A mathematical tool for scientists and researcherswho work with computer and communication networks, Game Theory in Communication Networks: Cooperative Resolution of Interactive Networking Scenarios addresses the question of how to promote cooperative behavior in interactive situations between heterogeneous entities in communication networking scenarios. It explores network design and management from a theoretical perspective, using game theory and graph theory to analyze strategic situations and demonstrate profitable behaviors of the cooperative entities. The book promotes the use of Game Theory to address important resource management and security issues found in next generation communications networks, particularly heterogeneous networks, for cases where cooperative interactive networking scenarios can be formulated. It provides solutions for representative mechanisms that need improvement by presenting a theoretical step-by-step approach. The text begins with a presentation of theory that can be used to promote cooperation for the entities in a particular interactive situation. Next, it examines two-player interaction as well as interactions between multiple players. The final chapter presents and examines a performance evaluation framework based on MATLAB. Each chapter begins by introducing basic theory for dealing with a particular interactive situation and illustrating how particular aspects of game theory can be used to formulate and solve interactive situations that appear in communication networks regularly. The second part of each chapter presents example scenarios that demonstrate the applicability and power of the theoryillustrating a number of cooperative interactions and discussing how they could be addressed within the theoretical framework presented in the first part of the chapter. The book also includes simulation code that canbe downloaded so you can use some or all of the proposed models to improve your own network designs. Specific topics covered include network selection, user-network interaction, network synthesis, and context-aware security provisioning.


Interactive artificial intelligence systems employ preferences in both their reasoning and their interaction with the user. This survey considers preference handling in applications such as recommender systems, personal assistant agents, and personalized user interfaces. We survey the major questions and approaches, present illustrative examples, and give an outlook on potential benefits and challenges.


Since the time of ancient Rome, architects, engineers, and builders have struggled with the problem of building domedceilings over large spaces. No one was more skilled at this than the Rafael Guastavino family, a father and son team of Spanish immigrants who oversaw the construction of thousands of spectacular thin-tile vaults across the United States between the 1880s and the 1950s. These versatile, strong, and fireproof vaults were built by Guastavino in more than two hundred major buildings in Manhattan, and in hundreds more across the country, including Grand Central Terminal, Carnegie Hall, the Biltmore Estate, the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, the Registry Hall at Ellis Island, and many major university buildings. Their patented vaulting techniques made it possible for Beaux-Arts architects such as McKim, Mead and White to create the bold, broad spaces that made them famous. Yet, because the Guastavinos served only as contractors on these projects, their firms accomplishments have remained relatively unknown to the public. Guastavino Vaulting traces the development of the remarkable construction technology from its Mediterranean roots to its highest achievements in the United States. This long overdue first monograph features archival images, drawings, and beautiful new color photography showcasing the most incredible Guastavino vaulted spaces. An extensive appendix lists the addresses of all known extant Guastavino vaults, over six hundred masterpieces small and large.


The studies of teacher/academician's stress have found several sources of job stress. Several significant stressors that consistently increase job stress such as poor working conditions, lack of support from management, lack of appreciation and benefits, limited participation in decision making, and lack of training how to cope with job stress. The present study also investigates how role stressors, job insecurity, leadership practices, and religious coping, predict job stress among university academic staff. How interrelationship between role stressors, leadership practices to job stress is mediated by job insecurity. The samples of the study are 337 academic staffs from Jogjakarta, Indonesia. SEM analysis was used to test the hypotheses. In Jogjakarta academic staff, religious coping just significantly buffered the effect of the antecedents-job stress model, but not significantly moderated the effect of the antecedents-job insecurity model.


Refractive-index dispersion measurements were performed on bulk specimens of 2-, 4-, or 6-mol % AlF3 doped 33BaF2–4GdF3–63ZrF4 (mol %) glass and 4-mol % LiF, CsF, YF3, CdF2, SnF2, or PbF2 doped 31.68BaF2–3.84GdF3–60.48ZrF4–4AlF3 (mol %) glass in the wavelength region from 0.4047 to 5.3036 μm. The material dispersion curve and zero material dispersion wavelength were estimated on the basis of refractive-index dispersion measurements. The slope of the material dispersion curve for these fluoride glasses was less steep than that for SiO2 glass in the wavelength range estimated. The zero material wavelength λ0 shifted to a shorter wavelength with increasing AlF3 concentration. The λ0 is 1.675 μm for 31.68BaF2– 3.84GdF3–60.48ZrF4–4AlF3 (mol %) glass. When 4-mol % LiF, CsF, YF3, CdF2, SnF2, or PbF2 were doped into these glasses, each λ0 shifted from 1.675 to 1.670, 1.668, 1.673, 1.681, 1.683, or 1.704 μm, respectively. The temperature dependence values of the refractive-index dispersion and material dispersion for 31.68BaF2–3.84GdF3–60.48ZrF4–4AlF3 (mol %) glass were also obtained. The temperature coefficients of the refractive index were negative values (dn/dTrelative = −1.0 × 10−5/°C) and the wavelength dependence of dn/dT was small. The wavelength λ0 shifted from 1.675 to 1.605 μm, due to the rise in the measurement temperature from 25° C to 250° C.


The pathogenesis of psoriasis is complex, and cytokines play an important role in mediating cell-cell interactions that result in abnormal structures and functions of many cell types in psoriasis, such as abnormal proliferation and differentiation of keratinocytes, abnormal proliferation of blood vessels, stimulation of immune cells, and driving abnormal immune reactions. In this chapter, we summarize the roles and functions of inflammatory cytokines that play a crucial role in psoriasis such as tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-12/IL-23, and IL-17, as well as their inhibitors that are used to treat psoriasis.


In this paper, we use two comprehensive micro-data sets to study how the distribution of mortgage debt evolved during the 2000s housing boom. We show that the allocation of mortgage debt across the income distribution remained stable, as did the allocation of real estate assets. Any theory of the boom must replicate these facts, and a general equilibrium model shows that doing so requires two elements: (1) an exogenous shock that increases expected house price growth or, alternatively, reduces interest rates and (2) financial markets that endogenously relax borrowing constraints in response to the shock. Empirically, the endogenous relaxation of constraints was largely accomplished with subprime lending, which allowed the mortgage debt of low-income households to increase at the same rate as that of high-income households.


This paper describes an approach for improving automated usability tool support during the development of websites. Existing usability and accessibility validators only analyse the HTML code of a page when they create a report of possible problems. However, when a web engineering method is used to create a website, additional information is available in the form of models which describe the site. An automated validator can use these models to verify usability guidelines (such as "text on the web page should be easy to understand by the target audience") with higher accuracy. It can also perform automatic validation in situations where existent tools only output instructions for manual inspection by the developer. The paper systematically analyses existent guidelines and tools, and identifies ways in which the use of a model can improve verification quality. An extension to existing web engineering models is necessary to support automated checkers. It specifies properties of the users, the technical platform and the environment of use. A flexible approach allows the models to be used by validators running inside an integrated development environment, but also at a later time, without access to the development environment. Finally, the prototype of a model-based automatic usability validator is presented. It features verification of a number of guidelines which cannot be automated by existent validation approaches.


Recently, general-purpose computing on graphics processing units (GPGPU) has been enabled on mobile devices thanks to the emerging heterogeneous programming models such as OpenCL. The capability of GPGPU on mobile devices opens a new era for mobile computing and can enable many computationally demanding computer vision algorithms on mobile devices. As a case study, this paper proposes to accelerate an exemplar-based inpainting algorithm for object removal on a mobile GPU using OpenCL. We discuss the methodology of exploring the parallelism in the algorithm as well as several optimization techniques. Experimental results demonstrate that our optimization strategies for mobile GPUs have significantly reduced the processing time and make computationally intensive computer vision algorithms feasible for a mobile device. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this work is the first published implementation of general-purpose computing using OpenCL on mobile GPUs.


Lakes and ponds harbour a high number of diverse planktonic microorganisms that are centrally involved in biochemical cycles and aquatic food webs. Although the open water body (pelagial) seems to be a uniform and unstructured environment, ecological niche separation of coexisting microbial taxa might be triggered by limiting resources (bottom-up control) and mortality factors (top-down control), leading to distinct spatial and temporal distribution patterns of different microbes. This review gives an overview of the most abundant prokaryotic populations by grouping them in specific ecological guilds based on their life strategies. Defense specialists such as very small actinobacteria or big filamentous bacteria mostly occur at times of highest grazing pressure by heterotrophic nanoflagellates, the main consumers of bacteria. Oligotrophic ultramicrobacteria , on the other hand, seem to be mostly adapted to nutrient depleted water layers during summer stratification, while opportunistic bacteria profit from material released during short-living algal blooms. Seasonal changes in abiotic and biotic factors may be the main causes for periodic reoccurring density maxima of different prokaryotes populations in the pelagial of temperate lakes, reflected in a distinct seasonality of the freshwater bacterioplankton.


