specific coupled physical-biological
environments. Environmental response to climate change is potentially
complex, as there are multiple surface-processes coupled to varying degrees,
and the system can have more inertia (or memory) than the climate system.
There is, for example, potential for non-linear responses to slow, or uniform,
changes in the external (climate) forcing. In response to the lack of
appropriate holistic models tackling environmental change, we initiated a
research programme to address the dynamics of environmental sensitivity to
climate change (DESC). The DESC project seeks to explore the interactions that exist between Earth
systems at a range of spatio-temporal scales by coupling current landscape
evolution modelling technologies to a host of bespoke geo-processing
modules. Landscape evolution models are well established, providing the
perfect base with which to fuse a variety of Earth systems models, thus
allowing new research to be undertaken into the inter-discipline feedbacks
that determine the role of future climates in shaping the geosphere.
DESC currently uses the well established CAESAR model (Coulthard and Van
De Wiel, 2006) as its kernel; a two-dimensional cellular automaton landscape
evolution model which has a modular design and great versatility in the range
of simulated spatio-temporal scales. Initial research focused on the loose
coupling of CAESAR to the groundwater flow model ZOOMQ3D, investigating
the role of groundwater on sediment transport at the catchment scale. The
Eden Valley (Cumbria, UK) was selected as a test bed for the coupled model
and results suggest that although the volume of sediment transport through
the catchment is not altered, the distribution of sediment erosion and
deposition in the simulation is perturbed by the interplay of baseflow
conditions and storm intensity and frequency.
Using the two complex, computationally intense coupled models over the
catchment scale on the required temporal scales crated an undesirably long
processing time (in the region of one week of processing per five years of
simulation). The groundwater aspect of the coupled model is currently being
replaced by a bespoke, cellular, distributed, coupled surface-subsurface water
flow model, which will be incorporated into CAESAR. This hydrological model
has decreased data storage needs and a simulation time in the region of two
orders of magnitude faster than the original model, whilst continuing to
calculate a range of hydrological parameters at individual nodes. Future
versions of DESC will incorporate shallow landslides, dynamic vegetation,
hillslope creep and transient discharges, creating a base model from which a
variety of climate-derived, looped feedback research can be undertaken at
daily to centennial timescales.


We thank Desai et al (1) for an elegant corroboration of neuroimaging and pathology regarding a case of radiculomyelitic (paralytic or dumb) human rabies. Three previous reports of MR imaging of the spine in cases of human rabies appear in the literature (2–4). In one case of furious or encephalitic rabies, the findings of MR imaging of the lumbar spine were unremarkable (2). In two cases of paralytic rabies, the findings of MR imaging of the cervical spine were consistent with myelitis (3, 4). Desai et al (1) argue that findings of MR imaging of the spine in cases of human rabies are different and that they distinguish rabies resulting from encephalomyelitis from rabies resulting from any other cause or, more specifically, from rabies occurring secondary to postexposure prophylaxis with inactive nerve tissue vaccines (ie, Semple vaccine). This claim seems premature, especially considering the limited data available. More descriptions of MR imaging of the spine in cases of human rabies are needed. More important is the clear documentation of spinal abnormalities revealed by imaging in cases of paralytic human rabies. When MR imaging of the spine suggests myelitis, paralytic rabies should be considered. In a patient whose condition progresses from flaccid paralysis with myelitis evident on MR images of the spine to both paralysis and encephalitis, rabies should be strongly considered. Unfortunately, patients with rabies who did not receive appropriate postexposure prophylaxis will die, regardless of their neuroimaging findings. Michael J. Doherty Nathaniel F.Watson Department of Neurology University of Washington Seattle, WA


Arab culture and the religion of Islam permeated the traditions and customs of the African sub-Sahara for centuries. When the early colonizers from Europe arrived in Africa they encountered these influences and spontaneously perceived the African cultures to be ideologically hybridized and more compatible with Islam than with the ideologies of the west. This difference progressively endorsed a perception of Africa and the east being "exotic" and was as such depicted in early paintings and writings. This depiction contributed to a cultural misunderstanding of Africa and facilitated colonialism. This article briefly explores some of the facets of these early texts and paintings. In the first place the scripts by early Muslim scholars, who critically analyzed early western perceptions, were discussed against the textual interpretation of east-west perceptions such as the construction of "the other". Secondly, the travel writers and painters between 1860 and 1930, who created a visual embodiment of the exotic, were discussed against the politics behind the French Realist movement that developed in France during that same period. This included the construction of a perception of exoticness as represented by literature descriptions and visual art depictions of the women of the Orient. These perceptions rendered Africa as oriental with African subjects depicted as "exotic others". Key words: Oriental Art, Africa, Orientalism, cultural perceptions.


