Many microenterprises in developing countries have high returns to capital, but also face risky revenue streams. In principle, equity offers several advantages over debt when financing investments of this nature, but the use of equity in practice has been largely limited to investments in much larger firms. The authors develop a model contract to make self-liquidating, quasi-equity investments in microenterprises. This contract has three key parameters that can be used to shift risk between the entrepreneur and the investor, resulting in a continuum of contracts ranging from a debt-like contract that shifts little risk from the entrepreneur to a pure revenue-sharing contract in which the investor absorbs much more of the risk. The paper discusses implementation choices, and then provides lessons from a proof-of-concept carried out by an investment partner, KGC Equity, which made nine investments averaging $3,800 in Sri Lankan microenterprises. This pilot demonstrates that this new contract structure can work in practice, but also highlights the difficulties of micro-equity investments in an environment with weak contract enforcement.


A major obstacle to processing images of the ocean floor comes from the absorption and scattering effects of the light in the aquatic environment. Due to the absorption of the natural light, underwater vehicles often require artificial light sources attached to them to provide the adequate illumination. Unfortunately, these flashlights tend to illuminate the scene in a nonuniform fashion, and, as the vehicle moves, induce shadows in the scene. For this reason, the first step towards application of standard computer vision techniques to underwater imaging requires dealing first with these lighting problems. This paper analyses and compares existing methodologies to deal with low-contrast, nonuniform illumination in underwater image sequences. The reviewed techniques include: (i) study of the illumination-reflectance model, (ii) local histogram equalization, (iii) homomorphic filtering, and, (iv) subtraction of the illumination field. Several experiments on real data have been conducted to compare the different approaches.


The title of this article can be understood either as a legal or as an ethical question. It is treated only insofar as it is an ethical question--that is, a moral issue.(1) But it is the author's hope that this discussion will contribute to the current debate about what law ought to require in this matter, for, of course, questions about what law should require are, at least in large part, moral questions. In its reflection on moral questions, ethics has a task very different from that of legal studies, which focus on the making and application of social rules. Ethics tries to discover what is good and right for persons and groups of persons, considered insofar as they are agents. In other words, ethics tries to learn the truth about what ways of acting will make persons and communities truly flourish. Thus, the aim of this article is not to try to use ideas and words to channel anyone's behavior, but to articulate the author's own effort to arrive at a sound view on the question, in the hope that doing so will help others who want to know what they ought to do about it. "Permanently comatose" is understood to refer to all who are in fact permanently unconscious, no matter what their specific condition is or its underlying cause.(2) The author presupposes that even comatose human individuals are persons.(3) For brevity's sake, the single word comatose shall be used to refer to the permanently unconscious, and the single word food to refer to nutrition and hydration. For the purpose of this article, two types of cases are excluded from the discussion: First, sometimes a choice is made to kill someone, and that choice is carried out by withholding food. It seems that this is exactly what has been done in some of the widely publicized cases. Now, if food is withheld precisely in order to kill someone, that calculated omission is homicide and cannot be morally justified. The author has argued this view elsewhere and shall not repeat those arguments here.(4) Second, sometimes a comatose or other mentally disabled person is dying, and providing food will not prolong life or give the person comfort, but perhaps even will increase discomfort. The author agrees with the general consensus that in such cases food should not be provided. Just as is true of any other sort of care or treatment, the reason for providing food is to benefit the person being cared for; therefore, when doing so is no benefit, and perhaps is a burden, it is not reasonable to continue trying to provide food. Also set aside is the method of feeding called "total parenteral feeding" or "hyperalimentation."(5) It differs significantly in its burdens from other methods of feeding and is used in few if any cases to sustain comatose persons. So, it is not considered relevant to the general question to be treated here. Thus, this article concerns only cases of the following sort: no choice is made to kill the comatose or otherwise mentally disabled person, the person is not dying, but the burdens of care and its limited benefits make some or all of those concerned wonder whether it is right to continue providing food. A Change of Mind In 1986, the author published a lecture which dealt with the issue of feeding persons who are comatose. That lecture stated: If a patient is not in imminent danger of death but is in an irreversible coma, as the late Miss Karen Quinlan was, life-support care more sophisticated than ordinary nursing care is very costly. It seems to me that such costly care exceeds a permanently comatose person's fair share of available facilities and services. Thus, I believe that when Miss Quinlan was removed from intensive care, she ought not to have been placed in a special care facility, but should instead have been sent home or cared for in the hospital with only the sorts of equipment and services available in an ordinary household. …


ISAAC OF STELLA, THE CISTERCIANS AND THE THOMAS BECKET CONTROVERSY: A BIBLIOGRAPHICAL AND CONTEXTUAL STUDY Travis D. Stolz, B.A., M.Div. Marquette University, 2010 Isaac of Stella (ca. 1IOO-ca. 1169), an English-born Cistercian and abbot, has been dwarfed by Bernard of Clairvaux and other of his twelfth-century Cistercian contemporaries in terms ofliterary output and influence, giving him a reputation as an elusive and marginal figure. Isaac's 55 sermons and two treatises are modest compared to the productivity of other monastic writers and his position as the abbot of an obscure monastery in western France has not helped to raise his visibility among the luminaries of the twelfth century. He is remembered as a mysterious and often tragic figure in the annals of history. Recent scholarship has shed light on this elusive abbot. One area ofhis life that has attracted some attention has been Isaac's involvement in the controversy between Henry II (1133-89) and Thomas Becket (ca. 1120-70), archbishop of Canterbury. Gaetano Raciti in particular has argued that Isaac's involvement in the Becket controversy, specifically siding with Becket in the archbishop's quarrel with the king, led to Isaac's exile to the island ofRe and the loss of his abbacy. Raciti's research, which continues to be influential, focused on Isaac's sermons and from them he compiled numerous biographical and historical clues to piece together Isaac's ultimate downfall as abbot. But Raciti's interpretations have been reconsidered by a few scholars, initially by Claude Garda as well as the subsequent research of Ferruccio Gastaldelli and Elias Dietz. In this dissertation, I continue the reconsideration ofRaciti's interpretations. In particular I focus on Isaac's role as a monk as well as his continuity with the Christian monastic tradition. Contrary to Raciti's interpretations, I demonstrate that Isaac's support of Becket was minimal and not the cause of serious consequences affecting his abbacy. This demonstration is based on reading Isaac's sermons not as sources of either biographical or historical data but rather as monastic sermons. Isaac's sermons provide proof of his continuity with his monastic forbears and place them in their proper theological and monastic context. Isaac emerges as neither mysterious nor tragic but rather as a monk who wrote for monks.


Posterior inference with an intractable likelihood is becoming an increasingly common task in scientific domains which rely on sophisticated computer simulations. Typically, these forward models do not admit tractable densities forcing practitioners to make use of approximations. This work introduces a novel approach to address the intractability of the likelihood and the marginal model. We achieve this by learning a flexible amortized estimator which approximates the likelihood-to-evidence ratio. We demonstrate that the learned ratio estimator can be embedded in MCMC samplers to approximate likelihood-ratios between consecutive states in the Markov chain, allowing us to draw samples from the intractable posterior. Techniques are presented to improve the numerical stability and to measure the quality of an approximation. The accuracy of our approach is demonstrated on a variety of benchmarks against well-established techniques. Scientific applications in physics show its applicability.


Abstract. The documentation of built heritage involves tangible and intangible features. Several morphological and metric aspects of architectural structures are acquired throughout a massive data capture system, such as the Terrestrial Laser Scanner (TLS) and the Structure from Motion (SfM) technique. They produce models that give information about the skin of architectural organism. Infrared Thermography (IRT) is one of the techniques used to investigate what is beyond the external layer. This technology is particularly significant in the diagnostics and conservation of the built heritage. In archaeology, the integration of data acquired through different sensors improves the analysis and the interpretation of findings that are incomplete or transformed. Starting from a topographic and photogrammetric survey, the procedure here proposed aims to combine the bidimensional IRT data together with the 3D point cloud. This system helps to overcome the Field of View (FoV) of each IRT image and provides a three-dimensional reading of the thermal behaviour of the object. This approach is based on the geometric constraints of the pair of RGB-IR images coming from two different sensors mounted inside a bi-camera commercial device. Knowing the approximate distance between the two sensors, and making the necessary simplifications allowed by the low resolution of the thermal sensor, we projected the colour of the IR images to the RGB point cloud. The procedure was applied is the so-called Nymphaeum of Egeria, an archaeological structure in the Caffarella Park (Rome, Italy), which is currently part of the Appia Antica Regional Park.


