In approaching the subject of the Protestant presence in Latin America, I believe it is necessary to take a missiological perspective. In recent times, Latin American Protestantism has come to the fore in the secular and academic press mainly because of its irruption onto the political scene. Focusing on this aspect of Protestant life, reporters and scholars have not paid attention to the totality of the Protestant phenomenon. If we add to this the hostility most Marxist and Catholic historians and social scientists we can understand why the accumulated volume of literature on the subject presents a distorted and frequently uninformed picture of Latin American Protestants. Only a missiological approach can provide a clearer holistic picture of Protestant reality. A missiological approach is inter-disciplinary. It looks at missionary acts from the perspectives of the biblical sciences, theology, history and the social sciences. It aims to be systematic and critical, but it starts from a positive stance towards the legitimacy of the Christian missionary task as pan of the fundamental reason for the being of the church. From this perspective, during this century Latin American Protestantism has been a source of puzzling surprises. Its numerical growth has gone beyond the expectations of the pioneers who introduced it, but the way in which that growth took place has been very different from what the pioneers planned. Since its appearance in the 19th century, the Roman Catholic Church has used every available means at her disposal in order to stop it, but at this end of the 20th century, some of the most dynamic sectors in that same church are adopting many of the missionary methodologies that Protestantism brought to Latin America or developed here. A missiological approach gives the observer a wider frame of reference :o place his/her perception of the surprising and at moments contradictory nature of Latin American Protestantism. Ours is the second great century of Protestant global missionary advance. As Latourette, the classic historian of missions, has demonstrated, during the 19th and 20th centuries, missionary vitality in the Protestant world bore the marks of the Evangelical ethos.(1) The Protestant missionary movement was born from the ranks of Pietism in central Europe and from the Spiritual Awakenings in the 19th century English speaking world. For Latourette, missionary activity usually stems from spiritual vitality and he submits that the vital minorities of Protestants in Europe are mainly from a "puritan-pietistic-evangelical tradition". Growth outside Europe corresponded to the same stream, "This means that world Protestantism tends increasingly to have a puritan-pietistic-evangelical stance."(2) In choosing these three terms: "puritan", "pietistic" and "evangelical", Latourette offers a description of the kind of evangelicalism which has kept the initiative in missionary activity in the world. We may look at these terms from a missiological perspective which includes their theological content, as well as their sociological and methodological components. Thus we find in them the ethos of a movement which emphasizes individual conversion and belief followed by moral transformation, which reacts against formal religiosity bred by sacramentalism, and which creates structures that allow rank and file Christians to take part in the missionary activities of the church. At the end of this century, it has become evident that the vitality, relevance and creativity of both Catholic and Protestant churches have shifted to the South. They are now the marks of churches in Africa, Latin America and parts of Asia, right at the time when European Christianity seems paralyzed at a deadlock and becomes affected by the fatigue that accompanies a postChristendom situation. These "Southern" forms of Christianity that developed out of the missionary thrust of Europeans and North Americans, have now taken a form of their own. …


Electrospinning is a simple and versatile process to produce polymer nanofibers, which are useful for ultrafine particle filtration. In this study, a polyurethane filter with an average fiber diameter of 150–250 nm was prepared through the electrospinning process and its filtration characteristics were investigated. We found that the electrospun fiber diameter was highly dependent on the polyurethane concentration, electric field, and tip-to-collector distance. As the polyurethane concentration, electric field, and tip-to-collector distance under the same electric field increased, the fiber diameter increased. We also found that the produced filter media had a minimum collection efficiency at particles sizes from 80 to 100 nm, which implies an electrostatic attraction between the filter and the test particles. Furthermore, we observed that interception was a predominant collection mechanism at Peclet numbers higher than 10 in nanofiber filtration for ultrafine particles. Implications: A polyurethane nanofiber filter with excellent mechanical properties was prepared, and the effect of operating conditions on fiber morphology was examined. The filter fabricated by an electrospinning process is charged and has high filtration efficiency due to electrostatic force. Therefore, it can be a good alternative to control hazardous ultrafine particles.


Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) is a disease of cattle that presents risk to public health, causing severe economic losses to the livestock industry and difficulty in eradication because of its complex epidemiology. The aim of this study was to identify relationships between Mycobacterium bovis strains from cattle in the State of Jalisco, and those of other States of Mexico. Molecular fingerprints of 337 M. bovis isolates from Jalisco, and 1152 from other States of Mexico were included in the study. Isolates were obtained from tubercles between 1997 and 2015. Evolutionary relationship was determined throughout spoligoforest (www.emi.unsw.edu.au/spoltools/). From 337 isolates from Jalisco, 59 spoligotypes were obtained, ten of them included 48% of all isolates in the state. Five spoligotypes were common to beef and dairy cattle. The molecular analysis showed eight clusters in a philogenetic three: one with three subclusters of nine isolates each, all from dairy cattle; four with two isolates, including dairy and beef cattle. All spoligotypes from Jalisco have been reported in other states, four of the most frequent ones: SB0673, SB0971, SB0669 and SB0140, were the same as in other states. The most frequent spoligotypes of M. bovis found in Jalisco were also the most frequent ones in other parts of Mexico. However, there is no evidence to conclude that Jalisco is the source of infection to other states since no information on movement and destination of cattle could be documented.

 Key words: Tuberculosis, Mycobacterium bovis, spoligotyping, cattle, Jalisco, molecular epidemiology.


The Catalan independence movement has already attracted a great deal of scholarly attention, mostly in the political science and law fields and, to a lesser extent, in cultural studies. However, there has not yet been a political economy of communication approach to one of Europe's most serious territorial crises. Amongst the most salient characteristics of this conflict is the belligerent role taken by the Spanish media elite. They have aligned with the state's position, and even reinforced it (rather than acting as a watchdog). In some respects, the media elite have become an arm of the state as proponents of a 'Go and get'em' stance towards political dissidents. This article considers the links between this compromised news media reporting and state authoritarianism in Spain. I also assess the unity of Spain's power elite, as described by C. Wright Mills (1956). In this context, mainstream media helps to shape authoritarian capitalism.


In a Pulse Frequency Modulation (PFM) telemetering system, there is a need for a subcarrier oscillator with these characteristics: 1) operating frequency a linear function of a dc input control voltage, 2) high input impedance, 3) square wave output with constant amplitude over the entire frequency range, and 4) frequency stability within one cycle during gated on-off operation. This paper describes a method for controlling the frequency of a square-loop magnetic core oscillator by means of a dc voltage to give a voltage-to-frequency converter with the above characteristics. Various design considerations are discussed; and a voltage controlled oscillator that operates from 15 to 5 kc as the input control voltage varies from 0 to +5 volts is used as the design example.


T cells provide protective immunity against infections by differentiating into effector cells that contribute to rapid pathogen control and by forming memory populations that survive over time and confer long-term protection. Thus, understanding the factors that regulate the development of effective T cell responses is beneficial for the design of vaccines and immune-based therapies against infectious diseases. Cytokines play important roles in shaping T cell responses, and IL-10 has been shown to modulate the differentiation of CD4 and CD8 T cells. In this study, we report that IL-10 functions in a cell-extrinsic manner early following acute lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus infection to suppress the magnitude of effector Th1 responses as well as the generation of memory CD4 and CD8 T cells. We further demonstrate that the blockade of IL-10 signaling during the priming phase refines the functional quality of memory CD4 and CD8 T cells. This inhibition strategy resulted in a lower frequency of virus-specific follicular Th (Tfh) cells and increased the Th1 to Tfh ratio. Nevertheless, neither germinal center B cells nor lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus–specific Ab levels were influenced by the blockade. Thus, our studies show that IL-10 influences the balance between Th1 and Tfh cell differentiation and negatively regulates the development of functionally mature memory T cells.


Featured as part of the 2015 UK-China Year of Cultural Exchange, this is the first touring exhibition in China solely devoted to British photography. The exhibition is curated by the Photographers' Gallery, London in collaboration with the Pin Projects, Beijing OCT-LOFT, Shenzhen and is supported by the British Council.

This exhibition presents a survey of over fifty years of British photography through the lens of documentary practices. Featuring work by some of the most significant photographers and artists of the time, it reflects photography's growing cultural position both within the UK and on the international stage.

Work, Rest and Play features over 450 images by thirty-seven acclaimed photographers and artists working across a wide range of genres and disciplines, including photojournalism, portraiture, fashion and fine art.
Arranged chronologically the exhibition explores British society through changing national characteristics, attitudes and activities over the last five decades. Multiculturalism, consumerism, political protest, post-industrialisation, national traditions, the class system and everyday life all emerge under the broader themes of Work, Rest and Play.


Using repeated observational and questionnaire data from 57 infants and their parents, lower parental efficacy perceptions and higher parental negative mood states were evaluated as potential mediators to explain the adverse influence of environmental chaos on parenting. Factor analysis revealed noise- and crowding-chaos dimensions in the home. Higher scores on both chaos dimensions were related to less responsive and stimulating parenting. Home chaos was generally unrelated to parental ratings of distressed mood, but parents reported a lower sense of efficacy as noise level in home increased. However, our data did not support predicted links between measures of parenting and efficacy. The overall pattern of results indicates that neither parental mood nor efficacy appears to mediate relations between home chaos and parenting behavior.