This study assessed quality assurance practices and students' performance evaluation in universities of South-South Nigeria using an SEM approach. Three null hypotheses guided the study. Based on factorial research design, and using a stratified random sampling technique, a sample of 878 academic staff were drawn from a sampling frame of 15 universities in South-South Nigeria. Quality Assurance Practices Students' Performance Evaluation Scale (QAPSPES) with split-half reliability estimates ranging from .86–.92, was used as the instruments for data collection. Multiple regression and Confirmatory Factor Analyses (CFA) were used for the analysis of data, model building, and testing of the hypotheses at .05 alpha level. Findings showed a significant composite and relative influence (F=48.19, P<.05) of school management, staff, and students' quality assurance practices on students' performance evaluation. The results also indicated that there were positive and significant covariances between the four variables of this study, with the CFI, RMSEA,TLI, and SRMR values indicating a good model fit. It was recommended, based on the findings of this study that, each school should organize quality assurance orientation campaigns for new students and set up quality assurance committees at the school, faculty and departmental levels for optimal performance in schools.


This article describes the findings from a study that examined the psychological ramifications of immigration experiences among Koreans in the United States using hwabyung and depressive symptoms. Data collected from an anonymous survey of 242 voluntary participants were analyzed using Pearson's correlation coefficient (r), and hierarchical multiple regression (R2). The findings demonstrated the statistically significant correlation between hwabyung and depressive symptoms. Also found was the important role of coping resources in explaining both hwabyung and depressive symptoms among Korean immigrants. Additionally, the findings suggest that having a graduate school education in the United Sates, receiving money from Korea, and being a woman were found to be significantly related to hwabyung symptoms. However, no factors related to individual characteristics appeared to have a significant impact on depressive symptoms. Based on the findings, the implications for practice are discussed.


During the last years, we have developed a photorefractive ultrasonic sensor. This sensor is used for non-destructive testing of materials and parts. It works with one measurement point and the laser beam scans the surface of the object to characterize. One possibility to increase the evaluation speed is to develop a multichannel sensor. We will present the experimental implementation and characterization of such a sensor that simply derives from the single point sensor due to principle of holography, by the simple use of a line or matrix of detectors.


A new method to rapidly produce and screen biodegradable polymer- and xerogel-based formulations is described. The approach is based on a high-speed pin printer and imaging with an epi-fluorescence microscope/charge-coupled device detector. By using this approach we can produce and screen over 600 formulations/h and rapidly identify lead formulations and/or compositions that are the most useful for the development of biodegradable devices or (bio)sensors.


Computerized Information Systems have successfully been used in organizations to improve the efficiency, speed and accuracy of doing repetitive tasks. However, organizations have added more expectations to their capabilities and now expect them to completely play the roles of humans. This has not been a complete failure, neither has it been a resounding success. This lecture raises some issues that require attention when designing IS if they are to completely replace humans in organizational roles. Besides incorporating the principles of romanticism in the IS design, methods should be found that allow the inscription of consciousness, freewill and interests among a plethora of other issues into the IS artefacts. This lecture is grounded more in the philosophical arguments of IS-organization relations.


The vascular plants of Boiling Spring Lakes Preserve (BSLP) in Brunswick
County, North Carolina were collected and catalogued during the growing seasons of
2005 through 2007. The 2,400 ha tract is comprised of Coastal Fringe Sandhills, Wet
Pine Flatwoods, Pine Savannas, Small Depression Ponds, and Pond Pine Woodlands.
The variety of ecosystems and relatively low disturbance has resulted in the designation
of BSLP as a nationally significant ecological site. Brunswick County has the highest
concentration of rare plants in North Carolina, but few floristic surveys from the region
have been published. This study is the first comprehensive floristic survey of BSLP. A
total of 403 species from 88 families were found in the survey. Families with greatest
representation of individual species were Asteraceae (61), Cyperaceae (46), Poaceae (44),
Fabaceae (20), and Ericaceae (14). Two new state records, Croton michauxii and Rubus
discolor, and 40 new county records were added to the state and county floras. Further
conservation implications and management suggestions were suggested based on
observations made in several powerline clearcuts that transect the site. Longleaf pine ecosystems are characterized by high groundcover species richness,
but the intent of most commercial pine plantation management techniques is to reduce
understory competition. In areas where pine plantations are the focus of longleaf pine
restoration efforts, questions arise as to the negative impact of intensive management
practices on the native groundcover. The objective of this study was to examine plant
associations in a loblolly (Pinus taeda) pine plantation and determine some of the abiotic
variables driving the associations. Such information provides insight into restoration
techniques that will best address current problematic site issues (erosion, low soil organic
material (SOM)) that hamper restoration efforts.
Thirty-one North Carolina Vegetation Survey (NCVS) plots were established in
the summer of 2006 to classify the vegetation in a 57 ha loblolly pine plantation within
the Boiling Spring Lakes Preserve in Brunswick County, North Carolina. Abiotic
variables measured were soil organic carbon (SOC) in the A, E, and B horizons,
elevation, and the depth to the B horizon (DBTH). Water availability is one of the main
limiting resources in longleaf pine systems and is critical to the storage of SOC,
therefore, SOC from the A, E, and B horizons were used as proxies for moisture content.
Non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMS) was used to classify and ordinate the
herbaceous plots into two consistent groups, hydrophytic and xerophytic, based on a soil
moisture gradient along the first axis. Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) and
Detrended correspondence analysis (DCA) grouped plots along gradients of the abiotic
variables with xerophytic plots being positively correlated with elevation and DBTH.
This is reasonable because increasing DBTH with increasing elevation results in decreased proximity to perched water tables, favoring the establishment of xeric adapted
species. This study demonstrated that moisture availability structures plant associations
and early restoration efforts should focus on increasing SOM as a means to maintain the
water balance and reduce the effects of erosion, providing conducive conditions for
restoration planting.