Owing to their connection with generative adversarial networks (GANs), saddlepoint problems have recently attracted considerable interest in machine learning and beyond. By necessity, most theoretical guarantees revolve around convexconcave (or even linear) problems; however, making theoretical inroads towards efficient GAN training depends crucially on moving beyond this classic framework. To make piecemeal progress along these lines, we analyze the behavior of mirror descent (MD) in a class of non-monotone problems whose solutions coincide with those of a naturally associated variational inequality – a property which we call coherence. We first show that ordinary, "vanilla" MD converges under a strict version of this condition, but not otherwise; in particular, it may fail to converge even in bilinear models with a unique solution. We then show that this deficiency is mitigated by optimism: by taking an "extra-gradient" step, optimistic mirror descent (OMD) converges in all coherent problems. Our analysis generalizes and extends the results of Daskalakis et al. [2018] for optimistic gradient descent (OGD) in bilinear problems, and makes concrete headway for provable convergence beyond convex-concave games. We also provide stochastic analogues of these results, and we validate our analysis by numerical experiments in a wide array of GAN models (including Gaussian mixture models, and the CelebA and CIFAR-10 datasets). Figure 1: Mirror descent (MD) in the non-monotone saddle-point problem f (x1, x2) = (x1 − 1/2)(x2 − 1/2) + 1 3 exp(−(x1 − 1/4)2 − (x2 − 3/4)2). Left: vanilla MD spirals outwards; right: optimistic MD converges.


Background: The increasing disease burden in Africa requires medical graduates to have problem-solving abilities. Interviews were conducted to assess module convenors' perspectives on evidence-based health care (EBHC) teaching and learning. Methods: Qualitative research methods were used. Faculty convening medical undergraduate teaching modules were purposively sampled. Data collection was done using focus-group or individual interviews. Trained interviewers conducted interviews. Investigators conducted data analysis and interpretation. Results: Five focus groups and 10 individual interviews were conducted with convenors responsible for theory and clinical modules across various disciplines. Interviewees felt that EBHC teaching and learning were not optimal and indicated varying support for enhancing this. They identified various factors to be considered: contextual factors within the faculty (e.g. recognition for teaching), health sector issues (e.g. clinical workload), access to research, lecturer factors (e.g. competing priorities) and learners (e.g. motivation). They emphasised the key roles of lecturers as role models. Planning together to identify opportunities to integrate teaching and assessment, while ensuring coherence, clear explicit outcomes and promoting faculty development, was regarded as central to strengthening EBHC teaching and learning. Conclusions: The perspectives of module convenors are key to informing strategies to enhance EBHC teaching and learning.


Unhealthy alcohol use is common in the Western society, which puts risk of health consequences, causing multiple behavioural injuries. Increasing evidence focuses on acetaldehyde, the first metabolite of ethanol, as the mediator of the several behavioural actions of alcohol, including its rewarding and motivational effects. In particular, acetaldehyde induces dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens modulating primary alcohol rewarding effect, drug seeking, and relapse behaviour. Recent behavioural studies point at acetaldehyde as a drug of abuse since its oral self-administration is induced and maintained in an operant/conflict paradigm. These findings provide further evidence on the role played by the acetaldehyde as a mediator of the effects of alcohol and focus attention on this molecule to arrange a more effective strategy, aimed at the prevention and treatment of alcohol abuse. Thus, the aim of this review is to summarize latest results on the role of acetaldehyde as the mediator of ethanol-central effects focusing on its capacity to induce an addictive behaviour.


Tacitus' "Annals of Imperial Rome" recount the major historical events from the years shortly before the death of Augustus up to the death of Nero in AD 68. With clarity and vivid intensity he describes the reign of terror under the corrupt Tiberius, the great fire of Rome during the time of Nero, and the wars, poisonings, scandals, conspiracies and murders that were part of imperial life. Despite his claim that the Annals were written objectively, Tacitus' account is sharply critical of the emperors' excesses and fearful for the future of Imperial Rome, while also filled with a longing for its past glories.


The monospecific scleractinian coral genus Sclerophyllia Klunzinger, 1879 was originally described from Al-Qusayr (Egypt) in the Red Sea based on a series of solitary specimens. Thenceforth, it has been considered a junior synonym of Symphyllia and Cynarina based on corallum macromorphology. In this study, several specimens of Sclerophyllia margariticola were collected on the coasts of Saudi Arabia in the northern and central Red Sea. Four molecular markers were sequenced, COI and the intergenic spacer between COI and l-rRNA from mitochondrial DNA and Histone H3 and ribosomal ITS2 from nuclear DNA. Phylogenetic trees and haplotype network analyses show that S. margariticola belongs to the family Lobophylliidae and that it is closely related to Acanthastrea maxima, an uncommon species from waters around the Arabian peninsula (the Gulf of Aden, Arabian Sea, Gulf of Oman and Persian Gulf). Sclerophyllia margariticola and A. maxima share several macro- and micromorphological characters, such as the presence of free septa, high elliptical septal teeth perpendicular to the septal margin, irregular lobate tips, very wide tooth spacing, a very strong granulation with granules scattered all along the septal sides, and a palisade interarea structure, and their micromorphology differs substantially from that of Acanthastrea echinata, the type species of Acanthastrea. Therefore, we formally resurrect Sclerophyllia, provide a revised diagnosis for the genus, and move A. maxima into Sclerophyllia.


We present an analytic and a large scale experimental comparison of two informationally equivalent information displays of soccer statistics. Both displays were presented by the BBC during the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The displays mainly differ in terms of the number and types of cognitively natural mappings between visual variables and meaning. Theoretically, such natural form-meaning mappings help users to interpret the information quickly and easily. However, our analysis indicates that the design which contains most of these mappings is inevitably inconsistent in how forms and meanings are mapped to each other. The experiment shows that this inconsistency was detrimental for how fast people can find information in the display and for which display people prefer to use. Our findings shed new light on the well-established cognitive design principle of natural mapping: while in theory, information designs may benefit from natural mapping, in practice its applicability may be limited. Information designs that contain a high number of form-meaning mappings, for example, for aesthetic reasons, risk being inconsistent and too complex for users, leading them to find information less quickly and less easily.


Although integrating security into the design of applications has proven to deliver resilient products, there are few books available that provide guidance on how to incorporate security into the design of an application. Filling this need, Security for Service Oriented Architectures examines both application and security architectures and illustrates the relationship between the two. Supplying authoritative guidance on how to design distributed and resilient applications, the book provides an overview of the various standards that service oriented and distributed applications leverage, including SOAP, HTML 5, SAML, XML Encryption, XML Signature, WS-Security, and WS-SecureConversation. It examines emerging issues of privacy and discusses how to design applications within a secure context to facilitate the understanding of these technologies you need to make intelligent decisions regarding their design.This complete guide to security for web services and SOA considers the malicious user story of the abuses and attacks against applications as examples of how design flaws and oversights have subverted the goals of providing resilient business functionality. It reviews recent research on access control for simple and conversation-based web services, advanced digital identity management techniques, and access control for web-based workflows. Filled with illustrative examples and analyses of critical issues, this book provides both security and software architects with a bridge between software and service-oriented architectures and security architectures, with the goal of providing a means to develop software architectures that leverage security architectures.It is also a reliable source of reference on Web services standards. Coverage includes the four types of architectures, implementing and securing SOA, Web 2.0, other SOA platforms, auditing SOAs, and defending and detecting attacks.


The high-level language of R is recognized as one of the most powerful and flexible statistical software environments, and is rapidly becoming the standard setting for quantitative analysis, statistics and graphics. R provides free access to unrivalled coverage and cutting-edge applications, enabling the user to apply numerous statistical methods ranging from simple regression to time series or multivariate analysis. Building on the success of the authors bestselling Statistics: An Introduction using R, The R Book is packed with worked examples, providing an all inclusive guide to R, ideal for novice and more accomplished users alike. The book assumes no background in statistics or computing and introduces the advantages of the R environment, detailing its applications in a wide range of disciplines. Provides the first comprehensive reference manual for the R language, including practical guidance and full coverage of the graphics facilities. Introduces all the statistical models covered by R, beginning with simple classical tests such as chi-square and t-test. Proceeds to examine more advance methods, from regression and analysis of variance, through to generalized linear models, generalized mixed models, time series, spatial statistics, multivariate statistics and much more. The R Book is aimed at undergraduates, postgraduates and professionals in science, engineering and medicine. It is also ideal for students and professionals in statistics, economics, geography and the social sciences.


