This analysis examines the precise laws under which corruption cases are brought and trends over time in order to assess how the underlying corruption behaviors can be grouped into types. Corruption is operationalized into several distinct types of misconduct under law for purposes of prosecution. Federal defendants were most often charged with offenses charging bribery, fraudulent statements/entries, theft of public funds, conspiracy, and fraudulent claims (in that order). Whereas state and local defendants were more likely to be charged with a different ordering of offenses (extortion, theft from government programs, mail fraud, and conspiracy for state defendants, and theft from government programs, extortion, mail fraud, and bribery for local defendants). These differences in the corruption choices by public officials at different levels of government have rarely been considered. Preliminary explanations are offered for these differences, which provide insights into the way in which corruption occurs in different jurisdictions.


Structural integrity of production pipelines with small diameter is analyzed considering large lateral displacements due to interaction loads from trawl pull-over. The offshore standard provided by Det Norske Veritas, DNV-OS-F101, dictates the design practice and allows limited utilization of the cross section due to the load controlled condition criterion. Thick walled pipelines with D/t ratio less than 20 can sustain large plastic strains prior to onset of local buckling. In addition, introduction of membrane forces is assumed to carry an increasing part of the pull-over load for increasing lateral displacements. Use of a strain based criterion is therefore desired. Typical global response of a 12-inch production pipeline subjected to trawl pull-over is obtained by using pipe elements in non-linear Finite Element analyses in accordance with the recommended practice DNV-RPF111.Parametric studies regarding friction between pipe and sea bed, operational conditions i.e. internal pressure and temperature, and material model are performed. Local response of the cross section due to acombined loading of bending moment and internal pressure is investigated using a shell model. Results from the global analyses of the pipeline indicate that typical structural response is dominated by a combination of plastic bending and membrane forces. This is based on observations where the cross sectionwas partly penetrated by plasticity and where the growth in membrane forces increased due to increasingdisplacement. The cross section with D/t ratio of 15 was observed to develop a full plastic mechanism prior tolocal buckling in the local analyses. Maximum moment capacity occurred at minimum 5 % tensile strain andeven larger compressive strain. This is over five times higher than the typical strain values obtained from theglobal analyses. Based on these results it is suggested that use of a strain based criterion should be takeninto consideration regarding design of pipelines subjected to trawl pull-over.


Growing market globalization, increasing global competition, more complex products results in application of new technologies, methods and business processes – due to the abovementioned tendencies novel supply chain strategies (Lean, Agile and Leagile Supply Chains) are established. In this study these supply chain concepts are being described and compared. Virtual enterprise is a temporary alliance of enterprises that come together to share their skills, core competencies, costs and resources in order to better respond to rapidly changing market environment and dynamic customer demands. Economic and social benefits and effects of virtual enterprises for customers and production companies and service providers are also described. Optimization software has been developed for optimal formation of virtual enterprise networks and is also introduced in this study. The aim of this software application is to define virtual enterprise as the optimal combination of supply chain members.


Linear crystal defects called dislocations are one of the most fascinating concepts in materials science that govern mechanical and optoelectronic properties of many materials across a broad range of application. Three-dimensional (3-D) study of dislocation network is in principle accessible by conventional tomographic and stereoscopic techniques in Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). In these techniques in general the need to tilt the specimen for acquiring image series over large tilt ranges remain however an intricate problem, in particular when diffraction contrast or sensitivity to electron beam are involved. Here, a novel method in scanning TEM (STEM) is presented that provides a reliable and fast assessment of the 3-D configuration of dislocations using data acquired from just one sample tilt. This technique acquires a stereoscopic pair of images by selecting different ray paths of a convergent illumination in STEM mode. The resulting images are then treated with a dedicated stereovision reconstruction algorithm, yielding a full 3-D reconstruction of dislocations arrangement. The success of this method is demonstrated by measurement of dislocation arrangements in two experimental cases.


Technical efficiency has long been analysed as a measure of farm performance, however most studies are restricted to a single country case. This paper presents a comparative analysis of field crop and dairy farm performance across eight EU countries, including two New Member States (NMS), focusing on long run stability and mobility patterns. The main research question is how relative performance of farms fluctuates over time, i.e. whether poorly performing farms remain always inefficient whilst some farms are always very efficient. Results show that on average 60% of farms maintain their efficiency ranking in two consecutive years, whilst 20% improve and 20% worsen their positions, for all countries. Due to the unstable economic conditions, farms in NMS are more mobile than those in EU15.


We adopt a series of shrinkage and factor analytic methodologies to compute nowcasts of the main Finnish turnover indexes, using continuously accumulating firm-level data. We show that the estimates based on large dimensional models provide an accurate and timelier alternative to the ones produced currently by Statistics Finland, even after taking into account data revisions. In particular, we find that the turnovers for the service sector can be estimated with high accuracy five days after the reference month has ended, giving more accurate and faster predictions compared to the first official internal release. For other sectors, the large dimensional models provide a good nowcasting performance, even though there is a timeliness-accuracy trade off. Finally, we propose a factor-based methodology to improve the accuracy of the current flash estimates by imputing part of the data sources, and find that we are able to provide better predictions in a more expedited fashion for all sectors of interest.


In the Starborough-Flaxbourne area the local farming community, alarmed at the increasing hill slope erosion, set up a soil conservation group. Accelerated erosion was a symptom of the past 12 years of below average rainfall. Removal of vegetative cover by livestock had enabled wind to erode areas of the thin topsoil exposing vulnerable sodic subsoil to rill and tunnel erosion. This highlighted the need for farms to adapt their livestock systems to a drier environment if they were to survive. An adaptation process had been undertaken on Bonavaree by the land owners, the Avery family. In redesigning their farm system they moved away from ryegrass pastures and brassica crops to a lucerne grazing system. This system prioritised the performance of multiple bearing ewes, high pre-weaning lamb liveweight gains (390 g/day) and a rigorous decision making process that avoided relying on the most risky periods of forage growth. The result has been 5 years of an improving economic farm surplus, lower grazing pressure on hill slopes and improving vegetative cover.


A detailed time-structure map of Top Chalk in the eastern Danish North Sea is presented, based on conventional seismic and well data, and 5800 km of new multi-channel, high resolution seismic data. Several factors influenced the present-day topography of Top Chalk at various scales: Cenozoic regional differential subsidence/uplift, reactivation of late Palaeozoic-Mesozoic structures, salt structures in the Norwegian-Danish Basin, collapse structures along the Ringkobing-Fyn High, mounds on the Ringkobing-Fyn High, erosional valleys, and possible karstification in parts of the Norwegian-Danish Basin. Erosional valleys and karst topography suggest that the Top Chalk was subaerially exposed in the eastern North Sea in mid-Paleocene times. The valleys probably acted as conduits for deposition of potential reservoir sands in the middle to late Paleocene. The interpretation of karst topography indicates that carbonate dissolution may have affected the reservoir properties of the uppermost part of the Chalk Group in the eastern North Sea.


This Structure Data File (SDfile) is associated with the thesis: Blazis, V.J. "Chemistry of Butenolides Derived from D-Ribonolactone." and https://ir.ua.edu/handle/123456789/6584 It is distributed by the University of Alabama Libraries. The SDfile is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Chemical Structure Data Files can be viewed/processed with most cheminformatics toolkits and stand-alone software packages: See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheminformatics_toolkit. Note that this is the archived non-standardized chemical substance data. If you are looking for the standardized data" see the UA Libraries PubChem Data Source: https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/source/15645. The specific substances associated with this data set are indicated by the local DATSOURCE_REGID identifiers within the SDfile. These identifiers can be used to cross-reference the data within PubChem. Moreover, additional information about the structure data compiling workflow is available on the UA Libraries GitHub Chemical Structures Project Page: https://github.com/ualibweb/UALIB_ChemStructures


For decades, researchers have presented different adaptive user interfaces and discussed the pros and cons of adaptation on task performance and satisfaction. Little research, however, has been directed at isolating and understanding those aspects of adaptive interfaces which make some of them successful and others not. We have designed and implemented three adaptive graphical interfaces and evaluated them in two experiments along with a non-adaptive baseline. In this paper we synthesize our results with previous work and discuss how different design choices and interactions affect the success of adaptive graphical user interfaces.


Heating control is of particular importance, since heating accounts for the biggest amount of total residential energy consumption. Smart heating strategies allow to reduce such energy consumption by automatically turning off the heating when the occupants are sleeping or away from home. The present context or occupancy state of a household can be deduced from the appliances that are currently in use. In this study we investigate energy disaggregation techniques to infer appliance states from an aggregated energy signal measured by a smart meter. Since most household devices have predictable energy consumption, we propose to use the changes in aggregated energy consumption as features for the appliance/occupancy state classification task. We evaluate our approach on real-life energy consumption data from several households, compare the classification accuracy of various machine learning techniques, and explain how to use the inferred appliance states to optimize heating schedules.