A decade ago, the "sink or swim" culture was widespread in research. But academic institutions across the United States and Europe are now investing resources in helping young researchers gain the skills they need for climbing the career ladder. Top on the list are leadership skills, whether for conflict management, handling finances, or negotiating intellectual property rights in an international consortium, these are highly rated assets that can help researchers advance to senior roles. Here9s a look at some of the most established leadership programs that hold alumni who are leaping ahead as a result of the training. Read the Feature (Full-Text HTML) Read the Feature (PDF)


Hydrological drought is a textbook for university students, practising hydrologists and researchers. The main scope of this book is to provide the reader with a comprehensive review of processes and estimation methods for streamflow and groundwater drought. It includes a qualitative conceptual understanding of drought features and processes, a detailed presentation of estimation methods and tools, practical examples and key aspects of operational practice. The methods are demonstrated using sample data sets and tools that are provided on the accompanying CD. The drought phenomenon and its diversity across the world are illustrated using a global set of daily streamflow series, whereas regional and local aspects of drought are studied using a combination of hydrological time series and catchment information. The book concludes with human impacts, ecological issues and examples of procedures for designing and operating water resources schemes. The majority of the examples are taken from regions where the rivers run most of the year. The material presented ranges from well established knowledge and analysing methods to recent developments in drought research. Its nature varies accordingly, from a more traditional textbook with its clear overview to that of a research paper, which introduces new approaches and methodologies for drought analysis.


Fifteen local bottled waters brands (Best-selling brands) purchased randomly covering nine Iraqi governorates were analyzed for various physico-chemical as well as bacterial water quality parameters. The obtained results were compared to national and international water standard for drinking water as well as to the reported label values of the bottled water. Results showed that the majority of bottled water met the different drinking water quality standards for physico-chemical parameters except for calcium (one brand at Baghdad), magnesium (Ten brands at all studied governorates except Basrah) and total alkalinity (Two brands at Baghdad and Duhok). All bottled water brands showed negative growth for fecal coliforms, total coliforms and heterotrophic plate count at 37◦C. Generated Piper diagrams revealed that the majority of bottled waters samples are of calcium –magnesium chloride and some sulfate type (Ten brands) and the other water type are of calcium–magnesium bicarbonates (Five brands). Hierarchical cluster analysis was used to classify bottled water brands with similar properties and results distinguished five groups of brands. Comparison of the study results with reported label values indicated considerable variation for pH, Ca, Mg, Na, K, Cl, TH, TA, TDS, EC and SO4.


Author(s): Eger, Jana; Karberg, Tim; Lohwasser, Angelika | Abstract: This paper presents some medieval material from remote areas within the Bayuda and the Western Deserts in Sudan, and draws several conclusions about the presence of Christianity and the Makurian administration within them. First, the general topographical setting of the different areas are described in order to define the geographical frame of the paper. The Wadi Abu Dom is an ephemeral fluviatile valley situated within the central and western Bayuda between the Sudanese provinces River Nile State and Northern State. It drains several dendritic khors in volcanic mountains of the central Bayuda – the most prominent of them named "Ras ed-Dom," whose name refers to its role as the uppermost offspring of the (Wadi Abu) Dom. It flows at its very beginning from north to south, and later in western or northwestern direction. North of the modern town of Merowe directly opposite the Gebel Barkal, it meets the River Nile.


3D printing has been attracting attention in recent years due to its versatility in design optimization and reduced labour and production costs. It has been implemented in many major sectors such as automotive, aerospace, and healthcare. One of the most recent researches involving this technology is in the prosthetics and orthotics field. The aim of this paper is to review the recent researches on Ankle-Foot Orthosis (AFO) which uses 3D printing in its manufacturing and fabrication phase. This paper discusses the current 3D printing technologies used for AFO, the comparison between Conventional Manufacturing (CM) and Additive Manufacturing (AM) of AFO, as well as the mechanical properties of AFO prototypes built from 3D printing. Results from this review show that most current researches use Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM) or Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) for AFO manufacturing, and the materials used are mostly thermoplastics such as Nylon and Polyamide (PA). The results also show that the tensile strength and Young's Modulus of a 3D-printed AFO could reach as high as 43 MPa and 3.9 GPa, respectively. It can be concluded that 3D printing provides wider opportunities in the development of AFO due to its versatility in optimizing complex geometries, time and weight savings, as well as its cost-effectiveness.


Motivations for migrating within the European Union have mainly been attributed to economic, career and lifestyle choices. This article suggests that political dissatisfaction is also an important motivator of recent intra-European migration. In our analysis of in-depth interviews with Romanian migrants in Spain and with Spanish migrants in Norway, we found a common emphasis on the political dimensions of their decision to migrate. In the interviews, the economic component of migration was often related to bad governance and negative perceptions of the state. The similarities of Spanish and Romanian migration narratives are especially striking because Spain and Romania represent substantially different migratory, political and economic contexts. However, migration is more obviously intertwined with conventional acts of political protest in the Spanish case. We suggest that differences in democratic contexts are pivotal in people's reactions to and framing of their deep dissatisfaction with domestic politics, as found in many European countries today.


