CARPENTER, D. M. and B. W. NELSON. Low back strengthening for the prevention and treatment of low back pain. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc., Vol. 31, No. 1, pp. 18-24, 1999. Purpose: Chronic low back pain (CLBP) remains one of the most difficult and costly medical problems in the industrialized world. A review of nineteenth and early twentieth century spine rehabilitation shows that back disorders were commonly treated with aggressive and specific progressive resistance exercise (PRE). Despite a lack of scientific evidence to support their efficacy, therapeutic approaches to back rehabilitation over the past 30 yr have focused primarily upon passive care for symptom relief. Recent spine rehabilitation programs have returned to active reconditioning PRE centered around low back strengthening to restore normal musculoskeletal function. Research has shown that lumbar extension exercise using PRE significantly increases strength and decreases pain in CLBP patients. It appears that isolated lumbar extension exercise with the pelvis stabilized using specialized equipment elicits the most favorable improvements in low back strength, muscle crosssectional area, and vertebral bone mineral density (BMD). These improvements occur with a low training volume of 1 set of 8 to 15 repetitions performed to volitional fatigue one time per week. CLBP patients participating in isolated lumbar extension PRE programs demonstrate significant reductions in pain and symptoms associated with improved muscle strength, endurance, and joint mobility. Improvements occur independent of diagnosis, are long-lasting, and appear to result in less re-utilization of the health care system than other more passive treatments. Low back strengthening shows promise for the reduction of industrial back injuries and associated costs.


Adult education at higher age can play an important role in the preservation of autonomy and in the encouragement of social participation in later life. Hence, from both an individual and societal perspective, it is important to promote the educational activities of the elderly. Active elderly people with positive perceptions of self and ageing maintain their mental and physical fitness levels, participate in community associations and politics, and engage in intergenerational dialogue. Data from a recent study clearly show the interrelationship of individual self-perception and the perception of ageing and point to the relevance of both concepts for learning and participating in educational activities. As people age, they participate less and less in further education. This is due not only to individual learning habits, but also to the lack of learning opportunities in different regions and residential areas. In districts that are primarily comprised of people with low standards of living and low education and/or migration backgrounds, there is a lack of sufficient educational structures, which hinders participation in adult education programs. Qualitative interviews with older adults in different districts show that social environment, social embeddedness, and individual perspectives of one's own learning abilities affect learning possibilities and learning readiness.


Mobile and web-based apps are one technology with the potential to improve access to justice, either by helping lawyers increase the efficiency of service delivery or by reducing the need for recourse to lawyers altogether for some legal needs.

Notwithstanding growing excitement about the potential presented by legal apps, there has been no comprehensive study regarding the range of such apps currently available to Canadians, nor has there been a concrete exploration of what these apps purport to do and whether they have the capacity to actually improve access to justice.

In this paper, we offer a preliminary taxonomy of the legal apps available in Canada, of which we have identified approximately 50. This taxonomy seeks to identify developers, targeted users and the functions that legal apps are designed to perform. Further, we contribute to future policy discussions about legal apps through an analysis of the potential benefits and risks of using this technology in the pursuit of access to justice. Finally, we conclude with a call for dedicated empirical data and research on legal apps in Canada and for increased policy attention to leveraging the opportunities and mitigating the risks presented by legal apps.


The introduction and spread of Ms as the courtesy address title for women is a cornerstone of feminist linguistic planning for English. Its introduction aimed to eradicate the discriminatory inequity in the address system that exposed women through their (non)marital relationship with men. The understanding, use and impact of the courtesy title are fairly well documented, particularly for Englishes of Australia (e.g. Pauwels 1987; 1998; 2001; 2003), US and Britain (Romaine 2001) and New Zealand (Holmes 2001). We have little knowledge of the form's spread, impact and use by speakers for whom English is not the dominant language but forms part of their linguistic repertoire. Graddol (1997) argues that English-speaking bilinguals will outnumber first language speakers and, 'increasingly will decide the global future of the language' (p.10). Such contexts of English – second / third / foreign – usage loosely align with locales Kachru (1997) identified as 'expanding circles', and to some extent, many of the 'outer circle' Englishes, e.g. Hong Kong. In this paper we take up a new direction in feminist language planning: the exploration of courtesy title use and practices by English-speaking mono-/bi-/multilingual women around the world. We draw upon online survey data (available from http://www.teagirl.arts.uwa.edu.au/ ) to probe respondents' strategies for addressing unknown women, as well as women's use of courtesy titles for themselves. Our mapping of practices associated with Ms reveals an unexpected pattern of diffusion with implications for evaluating planned social language change. In relation to Ms , the implementation of feminist linguistic policy does not cohere with a pattern of spread from inner to outer to expanding 'circles' of English or from 'first language speaker' to … 'foreign language speaker' diffusion. The locale and personal contexts associated with education, awareness and personal commitment to gender equity interact in complicating, and surprising ways. Indeed our research exposes a new directionality for Ms as a preferred form for unknown women, without necessarily implicating its use in self-naming for many bilingual women resident in 'outer circle' locales.


While Newton tried to make his telescope into a proof of the supremacy of his theory of colours over older theories, his instrument was welcomed as a way to shorten telescopes, not as a way to solve the problem of chromatic aberration. This paper argues that the image published together with the report on Newton's telescope in Philosophical Transactions (1672) encouraged this reception. The differences between this visualization and other images of Newton's telescope, especially that published in Opticks (1704), are discussed. This paper shows that the image in Opticks adopted characteristics of a Cartesian program of visualization of machines and instruments which complemented a rhetoric which attributed primacy to theory over practice. The differences between the images in Philosophical Transactions and Opticks are also considered within the broader institutional context of Newton's attitude towards the Royal Society.


Soybean is an important food crop, and insect integrated pest management (IPM) is critical to the sustainability of this production system. In recent years, the introduction into the United States of the kudzu bug currently identified as Megacopta cribraria (F.), poses a threat to soybean production. The kudzu bug was first discovered in the state of Georgia, U.S. in 2009 and since then has spread to most of the southeastern states. Because it was not found in the North American subcontinent before this time, much of our knowledge of this insect comes from research done in its native habitat. However, since the U.S. introduction, studies have been undertaken to improve our understanding of the kudzu bug basic biology, microbiome, migration patterns, host selection and management in its expanding new range. Researchers are not only looking at developing IPM strategies for the kudzu bug in soybean, but also at its unique relationship with symbiotic bacteria. Adult females deposit bacterial packets with their eggs, and the neonates feed on these packets to acquire the bacteria, Candidatus Ishikawaella capsulata. The kudzu bug should be an informative model to study the co-evolution of insect function and behavior with that of a single bacteria species. We review kudzu bug trapping and survey methods, the development of bioassays for insecticide susceptibility, insecticide efficacy, host preferences, impact of the pest on urban environments, population expansion, and the occurrence of natural enemies. The identity of the kudzu bug in the U.S. is not clear. We propose that the kudzu bug currently accepted as M. cribraria in the U.S. is actually Megacopta punctatissima, with more work needed to confirm this hypothesis.


This lucid and theory-neutral introduction to the study of pidgins, creoles and mixed languages covers both theoretical and empirical issues pertinent to the field of contact linguistics. Part I presents the theoretical background, with chapters devoted to the definition of terms, the sociohistorical settings, theories on the genesis of pidgins and creoles, as well as discussions on language variation and the sociology of language. Part II empirically tests assumptions made about the linguistic characteristics of pidgins and creoles by systematically comparing them with other natural languages in all linguistic domains. This is the first introduction that consistently applies the findings of the Atlas of Pidgin and Creole Language Structures and systematically includes extended pidgins and mixed languages in the discussion of each linguistic feature. The book is designed for students of courses with a focus on pidgins, creoles and mixed languages, as well as typologically oriented courses on contact linguistics.


Implicit surfaces are often created by summing a collection of radial basis functions. Researchers have begun to create implicit surfaces that exactly interpolate a given set of points by solving a simple linear system to assign weights to each basis function. Due to their ability to interpolate, these implicit surfaces are more easily controllable than traditional "blobby" implicits. There are several additional forms of control over these surfaces that make them attractive for a variety of applications. Surface normals may be directly specified at any location over the surface, and this allows the modeller to pivot the normal while still having the surface pass through the constraints. The degree of smoothness of the surface can be controlled by changing the shape of the basis functions, allowing the surface to be pinched or smooth. On a point-by-point basis the modeller may decide whether a constraint point should be exactly interpolated or approximated. Applications of these implicits include shape transformation, creating surfaces from computer vision data, creation of an implicit surface from a polygonal model, and medical surface reconstruction.


Purpose: This paper aims to provide a comprehensive overview of literature related to corporate bankruptcy prediction, to investigate and address the link between different authors (co-authorship), and to identify the primary models and methods that are used and studied by authors of this area in the past five decades.Design/methodology/approach: A systematic literature review (SLR) has been conducted, using the Scopus database for identifying core international academic papers related to the established research topic from the year 1968 to 2017.Findings: It has been verified, firstly, that bankruptcy prediction in the corporate world is a field of growing interest, as the number of papers has increased significantly, especially after 2008 global financial crisis, demonstrating the importance of this topic for corporate firms. Secondly, it should be mentioned that there is little co-authorship in this researching area, as the researchers with a lot of influence were basically not working together during the last five decades. Thirdly, it has been identified that the two most frequently used and studied models in bankruptcy prediction area are Logistic Regression (Logit) and Neural Network. However, there are many other innovative methods as machine learning models applied in this field lately due to the emerging technology of computer science and artificial intelligence.Originality/value: We applied the SLR approach that allows a better view of the academic contribution related to the corporate bankruptcy prediction; this contributes as the link among different elements of the concept studied, and it demonstrates the growing interest in this area.


