The presented dissertation addresses the problem of risk evaluation and behavior planning for future intelligent Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS). For this purpose, a novel framework for situation-based risk evaluation and behavior planning, targeting highly automated driving, is presented.

After properly sensing the current scene, including the current road topology and other traffic participants, the proposed framework first estimates and predicts the future behavior of all involved entities comprising a situation classification and trajectory prediction step. This is then followed by the generation of the own future behavior in a behavior planning step which is based on an evaluation of possible ego behavior alternatives in terms of risk and utility considerations. The future behavior is planned in a way to find a tradeoff between the expected future risk and utility.

Inner-city traffic scenarios in particular are usually complex and of high uncertainty, considering measurements as well as behavioral decisions.
To reduce the complexity, similar behavior alternatives are clustered and represented by prototypical behavior patterns using so-called situations.
A novel situation classification approach is proposed to estimate how good a situation matches with the actual behaviors.
This approach is based on a comparison of the prototypically predicted trajectories of the considered situations with the actual measured trajectories.
For this purpose a novel measure for spatio-temporal trajectory similarity, based on the evaluation of longitudinal and lateral spatio-temporal distance, is derived.
The situation classification system is used to detect incorrect and critical traffic behaviors, especially in scenarios with a disregard of right-of-way.
Evaluating the system using real-world crash cases reveals that it is able to warn the driver reliably of an upcoming crash, with sufficient time to initiate a suitable evasive behavior.

For the prediction of situation-dependent prototypical scene evolution patterns, the interaction-aware Foresighted Driver Model (FDM) is applied in a forward simulation of a sensed scene under different situation-dependent behavioral assumptions.
The proposed FDM is a novel, time continuous driver model for the simulation and prediction of freeway and urban traffic.

Based on the general risk evaluation and behavior planning framework developed in this thesis, the driver model equations are introduced from the assumption that a driver tries to balance predictive risk (e.g. due to possible collisions along its route) with utility (e.g. the time required to travel, smoothness of ride, etc.). For this purpose, a computationally inexpensive, approximate risk model targeting only risk maxima and a gradient descent-based behavior generation is applied.
It is shown, how such a model can be used to simulate and predict driving behavior with a similar performance compared to full behavior planning models.
The FDM is applicable to a wide range of different scenarios, e.g. intersection or highway-accessing scenarios, with the consideration of an arbitrary number of traffic entities. Thus, the FDM generalizes and reaches beyond state-of-the-art driver models.

Complex traffic situations require the estimation of future behavior alternatives in terms of predictive risks.
Risk assessment has to be driven from the knowledge that the acting scene entity requires to evaluate the own future behavior.
Based on the predicted future dynamics of traffic scene entities, an approach is presented, where a continuous, probabilistic model for future risk is used to build so-called predictive risk maps. These maps indicate how risky a certain ego behavior will be at different future times, so that they can be used to directly plan the best possible future behavior.

The behavior in complex scenarios differs strongly, depending on the actually occurring situation.
However, sensory measurements of the ego- and other involved entities' states as well as the prediction of possible future states are generally of high uncertainty. As a consequence, the current driving situation can only be approximated.

Additionally, a situation can change very quickly, e.g. if a traffic participant suddenly changes its behavior. In this thesis an approach is proposed, how to plan a safe, but still efficient future behavior under consideration of multiple possible situations with different occurrence probabilities.
In several traffic scenarios comprising simulated as well as recorded real-world data, it is shown that the approach generates an efficient behavior for situations which are likely to occur, while generating a plan B to safely deal with improbable but risky situations.


Encompassing more than 370 diverse areas - including vast tracts of wilderness, spectacular scenery and habitat, historic places, and urban parks - the U.S. National Park System is the envy of the world. This exhaustive illustrated Encyclopedia is the most comprehensive look at the history and development of the park system ever published. Noted environmental scholar Hal Rothman and Sara Dant Ewert explore the history, issues, and legacy of the National Park System, beginning with the passage of the Antiquities Act of 1906 right up to the twenty-first century. An introductory essay details the history of the National Park System and wilderness preservation organizers biographies examine the most influential historical figures and personalities who shaped and influenced the park system and A-to-Z entries provide in-depth information on the history of more than 350 national parks, historic sites, monuments, battlefields, recreation areas, parklands, memorials, trails, and preserves. Entries provide detailed accounts of each park area's founding and history and also cover issues surrounding park use and environmental management. Each entry also includes acreage, date established, contact information, location and events, Website address, and further reading lists.


OBJECTIVE
Chronic neuropathic pain is a common symptom in multiple sclerosis (MS). This randomized controlled single-blinded study investigated whether a new protocol involving five days of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) with an interval period would be effective to reduce pain using the visual analog scale (VAS). Other secondary outcomes included the Neuropathic Pain Scale (NPS), Depression Anxiety Stress Score (DASS), Short Form McGill Pain Questionnaire (SFMPQ), and Multiple Sclerosis Quality of Life 54 (MSQOL54).

DESIGN
A total of 30 participants were recruited for the study, with 15 participants randomized to a sham group or and 15 randomized to an active group. After a five-day course of a-tDCS, VAS and NPS scores were measured daily and then weekly after treatment up to four weeks after treatment. Secondary outcomes were measured pretreatment and then weekly up to four weeks.

RESULTS
After a five-day course of a-tDCS, VAS scores were significantly reduced compared with sham tDCS and remained significantly low up to week 2 post-treatment. There were no statistically significant mean changes in MSQOL54, SFMPQ, NPS, or DASS for the sham or treatment group before treatment or at four-week follow-up.

CONCLUSIONS
This study shows that repeated stimulation with a-tDCS for five days can reduce pain intensity for a prolonged period in patients with MS who have chronic neuropathic pain.


ABSTRACT Over recent decades, Greenland ice sheet surface melt has shown an increase both in intensity and spatial extent. Part of this water probably reaches the bed and can enhance glacier speed, advecting a larger volume of ice into the ablation area. In the context of a warming climate, this mechanism could contribute to the future rate of thinning and retreat of land-terminating glaciers of Greenland. These changes in ice flow conditions will in turn influence surface crevassing and thus the ability of water to reach the bed at higher elevations. Here, using a coupled basal hydrology and prognostic ice flow model, the evolution of a Greenland-type glacier subject to increasing surface melt is studied over a few decades. For different scenarios of surface melt increase over the next decades, the evolution of crevassed areas and the ability of water to reach the bed is inferred. Our results indicate that the currently observed crevasse distribution is likely to extend further upstream which will allow water to reach the bed at higher elevations. This will lead to an increase in ice flux into the ablation area which, in turn, accelerates the mass loss of land-terminating glaciers.


ABSTRACT In transactional analysis theory, life script themes are archaic patterns of experience and interaction, which can emerge during clinical work and impact practice. This study examined whether a newly qualified therapist's problematic life script themes were detectable in supervision, how they were addressed, and whether addressing them led to assimilation of these themes. Seven consecutive supervision sessions with a recently-qualified male therapist (pseudonym Adam) were transcribed and analyzed using a qualitative theory-building approach. The assimilation of problematic experiences sequence (APES) was used to track changes in Adam's life script themes. Life script themes were evident in all seven supervision sessions. They centered on two interconnected themes of abuse and rejection. Discussions of these themes in supervision focused on over-identification, protectiveness, and self-disclosure. The supervisor's interventions included didactic work appropriate for a beginning clinician and facilitative work in supporting development of assimilation of problematic themes. Reflective supervision including exploration of the therapist's personal process when it is triggered can enhance practice development, and be an important part of the supervision process, providing it respect teach/treat boundary. Comparisons with previous research suggested that script themes emerged differently in supervision of relatively inexperienced supervisees as opposed to experienced ones.


Since the third century b.c.e ., interpreters of the Daodejing have taken the two qi 其 graphs (conventionally translated as "its") in the first chapter as anaphoric, that is, as denoting an entity previously mentioned in the discourse/text. Almost unanimously, commentators have assumed that this anaphor refers to Dao 道, the most salient discourse entity to that point. Referential expressions (such as this, it, its, 之, 此, and 其), however, do not function solely as anaphors. They can also function as cataphors, in which case the entity they denote follows rather than precedes the referential expression. Cataphoric expressions are often used to highlight the entity they refer to. We suggest that the two instances of qi in the first chapter of the Daodejing were meant also to be cataphoric, and that they refer to the "gateway of all marvels" (眾眇之門). We further suggest that this "gateway" is a metaphor not only for the Dao but also for inviting the reader to enter the book and to penetrate the mystery of the Dao by reading it. In sum, we argue that the author/redactor of the first chapter of the Daodejing composed it as an introduction to the entire text, where he points out the problems inherent in writing and reading a text such as the Daodejing—which he perceived to be an image of the Dao itself. The text is the message.


Despite remarkable performance in producing realistic samples, Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) often produce low-quality samples near low-density regions of the data manifold, e.g., samples of minor groups. Many techniques have been developed to improve the quality of generated samples, either by post-processing generated samples or by pre-processing the empirical data distribution, but at the cost of reduced diversity. To promote diversity in sample generation without degrading the overall quality, we propose a simple yet effective method to diagnose and emphasize underrepresented samples during training of a GAN. The main idea is to use the statistics of the discrepancy between the data distribution and the model distribution at each data instance. Based on the observation that the underrepresented samples have a high average discrepancy or high variability in discrepancy, we propose a method to emphasize those samples during training of a GAN. Our experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method improves GAN performance on various datasets, and it is especially effective in improving the quality and diversity of sample generation for minor groups.