We analyzed the effect of development mode (direct vs. pelagic development) on the spatial structure of a megabenthic gastropod assemblage at a regional scale. The research was carried out along the bathymetric, saline and thermal gradients generated by the interaction between the shelf topography, the freshwater discharge of Rio de la Plata and the presence of oceanic water masses. Direct developers dominated in terms of number of species in the entire area and when the inner and outer shelves were considered separately. Species with pelagic development were not observed to be ecologically successful (i.e. have higher abundances) on the inner shelf, which suggests that high environmental variability may not necessarily favour this strategy. No patterns were found in the relative abundance of species in each developmental mode between the inner (i.e. < 50 m) and outer shelves. However, richness patterns of the two groups were differentially affected by environmental conditions. Species richness for direct developers was affected by mean annual temperature, bathymetry and longitude while pelagic developers showed evident trends in relation to temperature range and latitude. Further studies are necessary to derive general predictions concerning the relative advantages of each developmental type in relation to these gradients in ecological time scales and local or regional spatial scales.


Outbreaks of looting have increasingly become one of the core concerns of communities which have undergone large-scale civil disorders in America within the past several years. Most current press reports of such outbreaks have as one of their central themes the occurrence of looting, and frequently depict looters in action. Even after-accounts of the civil disturbances or editorial polemics often emphasize stories of plunder to illustrate the "breakdown of law and order."


Comfort factor (CF) is defined as the percentage of wool fibers with diameter less than 30 microns. Our objective was to investigate the effects of sire genetics, nutrition, level of supplementation and gender and their interactions on CF in crossbred sheep either grazing or supplemented with dietary protein. Correlations between CF and other
wool traits were also investigated. Texel, Coopworth, White Suffolk,East-Friesian and Dorset sires were mated with 500 Merino ewes at a ratio of 1:100 in individual paddocks. Five hundred of the crossbreds were raised on pasture until weaning at 12 weeks of age. Forty of the weaners with initial BW range of 23-31 kg (average of 27 ± 3.2 kg)were fed with lupins or canola at 1 or 2% BW for 6 weeks in a 5 × 2 × 2 × 2 factorial experimental design. CF and other wool quality traits were commercially measured at the Australian Wool Testing Authority. Data were analyzed in SAS using MIXED models procedures with sire fitted as a random effect, whereas sire breed, nutrition, supplement,
level of supplementation and gender and their interactions were fitted as fixed effects. We found that neither supplement (P > 0.14) nor level of supplementation (P > 0.16) influenced CF which did not differ between pasture-fed and supplemented sheep. However, highly significant
effects of sire breed (P < 0.01), gender (P < 0.01) and interactions between sire breed × level of supplementation (P < 0.01), sire breed × gender (P < 0.03) and supplement × level of supplementation (P < 0.01) on CF were detected. White Suffolk crosses had the highest CF (90.1 ± 8.7%) and East-Friesian crosses the least (81.5±10.1%). Males fed canola at 1%BW had the highest CF (90.8 ± 7.0%), while females fed lupins at 1%BW had the least (81.1 ± 10.8). White Suffolk sired males ranked the highest (91.1 ± 10.5%) and East Friesian females the least (74.7 ± 7.9%). CF was significantly correlated with fiber diameter (−0.89), spinning fineness (−0.95) and wool curvature (0.33). Our findings provide useful information to sheep farmers in crossbreeding dual purpose sheep that will also deliver desirable wool comfort outcomes to the fabric industry.


Stable liposomes that offer a potential for pulmonary delivery have been developed and characterised. Freeze-dried soya phosphatidylcholine: cholesterol (1:1) small unilamellar liposome vesicles were prepared with salbutamol sulphate (SS) and beclometasone dipropionate (BDP), being included within separate or same formulations, and in presence or absence of a cryoprotectant. The cryoprotectants used were sucrose and trehalose in 5:1 or 10:1 (w/w) cryoprotectant to lipid ratio. Size analysis was performed using photon correlation spectroscopy and surface charge (zeta potential) was measured using laser Doppler velocimetry. Inclusion of a cryoprotectant prior to freeze-drying minimised the increase in the measured size on rehydration, with sucrose being superior to trehalose. When both SS and BDP were included, the rehydrated liposomes had the smallest size, being below 100 nm using sucrose and below 136 nm using trehalose. The zeta potential of the liposomes was slightly increased after freeze-drying and was highly independent on formulation. This study has demonstrated the possibility of producing stable freeze-dried liposomes that included two anti-asthma drugs and also demonstrated a potential for application in pulmonary delivery.


In all domains and sectors, the demand for intelligent systems to support the processing and generation of digital content is rapidly increasing. The availability of vast amounts of content and the pressure to publish new content quickly and in rapid succession requires faster, more efficient and smarter processing and generation methods. With a consortium of ten partners from research and industry and a broad range of expertise in AI, Machine Learning and Language Technologies, the QURATOR project, funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, develops a sustainable and innovative technology platform that provides services to support knowledge workers in various industries to address the challenges they face when curating digital content. The project's vision and ambition is to establish an ecosystem for content curation technologies that significantly pushes the current state of the art and transforms its region, the metropolitan area Berlin-Brandenburg, into a global centre of excellence for curation technologies.


