Genome-wide association studies unveiled the associations between the single nucleotide polymorphism rs16969968 of CHRNA5, encoding the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor alpha5 subunit (α5SNP), and nicotine addiction, cancer, and COPD independently. Here, we investigated α5SNP-induced epithelial remodeling and inflammatory response in human COPD airways. We included 26 α5SNP COPD patients and 18 wild-type α5 COPD patients in a multi-modal study. A comparative histologic analysis was performed on formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded lung tissues. Isolated airway epithelial cells from bronchial brushings were cultivated in the air-liquid interface. Broncho-alveolar fluids were collected to detect inflammatory mediators. Ciliogenesis was altered in α5SNP COPD bronchial and bronchiolar epithelia. Goblet cell hyperplasia was exacerbated in α5SNP small airways. The broncho-alveolar fluids of α5SNP COPD patients exhibited an increase in inflammatory mediators. The involvement of the rs16969968 polymorphism in airway epithelial remodeling and related inflammatory response in COPD prompts the development of innovative personalized diagnostic and therapeutic strategies.


The following work documents the design of an HF band direct sequence point-topoint link as used in a rural environment. The dissertation begins with a description of the overall document layout. An introduction into the problems associated with providing rural access is then given, with special emphasis on wireless technologies. It is argued that the attributes of HF band radio make it a good candidate for providing wireless communications links for under serviced rural areas in South Africa. The pitfalls and disadvantages of using an ionospheric-based medium in which to propagate an electromagnetic wave are discussed and several solutions are put forward. One of these solutions is Direct Sequence Code Division Multiple Access (DS-CDMA). A thorough analysis of the principles of DS-CDMA is given with emphasis on its abilities to combat the negating effects of the HF channel. A CDMA HF system is then proposed, outlining the various practical and theoretical aspects. Next, an HF channel model is designed and simulated, first with no spreading or coding, then with just spreading and finally with spreading and coding. It is found that although the extra diversity of the spreading and coding aid in reducing the bit error probability, more detailed local measurements and refinement in the design of the channel model and simulated system are needed to increase performance. Various aspects of a practical system that was built are then discussed, highlighting issues such as hardware interfacing and the software design of a man-machine-interface. Field measurements are also given with estimates on an upper limit on expected performance of a practical system. Finally conclusions are given, detailing the achievements and shortcomings of the research.


Hides and skins have been used since before the evolution of homo sapiens and some form of skin working technology has been employed by most human cultures throughout the world. As a result, artefacts made from the different materials that can be made from hides and skins are found in collections of artistic, cultural or historic value: the Cultural Heritage. Before any preservation treatment is applied to an artefact, it is necessary for there to be an understanding of the materials from which it is made. Using as a basis twelve of the author's previous publications, this thesis discusses the essential knowledge and understanding of leather science and technology required before objects of leather and other materials made from skin can be treated safely and effectively. All the author's previous publications had been appropriately peer reviewed. The papers from Transactions of the Newcomen Society, Post Medieval Archaeology, Journal of the Society of Technologists and Chemists and The Bookbinder. had been considered by their editorial committees and reviewed by an external referee before acceptance for publication. The book The Conservation of Leather and Related Materials, was published as part of the Butterworth-Heinemann Series in Conservation and Museology, after consideration by a panel of prestigious, international Editors and Consultants. Contributions are only accepted for presentation at Conferences of the United Kingdom Institute of Conservation and the International Council of Museums- Conservation Committee after they have been scrutinised by technical committees. They are then further reviewed by international specialists before publication in the post-prints. The study is set in context by considering briefly the nature of Cultural Heritage, preservation, restoration and conservation. The role of leather science and technology in Heritage Conservation is examined by discussing their contribution to an understanding of • The nature and properties of the material from which the object is made (Materials Science) • How it was manufactured (Historical Technology) • The causes and processes of its decay (Deterioration Mechanisms) • How this deterioration can be mitigated (Conservation Methods) The interactions between these separate but interlinked subjects are evidenced and the fundamental nature of the core topic of Materials Science around which the other subjects can be built is demonstrated. Points that arose during the preparation of this thesis are discussed. These include: the lack of scientific understanding of a significant minority of conservators, the paucity of literature relating the science and technology of leather to its conservation, the imprecise nature of the nomenclature employed by many Heritage professionals when discussing the manufacture of leather and skin based products and the difficulty in successfully challenging accepted orthodoxy in this field.


Cross-sectional positron emission tomography (PET) studies find that cognitively normal carriers of the apolipoprotein E (APOE) ɛ4 allele, a common Alzheimer's susceptibility gene, have abnormally low measurements of the cerebral metabolic rate for glucose (CMRgl) in the same regions as patients with Alzheimer's dementia. In this article, we characterize longitudinal CMRgl declines in cognitively normal ɛ4 heterozygotes, estimate the power of PET to test the efficacy of treatments to attenuate these declines in 2 years, and consider how this paradigm could be used to efficiently test the potential of candidate therapies for the prevention of Alzheimer's disease. We studied 10 cognitively normal ɛ4 heterozygotes and 15 ɛ4 noncarriers 50–63 years of age with a reported family history of Alzheimer's dementia before and after an interval of approximately 2 years. The ɛ4 heterozygotes had significant CMRgl declines in the vicinity of temporal, posterior cingulate, and prefrontal cortex, basal forebrain, parahippocampal gyrus, and thalamus, and these declines were significantly greater than those in the ɛ4 noncarriers. In testing candidate primary prevention therapies, we estimate that between 50 and 115 cognitively normal ɛ4 heterozygotes are needed per active and placebo treatment group to detect a 25% attenuation in these CMRgl declines with 80% power and P = 0.005 in 2 years. Assuming these CMRgl declines are related to the predisposition to Alzheimer's dementia, this study provides a paradigm for testing the potential of treatments to prevent the disorder without having to study thousands of research subjects or wait many years to determine whether or when treated individuals develop symptoms.


ABSTRACT Biofilms are polymicrobial, with diverse bacterial species competing for limited space and nutrients. Under healthy conditions, the different species in biofilms maintain an ecological balance. This balance can be disturbed by environmental factors and interspecies interactions. These perturbations can enable dominant growth of certain species, leading to disease. To model clinically relevant interspecies antagonism, we studied three well-characterized and closely related oral species, Streptococcus gordonii, Streptococcus sanguinis, and cariogenic Streptococcus mutans. S. sanguinis and S. gordonii used oxygen availability and the differential production of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) to compete effectively against S. mutans. Interspecies antagonism was influenced by glucose with reduced production of H2O2. Furthermore, aerobic conditions stimulated the competence system and the expression of the bacteriocin mutacin IV of S. mutans, as well as the H2O2-dependent release of heterologous DNA from mixed cultures of S. sanguinis and S. gordonii. These data provide new insights into ecological factors that determine the outcome of competition between pioneer colonizing oral streptococci and the survival mechanisms of S. mutans in the oral biofilm.


The main purpose of the study is to formulate a model plan for KS among the LIS professionals in the selected public and private university libraries of Bangladesh. In accomplishing this purpose, the study advanced by generating three precise objectives and three research questions (RQs) on the basis of the literature reviewed. It also tested several hypotheses to find the answers to the RQs. In conducting this study; survey, quantitative, comparative and exploratory approaches were adopted. A pre-coded questionnaire was used to collect primary data from the sample drawn from the LIS professionals of the selected public and private university libraries through personal visit. The collected data were analyzed by applying frequency distribution, cross tabulation and descriptive statistical tools while the hypotheses were tested by applying Chi-square test and Mann Whitney U test based on the scale of measurement. The major findings of the study were the perceptions of the LIS professionals from the selected university libraries about the prerequisites for KS (intellectual capital, factors influencing KS, and KS skills); facilitators (KS process, KS methods, KS techniques, and KS tools) and barriers to KS; and consequences of KS (influences of KS on learning, feedback, and transferring knowledge after KS). In fact, this study proposed a model plan for KS among the LIS professionals in the selected university libraries of Bangladesh. The study has the potentiality for implementation in the practical field to introduce and/or transform the conventional and unorganized KS practices by a systematic and organized KS culture. The major limitations of the study are the selection of the university libraries situated only in Dhaka city, excluding the university library users from the population and not justifying the proposed model plan. Therefore the study suggested future research by selecting university libraries from different part of the country, including the user category in the population and attempting to justify the model plan.


Context. The recent gravitational wave measurements have demonstrated the existence of stellar mass black hole binaries. It is essential for our understanding of massive star evolution to identify the contribution of binary evolution to the formation of double black holes.
Aims. A promising way to progress is investigating the progenitors of double black hole systems and comparing predictions with local massive star samples, such as the population in 30 Doradus in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC).
Methods. With this purpose in mind, we analysed a large grid of detailed binary evolution models at LMC metallicity with initial primary masses between 10 and 40 M⊙, and identified the model systems that potentially evolve into a binary consisting of a black hole and a massive main-sequence star. We then derived the observable properties of such systems, as well as peculiarities of the OB star component.
Results. We find that ∼3% of the LMC late-O and early-B stars in binaries are expected to possess a black hole companion when stars with a final helium core mass above 6.6 M⊙ are assumed to form black holes. While the vast majority of them may be X-ray quiet, our models suggest that these black holes may be identified in spectroscopic binaries, either by large amplitude radial velocity variations (≳50 km s−1) and simultaneous nitrogen surface enrichment, or through a moderate radial velocity (≳10 km s−1) and simultaneous rapid rotation of the OB star. The predicted mass ratios are such that main-sequence companions can be excluded in most cases. A comparison to the observed OB+WR binaries in the LMC, Be and X-ray binaries, and known massive black hole binaries supports our conclusion.
Conclusions. We expect spectroscopic observations to be able to test key assumptions in our models, with important implications for massive star evolution in general and for the formation of double black hole mergers in particular.