Since their formal creation in the 1940s, national human rights institutions (NHRIs) have moved very rapidly from the fringes to occupy a prominent space in human rights discourse. International human rights standards are important for securing and sustaining human dignity and, therefore, need to find concrete expression at the domestic level to be relevant. This goal inspired the United Nations (UN) to encourage states to consider the desirability of establishing NHRIs to advance the domestic promotion and protection of human rights. The desire of the UN in this regard has since been realised with the global proliferation of these institutions. The story about the emergence and remarkable diffusion of NHRIs across the globe is what Cardenas relays in her book Chains of justice. The global rise of state institutions for human rights.


It results from the analysis of our data that IL's are actually systematic even if they present a certain variability, due to the fact that they are systems under continuous evolution. Our learners' ILs are characterized by their own rules, rules which do not derive from the interference of the first language but rather from some general and abstract principles which can account for language learning in the most different situations. In particular from our data it results that, at least in earlier stages, semantic features play a more preponderant role than syntactic functions. Moreover IL's seem to be submitted to universal constraints similar to those proposed for natural languages (i.e. language universals such as the "Accessibility Hierarchy" by Keenan and Comrie).


The National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) surveys farmers and ranchers across the United States and Puerto Rico in order to estimate crop production and number of livestock, to assess production practices, and to identify economic trends. The June Agricultural Survey (JAS) is an annual survey that provides information on U.S. crops, livestock, grain storage capacity, and number, type and size of farms. The JAS is comprised of two components, the List Survey and the Area Survey. The List Survey is comprised of agricultural operations known to NASS. The Area Survey is comprised of designated land areas known as segments and is utilized in measuring the incompleteness of the List. This study is focused on the Area portion, which will be abbreviated as JAS. The JAS sample is comprised of nearly 11,000 designated land areas known as segments. A typical segment is about one square mile -- equivalent to 640 acres. Each segment is outlined on an aerial photo (typically 2' by 2' in size) and provided to NASS's field interviewers. Field interviewers visit these segments and identify the owners/operators of all land within the segment. Land is then categorized as agricultural or non-agricultural. For land where agricultural activity is occurring, a separate paper questionnaire is completed for each agricultural operation operating land within the segment. A team composed of staff from NASS and Iowa State University Center for Survey Statistics and Methodology developed a Computer Assisted Personal Interview (CAPI) instrument to conduct the JAS aerial imagery portion and collect field level information. Also, the team was tasked with testing field enumeration of grid segments (a new type of segment) that could make the JAS sample preparation process more efficient. The JAS-CAPI instrument was field tested in Pennsylvania, Indiana and Washington.


Analysis of ground and airborne radiometric data as well as rare earth element abundances in soils in the Saquarema region (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) has allowed new insights into the mobility of mineral aggregates containing monazites. The regional distributions of radioactive elements, as revealed in results of airborne radiometric surveys, indicate that topography play dominant role in transportation of weathered material. The mobility pattern is characterized by systematic depletion of radioactive elements along the migration paths. Superimposed on this depletion trend are indications of relative enrichment of uranium and thorium with respect to potassium along the migration paths. Analysis of data on rare earth element abundances in soils and beach sands point to the existence of a complementary process responsible for formation of ore-grade deposits of monazites along the coastal regions. The time and distance scales associated with this enrichment process have been estimated based on the regional distribution of Th/K ratios. The results indicate that submerged monazite deposits may be present along the offshore sand banks, in the coastal region of the state of Rio de Janeiro. These results may be useful in locating under-water monazite deposits in other parts of continental shelf with similar geologic context.


In this article we analyse architectural sketches as an example of how communities attribute value to activities and outputs. Sketching is both an ideational activity, of conceiving of things through the act of drawing, and a recording activity leading to buildings that can be materialized. To the architectural practice community, architectural sketches are more than mere translations of what is already outlined in the architect's mind – sketching is also an activity that generates new knowledge. We focus on Bourdieu"s concepts of habitus, field and capital, as a way of corroborating our claim about the structure of communities as groups of people who share certain values, and find certain actions meaningful and certain outputs significant and satisfying. These communities invest in certain actions towards mastering certain skills and producing certain kinds of output, all of which must result in some kind of gain or capital. We describe the act of sketching as citation in order to discuss the efforts and engagements of those who enter and remain in the architectural profession or field. In reflecting about what motivates someone to undertake the challenging training in order to master a skill such as sketching, we cite Balinisteanu"s notion of fantasy. Within our explanatory framework, one engages in developing the skill of sketching because, to some degree one identifies oneself with the professional habitus, sees oneself as belonging to that field, and proceeds to acquire that particular capital. The field can just as easily consist of professional architectural practice as of the academic research community. Architectural sketching need no longer be interpreted as merely a way to become "passionately involved" with the object that is drawn. Architectural sketching can also be a means of becoming involved with a community who values architectural sketches – be that the architectural practice or the academic research community. Ana Gabriela Godinho Lima, Michael Biggs & Daniela Büchler, 'The Value of Architectural Sketches', p. 2


How can we – those who are involved in institutions of higher education as researchers, students, educators and administrators – contribute to the decolonial project? How can we dismantle colonial structures in ways that speak to and from our practices of teaching and learning? And how are we to engage with what has become known as 'Decolonial Theory' in our everyday practice inside the university? As follows from the work of thinkers and educators such as bell hooks, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o and Nelson Maldonado-Torres, the control of the means of producing and reproducing knowledge is key for sustaining coloniality but also the very reason which makes educational institutions fundamental sites of decolonial struggle. Speaking from the experience of the initiators and facilitators of the Decolonial Reading Salon at the University of South Africa (UNISA), the authors of this article critically engage these questions by teasing out the ways in which Decolonial Theory – or, as the authors insist, decolonial theories – can be used in the everyday practice that seek to enact teaching and learning as 'the practices of freedom' in the institutions of higher education. In the first section, the authors position themselves and the Decolonial Reading Salon, providing and insight into why they decided to set out the initiative. The second section reflects on how the Decolonial Reading Salon is organized, structured and enacted to contribute to the disruption of what Spivak calls 'epistemic violence'. The third section focuses on strategies which the authors employ to resist – or at least postpone – their own 'will to mastery' that defines the mainstream educational practice in heteropatriarchal and capitalist coloniality. The fourth section reflects on decolonial reading as a struggle for epistemic liberation that is profoundly collective as well as 'hard work'. The conclusions, drawing from Hélène Cixous, positions the Salon as a means of finding, through learning, 'a way out' from the heteropatriarchal and capitalist coloniality.


Given the common use of restarts in today's clause learning SAT solvers, the task of choosing a good restart policy appears to have attracted remarkably little interest. On the other hand, results have been reported on the use of different restart policies for combinatorial search algorithms. Such results are not directly applicable to clause learning SAT solvers, as the latter are now understood as performing a form of resolution, something fundamentally different from search (in the sense of backtracking search for satisfying assignments). In this paper we provide strong evidence that a clause learning SAT solver could benefit substantially from a carefully designed restart policy (which may not yet be available). We begin by pointing out that the restart policy works together with other aspects of a SAT solver in determining the sequence of resolution steps performed by the solver, and hence its efficiency. In this spirit we implement a prototype clause learning SAT solver that facilitates restarts at arbitrary points, and conduct experiments on an extensive set of industrial benchmarks using various restart policies, including those used by well-known SAT solvers as well as a universal policy proposed in 1993 by Luby et al. The results indicate a substantial impact of the restart policy on the efficiency of the solver, and provide motivation for the design of better restart policies, particularly dynamic ones.


Japanese cuisine has developed over centuries as a result of many political and social changes. From traditional-style Japanese food to foods whose ingredients or cooking methods were introduced from abroad, Japanese cuisine is known for its emphasis on seasonality of food, quality of ingredients and presentation. Master Sushi Chef and classically trained in the art of Japanese cooking and presentation, Hideo shares his knowledge in this comprehensive guide to Japanese cuisine. This book contains information on how to prepare, store and use hundred of ingredients and many different utensils, and contains a 16-page colour section of photos for easy reference. Hideo weaves historical information on such topics as the tea ceremony, ceramics and the cooking knifes ceremony alongside plenty of practical information to create authentic Japanese dishes at home.


The emergence of high technology, information, and innovation based environment in the world today has greatly altered the way and manner businesses are done globally. This new technology which of course utilizes high level of intellectual capital also determines the level of financial performance of business organizations. Some organizations which hitherto were rated very high in terms of their profitability and other financial performances are today being rated very low simply because of their non-adoption of this intellectually based technology. This study uses the Value Added Intellectual Coefficient (VAIC) model to compare both the intellectual capital indices as well as the financial performance variables of six highly rated banks in Nigeria with the aim of determining if the deviations in their financial performance indices could be explained by the deviations in the banks' intellectual capital variables. The study adopted the ex-post facto research design. It was systematically conducted using longitudinal time series data generated from the Nigeria Stock Exchange and from annual reports and accounts of the selected banks in Nigeria spanning from year 2000 to 2012. The study adopted the Duncan Multiple Range Test (DMRT) of ANOVA across the six selected banks in Nigeria for the test of the hypotheses. The SPSS statistical software (version 17.0) was used for the data analysis. From the analyses, it was discovered that there were significant deviations in both the financial performance indicators and in the intellectual capital variables among the six banks studied. The results further showed that the banks are statistically different in both the intellectual capital indices and in the financial performance indicators. The study also established that the banks with high intellectual capital also recorded high financial performance and therefore recommends that all banks should embrace this new intellectually based technology in order to enhance their financial performances, returns to their different stakeholders as well as in their service delivery to their customers.


