This report describes work carried out as part of the BGS research project "Nitrate
fluctuations in groundwater". The aim of the project was to determine the mechanism(s)
linking within-year fluctuations with groundwater level observed in many time series of
nitrate concentrations in groundwater.
Four conceptual models were prepared to represent scenarios where chalk recharge is taking
place by only one mechanism. These mechanisms were winter piston flow through the
unsaturated zone matrix, winter bypass flow from the base of the soil bringing high nitrate
water directly to the water table, water table rise from water entering elsewhere in the
catchment flushing out porewater and a change in flow path giving access to a greater
percentage of shallow high nitrate water. These were evaluated in a very simplified way to
determine whether different relationship between water levels and nitrate concentration
arriving at the water table. It was concluded that flushing by a rising water table could
potentially result in a delay between the water level rising and the nitrate concentration
increasing, but the other mechanisms would be all likely to result in the more or less
simultaneous rising of the water level and arrival of nitrate. However the distribution of
nitrate in the porewater profile was predicted to be different and this may prove to be a moreuseful
indicator.
Three case study sites were selected for evaluation; two previous BGS research sites at
Ogbourne St George, Wiltshire and at Bircham, Norfolk where there was considerable
existing data and Morestead, Twyford, Hampshire which was selected as the research site for
the current project. Ogbourne St George was found to be the most informative site, primarily
due to the successful deployment of a multi-level sampler which obtained saturated zone
samples from small discrete intervals and also to corresponding porewater data. At this site
water with a nitrate concentration higher than the porewater was observed in the zone of water
table fluctuation during periods of rising water levels. Additionally increases in nitrate
concentration were possibly detected ahead of water level rises in a nearby observation
borehole. These observations are inconsistent with piston flow through the matrix and
correspond better with the fracture flow model or with lateral transfer of water from another
part of the aquifer where nitrate concentrations are already higher.
In the Bircham area four sites were chosen; Sedgeford, Fring, Osier Carr and Great Bircham.
Two of these were looked at in more detail. The boreholes at Sedgeford had a very high
response to water level variation, but in dry intervals nitrate peaks had either low amplitude or
were lost. At Great Bircham the pattern was different with more subdued water level rises and
a more protracted impact from drier periods. This was likely to be due to differences in the
physical setting of the Bircham site which was in a shallow valley where the unsaturated zone
was much thinner than at Sedgeford. The porewater profiles shape and the detection of higher
nitrate water as soon as the water level rose into the zone of fluctuation were consistent with
the winter high nitrate peaks being derived from increased permeability in the zone of water
table fluctuation allowing a greater contribution of shallow, polluted groundwater to
abstracted water.
At Twyford where the porewater profile was measured after a long dry period, the distribution
of nitrate in the unsaturated zone in the absence of other data did not rule out any of the
mechanisms.
It was concluded that measuring the difference between the water level rise and arrival of
nitrate at a borehole is unlikely to be able to distinguish the mechanism operating and other
information, such as porewater concentration, may be needed.


Cooper et al. (Research Article, 7 August 2015, p. 602) combined the annual-layer-counted Greenland Ice Core Chronology 2005 with chronological information from the Hulu Cave and Cariaco Basin records to produce a "revised" time scale. We argue that their time scale is incompatible with the nature of annual-layer-counted time scales and may lead to seriously flawed conclusions if used elsewhere at face value.


Commercial property and property development have historically posed a greater direct risk to financial institutions' balance sheets than have housing and mortgage markets. A number of factors contribute to this: banks' commercial property lending is concentrated in loans for construction and development, which tend to be risky; imbalances can build up further because construction lags are longer; and incentives to avoid default are weaker for borrowers in the commercial property sector than they are for home loan borrowers. Conditions in global commercial property markets have been especially challenging in the current cycle.


In 1997, a research project was initiated by Southern California Gas Company, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, with support from Tokyo Gas, Osaka Gas, and Toho Gas, to investigate the cause of natural gas pipeline damage during the 1994 Northridge earthquake. As part of this research activity, extensive field and laboratory investigations were performed on a 1925 gas pipeline that suffered several girth weld failures in Potrero Canyon, a remote and unpopulated area just north of the Santa Susana Mountains. The pipeline is operated by the Southern California Gas Company, one of the principle sponsors of the gas utility research project. The investigations into the performance of the pipeline were largely prompted by questions regarding the cause of pipeline damage. Although ground cracking and sand boils were observed in Potrero Canyon following the Northridge earthquake, there were no clear signs of permanent ground deformation near the locations of pipeline damage. Pipeline damage, consisting predominantly of girth weld tensile failure and two instances of buckling of the pipe wall, indicated that significant relative pipe-soil deformation might have occurred. Field investigations were unable to identify surface evidence of permanent ground deformation near the locations of pipeline damage and attention focused on the possibility that the damage could have been caused by wave propagation. This focus was based on the assertions of past researchers that pipelines with poor-quality oxyacetylene girth welds are susceptible to damage from wave propagation. The detailed investigation of The pipeline has concluded that wave propagation was not a significant factor in the pipeline damage and raises questions regarding wave propagation effects as a causative mechanism for pipeline damage in past earthquakes. A simple analytical model of the transient ground deformation that may have occurred in the vicinity of the pipeline damage was found to provide insight into the cause of the ground cracking observed at the margins of Potrero Canyon, approximate magnitudes of differential ground displacements that may have occurred during the earthquake, and the reasons for the spatial distribution of pipeline damage. This model is proposed as the basis for identifying locations where similar earthquake effects can be identified in future hazard assessment studies.


The growth and collapse of laser-induced vapor cavities inside axisymmetric free-falling liquid water jets have been studied. Bubbles of different size are generated at various distances from the jet axis and the effects on the jet interface are recorded by means of ultrafast cinematography. The configuration is characterized by two dimensionless parameters: the bubble to jet diameter ratio δ and the eccentricity coefficient e defined as the radius of bubble generation divided by the jet radius. For high δ and e, microjets and droplets are ejected from the liquid jet at speeds exceeding 100m∕s. The observed jet fragmentation shows similarities with experiments conducted on a liquid mercury jet hit by a pulsed proton beam, a candidate configuration for future accelerator based facilities.


Advanced type systems for the π-calculus have recently been proposed to guarantee deadlock-freedom in the sense that certain communications will eventually succeed unless the whole process diverges. Although such guarantees are useful for reasoning about the behavior of concurrent programs, there still remains the weakness that the success of a communication is not completely guaranteed due to the possibility of divergence. For example, although a server process that has received a request message cannot discard the request, it is allowed to infinitely delegate the request to other processes, causing a livelock. In this paper, we present a type system which guarantees that certain communications will eventually succeed under fair scheduling, regardless of whether processes diverge. We also present a variant of the type system which guarantees that a communication will succeed within a given number of reduction steps.


With the advent of big-data, processing large graphs quickly has become increasingly important. Most existing approaches either utilize in-memory processing techniques, which can only process graphs that fit completely in RAM, or disk-based techniques that sacrifice performance. Contribution. In this work, we propose a novel RAM-Disk hybrid approach to graph processing that can scale well from a single shared-memory node to large distributed-memory systems. It works by partitioning the graph into subgraphs that fit in RAM and uses a paging-like technique to load subgraphs. We show that without modifying the algorithms, this approach can scale from small memory-constrained systems (such as tablets) to large-scale distributed machines with 16, 000+ cores.


In the present study, geomorphological, geological data and morphotectonic analysis were combined in order to investigate the relation between the tectonic activity and the geomorphology in the Heraklion basin (Crete). GIS techniques were used for mapping the various topographic, geological and tectonic features of the study area. The digital elevation model (DEΜ) of the study area was created. The slope angle and aspect maps were derived from DEM and combined with fault system orientation. The influence of tectonism on the development of drainage system was examined by the comparison of fault and stream directions. Moreover, geomorphic indices are useful tools in evaluating tectonic activity, relating the sensitivity to rock resistance, climatic change and tectonic processes with the production of a certain landscape. The applied geomorphic indices, in the present study, are the mountain front sinuosity index (Smf) and the valley floor width to valley height ratio (Vf). The fault zones of the study area are generally oriented N-S, NE-SW, NW-SE and E-W. According to the morphological analysis, steep slopes and sudden changes corresponding to the azimuth of the slope direction, are mainly related to N-S, NNE-SSW and NNW-SSE oriented faulting. The main channel directions of the drainage system are mainly controlled by faults striking N-S. The E-W, NE-SW and NW-SE general trending fault systems affect the low order streams. The Smf and Vf values are low, implying that the tectonic activity influences the morphology of the study area. The above methodology was proved successful to examine the impact of the tectonic activity in the study area.


The historian Ibn Khaldun (d. 1405), in his Muqaddimah (Introduction to history), explained historical change and the succession of dynasties as a function of the interactions between nomadic culture and urban civilization. His major contribution is usually considered to be his analysis of the correlation between 'asabiyya, social cohesion or group feeling, and political power. He argued that the strong group feeling of tribal peoples enabled them to conquer urbanized regions and build regimes and civilizations, but that these conquests were undone by the tribes' gradual loss of 'asabiyya in the urban setting, leading to new conquests by tribal peoples still strong in desert cohesiveness. Although power was the basis of rulership and royal authority was established through military might, the glue that held societies together was 'asabiyya, based on kinship and religion and stronger in tribal than in urban society. Conquerors with strong group feeling could create greater and longer-lasting empires because they fielded larger armies and retained their own cultural dynamism for a longer time, and thus were able to defeat their rivals. Conquerors whose social cohesion was weak were soon overcome by the civilization of the conquered and gave way to a new conquering group. Strong group cohesion would also allow royal authority to pass to a second branch of the ruling family if the first was weakened, perpetuating its dominion. The ruler and his army were supported by the wealth of conquest, and returned the people's taxes in the form of gifts and public works. They would be successful only so long as they remained just; as the rulers' level of luxury increased so did their level of exploitation, and injustice soon produced division and "the ruin of civilization."