Once considered peripheral and a green matter, wildlife crimes have moved up global security and policy agendas. The UN General Assembly, for example, adopted two resolutions to tackle wildlife crimes in 2015 and 2016. Meanwhile the South Africa and the Southern African Development (SADC) have declared wildlife trafficking a priority crime issue. Rhino poaching, in particular, has captured the attention of the public, international community and our national government. Less charismatic plant and wildlife species are also harvested and trafficked across the globe. The lesser-known pangolin is considered the most trafficked species while cycads constitute the most threatened plant species on the planet.   The illegal or irregular extraction of natural resources, logging, mining, overfishing, trafficking of toxic, nuclear or electronic waste, and industrial dumping have all become areas of concern.


This article explores the pros and cons for reducing working hours in Europe. To arrive to an informed judgment we review critically the theoretical and empirical literature, mostly from economics, concerning the relation between working hours on the one hand, and productivity, employment, quality of life, and the environment, on the other. We adopt a binary economics distinction between capital and labor productiveness, and are concerned with how working hours may be reduced without harming the earning capacity of workers. There are reasons to believe that reducing working hours may absorb some unemployment, especially in the short-run, even if less than what is advocated by proponents of the proposal. Further, there may well be strong benefits for the quality of peoples' lives. Environmental benefits are likely but depend crucially on complementary policies or social conditions that will ensure that the time liberated will not be directed to resource-intensive or environmentally harmful consumption. It is questionable whether reduced working hours are sustainable in the long-term given resource limits and climate change. We conclude that while the results of reducing working hours are uncertain, this may be a risk worth taking, especially as an interim measure that may relieve unemployment while other necessary structural changes are instituted.


Little is known about user behavior toward what we call preventive computer technologies that have become increasingly important in the networked economy and society to secure data and systems from viruses, unauthorized access, disruptions, spyware, and similar harmful technologies. We present the results of a study of user behavior toward preventive technologies based on the frameworks of theory of planned behavior in the context of anti-spyware technologies. We find that the user awareness of the issues and threats from harmful technologies is a strong predictor of user behavioral intention toward the use of preventive technologies. In the presence of awareness, the influence of subjective norm on individual behavioral intention is significantly weakened among less technology savvy users but strengthened among more technology savvy users. Also, commonly strong determinants "perceived ease of use" and "computer self-efficacy" in utilitarian technologies are no longer as significant in preventive technologies. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.


Aim/Purpose: This paper examines the impact of the transformational, servant, and paternalistic leadership styles on employee performance at the middle and senior levels.

Background: Transdisciplinary research promotes the integration and development of various sciences. It provides more choices for leaders to adopt ways and practical activities to promote enterprise development. Complexity leadership theory emphasizes that effectively functioning organizations need distinct forms of leadership to work together. Leaders rely on different leadership practices in an emergent collaborative context, and finding an optimal balance is challenging. Many scholars have attempted to explore which leadership styles have a more significant impact on employees by distinguishing and defining types of leadership styles and explaining the process by which they influence employee behavior and performance. Various scholars have further explored and empirically demonstrated the impact of these three types of leadership styles (transformational, servant, paternalistic)on employee performance. While transformational and servant leadership have their roots in the West, paternalistic leadership has roots in China. Few scholars have conducted comparative studies on their positive impact on employee performance. How do these three leadership styles affect employee performance at the middle and senior levels in the Chinese context? Which combination of middle and senior leadership styles performs best? These are the second area that this paper will attempt to explore.

Methodology: This study constructs a three-tier model at the senior, middle, and grassroots levels. A questionnaire survey was used to collect data. SPSS 22.0 and Amos were used for data analysis.

Contribution: Through its construction of a three-tier model (senior, middle, and grassroots levels), the paper explores the combined effect of three leadership styles (transformational, servant, and paternalistic) on grassroots employees. It explores the impact of senior leaders across levels on grassroots employee performance, which is expected to provide a valuable addition to theories on leadership styles. It is also instructive to examine which leadership style performs better and what middle and senior leadership configurations are more conducive to driving beneficial employee behavior and, ultimately, corporate growth.

Findings: The transformational, servant, and paternalistic leadership styles, both at the top and middle levels, have a significant positive relationship with employee performance; the middle leadership style plays a positive mediating role between the top leadership style and employee performance. In terms of impact on employee performance, transformational leadership shows the best results at both the top and middle levels, with paternalistic leadership second and servant leadership at the same level. Regarding which middle and senior leadership style pairing is the best, the sample is relatively small, and the gap between various pairing combinations is not evident from the data. If the sample size is enlarged, the coefficient will likely expand year-on-year. Therefore, we can assume that the pairing effect of top servant leadership and middle transformational leadership is the best, top paternalistic leadership and middle transformational leadership is the second-best, and the combination of top paternalistic leadership and middle-level servant leadership leaders is the weakest.

Recommendation for Researchers: This paper extends the study of top and middle leadership's combined effect on employee performance as a positive response to the call for multi-layer or cross-layer analysis in leadership research. The findings further enrich the literature on leadership style-related theories. The middle leadership style plays a positive mediating role between the top leadership style and employee performance. The trickle-down effect is further verified, i.e., the top leadership will have a permeating influence on employees through the middle leadership, and the top's influence on the middle is generally more significant than the influence on grassroots employees. However, the difference between the influence of the middle leadership on the grassroots and that of the top on the grassroots is not apparent, which is inconsistent with the trickle-down effect that the middle leadership communicates more with the grassroots and has more influence on the grassroots, and further verification is needed.

All three types of leaders positively affected employee performance, with the best being transformational leadership, paternalistic leadership, and servant leadership. This finding is consistent with some scholars and inconsistent with some scholars. The interested scholars can do further research.

The better performance of diverse pairings in middle and senior leadership combinations is consistent with previous research suggesting that leadership styles have their own strengths and can be complementary. This paper further provides a comparative study of multiple leadership styles to validate the recognition and adaptability of leadership styles and further explain the complex relationship between leadership styles and employee job performance. Scholars can conduct comparative research on other leadership styles, and there may be different results.

Future Research: Because of the cross-sectional data taken, the findings' generalizability still needs further validation. There are many types of leadership styles, and there are other types of leadership styles that can be explored comparatively, perhaps leading to different findings. From another point of view, various leaders have their strengths, and they are not mutually hindering. More research is needed on team formation in a variety of contexts. Organic organizational structure enables knowledge creation and integration through the process of organizational learning through deep and continuous social interaction or dialogue. So we can further examine the influence process of leaders on employees from how to give full play to their advantages, such as improving shared leadership and shared communication.


Digital video is rapidly becoming important for education, entertainment and a host of multimedia applications. With the size of the video collections growing to thousands of hours, technology is needed to effectively browse segments in a short time without losing the content of the video. We propose a method to extract the significant audio and video information and create a skim video which represents a very short synopsis of the original. The goal of this work is to show the utility of integrating language and image understanding techniques for video skimming by extraction of significant information, such as specific objects, audio keywords and relevant video structure. The resulting skim video is much shorter; where compaction is as high as 20:1, and yet retains the essential content of the original segment. We have conducted a user-study to test the content summarization and effectiveness of the skim as a browsing tool.


Objective
Presurgical long-term video-EEG monitoring (LT-VEEG) is an important part of the presurgical evaluation in patients with focal epilepsy. Multiple seizures need to be recorded, often in limited time and with the need to taper anti-seizure medication (ASM). The aim of this study was to systematically study the yield – in terms of success – and risks associated with presurgical LT-VEEG, and to identify all previously reported contributing variables.

Methods
A systematic review of the databases of PubMed Medline, Embase, Cochrane Central, and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews were searched following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews (PRISMA) guideline. Publications about presurgical LT-VEEG reporting on variables contributing to yield and risk were included. Study characteristics of all included studies were extracted following a standardized template. Within these articles, studies presenting multivariable analyses of factors contributing to the risk of adverse events or the success of LT-VEEG were identified.

Results
We found 36 articles reporting on LT-VEEG, including 4,703 presurgical patients, both children and adults. Presurgical LT-VEEG monitoring led to an average yield of 85%. Adverse events occurred with an averaged total event rate of 17%, but the type of included events was variable among studies. Factors reported to independently contribute to successful LT-VEEG were: baseline seizure frequency, a shorter interval from the most recent seizure, extratemporal lobe epilepsy, and no requirement for ASM reduction. Factors independently contributing to the occurrence of adverse events were: ASM tapering, a history of status epilepticus, a history of focal to bilateral tonic-clonic seizures, psychiatric comorbidity, and ASM taper rate.