How does democracy work in the new democracies of Eastern
Europe? Do the people actually rule as one would expect in a
democracy or do the legacies of communism and the constraints
of the transition weaken popular control? This book presents a
new framework for conceptualizing and measuring democratic
quality and applies this framework to multiple countries and
policy areas in the region. It defines democratic quality as
the degree to which citizens are able to hold leaders
accountable for their performance and keep policy close to
their preferences. Its surprising conclusion, drawn from
large-N statistical analyses and small-N case studies, is that
citizens exercise considerable control over their rulers in
Eastern European democracies. Despite facing difficult economic
circumstances and an unfavorable inheritance from communism,
these countries rapidly constructed relatively high-quality
democracies.


This article considers how immigrant retention relates to family obligations, drawing a complex portrait of a common family dilemma involving the care of aging kin. The ethnographic life-history approach offers an important perspective on how health and well-being are not simply structured by formal access to institutions of care, but by the socio-cultural, economic and geographic flexibility of families to accommodate their needs. Analysis draws on the interdependant migration histories of a family of six adult sisters originating in Tanzania. In the case of this family, the dilemma surrounding the care of aging parents is not so much caused by migration's disruption of traditional filial obligations. Instead, it is the effect of social pressures stirred in both sending and receiving countries, which frame opportunities for eventual social integration, relocation or sometimes reluctant repatriation. A reflexive approach argues for the active presence of ethnographers in policy debates.


The democratisation process experienced by third wave countries demonstrates the complexity of the relationship between democracy and human rights. The incompleteness of the legal state reveals some interconnectedness between democratisation and human rights protection, which this research explores in order to understand how countries starting democratisation in similar political and civil rights conditions ended up with different civil citizenships and control of the security apparatus in their new democracies. In debate with Modernisation theory, this research argues the importance of political factors and a legal state for the expansion of civil citizenship. As much as socioeconomic indicators and the development of a welfare state impact human rights, the possibility of their violation is embedded in the laws and practices inherited from non-democratic regimes and political dynamics that reproduce them. At the same time, in a debate with Transition theories, this work emphasises the potential impact of regional factors in the democratisation process and the relevance of reintroducing geopolitical elements to the discussion. The regional dimension presents different categories of influence. In order to identify regional factors related to the democratic aspects discussed here, this research focuses on regional mechanisms for promoting human rights and the rule of law, as well as on the regional cooperation or assistance related to law enforcement areas, most specifically to the police institution. Through a comparative analysis of the police in Ecuador and Poland, this research discusses: (1) the relationship between the agents of the security apparatus and ordinary citizens; (2) the domestic and regional institutional network that regulates and controls the lawlessness of their activities; and (3) regional environments that promote changes or constrain attempts toward their democratisation. In summary, this research aims to verify whether or not the regional dimension has impacted the democratic salience of the rule of law and human rights in the democratisation process.


Twentieth-century American constitutional, administrative, and corporate law were often contests over legal liberalism. We more or less accepted the basic liberal premise of separating the public from the private — and then battled over the relative size and power of the State versus the Market. At times, the State had the upper hand, and regulatory and welfare programs proliferated. At other moments, the Market struck back, forcing the State to cede ground. The names of these contests are as familiar as Normandy, Gettysburg, and Agincourt: Progressivism, Lochnerism, the New Deal, the Great Society, and the Reagan Revolution.

Today, however, those conflicts seem antiquated, waged over increasingly inconsequential terrain. We've now so pervasively blended public and private identities and powers that the traditional liberal divide has all but collapsed. But with the blurring of old battle lines, new ones emerge. This Essay considers the apparent demise of legal liberalism and the corresponding rise of what seemingly comes next: public capitalism.

A volatile blend of neoliberalism and democratic socialism, public capitalism reflects the paradoxes, compromises, and innovations of (1) a big and potentially redistributive State that nonetheless achieves its aims through commercial rather than (just) democratic interventions, and (2) an unstintingly capitalist private sector that nonetheless flexes sovereign regulatory muscle in furtherance of public aims at times orthogonal to profits.


In this work, the interactions between ibuprofen and tyrosine as well selected tyrosine-containing oligopeptides (Val-Tyr, Val-Tyr-Val) have been studied using both experimental (absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy) and theoretical (the PM3 method) techniques. The experimentally obtained values of association constant together with free Gibbs energy of association for the studied tyrosine-ibuprofen and Val- Tyr-; Val-Tyr-Val-ibuprofen complexes have been determined. The obtained results indicated that the mechanism of action of ibuprofen is most probably based on the hydrogen bonding interaction which involves hydroxyl group of tyrosine.


This article proposes a change detection and analysis technique for monitoring the phenological development of agricultural vegetation by means of multitemporal Polarimetric Synthetic Aperture Radar (PolSAR) acquisitions. The technique relies on the generalized eigendecomposition of the polarimetric covariance matrices of the individual acquisitions. It both quantifies the magnitude of the change between PolSAR images acquired at different times and also provides an interpretation of occurred change in terms of the modified polarization states. This makes the algorithm suitable for investigating scattering dynamics associated with the phenological development of agricultural vegetation. To aid the interpretation of the changes detected, a representation based on the polarization states affected by the change process is proposed. The technique is evaluated using part of the multitemporal AGRISAR 2006 campaign data set. This data set consists of 12 quad-polarimetric images acquired by the German Aerospace Center (DLR) E-SAR airborne system at L-band from April 2006 to August 2006 over the Demmin test site. It covers large parts of the development cycle of different crop types. As a part of the evaluation, reference ground measurements are used to facilitate the interpretation of the data. The evaluation focuses on five important crop types: wheat, barley, rape, maize, and sugar beet. The results show that the proposed technique is able to detect and characterize different types of changes related to distinct development states of different crop types as the plant growing, maturation, and drying processes.


A robust iterative multicarrier code-division multiple-access (MC-CDMA) receiver with adaptive multiple-access interference (MAI) suppression is proposed for a pilot symbols assisted system over a multipath fading channel with frequency offset. The design of the receiver involves a two-stage procedure. First, an adaptive filter based on the generalized sidelobe canceller (GSC) technique is constructed at each finger to perform despreading and suppression of MAI. Second, pilot symbols assisted frequency offset estimation, channel estimation and a RAKE combining give the estimate of signal symbols. In order to enhance the convergence behavior of the GSC adaptive filters, a decisions-aided scheme is proposed, in which the signal waveform is first reconstructed and then subtracted from the input data of the adaptive filters. With signal subtraction, the proposed MC-CDMA receiver can achieve nearly the performance of the ideal maximum signal-to-interference-plus noise ratio receiver assuming perfect channel and frequency offset information. Finally, a low-complexity partially adaptive (PA) realization of the GSC adaptive filters is presented as an alternative to the conventional multiuser detectors. The new PA receiver is shown to be robust to multiuser channel estimation errors and offer nearly the same performance of the fully adaptive receiver.


Almost riskless investment opportunities represent a fundamental innovation of the recent developments in asset pricing theory. In this paper, I introduce a related trading scheme involving two options and two asynchronous operations: a limit order for one of the assets and a market order for the other one, once the limit order is executed. A model integrating option pricing and order arrivals explains the proximity of this strategy to a pure arbitrage. In particular, satisfying the requisites of the approximate arbitrage opportunities, I therefore refer to it as a limit order approximate arbitrage. An empirical study on a novel option data set confirms that market participants actively invest in these trades. The analysis also reveals the presence of short-living pure arbitrage opportunities in the market, promptly taken by the arbitrageurs. JEL Classification: G12; G13; G17.


Despite Government and academic interest in valuing human resources, there has been relatively little progress in reflecting the value of human resources in UK organisations. This research uses a survey questionnaire to identify perceptions and practices in the area of valuing human resources in three types of UK organizations; traditional companies, knowledge intensive companies and local authorities. The survey focuses on the importance of valuing human resources, current measurement practices, key barriers to the valuation of human resources and the progress expected in this field over five years in UK organisations. Although the majority of respondents identified that the measurement/valuation of human resources was important to their organization, only little or moderate progress in recognizing the worth of human resources in financial statements was expected. The main reasons for this were identified to be lack of understanding and support of the area by others in the organization, particularly senior management, lack of resources, uncertainty as to what information should be reported and lack of precision and reliability in current human resource measures. The research identified that there is more interest in the area from human resource professionals than accounting professionals and that valuation of human resources should be included in internal reports rather than reported externally. More research is now needed, both on conceptual models for valuing human resources within organizations and empirical research focusing on issues such as gaining commitment to valuing of human resources by senior management, the development of systems of valuing human resources, how systems to value employees, when developed, are implemented in organisations and the consequences, both intended and unintended of how the systems operate in practice.