Distributed knowledge management systems (DKMS) have been suggested to meet the requirements of today's knowledge management. Peer-to-peer systems offer technical foundations for such distributed systems. To estimate the value of P2P-based knowledge management evaluation criteria that measure the performance of such DKMS are required. We suggest a concise framework for evaluation of such systems within different usage scenarios. Our approach is based on standard measures from the information retrieval and the databases community. These measures serve as input to a general evaluation function which is used to measure the efficiency of P2P-based KM systems. We describe test scenarios as well as the simulation software and data sets that can be used for that purpose.


Sodium ethyl and potassium amyl xanthates are commonly used in bulk and selective froth flotation of pentlandite ores respectively. The xanthate collectors are sensitive to pH and their selectivity in treating complex ores is questionable. With deteriorating nickel sulphide ore reserves more selective collectors have to be used in the extraction of nickel. The dithiocarbamates and dithiophosphates are possible replacement as they are believed to be stable in a wider range of pH and more selective than xanthates respectively. The present study compared the effects of using di-methyl-dithiocarbamate (di-C1-DTC), di-ethyldithiophosphate di-C2-DTP, SEX and PAX in froth flotation of pentlandite ore. The collectors were dosed at molar equivalent of 80g/ton PAX. This study showed that the higher cumulative nickel grades and cumulative nickel recovery were obtained by the use of PAX and SEX respectively. Therefore, it was not beneficial to substitute xanthates with either di-C1-DTC or di-C2-DTP in the froth flotation of pentlandite containing ore.


The Internet has become an integral part of the society in many parts of the world. However, as the Internet becoming more important and useful, the problems with Web security have also increased. More people today have experienced Web security threats such as viruses, spyware, keyloggers, and phishing; and a not insignificant number have encountered financial fraud because of the online activities they conducted. This research investigated the security concerns and level of awareness of users in regards to the use of web applications, by identifying users' concerns of web applications, examining the relationship of users' technical knowledge and . users' attitudes, as well as investigating the types of web applications that dictate users' concerns towards security. The findings from a survey of 124 respondents within this research indicated that nearly all respondents, across genders and education levels had high levels of awareness of Internet security issues. This research found that the length of users' involvement in actively using the Internet drives their level of understanding of Internet security. In terms of the way the users conducted online activities, this research found that younger respondents were less fearful than older respondents. Based on the findings of this research, it is hoped that users' education regarding web application security can be more effectively developed in this increasingly web-centric society.


Despite several mitigation attempts, Nigeria is still facing a deficit of 17 million houses. Seminal literature argues that this problem is predominantly due to a myriad of issues, including high construction costs, skills shortages, the slow pace of construction, lack of infrastructure and logistics, poor quality of available housing stock etc. Given these issues, offsite manufacturing has been proffered as an innovative method for addressing these challenges. This paper reports on the findings of a substantial literature review investigated the needs, promises and barriers of adopting offsite manufacturing in Nigeria. Seminal literature elaborating on offsite construction and Nigerian construction industry has been thoroughly reviewed and results were analysed using thematic analysis, and Nvivo software was used to code and analyse the research data. Findings highlighted that the housing deficit in Nigeria is on the increase and nothing significant was being done at the moment. The results also posited that although OSM could improve housing delivery efforts in Nigeria, the prevalence of this is still considerably low; and that this was influenced by many factors, such as negative local perception about OSM, client resistance, lack of infrastructure and skills shortage. This study concludes that for OSM to be adopted in Nigeria, there is a need for greater awareness, collaboration, training and encouragement from Government. This study presents additional understanding of OSM in Nigeria based on expert opinion, the results of which were used to develop a framework for the effective adoption of OSM in Nigeria. It is concluded that the adoption of OSM could help support housing delivery efforts in Nigeria, and leverage wider benefits to the industry and associated supply chain. © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the Creative Construction Conference 2017.


This book offers an unusual yet effective approach to the subject of mythology by stressing the universal rather than national themes. Leeming collects a wide array of narrative texts from the Bible to English literature to interpretations by Joseph Campbell, C.G. Jung and others, which illustrate the stages of the universal hero. The arrangement of texts by themes such as "Childhood, Initiation and Divine Signs" and "The Descent to the Underworld" help readers strip mythic characters of their many national and cultural "masks" to reveal their archetypal aspects. Real figures such as Jesus and Mohammed are also included to underline the text theory that myths are real and can be applied to real life. Changes to the third edition include additional heroine myths (including Navajo, Indonesian, Indian, Chinese and African tales) and an updated bibliography.


A was conducted to determine descriptive-correlational research the extent educational managers in the four state universities in Panay Island portrayed their leadership roles and management practices and its relationship to teachers' and students' performance. Ninety three respondents were classified according to highest educational attainment, position occupied, and length of experience. Questionnaire was used to gather data and Performance Evaluation System (PES) of teachers and passing percentage in Board Examination for students' performance. the Results were interpreted at 5% level of significance using One-Way Analysis of Variance and Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Coefficient. Descriptive data were analyzed using frequency, percentage, weighted mean, and standard deviation. Results showed that m holders ajority were doctorate degree , first-line managers, and serve their positions ess than ten years Leadership roles and for l . management practices were rated "to a very large extent." Only management practices in physical facilities development performed "to a large extent" were although when taken as a whole in the five years of concern were performed they "to a very large extent." Teachers' performance mostly rated Outstanding and a lesser number was rated Very Satisfactory he passing percentage above the national passing set . T was by P R C . the hilippine egulation ommission (PRC) Leadership roles significantly affect teachers' performance and only leadership and human resource development were related to teachers' performance. Leadership roles and management practices were not related to students' performance except in physical facilities development. Only educational attainment was found significant to teachers' performance but not to ly correlated students' performance.


Fibroblast growth factor (FGF) signaling is an essential regulator of lens epithelial cell proliferation and survival, as well as lens fiber cell differentiation. However, the identities of these FGF factors, their source tissue and the genes that regulate their synthesis are unknown. We have found that Chx10-Cre;Lhx2lox/lox mice, which selectively lack Lhx2 expression in neuroretina from E10.5, showed an early arrest in lens fiber development along with severe microphthalmia. These mutant animals showed reduced expression of multiple neuroretina-expressed FGFs and canonical FGF-regulated genes in neuroretina. When FGF expression was genetically restored in Lhx2-deficient neuroretina of Chx10-Cre;Lhx2lox/lox mice, we observed a partial but nonetheless substantial rescue of the defects in lens cell proliferation, survival and fiber differentiation. These data demonstrate that neuroretinal expression of Lhx2 and neuroretina-derived FGF factors are crucial for lens fiber development in vivo. Summary: The LIM homeodomain transcription factor Lhx2 regulates FGF3, FGF9 and FGF15 and is essential for lens cell proliferation, survival and differentiation in mice.


Security agencies in the real world often need to protect targets with time-dependent values, e.g., tourist sites where the number of travelers changes over time. Since the values of different targets often change asynchronously, the defender can relocate security resources among targets dynamically to make the best use of limited resources. We propose a game-theoretic scheme to develop dynamic, randomized security strategies in consideration of adversary's surveillance capability. This differs from previous studies on security games by considering varying target values and continuous strategy spaces of the security agency and the adversary. The main challenge lies in the computational intensiveness due to the continuous, hence infinite strategy spaces. We propose an optimal algorithm and an arbitrarily near-optimal algorithm to compute security strategies under different conditions. Experimental results show that both algorithms significantly outperform existing approaches.


The ancient Ayurvedic scriptures have mentioned the medicinal plant in the management of several diseases. O. gratissimum is a sacred plant of the Hindus and is worshipped at homes and temples. Medicinal properties have been attributed to this plant in several ayurveda literature. The plant extract was analyzed for certain trace metals viz. copper, zinc, manganese and iron. Concentrations of these metals in plant extract were found to be zinc (55 μg/g), iron (59 μg/g), copper (29 μg/g) and manganese (9 ug/g). These trace metals impart therapeutic values to this herb specified in Indian Ayurvedic medicinal system.


In order to achieve a high degree of visual realism in surgery simulation, we present a virtual surgery system framework, which is based on point primitives for the virtual surgery scene rendering and the biomechanical calculation of the soft tissue. To embody the superiority of this framework, two virtual surgery systems based on point primitives we developed are exhibited in this paper. Six critical functional modules were selected as representative of basic and advanced virtual surgery skill. These modules were: 1) point-based texture mapping; 2) deformation simulation; 3) cutting simulation; 4) tearing simulation; 5) dynamic texture mapping; and 6) 3-D display. These modules were elaborated by including working principle, execution process, and the performance of the algorithm. The experimental results have shown that point primitives-based virtual surgery systems obtained higher performance in terms of computational efficiency and rendering effect than traditional meshes-based virtual surgery system.


The paper reviews various representations of exergy and exergy losses in energy systems going from simple heat exchanger (heat transfer, dissipation and embedded exergy) to the exergy of full energy systems from fossil or non fossil resources (including the diffusion exergy). The systems shown include shell in tube heat exchangers, thermal power cycles, cogeneration, heat pump direct heating systems and cryogenic systems. The representations include simple gravitational analogies to extended exergy pinch diagrams and finally to the exergy bowl with the dead states corresponding, for example, to different oxidation products. The transformation from hydrocarbons to CO2 and H20 is shown in particular, highlighting the diffusion exergy of CO2, which is important when dealing with concepts of CO2 capture


OBJECTIVES
Call centres (CCs) are one of the most rapidly growing types of workplaces in Sweden. The purpose of the study was to assess associations between exposures at CC work and symptoms in the Neck/shoulders and Arm/hand. Comparisons were made between internal and external CCs. An internal CC is a department or separate unit within a larger company with another main core business, while an external CC is a free-standing company.