This paper aims to provide policy makers with a broad overview of the issues that the digital transformation raises for trade with a view to informing how these might be reflected in trade policy design. It discusses how digitalisation has changed international trade and provides estimates of the impact of increased digital connectivity on trade. It shows that digitalisation is particularly important for trade in more complex manufactures and digitally deliverable services; that it helps parties better exploit benefits from trade agreements; and that it gives rise to new complementarities between goods and services. The paper also discusses some trade-related regulatory challenges. Engaging in digital trade in goods means paying attention to a broader range of supporting services, such as logistics or e-payments. Similarly, the ability to engage in trade in services, particularly those that are digitally delivered, is also, in part, affected by market access in ICT goods. The paper argues that making the most out of the digital transformation for trade requires approaching market openness more holistically, thinking about measures affecting goods, services and digital connectivity more jointly, and about measures affecting the full value chain, including the enablers of digital trade and tackling all these through greater international cooperation.


We present an algorithm for determining the nature of stochastic processes and their parameters based on the analysis of time series of inertial errors. The algorithm is suitable mainly (but not only) for situations where several stochastic processes are superposed. The proposed approach is based on a recently developed method called the Generalized Method of Wavelet Moments (GMWM), whose estimator was proven to be consistent and asymptotically normally distributed. This method delivers a global selection criterion based on the wavelet variance that can be used to determine the suitability of a candidate model (compared to other models) and apply it to low-cost inertial sensors. By allowing candidate model ranking, this approach enables us to construct an algorithm for automatic model identification and determination. The benefits of this methodology are highlighted by providing practical examples of model selection for two types of MEMS IMUs. Copyright (C) 2015 Institute of Navigation.


Background: Spiral cleavage is a remarkably conserved pattern of embryogenesis present in animals of the clade Spiralia, such as annelids, molluscs, flatworms and nemerteans. However, not all spiralians display spiral cleavage. Recent phylogenies suggest that the spiral arrangement of embryonic blastomeres is an ancestral trait for the Spiralia and that it was secondarily modified in several spiralian lineages, such as gastrotrichs, brachiopods and bryozoans. To better understand the evolution of cleavage patterns in relation to blastomere fate maps and embryonic gene expression, we describe the cell lineage and molecular patterning in the embryogenesis of the bryozoan Membranipora membranacea. Results: M. membranacea develops through a unique stereotypic cleavage pattern with biradial symmetry and an embryo organized in identical quadrants with synchronous cell divisions. The quadrant identities are established as early as the 28-cell stage, when one vegetal blastomere (3D) activates the MAPK pathway, marking the future posterior region of the larva. Cells from this posterior quadrant divide asynchronously in subsequent stages leading to the morphological differentiation between quadrants. The first quartet of M. membranacea gives rise to the apical organ and ciliated band, the second and third quartet forms the oral/anal ectoderm, the fourth quartet the mesoderm and the vegetal blastomeres form the endoderm. We found that the early embryonic organization and the fate map of these early blastomeres in the bryozoan embryo are similar to a typical spiral-cleaving embryo. Furthermore we observe that correspondent blastomeres between the bryozoan and spiral-cleaving embryos share similar molecular identities, as revealed by the activity of MAPK and the expression of otx and foxa. The development of M. membranacea mainly differs from spiral-cleaving embryos in the downstream portions of the cell lineage, and in the origin of the mesoderm, which is formed by multiple fourth quartet blastomeres. Conclusions: The similarity between the fate map of M. membranacea and spiral-cleaving embryos indicates that the cleavage geometry of the bryozoan evolved decoupled from other spiralian developmental traits. In this case, the blastomere fates remained evolutionarily conserved despite the drastic modification in the cleavage pattern from spiral to biradial. These findings suggest that blastomere fates of spiral-cleaving embryos might not be linked to the stereotypic spiral cleavage pattern, but depend on other factors, such as the underlying molecular patterning. Our comparative analysis on the bryozoan reveals yet another facet of how early development evolves and helps to shed some light into the developmental diversity of spiralians.


Climate change. Income inequality. World poverty. Who can solve these global problems? Corporations. Never before have corporations been so large, so wealthy, so powerful, and so rich in human creativity and endeavor. Organizational change expert Professor Lynda Gratton shows that it is now critical that these corporations step up to play a more positive role in the world by building inner resilience, actively anchoring themselves in their communities and supply chains, and leveraging their unique capabilities to address complex global challenges such as climate change and youth unemployment.

In The Key, Gratton maps out how bringing resilience to a fragile world starts with what happens inside a corporation—when intelligence and wisdom are amplified, emotional vitality enhanced, and social connections harnessed. She explains how corporations can leverage this inner resilience to help solve global problems and how a corporation's unique innovative, scaling and mobilizing, and alliance building capabilities—are some of the tools for combating global ills.

Both realistic and optimistic, The Key is a practical guide that provides the rationale, strategies, and tools you need to not only spearhead resilience for your own company but also how to use this resilience to contribute to the betterment of the world. Building on her unique research base, Gratton provides insights from more than 20 companies from across the world including Vodafone, Unilever, Tata Consulting Services, and Natura to illustrate the very real benefits of aligning organizational interests with those of the world. "To create a good future," Gratton writes, "it is crucial that those who lead corporations become increasingly transparent about their actions and intentions and see themselves as part of the wider world they inhabit." The world's business leaders must make a decision: Either connect your company's interests with those of the world at large—or watch these separate interests crash into each other. You have the resources to save the world. Gratton provides The Key.


Terahertz (THz) radiation interacts strongly with the intermolecular hydrogen-bond network in aqueous liquids. The dielectric properties of liquid water and aqueous solutions in the THz spectral region are closely linked to the microscopic dynamics of the liquid solution, and hence THz spectroscopy offers an important insight into fundamental intermolecular interactions in polar liquids. At the same time, the strong and characteristic interaction between THz radiation and liquids offers a methodology for the classification of liquids inside containers, and hence the THz region is suitable for remote detection of some of the properties of bottled liquids. Here we present a review of THz spectroscopy and modeling of water-ethanol mixtures, and establish a link between the dielectric function of water-ethanol mixtures and some of their thermodynamic properties. We then review how the knowledge of the dielectric function of aqueous mixtures can be used for inspection of liquids inside bottles. Finally we draw up some of the limits to the applicability of THz reflection spectroscopy in the identification of dangerous liquids.


A phenomenological model of biocide action against microbial biofilms was derived. Processes incorporated in the model include bulk flow in and out of a well‐mixed reactor, transport of dissolved species into the biofilm, substrate consumption by bacterial metabolism, bacterial growth, advection of cell mass within the biofilm, cell detachment from the biofilm, cell death, and biocide concentration‐dependent disinfection. Simulations were performed to analyze the general behavior of the model and to perform preliminary sensitivity analysis to identify key input parameters. The model captured several general features of antimicrobial agent action against biofilms that have been observed widely by experimenters and practitioners. These included (1) rapid disinfection followed by biofilm regrowth, (2) slower detachment than disinfection, and (3) reduced susceptibility of microorganisms in biofilms. The results support the plausibility of a mechanism of biofilm resistance in which the biocide is neutralized by reaction with biofilm constituents, leading to a reduction in the bulk biocide concentration and, more significantly, biocide concentration gradients within the biofilm. Sensitivity experiments and analyses identified which input parameters influence key response variables. Each of three response variables was sensitive to each of the five input parameters, but they were most sensitive to the initial biofilm thickness and next most sensitive to the biocide disinfection rate coefficient. Statistical regression modeling produced simple equations for approximating the response variables for situations within the range of conditions covered by the sensitivity experiment. The model should be useful as a tool for studying alternative biocide control strategies. For example, the simulations suggested that a good interval between pulses of biocide is the time to minimum thickness. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.


This volume gathers together 25 essays dedicated to the history of four important constitutional experiments (France, Belgium, Switzerland and Italy). While it considers these experiments and developments in the 19th and 20th centuries, comparative constitutional history, nevertheless, offers the possibility of obtaining a wider purview. It is in this sense that we can speak of the myth of the English constitution pervading the discourses and language of the French liberals, of Belgium being referred to as "Little England" in Italy, and the Modell Deutschland as increasingly becoming an object of fascination for Italian scholars of public law. In the 1830s Alexis de Tocqueville analysed the situation in Switzerland and compared the different kinds of federalism present in America and in Europe. A European comparative constitutional history, taking up a global perspective, can help us to better decipher two very important issues pertinent to our times: first, for assessing the identity and the constitutional substance of a living common core of the European constitutional traditions; and second, for considering constitutional history as a useful tool to address different levels of global constitutionalism and new trends of governance. History & Constitution offers not only insights into the past, but also provides some guidelines for the future.