There are few investigations that consider both the practical and symbolic dimensions of wartime destruction and post-war reconstruction of cities, and almost none that do so for the particular case of the Spanish Civil War and Franco's dictatorship. This thesis examines the wartime destruction and post-war rebuilding of three prominent sites in Barcelona, Bilbao and Madrid during the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) and the first two decades of the Franco regime (1939-1959) from an interdisciplinary perspective at the intersection of history, social and political theory, urban planning, and architecture. The thesis is based on extensive archival material, and includes primary textual sources (military reports, administrative documentation, and official publications), secondary textual sources (press material, political, academic and technical literature, and fiction), and primary visual sources (maps, plans, architectural drawings, and aerial photographs of the sites). The thesis introduces the selected sites as exemplary of three propositions on the relationship between history, political discourse, and the built environment during and in the aftermath of conflict and violent regime change. While Barcelona's Avinguda de la Catedral demonstrates that wartime destruction can act as a catalyst for urban redevelopment, Bilbao's bridges exemplify the way that postwar reconstruction can be used to mark a change of political regime, and the ruins of Madrid's Cuartel de la Montana reveal how post-war regimes tend to design ambitious reconstruction plans, which they are not necessarily able to implement. By considering the historical, military, political-administrative, and aesthetic aspects of the destruction and rebuilding of these sites, the thesis proposes an interdisciplinary approach to the study of urban destruction and reconstruction.


A conventional way to determine precipitation kinetics in heat treatable aluminium alloys is to monitor the associated solute loss by in-situ resistivity. A Gleeble machine is used to perform so called isothermal quenching (IQ) resistivity measurements. IQ consists in quenching the alloy down to a given temperature and holding it at this temperature. The results are validated against measurements performed with a classical four-points method using continuous current on the same alloy.


This investigation was designed to evaluate the effects of bioaugmentation on maintaining the system stability under shock loading conditions, standardizing the effluent, and improving the sludge settlement. In this study, phenol was chosen as a model of mono-aromatic compounds which are found commonly in many industrial wastewaters, especially petroleum refineries and the petrochemical industry in Iran. Impacts of bioaugmentation with the best isolated microorganism on the system performance facing sudden toxic shock were investigated after acclimatizing the system with phenol, isolating the phenol degrading microorganisms, and selecting the best phenol degrading strain. Results indicated that this method was improved the efficiency of the system under shock loading from 30% to 94% and SVI from 333 ml/g to 80 ml/g. The effluent was standardized after bioaugmentation at a minimum HRTs of 10, 10, 12 and 24 h, respectively, and at influent COD of 800, 1000, 1500 and 2000 mg/l. The system efficiency and SVI were located in an average range of 99.4-99.9% and 50-71 ml/g, respectively, and the sludge growth was good, even under high organic loading rates after bioaugmentation. In conclusion, bioaugmentation could be used as an effective and efficient method to improve a CAS process facing sudden toxic pollutant


This is the first complete biography of T. Balasaraswati (1918-1984), a dancer and musician from southern India who became recognized worldwide as one of the great performing artists of the twentieth century. In India she was a legend in her own time, acclaimed before she was thirty years old as the great dancer of traditional bharata natyam. Balasaraswati was a passionate revolutionary, an entirely modern artist whose impact was proclaimed by some of the most prominent figures in contemporary dance in India and the West. Her art and life defined the heart of a tradition. Her life story offers an extraordinary view of the enigmatic matrilineal devadasi community and traditional artistic practice from which modern South Indian dance styles have emerged. This deeply engaging biography draws together Balasaraswati's personal account of her life and her reflections on the process of making dance and music. It includes the commentary of family members and dozens of contemporaries from throughout her fifty-year career, revealing hereditary artistic values and conventions that have virtually disappeared in modern India. The book is generously illustrated with rare historical photos and a duotone gallery of distinguished photographers' images of Balasaraswati's dancing.


Music, as one of the essential elements in the filmmaking process, plays an important role in the success of a movie. Although prior studies have investigated several factors which influence movie revenue, there's a lack of research examining the effect of search volume of movie soundtrack on the movie revenue. Therefore, we proposed the following research questions: (1) Is search volume of a movie soundtrack a predictor of the movie revenue in the opening week and the following weeks? (2) Does the effect of search volume of movie soundtrack on movie revenue differ between existing songs and new songs in different time periods? We investigated the effect of movie soundtrack search volume on the movie revenue in different time periods. Moreover, we also examined the moderating effect of existing songs vs. new songs on the relationship between search volume and movie revenue. Initial data collected from Google Trends and IMDb was used for the preliminary test of the research model. The initial results showed that online search volume of movie soundtrack has an effect on the movie revenue, and this effect in the pre-launch period is strengthened if existing songs are used in the movie soundtrack.


In April 2014, the European Union (EU) launched EUFOR RCA, a military bridging operation that provided temporary support to the United Nations (UN) in achieving a safe and secure environment in Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic (CAR), until March 2015. After EUFOR's mandate concluded, the union launched a follow up military advisory mission, EUMAM RCA, to improve the CAR armed forces' capacities and solidify EUFOR's achievements. However, the deployment processes of both EUFOR and EUMAM were characterized by a paradox: on the one hand, their planning processes were quick and effective; on the other hand, their force generation processes were prolonged and difficult. What explains this paradox? This article argues that, in the case of both missions, there was a mismatch between EU Member States' desire to act and their willingness to invest resources in those actions, that is, an intentions-reality gap. Due to the CAR's humanitarian emergency and France's appeal for burden-sharing, a sense of 'collective obligation' drove EU Member States to approve the deployment of EUFOR and EUMAM politically. However, since most Member States had no direct interests at stake in the CAR, they felt no equal sense of obligation to contribute to these efforts.


IZA DP No. 11012 SEPTEMBER 2017 Temporary Employment Boom in Poland: A Job Quality vs. Quantity Trade-off?* Between 2002 and 2015, temporary employment in Poland more than doubled. Poland became the country with the highest share of temporary jobs in the EU. In this paper, we study how this process affected job quality and job quantity. We analyse the gaps between temporary and permanent workers in six dimensions of jobs quality, adopting measures proposed by the OECD and Eurofound. Of these gaps, the differences in earnings quality, job security, and work scheduling quality were the most pronounced. Job quality has improved for both groups of workers, but the gaps have not closed completely. Firms in Poland prefer to employ temporary rather than permanent workers because of the lower firing costs, tax wedges, and wages associated with temporary contracts. We use a stylised labour demand model to quantify the upper bound of a potential job creation effect due to lower labour costs incurred through the use of temporary contracts. We find that this effect did not exceed 4% of dependent employment in 2015. We cannot rule out the possibility that the net employment effect was zero. Our findings show that even if the availability of less-costly temporary contracts caused some additional jobs to be created, temporary workers suffered from lower job quality in several dimensions. JEL Classification: J41, J28, J81


The dictionary that helps students write and speak natural-sounding English, now in a new edition with CD-ROM. Which words usually go together? This dictionary shows you the common word combinations (collocations) that are essential for natural-sounding British and American English. Completely revised and extended, the new edition has over 250,000 collocations and over 75,000 examples.


Abstract. Some diseases, for instance, a glaucoma, cause visual field defects. For the timely diagnostics of such defects, various methods are used. One of the state-of-the-art diagnostic methods is automated static perimetry. The method of static perimetry consists in the light sensitivity determination in different parts of the visual field using stationary objects of variable luminosity. When scanning the visual field in this way, an important factor is the control of gaze fixation at the fixation point. The greatest accuracy in determining the gaze fixation position is achieved by the method of the pupil visual tracking using a video camera. In this paper, four groups of visual tracking algorithms are considered: segmentation-based methods, correlation methods, methods based on optical flow and on weighted average. An experimental comparison of these methods was carried out using the base of video recordings obtained in the automatic static perimetry apparatus. On these videos the ground truth tracks of pupil were marked. The comparison was conducted according to two criteria: center location error and tracking length. It is shown that only the weighted average method has an acceptable tracking length.


According to Karl Kroeber and Stuart M. Sperry, Keats languished in the gap between the "audience" he had achieved as a poet and the "community" he longed for. This, claims Kroeber, is the fate of all Western artists, who are doomed merely to report "dream material" to an audience of witnesses rather than to transfer a "vision" to a community that can enact it and derive social cohesion and "energy" from it. As I examine the structural underpinnings of Keats9s ode, however, I find that it both enables and provides a location for a ritual transformation of the reader as an active participant. As readers of the ode, we are escorted through a rite of passage that has the shape of what anthropologist Victor Turner has called a "liminal" transition. According to Turner such "liminal" transitions, passages in which individuals suffer both disintegration and reintegration, are the means by which people are synthesized into a community. The "Ode on a Grecian Urn," then, stands apart from Kroeber9s lament that western art can only serve to draw "energy" from an audience. The ode transfers visionary energy to a community of readers.


"This scholarly and engaging volume shows us where social work has come from, and so helps us understand and shape its future. The author has a gift for making the profession's complex history accessible, whilst respecting its intricacy. The result is an illuminating 'tour de force' - a book that gives perspective and hope." Suzy Braye, Professor of Social Work, University of Sussex, UK "Pierson's richly documented overview of social work's evolution in Britain promises to support coming generations of social workers in learning from their field's responses to changing issues and ideas on assistance for those in need." J. Lee Kreader, Interim Director, National Center for Children in Poverty, Columbia University, USA This introductory textbook provides a concise account of the development of social work in Britain, from its beginnings in the industrial revolution to the present day. The book seeks to recover overlooked experiences and important but forgotten debates, whilst re-examining the concepts and approaches developed by chief architects of the profession. The book has several unique features designed to help students both understand the development of social work and to form their own judgements on the issues it raises: Timelines that mark important practice and policy developments Discussion points that pose questions for readers to think through First hand testimony and excerpts from case records showing the viewpoints, perspectives and decisions of social workers in earlier decades Documentary material that encourages students to critically reflect on the present in light of the pastUnderstanding Social Work is written with the student and educator in mind, in a style and format that makes the history of social work approachable, relevant, and profound. The view of history embodied here is of a continuously unfolding, many-sided phenomenon that offers a rich source of ethical insight, practical experience and moral guidance.


