The development of relaxor ferroelectric single crystal technology is driven by the ability to tailor ferroelectric properties through domain engineering not achievable in polycrystalline materials. In this study, three types of domain-engineered rhombohedral Pb(In1/2Nb1/2)O3–Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3–PbTiO3 crystals were subjected to transverse high strain rate loading. The experimental results indicate that the domain configuration has a significant effect on the stress-induced depolarization and the associated charge released. A complete depolarization of the single-domain crystals with 3m symmetry is observed, while multidomain crystals with 4mm and mm2 symmetries retain a fraction of their initial remanent polarization. The complete depolarization of single-domain crystals is unique without transition to a non-polar phase, with a stress-induced charge density of 0.48 C/m2. This is up to three times higher than that of the multidomain crystals and PbZrxTi1−xO3 ferroelectric ceramics that are critical for ultrahigh-power transducer applications. The main offering of this work is to propose a detailed mechanism for complete stress-induced depolarization in ferroelectric crystals which does not involve an intermediate transformation to a non-polar phase.The development of relaxor ferroelectric single crystal technology is driven by the ability to tailor ferroelectric properties through domain engineering not achievable in polycrystalline materials. In this study, three types of domain-engineered rhombohedral Pb(In1/2Nb1/2)O3–Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3–PbTiO3 crystals were subjected to transverse high strain rate loading. The experimental results indicate that the domain configuration has a significant effect on the stress-induced depolarization and the associated charge released. A complete depolarization of the single-domain crystals with 3m symmetry is observed, while multidomain crystals with 4mm and mm2 symmetries retain a fraction of their initial remanent polarization. The complete depolarization of single-domain crystals is unique without transition to a non-polar phase, with a stress-induced charge density of 0.48 C/m2. This is up to three times higher than that of the multidomain crystals and PbZrxTi1−xO3 ferroelectric ceramics that are critical for ultra...


The primary objective of this research was to examine the concepts of the chemical modification of polymer blends by reactive processing using interlinking agents (multi-functional, activated vinyl compounds; trimethylolpropane triacrylates {TRIS} and divinylbenzene {DVD}) to target in-situ interpolymer formation between immiscible polymers in PS/EPDM blends via peroxide-initiated free radical reactions during melt mixing. From a comprehensive survey of previous studies of compatibility enhancement in polystyrene blends, it was recognised that reactive processing offers opportunities for technological success that have not yet been fully realised; learning from this study is expected to assist in the development and application of this potential. In an experimental-scale operation for the simultaneous melt blending and reactive processing of both polymers, involving manual injection of precise reactive agent/free radical initiator mixtures directly into molten polymer within an internal mixer, torque changes were distinct, quantifiable and rationalised by ongoing physical and chemical effects. EPDM content of PS/EPDM blends was the prime determinant of torque increases on addition of TRIS, itself liable to self-polymerisation at high additions, with little indication of PS reaction in initial reactively processed blends with TRIS, though blend compatibility, from visual assessment of morphology by SEM, was nevertheless improved. Suitable operating windows were defined for the optimisation of reactive blending, for use once routes to encourage PS reaction could be identified. The effectiveness of PS modification by reactive processing with interlinking agents was increased by the selection of process conditions to target specific reaction routes, assessed by spectroscopy (FT-IR and NMR) and thermal analysis (DSC) coupled dichloromethane extraction and fractionation of PS. Initiator concentration was crucial in balancing desired PS modification and interlinking agent self-polymerisation, most particularly with TRIS. Pre-addition of initiator to PS was beneficial in the enhancement of TRIS binding to PS and minimisation of modifier polymerisation; believed to arise from direct formation of polystyryl radicals for addition to active unsaturation in TRIS. DVB was found to be a "compatible" modifier for PS, but its efficacy was not quantified. Application of routes for PS reaction in PS/EPDM blends was successful for in-situ formation of interpolymer (shown by sequential solvent extraction combined with FT-IR and DSC analysis); the predominant outcome depending on the degree of reaction of each component, with optimum "between-phase" interpolymer formed under conditions selected for equalisation of differing component reactivities and avoidance of competitive processes. This was achieved for combined addition of TRIS+DVB at optimum initiator concentrations with initiator pre-addition to PS. Improvements in blend compatibility (by tensiles, SEM and thermal analysis) were shown in all cases with significant interpolymer formation, though physical benefits were not; morphology and other reactive effects were also important factors. Interpolymer from specific "between-phase" reaction of blend components and interlinking agent was vital for the realisation of positive performance on compatibilisation by the chemical modification of polymer blends by reactive processing.


This essay is a critical commentary on Maudemarie Clark & David Dudrick's 2012 book "The Soul of Nietzsche's Beyond Good and Evil" (Cambridge University Press). The book embraces a distinction between "exoteric" and "esoteric" readings of Nietzsche, which they borrow from Leo Strauss. Strauss was enamored of the exoteric/esoteric distinction for very particular reasons: he was a reactionary ideologue and wanted license to ignore the text and read "in between the lines" to find a politically palatable message. Clark & Dudrick want to have nothing to do with Straussian ideology, but they still want to insist that "surface meaning differs substantially from what Nietzsche actually argues." Clark & Dudrick proceed as follows. First, they set out what they usually call a "standard" or "natural" reading of a passage (hereafter the "Exoteric Reading") — frequently, though certainly not always, my reading, I must acknowledge. Second, they point out that this Exoteric Reading seems to commit Nietzsche to something absurd or mistaken (hereafter the "Reductio Problem"). Third, they then propose an alternative "esoteric" reading — one that focuses on "what is left unsaid" and what is allegedly "between the lines" — that avoids the Reductio Problem (hereafter the "Esoteric Reading"). Too often, as I shall argue, it turns out that the Reductio Problem is a pseudo-problem, that the Exoteric Reading does not entail something asburd or mistaken, and that even where what they call the Exoteric Reading confronts difficulties, there are alternatives to the Esoteric Reading, alternatives consistent with the Exoteric Reading, that resolve the alleged problem. In the end, I conclude, Clark & Dudrick mimic the fatal flaw of the Straussian readings: they use the flag of "esotericism" as cover for misreading the texts for an ideological end — not a reactionary political end, to be sure, but rather as way of reading Nietzsche to embrace "the normative aspirations of traditional philosophy," ambitions that, on my view, he fully repudiates.


The process of crypt formation and the roles of Wnt and cell-cell adhesion signaling in cryptogenesis are not well described; but are important to the understanding of both normal and cancer colon crypt biology. A quantitative 3D-microscopy and image analysis technique is used to study the frequency, morphology and molecular topography associated with crypt formation. Measurements along the colon reveal the details of crypt formation and some key underlying biochemical signals regulating normal colon biology. Our measurements revealed an asymmetrical crypt budding process, contrary to the previously reported symmetrical fission of crypts. 3D immunofluorescence analyses reveals heterogeneity in the subcellular distribution of E-cadherin and β-catenin in distinct crypt populations. This heterogeneity was also found in asymmetrical budding crypts. Singular crypt formation (i.e. no multiple new crypts forming from one parent crypt) were observed in crypts isolated from the normal colon mucosa, suggestive of a singular constraint mechanism to prevent aberrant crypt production. The technique presented improves our understanding of cryptogenesis and suggests that excess colon crypt formation occurs when Wnt signaling is perturbed (e.g. by truncation of adenomatous polyposis coli, APC protein) in most colon cancers.


Designing videogames involves weaving together systems of rules, called game mechanics, which support and structure compelling player experiences. Thus a significant portion of game design involves reasoning about the effects of different potential game mechanics on player experience. Unlike some design fields, such as architecture and mechanical design, that have CAD tools to support designers in reasoning about and visualizing designs, game designers have no tools for reasoning about and visualizing systems of game mechanics. In this paper we perform a requirements analysis for design-support tool for game design. We develop a proposal in two phases. First, we review the design-support-system and game-design literatures to arrive at a plausible system that helps designers reason about game mechanics and gameplay. We then refine these requirements in a study of three teams of game designers, investigating their current design problems and gauging interest in our tool proposals and reactions to prototype tools. Our study finds that a game design assistant that is able to formally reason about abstract game mechanics would provide significant leverage to designers during multiple stages of the design process.


State building and state competition during the 16th century triggered a creative moment in the history of public finance. Recent scholarship has clearly identified the Papal States and their communities as active participants both in the state building process and the reorganization of public finance. Banking on a wealth of fiscal records, it is argued that Papal authority succeeded in forging a new fiscal pact – which lasted over two centuries - between central and local authorities. Blending conservatism and innovation the papacy promoted a contractual approach: local powers were granted a large degree of autonomy in selecting fiscal instruments, the types of wealth to be taxed and the means of collecting resources, while the Apostolic Chamber secured both the control of a growing portion of the provinces' fiscal income as well as access to a pool of financial resources at a rapidly declining cost.


INTRODUCTION
Adolescent drinking has been declining in Australia over the past two decades, but this trend may be part of a broader shift towards healthier lifestyles for adolescents. We examined trends in the prevalence of multiple risky health- and school-related behaviours and outcomes to test whether this was the case.

METHODS
Data on multiple behaviours and outcomes were collated from Australian government agencies and other relevant sources for 10-19-year-olds from the year 2000 onward. Trends were examined descriptively.