An empirical investigation was conducted to verify whether schooling influences productivity in the Ethiopian Public Manufacturing Industries. The results indicate that schooling influences the productivity of manufacturing enterprises significantly; viz, the higher the proportion of the labour force with a high level of schooling in an enterprise, the higher is productivity. This implies that increasing the proportion of social wealth expended on education is paying and that the education system in Ethiopia seems effective in translating skilled manpower into services. This, in turn, implies that not only broadening schooling in terms of quantity, but also deepening schooling by fostering quality could increase the productivity of manufacturing enterprises. Thus, government has to intervene in supplying skilled manpower since there is a serious risk of private under-investment in training at a firm level. However, for successful industrialisation to take place, any government move to supply these resources should involve the beneficiaries in order to balance demand and supply; give emphasis to tertiary education as strongly as basic education; and synchronise with other supportive schemes since human capital investment on its own cannot lead to the industrialisation of a country.


Despite years of study and management, field bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis L., Fam.: Convolvulaceae) remains a problematic invasive species across the United States and is in need of better management options. Studies were conducted to determine factors affecting the establishment and performance of the biological control agent Aceria malherbae Nuzzaci. To determine the effects of sub-lethal herbicide applications on gall induction and development of A. malherbae, a bioassay was conducted with four herbicides, each having different modes of action. Atrazine, glyphosate, imazapic, and picloram were applied at 25% of their recommended dosages on plants infested and not infested with A. malherbae. Sub-lethal herbicide applications had an adverse effect on plant stem height, total stem length, numbers of leaves or branches, or on above-ground or below-ground biomass; whereas A. malherbae did not. Synergistic impacts of herbicide applications and A. malherbae on growth parameters of field bindweed were not observed. Preand post-spray gall counts were not significantly different, indicating that gall induction and development was not altered by these sub-lethal dosages. The establishment and effectiveness of A. malherbae has been reported to vary across western North America, with genetic variation of field bindweed as a possible contributing factor. Four field bindweed populations, collected from Montana, California, Oregon, and New Mexico, were exposed to A. malherbae to determine if growth parameters conducive or detrimental to the development of the mite vary among plant populations. When grown in a common environment, plant height, stem length, and number of branches and leaves significantly varied among populations although biomass did not differ. Galling by A. malherbae did not impact field bindweed growth, except for slight reduction in root biomass of infested plants. Gall induction was lower on plants from New Mexico than Oregon. Field studies assessed the relationship between habitat characteristics and plant cover and the presence and abundance of the mite. Multidimensional scaling of site characteristics indicated a spatial relationship, though no habitat relationship, among established A. malherbae populations. In within-field studies, a significant positive relationship was observed between percent grass cover and mite abundance and a negative relationship between field bindweed and mite abundance.


This is the first book to present a multidisciplinary approach to cyberterrorism. It traces the threat posed by cyberterrorism today, with chapters discussing possible technological vulnerabilities, potential motivations to engage in cyberterrorism, and the challenges of distinguishing this from other cyber threats. The book also addresses the range of potential responses to this threat by exploring policy and legislative frameworks as well as a diversity of techniques for deterring or countering terrorism in cyber environments. The case studies throughout the book are global in scope and include the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and Canada. With contributions from distinguished experts with backgrounds including international relations, law, engineering, computer science, public policy and politics, Cyberterrorism: Understanding, Assessment and Response offers a cutting edge analysis of contemporary debate on, and issues surrounding, cyberterrorism. This global scope and diversity of perspectives ensure it is of great interest to academics, students, practitioners, policymakers and other stakeholders with an interest in cyber security.


The article examines the role of small business in the development of rural areas by the example of bakery production. Moreover, it demonstrates the need for the interaction of small bakery businesses with large enterprises of the industry and grain processors. The article reveals the development trends of small bakery production in rural areas. The conditions for the participation of small bakery businesses in rural areas in the development of the production of functional and specialized bread are substantiated. The article proposes the directions and mechanisms of support for small bakery production at the level of rural territories. The development of modern methods of redistribution of bakery production in proportion to the living population, measures of state support for small bakery production and expansion of the range of bread products that contribute to improving the health of the population of Russia, is the theme of this study. The object of the research is the development of small bakery production as a condition for improving the quality of life of the population in rural areas. The subject of the research is production and management relations that ensure the development of small bakery production and its impact on the quality of life of the population in rural areas.


Previous research has found that same-sex couples are more likely to be in interracial/ethnic partnerships than are different-sex couples. Drawing on search theory, we evaluate the plausibility of a common explanation for the higher likelihood of interracial/ethnic partnership among same-sex couples—that those seeking same-sex partners must widen their search because of the smaller pool of available partners. We use data from the 1990 and 2000 U.S. censuses and the 2005-7 American Community Survey to compare patterns of interracial/ethnic partnership among same-sex male cohabiting couples, same-sex female cohabiting couples, different-sex cohabiting couples, and different-sex married couples. We present multiple pieces of evidence that raise doubts about the availability hypothesis. Most of our measures indicate that in times and places where the availability of same-sex partners is greater, same-sex couples are more likely to be interracial/ethnic, a result opposite of what the availability hypothesis would predict. Our findings suggest the plausibility of other explanations for differences in interracial/ethnic matching between sameand different-sex couples, such as differences in preferences for partners, differences in the venues in which those seeking sameand different-sex partners meet, and differences in pressure from friends and family to form endogamous unions.


Payment for Ecosystem Service (PES) is a market driven tool to motivate upstream land owners to practices land uses that enhance water quantity flows through compensation incentive packages supported by downstream beneficiaries and partners.  PES is a voluntary engagement that involves negotiation by sellers and buyers of ecosystem products and services through independent intermediaries. The country is facing high deforestation and degradation rates within the key watersheds that threaten future supply of water for various socioeconomic activities. The PES concept has been around for the last two decades and many projects have been undertaken in the country hence the need to evaluate its adoption rates and subsequent outcomes to inform future direction of research and investments in PES schemes in the country. A study was initiated by Kenya Forestry Research Institute (KEFRI) and partners in 2016 to collect information on the experiences by several projects in the implementation of PES schemes. This was informed by the fact that information and data on use of PES in watershed management in Kenya is scanty and disjointed hence the needs for comprehensive study to update stakeholders on its status and experiences. Similarly, the country has to manage its watersheds in accordance with international standards and hence needs to tap into the most effective approaches and technologies available within its socioeconomic and ecological contexts. The study results indicate that the country has put in place some policy and legal framework to support PES piloting schemes. The cross sector study identified 15 projects on carbon sequestration, biodiversity conservation, watershed protection and a bundled combination of these services that have been implemented in the country. PES schemes promoted conservation friendly land uses and offered a wide range of incentives to communities and individuals who are custodians of the natural resources through negotiated engagements. The PES schemes faced several challenges related to high population, smallholder farms, inadequate policy and legal frameworks and governance issues that tended to increase implementation costs and hinder effective participation. The opportunities include a wide range of conservation land uses such as contour terraces, tree planting, grass strips along rivers and differed or controlled grazing in drylands. PES schemes in most cases have provided significant benefits and income opportunities to local communities including increased agricultural incomes, social assets, employment and biodiversity conservation. The experience from pilot PES schemes provides practical lessons that can inform the future design and implementation of PES models within the context of the local situations. The agencies that have interest in forestry and other environment services should continue to pursue the path of PES mechanisms to address environmental degradation and diminishing environmental resources.  This is premised on the fact that ES services directly and indirectly support socioeconomic development especially at local levels. However, there is need for some policy and legislative reforms to mainstream PES principles sectoral plans and conservation projects and was enhance enforcement of existing legislation and Acts Keywords : payment for ecosystem services, experiences status, watersheds, income opportunities,


This paper focuses on gender relations and issues in resource management among the Bontok, one of the several ethnolinguistic groups in the highlands of northern Philippines. the paper begins with a presentation of some theories and models on gender differences that have been assumed to be universally applicable. Most of these models try to explain gender differences in relation to female subordination and male domination. The Bontok case described in this paper shows that the theories on gender inequality, believed to be universal, are not supported, particularly when examining the gender division of labor and resource management in this highland society. Finally, some critical issues on gender concerns in upland resource management are presented, particularly in relation to government development programs/projects that often exclude and/or ignore women as equal partners in development planning and implementation.


Ease of fabrication and design flexibility are two attractive features of low temperature co-fired ceramics (LTCC) technology for fabrication of complex micro-fluidic devices. Such structures are designed and processed using different shaping methods, the extent and complexity of which depends on the final device specifications (dimensions, mechanical and functional properties). In this work, we propose a sacrificial layer method based on carbon-black paste, which burns out during the LTCC firing stage. The paper will summarize the preparation of the paste, influence of processing conditions on the final dimensions, and demonstrate the mechanically integrated structures obtained using this technique. Some of those are membranes of various diameters (7-12mm) with a thickness of 40utm and a variety of internal spacing (1 5-6outm), free-hanging thick-film resistors (TFR) bridges on LTCC for heating micro-volumes. The main methods of the study will be thermo gravimetric analysis (TGA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and dilatometry in addition to electronic instruments for device characterization.


All children are naturally inquisitive and inventive and enjoy learning science and technology. The two subjects are often intertwined in the primary school so that one feeds from the other. Scientific principles may be seen in inventions we all use everyday and may be introduced with ease to children of all abilities through a technological approach to learning which involves designing and making. Such science principles contribute to the physical sciences, an area in which primary teachers often have little experience and even find frightening.