In the 21 century, transdisciplinary approaches to research and problem solving rooted in complexity theory and complex systems methodologies offer hope for understanding and solving previously intractable problems. However, in the face of daunting modern challenges like a broken health care system, growing social and economic inequity, and climate change, the knowledge and skills required to understand and ultimately solve problems across interdependent complex systems are distinctly lacking in our collective practice. The underlying premise of this study is that if modern society is to deal effectively with interconnected challenges across ecological, social, political, and economic systems, our education system must prepare students to grapple with complexity. This research expands upon previously identified core complex systems knowledge, skills, and dispositions to contribute rich description to a working definition of the term systems literacy, develop a theory of how one becomes systems literate, and offer access points for educators entering the world of complexity. The study employed complexity-informed grounded theory methods including data from semi-structured interviews with complex systems scholars and educators across a wide range of academic disciplines. Additional data was gleaned from texts and online resources produced by systems educators and complexity scholars. The three resulting journal articles were designed to consolidate much of what is known about complex systems into a package that is useful for educators, school leaders, and other stakeholders. Together, these articles contribute to an understanding of how curricula and instruction might better emphasize the dynamic nature of interdependent complex systems and the agency of individuals and collectives to innovate, engage in authentic problem solving, and participate in actively preserving and reshaping the world in which we live.


The six-month-long occupation of the historic city center of Oaxaca, Mexico, in 2006 became one of the first social uprisings to be thoroughly intermeshed with the creation of old and new media. Graffiti, performance protest, and independent radio proliferated and found its way into the many digitally recorded activist videos shown in community centers, on occupied television, distributed on DVD, and streamed on the Internet. Such media activism attests to continuities and discontinuities with what has been known as "New Latin American Cinema," that is, the militant and social realist films made in analogue formats that were gaining world attention in the 1960s and 1970s. Oaxaca's media activism also signals links among diverse leftist social movements and community and collaborative video in indigenous languages from throughout Latin America and beyond. Often called "indigenous video," these works, like the New Latin American Cinema, have also spawned diverse scholarly interpretations. Although the Mexican student brigades and Super 8 video movement are not usually included in the critical scholarship on New Latin American Cinema, they, too, constitute important precursors for Oaxaca's media activism and for collaborative and community media in the region. How to understand media militancy and anticolonial struggle, in turn, has changed. These changes reflect technological shifts from analogue film to digital video and the growing impact of indigenous social movements on the political left. Audiovisual militancy has shifted from the denunciation of U.S. neoimperialism and a Marxist-Leninist vision of revolution to broader, more open-ended, antiauthoritarian alliances among filmmakers, anarchists, feminists, indigenous organizations, and diverse other social movements that embrace decolonization. In contrast with anticolonial struggles, decolonization does not necessarily seek to oust a colonizing military force but aims to change colonial relations and their postcolonial aftermath under settler colonial conditions through prefigurative politics.


Physical Education: A Picture of Health? The Implementation of Health-Related Exercise in the National Curriculum in Secondary Schools in England This thesis documents and explores factors influencing the way in which physical education's (PE) contribution to health in the form of health-related exercise (HRE) was viewed, approached and delivered by secondary school PE teachers following the introduction of a national curriculum for physical education (NCPE). The methodology incorporated both quantitative and qualitative approaches. A national survey of 1000 secondary schools in England in 1993 elicited questionnaire responses from 72.8% of heads of PE departments (PE HoDs) from a proportionate sample of schools stratified by type, age range, gender, size, and geographical location. Analysis employed the Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SSPS). Case studies were completed in 1995 in three randomly selected mixed sex state schools in the South, Midlands and North of England. Case study data analysis focused on the progressive identification of themes and concepts associated with the implementation of HRE in the NC. The findings revealed that the NCPE's explicit attention to health issues was welcomed although views varied regarding interpretation, delivery and assessment of the requirements. Most schools had adopted a combination of approaches, involving discrete units and permeation through the activity areas within PE, and/or delivery through other curriculum areas. Consensus existed for some theoretical areas although a physiological bias was evident. There was limited evidence of a well-structured and co-ordinated approach to integrating health issues within the PE activity areas, and that delivered in discrete units often had a fitnessorientation, reflecting adaptation of the performance rationale underlying the 'traditional' games-dominated PE programme. Conceptual confusion prevailed regarding the multi-dimensional concept of HRE, and the varying relationships between PE, sport, health, and fitness. The expression of health issues in the NCPE revealed limitations to the accommodation of HRE, mismatches between intentions and outcomes, and a tendency to reflect inequitable practices. Influences included school and individual characteristics, contextual constraints and prevailing ideologies. Creative interpretation of the NCPE remains possible in the form of innovative programmes which integrate health and PE, and which challenge 'physical fitness' and 'sport performance' orientations. A committed, comprehensive and coherent approach to health issues is rarely a central feature of school PE. Nevertheless, a 'shared vision' of the expression of health in the NCPE clearly remains desirable and possible. Chapter 1 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6


This study examines the performance consequences of web personalization (WP), a type of personalization in which web content is personalized and recommendations are offered based on customer preferences. Despite the growing popularity of personalization, there is a dearth of research at the firm level on whether and how web personalization creates shareholder value. We develop and test a conceptual model that proposes that the impact of WP on shareholder value is mediated by 1) cash flow volatility and 2) premium price. The hypotheses are tested based on 603 firm-quarter observations spanning 80 firms over six years in the online financial services industry. The results suggest that while WP lowers the volatility of cash flows, it only enables firms to charge premium prices when online trust is high. Additional tests reveal that the reduction in cash flow volatility is because of lower churn as opposed to acquiring new customers or greater cross-buying. Finally, online trust positively moderates the relationship between WP and cash flow volatility and price premia. Practical implications of the findings are discussed.


Changing climate have a great impact on northern area of Pakistan's environment and is more prone to environmental changes impacts than rest of the country due to its high elevation. However, the results of melting glaciers effect not only the local environment but also the whole country with frequent and heavy floods. Although recent technological development provided solutions of many problems to mankind, the pace of development in the field of environmental preservation technologies are much slower than needed.Remote sensing (RS) from Satellites and Airplanes used in Geographical Information Systems (GIS) are technologies that can aid in understanding the ongoing environmental processes as it enable us to obtain information about vast area and help researchers to observe, understand, forecast and suggest response to changes that occur.It can be natural disasters or man-made disasters and human induced factors. Still analysis accuracy issues are there which plays a vital role for the formulation of any strategy. To achieve better results, object based analysis methods have been tested in here. Various algorithms are developed by the analysts to calculate the magnitude of land cover changes but must be evaluated for each environment that is under observation as for example mountainous areas. Here we have tried object-based methods in comparison with pixel based. Landslides, soil moisture, soil permeability, snow cover and vegetation cover that change during certain period of time can, with those methods, be effectively monitored. The findings were in short;1) Object based analysis shows better accuracy ratio as compared to the pixel based analysis.2) Slow but gradual depletion of snow/ice cover was confirmed in the study area of Karakoram region, Northern Pakistan.3) Snow and ice melting catalyses the floods, mudslides, landslides and lake outburst episodes in the area during last two decades could be clearly observed in the analysed images and survey data.4) Massive landslide/mudslide phenomena was observed in the study area in 2010 and 2012 in Landsat imagery. The artificial lake on the River Hunza was clearly observable in TM and ETM 2010, 2011 and 2012 imagery.5) Bare soil area increased due to glacial retreat therefore gradual increase in the vegetation can be observed from the year 1992 to 2011.


Ballistic deposition ~BD! serves as a prototype for studies of dynamic scaling phenomena in nonequilibrium growth processes. In BD, particles are sequentially added to a growing surface at randomly selected positions. The model is typically investigated by computer simulations where randomness is implemented by pseudorandom number generators ~PRNGs!. The implicit assumption that PRNGs adequately represent true randomness is tested in this study via a statistical analysis of the width of the BD interface. We study the width of the interface over time scales orders of magnitude longer than the expected model relaxation time, yet much smaller than the period of the PRNG, and observe fluctuations which still appear to be correlated. Distinct dynamic behavior is observed for an implementation with a different PRNG, further indicating a strong coupling between the model and the PRNGs ~even with PRNGs that pass extensive statistical tests!. Thus we demonstrate a breakdown of basic sampling assumptions, and of the ergodic exploration of phase space. @S1063-651X~98!04405-5#


This paper describes a research project funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council. Twenty case‐study companies operating across a range of industrial sectors participated in the project. Sectors chosen for the development of these architectures were those where the use of the traditional manufacturing resource planning (MRPII) model is not the optimum operating solution. In particular, the paper describes the process mapping and analysis approach applied to the study of a sector‐based group of apparel manufacturing companies who collaborated in the research. The planning issues that confront the companies, the control solutions they employ in response to their present commercial environment as they seek to address the changing demands being made of the industry are outlined. A generic planning and control reference architecture developed from the study for the apparel sector is presented.