Common ragweed emerges early in the season in Nebraska, USA and is competitive with soybean; therefore, preplant herbicides are important for effective control. Glyphosate has been used as a preplant control option; however, confirmation of glyphosate-resistant (GR) common ragweed in Nebraska necessitates evaluating other herbicide options. The objectives of this study were to (1) evaluate the efficacy of preplant (PP) herbicides followed by (fb) glufosinate alone or in tank-mixture with imazethapyr, acetochlor, or S-metolachlor applied post-emergence (POST) for control of GR common ragweed in glufosinate-resistant soybean; (2) their effect on common ragweed density, biomass, and soybean yield; and (3) the partial economics of herbicide programs. A field experiment was conducted in a grower's field infested with GR common ragweed in Gage County, Nebraska, USA in 2015 and 2016. Preplant herbicide programs containing glufosinate, paraquat, 2,4-D, dimethenamid-P, cloransulam-methyl, or high rates of flumioxazin plus chlorimuron-ethyl provided 90–99% control of common ragweed at 21 d after treatment (DAT). The aforementioned PP herbicides fb a POST application of glufosinate alone or in tank-mixture with imazethapyr, acetochlor, or S-metolachlor controlled GR common ragweed 84–98% at soybean harvest, reduced common ragweed density (≤20 plants m−2) and biomass by ≥93%, and secured soybean yield 1,819–2,158 kg ha−1. The PP fb POST herbicide programs resulted in the highest gross profit margins (US$373–US$506) compared to PP alone (US$91) or PRE fb POST programs (US$158). The results of this study conclude that effective and economical control of GR common ragweed in glufosinate-resistant soybean is achievable with PP fb POST herbicide programs.


The paper fully characterizes the Bertrand equilibria of oligopolistic markets where consumers may ignore the last (i.e. the right-most) digits of prices. Consumers, in this model, do not do this reflexively or out of irrationality, but only when they expect the time cost of acquiring full cognizance of the exact price to exceed the expected loss caused by the slightly erroneous amounts that is likely to be purchased or the slightly higher price that may be paid by virtue of ignoring the information concerning the last digits of prices. It is shown that in this setting there will always exist firms that set prices that end in nine though there may also be some (non-strict) equilibria where a non-nine price ending occurs. It is shown that all firms earn positive profits even in Bertrand equilibria. The model helps us understand in what kinds of markets we are most likely to encounter pricing in the 9's.


In the US, the number of cases of subterranean water contamination from tritium leaking through a damaged buried nuclear power plant pipe continues to increase, and the degradation of the buried metal piping is emerging as a major issue. A pipe blocked from corrosion and/or degradation can lead to loss of cooling capacity in safety-related piping resulting in critical issues related to the safety and integrity of nuclear power plant operation. The ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Codes Committee (BPVC) has recently approved Code Case N-755 that describes the requirements for the use of polyethylene (PE) pipe for the construction of Section III, Division 1 Class 3 buried piping systems for service water applications in nuclear power plants. This paper contains tensile and slow crack growth (SCG) test results for high-density polyethylene (HDPE) pipe welds under the environmental conditions of a nuclear power plant. Based on these tests, the fracture surface of the PENT specimen was analyzed, and the fracture mechanisms of each fracture area were determined. Finally, by using 3D finite element analysis, limit loads of HDPE related to premature failure were verified. † Corresponding Author, firstname.lastname@example.com C 2015 The Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers 류호완 · 한재준 · 김윤재 · 김종성 · 김정현 · 장창희 406


Primary angiitis of the central nervous system (PACNS) refers to a rare form of vasculitis of unknown cause, with a challenging diagnostic work-up. We report the case of a 57-year-old patient who presented with transient episodes of headache and global aphasia. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) examination revealed lymphocytic pleocytosis with moderate elevated protein and normal glucose. CSF and serum tests for infections and autoimmune/ paraneoplastic antibodies were negative, except CSF polymerase chain reaction testing that detected Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). Magnetic resonance imaging of the brain with intravenous gadolinium showed meningeal enhancement and pachymeningitis. Due to continuous relapsing episodes of aphasia, a leptomeningeal and brain tissue biopsy was performed and revealed lesions of granulomatous necrotizing vasculitis of medium-sized leptomeningeal and intracranial vessels, as well as negative in situ hybridism for EBV. A diagnosis of primary granulomatous necrotizing angiitis of Central Nervous System was made and the patient was treated with intravenous methylprednisolone and oral cyclophosphamide, showing excellent response to treatment. Diversity in clinical and laboratory features makes it difficult for PACNS to be distinguished by other systemic vasculitides. Laboratory tests and neuro-imaging can provide guidance in evaluation of the patients and exclude other possible causes, but tissue biopsy remains the gold standard for a definite diagnosis.


Business sustainability has been defined as meeting current needs while providing the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. However, few firms invest in practices geared at sustainability. In this article, we investigate how family ties to future generations via the intention of transgenerational succession can be associated with the adoption of sustainable practices. Using data from 281 wineries in the United States collected through a survey questionnaire, we show that ties to future generations, measured as the intention of the winery owner to pass down the winery to their children, are associated with the adoption of sustainable certification.


The paper introduces a new specification of the Kuznets curve, where turning point per capita income is conditioned to the level of financial development. Within the proposed framework, it then provides new evidence on real income convergence for the euro area (EA) since the mid-1980s, with a special focus on the subprime and sovereign debt financial crises. We find strong empirical evidence in favor of an EA-wide steady-state financial Kuznets curve and of ongoing convergence across EA members toward a common per capita income turning point level. By means of a counterfactual analysis, we then detect a worsening in income inequality for all the EA countries during the financial crises, and not only for the peripheral countries, which were most strongly hit. From a policy perspective, our findings highlight the role of financial stability in fostering not only economic growth, but also to achieve a more even distribution of income.


This paper presents the Eclipse II, a new six-degrees-of-freedom parallel mechanism, which can be used as a basis for general motion simulators. The Eclipse II is capable of x, y, and z axes translations, and a, b, and c axes rotations. In particular, it has the advantage of enabling continuous 360/spl deg/ spinning of the platform. We first describe the computational procedures for the forward and inverse kinematics of the Eclipse II. Next, the complete singularity analysis is presented for the two cases of end-effector singularity and actuator singularity. Finally, two additional actuators are added to the original mechanism to eliminate both types of singularity within the workspace.


This article focuses on linguistic comparability and the understanding of accounting terms between languages in the context of international standardization of accounting principles. By analyzing the translations of the American English term income in bilingual dictionaries (English/Swedish and Swedish/English), the complexity of translating accounting terms, and the risk of miscommunication involved in the process, is highlighted. The study shows that non-technical uses of terms are commonly confused with technical uses, and that the information presented in bilingual technical dictionaries may be both incorrect and misleading. The research demonstrates the fuzzy nature of language, and shows that linguistic and cultural aspects in accounting communication cannot be ignored in the on-going work of standardizing accounting world-wide.


Objectives To evaluate the prognostic importance of transient or persistent elevations of cardiac troponin-I (cTnI) and N-terminal-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) in atrial fibrillation (AF). Methods Plasma samples were obtained at randomisation and after 3 months in 2514 patients with AF in the RE-LY trial; median follow-up was 2.0 years. Patients were grouped based on levels at the two time points according to detectable cTnI levels (≥0.01 µg/L) or NT-proBNP levels above median (≥778 ng/L). These groups were related to occurrence of stroke or cardiovascular events evaluated with Cox models adjusting for established risk factors. Results The proportion of patients with detectable cTnI levels at both time points was 48.5%, at one time point 28.5% and at neither time point 21.0%. Patients with detectable cTnI at both time points had substantially higher rates of stroke compared with those with transient elevations and those with no elevation at either time point (p<0.005, effect of cTnI). Persistent elevation of either or both cardiac biomarkers at baseline and 3 months was associated with a higher risk for cardiovascular events and mortality (p<0.0001). Prognostic prediction improved most with the use of repeated measurements of both cardiac biomarkers simultaneously (p<0.05) and achieved C-statistic 0.644 for stroke compared with 0.611 for CHADS2-score. Conclusions Persistent elevation of troponin and NT-proBNP indicates a worse prognosis than transient elevations or no elevations of either marker. Prognostication of stroke, death and thromboembolic events is improved by the use of repeated determinations of cardiac biomarkers. Trial registration number: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov, NCT00262600


The abstract is to be in fully-justified italicized text, at the top of the left-hand column as it is here, below the author information. Use the word "Abstract" as the title, in 12-point Times, boldface type, centered relative to the column, initially capitalized. The abstract is to be in 10-point, single-spaced type, and up to 150 words in length. Leave two blank lines after the abstract, then begin the main text.


In a recent article entitled "On the immortality of television sets: "function" in the human genome according to the evolution-free gospel of ENCODE", Graur et al. dismantle ENCODE's evidence and conclusion that 80% of the human genome is functional. However, the article by Graur et al. contains assumptions and statements that are questionable. Primarily, the authors limit their evaluation of DNA's biological functions to informational roles, sidestepping putative non-informational functions. Here, I bring forward an old hypothesis on the evolution of genome size and on the role of so called 'junk DNA' (jDNA), which might explain C-value enigma. According to this hypothesis, the jDNA functions as a defense mechanism against insertion mutagenesis by endogenous and exogenous inserting elements such as retroviruses, thereby protecting informational DNA sequences from inactivation or alteration of their expression. Notably, this model couples the mechanisms and the selective forces responsible for the origin of jDNA with its putative protective biological function, which represents a classic example of 'fighting fire with fire.' One of the key tenets of this theory is that in humans and many other species, jDNAs serves as a protective mechanism against insertional oncogenic transformation. As an adaptive defense mechanism, the amount of protective DNA varies from one species to another based on the rate of its origin, insertional mutagenesis activity, and evolutionary constraints on genome size.