Network screening techniques are widely used by state agencies to identify locations with high collision concentration, also referred to as hotspots. However, most of the research in this regard has focused on identifying highway segments that are of concern to automobile collisions. A major difference between pedestrian and automobile hotspots is that pedestrian-based conflicts are more likely to arise in localized regions, such as near intersections, mid-blocks, and/or other crossings, as opposed to along long stretches of roadway. Hence, in order to address this issue, a dynamic programming-based hotspot identification approach is proposed which provides efficient hotspot definitions for pedestrian crashes. The proposed approach is compared with the sliding window method and the results reveal that the dynamic programming method generates more hotspots with a higher number of crashes, while covering fewer miles.


In the context of Internet Research, Virtual Worlds offer a new environment to meet, communicate and perform rituals - the so called Online-Rituals - in a virtual reality, irrespective of geographical and real-life body conditions. The most prominent example for such worlds that have existed since 1998 is the privately-owned, subscription-based 3D application Second Life. An increasing number of residents use this World not only as a kind of virtual playground but as an enlargement of their real-life possibilities that has to be taken seriously: The users are both socially and religiously very active and consequently transfer real-life activities and therefore also rituals into virtual space. With the shift of technical boundaries former seemingly fixed religious and ritual frameworks will be modified and transformed. Different wedding rituals designed and performed in Second Life, for example, show the possibility to identify processes of ritual transfer and of ritual patchworking.


Context: Globally, there has been an increase in incidence of paratyphoid fever, including paratyphoid fever caused by antimicrobial-resistant strains. Studying the clinical profile and antimicrobial sensitivity of paratyphoid fever would help in early diagnosis, appropriate treatment, rational use of antibiotics and prevent drug resistance. Aim: The aim of the study was to evaluate the clinical profile and sensitivity patterns of antibiotics used in the treatment of paratyphoid fever. Settings and Design: A record-based study was done in tertiary care hospital, South India. Materials and Methods: A retrospective analysis of culture-proven cases of paratyphoid fever was done in a tertiary care hospital. The socio-demographic characteristics, mode of presentation and the sensitivity pattern of isolates from blood culture were recorded. One hundred and ten case files of Salmonella paratyphi were reviewed from the medical records section and the required data (data regarding the clinical profile and antibiotic sensitivity) was collected and analyzed using SPSS version 11.5. Results: Fever was present in all patients. All the cases were sensitive for third-generation cephalosporins, and only 31.8% of the cases were sensitive for quinolones. Sensitivity towards other antibiotics in descending order was as follows: ampicillin 93.6%, chloramphenicol 91.8%, aminoglycosides 90.4% and sulphonamides 76.4%. Conclusions: Research shows that there is increasing resistance to fluoroquinolones and sensitivity to chloramphenicol. Considering the changing trend in the sensitivity pattern, the recommendations of treatment for enteric fever need to be rationalized and re-considered.


This thesis examined the use of a pearl harvested synonym ring in the creation of a digital index on the subject of giftedness, with the goal of better defining the available information in the field and facilitating information retrieval. The pearl harvested synonym ring was used in the retrieval of citations relating to giftedness in the ERIC database. A content analysis of these citations provided the list of topics that would form the basis of a digital index. When the topics retrieved using the pearl harvested synonym ring were compared to the indices of two textbooks on gifted education, they were found to be more comprehensive and better representative of the field. The results of this study have potential implications in the improvement of digital indexing techniques, better understanding of academic fields of study, and creating a standard procedure for scoping reviews.


A scheme is described for calculating the scattering parameters of patterned conductive films in waveguide. The films can have non-uniform, non-isotropic, and non-local sheet impedances. Once the scattering parameters are known, they can be combined with the scattering parameters of paths, dielectric slabs, and waveguide steps to build up models of complicated components comprising patterned films in profiled lightpipes and cavities. It is then straightforward to calculate the Stokes fields of the total reception pattern, the natural optical modes to which the component is sensitive, the Stokes fields of the individual natural modes, and the spatial state of coherence. The method is demonstrated by modeling an absorbing pixel in a length of shorted multimode waveguide. The natural optical modes change from being those of the waveguide to those of a free-space pixel as the size of the absorber is reduced.


More than forty percent of children born in America are born to unmarried parents and only half of all cohabitating adults in America are currently married. While many children are born to single parents, others are part of the two-person unmarried cohabiting functional family paradigm. What is the status of these children?
This article examines the changing paradigm of parental status, specifically vis-a-vis homosexual couples with children, and the rights of the non-biological parent after separation. This article examines the changes in law in regards to unmarried parents leading up to the Uniform Parentage Act. It describes the equitable remedies that became available over the past two decades to unmarried parents and how the Supreme Court's decision in Obergefell will likely create an important paradigm shift in how courts deal with such cases in the future now that marriage is available to same-sex parents.