It is logical to argue that low carbon goods and services (LCGS) led growth is an imperative for the Asia Pacific countries, particularly for the emerging Asian economies, which are heavily dependent on imported energy and resources. Acknowledging this fact, recently, governments in the Asian region individually have been taking effective actions in the form of voluntary targets and policy commitments to improve the production and use of LCGS. While different sectoral policies, such as trade, environment, and investment policies that aim to facilitate private enterprises, households, and government agencies to contribute to green growth through the use of LCGS are being implemented at the national level, fears of competitive disadvantage mean that these need to be driven by global and regional frameworks that encompass all countries and sectors. It is in this context, the objectives of this study are (i) to measure the potential of major emerging Asian economies for exports in LCGS under the grand regional cooperation, partial regional cooperation, and stand alone scenarios; and (ii) to measure the impact of existing 'behind the border' constraints on potential exports in emerging Asian economies.


Old-age income support is an important motive for parents to invest in schooling of their children in developing countries. At the time parents choose schooling investment for their children, both parental future income and return from schooling are uncertain. This paper analyzes effects of parental income risk and human capital investment risk on parental schooling investment using alternative models (altruism and educational loan model) of determination of old-age income support in a model with intergenerational transfers. It finds that effects of these risks on schooling investment depend on whether old-age income support is state-contingent. When income support is state-contingent, increasing parental income risk (human capital investment risk) has a positive (negative) effect on schooling investment. However, when income support is not state-contingent, effects of these two types of risks may get reversed. Numerical analysis using Indonesian data suggests that risks have significant negative effect on schooling investment.


Yield is the most important selection trait for the ideal plant. Yield selection on single plants from segregating populations in the early selection cycle is unreliable because of unstable genotypes, low heritability and differential plant competitive abilities. Yield selection is best done in later cycles when sufficient quantities of the selected stable genotypes are available for replicated larger plot yield trials conducted over different locations and agronomic treatments. Breeding progress for yield in major crops has been generally slow at 1% -2% per year but nevertheless significant. Methods, e.g. breeding, physiological, biotechnological, to improve selection efficiency and shorten the selection cycles are not likely to substantially reduce the cultivar development time because of the mandatory extended cycles of yield testing. A smaller erect canopied palm with high harvest index that can tolerate higher density planting would be the oil palm ideotype for efficient yield enhancement. Such cultivars are unlikely to be available for the next 15 years. Nevertheless, plantations should accelerate replanting as improved cultivars particularly with better oil content are continuously being produced, and coupled with the simultaneous implementation of improved agro-management practices, larger quantum yields can be achieved. Existing planted materials already have high genetic yield potential, and the onus lies with the agronomist and manager to implement the prescribed agro-management practices to achieve the yield potential of the site and thus, narrow the gap between potential and realized yields.


To guide behavior, the brain extracts relevant features from high-dimensional data streamed by sensory organs. Neuroscience experiments demonstrate that the processing of sensory inputs by cortical neurons is modulated by instructive signals which provide context and task-relevant information. Here, adopting a normative approach, we model these instructive signals as supervisory inputs guiding the projection of the feedforward data. Mathematically, we start with a family of Reduced-Rank Regression (RRR) objective functions which include Reduced Rank (minimum) Mean Square Error (RRMSE) and Canonical Correlation Analysis (CCA), and derive novel offline and online optimization algorithms, which we call Bio-RRR. The online algorithms can be implemented by neural networks whose synaptic learning rules resemble calcium plateau potential dependent plasticity observed in the cortex. We detail how, in our model, the calcium plateau potential can be interpreted as a backpropagating error signal. We demonstrate that, despite relying exclusively on biologically plausible local learning rules, our algorithms perform competitively with existing implementations of RRMSE and CCA.


End users have a comprehensive understanding of business needs which is often hard to fully capture. One possible solution to this is empowering end-users to create and manage business applications. To empower end-users the paper presents an end-user friendly UI modelling language. The language facilitates the creation and supports the evolution of RIAs with changing business needs. The modelling language is based on various types of structural dependencies among the interface elements in RIAs. These structural relationships are identified in the paper. It also derives the data model from the end-user UI specifications. Evolution is discussed from three perspectives, namely, the structural model of interfaces, the behavioural model of interfaces and the underlying data model.


Deep reinforcement learning (RL) algorithms are predominantly evaluated by comparing their relative performance on a large suite of tasks. Most published results on deep RL benchmarks compare point estimates of aggregate performance such as mean and median scores across tasks, ignoring the statistical uncertainty implied by the use of a finite number of training runs. Beginning with the Arcade Learning Environment (ALE), the shift towards computationally-demanding benchmarks has led to the practice of evaluating only a small number of runs per task, exacerbating the statistical uncertainty in point estimates. In this paper, we argue that reliable evaluation in the few run deep RL regime cannot ignore the uncertainty in results without running the risk of slowing down progress in the field. We illustrate this point using a case study on the Atari 100k benchmark, where we find substantial discrepancies between conclusions drawn from point estimates alone versus a more thorough statistical analysis. With the aim of increasing the field's confidence in reported results with a handful of runs, we advocate for reporting interval estimates of aggregate performance and propose performance profiles to account for the variability in results, as well as present more robust and efficient aggregate metrics, such as interquartile mean scores, to achieve small uncertainty in results. Using such statistical tools, we scrutinize performance evaluations of existing algorithms on other widely used RL benchmarks including the ALE, Procgen, and the DeepMind Control Suite, again revealing discrepancies in prior comparisons. Our findings call for a change in how we evaluate performance in deep RL, for which we present a more rigorous evaluation methodology, accompanied with an open-source library rliable, to prevent unreliable results from stagnating the field.


The current account in the balance of payments is always of interest to the international finance community and South Africa is no exception in this regard. The current account signals a country's ability to meet its external financial obligations, an important signal to investors. However, the effect of all the components of the current account is not always well understood. One of these components is net investment income, which is often a source of vulnerability for the current account during an economic downturn, particularly for a middle-income country such as South Africa. Net investment income for a country is the balance between income payments to foreign investors on their inward investments and income receipts to domestic investors on their outward investments abroad. This component is dependent on the decision of firms to declare dividends on their profits or reinvest their earnings in Brownfield investments. These types of decisions have significant repercussions for emerging liberalised economies. This study thus explores how these decisions aligned with maximising shareholder value have important implications for the current account. The role of government is to channel the most productive investments into labourabsorbing and, if possible, export-orientated industries to reinforce the current momentum of export orientation. As companies seek to reinvest their earnings in their companies, value chains or subsidiaries based in South Africa, investment income payments will decrease and the pressure of the net investment income balance on the current account balance will be eased, thus placing South Africa in a better position to ride out an economic downturn. A b o u t t h e A u t h o r Cézanne Samuel is an economist specialising in international trade and investment. She works for the South African Department of Trade and Industry and is a former Konrad– Adenauer–Stiftung intern at the South African Institute of International Affairs. Her fields of interest include regional trade agreements, specifically the Southern African Development Community Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), and tripartite negotiations, foreign direct investment (FDI) and intellectual property rights, specifically geographical indications.


When disasters occur, key factors for minimizing damages and loss of lives are access to necessary information and effective communication between emergency services. In cross-border disaster management, further challenges arise: language barriers, uneven know-how, organisational and technical differences in particular concerning communication and data or information exchange. To address those challenges, the FP7-Project EPISECC (Establish Pan-European Information Space to Enhance Security of Citizens) is working on the concept of a common information space to improve interoperability and efficiency while managing cross-border disasters. This involves researching on a common taxonomy and ontology as well as on interoperability functionalities and tools. A first step on this direction is the analysis of how disasters have been and are being managed. This paper reports on an inventory of disasters designed to consolidate such knowledge and aimed at being the basis for this information space. First gaps identified in communication/information management are also presented.


In this paper, we discuss in detail the transmission characteristics of composite right/left-handed transmission lines based on complementary split-rings resonators. Specifically, the necessary conditions to obtain a continuous transition between the left- and right-handed bands (balanced case) are pointed out. It is found that very wide bands can be obtained by balancing the line. The application of this technique to the design of very wideband and compact filters is illustrated by means of two examples. One of them is based on the hybrid approach, where a microstrip line is loaded with complementary split-rings resonators, series gaps, and grounded stubs; the other one is a bandpass filter, also based on a balanced line, but in this case, by using only complementary split-rings resonators and series gaps (purely resonant-type approach). As will be seen, very small dimensions and good performance are obtained. The proposed filters are useful for ultra-wideband systems.


The Cerrado (Brazilian Savannah) plays an important economic and financial role in the nation, since the pastures of this biome feed cattle for half of the domestic bovine meat productivity, and its agricultural fields produce a third of the country's grain. The variability and spatial dependence between the soil physical attributes and soybean yield were evaluated in a crop rotation planted on a degraded brachiaria pasture, on a dystroferric Red Latosol of an experimental farm of the State University of Sao Paulo (UNESP), in the 2005/2006 growing season. The linear and spatial correlations between these attributes were also studied, to determine conditions that would allow increased agricultural productivity. In the above pasture area, a grid was installed with 124 plots, spaced 10.0 x 10.0 m and 5.0 x 5.0 m apart, in a total area of 7,500 m2. From the linear and spatial point of view, the high grain yield can be explained by the number of grains per plant and soil macroporosity. The high variability observed for most soil properties indicated that the crop - livestock integration system results in environmental heterogeneity of the soil.