The status of current efforts to assimilate cloud‐ and precipitation‐affected satellite data is summarised with special focus on infrared and microwave radiance data obtained from operational Earth observation satellites. All global centres pursue efforts to enhance infrared radiance data usage due to the limited availability of temperature observations in cloudy regions where forecast skill is estimated to strongly depend on the initial conditions. Most systems focus on the sharpening of weighting functions at cloud top providing high vertical resolution temperature increments to the analysis, mainly in areas of persistent high and low cloud cover. Microwave radiance assimilation produces impact on the deeper atmospheric moisture structures as well as cloud microphysics and, through control variable and background‐error formulation, also on temperature but to lesser extent than infrared data. Examples of how the impacts of these two observation types are combined are shown for subtropical low‐level cloud regimes. The overall impact of assimilating such data on forecast skill is measurably positive despite the fact that the employed assimilation systems have been constructed and optimized for clear‐sky data. This leads to the conclusion that a better understanding and modelling of model processes in cloud‐affected areas and data assimilation system enhancements through inclusion of moist processes and their error characterization will contribute substantially to future forecast improvement. Copyright © 2011 Royal Meteorological Society, Crown in the right of Canada, and British Crown copyright, the Met Office


Theory provides a helpful basis for designing interventions to change behaviour but offers little guidance on how to do this. This paper aims to illustrate methods for developing an extensive list of behaviour change techniques (with definitions) and for linking techniques to theoretical constructs. A list of techniques and definitions was generated from techniques published in two systematic reviews, supplemented by "brainstorming" and a systematic search of nine textbooks used in training applied psychologists. Inter-rater reliability of extracting the techniques and definitions from the textbooks was assessed. Four experts judged which techniques would be effective in changing 11 theoretical constructs associated with behaviour change.
Thirty-five techniques identified in the reviews were extended to 53 by brainstorming and to 137 by consulting textbooks. Agreement for the 53 definitions was 74.7 per cent (15.4% cells completed and 59.3% cells empty for both raters). Agreement about the link between the 35 techniques and theoretical constructs was 71.7 per cent of 385 judgments (12.2% agreement that effective and 59.5% agreement that not effective). This preliminary work demonstrates the possibility of developing a comprehensive, reliable taxonomy of techniques linked to theory. Further refinement is needed to eliminate redundancies, resolve uncertainties, and complete technique definitions.


Horror, or ghost film, has had a long tradition in Hong Kong film. Zombie pictures (jiangzhi pian) once took the center stage during the boom days of Hong Kong cinema in the 1980s. In early 2000, with Applause Pictures taking the lead to capitalize on the phenomenal success of J-horror, ghost films re-emerged as a highly marketable genre. But this horror resurrection has less to do with recycling previous narrative or stylistic formula than an urge to remake horror relevant to contemporary Hong Kong psyche. Inspired by the critical work on Hong Kong's identity politics produced in the late 1990s, this paper examines two signature films from Applause Pictures—Three: Going Home (2002) and Three Extremes: Dumplings (2004), with respect to their new treatment of ghosts and ghostly body as latent representations of Hong Kong's desire for and fear of China. The mythical and ghostly presence of Chinese migrants is central to the narrative of the two horror films but China is not at all negative when it comes to problems of survival, competition and ambition. Here China re-surfaces as a desirable alternative to overcome aging, illness and mortality. But this gift from China (traditional Chinese medical practices) is quickly dissolved and transformed into a monstrous invasion and occupation. Horror, in this regard, displaces the backlash against overindulgence with youth, beauty and fitness, often regarded as excessive trivia in capitalist culture. In addition the paper investigates stylistic particulars of Hong Kong horror. It is hoped that through thematic and stylistic analyses this paper will cover a wide range of cinematic and cultural aspects of contemporary Hong Kong horror.


Judgement, as one of the core tenets of medicine, relies upon the integration of multilayered data with nuanced decision making. Cancer offers a unique context for medical decisions given not only its variegated forms with evolution of disease but also the need to take into account the individual condition of patients, their ability to receive treatment, and their responses to treatment. Challenges remain in the accurate detection, characterization, and monitoring of cancers despite improved technologies. Radiographic assessment of disease most commonly relies upon visual evaluations, the interpretations of which may be augmented by advanced computational analyses. In particular, artificial intelligence (AI) promises to make great strides in the qualitative interpretation of cancer imaging by expert clinicians, including volumetric delineation of tumors over time, extrapolation of the tumor genotype and biological course from its radiographic phenotype, prediction of clinical outcome, and assessment of the impact of disease and treatment on adjacent organs. AI may automate processes in the initial interpretation of images and shift the clinical workflow of radiographic detection, management decisions on whether or not to administer an intervention, and subsequent observation to a yet to be envisioned paradigm. Here, the authors review the current state of AI as applied to medical imaging of cancer and describe advances in 4 tumor types (lung, brain, breast, and prostate) to illustrate how common clinical problems are being addressed. Although most studies evaluating AI applications in oncology to date have not been vigorously validated for reproducibility and generalizability, the results do highlight increasingly concerted efforts in pushing AI technology to clinical use and to impact future directions in cancer care.


Summary In this paper faking of personality questionnaires - here under consideration the Myers-Briggs type indicator - is deliberately analyzed by methods of item response theory. This questionnaire is based on the typology of CG. Jung and contains four scales: "Extraversion vs. Introversion", "Thinking vs. Feeling", "Perceiving vs. Judging", and "Sensing vs. Intuition". Administration was either computerized or carried out with pencil and paper, responses had to be given either according a dichotomous or some continuous item response format (analogue scale). The sample consists of 186 volunteers and 129 testees who had to stand the questionnaire in a selection situation. The data were evaluated by the (dichotomous) Rasch model. For this the analogue scale was dichotomized. Model checks applied according to Andersen's likelihood ratio test and some parameter-free "exact test". Analyses of all data together resulted in a relatively small pool of homogeneous items. Separate analyses of both the groups of volunteers and selection testees resulted partly in more proper scales' item pools: For testees in the selection situation a relatively large number of items were deleted because of violating presuppositions of the model. This is interpreted as a faking effect. Key words: faking, item response theory, computerized testing, Myers-Briggs type indicator (MBTI) 1. Introduction Faking personality questionnaires is meanwhile a multiply established phenomenon (cf. Kubinger, 2001, and Seiwald, 2001, both in this issue), mainly based however, on studies using some social-desirability instructions. In this paper, therefore, another approach was used: Volunteers were opposed to testees who had to stand the test in some selection context. Therefore a certain psychometric approach was used, that is, analysis according to the Rasch model was used in order to disclose whether or not the condition of volunteer or selection does influence the dimensionality of personality questionnaires' scales and the homogenity of their items, respectively. Analyses according to the well-known Rasch model (cf Rasch, 1980, or Fischer, 1974) are, at the end, based on the following presupposition: If any identifiable sub-group of the sampled testees exists which may be assumed to show some distinct, or at least another answering behavior than other testees, this behavior causes non-homogeneity of a scale's items. As a consequence, Andersen's (1973) likelihood ratio test should discover this fact: Division of the sample into those testees who may be hypothesized to fake according to a certain known variable (external criterion) and into those who may not - according to the same variable -, would lead to a significant test statistic. That is, the data would not fit the model. Nevertheless, analyzing each of the resulting two sub-groups by the Rasch model on its own might offer (almost) homogeneous scale's items, at least for the sub-group where the answering seems true. Though, even the faking sub-group may fit the model if faking good occurs for every testee alike! Speaking technically, the so-called local stochastic independence would then still exist. Hence, some new parameter-free, exact test for model checking (exact testing by the computer programme T-Rasch; Ponocny & Ponocny-Seliger, 1999) applies as well. 2. Survey instrument Based on the experiences of Kamer (1993) a slightly revised version of the German edition of the Myers-Briggs type indicator (MBTI; Bents & Blank, 1991) was used as survey instrument. This questionnaire refers to the well-known typology by C.G. Jung (1921, 1986). There is no complete formulation of this typology (cf. Fisseni, 1984), although Jung worked on it repeatedly in the course of his life. When, in the end, the English edition of the questionnaire was established (Myers, 1962), Jung's contemplations were summarized but also changed and broadened. All in all the MBTI has four bipolar scales. …


The art of the Qajar period, by using the previous traditions and looking at Western naturalism and the literature of the rulers of this period, has introduced new features into the field of assembly ornamentations. These features include courtship, landscaping and perspective, and court iconography. This method became a new style in painting with these components. Its approaches were based on the understanding of Qajar aesthetics. After the arrival of the printing industry, lithographic illustrations continued in line with court iconography. One of the works that was copied in lithography during this period is the book One Thousand and One Nights; containing a collection of lyrical, epic, and folk themes, the book is closely related to the culture and worldview of mythology and lyrical literature. The issue raised here is the extent to which the re-creation of this printed version and its iconography of painting and art common in the Qajar period. This research has been done by descriptive and analytical method and relying on library data. The findings of the research indicate that the lithographic version of One Thousand and One Nights by Mirza Aligholi Khoei, with the revelation between traditional experiences and new approaches, has presented a new method in the Qajar Assembly. Research aims: 1. A study of the role and influence of court paintings in the lithographic version of the Thousand and One Nights of the Qajar period 1. Analysis of iconographic features in the lithographic version of One Thousand and One Nights Research questions: 1. To what extent has Aliqoli Khoei, the author of the Thousand and One Nights of the Qajar period, been influenced by court paintings? 2. What are the characteristics of the iconography in the lithographic version of the One Thousand and One Nights of the Qajar Period by Mirza Aligoli Khoei? Questions raised in this paper: 1- Did social and political conditions have preparing the lithography manuscript by thousand and one nights concepts? 2- has Mirza Aligholi Khoie inspire in illustration of scenes on base of courtier figurative art? 3- How much inspiration of figuratve art does he have?