Do Gun Buybacks Save Lives? Evidence from Panel Data In 1997, Australia implemented a gun buyback program that reduced the stock of firearms by around one-fifth. Using differences across states in the number of firearms withdrawn, we test whether the reduction in firearms availability affected firearm homicide and suicide rates. We find that the buyback led to a drop in the firearm suicide rates of almost 80 per cent, with no statistically significant effect on non-firearm death rates. The estimated effect on firearm homicides is of similar magnitude, but is less precise. The results are robust to a variety of specification checks, and to instrumenting the state-level buyback rate. JEL Classification: I12, K14


As part of broader tort reform efforts, states have enacted non-economic damage cap statutes over the past few decades. States often cite creating a positive business climate and concerns over the availability of insurance coverage as bases for damage caps. Balancing these concerns with society's interests in fairly compensating tort victims has proven difficult. Almost all damage cap statutes have been challenged on constitutional grounds at some point since their enactment. Supreme courts in Alabama, Georgia, Illinois, New Hampshire, Oregon, Texas, and Washington have declared their respective state non-economic damage cap statutes unconstitutional either altogether or in certain circumstances. Other states, like Mississippi, await decisions from appellate courts regarding the constitutionality of the state's damage caps. The most common argument against the constitutionality of cap statutes is that they violate the plaintiff's right to a jury trial. This argument appears in almost every constitutional challenge to a cap statute, although it has successfully convinced a court to strike down a cap statute as unconstitutional in only a handful of state cases. Advocates of caps consistently rely on the "legitimate state interest" argument--a very difficult argument to overcome and an attractive argument for a court to rely upon in upholding a cap statute. This article presents summaries of the various arguments and provides an overview of the status and constitutionality of non-economic damages caps in each State. I. Arguments Against Constitutionality A. Violate the Right to Jury Trial As described above, the most commonly-used argument against statutory caps on non-economic damages are that such statutory caps violate a citizen's right to a jury trial. For example, in Caner v. Interstate Really Mgmt. Co., (1) the trial court held that upholding that cap statute strips jury of its power to decide facts and determine damages thereby denying plaintiff right to jury trial. (2) However, to support this argument, this reasoning must distinguished statutory caps from the accepted practice of judicial remittitur, in which the appellate court remits a judgment to the trial court for reconsideration in light of excessive awards of non-economic damages. (3) B. Other Constitutional Arguments In addition to putatively violating plaintiffs' right to a jury trial, courts have proposed a myriad of other constitutional arguments against statutory caps. In Carter, the court also suggested that passage of statutory caps allowed the legislature to amend the constitution (by abrogating the constitutional right to a jury trial) extra-constitutionally. (4) This argument will prevail only in those jurisdictions which constitutionally mandate trial by jury and have no constitutional caps on non-economic damages. The court in Carter also argued that statutory caps provide an unconstitutional violation of those powers reserved to the judiciary. (5) Other courts have addressed arguments that statutory caps result in a non-uniform operation of laws, (6) constitute impermissible special legislation, (7) and constitute, in effect, a new form of legislative remittitur. (8) In jurisdictions that recognize the doctrine, statutory caps may similarly violate the open courts doctrine. (9) Perhaps most surprisingly, courts have even accepted claims that statutory caps violate state constitutional equal protection and due process rights. (10) II. Arguments For Constitutionality A majority of jurisdictions have found caps of non-economic damages to be constitutional. These jurisdictions have accepted variations of the following arguments. A. No Violation of Right to Jury Trial In contrast with those states that have overturned statutes as a violation of the right to jury trial, many states have dismissed such challenges and upheld statutory caps. …


A version of this paper was given as the 2008 Economica Phillips Lecture at LSE on February 7, 2008. I thank Francesco Caselli and other participants in that event for their comments. I am also grateful for conversations with Fernando Alvarez, Jess Benhabib, Francisco Buera, Jonathan Eaton, James Heckman, Boyan Jovanovic, Sam Kortum, Cassey Mulligan, and Nancy Stokey, and for the assistance and suggestions of Ferdinando Monte. The views expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Bureau of Economic Research.


The research literature documents the relative disadvantage of widows in coping with grief, both in a greater vulnerability themselves for mortality or ill health, but also for a sudden loss of resources from losing a spouse. Moreover, widowhood in the Canadian cultural communities may be an additional burden if met with service from mainstream care professionals and agencies at variance with their culturally-appropriate grieving practices and assumptions. Specifically, the meaning(s) of bereavement and grief for Hindu-Canadian widows are not well understood, and the goal of this study is to enhance transcultural understanding of this population in counselling and beyond. An inductive, descriptive qualitative method focusing on the subjective, lived experience of key co-researchers, using selective and nonprobability sampling was utilized to maximize the relatively small sample size typical of a phenomenological approach. This was used to describe and explain the meanings and experiences of grief for five older Hindu-Canadian widows within the context of their own cultural setting and world view. Data were collected from five female members of the HinduCanadian communities. An additional triangulation method of a general class of culmraUy-informed co-researchers was used to help corroborate the obtained themes. The co-researcher's responses were the data for this study, and a method of "constant comparative analysis" (Î ininger, 1985) was utilized in a search for themes through a process of higher abstraction. Data analysis of the verbatim transcripts occurred simultaneously with data collection and, guided by Leininger's (1990) 'Thases of Analysis for Qualitative Data," the process unfolded with: (a) collecting and documenting raw data; (b) identification of descriptors; (c) pattern analysis; and (d) theme formulation. Ultimately six themes were abstracted from forty-five sub-categories as a portrait of the meanings and experiences of widowhood for this group of Hindu-Canadian widows. Themes for this group of key co-researchers are as follows: First, status transition from wife to widow meant resignation to the husband's death, rather than acceptance through discrete stages of recovery: Second, meanings and expressions of grief centered on beliefs about the enduring and eternal quality of the husband's life force as intrinsic and essential to the widow's own lifeways: Third, the transition from wife to widow entailed a double affliction in status loss as well as in the personal domain of intimacy and partnership: Fourth, the meanings and expressions of both grief phenomena and status transition reflect an ethic of collective good and duty-based interpersonal morality, but with acculturation causing a nascent and generational transition in such moral orientation: Fifth, status transition can entail a degree of liminality, out of bicultural dislocation and transformational variables such as education: Finally, a fundamental meaning of their Hindu-Canadian widowhood experience is its spiritual opportunity. Despite some diversity in their Hindu diaspora and sect, the explicated themes illustrate a common experience and meaning attendant on widowhood for the co-researchers. This study investigated a portion of the underlying cultural logic of widowhood and grief phenomena for these constituents of Hinduism, and highlighted their cultural constructions of meaning and experience, allowing us to improve our transcultural knowledge and understanding of the unique needs of this population in the field of Counselling and beyond. As a phenomenological study, themes and suppositions abstracted from this relatively small sample are limited beyond the precisely-defined context of its five co-researchers. Nevertheless, a counsellor might well benefit from the potential offered here for finer-grained assessments and therapeutic relationships with widows in our Hindu communities.


We compare the time evolution of entanglement measures after local operator excitation in the critical Ising model with predictions from conformal field theory. For the spin operator and its descendants we find that Rényi entropies of a block of spins increase by a constant that matches the logarithm of the quantum dimension of the conformal family. However, for the energy operator we find a small constant contribution that differs from the conformal field theory answer equal to zero. We argue that the mismatch is caused by the subtleties in the identification between the local operators in conformal field theory and their lattice counterpart. Our results indicate that evolution of entanglement measures in locally excited states not only constraints this identification, but also can be used to extract non-trivial data about the conformal field theory that governs the critical point. We generalize our analysis to the Ising model away from the critical point, states with multiple local excitations, as well as the evolution of the relative entropy after local operator excitation and discuss universal features that emerge from numerics.


Importance
Dietary supplements are commonly used by US adults; yet, little is known about recent trends in supplement use.

Objective
To report trends in dietary supplement use among US adults.

Design, Setting, and Participants
Serial cross-sectional study using nationally representative data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) collected between 1999 and 2012. Participants include noninstitutionalized adults residing in the United States, surveyed over 7 continuous 2-year cycles (sample size per cycle, 4863 to 6213).

Exposures
Calendar time, as represented by NHANES cycle.

Main Outcomes and Measures
In an in-home interview, participants were queried on use of supplements in the preceding 30 days to estimate the prevalence of use within each NHANES cycle, and trends were evaluated across cycles. Outcomes included use of any supplements; use of multivitamins/multiminerals (MVMM; defined as a product containing ≥10 vitamins and/or minerals); and use of individual vitamins, minerals, and nonvitamin, nonmineral supplements. Data were analyzed overall and by population subgroup (including age, sex, race/ethnicity, and educational status), and were weighted to be nationally representative.

Results
A total of 37 958 adults were included in the study (weighted mean age, 46.4 years; women, 52.0% ), with an overall response rate of 74%. Overall, the use of supplements remained stable between 1999 and 2012, with 52% of US adults reporting use of any supplements in 2011-2012 (P for trend = .19). This trend varied by population subgroup. Use of MVMM decreased, with 37% reporting use of MVMM in 1999-2000 and 31% reporting use in 2011-2012 (difference, -5.7% [95% CI, -8.6% to -2.7%], P for trend < .001). Vitamin D supplementation from sources other than MVMM increased from 5.1% to 19% (difference, 14% [95% CI, 12% to 17%], P for trend  < .001) and use of fish oil supplements increased from 1.3% to 12% (difference, 11% [95% CI, 9.1% to 12%], P for trend < .001) over the study period, whereas use of a number of other supplements decreased.

Conclusions and Relevance
Among adults in the United States, overall use of dietary supplements remained stable from 1999-2012, use of MVMM decreased, and trends in use of individual supplements varied and were heterogeneous by population subgroups.