RESULTS
Rates of substance use, youth offending and injuries due to underage driving declined over the study period. Some health-related behaviours (physical activity and diet) worsened between 2001 and 2017; however, obesity rates remained stable. Risky sexual behaviours increased in terms of early initiation of lifetime sexual intercourse and decreased condom use. However, sexual health outcomes improved with a reduction in teenage pregnancies and there was a recent decline in sexually transmitted infection rates from 2011 onward. Suicide rates and rates of major depressive disorders increased. School attendance and engagement in full-time work or study remained stable.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS
The decline in adolescent drinking does not appear to correspond with increased engagement in healthier behaviours; however, it may be related to a more risk-averse way of living. Future work could be directed towards identifying which social, economic, policy and environmental factors have impacted positive changes in risky behaviours. Public health efforts can then be directed towards behaviours or outcomes, which have not yet improved.


The cloud computing ecosystem comprises hundreds of providers, offering diverse computing services, incompatible APIs, and significantly different pricing models. Cloud application management platforms hide the heterogeneity of the services and APIs, allowing, to varying degrees, portability between providers. These tools remove technical barriers to switching providers, but they do not provide a mechanism for evaluating the cost effectiveness of switching.This paper presents a decision support system, working within cloud application management platforms, that evaluates the costs of a customer's applications using resources from different cloud service providers. The system (1) generalizes and normalizes multiple cloud pricing models and (2) gathers pricing data from cloud providers. These, in conjunction with the application resource consumption model, allow the cloud pricing module to estimate a price for the application for each cloud provider.To demonstrate this, our cloud pricing module has been integrated with the SlipStream multi-cloud application management platform, allowing its users to optimize their choice of provider(s).


In this study, the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis is examined for 3 developed countries, which are Denmark, the United Kingdom, and Spain, for the period between 1960 and 2014. The EKC hypothesis is examined under 2 nexuses which are GDP, CO2 and energy consumption, and GDP, CO2, energy consumption and the square of GDP. Causal and long-term relationships between GDP, CO2, and energy consumption are examined for these 3 developed countries using the ARDL bounds test, the Toda and Yamamoto Granger non-causality test, the VAR Granger Causality/Block Exogeneity Wald test, and the Johansen cointegration test. Long-term relationships between GDP, CO2, energy consumption, and the square of GDP are examined by the Johansen cointegration test. The EKC hypothesis is not confirmed for Denmark, the United Kingdom, and Spain, and the neutrality hypothesis is confirmed for these 3 developed countries. Unidirectional causality running from energy consumption to CO2 is found for Denmark, and unidirectional causality running from CO2 to energy consumption is found for the United Kingdom.Key words: Environmental Kuznets curve, ARDL bounds test, Toda and Yamamoto Granger non-causality test, Developed countries.JEL: Q4, Q5, O5.


Born in Cotonou, Benin in 1961, Meschac Gaba moved to the Netherlands in 1996 to take up a residency at the Rijksakademie. It was there that he conceived The Museum of Contemporary African Art 1997-2002, an ambitious work, which took him five years to complete and which cemented his reputation as one of the most important African artists working today. Consisting of twelve sections - Draft Room, Architecture, Museum Shop, Summer Collection, Games Room, Art and Religion, Museum Restaurant, Music Room, Marriage Room, Library, Salon and Humanist Space - this work challenges preconceived notions of what African art is and provides a new discursive space for social and cultural interaction, critiquing the museum's value both as an institution, and as a symbol of cultural capital. The importance of this work, in the history of African art and in the lineage of critical reflections on the museum by artists such as Marcel Duchamp and Marcel Broodthaers, has been widely acknowledged in important exhibitions ranging from Documenta XI, Kassel in 2002 to Intense Proximity: La Triennale, Paris in 2012. Tate has now acquired this work. This book will be published on the occasion of the first presentation of Gaba's Museum of Contemporary African Art in its entirety in the UK. Contributions by leading scholars will place this important work in the context of the artist's oeuvre, art history and museology.


The Sinking of the Eastland: America's Forgotten Tragedy. By Jay Bonansinga (New York: Citadel Press, 2004. Pp. viii, 280. Cloth, $21.95). Trapped: The 1909 Cherry Mine Disaster. By Karen Tintori (New York: Atria Books, 2002. Pp. xiv, 273. $25.00 hardback, Paper, $14.00). Author Jay Bonansinga quips that "history is written not on the page, but around the kitchen table." (vii) Both he and Karen Tintori relied on the remembrances of descendants, oral histories of participants, newspaper accounts, and public records in order to create narrative nonfiction about two of Illinois's greatest disasters. In Trapped we learn that Tintori's grandfather survived the nation's greatest coal mine fire (and the country's third-worst coal mine disaster) "not by heroism, but by a quirk of fate." (xi) The mine was completed in Bureau County in 1905 by the St. Paul Coal Company. The company also created a town to house its workers and named it after James Cherry, the mayor of a nearby community and the man in charge of sinking the shaft used to carry men in and out of the mine. Located about 100 miles southwest of Chicago, it was one of only a few mines in the country wired with electricity. However, on the morning of 13 November 1909, the electric lights were not functioning as 480 men and boys descended the shafts to work that Saturday. The lighting had shorted out several weeks earlier and until replacement parts arrived kerosene lamps with open flames were being used to illuminate the mine tunnels. Early that afternoon several workers brought down coal cars loaded with hay for the seventy mules that were stabled underground. Left unattended for a short period, the hay was set ablaze by one of the lamps. The reaction to the ensuing fire caused hundreds of miners to be trapped in dozens of tunnels radiating for miles off the upper and lower shafts and created what Tintori describes as "a human drama rife with heroism, cowardice, supreme sacrifices and twists of fate."(xiv) Once it was decided that the fire was serious, there was no shortage of men on the top willing to go down 300-500 feet underground in a metal cage in an attempt to rescue miners. "Though taxed to their limits, the rescue party refused to rest and they refused to give up. They denied themselves even one extra second to recuperate from their ordeal. Adrenaline and desperate purpose spurred them on. Still struggling for breath, all fourteen assembled once again for their fourth trip down." (76-77) Led by mine manager John Bundy, most of the rescue party eventually perished later that day, partly as a result of a controversial decision by the lift operator. That night, while hundreds of men were still trapped below, the exhaust fan was turned off and the two vertical mine shafts were sealed in an attempt to put out the fire. The title Trapped refers to both the men underground and the people above who became trapped physically, psychologically, and economically by circumstances beyond their control. Conventional fire departments from Chicago and experts from Urbana with the latest mine rescue equipment were brought in to quell the flames and locate the miners. After several days of abortive attempts, rescuers started to retrieve bodies from below. Miraculously on the eighth day, 20 men who had walled themselves in from the smoke and "black damp" (carbonic acid gas) were rescued from the depths of one of the tunnels. Shortly thereafter, 29 others who had used the same strategy were found dead along with their handwritten epitaphs. In all, 259 miners and rescuers died in this tragedy, the last body being found on 7 July 1910, over seven months after the fire. Hundreds of women in the same community were widowed and nearly 500 children were left fatherless. Author Karen Tintori does a good job of explaining the system of coal mining employed in 1909 and the role of children in this enterprise. Her writing is at its best in parts such as Chapter 10 as she conveys the horror and tension of both waiting for and attempting rescue. …


This article works from a point of view that holds that there is no market-failure rationale for three primary FDA-administered interventions concerning drugs and medical devices. I critically analyze the culture, rhetoric, and judgment of economists who write on those issues. I take such literature as a case study in how statist political culture degrades academic economic discourse. A finding that helps to frame what follows is that much good economic sense survives the degradations. Many economists have expressed judgments about the FDA. In almost all cases, they have supported liberalization, often dramatic. Thus I suggest that economists reach a conclusion on the first-order question. But most of the paper is devoted to second-order considerations: Do economists agree that either economists or fundamental economic reasoning favor liberalization of the restrictions? In fact, in either variation, economists do not agree on the second-order question. I explore the second-order discourse, and suggest that taboos surround the issue, taboos that shield popular political superstitions—in particular, taboos against the critical examination of fundamentals. I explore the rhetoric of economists' writings and the political sociology surrounding research on the policies in question.


Different types of bondwire interconnect for differential chip-to-antenna and single-ended chip-to-chip interfaces are investigated. Two differential compensation structures for various lengths of interconnects are designed and experimentally evaluated using dedicated transmit and receive radar modules operating across a 110–156 GHz band. Measurement results demonstrate that a fractional bandwidth of 7.5% and a minimum insertion loss of 0.2 dB can be achieved for differential interconnects as long as 0.8 mm. Design and measurement results of an extremely wideband low-loss single-ended chip-to-chip bondwire interconnect that features 1.5 dB bandwidth from DC to 170 GHz and insertion loss of less than 1 dB at 140 GHz are presented as well. The results show that the well-established wire-bonding techniques are still an attractive solution even beyond 100 GHz. Reproducibility and scalability of the proposed solutions are assessed as well.