In the medical field, the measurement of blood flow characteristics is often necessary. more specifically, blood pressure is an essential measure when it comes to assessing health. all over the world, many people suffer from hyper- or hypotension, and as it is known that these diseases can lead to serious complications, it is of great interest to determine the blood pressure with high accuracy. Nowadays, such information requires the use of specific materials; the present method for the measurement of the arterial pressure, by applying pressure using an armband (with a control device called sphygmomanometer), is known to introduce significant errors due to the inadequacy of the band dimensions (both the length and the circumference). The objective of the present research is to study and simulate the discharge of the blood in an artery subjected to external strains using theoretical developments and a numerical approach. Based on these modelling results, the response of the fluid to the external pressure of the band can be studied, and finally appropriate corrective factors for the true pressure and the measured pressure could be assessed. This research has been carried out with the aim of sharing medical and engineering views on the subject. The artery can be modelled as a deformable pipe, where the blood flowing in it is a fluid with specific properties. Thus, two complementary and interconnected domains are covered, solid mechanics (to obtain analytic relations between the strains and the deformations, using either linear or non-linear theories) and fluid mechanics (to study the discharge of blood in a deformable pipe, using finite volume methods), therefore considering the problem as a loose fluid–structure interaction (fSI). These two domains, which are well studied for common materials in civil engineering applications, are applied here not only to specific materials but especially to uncommon structures that, besides the somehow common fSI developments, lead to the investigation and research of very specific boundary conditions, giving them a physi cally based behaviour. at present, the research has reached the penultimate step, with the two main mentioned axes being fully developed and tested on their own. In particular, the boundary conditions developed for the models have been investigated and modelled in depth.


A hydraulic model was developed in order to evaluate the potential energy recovery from the use of centrifugal pumps as turbines (PATs) in a water distribution network characterized by the presence of private tanks. The model integrates the Global Gradient Algorithm (GGA), with a pressure-driven model that permits a more realistic representation of the influence on the network behaviour of the private tanks filling and emptying. The model was applied to a real case study: a District Metered Area in Palermo (Italy). Three different scenarios were analysed and compared with a baseline scenario (Scenario 0 – no PAT installed) to identify the system configuration with added PATs that permits the maximal energy recovery without penalizing the hydraulic network performance. In scenarios involving PAT on service connections, the specification of PAT operational parameters was also evaluated by means of Monte Carlo Analysis. The centralized solution with a PAT installed downstream of the inlet node of the analysed district, combined with local PATs on the larger service connections, proves to be the most energy-efficient scenario.


To study the efficacy of yoga on the outcome of complicated pregnancy, 121 women attending antenatal clinic at Gunasheela Surgical and Maternity Hospital (GSMH) in Bangalore, India, were enrolled between 18-20 weeks of pregnancy in a prospective, matched, observational study. Sixty-eight women were in the yoga group and 53 women in the control group. Women were matched for age, gravida and Doppler velocimetry scores of umbilical and uterine arteries. Yoga practices including physical postures, breathing and meditation were practised by the yoga group, one hour daily, from the date of entry into the study until delivery. The control group walked half an hour twice a day during the study period. Compliance in both the groups was ensured. In babies the birth-weight is significantly higher (P < 0.018) in the Yoga group (2.78 +/- 0.52 kg), compared to the control group (2.55 +/- 0.52 kg). Occurrence of complications of pregnancy (pregnancy-induced hypertension, intrauterine growth retardation, pre-term delivery) shows lower trends in yoga group.


We examined how two distinct stimulus features, orientation and color, interact as contributions to global stimulus dissimilarity. Five subjects rated dissimilarity between pairs of bars (N = 30) varying in color (four cardinal hues, plus white) and orientation (six angles at 30° intervals). An exploratory analysis with individual-differences multidimensional scaling (MDS) resulted in a 5D solution, with two dimensions required to accommodate the circular sequence of the angular attribute, and red-green, blue-yellow and achromatic axes for the color attribute. Weights of the orientation subspace relative to the color subspace varied among the subjects, from a 0.32:0.61 ratio to 0.53:0.44, emphasis shifting between color and orientation. In addition to Euclidean metric, we modeled the interaction of color and orientation using Minkowski power metrics across a range of Minkowski exponents p, including the city-block (p = 1), Euclidean (p = 2) and Dominance metric (p → ∞) as special cases. For averaged data, p ~ 1.3 provided the best fit, i.e., intermediate between separable and integral features. For individual subjects, however, the metric exponent varied significantly from p = 0.7 to p = 3.1, indicating a subject-specific rule for combining color and orientation, as in Tversky and Gati's variable-weights model. No relationship was apparent between dimensional weights and individual p exponents. Factors affecting dimensional integrality are discussed, including possible underlying neural mechanisms where the interaction of the low-level vision attributes orientation and color might shift between uncorrelated (p = 1) or correlated (p ≥ 2) forms.


Kip, Annie, Grace, David, Ted. Five different people, one terrible night. There's a storm at Point Nepean, and the ocean has swept into the bay. Kip is in the wrong place at the wrong time. Annie is scared. David is looking. And Grace is gone. Enter Ted – with his vintage guitars and wild ideas, he's unlike anyone Kip has ever met. As each day passes and a search is mounted, Kip cannot help asking questions – of himself, of the people around him, of everything that happened on the night of the storm. But the biggest questions facing Kip are: Where is Grace? And who is Ted?


Communication networks for digital data transmission can be classified as either circuit switched, message switched, or packet switched. In circuit-switched networks, a direct communication link is established between two users by closing a sequence of switches at appropriate network node points. The message is then transmitted continuously as is done, for example, in the national telephone network. In a message-switched network, the complete message is routed from node to node in the network until it reaches its destination. At each node, the message is placed in a queue to await next-node routing decisions and retransmission to a neighboring mode. Because of this two-step process, message-switched networks are known as store-and- forward networks. The packet-switched network is also a member of the store-and-forward class and differs from the message-switched network in that each message is subdivided into basic units called packets before being offered as input to the network.


A solid organic ionic crystal, 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium iodide (EMII), was employed as a charge transfer intermediate (CTI) to fabricate all-solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). In addition, single wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) were incorporated into the CTI as the extended electron transfer materials (EETM), which can reduce charge diffusion length and serve simultaneously as catalyst for the electrochemical reduction of I3−. An all-solid-state DSSC with this hybrid SWCNT-EMII achieved a higher cell efficiency (1.88%), as compared to that containing bare EMII (0.41%). To further improve the cell efficiency, we utilized 1-methyl-3-propylimidazolium iodine (PMII), which acts simultaneously as a co-charge transfer intermediate and crystal growth inhibitor. The binary CTI (EMII mix with PMII) is in the form of solid as the weight percentage of PMII reaches 60%, at which a smoother surface morphology for the binary CTI is observed. The highest cell efficiency (3.49%) was obtained using a hybrid SWCNT-binary CTI. At-rest durability of the DSSC with the hybrid SWCNT-binary CTI was also studied and found to be far superior to that of a cell with an organic solvent electrolyte. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and laser-induced photo-voltage transient were used to substantiate the results.


A proper occlusion of the medial cerebral artery (MCA) determined by laser Doppler during cerebral ischemia in rat models is an important inclusion criteria in experimental studies. However, a successful occlusion of the artery does not always guarantee a reproducible infarct volume which is critical to validate the efficacy of new protective drugs. In this study, we have compared the variability of infarct size in ischemic animals when the artery occlusion is monitored with laser Doppler alone and in combination with MRI during artery occlusion. Infarct volume determined at 24 hours was compared between animals with laser Doppler monitoring alone and in combination with MR angiography (MRA) and diffusion weighted images (DWI). Twenty-eight animals presented a successful occlusion and reperfusion determined by Doppler monitoring with an infarct size at 24 hours of 16.71 ± 11.58%. However, when artery occlusion and infarct damage were analyzed in these animals by MRA and DWI, 15 animals were excluded and only 13 animals were included based on Doppler and MRI inclusion criteria, with an infarct size of 21.65 ± 6.15% at 24 hours. These results show that laser Doppler monitoring is needed but not enough to guarantee a reproducible infarct volume in rat ischemic model.


The manufacturing complexity of many high-tech products results in a substantial variation in the quality of the units produced. Post manufacturing, the units are classified into vertically differentiated products. These products are typically obtained in uncontrollable fractions, leading to mismatches between their demand and supply. We focus on product stock-outs due to the supply-demand mismatches. Existing literature suggests that when faced with product stock-outs, firms should satisfy all unmet demand of a low-end product by downgrading excess units of a high-end product (downward substitution). However, this policy may be sub-optimal if it is likely that low-end customers will substitute with a higher quality product and pay the higher price (upward substitution). In this paper, we investigate whether and how much downward substitution firms should perform. We also investigate whether and how much low-end inventory firms should withhold to strategically divert some low-end demand to the high-end product. We first establish the existence of regions of co-production technology and willingness of customers to substitute upwards where firms adopt different substitution/withholding strategies. Then, we develop a managerial framework to determine the optimal selling strategy during the life cycle of technology products as profit margins shrink, manufacturing technology improves, and more capacity becomes available. Consistent trends exist for exogenous and endogenous prices.


