In the present century, the emergence of issues such as population growth, public demand
for living or working in urban centers, increasing use of land have allowed for existence of high rise
residential complexes necessary in most major cities of the world. Despite their benefits and advantages,
high-rise residential complexes have also given rise to some limitations and threats and have greatly
influenced the quality of urban life. Security is one of the indicators of life quality in cities and lack
of sufficient attention to this indicator can lead to significant social harms. Considering the need for
increasing security in the contemporary world, it is necessary to study security factors as well as the
mechanisms that seems necessary. The present study investigates the factors affecting the security of
inhabitants in High-rise residential complexes in Tehran; library studies was used for data collection
in the theoretical part of the research and the design indicators such as location and general form of
building, controllability of the spaces, guarding and electronic methods, and the use of the guard and
the fence, were categorized in order to increase security. Finally, these factors were analyzed in two
residential Complexes in Tehran (Vanak Park and Saman). For analyzing the case studies, documents,
existing maps, field observations and interviews were used, comparing, and eventually presented in five
qualitative sections of a statistical table. The findings indicate that visibility and surveillance play a major
role in increasing the security of residents in high-rise residential complexes.


Reptiles have an amazing diversity of life-history attributes ranging from the shortest- to longest-lived of vertebrate species. Estimating survival in wild populations is of key importance when understanding population dynamics and life-history evolution. However, data are lacking for a large and charismatic group of lizards, the chameleons. We conducted a Robust Design (RD) capture—mark—recapture (CMR) experiment on the Cape dwarf chameleon, Bradypodion pumilum, at two nested sites within the Cape Town Metropolitan Area, South Africa, in order to estimate survival and movement of adults in and around an isolated 3.5 ha patch of suitable habitat. Over a nine-week period, 97 individuals were identified in 379 captures from five primary capture sessions with three secondary events each. Analysis of CMR data provided evidence that smaller chameleons have a substantially lower survival per 10-day period than larger chameleons. RD analysis showed that males were more prone to temporary emigration than females, while open multi-strata analysis revealed that smaller chameleons more readily moved between the sites than larger chameleons. Our findings offer first important insights into chameleon survival and life-history dynamics, which suggest a more vagile subadult population and the possibility of male biased dispersal. Our results have implications for managing the conservation of threatened chameleon populations in highly fragmented urban habitats.


Because of the crucial role snowmelt plays in many watersheds around the world, it is important to understand and accurately quantify the melt process. As such, numerous mathematical models attempting to describe and predict snowmelt have arisen. There are two main categories of models: conceptual index models and more intricate energy balance models. The index models, like the degree-day or radiation index models, are practica enough for use in large basins for operational purposes; while the energy balance models, though they are complicated and require large amounts of data, can represent the physics behind melt and give more accurate representations of the spatial distribution of melt within small research basins. The ABC model presented here attempts to bridge the gap between these two extremes by providing a simple yet physically justifiable method that uses elevation and radiation indices together with some measurements to distribute melt over a watershed. This new model separates the energy that causes snowmelt into three components: a spatially uniforn component, a component that is proportional to elevation, and one that is proportional to solar illumination (which is determined by topography). Measurements of snowmelt at several topographically unique points (called index points') in a watershed are related to elevation and solar illumination through regression in order to factor the melt energy into the three separate components at each time step. The model is driven using inputs from snowmelt measurements at the index locations used to calibrate the regression at each time step. Then the spatial patterns of solar illumination and elevation are used to predict the spatial distribution of melt over the whole watershed. Field data supplemented with synthetically generated data is used to test the model.


ABSTRACT This review reflects on what the literature to date has taught us about how health systems of low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) respond to emerging infectious disease (EID) outbreaks. These findings are then applied to propose a conceptual framework characterising an EID prepared health system. A narrative synthesis approach was adopted to explore the key elements of LMIC health systems during an EID outbreak. Overarching themes ('core health system constructs') and sub-themes ('elements') relevant to EID preparedness were extracted from 49 peer-reviewed articles. The resulting conceptual framework recognised six core constructs: four focused on material resources and structures (i.e. system 'hardware'), including (i) Surveillance, (ii) Infrastructure and medical supplies, (iii) Workforce, and (iv) Communication mechanisms; and two focused on human and institutional relationships, values and norms (i.e. system 'software'), including (i) Governance, and (ii) Trust. The article reinforces the interconnectedness of the traditional health system building blocks to EID detection, prevention and response, and highlights the critical role of system 'software' (i.e. governance and trust) in enabling LMIC health systems to achieve and maintain EID preparedness. The review provides recommendations for refining a set of indicators for an 'optimised' health system EID preparedness tool to aid health system strengthening efforts.


Collaborative Infant Research: Promoting Reproducibility, Best Theory-Building. Abstract: The ideal of scientific progress is that we accumulate measurements and integrate these into theory, but recent discussion of replicability issues has cast doubt on whether psychological research conforms to this model. Developmental research – especially with infant participants – also has discipline-specific replicability challenges, including small samples due to high recruitment costs and limited measurement methods. Inspired by collaborative replication efforts in cognitive and social psychology, we describe a proposal for assessing and promoting replicability in infancy research: large-scale, multi-lab replication efforts aiming for a more precise understanding of key developmental phenomena. The ManyBabies project, our instantiation of this proposal, will not only help us estimate how robust and replicable these phenomena are, but also gain new theoretical insights into how they vary across ages, linguistic communities, and measurement methods. This project has the potential for a variety of positive outcomes, including less-biased estimates of theoretically-important effects, estimates of variability that can be used for later study planning, and a series of best-practices blueprints for future infancy research.