This user manual introduces the finite-difference radial flow model developed by the British
Geological Survey and the University of Birmingham.
The cylindrical shape of the three-dimensional model grid is best suited to simulate
groundwater flows converging to a pumped borehole. The main application of the radial flow
model is therefore to simulate groundwater flows to analyse pumping test results. This
allows:
� The estimation of the hydraulic parameters of an aquifer.
� The determination of the yield and efficiency of a pumped borehole.
� The design of pumping tests in terms of the determination of abstraction duration,
time required to monitor the groundwater head recovery and the positioning of
observation boreholes.
� The radial flow model also simulates the effects of rivers on pumping test results.
This allows investigating the river-aquifer interaction.
� Ultimately, the radial flow model helps improving the conceptual model of the
aquifer system.
The manual starts by describing the basic flow equations used to build the radial flow model
and their conversion into numerical form. Sections 2 and 3 are dedicated for this purpose.
The users may want to apply the model directly and to read these sections later. In this case
they may proceed to Sections 4 to 8. However, it is highly advisable that users familiarise
themselves with the background of the model because this helps them improve their
understanding of the model behaviour and the meaning of the produced results and
consequently the analysis of the pumping test results.
Section 4 describes the capabilities of the radial flow model.
Section 5 describes how to install and run the model.
Section 6 describes the model input files.
Section 7 describes the model output files.
Section 8 gives three tutorials that are designed to help the user to control the model and
simulate groundwater flows in complicated aquifer systems.


BACKGROUND
Children who undergo common outpatient surgeries are routinely prescribed opioids, although available evidence suggests opioids should be used with discretion for procedures associated with mild to moderate pain. The study assessed trends in postoperative opioid prescribing over time to determine if prescribing declined.

METHODS
We used a private insurance database to study opioid-naïve patients under the age of 18 who underwent 1 of 8 surgical procedures from 2014 to 2019. The primary outcome was the likelihood of filling a prescription for opioids within 7 days of surgery, and the secondary outcome was the total amount of opioid dispensed. We used Joinpoint regression analysis to identify temporal shifts in trends.

RESULTS
The study cohort included 124 249 opioid-naïve children. The percentage of children who filled an opioid prescription decreased from 78.2% (95% confidence interval [CI] 76.3-80.1) to 48.0% (95% CI 45.8-50.1) among adolescents, from 53.9% (95% CI 51.6-56.2) to 25.5% (95% CI 23.5-27.5) among school-aged children and 30.4% (95% CI 28.6-32.2) to 11.5% (95% CI 10.1-12.9) among preschool-aged children. The average morphine milligram equivalent dispensed declined from 228.9 (95% CI 220.1-237.7) to 110.8 (95% CI 105.6-115.9) among adolescents, 121.3 (95% CI 116.7-125.9) to 65.9 (95% CI 61.1-70.7) among school-aged children and 75.3 (95% CI 70.2-80.3) to 33.2 (95% CI 30.1-36.3) among preschool-aged children. Using Joinpoint regression, we identified rapid opioid deadoption beginning in late 2017, first in adolescents, then followed by school- and preschool-aged children.

CONCLUSION
Opioid prescribing after surgery decreased gradually from 2014 to 2017, with a more pronounced decrease seen beginning in late 2017.


In The Hum: Call and Response in African Preaching, Evans E. Crawford, with Thomas H. Troeger, relates his analysis of African American folk preaching by relying upon an indigenous scheme for evaluation. The call/response tension in black preaching (derived from a West African tradition) is what drives the musicality of speech in black churches. Crawford refers to this musicality as "hum thoughts" and one can imagine the choir responding with a low rumbling hum to the musical intonations of a motivated preacher. Key features: a new volume in the Abingdon Preacher's Library, edited by Thomas H. Troeger; a different approach to preaching, firmly rooted in the black experience; leads the reader to understand preaching as an oral event; uses the term "homiletical musicality" to describe the musical understanding of the way sermons are heard and the oral response they awaken in the listener; and, coins new phrases for describing the preaching event.


Many firms today are employing temporary contractual workers in order to help them to stay lean and flexible. The benefit of this approach is that the process of layoff is much easier. Thus, an emerging issue arises here, on how can firms manage and train temporary workers effectively? The core of lean adoption is through people, to have workers buy into the ideas and be part of the overall initiative. There is very little guidance available on how to deal with contractual workers who have less motivation and commitment to the firm given that they are only employed on a temporary basis. This article proposes a framework and process to assist firms in managing and training temporary workers to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the implementation of lean improvement initiatives.


Island Biogeography Theory (IBT) explains and quantifies broad-scale ecological patterns among islands and isolated habitat patches. IBT predicts that the number of species per habitat patch varies as a function of area and isolation as a result of local colonization and extinction. IBT has been extended to habitat islands and hosts as islands for their associated parasites. In the latter system, host body mass acts as a substitute for island area, whereas host population density is used as a measure of isolation. Using the fragmented Ozark glades and the small mammals therein as a model system, I 1) used a multi-species occupancy model to correct for imperfect detection of species and generate species richness estimates, and 2) used the model to evaluate the effects of patch area, isolation, and shape on species richness. I then considered the mammalian hosts of the glades as islands for their associated ectoparasites, and evaluated 1) the effects of host population size on ectoparasite diversity metrics, and 2) tested for associations between mammalian host and ectoparasite communities. I captured a total of 8 mammal species and 7 ectoparasite orders in May–July 2016–2017. Glade area, but not isolation or shape, affected mammalian species richness. Ectoparasite richness and diversity were positively affected by host population size, and strong host-ectoparasite associations were present. IBT explains many of the patterns in small mammal and ectoparasite richness in the glade network, but matrix effects and host specificity may limit its applicability in this system.


The aim of this paper is to investigate the impact of the financialization of commodity markets on the profitability of strategies based on momentum and term structure. The performance of an array of portfolios from double-sorts on non-commercial traders' participation, historical returns and term spreads are tested against a risk model. The analysis covers the listing of 26 commodities in the period 1986 – 2013. First and foremost, the paper provides a fresh evidence for the validity of strategies based on momentum and term structure investing in commodity markets. Secondly, it proves that term structure strategies generate significantly higher performance results in non-financialized markets. Moreover, it supports the thesis that market financialization adversely affects momentum profits. The results are important in terms of tactical and strategic asset allocation in commodity markets. They imply that investors who implement momentum or term structure based strategies should also consider the composition of market participants.


In order to guarantee reasonable fees for songwriters, composers, and publishers, the consent decrees must undergo critical reform to account for how music is licensed in new media. Part I of this Note will provide background on the mechanics of music licensing, both traditional and through modern mediums, in order to explain why the two largest PROs initially entered into governmental consent decrees. Part II will discuss recent judicial determinations of "reasonable" licensing rates for public performances in new media and demonstrate the discrepancy in compensation between songwriters and their sound recording counterparts, namely record companies and recording artists. Finally, Part III will argue that the solution to this problem is through consent decree reform. The decrees should be modified to allow songwriters to withdraw their digital rights in order to separately license songs in new media. A new PRO should then emerge in the market place to account solely for public performance rights in new media, leaving traditional licensing to the existing PROs. Additionally, the current judicial process for setting rates, known as the "rate court" system, should be replaced with expedited, binding arbitration. Making these important changes to the music-licensing system will work towards bridging the gap in compensation inequality between songwriters and recording artists.


ABSTRACT The number of anti-dumping initiatives by governments all over the world has increased significantly during the recent years. This has a potential effect on the international pricing policy of firms. This research focuses on the impact of the anti-dumping measures on the international pricing policy of firms and any strategic measures that the firms take to counter the anti-dumping actions. An a priori model of the impact of anti-dumping measures on international firm's pricing policy has been developed based on literature review and tested using structural equation modelling technique. Data for the research has been gathered from 178 Australian international marketers. Results of the study show that there is an agreement among the participating firms that the current anti-dumping laws of different countries are often confusing and there is no uniform definition of what may be called as ' dumping'. There is a general perception among the participating firms that more and more governments are using this as another non-tariff barrier. Results of this study also show that international firms are finding concentrating in less sensitive product categories, cooperation with local competitors and differentiation through enhanced services and trading up as good strategic measures, to counter the effects of anti-dumping actions. INTRODUCTION International pricing is one of the most critical issues that international firms face. A potential obstacle for international pricing policies is the antidumping laws that increasing number of governments are using to counter dumping practices (Miranda, Torres and Ruiz, 1998). International firms need to take antidumping laws into account when determining their international pricing policies. In developing a pricing policy a firm has to consider both external environment in which it has to compete and also the internal factors which condition and control the courses of action open to the firm. One of the major elements of an international firm's external environment for pricing purposes is host country's government policies of which antidumping measures are a part. A World Bank study showed that the impact of dumping duties in the United States manufactured goods sector has boosted average tariffs in that sector from nominal 6 percent to actual 23 percent (The Financial Times, 1993). To minimise risk exposure to antidumping actions, international marketers might pursue various marketing strategies (Kostechi, 1991). The research questions this paper addresses are: Do international marketers take into account antidumping measures in the host country while setting their international prices? Do they take any strategic measures to counter the anti-dumping impost? CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK The definition of dumping is usually pretty murky. Different economists have defined dumping differently. One approach defines imports as dumped if the products are sold below their cost of production. The other approach characterises dumping as selling goods in a foreign market below the price of the same goods in the home market. World trade Organisation defines dumping as "the sale of a product for export at a price below its 'normal Value'" (WTO, 2003). According to WTO definition "normal value" is usually the domestic price of the product in the exporting country. If this price cannot be used for comparison purposes, normal value may be calculated on the basis of the price of the product when sold to a third country, or as a constructed value including per unit fixed and variable costs plus reasonable amount for profits. Obviously, the definition is not clear-cut, and gives the host country advantage to take leverage out of the confusion. The number of antidumping initiatives has increased in recent years. Most of the antidumping actions take place in the USA and the European Union countries. However, antidumping measures are increasingly initiated in other countries including the developing ones. …