Cooperative broadcast aims to deliver a source message to a locally connected network by means of collaborating nodes. In traditional architectures, node cooperation has been at the network layer. Recently, physical layer cooperative schemes have been shown to offer several advantages over the network layer approaches. This form of cooperation employs distributed transmission resources at the physical layer as a single radio with spatial diversity. In decentralized cooperation schemes, collaborating nodes make transmission decisions based on the quality of the received signal, which is the only parameter available locally. In this case, critical parameters that influence the broadcast performance include the source/relay transmission powers and the decoding threshold (the minimum signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) required to decode a transmission). We study the effect of these parameters on the number of nodes reached by cooperative broadcast. In particular, we show that there exists a phase transition in the network behavior: if the decoding threshold is below a critical value, the message is delivered to the whole network. Otherwise, only a fraction of the nodes is reached, which is proportional to the source transmit power. Our approach is based on the idea of continuum approximation, which yields closed-form expressions that are accurate when the network density is high.


The mixing of floes of different thickness caused by repeated deformation of the ice cover is modeled as diffusion, and the mass balance equation for sea ice accounting for mass diffusion is developed. The effect of deformational diffusion on the ice thickness balance is shown to reach 1% of the divergence effect, which describes ridging and lead formation. This means that with the same accuracy the mass balance equation can be written in terms of mean velocity rather than mean mass-weighted velocity, which one should correctly use for a multicomponent fluid such as sea ice with components identified by floe thickness. Mixing (diffusion) of sea ice also occurs because of turbulent variations in wind and ocean drags that are unresolved in models. Estimates of the importance of turbulent mass diffusion on the dynamic redistribution of ice thickness are determined using empirical data for the turbulent diffusivity. For long-time-scale prediction ( k5 days), where unresolved atmospheric motion may have a length scale on the order of the Arctic basin and the time scale is larger than the synoptic time scale of atmospheric events, turbulent mass diffusion can exceed 10% of the divergence effect. However, for short-time-scale prediction, for example, 5 days, the unresolved scales are on the order of 100 km, and turbulent diffusion is about 0.1% of the divergence effect. Because inertial effects are small in the dynamics of the sea ice pack, diffusive momentum transfer can be disregarded.


This paper focuses on African policy positions on migration to Europe and towards cooperation on migration with the EU and its Member States. It draws on existing research to discuss the key features and drivers of migration policies in Africa.
Paying attention to both commonalities and variations across different national economic and political contexts, the paper discusses seven inter-related factors that inform, influence and determine the policy approaches of African countries: (i) the common view that migration and development are intrinsically linked; (ii) the political regime type and domestic politics (both of which can influence governments' responsiveness to human rights issues, public demands related to bilateral agreements on migration both from within the country and outside); (iii) the financial gains to be made from cooperation with the EU in the form of development aid as well as remittances; (iv) diplomacy, geographic proximity and routes to Europe; (v) policy and capability limitations of current migration governance structures; (vi) lobbying by migration facilitators and, in some cases, corruption; and (vii) the pan-African agenda of integration, especially on the mobility of persons.
Considering the dynamics of past and existing Africa-Europe agreements, I argue that the power asymmetry (financial and diplomatic) between Europe and Africa has distorted the priorities of Africa and created pressure to implement policies that give precedence to Europe's interests over those of African countries and migrants. The paper further discusses the implications of these dynamics in the Africa-Europe migration partnership, including the challenges and opportunities for more effective cooperation in the future.


" The jester is brother to the sage"- Arthur Koestler

"Wicked problems" as defined by Horst Rittel in his pivotal text Dilemmas in a general theory of planning (1973), to this date provides a significant mode of rethinking questions of complexity in architecture. Recent interest in alternative instruments to frame complexity due to various forms of crisis (environmental, economic, refugee, etc.) and the resulting discussions on new instrumentalities or more specifically what John Law (2004) identifies as after method (ways of dealing with mess) opens the need to rethink the discourse on research methods and their relation to wicked problems in architecture. Although Rittel's original paper has led to research projects in many fields such as sociology, organizational learning, information theory, software design, product design etc., apart from a small number of researchers such as Champory Rith and Hugh Dubberly (2007) there is very little direct discussion on wicked problems in architecture. In addition, while most people identify Rittel's work in the context of information theory, information systems, conversation theory they pay less attention to the broader systemic component and humanities related aspects of his work. In this paper I will discuss a studio experiment with a device called "Fun machines" as a method of rethinking wicked problems in relation to architecture.

Systems which are identified in the context of the studio as fun machines are in fact carefully constructed timely architectural devices as a reaction to cultural agitants in forms of multiple crisis in the spheres of labor, migration flows, housing, environmental, educational. Whilst Rittel's discussion on the nature of wicked problems is at the crux of the theoretical framework, in addition it engages with two other types of discourses to formulate a theoretical framework. Firstly it engages with the " non- trivial machine" as identified broadly by the second generation of systems theorists (Heinz von Foerster, Gordon Pask) and the systemic notions of "information" and "heuristics" that the second-order systems framework engenders. The studio also draws on 1960/70s appropriations of these concepts within architecture by systems practitioners such as Archigram and Cedric price. Secondly, it engages with the philosophical discourse on humor as identified in the work of Sigmund Freud (humor and the unconscious), Henri Bergson (humor and the social), Gilles Deleuze (the connection between sense and nonsense), and Arthur Koestler (bis-association and the techniques of humor in problem framing).

Drawing on the aforementioned theoretical framework the pilot studio focused on wicked problems in the context of East Germany more specifically Dessau and the surrounding socio-political and environmental contexts. The wicked problems chosen by the students were transferable across other East German cities. The problems of migration, Germany's efforts to balance these migration trends with the push of refugees towards the East, the lack of proper jobs and social infrastructural systems in, the disconnection between educational sites such as the University of Applied sciences in the former Bauhaus compound and the wider context of the city, the attitude towards outsiders or migrants, media and education systems in the GDR period and there contemporary effects, were chosen as starting points to their investigations. The resulting heuristics of the fun machines and their representations in the form of a comic strip has four specific features themes in relation to some of the core concerns laid out in Rittel's 1971 paper.

The fun machine as a device facilitates the non-taming of the wicked problems. It exposes the multiple feedback loops of complexity in these problems and allows the architect to reframe these processes in a recursive manner. For Rittel wicked problems were another way of rethinking the discussion on the significance of instrumental knowledge in architecture. Particularly instrumental knowledge as something that does not deal with "what is" (science) and "what it means" (humanities) but rather as something that relates to " what matters" (pragmatics). Fun machines create mattering maps.
Paradox or contradictions are significant components of wicked problems. When converted to a tame problem, these contradictions are reduced to simple problem statements. Using Koestler's notion of "bis-association" the fun machine utilizes paradoxes as a productive factor in the generation of the machine. Discordant codes, hidden incongruities are made explicit. According to Rittel design emerges through conflict and controversy. The fun machine is a conflict/ controversy map.
The fun machine plays with language. According to Rittel wicked problems need to be reframed constantly. The fun machine utilizes word play in its many forms ( pun, witticism, perversions of rhythm and rhyme to engage in re-languaging of the identified problem.
The fun machine allows for a Clowning of the self and the construction of alter egos. It operates as a tool for designers to rethink their own subject position and agency. This idea of clowning allows one architect to assume multiple voices at the same time and voice the contradictory positions within the designing self. This method of not taking yourself seriously allows for other voices and criticisms that are part of the design framework to become apparent.
More specifically the project is part of a broader research and education experiment on rethinking the encounters between architecture, systems theory and wicked problems. It is an attempt to reframe ways of teaching Rittel's concept of wicked problem and its relevance to contemporary discussions on research methods in architecture. The fun machine is not only a device to rethink how wicked problems are framed through humor but also remain as a way of introducing the concept and discourses of systemics to graduate students of architecture as a core discourse in there academic program or design studio education. In the presentation I will flesh out the discussion developed in 3 earlier paragraphs as 3 sections with special reference to the pilot studio project (including the drawbacks). It is hope that this will generate a broader conversation on ways of developing the project further. In a complex world where wicked problems become an inevitable part of the everyday life of an architect it is hoped that the fun machines will provide young architects with a tool for thought, action, activism, and if nothing else a method of survival in times of frustration.


The representation of the visual field in areas V3 and V4 of the macaque was mapped with multiunit electrodes. Twelve Macaca fascicularis were studied in repeated recording sessions while immobilized and anesthetized. V3 is a narrow strip (4–5 mm wide) of myeloarchitectonically distinct cortex located immediately anterior to V2. It contains a systematic representation of the central 35–40 degrees of the contralateral visual field; the representation of the upper quadrant is located ventrally in the hemisphere and that of the lower quadrant, dorsally. There is a small gap between the dorsal (V3d) and ventral (V3v) portions of V3. The representation of the horizontal meridian is adjacent to that in V2 and forms the posterior border of both V3d and V3v. Most or all of the anterior border of V3d consists of the representation of the lower vertical meridian. The entire anterior border of V3v consists of the representation of the upper vertical meridian. V4 is a strip of myeloarchitectonically distinct cortex 5–8 mm wide, immediately anterior to V3. It contains a coarse, but systematic, representation of approximately the central 35–40 degrees of the contralateral visual field. The representation of the upper visual field is located ventrally in the hemisphere. Most of the representation of the lower visual field is located dorsally. The posterior border of V4 corresponds to the representation of the vertical meridian, and the representation of the horizontal meridian is located at or near its anterior border. In both V3 and V4, the representation of the central visual field is magnified relative to that of the periphery. In both areas, the size of receptive fields increases with increasing eccentricity; however, at a given eccentricity, the receptive fields of V4 are larger than those of V3.