After the Soviet Communist Party's regime was replaced by a multiparty system in the 1990s, voting in Russia became a subject of intense interest to political scientists. Voters in Russia, as elsewhere, now make choices based on many issues, such as perceptions about the economy. Demographic characteristics, such as ethnicity and income, highly predictive in the United States, and age, particularly salient in Russia, also play a role in voter choice. In recent years, scholars of U.S. politics have paid increasing attention to the role of gender as a demographic characteristic contributing to voter preference and have labeled this phenomenon the electoral "gender gap." The availability of reliable polling data in Russia has now made it possible to explore the gendered dynamics of Russian politics as well.


This thesis is an analysis of doctors' understandings of, and responses to, changes to medicine and the doctor-patient relationship that locates them within a broader framework of socio-historical transformation.
In the context of advanced modernity, adaptation to change is a key challenge facing orthodox medicine. Data on changes in the nature and context of medicine are drawn from a sample of editorials of the Australian Medical Journal, the Lancet, the Journal of the American Medical Association and the New England Journal of Medicine over the period 1965-1995. Data on the perceptions and experiences of individual doctors are drawn from semi-structured, in-depth interviews of general practitioners and specialist practitioners working in metropolitan, rural and remote regions of Tasmania and South Australia. Data from both sources are analyzed with the assistance of the qualitative analysis software package ATLAS/ti.

The thesis demonstrates linkages between commodification, differentiation and rationalisation and the emergence of social processes and phenomena relevant to changing doctor-patient relationships, including the marketization of medicine and the rise of consumerism, the proliferation of knowledge and the specialisation of expertise. In contemporary social contexts (and most noticeably in metropolitan practice settings), doctor-patient relationships increasingly take the form of short-lived, 'restricted exchanges' in a market setting. Trust is becoming more problematic just as it simultaneously becomes more necessary as a mechanism for dealing with complexity and uncertainty.

Five factors contribute to the 'problematization' of trust in medicine as an expert system: 1) increasing public knowledge of and access to healing systems and philosophies other than Western biomedicine, known collectively as complementary or alternative therapies; 2) growing emphasis on medicine as a 'business' and patients as 'consumers' of medical care; 3) the large and growing number of specialties and the dominance of 'high-tech' medical care; 4) greater 'visibility' of medical and scientific knowledge and particularly of the 'disputes that divide experts'; and 5) the increasingly litigious nature of wider society resulting in the new centrality of contracts, informed consent, the disclosure of diagnoses and risks and the practice of 'defensive medicine'.

These factors all have implications for trust at the interpersonal level. The project indicates that, by virtue of its growing relevance to points 1) and 4), in particular, the Internet has the potential to impact upon, or even transform lay-expert relationships in a way that has only been partially realized to date. The project also finds evidence of role confusion among doctors associated with rapid social change and the diminishing public acceptance of 'paternalistic' doctor-patient relationships. It reveals considerable tension between high levels of marketization and the service-orientation and altruism central to traditional notions of professionalism. Doctors (particularly general practitioners) find themselves at the centre of a complex web of contradictory pressures and their individual and collective efforts to build and maintain trust can inadvertently contribute to its further erosion.


The western sand darter Ammocrypta clara, and eastern sand darter Ammocrypta pellucida, are sand-dwelling fishes of conservation concern. Past research has emphasized the importance of studying individual populations of conservation concern, while recent research has revealed the importance of incorporating landscape scale processes that structure habitat mosaics and local populations. We examined habitat use and distributions of western and eastern sand darters in the lower Elk River of West Virginia. At the sandbar habitat use scale, western sand darters were detected in sandbars with greater area, higher proportions of coarse grain sand and faster bottom current velocity, while the eastern sand darter used a wider range of sandbar habitats. The landscape scale analysis revealed that contributing drainage area was an important predictor for both species, while sinuosity, which presumably represents valley type, also contributed to the western sand darter's habitat suitability. Sandbar quality (area, grain size, and velocity) and fluvial geomorphic variables (drainage area and valley type) are likely key driving factors structuring sand darter distributions in the Elk River. This multiscale study of within-river species distribution and habitat use is unique, given that only a few sympatric populations are known of western and eastern sand darters.


Elevations and ages of drowned Acropora palmata reefs from the Caribbean-Atlantic region document three catastrophic, metre-scale sea-level–rise events during the last deglaciation. These catastrophic rises were synchronous with (1) collapse of the Laurentide and Antarctic ice sheets, (2) dramatic reorganization of ocean-atmosphere circulation, and (3) releases of huge volumes of subglacial and proglacial meltwater. This correlation suggests that release of stored meltwater periodically destabilized ice sheets, causing them to collapse and send huge fleets of icebergs into the Atlantic. Massive inputs of ice not only produced catastrophic sea-level rise, drowning reefs and destabilizing other ice sheets, but also rapidly reduced the elevation of the Laurentide ice sheet, flipping atmospheric circulation patterns and forcing warm equatorial waters into the frigid North Atlantic. Such dramatic evidence of catastrophic climate and sea-level change during deglaciation has potentially disastrous implications for the future, especially as the stability of remaining ice sheets—such as in West Antarctica—is in question.


Family firms are often considered characteristically different from non-family firms, and the economic implications of these differences have generated significant academic debate. However, our understanding of family firms suffers from an inability to identify them in total population data, as this requires information on owners, their kinship and involvement in firm governance, which is rarely available. We present a method for identifying domiciled family firms using register data that offers greater accuracy than previous methods. We then apply it to data from Statistics Sweden concerning firm ownership, governance and kinship over the years 2004-2010. Next, we use Swedish data to estimate these firms' economic contribution to total employment and gross domestic product (GDP) and compare them to private domiciled non-family firms in terms of their characteristics and economic performance. We find that the family firm is the prevalent organizational form, contributing to over one-third of all employment and GDP. Family firms are common across industries and sizes, ranging from the smallest producers to the largest multinational firms. However, their characteristics differ across sizes and legal forms, thereby indicating that the seemingly contradictory findings among previous studies on family firms may be due to unobserved heterogeneity. We furthermore find that they are smaller than private non-family firms in employment and sales and carry higher solidity, although they are more profitable. These differences diminish with firm size, however. We conclude that the term 'family firm' contains great diversity and call for increased attention to their heterogeneity.


Fluidized beds have widespread industrial applications ranging from chemical industries to power plants. The flow inside a fluidized bed system consists of two main phases, a particle phase and the fluid phase. The two phases are strongly coupled to each other through various forces like drag and pressure. Capturing this multiphase phenomenon requires modeling strategies that possess good fidelity over a range of scales. Discrete Element Modeling (DEM) coupled with Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) provides a good platform to analyze the complex coupled multiphase hydrodynamics inside fluidized bed systems. Conventional DEM-CFD framework suffers from contradictory spatial resolution requirements for the particle and fluid phases, respectively. This prevents the conventional DEM-CFD method to be applied to geometries that have features comparable to the particle diameter of the solid phase. The novelty of this work lies in the development and validation of a two-grid formulation that removes the resolution restrictions of the conventional DEM-CFD framework. The results obtained from this new framework agree reasonably well with the experiments showing the capability of the new scheme to simulate conditions not possible with conventional DEM-CFD framework. In addition, this research also focuses on performing both 2D and 3D jetting fluidized bed simulations having millions of particles; validate/compare results with experiments and to perform heat transfer studies in a jetting fluidized bed system. The results suggest convective and diffusive mixing for a single jet at higher superficial velocity to be better than the mixing obtained in a multiple jet framework. The comparison with experimental results obtained in a multiple jetting setup shows that a 2D simulation captures the essential jet characteristics near the distributor plate reasonably well while a 3D simulation is needed to capture proper bubble dynamics near the freeboard of the bed. These results give insight into the detailed dynamics of fluidized bed systems and provide a foundation for a better design of these systems.


Gaussian Process (GP) model interpolation is used extensively in geostatistics. We investigated the effectiveness of using GP model interpolation to generate maps of cortical activity as measured by Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS). GP model interpolation also produces a variability map, which indicates the reliability of the interpolated data. For NIRS, cortical hemodynamic activity is spatially sampled. When generating cortical activity maps, the data must be interpolated. Popular NIRS imaging software HomER uses Photon Migration Imaging (PMI) and Diffuse Optical Imaging (DOI) techniques based on models of light behaviour to generate activity maps. Very few non-parametric methods of NIRS imaging exist and none of them indicate the reliability of the interpolated data. Our GP model interpolation algorithm and HomER produced activity maps based on data generated from typical functional NIRS responses. Image results in HomER were taken as the bench mark as the images produced are commonly considered to be representative of the true underlying hemodynamic spatial response. The output from the GP approach was then compared to these on a qualitative basis. The GP model interpolation appears to produce less structured image maps of hemodynamic activity compared to those produced by HomER, however a broadly similar spatial response is compelling evidence of the utility of GP models for such applications. The additional generation of a variability map which is produced by the GP method may have some utility for functional NIRS as such information is not explicitly available from standard approaches. GP model interpolation can produce spatial activity maps from coarsely sampled NIRS data sets without any knowledge of the system being modelled. While the images produced do not appear to have the same feature resolution as photonic model-based methods the technique is worthy of further investigation due to its relative simplicity and, most intriguingly, its generation of ancillary information in the form of the variability map. This additional data may have some utility in NIRS optode design or perhaps it may have application as additional input for response classification purposes. This GP technique may also be of use where model information is inadequate for DOI techniques.