Objective:To conduct the first national biological and behavioral surveillance survey for HIV among MSM in Brazil. Design:A cross-sectional surveillance study utilizing Respondent Driven Sampling (RDS) in 10 cities, following formative research. Planned sample: 350 MSM reporting sex with another man in the last 12 months, at least 18 years of age, and residing in the city of the study. Methods:Conventional RDS recruitment. Results were calculated for each city using RDSAT 5.6. For the national estimate, a new individual weight using a novel method was calculated. The 10 cities were aggregated, treated as strata and analyzed using STATA11.0. Self-reported HIV status and logistic regression was used to impute missing values for serostatus, an important issue for RDSAT. Results:A total of 3859 MSM were interviewed. Sample was diverse, most self-identified as mulatto or black, were social class C or below, and had relatively low levels of education. More than 80% reported more than one partner in the last 6 months. Only 49% had ever tested for HIV. HIV prevalence among MSM ranged from 5.2 to 23.7% in the 10 cities (3.7–16.5% without imputation) and was 14.2% for all cities combined with imputation. The overall prevalence was two and three times higher than that estimated for female sex workers and drug users, respectively, in Brazil. Half of those who tested HIV positive were not aware of their infection. Conclusion:The AIDS epidemic in Brazil is disproportionately concentrated among MSM, as has been found in other countries. Renewed efforts to encourage testing, prevention and treatment are required.


This book brings together important essays by one of the leading philosophers of science at work today. ElisabethAnne Lloyd examines several of the central topics in philosophy of biology, including the structure of evolutionary theory, units of selection, and evolutionary psychology, as well as the Science Wars, feminism and science, and sexuality and objectivity. Lloyd challenges the current evolutionary accounts of the female orgasm and analyzes them for bias. She also offers an innovative analysis of the concept of objectivity. Lloyd analyzes the structure of evolutionary theory and unlocks the puzzle of the units of selection debates into four distinct aspects, illuminating several mysteries in the biology literature. Central to all essays in this book is the author's abiding concern for evidence and empirical data.


In light of increasing relevance of strategic considerations in the nonprofit sector, this study investigates the entrepreneurial orientation of nonprofit CEOs and its linkage to strategic decision-making. The study provides initial insights into the types and effects of CEO entrepreneurial orientation, corresponding strategic choices, and differences in the implementation of strategies through managerial control in nonprofit organizations. Semi-structured expert interviews were conducted with the top managers of German nonprofit hospitals. The interviews were evaluated using qualitative content analysis. The findings are consistent with upper echelon theory, which considers management characteristics to be a determinant of strategic decision making, acting as a mediator between the external environment and strategic choices. The analysis includes two levels: (1) the entrepreneurial orientation of nonprofit CEOs at the individual level and (2) strategic choices on competitive strategies and their implementation at the organizational level. The findings show that the competitive environment evokes different types of entrepreneurial orientation that influence the approach of nonprofit CEOs to strategic decisions and implementation processes. Highly entrepreneurial CEOs prefer prospector strategies over defender or reactor strategies. CEOs with low levels of entrepreneurial orientation tend to use controls diagnostically, whereas CEOs exhibiting medium to high levels of entrepreneurial orientation use controls interactively. This study extends the existing literature by providing evidence of the types of managerial entrepreneurial orientation in nonprofit organizations and the resulting effects on strategic planning and implementation processes. This paper thus sheds light on a key determinant of strategic decision-making and implementation in nonprofit organizations.


PURPOSE
To find an optimum design of a high-dose rate Yb-169 brachytherapy source for gold nanoparticle-aided radiation therapy (GNRT). Previous studies suggested that the gamma-ray energy spectrum of Yb-169 could be almost ideal for a brachytherapy implementation of GNRT. The current study was aimed to design a new Yb-169 source that would maximize dose enhancement during GNRT while meeting practical constraints for manufacturing a clinically-relevant brachytherapy source.

METHODS
Monte Carlo simulations were conducted using the MCNP5 code to determine spectral changes caused by four different Yb-169 source designs and associated variations in macroscopic dose enhancement across the tumor/ICRU tissue loaded with gold nanoparticles at 0.7% by weight. The first three source models had a single encapsulation made of aluminum, titanium, or stainless steel, while the last source model adopted a dual encapsulation design with an inner aluminum capsule and an outer titanium capsule.

RESULTS
The results showed spectral changes dependent on source design and their correlation with dose enhancement. The aluminum-encapsulated source showed the lowest intensity-weighted average energy of 108.9 keV, and the greatest dose enhancement of 51.0% at 1 cm away from the source center. The sources encapsulated by titanium and aluminum/titanium combination showed similar levels of dose enhancement, 49.2% and 49.3%, and average energies of 113.3 keV and 112.5 keV respectively. The source encapsulated with stainless steel exhibited the smallest dose enhancement, 43.8%, and the highest average energy of 126.6 keV.

CONCLUSION
The current investigation suggests that the attainable macroscopic dose enhancement during GNRT with an Yb-169 source can be further increased by encapsulating the Yb-core with aluminum, titanium or aluminum/titanium combination, instead of stainless steel. Due to its structural integrity and improved safety during manufacturing and clinical uses, the dual encapsulation design would be preferred. Supported by DOD/PCRP grant W81XWH-12-1-0198; DOD/PCRP grant W81XWH-12-1-0198.


This article reports findings on visitors' preferences for content presentation of a future global warming and climate change exhibit. The study was conducted with two groups: one from the Marian Koshland Science Museum of the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, DC, and the other at the Center of Science and Industry in Columbus, Ohio. The authors explored visitors' preferences for message ordering and overall story flow as well as their reasoning for preferring those narratives on these challenging and oftentimes contentious issues. The results showed that adult visitors to both museums were interested in knowing more about individual actions toward mitigation and adaptation, rather than the simple facts and potential gloom-and-doom approach to the topic. Implications for the findings from this study were developed in collaboration with Koshland museum staff members; the authors offer practical strategies for implementing these results into future exhibitions on global warming and climate change.


The effects of antihypertensive treatment with four currently used agents (trichlormethiazide, atenolol, nicardipine, and enalapril) on the arterial baroreceptor reflex control of renal sympathetic nerve activity and heart rate were investigated in 45 conscious spontaneously hypertensive rats and 37 age-matched Wistar-Kyoto rats. Antihypertensive agents were administered for 2 weeks beginning at 8 weeks of age to treat and prevent the development of hypertension. Blood pressure was reduced to a similar level (-13 +/- 3 mm Hg, p < 0.05) by each antihypertensive agent. Blood pressure, heart rate, and renal sympathetic nerve activity were recorded in the conscious state during phenylephrine and nitroglycerin ramp infusion. The gain in the baroreceptor reflex was determined from the maximum slope of logistic function curves. Untreated spontaneously hypertensive rats exhibited decreased sensitivity of reflex control of renal sympathetic nerve activity and heart rate (-1.78 +/- 0.07% of control/mm Hg and -2.16 +/- 0.05 beats per minute/mm Hg, respectively) compared with untreated Wistar-Kyoto rats (-3.62 +/- 0.18% of control/mm Hg, p < 0.01, and -3.46 +/- 0.11 beats per minute/mm Hg, p < 0.05, respectively).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


Visual literacy is an important part of being literate in the twenty-first century because people are interacting with visual materials with increasing frequency and immediacy as a result of the digital age. By understanding cognitive theories associated with visual literacy and combining them with the ACRL Visual Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education, librarians can help students become visually literate. In addition to describing these cognitive theories and ACRL standards, the author provides practical suggestions as to how they may be utilized in visual literacy instruction.


Developing a rich listening, speaking, reading, and writing vocabulary is important in all curriculum areas. In the reading curriculum, in particular, a quality vocabulary needs to be achieved by each pupil. One reason that pupils do not read well is that they do not possess a functional vocabulary for reading. Enriching and developing pupil vocabularies should be a major goal in each academic discipline. The following are reasons for teachers guiding learners to possess a rich vocabulary: (1) subject matter and ideas are expressed with more clarity and accuracy, (2) proficiency in the work place might well depend upon individuals having a quality vocabulary, (3) individuals seemingly have more prestige if their listening, speaking, reading, and writing vocabularies are adequately developed, (4) greater enjoyment of reading is in the offing if a person has a rich functional vocabulary (5) vocabulary development is salient in problem solving. A person with a rich vocabulary should have a better opportunity to develop his/her personality, (6) conversations carried on with other persons require a rich vocabulary. There needs to be an appropriate number of words used that carry intended meanings, (7) variety in selecting words to convey accurate meanings is necessary in speaking and writing, the outgoes of the language arts, and (8) use of diverse terms and concepts in speaking and writing adds variety to quality communication. Vocabulary development becomes a tool to take in, such as listening and reading, as well as provide communication to others within the framework of speaking and writing. The reading teacher needs to select quality objectives for pupils to achieve in the area of vocabulary development. These objectives need to emphasize what is relevant and functional. Certainly, pupils should be able to use what has been learned. Learning should not be for its own sake but rather be for personal use and application in society. Important vocabulary terms should be acquired by pupils. Adequate time must be given in choosing what pupils need to learn. This cannot be hurried, because vocabulary development emphasizes that which must be learned in depth, not survey approaches. Objectives pertaining to vocabulary development need to stress securing the interests of pupils in ongoing lessons and units of study. Ways of developing and maintaining pupil interest in learning must be emphasized. If pupils do not reveal interest in learning, they will not achieve as optimally as possible. There needs to be objectives reflecting pupils working collaboratively. Within the cooperative endeavor, pupils listen to others and use oral communication with opportunities to achieve in vocabulary development. There are definite social goals here in that pupils need to learn to work harmoniously with others. And yet pupils also should be able to work by the self and achieve on an individual basis. Vocabulary development emphasizes that pupils seek purpose in learning. Purposeful learning in vocabulary development means that pupils perceive reasons for achieving. I think that one cannot stress too strongly that vocabulary development for pupils should have as a goal that purpose is involved in learning. Purposeful learnings have as a goal that pupils perceive the values inherent in vocabulary activities. If these values are lacking, the teacher should stress other vocabulary development lessons for learners. Objectives to emphasize the importance of meaningful learnings. If meaning is lacking, the chances are pupils will memorize terms and concepts for testing purposes only or largely. Meaning stresses the importance of pupils understanding that which has been learned. Use cannot be made of a new vocabulary term unless understanding of prerequisites in vocabulary terms is prevalent. With prerequisites, background information is needed to attach meaning to vocabulary terms being studied. Objectives in vocabulary development for pupils should emphasize pupils experiencing the concept of providing for individual differences. …