Accurate parameters of molecular hot-band transitions, i.e., those starting from vibrationally excited levels, are needed to accurately model high-temperature spectra in astrophysics and combustion, yet laboratory spectra measured at high temperatures are often unresolved and difficult to assign. Optical-optical double-resonance (OODR) spectroscopy allows the measurement and assignment of individual hot-band transitions from selectively pumped energy levels without the need to heat the sample. However, previous demonstrations lacked either sufficient resolution, spectral coverage, absorption sensitivity, or frequency accuracy. Here we demonstrate OODR spectroscopy using a cavity-enhanced frequency comb probe that combines all these advantages. We detect and assign sub-Doppler transitions in the 3${\nu}$${_3}$${\leftarrow}$${\nu}$${_3}$ spectral range of methane with frequency accuracy and sensitivity more than an order of magnitude better than before. This technique will provide high-accuracy data about excited states of a wide range of molecules that is urgently needed for theoretical modeling of high-temperature data and cannot be obtained using other methods.


Applying the concept of virtual history, it is possible to reconcile the Soviet history of East Prussia with what came before not only by writing history in a conciliatory and objective manner, but also by presenting the past as one. With this I mean that it is possible to transcend the time dimension and to supersede the notion of history as a chain of events. History need not be written in books as texts. It can be told as images, i.e., through the exposition of artefacts – archaeological objects – and images – photos as remnants from the past. The ultimate method of course is to make a movie where different times can be made to co-exist Another trick is to use a museum. In the small resort of Zelenogradsk at the seaside a couple of miles from Kaliningrad, there is a small museum – about Cranz. This was the German name of the town, whose 750th anniversary had been celebrated in 2002. The name of the museum is simply "Historical and Archaeological Museum". The idea behind the museum has obviously been to compress time, i.e., to make the past timeless or present all periods as equal before God (Less)


Brass Art's intervention into Freud's house attempted to grant its solid objects, furniture and rooms a light, apparitional quality. Their performances at Maresfield Gardens were recorded with three Kinect sensors, the undifferentiated laser's touch rendering all objects – alive, dead, static, breathing – with the same white, shining, pixellated brilliance. Objects and places that formed the props and settings for performances assume an intense luminosity, appearing to hover and tilt in a horizonless figure-ground. The interplay of focus, proximity and perception returns to consideration of the atemporal image. As artist Susan Hiller in her own observations of the Freud Museum states, 'Close consideration of its beautiful, utilitarian, tedious, scholarly, macabre, rare, banal, eerie, and sentimental objects produces a picture in which figure-ground relationships seem to constantly shift'. This article introduces the new, multi-screen sonic work On the Thread of One Desire in development by Brass Art. It examines the way in which their recorded performances draw attention to the unconscious, the atemporal and the uncanny, and how the work foregrounds the loop, the arc and the full 360o revolution, with the intention of amplifying and revealing some of the unfolding narratives embedded in Freud's London home.


For potential immigrants, the COVID-19 pandemic has reduced economic opportunities and increased risks both at home and abroad. We seek to understand how COVID-19 has impacted the calculations that govern one's decision to emigrate. Leveraging a unique panel survey of Guatemalans recently deported from the U.S., we explore how COVID-19 has affected deportees' economic well-being and the intent to re-migrate. We find that while COVID-19 does not measurably decrease deportees' (already poor) current economic conditions, the pandemic increases expectations of being worse off in the next year and uncertainty about future economic conditions. Furthermore, the pandemic also increases uncertainty about whether deportees intend to re-migrate in the coming year. This increase in uncertainty reflects the increased difficulty potential migrants face in weighing relative opportunities and risks during a transnational crisis, even as one's expectations about economic well-being in the home country become more pessimistic.


Parkinson's disease is a common progressive neurological illness for which there is no known cure. While the cardinal signs are tremor, bradykinesia or slowness of movement, muscle rigidity and postural instability Gahanshahi & Marsden, 1998, p.3) the patient may face an extended number of years experiencing all, or any combination of, iii the many other manifestations of the disease process. These manifestations include changes to various aspects of communication including loss of voice volume, diminished body language and loss of facial expression. All of these affect both verbal and non verbal communication. Given the progressive nature of Parkinson's disease the patient may often require both physical and emotional support for many years. The long term partner or spouse often provides this care and support. There is a paucity of literature discussing the impact of communication changes or difficulties on the partner or spouse. Thus a study into the life experience of the partners of people with Parkinson's disease who demonstrate communication problems is needed. The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of partners of people with this neurological diagnosis and whose communication is affected. A phenomenological approach was utilised to explore the impact of communication changes on the partner of a person with Parkinson's disease. Five participants took part in this study. Four of the participants responded to an advertisement placed in the Western Australian Parkinson's Association newsletter. The remaining participant volunteered to be part of the study while she and her husband were on holiday in Perth, Western Australia from overseas. All of the participants were female and their husbands had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease for extended periods of time, ranging from five to fifteen years. In depth interviews were audio taped and transcribed verbatim. The data from these interviews were analysed using the method described by Colaizzi (1978). Data were described and interpreted and common themes were extrapolated and analysed. The three major themes emerging from the interviews were: The Partner/Carer Interface, Emotional Turmoil and Ways of Coping. The Partner/Carer Interface is made up of three sub themes, "life before diagnosis", "the point of diagnosis" and "sharing the disease." The second theme, Emotional Turmoil, includes the sub themes "confronting the physical, "the condition always wins" and "social isolation". The third theme addressed the skills necessary to cope with the future, or Ways of Coping. This theme encapsulates minor themes of "knowing the beast", "sharing the burden" and finally preparing for "the road ahead". iv Based upon study findings recommendations are made in relation to care provision, patient education and community support. The need for further research has been identified, specifically into the diverse gender issues related to communication and the role of care giver. In addition the need for health professionals with an extensive knowledge base of this neurological condition has been identified as essential for quality nursing management.


Nowadays, an ever-increasing number of service providers takes advantage of the cloud computing paradigm in order to efficiently offer services to private users, businesses, and governments. However, while cloud computing allows to transparently scale back-end functionality such as computing and storage, the implied distributed sharing of resources has severe implications when sensitive or otherwise privacy-relevant data is concerned. These privacy implications primarily stem from the in-transparency of the involved backend providers of a cloud-based service and their dedicated data handling processes. Likewise, back-end providers cannot determine the sensitivity of data that is stored or processed in the cloud. Hence, they have no means to obey the underlying privacy regulations and contracts automatically. As the cloud computing paradigm further evolves towards federated cloud environments, the envisioned integration of different cloud platforms adds yet another layer to the existing in-transparencies. In this paper, we discuss initial ideas on how to overcome these existing and dawning data handling in-transparencies and the accompanying privacy concerns. To this end, we propose to annotate data with sensitivity information as it leaves the control boundaries of the data owner and travels through to the cloud environment. This allows to signal privacy properties across the layers of the cloud computing architecture and enables the different stakeholders to react accordingly.