At Hopkins and elsewhere, the issue of granting historical revisionists equal access to curricula and classrooms is difficult enough, but it is complicated acutely when student editors become entangled in the black and nefarious thickets of Holocaust denial masquerading as "scholarship." The Johns Hopkins News-Letter is only the most recent university paper to succumb to the blandishments of a group calling itself the "Committee for Open Debate on the Holocaust," which promulgates claims that a plan to systematically rid Germany or Europe of Jews never existed, that no gas chambers ever operated and that the number of Jewish victims has always been grossly distorted by Zionist propagandists. During the past few years, similar {See Holocaust, 6f} such briefs have appeared at universities as notable as Brandeis, Duke, Miami, Michigan and Ohio State, where student editors have defended their decisions to publish on First Amendment grounds. In so doing, they broadly invoke the freedoms of speech and press and are quick to note specifically their aversion to censorship. But other student newspapers such as those at Dartmouth, Harvard, Pennsylvania and Texas have been able to recognize that Holocaust denial reflects less "scholarship" and "intellectual freedom" than sham and nonsense. Perhaps better than some of their politically correct professors, they understand that such historical revisionism is designed to take advantage of both the dwindling number of survivors and the inevitable ignorance of future generations.


This paper discusses a functional model of the organ of vision, based on the theory of statistical solutions and optimum filtering, intended for the description of threshold recognition of colored objects under daylight-adaptation conditions. The spatial noise-equivalent energy spectra are chosen by the characteristics of the three color channels of the model. The initial data for calculating its parameters are obtained from an experiment on the threshold recognition of colored objects. The magnitude of the parameters of interest is evidence that long-wavelength and medium-wavelength channels are predominantly used when recognizing colored objects, especially small ones. The spatial parameters of the model correspond to the minimum possible size of the receptive retinal fields of these channels. The spectral efficiency, the color-discrimination thresholds, and the saturation thresholds calculated by means of the model are in good agreement with the experimental data of other authors.


Analysis in the frequency domain is considered a powerful tool to elicit precise information from spectroscopic signals. In this study, the Fourier transformation technique is employed to determine the diffusion coefficient (D) of a number of proteins in the frequency domain. Analytical approaches are investigated for determination of D from both experimental and data treatment viewpoints. The diffusion process is modeled to calculate diffusion coefficients based on the Fourier transformation solution to Fick's law equation, and its results are compared to time domain results. The simulations characterize optimum spatial and temporal conditions and demonstrate the noise tolerance of the method. The proposed model is validated by its application for the electropherograms from the diffusion path of a set of proteins. Real-time dynamic scanning is conducted to monitor dispersion by employing whole column imaging detection technology in combination with capillary isoelectric focusing (CIEF) and the imaging plug flow (iPF) experiment. These experimental techniques provide different peak shapes, which are utilized to demonstrate the Fourier transformation ability in extracting diffusion coefficients out of irregular shape signals. Experimental results confirmed that the Fourier transformation procedure substantially enhanced the accuracy of the determined values compared to those obtained in the time domain.


This paper describes the one-pot synthesis of two CuBr based coordination polymers, {[Cu(μ2-L1)Br]·1.87H2O}n (1) and {[Cu(μ2-L2)Br]·C4H10O}n (2), where L1 = 2,3-dihydro-5,6-bis(4-methoxyphenyl)pyrazine and L2= 5,6-diphenyl-2,3-dihydropyrazine, upon reduction of copper(II) at ambient conditions. The structures have been confirmed by single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. Both complexes are found to be highly inert toward oxidation. Finally, a density functional theory (DFT) study of the energetic features of several noncovalent interactions observed in the solid state has been analyzed and characterized using Bader's theory of "atoms in molecules" and the cuprophilic interactions in complex 2 using natural bond orbital methodology.


Abstract Micropalaeontological investigations of Upper Ordovician carbonate mud-mounds and enclosing strata of subsurface Gotland, Sweden, demonstrate that jaw-bearing polychaetes formed the most diverse faunal element associated with these build-ups. Although not present within the mound cores (intra-mound facies), scolecodonts, or polychaete jaws, occur abundantly immediately below and particularly above the mounds; the supra-mound facies also has the most diverse fossil assemblages. By contrast to the scolecodont distribution, the most diverse conodont faunas were recorded in the intra-mound facies. This reinforces the fact that scolecodont and conodont abundance and diversity numbers are commonly inverse to one another, suggesting that these metazoans occupied different niches and responded differently to taphonomical processes. The polychaete assemblage has no less than 27 species belonging to 12 genera, of which Oenonites, Mochtyella and Pistoprion are the most abundant. The assemblage has a characteristic Baltic signature and is similar in taxonomic composition to coeval ones from other areas of the Baltoscandian palaeobasin, such as that of present-day Estonia. A principal component analysis clusters the Gotland assemblage most closely to those recorded from shallow to transitional shelf environments of Estonia, indicating that the mud-mounds were formed in such environments.


This study evaluated the effect of pH on the activity of antioxidant and immune enzymes in the sea cucumber Isostichopus badionotus exposed to different temperatures. The organisms (530 ±110 g) were exposed to 16, 20, 24, 28, 30, 34 and 36°C for 6 h to evaluate thermal limits at two water pH values (treatment = 7.70; control = 8.17). For the thermal tolerance experiment, the organisms were exposed to sublethal temperature of 34°C for 3, 6, 12, 24, and 48 h. I. badionotus showed signs of thermal stress by synthesizing heat shock protein 70 (hsp70) at the cold (16°C) and warm thermal limits (34°C). The glutathione peroxidase (GPx) showed a negative correlation with superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity in modulating the effect of oxidative stress at different temperature levels. Specifically, GPx activity was maximal at the extremes of the cold and warm temperatures (16, 20, and 36°C) tested, while contrarily, the SOD activity increased significantly in the narrow range of temperature between 28 and 30°C, as a part of a reaction to offset oxidative damage. The effect of pH on the expression of hsp70 was not significant, whereas the antioxidant enzymes activity was stimulated at pH 7.70. Mucosal immunity, evidenced by the activation of the phenoloxidase (PO) system, increased above the basal level at pH 7.70 and at 28, 30, and 34°C. Independent of pH, the temperature of 34°C was identified as the 12 h-sublethal upper limit for I. badionotus.


Developing multi-touch applications is a great challenge for developers: they have to adopt a novel interaction paradigm, but lack suitable tools and reliable design guidelines. The goal of Liquid consists in introducing the concept of visual programming to multi-touch technology, implementing a promising approach to overcome the difficulties in developing applications for multi-touch devices. As a novel feature, Liquid allows the development of multi-touch applications with the help of the technology itself. This contribution illustrates the application of visual programming in the multi-touch context, presents related work, and explains the workflow of Liquid with the help of an instructive example.


Business sustainability in all dimensions of economic, governance, social, ethical, and environmental (EGSEE) performance is gaining acceptance worldwide as many global stock exchanges and regulators either encourage or require their listed companies to issue sustainability reports. More than 8, 000 public companies worldwide are disclosing some of the five EGSEE dimensions of sustainability performance and more companies are following the suite. Despite the ever-increasing importance of business sustainability practice and research, there is limited research on the status of business sustainability education (BSE). This study attempts to fill the gap in literature by examining the coverage of BSE in the Hospitality Management curriculum and presents pedagogical suggestions for the curriculum design and teaching of BSE. This paper examines the importance, relevance, benefits and delivery of BSE in Hospitality Management Schools. Hospitality Management Schools play an important and everlasting role in preparing the next generation of hotel leaders and managers who must understand the importance of business sustainability in our society, new accountability,integrated sustainability reporting and assurance.


Somatic hypermutation in the Ig genes is a paradigm of a site-specific, stage-specific, lineage-specific "mutator system" that generates point mutations at high rates at the Ig locus in an AID mediated and transcription dependent manner during affinity maturation of activated B-cells. The questions in the field of hypermutation today are (i) what targets the mutator factors to the Ig genes? And (ii) what are these factors?

To address some aspects of these questions, I engineered and compared retroviral vectors to monitor hypermutation. Retroviral vectors combine a high transduction rate with integration at random sites within the host cell genome, thus equalizing positional effects on the reporter gene. The vectors contain a reporter gene with a premature TAG termination codon; upon reversion, a full-length fluorescent protein is expressed. The number of fluorescent cells can be easily measured in flow cytometry, and thus mutation frequencies can be determined with accuracy. I tested the green and yellow fluorescence proteins (GFP and YFP); and various proteins with red fluorescence (dsRed). Furthermore, I tested various selection markers to select for transduced cells. I found that GFP as a reporter, combined with a drug selection marker, gave the most consistent and convenient mutation rate measurements. DsRed is a good alternative to GFP, but variants with greater fluorescence intensity are needed when combined with green fluorescence measurements.

To study the activity of enhancers on transcription and hypermutation, I introduced various cis-acting enhancer elements into the reporter construct. Using such constructs I found that no immunoglobulin specific sequence is needed to target hypermutation. Also, depending on their position in these ectopically expressed constructs and on the transcription rate, enhancers can have positive or negative effects on hypermutation.

I also applied the indicator system to investigate whether or not mismatch repair influences AID mediated hypermutation in a non-B lymphocyte line. To do so MLH 1 expression, which is essential in mismatch repair, was regulated in a non-lymphocyte cell line that had been transduced by an AID containing vector. Whether or not MLH1 was expressed, we found no difference in mutation rates of an indicator gene. This is in contrast to activated B cells, where the absence of mismatch repair results in a reduction of hypermutation. I, therefore, conclude that in order to contribute to hypermutation, mismatch repair needs additional factors that are present in activated B lymphocytes but absent in the cell line investigated.