The Turkey-Russia-EU energy triangle is a relationship of interdependence and strategic compromise. However, Russian support for secessionism and erosion of state autonomy in the Caucasus and Eurasia has proven difficult to reconcile for western European states despite their energy dependence. Yet, Turkey has enjoyed an enhanced bilateral relationship with Russia, augmenting its position and relevance in a strategic energy relationship with the EU. The relationship between Ankara and Moscow is principally based on energy security and domestic business interests, and has largely remained stable in times of regional turmoil. This paper analyses the dynamics of Ankara-Moscow cooperation in order to understand which of the three scenarios in EU–Turkey relations – conflict, cooperation or convergence – could be expected to develop bearing in mind that the partnership between Turkey and Russia has become unpredictable. The intimacy of Turkish-Russia energy relations and EU-Russian regional antagonism makes transactional cooperation on energy demand the most likely of future scenarios. A scenario in which both Brussels and Ankara will try to coordinate their relations with Russia through a positive agenda, in order to exploit the interdependence emerging within the "triangle".


Ara h3 belongs to the glycinin family of seed storage proteins and is one of the major peanut allergens. It comprises over 20% of the total peanut protein mass, making it a logical target for the detection of trace quantities of undeclared peanut contamination in foods. Both Ara h1 and Ara h3 are detected in lower quantities in cooked foods, either because of the failure to completely resolubilize the denatured proteins or because of the disruption of conformational epitopes required for monoclonal antibody recognition. A new reagent containing a proprietary non-detergent sulfobetaine (NDSB) is described which solubilizes more total protein and yields more Ara h3 protein from both raw and roasted peanut than other commonly used ELISA-compatible reagents.


ABSTRACT Jacobsoniidae is a species-poor family of minute polyphagan beetles distributed in tropical and subtropical regions. Both extant representatives of the family as well as fossils are rare. Here we describe a new fossil species, Derolathrus capdoliensis n. sp., from latest Albian-earliest Cenomanian Charentese amber from the Cadeuil deposit, Charente-Maritime department in south-western France. The new species is defined by several unusual characters, most notably the co-joined but not fully fused two apical antennomeres. Derolathrus capdoliensis n. sp. is approximately contemporaneous with Kachin amber (burmite), filling an important geographical gap in the Mesozoic distribution of the family. The widespread distribution of jacobsoniid beetles in the Cretaceous, encompassing the Tethyan and Austral realms, indicates a more widespread distribution of the family during this time than in the present day and suggests that the current biogeographical range of Jacobsoniidae may be a result of extinction in northern regions. The new species shows remarkable similarity to extant members of the genus and provides further evidence of prolonged morphological, and probably also ecological, stasis in Jacobsoniidae since at least the Cretaceous.


Liquid crystal variable retarders (LCVR) based polarimeters perform temporal polarization modulation by applying a sequence of driving voltages to introduce different optical retardances. However, even after a careful design and fabrication, manufacturing tolerances (i.e., slight optical axis misalignments, instrument residual polarization, optical activity in the LCVRs...) or the final system configuration (i.e., LCVRs in a convergent optical beam, thermal gradient across the clear aperture...) produce deviations from the ideal setup. As a consequence, all of these effects can reduce the polarimetric modulation efficiency of the device and, therefore, its signal-to-noise ratio. Hence, the voltage sequence applied according to the LCVR calibration curves may not be suitable to reach the optimal theoretical polarimetric efficiencies. In this work, a systematic fine tuning method for the LCVRs driving voltages is described an experimentally demonstrated.


In this study, a novel and systematic methodology for the design and optimization of
lowpass filters (LPFs), and multiorder-bandpass filters (BPFs) are proposed. The width of the
LPF signal traces consistently follow Fourier truncated series, and the thickness of the substrate
as well. By studying different lengths and other physical constraints, the design meets predefined
electrical requirements. Moreover, superformula is used in split ring resonators (SRRs) designs
to obtain a BPF response and significant structural compactness.
Non-uniform transmission lines, as well as superformula equations, are programmed in
MATLAB, which is also used for analytical validations. Traces are drawn in AutoCAD. The
substrate of LPF is constructed in Pro/e. Finally, the optimized layouts are imported to Ansys
High Frequency Structure Simulation (HFSS) software for simulation and verification. Nonuniform LPFs are optimized over a range of 0-6 GHz with cutoff frequency 3.5 GHz.
Superformula implemented multiorder-BPFs are optimized with cutoff frequency of 1.1 GHz.


Foata and Zeilberger defined the graphical major index, $\mathrm{maj}'_U$, and the graphical inversion index, $\mathrm{inv}'_U$, for words. These statistics are a generalization of the classical permutation statistics $\mathrm{maj}$ and $\mathrm{inv}$ indexed by directed graphs $U$. They showed that $\mathrm{maj}'_U$ and $\mathrm{inv}'_U$ are equidistributed over all rearrangement classes if and only if $U$ is bipartitional. In this paper we strengthen their result by showing that if $\mathrm{maj}'_U$ and $\mathrm{inv}'_U$ are equidistributed on a single rearrangement class then $U$ is essentially bipartitional. Moreover, we define a graphical sorting index, $\mathrm{sor}'_U$, which generalizes the sorting index of a permutation. We then characterize the graphs $U$ for which $\mathrm{sor}'_U$ is equidistributed with $\mathrm{inv}'_U$ and $\mathrm{maj}'_U$ on a single rearrangement class.


Capacity constraints of Mechanical cofee skin peeler is one of the obstacles in increasing coffee production. To overcome this, we need a mechanical coffee skin  peeler that has been modified. The study was conducted with the study of literature and make observations about the mechanical coffee skin peeler that has been designed Johanes Mikael Manulang, and then designed the coupling components that would be modified. The effective capacity of the tool was 206.57 kg/h or 1441.44 kg/day. The value of the effective capacity of the equipment was greater than the previous coffee skin peeler i.e 117.39 kg/h or 821.73 kg/day. Basic costs to be incurred was Rp. 73 953 /kg in year 1, Rp. 68.917 / kg in year 2, Rp. 67.241/kg in year 3, Rp. 66.404 /kg in the 4th year, and Rp. 65.903 /kg in the 5th year. This equipment would reach the break even point after peeling coffee at 9124.41 kg/year. Net present value of these equipment with 6% interest rate was Rp. 279,299,067.30 which means that the business is feasible. Internal rate of return was 7.21%. Keyword : modification, pulper equipment, skin


We consider two-player games played over finite state spaces for an infinite number of rounds. At each state, the players simultaneously choose moves; the moves determine a successor state. It is often advantageous for players to choose probability distributions over moves, rather than single moves. Given a goal (e.g., "reach a target state"), the question of winning is thus a probabilistic one: "what is the maximal probability of winning from a given state?". On these game structures, two fundamental notions are those of equivalences and metrics. Given a set of winning conditions, two states are equivalent if the players can win the same games with the same probability from both states. Metrics provide a bound on the difference in the probabilities of winning across states, capturing a quantitative notion of state "similarity". We introduce equivalences and metrics for two-player game structures, and we show that they characterize the difference in probability of winning games whose goals are expressed in the quantitative mu-calculus. The quantitative mu- calculus can express a large set of goals, including reachability, safety, and omega-regular properties. Thus, we claim that our relations and metrics provide the canonical extensions to games, of the classical notion of bisimulation for transition systems. We develop our results both for equivalences and metrics, which generalize bisimulation, and for asymmetrical versions, which generalize simulation.


Synovial plicae are synovial folds that may be found as intraarticular structures within the knee joint. They are remnants of incomplete resorption of mesenchymal tissue during fetal development. Synovial plicae, if present, are supposed to be non-pathological and asymptomatic, however if they are exposed to special events like direct trauma or repeated activities, they may be inflamed and become fibrosed and rigid and irritates the synovium of the underlying femoral condyle resulting in secondary mechanical synovitis and chondromalacia leading to what is known as plica syndrome of the knee. Inspite plica syndrome is always suspected on clinical bases and can be clearly visualized by arthroscopic application, still diagnostic imaging by MRI, CT scan and Sonography play important role in the evaluation and diagnosis of this pathological condition. The aim of this article is to provide an overview of the imaging appearances of synovial plicae syndrome of the knee on ultrasound, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computerized tomography scan (CT scan).


PURPOSE
The Fat family of atypical cadherins, originally identified in Drosophila, play diverse roles during embryogenesis and adult tissue maintenance. Among four mammalian members, Fat1 is essential for kidney and muscle organization, and is also essential for eye development; Fat1 knockout causes partial penetrant microphthalmia or anophthalmia. To account for the partial penetrance of the Fat1 phenotype, involvement of Fat4 in eye development was assessed. Lens phenotypes in Fat1 and 4 knockouts were also examined.

METHODS
Fat1 and Fat4 mRNA expression was examined by in situ hybridization. Knockout phenotypes of Fat1 and Fat4 were analyzed by hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) and immunofluorescent staining.