The phenomenon of magnetism is one of the key components of today's technological progress. Magnetic interactions and magnetic materials are essential for the scientific disciplines of physics, chemistry and biology, making this subject truly multidisciplinary. This thesis is devoted to magnetic properties of two classes of substances. The first class represents the complexes of the ions of paramagnetic metals, primarily of the gadolinium(III) ion. These molecular compounds have an important application as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agents for medical diagnostics. The design of more efficient MRI contrast agents requires a detailed knowledge of their magnetic properties. The other part of the thesis considers the broad class of recently discovered carbon nanostructures and materials. Their extraordinary physical properties foretell future applications of these materials in electronics, medicine and other fields. For instance, carbon nanotubes loaded with gadolinium(III) ion clusters are highly efficient MRI contrast agents. By using accurate density functional theory calculations in combination with classical molecular dynamics simulations, we determine hyperfine and quadrupole coupling constants on the nuclei of a first coordination sphere water molecule in gadolinium(III) aqua complexes. These parameters play a crucial role in the description of the key function, relaxivity, of MRI contrast agents. We found that the spin-polarization effect induced by the paramagnetic gadolinium(III) ion results in a Fermi contact hyperfine coupling of both the 1H and 17O nuclear spins and affects the dipole hyperfine coupling of the 17O nuclear spin of the inner coordination sphere water molecule. The 17O quadrupole coupling parameters of a coordinated water molecule are found to be very similar to that of neat water. We also apply the methodology of first principles molecular dynamics in order to perform realistic simulations of paramagnetic metal ions in water solution. This allows us to assess structure, dynamics and hyperfine interactions on the water molecules in the inner and outer coordination spheres of two metal ions: chromium(III) and gadolinium(III). In order to perform such calculations, we develop a novel approach for the evaluation of hyperfine coupling constants in pseudopotential electronic structure techniques. Our method takes into account the contribution of core electrons. In the second part of the thesis, we consider magnetic properties of a broad class of carbon nanostructures derived from two-dimensional graphene. We find that in metallic carbon nanotubes, an isotropic Knight shift, a hyperfine contribution to the nuclear magnetic resonance chemical shift, shows a regular dependence on the nanotube diameter. By using a more general approach, we reveal systematic dependences of magnetic interactions between arbitrarily distributed spin-polarized conduction electrons and nuclear spins in the carbon nanostructures derived from graphene. This knowledge is important for interpreting the results of magnetic resonance experiments and for evaluating the performance of carbon nanostructures as materials for alternative approaches in electronics, spintronics and quantum information processing based on electron and nuclear spins. In addition, we study magnetism in graphene induced by single-atom defects. The predicted itinerant magnetism due to the defect-induced states in graphenic materials may account for the experimental observations of ferromagnetism in irradiated graphite which has potential applications in technology. Finally, our first principles molecular dynamics study reveals the mechanisms of the irradiation-induced defect formation. We show that certain defect structures in layered carbon materials can be created selectively by irradiation at predefined conditions.


The absence of strong spiritual and ethical dimensions in twentieth-century development helped to produce one of the most violent, environmentally impoverished, and economically unequal centuries in human history. Ethical and spiritual contributions in the twenty-first century are needed to rectify these pitfalls. Religions can help societies to wrestle with the bedrock question of societal advancement: What does it mean to be a developed society? In doing so, religious traditions help to create the new worldviews needed to build sustainable civilizations in the new century. Fortunately, many religious traditions are awakening to their vital role. Inspiring Progress identifies the value that religions add to the debate about societal advancement, and it encourages the world's religious traditions to step up their involvement in shaping the development path of the human family in the twenty-first century.


Abstract Since the late 20th century, research linking youth and religion has begun to grow. Such growth has been given a particular boost in the UK by the AHRC/ESRC Religion and Society Programme. This article addresses what we can say about today's British religious young person through review of new research findings from the Programme. One certainly can no longer assume that a British religious young person is a practising Christian. He or she is likely to engage with a range of offline and online resources in order to learn more about their faith, and feel some tensions between their commitments and engagement with wider society. Social class and other factors will affect his or her capacity to engage with religion and civil society. Like their non-religious peers, today's British religious young person values relationships and authenticity. Tensions between structure and agency in our neoliberal age emerge through their stories.


The Plan Asia Regional Office invited ICRW to carry out a three-country study in Bangladesh India and Nepal to inform its programming to prevent child marriage among girls. ICRW gathered qualitative data in each country from girls and boys parents community leaders and government officials. This report highlights these stakeholders perceptions of the causes and consequences of child marriage and their views about the effectiveness of prevention strategies adopted by Plan other NGOs and the government. In particular the study examines: Education patterns and changing trends among girls and boys; Aspirations of young persons and parents; Perceptions of the importance of marriage; Decision-making and child rights; Knowledge about and adherence to marriage laws. The report concludes with timely program policy and research recommendations that are relevant not only in South Asia but in other regions where child marriage is a major health development and human rights issue.


We present a 10-GHz hybrid actively and passively mode-locked fiber ring laser with a dispersion imbalanced nonlinear loop mirror (DI-NOLM), whose nonlinear switching characteristic can make the laser operate at additive pulse modelocking (APM) mode or additive pulse limiting (APL) mode. When the laser operated at APM, 5.45 ps of transform-limited pulse series were obtained. When the laser was biased at APL region, supermode noise was suppressed and the laser output was more stable.