Significance
This study reveals that the data on factors contributing to yield and risk of adverse events is significant and variable, and often reported with inadequate statistics. Future research is warranted to develop guidelines for ASM withdrawal during presurgical video-EEG monitoring, taking predefined factors for success and risks of adverse events into account.


Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a well-established therapy for patients with advanced Parkinson's disease (PD), dystonia, and other movement disorders. In contrast to the strong positive effects that have been documented for motor symptoms, the effects of DBS on nonmotor symptoms have not been fully elucidated. Some reports suggest that stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus may improve lower urinary tract symptoms in patients with PD; however, reports of the effects of globus pallidus internus (GPi) DBS on urinary symptoms are limited. The authors present the case of a 49-year-old woman with PD who developed severe urinary incontinence after 27 months of GPi DBS. The urinary incontinence disappeared when stimulation was turned off, and reemerged after it was turned on again. After activation of a more dorsal contact in the left electrode, the patient's urinary dynamics returned to normal.


This paper presents a contribution to the Regional Material Balance Approaches to Long-Term Environmental Policy Planning project (IND project). The policy part of this project - the Ruhr/Katowice Policy Comparison - aims at a better understanding of policy options for cleaning up the Black Triangle. The comparison focuses on the Ruhr Area and the Katowice voivodship which were both identified as hot spots of heavy metal pollution. The Ruhr/Katowice Policy Comparison comprises a historical analysis of the Ruhr Area, which draws heavily on the evidence collected in IIASA's previous Rhine Basin study and which investigates past policies to reduce heavy metal pollution in this area. The investigation was performed by Sander de Bruyn and Simone Schucht during their participation in IIASA's Young Scientists' Summer Program. This paper describes, both quantitatively and qualitatively, the determinants of the reduction of atmospheric heavy metal emissions in Northrhine-Westfalia. It develops methods to describe quantitatively industrial transformation and applies these methods to the analysis of industrial change in Northrhine-Westfalia during the 1955 to 1988 period.


This article examines how Japanese colonial migration to Hokkaido in the first two decades of the Meiji era paved the way for Japanese trans-Pacific migration to the United States in the 1880s. It elaborates how Japanese leaders carefully emulated the Anglo-American settler colonialism in Japan's own expansion in Hokkaido by focusing on the emergence of the overpopulation discourse and its political impact in early Meiji. This colonial imitation also inspired the Japanese expansionists to consider the American West an ideal destination for Japanese emigration in the late nineteenth century. This study thus challenges the nation-centered and territory-bound history of the Japanese empire by showing that Japan's colonial expansion in Northeast Asia and Japanese trans-Pacific migration to North America were intertwined since the very beginning of the Meiji era.


In the wake of the most important public schools case in decades, Parents Involved in Community Schools (PICS), the future of diversity in public schools is in doubt. This period of uncertainty comes at a moment when parents, educators, and employers are demanding high quality schools that prepare students for an increasingly globalized world. Justice Anthony Kennedy, in his PICS concurrence, recognized this and challenged districts to continue the important work of bringing different students together without resorting to unconstitutional means. Filling the void between what is essential to public education and what is constitutionally permissible after PICS, the public schools of Jefferson County (Louisville), Kentucky, one of the districts rebuked in PICS, have accepted Justice Kennedy's dare by crafting a nuanced and race-conscious student assignment plan aimed at promoting broadly-defined diversity and increasing the quality of education across the district. The article argues two distinct points. First, it argues that the new plan is a constitutionally permissible response to PICS. Second, it argues that the new plan's broadening of both the definition of diversity and the mission of a school district represents the beginning of a new post-Brown era that is responsive to the realities of public education in the 21st century. By tethering its analysis of PICS - and specifically of Justice Kennedy's concurrence - to a specific response to that decision, the article provides a detailed analysis of the new constitutional framework in this area. Ultimately, the article argues that because it is both constitutional and educationally-relevant, the new plan represents the future of integration for any district willing to make the commitment to providing the educational benefits of diverse public schools to its students.


This casebook focuses on Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code, dealing with secured transactions in personal property. It incorporates and discusses recent revisions to the Code, which made the most significant changes in three decades. The Fourth Edition includes early leading cases interpreting Revised Article 9.


In the past decade, there has been a noticeable increase in the number of courses/programs offered online by higher education institutions in US and worldwide. This increase makes it necessary to comprehensively study the effectiveness of these offerings to ensure that they yield comparable outcomes to traditional offerings. This research discusses findings of a multi-year, in-depth quantitative study with the objective of assessing the effectiveness of delivering computer programming courses online and analyzing the quality of this delivery mechanism. The paper addresses several aspects of comparing tradition/blended offerings with fully online offerings. Several data sets are used in this study with primarily focus on direct assessments. Specifically, this research measures the Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs) attained by students enrolled in online programming classes and compares them to the ILOs obtained when teaching the same course in a blended format. Moreover, several other students' success and involvement indicators are measured in both cases and compared. Besides, the paper briefly addresses other indirect assessment findings. The employed data sets have been collected over a number of years (from 2006 till 2011) to enhance the accuracy and implications of the reported statistical findings. Generally, no significant differences were found regarding the attainment of almost all of the ILOs with the exception of one that showed better performance, on average, in the online offerings. On the other hand, blended offerings yielded favorable results that are statistically significant when considering other performance criteria such as withdrawal and failure rates.


The structure of land ownership in Iowa is rapidly changing. More than half of the state's land is rented. The average age of land owners has increased over time. This study examines the differences in adoption of conservation practices between absentee owners and owner operators. Specifically, this study investigates hitherto unexplored differences between absentee owners and owner operators found in previous studies (e.g., absentee owners, sole ownership, proximity of habitation to farm and reasons for owning land) regarding decisions to conserve land.This study's 2006 survey data were analyzed using the non-parametric method (tau-b) and a parametric regression framework (logistic regressions). The results suggested that all conservation practices were not considered to be equal by landowners. Being an owner operator or absentee owner impacted the decision to use certain types of conservation practices. Absentee owners tend to adopt the structural (expensive) conservation practices more than owner operators, whereas both types of owners equally adopt inexpensive conservation practices. Being an absentee owner or owner operator does not impact the probability of having land enrolled in a government conservation program. Age, education, place of residence, owned agricultural land and reasons for owning land seem to affect the adoption of each practice individually. However, knowledge about the cost-share program does have a positive impact on adoption, regardless of the type of conservation practices.Ultimately, there is a need for more investigation to increase our knowledge of absentee owners, the reasons land owners choose to be absentee owners and their motivations to conserve land. This study found that landowners rarely used the internet for management information regarding their land. Similarly a very low percentage of landowners said the internet was their preferred way to receive such information. Reasons why the internet was not more widely used should be explored. Finally, policy makers should consider absentee owners as being strategically different from owner operators when creating conservation policies.


It is well known that timing of rhythm production is disrupted by delayed auditory feedback (DAF), and that disruption varies with delay length. We tested the hypothesis that disruption depends on the state of the movement trajectory at the onset of DAF. Participants tapped isochronous rhythms at a rate specified by a metronome while hearing DAF (for piano tones) of differing lengths. Motion capture was used to analyze movement trajectories. Mean Inter-Response Intervals (IRIs) varied as an approximately sinusoidal function of feedback condition, with DAF causing slowed production for shorter delays and speeded production for faster delays. Motion capture analyses revealed that finger velocity at the time of DAF predicted the effect of DAF on mean IRI whereas finger position predicted the variability of IRIs. A second experiment in which participants were instructed to vary the timing of peak finger height confirmed that the effect of DAF on timing variability is directly influenced by the finger trajectory.


Humans have a strong intuitive understanding of the 3D environment around us. The mental model of the physics in our brain applies to objects of different materials and enables us to perform a wide range of manipulation tasks that are far beyond the reach of current robots. In this work, we desire to learn models for dynamic 3D scenes purely from 2D visual observations. Our model combines Neural Radiance Fields (NeRF) and time contrastive learning with an autoencoding framework, which learns viewpoint-invariant 3D-aware scene representations. We show that a dynamics model, constructed over the learned representation space, enables visuomotor control for challenging manipulation tasks involving both rigid bodies and fluids, where the target is specified in a viewpoint different from what the robot operates on. When coupled with an auto-decoding framework, it can even support goal specification from camera viewpoints that are outside the training distribution. We further demonstrate the richness of the learned 3D dynamics model by performing future prediction and novel view synthesis. Finally, we provide detailed ablation studies regarding different system designs and qualitative analysis of the learned representations.