Abstract. The Urmia Lake is located in northwestern Iran. It is the sixth largest salt lake in the world. In the past 14 years, this lake strongly faced to the water level decrease and surface water reduction. Several space-borne techniques have been employed for detecting the hydrological cycle and its inter-annual changes. The goal of this paper is to investigate weather reanalysis products such as specific humidity of NCEP model and a total column water vapor extracted from ECMWF model and other techniques such as satellite altimetry that have been powerful for the identification of some drought factors of the Urmia Lake. In this study, we used satellite altimetry data from ENVISAT and CryoSat-2 to monitor the Lake water level and optical satellite imagery to determine the surface water extent of the lake during 2002 to 2014. Our altimetry and satellite imagery results reveal decrease in height and area of Urmia Lake over the last 14 years. The lake surface area and the water level decreased continuously at approximately 2666 km2 and 3.5 m respectively. Moreover, we employed the monthly 0.125°×0.125° datasets of the ECMWF data and 2.5°×2.5° datasets of the NCEP data to demonstrate amount of water vapor in the atmosphere over the lake. The total column water vapor extracted from ECMWF data and specific humidity of NCEP data show similar behavior. Results indicate that no meaningful correlation between the altimetry data and weather reanalysis models exists. The weather reanalysis models do not indicate descending variations during 2000 until 2014. For interpreting the situation and studying the climate change and man-made impacts on the drought in this region, we need to use ground-based data such as wind speed, precipitation, barometric pressure and temperature.


Pot experiments were undertaken to investigate whether Argentine stem weevil Listronotus bonariensis adults placed on endophyteinfected or endophyte-free perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) exhibited behaviour differences that may lead to differing susceptibility to attack by the endoparasitoid Microctonus hyperodae. There was no difference (P>0.05) in the behaviour of weevils on pots of Nui ryegrass infected with either the wildtype endophyte Neotyphodium lolii or AR1, a N. lolii selection high in peramine but low in other key alkaloids. Although adults were offered no choice, over 60% of the adults were found off endophyte-infected plants during the observation period. Weevils on high endophyte plants were found to spend less time in positions highly favourable for parasitoid oviposition (e.g. feeding P<0.001) and more time in unfavourable positions (e.g. crouching P<0.01) than found on nil endophyte plants. The presence of parasitoids decreased the level of weevil feeding (P<0.001). These differing behavioural responses to endophyte explain an observed inverse linear relationship between peramine and parasitism in the field.


Using plant-level data on Chilean manufacturing firms for the 1980-2001 period, we estimate and characterize disaggregate total factor productivity. We use these estimates to study the microeconomic sources of aggregate efficiency, a fundamental part of aggregate growth. By decomposing productivity dynamics into production reallocation and within plant efficiency changes, we find that reallocation accounted for almost all of total efficiency gains in Chile during the past few decades. The entry of new, more productive units explains most of these reallocation gains. Within-plant productivity growth contributes positively only during the 1990s, due perhaps to a lag between the implementation of major market oriented structural reforms -- mostly undertaken during the late 1970s and early 1980s -- and their complete effect on the economy. Our findings suggest that once reforms were consolidated, unbounded within-plant efficiency gains driven by technology adoption and innovation occurred.


In this article I consider Thomas Pogge's thesis that affluent countries are violating the human rights of the global poor by contributing support to the current global institutional order. My claim is that affluent countries are not violating the human rights of the global poor in the ways suggested by Pogge. I start by defining a set of conditions that ought to obtain in order to say that a human rights violation has taken place. Then I consider two possible interpretations of Pogge's thesis and argue that none of them fulfills the conditions required to speak of a human rights violation. On my view, as long as domestic states have the capacity to fulfill the human rights of their own people, poverty constitutes a domestic human rights violation even if the international institutional order somehow contributes to creating this state of affairs. Finally, I examine what transnational duties human rights entail and claim that affluent countries must contribute to the creation of an international order providing domestic states accurate background conditions for the promotion of human rights at the domestic level.


Patient feedback is considered integral to patient safety and quality of care. However, limited research has compared the content of validated questionnaires with subjective patient experiences shared online. The aim of this study was to therefore identify and compare the content of psychiatric care experiences shared online with validated questionnaires. All research was conducted in co-production with a volunteer mental-health-patient-research-partner. We analysed all reviews published on the United Kingdom's leading heal th and social care feedback platform Care Opinion, between 2005-2017 that discussed adult psychiatric care and compared findings with two validated questionnaires (ACP360 and General Medical Council patient feedback questionnaire). Our research findings show that patients describe some different measures of psychiatric care quality online and use different terminology to those used in validated questionnaires. Psychiatric care was also rarely discussed in relation to an individual psychiatrist alone. Multiple interactions affect patient experience and perceived care quality. Further work is needed to incorporate patient perceptions and terminology of care quality into patient feedback questionnaires and surveys. This may best be achieved through co-design although exploration of this approach is required. The current focus of patient feedback in revalidation is of limited value as patients do not typically disaggregate the care provided by an individual clinician from the wider healthcare team, system or environment. Although focused on psychiatry, research findings have clear implications for those looking to facilitate quality improvement and professional development.


In this provocative reinterpretation of one of the best-known events in American history, Woody Holton shows that when Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, and other elite Virginians joined their peers from other colonies in declaring independence from Britain, they acted partly in response to grassroots rebellions against their own rule. The Virginia gentry's efforts to shape London's imperial policy were thwarted by British merchants and by a coalition of Indian nations. In 1774, elite Virginians suspended trade with Britain in order to pressure Parliament and, at the same time, to save restive Virginia debtors from a terrible recession. The boycott and the growing imperial conflict led to rebellions by enslaved Virginians, Indians, and tobacco farmers. By the spring of 1776 the gentry believed the only way to regain control of the common people was to take Virginia out of the British Empire. Forced Founders uses the new social history to shed light on a classic political question: why did the owners of vast plantations, viewed by many of their contemporaries as aristocrats, start a revolution? As Holton's fast-paced narrative unfolds, the old story of patriot versus loyalist becomes decidedly more complex. |Challenging traditional interpretations of the American Revolution, Woody Holton argues that the Virginia gentry were forced to rebel against Britain because of pressures exerted by Indians, farmers, and slaves.


type="main" xml:id="ecor12219-abs-0001"> Underemployment is a serious and pervasive problem both in terms of its impact on those individuals affected, and for the economy as a whole. Underemployment is associated with job insecurity, increased casualisation and lower savings, and from a macroeconomic standpoint, underemployment is a signal of inefficiency in the utilisation of skilled labour. This article explores the patterns of underemployment for mature-age workers in Australia, a group for whom the prevalence of long spells of underemployment is especially marked. The research uses a 12-year panel dataset to analyse factors that contribute to a heightened risk of underemployment. Significant path dependency is revealed, whereby previous periods of underemployment increase the propensity towards further underemployment in the current period. Interestingly, most demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, except for the presence of older dependent children and a non-English-speaking foreign-born background for women, tend not to have any direct impact on the propensity for underemployment. These findings suggest the need for targeted interventions to triage these barriers aimed at highlighting the role of improved labour market attachment in promoting the well-being and economic contribution of mature-age workers.


We have applied interaction acts, an abstract user-service interaction specification, to speech user interfaces to investigate how well it lends itself to a new type of user interface. We used interaction acts to generate VoiceXML-based speech user interface, and identified two main issues connected to the differences between graphical user interfaces and speech user interfaces. The first issue concerns the structure of the user interface. Generating speech user interfaces and GUIs from the same underlying structure easily results in a too hierarchical and difficult to use speech user interface. The second issue is user input. Interpreting spoken user input is fundamentally different from user input in GUIs. We have shown that it is possible to generate speech user interfaces based on. A small user study supports the results.


Evolutionary rates and strength of selection differ markedly between haploid and diploid genomes. Any genes expressed in a haploid state will be directly exposed to selection, whereas alleles in a diploid state may be partially or fully masked by a homologous allele. This difference may shape key evolutionary processes, including rates of adaptation and inbreeding depression, but also the evolution of sex chromosomes, heterochiasmy, and stable sex ratio biases. All diploid organisms carry haploid genomes, most notably the haploid genomes in gametes produced by every sexually reproducing eukaryote. Furthermore, haploid expression occurs in genes with monoallelic expression, in sex chromosomes, and in organelles, such as mitochondria and plastids. A comparison of evolutionary rates among these haploid genomes reveals striking parallels. Evidence suggests that haploid selection has the potential to shape evolution in predominantly diploid organisms, and taking advantage of the rapidly developing technologies, we are now in the position to quantify the importance of such selection on haploid genomes.


The nineteenth-century Metis politician and mystic Louis Riel has emerged as one of the most popular - and elusive - figures in Canadian culture. Since his hanging for treason in 1885, the self-declared David of the New World has been depicted variously as a traitor to Confederation; a French-Canadian and Catholic martyr; a bloodthirsty rebel; a pan-American liberator; a pawn of shadowy white forces; a Prairie political maverick; a First Nations hero; an alienated intellectual; a victim of Western industrial progress; and even a Father of Confederation. Albert Braz synthesizes the available material by and about Riel, including film, sculpture, and cartoons, as well as literature in French and English, and analyzes how an historical figure could be portrayed in such contradictory ways. In light of the fact that most aesthetic representations of Riel bear little resemblance not only to one another but also to their purported model, Braz suggests that they reveal less about Riel than they do about their authors and the society to which they belong. The most comprehensive treatment of the representations of Louis Riel in Canadian literature, The False Traitor will be a seminal work in the study of this popular Canadian figure.