The skeleton of Italophiopsis derasmoi gen. and sp. nov., an ionoscopiform fish (Halecomorphi) from the marine Albian of Pietraroja (Campania, southern Italy), is studied in details. The new Italian genus has parietals and dermopterotics of approximately the same length, unornamented infraorbitals and diplospondylous vertebrae in the caudal region, three features characterizing Ophiopsidae. Italophiopsis also exhibits crests and fossae on the first abdominal vertebrae and thin ovoid and slightly ornamented scales, two characters that are absent in Ophiopsidae but announce the lateral fossae of the vertebrae and the thin ovoid amioid-like scales present in Ionoscopidae. Italophiopsis probably has around 20 supraneurals between the head and the dorsal fin, a number found in Ionoscopidae but differing from that of Ophiopsidae. Such a situation does not allow the inclusion Italophiopsis in one of these two families. The new family Italophiopsidae is erected and considered as intermediate between Ophiopsidae and Ionoscopidae.


In some contexts, the actual behaviors of individuals can appear as aberrant with rational agent-based theories. Behavioral theory tries to explain these anomalies, especially with respect to social preferences. The purpose of this paper is to show how experimental economics has provided an accurate measure and further characterization of these preferences. Based on a very selective review of experiments, we show how a fruitful dialogue has been established between behavior analysis in the laboratory and in theory.


A computationally efficient procedure for the design of RF power amplifiers is presented. The proposed approach allows for the identification of "near-optimal" source and load terminations of the amplifier stage providing maximum output power under assigned linearity, minimum gain and other possible constraints. The design procedure is completely based on closed form numerical computations, without requiring non linear optimisations as normally happens in standard design approaches. A single-stage 2.4 GHz amplifier prototype has been designed and manufactured in Silicon BJT MMIC technology, according to the criteria provided by the new methodology. Experimental results are in good agreement with simulations and confirm the validity of the proposed approach.


Abstract Metamorphic rocks exposed along the Palu-Koro Fault of west-central Sulawesi, Indonesia, show abundant evidence of non-coaxial ductile deformation. The deformed rocks include gneisses, amphibolites and schists, that form part of a regionally metamorphosed basement complex of Mesozoic–Precambrian Australian (Gondwanan) origin. In the Palu and Neck regions of Sulawesi, ductile shear fabrics record low-angle westward extension. Further south in the Palu valley, extension is directed towards the south and SW, along with gently-dipping ductile thrust fabrics. Vergence exceptions are common at both outcrop and kilometre scale. Cross-cutting granitic dykes place some constraint on the timing of ductile foliation formation. In the neck region of Sulawesi, it occurred before c. 44–33.7 Ma. In the central and northern Palu valley, to the south, it occurred before 5–3.5 Ma. The timing and orientation of non-coaxial strain precludes its origin as a result of Palu-Koro Fault activity. Instead, ductile flow occurred during either Eocene–Miocene mid-crustal extension above a metamorphic core complex, Cretaceous subduction-related deformation in the over-riding plate, or intracontinental deformation within Gondwana.


The Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Bay Zones of the east coast of the Madras state,
particularly the area from Rameshwaram to Manapad, are of very great fishing importance
as far as the pearl and chank fisheries are concerned. The submarine plateau of the inshore
areas of the sea here affords excellent habitat for the growth of the shell fish, Xnrcvs
pyrum (Linn.) (the sacred chank) and Pivcunla jucaia (Gould) (the pearl oyster).
Chank fishing and pearl fishing in this zone had been conducted from time immemorial
under the control of the State. All along the stretch of the sea-bottom, extensive, flat rocky
patches occur at a distance of 8-12 miles from the shore within 7-12 fathoms, separated
from one another and surrounded by equally extensive patches of fine sandy areas at the
same or slightly deeper zones. Whereas the chanks prefer fine and soft sandy areas called
locally 'Poochi-manal' or 'pirals' as their abode, the oysters are sedentary and are attached
to hard rocky substrata called'Pa ar'. Occasionally tfe one is found in the natural habitat
of the other. There are more than 65 well known'Paars' (rocky sea-bottom) and lesser in
number of good chank grounds in the Gulf of Mannar known to fisherman by their depth
and location fixed by land bearings. The sea bottrm on Palk Bay side is not rocky, at the
same time less shallow also. The chanks rrowing in this zone are classified as 'Patti' variety
which is priced less than the 'Jadhi' variety fished from Rameshwaram to Tiruchendur. The
differentiation between these two lie in the latter being elongate, elegantly formed, comparatively
narrower and with well balanced spire whereas the former is with a short spire.
The Tirunelveli and Ramanathapuram chanks now constitute the bulk to meet the demand
from Bengal for chank bangle industry.


Different upwelling index calculations used for oceans were tested by applying to the Aegean Sea and compared with each other. The sea surface temperature (SST) and wind data of ECMWF Reanalysis are used for upwelling index calculations. The decrease in SST is a result of upwelling; however, the parameter that lies behind the phenomenon is the wind stress on the sea surface. The results show that SST and wind-driven upwelling indexes could be roughly used to estimate upwelling phenomena in the Aegean Sea, but it is insufficient for the precise determination of upwelling due to the Aegean Sea`s unique dynamics. To reach a final formula, the `new upwelling index` shall be improved for Aegean Sea in which current data are considered besides SST & wind data.


Wireless packet-switched communications will be one of the important technologies for future mobile data networks. This paper presents performance analysis on wireless MAC protocols in which the transmission of wireless packets is reserved through contention-based access. Compared with other pure contention-based protocols, this type of protocol is suitable for wireless networks with bursty packet arrival, e.g., wireless ATM, or wireless LAN, for the reason that the carrier-sensing function cannot be efficiently implemented and the pure random access mechanism without carrier-sensing produces a very poor performance. The proposed analysis is based on simulation and the result shows that the efficiency of the protocol varies with different network parameters. The result also gives guidelines for optimizing the network performance, e.g., the control of the number of packets reserved in each request, the adjustment of signaling time-slots to the data time-slots ratio, and the adjustment of the threshold for rejecting a packet reservation request.


We report on the progress in the study of a five-dimensional SU(2) Gauge-Higgs Unification model. In this non-perturbative study, the Higgs mechanism is triggered by the spontaneous breaking of a global symmetry. In the same region of the phase diagram, we observe both dimensional reduction and the ratio of Higgs and Z boson masses to take the value known from experiment. We present the first results on the construction of a line of constant physics in this region, including the prediction for the mass scale of the first excited states of the Higgs and gauge bosons.


Study Design. Biomechanical experiment using an in situ porcine model. Objective. To find the effect of traction treatment on annulus microstructure, molecular convection, and cell viability of degraded discs. Summary of Background Data. Spinal traction is a conservative treatment for disc disorders. The recognized biomechanical benefits include disc height recovery, foramen enlargement, and intradiscal pressure reduction. However, the influence of traction treatment on annulus microstructure, molecular transportation, and cell viability of degraded discs has not been fully investigated. Methods. A total of 48 thoracic discs were dissected from 8 porcine spines (140 kg, 6-month old) within 4 hours after killing them and then divided into 3 groups: intact, degraded without traction, and degraded with traction. Each disc was incubated in a whole-organ culture system and subjected to diurnal loadings for 7 days. Except for the intact group, discs were degraded with 0.5 mL of trypsin on day 1 and a 5-hour fatigue loading on day 2. From day 4 to day 6, half of the degraded discs received a 30-minute traction treatment per day (traction force: 20 kg; loading: unloading = 30 s: 10 s). By the end of the incubation, the discs were inspected for disc height loss, annulus microstructure, molecular (fluorescein sodium) intensity, and cell viability. Results. Collagen fibers were crimped and delaminated, whereas the pores were occluded in the annulus fibrosus of the degraded discs. Molecular transportation and cell viability of the discs decreased after matrix degradation. With traction treatment, straightened collagen fibers increased within the degraded annulus fibrosus, and the annulus pores were less occluded. Both molecular transportation and cell viability increased, but not to the intact level. Conclusion. Traction treatment is effective in enhancing nutrition supply and promoting disc cell proliferation of the degraded discs. Level of Evidence: N/A


The need for detecting and labelling environmentally and biologically important analytes has driven considerable research efforts in developing fluorescent probes. During the sensing process, molecular motions (i.e., molecular rotations or vibrations) of a flexible fluorescent probe can be significantly altered by its embedding micro-environment or analyte, thereby leading to substantial changes in readout signals. Motion-induced change in emission (MICE) can be utilized as an effective sensing mechanism. However, in comparison to the well-understood sensing mechanisms, such as photo-induced electron transfer (PET), intramolecular charge transfer (ICT), aggregation-induced emission (AIE) and disaggregation-induced emission (DIE), MICE has not been systematically discussed to date. In this tutorial review, we will summarize the concept and mechanisms of MICE for developing single-molecular fluorescent probes, present unique advantages of MICE based sensors, demonstrate their various applications, and discuss technical challenges in this field. We expect that this review will promote a deeper understanding of MICE and facilitate the development of novel MICE based probes.