Unique outcrop exposures of two salt diapirs, a secondary salt weld, and associated syndiapiric strata in northeast Mexico offer an important perspective on salt-influenced petroleum reservoirs by allowing recognition and description of salt-related sandstone depocenters. Spectacular progressive unconformities and halokinetic sequences, coupled with laterally continuous exposures, permit accurate correlation and interpretation of syndiapiric units. Analysis of the syndiapiric Upper Cretaceous, Delgado Sandstone Member (Potrerillos Formation) delineates regional shoreline sediment dispersal locally impacted by diapiric relief and the distribution and internal character of salt diapir-proximal sandstone depocenters. Sequence-stratigraphic correlation defines striking relationships between highstand (HST) and transgressive systems tracts (TST), stratal thinning trends, and salt diapir relief. Transgressive systems tract and highstand systems tract strata show thinning and lithofacies shoaling trends toward diapirs; however, the latter is more pronounced in the HST and occurs at a greater distance from salt diapirs (within 1–2 km [0.6–1.2 mi]). Sandstone depocenters, roughly 0.5–1.0 km (0.3–0.6 mi) wide and 0.5–0.2 km (0.3–0.1 mi) thick, are present in both TST and HST strata and consist of sandier, shallower water facies. However, depocenters are better developed in TST strata as thicker stratigraphic sections on updip diapir margins. We propose that sandstone depocenters formed by preferential sediment reworking and shelf ridge development on landward diapir margins during marine transgression. Elevated diapir relief and higher subsidence rates adjacent to salt diapirs likely enhanced this process. Additionally, depocenters adjacent to El Papalote diapir are smaller and contain deeper water facies than the age-equivalent depocenters adjacent to El Gordo diapir, suggesting that it had higher, broader sea-floor relief.


As of September 30, 2007, the IRS had $282 billion of unpaid assessments on its books. Of that amount $58 billion, over 20%, represents the unpaid payroll taxes due from employers. The majority of payroll taxes due from employers results from income and social security taxes collected by the employer and held in trust for the Government. Internal Revenue Code section 6672 gives the Government the right to pierce the corporate veil to pursue collection of these payroll taxes collected for the Government but not paid. Because it creates personal liability, 6672 can serve as a powerful tool in the fight against the growing tax gap. Unfortunately, 6672 is flawed in the way it operates due to its position in the Code as an assessable penalty. The interest charged under 6672 only runs from the date of the actual assessment against the individual and does not relate back to the due date of the corporate employment tax return. The flaw allows those responsible for failing to pay over payroll, and other, taxes collected for the Government to avoid paying interest for two years or more. Additionally, the flaw provides an incentive for those responsible to withhold payment and delay assessment. Those studying the causes of the IRS tax collection gap uniformly identify the creation of incentives to pay and removal of delayed collection attempts as keys to successful collection and reduction of the gap. Using the model provided by the tax gap literature, this paper identifies the source of the problem with 6672 and recommends a solution. The sources of the problem are rooted in the history of the statute. It grew from a criminal provision to one of civil penalty. When the codification effort took place in 1954, 6672 was placed with the assessable penalties even though everyone, including the Supreme Court, agrees that it is a collection device and not a penal provision. The solution is to remove 6672 from the assessable penalty provisions and make clear in the statute that interest charges against the individuals responsible accrue from the due date of the corporate return. Moving the statute will not only remove the impediment caused by the disconnect on the charging of interest but will provide an opportunity to craft a statute that creates incentives to pay rather than disincentives.


Occasional screening of food and water quality available to organisms in protected areas could be beneficial to their successful conservation. This is important for areas receiving regular human visitors and exhibiting activities that may be detrimental to ecosystem health. This study determined the intestinal protozoan species harboured by insectivorous and granivorous birds within the Jos Wildlife Park, Nigeria and whether the two avian feeding guilds are more susceptible to protozoan infection through water or food (grass seeds and insects). Special boxes were used to collect faecal samples from trapped birds. Samples were later analysed in the laboratory for protozoans. Both food and water utilised by the birds in the area were microscopically screened. The composition and abundance of intestinal protozoans between the two feeding guilds did not show significant differences. However, considering parasite species individually, the degree of infection by protozoans such as Giardia lamblia was highly related to the range of infection sources that a feeding guild was exposed to. The composition of parasites observed in the two feeding guilds was strongly linked to both water bodies and avian diet obtainable in the Park. These observations showed that birds in the Park are orally susceptible to infection with protozoans, some of which have been reported to cause health implications in birds. Thus, any measure to curtail environmental contamination by the parasites may improve ecosystem health and survival of avian species in the Park.


The influence of stream age and environmental variables on meiofaunal assemblages were examined for 15 streams across a temporal gradient of 200 yr in Glacier Bay National Park, southeast Alaska. Meiofaunal assemblages were found in all streams but varied in diversity and abundance. Copepod species found had a wide range of habitat affinities and good dispersal abilities; we argue that the observed copepod assemblage in a given Glacier Bay stream is determined by habitat availability rather than dispersal constraints. Two‐way indicator species analysis (TWINSPAN) classified the meiofaunal assemblages largely according to stream age. Stepwise multiple regressions were performed on environmental variables and meiofaunal species richness or abundance, and predictors differed between taxa. The sorting coefficient, a measure of the diversity of particle sizes in the sediment, best explained the variation in both total harpacticoid copepod abundance and meiofaunal taxon richness (together with stream gradient). Harpacticoids were more abundant in relatively well‐sorted streams and declined as the range of particle sizes within the streams increased; the opposite pattern to that found in the marine environment. The abundance of Bryocamptus spp. was best explained by models incorporating stream age and indicators of habitat complexity, whereas abundance of Tardigrada, Chaetogaster, and Moraria affinis increased with increasing substrate stability. A habitat templet was developed for the meiofaunal assemblages in Glacier Bay streams. Stream age (incorporating stream habitat complexity) formed one axis and the second axis was the sorting coefficient.