An economically oriented and technocratic view of antitrust has dominated the discipline's practice and scholarship for the last four decades. Under this view, attributed in large part to the rise of the Chicago School, questions of legality ought to be decided exclusively on the basis of supposedly objective economic analysis, which does not admit any consideration or insight other than those that economists and other experts trained in the field can analyze. Lately, prominent voices from both the political left and right have begun attacking this mainstream view and calling for an enhanced role for antitrust law in mediating a variety of social, economic, and political issues. This Essay discusses the political dimension of antitrust. It shows that antitrust law (and its common-law predecessors) was always concerned not only with narrowly defined economic aspects of competition, but also with the connection between market competition and a set of classic liberal political values. The common law's aversion to monopoly, restraints of trade, and restraints on alienation, while involving economic considerations, were primarily concerned with constraining private actors' ability to exercise power and limit the rights of others without a clear legal mandate to do so. It recognized that unchecked private economic power may be as injurious to individual freedom and other liberal values as unchecked political power and that the two may be mutually constitutive. The passage of antitrust law starting in the late nineteenth century both reflected and rekindled interest in these political ideas, many of which continued to inform courts' antitrust decisions until the rise of the Chicago School and its insistence that antitrust law could only be legitimately concerned with maximizing economic efficiency. But as I show in this Essay, that view not only departed from antitrust law's historical roots and doctrinal development, but also presented a radical, unexplained, and unacknowledged shift from the views of some of the early founders of the Chicago School. In addition to bringing to light the Chicago School's shifting views on antitrust's political dimension, this Essay also addresses the possibility of reintegrating this dimension. It discusses the legitimacy of integrating political considerations into existing law, the desirability of such integration, and the feasibility of integrating such considerations in a coherent, intelligible, and predictable fashion. It shows that such reintegration is legitimate, feasible, and may even be desirable.


Mandibular condyle aplasia is an anomaly which usually manifests in association with various syndromes. When not seen in conjunction with any other developmental anomalies, it is an extremely rare condition. Only a few cases of Non syndromic condylar aplasia have been reported in literature till date. Proper diagnosis along with differentiation from the syndromic cases is important as treatment plan and prognosis for each varies. The aim of this article is to present a peculiar type of mandibular asymmetry with non syndromic condylar aplasia; frequently misdiagnosed as Hemi facial microsomia or Treacher Collins syndrome (syndromic aplasia).


The Oxford Dictionary of the Middle Ages is an essential new reference work covering all key aspects of European history, society, and culture from 500 to 1500 A.D., as well as the Byzantine Empire, Islamic dynasties, and Asiatic peoples of the era. It is designed both for medievalists, who need a detailed and reliable reference tool, and for students and general readers seeking an accessible guide to the period. Over 800 scholars have assembled thousands of comprehensive entries, lavishly supplemented by hundreds of illustrations and dozens of maps.

The Dictionary provides balanced coverage of both the whole geographical extent of the European Middle Ages (including Germany and Austria, Spain and Portugal, the Low Countries, and Central and Eastern Europe, amongst many others), and of numerous major topics, from art and architecture, medicine, and law, to archaeology, ecclesiastical history, and languages and literature.


Who stays late at the office when Mom leaves for a soccer match? Whose dollars pay for the tax credits, childcare benefits, and school vouchers that only parents can utilize? Who is forced to take those undesirable weekend business trips that Dad refuses? The answer: Adults without children -- most of them women -- have shouldered more than their share of the cost of family-friendly America. Until now. "Equal Pay for Equal Work" is one of the foundations of modern American work life. But workers without children do not reap the same rewards as do their colleagues who are parents. Instead, as veteran journalist Elinor Burkett reveals, the past decade has seen the most massive redistribution of wealth since the War on Poverty -- this time not from rich to poor but from nonparents, no matter how modest their means, to parents, no matter how affluent. Parents today want their child and their Lexus, too -- which accounts for the new culture of parental privilege that Burkett aptly calls "the baby boon." Burkett reports from the front lines of the workplace: from the hallowed newsroom of "The New York Times" to the floor of a textile factory in North Carolina to a hospital in Boston. She exposes a simmering backlash against perks for parents, from workers who are losing their tempers and fighting for their rights. She spells out how tax breaks for families with six-figure incomes are not available to childless people earning half as much. And she tells the dramatic story of how pro-family conservatives and feminists became strange bedfellows on the issue of pro-family rights, leading to an increase in workplace and government entitlements for parents -- at the same time as thechildless poor lost their public benefits. Americans are on a demographic collision course between the growing numbers of mothers in the workforce and the swelling ranks of a new interest group: childless adults. Armed with hard data and grassroots reporting, Elinor Burkett points the way to a more equitable future. With an inside look at what some companies are already doing to redress the grievances of childless workers and a hard assessment of what the truly needy -- children and adults -- require in order to survive, Burkett fires the first shot in the battle to come.


This volume analyses the politics, policy and practice of cultural heritage at the
global level, identifying the major directions in which international heritage practice
is moving, and exploring the key issues likely to shape the cultural heritage ? eld
well into the 21st century. It examines the tensions between the universal claims of
much heritage practice, particularly that associated with the World Heritage system,
and national and local perspectives. It explores the international legal framework
developed since World War Two to protect heritage, particularly at times of war,
and from theft, showing how contemporary global problems of con ? ict and illicit
trade continue to challenge the international legal system.

Heritage and Globalisation critiques the incorporation of heritage in the world
economy through the policies of international development organisations and the
global tourism trade. It also approaches heritage from seldom-considered perspec-
tives, as a form of aid, as a development paradigm, and as a form of sustainable
practice.

The book identi?es some of the most pressing issues likely to face the heritage
industry at a global level in coming decades, including the threat posed by climate
change and the need for poverty reduction. Providing a historically and theoretically
rigorous approach to heritage as a form of and manifestation of globalisation, the
volume ' s emphasis is on contemporary issues and new ? elds for heritage practice


Ever since allegations arose of Russian meddling in the 2016 United States presidential election, cyber influence operations have garnered worldwide attention. This article examines the different options available under international law for holding States responsible for cyber influence operations on elections. To this end, the article first elaborates a typology of different cyber election meddling techniques, before examining three paradigms of international law that may be relied upon to frame State responses to cyber influence operations – the general public international law paradigm, the human rights paradigm, and the State liability paradigm. The article concludes by considering why States have so far avoided the vocabulary of international law in formulating their responses to cyber influence operations and offers a suggestion as to where international law may have a more central role to play in this context in the future.


The demand for hydrogen over the coming decade is expected to grow for both traditional uses (ammonia, methanol, refinery) and running fuel cells. At least in the near future, this thirst for hydrogen will be quenched primarily through the reforming of fossil fuels. However, reforming fossil fuels emits huge amounts of carbon dioxide. One approach to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, which is considered first in this review, is to apply reforming methods to alternative renewable materials. Such materials might be derived from plant crops, agricultural residues, woody biomass, etc. Clean biomass is a proven source of renewable energy that is already used for generating heat, electricity, and liquid transportation fuels. Clean biomass and biomass-derived precursors such as ethanol and sugars are appropriate precursors for producing hydrogen through different conversion strategies. Virtually no net greenhouse gas emissions result because a natural cycle is maintained, in which carbon is extracted from the atmosphere during plant growth and released during hydrogen production. The second option explored here is hydrogen production from water splitting by means of the photons in the visible spectrum. The sun provides silent and precious energy that is distributed fairly evenly all over the earth. However, its tremendous potential as a clean, safe and economical energy source cannot be exploited unless it is accumulated or converted into more useful forms of energy. Finally, this review discusses the use of semiconductors, more specifically CdS and CdS-based semiconductors, which are able to absorb photons in the visible region of the spectrum. The energy stored within a semiconductor as electronic energy (electrons and holes) can be used to split water molecules by simultaneous reactions into H2 and O2. This conversion of solar energy into a clean fuel (H2) is perhaps the greatest challenge for scientists in the 21st century.


Selecting actuators for assistive exoskeletons involves decisions in which designers usually face contrasting requirements. While certain choices may depend on the application context or design philosophy, it is generally desirable to avoid oversizing actuators in order to obtain more lightweight and transparent systems, ultimately promoting the adoption of a given device. In many cases, the torque and power requirements can be relaxed by exploiting the contribution of an elastic element acting in mechanical parallel. This contribution considers one such case and introduces a methodology for the evaluation of different actuator choices resulting from the combination of different motors, reduction gears, and parallel stiffness profiles, helping to match actuator capabilities to the task requirements. Such methodology is based on a graphical tool showing how different design choices affect the actuator as a whole. To illustrate the approach, a back-support exoskeleton for lifting tasks is considered as a case study.


Antitrust law is moving away from rules (ex ante, limited factor liability determinants) and toward standards (ex post, multi-factor liability determinants). This movement has important consequences for the structure of antitrust adjudication, including shifting ultimate decision-making down the legal hierarchy (in the direction of juries, trial courts sitting as fact-finders, and administrative agencies) and increasing the importance of economic experts. The efficiency consequences of this trend are often negative. Specifying liability determinants as open-ended, unpredictable standards increases litigation costs, chills socially beneficial industrial practices, allocates decision-making on microeconomic policy to unqualified juries, and facilitates strategic misuse of antitrust litigation by rent-seeking competitors. Instead of following a generalized preference for standards, courts should consider five factors in choosing the ex ante precision of liability determinants: (1) whether the lawsuit was brought by the government or a private party; (2) whether the legal determinant would create liability or immunize against it; (3) whether the remedy sought is prospective (i.e., injunctive) or retrospective (i.e., damages); (4) whether the conduct is idiosyncratic or paradigmatic; and (5) whether the misconduct alleged is collusion or exclusion.


We link a new UK management survey covering 8,000 firms to panel data on productivity in manufacturing and services. There is a large variation in management practices, which are highly correlated with productivity, profitability and size. Uniquely, the survey collects firms' micro forecasts of their own sales and also macro forecasts of GDP. We find that better managed firms make more accurate micro and macro forecasts, even after controlling for their size, age, industry and many other factors. We also show better managed firms appear aware that their forecasts are more accurate, with lower subjective uncertainty around central values. These stylized facts suggest that one reason for the superior performance of better managed firms is that they knowingly make more accurate forecasts, enabling them to make superior operational and strategic choices.