METHODS
A cross-sectional study of a selected sample of CCs was conducted. A questionnaire, covering characteristics of work and management, physical and psychosocial exposures and symptoms during the last month, was answered by 1,183 operators from 28 CCs.

RESULTS
Three out of four operators reported pain or aches in one or more of the requested body regions, with no major difference between internal and external CC operators. Comfort of the work environment, showed the strongest association with symptoms in the Neck/shoulder and Arm/hand, in both types of CCs. Other exposures associated with symptoms in the Neck/shoulder or Arm/hand in either type of CC were: low complexity of work, long total time of customer calls per day, continuous computer work without a break, high psychological demands, low decision latitude, lack of social support from colleagues and supervisor.

CONCLUSIONS
The study is unique in that there are no previous studies focusing on a large variety of exposures specific to CC work, based on a large number of workers from different types of CCs. The study confirms previously suggested associations between unfavourable work characteristics and management, a poor physical and psychosocial environment, and musculoskeletal symptoms in computer-telephone interactive tasks. The nature of calls during work were related to symptoms of persons working in internal CCs, whereas the time spent seated and continuous computer work were related to symptoms of those in external CCs.


The use of theory to analyse and interpret empirical data is a valued practice in much social science doctoral research. A crucial aspect of this practice involves generating sophisticated theoretical understandings and critiques of phenomena in our social world. Despite the importance of theory, however, few concrete explanations of how to 'theorise' exist in literature. This paper addresses this gap by demonstrating how a set of conceptual tools can be used to unpack what the craft of theorising looks like in explicit terms, and to reveal how this ability develops over time during the drafting process of dissertation writing. It does this by drawing on select texts from a successful doctoral dissertation, as well as an earlier draft version. In doing so, the paper provides an in-depth explanation of an essential process of doctoral research that is inherently known by many supervisors, yet seldom unpacked in explicit terms.


Objectives Dupuytren's disease (DD) is a fibroproliferative disorder of the hands, characterised by the development of fibrous nodules and cords that may cause disabling contractures of the fingers. The role of manual work exposure in the aetiology of DD is controversial. We investigated whether current occupational exposure to manual work is associated with DD, and if there is a dose–response relationship. Methods In this population-based cohort analysis, we used data from the UK Biobank cohort. Our primary outcome was the presence of DD. The exposure of interest was manual work, measured for each participant in two different ways to allow two independent analyses to be undertaken: (1) the current manual work status of the occupation at the time of recruitment, and (2) a cumulative manual work exposure score, calculated based on the occupational history. We performed propensity score matching and applied a logistic regression model. Results We included 196 265 participants for the current manual work analysis, and 96 563 participants for the dose–response analysis. Participants whose current occupation usually/always involved manual work were more often affected with DD than participants whose occupation sometimes/never involved manual work (OR 1.29, 95% CI 1.12 to 1.49, p<0.001). There was a positive dose–response relationship between cumulative manual work exposure score and DD. Each increment in cumulative work exposure score increased the odds by 17% (OR 1.17, 95% CI 1.08 to 1.27, p<0.001). Conclusions Manual work exposure is a risk factor for DD, with a clear dose–response relationship. Physicians treating patients should recognise DD as a work-related disorder and inform patients accordingly.


: A key consideration in favour of animalism—the thesis that persons like you and me are identical to the animals we walk around with—is that it avoids a too many thinkers problem that arises for non-animalist positions. The problem is that it seems that any person-constituting animal would itself be able to think, but if wherever there is a thinking person there is a thinking animal distinct from it then there are at least two thinkers wherever there is a thinking person. Most find this result unacceptable, and some think it provides an excellent reason for accepting animalism. It has been argued, however, that animalists face an analogous problem of too many thinkers, the so-called corpse problem, as they must accept both 1) that we are distinct from our bodies, as our bodies can and we cannot persist through death as corpses and 2) that our bodies can think. I argue that the best reasons animalists have for accepting the two claims that generate the distinctness part of the problem double up as reasons to reject the claim that our bodies can think, and vice versa. I argue further that Lockeans cannot similarly get around their problem of too many thinkers.


That Faulkner was a "liar" not just in his writing but also in his life has troubled many critics. They have explained his numerous "false stories," particularly those about military honors he actually never earned and war wounds he never sustained, with psychopathological imposture-theories. The drawback of this approach is that it reduces and oversimplifies the complex psychological and aesthetic phenomenon of Faulkner's role-playing. Instead, this critical study by one of the most acclaimed international Faulkner scholars takes its cue from Nietzsche's concept of "truth as a mobile army of metaphors" and from Ricoeur's dynamic view of metaphor and treats the wearing of masks not as an ontological issue but as a matter of discourse. Honnighausen examines Faulkner's interviews and photographs for the fictions they perpetuate. Such Faulknerian role-playing he interprets as a mode of organizing experience and relates it to the crafting of the artist's various personae in his works. Mining metaphor as well as modern theories on social role-playing, Honnighausen examines unexplored aspects of image creation and image reception in such major Faulkner novels as The Sound and the Fury, Light in August, A Fable, and Absalom, Absalom!


Kosovo as a transition country has made continuous efforts to attract foreign capital, being confident that it could be a means of capital growth in Kosovo. The Government of Kosovo since 2000 has opened especially the banking sector for foreign investment. Even economic reforms have given special emphasis to this sector by supporting it with internal policies. This paper analyzes the relationship between FDI, interest rates and human capital in Kosovo. The model is evaluated using the Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) approach. The results show that statistically, the predictive variables, Human Capital (HC) and the high interest rates (IR), have significantly contributed to FDI in the service sector. This may be one of the youngest human capital factors with high interest rates in Europe. The fact that expansion of investments from this sector is missing is a sign that profits are repatriated to the home country. The "Crowding-out" effect of foreign capital invested in commercial banks exists. The implication of trade policy and FDI should be revised so that FDI, from the banking sector, is expanded with new banks, a descending factor of interest rates and a facilitating factor for businesses and employment in Kosovo.


The self-diffusion coefficient of zinc in ZnO is derived as a function of the chemical potential and Fermi level from first-principles calculations. Density functional calculations in combination with the climbing image-nudged elastic band method are used in order to determine migration barriers for vacancy, interstitial, and interstitialcy jumps. Zinc interstitials preferentially diffuse to second nearest neighbor positions. They become mobile at temperatures as low as 90–130K and therefore allow for rapid defect annealing. Under predominantly oxygen-rich and n-type conditions self-diffusion occurs via a vacancy mechanism.


By ever increase in using computer network and internet, using Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) has been more important. Main problems of IDS are the number of generated alerts, alert failure as well as identifying the attack type of alerts. In this paper a system is proposed that uses Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System to classify IDS alerts reducing false positive alerts and also identifying attack types of true positive ones. By the experimental results on DARPA KDD cup 98, the system can classify alerts, leading a reduction of false positive alerts considerably and identifying attack types of alerts in low slice of time.


This report presents five case studies on EU Human Rights Dialogues (HRDs). The case studies concern the HRDs with the African Union, China, India, Morocco and Peru. Building on the findings of the previous reports in Work Package 3 of the FRAME project, the aim of this report is to explore how domestic and organisation-based conceptions of human rights, democracy and rule of law emerge in HRDs and what consequences these conceptions entails for the HRDs' goals. The report starts with a description of the methodology used (Chapter II). Next, Chapter III puts HRDs in context by examining their institutional setting. The Chapter specifically focuses on three key issues: respect for sovereignty and the equality of participants; transparency; and the priorities of the dialogues. Chapter IV is dedicated to the case studies. The Chapter is divided in two parts: the first part focuses on General Human Rights Dialogues and the second on Formal Human Rights Dialogues. General HRD's are Dialogues of a general nature based on regional or bilateral treaties, agreements or conventions or strategic partnerships dealing systematically with the issue of human rights. The first case study in this category concerns India. This is an elaborate study. It fills a gap in the scholarly literature since the EUIndia HRD has so far been little researched. One of the main difficulties that the case study highlights with the HRD is that the EU is conditioned by an essentially Eurocentric world-view about India. The next case study in this first part of the Chapter concerns Peru. The research shows that although the EU's conceptions of human rights differ in some respects from the Peruvian, the Dialogue has been productive. The last case study in the part of General HRD's concerns European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP), more specifically Morocco. This too is an elaborate case study which presents a much-needed addition to the academic literature. It details the institutional setting of the dialogue and describes to what extent diverging conceptions of human rights appear in the dialogue, and what the sensitive issues are in this respect. Despite the conceptual differences, this is probably the most successful dialogue of the ones analysed in this report. The second part of the Chapter, the part on Formal HRDs, starts with a brief case study on the African Union. In this dialogue there are real points of contention between the two partners, such as the views on the International Criminal Court and concerning the issue of migration. The case study raises the asymmetry of the bilateral relation rooted in the colonial past. It closes with a brief case study on the HRD with China. It highlights that the EU and China conceptualise human rights, democracy and rule of law differently. These differences are emphasised often by the Chinese. Guarding its national sovereignty, China is cautious about the suggestions made by other powers. In Chapter V the reports concludes with discussing how the institutional settings of the Dialogues impacts their content. It then reflects on key overarching topics, namely state sovereignty; the critique of double standards; universality and cultural diversity; indivisibility; when conceptions patter; and the politicisation of conceptual differences. It closes with some suggestions on how the HRD's could be strengthened.