Given the prevalence of riots throughout human history, the lack of normative theorizing about riots when compared to other forms of political violence is striking. I hypothesize this lacuna is due to the riot's extra-institutionality. Riots are extra-public because crowds riot rather than institutionalized groups such as parties or social movements. Riots are extra-state because they violate the state's monopoly on violence. Riots are extra-legal because they are a form of unlawful assembly. Riots are extra-Parliamentary because they operate outside of the normal legislative process. When political theorists have scrutinized each of these four institutions, they also have identified reasons to resist each of them. By considering the justifiable reasons for resisting each of these foundational institutions I propose some provisional criteria for a justifiable riot and argue that political theorists should pay attention to the normative dimension of riots.


Abstract Parents of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are often hindered by their carer status as they seek to obtain and maintain employment opportunities. These parents can incur financial, social, and psychological distress related to their inabilities to commit to the demands of a typical work environment. This paper seeks to identify the course of employment for parents following a child's diagnosis. This paper also seeks to delineate factors that influence continued employment despite carer status, as well as the factors that prevent continued employment. A sample of 10 parents of children with a primary diagnosis of ASD and a sample of 10 parents of children with a primary diagnosis of ADHD were interviewed concerning their employment experiences before and after the diagnoses of their children. The interviews were analyzed using interpretive phenomenological analysis and produced several discrete themes. Participants identified a desire for normality, as well as financial motivation, as the primary factors determining continued employment. These parents also reported various barriers to employment such as lack of availability of adequate childcare, colleague and manager misunderstanding, inflexible organizational policies, and inaccessibility of opportunity. These findings offer a qualitative overview of the vocational struggles of parents of children with ADHD and ASD while implying the necessity of support and education for this often-overlooked group of carers, as well as those who employ them.


Sensor enabled simulators may help in training and assessing clinical skill. Their are imitations on the locations current sensors can be placed without interfering with the clinical examination. In this study novel fabric force sensors were developed and tested. These sensors are soft and flexible and undetectable when placed in different locations in the simulator. Five sensors were added to our current sensor enabled breast simulator. Eight participants performed the clinical breast examination on the simulator and documented their findings. There was a significant relationship for both clinical breast examination time (r(6) = 0.99, p < 0.001) and average force (r(6) = 0.92, p < 0.005) between our current sensors and the new fabric sensors. In addition the senors were not noticed by the participants. These new sensors provide new methods to measure and assess clinical skill and performance.


As the need for qualified medical and allied health professions has grown, so too have the natural feeder undergraduate programs of kinesiology across the country. With an impending "enrollment cliff," it is necessary to assess the needs of our students and be proactive in addressing curricular issues, initiatives, internship opportunities, and academic advising support. The purpose of this article is to highlight formal and informal data collection strategies and suggest solutions to undergraduate issues that pertain to retention and success. Data from current students and alumni shed light on issues that plague kinesiology programs and present unique challenges to students as they attempt to pursue careers in the medical and allied health fields. Two R1 kinesiology programs identified similarly themed issues using informal and formal data collection approaches. Those themes were undergraduate major identification, career options, curricular issues, financial concern, and emotional fortitude. Suggested solutions and current best practices are provided to address the common themes that hold our undergraduates back from achieving their career goals.


Successive CAP reforms have increased the exposure of European agriculture to market forces. As a result, farmers have become preoccupied with their competitiveness and have progressively adopted best practices. However, these long-run technological adjustments could be slowed down by eventual shortrun financial constraints. This contribution measures the role of these financial constraints on the catching-up component of total factor productivity for a panel of French farmers in Nord-Pas-de-Calais region during 1994-2001. For TFP estimates based on non-parametric distance functions, the second stage econometric results indicate that the technological adaptation is significantly conditioned by financial constraints.


The first Westerner to meet Mao Tse-tung and the Chinese Communist leaders in 1936, Edgar Snow came away with the first authorized account of Mao s life, as well as a history of the famous Long March and the men and women who were responsible for the Chinese revolution. Out of that experience came Red Star Over China, a classic work that remains one of the most important books ever written about the birth of the Communist movement in China. This edition includes extensive notes on military and political developments in China, further interviews with Mao Tse-tung, a chronology covering 125 years of Chinese revolution, and nearly a hundred detailed biographies of the men and women who were instrumental in making China what it is today."


Small farms are the largest employment and small business group among the poor. Their businesses use mostly labor and local resources and face local constraints, but at the same time, they are affected by increasingly complex national and global economic changes, which lead to shifts in optimality and viability of structures and of their business priorities. This paper identifies basic forces of change in the small farm economy, proposes policies that may support productive and socially acceptable transformations, and highlights research priorities. The paper concludes that policies should primarily focus on people's income opportunities in the rural economy, where small farmers often hold multiple farm and non-farm jobs, rather than be narrowly concerned with viability of the small scale farm enterprise.


Stable carbon isotopic ratios of a suite of uraniferous hydrocarbons (Lower Jurassic) from the northeast Wales ore field and related deposits have been determined. The isotopic compositions (–11.41 to –29.36% PDB) become increasingly heavy with increasing uranium content (0.001–35.78wt%). Fractionation is thought to occur by repeated preferred bond breaking between 12C–12C atoms with subsequent volatile production and loss, removing 12C atoms. The extent of fractionation may also be controlled by the amount of stable aromatic material in the organic matter. Petrographic features of these uraniferous hydrocarbons, and others from occurrences in South Africa and Scandinavia, suggest reaction of radiation with organic matter. Alpha particles may be responsible for the development of high reflectance haloes around uraninite grains in uraniferous hydrocarbons from the Witwatersrand region. Bitumen reflectance falls in a non-linear trend from 3.75 to 1.75% (in oil) in a 20 μm radius round the grains. During irradiation, bitumen anisotropy (measured as bireflectance) is developed in response to increasing aromaticity and the development of a short range ordered structure. Bireflectance measurements vary from 0.047%–0.173% in samples from around the Irish Sea Basin, and 0.001%–0.294% in a suite of samples from Scandinavia. The degree of anisotropy is dependent on the bitumen composition, and varies between sample suites of differing geological histories.