This Article examines the Colorado right to keep and bear arms, in the nineteenth century. Part I describes one the arms of early Coloradans, including Indians, mountain men, and gold rush immigrants. Part I also covers the dramatic improvements in firearms technology that took place in the quarter-century before 1876.
Part I then explains some of the conditions that made Colorado's arms culture different from neighboring territories. Because settlers were remote from any functioning government, they initially had to make their own governments. They created a Colorado tradition of popular self-government that still thrives today. Collectively, the settlers used their arms to defend Colorado from Confederate aggression during the Civil War. Soon after, war with the Arapaho and Cheyenne tribes wiped out trade routes from the states, leaving Coloradans near starvation. The settlers survived because they had the arms to fight for survival. The pre-statehood period is one reason the 1876 Colorado Constitution affirms the importance of the individual right to arms for personal defense and for collective defense.
Finally, Part I surveys some of the leading firearms businesses of early Colorado — businesses that helped make Denver the "emporium" of the Rocky Mountains.
Part II examines the structure of the Colorado Constitution. It begins with the 1875-76 Colorado Convention. It then examines structure of the Colorado Constitution that relate to the right to arms, including the principles of government at the beginning of the Constitution: that inherent rights precede government; that the people have the right to alter the government; and that fundamental human rights, including self-defense, are inalienable.
Part III analyzes the arms rights language chosen by the Convention and then adopted by the people. Each phrase in Colorado provision is examined, showing how Colorado sometimes followed or differed from other states.
Coloradans chose the strongest language available to secure the right to arms. Immigrant-friendly, Colorado specified that the right belongs to every "person," not solely to the "citizen." Personal defense and collective defense were both of fundamental importance, and each was expressly included in the constitutional right. The most important means of collective self-defense are the state militia (article XVII) and the posse comitatus of able-bodied males, who may be summoned by elected County Sheriffs or other appropriate officials (article XIV).
Notwithstanding the broad general language, Coloradans did favor one type of gun control — restricting the concealed carrying of arms. That was the only gun control expressly authorized by the constitutional text, which removed concealed carry from the right to bear arms.
Part IV examines several interpretive issues. First, what types of arms are implicated by the text of the Colorado guarantee? Second, should this understanding by modified by an idea in the personal notes of Territorial Justice E.T. Wells, a distinguished Colorado Founder? Third, how did arms change in the years following the 1876 Colorado Constitution, and did the changes affect Coloradans' views of what types of arms laws were permissible? Finally, what types of gun control laws were enacted in Colorado in the nineteenth century?


Medicalized Motherhood: Perspectives From the Lives of African-American and Jewish Women. Jacquelyn S. Litt. Piscataway, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2000. 224 pp. ISBN 0-8135-- 2782-1. $20 (paper). In the early decades of the 20th century, an increasingly powerful medical establishment in the United States began to bring American mothering practices under its purview. Through dissemination of ideas about mothering and supervision of American mothers, doctors attempted to replace traditional mothering practices with scientifically derived ones. Building on this social history of "medicalized motherhood", Litt's study of Jewish and African American women who raised children in Philadelphia during the 1930s and 1940s explores how medical discourse figured in women's everyday lives. Breaking away from typical studies of medicalization, Litt shifts the focus from formal medical institutions to the negotiated meanings and uses of expert discourses in everyday life. She asks: How did mothers apply expert ideas about child rearing in their daily practice? How did these ideas affect their perceptions of mothering? To address these questions, Litt interviewed 20, mostly middle-class, Jewish women, and 18 African American women, some middle class and some poor. The two groups of ethnoracially marginalized women occupied very different positions vis-a-vis the medicalization discourse. Whereas Jewish women were viewed as potential recipients of assimilation and modernization, African American women were considered unworthy objects of maternal education. Following an overview of the concepts medicalized motherhood and "scientific motherhood", the book is organized in two parts. The first part examines medicalized mothering in the context of migrancy and social mobility. Jewish and middleclass African American women eagerly embraced medicalization. For these upwardly mobile women, medical practices functioned primarily as a collective strategy for social advancement. In contrast, the mothering practices of poor African American women, who lacked the social and economic resources necessary to maintain modern mothering practices while facing a racist medical establishment, continued to embody collective caretaking and experiential knowledge. The second part of the book focuses on women's ethnically and racially segregated networks. Whereas Jewish and middle-class African American women's networks facilitated their embrace of and access to medicalized mothering, poor African American women's networks were oriented toward everyday survival, weakening both the desirability and possibility of orienting childcare to the directives of medical discourse. Integrating class, gender, and race dynamics, Litt's book contributes to the literature on women's relationship to medical authority. …


Abstract Poás Volcano (Costa Rica) resumed phreatic activity on 24 March 2006 after twelve years of quiescence. From March 2006 to June 2010, the initial phase of the ongoing eruption cycle, 110 phreatic eruptions were reported. This study presents the temporal variations in the chemical and isotopic (δD and δ18O) compositions of Laguna Caliente crater lake for the period prior to the eruption until June 2010. No systematic relationship with the phreatic eruptive activity exists. A combined mass and Cl budget analysis enables quantification of the seepage rate (7 kg s−1), the input rate of the 'volcanic fluid' (Qf), and the Cl concentration (Cle) in the evaporation plume (13 300 mg l−1). A modelling procedure for variable seepage rates leads to more realistic estimates of 50–100 kg s−1, which better represent the observed lake water chemistry, hence suggesting dynamic fluid recycling between the lake and the underlying magmatic–hydrothermal system. The high Cl concentration in the evaporation plume and the dynamic fluid recycling at the lake bottom characterize Laguna Caliente as an 'open-air' fumarole, discrediting water chemistry as an efficient monitoring tool at the classic monitoring frequency. A conceptual model of phreatic eruptions is linked to our observations.


We present experimental observations and corresponding numerical simulations illustrating the difference-frequency generation of mid-infrared radiation using few-cycle near-infrared-to-visible pulses, which yields conversion efficiencies above 12% in beta-barium borate crystal. Type I and type II phase-matching are shown to yield qualitatively different intensity-scaling behavior, with the former showing higher overall efficiency, especially with the addition of a zero-order wave plate for modifying the polarization state of the pulse, and the latter having a better stability of the spectrum versus input intensity.


North Korea's efforts to obtain technology related to weapons of mass destruction (WMD) were recently revealed when two Japan-based traders were convicted for attempting to illegally transport sensitive materials. Historically, North Korea has acquired much of its WMD-related technology and training from abroad, particularly China and the Soviet Union; today, North Korea's procurement networks employ a sophisticated mix of front companies, brokers, and transshipment strategies. Over the last decade, about a half-dozen cases of WMD-related trafficking have surfaced, demonstrating the extent of foreign technology and know-how obtained by North Korea. The country's trafficking threatens international security and the viability of the global efforts to stem the flow of sensitive dual-use technologies. The use of front companies and transshipment destinations reveals a network that is continuously evolving in response to U.N. sanctions and increased nonproliferation-focused export controls in supplier countries like Japan. The convictions are noteworthy in that they are based on Japan's "catch-all" controls, designed to encompass even the most innocuous dual-use items if intended for WMD programs. While North Korea's WMD-related procurement networks continue to evolve, national and regional countermeasures may be able to keep pace, especially if bolstered by multilateral sanctions such as those currently in place against North Korea. Japan's export control system reflects what may be an innovative variant of counterproliferation—one characterized less by traditional military action and more by intelligence gathering, investigative capacity, regional information-sharing, and police action. The authors explore how Tokyo's efforts may serve as a useful model for other countries seeking to implement effective nonproliferation-related trade controls.


Passage of the Project BioShield Act of 2004 evinced an executive and legislative desire to increase government-controlled laboratory space dedicated to studying dangerous pathogens. Pursuant to this Act, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) awarded generous construction grants to research universities nationwide. Unsurprisingly, siting disputes have subsequently arisen over the placement of several of these proposed laboratories in densely populated areas. Because NIH chose not to complete a programmatic environmental impact statement (PEIS), the potential litigation endgames are suboptimal. This fuels a larger debate over the relevance of PEISs in general in light of their recognized value but sporadic invocation. This Note uses a game theory model to argue that initial completion of a thorough PEIS would have led NIH to propose laboratories in areas with comparatively lower population densities. This preferable but currently unattainable outcome demonstrates the need for reform. To that end, this Note concludes with recommendations for legislative, executive, and judicial modernization of PEISs.