The Torres Strait Protected Zone (TSPZ) is a unique area of ecological and cultural significance, shared under an international treaty with Papua New Guinea. As a joint management area, activities such as commercial fishing and traditional hunting occur with primary natural resource conservation goals. Managers need information on habitats and biodiversity distribution and risks to ensure these activities are conducted sustainably. However, while broad seabed habitat information was available for much of the TSPZ from past projects, there were significant gaps and very limited species level data. From 2003 to 2006, the Torres Strait Mapping and Characterisation Project has mapped habitats and their associated biodiversity across the length and breadth of the Protected Zone to provide information that will help managers with regional planning and to ensure that fisheries are ecologically sustainable, as required by environmental protection legislation.

Comprehensive information on the biodiversity of the seabed was acquired by visiting almost 200 sites, representing a wide range of known environments, during two 1-month-long voyages on two vessels and deploying several types of devices such as: towed video and digital cameras, an epibenthic sled and a research trawl to collect samples for more detailed data about plants, invertebrates and fishes on the seabed. Data were collected and processed from ~100 km of towed video and >10,000 photos, and from sorting and identification of ~2,000 benthic samples, ~1,200 seabed fish samples, and ~200 sediment samples. The project has analysed this information and produced all of the outputs as originally proposed; these included:

• Images and videos of seabed habitat types and fishes, including more than 120 substratum and biological habitat component types. An inventory of more than 3,600 species of benthos, bycatch and fishes, with catalogued museum voucher specimens, many of which were new species, and a database of almost 25,000 records of species distribution and abundance on the seabed.

• Identification of the key environmental variables likely to be important in structuring seabed distributions, and predictive models of bio-physical relationships between seabed species, their assemblages and the physical environment.

• Maps of the distribution and abundance of ~250 seabed species throughout the TSPZ region.

• Estimates of the likely extent of past effects of trawling on benthos and bycatch over the entire TSPZ region, which indicated that trawl effort had a significant effect on the biomass of 8.2% of ~250 species mapped; with negative change of -3% to -18% for 3.5% of species and positive change of +3% to +63% for 4.7% of species.

• Estimates of exposure to trawl effort showed that about 80% of the ~250 species mapped had low or very low exposure, and at the other extreme about 21 species had moderate-high to very-high exposure - of these species, after taking relative catch rates into account, six had moderate-high to very high estimates of proportion caught annually and 13 had moderate-low. The remainder (237) had low or very low estimates of proportion caught annually.

• Indicators based on qualitative recovery ranks showed that about 9 species stood out as being at higher relative risk. Another, additional, quantitative absolute sustainability indicator showed that one species exceeded a limit reference point while three others exceeded one or two conservative reference points. Another 10 species were also listed due to uncertainty in parameters though they were below the sustainability reference points. Further research is recommended to address key uncertainties in estimates of these indicators.

A key output from the project is the identification, by means of the trawl exposure and sustainability indicators, of species at risk or potentially at risk from trawling. Different species were highlighted by different indicators, though there was some overlap. One indicator was both quantitative and directly related to sustainability, with biologically based reference points - while one species appeared to be at risk and another three species exceeded conservative reference points, there is uncertainty that requires a more precautionary response. Hence, the top ranked species for all indicators were listed and recommended to be considered for stakeholder consultation regarding future action; options may include clarification of the identified uncertainties, monitoring of species at risk, and management interventions that reduce risk or combinations of these actions.

It is also recommended that long-term monitoring of trends in ecological condition of identified key seabed habitats and constituent species be implemented to assess responses to regional pressures, including climate change. Candidate habitats should include those that have been demonstrated to be particularly biodiverse such as vegetated areas and epibenthic gardens. The seabed may well be vulnerable to climate change as there is an expectation that the thermocline may deepen and upwellings may become weaker and less frequent, with potential consequences for productive habitat dependent on nutrients from such sources.

Further work is needed to address the uncertainties in the risk assessments that arise from uncertainties in estimates of catchability and natural mortality rates. Currently, the uncertainty is such that several additional species could exceed the reference points and many species with unknown mortality might be of concern. It is also possible that clarification of these uncertainties may show that species currently thought to be at risk or potentially at risk may be demonstrated to be of no sustainability concern. Thus, it is recommended that further studies of catchabilities and natural mortality rates be conducted to address this key uncertainty for affected species. Such results are likely to have wide application in risk assessments being conducted in multiple jurisdictions.

Many fisheries in Australia are conducting qualitative approaches to Ecological Risk Assessments. However, the results of the more quantitative sustainability indicators applied here raise concerns about the reliability of the qualitative approaches, which have not been benchmarked because of the lack of a suitable test bed. Such a test bed is now available with this Torres Strait seabed mapping and characterisation dataset and an assessment of the performance of the qualitative methods is warranted. This seabed mapping dataset also provides an opportunity to develop condition and trend and vulnerability indicators for seabed communities and ecosystems that are needed to meet the increasing requirement for ecosystem-based management approaches.

A follow on project supported by the Marine and Tropical Science Research Facility is quantifying visible species from the available towed camera video to fill significant gaps in areas that were too rough for sampling and are currently lacking species information.

Another project supported by the Commonwealth Environment Research Fund National Marine Biodiversity Hub will use the Torres Strait seabed mapping dataset in comparisons with other datasets to test the inter-regional utility of physical variables and cross-taxonomic patterns as surrogates for application in marine planning at a national scale.

Other further opportunities include: sorting and identification of remaining samples that could not be completed within the scope of the project, and taxonomic work to properly identify the more difficult specimens. These activities would provide full utilization of the samples and deliver additional value, with expected benefits for greater understanding of the seabed ecosystem, fishery sustainability, and ongoing regional marine planning.


Thomas, N. Luke. M.S.E.C.E., Purdue University, May 2010. A New Approach For Human Identification Using The Eye. Major Professor: Yingzi Du. The vein structure in the sclera, the white and opaque outer protective covering of the eye, is anecdotally stable over time and unique to each person. As a result, it is well suited for use as a biometric for human identification. A few researchers have performed sclera vein pattern recognition and have reported promising, but low accuracy, initial results. Sclera recognition poses several challenges: the vein structure moves and deforms with the movement of the eye and its surrounding tissues; images of sclera patterns are often defocused and/or saturated; and, most importantly, the vein structure in the sclera is multi-layered and has complex non-linear deformation. The previous approaches in sclera recognition have treated the sclera patterns as a one-layered vein structure, and, as a result, their sclera recognition accuracy is not high. In this thesis, we propose a new method for sclera recognition with the following contributions: First, we developed a color-based sclera region estimation scheme for sclera segmentation. Second, we designed a Gabor wavelet based sclera pattern enhancement method, and an adaptive thresholding method to emphasize and binarize the sclera vein patterns. Third, we proposed a line descriptor based feature extraction, registration, and matching method that is scale-, orientation-, and deformation-invariant, and can mitigate the multi-layered deformation effects and tolerate segmentation error. It is empirically verified using the UBIRIS and IUPUI multi-wavelength databases that the proposed method can perform accurate sclera recognition. In addition, the recognition results are compared to iris recognition algorithms, with very comparable results.


Globalisation needs to be perceived by wine small and medium enterprises (SMEs) located in wine regions characterised by a terroir model as a challenge and an opportunity to innovate. The aim of this paper is to present a business strategy that can be adopted by wine SMEs located in regions with high production costs and where tradition and innovation are relevant factors to be introduced in the decision process. To achieve this goal, the case of five small wine producers (Douro Boys), located in the Portuguese conservative Douro Demarcated Region (DDR) that are adopting an informal horizontal network is presented. The conducted analysis allows us to conclude that Douro Boys is a very simple and informal structure of prospectors, with a high culture of innovation, searching for niches in international wine markets.