During my cloning efforts to create DsRed containing indicator vectors, I found that a single base substitution that does not change the amino acid sequence in the gene encoding DsRed2 resulted in an increase in relative fluorescence intensity of the protein. Surprisingly, the mutated codon is slightly less favored than the original one and, therefore, would be expected to have a negative effect on fluorescence intensity, if any at all. I suggest that in highly expressed genes, the tRNA with the anticodon corresponding to a commonly used codon might become depleted. As a consequence, overall less protein is synthesized, but mRNAs using less frequent codons at some positions may be translated more efficiently.


The Bill of Rights is a much more fortuitous addition to the Constitution than many people imagine. The tired delegates at Philadelphia were unable to make the final effort to frame a bill of rights, and their failure nearly caused the collapse of ratification. When the First Congress met, James Madison took responsibility for making the new government live up to the implied pledge made during ratification to provide a partial list, drawn from the historic rights on English subjects. Not all Madison's proposed amendments were adopted however. The work of adumbrating the full scope of liberty under the Constitution goes on.


Accurate monitoring of soil moisture has long been in integral part of a successful agricultural management system. Water has increasingly become a valuable and much sought after natural resource as its supply dwindles and demands for its use escalates. For more than thirty years the neutron probe has been used to measure soil moisture and aid the user in water management. In recent years there have been attempts to find alternative systems which compare favorable to the neutron probe's accuracy, precision and acceptance by the research community. The manufacturers of the Sentry 200-AP capacitance probe sought to emulate the field use of the neutron probe as well as the neutron probe's reputation as an accepted monitoring tool. The capacitance probe responds to the dielectric constant of the soil medium and converts this measurement to a direct volumetric water content. Similar in application to the neutron probe, the Sentry 200-AP is currently being evaluated across the country by university and governmental researchers. The advantages and disadvantages of the probe have been documented by these researchers based on their data and experience with the probe. Those studies will be reported here as well as findings from the manufacturer of the probe. Results from the July 1992 ASCE meeting in Logan, Utah will be discussed, as well as discussion on similarities and differences between the Sentry 200-AP and other measurement technologies. A large number of shallow evaporation basins are currently being used to dispose of subsurface agricultural drain water in the southern San Joaquin Valley of California. The proliferation of evaporation ponds has led to an increase in shallow, saline aquatic habitats in the arid region of California. The biological characteristics of evaporation ponds is discussed as a first step in identifying factors that play an important role in determining the potential for contamination to waterfowl, shorebirds, and other wildlife resulting from food chain bioaccumulation of toxic constituents present in these ponds. All ponds have macroinvertebrate and planktonic assemblages of low diversity with a negative correlation between taxonomic diversity and salinity.


CONTEXT
The US Food and Drug Administration issued a black box warning for antidepressants and suicidal thoughts and behavior in children and young adults.

OBJECTIVE
To determine the short-term safety of antidepressants by standard assessments of suicidal thoughts and behavior in youth, adult, and geriatric populations and the mediating effect of changes in depressive symptoms.

DATA SOURCES
All intent-to-treat person-level longitudinal data of major depressive disorder from 12 adult, 4 geriatric, and 4 youth randomized controlled trials of fluoxetine hydrochloride and 21 adult trials of venlafaxine hydrochloride.

STUDY SELECTION
All sponsor-conducted randomized controlled trials of fluoxetine and venlafaxine.

DATA EXTRACTION
The suicide items from the Children's Depression Rating Scale-Revised and the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale as well as adverse event reports of suicide attempts and suicide during active treatment were analyzed in 9185 patients (fluoxetine: 2635 adults, 960 geriatric patients, 708 youths; venlafaxine: 2421 adults with immediate-release venlafaxine and 2461 adults with extended-release venlafaxine) for a total of 53 260 person-week observations.

DATA SYNTHESIS
Suicidal thoughts and behavior decreased over time for adult and geriatric patients randomized to fluoxetine or venlafaxine compared with placebo, but no differences were found for youths. In adults, reduction in suicide ideation and attempts occurred through a reduction in depressive symptoms. In all age groups, severity of depression improved with medication and was significantly related to suicide ideation or behavior.

CONCLUSIONS
Fluoxetine and venlafaxine decreased suicidal thoughts and behavior for adult and geriatric patients. This protective effect is mediated by decreases in depressive symptoms with treatment. For youths, no significant effects of treatment on suicidal thoughts and behavior were found, although depression responded to treatment. No evidence of increased suicide risk was observed in youths receiving active medication. To our knowledge, this is the first research synthesis of suicidal thoughts and behavior in depressed patients treated with antidepressants that examined the mediating role of depressive symptoms using complete longitudinal person-level data from a large set of published and unpublished studies.


In this paper, we report for the first time a stereoselective synthesis of biologically remarkable hydantoins through an intramolecular anti-aza-Michael addition, activated by the Trametes versicolor Laccase enzyme. This simple and straightforward synthesis affords the products with good yields. A study of the reaction mechanism has been carried out based on DFT calculations, showing that the only possible pathway at room temperature is the anti-aza-Michael addition, due to the very low free energy of activation barrier. We also show that the selective formation of the more stable Z-diastereomer is due to the greater stability of the appropriate conformer during the re-aromatization of the system.


This paper develops a framework to study the effects of the durability of legal allocation decisions, such as trial outcomes, regulatory enactments and property entitlements. For a party favored by the legal allocation, a more durable decision is also more costly to secure, ex-ante. Thus, it is not the greater durability of the allocation that determines whether the "winner" is better-off, but other factors that are affected by the durability attribute, such as the cost of securing a favorable outcome and the ability of contesting parties to affect this cost. The paper develops conditions under which greater durability is irrelevant, or even undesirable to the winner. The analysis is applied to shed light on durability doctrines relating to trial outcomes (e.g., res judicata and double jeopardy), rules and regulations (e.g., transition relief when rules change), entitlements (e.g., adverse possession and statutes of limitations), and marriages.


Parental human capital and endowments may affect childrenA¢â'¬â"¢s human capital, which in turn may affect childrenA¢â'¬â"¢s earning and occupations and thus affect social mobility.This paper focuses on what we know about these possible links in low- and middle-income countries. It starts with definitions of human capital and endowments and simple frameworks for guiding the summary of what we know and do not know about these links in low- and middle-income countries.It discusses determinants of childrenA¢â'¬â"¢s human capital in the form of cognitive skills, socioemotional skills and health, which pertain directly to some indicators of social mobility; reviews estimates of the impacts of these forms of human capital, which pertain to some other indicators of social mobility, such as incomes and earnings; and concludes with a summary suggesting some positive impacts of parental human capital and endowments on social mobility in low- and middle-income countries and a discussion of gaps in the literature pertaining to both data and methodology.


A feasibility study for combining solar thermal plants with small scale 0.5-2 MWth mobile district heating plants under north European conditions was done. The study was done from a heat service company point of view, trying to come up with generally applicable scenarios rather than case studies. It was found that if the saved fuel is mainly pellets, without subsidies it is difficult to find economically feasible payback periods within the plants estimated lifetime, even with moderate pellet price increases. With oil as saved fuel the feasible payback periods range between 10-20 years with an estimated 5% annual oil price increase. The costs of moving the solar plant to another locations were also considered. A rough estimation of these costs resulted in a prolonged payback period of 3-6 years, which is considered too long regarding the general plant payback periods.


Use of fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites is becoming ubiquitous in highperformance aerospace structures due to their superior mechanical properties. Fatigue is an important design factor for use in these applications and due to the anisotropic nature of FRPs, it is difficult to predict their fatigue. A multiscale physics-based methodology is required to replace the phenomenological fatigue theories for FRP composites, which work for only specific scenarios and require extensive characterization data. Such a theory based on the kinetic theory of fracture (KTF) was used in this study to model fatigue in a plain woven fabric composite representative volume element (RVE). Fatigue damage initiation, propagation path and the damage amount in the constituents of the woven RVE as a function of load cycles were investigated. The S-N curves for the tension-tension and shear load cases were also determined.


We review the current status of the photorefractive tungsten bronze family crystals in terms of their growth problems and applications, with special emphasis on the current results for the Sr1−xBaxNb2O6 solid-solution system. Ferroelectric morphotropic phase-boundary materials are discussed as an appropriate goal for future development.


This paper draws on a telephone survey of 1000 workers to explore whether alternative, nonunion forms of representation appear to be filling the gap left by union decline, whether this matters to authority relations at work, and whether it may, indeed, help to explain union decline. It finds that non-union associations do not appear to be filling this gap, but that management established, non-union representation systems are twice as widespread as is union representation and are evaluated as favourably by workers. It also finds that unions appear to have positive implications for authority relations at work, as reflected in worker perceptions of security, fairness, and justice. Non-union representation systems do not in-and-of themselves appear to do so, but they tend to be part of a bundle of practices that, in combination, does. Finally, although the results suggest that these systems are often in violation of section 8(a)(2) of the Wagner Act, they bear no association with worker propensity to vote for a union.


The neurological mutant mouse strain E1 is a model for complex partial seizures in humans. The inheritance of epileptic seizures with seven conventional chromosomal markers and over 60 endogenous proviral markers was studied by means of back-crosses of E1 with two seizure-resistant strains, DBA/2J and ABP/LeJ. The major gene responsible for this epileptic phenotype (El-1) was localized to a region distal with respect to the centromere on chromosome 9. At least one other gene, El-2, linked to proviral markers on chromosome 2, also influences the seizure phenotype. In addition, a potential modifier of seizures was detected in the DBA/2J background. The location of El-1 on distal chromosome 9 may allow identification of an epilepsy candidate gene in humans on the basis of conserved synteny with human chromosome 3.