The debate over differences and similarities between science and technology as school subjects is well known but it is a debate which often confuses the non-specialist primary teacher. The outcome is that teachers often fail to recognise and understand that the principles are the same and can be traced almost identically to both National Curriculum documents. A teaching strategy is outlined.


on only a proportion of the pre-conversion market value. If we assume positive pre-conversion market value, then by con-Published Abstract We study the initial returns and long-run performance of a unique sample of thrifts that have recently converted from mutual to stock form. In addition to a full claim on all IPO proceeds, new investors in a converted thrift also receive a claim on all pre-conversion mar- ket value at no cost. Thus, the average firm in our sample has a degree of underpricing automatically built into its offer price. We find that after removing the large initial returns, cumulative excess returns for the firms in our sample are positive for 12 months after the IPO. Beginning in the second year after the IPO, the average firm in our sample undergoes a significant price correction that lasts approximately 18 months and which produces negative cumulative abnormal returns for up to 5 years post-issue. Differences in risk-ad- justed returns also indicate negative long-run returns, with poor performance concentrated in the second and third years following the IPO. The return differences are most pronounced among the small thrifts in our sample, and are broadly consistent with investor over- reaction at the time of the IPO that continues for 6–12 months before prices begin reverting back to fundamental value.


Introduction: The emergence of the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 virus and the recent global circulation of H1N1 swine-origin influenza virus in 2009 have highlighted the need for new anti-influenza therapies. This has been made all the more important with the emergence of antiviral-resistant strains. Recent progress in achieving three-dimensional (3D) crystal structures of influenza viral proteins and efficient tools available for pharmacophore-based virtual screening are aiding us in the discovery and design of new antiviral compounds. Areas covered: This review discusses pharmacophore modeling as a potential cost-effective and time-saving technology for new drug discovery as an alternative to high-throughput screening. Based on this technical platform, the authors discuss current progress and future prospects for developing novel influenza antivirals against pre-existing or emerging novel targets. Expert opinion: Although it might be at an infant stage of development, the availability of the 3D crystal structures of influenza viral proteins is expected to accelerate the application of structure-based drug design (SBDD) and pharmacophore modeling. Furthermore, the neuraminidase inhibitor, one of the most successful examples of a SBDD, still receives great attention because of its superb antiviral activities and the resistance of influenza strains to oseltamivir. However, despite much success, pharmacophore-based virtual screening exhibits limited predictive power in hit identification. Further improvements in pharmacophore detection algorithms, proper combinations of in silico methods as well as judicious choosing of compounds are expected to improve the hit rate. With the help of these technologies, the discovery of anti-influenza agents will be accelerated.


The research of certain aspects of coexistence of the members of different ethnic groups in contemporary societies implies more comprehensive scientific approach. Very often, the subject to sociologic interest in these sociocultural surroundings represents reflection of political and legal solutions. However, the interethnic relations are characterized by their own specialty, which is more significant in sociological researches. This work includes an attempt, by using the Bogardus scale, to measure the attractiveness and the social distance between different ethnic groups in the Macedonian society. Important variables in the research of this issue include the characteristic independence of the Republic from the former Yugoslav federation, the internal conflict from 2001 and the Ohrid Framework Agreement – which defined the political and constitutional system of the country. The analysis for locus operandi uses the Macedonian and the Albanian ethnic community as demographic, political and economically most important communities in Republic of Macedonia.


When a light beam propagates through an ensemble of two-level quantum systems, the resonant interaction between these systems and the radiation field may be described by a complex susceptibility. Even if the medium is of a type ordinarily considered isotropic, the susceptibility will be a tensor. In this paper, explicit expressions for the elements of this tensor are derived from quantum-statistical mechanics. A physical explanation of the induced anisotropy is given, and the experimental conditions under which it can be neglected are described.


Abstract Two experiments were conducted to examine cross-language priming from ignored stimuli in bilinguals. In Experiment 1, bilinguals categorized a focally attended number while ignoring flanking words during a prime trial and then made lexical decisions to probe letter strings. When probe words were semantic associates of previously ignored flanker words, cross-language negative priming occurred only when the ignored flankers were in the subject's first language (L1), and the probe target was in the second language (L2). Using translation equivalents rather than semantic associates, the second experiment found that cross-language negative priming occurred in both the L1-L2 and the L2-L1 conditions. However, there was still an asymmetry with more negative priming occurring in the L1-L2 condition. These results suggest that bilinguals access common conceptual representations across languages and support a revised hierarchical model of bilingual memory organization (Kroll & Stewart, 1994).


Abstract Objective: This study determined the socio-demographic, nutritional and health status of children and their caregivers in two rural districts in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) and one rural district in the Eastern Cape (EC), South Africa. Design: A cross-sectional survey was conducted. Setting: The study population resided in Umkhanyakude (sub-district Jozini) and Zululand (sub-district Pongola) in KZN, and in OR Tambo (sub-district Nyandeni) in the EC province. Subjects: Children 0 to 59 months old (Umkhanyakude n = 398; Zululand n = 303; OR Tambo n = 364) and their caregivers were included. Methods: Structured interviewer-administered questionnaires were conducted and height and weight were measured. Results: Households in OR Tambo had less access to services (tap water 3%, toilets 33%), compared to Umkhanyakude (tap water 50%, toilets 82%) and Zululand (tap water 74%, toilets 98%). Wood was the main energy source used to cook food in all three districts (> 75%). Grants were a main source of income (Umkhanyakude and Zululand 61%; OR Tambo 55%). Many households obtained vegetables from their own garden (Umkhanyakude and Zululand 30%; OR Tambo 70%). The households that reportedly had enough food available at all times (Umkhanyakude and Zululand 25%; OR Tambo 17%), were in the minority. The diarrhoea prevalence reported by the caregivers was high (Umkhanyakude 35%; Zululand 24%; OR Tambo 24%). The prevalence of stunting was higher for children older than 12 months and varied between 22 and 26%. The prevalence of overweight among children 0 to 23 months exceeded the prevalence of underweight. The prevalence of overweight and obesity among caregivers was high (Umkhanyakude 42%; Zululand 60%; OR Tambo 56%). Conclusion: Concerted efforts are needed to address the adverse social, nutrition and health conditions in these districts.


Port Lincoln, South Australia is the departure port for the only white shark, Carcharodon carcharias, cage dive industry in Australia. Established in the early 1960's as a niche tourism venture, the industry has recently undergone a rapid expansion to accommodate greater passenger numbers, more tourism operators, and additional infrastructure aimed at capturing a greater proportion of the tourist dollar. However, to date, there has been no assessment of growth in the in- dustry. We have used the operator logbook system, introduced in 2000, as the basis for a rapid assessment of the maturity as well as a conservative estimate of the economic value of the industry, with a focus on 2011. From the logbook system the number of days on-site has increased from an average of 67 days per year prior to 2007 to 287 days on-site in 2011. In 2011 the industry accommodated approximately 5200 passengers with a direct domestic expenditure estimated to be in excess of 6 million AUD. Changes in shark behaviour have been observed following the increase in days on-site. The white shark cage dive industry has reached a stage in its development where increased management is required in order to ensure a viable industry into the future. The rapid assessment technique described herein will allow managers to track changes in cage dive participation rates and quickly respond to changes in the industry.


ESCORENA system was established in 1974 by FAO and European research institution. The European System of Cooperative Research Networks in Agriculture is an umbrella for cooperation between research institutions focused on food, agriculture and related fields. The ESCORENA is a bridge between FAO and agriculture to e.g. inform about newest FAO priorities elaborated in 2013, namely: supporting farm and production restructuring including agriculture, forestry and fishery; fostering land consolidation process; supporting local development strategies through participatory approach; strengthening capacity for rural stakeholder; integration of smallholders and SMEs into the value chain; providing support on adding value to products and services, activity and income diversification. Joint activity of high ranking specialists and agriculture research centers within ESCORENA under auspices up to now is characterized by e.g. organizing some thousands global consultations, conferences, workshops, seminars, and some knowledge share-fairs etc., which took place not only in Europe but in Near East, Africa, Asia, North and South America. ESCORENA and Networks which belong to ESCORENA publish recognized Journals like: Journal of Natural Fibers (in co-operation with INF&MP), Scientific Bulletin of ESCORENA (in co-operation with Arad University, Romania), EUROFLAX Newsletter, Buffalo, Nuts and allied. The examples of spreading/sharing knowledge and technology transfer e.g. in the scope of bast fibrous plants: starting production of linseed and derived products in Balkans countries (after the FAO/ESCORENA conference in Banja Luka, B&H, 2004), growing interest in production and processing of flax and linen goods in China (after conference in Shenyang, 2001) and renewed interest in flax and linen in Norway, Finland, Sweden (after conference in Tampere, 1998), also in East European and Asian countries after the FAO/ESCORENA congress at famous Vavilov Institute (1998) in St. Petersburg, Russia. Plans for future: elaborate more farmer focused approach, improve efficiency of technology transfer, continuation of publishing and organizing workshops and meetings, apply for funds e.g. through COST Actions and other.