RESULTS
We found Fat4 knockout did not affect eye induction or enhance severity of Fat1 eye defects. Although Fat1 and Fat4 mRNAs are similarly expressed in the lens epithelial cells, only Fat1 knockout caused a fully penetrant lens epithelial cell defect, which was apparent at embryonic day 14.5 (E14.5). The columnar structure of the lens epithelial cells was disrupted and in some regions cell aggregates were formed. In these multilayered regions, apical cell junctions were fragmented and the apical-basal polarity was lost. EdU incorporation assay also showed enhanced proliferation in the lens epithelial cells. Interestingly, these defects were found mainly in the central zone of the epithelial layer. The lens epithelial cells of the germinative zone maintained their normal morphology and fiber differentiation occurred normally at the equator.

CONCLUSIONS
These observations indicate that Fat1 is essential for lens epithelial cell polarity and proliferation but not for terminal differentiation.


The posterior parietal cortex (PPC) is known to be involved in the control of automatic movements that are spatially guided, such as grasping an apple. We considered whether the PPC might also contribute to the performance of visuomotor associations in which stimuli and responses are linked arbitrarily, such as producing a certain sound for a typographical character when reading aloud or pressing pedals according to the color of a traffic light when driving a motor vehicle. The PPC does not appear to be necessary for learning new arbitrary visuomotor associations, but with extensive training, the PPC can encode nonspatial sensory features of task-relevant cues. Accordingly, we have tested whether the contributions of the PPC might become apparent once arbitrary sensorimotor mappings are overlearned. We have used functional magnetic resonance imaging to measure cerebral activity while subjects were learning novel arbitrary visuomotor associations, overlearning known mappings, or attempting to learn frequently changing novel mappings. To capture the dynamic features of cerebral activity related to the learning process, we have compared time-varying modulations of activity between conditions rather than average (steady-state) responses. Frontal, striatal, and intraparietal regions showed decreasing or stable activity when subjects learned or attempted to learn novel associations, respectively. Importantly, the same frontal, striatal, and intraparietal regions showed time-dependent increases in activity over time as the mappings become overlearned, i.e., despite time-invariant behavioral responses. The automaticity of these mappings predicted the degree of intraparietal changes, indicating that the contribution of the PPC might be related to a particular stage of the overlearning process. We suggest that, as the visuomotor mappings become robust to interference, the PPC may convey relevant sensory information toward the motor cortex. More generally, our findings illustrate how rich cerebral dynamics can underlie stable behavior.


This paper will report on a design and development project that aims to enrich face-to-face classroom contexts using the latest developments in information and communications technology. The Meety project, when used by students in a classroom with laptop computers, captures the verbal utterances of the classroom context and uses it to supply real-time information resources to the students in the classroom. Students have the option of contributing to the information resources and rating the utility of the resources supplied. This project discusses the design and development of the project as well as a simulated trial to test its efficacy.


It has recently been argued that the fragmented knowledge on the social impacts of genetically modified (GM) crops is contributing to the polarised debate on the matter. This paper addresses this issue by systematically reviewing 99 peer-reviewed journal articles published since 2004 on the social impacts of GM crops in agriculture; summarising current knowledge, and identifying research gaps. Economic impact studies currently dominate the literature and mainly report that GM crops provide economic benefits for farmers. Other social impacts are less well studied, but present a more complex picture. Studies on access to and benefits of GM crops show that these vary significantly depending on the political and regulatory setting. Substantial evidence indicates that intellectual property rights (IPR) and the private industry's dominance limit the access and utility of available GM crops to many farmers. Wellbeing is frequently discussed in the literature, but rarely investigated empirically. Existing evidence is contradictory and inconclusive. Impact studies from the Global North are virtually non-existent. Moreover, two-thirds of publications are based on previously published empirical evidence, indicating a need for new empirical investigations into the social impacts of GM crops in agriculture.


The attitudes of staff in services for people with intellectual disabilities are crucial as they can control the client's access to sex education and opportunities for sexual expression. In this study a sample of 150 staff working in education, health and social services, private and voluntary sector provision within a defined geographical area of Northern Ireland answered a self-completed questionnaire. A factor analysis identified four dimensions to their attitudes and significant relationships were found between these and predictor variables relating to church attendance, gender, the type of service the staff worked in and their prior attendance on training courses. The implications for staff training and further research are noted.


The kinetics of exchange of strontium (85Sr) and potassium (42K) were studied in the mid-tibial cortical bone of 37 adult dogs. After injection of these two tracer cations and tracer-labeled albumin into the tibial nutrient artery, two types of observations were made: 1) collection of sequential venous samples to provide the outflow indicator-dilution curves and to calculate the extraction and retention at early times; and 2) detection of energy-selected gamma emissions via a detector over the tibia to give the time course of content of 42K and 85Sr in the tibia. Extractions of K+ and Sr2+ were 50 and 60% during a single transcapillary passage. More Sr2+ than K+ was retained in the first minutes. Their rates of washout over a 3-h period were similar. The interpretation is that the rate of uptake at extravascular sites is faster for Sr2+ than for K+, as is the rate of release, and that the extravascular volume of distribution for Sr2+ (adsorption sites in the interstitium or on bone) is much larger than that for K+ (intracellular).


The European Union (EU) and domestic "change agents" have promoted the rule of law in post-Soviet Europe with varying results. While the Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania) succeeded in establishing the rule of law, Eastern Partnership (EaP) countries (Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia) did not. Why did EU-driven legal, judicial and anti-corruption reforms not produce the rule of law in the latter group? I argue that divided elites (reformers) in laggard EaP countries engage in detrimental political competition that creates incentives to misuse the law, the prosecution and judicial structures as "political weapons". The result of this power struggle is an erratic reform process which produces reform pathologies of Europeanization (e.g. legal instability and incoherence, reinforced fragmentation and politicization) that undermine the rule of law. Instead of serving as an external check on rule-of-law abusing reformers, the EU empowers reformist but unaccountable "change agents" in a partisan way, thus creating incentives for the accumulation and abuse of power, especially after regime changes. Reformers in the advanced Baltic States have avoided detrimental political competition, the fragmentation of the state and many reform pitfalls through de facto exclusion of ethnic Russians from the political and judicial system. This policy of partial exclusion allowed elites in Estonia and Latvia to build consensus, to create a unitary state, including strong, unified and independent horizontal accountability structures (e.g. judiciary, Ombudsman, Constitutional Court etc.) which in turn were able to check the executive. The argument is supported by an empirical, indicator-based analysis of the rule of law and several interviews with representatives in Brussels, Strasbourg and Chisinau.


A flexible fiber probe for surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) measurement was developed for performing an extremely sensitive Raman analysis for biomedical applications. The Raman probe consists of a ball lens mounted on a hollow optical fiber and allows Raman signals to be measured by a contact mode. Gold (Au) nanoparticles were placed on the ball lens by a dip-and-dry method. The increase in the background noise due to the deposition of the Au nanocolloids was very small. By using this new SERS probe, a Raman spectrum of 5% gelatin aqueous solution was successfully measured. A strong SERS signal was observed for the gelatin molecule in the solution. In particular, a C-S stretching band at 732 cm−1 due to methionine residues, which could not be observed by an ordinary Raman microscope system, was observed clearly. The content of methionine was less than 1% in the gelatin molecule. The results show that this SERS probe has very high sensitivity and holds considerable promise in the applications of SERS spectroscopy for direct diagnosis of cancer tissues.


General medical practices' in Australia are vulnerable to information security threats and insecure practices. It is well accepted in the healthcare environment that information security is both a technical and a human endeavour, and that the human behaviours, particularly around integration with healthcare workflow, are key barriers to good information security practice. The Royal Australian College of General Practitioner's (RACGP) Computer and Information Security Standards (CISS) 2013 are the best practice standards for general practices, against which information security is assessed during practice accreditation. With the release of ISO/IEC 27014:2013 Information technology - Security techniques - Governance of information security in May 2013, it is this governance component of information security that is insufficiently addressed within General Practice at present. This paper documents the development and validation of an information security governance framework for use within general medical practice. The aim of the proposed Information Security Governance Framework is to extend current best practice information security management to include information security governance.


This law school casebook starts from the premise that cyberlaw is not simply a set of legal rules governing online interaction, but a lens through which to re-examine general problems of policy, jurisprudence, and culture. The book goes beyond simply plugging Internet-related cases into a series of doctrinal categories, instead emphasizing conceptual issues that extend across the spectrum of cyberspace legal dilemmas. While the book addresses all of the "traditional" subject matter areas of cyberlaw, it asks readers to consider both how traditional legal doctrines can be applied to cyberspace conduct, and how the special problems encountered in the course of that application can teach us something about those traditional legal doctrines. The fourth edition, which includes contributions of new co-author Brett Frischmann, has been reorganized to clarify the themes of the book and updated to illuminate new debates at the heart of this evolving field. This edition groups the material into units addressing the who, how, and what of governance/regulation--fundamental questions that pertain to any legal system, in cyberspace or elsewhere. The fourth edition includes unit-ending case studies on governance of the domain name system, efforts to control the exchange of counterfeit goods in the online marketplace, and the Google Books Settlement, as well as updated treatment of a number of topics, including peer-to-peer file sharing, online behavioral advertising, regulation of sexually explicit speech, and ownership of user-generated content. For more information and additional teaching materials, visit the companion site .


Activity-based social networks, where people upload and share information about their location-based activities (e.g., the routes of their activities), are increasingly popular. Such systems, however, raise privacy and security issues: The service providers know the exact locations of their users; the users can report fake location information in order to, for example, unduly brag about their performance. In this paper, we propose a secure privacy-preserving system for reporting location-based activity summaries (e.g., the total distance covered and the elevation gain). Our solution is based on a combination of cryptographic techniques and geometric algorithms, and it relies on existing Wi-Fi access-point networks deployed in urban areas. We evaluate our solution by using real data sets from the FON community networks and from the Garmin Connect activity-based social network, and we show that it can achieve tight (up to a median accuracy of 76%) verifiable lower-bounds of the distance covered and of the elevation gain, while protecting the location privacy of the users with respect to both the social network operator and the access-point network operator(s).