The purpose of this project was to:
• Develop a postgraduate curriculum for Health care professionals to be used by University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation (USWR) in Iran based on the needs of mothers in Iran. The developed curriculum used selected findings of research completed by me who explored social support and family networks offered to Iranian women with children under the school age.
• Create a research data base for information to be use by all researchers on women and women health by students who will be taking the created curriculum during their research and dissertation modules in USWR in Iran.
The research conducted used mixed methodology approach /triangulation by means of both qualitative and quantitative research methods. A focus group was employed to gain information and further understanding to the meaning of social support and family network from perspectives of those mothers. Following the focus group a questionnaire was devised in conclusion with the findings of the focus group which were building blocks for the questionnaire and informed by literature. Six hundred questionnaires were distributed surveying mothers of three different social classes, living in various parts of Tehran. The questionnaires were distributed at a number of health care clinics using purposive sampling technique. The inclusion criteria for the selection of the research category, was that the mothers had to have a child/children under the school age, and in addition be willing to complete the questionnaire in the clinic.
Following the survey 24 self selected mothers from the same group were asked to commence on documenting a two week diary. They were provided with guidelines and instructions on how to complete the diaries. The resulting quantitative data was analysed with the use of SPSS and the qualitative data used narrative data analysis arriving at themes. The two sets of data were crossed referenced for outcomes, in order to comprehend the general data collected and form triangulation conclusions.
Recommendation was made for future research.


Flocking behaviour has been studied for decades around the world, but there is little knowledge of this subject in desert bird communities. We investigate winter flock structure in open woodlands of the central Monte desert, Argentina, during two consecutive years. Of the 22 bird species that were recorded in flocks, most were granivorous. There were differences in flock density between years, probably due to fluctuation in seed abundance. More than half of the observed flocks were composed of different species (i.e. mixed-species flocks). We detected only two regular species (found in more than 75% of flocks): Rufous-collared Sparrow Zonotrichia capensis and Ringed Warbling Finch Poospiza torquata, both granivorous birds. Ringed Warbling Finch and Cinnamon Warbling Finch Poospiza ornata co-occurred at a higher frequency than expected by chance, and formed subgroups within flocks. Many-colored Chaco Finch Saltatricula multicolor, Greater Wagtail-tyrant Stigmatura budytoides, Brown Cacholote Pseudoseisura lophotes and Short-billed Canastero Asthenes baeri were found to form family groups, which may be related to delayed natal dispersal. The observed flocking propensity of granivorous birds and the small number of species per flock were similar to that found in other desert bird communities. We discuss some differences and similarities between granivorous and insectivorous flocking patterns, and propose hypotheses on the plausible causes. Our results provide a basis for a better understanding of the flocking behaviour patterns of birds in arid environments.


Monitoring vegetation condition is an important issue in the Mediterranean region, in terms of both securing food and preventing fires. Vegetation indices (VIs), mathematical transformations of reflectance bands, have played an important role in vegetation monitoring, as they depict the abundance and health of vegetation. Instead of storing raster VI maps, aggregated statistics can be derived and used in long-term monitoring. The aggregation schemes (zonations) used in Greece are the forest service units, the fire service units, and the administrative units. The purpose of this work was to explore the effect of the modifiable areal unit problem (MAUP) in vegetation condition monitoring at the above-mentioned aggregation schemes using 16 days Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) composites acquired by the moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer satellite sensor. The effects of aggregation in the context of MAUP were examined by analyzing variance, from which the among polygon variation (objects' heterogeneity) and the within polygon variation (pixels' homogeneity) were derived. Significant differences in objects' heterogeneity were observed when aggregating at the three aggregation schemes; therefore there is a MAUP effect in monitoring vegetation condition on a nationwide scale in Greece with NDVI. Monitoring using the fire service units has significantly higher pixels' homogeneity; therefore there is indication that it is the most appropriate for monitoring vegetation condition on a nationwide scale in Greece with NDVI. Results were consistent between the two major types of vegetation, natural and agricultural. According to the statistical validation, conclusions based on the examined years (2003 and 2004) are justified.


After more than a decade of standoffs at the disputed Line of Actual Control (LAC), questions have been raised about the Sino-Indian military balance and the possibility of a repetition of the events that led to war in 1962. Especially after the Doklam plateau incident in 2017, where the countries' forces faced each other for several weeks, analysts have focused on the territorial balance of power as a crucial element of Sino-Indian competition and deterrence dynamics. The resounding question in the heads of policy-makers and experts is: Over the next decade, are China and India more or less likely to go to war than before? This article analyzes the effects of infrastructure building and military modernization for Chinese and Indian strategies at the disputed border. Using the offense-defense balance framework, our findings point towards an erosion of conventional deterrence at the Himalayas, where both sides have more capabilities and incentives to choose preemption and offensive action than any moment in the last five decades. These changes have also led to new military doctrines and strategies by China and India, which are now preparing for scenarios ranging from low-intensity conflict to a large-scale – although limited – conventional war.


This paper begins with an account of the author's positive experiences as a student of Michael Young at the Institute of Education in the late-1960s and early-1970s, when 'New Directions' for the sociology of education were emerging under the leadership of Young and others (Young, 1971). This led to a writing partnership between Young and the author in the mid-1970s that produced two edited books (Whitty Y Young & Whitty, 1977), which sought to move beyond the crude binaries of the so-called 'new sociology of education'. The chapter then suggests that Young's subsequent distancing of himself from this work in his insistence on 'bringing knowledge back in' (Young, 2008), and more especially his emphasis on 'powerful knowledge', may have led him to neglect earlier sociological insights concerning the 'knowledge of the powerful'. It concludes with a discussion of Young's somewhat surprising rehabilitation of the work of Bernstein and suggests that, in focusing on the curriculum, Young has sometimes understated the importance of pedagogy in the reproduction or transformation of patterns of educational opportunity.


Privacy concerns in smart metering are one of the most discussed challenges encountered by introducing the smart grid. Several approaches to tackle this problem exist. One of these approaches is the usage of pseudonyms to protect the privacy of customers. Existing solutions to pseudonymous smart metering require a trusted third party to manage the pseudonyms and often neglect the risk of transmitting pseudonymized data through direct connections. This provides the data sink with a mapping from pseudonym to network address which can be used to break pseudonymization. In this paper, we propose a pseudonymous smart metering protocol that does not require a trusted third party. It provides authenticated but anonymous pseudonyms and solves the transmission problem by using a lightweight anonymity network based on a peer-to-peer overlay.


Liberal reading often posits Islamism as obverse of modernity and reason. Phil Briscoe's statement that Hitler's Mein Kampf might be kept in libraries but not the books by authors like Jamaat-e-Islami's founder's (Maududi) amply illustrates it. This article calls such an understanding into question. On the basis of my historical-ethnographic fieldwork on India's Jamaat-e-Islami and its offshoot, Student Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), I examine the interrelationships between Islamism and democracy showing Jamaat-e-Islami's moderation and SIMI's radicalization. It is my contention that Islamism and democracy are not antithetical to each other; they cohere in complex ways. When democracy is responsive to the traditions and aspirations of its Muslim citizens, Muslims relate to pluralism and democracy. But when democracy becomes majoritarian and a theater of entertainment and violence against Muslims, Islamists turn radical. I also suggest that radicalization such as SIMI's symbolizes a complex dynamic of democratization and demonopolization of religious authority. By foregrounding the salient transformation of Indian Islamism, this article aims to advance a nuanced, fresh understanding of both Islamism and democracy.


The digital economy is changing everything, including how we borrow money. In the wake of the 2008 crisis, banks pulled back in their lending and, as a result, many consumers and small businesses found themselves unable to access credit. A wave of online firms called fintech lenders have filled the space left vacant by traditional financial institutions. These platforms are fast making antiques out of many mainstream lending practices, such as long paper applications and face-to-face meetings. Instead, through underwriting by automation — utilizing big data (including social media data) and machine learning — loan processing that once took days for mainstream lenders can now be done in minutes by fintech firms. The result of these fintech advances has been quicker access to capital, more economic efficiencies, and even greater prospects for access to credit for the unbanked and underbanked. "Click here" is the new "sign on the dotted line."
But there is a lot still to learn about fintech lending. How do these firms work and what kinds of products do they offer? Moreover, what role will they play in the future of American debt markets, particularly when it comes to the role of machine learning in assessing a borrower's creditworthiness? This Article explores these questions and assesses current government responses to the nascent industry. It also surveys the current consumer protection landscape for fintech lenders and analyzes a multi-year dataset of complaints submitted to the CFPB relative to products offered by these firms. The Article concludes by offering several policy recommendations for how to regulate this new world of bitcredit.


We have investigated the optical properties of colloidal seed-grown CdSe (seed)/CdTe (arms) nanotetrapods both experimentally and computationally. The tetrapods exhibit a type-II transition arising from electrons localized in the CdSe seed region and holes delocalized in the CdTe arms, along with a residual type-I recombination in long-arm tetrapods. Experiments and theory helped to identify the origin of both types of transitions and their size dependence. In particular, time-resolved experiments performed at 10 K evidenced a size-dependent, long living type-II radiative emission arising from the peculiar electron–hole wave function localization. Temperature-dependent photoluminescence (PL) studies indicate that, at high temperature (>150 K), the main process limiting the PL quantum efficiency of the type-I PL is thermal escape of the charge carriers through efficient exciton-optical phonon coupling. The type-II PL instead is limited both by thermal escape and by the promotion of electrons from the condu...