Objective: Ficus semicordata Buch.-Ham. ex Sm. (Moraceae) has been attributed with numerous therapeutic claims in Indian traditional medicinal systems, especially for its ethnomedicinal and economical uses. Present review aims to congregate all available ethnomedicinal information on Ficus semicordata. Material and Methods: Information of all the reported ethnobotanical uses of the Ficus semicordata from available 21 books on ethnobotany and 53 ethnomedicinal research articles have been compiled. The obtained data are arranged in a tabular form, with regards to various local names, as known by different tribes across India, name of the tribe and their area of presence, part used. Therapeutic indications, external (E) and internal (I) usage of the drug are also noted in a separate column with individual references. Results and Discussion: It is observed that various parts of F. semicordata are used to combat several diseases. About 25 external applications and 40 internal administrations are reported. Fruit and root, as a parts used, have maximum applications in 16 disease conditions each. Stem bark is being used in 14, leaves in 9, latex in 7, young twigs and seeds are in 2 each and aerial parts in one diseased condition. Conclusion: Present ethnobotanical review shows the multi-faceted use of Ficus semicordata in varied aspects including its economical usage thus underlining its significance. Reported claimed anti-bacterial and anti-oxidant activities can be further strengthened through pharmacological and clinical studies to establish the ethnic claims like leprosy, wound, boil, liver disorders, gynecological disorders etc.


The purpose of this paper is to examine the corporate social disclosures practices of Spanish firms. Annual reports of 41 Spanish firms for the year 2007 were analysed to determine the level of corporate social disclosures (CSD), industry differences in CSD and the effect of financial performance on the quality of disclosures. Results show that Spanish firms disclose most information on governance followed by products and services. Differences in disclosures made by various industry groups were observed suggesting that each industry group has certain preferences in disclosing information to their stakeholders. No significant relationship between financial performance and corporate social disclosures for Spanish companies was observed. This research suggests that CSR disclosures by Spanish firms are influenced by government regulations. The customers are other group of influential stakeholders. This research is limited by the fact that corporate social disclosures practices of Spanish firms were studied for a single year.


AgsT•,ACT.--Available information on the status of the western Burrowing OM (Athene cunicularia hypugaea) in Arizona is limited. To determine its current status, I sent out questionnaires, made personal contacts, conducted field observations, and searched the literature. These data indicated that relatively little is known in Arizona about this uncommon species. This paper summarizes existing information on the Burrowing Owl in Arizona and provides baseline information for future studies. Location records suggest hat this species is a widespread, albeit uncommon, bird in Arizona. The data compiled during this study are still not adequate to assess the status of Burrowing Owls in Arizona as of 1998. An annotated bibliography of Burrowing Owls in Arizona is available upon request.


This paper uses data from the 1996, 2001 and 2006 New Zealand Census to examine how the supply of immigrants in particular skill-groups affects the employment and wages of the New Zealand-born and of earlier migrants. We first estimate simple CES production functions that allow for substitutability between workers from different skill-groups, but assume that, within skill-groups, migrants are perfect substitutes for non-migrants. We next estimate hierarchical CES production functions that allow for substitutability between immigrant and non-immigrant workers within skillgroups, but constrain the patterns of wage impacts on different factors in response to changing factor shares, and that natives and migrants are not substitutable across skill-groups. Then, we extend the previous literature by estimating a Generalised Leontief production function that allows for a less restrictive relationship between changes in factors shares and changes in wages within a particular level of the production function and for substitution and complementarity between immigrant and nonimmigrant workers both between and across skill-groups. Regardless of the model being estimated, we find little evidence that immigrants negatively affect either the wages or employment opportunities of the average New Zealand-born worker. However, we find some evidence that increases in the number of high-skilled recent migrants have small negative impacts on the wages of high-skilled New Zealand-born workers, which are offset by small positive impacts on the wages of medium-skilled New Zealanders.


The circadian clock component REVERBα is considered a dominant regulator of lipid metabolism, with global Reverbα deletion driving dysregulation of white adipose tissue (WAT) lipogenesis and obesity. However, a similar phenotype is not observed under adipocyte-selective deletion (ReverbαFlox2-6AdipoCre), and transcriptional profiling demonstrates that, under basal conditions, direct targets of REVERBα regulation are limited, and include the circadian clock and collagen dynamics. Under high-fat diet (HFD) feeding, ReverbαFlox2-6AdipoCre mice do manifest profound obesity, yet without the accompanying WAT inflammation and fibrosis exhibited by controls. Integration of the WAT REVERBα cistrome with differential gene expression reveals broad control of metabolic processes by REVERBα which is unmasked in the obese state. Adipocyte REVERBα does not drive an anticipatory daily rhythm in WAT lipogenesis, but rather modulates WAT activity in response to alterations in metabolic state. Importantly, REVERBα action in adipocytes is critical to the development of obesity-related WAT pathology and insulin resistance.


Ninety diamonds from the Eocene Panda kimberlite (Ekati Mine, Northwest Territories, Canada) were analyzed for the major and trace element compositions of their mineral inclusions using electron microprobe techniques (EPMA) and secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS). Additionally, nitrogen aggregation characteristics of the host diamonds were measured using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIRS). Within the cratonic lithosphere, Panda diamonds are principally derived from peridotitic sources (85 %) with a minor content of eclogitic diamonds (10 %). Ferropericlase bearing diamonds (5 %) contain combinations of ferropericlase with either Mg-Al spinel plus olivine or with olivine or with a pure silica phase. The chemical char- acteristics of these inclusions are in accordance with a lithospheric origin from ferropericlase-bearing dunites. Ferropericlase coexisting with CaSiO3 (most likely originally included as Ca-silicate perovskite), however, is regarded as evidence for a lower mantle origin of the host diamond. Major element compositions show that the peridotitic diamonds formed in a moderately depleted environment, indicated by the presence of harzburgitic garnet inclusions with calcium contents generally > 2.5 wt% CaO and olivines with Mg numbers (100*Mg/(Mg+Fe)) of 92-93.5. Rare earth element (REE) concentrations in peridotitic garnets largely follow subdivisions based on major elements with lherzolitic garnets showing middle REE to heavy REE enriched, slightly sinusoidal patterns, whilst harzburgitic garnets have distinctly sinusoidal REEN. Inclusion geothermobarometry indicates formation of peridotitic diamonds in the temperature range 1100-1250°C, following a geothermal gradient of 40-42 mW/m2, in accordance with similar observations world-wide. Touching garnet-olivine and garnet-orthopyroxene inclusion pairs equilibrated at lower temperatures of 1000-1100°C, corresponding to a geothermal gradient around 37 mW/m2. The higher temperatures are considered to be those prevailing during diamond formation. Nitrogen contents in Panda diamonds vary strongly from below detection (< 10 ppm) to 2700 atomic ppm. Nitrogen aggrega- tion ranges from poorly aggregated (Type IaA diamond) to highly aggregated (Type IaB diamond). If all diamonds that show signs of plastic deformation during mantle residence are excluded from the dataset, then a diamond subset becomes apparent with an overall low nitrogen aggregation state of < 30 % B-center. This result may indicate that plastic deformation increases the aggre- gation of nitrogen in Panda diamonds. Taking the Early Archean Re-Os isochron date for sulfide inclusions in Panda diamonds (Westerlund et al., 2003b) at face value, the low aggregation states of undeformed diamonds may indicate mantle residence at rela- tively low temperatures (< 1100°C). If this is the case, the decrease in temperature inferred from the comparison of touching and non-touching inclusion pairs must have occurred soon after diamond formation. Thus diamond formation beneath the central Slave may be restricted to short lived and localized thermal events. An apparent increase in geothermal gradient with depth in the litho- spheric mantle beneath the Central Slave for the time of kimberlite eruptions (Upper Cretaceous to Eocene) may have a similar cause and reflect transient heating of the deep lithosphere during melt infiltration.


1. Methods are described for the collection of scalp sebum, and for the determination of the density, viscosity, surface tension, and freezing-point of sebum samples from individual subjects. 2. Data are presented from ten acne patients and seven normal subjects, of whom three previously had acne. No significant difference was demonstrated between the sebum from acne patients and controls. The sebum viscosity increased with fall in temperature, but sebum did not solidify at physiological skin temperatures, and it is concluded that sebum viscosity is unlikely to be important in the pathogenesis of acne. 3. There was no relationship between sebum excretion rate and viscosity in individual subjects and sebum viscosity is unlikely to play a major role in the normal regulation of sebum production.


Abstract We show how to use commuting flows to infer the spatial distribution of income within a city. A simple workplace choice model predicts a gravity equation for commuting flows whose destination fixed effects correspond to wages. We implement this method with cell phone transaction data from Dhaka and Colombo. Model-predicted income predicts separate income data, at the workplace and residential level, and by skill group. Unlike machine learning approaches, our method does not require training data, yet it achieves comparable predictive power. We show that hartals (transportation strikes) in Dhaka reduce commuting more for high model-predicted wage and high skill commuters.


IPv6 Loopback Suppression and Duplicate Address Detection (DAD) are
discussed in Appendix A of RFC 4862. That specification mentions a
hardware-assisted mechanism to detect looped back DAD messages. If
hardware cannot suppress looped back DAD messages, a software solution
is required. Several service provider communities have expressed a
need for automated detection of looped back Neighbor Discovery (ND)
messages used by DAD. This document includes mitigation techniques and
outlines the Enhanced DAD algorithm to automate the detection of
looped back IPv6 ND messages used by DAD. For network loopback tests,
the Enhanced DAD algorithm allows IPv6 to self-heal after a loopback
is placed and removed. Further, for certain access networks, this
document automates resolving a specific duplicate address conflict.
This document updates RFCs 4429, 4861, and 4862.