Forward Physics: How people learn and generalize novel dynamical models Tomer Ullman MIT Noah Goodman Stanford Josh Tenenbaum MIT Abstract: Intuitive theories of physics govern the everyday action of humans. Studies with children and the ability of adults to adapt to novel physical situations suggest this knowledge might be learned, but how can physics be learned? We consider different physical models of dynamic situations as generated from an underlying physical theory defined over Spelke-like objects. This allows us to go from the observed dynamics of objects (e.g. particles and positions) to the underlying physical model governing the interaction between the objects (e.g. a spring in a gravity well). The underlying theory is then used to predict and generalize object properties and interactions in new scenarios. We compare these predictions and generalizations to those of humans faced with the same unfolding dynamics. We argue that this generative model of physics can explain the ability of humans to learn and generalize novel dynamics.


Objectives: The aim of this research was to study information seeking behavior and the pattern of reading behavior of faculty members of University of Social Welfare & Rehabilitation Sciences in using printed and electronic resources. Methods: The descriptive research method was a survey method. The research was implemented by using an organized questionnaire which was distributed among the statistical population, 114 faculty members of the university. Results: The findings show that meeting the faculty members' research needs is the most important purpose and stimulation for this group, because 91.2% of faculty members had chosen this objective. The mean of the central library role was 3.15 for meeting the faculty members' information needs. In faculty members' opinion, the mean of existing facilities in the website of University of Social Welfare & Rehabilitation Sciences was 3.29. Finally, the most resources used by this group were the printed resources. Discussion: Findings suggest that the facilities available in the central library and website of the university don't respond the faculty members' information needs. As the target group declared that they had problems in accessing information via the internet, it seems that they need for some formal training such as holding educational workshops about using library, internet and databases.


The alkylation of 4-benzyl-2-phenyl-1,3-oxazol-5(4H)-one (11) with
ω-azidoalkyl iodides (12) by deprotonation with LDA in THF/HMPT at –78 °C
yielded mixtures of the 4,4-disubstituted 1,3-oxazol-5(4H)-ones (13) and the O-alkylated 1,3-oxazoles (14) in 65–50%, with 13 as the major product. The reaction of the latter with dimethylamine in acetonitrile at room temperature led to ω-azido-2-benzamido-2-benzylalkane amides (15), which were reduced to give the corresponding ω-amino derivatives (16). On treatment with HCl gas or BF3 in boiling toluene, the macrocyclic 2-benzamido lactams (18) were formed in up to 27% yield via the intermediate formation of 1,3-oxazol-5(4H)-ones (17). The structures of the 14- and 15-membered lactams have been established by X-ray crystallography.


We report room-temperature operation of an all solid-state, continuous-wave Cr2+:ZnSe laser. The laser was pumped by a Tm:YALO laser operating at 1940 nm. Demonstrated Cr:ZnSe laser results include: output power of 380 mW, an absorbed power slope efficiency of 63%, an absorbed power threshold as low as 98 mW, and continuous tunability from 2138 to 2760 nm. All Cr:ZnSe laser crystals were prepared by the diffusion doping technique.


Wind turbine sizes have grown continuously in the past. That is why the questions such as how much the wind turbine size can grow and what are the aspects that limit the growth come from have to be answered. In order to analyze these questions for the rotor of such a wind turbine, the preliminary design of a 20MW wind turbine rotor has been performed within EU 6th Framework Project UPWIND. Although the rotational speed of the wind turbine is as low as around 6 rpm, due to the growth in size very high Reynolds number values of up to 25 million have been reached. The effects of very high Reynolds numbers on the aerodynamic characteristics of the airfoils are investigated and their influences on the rotor design and performance are discussed. As a result, up to 20% reduction in the chord can be achieved due to the increase in the Cl and decrease in Cd in high Reynolds numbers. Since the change in the Reynolds numbers influences the rotor design in many respects, more detailed investigations and especially wind tunnel tests of the airfoils for very high Reynolds numbers are required in order to have reliable future large wind turbines.


A low complexity antenna diversity architecture with a new combining technique suitable for orthogonal frequency division (OFDM) based systems is introduced in this paper. For a two branch antenna diversity, this structure requires only one FFT at the receiver and allows optimum maximum ratio combining. For systems with a higher number of antennas, the number of required FFTs when using such technique is reduced by half as compared to the conventional case where a different FFT is used for each receive antenna. As a result a considerable reduction in processing complexity is obtained especially for systems with high number of subcarriers. This method can also be seen as a way of increasing the number of antennas in OFDM transceivers without any major complexity increase. Thus, a considerable increase in diversity gain can be achieved.


Political scientists often characterize state and local governments as marginal and highly constrained in policymaking. However, I suggest that in recent decades state governments have moved from the margins to the center of partisan battles over the direction of U.S. public policy. Across 16 issue areas, I investigate interstate policy variation, policy differences across states, and policy polarization, the changing relationship between party control of state government and policy outcomes. Since the 1970s, interstate variation has increased such that an individual's tax burden, right to obtain an abortion, and other relationships to government are increasingly determined by her state of residence. Policy polarization increases dramatically after 2000 in 14 of the 16 areas. I show that party control increasingly predicts socioeconomic outcomes in the polarized area of health care, but not in the nonpolarized area of criminal justice.


Recent scientific reports demonstrate that despite more than thirty years of environmental regulation, we are experiencing unprecedented declines in bird and wildlife species, as well as ecosystem services. Pesticides are at least in part to blame for these profound declines. U.S. pesticide law has failed to carryout its mission. Moreover, a number of lawsuits have been filed recently asserting that the registration of certain pesticides is in violation of the federal endangered species act. One of the great ironies of environmental law is that the ecological consequences of pesticide use, such as the devastating impacts DDT had on predatory bird populations, which fueled the environmental movement of the late 1960's and early 1970's, largely have been ignored for the past 30 years. Only very recently has there been renewed interest in the ecological (as opposed to human health) risks posed by pesticides. Moreover, the explosion of pesticidal genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in agriculture has raised concerns regarding the novel risks to biodiversity posed by these new pesticides. Surprisingly, however, the primary federal statute governing pesticides, the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), has not changed significantly with regard to ecological matters since 1972 and remains primarily a consumer protection statute not well suited for ecological protection. Moreover, the manner in which the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has implemented FIFRA has not kept pace with developments in our understanding of the uncertainty, complexity, and changing nature of ecological systems. This Article breaks new ground by being the first to use the new legal discipline of "eco-pragmatism" to analyze, and then reinvent, U.S. pesticide law to better protect ecological resources. For years, environmental legal scholars have sought a middle ground between absolutist risk-based approaches to environmental regulation and cost/benefit analysis approaches. In the past several years, scholars have begun exploring the emerging field of eco-pragmatism - a dramatic new framework for environmental decision-making developed by Professor Daniel Farber - as a way to achieve a workable middle ground. Although a number of prominent legal scholars have analyzed eco-pragmatism in a general sense, none have attempted to apply an eco-pragmatic framework to any environmental pollution control law. This Article is the first to do so. This Article builds on Farber's work and the works of a number of other prominent legal scholars by first bolstering eco-pragmatism through consciously incorporating into it principles of ecological science, and then applying the strengthened eco-pragmatism to a long overlooked area - pesticide law. As the first attempt to actually apply eco-pragmatism to a field of environmental pollution control law, this Article represents an important step in the development of this area of legal theory. By analyzing current pesticide law as well as EPA's implementation of such law through an eco-pragmatic lens, this Article identifies areas of the law that are in need of revision and proposes revisions based on eco-pragmatic principles, which if implemented would greatly enhance our ability to protect critical ecological resources.


SOMMARIO: 1. Premessa - 2. La procedura costituzionale - 3. Il diritto penale - 4. I principi: a) la dignita … - 5. (segue) b) la coscienza … - 6. (segue) c) la separazione (ovvero la laicita).
Presented uncostitutionality and justifiable assisted suicide: innovations in continuity
ABSTRACT: For the first time the Italian Constitutional Court adopted a double ruling (anticipatory the one, deciding the other) in the same judicial review. And for the first time also elaborated the circumstances of a justifiable (doctor-) assisted suicide, that so far was in any case a crime. They are two outstanding jurisprudential innovations, however the aim of the Author is to demonstrate that they are not in break but in continuity with the decision techniques of the Court, on one hand, and the leading cases on the topic of criminal justifications, on the other hand. Particularly the concept of subjective dignity, that according to the Court is the reason behind the decision of the patient, is recurring in the precedents of the Court of Cassation. Generally, moreover, the concepts of conscience, life and death prevail on this matter, neverthless are differently interpreted according to an ethic, specially religious, perspective or a secular, specially state, perspective. The merit of the decision consists precisely of the separatist, secular planning between ethics and law.


Following the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) senior transport officials meeting in May 2011, the Secretariat requested the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to provide assistance to improve road safety in ASEAN. In response, ADB, funded by the Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction, has begun an innovative approach to capacity building that has already been adapted and replicated in other sub-regions. This paper will discuss the model central to the project. The Road Safety Capacity Building for ASEAN Project commenced in May 2013. Each country has appointed a National Focal Point (NFP) to identify and coordinate information. A team of International Experts were appointed to develop materials and present a comprehensive train the trainer program focused on five key areas. Thirty eight senior Government officers from across ASEAN attended a two week program at ADB headquarters in Manila and will arrange and deliver specific training and associated activities to other colleagues within their country. ADB has appointed a National Consultant to work in partnership with the trainees on a range of activities including development of "pipeline project proposals" for funding consideration investors and donors. As part of the project, a draft ASEAN Regional Road Safety Strategy document has been prepared and consultation will further refine its directions and contents. The project will reach its conclusion in 2015 and a follow up phase three project is being considered.