Reciprocity constraints facilitate the achievement of cooperative outcomes in many game-theoretic settings. Yet, in some situations the equilibrium induced by a reciprocity constraint may not be socially optimal. After presenting the case in which reciprocity yields privately and socially optimal levels of cooperation, this paper identifies the conditions under which reciprocity generates inefficient cooperation. Two groups of cases are presented. In one group reciprocity undershoots (i.e., the parties cooperate less than is socially optimal). In the other, more puzzling case, reciprocity constraints overshoot (i.e., the parties are induced to cooperate more than is socially optimal). This paper identifies the conditions for such occurrences. The paper then examines the ability of a reciprocity constraint to induce a reciprocal social optimum, where a social optimum requires equal levels of effort by the two parties, and identifies situations where reciprocity fails to induce such an optimum.


The G-protein activated, inward-rectifying potassium (K(+)) channels, "GIRKs", are a family of ion channels (Kir3.1-Kir3.4) that has been the focus of intense research interest for nearly two decades. GIRKs are comprised of various homo- and heterotetrameric combinations of four different subunits. These subunits are expressed in different combinations in a variety of regions throughout the central nervous system and in the periphery. The body of GIRK research implicates GIRK in processes as diverse as controlling heart rhythm, to effects on reward/addiction, to modulation of response to analgesics. Despite years of GIRK research, very few tools exist to selectively modulate GIRK channels' activity and until now no tools existed that potently and selectively activated GIRKs. Here we report the development and characterization of the first truly potent, effective, and selective GIRK activator, ML297 (VU0456810). We further demonstrate that ML297 is active in two in vivo models of epilepsy, a disease where up to 40% of patients remain with symptoms refractory to present treatments. The development of ML297 represents a truly significant advancement in our ability to selectively probe GIRK's role in physiology as well as providing the first tool for beginning to understand GIRK's potential as a target for a diversity of therapeutic indications.


Background and objective: The incidence of diabetes mellitus is considered as a major global medical issue around the world in the recent years. Magnesium deficiency has a negative influence on glucose metabolism and plays a critical role in the initiation of diabetic complications. Hence, in the current study, we attempt to explore the level of magnesium ion and other biochemical markers in diabetic participants and to probe credential signs and the association between correlations with other biochemical markers studied in diabetic participants. Subjects and methods: The current study included 80 participants, out of which two groups were formed: 40 healthy participants with normal blood glucose level, 40 type 2 diabetes participants. Systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), fasting blood sugar (FBS), electrolyte profile (sodium, potassium, and magnesium), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), and creatinine were evaluated. Moreover, lipid profile (total cholesterol, triglycerides, and HDL-cholesterol) and the correlation between serum magnesium level and biochemical markers among diabetic participants were assayed. Results: Diabetic participants were characterized by a remarkable elevation in the FBS, HbA1c, BUN, creatinine level, potassium and a significant alteration in lipid profile as compared to healthy participants, while diabetic participants showed a significant decline in the sodium and magnesium levels as compared to healthy participants. Moreover, significant negative correlations were noticed with low serum magnesium and total cholesterol level, HDL-cholesterol, and potassium in diabetic participants. Conclusion: The alterations in lipid and electrolyte profiles observed in diabetic participants have great potential as a diagnostic tool in clinical practice especially hypomagnesaemia which was widespread among our diabetic participants and its correlations with other biochemical markers studied bears important clinical implications in achieving better control of the risk of diabetic complications.


The pre‐summer heavy rainfall over southern China during 3–8 June 2008 is simulated using a two‐dimensional cloud‐resolving model. The model is integrated with imposed zonally uniform vertical velocity, zonal wind, horizontal temperature and vapour advection from National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP)/Global Data Assimilation System (GDAS) data. The effects of vertical wind shear and cloud radiative processes on the response of rainfall to large‐scale forcing are analysed through the comparison of two sensitivity experiments with the control experiment. One sensitivity experiment excludes the large‐scale vertical wind shear and the other excludes the cloud radiative effects. During the decay phase of convection, the increase in model domain‐mean surface rain‐rate resulting from the exclusion of vertical wind shear is associated with the slowdown in the decrease of perturbation kinetic energy due to the exclusion of barotropic conversion from mean kinetic energy to perturbation kinetic energy. The increase in domain‐mean rain‐rate from the exclusion of cloud radiative effects is related to the enhancement of condensation and associated latent heat as a result of strengthened radiative cooling. The increase in the domain‐mean surface rain‐rate is mainly associated with the increase of convective rainfall, which is in turn related to the local atmospheric change from moistening to drying. During the onset and mature phases of convection, the domain‐mean surface rain‐rates are generally insensitive to vertical wind shear and cloud radiative effects whereas convective and stratiform rain‐rates are sensitive to vertical wind shear and cloud radiative effects. The decrease in convective rain‐rate and the increase in stratiform rain‐rate are primarily associated with the enhanced transport of hydrometeor concentration from convective regions to raining stratiform regions. Copyright © 2011 Royal Meteorological Society


BACKGROUND PERSPECTIVES Hurricane Katrina further exacerbated the serious economic challenges faced by New Orleans even before Katrina. The flooding, wind, rain, and unfortunate looting and arson associated with the storm destroyed or damaged thousands of businesses. Commerce was seriously interrupted in industries such as entertainment, hospitality and tourism, finance, and transportation. Small businesses and entrepreneurial efforts suffered extensive losses stemming from the damages, and the city's sales tax base plummeted. The labor force declined considerably, particularly in the health and education industries (According to FedStats and FEMA in 2006, the population of Orleans Parish decreased by 60%: even today, the population is still down 36%). Unemployment increased, and the city faced significant population losses due to out-migration, particularly of the African-American community. Use of mainly Hispanic workers from outside the state to support the huge construction business, while the African-American residents in New Orleans remained without jobs, raised labor issues (Entertainment, Tourism and Hospitality, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, November 8, 2005). The severity of Katrina's destruction has made redevelopment of New Orleans, including promoting investments, small businesses and entrepreneurs, job creation and economic growth, a herculean task. The incredible extent of damage due to the disaster should be a matter of great concern to residents, businesses, policy makers, and politicians for the purpose of acquiring and deploying necessary resources to support a smooth and speedy recovery. In particular, it must be kept in mind that the Hurricane Katrina aftermath produced small business environments that were lacking in planning, susceptible to cash flow reductions, lacking inadequate access to capital for recovery, facing difficulties related to federal government aid, and attempting to operate in a devastated infrastructure, slowing early recovery (Runyun, March, 2006). Also, it is important that government agencies assist affected businesses' attempts to survive and motivate new entrepreneurs to start fresh businesses (Zolin & Kropp, January, 2007). Despite the critical nature of governmental assistance, a previous study showed a high level of dissatisfaction with government aid among New Orleans business owners (Mancuso, June, 2006). This dissatisfaction, in turn, may discourage small business owners from applying for government grants, which can speed up the recovery. LITERATURE REVIEW Justice theory has been successful in explaining attitudes and behaviors in such diverse domains as resource allocation, conflict resolution, personnel selection, and layoffs. Justice, as a perception of fairness of the decision process and decision outcomes, has been shown to influence attitudes (e.g., satisfaction) and behavior (e.g., turnover) (Greenberg, 1990). Researchers have developed conceptual models of justice theory that explain the role of fairness in organizations by identifying factors (e.g., Bies, 1987) that account for different dimensions of justice and their effects on attitudes and behaviors ( Andrews, Baker, & Hunt, 2008; Hershcovi, et.al., 2007; McFarlin & Sweeney, 1992). These dimensions include procedural justice, interactional justice, and distributive justice. Procedural justice refers to the fairness of the formal procedures through which outcomes are achieved (Greenberg, 1990). A number of research studies have demonstrated that procedural justice affects attitudes toward the organization and its operations (Korsgaard, Schweiger, & Spienza, 1995). Interactional justice deals with the interpersonal treatment people receive from the decision maker and the adequacy with which formal decision-making procedures are explained (Bies, 1987). Empirical evidence has shown that perceptions of fairness may also be affected by the interpersonal treatment received from the decision-maker, causing affective and behavioral reactions (Donovan, Drasgow, & Munson, 1998). …


Background: Remote ischemic preconditioning is a simple therapy that may reduce cardiac and kidney injury. We undertook a randomized controlled trial to evaluate the effect of this therapy on markers of heart and kidney injury after cardiac surgery. Methods: Patients at high risk of death within 30 days after cardiac surgery were randomly assigned to undergo remote ischemic preconditioning or a sham procedure after induction of anesthesia. The preconditioning therapy was three 5-minute cycles of thigh ischemia, with 5 minutes of reperfusion between cycles. The sham procedure was identical except that ischemia was not induced. The primary outcome was peak creatine kinase–myocardial band (CK-MB) within 24 hours after surgery (expressed as multiples of the upper limit of normal, with log transformation). The secondary outcome was change in creatinine level within 4 days after surgery (expressed as log-transformed micromoles per litre). Patient-important outcomes were assessed up to 6 months after randomization. Results: We randomly assigned 128 patients to remote ischemic preconditioning and 130 to the sham therapy. There were no significant differences in postoperative CK-MB (absolute mean difference 0.15, 95% confidence interval [CI] −0.07 to 0.36) or creatinine (absolute mean difference 0.06, 95% CI −0.10 to 0.23). Other outcomes did not differ significantly for remote ischemic preconditioning relative to the sham therapy: for myocardial infarction, relative risk (RR) 1.35 (95% CI 0.85 to 2.17); for acute kidney injury, RR 1.10 (95% CI 0.68 to 1.78); for stroke, RR 1.02 (95% CI 0.34 to 3.07); and for death, RR 1.47 (95% CI 0.65 to 3.31). Interpretation: Remote ischemic precnditioning did not reduce myocardial or kidney injury during cardiac surgery. This type of therapy is unlikely to substantially improve patient-important outcomes in cardiac surgery. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, no. NCT01071265.