Conventional contact ultrasonic inspection is typically performed on relatively flat surfaces. Indications for common configurations such as welded plates and T and Y connections can be plotted and located with ease. In many cases newer ultrasonic units will even do the calculations for the inspector as long as accurate information for wedge angle, wall thickness, wedge delay, and in some cases, the outside diameter (OD) and inside diameter (ID) is input into the ultrasonic unit. However, on those occasions when inspection is performed in the circumferential direction, consideration should be given to what the sound beam is actually doing in the test specimen. When conducting circumferential scans, it is important to understand that the sound path for one leg of sound is going to be increased based on the ratio of the inside diameter to the outside diameter. If the refracted (inspection) angle selected is too great, a vee path will not exist and a complete inspection of the cross section will be impossible to achieve. Figure 1 shows the differences between a flat scan and a circumferential scan using the same refracted angle. As can be seen, both the sound path and the surface distance are greater for a curved part than for a flat part of the same thickness.


Given the increase in the number of States and non-State actors becoming active in space, and the increased reliance that militaries have on space technologies, there are growing concerns about the risk of a conflict taking place in outer space. There is currently no binding international legal instrument that effectively deals with conflicts in space. As will be elaborated in this paper, the probability of the conclusion of such an agreement or of any non-binding soft-law instrument in the near future is also very low. We believe that innovative means ought to be devised in this regard. One such means could be the development of a Manual on International Law Applicable to Military Uses of Outer Space (MILAMOS), which would follow in the footsteps of the San Remo Manual on International Law Applicable to Armed Conflict at Sea, the Harvard Manual on International Law Applicable to Air and Missile Warfare, and the more recent Tallinn Manual on International Law Applicable to Cyber Warfare.


The R3 (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) system of waste management specified by Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) waste management framework is the pathway to sustainable environment. This system which is practiced in advanced countries is given little or no preference in Nigeria where open waste dumping is mostly practiced. Questionnaire based survey was employed to determine the awareness of the effects of open waste dumping by individuals. A physical survey was carried out to assess the risks posed by open waste dumping on the physical environment and health of individuals. Findings from the questionnaire-based survey indicated that many individuals are aware of the risks posed by open waste dumping system but have little or no knowledge of the R3 waste management standard for proper waste management. The physical survey pointed out that open waste dumping leads to infrastructural dilapidation and environmental degradation from drainage blockage and flooding. The findings also revealed that open waste dumping is responsible for outbreak of diseases such as Cholera, Diarrhoea, Malaria, Tetanus, Lassa fever, Typhoid and Yellow fever, Hookworm, and other parasite infestation as well as the promotion of fecal contamination of the hands, food and water that may result in fecal-oral transmission diseases. Hence, this method of waste management is responsible for water pollution, land pollution and the emission of obnoxious odour and also aid climate change and global warming through the release of Green House Gases (GHGs). From the risk evaluation carried out, simple and effective processes and technologies must be employed to aid the R3 practice for domestic recycling of specific waste.


Acoustic source (speaker) tracking in the room environment plays an important role in many speech and audio applications such as multimedia, hearing aids and hands-free speech communication and teleconferencing systems; the position information can be fed into a higher processing stage for high-quality speech acquisition, enhancement of a specific speech signal in the presence of other competing talkers, or keeping a camera focused on the speaker in a video-conferencing scenario. Most of existing systems focus on the single source tracking problem, which assumes one and only one source is active all the time, and the state to be estimated is simply the source position. However, in practical scenarios, multiple speakers may be simultaneously active, and the tracking algorithm should be able to localise each individual source and estimate the number of sources. This thesis contains three contributions towards solutions to multiple acoustic source tracking in a moderate noisy and reverberant environment. The first contribution of this thesis is proposing a time-delay of arrival (TDOA) estimation approach for multiple sources. Although the phase transform (PHAT) weighted generalised cross-correlation (GCC) method has been employed to extract the TDOAs of multiple sources, it is primarily used for a single source scenario and its performance for multiple TDOA estimation has not been comprehensively studied. The proposed approach combines the degenerate unmixing estimation technique (DUET) and GCC method. Since the speech mixtures are assumed window-disjoint orthogonal (WDO) in the time-frequency domain, the spectrograms can be separated by employing DUET, and the GCC method can then be applied to the spectrogram of each individual source. The probabilities of detection and false alarm are also proposed to evaluate the TDOA estimation performance under a series of experimental parameters. Next, considering multiple acoustic sources may appear nonconcurrently, an extended Kalman particle filtering (EKPF) is developed for a special multiple acoustic source tracking problem, namely "nonconcurrent multiple acoustic tracking (NMAT)". The extended Kalman filter (EKF) is used to approximate the optimum weights, and the subsequent particle filtering (PF) naturally takes the previous position estimates as well as the current TDOA measurements into account. The proposed approach is thus able to lock on the sharp change of the source position quickly, and avoid the tracking-lag in the general sequential importance resampling (SIR) PF. Finally, these investigations are extended into an approach to track the multiple unknown and time-varying number of acoustic sources. The DUET-GCC method is used to obtain the TDOA measurements for multiple sources and a random finite set (RFS) based Rao-blackwellised PF is employed and modified to track the sources. Each particle has a RFS form encapsulating the states of all sources and is capable of addressing source dynamics: source survival, new source appearance and source deactivation. A data association variable is defined to depict the source dynamic and its relation to the measurements. The Rao-blackwellisation step is used to decompose the state: the source positions are marginalised by using an EKF, and only the data association variable needs to be handled by a PF. The performances of all the proposed approaches are extensively studied under different noisy and reverberant environments, and are favorably comparable with the existing tracking techniques. Declaration of originality I hereby declare that the research recorded in this thesis and the thesis itself was composed and originated entirely by myself in the School of Engineering at The University of Edinburgh. Xionghu Zhong Edinburgh October 2010


Introduction Efforts to understand interruptions now span much of the last decade and a half. Often thought to negatively impact patient safety, some now acknowledge that interruptions may be beneficial and actually necessary for safety and high quality care. This study seeks a framework for differentiating between interruptions that are detrimental and those that are beneficial. Methods A mixed-methods approach at a US Level 1 trauma centre included direct observation of 13 registered nurses (RNs), survey of 47 RNs, retrospective observation of hands-free communication devices, and modelling of observed interruptions to key performance measures. Results On average, RNs were interrupted every 11 min, with 20.3% of their workload triggered by interruptions. While 85% of RNs agreed that interruptions place their patients at risk, only 21% agreed that all should be eliminated. During one 90-min period, 18 original events spawned 68 interruptions, 50 of these repeat messages. A statistical model, with patient measures of time and comfort, revealed that alarms and call lights returning RN's attention to the patient outside the patient room are beneficial, while interruptions in the patient room are generally detrimental. Triangulating the results, we present an emerging framework for differentiating between beneficial and detrimental interruptions based on the impact of interruptions on the RN's steady treatment and attention to the patient. Conclusions A mixed-methods approach can help distinguish between detrimental and beneficial interruptions. While interruptions breaking the delivery of steady treatment and attention to the patient are detrimental, those returning the RN's focus to the patient, as well as those supporting patient-clinician and clinician-clinician communications are beneficial. This insight may be helpful to healthcare delivery teams tasked with improving interruption-laden processes.


The numerical simulation of large-scale virtual acoustics and physical modelling synthesis is a computationally expensive process. Time stepping methods, such as finite difference time domain, can be used to simulate wave behaviour in models of three-dimensional room acoustics and virtual instruments. In the absence of any form of simplifying assumptions, and at high audio sample rates, this can lead to simulations that require many hours of computation on a standard Central Processing Unit (CPU). In recent years the video game industry has driven the development of Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) that are now capable of multi-teraflop performance using highly parallel architectures. Whilst these devices are primarily designed for graphics calculations, they can also be used for general purpose computing. This thesis explores the use of such hardware to accelerate simulations of three-dimensional acoustic wave propagation, and embedded systems that create physical models for the synthesis of sound. Test case simulations of virtual acoustics are used to compare the performance of workstation CPUs to that of Nvidia's Tesla GPU hardware. Using representative multicore CPU benchmarks, such simulations can be accelerated in the order of 5X for single precision and 3X for double precision floating-point arithmetic. Optimisation strategies are examined for maximising GPU performance when using single devices, as well as for multiple device codes that can compute simulations using billions of grid points. This allows the simulation of room models of several thousand cubic metres at audio rates such as 44.1kHz, all within a useable time scale. The performance of alternative finite difference schemes is explored, as well as strategies for the efficient implementation of boundary conditions. Creating physical models of acoustic instruments requires embedded systems that often rely on sparse linear algebra operations. The performance efficiency of various sparse matrix storage formats is detailed in terms of the fundamental operations that are required to compute complex models, with an optimised storage system achieving substantial performance gains over more generalised formats. An integrated instrument model of the timpani drum is used to demonstrate the performance gains that are possible using the optimisation strategies developed through this thesis.


In the last decade, business and life coaching programmes have rapidly proliferated in the People ' s Republic of China. Such programmes promise radical self-transformations aiming at individual success and social responsibility. The methods of most coaching programmes popular in China today are characterised by strict discipline and emotional expressivity, which are enacted in personal bonds between participants and coaches. This article describes and analyses these processes of self-transformation for the case of the rapidly growing ' Leadership Programmes ' (LP). We outline the social background and emergence of LP programmes, present the typical features of LP training and discuss the consequences of self-transformation as seen by participants and outsiders. Altogether, these leadership programmes constitute an important new platform where ethical subjectivities are created and negotiated among new middle-class Chinese; subjectivities that are supposed to be enterprising, responsible, and expressive.