Proposed method, called Probabilistic Nodes Combination (PNC), is the method of 2D curve modeling and handwriting identification by using the set of key points. Nodes are treated as characteristic points of signature or handwriting for modeling and writer recognition. Identification of handwritten letters or symbols need modeling and the model of each individual symbol or character is built by a choice of probability distribution function and nodes combination. PNC modeling via nodes combination and parameter γ as probability distribution function enables curve parameterization and interpolation for each specific letter or symbol. Two-dimensional curve is modeled and interpolated via nodes combination and different functions as continuous probability distribution functions: polynomial, sine, cosine, tangent, cotangent, logarithm, exponent, arc sin, arc cos, arc tan, arc cot or power function.


This article takes up further on a framework developed for a precautionary approach (PA) which developing countries should adopt for granting compulsory licences in a national health emergency. Working within the legal mechanism of the precautionary framework developed from the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS Agreement) under the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the Agreement on Trade-Related Intellectual Property (TRIPS), the PA redefines a framework for compulsory licensing based on an adequate margin of safety when there are reasonable grounds for concern about uncertain risks that significant harm to human life and health may occur. The rationale adopted is based on legitimate differential treatment, precaution and risk management for a prescriptive, moderate and least restrictive measure to trade to enable access to medicines. Compulsory licensing under the TRIPS Agreement was developed as a buffer for tempering patent protection and health to "allow for other use of the subject matter of a patent without the authorisation of the right holder" subject to certain conditions. The August 2003 Doha Declaration and subsequent TRIPS amendments for all member countries to be eligible to import provided a breakthrough for access by poorer countries to cheaper generic drugs. The chilling effect of the waiver is shrouded by obvious reticence on the part of developing countries to adopt the WTO language of "national emergency" and "extreme urgency" as a condition for compulsory licensing. The bold efforts by Thailand and Brazil in issuing compulsory licences in 2007 were adopted on grounds of "public non-commercial use" and "public interest". An objective mechanism to trigger the grant of compulsory licensing would not leave developing member countries at the mercy of possible trade retaliation and sanctions that result only in price reduction bargains instead of a proper use of the inbuilt flexibilities under Article 31(f) of the TRIPS Agreement. In addition to the patent obstacle, data exclusivity under the ambiguous Article 39.3 of the TRIPS Agreement poses another obstacle for access to medicines and the production of generic drugs even under compulsory licensing. Such regulatory protection of undisclosed pharmaceutical test data and the application of confidentiality to test data submitted by pharmaceutical companies so as to be able to obtain marketing approval of the products creates a data monopoly. It prevents the marketing of generic drugs even though the patent licences may have been granted by the government as generic drug manufacturers are unable to access the data. The authors query the obligation set out under Article 39.3 and consider the question of an implicit data exclusivity exception. The authors further argue holistically from a human rights perspective that a wider application of the precautionary approach to temper data exclusivity as a justification for disclosure in a public health emergency would enhance its prescriptive value. This article contemplates a parallel approach to overcome the issue of data exclusivity in the international trade and intellectual property regimes once a precautionary approach is adopted for compulsory licensing.


Delaunois, Angele. The Little Yellow Bottle. Illus. Christine Delezenne. Toronto: Second Story Press, 2011. Print. The Little Yellow Bottle has a rather grand ambition for its 24 pages. It attempts to capture the heartbreaking story of a child's encounter with war and distill it into the plainest of terms for the benefit of young readers. Marwa and Ahmad are best friends. They live in a village that has experienced war, but the war is not their own; they only want to play soccer. One day, while kicking a ball around with his friend, Ahmad encounters a little yellow bottle—a bomb fragment—which explodes, leaving him crippled. Though Ahmad learns to live his new life to the fullest, he is never able to play soccer again. Marwa and Ahmad are both instantly relatable characters. While their names will most likely register as foreign to the Western audience for which the book is intended, Delaunois creates an instant connection between his characters and his readers; playing sports, having a best friend, wondering about adult affairs—these are near universal experiences. War is not universal, however, and details about war, while vague and generalized (Marwa and Ahmad's country and village are not named), will educate readers about trauma and hardships endured by children just like them. Delaunois tries throughout to maintain a simplistic, child-like voice in the narration, and while there are definite cracks where his adult sensibilities seep through, the effort is noteworthy. Delezenne's illustrations are wonderful on their own and perfectly suited to the accompanying text. She uses a warm colour palate throughout, and distills her drawings down to the simplest elements. Her striking images will stand out to both adults and children, and they do well to enhance the emotional resonance of the story. This is a wonderful book and a worthy one; however, it is not entirely successful in its goals. While the themes and language have been stripped down to their simplest possible incarnations, Ahmad's trauma may still be too inherently gruesome for the intended audience. The language and reading level are appropriate for younger children up to Grade 3; however, this same age group may be left traumatized by the intensely painful events depicted in the narrative. Children who feel an initial connection to the characters will be confused and saddened by the explosion, rendered in horrific reds and browns by Delezenne's illustrations. Older children would be better equipped to handle the mature themes; however, they would naturally yearn for greater detail than 24 pages can provide. I would advise parents, librarians, and teachers to choose carefully when suggesting or reading it to a child. Recommended: 3 stars Reviewed by Amy Paterson Amy Paterson is a Public Services Librarian at the University of Alberta's H. T. Coutts Education Library. She was previously the Editor of the Dalhousie Journal of Interdisciplinary Management and is very happy to be involved in the Deakin Review and the delightful world of children's literature.


This article addresses why and how mobility has become central to the
EU's idea of doctoral education, aiming to reconstruct, in a historical
perspective, the gradual conceptualisation of mobility as a policy idea.
This process began with the discussion of academic mobility in the
1970s, when the European Communities had as yet no responsibility
in the field of education, which resulted in the Erasmus Programme. In
the late 1990s, the Bologna Process strengthened the discussion, substantially
contributing to a consideration of mobility as a policy tool
and the establishment of a mobility strategy. In connection with the
EU research policy, the integration of doctoral studies into the Bologna
Process is specifically analysed. The article concludes with some open
questions, including the potentially negative consequences of the
instrumentalisation of higher education for the concept of mobility.


As its at-reactor (AR) spent fuel storage pools become saturated, South Korea will have to increase interim storage capacity for spent fuel. This study estimates South Korea's additional spent fuel storage requirements through the year 2030, and then evaluates one measure with the potential for reducing requirements for new away-from reactor (AFR) storage: transshipment of spent fuel between nuclear power plant (NPP) sites. Such transshipment, if implemented, could make a significant contribution to relieving requirements for additional spent fuel storage. If intersite transshipment cannot be implemented due to concerns about transport of spent fuel or for other reasons, on-site dry storage would be the next most cost effective alternative.


A proposed runway extension in an airport adjacent to a large riverine system and containing a small perennial branch of the riverine system would result in loss and modification of forested riverine habitat and upland deciduous forest. Concerns about the potential impact, loss, or modification of this habitat on the Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis) a federal and state listed endangered species, were raised by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). An evaluation of the project area was conducted during the time the bats were expected to be in residence. This evaluation was conducted to determine the suitability of the habitat to support summer roosting and to identify the presence of the Indiana bat in the area. The evaluation consisted of a field survey, a data search and interviews with resource agency personnel. The results of the field survey, data search and interviews were evaluated to determine the likelihood that the Indiana bat is present in the project area. Based on these results, recommendations for further studies and measures which should be followed during project construction to avoid impacting the Indiana bat were made.


INTRODUCTION H2O vapor is an undesirable component of natural gas. It takes up space in the pipeline and provides no fuel value. In higher concentrations it can condense into liquid water in the pipeline and cause corrosion, especially in the presence of carbon dioxide or H2S. Liquid water can also cause damage to turbines. Because of this, most gas transfer tariffs include a limit on the acceptable concentration of H2O in the gas stream. This paper reviews the devices that can be used in the field to determine the amount of water vapor present in a natural gas stream.