The aim of the work presented herein was the generation of high-affinity shark vNAR domains targeting different disease related antigens. For this, the natural IgNAR V domain repertoire of the bamboo shark (Chiloscyllium plagiosum) was analyzed and in analogy to these findings, a semi-synthetic complementarity determining region 3 (CDR3)-randomized Type IV vNAR library was constructed for yeast surface display. Through library screening against several disease-related antigens multiple different antigen-binding vNAR domains were isolated and characterized in terms of affinity, revealing moderate affinities in the triple-digit nano-molar to micro-molar range.
For optimization of antigen-binding vNAR domains, a new methodology for the affinity maturation was established that relies on the diversification of CDR1 of target-enriched binders. Sub-libraries were constructed in which five residues of the CDR1 loop were randomized and affinity-enhanced vNAR domains were identified by library screening using significantly decreased target concentrations. Affinities determined using yeast surface display revealed substantially affinity-optimized clones compared to parental molecules, obtained from initial library sorting.
Additionally, several vNAR domains were produced as soluble protein and characterized more meticulously in terms of affinity using bio-layer interferometry and in terms of stability via thermal shift assays. In this respect, affinities calculated by yeast surface display strongly correlated with affinities determined for soluble IgNAR V domains. Moreover, all produced vNAR variants exhibited high thermo-stability. Besides, an EpCAM-binding, affinity-matured vNAR domain was expressed as Fc-fusion protein in mammalian cells. Characterization of this formatted variant using bio-layer interferometry resulted in a moderately, but significantly enhanced affinity by the factor of three, presumably through avidity-effects.
Furthermore, also the generation of a new antigen-binding site into the IgNAR variable domain was in the scope of this work. This was achieved through the diversification of hypervariable loop 2 (HV2) of the IgNAR V domain and library screening. An EpCAM-specific vNAR was used as starting material and nine residues in HV2 were randomized. Target-specific clones comprising a new HV2-mediated paratope were isolated against cluster of differentiation 3e (CD3e) and human Fcγ while retaining high affinity for EpCAM, resulting in bi-specific vNAR molecules. Essentially, it was demonstrated that a new paratope can be engineered into the vNAR scaffold that acts independently from the original antigen-binding site, composed of CDR3 and CDR1, as verified by yeast surface display.


Organisational routines i.e. firms specific, path dependent, repeated patterns of collective behaviour are at the heart of the capabilities-based perspective of building competitive advantage. It is therefore not surprising to see a large body of scholarly work on the impact of organisational routines on performance of firms. However, in contrast to the number of studies on the impact of organisational routines, there are far fewer studies on the mechanisms by which organisations filter through alternates before adopting routines. The three essays in this dissertation contribute to our understanding of what influences organisational choices in adopting routines i.e. how to choose what to do?

Building on the concepts in evolutionary economics, behavioural theory of the firm, and attention-based theory of strategic decision making, we argue that performance is not just a function of availability of resources and capabilities, but it is also guided by structural constraints that act as attention-focusing mechanism and influence choices in allocating limited resources. We propose that these mechanisms operate across macro- and micro-levels and that the observed behaviour of the macro-system is the aggregated result of the heterogeneous choices made by agents at the micro-level under these attention-focusing mechanisms.

The three essays in the dissertation contribute to our understanding of how three different attention focusing mechanism namely organisational mandates, competitive pressure under constraints, and multipoint competition focus the attention of decision makers on some opportunities more than others. These attention-focusing mechanisms help decision makers to filter though alternatives and make micro-level choices to adopt or not to adopt routines that influence innovation performance at a macro-level.


Dr A. L. Harris asked if it were possible to distinguish between progressive and retrogressive mineral assemblages in the calc-silicates. Where studied by him at Loch Quoich and in River Loyne, the Quoich granitic gneiss and the adjacent Moine metasediments clearly share a common history of penetrative deformation followed by thorough annealing recrystallization. The Quoich granitic gneiss must originate either by migmatization involving potash enrichment in a zone of high strain (cf. Johnstone et al. 1969) or by the introduction of slices of granitic basement into the Moine cover, again presumably along zones of high strain. Discordance of these zones to the metamorphic isograds traced by Dr Winchester is an important demonstration that the pattern of metamorphic grade in this district was established later than the main penetrative espisodes to affect the rocks. If it can be demonstrated conclusively by textural evidence that the calc-silicate assemblages, on which the isograds are based, are retrogressive assemblages then the theory of the origin of the gneisses by migmatization may still be valid. On the other hand, if the assemblages are progressive, it should be recognized that the migmatization, which is unlikely to have taken place during progressive metamorphism at garnet grade, cannot be solely responsible for the presence and nature of the gneiss. In this event, the granitic gneiss must in all probability consist of basement slices, but of a completely different lithological type from those recognized along the Sgurr Beag Slide and analogous structures elsewhere in the Northern Highlands. The Author


In Thome H. Fang, Tang Junyi and Huayan Thought, King Pong Chiu discusses Thome H. Fang and Tang Junyi, two important Confucian thinkers in twentieth-century China, who appropriated Huayan thought to develop a response to the challenges of 'scientism'.


Abstract Peer effects, in which an individual's behavior is affected by peers' behavior, are posited by multiple theories in the social sciences. Randomized field experiments that identify peer effects, however, are often expensive or infeasible, so many studies of peer effects use observational data, which is expected to suffer from confounding. Here we show, in the context of information and media diffusion, that high-dimensional adjustment of a nonexperimental control group (660 million observations) using propensity score models produces estimates of peer effects statistically indistinguishable from those using a large randomized experiment (215 million observations). Compared with the experiment, naive observational estimators overstate peer effects by over 300% and commonly available variables (e.g., demographics) offer little bias reduction. Adjusting for a measure of prior behaviors closely related to the focal behavior reduces this bias by 91%, while models adjusting for over 3700 past behaviors provide additional bias reduction, reducing bias by over 97%, which is statistically indistinguishable from unbiasedness. This demonstrates how detailed records of behavior can improve studies of social influence, information diffusion, and imitation; these results are encouraging for the credibility of some studies but also cautionary for studies of peer effects in rare or new behaviors. More generally, these results show how large, high-dimensional datasets and statistical learning can be used to improve causal inference. Supplementary materials for this article are available online.


Using a setting where mandatory audit firm rotation has been effective for more than 20 years (i.e., Italy), we analyze how audit quality changes during the auditor engagement period. In our research setting, auditors are appointed for a 3-year period and their term can be renewed twice up to a maximum of 9 years. Since the auditor has incentives to be reappointed at the end of the first and the second 3-year periods, we expect audit quality to be higher in the third (i.e. the last) term compared to the previous two. Assuming that a better audit quality is associated to a higher level of reporting conservatism and using abnormal working capital accruals (AWCA), we find that the auditor becomes more conservative in the last 3-year period, i.e. the one preceding the mandatory rotation. The well-known Basu (1997) model on timely loss recognition, used as a robustness test, confirms our main results. In an additional analysis, we use earnings response coefficients as a proxy for investor perception of audit quality, and we observe results consistent with an increase in audit quality perception in the last engagement period.


Around the globe, economists affect markets by saying what markets are doing, what they should do, and what they will do. Increasingly, experimental economists are even designing real-world markets. But, despite these facts, economists are still largely thought of as scientists who merely observe markets from the outside, like astronomers look at the stars. Do Economists Make Markets? boldly challenges this view. It is the first book dedicated to the controversial question of whether economics is performative--of whether, in some cases, economics actually produces the phenomena it analyzes.The book's case studies--including financial derivatives markets, telecommunications-frequency auctions, and individual transferable quotas in fisheries--give substance to the notion of the performativity of economics in an accessible, nontechnical way. Some chapters defend the notion; others attack it vigorously. The book ends with an extended chapter in which Michel Callon, the idea's main formulator, reflects upon the debate and asks what it means to say economics is performative.The book's insights and strong claims about the ways economics is entangled with the markets it studies should interest--and provoke--economic sociologists, economists, and other social scientists.In addition to the editors and Callon, the contributors include Marie-France Garcia-Parpet, Francesco Guala, Emmanuel Didier, Philip Mirowski, Edward Nik-Khah, Petter Holm, Vincent-Antonin Lepinay, and Timothy Mitchell.


The ability of crystalline zircon (ZrSiO4) to incorporate and retain trace element and isotopic information, due to sluggish diffusion, makes it an indispensable tool for geochemists and geochronologists (Valley, this volume; Cherniak and Watson, this volume) in deciphering the Earth's geologic history. The stability of crystalline zircon over long periods of geologic time led researchers to prefer this mineral for geochronology (Heaman and Parrish 1991, Dickin 1995, Davis et al., this volume; Parrish and Noble, this volume). In fact, much of what is known about the timing of major geologic events has been accomplished through geochronology using U/Pb isotopic analyses of zircon (Froude et al. 1983, Bowring and Housch 1995, Buick et al. 1995, Bowring et al. 1998, Amelin et al. 1998, Amelin et al. 1999, Bowring and Williams 1999, Amelin et al. 2000, Mojzsis et al. 2001, Wilde et al. 2001, Peck et al. 2001, Bowring and Schmitz, this volume). Because of its durability, zircon has also been proposed as a potential storage material for weapons-grade plutonium from dismantled nuclear weapons (Ewing et al. 1995, Ewing 1999, Ewing et al., this volume).