In recent years there has been an increase in the number of vegans in the world. The main goal of my research is to understand the vegan struggles in their daily life and study how Facebook might help them solve these difficulties. This master's thesis focuses on the user perspective and how they perceive barriers to follow a vegetarian lifestyle in Spain. The research questions are about finding those barriers and knowing how they could be solved by using Facebook groups. For this purpose, an ethnographic approach has been used.The target group of this study are vegans who have gone through the time of change and may have had some problems in making that decision. Fifteen vegans have been interviewed to find challenges that have arisen when they have changed their lifestyles. After that, an online ethnography study has been performed by observing the content of a Facebook group, called "Vegetarianos y Veganos – Espana", focusing on publications where group members were asking for advice, information or solutions.The results indicate that the investigated group of Facebook is essential for the exchange of information, knowledge and experience. The members also contribute to increased knowledge through publications and comments. But most importantly, the members receive solutions to the problems they share with the group.


The range of pressures which has impacted on local government in the 1980s has forced the emergence of dynamic and sophisticated forms of industrial relations at the workplace level. It is clear, however, that with conceptual tools forged to analyse developments in the private manufacturing sector, very few attempts have been made by academics, policy-makers or commentators to discuss the structures and processes which have emerged. The character of the changes at authority level are considered using material from a survey of personnel officers in over a third of authorities in England and Wales and within the context of prevailing analytical and theoretical frameworks. It is argued that the distinctive development of the personnel function in local government has resulted in a managerial process which conforms to key features of the human resource management (HRM) model, in particular the devolution of personnel responsibilities to line managers and the integration of personnel concerns at the strategic level. However, other features of this model are less in evidence. The search for employee commitment and flexibility remains patchy and often appears as a practical response to labour market and competitive pressures. Furthermore, collectivist features of employee relations remain well entrenched with the continued encouragement of both union membership and involvement. This is not to deny change beyond the HRM model. Thus, it is clear that established joint machinery is becoming increasingly unable to deal with ongoing issues while the trade unions are gradually being forced into a consultative rather than a bargaining role.


Regional exploration for rare and precious metal enrichment traditionally uses multielement geochemical analysis of the fines (<150 μm) fraction of stream sediments; however, these data can be misleading in glaciated regions with complex geology. Here, we compare the spatial distributions of data from sediment fines with distributions of heavy mineral concentrates, including detrital gold, in the same region. Gold grains are characterized according to abundance and morphology plus a microchemical signature from the combination of alloy analysis and systematic identification of mineral inclusions revealed in polished sections. These inclusions survive indefinitely and are indicative of hypogene mineralogy, whereas the metal loadings of fines may be affected by weathering or anthropogenic activity. All three approaches are mutually supportive: sediment fines analyses provide a basis for more labor-intensive targeted gold-grain studies, which in turn highlight specific gold-element associations useful for interpretation of geochemical data sets. Spatial distributions of resistate heavy mineral suites constrain the directions and extents of glacial transport, which facilitates more confident interpretations of placer-lode relationships from gold-grain studies.

Characterization of 2,160 gold grains from 40 localities in the auriferous region of southeast Ireland provided a clear indication of proximity of gold to source and identified gold derived from different episodes of mineralization. A distinction is apparent between gold in the south of the region (Wexford), likely derived from widespread stratabound Au-As-Fe-S mineralization, and that in the north (Wicklow), where the historical placer mining district of the Goldmines River yielded gold with inclusions exhibiting a distinctive Pb-Bi-As association. The Goldmines River placers formed by the efficient accumulation and preservation of detrital gold derived from several discrete intravalley sources. We recommend that a combination of classic stream-sediment geochemistry, heavy mineral analysis, and gold-grain studies is used more widely to provide additional insights on the location and nature of gold mineralization and regional metallogeny in regions of poor exposure and complex geology.


In the past the phrase 'access to justice' referred to access to courts, but since the 1970s it has acquired a broader meaning and is still evolving. Views on access to justice are closely linked to the socio-economic situation at a particular point in time. Our current world is complex and has given rise to matching complex needs. Huge social imbalances have been created and many groups of people have become marginalised and excluded from a fair determination of rights. Legal problems have thus acquired a social dimension, requiring the civil justice system to play an important role in realising social justice. Current access-to-justice concerns are aimed at promoting and achieving the social inclusion of those excluded from the justice system, and so the meaning of the phrase access to justice is extended to include access to mechanisms that facilitate social inclusion. Broad consensus on the basic guiding principles for such mechanisms has yet to emerge. Nevertheless, a new approach to access to justice has so far yielded many far-reaching procedural reforms in many countries, as well as many innovative measures (such as PLEI programmes, help centres, ombudsman institutions, special tribunals and funding schemes), giving reason for optimism that justice systems will be able to meet the needs of the most disadvantaged members of society.


Research and development in the field of "smart grids" is advancing at an ever expanding rate, with an increasing number of industry participants and other key constituents internationally, including government entities and educational institutions. It is vital to understand the approaches being taken by these various entities in order to determine the optimal method by which to proceed with defining the smart grid and associated future developments. This survey was undertaken with the intent of determining representative approaches from various participants, and combining them into an overarching view of the industry as a whole. As a result, the more practical and efficient methods of improving the electrical grid were revealed, as well as gaps within the existing technology and standards. The most apparent gaps were determined to be in the following main areas: common communications; improved transmission and distribution controls; real-time information and incentives for both the end-user and the utility; self-healing grids; energy storage and renewable integration; and improved standards for the industry. In particular, future work into the development of improved control software for renewable integration utilizing energy storage is discussed, which will contribute to further research within the field.


We consider multiply periodic functions, sometimes called Abelian functions, defined with respect to the period matrices associated with classes of algebraic curves. We realise them as generalisations of the Weierstraß ℘-function using two different approaches. These functions arise naturally as solutions to some of the important equations of mathematical physics and their differential equations, addition formulae, and applications have all been recent topics of study.The first approach discussed sees the functions defined as logarithmic derivatives of the σ-function, a modified Riemann θ-function. We can make use of known properties of the σ-function to derive power series expansions and in turn the properties mentioned above. This approach has been extended to a wide range of non hyperelliptic and higher genus curves and an overview of recent results is given.The second approach defines the functions algebraically, after first modifying the curve into its equivariant form. This approach allows the use of representation theory to derive a range of results at lower computational cost. We discuss the development of this theory for hyperelliptic curves and how it may be extended in the future. We consider how the two approaches may be combined, giving the explicit mappings for the genus 3 hyperelliptic theory. We consider the problem of generating bases of the functions and how these decompose when viewed in the equivariant form.


General Elections (GE) to the 13th (2013) is the most intense election in the history of elections in Malaysia that are characterized by political scientists as 'the mother of the election' in Malaysia. This is because for the first time in the history of the opposition have almost equal chances to win the election. Thus, this article will look at and analyze the voting trends that occur with the use of aggregate data of 2013 GE. The of parliamentary election results showed a reduction in the number of parliamentary seats won by Barisan Nasional when it won only 133 seats (60 per cent) compared to the 140 seats in GE 2008. It also intends Barisan Nasional failed to regain the two-thirds majority mandate seats of the total 222 parliamentary seats as 'political tsunami' in election 2008. But the pull of the popular vote in favor of Pakatan Rakyat when acquiring 51 per cent compared to Barisan Nasional only obtained 47 percent. Such a result shows democracy is still practiced in the country. Thus, BN as the central government needs to do something, perhaps reform the political strategies and their leaders to recapture the hearts of voters who do not support them in order to get a stronger mandate that a majority of 2/3 of parliamentary seats next recapture 'rich state' which Selangor and Penang in the next general election. For the opposition parties, the democratic space available should be used in addition to being able to play the role of 'checks and balances' for the benefit of the people in this country.


Alkyl ester derivatives were synthesized from laboratory purified palm kernel oil. The steps in the synthesis involved transesterification of palm kernel oil to produce a methyl ester, followed by epoxidation and then the grafting of side chains by esterification with propionic and butyric anhydride. The dielectric and thermal properties of the ester derivatives were analyzed and compared with the methyl ester. The melting point of the ester derivatives were found to reduce with side chain attachment and antioxidant improved its thermal stability. The dielectric loss was dominated by mobile charged particles and the chemical modification appeared to increase the rate at which electric double layer was formed at the electrode-liquid interface. The esters possessed excellent breakdown strengths suggesting that the processing to optimize their physical properties did not have a negative influence on their electrical breakdown strength. This product may prove useful as an insulation fluid in Electrical Power Transformers.


A world in turmoil caused by Covid-19 has revealed again what has long been true: the Federal Reserve is arguably the most powerful administrative agency in government, but neither administrative-law scholars nor the Fed itself treat it that way. In this Article, we present the first effort to map the contours of what administrative law should mean for the Fed, with particular attention to the processes the Fed should follow in determining and announcing legal interpretations and major policy changes. First, we synthesize literature from administrative law and social science to show the advantages that an agency like the Fed can glean from greater openness and transparency in its interpretations of law and in its long-term policymaking processes. These advantages fall into two categories: (1) sending more credible signals of future action and thereby shaping the behavior of regulated parties and other constituents, and (2) increasing the diversity of incoming information on which to base decisions, thereby improving their factual and predictive accuracy. Second, we apply this framework to two key areas monetary policy and emergency lending to show how the Fed can improve its policy signaling and input diversity in the areas of its authority that are most expansive. The result is a positive account of what the Fed already does as an administrative agency and a normative account of what it should do in order to preserve necessary policy flexibility without sacrificing the public demands for policy clarity and rigor.