Do countries with a long history of state-building fare better in the long run? Recent work has shown that earlier state-building may lead to higher levels of present-day growth. By contrast, I use a natural experiment to show that the regions of China with over a thousand years of sustained exposure to state-building are significantly poorer today. The mechanism of persistence, I argue, was the introduction of a civil service exam based on knowledge of Confucian classics, which strengthened the social prestige of the civil service and weakened the prestige of commerce. A thousand years later, the regions of China where the Confucian bureaucracy was first introduced have a more educated population and more Confucian temples, but lower levels of wealth. The paper contributes to an important debate on the Great Divergence, highlighting how political institutions interact with culture to cause long-run patterns of growth.


In this thesis, Environmental issues are considered as all harmful aspects of human activity on the biophysical environment. An increasing number of severe environmental issues () emerged in the last few decades leading Society to become more environmentally conscious. People are more concerned about the products' environmental impacts and thus sales of environmentally friendly products have increased. In practice, the conventional life cycle assessment (LCA) is widely used by enterprises to reduce their product's environmental impacts. It is a time-consuming method for enterprises, especially when the environmental burden shifting phenomenon is considered. In order to assess environmental impacts of different designs of products, the environmental emission data of each life cycle phase is required: so, when altering or improving a product, enterprises must recollect all materials-related data (existing product and waste produced). This limitation makes difficult for enterprises to quickly and accurately assess the environmental effects of their new product design. Unfortunately, even with the complex process involved, the LCA results do not completely reveal how to improve a product. The results can only help enterprises find out which materials or energy may bring serious environmental impacts, but they cannot help designers find out environmental friendly improvements or solution through design parameter modification easily. This thesis proposes a re-evaluation graph-based model to simulate the materials/energy variation in each life cycle phase after an environmentally friendly activity is taken. On the basis of the simulation results, the environmental emission coefficient is induced to convert the mass of materials/energy into the corresponding environmental emissions. This re-evaluation model can help enterprises assess the environmental impacts of their products more quickly. A sensitivity analysis approach is also proposed in this thesis. This approach focuses on the relations between environmental impacts and product design parameters. It is based on the LCA computation model with a parametric model to help designers choose proper design parameters to enhance the product's environmental performance easily and quickly. Since the compliance to environmental friendly requirements is endless, enterprises need to improve the existing products' environmental performance as much as they can. To achieve this objective, they can firstly use the re-evaluation model to assess the environmental impacts of an improved design. On the basis of the result, enterprises know the environmental effect of the improved design. Simultaneously, in order to estimate the applicability of the improved design, the re-evaluation model provides a decision making approach to help enterprise evaluate whether the design is applicable or not, i.e., if the effort sharing is distributed in an acceptable way for all companies involved in this product life cycle. In order to occupy more market, the product's environmental performance needs continuous improvement. Enterprises can use the sensitivity analysis approach to find out which design parameter can improve more in product's environmental performance. After finding out a new improved design, they can use the re-evaluation model again to check the effect of this new design. Thanks to the successive use of both methods, the product's environmental performance can be enhanced continuously. In conclusion, the thesis focuses on continuous enhancing the product environmental performance. In order to achieve this objective, several main contributions are proposed, which include: a graph-based model considering the environmental burden shifting; A decision making model considering environmental impacts and fairness of each company; a sensitivity approach which can help designers to find out a new design to improve the product'' environmental performance. More works will be done to overcome the limitations of the proposed models in future work, the remaining issues related to special tools devel


Combining multiple markers can improve classification accuracy compared with using a single marker. In practice, covariates associated with markers or disease outcome can affect the performance of a biomarker or biomarker combination in the population. The covariate‐adjusted receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve has been proposed as a tool to tease out the covariate effect in the evaluation of a single marker; this curve characterizes the classification accuracy solely because of the marker of interest. However, research on the effect of covariates on the performance of marker combinations and on how to adjust for the covariate effect when combining markers is still lacking. In this article, we examine the effect of covariates on classification performance of linear marker combinations and propose to adjust for covariates in combining markers by maximizing the nonparametric estimate of the area under the covariate‐adjusted ROC curve. The proposed method provides a way to estimate the best linear biomarker combination that is robust to risk model assumptions underlying alternative regression‐model‐based methods. The proposed estimator is shown to be consistent and asymptotically normally distributed. We conduct simulations to evaluate the performance of our estimator in cohort and case/control designs and compare several different weighting strategies during estimation with respect to efficiency. Our estimator is also compared with alternative regression‐model‐based estimators or estimators that maximize the empirical area under the ROC curve, with respect to bias and efficiency. We apply the proposed method to a biomarker study from an human immunodeficiency virus vaccine trial. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


In low back pain management surgery is currently commonly used with a new technique called minimally invasive discectomy, while open discectomy is still preferable in many cases. In this regard, the efficacy of tubular discectomy (TD) were compared with conventional standard lumbar disc procedure (conventional microdiscectomy). This study was performed as a clinical trial conducted on patients who were under TD and conventional microdiscectomy using unilateral retractor at Bou Ali, Mehrad, Laleh Hospitals during the years 2001 to 2017. The pain score was determined based on the use of Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). The Roland Morris Disability Questionnaires (RMQ) and mean Oswestry disability index (ODI) were also calculated. Our findings revealed that the two groups were similar in terms of demographic characteristics (age, sex, body mass index, etc.) (p> 0.05). The findings indicated the superiority of TD over the classic approach. The mean scores of ODI in conventional microdiscectomy and TD groups were reported as 12.53 ± 7.09 and 9.51 ± 7.83, respectively. ODI revealed that patients with TD surgery had less disability in lifting objects, sitting, standing, and traveling. In the conventional microdiscectomy group, 12 (20%) patients were affected by complications of surgery, but no complication was reported in any patient with TD (p = 0.000). The mean index of Roland Morris disability in the conventional microdiscectomy and TD groups were estimated to be 6.033 ± 2.98 and 3.73 ± 3.25 (p = 0.000). However, both groups did not differ in terms of visual scores for pain and relapse (p > 0.05). Our study demonstrates that disease relapse within 6 months after the surgery, the RMQ and the ODI values were significantly better in TD than the other group.


Interview with Army Air Forces veteran Leslie W. Bray, Jr. The interview includes Bray's personal experiences about the China-Burma-India Theater during World War II, youth during the Great Depression, flight training, being designated as the commander of the 16th Combat Cargo Squadron, stationing at Sylhet, India as part of his assignment to the CBI Theater, supplying the British 14th Army in Burma, flying difficulties due to weather conditions, various transfers, and flying "The Hump." Bray also talks about his early aspirations to become an aviator, initial failures to pass the Air Forces physical examination, his assignment to Troop Carrier Command, flying C-47s with the 1st Troop Carrier Group, his appointment as assistant group operations officer for the 10th Troop Carrier Group, Air Force School of Applied Tactics, the training of replacement units at various Air Force installations, the deactivation of the 16th Combat Cargo Squadron, and his postwar Air Force career and retirement as a general officer.


CASE DESCRIPTION
A 16-year-old female umbrella cockatoo (Cacatua alba) was referred to the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine for evaluation of a 3-year seasonal history of lethargy and weight fluctuation.

CLINICAL FINDINGS
Abnormalities detected via clinicopathologic analyses included mild leukocytosis, heterophilia, and lymphopenia consistent with a stress leukogram. Previous fecal examinations failed to diagnose enteric parasite infestation. Results of a fecal flotation test with Sheather sugar solution revealed spirurid eggs (Spiruroidea). Coelomic radiography revealed a widened cardiohepatic waist with increased soft tissue opacity at the level of the hepatic silhouette. The caudal thoracic and abdominal air sacs bilaterally appeared compressed against the coleomic wall. The proventriculus was increased in diameter, with a proventriculus-to-keel ratio of 1.0. Coelomic ultrasonography and positive-contrast upper gastrointestinal radiography revealed severe thickening and irregularity of the proventricular wall. The animal was anesthetized for an endoscopic examination of the upper gastrointestinal tract. Intralesional nematodes were identified on histologic examination of biopsy specimens from the proventriculus.

TREATMENT AND OUTCOME
Effective fenbendazole treatment (15 mg/kg [6.8 mg/lb], PO, alternating between 5 days of treatment and 5 days of no treatment, which continued for 4 periods) was confirmed by repeated endoscopy and fecal examinations. The bird remained free of clinical signs 27 months after diagnosis and treatment.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE
Antemortem diagnosis of proventricular nematodiasis has not been reported in psittacines. Spirurid nematode eggs are shed intermittently, which may lead to false-negative results on a single routine fecal examination. In this patient, radiography, endoscopy, and histologic evaluation facilitated antemortem diagnosis. This is the first report of successful treatment of this condition in psittacines.


This study deals with the relations between masculinities and health care, approaching the recognition of health needs among male users of primary health care and the responses by the services. The study is part of a larger research project in four Brazilian States, with a convenience sample of eight health services. Ethnographic observation was compared with semi-structured interviews with 182 health care users from 15 to 65 years of age and 72 health professionals. Thematic analysis of the ethnographic records and interviews was based on gender references and studies on health work. The findings show how medicalization of health needs affects users, professionals, and services, disguising issues related to masculinity. Primary care focuses mainly on women, thereby reproducing gender inequalities in health services operations and professional performance, with women receiving disciplined care and men receiving insufficient attention and care.