This paper examines whether electronic procurement (e-procurement), which increases access to information and reduces personal interactions with potentially corrupt officials, improves procurement outcomes. We develop unique datasets from India and Indonesia and use variation in adoption of e-procurement within both countries. We find no evidence of reduced prices but do find that e-procurement leads to quality improvements. In India, where we observe quality directly, e-procurement improves road quality, and in Indonesia, e-procurement reduces delays. Regions with e-procurement are more likely to have winners come from outside the region. On net, the results suggest that e-procurement facilitates entry from higher quality contractors.


Concern has existed for several years over the classroom practices relating to the "whole language" approach as opposed to the "basal-based" approach relative to literacy development, especially with respect to the appropriateness of each method for use with minority and lower socioeconomic groups of children entering kindergarten. This study describes the oral language of both African American and European American kindergarten children from low and middle socioeconomic status families who are attending public school kindergartens, one using whole language and one a basal-based approach. The language during centertime of seventeen children from these two classrooms was audiotaped using wireless microphones over a period of six weeks in the spring of the school term. Qualitative research methodologies following techniques for both participant and nonpartcipant observations were implemented. Transcriptions were used to analyze the language according to the functions (Halliday, 1973), strategies (Tough, 1983), the Situational, Discourse, Semantic Model (Norris & Hoffman, 1993), and other recognized measures. Data analyses are presented in both descriptive and tabular form. Oral language of all groups classified was found to be in accord with the expectations of analytical models; virtually all the children studied were expressing xi themselves at the anticipated levels for their age. Even though there were recognizable differences in performance at particular points of measurement and levels of maturity, similar, somewhat parallel patterns were common to all groups. Contrary to what might have been expected by some educators, African American, lower socioeconomic status children actually performed at higher levels than European American, middle socioeconomic children in enough instances to suggest there was a similarity between the groups, particularly in the whole language classroom. There is evidence to suggest that, in some areas, the "whole language" approach encouraged a more mature, richer use of language than did the basal-based approach. This observation applies to both middle socioeconomic European American children and lower socioeconomic African American children. When children are given the freedom to express themselves in carefully planned, developmentally appropriate (Bredekamp, 1987) centertime activities, regardless of their racial or socioeconomic status, they will interact orally in a manner that advances their oral language capabilities.


The figures of classical Indian philosophy are generally known to us only in the stylized terms of traditional hagiographies, which seldom give confidence that we are in touch with a historical personage. Aiming to overcome the limitations of our biographical knowledge about one of the most famous Indian philosophers, Joseph Walser's ambitious Nāgārjuna in Context seeks to locate the progenitor of the Madhyamaka school of Buddhist thought (generally taken to have flourished around 150 CE) with historical precision. Nāgārjuna's influential but enigmatic works were composed, Walser argues, "in a Mahāsā _ nghika monastery in or near an urban center in the Lower Krishna River Valley in [what is now] modern Andhra Pradesh" (14), probably between 175 and 204 CE (86–87). Walser's care in developing a cumulative case for this unusually precise conclusion sheds welcome light on the context of early Mahāyāna Buddhism—but it is also interpretively problematic. Walser starts by showing, based on epigraphic and other evidence, that around the time of Nāgārjuna's accepted dates, "Mahāyāna was a relatively small, in some places embattled, movement within Buddhism with no independent institutional status" (16). There is arguably a category mistake here, since Mahāyāna never really had any "independent institutional status"; if, e.g., adherence to a particular vinaya is the criterion of institutional identity, there never were any "Mahāyāna" monasteries—Tibetan Buddhists, e.g., use the vinaya of the ("Hīnayāna") Mūlasarvāstivāda tradition. Walser is not unaware of this, and he accepts a widely held view of Mahāyāna as a "'school' or a 'philosophical movement,'" which therefore does not involve "the full institutional apparatus, both material and ideological, of affiliated monasteries" (17). But this point is often neglected; despite the fact that philosophical positions do not seem to have been "institutionalized" in Indian Buddhism, Walser's argument centrally involves questions of institutional status.


In this paper, we present results from an ongoing participatory design research project that focuses on the design and evaluation of a tagging-system and corresponding visualizations to support actors and visitors of an urban gardening project. The contributions of this work are threefold. First, it addresses the yet underexplored field of integrating context information beyond location and time into mobile tagging systems and folksonomies. Second, it suggests novel visualizations to explore tagged data and folksonomies beyond tag clouds and simple map representations on mobile phones. And third, it gives novel insights into supporting the embedded practices of a DIY (Do-It-Yourself) urban gardening community with interactive systems based on ethnographic fieldwork and participatory design.