Summary

1. Modification of natural landscapes and land-use intensification are global phenomena that can result in a range of differing pressures on lotic ecosystems. We analysed national-scale databases to quantify the relationship between three land uses (indigenous vegetation, urbanisation and agriculture) and indicators of stream ecological integrity. Boosted regression tree modelling was used to test the response of 14 indicators belonging to four groups – water quality (at 578 sites), benthic invertebrates (at 2666 sites), fish (at 6858 sites) and ecosystem processes (at 156 sites). Our aims were to characterise the ecological response curves of selected functional and structural metrics in relation to three land uses, examine the environmental moderators of these relationships and quantify the relative utility of metrics as indicators of stream ecological integrity.

2. The strongest indicators of land-use effects were nitrate + nitrite, delta-15 nitrogen value (δ15N) of primary consumers and the Macroinvertebrate Community Index (a biotic index of organic pollution), while the weakest overall indicators were gross primary productivity, benthic invertebrate richness and fish richness. All indicators declined in response to removal of indigenous vegetation and urbanisation, while variable responses to agricultural intensity were observed for some indicators.

3. The response curves for several indicators suggested distinct thresholds in response to urbanisation and agriculture, specifically at 10% impervious cover and at 0.1 g m−3 nitrogen concentration, respectively.

4. Water quality and ecosystem process indicators were influenced by a combination of temperature, slope and flow variables, whereas for macroinvertebrate indicators, catchment rainfall, segment slope and temperature were significant environmental predictor variables. Downstream variables (e.g. distance to the coast) were significant in explaining residual variation in fish indicators, not surprisingly given the preponderance of diadromous fish species in New Zealand waterways. The inclusion of continuous environmental variables used to develop a stream typology improved model performance more than the inclusion of stream type alone.

5. Our results reaffirm the importance of accounting for underlying spatial variation in the environment when quantifying relationships between land use and the ecological integrity of streams. Of distinctive interest, however, were the contrasting and complementary responses of different indicators of stream integrity to land use, suggesting that multiple indicators are required to identify land-use impact thresholds, develop environmental standards and assign ecological scores for reporting purposes.


Abstract Objective: To determine the breast-feeding and weaning practices of mothers and the nutritional status of infants in the Vhembe District of Limpopo Province. Design: A descriptive and exploratory study was done. A sample of 185 mothers with 185 infants 12 months and younger was selected from five primary healthcare clinics. A validated questionnaire, which consisted of questions relating to demographic data, breast-feeding and weaning practices, was used. The weight and length measurements of the infants were taken. Results: The majority (97%) of the mothers were still breast-feeding at the time of the interviews. Only 7,6% practised exclusive breast-feeding, however, while 43,2% had introduced solid foods at three months and 15% before two months. The weaning food given by most of the mothers was maize-meal soft porridge and had been introduced before four months of age. The Z-score classification was used and showed that stunting (18,9%), underweight (7%) and wasting (7%) were present among the infants but that only wasting was found to be a disorder of public-health significance. The nutritional status of the infants was therefore not significantly influenced by the breast-feeding and weaning practices of the mothers or other demographic parameters. Conclusion: Breast-feeding was still practised by many of the mothers but exclusive breast-feeding was rare.


Lack of negative ions in the air can cause deterioration of the health which is described in many scientific articles. At the same time, an air saturated with negative ions can improve the state of health and provide a comfortable indoor environment. In addition, there are considerable evidences that drowsiness, apathy, headache etc. get even worse indoors, and these health problems may be effectively eliminated with a help of moderate concentrations of negative ions. Literature sources and earlier researches state that plants may be able to produce a variety of air ions, including negative light ions. The most plants emit different types of volatile organic compounds, and the indoor plants can improve the air quality: they effectively remove organic pollution and reduce the number of microorganisms in the air by releasing phytoncides. In this article, the regularity of influence of plants on the number of ions in the room is being proved, basing on a series of experiments performed with the following plants: Spathiphyllum, Pinus mugo, Aloe arborescens, Chlorophytum comosum, Cactaceae opuntia.


Darwinulidae is believed to be one of the few metazoan taxa in which fully asexual reproduction might have persisted for millions of years. Although rare males in a single darwinulid species have recently been found, they may be non-functional atavisms. The representatives of this family are characterized by a slow evolutionary rate, resulting in a conservative morphology in the different lineages over long time frames and across wide geographic ranges. Differences between species and genera, although often based on small details of valve morphology and chaetotaxy, are nevertheless well-recognizable. Five recent genera (Darwinula, Alicenula, Vestcdemilct, Penthesilemila and Microdarwimda) and about 35 living species, including also those left in open nomenclature, are included in this family. Previous phylogenetic analyses using both morphological characters and molecular data confirmed that the five genera are good phyletic units. Here, we report on the results of a study on darwinulid ostracods from Christmas Island (Indian Ocean). The taxonomic investigation led to the description of a new genus and two new species, namely Isabemda humphreysi gen. nov. sp. nov. and Vestalemda sp. E, this latter being left in open nomenclature, because only one individual was available. A new phylogeny of the family, using 30 morphological characters of 23 described species, is here presented. A key to the genera of Recent Darwinulidae, based on the morphology of valves and soft parts in adult females, is also provided. The discovery of Isabemda gen. nov., which shares intermediate morphological features with the genera Vestalemda and Penthesilemila, opens new opportunities to critically reconsider previous hypotheses on tempo and mode of evolution in the family Darwinulidae and on the phylogenetic relationships between its representatives.


INTRODUCTION AND PURPOSE Like families, villages, schools, and clubs, businesses rest on patterns of social interaction and the pursuit of shared objectives. These are the essence of a corporate culture (Goffee & Jones, 1996). The culture metaphor has been adopted by scholars from many disciplines as a means of understanding the complexities of an organization. As a result, a variety of definitions for culture have emerged, as well as a variety of ways to measure it. However, the work of scholars Glasser, Zamanou, and Hacker (1987) has been helpful in sorting out the complexities and providing a basic framework on which other studies are built. Their work resulted in a standardized questionnaire, the Organizational Culture Survey (OCS), which represents six central foci of culture common to various disciplinary fields and types of corporations. The OCS contains 36 items, and these items are grouped into six subscales representing the six foci of organizational culture: Teamwork, morale, information flow, involvement, supervision, and meetings. Teamwork is defined as the coordination of effort, honesty, support, conflict resolution, teamwork, concern, and cooperation; it is a feeling of open group communication. Morale is defined as good working relationships, respect for workers, fair treatment, as well as a sense of family, trust, and organizational character. Information flow refers to being provided with sufficient information to do one's job well, sufficient communication to understand changes, and adequate contact with other work areas. Involvement is the input of ideas and participation in decision making. If an employee experiences involvement, his/her thoughts and ideas count and the employee is encouraged by management to offer them. Supervision is defined as the amount, valence, and clarity of job-performance information as it is provided to employees by their supervisors. The meetings subscale refers to the productivity and democratic process of meetings. Purpose The purpose of the study was to identify a profile of culture that could be assessed and used to further develop the organization and help ensure a stable work force. This written report presents the results of a survey taken among 74 Belize Telecommunications Limited (BTL) employees. The basic question in regards to shared values and common objectives (the foci of corporate culture) was: What holds this company together? Related questions included: Do all BTL employees share the same sense of corporate culture, or do perceptions change along the lines of corporate rank, nationality, gender, and longevity with the company? Rationale According to Info-Line (1993), assumed similarity of perceptions within the organization is one of the greatest pitfalls in organizational operations and management. Shared values and goals among different types or categories of employees are a strength upon which the organization can grow and prosper. However, if values and goals are not shared, differences and friction have the potential to impede productivity and organizational growth. Consequently, it is important to know the areas in which employees are in agreement and the areas in which they are not. Additionally, the study of Belizean organizations has been largely ignored. Management and organizational research in Belize is scarce, which makes it very difficult to draw valid conclusions about organizational life. Knowing where organizations share cultural values and goals with Western organizations (and other organizations of the world) is expected to aid business relations. The present investigation of organizational culture within a Belize organization is patterned after a similar study conducted in Nigeria (Onwumechili, 1996). The study of an organizational culture must be viewed overall as well as by subgroup. As Info-Line (1993) has stated, assumed similarity among employees regarding company beliefs and values is dangerous for the company's operations. …


Tissue classification in Magnetic Resonance (MR) brain images is an important issue in the analysis of several brain dementias. This paper presents a modification of the classical K-means algorithm taking into account the number of times specific features appear in an image, employing, for that purpose, a weighted mean to calculate the centroid of every cluster. Pattern Recognition techniques allow grouping pixels based on features similarity. In this paper, multispectral gray-level intensity MR brain images are used. T1, T2 and PD-weighted images provide different and complementary information about the tissues. Segmentation is performed in order to classify each pixel of the resulting image according to four possible classes: cerebro-spinal fluid (CSF), white matter (WM), gray matter (GM) and background. T1, T2 and PD-weighted images are used as patterns. The proposed algorithm weighs the number of pixels corresponding to each set of gray levels in the feature vector. As a consequence, an automatic segmentation of the brain tissue is obtained. The algorithm provides faster results if compared with the traditional K-means, thereby retrieving complementary information from the images.