Effective multi-agent teaming requires knowledgeable robots to have the capability of influencing their teammates. Robots are able to possess information that their human and other agent teammates do not, such as by scouting ahead in dangerous areas. To work as an effective team, robots must be able to influence their teammates when necessary and adapt to changing situations in order to move to goal positions that only they may be aware of, while remaining connected as a team. In this paper, we propose the problem of multiple robot teammates tasked with leading a multi-agent team to multiple goal positions while maintaining the ability to communicate with one another. We define utilities of making progress towards goals, maintaining communications with followers, and maintaining communications with fellow leaders. In addition, we introduce a novel regularized optimization formulation that balances these utilities and utilizes structured sparsity inducing norms to focus the leaders' attention on specific goals and followers over time. The dynamically learned utility allows our approach to generate an action for each leader at each time step, which allows the leaders to reach goals without sacrificing communication. We show through extensive synthetic and high-fidelity simulations that our method effectively enables multiple robotic leaders to guide a multi-agent team to different goals while maintaining communication.


The German Hanse was the most successful and most far-flung trade association that existed in medieval and early-modern Europe. Inevitably it appears prominently in every general study of trade, sometimes under the label of 'the Hanseatic League'. This, however, is the first study to be devoted to relations between the Hanse and England throughout the entire period of their contact, which lasted for some 500 years. The composition of trade is analysed, and the fluctuations in its volume and value are reconstructed from primary sources, chiefly customs accounts. But trade was often made possible only by intensive political and diplomatic bargaining between the two sides, sometimes at the level of merchant and merchant, at other times between the English government and the Hanse diet, the highest authority within the German organisation. This aspect of the relationship is explored in equal detail.


Background: Obesity is one of the important risk factors for coronary heart disease (CHD), hypertension, diabetes and dyslipidemia. This constellation of risk factors is also associated with end-stage renal disease (ESRD), the prevalence of which has increased despite the availability of interventions to control blood sugar and blood pressure and because albuminuria appears early in the natural history of kidney disease, it's a potential target of primary prevention. Objectives: Obesity is common in adults and likely has a causal role for Kidney disease incidence and progression. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association of obesity defined as per Asia-Pacific guidelines with microalbuminuria which is an early marker of kidney disease in adults. Patients and Methods: Observational study based on 120 obese and 120 healthy individuals between 30-70 years of age. Urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio and body mass index (kg/m 2 ) were measured among healthy and obese individuals at Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore, India. Results: There was a strong association between obesity and microalbuminuria. Microalbuminuria was highly prevalent among obese subjects compared to the controls (OR = 15.33, 95% CI: 5.83 to 40.32, P < 0.001) Conclusions: This study supports a significant association between obesity and the presence of microalbuminuria in adults. Given the increasing prevalence of obesity, this association is particularly alarming. A prospective study of the relationship between obesity and early markers of kidney damage in adults is warranted. ARTICLE INFO


What is the shape of data? How do we describe flows? Can we count by integrating? How do we plan with uncertainty? What is the most compact representation? These questions, while unrelated, become similar when recast into a computational setting. Our input is a set of finite, discrete, noisy samples that describes an abstract space. Our goal is to compute qualitative features of the unknown space. It turns out that topology is sufficiently tolerant to provide us with robust tools. This volume is based on lectures delivered at the 2011 AMS Short Course on Computational Topology, held January 4-5, 2011 in New Orleans, Louisiana. The aim of the volume is to provide a broad introduction to recent techniques from applied and computational topology. Afra Zomorodian focuses on topological data analysis via efficient construction of combinatorial structures and recent theories of persistence. Marian Mrozek analyzes asymptotic behavior of dynamical systems via efficient computation of cubical homology. Justin Curry, Robert Ghrist, and Michael Robinson present Euler Calculus, an integral calculus based on the Euler characteristic, and apply it to sensor and network data aggregation. Michael Erdmann explores the relationship of topology, planning, and probability with the strategy complex. Jeff Erickson surveys algorithms and hardness results for topological optimization problems.


Article 22(1) of 1995 Constitution of Uganda protects the right to life and provides that it can only be taken away in the 'execution of a sentence passed in a fair trial by a court of competent jurisdiction in respect of a criminal offence under the laws of Uganda and the conviction and sentence have been confirmed by the highest appellate court.' The death penalty is imposed for some crimes such as murder, treason and terrorism. During the constitution making process between 1989 and 1994 and when the constitution was being amended in 2005, there were arguments that the death penalty should be abolished and replaced with life imprisonment which means imprisonment until death. These attempts were unsuccessful. The constitutionality of the death penalty was unsuccessfully challenged in both the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court. However, both courts appear to hold the view that if the death penalty is to be abolished, it should be substituted with life imprisonment. This article highlights the attempts and the arguments that have been made to abolish the death penalty in Uganda. The author argues, inter alia, that should the death penalty be abolished and substituted with life imprisonment, offenders sentenced to life imprisonment should not be detained until death as life imprisonment without the possibility of release has been found to be cruel and inhuman in some African countries such as South Africa and Namibia. Because the death penalty is no longer mandatory in Uganda and it is likely to be replaced by life imprisonment, the author discusses the objectives of punishment that courts in Uganda have always emphasized in sentencing offenders to life imprisonment.


The serious problems of agrarian unsustainability cannot be solved through technological changes that lessen environmental impacts. Although technological change is important, it is also necessary to change the agri-food system as a whole. Participatory action research (PAR) is a methodological approach to collaborate with local communities. It enables us to advance in the restructuring of physical flows, economies, and information that support local farming, as a means to achieve greater autonomy and resilience. This article presents several case studies in Spain in which PAR has been applied to build local organic food networks. These are characterized by a more sustainable use of local resources and the development of short food supply chains.


Abstract:Scholars of coalitional presidentialism have focused on the question of how presidents in multi-party systems manage to establish stable governments. Some authors have argued that in the case of Indonesia, post-authoritarian presidents have prioritized inclusivist alliance building, with all parties offered cabinet seats and other rewards in exchange for loyalty. However, as this article demonstrates, President Joko Widodo has opted for a more coercive approach: reactivating power tools not used since the days of Suharto's autocracy, he intervened in the internal affairs of at least two opposition parties and eventually forced them to declare their support for his administration. This method, while designed to obstruct the anti-democratic agenda of the opposition, has in itself had detrimental effects on Indonesia's democratic quality.


The original CAP's high levels of border protection on many products involved a variable import levy bridging the gap between world prices and the EU's much higher minimum import price. The Uruguay Round ended this, but tariffication also meant that subsequent CAP reforms reducing EU levels of domestic market price support would no longer trigger lower tariffs. Moreover the Doha Round's plans for tariff cuts are in abeyance. The consequences are: i) for these products, only preferential sup¬pliers penetrate the EU's protected market; ii) negotiation of Free Trade Areas is made more complicated; and iii) "Brexit" is problematic.


Abstract Objective The objective of this study was to assess the adverse health symptoms experienced by adult subjects who were exposed to benzene after a flaring disaster at the BP refinery in Texas City, Texas. Methods A total of 2162 adults aged 18 years or older and exposed to benzene were included. Using the patients' medical charts, we collected and analyzed data on health complaints as well as the patients' serum levels of beta-2-microglobulin and urinary excretion of phenol. Results A total of 11,368 health symptom complaints were reported in 2162 adults exposed to benzene. Neurological symptoms occurred most frequently (174%), followed upper respiratory symptoms (115%), cough (31%), painful joints (30%), cardiac symptoms (28%), dermatological symptoms (28%), gastrointestinal symptoms (27%), diarrhea (25%), vision symptoms (21%), and nausea/vomiting (19%). Logistic regression analysis indicated that urinary symptoms (R2=0.65) and painful joints (R2=0.44) were positively associated with increasing age in benzene-exposed subjects. Conclusion Adult subjects exposed to benzene experience a range of adverse health symptoms and an altered profile of urinary phenol, thus indicating they are at high risk of developing serious future health complications. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2018;12:232–240)


The rapid burgeoning of available data in the form of categorical sequences, such as biological sequences, natural language texts, network and retail transactions, makes the classification of categorical sequences increasingly important. The main challenge is to identify significant features hidden behind the chronological and structural dependencies characterizing their intrinsic properties. Almost all existing algorithms designed to perform this task are based on the matching of patterns in chronological order, but categorical sequences often have similar features in non-chronological order. In addition, these algorithms have serious difficulties in outperforming domain-specific algorithms. In this paper we propose CLASS, a general approach for the classification of categorical sequences. By using an effective matching scheme called SPM for Significant Patterns Matching, CLASS is able to capture the intrinsic properties of categorical sequences. Furthermore, the use of Latent Semantic Analysis allows capturing semantic relations using global information extracted from large number of sequences, rather than comparing merely pairs of sequences. Moreover, CLASS employs a classifier called SNN for Significant Nearest Neighbours, inspired from the K Nearest Neighbours approach with a dynamic estimation of K, which allows the reduction of both false positives and false negatives in the classification. The extensive tests performed on a range of datasets from different fields show that CLASS is oftentimes competitive with domain-specific approaches.


Blogs are difficult to categorize by humans and machines alike, because they are written in a capricious style. In the early days of web, directories maintain by humans could not keep up millions the websites; likewise, blog directories cannot keep up with the explosive growth of the blogsphere. This paper investigates the efficacy of using machine learning to categorize blogs. We design a text classification experiment to categorize one hundred and twenty blogs into four topics: personal diary, news, political, and sports. The baseline feature is unigrams weighed by TF-IDF, which yielded 84% accuracy. We analyze the corpus, features, and result data. Our analysis leads us to believe that blog taxonomies need to support polyhierarchy—a given blog may be correctly classified under more than one category.