A replicated database architecture is described in which updates processed at a site must be saved to allow reconcilliation of newly arriving updates in a way that preserves mutual consistency. The storage space occupied by the saved updates increases indefinitely, and periodic discarding of old updates is needed to avoid running out of storage. A protocol is described which allows sites in the system to agree that updates older than a given timestamp are no longer needed and can be discarded. This protocol uses a "distributed snapshot" algorithm of Chandy and Lamport and represents a practical application of that algorithm. A protocol for permanent removal of sites is also described, which will allow the discarding of updates to continue when one or more sites crash and are expected not to recover.


Sequence-specific RNA binding proteins can induce the degradation of mRNAs through their ability to recruit proteins that trigger transcript destabilization. For example, Vts1p, the S. cerevisiae member of the Smaug family of RNA binding proteins, is thought to induce transcript decay by recruiting the Ccr4p-Pop2p-Not deadenylase complex to target mRNAs. The resulting deadenylation triggers transcript decapping followed by 5′-to-3′ exonucleolytic decay. Here we show that the eIF4E-binding protein, Eap1p, is required for efficient degradation of Vts1p target transcripts and that this role involves the ability of Eap1p to interact with eIF4E. Eap1p does not stimulate deadenylation of Vts1p target transcripts but is instead involved in decapping. Eap1p interacts with Vts1p and mediates an indirect interaction between Vts1p and eIF4E. Taken together these data suggest a model whereby the interaction of Vts1p with Eap1p at target mRNAs stimulates decapping.


[Extract] The earth is about 12,500 km in diameter. All geotechnical activities including underground excavations, tunneling, etc. are limited to the upper part of the crust, which consists primarily of oxygen (49.2%), silicon (25.7%), aluminum (7.5%), and other elements such as iron, calcium, sodium, potassium, and magnesium. These are present mostly in the form of aluminium silicates. All clay minerals are made primarily of two distinct structural units, namely tetrahedrons and octahedrons, which contain silicon and aluminum ions, respectively, at the center of the units. Several of these units can form tetrahedral or octahedral sheets that can be stacked on each other, forming different clay minerals. Clay particles are colloidal, where surface forces have greater influence than the body forces, less than 2 μm in size, and have net negative charges. They look like flakes or needles under a microscope. Depending on their charge imbalance, mineralogy, and pore fluid characteristics, they can form a flocculated (random) or dispersed (oriented) matrix, which can influence their fundamental behavior. Kaolinite, montmorillonite, and illite are three of the most common clay minerals. Other clay minerals include chlorite, attapulgite, halloysite, and vermiculite. Montmorillonites have the
largest cation exchange capacity and specific surface (surface area per unit mass) and can swell significantly in the presence of water, thus posing a serious threat to the structural integrity of buildings and roads due to intermittent swelling and shrinking. Montmorillonitic clays are known as expansive or reactive clays and cause millions of dollars worth of damage every year worldwide.

Soils are primarily of two types: residual or transported. Residual soils are formed by disintegration of the parent rock. Depending on the geologic process by which the parent rock is formed, it is called igneous, sedimentary, or metamorphic. Igneous rocks (e.g., granite) are formed by cooling of lava. Sedimentary rocks (e.g., limestone, shale) are formed by gradual deposition of fine particles over long periods. Metamorphic rocks (e.g., marble) are formed by altering igneous or sedimentary rocks by pressure or temperature.

Transported soils are soils that are transported by glacier, wind, water, or gravity and deposited away from their geological origin. Depending on whether they are transported by wind, sea, lake, river, ice, or gravity, the soils are called aeolian, marine, lacustrine, alluvial, glacial, or colluvial, respectively. Some special terms used to describe certain soils are:

• Boulder clay—Unstratified mixture of clay and rock fragments of all sizes

• Calcareous soil—Soil that contains calcium carbonate

• Conglomerate—Cemented sand and gravel

• Dispersive clay—A clay that is easily erodible under low-velocity water

• Fat clay—Highly plastic clay

• Hardpan—Very dense soil layer, often cemented, that is difficult to excavate

• Loam—Mixture of sand, silt, and clay used as topsoil

• Loess—Uniform silt-sized wind-blown deposits

• Laterite—Red-colored residual soil in the tropics

• Reactive clay—Expansive clay that swells when in contact with water

• Varved clay—Thin alternating layers of silts and fat clays of glacial origin


Personal identity formation constitutes a crucial developmental task during the teens and 20s. Using a recently developed five-dimensional identity model, this cross-sectional study (N = 5834) investigated age trends from ages 14 to 30 for different commitment and exploration processes. As expected, results indicated that, despite some fluctuations over time, commitment processes tended to increase in a linear fashion. Exploration in breadth and exploration in depth were characterized by quadratic trends, with the highest levels occurring in emerging adulthood. Further, the functionality of these identity processes, and especially of exploration, changed over time. Exploration in breadth and exploration in depth were strongly related to commitment processes especially in adolescence and emerging adulthood, but these exploration processes became increasingly associated with ruminative exploration and depressive symptoms in the late 20s. Theoretical implications and suggestions for future research are outlined.


Abstract Hip fractures in the elderly have high rates of mortality and perioperative complications. Both men and COPD patients have worse mortality and complications but this may be due to more co-morbid disease. We assessed mortality and complications in a large cohort (n = 12,646) of men undergoing hip fracture surgery within the Veteran's Health Affairs (VHA) to define the association of COPD to these outcomes after adjusting for other key factors. We looked for opportunities to improve outcomes for COPD patients. Methods: Using the VA Surgical Quality Improvement Program (VASQIP), and administrative databases, we determined COPD status, types of co-morbid conditions and surgical factors, and compared these to outcomes of surgical complications, 30-day and one-year mortality for patients who underwent hip fracture repair during 1998 to 2005. Results: COPD was noted in 47% of the hip fracture patients studied. In 3,261 (26%) cases, the COPD was "severe: (indicated by functional disability, previous hospitalization for exacerbation, chronic drug treatment or record of FEV1 <75% predicted), and in 2,736 (21%) cases it was considered "mild" (any previous outpatient visit or hospitalization with a coded diagnosis of COPD). Severe COPD patients had one year mortality of 40.2% compared to 31.0% in mild COPD and 28.8% in non-COPD subjects. Current smoking, use of general anesthesia and delays to surgery were significant modifiable risk factors identified in adjusted models. Osteoporosis was known pre-fracture in only 3% of subjects. Conclusions: COPD was very common in male veterans with hip fractures and was associated with increased risk of death and complications. Increased use of regional anesthesia and urgent scheduling of hip fracture surgery may improve outcomes for patients with COPD. Osteoporosis was rarely identified preoperatively. Improving diagnosis and treatment of osteoporosis in COPD patients could reduce the incidence of hip fractures.


Introduced for agroforestry, Leucaena leucocephala (Lam.) de Wit (Fabaceae) has become naturalized in several countries worldwide and constitutes an 'emerging weed' in South Africa. The seed beetle Acanthoscelides macrophthalmus (Schaeffer) (Chrysomelidae: Bruchinae) was inadvertently introduced to many of these countries via contaminated seeds, but was deliberately introduced into South Africa for biological control. Following an isolated report of non-target feeding in the field in southeastern Asia, this study was aimed at re-evaluating aspects of the beetle's biology, in particular the likelihood of non-target attacks on native mimosoid Fabaceae that are closely related to L. leucocephala. A preliminary field assessment of the beetle's susceptibility to native parasitoids was also undertaken. The beetle's life cycle includes several attributes (e.g. rapid reproductive maturation, high rates of oviposition) that favour high population densities in the field. Although adults oviposited on the seeds of all test plant species during no-choice tests, oviposition was significantly higher on L. leucocephala. While several hatching larvae survived to adulthood on L. leucocephala, single adult individuals were reared from the seeds of each of three non-target species. Also, during multichoice tests, the beetles displayed strong oviposition preferences for L. leucocephala. Two hymenopteran parasitoid species were reared from seeds containing larvae which were exposed in the field, but overall levels of parasitism were low. These results confirm that the host range of A. macrophthalmus is largely restricted to the genus Leucaena, that native mimosoid Fabaceae are unlikely to be at risk and that the decision taken in 1999 to release the beetle was justified.


BACKGROUND
The socioeconomic position (SEP) and educational level of individuals have an inverse correlation with mortality in developed societies.

AIM
To assess in a society undergoing a socioeconomic transition, the mortality risk associated to a low SEP (combination of education and income, scale 0-25 points, reference > 10 points) and low education (education years, reference > 8 years), adjusting for other known risk factors.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
In this prospective cohort study, a random sample of 920 subjects, living in San Francisco de Mostazal, Chile, aged more than 20 years (395 males) was examined for the first time in 1997-1999 and re-examined in 2005-2006. All had information about economic household income and level of education. A Cox regression model was used to evaluate the association between mortality and socioeconomic measures.

RESULTS
The crude mortality hazard ratio (HR) was 3.34 (95% confidence interval (CI) 2.88-3.87) and 6.05 (95% CI 5.04-7.26) for low SEP and low educational level, respectively. After adjusting for age, gender, hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia, abdominal obesity, smoking, alcohol intake and family history of cardiovascular disease, the figures were 1.23 (95% CI 1.04-1.43) and 1.54 (95% CI 1.23-1.85) for low SEP and low educational level, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS
In a society in socioeconomic transition, low SEP and especially low educational level are risk factors for mortality even after adjusting for known mortality risk factors.