Hydroclimatic variables such as precipitation and temperature are often measured or simulated by climate models at coarser spatiotemporal scales than those needed for operational purposes. This has motivated more than half a century of research in developing disaggregation methods that break down coarse‐scale time series into finer scales, with two primary objectives: (a) reproducing the statistical properties of the fine‐scale process and (b) preserving the original coarse‐scale data. Existing methods either preserve a limited number of statistical moments at the fine scale, which is often insufficient and can lead to an unrepresentative approximation of the actual marginal distribution, or are based on a limited number of a priori distributional assumptions, for example, lognormal. Additionally, they are not able to account for potential nonstationarity in the underlying fine‐scale process. Here we introduce a novel disaggregation method, named Disaggregation Preserving Marginals and Correlations (DiPMaC), that is able to disaggregate a coarse‐scale time series to any finer scale, while reproducing the probability distribution and the linear correlation structure of the fine‐scale process. DiPMaC is also generalized for arbitrary nonstationary scenarios to reproduce time varying marginals. Additionally, we introduce a computationally efficient algorithm, based on Bernoulli trials, to optimize the disaggregation procedure and guarantee preservation of the coarse‐scale values. We focus on temporal disaggregation and demonstrate the method by disaggregating monthly precipitation to hourly, and time series with trends (e.g., climate model projections), while we show its potential to disaggregate based on general nonstationary scenarios. The example applications demonstrate the performance and robustness of DiPMaC.


Does corporate philanthropy have an indiscriminately positive effect on recipients? Our baseline argument asserts that relationships with stakeholders outside the field, such as corporate donors, can be perceived as a deviation from the dominant logic at the industry level, and thus as a negative signal by peers. How can recipients mitigate this adverse effect on social evaluations? To answer this question we study how corporate benefaction affects the process of peer recognition in the context of Russian theaters (2004-2011). Firstly, we engage in a qualitative exploration of our setting to contextualize our hypotheses and understand how relationships with corporate donors, depending on their characteristics, affect peer recognition. We then quantitatively test our hypotheses and confirm that the salience of the relationship with extraneous stakeholders - operationalized as the number of corporate donors - has a negative effect on peer recognition. This effect however can be mitigated if theaters choose to limit the breadth, depth and negative valence of the relationship. We contribute to both the institutional logics and stakeholder literature by bringing in a signaling perspective: we show that peer recognition, upon which the maintenance of a dominant logic lies, is directly impacted by the nature of relationships with extraneous stakeholders.


We report a particular coupling phenomenon occurring in the directional coupler composed of two touching terahertz antiresonant reflecting hollow waveguides. Unlike conventional directional couplers where one even system mode and one odd system mode are excited, numerical results indicate that three (one even and two odd) system modes participate in the power transfer process at the antiresonant frequencies. As a result, the coupling length can be significantly reduced, and it is shown here to be less than 300 wavelengths.


Abstract. SO2 and NO2 observations from the Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite (OMPS) sensor are used for the first time in conjunction with the GEOS-Chem adjoint model to optimize both SO2 and NOx emission estimates over China for October 2013. Separate and joint (simultaneous) optimizations of SO2 and NO2 emissions are both conducted and
compared. Posterior emissions, compared to the prior, yield improvements in
simulating columnar SO2 and NO2 , in comparison to measurements
from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) and OMPS. The posterior SO2 and NOx emissions from
separate inversions are 748 Gg S and 672 Gg N, which are 36 % and 6 %
smaller than prior MIX emissions (valid for 2010), respectively. In spite of the large reduction of SO2 emissions over the North China Plain, the simulated sulfate–nitrate–ammonium aerosol optical depth (AOD) only decrease slightly, which can be attributed to (a) nitrate rather than sulfate as the dominant contributor to AOD and (b) replacement of ammonium sulfate with ammonium nitrate as SO2 emissions are reduced. For joint inversions, both data quality control and the weight given to SO2 relative to
 NO2 observations can affect the spatial distributions of the posterior
emissions. When the latter is properly balanced, the posterior emissions
from assimilating OMPS SO2 and NO2 jointly yield a difference of
 −3  % to 15 % with respect to the separate assimilations for total
anthropogenic SO2 emissions and ± 2 % for total anthropogenic
 NOx emissions; but the differences can be up to 100 % for SO2
and 40 % for NO2 in some grid cells. Improvements on SO2 and
 NO2 simulations from the joint inversions are overall consistent with
those from separate inversions. Moreover, the joint assimilations save
 ∼  50 % of the computational time compared to assimilating SO2
and NO2 separately in a sequential manner of computation. The
sensitivity analysis shows that a perturbation of NH3 to 50 %
(20 %) of the prior emission inventory can (a) have a negligible impact on the
separate SO2 inversion but can lead to a decrease in posterior SO2
emissions over China by −2.4  % ( −7.0  %) in total and up to −9.0  %
( −27.7  %) in some grid cells in the joint inversion with NO2 and (b) yield posterior NOx emission decreases over China by −0.7  %
( −2.8  %) for the separate NO2 inversion and by −2.7  % ( −5.3  %) in
total and up to −15.2  % ( −29.4  %) in some grid cells for the joint inversion. The large reduction of SO2 between 2010 and 2013, however, only leads to ∼  10 % decrease in AOD regionally; reducing
surface aerosol concentration requires the reduction of emissions of
 NH3 as well.


Studies have shown that online compressor washing of gas turbine engines slows down the rate of fouling deterioration during operation. However, for most operators, there is a balancing between the performance improvements obtained and the investment (capital and recurring cost). Washing the engine more frequently to keep the capacity high is a consideration. However, this needs to be addressed with expenditure over the life of the washing equipment rather than a simple cost-benefit analysis. The work presented here is a viability study of online compressor washing for 17 gas turbine engines ranging from 5.3 to 307MW. It considers the nonlinear cost of the washing equipment related to size categories, as well as nonlinear washing liquid consumption related to the variations in engine mass flows. Importantly, the respective electricity break-even selling price of the respective engines was considered. The results show that for the largest engine, the return of investment is 520% and the dynamic payback time of 0.19 years when washing every 72 hours. When this is less frequent at a 480-hour interval, the investment return and payback are 462% and 0.22 years. The optimisation study using a multi-objective genetic algorithm shows that the optimal washing is rather a 95-hour interval. For the smallest engine, the investment was the least viable for this type of application.


This paper examines and provides a Decolonial Wayfinding frame focused on case
studies of two cities—Brisbane and the Gold Coast, Australia. Climate displaced peoples
will arrive in both these cities in the coming decades and both will be affected by sea
level rises and other future challenges. City streets will have to dramatically change,
new knowledge will need to be produced to survive. Actions will require being geared
toward both pragmatic transformations and radical semiotic transformations occurring
through visual communication interventions prefiguring the events they anticipate by
many decades, shifting public perceptions of what the future will bring and contributing
to the crucial psychological adaptation that enormous numbers of people will have to
undergo as citizens transition toward resilient and adaptable cities.
Public policy guiding documents of Brisbane and the Gold Coast, representative of other
Western neo-liberal colonised geographies around the world, are interrogated here,
with an aim to identify a decolonial preparedness for instability and disaster events in
these cities and how they might redirect their symbolic value as images of prepared
cities, resilient cities, adaptable cities. It is argued that wayfinding discourse broadly, and
particularly in the guiding documents of these cities, needs to expand significantly to
incorporate a comprehension of decolonial wayfinding. Three framing layers are offered
as a place to begin. They are: Critical Mapping; World-Picture; and Movement. Then
these are placed in relation to Decolonial Wayfinding.


In this paper, we consider a make-to-stock production system with known exogenous replenishments and multiple customer classes. The objective is to maximize profit over the planning horizon by deciding whether to accept or reject a given order, in anticipation of more profitable future orders. What distinguishes this setup from classical airline revenue management problems is the explicit consideration of past and future replenishments and the integration of inventory holding and backlogging costs. If stock is on-hand, orders can be fulfilled immediately, backlogged or rejected. In shortage situations, orders can be either rejected or backlogged to be fulfilled from future arriving supply. The described decision problem occurs in many practical settings, notably in make-to-stock production systems, in which production planning is performed on a mid-term level, based on aggregated demand forecasts. In the short term, acceptance decisions about incoming orders are then made according to stock on-hand and scheduled production quantities. We model this problem as a stochastic dynamic program and characterize its optimal policy. It turns out that the optimal fulfillment policy has a relatively simple structure and is easy to implement. We evaluate this policy numerically and find that it systematically outperforms common current fulfillment policies, such as first-come-first-served and deterministic optimization.


Effective mechanisms for detecting and thwarting distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks are becoming increasingly important to the success of today's Internet as a viable commercial and business tool. In this paper, we propose novel data-streaming algorithms for the robust, real-time detection of DDoS activity in large ISP networks. The key element of our solution is a new, hash-based synopsis data structure for network-data streams that allows us to efficiently track, in guaranteed small space and time, destination IP addresses in the underlying network that are "large" with respect to the number of distinct source IP addresses that have established potentially-malicious (e.g., "half-open") connections to them. Our work is the first to address the problem of efficiently tracking the top distinct-source frequencies over a general stream of updates (insertions and deletions) to the set of underlying network flows, thus enabling us to effectively distinguish between DDoS activity and flash crowds. Preliminary experimental results verify the effectiveness of our approach.