Light absorption of fine particle (PM2.5) aqueous extracts between wavelengths of 200 and 800 nm were investigated from two data sets: 24-h Federal Reference Method (FRM) filter extracts from 15 Southeastern US monitoring sites over the year of 2007 (900 filters), and online measurements from a Particle-Into-Liquid Sampler deployed from July to mid-August 2009 in Atlanta, Georgia. Three main sources of soluble chromophores were identified: biomass burning, mobile source emissions, and compounds linked to secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation. Absorption spectra of aerosol solutions from filter extracts were similar for different sources. Angstrom exponents were ∼7±1 for biomass burning and non-biomass burning-impacted 24h filter samples (delineated by a levoglucosan concentration of 50 ngm−3) at both rural and urban sites. The absorption coefficient from measurements averaged between wavelength 360 and 370 nm (Abs365, in units m−1) was used as a measure of overall brown carbon light absorption. Biomass-burning-impacted samples were highest during winter months and Abs365 was correlated with levoglucosan at all sites. During periods of little biomass burning in summer, light absorbing compounds were still ubiquitous and correlated with fine particle Water-Soluble Organic Carbon (WSOC), but comprised a much smaller fraction of the WSOC, where Abs365/WSOC (i.e., mass absorption efficiency) was typically ∼3 times higher in biomass burningimpacted samples. Factor analysis attributed 50% of the Correspondence to: R. J. Weber (email@example.com) yearly average Abs365 to biomass burning sources. Brown carbon from primary urban emissions (mobile sources) was also observed and accounted for∼10% of the regional yearly average Abs365. Summertime diurnal profiles of Abs365 and WSOC showed that morning to midday increases in WSOC from photochemical production were associated with a decrease in Abs365/WSOC. After noon, this ratio substantially increased, indicating that either some fraction of the nonlight absorbing fresh SOA was rapidly (within hours) converted to chromophores heterogeneously, or that SOA from gas-particle partitioning later in the day was more lightabsorbing. Factor analysis on the 24-h integrated filter data associated∼20 to 30% of Abs365 over 2007 with a secondary source that was highest in summer and also the main source for oxalate, suggesting that aqueous phase reactions may account for the light-absorbing fraction of WSOC observed throughout the Southeastern US in summer.


How does war become a legitimate undertaking? This article challenges the interpretation of securitization as a narrow, linear and intentional event by re-engaging the post-structuralist roots of Copenhagen School securitization theory. To uncover the social process that makes war acceptable, the framework presented in this article is informed by securitization theory but foregrounds the web of meaning and representation between a myriad of actors in society to unearth the contents – and changes – in how war is articulated and carried out with public consent. This matters not only for the question of how war becomes a legitimate undertaking, but also for the very practices through which the war is fought: the emergency measures that are enabled in a discourse of existential threat. The article re-visits the Second Chechen War to illustrate how war is made logical and legitimate to leaders and their publics.


Over the course of the last 10 or 15 years there appears to be taking place a fundamental shift in the "industrial paradigm" governing the nature of competition in advanced industrial markets. Among the characteristics of this shift are a transition from mass production to flexible manufacturing technologies, reduced time for development of new products, shorter product life cycles, increased product diversity, increasing expenditures on industrial R&D, shrinking firm size ("deglomeration"), specialization on "niches" or "core business areas", and more intense global competition even in products that previously seemed exempt from such pressures. The object of this paper is to bring these themes together by examining the development of the competitive position in world markets of the United States and Sweden, two countries which are apparently pursuing very different strategies in dealing with the new challenges. The first part of the paper examines the international trade performance of the two countries with emphasis on different patterns of trade with respect to goods of varying research and development intensity. A simple model for analyzing the differences in performance is suggested in the second section. The third section draws together fragments of empirical evidence in support of the hypothesis.


Laser-plasma interaction experiments using a 70 TW short-pulse laser were conducted to investigate the properties of electron beams produced from laser wakefield acceleration. In addition to narrow divergence electron beams in excess of 200 MeV, lower energy components of the electron beam were observed to have an annular emission pattern with much larger divergence. This ring-shaped component of the beam is up to several MeV in energy and gives rise to a corresponding increase in the divergence of bremsstrahlung x-rays while producing more background radiation. Scaling measurements of the emission angle of the beam with respect to plasma density were also made. From 3D numerical simulations of the interaction, it is shown that this phenomenon results from energetic electrons in the laser-driven wakefield which are not trapped by the plasma wave, but which can still obtain some longitudinal momentum from the interaction.


The "digital divide" between urban and rural areas has introduced a significant issue in equal access to Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in developing countries such as Bangladesh. This inequitable access to ICT has implication for productivity and economic growth of the country. To bridging the gap, Government of Bangladesh has taken initiatives to introduce various ICT interventions in its rural and regional areas. Union Information and Service Centre (UISC) is one of those initiatives which are expected to bring the opportunity for rural communities to better access to ICT. However, no studies have been reported to investigate its potentiality for rural communities in offering accessing to information and technology. This study attempts to investigate this issue from actual beneficiary perspective. The main objective of this study is to provide a synopsis of the roles UISC could play in various socio-politico-economic sectors in the vicinity of countryside of Bangladesh. This paper confers the significance of free access to both technology and information through a case study conducted in rural areas in Bangladesh.


BACKGROUND
Although intensive blood pressure (BP)-lowering treatment reduces risk for cardiovascular disease, there are concerns that it might cause orthostatic hypotension (OH).

PURPOSE
To examine the effects of intensive BP-lowering treatment on OH in hypertensive adults. (PROSPERO: CRD42020153753).

DATA SOURCES
MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cochrane CENTRAL from inception through 7 October 2019, without language restrictions.

STUDY SELECTION
Randomized trials of BP pharmacologic treatment (more intensive BP goal or active agent) that involved more than 500 adults with hypertension or elevated BP and that were 6 months or longer in duration. Trial comparisons were groups assigned to either less intensive BP goals or placebo, and the outcome was measured OH, defined as a decrease of 20 mm Hg or more in systolic BP or 10 mm Hg or more in diastolic BP after changing position from seated to standing.

DATA EXTRACTION
Two investigators independently abstracted articles and rated risk of bias.

DATA SYNTHESIS
Five trials examined BP treatment goals, and 4 examined active agents versus placebo. Trials examining BP treatment goals included 18 466 participants with 127 882 follow-up visits. Trials were open-label, with minimal heterogeneity of effects across trials. Intensive BP treatment lowered risk for OH (odds ratio, 0.93 [95% CI, 0.86 to 0.99]). Effects did not differ by prerandomization OH (P for interaction = 0.80). In sensitivity analyses that included 4 additional placebo-controlled trials, overall and subgroup findings were unchanged.

LIMITATIONS
Assessments of OH were done while participants were seated (not supine) and did not include the first minute after standing. Data on falls and syncope were not available.

CONCLUSION
Intensive BP-lowering treatment decreases risk for OH. Orthostatic hypotension, before or in the setting of more intensive BP treatment, should not be viewed as a reason to avoid or de-escalate treatment for hypertension.

PRIMARY FUNDING SOURCE
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health.


In this summary article, the author shows how investors can neutralize the unwanted skewness and kurtosis effects from investing in hedge funds by 1) purchasing out-of-the-money equity puts, 2) investing in managed futures, and/or by 3) overweighting equity market neutral and global macro and avoiding distressed securities and emerging market funds. The analysis suggests that all three alternatives are up to the job but also come with their own specific price tag.


Americans are becoming more aware of their social security program and less contented with it. They see their taxes rising and are not sure that they will get their money's worth in future benefits. In the mid-1970s costs unexpectedly outran revenues, and in 1977 Congress reluctantly took action; but it had no sooner enacted new taxes than members began submitting bills to revise them. A social security taxpayers' revolt seemed to be brewing.No longer a "sacred cow," as Milton Friedman once remarked of it, the program has come increasingly under fire. Martha Derthick, in this comprehensive analysis of policy-making for social security, concludes that such criticism is healthy and that reexamination of long-established doctrines and policies is very much to be desired. In the past, she writes, "the nature of policymaking did little to correct, but instead reinforced, a complacent, poorly informed acceptance of the programparticipation was so narrowly confined; expert proprietary dominance was so complete; debate was so limited; the technicality was so appealing; and the forward steps each seemed so small."With detailed documentation from primary sources, Derthick shows how policymaking has been dominated until recently by a small group of specialists. But now, with difficult times ahead, the pattern is changing, and more people inside and outside the government seek to influence decisions. Derthick argues that this trend should be encouraged. In her view, social security ought to be treated like any other government program and be subject to the same competitive pressures. Reduction of benefits, hitherto considered a forbidden topic, ought to be open to political debate.Derthick has divided the book into four parts, dealing first with the small group of men and women who molded the program; next with the basic policies that have governed it; and third with the politics of expansion in three areasdisability coverage, medicare, and cash benefits. In the final part she examines the current deficit and looks to the future of social security."