The wastewater of the munitions industry varies in terms of the recalcitrant compounds depending on the products and the manufacturing process. The most commonly encountered energetic nitro-aromatic compounds in ammunition wastewater are trinitrotoluene (TNT), nitroheterocyclic hexahydro-trinitrotriazine (RDX), and cyclotetramethylene-tetranitramine (HMX). These compounds are known to be very toxic and resistant to biodegradation. The aim of this study was to determine the appropriate ultrasound frequency to assist the anaerobic biodegradation of TNT, RDX, and HMX Therefore, the optimum ultrasound frequencies were investigated to degrade TNT, RDX, and HMX without destroying anaerobic microorganisms. The results showed that ultrasound irradiation was effective for the degradation of all the explosive compounds used. However, the maximum removal efficiencies and minimum microorganism lysis were achieved by the frequencies of 20 and 800 kHz.


Recall in many types of verbal memory task is reliably disrupted by the presence of auditory distracters, with verbal distracters frequently proving the most disruptive (Beaman, 2005). A multinomial processing tree model (Schweickert, 1993) is applied to the effects on free recall of background speech from a known or an unknown language. The model reproduces the free recall curve and the impact on memory of verbal distracters for which a lexical entry exists (i.e., verbal items from a known language). The effects of semantic relatedness of distracters within a language is found to depend upon a redintegrative factor thought to reflect the contribution of the speech-production system. The differential impacts of known and unknown languages cannot be accounted for in this way, but the same effects of distraction are observed amongst bilinguals, regardless of distracter-language.


Online data journalism, including visualizations and other manifestations of data stories, has seen a recent surge of interest. User comments add a dynamic, social layer to interpretation, enabling users to learn from others' observations and social interact around news issues. We present the results of a qualitative study of commenting around visualizations published on a mainstream news outlet, The Economist's Graphic Detail blog. We find that surprisingly, only 42% of the comments discuss the visualization and/or article content. Over 60% of comments discuss matters of context, including how the issue is framed and the relation to outside data. Further, over one third of total comments provide direct critical feedback on the content of presented visualizations and text articles as well as on contextual aspects of the presentation. Our findings suggest using critical social feedback from comments in the design process, and motivate the development of more sophisticated commenting interfaces that distinguish comments by reference.


The thesis examines selected small national securities markets in western and central Europe under the influence of change in the structure of world financial market practice and increased information flows. Markets studied in detail and visited on one or more occasions are those of Denmark, Austria, Portugal, Hungary, The Netherlands, Belgium and two German regional exchanges, Hamburg and Bremen. Data on the German market as a whole is studied for its relevance to neighbouring small national exchanges. The formation of new markets in the Czech Republic and Slovakia is observed based on information about, and visits to, Prague and Bratislava. Market institutions, mechanisms and participants, particularly banks and brokers, are examined for their contribution to the viability and validity of each market and the realisation of development potential. The literature of price discovery, returns generation, asymmetrical information, market microstructure and investor behaviour is reviewed, as is the history of national exchanges for determinants of their present-day form and behaviour. Structured, questionnaire-based interviews with market participants, other fieldwork information and the considerable volume of contemporary press and periodical material relating to market reforms constitute the main body of evidence. Market-by-market analysis is conducted to support conclusions based on initial hypotheses about the function and purpose of small national markets and formal models of investor, borrower and broker behaviour. Trading volume is separately analysed over the longest practicable period, using time-series econometric methods for evidence of ability to reveal information about market behaviour and reliability as an income generator to sustain market-dependent broking populations and market institutions. Institutional factors are found to determine the volume of trading in the medium term and hence, via the level of income generated, to induce virtuous and vicious circles of development. In the short term, trading volume is determined by exogenous shocks and short-run market dynamics.


The hardware layer of the Si elegans EU FP7 project is a massively parallel architecture designed to accurately emulate the C. elegans nematode in biological real-time. The C. elegans nematode is one of the simplest and well characterized Biological Nervous Systems (BNS) yet many questions related to basic functions such as movement and learning remain unanswered. The hardware layer includes a Hardware Neural Network (HNN) composed of 302 FPGAs (one per neuron), a Hardware Muscle Network (HMN) composed of 27 FPGAs (one per 5 muscles) and one Interface Manager FPGA, which is physically connected through 2 Local Area Networks (LANs) and through an innovative 3D optical connectome. Neuron structures (gap junctions and synapses) and muscles are modelled in the design environment of the software layer and their simulation data (spikes, variable values and parameters) generate data packets sent across the Local Area Networks (LAN). Furthermore, a software layer gives the user a set of design tools giving the required flexibility and high level hardware abstraction to design custom neuronal models. In this paper the authors present an overview of the hardware layer, connections infrastructure and communication protocol.


In Makhuwa the element immediately after the conjoint verb form is interpreted as exclusive focus (Van der Wal 2011). This paper shows that the relation between the conjoint verb form and focus in Immediate After Verb (IAV) position holds not only for nouns and simple adverbs, but also for adverbial subordinate clauses with a relative or Situative verb, which are clearly focused when they follow a conjoint verb form. I propose that the reason that sentential complements do not receive a focus interpretation in the same position is due to the absence of internal information structure in the adverbial clauses. Hence, adverbial clauses but not complement clauses function as a single integrated informational unit in the information structure of the main clause. Keywords: Makhuwa; exclusive focus; subordinate clause; information structure


Hyper-Rayleigh scattering is frequently used to determine all of the rotational invariants of the first hyperpolarizability tensor. It requires numerous polarization states of both incident and scattered light and thus justifies the use of a dual-rotating-retarder polarimeter. We optimized our experimental setup by reducing the condition number of the polarization processing matrix. Our numerical study showed that, on condition to make six measurements, the choice of the detector angle and of the angular steps of both retarders was paramount. Overspecifying the calculation through a much higher number of measurements allowed us to make broad optimal detector angles and retarder angular steps available. Numerical simulations are presented to optimize our experimental setup.


BACKGROUND
No data exist regarding the effect of the Mediterranean diet on renal function. We studied the association between adherence to the Mediterranean diet and markers of renal function among 3042 people without any evidence of chronic disease.

METHODS
During 2001 and 2002, a random sample was selected of 1514 men and 1528 women (aged 18 to 89 years) from Greece. Urea and creatinine were measured, and the creatinine-clearance (CCr) rate was estimated according to the formula of Cockcroft and Gault. Adherence to the Mediterranean diet was assessed using a validated diet score (MedDietScore) that incorporated the inherent characteristics of this diet.

RESULTS
The CCr rate was positively associated with MedDietScore (b+/-SE, 0.24+/-0.09, P=.007). Moreover, urea and creatinine levels were inversely associated with MedDietScore (b+/-SE, -0.05+/-0.02, P=.01, and -0.004+/-0.001, P < .001, respectively). Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that for each 10/55 additional points in diet score, a 3.7-unit increase in CCr rate in women (P < .001) and a 10.1-unit increase in CCr rate in men were evident (P < .001). Further analysis revealed that the CCr rate was positively correlated with the consumption of fruits (rho =0.08, P=.009) and moderate alcohol consumption, and inversely correlated with the consumption of potatoes (rho=-0.11, P < .001), red meat (rho=-0.12, P=.001), and poultry (rho=-0.07, P=.02).

CONCLUSIONS
Greater adherence to the Mediterranean diet was independently associated with reduced urea and creatinine and increased CCr rates among healthy men and women. This finding adds to the knowledge regarding the benefits of a traditional Mediterranean diet in human health.


A major feature of the Philippine language situation is its diversity. The Filipino bilingual lives in a multilingual and multicultural environment. The Filipino bilingual of today possesses a strong national identity but needs to seek to render it more functional for the purposes of national well-being in the modern world. Filipino rather than English can better serve as a medium to express the Filipino's cultural traditions, values, beliefs, and national aspirations. However, there are certain sociolinguistic realities that challenge the Filipino bilingual. One is that it is through bilingual education that we hope to equip the Filipino bilingual such that he/she will be better prepared to examine the nature of change in this modern world, including its speech and dimensions, and also to enable him/her to understand better the distinctions that must be made between change in the past and that which is on-going. His/her competence in English will equip him/her to handle modern technological developments and to keep up with the rapidity of technological change. The role of English maybe diminishing on the national level, but certainly for globalization and information technology, it is the language of wider communication in the international level. This paper will present the profile of the Filipino bilingual in terms of identity, sociolinguistic competencies including attitudes, motivations and proficiency within a multilingual and multicultural setting.


Assigned to Associate Editor Eric Olson. Abstract Lodging affects grain quality and grain yield in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and is difficult to breed for because its sporadic incidence and laborious protocols to measure lodging traits. Thus, developing molecular markers for these traits can increase selection efficiency in breeding programs. The aim of this article is to identify quantitative trait loci (QTL) associated with stem/anchorage strength and leverage traits (lodging traits) in a doubled-haploid population of UK bread wheat Avalon × Cadenza. Field experiments were conducted in the UK during 2012–2013 near High Mowthorpe and during 2013–2014 at Sutton Bonington. Phenotypic and genetic analysis indicated significant genetic variation for all traits. Stem strength (diameter, wall width, and material strength) and leverage (plant height) traits were highly heritable (0.64–0.95), whereas anchorage strength traits (root plate spread and structural rooting depth) and ear number per plant (leverage trait) were less heritable (0.21– 0.33). This study identified 18 QTL for lodging traits and grain yield in chromosomes 1D, 2B, 2D, 3A, 3B, 4A, 4D, 5B, and 6B. Two QTL for stem strength on chromosome 1D and 3B explaining 49.6% of the total phenotypic variation (PVE) are estimated to reduce stem lodging risk and shortening the plant height by 12 cm. One QTL for root plate spread on chromosome 5B explaining 22.4% of the PVE could increase root lodging resistance.