WNT5A is a secreted protein ligand with important roles in development, adult tissue homeostasis, and many basic cellular functions. In cancers, aberrant WNT5A signaling is often observed. This study focused on potential functional differences between two isoforms of this protein, on potential signaling differences between these two isoforms, and on differential expression of these isoforms in the context of mouse embryonic development. This study found that these isoforms both had no effect on either cellular migration or invasion in HCT116, contrary to reports published in the literature. This study also found that both these isoforms had no detectable effect on activation of terminal effector molecules in the PCP/CE pathway or in the Wnt/Ca2+ pathway. In a murine model of embryonic development, we observed that WNT5A isoforms were differentially regulated. Overall, the findings of this study suggest that WNT5A encodes functionally distinct protein isoforms which may play a role in enabling the orchestration of a complex series of biological events during embryonic development.


Publication Date 2-1-1990 Abstract Narration or story-type writing, as found in historical and multi-ethnic fictional tradebooks, on the other hand, is that artistic form created for evoking images, ideas and feelings in addition to presenting accurate facts and settings. In Literature for Today's Young Adults, Donelson and Nilsen (1989) note that literature, used within the social studies context, frees students to travel vicariously to other times and places, and helps them to recognize that members of the human race, regardless of where or how they live, have more similarities than differences. Recommended Citation Ceprano, M., & English, E. B. (1990). Fact and Fiction: Personalizing Social Studies Through the Textbook-Tradebook Connection. Reading Horizons, 30 (2). Retrieved from https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/reading_horizons/vol30/iss2/8  Download


The purpose of the present study is to explore saving behavior of Turkish families in Ankara, Turkey. The research is composed of 600 people living in the neighborhood of Dr. Halil Ulgen Health Center (Mamak-Ankara-Turkey). Results indicated that the vast majority of Turkish families were not saving and not willing to take any financial risk. More than half of the participants did not discuss finance with their parents when they were growing up. Majority of the families reported that over the past year their family's spending exceeded their income and the current economic situation significantly impacted more than half of the families' saving behavior and attitudes. Most of the families indicated that their parents were savers while they were growing up. Interestingly, families who reported both parents were savers while they were growing up were less likely to be saving than those who reported neither were savers. As expected, having experience of negative financial events in the last two years was significantly related to the likelihood of saving.


Nodular hidradenoma is an unusual benign adnexal tumor arising from the excretory duct of sweat glands. It usually occurs in elderly females and commonly involves the scalp, neck, trunk and extremities. Although it is diagnosed on histopathology, knowledge of cytological features can help in their early detection. Moreover, long standing undiagnosed cases can rarely turn into malignancy. Thus, it is essential to identify these tumors in advance to treat them timely. Therefore, we herein describe certain salient cytological features of nodular hidradenoma that occurred as a large nodular soft tissue mass on the right thigh of an elderly female.


Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree
Master of Technology: Horticulture
in the Faculty of Applied Sciences
at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology
2013


Abstract : In this paper we present a novel data structure, the Bayes tree, which exploits the connections between graphical model inference and sparse linear algebra. The proposed data structure provides a new perspective on an entire class of simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) algorithms. Similar to a junction tree, a Bayes tree encodes a factored probability density, but unlike the junction tree it is directed and maps more naturally to the square root information matrix of the SLAM problem. This makes it eminently suited to encode the sparse nature of the problem, especially in a smoothing and mapping (SAM) context. The inherent sparsity of SAM has already been exploited in the literature to produce efficient solutions in both batch and online mapping. The graphical model perspective allows us to develop a novel incremental algorithm that seamlessly incorporates reordering and relinearization. This obviates the need for expensive periodic batch operations from previous approaches, which negatively affect the performance and detract from the intended online nature of the algorithm. The new method is evaluated using simulated and real-world datasets in both landmark and pose SLAM settings.


ABSTRACT The impact of foreign direct investment (FDI) on repression in developing nations is still disputed. Some argue that FDI improves economic development and exports human rights values. Others criticize the exploitation of cheap labor and resources, which may lead to tensions and government oppression. Previous studies have employed aggregate FDI data with conflicting results. Alternatively, I propose that the effects depend on what kind of FDI enters a country. I build a sectoral framework to discuss how skills and technology levels, as well as the motivation for FDI, can mediate the impact. I then examine the link in a panel data analysis (1983–2010) in 121 countries, integrating sectoral FDI in several resource, manufacturing, and service industries. The results show that investment in high-skilled and high-tech sectors has positive effects. The results are robust across several measures for repression, and when accounting for sector size, regional and time effects.


This thesis makes three different contributions to the literature on bank income diversification and its effect on bank performance. Firstly, the study makes a theoretical contribution by incorporating non-interest income components into Ho and Saunders (1981) model in the presence of pricing strategies, including bundling and loss-leader strategies, as well as being well-informed and less-informed customers. The model distinguishes fees and commissions income and trade income by proposing the conditions that create the negative relationships with net interest margin. The study also empirically tests the theoretical relationships for the European banking system and the results state that both fees and commissions income and trade income negatively affect interest margin. Secondly, this study examines the relationship between interest and non-interest income sides by considering the switching cost for customers created by loan maturity for non-interest products. Theoretically, the study derives an equation that long-term loans create a switching cost for the sale of non-traditional products. The theoretical contribution is empirically tested for the UK banking system using unique UK banking data over the period 2005 2012. The empirical results suggest that by shifting loan maturity from short term to long term creates a switching cost for non-interest product sale. This empirical finding leads to test switching cost created by long-term loan, particularly for trade products. Shifting the maturity from short term to long term creates switching cost for trade products either. Thirdly the study contributes by investigating the aftermath of findings on the relationship between interest and non-interest income sides, and switching cost created by increasing loan maturity. The third study in this thesis contributes to the literature by examining the effect of non-interest income, conditional on deposit and loan maturities, on bank performance using UK banking data as a laboratory from 2005 to 2012. The study finds that fees and commissions income do not explain bank performance. However, when the fees and commissions variables are conditional on longer loan maturity, it alleviates the risk-adjusted bank performance. Trade income increases the bank performance. However when it is dependent on deposits and loans with long maturities, it has an adverse effect on bank performance. The result of direct maturity diversification indicates that, while the UK banks do not benefit from deposit diversification, the maturity diversification of loan is linked to a higher bank performance.


The coldest brown dwarf, WISE 0855, is the closest known planetary-mass, free-floating object and has a temperature nearly as cold as the solar system gas giants. Like Jupiter, it is predicted to have an atmosphere rich in methane, water, and ammonia, with clouds of volatile ices. WISE 0855 is faint at near-infrared wavelengths and emits almost all its energy in the mid-infrared. Skemer et al. presented a spectrum of WISE 0855 from 4.5–5.1 μm (M band), revealing water vapor features. Here, we present a spectrum of WISE 0855 in the L band, from 3.4–4.14 μm. We present a set of atmosphere models that include a range of compositions (metallicities and C/O ratios) and water ice clouds. Methane absorption is clearly present in the spectrum. The mid-infrared color can be better matched with a methane abundance that is depleted relative to solar abundance. We find that there is evidence for water ice clouds in the M band spectrum, and we find a lack of phosphine spectral features in both the L and M band spectra. We suggest that a deep continuum opacity source may be obscuring the near-infrared flux, possibly a deep phosphorous-bearing cloud, ammonium dihyrogen phosphate. Observations of WISE 0855 provide critical constraints for cold planetary atmospheres, bridging the temperature range between the long-studied solar system planets and accessible exoplanets. The James Webb Space Telescope will soon revolutionize our understanding of cold brown dwarfs with high-precision spectroscopy across the infrared, allowing us to study their compositions and cloud properties, and to infer their atmospheric dynamics and formation processes.


'Integrated care' is pitched as the solution to current health system challenges. In the literature, what integrated care actually involves is complex and contested. Multi-disciplinary team case management is frequently the primary focus of integrated care when implemented internationally. We examine the practical application of integrated care in the NHS in England to exemplify the prevalence of the case management focus. We look at the evidence for effectiveness of multi-disciplinary team case management, for the focus on high-risk groups and for integrated care more generally. We suggest realistic expectations of what integration of care alone can achieve and additional research questions.