In addressing the petrogenesis of granitoid rocks, a thorough understanding of the role of accessory minerals is crucial for constraining the distribution of trace elements and isotopes that are hosted mainly by those minerals. In particular, in granitoid rocks that were derived from melting of preexisting crustal sediments or rocks, it is often desirable to understand the role of Zr (and Hf), which is primarily concentrated in zircon. This includes determining whether the zircon crystals are single generation growth having crystallized in the magma in which they were most recently found. Or, if preexisting zircon was entrained (i.e., did not dissolve) in …


New structural and geochronological data from the Eastern Palmer Land Shear Zone, in the vicinity of Beaumont Glacier, provide the first evidence of dated structural control on emplacement of the 119–95 Ma, >13000 km2 Cretaceous Lassiter Coast Intrusive Suite, during the accretionary mid-Cretaceous Palmer Land Event orogeny. A previously undated >100 m thick dyke-like quartz tonalite intrusion was emplaced at 116.5 ± 1.5 Ma (Ar–Ar biotite cooling age) along a NW–SE axis, coeval with NW–SE compressional deformation, and possibly controlled by sinistral transpression along the Beaumont Glacier shear zone. The quartz tonalite preserves two styles of deformation and was probably progressively deformed by normal-sinistral shearing during magmatic cooling with initial deformation of mafic enclaves in the dyke interior and final formation of proto-mylonite to mylonite on the dyke margin. The quartz tonalite cuts folding associated with Phase 1 of the Palmer Land Event, indicating that this folding is older than 116 Ma, extending the onset of Phase 1 back in time. Mylonite on the quartz tonalite sheet margin was subsequently thermally reset at c. 107 Ma (Ar–Ar biotite method), during a peak in Lassiter Coast Intrusive Suite magmatism. Supplementary material: Country rock lithological data, petrographic description of tonalite and Ar–Ar geochronology data are available at www.geolsoc.org.uk/SUP18552.


This Article provides the first comprehensive account of non-Voting Rights Act federal voting laws. Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act—long the most effective voting rights law in American history—was disabled by the Supreme Court in Shelby County v. Holder. Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act is in the crosshairs. As the Supreme Court becomes more hostile to race-based antidiscrimination laws like the Voting Rights Act, Congress will turn to race-neutral, election administration-based reforms to strengthen the right to vote. Indeed, many proposals for reform post-Shelby County have taken this form. The federal laws this Article examines—the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA), the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA), and the Help America Vote Act (HAVA)—regulate major aspects of the elections process: voter registration, absentee ballots, voting machine technology, and accessibility for disabled persons. These statutes, and the model of regulation they illustrate, both represent the future of federal election law and present previously unstudied challenges with implications for election law broadly. Federal legislation that seeks to regulate and standardize elections implicates complicated relationships among federal, state, and local governments. This domain of "election law federalism" has two distinct features: (1) unusually expansive federal power to legislate pursuant to the Elections Clause; and (2) widespread state prerogative to delegate election responsibilities to local government. Because of these unusual characteristics, federal election laws of the kind this Article discusses run in perceived tension with traditional federalism doctrines like the anticommandeering principle and state authority to organize its own subdivisions. That tension has created enforcement difficulties and widespread noncompliance with the statutes. This Article proposes reforms that would allow federal election legislation to accommodate the realities of the elections system and more effectively optimize the roles of federal, state, and local governments within the elections system.


The prefrontal cortex (PFC) plays an important role in executive and higher cognitive functions. The PFC is also heavily innervated by the dopaminergic (DA) and serotonergic (5-HT) systems. Abnormal PFC activities and rhythms, and dysfunctions in the DA and 5-HT systems have been implicated in some neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders. Despite the high level of interest in these brain systems, the combined DA and 5-HT influences on PFC dynamics remain unknown. In this work, we incorporate essential available experimental findings into a mathematical model to systematically analyse the combined modulation of DA and 5-HT, with a focus on the beta and gamma band oscillations. Our results are as follows. First, we find that single pyramidal cells with 5-HT1A and 2A receptors can be modulated by 5-HT non-monotonically. Secondly, two-population excitatory-inhibitory type networks consisting of pyramidal cells expressing D1 receptors can exhibit rich network oscillation behaviors. In particular, 5-HT and DA can modulate the amplitude and frequency of the oscillations, which can emerge or cease, depending on receptor types. Certain receptor combinations are conducive for the robustness of the oscillatory regime, and for the existence of multiple discrete oscillatory regimes. Thirdly, high DA concentration can support robust network oscillation in a heterogeneous multi-population model that takes into account possible combination of receptors. Fourthly, selective D1 receptor antagonists (agonists) tend to suppress (enhance) network oscillations, and shift from beta toward gamma band, while selective 5-HT1A antagonists (agonists) act in opposite ways. Finally, selective D2 or 5-HT2A receptor antagonists (agonists) can lead to a decrease (increase) in oscillation amplitude, but only 5-HT2A antagonists (agonists) can increase (decrease) the frequency. These results are comparable to some pharmacological effects. Our results illustrate the complex mechanisms of DA and 5-HT when operating simultaneously through multiple receptors.


Background: Rapid changes in the healthcare environment and public dissatisfaction with the cost and quality of medical care have prompted a critical analysis of how physicians are trained in the United States. Accrediting agencies have catalyzed a transformation from a process based to a competency-based curriculum, both at the undergraduate and the graduate levels. Aim: The objective of this overview is to determine how these changes are likely to alter the role of basic science in medical education. Methods: Policy statements related to basic science education from the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME), the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS), and the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) were reviewed and assessed for common themes. Results: Three primary roles for the basic sciences in medical education are proposed: (1) basic science to support the development of clinical reasoning skills; (2) basic science to support a critical analysis of medical and surgical interventions ("evidence-based medicine"); and (3) basic and translational science to support analysis of processes to improve healthcare ("science of healthcare delivery"). Conclusion: With these roles in mind, several methods to incorporate basic sciences into the curriculum are suggested.


Survey results indicate that the majority of studies on entrepreneurship have merely focused on industrial entrepreneurship. Studying and distinguishing the cultural entrepreneurial processes, particularly entrepreneurship that concerns cultural goods is necessary to establish a developed country in various industrial, social, political, and cultural aspects. These conditions are deemed essential for the fulfillment of any other end as well as providing the fundamental grounds for the growth of cultural entrepreneurship, distinguishing the contexts that impact the entrepreneurship of cultural goods renders the feasibility of development for the involved individuals and cultural entrepreneurs, alongside implementing the necessary considerations for government policies. Accordingly, the present study strives to distinguish the effective contexts for entrepreneurship of cultural goods in Iran and further presents a qualitative method of content analysis. Data were gathered through semi-structured and in-depth interviews conducted with thirteen individuals that were * Corresponding author: email@example.com included within the three respective areas of cultural goods entrepreneurs, culture and art professors, and policymakers, by employing the snowball sampling technique. Accordingly, the gathered data were further analyzed via open and axial coding at three levels. Conclusively, the obtained results were classified into five separate axes, which are listed as the mental pattern of independent cultural consumption and production in society, establishing a shared vision for the advancement of cultural federalism in society, cultural systems providing services in society, cultivating the personal capabilities of cultural entrepreneurs in society, and productive culture learning process in society. Each of these designated axes includes subcategories that have been addressed in this


This research aims to determine the influence factors of cervical cancer prevention behavior of childbearing woman. Methodology on this research was a survey design with cross sectional approach. The sample in this research were 99 respondents who live in Rejosari with snowball sampling technique. Measuring instruments used was a questionnaire. The analysis used was univariate and bivariate analysis using Chi-Square test and Fisher Exact test. The results showed there were relations between knowledge (ρ=0.045) and social support (ρ=0.000) toward behavior cervical cancer prevention. While age (ρ=0.306), education (ρ=1.000), and economy (ρ=0.561) there were not the relations toward behavior cervical cancer prevention. Based on the results of this research, it is recommended for health care institutions especially for public health center staff to increased a health education of cervical cancer prevention and extend a health promotion target. Keyword: Cervical cancer, childbearing woman, prevention behavior


Many bacteria, often associated with eukaryotic hosts and of relevance for biotechnological applications, harbour a multipartite genome composed by more than one replicon. Biotechnologically relevant phenotypes are often encoded by genes residing on the secondary replicons. A synthetic biology approach to developing enhanced strains for biotechnological purposes could therefore involve merging pieces or entire replicons from multiple strains into a single genome. Here we report the creation of a genomic hybrid strain in a model multipartite genome species, the plant-symbiotic bacterium Sinorhizobium meliloti. In particular, we moved the secondary replicon pSymA (accounting for nearly 20% of total genome content) from a donor S. meliloti strain to an acceptor strain. The cis-hybrid strain was screened for a panel of complex phenotypes (carbon/nitrogen utilization phenotypes, intra- and extra-cellular metabolomes, symbiosis, and various microbiological tests). Additionally, metabolic network reconstruction and constraint-based modelling were employed for in silico prediction of metabolic flux reorganization. Phenotypes of the cis-hybrid strain were in good agreement with those of both parental strains. Interestingly, the symbiotic phenotype showed a marked cultivar-specific improvement with the cis-hybrid strains compared to both parental strains. These results provide a proof-of-principle for the feasibility of genome-wide replicon-based remodelling of bacterial strains for improved biotechnological applications in precision agriculture.