Phytoplankton growth rates are limited by the supply of iron (Fe) in approximately one third of the open ocean, with major implications for carbon dioxide sequestration and carbon (C) biogeochemistry. To date, understanding how alteration of Fe supply changes phytoplankton physiology has focused on traditional metrics such as growth rate, elemental composition, and biophysical measurements such as photosynthetic competence (Fv/Fm). Researchers have subsequently employed transcriptomics to probe relationships between changes in Fe supply and phytoplankton physiology. Recently, studies have investigated longer-term (i.e. following acclimation) responses of phytoplankton to various Fe conditions. In the present study, the coastal diatom, Thalassiosira pseudonana, was acclimated (10 generations) to either low or high Fe conditions, i.e. Fe-limiting and Fe-replete. Quantitative proteomics and a newly developed proteomic profiling technique that identifies low abundance proteins were employed to examine the full complement of expressed proteins and consequently the metabolic pathways utilized by the diatom under the two Fe conditions. A total of 1850 proteins were confidently identified, nearly tripling previous identifications made from differential expression in diatoms. Given sufficient time to acclimate to Fe limitation, T. pseudonana up-regulates proteins involved in pathways associated with intracellular protein recycling, thereby decreasing dependence on extracellular nitrogen (N), C and Fe. The relative increase in the abundance of photorespiration and pentose phosphate pathway proteins reveal novel metabolic shifts, which create substrates that could support other well-established physiological responses, such as heavily silicified frustules observed for Fe-limited diatoms. Here, we discovered that proteins and hence pathways observed to be down-regulated in short-term Fe starvation studies are constitutively expressed when T. pseudonana is acclimated (i.e., nitrate and nitrite transporters, Photosystem II and Photosystem I complexes). Acclimation of the diatom to the desired Fe conditions and the comprehensive proteomic approach provides a more robust interpretation of this dynamic proteome than previous studies.


Background The mainstay of the treatment of the fractures of the clavicle has been nonoperative, even with substantial displacement. Elastic stable intramedullary nailing of displaced midshaft clavicular fracture is a relatively new method for stabilization of these fractures, having a significantly lower rate of complications and earlier return of function. However, there is no general consensus about its indications, especially in comminuted fractures. Materials and methods A prospective study of 46 patients with displaced midshaft clavicular fractures was conducted to evaluate the efficacy and safety of fixation of such fractures using titanium elastic intramedullary nail and to assess the effect of the presence of fracture comminution on the final outcome. Patients were divided into two groups. Group I comprised 21 patients with noncomminuted fractures, whereas group II comprised 25 patients with comminuted fractures. The primary outcome measure was the Constant shoulder score, and the secondary outcome measures included the following: the disability of the arm, shoulder and hand (DASH) score, the union rate, the duration of union, the patients' satisfaction as regards the cosmetic results, and the prevalence of complications related to surgery. Results All patients were available for follow-up after a minimum of 1 year postoperatively. Osseous union was achieved in all patients in both groups, except in one patient in group II. The median Constant and DASH scores showed progressive postoperative improvement in both groups throughout the follow-up period. At 6 weeks postoperatively, the median Constant and the DASH scores in the noncomminuted group (group I) were significantly better than that in group II (P<0.001 and 0.005, respectively). However, there were no significant differences thereafter. At 1 year postoperatively, 18/21 (86%) patients in group I and 20/25 (80%) patients in group II were satisfied as regards the cosmetic result of the procedure (P=0.71). Conclusion This study has shown that elastic stable intramedullary nailing of displaced midshaft clavicular fractures gives good cosmetic and functional results with minimal morbidity and complications. Medial prominence of the elastic nail was the most common complication. The presence of fracture comminution was associated with a delayed functional recovery; however, it did not affect the final functional outcome or the cosmetic result.


Several alternative social media platforms have emerged in response to perceptions that mainstream platforms are censoring traditional conservative ideologies. However, many of these alternative social media platforms have evolved to be outlets for hate speech and violent extremism. This study examines hate-based channels on Telegram from a US perspective. While Telegram has often been studied in relation to ISIS, less is known about its usage by US extremist users and movements. The authors used OSINT and observational methods on a sample of 125 Telegram channels containing hate speech and violent extremist content from far-right and far-left perspectives. The authors hypothesized that there would be a greater and growing presence of far-right activity compared to farleft activity due to current migration trends away from mainstream social media by the far-right. The authors also sought to observe the presence of disinformation campaigns, conspiracy theories, and accelerationism on Telegram. This study had four major findings: (1) the findings supported the hypothesis that more channels were host to farright dialogues, yet there were several far-left channels present, (2) 64.8% of the channels grew in size over a oneweek period, (3) 47 of the 125 channels were connected to well-known violent extremist movements or hate groups, and (4) QAnon and the COVID-19 pandemic were the most prominent sources of disinformation and conspiracy theories on Telegram. The findings of this study highlight that alternative social media platforms are a growing environment for a range of hateful ideologies and are aiding the spread of disinformation campaigns. This study concludes with a discussion on future strategies to combat the influence of the Internet on radicalization outcomes. © 2021. All Rights Reserved.


Raw seeds of tribal pulses Vigna aconitifolia (Jacq.) Marechal and Vigna unguiculata subsp unguiculata (L.) Walp (black and maroon coloured seed coats) were analyzed for proximate and mineral composition, vitamins (niacin and ascorbic acids), seed protein amino acid profiles, fatty acid profiles of lipids and antinutritional factors. The seeds of V. aconitifolia had a higher content of crude protein than the commonly consumed Indian pulses. All the investigated pulses appeared to be good sources of minerals: potassium, sodium, calcium, magnesium and iron. The essential amino acid profiles of total seed proteins were compared favorably with FAO/WHO (1991) requirement pattern. There were deficiencies of sulphur containing amino acids in V. aconitifolia and V. unguiculata subsp unguiculata (maroon sample) and tryptophan in V. unguiculata subsp unguiculata (maroon sample). Fatty acids such as oleic acid, linoleic acid and linolenic acids were found to be relatively high in the investigated tribal pulses. Antinutritional factors like total free phenolics, tannins, L-DOPA, phytic acid, hydrogen cyanide, trypsin inhibitor, oligosaccharide and phytohaemagglutinating activity were analyzed.


In the past intellectual movements promoting free trade in particular and a free economy more generally were regarded as having a pro-poor agenda. The current poverty lobby, however, is focused entirely on government benefits as the solution to poverty and very rarely addresses government interventions that raise living costs. By way of example, when the debate about liberalising planning laws was at its height last year, all seven of the articles in the Child Poverty Action Group newsletter were about government benefits.Some progress was made in reducing poverty through increases in income transfers after 1997. Indeed, at the current time, the UK spends a greater proportion of national income on transfers than many Germanic and Scandinavian countries. Also, the extent of redistribution through state welfare systems is as great as that in Sweden. Furthermore, we have now reached the position where at least 68 per cent of all households with children in Britain are in receipt of one form of major transfer payment other than universal child benefit.Housing costs are a huge problem for the poor. Over the last 50 years, incomes before housing costs for the least well off have doubled. Incomes after housing costs, however, have risen by only 60 per cent. The evidence suggests that high housing costs are largely policy driven. The poverty lobby's response to this problem is to propose extending housing benefit. It seems oblivious to the huge problems that this policy would cause. Increasing housing benefit would exacerbate the already very serious poverty traps as the benefit is withdrawn and increase housing demand (and therefore prices). It is a myth that our population density justifies the UK's restrictive approach to land-use planning. Reforming the planning system should be the focus of policy.Liberalisation of the planning system could reduce housing costs by around 40 per cent. However, planning reform needs to run with the grain of the market so that development decisions reflect the value of environmental amenities. This would involve localisation of planning responsibilities and tax-collecting authority.Food prices in the UK are considerably higher than in comparable EU countries. Again, restrictions on building are an important aspect of this as they reduce the productivity of the retail sector and reduce competition. Further reductions in food prices could be achieved by liberalisation of the Common Agricultural Policy. A conservative estimate suggests that policy changes could bring about a reduction in food costs of about 25 per cent. Policy reforms in other sectors could also bring about considerable benefits for the least well off. Specifically, childcare costs are very high in the UK compared with other European countries despite high levels of government subsidy; energy prices are raised by incoherent environmental policies; and many indirect taxes are especially targeted on products disproportionately consumed by the poor. It would be perfectly feasible to pursue the government's carbon- reduction policies in ways that increased energy bills by much less.Overall, a market-oriented anti-poverty policy could lead families to be up to £750 a month better off. There would also be scope for substantial decreases in taxation on the less well off because of substantial savings in benefits such as housing benefit. The UK is an outlier in terms of the failure of employment and family policy. Nearly 30 per cent of British children live in households with no adult in full-time work. Britain spends more on family benefits than virtually any other country in Europe. Furthermore, Britain is unique in Europe with its combination of high levels of single-parent families and high worklessness among single-parent families. The poverty lobby argues that there are high levels of poverty among those in work. While this is true for households where parents work part-time, poverty rates among families where one or two parents work full-time are low for single-parent families and negligible for two-parent families. These problems require a multi-pronged attack. Employment protection legislation – which tends to entrench long-term unemployment – should be liberalised; a new benefits system should remove penalties against family formation; effective marginal tax rates should be significantly reduced; and specialist assistance to those with weak labour market attachment should be managed and financed at local level. The government's much-trumpeted 'universal credit' will make little, if any, impact.