Scholars of Islamic law point to the absence of any extant work of legal theory between the Risāla of al-Shāfiʿī and the Fuṣūl of al-Jaṣṣāṣ as a major barrier to reconstructing the history of Islamic legal thought. However, careful analysis of three major works of the Ḥanafī jurist al-Ṭaḥāwī, Aḥkām al-Qurʾān, Sharḥ maʿānī al-āthār and Sharḥ mushkil al-āthār, reveals the existence of myriad brief passages elaborating questions of legal theory scattered throughout their many volumes. This study reconstructs the legal thought of al-Ṭaḥāwī as a window onto legal theory in the late 3rd/9th and early 4th/10th centuries, a crucial period of transformation between late formative and post-formative Islamic law. It argues that al-Ṭaḥāwī's works are not direct precursors to the genre of uṣūl al-fiqh, but instead represent a different, previously unrecognized, type of intellectual and literary activity. This activity, here termed practical hermeneutics, is concerned with demonstrating in detail how individually coherent rules of law may be derived from the often messy texts of revelation. The integrated reading of al-Ṭaḥāwī's entire hermeneutical corpus uncovers several areas in which his legal thought departs quite notably from that of other jurists, suggesting that al-Ṭaḥāwī was neither as dependent on al-Shāfiʿī nor as closely related to mature uṣūl al-fiqh as has been suggested in previous studies. Most crucially, al-Ṭaḥāwī's works unsettle accepted accounts of Islamic legal theory which assign varying levels of authority to a series of clearly distinguished legal sources—Qurʾān, Sunna, consensus, etc. This study demonstrates that, in contrast to both al-Shāfiʿī and later uṣūlīs, al-Ṭaḥāwī's legal thought blurs boundaries between these categories and instead rests upon an underlying binary concept of legal authority which draws a crucial distinction between knowledge that might permissibly be reached by inference, and knowledge that can only have come from revelation. The authority that al-Ṭaḥāwī grants any given source is therefore not a function of its formal characteristics, but rather the result of his own judgment about content and origins. Degree Type Dissertation Degree Name Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Graduate Group Near Eastern Languages & Civilizations First Advisor Joseph E. Lowry


The present paper attempts to lay the foundations of a cultural approach for the study of social change, in which change is understood as a result of a conflict of self-interpretations between different groups or spheres in a society. This cultural approach seems to be particularly useful in explaining the emergence of social movements, which always presuppose a clash of views, say, between the aspirations of the people and the official doctrine of the state, just to mention the most typical case. The concepts and methodological principles offered here owe a great debt to the work of the Canadian philosopher Charles Taylor – although he never clearly spelled out a meta-theory on change. The paper will then try to show in what would consist such a Taylorian theory of social change, and this we do not only by reconstructing Taylor's views on this issue, but also through a critical examination of range of key assumptions found both in mainstream social science and, more specifically, in existing theories of social change.


In a 4-year field study, 25 perennial triticeae grasses, representing a wide range of genomes and genome combinations, were evaluated as potential hosts for the bluegrass billbug (Sphenophorus parvulus Gyllenhal [Coleoptera: Curculionidae]). Root-sample data suggested that Russian wildrye (Psathyrostachys juncea [Fischer] Nevski) was unsuitable for billbug reproduction. Numbers of immatures varied significantly among remaining entries. Rhizomatous entries were more tolerant of billbug injury than caespitose entries. Plant mortality rates were frequently 50% or higher for self-pollinated caespitose entries with the SH genome complement (Elymus spp.). Losses to billbugs among the remaining species, particularly those with the J, N, and P genomes, were insignificant. Billbugs did not discriminate between native and introduced grasses, as resistant and susceptible entries were identified in both groups. The results obtained here may aid in selecting triticeae grasses for reseeding in areas where billbugs have damaged stands in the past.


Are democracies less likely to go to war than other kinds of states? This question is of tremendous importance in both academic and policy-making circles and one that has been debated by political scientists for years. The Clinton administration, in particular, has argued that the United States should endeavor to promote democracy around the world. This timely reader includes some of the most influential articles in the debate that have appeared in the journal International Security during the past two years, adding two seminal pieces published elsewhere to make a more balanced and complete collection, suitable for classroom use.


This essay assesses clinical photographs of leprosy patients created by the Hawai'i Board of Health in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, or what may be the most extensive visual cataloging of indigenous, Asian, and immigrant bodies in America's Pacific empire. Building on theoretical and methodological approaches to archives as a process rather than a source, I follow the trail of these clinical images through time and space, from their emergence within a photographic practice of medical management and segregation in Hawai'i to their prolific circulation in transnational political and medical arenas. Offering spectacular evidence of the racialized and sexualized pathology of colonial peoples, these photographs were tightly regulated but increasingly viewed as clinical erotica after the United States incorporated Hawai'i as a territory in 1900. The essay further suggests the "affective excess" that can disrupt the photograph's medical surveillance, as social intimacies and care between Hawaiian patients bloom within the frame.


This study draws upon a database of ~800 projects that have been developed by U.S. Energy Service Companies (ESCOs). These projects represent a cumulative investment of ~$1.4 billion in energy-efficiency projects and is the most comprehensive historical "snapshot" of the ESCO industry that is publicly available. We provide information on the geographic distribution of ESCO projects, analyze project development activity by ESCOs over time and in various market segments, and analyze estimated vs. actual, verified energy savings. We also summarize key project characteristics in various market sectors (e.g., project cost, floor area) and discuss the extent to which ESCOs relied on different types of utility programs in developing these projects. We also comment upon some of the major policy implications from the study: (1) markets with significant private sector energy efficiency activity, and (2) the relationship between trends in private sector activity and public purpose or ratepayer-funded programs.


Many common genetic disorders of the blood can be identified in utero, either by fetal blood sampling, biochemical analysis of amniotic fluid cells or directly by studying DNA obtained from amniotic fluid cells or chorion biopsy. With the development of gene probes for most of the important genetic disorders of the blood there will be a gradual transition from fetal blood sampling and amniocentesis to chorion biopsy as the major approach to prenatal diagnosis of haematological disorders. Since the carrier states for many of these conditions can be identified at the antenatal clinic by a careful family history and a few relatively simple blood tests the outlook for prevention of many of the important genetic disorders of the blood is extremely promising.


Abstract
The epidemic COVID-19 is a global public health emergency causing an adverse impact on people's lives from different perspectives. The misconception about COVID19 has contributed to physical and psychological diseases among people that sometimes even leads to the higher risk of suicide. Stress endurance varies from person to person; some person can manage it and some cannot. Some therapies can address this problem with solution. The aim of this write up is to discuss stress response and how to manage stress response. In addition to this, it also discusses some causing factors behind suicidal acts; and the ways to overcome suicidal thoughts during pandemic.


Engineering programs worldwide collect and report student learning outcomes data to conduct program evaluations for quality assurance and accreditation purposes. Accreditation agencies such as ABET typically mandate that at least two years of program evaluation data be provided and for institutions to show how this data has been used for continuous quality improvement. Engineering programs rarely evaluate interventions using multi-term student outcomes information over several years, since this quantitative data generally lacks accuracy and statistical power. The quality of outcomes data is affected by obsolete assessment methods and lack of digital access and technical analysis. In this study, we present essential elements of an authentic outcome based assessment model that used web-based software and embedded assessment technology to collect and report accurate cohort outcomes for credible multi-term evaluations. A non-experimental approach employing regression analyses were used to identify trends in student outcomes and evaluate the impact for three engineering programs. Detailed rubrics provide criteria to accurately classify multi-year student outcomes. The findings of this study present practical steps for engineering programs to effectively collect and report accurate cohort outcomes data and perform credible evaluations of program interventions based on multi-year outcomes data.


As firms increasingly rely on information systems to perform critical functions, the consequences of software defects can be catastrophic. Although the software engineering literature suggests that software process improvement can help to reduce software defects, the actual evidence is equivocal. For example, improved development processes may only remove the "easier" syntactical defects, while the more critical defects remain. Rigorous empirical analyses of these relationships have been very difficult to conduct due to the difficulties in collecting the appropriate data on real systems from industrial organizations. This field study analyzes a detailed data set consisting of 7,545 software defects that were collected on software projects completed at a major software firm. Our analyses reveal that higher levels of software process improvement significantly reduce the likelihood of high severity defects. In addition, we find that higher levels of process improvement are even more beneficial in reducing severe defects when the system developed is large or complex, but are less beneficial in development when requirements are ambiguous, unclear, or incomplete. Our findings reveal the benefits and limitations of software process improvement for the removal of severe defects and suggest where investments in improving development processes may have their greatest effects.


OBJECTIVE
We examine the financial impact of major illnesses on the near-elderly and how this impact is affected by health insurance.

DATA SOURCES
We use RAND Corporation extracts from the Health and Retirement Study from 1992 to 2006.(1)

STUDY DESIGN
Our dependent variable is the change in household assets, excluding the value of the primary home. We use triple difference median regressions on a sample of newly ill/uninsured near elderly (under age 65) matched to newly ill/insured near elderly. We also include a matched control group of households whose members are not ill.

RESULTS
Controlling for the effects of insurance status and illness, we find that the median household with a newly ill, uninsured individual suffers a statistically significant decline in household assets of between 30 and 50 percent relative to households with matched insured individuals. Newly ill, insured individuals do not experience a decline in wealth.

CONCLUSIONS
Newly ill/uninsured households appear to be one illness away from financial catastrophe. Newly ill insured households who are matched to uninsured households appear to be protected against financial loss, at least in the near term.