The United States is party to several treaties that regulate the conduct of war, including the 1949 Geneva Conventions on the Protection of War Victims. These treaties require belligerent states, as a matter of international law, to accord fair and humane treatment to enemy nationals subject to their authority in time of war. Moreover, these treaties are, as a matter of domestic law, part of the Supreme Law of the Land. The scope and content of the Conventions have assumed central importance in debates about U.S. policy toward al Qaeda and Taliban detainees held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Indeed, several aspects of U.S. policy toward the detainees arguably violate the Conventions. In response, the Bush Administration maintains in effect that the Conventions, even if they are applicable and even if U.S. policy is inconsistent with them, are not binding on the President as a matter of domestic law because the President has the constitutional authority to choose to violate the Conventions in the interest of protecting national security. This Article evaluates the Bush Administration's claim. The Administration's position has certain non-trivial virtues. Even if the United States has no legal right to violate the treaties as a matter of international law, there are good reasons to recognize an implied power to violate (or supersede) treaties as a matter of domestic law. The central question is who should have this authority: the President or Congress. We consider in detail three variations of the Administration's position - read in its best light. The President's power to violate treaties might stem from (1) the President's law-making authority; (2) the President's law-breaking authority; or (3) the President's unfettered discretion to interpret U.S. treaty obligations. Following detailed consideration of each variation, we conclude that the President has no authority to violate a treaty obligation if Congress has the authority under Article I to enact legislation superseding that treaty obligation. Because the rules embodied in the Geneva Conventions address matters within the scope of Congress' Article I powers, the President lacks the constitutional power (absent congressional authorization) to violate these treaties. Building on this claim, we also argue that the President never has the unilateral authority to violate treaties because the existence of international rules empowers Congress to regulate matters governed by the treaty, even if those matters would otherwise be subject to the President's exclusive power. Finally, we suggest that there is some meaningful role for courts to play in enforcing treaty obligations - irrespective of whether the President's interpretation of any given treaty is entitled to substantial deference. In short, we conclude that the President is bound by the Geneva Conventions - as a formal legal matter and as a practical matter.


Heart attacks, several forms of cancer, and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases due to cigarette smoking remain among the major causes of mortality and morbidity in the United States and other countries. In spite of this, 50 million Americans continue to smoke, which makes it impossible to tackle this highly preventable cause of death. Freedom of choice has always been the major reason for keeping cigarettes flowing in our society. But using freedom of choice and self-inflicted injury as arguments for justifying continued cigarette consumption loses validity when smoking becomes an overhead that society must find a way to pay for. Health economics is a major factor in framing public health policy and legislation. So, what is the price of smoking? How much does the individual smoker pay, and what is the financial burden on others in society, including those exposed to the effects of secondhand smoke and faced with the resultant rising costs to Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security?

Frank Sloan and his coauthors, Jan Ostermann, Christopher Conover, Donald H. Taylor Jr., and Gabriel Picone have undertaken a thorough and systematic analysis of the health economics of lifetime smoking. While most previous studies have taken a cross-sectional approach, The price of smoking is based on a longitudinal study — the 1998 Health and Retirement Study — conducted by the University of Michigan and the Assets and Health Dynamics among the Oldest Old (AHEAD) and on the 1998 National Health Interview Survey.

The data in this book are based on present value of loss for men and women who are smokers at the age of 24. One factor that is distinct in this study is the calculation of "quasi-external cost," which the authors define as the cost of freedom of choice to the family members of smokers, including children who are nonsmokers. In their longitudinal analysis of lifetime smoking, the authors estimate that the social cost of smoking, which is a sum of purely private, quasi-external, and external costs (the latter determined by excise tax) for a 24-year-old person turns out to be $39.66 per pack of cigarettes. The cost to Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security is substantial. The quasi-external cost of smoking to the spouse of a 24-year-old who smokes comes to a staggering $28 billion. After considering these numbers and the amount of people who turn 24 each year and smoke, the authors of this book have predicted that the national external and quasi-external lifetime cost per year is $13.8 billion for females and $32.8 billion for males. Thus, with each new cohort of 24-year-old smokers in the United States there is an additional $204 billion of lifetime costs. These staggering expenses in light of the high number of smokers in the country make a convincing argument for rethinking the issue of public health policy making. Federal and state cigarette excise taxes have increased dramatically over the years. The calculations made by Sloan and his coauthors provide an analytical reason for such increases.

Readers should be cautioned that the monetary estimates in similar but different studies on the cost of smoking vary greatly. The approximations presented by Sloan and his coauthors are likely to cause some controversy, because the cost effect on Medicaid and Medicare is estimated to be relatively small in this compared with other studies.

The book ends with a strong message: both smokers and society will face a huge financial expense. The young smokers are unaware of this when they start smoking. Individuals who decide to smoke will have to live with the fact that smoking is not only cutting into their personal finances but will also have a huge impact on the national expenditure.

The book makes an excellent reference for researchers and workers in health economics, tobacco control legislation, and public policy. Even though the major part of the book deals with economics, it is enjoyable for social scientists and lay readers interested in learning about the social cost of smoking. Dissemination of such information in real dollar amounts (even though not precise) may be a creative way of discouraging the initiation of smoking.


Abstract Metam sodium (MS, sodium N-methyldithiocarbamate) is a widely used soil pesticide. Fumigation or chemical sterilization of poultry litter containing infectious oocysts could be an effective strategy to block the transmission of avian coccidia. In the current study, the effect of MS on the viability and infectivity of ocysts was investigated. The development of isolated, unsporulated oocysts of both Eimeria tenella and Eimeria maxima was inhibited, in a dose-related manner (IC50 8 to 14 µg/ml), by exposure to aqueous MS. Most treated oocysts failed to develop beyond early stages of sporulation. To determine the effect of MS on infectivity, isolated oocysts of E. tenella, Eimeria acervulina, and E. maxima were exposed for 24 hr to aqueous concentrations of MS ranging from 0 to 1,000 µg/ml. Treated oocysts were inoculated into chickens, and parameters of coccidiosis infection were compared to chickens inoculated with equal numbers of untreated oocysts. In a dose-related manner, MS significantly reduced the infectivity of oocysts with maximum effect observed at a dose of 300 µg/ml. When a mixture of oocysts containing 3 coccidian species was exposed to 300 µg/ml MS, from 0 to 24 hr, infectivity of oocysts was significantly reduced after a minimum of 12 hr of exposure. Treatment of aqueous slurries of litter samples obtained from commercial poultry houses, with 300 µg/ml MS for 24 hr, prevented the sporulation of eimerian oocysts in the litter samples relative to untreated control samples. The results indicate that MS could be used to reduce coccidial contamination of poultry litter.


Recently, an encyclopedic volume of research has focused on the concept of gender in translation. This study examines the impact of gender sensitivity on the Palestinian society through analyzing academic regulations, newspaper advertisements, and official circulars in both Arabic and English in Palestinian institutions. It also shows that cultural differences in Arabic and English adversely affect how gender issues are addressed, revealing that Palestinian translators tend to resist the gender sensitivity that restricts their translation. This research recommends that translation trainees be directed to pay particular attention to the social, ideological and cultural elements to control gender issues in their translations. Source texts should also be deeply analysed and scrutinized so that the translation at issue avoids gender bias. Customs and traditions should be taken into consideration to yield more accurate renderings.


Relatively inexpensive processes have been developed for manufacturing lightweight, wide-aperture mirrors that consist mainly of reflectively coated, edge-supported polyimide membranes. The polyimide and other materials in these mirrors can withstand the environment of outer space, and the mirrors have other characteristics that make them attractive for use on Earth as well as in outer space: With respect to the smoothness of their surfaces and the accuracy with which they retain their shapes, these mirrors approach the optical quality of heavier, more expensive conventional mirrors. Unlike conventional mirrors, these mirrors can be stowed compactly and later deployed to their full sizes. In typical cases, deployment would be effected by inflation. Potential terrestrial and outer-space applications for these mirrors include large astronomical telescopes, solar concentrators for generating electric power and thermal power, and microwave reflectors for communication, radar, and short-distance transmission of electric power. The relatively low cost of manufacturing these mirrors stems, in part, from the use of inexpensive tooling. Unlike in the manufacture of conventional mirrors, there is no need for mandrels or molds that have highly precise surface figures and highly polished surfaces. The surface smoothness is an inherent property of a polyimide film. The shaped area of the film is never placed in contact with a mold or mandrel surface: Instead the shape of a mirror is determined by a combination of (1) the shape of a fixture that holds the film around its edge and (2) control of manufacturing- process parameters. In a demonstration of this manufacturing concept, spherical mirrors having aperture diameters of 0.5 and 1.0 m were fabricated from polyimide films having thicknesses ranging from <20 m to 150 m. These mirrors have been found to maintain their preformed shapes following deployment.