We present an analysis and demonstration of the doubling of the chirp rate and total chirp bandwidth of a frequency chirped optical signal by the process of four-wave mixing in a non-linear optical medium. The effects of chromatic dispersion and input power on the maximum achievable output bandwidth are analyzed, and a dispersion compensation technique for phase matching is described. The doubling of an input linear frequency sweep of 100 GHz/1 ms in a highly nonlinear optical fiber is experimentally demonstrated. Further, it is proposed that a cascaded implementation of the four-wave mixing process leads to a geometric increase in the bandwidth of the frequency chirp. With an electronically tuned chirped laser at the input stage, this process can be used to generate extremely wideband swept frequency sources with no moving parts, for applications in high-speed and high-resolution optical imaging and spectroscopy.


Valerie Sperling, ed. Building the Russian State: Institutional Crisis and the Quest for Democratic Governance. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 2000. xiii, 245 pp. Tables and figures. Index. $27.00, paper. Building the Russian State is a collection of ten articles edited by Valerie Sperling. The volume attempts to explore the reasons behind Russia's failure to develop into a liberal democracy. It is divided into two parts. Part I examines the interactions between Russia's elites, their values, and their economic and political behaviour. Part II analyzes the condition of Russia's political, economic, legal, and military institutions for long-term stability and democratic governance. The main focus of Part I addresses the Russian elite's understanding of the public good. At the heart of an understanding of the public good is the need to minimize the deleterious effects of a classical insider-outsider problem. In the absence of mechanisms and procedures to promote and enforce public accountability of an elite's actions, elites become self-serving and cynical. Pauline Jones Luong shows that an inside group, members of the former Soviet energy nomenklatura, with access to privileged information and personal contacts with top political figures was able to take control of the country's energy resources in the 1992-93 privatization drive. Mark Walker makes similar conclusions, arguing that Yeltsin skilfully used referenda in his struggle for control over the legislative branch. The April 1993 referendum gave him the legitimacy to dissolve the parliament five months later for new elections and to have the Russian public vote on a new constitution which would create a powerful executive branch of government. Virginie Coulloudun divides Russia's elites into two groups, one enjoying state backing and the other whose power comes from independent sources. The clash between these two groups is basically the attempt by the second group to gain recognition by and acceptance into the first group. The seven articles of Part II focus on Russia's legal, political, military, and economic institutions. The conclusions the seven authors make emphasize repeatedly the importance of public accountability, the rule of law, and compromise. In the absence of an independent judiciary and rigorous enforcement of the law, Russia has no means to arrest its economic decline and the criminalization of its society, writes Louise Shelley. Eva Busza remarks that the most dangerous development resulting from the collapse of the Russian state may be the loss of civilian control over the military, with its attendant implications for domestic and international stability. …


Inspired by the concept of parallax, the architectural program of this project is a result of spatial investigations relating to the overlapping themes of sight-lines and movement, with the intention to arrive at a structure with extended sensual borders, a space with the capacity to interact with the surroundings beyond its own limits. With the site being the vacant area between the east and south wing of The Oslo School of Architecture and Design, the connection to the park and the overall movement on and across the site has been of importance for the development of the spatial concept. The transition between public and semi-private is another aspect addressed towards the concluding structure.


Engineering is based on practice. The minima of this practice should be given during the university education. This has become more and more comprehensive and expensive parallel to high-technology devices developed and presented to societies. Computers, microprocessor-based devices, programmable systems on Chip (PSoC), etc., make engineering education not only very complex but interdisciplinary as well. Building undergraduate labs has become more and more expensive if only physical experimentation and hands-on training are targeted. On the other hand, simple, comparatively much cheaper software may turn a regular personal computer (PC) into a virtual lab. The key question therefore is, to establish a balance between virtual and real labs, so as to optimize cost problems, while graduating sophisticated engineers with enough practice. This article introduces a virtual instrumentation (a LabVIEW package DOGUS FFT.VI) for numerical Fourier transform calculations, which may also be used as an educational tool.


Sociolegal scholars suggest that regulatory encounters often are occasions for displaying a surface compliance decoupled from day-to-day practice. Yet ethnographic data from five highly regulated HIV clinics show that regulatory encounters open opportunities both for ritualism and-surprisingly-for transcending ritualism. Using a theatrical analogy, we argue that improv performance is the technology that enables regulatory inspectors and clinic staffto transcend ritualism. As regulatory encounters unfold, clinics' carefully prepared performances sometimes change into more cooperative interactions where inspectors and regulatees hash out details about how rules will be applied and even work together on reports for the regulators' supervisors. By "performing together," regulatory inspectors gain access to the clinic's backstage where they can assess clinic workers' deeper conformity to ethical and scientific norms. But such joint performances are less likely where cultural divides and material scarcity make it difficult for clinic staffto gain inspectors' trust.In 2009, the FDA began the process of disqualifying Chicago HIV specialist Dr. Daniel Berger as a clinical researcher, charging that he had "failed to protect the rights, safety and welfare of subjects under [his] care, repeatedly or deliberately submitted false information to the sponsor and repeatedly or deliberately failed to comply with the cited [federal] regulations, which placed unnecessary risks to human subjects and jeopardized the integrity of data."1 The infractions were serious: forged or missing signatures; falsified records of physical examinations, electrocardiograms, and laboratory results; enrolling of patients without adequate checks on their eligibility; and disappearance of over two hundred tablets of investigational drugs. Ultimately Berger proved that the fraud was traceable to a research coordinator who was embezzling research subjects' stipends. But Berger had not adequately supervised the employee's work and had failed to uncover his criminal record in pre-employment screening. After months of negotiations, the FDA agreed that Berger could continue conducting drug studies, with the stipulation that an outside monitor review his work.So how was the fraud uncovered? In 2008 and 2009, a clinical trials monitor noted anomalies in signatures on consent forms and other documents and reported these findings to the FDA, which began an investigation. Here the irregularities were paired with and concealed by forged signatures, making them relatively easy to uncover in routine monitoring. But noncompliance may not always occur in tandem with surface irregularities and may not be visible unless a monitor can secure access to the "backstage" of a clinic's operation. It is the process and effects of getting backstage that this article explores.Seemingly detached from the serious work of science and treatment, the regulatory encounters we discuss entail arcane rules and endless paperwork. Such regulatory work is just the place where we might expect ritualistic adherence to the "letter of the law." In fact, though, the stakes are very high and regulatory encounters can move well beyond ritualism, as Berger and his research coordinator learned. Clinical research and treatment programs are multimillion dollar enterprises. Without assurance of ethical and scientific integrity in data collection, clinical trial results cannot withstand FDA scrutiny, jeopardizing patients' access to safe and effective drugs and therapies. For government and industry sponsors, regulatory inspections provide crucial evidence that they have invested in scientifically and ethically sound research. And as Berger's case illustrates, researchers' and clinics' access to future research and treatment funding depends on demonstrated compliance with regulations. Mostly the stakes of regulation remain as background in the encounters between monitors and clinic workers. But episodically, clinic staffworried about how they could continue vital work if they lost funding and monitors reflected on their pride in ensuring the integrity of important medical research. …


Abstract This study describes the generalized multigroup energy treatment for the neutron transport equation. Discrete Legendre orthogonal polynomials (DLOPs) are used to expand the energy dependence of the angular flux into a set of flux moments. The leading (zeroth)-order equation is identical to a standard multigroup solution, while the higher-order equations are decoupled from each other and only depend on the leading-order solution because of the orthogonality property of the DLOPs. This decoupling leads to computational times comparable to the coarse-group calculation but provides an accurate fine-group energy spectrum. One-dimensional single-assembly and core calculations were performed to demonstrate the potential of the discrete generalized multigroup method. Computational results show that the discrete generalized multigroup method can produce an accurate fine-group whole-core solution for less computational time. A source update process is also introduced that provides improvement of integral quantities such as eigenvalue and reaction rates over the coarse-group solution.


Many developing countries are in the initial stages of implementing electronic government to improve public sector services and deliver them in an effective and efficient manner. Some cities of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are focusing on public sector transformation efforts to increase accessibility and availability of their services and to enhance services in civil administration. Madinah City is one such example where large investments have been made since 2003 to implement electronic services and develop various delivery channels in the public sector. Thus, the government of Madinah has launched the "Khdamatec" electronic offices (e-offices) concept under their national electronic government (e-government) modernisation agenda to facilitate service delivery to citizens and seamless interaction to communicate their needs. This paper uses an empirical study to examine the role of intermediaries in facilitating the adoption and diffusion of e-government in Saudi Arabia. A survey of citizens in Madinah City is used to examine perceptions of using online public services through the Internet. The survey is complemented by a case study to identify issues that influence the progress of the Madinah local egovernment project from the viewpoint of government officials responsible for managing intermediaries. These empirical findings highlight computer literacy, Internet access, trust (perceived security and privacy), and awareness in using e-services as the most salient factors currently influencing e-government diffusion and adoption in Saudi Arabia.


This paper examined the impacts of the current 2007-09 global crisis on the macro-economy of Bangladesh. The evidence suggests that the impact of the crisis had been rather mild with modest slowdown of the economy and a few critical sectors (exports and remittances ), but at the same time, the adverse effects being offset by improvements in some other sectors (agriculture and equity markets ), thus showing remarkable resilience to the crisis. Further, the impact on Bangladesh was much milder than those felt in both developed countries (such as the U.S. and EU countries) and other emerging economies such as India and China. Appropriate and timely policy actions at the global level along with the country's own fiscal and monetary policy stimulus were helpful in achieving these results. Additional factors that helped minimize the adverse impacts include the country's relative non-exposure to the overseas toxic assets, growth of the agricultural sector, and resilience of garment exports and worker remittance sectors. A SWOT analysis of the country indicates that, as the global economy turns around, the country could take advantage of many global opportunities provided the country can capitalize on its strengths, improve upon its weaknesses and deal effectively with emerging threats. Policy actions that may be helpful include strengthening internal and external sector reforms, infrastructure development, export diversification, finding new markets for exports and worker employment abroad, and leveraging benefits from cooperation and partnerships with foreign businesses including overseas Bangladeshi expatriates, among others.