Abstract. Variations in the chemical composition of atmospheric aerosols alter their hygroscopicity and can lead to changes in the cloud-active fraction of the aerosols, or cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) number concentration. To investigate the importance of this effect under different atmospheric conditions, cloud droplet formation was simulated with a Lagrangian parcel model. Initial values of updraft speed and temperature were systematically varied along with aerosol number concentration, size and hygroscopicity (represented by the hygroscopicity parameter, κ). A previous study classifies the sensitivity of CCN activity to compositional changes based on the supersaturation reached in the parcel model. We found that these classifications could not be generalized to a range of aerosol size distribution median radii. Instead, variations in sensitivity with size depend on the location of the dry critical radius for droplet activation relative to the size distribution median radius. The parcel model output was used to construct droplet activation lookup tables based on κ that were implemented in the Regional Atmospheric Modeling System (RAMS) microphysical scheme. As a first application of this system, aerosol hygroscopicity and size were varied in a series of RAMS mesoscale simulations designed to investigate the sensitivity of a mixed-phase orographic cloud case to the parameter variations. Observations from a recent field campaign in northwestern Colorado provided the basis for the aerosol field initializations. Model results show moderate sensitivity in the distribution of total case precipitation to extreme changes in κ, and minimal sensitivity to observed changes in estimated κ. The impact of varying aerosol hygroscopicity diminished with increasing median radius, as expected from the parcel model results. The conclusions drawn from these simulations could simplify similar research in other cloud regimes by defining the need, or lack of need, for detailed knowledge of aerosol composition.


This paper develops two extensions of the dynamic model presented in Melitz (2003). The first extension consists in the introduction of technology choice between three alternative production technologies: L, M and H. L is assumed to be the same as Melitz's single production technology, while M and H are assumed to be superior production technologies, stemming this superiority from the fact these technologies substitute the more primitive capital goods used in technology L with newer, updated versions which embody technological advances, and also from the fact that M and H are more skill-intensive than L. Technologies M and H are equally skill-intensive, but H still is superior to M because it incorporates world-technology-frontier capital goods, while the capital goods used in M are below such frontier. The second extension consists in the introduction of two different exporting profiles: 'Low-Commitment Exporters' - who make the minimum possible investment required to penetrate export markets- and 'High-Commitment Exporters' - who are ready to make additional trade-related investments in order to gain additional export sales.


Discussion of the burial practices associated with the Lapita cultural complex has previously been limited through lack of evidence. This is rectified by presenting the basic mortuary data on a sample of eight adult inhumations from the SAC burial ground in the Reber-Rakival Lapita site on Watom Island and comparing them with three individual burials from Lapita sites in Fiji and Tonga. A common preference for burial in flexed positions within a small rounded pit feature is evident in the sample, although this practice does not apply to every case. There is, however, less consistency in orientation of the body, the greatest number being with the head to the west.


The versatility of decorating with contemporary needlepoint is explored through the designs created by Catherine Reurs. The author has drawn on the heritage of European, Oriental, American and contemporary styles for her own designs for cushions, teacosies, slippers and floor coverings. A hundred colour photographs showing the needlepoint pieces in a variety of traditional and contemporary interiors and an appendix of four-colour patterns of selected designs show the reader how to achieve the same style as seen in the book.


The escalating number of vehicles on the road has raised awareness to their environmental impacts and sustainability; this has provided a stimulus for future mobility considerations. The conventional car may not meet future requirements regarding noise, emissions and energy consumption. There is a distinct lack of short-term alternative solutions that meet consumer requirements and have a potential for mass production. Furthermore, the internal combustion engine has been developed over 100 years and there may be some risk that the automotive companies choose to invest into the "wrong" alternative. However, industry has to accept some responsibility for providing future solutions for the products they introduced and created the demand for in first place. Starting with a vision several years ago, Japanese car companies have now taken the lead with certain types of hybrid electric vehicles. These vehicles exhibit significantly reduced energy consumption, noise emission, exhaust emissions, and yet also have improved comfort and performance. They now thrive in the USA with seemingly unexpected popularity due to rocketing oil prices and increasing awareness of the risk of oil dependency. Many car companies now follow this lead. However, there are a vast variety of possible hybrid drivetrain configurations. Modelling and simulation can help in the development and assessment of future drivetrain solutions. This paper focuses on this task using a commercially available modelling and simulation package. A drivetrain design is developed going through some initial considerations based on vehicle performance criteria that take into account consumer expectations and operational/regulatory/environmental factors. Based on simulation studies the drive train components are identified, mostly from the available range. Finally, a computer simulation is used to assess the performance of the vehicle. The result of these investigations is a series hybrid electric vehicle that is recharged from the mains. The fuel consumption is four times better than that of a comparable car, but vehicle mass and cost have not increased significantly. The driving range of this vehicle is not limited by battery capacity. Such a vehicle can meet consumer expectations as well as environmental requirements with added driver comfort. Still being low-cost, it provides the potential for mass-production thus reducing overall impacts on the environment


Calorimetry (adiabatic, isothermal, differential, oscillating or acoustic) is generally based on heat-flow measurements of the studied system. Most of its applications are dedicated to kinetic-parameter detn., safety studies and process optimization, phase equil. and phase transition studies. Heat flow calorimetry on the lab. scale is currently limited to low viscosity fluids. An emerging new field is concerned with the use of calorimetry in the presence of supercrit. fluids as solvent reaction, which will be named supercrit. calorimetry. Supercrit. carbon dioxide (CO2s.c.) represents an increasingly interesting media for a wide variety of reactions. To fulfill this need, a special supercrit. calorimeter has been developed in collaboration with Mettler-Toledo, Schwerzenbach, CH and some preliminary results are presented. This paper explores supercrit. calorimetry applied to the intrinsic properties of carbon dioxide in the liq., gas and esp. supercrit. phase as well as applications and theory related to reaction calorimetry. The CO2s.c. heat capacity (cp) is measured over the range of 33-112 DegC and 77-206 bar using a reaction calorimeter (RC1e, Mettler-Toledo) coupled with a high-pressure HP350 metallic reactor. Measured values are compared to theor. values obtained from Wagner and Span's equation of state. 3D representations of the predicted values for heat capacity, d. and sound speed of carbon dioxide in the fluid phase are presented.


Multi-view clustering takes diversity of multiple views (representations) into consideration. Multiple views may be obtained from various sources or dierent feature subsets and often provide complementary information to each other. In this paper, we propose a novel graph-based approach to integrate multiple representations to improve clustering performance. While original graphs have been widely used in many existing multi-view clustering approaches, the key idea of our approach is to integrate multiple views by exploring higher order information. In particular, given graphs constructed separately from single view data, we build cross-view tensor product graphs (TPGs), each of which is a Kronecker product of a pair of single-view graphs. Since each cross-view TPG captures higher order relationships of data under two dierent views, it is no surprise that we obtain more reliable similarities. We linearly combine multiple cross-view TPGs to integrate higher order information. Ecient graph diusion process on the fusion TPG helps to reveal the underlying cluster structure and boosts the clustering performance. Empirical study shows that the proposed approach outperforms state-of-the-art methods on benchmark datasets.


The beta-catenin destruction complex plays a key role in the canonical Wnt signaling pathway. In the absence of Wnt signaling, this complex controls the levels of cytoplamic beta-catenin. Beta-catenin asso-ciates with and is phosphorylated by the destruction complex. Phosphorylated beta-catenin is recognized and ubiquitinated by the SCF-beta TrCP ubiquitin ligase complex and is subsequently degraded by the proteasome (reviewed in Kimelman and Xu, 2006).


Bifidobacteria comprise a significant proportion of the human gut microbiota. Several bifidobacterial strains are currently used as therapeutic interventions, claiming various health benefits by acting as probiotics. However, the precise mechanisms by which they maintain habitation within their host and consequently provide these benefits are not fully understood. Here we show that Bifidobacterium breve UCC2003 produces a cell surface-associated exopolysaccharide (EPS), the biosynthesis of which is directed by either half of a bidirectional gene cluster, thus leading to production of one of two possible EPSs. Alternate transcription of the two opposing halves of this cluster appears to be the result of promoter reorientation. Surface EPS provided stress tolerance and promoted in vivo persistence, but not initial colonization. Marked differences were observed in host immune response: strains producing surface EPS (EPS+) failed to elicit a strong immune response compared with EPS-deficient variants. Specifically, EPS production was shown to be linked to the evasion of adaptive B-cell responses. Furthermore, presence of EPS+ B. breve reduced colonization levels of the gut pathogen Citrobacter rodentium. Our data thus assigns a pivotal and beneficial role for EPS in modulating various aspects of bifidobacterial–host interaction, including the ability of commensal bacteria to remain immunologically silent and in turn provide pathogen protection. This finding enforces the probiotic concept and provides mechanistic insights into health-promoting benefits for both animal and human hosts.