The emergence of new replicating entities from the union of simpler entities characterizes some of the most profound events in natural evolutionary history. Such transitions in individuality are essential to the evolution of the most complex forms of life. Thus, understanding these transitions is critical to building artificial systems capable of open-ended evolution. Alas, these transitions are challenging to induce or detect, even with computational organisms. Here, we introduce the DISHTINY (Distributed Hierarchical Transitions in Individuality) platform, which provides simple cell-like organisms with the ability and incentive to unite into new individuals in a manner that can continue to scale to subsequent transitions. The system is designed to encourage these transitions so that they can be studied: Organisms that coordinate spatiotemporally can maximize the rate of resource harvest, which is closely linked to their reproductive ability. We demonstrate the hierarchical emergence of multiple levels of individuality among simple cell-like organisms that evolve parameters for manually designed strategies. During evolution, we observe reproductive division of labor and close cooperation among cells, including resource-sharing, aggregation of resource endowments for propagules, and emergence of an apoptosis response to somatic mutation. Many replicate populations evolved to direct their resources toward low-level groups (behaving like multicellular individuals), and many others evolved to direct their resources toward high-level groups (acting as larger-scale multicellular individuals).


We have isolated a mutant of Bacillussubtilis deficient in DNA polymerase I, denominated polA42, which shows a reduced ability to repair the damage to DNA by UV radiation, MMS and mitomycin C;the ability to perform recombination is not appreciably impaired.DEAE cellulose chromatography allows the separation of polymerases I and II from the parental strain;a simple procedure is also described which allows to separate rapidly the polymerases II and III of the mutant strain. The three separated polymerases have similar catalytic properties but they can be distinguished for their sensitivity to inhibitors: PCMB inhibits polymerases II and III but not polymerase I; HPUra inhibits only polymerase III. All three enzymes are unaffected by nalidixate. The DNA synthesis occurring in cells of the polA42 strain permeabilized with toluene is inhibited by nalidixate, whereas the synthesis occurring in polA(+) toluenized cells is unaffected by the drug. The polA gene has been mapped by transduction and localized between the phe(12) and argA(3) genes.


Preclinical evaluation of drug candidates in experimental animal models is an essential step in drug development. Humanized mouse models have emerged as a promising alternative to traditional animal models. The purpose of this mini-review is to provide a brief survey of currently available mouse models for studying human xenobiotic metabolism. Here, we describe both genetic humanization and human liver chimeric mouse models, focusing on the advantages and limitations while outlining their key features and applications. Although this field of biomedical science is relatively young, these humanized mouse models have the potential to transform preclinical drug testing and eventually lead to a more cost-effective and rapid development of new therapies.


We study the monotonicity of sender's equilibrium strategy with respect to her type in signalling games. We use counterexamples to show that when the sender's payoff is non-separable, the Spence-Mirrlees condition cannot rule out equilibria in which the sender uses non-monotone strategies. These equilibria can survive standard refinements as incentives are strict and the sender plays every action with positive probability. We provide sufficient conditions under which the sender's strategy is monotone in every Nash equilibrium. Our conditions require the sender's payoff to have strictly increasing differences between the state and the action profile and to be monotone with respect to each player's action. We also identify and fully characterize a novel property on the sender's payoff that we call increasing absolute differences over distributions, under which every pair of distributions over the receiver's actions can be ranked endogenously. Our sufficient conditions fit into a number of applications, including advertising, warranty provision, education and job assignment.


Recent cases involving ethical scandals on the juvenile court bench have caught the interest of legal scholars, judges, practitioners and the public. This article proposes a new theoretical framework for assessing these problems and articulates a series of vital ethical reforms related to them.Despite their distinct role in an atypical court, juvenile court judges are not subject to unique ethical standards. Most jurisdictions have adopted the ABA Model Code of Judicial Conduct as the ethical code guiding juvenile court judges - the same standards as any other judge. However, this Model Code, intended to apply to any person in a decision-making capacity, was created for a more conventional type of judging than is expected from a juvenile court judge. Because these standards do not address the exceptional roles and challenges facing juvenile court judges, the potential for ethical violations and injustice is significant.This article therefore recommends innovative textual revisions designed to provide much-needed ethical guidance to juvenile court judges in three critical areas: (1) ex parte communications; (2) competence; and (3) demeanor and decorum. The implementation of ethical guidelines tailored for this specialized court will remedy an existing flaw in the scheme of judicial ethics, while reinforcing judges' abilities to determine the best outcomes for troubled youth.


In the present study was designed and realized a new similar to the PNA. It is a chiral nucleo-γ-peptide, dabPNA, isomer of the aegPNA unit and characterized by a 2,4-diaminobutyric acid (DABA)-based backbone carrying the carboxymethylated nucleobase on its α amino group.
Differently from aegPNA monomers, dabPNA presents a shorter backbone (3C between the nitrogen atom and the carbonyl) and an enhanced distance between the nucleobase and the backbone, i.e. 3 atoms (1N+2C) instead of 2C in aegPNAs. Furthermore, in comparison with ornPNA that binds to RNA forming a stable triplex, daba-based PNA has a methylene group less in the backbone.
To achieve dabPNA oligomers, the new monomers tL-dab, tD-dab, aL-dab and aD-dab were synthesized in good yield using suitable protected building blocks and characterized by NMR and ESI-MS techniques.
Initially, the homothymine oligomers (tL-dab)12 and (tD-dab)6 were synthesized, using a synthetic strategy that ensured the maintenance of chirality during the coupling steps, and tested for hybridization towards natural nucleic acids. No binding evidence with both DNA (dA12) and RNA (A12) was revealed by CD and UV experiments. Furthermore, the insertion of a single tL-dab unit in the middle or at N-terminus of a homothymine aegPNA chain leads to a decreased binding efficiency to the target DNA in comparison to full aegPNA.Since dabPNAs based on L- and D-DABA don't bind natural nucleic acids, we explored the possibility that complementary nucleopeptides based on D or L-DABA could bind between themselves. This property would be interesting in order to develop novel DABA-based dendrimeric systems, as new materials, and also to realize new diagnostic tools, as for example new molecular beacon probe. To verify this interesting possibility, the monomers aL-dab and aD-dab were oligomerized to the homoadenine hexamers (aL-dab)6 and (aD,L-dab)6. In order to find the correct combination of chirality suitable for obtaining the binding, also the (tD,L-dab)6 oligomer were realized to perform the hybridization studies. From CD and UV experiments, binding evidence was revealed in the case of the complementary oligomers with alternate chirality, (aD,L-dab)6 and (tD,L-dab)6, even if the stability of the complex formed was not so high (Tm 11°C).
Furthermore, some interesting properties relative to the self-complementary oligomer (aL−dab-tD−dab)3 emerged from preliminary DLS experiments that evidenced the formation of multimeric aggregates for this system.
These results, together with the high serum stability of the DABA-based oligomers, suggest further studies on dabPNAs as new self-recognizing bio-inspired polymers, with the potentiality to develop new nanomaterials or new biotechnological tools in bioengineering and biomedical applications.


A search of the medical literature failed to reveal any articles that discuss pediatric injuries acquired on privately owned recreational trampolines. This study was undertaken to quantify and qualify pediatric injuries from recreational trampoline use. A group of 114 patients who presented to the Emergency Department at Primary Children's Medical Center in Salt Lake City, Utah, with injuries directly related to use of a trampoline are discussed. There was a 1.2:1 male-female ratio. The average age was 8.0 years. Forty-eight percent of the patients were injured on their family's trampoline, with the remainder injured on a friend's, neighbor's, relative's, or gymnasium's equipment. The majority of injuries involved group use of the trampoline and the youngest person in a group was most often the injured participant. Extremity injuries were seen in 55% of the patient and head or neck injuries in 37%. Seventy-five percent of the patients required radiographs, 23% hospitalization, and 17% operative intervention. The history of the trampoline and medical literature discussions concerning injuries and safety are reviewed.


The horizontal and vertical distribution of representatives of diazotrophic unicellular cyanobacteria was investigated in the subtropical northeast Atlantic Ocean (28.87 to 42.00°N; 9.01 to 20.02°W). Samples from stations encompassing different water conditions (from oceanic oligotrophic waters to upwelling areas and a temperature range of 13.1°C to 24.2°C) were size fractionated and analyzed for nifH by a nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and by tyramide signal amplification—fluorescence in situ hybridization (TSA‐FISH) using probe Nitro821. In samples from the surface, mixed‐layer depth, and deep chlorophyll maximum waters, most (> 50%) of the nifH recovered was from the 0.2–3 µm fraction and was consistent with TSA‐FISH counts. The < 3 µm Nitro821‐positive cells were more abundant than the larger cells, and the proportion of single cells was larger than that associated with particulate matter or with larger cells. Phylogenetic analysis of representative samples revealed that most of the sequences belong to diazotrophic unicellular cyanobacteria Group A (UCYN‐A or Candidatus Atelocyanobacterium thalassa). N2 fixation in the 0.2–3 µm fraction, putatively representing the activity of UCYN‐A, contributed more than 50% of the total N2 fixation. There was a positive relationship of this putative UCYN‐A abundance and activity with temperature, and a negative relationship with dissolved O2. The dominance of these putative UCYN‐A organisms in nitrate‐rich upwelling filament regions suggests that the activity of this group of organisms may not be strongly controlled by the availability of fixed N.