Objectives: Slight or mild hearing loss has been posited as a factor affecting speech, language, learning, and academic outcomes, but the risk factors for slight-mild sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) have not been ascertained. The two specific aims for this research were (1) to describe the audiometric and clinical characteristics of children identified with slight-mild bilateral SNHL and (2) to compare children with slight-mild SNHL with those with normal hearing (NH) with respect to potential risk factors for congenital or acquired for hearing loss. Design: A cross-sectional cluster sample survey of 6581 children enrolled in years 1 and 5 of Australian elementary school was completed. Children were screened for slight-mild SNHL, defined as a low- and/or high-frequency pure-tone average of 16 to 40 dB HL in the better ear, with air-bone gaps <10 dB. Children who did not pass the screen received air and bone conduction threshold and tympanometry tests to determine the type and degree of hearing loss. The parents of every child who participated in this study completed a questionnaire, before the hearing screening, to ascertain possible risk indicators. The questionnaire included items regarding the family's demographics, hearing status of family members, the presence of risk factors, and parental concern regarding the child's hearing. Results: Fifty-five children with slight-mild SNHL and 5490 with NH were identified. Of the group with SNHL, 39 children had a slight loss (16 to 25 dB HL) and 16 had a mild loss (26 to 40 dB HL). The majority of the losses were bilateral and symmetrical, and the mean pure-tone average for the better ear for all 55 children was 22.4 dB HL (SD, 5.2). The most prevalent risk factor was "neonatal intensive care unit/special care nursery admission," which was reported for 12.5% of the SNHL and 8.4% of the NH group. Reported use of personal stereos was a significant risk factor with an odds ratio of 1.7 (95% confidence interval = 1.0 to 3.0, p = 0.05). The questions relating to parental concern for their child's hearing had low sensitivity (<30%) and very low positive predictive values (<3%) for detecting slight-mild SNHL. Conclusions: Slight-mild SNHL had a prevalence of 0.88% among the school-aged population sampled, with the majority of these children exhibiting bilateral, symmetrical audiometric configurations. Conventional risk factors for hearing loss were not strongly predictive of slight-mild SNHL nor were parental concerns about the child's hearing ability. The association between slight-mild SNHL and the parent report of personal stereo use suggests that this type of noise exposure may be a risk factor for acquired hearing loss. This seems to be the first documentation of such an association in a large sample of young children.


Much as in previous recessions, the number of applications to public disability insurance programs increased sharply during the Great Recession. We find that the composition of applicants also changes across business cycles. For example, applicants during economic downturns, and especially during the Great Recession, are younger, better educated, higher income, and more likely to have recent work experience. However, we find only mixed evidence supporting the theory that the increase in applications in downturns is caused by healthier applicants who apply to disability programs only because they are unemployed. We formally decompose how the differences among the applicants across the business cycle – both from peak to trough and from trough to trough – contribute to the increased probability of applying for, and being awarded, benefits. We find that changing demographics and unemployment rates explain less than half of the increase in the application rate and only one quarter of the increase in the awards to applicants (the allowance rate) between the 2004-2006 expansion and the Great Recession. Further, these same factors predict a fall in the award rate (among eligible individuals), in contrast to the increase observed in the data. Together with the fact that there have been no programmatic changes in the disability programs in the 2000s, these results suggest there have been fundamental changes over the last decade in the way that people apply to disability and in the way these applications are evaluated that cannot be explained by observable differences.


Fourier analysis is the study of the way general functions may be represented or approximated by sums of simpler trigonometric functions, also analogously known as sinusoidal modeling. The original idea of Fourier had a profound impact on mathematical analysis, physics and engineering because it diagonalizes time-invariant convolution operators. In the past signal processing was a topic that stayed almost exclusively in electrical engineering, where only the experts could cancel noise, compress and reconstruct signals. Nowadays it is almost ubiquitous, as everyone now deals with modern digital signals. Medical imaging, wireless communications and power systems of the future will experience more data processing conditions and wider range of applications requirements than the systems of today. Such systems will require more powerful, efficient and flexible signal processing algorithms that are well designed to handle such needs. No matter how advanced our hardware technology becomes we will still need intelligent and efficient algorithms to address the growing demands in signal processing. In this thesis, we investigate novel techniques to solve a suite of four fundamental problems in signal processing that have a wide range of applications. The relevant equations, literature of signal processing applications, analysis and final numerical algorithms/methods to solve them using Fourier analysis are discussed for different applications in the electrical engineering / computer science. The first four chapters cover the following topics of central importance in the field of signal processing: • Fast Phasor Estimation using Adaptive Signal Processing (Chapter 2) • Frequency Estimation from Nonuniform Samples (Chapter 3) • 2D Polar and 3D Spherical Polar Nonuniform Discrete Fourier Transform (Chapter 4) iv • Robust 3D registration using Spherical Polar Discrete Fourier Transform and Spherical Harmonics (Chapter 5) Even though each of these four methods discussed may seem completely disparate, the underlying motivation for more efficient processing by exploiting the Fourier domain signal structure remains the same. The main contribution of this thesis is the innovation in the analysis, synthesis, discretization of certain well known problems like phasor estimation, frequency estimation, computations of a particular non-uniform Fourier transform and signal registration on the transformed domain. We conduct propositions and evaluations of certain applications relevant algorithms such as, frequency estimation algorithm using non-uniform sampling, polar and spherical polar Fourier transform. The techniques proposed are also useful in the field of computer vision and medical imaging. From a practical perspective, the proposed algorithms are shown to improve the existing solutions in the respective fields where they are applied/evaluated. The formulation and final proposition is shown to have a variety of benefits. Future work with potentials in medical imaging, directional wavelets, volume rendering, video/3D object classifications, high dimensional registration are also discussed in the final chapter. Finally, in the spirit of reproducible research we release the implementation of these algorithms to the public using Github.


Every single company needs strategies in order to survive or to become a leader in the market nowadays, therefore a study towards findings the suitable strategies for Permodalan Nasional Berhad had been carried out. The purpose of the study are to determine the types of ASNB's promotional strategies, to identify the level of effectiveness promotional tools used by Amanah Saham Nasional Berhad (ASNS), to describe the correlations between ASNB's promotional strategies with customer motivation to invest and to examine the effect of the promotional tools with the customer motivation to invest in ASNB's products. A good research design will ensure that the marketing research project is conducted effectively. In this research, the exploratory, descriptive and causal effect has been used. The target sampling size for this study is 70 customers where the questionnaires were randomly distributed to those visiting ASNB service counter, Malacca Branch and 4 agents that are appointed by ASNB which are Maybank, CIMB, RHB and Pos Malaysia that also in Malacca. For this study, the non- probability sampling technique has been chosen. The non probability sampling method that will be used is convenience sampling. Moreover, computer programs have been developed to simplify and ease the research tabulation and analysis task. One of the most accurate and dependable statistical analysis packages is Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS). Included in this package are the procedure of frequency, correlations analysis and regression analysis. The findings from the study found that several strategies should be recommended to Amanah Saham Nasional Berhad (ASNB). Firstly, ASNB should increase sales promotion such as high income distribution/dividend, offer scheme 'bantuan khairat kematian' to the investors, offer fixed and variable price as well as withdrawal or savings at any time for the investors as this can really encourage Bumiputera and non Bumiputera to invest in ASNB. Secondly, the information about PNB should be more advertise in television and newspaper since people are always see and read this two medium. The advertisement also should be more creative and attractive. Furthermore, PNB should hire more Sales Executives and Hire Individual Agents as the strategy to boost up ASNB's sales.


Correct application of masking on hardware implementation of cryptographic primitives necessitates the instantiation of registers in order to achieve the non-completeness (commonly said to stop the propagation of glitches). This sometimes leads to a high latency overhead, making the implementation not necessarily suitable for the underlying application. As a concrete example, this holds for Keccak. Application of d + 1 Domain Oriented Masking (DOM) on a round-based implementation of Keccak leads to the introduction of two register stages per round, i.e., two times higher latency. On the other hand, Rhythmic-Keccak, introduced in CHES 2018, unrolls two rounds to half the latency compared to an unprotected ordinary round-based implementation. To that end, td + 1 masking is used which requires a notable area, and – apart from the difficulty to construct – its extension to higher orders seems beyond the bounds of feasibility.In this paper, we focus on d + 1 masking and introduce a methodology which enables us to stay with the latency of an unprotected round-based implementation, i.e., one register stage per round. While being secure under glitch-extended probing model, we provide a general design where the desired security order can be easily adjusted without any effect on the above-given latency. Compared to the Rhythmic-Keccak, the synthesis results show that our first-order design is able to accomplish the entire operations of Keccak-f[200] in the same period of time while decreasing the area by 74.5%. Notably, our implementations achieve around 30% less delay compared to the corresponding original DOM-Keccak designs.