The rapid growth of the construction industry and rising demand in housing and infrastructure facilities in India are challenges to the efficiency of Indian construction organisations. In view of the poor quality and under-supply of present day construction practices, the emergence of alternative and new technologies in construction have drawn the attention of many organisations. With this background, the Off-Site Construction (OSC) method has evolved as an efficient alternative approach addressing time, cost and quality concerns of the existing practices. Several construction organisations in India have recognised the need to implement OSC methods to achieve competitive advantage. In order to achieve successful implementation of OSC methods, the construction organisations must be fully aware of the operations and processes involved in working with OSC products, while the organisation itself must be prepared to customise according to the requirements of OSC methods.
The concept of Off-Site Construction has been drawing more attention from scholars. Various researchers have discussed about the existence of OSC practices in India. However, scholars have been less interested in exploring the status of OSC in India and factors affecting the uptake of OSC in the country. Therefore, the current research has aimed to develop the Off-Site Construction readiness framework to assess the preparedness of Indian construction organisations towards the application of OSC methods. The researcher has investigated the drivers and barriers for adoption of OSC techniques in India, and documented the results in this thesis. Current research has adopted the epistemological position of interpretivism and the ontological position of subjectivism as a research philosophy, issues that have been widely discussed in the chapter three "research design and methodology".
The research identified that cost and time certainty, minimising on-site duration and achieving high quality are some of the driving factors towards the adoption of OSC techniques. On the other hand, longer lead times, client resistance and scepticism, along with lack of guidance and information are the potential barriers for extensive implementation of OSC methods in India. The seventeen constructs of the Off-Site Construction readiness framework are divided into four groups, entitled Operational challenges, Broad execution strategy, Certainty in planning and Operational efficiency. These groups were developed from the literature, self-administered questionnaires and semi-structured interviews in the different phases. The researcher also validated the refined framework through conducting case studies in three OSC-practicing construction organisations in India. The proposed Off-Site Construction readiness framework will guide the practitioners in assessing the OSC readiness of the construction organisations in India. The assessment will enable the organisation to evaluate and to benchmark its process in strategic and operational phases. The framework will also identify the areas of concern and the scope for further development or change in order to get optimal advantage of OSC methods. Hence, the research recommends application of the proposed framework in the OSC-practicing construction organisations in India in order to evaluate their current OSC readiness and to achieve competitive advantage. Though this assessment framework was proposed for India, it has a potential to serve as a general guide for OSC practitioners, policy makers and other key stakeholders involved in improving quality of the construction industry globally. In the real world implementation, the contribution of this research will improve awareness, increase confidence and strength of organisations in the execution of OSC techniques in Architectural, Engineering and Construction domains.


Funds were made available to each of our institutions, Campbellsville University, Lindsey Wilson College, and St. Catherine College through the Association of Independent Kentucky Colleges and Universities for faculty training for the implementation of Senate Bill 1. By pooling the funds available to each of our institutions, we designed a Senate Bill 1 Symposium, an initial six-hour workshop to introduce Senate Bill 1, tailored to the needs of our institutions that provided rich resources and a quality experience. From the core of faculty trained at the initial workshop, each institution was able to build additional training for faculty and to begin the implementation of Senate Bill 1. Working together, we create a cross-fertilization of ideas and a set of contacts for resources that strengthen not only the quality of our professional development, but also present a model for collaboration that provides smaller programs the opportunity to implement quality training. Having the resources to design an initial quality professional development event to meet the specific needs of our faculty members set the stage for our faculty to benefit from subsequent training since our workshop was the first among the private institutions and one of the first in the state.


Abstract The most successful systems for "big data" processing have all adopted functional APIs. We present a new programming model, we call function passing, designed to provide a more principled substrate, or middleware, upon which to build data-centric distributed systems like Spark. A key idea is to build up a persistent functional data structure representing transformations on distributed immutable data by passing well-typed serializable functions over the wire and applying them to this distributed data. Thus, the function passing model can be thought of as a persistent functional data structure that is distributed, where transformations performed on distributed data are stored in its nodes rather than the distributed data itself. One advantage of this model is that failure recovery is simplified by design – data can be recovered by replaying function applications atop immutable data loaded from stable storage. Deferred evaluation is also central to our model; by incorporating deferred evaluation into our design only at the point of initiating network communication, the function passing model remains easy to reason about while remaining efficient in time and memory. Moreover, we provide a complete formalization of the programming model in order to study the foundations of lineage-based distributed computation. In particular, we develop a theory of safe, mobile lineages based on a subject reduction theorem for a typed core language. Furthermore, we formalize a progress theorem that guarantees the finite materialization of remote, lineage-based data. Thus, the formal model may serve as a basis for further developments of the theory of data-centric distributed programming, including aspects such as fault tolerance. We provide an open-source implementation of our model in and for the Scala programming language, along with a case study of several example frameworks and end-user programs written atop this model.


The Rt. Rev. Frank E. Wilson (1855-1944), late Bishop of Eau Claire, was perhaps the most prolific Episcopal writer of his era, authoring dozens of books geared to lay people. Over the years, his works have helped to renew the Church, encourage social and ecumenical progress, and provide guidance and insight to generations of Episcopalians. Faith and Practice s reaffirming message celebrates our unique Anglican way of thinking while calling us to act faithfully upon those beliefs. More than 50 years after its original publication, this timely book that explores core Christian beliefs, continues to inspire and instruct Anglicans throughout the world.