The kinesins form a superfamily of molecular motors that use energy from ATP turnover to generate force. They carry out a diverse set of cellular functions by transducing this force to transport cargos along microtubule (MTs) tracks. Kinesins are distributed among 14 families with different structural organisations all sharing a conserved motor domain that is comprised of a catalytic site for ATP hydrolysis and a MT binding site. Kinesins perform different functions with numerous key roles in mitosis.
The kinesin-5 family member, Eg5, has been shown to play a key role in cross-linking and separating anti-parallel MTs. Inhibition of Eg5 leads to the formation of characteristic monoastral spindles, cell cycle arrest and may also lead to apoptotic cell death. This has led to Eg5 being identified as a potential target for drug development in cancer chemotherapy. To understand the mode of interaction between the protein and the potent drug candidate ispinesib, an extensive study using biochemical and biophysical techniques together with crystallography is presented in this thesis.
Sustained chemotherapy imposes selection pressure on cancer cells, and can generate resistant mutants against chemotherapeutic agents. We have employed crystallographic, biochemical and biophysical approaches to understand the underlying molecular mechanism of resistance to Eg5 inhibition. These approaches establish that the point mutations in the inhibitor-binding pocket decrease the potency of SB743921, a potent Eg5 inhibitor binding at a site near loop L5, by more than 1000-fold. By determining crystal structures of the mutant Eg5 motor domains in the presence and absence of SB743921 and combining the results with calorimetric and molecular dynamics studies, we show that the development of resistance is due to changes in the global flexibility of the protein.
In a second approach to address drug resistance towards allosteric inhibitors binding at the loop L5 site, we have also characterised inhibitor binding to a novel and distinct allosteric pocket in Eg5. This is the first experimental characterisation of protein-ligand interactions in this new site. These studies also revealed an unexpected second site. Extensive biophysical characterisation was used to determine the importance of each site to the observed biochemical activity.
Finally, I have investigated kinesin-6 members as new targets for therapeutic intervention. Among kinesins involved in the mitotic phase, the members of kinesin-6 family are of particular interest as potential drug targets because of their important roles during the anaphase to telophase transition until completion of cell division by cytokinesis. This family consists of three members in humans; MKLP-1, MKLP-2 and MPP1 with a unique structural feature of a long insertion of around 100 amino acids in the loop L6 region. This unique feature makes them interesting not only as a drug target but also to understand their role in protein function. The motor domain of the kinesin-6 family members, MKLP-2 and MPP1 were cloned, expressed and purified and crystallisation trials were carried out. Moderately potent inhibitors were identified by biochemical screening of freely available compound collections. Selectivity analysis was also carried out against other kinesin members to provide specificity data about the inhibitor.
In collaboration with Christophe Labiere from Dr. Catherine Guillou's laboratory at the CNRS, Gif-sur Yvette, France, a SAR investigation of the MKLP-2 inhibitor paprotrain was carried out using 135 analogues. This required extensive biochemical screening against MKLP-2 to identify more potent analogues of paprotrain.
The first objective of this research is to investigate the mechanism by which existing Eg5 inhibitors block catalytic activity and the mechanism through which Eg5 develops resistance to these inhibitors. A second objective was to lay foundations for structural and biochemical characterisation of kinesin-6 family members. The results of this thesis provide a detailed understanding of Eg5 inhibition by ispinesib and describe an unexpected resistance mechanism towards allosteric Eg5 inhibitors dependent on unfavourable entropic effects in the mutant. The experimental characterisation of a new allosteric inhibitor binding site presented here, together with the crystal structure of an inhibitor binding at this site, provides a foundation for structure based design approaches. The work also provides an extensive study on MPP1 and MKLP-2 cloning, protein expression and purification together with screening and characterisation of their inhibitors.


There are four new titles in the fantastic "First Reading" series, aimed at children who are beginning to read by themselves. These are collectable editions with hardback bindings and ribbon markers to help foster pride of ownership of a "proper" book. This key series was developed in conjunction with reading expert Allison Kelly, a reading expert from Roehampton University. Every title has clear and compelling text that allows children to build their burgeoning reading skills and is accompanied by charming and highly appealing illustrations. They are also lovely for reading aloud to a younger child.


One might have thought that the defendant in the most celebrated case in the canon of American constitutional law would have left history a record of his reaction to the famous decision in Marbury v. Madison. (1) After all, the defendant whom William Marbury sued for delivery of his famed commission was none other than Secretary of State James Madison--the same statesman who played so essential a role in the adoption of the Constitution and its first amendments, and who certainly cared deeply about the place of judicial power in the federal republic. Perhaps Madison saw Marshall's opinion not as the exalted judicial decision its modern worshipers and idolaters have adored, but simply as an irritatingly adroit but limited political slap at the administration in which he played second fiddle to Jefferson's violin. (2) Whatever the explanation, Madison left no comment on the case to ponder (which might itself confirm a skeptic's notion that the decision has been completely overrated). There were, however, two other periods when Madison did reflect on the nature of judicial power and its particular importance in maintaining the equilibrium of both republican and federal government. One came during the mid-to-late 1780s, the point when he emerged as the leading constitutional theorist of the new republic (not to mention the Atlantic world). The second came a full three decades later, when Madison, only recently retired from the presidency as well as forty years of political service, was drawn into discussing other decisions of the Marshall Court that loomed far larger in the legal consciousness of the era than Marbury. In 1819, Spencer Roane, the leading critic of McCulloch v. Maryland (3) (and subsequently Cohens v. Virginia), (4) attempted to recruit both Madison and Jefferson into his campaign to demonstrate that the Supreme Court could not be the proper final arbiter of controversies affecting the boundaries of national and state power. Madison was no fan of Marshall's jurisprudence which, especially in McCulloch, relied too heavily on the same Hamiltonian arguments that had helped to drive him into political opposition in the early 1790s. But neither was he willing to join Roane in asserting that state and federal courts could be equally competent and authoritative in interpreting the federal structure of the Constitution. Madison's criticism of the reasoning of McCulloch and other concurrent decisions has to be weighed against his sympathy for the role that the Marshall Court was contriving to play--or at least should play, if it showed more restraint in framing its opinions. A careful reading of Madison's thoughts about judicial power, both in the late 1780s and again after 1819, casts useful light on his larger constitutional theory. Three critical concerns drove Madison's approach to the underlying problems of constitutional government in the 1780s. One was his appreciation of the implications of the principle of legislative supremacy that would naturally predominate in a republican form of government. This appreciation covered both the political and the institutional advantages that the legislature would enjoy over the two "weaker" departments of executive and judiciary, in part through its capacity to speak as the immediate voice of the people, but also by exploiting its very rulemaking authority to mask its encroachments on their proper functions. Madison's understanding of the nature of legislative power was extremely precocious and modern; he grasped the key fact that a republican assembly would exist not only to monitor the potential abuses of power by the executive, but also to make law in the positive sense of the term. (5) That perception was closely related to his second preeminent concern. The legislature might be politically and institutionally supreme, but its actions, Madison feared, would finally be driven by the interests and passions of its constituents, mustering as popular majorities or coalitions that would seek to use government instrumentally to pursue their own advantages. …