Academics in an engineering school at an Australian university participated in peer observation of a teaching program using a partnership approach. The present case study explains and discusses program aims, design, process and outcomes. The success of the program was dependent on four critical elements: educational leadership; a staged, voluntary, opt-in/out-out process involving a hands-on preparatory workshop and trial observation; partnering early-career and experienced academic staff; and an 'external to faculty' coordinator. The importance of these four elements, the stages of the program and the impact on the development of collegiality within the school and aspects of the teaching role are discussed. This case offers further insights into the complexities of peer observation of teaching and a tested framework for introducing peer observation of teaching programs within schools and departments.


With the victory of Hugo Chávez in the 1998 presidential elections, Venezuela became the first country in the Latin American "pink tide." Up to then, mainstream political analysis had considered Venezuela a stable liberal democracy. Little attention had been paid to the country internationally. Former army officer Chávez was met with suspicion by the international left, which knew little about the Venezuelan left and the contemporary history of the country, and the right thought it could persuade him to act in its interests. The process of social transformation launched, named the "Bolivarian Revolution" after Venezuelan independence leader Simón Bolivar, became radicalized rapidly and was soon declared socialist. Internal policies were characterized by popular participation, expropriations, and redistribution of the oil wealth. Internationally, Venezuela took an active role in promoting regional integration and South–South cooperation. Chávez and the social transformation process in Venezuela rapidly gained strong sympathies among social movements and the radical left throughout the Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) region; for the same reasons, Venezuela came to be the number-one enemy of the Latin American right and the United States, which supported several attempts to overthrow the government. After Chávez's death in 2013, his successor, Nicolás Maduro, faced an increasingly violent opposition, a severe economic crisis, growing hostility from the United States and the European Union (EU), and a regional context in which the rise of right-wing governments reversed the "pink tide." Since early 2019, the situation has escalated because of sanctions by the U.S. and EU countries; the recognition of a self-proclaimed "interim president" belonging to the opposition, by the United States, most EU countries, and the right-wing governments in Latin America; coup attempts; and the open threat of U.S. military intervention. The unfolding of the Bolivarian Revolution, the forces at play, and the main points of conflict need to be analyzed in their historical context.


Between the idea/And the reality ... [f]alls the Shadow. -T. S. Eliot, "The Hollow Men"1 It can be said without undue exaggeration that the British writer W. Somerset Maugham (1874- 1965) represents the modern- day cinematic equivalent of Jane Austen. While, after almost two hundred years, Austen's novels still provide extensive bases for film adaptations, the cinematic versions of Maugham's extensive oeuvre constitute an ongoing body of work that originated in the late 1920s. In fact, the En glish writer is presently more dramatized on the screen than Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald. His novel Up at the Villa received a film adaptation starring Sean Penn and Kristin Scott Thomas (Philip Haas, US, 2000), while another novel, The Painted Veil, became the basis of a release featuring Edward Norton and Naomi Watts ( John Curran, US, 2006). But the most fecund source of Maugham's writing remains The Letter. First published as a short story in 1924, then expanded into a successful play in 1927, the narrative of a mysterious missive has been made into at least four films, even a 2007 opera. Moreover, a wide range of distinguished actresses- from Jeanne Eagels to Lee Remick- have undertaken the lead part of Leslie Crosbie.2 Yet despite these factors, no one has extensively examined why The Letter remains a major cinematic source or how that story has been interpreted in its two most important cinematic conceptions: The Letter ( Jean de Limur, US, 1929) starring Eagels and The Letter (William Wyler, US, 1940) featuring Bette Davis. I try to fill that gap by arguing that The Letter represents Maugham's supreme example of rending the veils of illusion in human lives. As with his contemporary T. S. Eliot, Maugham concentrated on how shadows can develop between our self- perceptions and the world's actual workings. I conclude by discussing how the two films remain the definitive cinematic versions.3 There are several reasons why Maugham's work remains a continuing source of inspiration for filmmakers nearly fifty years after his death. An enticing element of Maugham's work lies in the exotic settings of some of his novels and short stories. The writer continually traveled the world, particularly in Asia, after World I. Using the Asian perimeter as a literary milieu, of course, did not initiate a new genre in English- speaking literature, as attested to by Herman Melville's early career. But Maugham's interweaving of exotic locales and psychological complexities closely parallels the later work of Paul Bowles, who used the arid emptiness of the North African desert as a hovering, malign backdrop. An important difference, however, lay in Maugham's Victorian- instilled fastidiousness; while he engaged in the "conventionalities" of murder and adultery, he never ventured into incest or castration. But both Maugham and Bowles juxtapose the irony of a supposedly superior culture often being overtaken by an indigenous one, and how these cultures remain strange to each other (thus drawing on two central definitions of the word "foreign"). Another factor in the continuing cinematic adaptations of Maugham's work lies in his sinuous yet plain style, which readily fits filmmakers' reliance on actions rather than their thoughts. But although Maugham's style does not approach the stream- of- consciousness narratives of James Joyce or the inner musings of Marcel Proust, his style is deceptively plain, thus confirming Hemingway's observation that "if you leave out important things or events that you know about, the story is strengthened."4 The primary reason for Maugham's continuing cultural relevance, however, can be found in the psychological complexity of his work, particularly in his pitiless revelation of human hypocrisies. Maugham often faced accusations that he seemed too "cynical," a factor the author jokingly discussed in his introduction to Quartet (Ken Annakin et al., GB, 1948).5 Yet what has been said of filmmaker Billy Wilder could also be said of Maugham, that what seemed cynical in his work actually represents "a clear- eyed view of life in all its humor and pain. …


We report results from comprehensive mapping and multi-technique geochemical characterization of obsidian from the Alca source in the Peruvian Andes (15.3°S, 72.7°W), aimed at understanding patterns of extraction and trade in one of the world's centers of complex civilization. Alca obsidian was among the most economically important and widely distributed volcanic glasses used for stone tool making in South America from ca. 13 ka until recently, yet the geologic source of this material has never been studied comprehensively. Our work establishes Alca as one of the largest obsidian sources in South America and the only Peruvian source known to have patterned intrasource geochemical variability. There are six geochemically distinct Alca subsources exposed from 2710 to 5165 m elevation over >330 km 2 of the highlands, an area nearly seven times larger than previously known. Our results now permit provenance determination of artifacts to specific outcrops. We analyzed 252 geologic samples using energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence, neutron activation analysis, wavelength-dispersive X-ray fluorescence, and nondestructive, portable energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence. All techniques distinguish the same six Alca subsources, establishing analytical comparability between geochemical methods. Discrimination of Alca obsidian to the subsource level using portable X-ray fluorescence represents a major advance in nondestructive provenance analysis. Further nondestructive analysis of robust sets of obsidian artifacts within Peru will allow high-resolution study of the evolution of central Andean exchange systems.


We present a self-consistent MHD model for the jet of M87. The model consist of two distinct zones: an inner relativistic outflow, which we identify with the observed jet, and an outer cold disk wind. While the former does not self-collimate efficiently due to its high effective inertia, the latter fulfills all the conditions for efficient collimation by the magneto-centrifugal mechanism. Given the right balance between the effective inertia of the inner flow and the collimation efficiency of the outer disk wind, the relativistic flow is magnetically confined into a well collimated beam for a wide range of parameters and matches the measurements of the opening angle of M87 over several orders of magnitude in spatial extent. In the second part of this work, we present synthetic synchrotron emission maps for our MHD models. In principle, the two-zone model can reproduce the morphological structure seen in radio observations, as central-peaked profiles across the jet close the the source, limb-bright further down the jet, and a bright knot close to the position of HST-1. However it is difficult to reconcile all features with a single set of parameters.


In normal airways, hyaluronan (HA) matrices are primarily located within the airway submucosa, pulmonary vasculature walls, and, to a lesser extent, the alveoli. Following pulmonary injury, elevated levels of HA matrices accumulate in these regions, and in respiratory secretions, correlating with the extent of injury. Animal models have provided important insight into the role of HA in the onset of pulmonary injury and repair, generally indicating that the induction of HA synthesis is an early event typically preceding fibrosis. The HA that accumulates in inflamed airways is of a high molecular weight (>1600 kDa) but can be broken down into smaller fragments (<150 kDa) by inflammatory and disease-related mechanisms that have profound effects on HA pathobiology. During inflammation in the airways, HA is often covalently modified with heavy chains from inter-alpha-inhibitor via the enzyme tumor-necrosis-factor-stimulated-gene-6 (TSG-6) and this modification promotes the interaction of leukocytes with HA matrices at sites of inflammation. The clearance of HA and its return to normal levels is essential for the proper resolution of inflammation. These data portray HA matrices as an important component of normal airway physiology and illustrate its integral roles during tissue injury and repair among a variety of respiratory diseases.


In order to fulfill the growing demands from the grid side, full-scale power converters are becoming popular in the wind turbine system. The low-voltage ride-through (LVRT) requirements may not only cause control problems but also result in overstressed components for the power converter. However, the thermal loading of the wind power converter under various grid faults is still not yet clarified, particularly at megawatt power level. In this paper, the impacts by three types of grid faults to a three-level neutral-point-clamped (3L-NPC) wind power converter in terms of operating and loading conditions are analytically solved and simulated. It has been found that the operating and loading conditions of the converter under LVRT strongly depend on the types/severity values of grid voltage dips and also the chosen control algorithms. The thermal distribution among the three phases of the converter may be quite uneven, and some devices are much more stressed than the normal operating condition.