This study reports on a hand-held volatilome analyzer for selective determination of clinically relevant biomarkers in exhaled breath. The sensing platform is based on electrospun polymer nanofiber-multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) sensing microchannels. Polymer nanofibers of poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF), polystyrene (PS), and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) incorporated with MWCNT exhibits a stable response to interferences of humidity and CO2 and provides selective deformations upon exposure of exhaled breath target volatilomes acetone and toluene, exhibiting correlation to diabetes and lung cancer, respectively. The sensing microchannels "P1" (PVDF-MWCNT), "P2" (PS-MWCNT), and "P3" (PMMA-MWCNT) are integrated with a microfluidic cartridge (μ-card) that facilitates collection and concentration of exhaled breath. The volatilome analyzer consists of a conductivity monitoring unit, signal conditioning circuitries and a low energy display module. A combinatorial operation algorithm was developed for analyzing normalized resistivity changes of the sensing microchannels upon exposure to breath in the concentration ranges between 35 ppb and 3.0 ppm for acetone and 1 ppb and 10 ppm for toluene. Subsequently, responses of volatilomes from individuals in the different risk groups of diabetes were evaluated for validation of the proposed methodology. We foresee that proposed methodology provides an avenue for rapid detection of volatilomes thereby enabling point of care diagnosis in high-risk group individuals.


Background: In CLEOPATRA, 808 pts with HER2-positive 1L MBC were randomized to treatment with placebo (Pla)+T+D or P+T+D. The primary endpoint of independently reviewed progression-free survival was significantly improved with P+T+D vs Pla+T+D (HR = 0.62; P Methods: This interim OS analysis was performed applying the Lan-DeMets α-spending function with the O9Brien-Fleming (OBF) stopping boundary to maintain the overall Type I error at 5%. Based on the number of OS events observed, the OBF boundary for statistical significance at this analysis was P≤0.0138. The log-rank test, stratified by prior treatment status and geographic region, was used to compare OS between arms in the intention-to-treat population. The Kaplan-Meier approach was used to estimate the median OS in both arms; a stratified Cox proportional hazard model was used to estimate HR and 95% CIs. Subgroup analyses of OS were performed for the stratification factors and other key baseline characteristics. Results: At the time of this analysis, median follow-up was 30 mths and 267 deaths (69% of planned events for the final analysis) had occurred. The results showed a statistically significant improvement in OS in favor of P+T+D (HR = 0.66; 95% CI, 0.52–0.84; P = 0.0008). This HR represents a 34% reduction in the risk of death. The analysis achieved statistical significance and is therefore considered the confirmatory OS analysis. The median OS was 37.6 mths in the Pla arm and has not yet been reached in the P arm. The treatment effect was generally consistent in predefined subgroups based on baseline variables and stratification factors, including: prior (neo)adjuvant therapy (HR = 0.66; 95% CI, 0.46–0.94); no prior (neo)adjuvant therapy (HR = 0.66; 95% CI, 0.47–0.93); prior (neo)adjuvant T (HR = 0.68; 95% CI, 0.30–1.55); hormone receptor-negative disease (HR = 0.57; 95% CI, 0.41–0.79); and hormone receptor-positive disease (HR = 0.73; 95% CI, 0.50–1.06). Kaplan-Meier estimates of OS rates show survival benefit with P+T+D at 1, 2, and 3 yrs. The majority of pts received anti-cancer therapy after discontinuation of study treatment (64% Pla arm, 56% P arm). Subsequent therapy with HER2-directed agents (T, lapatinib, T emtansine) was balanced between arms. Causes of death remained unchanged from the first interim OS analysis, with the most common cause being progressive disease. Adverse events leading to death were rare and balanced between arms. Conclusions: Treatment of pts with HER2-positive 1L MBC with P+T+D compared with Pla+T+D was associated with an improvement in OS, which was both statistically significant and clinically meaningful. These results show that combined HER2 blockade and chemotherapy using the P+T+D regimen can be considered a standard of care for pts with HER2-positive MBC in the 1L setting. Citation Information: Cancer Res 2012;72(24 Suppl):Abstract nr P5-18-26.


Based on the Cayley-Dickson process, a sequence of multidimensional structured natural numbers (infinions) creates a path from quantum information to quantum gravity. Octonionic structure, exceptional Jordan algebra, and e 8 Lie algebra are encoded on a graph with E9 connectivity, decorated by integral matrices. With the magic star, a toy model for a quantum gravity is presented with its naturally emergent quasicrystalline projective compactification.


Backround:  Several research findings indicate that aggression in individuals with intellectual disability (ID) is significantly associated with environmental, housing and living conditions . The aim of this study is to determine levels and forms of aggressive behaviour found among individuals with ID; also examine levels of stress experienced as a result of housing conditions and relationships between aggressive behaviours and stressful experiences encountered among individuals with ID living in different housing types. Method  total of 122 participants participated in the study, 51 of whom reside in institutions, 38 of whom live with families and 33 of whom participate in supported housing programmes. Following instruments have been used: The Lifestress Inventory, The Adult Scale of Hostility and Aggression Reactive-Proactive (A-SHARP). Results The results reveal that there is a connection between housing types and levels and forms of aggressive behaviour and the level of stress experienced by the individuals with ID. Aggressive behaviour is least pronounced among the participants living in supported housing programmes (verbal aggression: p=0.001; bullying: p=0.002; covert aggression; p=0.003; hostility affect: p=0.002 and physical aggression: p=0.001). Among the participants living in institutions and with families is no statistically significant difference in terms of the level of any form of aggressive behaviour. Participants from supported housing programmes showed significantly lower levels of stress in comparison to the other two sub-samples (p=0.000). Conclusions  There is a statistically significant correlation between aggressive behaviour among individuals with ID and experienced stress, depending on the type of the participants housing.


The increasing demand for mineral-based resources that face supply risks calls for managing the supply chains for these resources at the regional level. Cobalt is a widely used cathode material in lithium-ion batteries, which form the major portion of batteries used for renewable energy storage - a necessary technology for electrifying mobility and overcoming the challenge of intermittency, thus making renewable energy more reliable and energy generation more sustainable. This necessitates understanding cobalt's supply risks and for the Untied States, identifying sources of cobalt available for future use via recycling or mining. These needs are addressed in this work using single and multiregional input-output (MRIO) analysis in combination with graph theory. An MRIO-based approach is developed to obtain the trade network of cobalt and offer a more expedient way to identify potential critical material sources embodied in commodities made domestically. Commodities containing cobalt were disaggregated from two input-output (IO) models and the trade structure of cobalt at the national and state level was observed and compared. The significance of identified key sectors is measured according to several criteria and differences in sectors highlighted in the national versus subnational networks suggests that analysis at the two regional aggregation levels provides alternative insights. Results from mining the IO networks for cobalt highlight the geographical distribution of its use and industries to further investigate as potential sources for secondary feedstock.


The songs of Mignon from Goethe's novel Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship (Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre) have been set hundreds of times by dozens of composers from the late 18th century onward. Though most frequently set by composers from the German School, Mignon's songs have also been popular with many non-Germans including works by French, Russian, and Italian composers. Mignon's mysterious persona has long fascinated song composers and many have been compelled to set her songs multiple times. The purpose of this study is to explore the character of Mignon from Goethe's novel, Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship through the lens of a psychoanalytic literary critic. I will examine six different composer's settings of Mignon's first song in the novel, "Kennst du das Land?" in order to understand how each composer portrays her character differently as seen through their unique compositional styles, their own psychology, and the style periods in which they wrote. The method of literary criticism applied to the song settings becomes psychoanalytic reader-response criticism as we move from merely analyzing Goethe's depiction of Mignon to each composer's depiction and reception of Goethe's character in addition to our own reception of that persona. One of the goals of this research is to show how Mignon's character is transformed as she makes her way through history in the development of Lieder.


We propose a joint iterative transmit/receive (Tx/Rx) minimum mean square error (MMSE) frequency-domain equalization (FDE) and intersymbol interference cancellation (ISIC) suitable for single-carrier (SC) hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) with chase combining (CC). In the proposed scheme, a one-tap transmit MMSE-FDE and an iterative one-tap receive MMSE-FDE and ISIC are employed. Every time the retransmitted packet is received, a series of receive MMSE-FDE, antenna diversity combining, packet combining, and ISIC is carried out in an iterative manner by using updated receive MMSE-FDE weights in each iteration. The transmit MMSE-FDE weight is determined based on the prediction of the degree of residual ISI after the iteration process in a receiver. We theoretically derive a set of transmit and receive MMSE-FDE weights. We show by computer simulation that joint iterative Tx/Rx MMSE-FDE and ISIC achieves better packet error rate (PER) and higher throughput of SC-HARQ than the conventional Rx MMSE-FDE and ISIC.


This volume captures the main research areas in the field of American Economic History. It consists of 37 chapters divided into five sections. The initial section covers Population and Health. In addition to basic demographic research including disease and sanitation, immigration, and health policy research, this section examines the work on anthropometric history. The second section on Production and Structural Change addresses the three principal sectors of the economy (Agriculture, Manufacturing, and Services). There are chapters on how business has been organized over time and how executives have been compensated. The third section on the Factors of Production emphasizes questions of labor (and retirement), capital, and natural resources. There are separate chapters of physical and human capital (education). The fourth section, Technology and Urbanization, examines three dimensions of each topic. Chapters on innovation and patenting, technology, and energy are joined by chapters on urbanization, housing, and professional team sports. The final section, Government and Economic Policy looks at macroeconomic policy (monetary, fiscal, and trade) and microeconomic policy (property rights, antitrust and regulation, and welfare). In addition, there are separate chapters on the US constitution, business cycles, the environment, the Civil War, the two world wars of the twentieth century, and the New Deal. Each chapter provides a discussion of the important topics in that area of economic history, the relevant literature on those topics, and the author's opinion as to important topics for future research.