The recent trend toward propertization of health data could pose significant challenges to biomedical research and public health. Property rule systems can result in sizable up-front costs in the acquisition of consent from individual data subjects, as well as the ongoing risk that data subjects will retract consent or object to unanticipated data uses, thus compromising existing data resources and analyses. Instead, we propose that research using individual health data should be subject to a regulatory regime, enforceable by government/public repositories, while at the same time permitting limited private enforcement actions to address particularized individual injury. Thus, while the physical collection of human tissue would continue to be subject to existing rules regarding informed consent, ex ante consent would not be required for the use of information derived from physical samples. Rather, rules regarding proper research use of health information would be put in place, and violations of those rules would be dealt with on an ex post basis, both through regulatory penalties and private liability actions. These recommendations are supported by two cases studies: the Utah Population Database and Statistics Denmark, both of which provide examples of successful health data repositories that are governed by regulatory systems. While these examples are drawn from governmental data resources, the approach that they exemplify can be extended to academic and other research environments. These case studies suggest that regulatory and liability models should be considered more broadly for the governance of research using human health data in lieu of property-based systems.


We report the equilibration temperatures derived from the oxygen isotope thermometry of pyroxene-olivine pair from the Dar al Ghani (DaG) 476 (1200 +105/−90 °C) and Sayh al Uhaymir (SaU) 008 (1430 +220/−155 °C) meteorites showing a difference of over 200 °C at the face values. Regardless of the large associated uncertainties, contrasting geochemical and isotopic characteristics such as oxygen fugacities, hydrogen isotopic compositions (referred to as the D/H ratios), olivine abundances, presence of merrillite and/or apatite, and their chlorine contents between the two meteorites are observed in the literature. These opposing features lend support to the idea that the relative difference observed in the estimated temperatures is probably real and significant, thus providing insights into the Martian mantle magmatism. Based on our temperature estimation and previous magmatic models, we propose that SaU 008 could have been originated from a deeper depleted mantle source. However, DaG 476 may have been produced by the partial melting of the entrained pockets of the depleted mantle similar to that of the SaU 008's source at a relatively shallower depth. Both meteorites erupted as a relatively thick lava flow or a shallow intrusion at approximately the same time followed by a launch initiated by a single meteoritic impact 1.1 million years (Ma) ago.


Abstract. Weathering, aging, infiltration, solar radiation and several other factors cause the deterioration of buildings and infrastructures and hence the need for periodical maintenance and restoration. The need for maintenance has been traditionally determined based on visual inspections of qualified operators. Since this process is obviously time consuming and quite expensive, especially when the considered building is quite large and high, then a number of recent studies have been recently published proposing remote sensing tools in order to ease the monitoring process. Among the possible spatial data acquisition sensors, terrestrial laser scanning has been considered in several of the existing studies, mostly because of its high reliability, to cope with cracks and defect detection up to the millimeter level of resolution, which is the typical accuracy of the current generation of professional laser scanners. This paper considers the problem of detecting small defects on the façade of a University building. Similar to other previous studies, in this work defect detection is accomplished by considering distances with respect to a planar surface locally fitted on the building façade. Then, statistical filtering and machine learning tools have been implemented in order to cope with damage detection of the brick surfaces at sub-millimeter level.


New aircraft wing panels extruded from 7075-T6 aluminum exhibited an unusual pattern of circular black interrupted lines, which could not be removed by scouring or light sanding. The panels, subsequent to profiling and machining, were required to be penetrated inspected, shot peened, H2SO4 anodized, and coated with MIL-C-27725 integral fuel tank coating on the rib side. Scanning electron microscopy and microprobe analysis (both conventional energy-dispersive and Auger analyzers) showed that the anodic coating was applied over an improperly cleaned and contaminated surface. The expanding corrosion product had cracked and, in some places, had flaked away the anodized coating. The corrodent had penetrated the base aluminum in the form of subsurface intergranular attack to a depth of 0.035 mm (0.0014 in.). It was recommended that a vapor degreaser be used during cleaning prior to anodizing. A hot inhibited alkaline cleaner was also recommended during cleaning prior to anodizing. The panels should be dichromate sealed after anodizing. The use of deionized water was also recommended during the dichromate sealing operation. In addition, the use of an epoxy primer prior to shipment of the panels was endorsed. Most importantly, surveillance of the anodizing process itself was emphasized.


Abstract Assessment is very important in the learning and instructional processes. Equally important is the use to which assessment results are put. Use of student achievement scores (SAS) as a basis for assessing the teacher's instructional competence or effectiveness is one of the controversial approaches to teacher evaluation. This paper examined the issues characterizing the use of SAS as a basis of teacher assessment, and presents research results from Nigeria and abroad on the attitude of teachers to this approach of assessing teachers. The research findings from abroad were extracted from the literature. The research in Nigeria sampled 480 secondary school teachers in Akwa Ibom State using stratified random sampling technique. The instrument for data collection was a questionnaire with a reliability estimate of .94. Three hypotheses were tested. The results showed that secondary school teachers displayed a significantly negative attitude to this teacher assessment approach; that this attitude was not significantly influenced by the professional status ofthe teachers; and that this attitude, when the purpose ofteacher assessment is summative, is significantly more negative than the attitude when the purpose ofteacher assessment is formative. It was concluded that Nigerian teachers are not different from their counterparts abroad in their showing disdain or condemnation to the use of student achievement scores as indicators ofteacher's competence, performance or effectiveness. Therefore, great care is required in the use of assessment results in our schools, especially in attempts to blame teachers for poor academic performance of learners.