Complementary DNA (cDNA) is valuable for investigating protein structure and function in the research of life science, but it is difficult to obtain by traditional reverse transcription. In this study, we employed a novel strategy to clone the human leukemia inhibitory factor (hLIF) gene cDNA from genomic DNA directly isolated from the mucous membrane of mouth. The hLIF sequence can be acquired within a few hours by means of amplification of each exon and splicing using overlap-PCR. Thus, the new approach developed in this study is simple, time- and cost-effective, and it is not limited to particular gene expression levels of each tissue.


The genome of mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) is, in addition to the translocation t(11;14), characterized by a high number of secondary chromosomal gains and losses that probably account for the various survival times of MCL patients. We investigated 77 primary MCL tumors with available clinical information using high-resolution RNA expression and genomic profiling and applied our recently developed gene expression and dosage integrator algorithm to identify novel genes and pathways that may be of relevance for the pathobiology of MCL. We show that copy number neutral loss of heterozygosity is common in MCL and targets regions that are frequently affected by deletions. The molecular consequences of genomic copy number changes appear complex, even in genomic loci with identified tumor suppressors, such as the region 9p21 containing the CDKN2A locus. Moreover, the deregulation of novel genes, such as CUL4A, ING1, and MCPH1, may affect the 2 crucial pathogenetic mechanisms in MCL, the disturbance of the proliferation, and DNA damage response pathways. Deregulation of the Hippo pathway may have a pathogenetic role in MCL because decreased expression of its members MOBKL2A, MOBKL2B, and LATS2 was associated with inferior outcome, including an independent validation series of 32 MCLs.


Kuulo Kalamees was born in Tartu on April 15, 1934. In 1958, he graduated from the University of Tartu as a biologist-botanist, his thorough diploma paper treated the agarics of southeastern Estonia. In 1975, he defended his thesis "Agarics in Estonia. Taxonomy, ecology and distribution" for an academic degree of Doctor of Science. His first articles in the field of mycology were pub lished in his student's years already. During the fifty years he has published over 200 scientific and popular-scientific papers, including over 20 books of which he is author, co-author or editor. The bulk of the papers published by Kalamees are about agarics. The routes of his study trips extend from Estonia to the Russian Far East, but also to Finland, Norway, France, Italy, Newfoundland, Greenland. Since 1997, he is a Professor Emeritus of Tartu University. Kuulo Kalamees is one of the founders of "Folia Cryptogamica Estonica".


In this dramatically revised and expanded second edition of the work entitled Pan's Travail, J. Donald Hughes examines the environmental history of the classical period and argues that the decline of ancient civilizations resulted in part from their exploitation of the natural world. Focusing on Greece and Rome, as well as areas subject to their influences, Hughes offers a detailed look at the impact of humans and their technologies on the ecology of the Mediterranean basin. Evidence of deforestation in ancient Greece, the remains of Roman aqueducts and mines, and paintings on centuries-old pottery that depict agricultural activities document ancient actions that resulted in detrimental consequences to the environment. Hughes compares the ancient world's environmental problems to other persistent social problems and discusses attitudes toward nature expressed in Greek and Latin literature. In addition to extensive revisions based on the latest research, this new edition includes photographs from Hughes' worldwide excursions, a new chapter on warfare and the environment, and an updated bibliography.


This research-in-progress paper reports preliminary findings of a study that is designed to identify characteristics of an expert in the discipline of Information Systems (IS). The paper delivers a formative research model to depict characteristics of an expert with three additive constructs, using concepts derived from psychology, knowledge management and social-behaviour research. The paper then explores the formation and application 'expertise' using four investigative questions in the context of System Evaluations. Data have been gathered from 220 respondents representing three medium sized companies in India, using the SAP Enterprise Resource Planning system. The paper summarizes planned data analyses in construct validation, model testing and model application. A validated construct of expertise of IS will have a wide range of implications for research and practice.


This paper examines management of zakat in the state of Johor and focuses on the distribution of zakat to the recipients of capital assistance who are involved in the socio-development programs. It intends to examine the impact of the program towards their achievements after receiving capital assistance to start their small business ventures. Both primary and secondary data are used in the studies. The primary data were collected from interviews with the officers of Majlis Agama Islam Johor (MAIJ) and the statistical data were obtained from documents such as reports, financial records, and brochures. The findings show commendable improvement in zakat management for the five-year period of study. Nonetheless, recommendations pertaining to supervision, procedures, and cooperation are posed for improving the programs in assisting the poor and needy recipients and to optimize the zakat disbursement. The study was made possible with the research grant from Accounting Research Institute (ARI) of UiTM.


The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is given the broad authority to conduct investigations, file suit, and request documents from taxpayers when necessary to enforce the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code. The IRS can seek to acquire written communications between a taxpayer and his tax adviser. Such documents may include tax opinions and tax planning memoranda. Taxpayers represented by lawyers are able to protect some of these communications through the common law attorney–client privilege. Certain nonlawyers are also authorized to represent taxpayers before the IRS and to give tax planning advice, but their communications fall outside the scope of the attorney–client privilege. This group includes accountants, enrolled agents, and enrolled actuaries. In 1998, Congress created the tax practitioner–client privilege, which extended the protections of the attorney–client privilege to certain communications between nonlawyer tax practitioners and their clients. This statutory privilege, however, carves out an exception—it does not apply to written communications related to the "promotion" of a client's participation in a tax shelter. Recently, a disagreement has arisen regarding the scope of this exception and the meaning of the word "promotion." In Countryside


PURPOSE
To determine potential anti-proliferative properties of interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF-alpha) on human retinoblastoma cells.

METHODS
Fluorescent antibody staining was used to detect IFN-gamma and TNF-alpha receptors on the cells. Y79 and Weri Rb-1 cells were exposed to IFN-gamma alone, TNF-alpha alone, or a combination of IFN-gamma and TNF-alpha, and apoptosis was measured by caspase 3 activation and annexin V staining. Cell cycle arrest was measured by BrdU incorporation and FACS analysis.

RESULTS
Both cell lines expressed receptors for IFN-gamma and TNF-alpha. There appeared to be two populations of both receptors in the Weri Rb-1 cell line. Apoptosis was induced in Y79 cells by IFN-gamma, but not TNF-alpha, and the combination of the cytokines did not increase apoptosis above IFN-gamma alone in Y79 cells. Apoptosis was induced in Weri Rb-1 cells only upon exposure to both cytokines. The cell cycle was not significantly altered in either cell line.

CONCLUSIONS
Human retinoblastoma cells respond to IFN-gamma or a combination of IFN-gamma and TNF-alpha by becoming apoptotic, but Y79 and Weri Rb-1 cells behave differently. The differential response of the two cell lines is not due to a lack of expression of IFN-gamma or TNF-alpha receptors. The data raise the possibility that differences in apoptotic pathways exist between the two cell lines with interesting implications for the induction of apoptosis as a therapy for retinoblastoma.


A group of simple amide receptors were synthesised to investigate the effect varying the number/type of hydrogen bond donors or in preorganisation has on host/guest binding abilities. Proton NMR titrations revealed preorganised nitrogen atoms could reduce the size of the binding cleft increasing the selectivity for the smaller anions and binding affinities were increased by the addition of additional hydrogen bond donors, increasing the size of the binding cleft and the presence of sulphonamide groups. A number of receptors were also investigated as colorimetric sensors and visual colour changes were observed with the addition of guest, however further investigations revealed these could be due to deprotonation of the receptor. A fluorescent cation was also synthesised which proton NMR titrations proved had increasing binding affinities. Fluorescence titrations showed the addition of guest increased the fluorescence intensity suggesting it could possibility be used for calculating the concentration of chloride in serum samples. Cyclotrimeric receptors containing three urea/thiourea moieties were successfully synthesised by a one-pot cyclotrimerisation. However they proved to be very insoluble preventing purification and investigations of their binding ability. The presence of TBA nitrate proved to have a templating effect in the synthesis of the thiourea cyclotrimer but not the urea cyclotrimer. A step-wise cyclotrimerisation was not possible due to the lack of solubility of the products from step-one for the urea receptor and step-two for the thiourea. However Proton NMR titrations of these receptors revealed the urea/thiourea hydrogen bond donors formed stronger interactions with anionic guests than the previous amide receptors. Finally a number of substrates containing alkene moieties and bis-urea/thiourea receptors were synthesised in the hope of templating cycloaddition photochemical reactions forcing the formation of head-to-head photodimers. Unfortunately cycloaddition photochemical reactions were unsuccessful due to the lack of solubility of both the receptors and substrates preventing any investigations being carried out.


This book examines the international development policies of five East Central European new EU member states, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia. These countries turned from being aid recipients to donors after the turn of the millennium in the run-up to EU accession in 2004. The book explains the evolution subsequent to EU accession and current state of foreign aid policies in the region and the reasons why these deviate from many of the internationally agreed best practices in development cooperation. It argues that after the turn of the millennium, a 'Global Consensus' has emerged on how to make foreign aid more effective for development. A comparison between the elements of the Global Consensus and the performance of the five countries reveals that while they have generally implemented little of these recommendations, there are also emerging differences between the countries, with the Czech Republic and Slovenia clearly aspiring to become globally responsible donors. Building on the literatures on foreign policy analysis, international socialization and interest group influence, the book develops a model of foreign aid policy making in order to explain the general reluctance of the five countries in implementing international best practices, and also the differences in their relative performance.