Fabula, an interdisciplinary project funded by the EU Multimedia Software programme, provides software to enable children learning European minority languages to create bilingual digital books. We share a set of assumptions and approaches to the key issues addressed by the project. First, bilingual books are a powerful teaching tool of great value in multilingual classrooms. Second, the graphic design of books has important effects in finding inventive solutions to problems. Third, multimedia can enrich bilingual books. Finally, self-made materials motivate children. These assumptions led to a general definition of the Fabula software: an easy-to-use software environment for making and viewing interactive multimedia bilingual books, concentrating on 'languages of lesser diffusion'. The language pairs we currently cater for are Welsh/English, Irish/English, Basque/French, Catalan/Spanish and Frisian/Dutch. We shall present a brief description of the Fabula software and discuss the ways in which it has been used in schools in Europe. We shall also set out our future plans for Fabula, including a Europe-wide competition for schools and the creation of a WWW-based "on-line library" for teachers and children who use the Fabula software.


The iStuff toolkit of physical devices, and the flexible software infrastructure to support it, were designed to simplify the exploration of novel interaction techniques in the post-desktop era of multiple users, devices, systems and applications collaborating in an interactive environment. The toolkit leverages an existing interactive workspace in-frastructure, making it lightweight and platform independent. The supporting software framework includes a dynamically configurable intermediary to simplify the mapping of devices to applications. We describe the iStuff architecture and provide several examples of iStuff, organized into a design space of ubiquitous computing interaction components. The main contribution is a physical toolkit for distributed, heterogeneous environments with run-time retargetable device data flow. We conclude with some insights and experiences derived from using this toolkit and framework to prototype experimental interaction techniques for ubiquitous computing environments.


Purpose: Osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ) is a growing concern in patients who receive bisphosphonates that target osteoclasts. As osteoclasts play multifunctional roles in the bone marrow, their suppression likely affects bone homeostasis and alters wound healing of the jaw. The objective was to delineate the impact of osteoclast suppression in the bone marrow and wound healing of the jaw. Experimental Design: Zoledronate was administered to senile rats for 14 weeks. A portion of the gingiva was removed to denude the palatal bone. Gene expression in the bone marrow was assessed and histologic sections were analyzed to determine the wound healing status. Results: Angiogenesis-related genes, CD31 and VEGF-A, were not altered by zoledronate. VEGF-C, which plays a role in lymphangiogenesis, was suppressed. There was a decrease in gene expression of Tcirg1 and MMP-13. Bone denudation caused extensive osteocyte death indicative of bone necrosis. In zoledronate-treated rats, the necrotic bone was retained in the wound while, in controls, osteoclastic resorption of the necrotic bone was prominent. Even though large necrotic bone areas existed in zoledronate-treated rats, overlaying soft tissue healed clinically. Immunohistochemical staining showed rich vascularity in the overlaying soft tissue. Conclusions: Zoledronate therapy impacts bone marrow by suppressing genes associated with lymphangiogenesis and tissue remodeling, such as VEGF-C and MMP-13. Zoledronate was associated with impaired osseous wound healing but had no effect on angiogenic markers in the bone marrow or soft tissue wound healing. Zoledronate selectively blunts healing in bone but does not affect soft tissue healing in the oral cavity. Clin Cancer Res; 17(6); 1405–14. ©2010 AACR.


Osteosarcoma is the most frequent malignant bone tumor affecting mainly adolescents and people older than 50years old. Current treatment involves chemotherapy and surgical removal. Despite efforts to find a cure, there is 70% 5year survival rate. For patients that present metastasis at the moment of diagnosis, the prognosis is worse. Additionally, many do not respond well to chemotherapy.
The aim of this research was to find new treatment options for patients with osteosarcoma. I searched for inhibitors that could sensitize osteosarcoma cells to chemotherapy. In this thesis, it is shown that targeting cell cycle regulators, proteins involved in apoptosis inhibition, and cellular pathways involved in survival, proliferation and migration are promising candidates for further research.


Levels of consumer borrowing and debt in the UK and globally continue to rise. Credit makes a vital contribution to the success of the UK economy by driving economic activity and allowing consumers flexibility in how they choose to access the marketplace and manage their finances. Although most consumers manage their borrowing effectively, for a minority, the ease of access to credit results in overindebtedness. As a consequence, the need for money advice is prevalent. In the UK in recent years, services have been developed to assist consumers in financial difficulty. In Scotland, additional funding has been made available to enable further service developments in local government or voluntary sector provision. This paper reviews the literature on consumer overindebtedness, the development of money advice services and discusses the quality of these services in Scotland. It is likely to be of interest in other countries where consumer overindebtedness is rising and where money advice services are being developed to assist those experiencing problems. The review found that the rising levels of overindebtedness justify the case for developing money advice services but that there are many quality issues which require to be managed. Implications for the money advice profession were identified together with suggestions for the development of services in other countries.


Uncertainty exists with corn (Zea mays L.) N management due to year-to-year variation in crop N need, soil N supply, and N loss from leaching, volatilization, and denitrification. Active-optical reflectance sensing (AORS) has proven effective in some fields for generating N fertilizer recommendations that improve N use efficiency, but locally derived (e.g., within a US state) AORS algorithms have not been tested simultaneously across a broad region. The objective of this research was to evaluate locally developed AORS algorithms across the US Midwest Corn Belt region for making in-season corn N recommendations. Forty-nine N response trials were conducted across eight states and three growing seasons. Reflectance measurements were collected and sidedress N rates (45–270 kg N ha–¹ on 45 kg ha–¹ increments) applied at approximately V9 corn development stage. Nitrogen recommendation rates from AORS algorithms were compared with the end-of-season calculated economic optimal N rate (EONR). No algorithm was within 34 kg N ha–¹ of EONR > 50% of the time. Average recommendations differed from EONR 81 to 147 kg N ha–¹ with no N applied at planting and 74 to 118 kg N ha–¹ with 45 kg of N ha–¹ at planting, indicating algorithms performed worse with no N applied at planting. With some algorithms, utilizing red edge instead of the red reflectance improved N recommendations. Results demonstrate AORS algorithms developed under a particular set of conditions may not, at least without modification, perform very well in regions outside those within which they were developed.


Abstract It is a delicate task to design suitable geovisualisations that allow users an efficient visual processing of the depicted geographic information. Today, such a design task is subject to three major challenges: the ever growing amount of geospatial data at various levels of detail, the diversified applications of that data, and the continuously expanding range of display sizes. In this work, the aim was to enhance the visualisation of relevant geographic information by focusing on utility and usability issues of designing geographic information representations. The relevance of information as an element of utility and its cognitively adequate visualisation as an element of usability was considered. To enhance utility, irrelevant data was separated from relevant data by implementing relevance as a filter and embodying relevance values as attributes of the selected objects. To represent these relevant objects and the context information design principles were formulated and a design methodology proposed that tends to facilitate a user's attentional capacities when processing geovisualisations. In order to design this attention-guiding geovisualisation, use was made of approaches and findings from relevance theory and cognitive psychology with emphasis on neuroscientific principles. A combination of relevance filtering and a cognitively adequate visualisation improved the overall usefulness of geovisualisations and made a substantial contribution to their practical acceptability. This interdisciplinary approach allowed a more precise and valid evaluation of geovisualisation designs.


Electroencephalogram (EEG) data has been used in a variety of linear and nonlinear time series analysis techniques for predicting epileptic seizures. We examine phase-space dissimilarity measures for forewarning of seizure events based on time-delay embedding and state space recreation of the underlying brain dynamics.Given novel states which form graph nodes and dynamical linkages between states which form graph edges, we use graph dissimilarity to detect dynamical phase shifts which indicate the onset of epileptic events. In this paper, we report on observed trends and characteristics of graphs based on event and nonevent data from human EEG observations, and extend previous work focused on node and link dissimilarity by analyzing other graph properties as well. Our analysis includes measured properties and dissimilarity features that influence forewarning prediction accuracy.


It is commonly postulated that a divide exists between the academic and the practitioner wings of the Information Systems (IS) discipline. In recent years, causes and appropriate remedial actions have been widely canvassed in the literature. The paper begins with an analysis of the literature relevant to the ongoing debate, and presents summaries of issues pertinent to the causes of the divide, and to the achievement of enhanced cooperation between the two wings. A theoretical framework is proposed which identifies the necessary actions that are required at the individual and the organisational level. It indicates that radical rethinking may be required with regard to the structure of the IS discipline, both within and outside academia. An illustrative Action Research (AR) project is described. It provides insights into what is achievable by planned cooperation between academics and practitioners. It arises, from an approach to one of the authors by an in-house group of Business Analysts (BAs). Some preliminary feed-back, from the practitioners is included. The paper concludes with some reflections on the need for reform, across the IS discipline, at both individual and organisational level.


Employing a systems model, this study presents a content analysis of the Websites of social work academic programs in the United States. A sample of 292 academic programs was extracted from the Baccalaureate Programs' Directors' (BPD) online directory of CSWE-accredited social work programs. Of these, 119 were MSW or MSW/BSW programs; the remaining 173 were BSW programs. Although many aspects of Website content were examined, field curriculum was the central focus of this study. The results demonstrate the wide variety of information included on the Websites. MSW and MSW/BSW program Websites offer more information than BSW programs. However, most programs are not making use of the Internet to obtain feedback, create interaction, or provide support. A variety of model Websites are offered to assist social work academic programs develop and maintain their own Websites.