In recent years intensity modulated radiation therapy with photons (xIMRT) has gained attention due to its ability to reduce the dose in the tissues close to the tumour volume. However, this technique also results in a large low dose volume. Electron IMRT (eIMRT) has the potential to reduce the integral dose to the patient due to the dose fall off in the electron depth dose curves. This dose fall off makes it possible to modulate the dose distribution in the direction of the beam by selecting appropriate electron energies. The use of a computer based energy selection method was examined in combination with the IMRT technique to optimise the electron dose distribution. It is clearly illustrated that the energy optimisation procedure reduces the dose to lung and heart in a breast cancer treatment. To shape the multiple electron subfields (beamlets) that are used in eIMRT, an electron multi leaf collimator (eMLC) is needed. However, photons produced in a conventional electron treatment head could penetrate such an added eMLC, thus producing an undesirable dose contribution. The leakage levels normally achieved are acceptable for standard single electron field treatments but could become unacceptably high in eIMRT treatments where a lot of small subfields are combined. To limit this photon contribution, the photon MLC (xMLC) was used to shield off large parts of the photon leakage. The effect of this xMLC shielding on the reduction of photon leakage, the electron beam penumbras, and electron output (dose level), was studied using Monte Carlo methods for different electron treatment head designs. The use of helium as a mean to reduce the electron scatter in the treatment head, and thus the perturbating effect of the xMLC on electron beam penumbra and output, was also investigated. This thesis shows that the effect of the xMLC shielding on the electron beam penumbra and output can be made negligible while still obtaining a significantly reduced x-ray leakage dose contribution. The result is a large gain in radiation protection of the patient and a better dynamic range for the eIMRT dose optimisation. For this optimisation a computer based electron energy selection method was developed and tested on two clinical cases.


The aim of this research was to assess entrepreneurship education which is a relatively new phenomenon in Nigerian higher education institutions. Purposeful sampling was used to recruit the participants of the focus groups and the interviews. Research studies were also selected to demonstrate how diffusion of innovations theory provides a useful framework for understanding how change occurs within education domain. The study population includes lecturers and students of National College of Education, Polytechnics, and Universities clustered as higher institutions in Nigeria. Students and the lecturers were used in the study because the students are the direct beneficiary of entrepreneurship education and the lecturers are the direct facilitators of the entrepreneurship in Nigeria. Thematic analysis was adopted for the study and deductive coding technique was employed to extract utterances of the transcribed interviews. The findings indicated that those criteria employed in assessing entrepreneurship education which includes compatibility, complexity, observability, trialability, relative advantage and training are its driver in tertiary institutions in Nigeria and informs the academic community in Nigeria of the advancement of entrepreneurship education. It also reveals the importance of entrepreneurship education as a potential strategy to battle unemployment and serve as a tool for social, economy and societal development. The study proposes some managerial implications for all the entrepreneurship education stakeholders and offers suggestions for the future studies.


Objective: Recent evidence suggests that fluid overload may be deleterious to critically ill children. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association of early fluid overload with respiratory morbidity and mortality in patients admitted to a general PICU. Design: Retrospective cohort study. Setting: Single, tertiary referral PICU. Patients: Six hundred thirty-six patients aged 0–16 years invasively ventilated at 48 hours post admission, admitted between April 1, 2009, and March 31, 2013. Measurements and Main Results: Data collected included demographics, diagnosis, Pediatric Index of Mortality 2 score, and fluid overload percent at 48 hours from admission. Fluid overload percent was calculated as (cumulative fluid in – cumulative fluid out (L))/hospital admission weight (kg) × 100%. Outcome measures were oxygenation index at 48 hours from admission, death, and invasive ventilation days in survivors. Data are reported as median (interquartile range) and were analyzed using nonparametric tests. The median age was 1.05 years (0.3–4.2 yr). Fifty-three patients (8%) died. Median duration of ventilation in survivors was 5 days (3–8 d). Fluid overload percent correlated significantly with oxygenation index (Spearman &rgr;, 0.318; p < 0.0001) and with invasive ventilation days in survivors (Spearman &rgr;, 0.274; p < 0.0001). There was no significant difference in fluid overload percent between survivors and nonsurvivors. Regression analysis demonstrated that fluid overload percent was a significant predictor of both oxygenation index at 48 hours (p < 0.001) and invasive ventilation days (p = 0.002). Conclusions: Fluid overload at 48 hours was associated with oxygenation index at 48 hours and invasive ventilation days in survivors in a general PICU population. There was no association of fluid overload at 48 hours with mortality.