: The floral development of Whytockia W. W. Smith has been studied in order to explore the developmental basis for the arrangement and differentiation patterns of floral organs, and the evolutionary relationship between Whytockia and allies in floral development. The descending imbricate aestivations in both calyx and corolla have remarkably different ontogenetic patterns between calyx and corolla which are derivative with respect to the development of the valvate aestivations in the four-stamened Rhynchoglossum. Both corolla lobes and stamens are initiated simultaneously from the same ring meristem. However, the five stamens remarkably precede the initiation of the five corolla lobes. Also, the adaxial stamen is suppressed after initiation to become a staminode, concomitant with retardation of its adjacent organs during development. This situation, together with the non-acropetal order among whorls of floral organs in Whytockia, is possibly related to a late expression and a remarkably different expression pattern of cycloidea-like genes as compared to Antirrhinum. Furthermore, the axile placentation in the bilocular ovary of Whytockia is formed by an involute closure of carpels rather than derived from a secondary fusion of two intrusive parietal placentae.


Hybrid fabrics represent a rapidly emerging branch of reinforcements in composite
materials. A justified use of these textiles requires a good understanding of their role
on the failure behaviour and the mechanical performance of Intraply Woven Hybrid
Composite (IWHC).
This thesis presents a methodology, which helped to describe and explain the failure
behaviour of IWHC using combined experimental and analytical results. In addition it
has been demonstrated that Finite Element (FE) models can be used successfully to
evaluate the extent of damage under impact loading. The efficiency of the models has
been tested against the experimental results and other established micro-mechanical
models. Tensile tests supported by non-destructive techniques such as acoustic
emission, X-ray and strain field measurements have been conducted to characterise
the mechanical behaviour, damage modes and the mechanisms of failure.
The experimental tensile results have identified the non-linear plastic damage
behaviour, while the FE results have indicated the linear elastic damage behaviour.
The overall picture of the failure mechanism has been established by combining the
results gathered from the FE and the experimental analyses.
The results of the longitudinal tensile tests show an increase in stiffness and strength
properties with the increase in the carbon content in the carbon-aramid hybrid
composite. Fibre dominated elastic properties have been predicted with an acceptable
accuracyb ut predictionf or matrix-dominatedb ehaviourh ash ad significante rrors.
This study has identified three major damage events during the tensile loading process
at different strain levels. These include a) onset of damage initiated by debonding of
aramid fibres, b) formation of clusters of damaged carbon fibres c) necking of aramid
fibres at the high stress concentration areas (crimp regions). Eventually, when the
content of unbroken fibres is insufficient to withhold the load, abrupt failure occurs
locally. Furthermore the residual compressive strengths of the hybrids have been assessed
after subjecting them to low velocity impact loading. All the experimental data have
been used to support and test the FE models of impact loading. X-ray and scanning
electron microscopy techniques have been used to identify the extent and mechanism
of damage operating during the impact loading. It has been shown that the lower
stiffness property in the hybrid composite has prevailed over the high toughness
property. Interesting trends have been established for the flexure energy absorption,
impact energy absorption and damage tolerance in compression after impact testing
for hybrid composites with different carbon contents.


: Objective: To determine association of in-hospital outcome of AKI with etiology in newborns at a tertiary care hospital. Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted at Department of Pediatric Neonatology, Services Hospital, Lahore by using non-probability purposive sampling technique from June 2016 to June 2017. A total of 101 newborns diagnosed with acute kidney injury were registered. Etiological factors were assessed and these patients were followed till discharge to monitor in-hospital outcomes. Results: Of these 101 newborns, 75 (74.3%) were boys while 26 (25.7%) were girls. Mean age of these newborns was 7.59 ± 6.13 days (range; 1 day to 28 days). Mean age of the boys was 5.73 ± 7.20 days while that of girls was 6.77 ± 6.16 days. (p=0.515). Mean weight of these neonates was 2545.05 ± 600.42 grams (range; 1000 grams to 4000 grams). Mean serum potassium level was 4.94 ± 0.92 mgEq/L ranging from 3.1 mgEq/L to 7.0 mgEq/L. Mean urea level was 73.35 ± 27.65 mg/dl ranging from 18 mg/dl to 206 mg/ dl. Mean serum creatinine level was 1.98 ± 0.27 mg/dl, ranging from 1.6 mg/dl to 2.8 mg/dl. Mean serum sodium level was 145.72 ± 12.64 mgEq/L ranging from 126 to 166 mEq/L. Eighty one (80.2%) were term babies while 20 (19.8%) were pre-term babies. Of these 101 study cases, 29 (28.7%) delivered vaginally while 72 (71.3%) through cesarean section. Delayed crying was noted in 48 (47.5%), dehydration 13 (12.9%), sepsis in 36 (35.6%) and renal malformation in only 4%. Neonatal mortality in these patients was 15 (14.9%) while 86 (85.1%) were discharged from hospital after recovery. Conclusion: Acute kidney disease in newborns is associated with significant disease morbidity and mortality with asphyxia and sepsis are the main etiological factors responsible. It is predominantly more common in boys compared with girls. Mortality rate was high in our study and it was significantly associated with female gender. Mortality was also associated with elevated serum sodium and urea level.


Semantic Web is a common framework to share data across several applications and various enterprises. More specifically it is a term for a data web that can be operated by the machines. Semantic Web Services represents the server side of the client server architecture for interactions between two or more machines through World Wide Web. Semantic Web uses Extensible Markup Languages which represents data in a more sophisticated and detailed way which is understandable by the machines. In recent years Semantic Web Services is being used widely. Meanwhile, several security issues regarding the same have popped up. In addition with the emerging technology cloud computing semantic web security has acquired major importance.Thus various solutions to solve this problemhas also been proposed. This paper presents a comparative study of the various security methods that have come up and benefits and drawback of each method.


This article examines some basic policies and constitutional principles that were embedded in the political restructuring put in place by the Abacha regime in Nigeria. This is against the background of the renewed national interest to explore public policies and principles that can enhance the political and constitutional order in the country. The article argues that some of the principles hold great promise but noted that the regime had, itself, taken steps that could have possibly undermined some of these policies and principles. It further argues that some aspects of the political restructuring were novel even though they were not necessarily of functional value in Nigeria. It concludes that the design and implementation of the restructuring programme by the Abacha administration were fraught with problems that could have inevitably undermined the programme.


The paper provides an overview and a comparison of land markets covering the three candidate countries for European Union membership: Croatia, the Former Yugoslav Republic (FYR) of Macedonia and Turkey. It analyses and compares agricultural land structures and factors driving land markets, based on the available cross-section and time-series evidence on agricultural land structures and land productivity (yields). The land productivity measured by production per hectare of agricultural land varies between the three countries. Agricultural land structures are the result of historical evolution in land markets and land-leasing developments with additional different institutional environments and agrarian and land reforms.


The use of color as a coding device has been limited in some important applications because a practical maximum of only about 15 absolutely identifiable colors have been found experimentally. This investigation was undertaken to determine whether or not substantial improvement in color identification could be obtained as a result of extended practice. One subject practiced on Munsell color chips for about five months. Performance improved continuously, and at the end of the practice period the subject was able to identify 50 colors with almost perfect accuracy. However, errors increased markedly during three months of no practice immediately following the training period.


A comprehensive guide to the calls of the 44 species of bat currently known to occur in Europe. Following on from the popular British Bat Calls by Jon Russ, this new book draws on the expertise of more than forty specialist authors to substantially update all sections, further expanding the volume to include sound analysis and species identification of all European bats. Aimed at volunteers and professional alike, topics include the basics of sound, echolocation in bats, an introduction to acoustic communication, equipment used and call analysis. For each species, detailed information is given on distribution, emergence, flight and foraging behaviour, habitat, echolocation calls – including parameters of common measurements – and social calls. Calls are described for both heterodyne and time expansion/full spectrum systems. A simple but complete echolocation guide to all species is provided for beginners, allowing them to analyse call sequences and arrive at the most likely species or group. The book also includes access to a downloadable library of over 450 calls presented as sonograms in the species sections.


This paper discusses congestion control from a game-theoretic perspective. There are two basic premises: (1) users are assumed to be independent and selfish, and (2) central administrative control is exercised only at the network switches. The operating points resulting from selfish user behavior depend crucially on the service disciplines implemented in network switches. This effect is investigated in a simple model consisting of a single exponential server shared by many Poisson sources. We discuss the extent to which one can guarantee, through the choice of switch service disciplines, that these selfish operating points will be efficient and fair. We also discuss to what extent the choice of switch service disciplines can ensure that these selfish operating points are unique and are easily and rapidly accessible by simple self-optimization techniques. We show that no service discipline can guarantee optimal efficiency. As for the other properties, we show that the traditional FIFO service discipline guarantees none of these properties, but that a service discipline called Fair Share guarantees all of them. While the treatment utilizes game-theoretic concepts, no previous knowledge of game theory is assumed.


Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) play a fundamental role in the economy of many countries, including Italy. The simplicity of the financial structure of Italian SMEs, relying mostly on bank loans, makes them riskier than their larger counterparts and this induces banks to develop default prediction models specifically addressing the management of SMEs' credit relationship. Building on this framework, this article aims to analyse the determinants of the default probability of a sample of 9208 Italian limited liabilities SMEs in a time frame of 3 years, over the period 2006 to 2010. Specifically, this article adopts a logistic regression model estimated on a database provided by the Centrale Rischi Finanziari (CRIF), an Italian credit rating agency. The results show that, among the observable financial and economic characteristics of the firms, the capital structure (both in terms of internal and external funds and in terms of the source of external financing) and interest expenses are more relevant than economic variables as determinants of SMEs' default.