The quantum jump in food production and progress toward elimination of mass starvation have been driven by mechanization of plowing and other farm operations, introduction of input-responsive varieties, use of chemical fertilizers along with herbicides and pesticides, increase in supplemental irrigation, and reliance on information and communication technology. Notable among the consequences of the agricultural revolution between 1960 and 2015 are increase in (1) human population from 3 billion to 7.3 billion (United Nations 2014); (2) atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) from 316 ppm to 400 ppm (IPCC 2014); (3) global temperature by 0.12°C (0.22°F) per decade (IPCC 2014); (4) problems of soil degradation by erosion, salinization, depletion of soil organic matter (SOM), and nutrient imbalance (Bai et al. 2008); (5) depletion, pollution, and eutrophication of natural waters; and (6) risk of extinction of soils (Tenseson 2014) and species. Yet, food production must be increased by another 1 billion t (1.1 billion tn) by 2050, while also restoring the degraded soils and ecosystems, reducing net anthropogenic emissions, and improving the environment. Plow-based agriculture has exacerbated the problems of accelerated soil erosion by water and wind, oxidation of SOM, and decline in soil structure (aggregation) and tilth. The plow-related problems…


A new multiway/multivariate approach is proposed to study and model the spoilage of swordfish with time and temperature of storage through the profiles of putrescine, spermidine, histamine, tyramine, tryptamine, cadaverine, spermine, and 2‐phenylethylamine. The evolution of these biogenic amines in food is a complex process that cannot be characterized by a single parameter but by a modification of the amine profiles. An experimental strategy is designed to determine these profiles in such a way that data are structurally 3‐way. Modeling the joint evolution of the biogenic amines with a PARAFAC model which explains 97.8% of variability (CORCONDIA index equals 100%) leads to estimate the storage time, storage temperature, and biogenic amines profiles. A multiple regression (determination coefficient of 0.98) based on the loadings of the 2 factors of the time profile of the PARAFAC model enables the estimation of the storage time with an error of 0.5 days.


A molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) based sensor for detecting L-dopa was fabricated based on the composite of graphene (GR) and chitosan (CS). The microstructure and composition of the imprinted films characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), Raman spectroscopy and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) indicated that the modified film of GR-MIPs had been formed successfully. Electrochemical evaluation results showed that the sensor exhibited a satisfactory selectivity for molecular binding with an imprinting factor (IF) of 6.2 and a wide linear range from 0.4 μM to 100 μM with a low detection limit of 0.012 μM. This electrochemical sensor exhibited great promise for accurate determination of L-dopa in pharmaceutical preparations and human blood serum for recoveries ranging from 95.0 to 108.0%. Furthermore, compared to imprinted films without graphene doping, GR-MIPs showed a superior chiral sensing for L-dopa in the presence of D-dopa. The results reveal that the insertion of graphene brought about an enhanced sensitivity for chiral sensing and has the potential for application in chiral recognition.


Any fundamental change in a society has a deep effect on the structure and composition of employment. In the era of knowledge society, this structural transformation brings about the creation of new jobs and the extinction of certain traditional jobs. An analysis of employment by occupations may show the new jobs created by new technologies and industries, and also may reveal labour market risks related with non-decent jobs. In this paper an analysis of occupational composition of employment in the EU15 and Turkey has been made for the purpose of highlighting the dual increase in both skilled and non-skilled jobs created by the ongoing structural changes; and labour market risks related with low-skilled occupations. The study is supported with empirical data, and it concludes that people having non-decent jobs in services and elementary jobs are in need of social protection; and that new jobs can be generated in certain subgroups.


We begin by discussing causal independence models and generalize these models to causal interaction models. Causal interaction models are models that have independent mechanisms where mechanisms can have several causes. In addition to introducing several particular types of causal interaction models, we show how we can apply the Bayesian approach to learning causal interaction models obtaining approximate posterior distributions for the models and obtain MAP and ML estimates for the parameters. We illustrate the approach with a simulation study of learning model posteriors.


Self-excited combustion oscillations are caused by a coupling between acoustic waves and unsteady heat release. A premixed laminar flame in a Rijke tube, anchored to a metal gauze, is considered in this work. The flame response to flow disturbances is investigated by developing a nonlinear kinematic model based on the classical-equation, with the assumption of a time-invariant laminar flame speed. Unsteady heat release from the flame is assumed to be caused by its surface variations, which results from the fluctuations of the oncoming flow velocity. The flame is acoustically compact, and its presence causes the mean temperature undergoing a jump, whose effect on the dynamics of the thermo-acoustic system is discussed. Coupling the flame model with a Galerkin series expansion of the acoustic waves present enables the time evolution of the flow disturbances to be calculated. It was found that the model can predict the mode shape and the frequencies of the excited combustion oscillations very well. Moreover, the fundamental mode is found to be the easiest one to be triggered among all acoustic modes. To gain insight about the mode selection and triggering, further numerical investigation is conducted by linearizing the flame model and recasting into the popular formulation.


This anthology is about new big science, approached through perspectives from law, sustainability studies, sociology of science and technology, history, human geography and information studies. In focus are the two large experimental facilities being built in Lund: the European Spallation Source (ESS) and MAX IV. Put centre stage are the communities that launch, build, use, host, and benefit from these science facilities.New big science facilities are large in their physical footprints, their costs, and their ambitions. Expectations abound and are in constant production. This anthology captures the opportunity to study these complex science facilities in the making – at the juncture where expectations meet reality – asking questions about what possibilities, constraints, and risks these projects entail.This anthology is the outcome of an interdisciplinary research theme at the Pufendorf Institute for Advanced Studies at Lund University. The editors Josephine V. Rekers and Kerstin Sandell are both social scientists, affiliated with the Department of Human Geography and the Department of Gender Studies respectively. (Less)


Reproductive function depends upon an operational hypothalamo–pituitary–gonadal (HPG) axis. Due to its role in determining survival versus reproductive strategies, the HPG axis is vulnerable to a diverse plethora of signals that ultimately manifest with Central Hypogonadism (CH) in all its many guises. Acquired CH can result from any pituitary or hypothalamic lesion, including its treatment (such as surgical resection and/or radiotherapy). The HPG axis is particularly sensitive to the suppressive effects of hyperprolactinaemia that can occur for many reasons, including prolactinomas, and as a side effect of certain drug therapies. Physiologically, prolactin (combined with the suppressive effects of autonomic neural signals from suckling) plays a key role in suppressing the gonadal axis and establishing temporary CH during lactation. Leptin is a further key endocrine regulator of the HPG axis. During starvation, hypoleptinaemia (from diminished fat stores) results in activation of hypothalamic agouti-related peptide neurons that have a dual purpose to enhance appetite (important for survival) and concomitantly suppresses GnRH neurons via effects on neural kisspeptin release. Obesity is associated with hyperleptinaemia and leptin resistance that may also suppress the HPG axis. The suppressibility of the HPG axis also leaves it vulnerable to the effects of external signals that include morphine, anabolic-androgenic steroids, physical trauma and stress, all of which are relatively common causes of CH. Finally, the HPG axis is susceptible to congenital malformations, with reports of mutations within >50 genes that manifest with congenital CH, including Kallmann Syndrome associated with hyposmia or anosmia (reduction or loss of the sense of smell due to the closely associated migration of GnRH with olfactory neurons during embryogenesis). Analogous to the HPG axis itself, patients with CH are often vulnerable, and their clinical management requires both sensitivity and empathy.


Recent advances in Affective Computing (AC) include research towards automatic analysis of human emotionally enhanced behavior during multiparty interactions within different contextual settings. Current paper delves on how is context incorporated into multiparty and multimodal interaction within the AC framework. Aspects of context incorporation such as importance and motivation for context incorporation, appropriate emotional models, resources of multiparty interactions useful for context analysis, context as another modality in multimodal AC and context-aware AC systems are addressed as research questions reviewing the current state-of-the-art in the research field. Challenges that arise from the incorporation of context are identified and discussed in order to foresee future research directions in the domain. Finally, we propose a context incorporation architecture into affect-aware systems with multiparty interaction including detection and extraction of semantic context concepts, enhancing emotional models with context information and context concept representation in appraisal estimation.


The accurate analysis of phenolic compound profiles and concentrations in plants has been of interest for many years. However, to date, a standard procedure still does not exist. This bulletin highlights the effect of abiotic factors on flavonoids and recommends that these should be considered while planning and conducting experiments. Furthermore, during storage, a low humidity of the samples is more important than the temperature during storage. Currently, there are several methods to measure phenolic compound concentrations. The decision of which method to use should be related to the scientific question. Moreover, one should be aware that structurally different phenolic compounds might react differently to biotic and abiotic factors. Nevertheless, a method validation is the basis of reliable results and should be performed in advance to establish a method as valid as well as at any time when the parameters of the extraction and measurement are changed.


The paper critically examines the outcomes of the Bali Ministerial of the WTO, held in December 2013, from the lens of issues of interest and concern to the least developed countries (LDCs). In this backdrop, the paper undertakes an assessment of the LDC Package adopted in Bali that includes issues of duty-free market access, services waiver, trade facilitation, special and differential treatment and food security, among others. The paper argues that LDCs should do the needed homework to narrow-down their differences and identify common grounds so that they can project a united front in the follow-up negotiations in Geneva. In this context, the paper puts forward concrete recommendations in each of the identified areas with a view to securing LDC interests in view of the Bali deliverables.