Networks of chemical reactions represent relationships between molecules within chemical supply chains and promise to enhance planning of multi-step synthesis routes from bio-renewable feedstocks. This study aims to identify strategic moleculesin chemical reaction networks that may potentially play a significant role within the future circular economy. We mine a commercially available database in order to assemble a network of chemical reactions. We describe molecules within the network by a portfolio of graph theoretical features, and identify strategic molecules with an isolation forest search algorithm. In this work we have identified a list of potential strategic molecules and indicated possibilities for reaction planning using these. This is exemplified by a potential supply chain of functional molecules from bio-waste streams that could be used as feedstocks without being converted to syngas. This work extends the methodology of analysis of reaction networks to the generic problem of development of new reaction pathways based on novel feedstocks.


Accounting for observed fluctuations in aggregate employment, consumption, and real wage using the optimality conditions of a representative household requires preferences that are incompatible with economic priors. In order to reconcile theory with data, we construct a model with heterogeneous agents whose decisions are difficult to aggregate because of incomplete capital markets and the indivisible nature of labor supply. If we were to explain the model-generated aggregate time series using decisions of a stand-in household, such a household must have a nonconcave or unstable utility as is often found with the aggregate US data. (JEL E13, E24)


The University of California, Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR) invested close to $2,000,000 over a period of three years to welcome Latino youth, families and volunteers to 4-H. The counties selected to participate in the pilot program encompass rural, suburban, and urban areas and include: Sonoma, Santa Barbara, Kern, Orange, Riverside, Monterey, and Merced. The objective of the pilot, called UC ANR 4-H Latino Initiative, is to develop, deliver, and assess culturally responsive program models to attract and retain Latino youth, families, and volunteers into 4-H. Seven 4-H Program Representatives (equivalent to Extension Educators in other states) were hired to work under the supervision of the county-based Advisors and the Assistant Director for 4-H Diversity and Expansion. This effort faced challenges and opportunities while designing the job description and conducting the selection process to ensure success of the program, even though research and promising practices from the literature were used to develop the position description and identify the qualifications of successful hires. This article shares the challenges, opportunities, and successful strategies used. Hiring staff with strong cultural capacities and positioning them in key roles is critical to building a cultural competent organization and addressing structural discrimination.


Mega Construction Projects (MCPs) that are executed unavoidably face several of organizational challenges and pressures. Due to the stakeholder pressures in the execution of MCPs, organizations may adopt various strategic responses. Purpose – The objective of this paper is to investigate the common response strategies (RSs) applied in MCPs in the State of Qatar. In addition to, overcoming the construction problems and enhance the performance during the construction stage. Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire survey is carried out among the most important firms in construction industry in Qatar. Three steps are used to finalize and evaluate the questionnaire before proceeding with the full survey, validity, pre-testing and pilot study. The Quantitative data analysis is conducted by using the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) software. Findings – Results define and demonstrate five different types of RSs. They are ranging from passive to active strategies determined by project organization. The RSs include: adaptation strategy, avoidance strategy, compromising strategy, dismissal strategy, and influence strategy. Originality/value – This paper contributes to the body of knowledge through identifying and evaluating the RSs in MCPs. That could potentially improve project team more efficiently and effectively.


Multicellular simulations of tumor growth in complex 3-D tissues, where data come from high content in vitro and bioengineered experiments, have gained significant attention by the cancer modeling community in recent years. Agent-based models are often selected for these problems because they can directly model and track cells' states and their interactions with the microenvironment. We describe PhysiCell, a specific agent-based model that includes cell motion, cell cycling, and cell volume changes. The model has been performance tested on systems of 105 cells on desktop computers, and is expected to scale to 106 or more cells on single super-computer compute nodes. We plan an open source release of the software in early 2016 at PhysiCell.MathCancer.org


Toward Co-Design of Autonomous Aerospace Cyber-Physical Systems by Justin M. Bradley Chair: Ella M. Atkins Modern vehicles are equipped with a complex suite of computing (cyber) and electromechanical (physical) systems. Holistic design, modeling, and optimization of such Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) requires new techniques capable of integrated analysis across the full CPS. This dissertations introduces two methods for balancing cyber and physical resources in a step toward holistic co-design of CPS. First, an ordinary differential equation model abstraction of controller sampling rate is developed and added to the equations of motion of a physical system to form a holistic discrete-time-varying linear system representing the CPS controller. Using feedback control, this cyber effector, sampling rate, is then co-regulated alongside physical effectors in response to physical system tracking error. This technique is applied to a spring-massdamper, inverted pendulum, and finally to attitude control of a small satellite (CubeSat). Additionally, two new controllers for discrete-time-varying systems are introduced; a gain-scheduled discrete-time linear regulator (DLQR) in which DLQR gains are scheduled over time-varying sampling rates, and a forward-propagation Riccati-based (FPRB) controller. The FPRB CPS controller shows promise in balancing cyber and physical resources.


The blaring din of rhetoric surrounding school reform has become so loud that we rarely hear the sound of the school principal actually engrossed in the daily work of improving schools across the country. The purpose of this dissertation is to give voice to those principals who have been replaced as a result of this battle over how schools can be improved. Rather than focus on the muddled voices of politicians debating this topic, I have chosen to do as Casey (1993) does and present the untold stories of those on the front lines of this war on school reform in hopes of ". . . recreating the possibility of public debate which has actually been suppressed by national reports" (p. 3). As a result of the No Child Left Behind legislation, the school turnaround reform model, as outlined in the School Improvement Grant (SIG) guidelines, has become the model for improving student achievement across the country (GAO, 2011, p. 3). I focus the spotlight on principals who have been replaced due to federal, state, or local district efforts to improve failing schools. In Chapter I, I briefly provide the backdrop for the school improvement movement and explain my reasons for conducting this research along with the significance of this study to the body of work on educational leadership in low performing schools. This chapter includes my research questions along with a description of the theoretical framework used for this study. Included in this chapter is the definition of terms that may be unfamiliar to readers. Chapter II is a review of the literature on school turnaround that provides insight into SIG sanctions that led to the termination of many principals. These sanctions have served as a model for state and district turnaround efforts as well. Included in this same chapter is research on the effectiveness of the turnaround model and the practice of replacing principals for purportedly better ones. Chapter III focuses on the methodology used to conduct the study while Chapter IV includes the stories of the castaway principals and my analysis of the data collected. Chapter V represents my conclusions after analyzing the interview data along with suggestions for further study. I further explore the impact these practices have on the school leadership position, and implications for future policy at the district, state, and federal levels in this area.


In this paper, we present and analyze a novel global database of soil infiltration measurements, the Soil Water Infiltration Global (SWIG) database. In total, 5023 infiltration curves were collected across all continents in the SWIG database. These data were either provided and quality checked by the scientists who performed the experiments or they were digitized from published articles. Data from 54 different countries were included in the database with major contributions from Iran, China, and the USA. In addition to its extensive geographical coverage, the collected infiltration curves cover research from 1976 to late 2017. Basic information on measurement location and method, soil properties, and land use was gathered along with the infiltration data, making the database valuable for the development of pedotransfer functions (PTFs) for estimating soil hydraulic properties, for the evaluation of infiltration measurement methods, and for developing and validating infiltration models. Soil textural information (clay, silt, and sand content) is available for 3842 out of 5023 infiltration measurements (∼ 76%) covering nearly all soil USDA textural classes except for the sandy clay and silt classes. Information on land use is available for 76 % of the experimental sites with agricultural land use as the dominant type (∼ 40%). We are convinced that the SWIG database will allow for a better parameterization of the infiltration process in land surface models and for testing infiltration models. All collected data and related soil characteristics are provided online in *.xlsx and *.csv formats for reference, and we add a disclaimer that the database is for public domain use only and can be copied freely by referencing it. Supplementary data are available at https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.885492 (Rahmati et al., 2018). Data quality assessment is strongly advised prior to any use of this database. Finally, we would like to encourage scientists to extend and update the SWIG database by uploading new data to it. Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 10, 1237–1263, 2018 www.earth-syst-sci-data.net/10/1237/2018/ M. Rahmati et al.: Development and analysis of the Soil Water Infiltration Global database 1241


Many parallel computing environments utilize cluster based architecture for large scale computing owing to the ease of their availability. As the cluster based approach may be used extensively, the interconnection mechanism plays a vital role in the performance of the system. The globally coupled class of problem is generally not amenable with the cluster based approach due to its substantial demand for communication across the architecture. In this paper we present a timing analysis of standard cluster based communication devices viz, Ethernet, InfiniBand and the custom designed Floswitch. KeywordsEthernet, InfiniBand, Floswitch, Cluster Computing.


One principal approach for illuminating a black-box neural network is feature attribution, i.e. identifying the importance of input features for the network's prediction. The predictive information of features is recently proposed as a proxy for the measure of their importance. So far, the predictive information is only identified for latent features by placing an information bottleneck within the network. We propose a method to identify features with predictive information in the input domain. The method results in fine-grained identification of input features' information and is agnostic to network architecture. The core idea of our method is leveraging a bottleneck on the input that only lets input features associated with predictive latent features pass through. We compare our method with several feature attribution methods using mainstream feature attribution evaluation experiments. The code is publicly available.