Abstract
Introduction: The burden of raised blood pressure and elevated blood glucose in sub-Saharan Africa has been increasing over the last couple of decades. However, a large proportion of the population with raised blood pressure and elevated blood glucose remain undiagnosed contributing to the increasing burden of the problem. There is paucity of published studies describing the burden of major NCDs in sub –Saharan Africa. Likewise, except very few studies in some pocket areas, there was no representative NCD risk factor survey undertaken in Ethiopia. This paper focuses on the data extracted from the survey on the prevalence of selected NCDs to elaborate more on the issues and to show the invisible magnitude of the two major health problems for policy and program development.
Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted in Ethiopia using the WHO step-wise approach to the surveillance of NCD risk factors. The survey was carried out between April and June 2015. The data collection processes included three steps. Step 1: This step comprised of a questionnaire to gather demographic and behavioural characteristics of the study population; Step 2: Physical measurement was done to build on the core data in Step 1 and to determine proportion of the study population with raised blood pressure, overweight and obesity; and Step 3: Biochemical measurements were undertaken to build on the core data in step 1 and step 2 to measure proportion of the study population with diabetes, raised blood glucose and abnormal lipid level. Data were collected digitally using personal digital assistants (PDAs) from which data were transferred to central server using internet file streaming system (IFSS). Data were cleaned and analysed using a combination of softwares namely, SPSS, Stata and Epi Info version 3.5.4.
Results: The survey included 9,788 study participants and of this, 77% had never been measured for blood pressure prior to current survey. However, based on the measurements made during the present survey among all respondents who were not taking medication for raised blood pressure, 15.6% (95% CI: 14.4-16.9) had raised blood pressure level ( SBP of ≥140 mmHg and/or a DBP of ≥90 mmHg). Likewise, among all respondents, 97 % had never been tested for blood sugar level prior to present survey. However, the current study revealed a total of 5.7 % of the study population had a blood glucose level of ≥ 110 mg/dl, with 6% (95% CI: 4.7-7.2) in men, and 5.8 %( 95% CI: 4.6-7.0) in women.
Conclusions: The prevalence of undiagnosed raised blood pressure and elevated blood sugar was high in Ethiopia and only very small percentage of people had been aware of their high blood pressure and elevated blood sugar. Policy makers in the health sector including other health development partners need to strengthen health system and design nation-wide population based strategy to establish community based screening program for blood pressure and blood glucose. [Ethiop. J. Health Dev. 2017;31(Special Issue):362-369]
Key words: Hidden magnitude, history, blood pressure, blood glucose, NCD


Human beings have been exposed to airborne nanosized particles throughout their evolutionary stages, and such exposures have increased dramatically over the last century. The rapidly developing field of nanotechnology will result in new sources of this exposure, through inhalation, ingestion, and injection. Although nanomaterials are currently being widely used in modern technology, there is a serious lack of information concerning the human health and environmental implications of manufactured nanomaterials. Since these are relatively new particles, it is necessary to investigate their toxicological behavior. The objective of this review was to trace the cellular response to nanosized particle exposure. Therapeutic application of selected nanoparticles together with their range of toxic doses was also reviewed. Effect of therapeutically used nanoparticles on cell membrane, mitochondrial function, prooxidant/antioxidant status, enzyme leakage, DNA, and other biochemical endpoints was elucidated. This paper highlights the need for caution during the use and disposal of such manufactured nanomaterials to prevent unintended environmental impacts.


The Drosophila Toll‐signaling pathway controls the systemic antifungal host response. Gram‐negative binding protein 3 (GNBP3), a member of the β‐glucan recognition protein family senses fungal infections and activates this pathway. A second detection system perceives the activity of proteolytic fungal virulence factors and redundantly activates Toll. GNBP3hades mutant flies succumb more rapidly to Candida albicans and to entomopathogenic fungal infections than WT flies, despite normal triggering of the Toll pathway via the virulence detection system. These observations suggest that GNBP3 triggers antifungal defenses that are not dependent on activation of the Toll pathway. Here, we show that GNBP3 agglutinates fungal cells. Furthermore, it can activate melanization in a Toll‐independent manner. Melanization is likely to be an essential defense against some fungal infections given that the entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana inhibits the activity of the main melanization enzymes, the phenol oxidases. Finally, we show that GNBP3 assembles "attack complexes", which comprise phenoloxidase and the necrotic serpin. We propose that Drosophila GNBP3 targets fungi immediately at the inception of the infection by bringing effector molecules in direct contact with the invading microorganisms.


Purpose: To investigate the effect of service personalization on loyalty, and to measure some of the psychological dynamics of the process. Methodology: structural equation modeling. Findings: We show that the effect of service personalization on loyalty exists, but that the effect is not all direct. Personalization works through improving service satisfaction and trust. Personalization and improved communication act together in such a way that they account for the variance in loyalty that would be otherwise explained by corporate image. Research limitations: Data, though comprising a very large probability sample, are from one economic sector in one European country. Practical implications: Service personalization is a powerful way to retain customers in its own right. In addition, our other results show that personalized service can partially replace the effects of communication and corporate image on loyalty. This argues that personalized service can be a powerful addition to mass communications. Originality/value: Growing conventional wisdom in marketing argues that customer loyalty is responsible for large fractions of the profits of many service businesses. Constructs such as satisfaction, trust, customer collaboration, customer interaction, firm image, personalization, learning relationships, and so forth, have all been proposed as intermediate objectives, or as tools to build loyalty. Yet, to date, only some of these constructs have been measured and shown to be related to loyalty. This paper fills a portion of the empirical gap by showing that service personalization, indeed, affects loyalty, above and beyond the other explanatory variables.


Component-based development (CDB) promises to reduce complexity and cost of software development and maintenance through reuse. For CBD to be successful, a vibrant market for commercial business components is essential. One of the key requirements of an active market for business components is an effective scheme for classifying and describing them at various levels of detail, as well as a corresponding repository for storing and retrieving these components. Such a scheme needs to support various constituents such as business users, managers, and application assemblers. The scheme and repository should help users and managers to select components that match their requirements and aid application assemblers in identifying components most compatible with their deployment environment (such as the platform) and system inputs (such as data types). Drawing from the concepts of group technology and software reuse paradigm, this paper proposes a scheme for classifying and describing business components and the design of a knowledge-based repository for their storage and retrieval. The proposed scheme is implemented in a prototype repository. The effectiveness of the prototype and the underlying classification and coding scheme is assessed empirically through controlled experiments. Results support the assertion that the scheme is effective in enhancing the users' and analysts' ability to find the needed business components.


This research aims to evaluate the lightweight burnt clay brick aggregate concrete factor (λ) which is commonly used as coarse aggregate in Bangladesh as well as Asia regions. The pull-out tests were carried out on four different types of concrete cylinder specimens (100 mm by 200 mm) made with natural crushed stone and first class burnt clay brick aggregates to determine the aggregate concrete factor (λ) and bond strength. Three different rebar diameter of 8 mm, 10 mm, and 12 mm with two different embedded lengths of 100 mm and 200 mm were investigated. In addition, compressive and splitting tensile strength tests were also performed to calculate bond strength and then λ. The experimental results showed that bond strength of 10 mm diameter rebar is higher compared to other bar diameter for both aggregates and both embedded length of 100 and 200 mm. While the bond strength of 200 mm embedded length rebar is higher than the embedded length of 100 mm. From this research study, it has been found that the average λ equal to 0.88 for Bangladeshi burnt clay brick aggregate. However, based on the test results a new equation is proposed for the lightweight brick aggregate concrete factor (λ).


The article deals with the first diplomatic contacts of Rome in the Hellenistic world in 3rd century BC (before the beginning of the Second Macedonian War). The author attempts to discover if Roman Senate had common approach to its eastern policy in this period. In general the author agrees with those scholars who assert that Romans on their eastern diplomacy used the instrument (widespread in the interstate relations of the Hellenistic world) of "informal friendship" (amicitia – φιλία). However, tracing the development of the Roman relations with its "friends" in the Eastern Mediterranean, the author comes to the conclusion that from the beginning of the Illyrian Wars Roman attitude towards those states which established the amicable relations with Rome started to change. Romans more and more perceived these states as clients and expected from them services, which were usually provided by the Roman socii in Italy. The only exception from such a practice was the military alliance with Aetolia during the First Macedonian War which was determined by the extraordinary circumstances of this conflict.


AIMS
Classical guitarists may experience unique occupational health problems due to a constellation of biopsychosocial demands associated with the physical characteristics of the classical guitar, performance techniques, repertoire, and performance practices consistent with the classical music genre. Unfortunately, epidemiologic studies of classical guitarists are limited. The purpose of this study was to examine musculoskeletal and non-musculoskeletal problems in classical guitarists.

METHODS
A sample of 190 classical guitarists completed a web-based survey. The survey assessed demographics, music-related variables, musician identity, non-musculoskeletal problems, and site-specific pain. Novel interactive body and hand maps were deployed to assess site-specific frequency, intensity, influence on playing, and quality of pain.

RESULTS
A total of 168 subjects (88.9%) reported experiencing classical guitar-related pain in the past year at one or more musculoskeletal sites. The left thenar (25%) was the most prevalent pain site. Pain at the right upper back was reported to influence performance the most. Classical guitarists reported problems with non-musculoskeletal problems at rates similar or higher to other instrument-specific groups.

CONCLUSION
Classical guitarists are an understudied group of musicians who experience occupational health problems. The novel assessment protocols developed for this study produced outcomes that may be helpful to both clinicians and pedagogues.


Opinion leaders play an important role in influencing people's beliefs, actions and behaviors. Although a number of methods have been proposed for identifying influentials using secondary sources of information, the use of primary sources, such as surveys, is still favored in many domains. In this work we present a new surveying method which combines secondary data with partial knowledge from primary sources to guide the information gathering process. We apply our proposed active surveying method to the problem of identifying key opinion leaders in the medical field, and show how we are able to accurately identify the opinion leaders while minimizing the amount of primary data required, which results in significant cost reduction in data acquisition without sacrificing its integrity.