The objective of this study was to examine the effects of presynchronization and recombinant bovine somatotropin (rbST) on conception rates following a timed insemination (TAI) protocol in lactating dairy cows. A further objective included the evaluation of the efficacy of the Early Conception Factor (ECF) test kit. Recombinant bST may offer some benefit when used in conjunction with estrus synchronization and TAI. Presynchronization treatment consisted of two injections of PGF2α given 14 d apart, with the second dose administered 14 d prior to the initiation of a TAI protocol. A total of 216 lactating Holstein cows were presynchronized with PGF2α and then received GnRH (100μg) at 67 ± 7 d post partum (PP), administration of PGF2α (25 mg) 7 d later, another GnRH (100μg) administration 2 d after PGF2α, and were inseminated 8-18h later (OvSynch). First service conception rate (CR) was determined by rectal palpation at 42 ± 7 d after artificial insemination (AI). Treated cows (n=113) received rbST 67 ± 7 d PP whereas control cows (n = 113) were presynchronized without rbST. The cycling status of all cows was determined by paired milk P4 levels at 53 and 67 ± 7 d PP. No differences (P > 0.10) in conception rate were observed between control and rbST treated cows (44.7 and 40.7% respectively), nor was there any interaction of cyclicity and rbST. Milk samples were collected 7 d following AI for use in ECF test kit evaluation. Samples were stored at -20oC (n=216) and at 5oC (n=113) until assayed. Test results for frozen and refrigerated samples were compared to conception rates determined by rectal palpation at 42 ± 7 d after AI. The rate of false positive and negative results for frozen milk samples were 36.1 and 14.8% respectively, and 40.7 and 7.1% for refrigerated milk samples. Treatment with rbST at the time of the first GnRH injection of an OvSynch protocol did not significantly alter first service conception rates. Additionally, an acceptable 92.9% accuracy of the ECF test for the detection of open cows 7 d after AI using milk samples stored at 5oC was obtained.


This thesis presents the methods for automating the synthesis of multiprocessor real-time embedded systems. It describes an evolutionary technique of finding an affordable architecture for a multi-mode multi-task system while meeting the real-time constraints imposed by designers. First the synthesis problem is introduced and previous co-synthesis approaches to handle this problem are discussed. Then the description of the proposed co-synthesis framework for real time systems is presented. The co-synthesis framework consists of four main steps, namely processing element allocation, process assignment, scheduling and evaluation. The method determines a set of feasible solutions with optimized partitioning and real-time schedules for processes and data communication. The framework is capable of producing acceptable solutions for critical systems with hard real-time deadlines by employing process level prioritization and by meeting the process level deadlines. Moreover, the proposed scheduling methodology achieves better PE utilization as compared to the conventional non-preemptive scheduling technique. The co-synthesis method is demonstrated by applying it to examples from the literature and to industrial benchmarks, such as auto industry, telecommunication, networking and office automation.


We examine the effect of pharmaceutical patent protection on the speed of drug launch, price, and quantity in 60 countries from 2000-2013. The World Trade Organization required its member countries to implement a minimum level of patent protection within a specified time period as part of the TRIPS Agreement. However, members retained the right to impose price controls and to issue compulsory licenses under certain conditions. These countervailing policies were intended to reduce the potential static losses that result from reduced competition during the patent term. We take advantage of the fact that at the product level, selection into TRIPS "treatment" is exogenously determined by compliance deadlines that vary across countries. We find that patents have important consequences for access to new drugs: in the absence of a patent, launch is unlikely. That is, even when no patent barrier exists, generic entry may not occur. Conditional on launch, patented drugs have higher prices but higher sales as well. The price premium associated with patents is smaller in poorer countries. Price discrimination across countries has increased for drugs patented post-TRIPS and prices are negatively related to the burden of disease, suggesting that countervailing policies to offset expected price increases may have had the intended effects.


In this paper, we present a new approach to performing important classes of genomic computations (e.g., search for homologous genes) that makes a significant step towards privacy protection in this domain. Our approach leverages a key property of the human genome, namely that the vast majority of it is shared across humans (and hence public), and consequently relatively little of it is sensitive. Based on this observation, we propose a privacy-protection framework that partitions a genomic computation, distributing the part on sensitive data to the data provider and the part on the pubic data to the user of the data. Such a partition is achieved through program specialization that enables a biocomputing program to perform a concrete execution on public data and a symbolic execution on sensitive data. As a result, the program is simplified into an efficient query program that takes only sensitive genetic data as inputs. We prove the effectiveness of our techniques on a set of dynamic programming algorithms common in genomic computing. We develop a program transformation tool that automatically instruments a legacy program for specialization operations. We also demonstrate that our techniques can greatly facilitate secure multi-party computations on large biocomputing problems.


Large flow interchanges occur between free surface and subsurface flows of river training structures, such as in rock loose chutes based on pervious beds. The filtering action of the base pervious layer can improve the water quality but, at the mean time, reduce the minimum vital flow discharge. This paper, hence, aims to analyse the flow interchanges between the base material and the surface flow in presence of rock loose river structures (block ramps or rock chutes). Tests have been carried out in macro-roughness conditions for slopes ranging from 0.125 to 0.25. Different seepage inlet and outlet conditions have been tested in order to asses their influence on the maximum seepage capacity of both stilling basin and ramp base material. Finally, the effect of the seepage on the energy dissipation which occurs along the ramp has been studied.


The 1927–1928 Royal Commission on the Moving Picture Industry in Australia sought to strengthen the domestic film industry's competitiveness against foreign investment, technology and manpower. Although it concluded before the wide-scale rollout of sound exhibition, it began collecting evidence after the coming of sound had already begun to make waves. Beginning in 1924 and continuing beyond the Commission, agents of the US De Forest Phonofilms company, primed the local market for sound through a series of publicity events. Their activities lead the local trade press to dub the Australian Phonofilms franchise as the instigator of a 'Talkie War', challenging the Commission's ability to curtail the expansion of human capital and technology from the USA. Within a year of its conclusion, agents from the US Western Electric company arrived in Australia to wire the major capital city theatres with sound. Initially, this strengthened Hollywood's foothold in ways that the Commission was anxious to avoid. Hoyts Theatres intensified the 'Talkie-gear war' by backing the 'Australian-made' Markophone as a competitor to the US Fox–Movietone sound system. Hence, while the Commission failed to achieve its aims, local pioneers took action by innovating rival sound systems with local technology, engineering and showmanship. Markophone wired up the 'Talkie War' in face of local and international competition in ways that differed from nearly all alternative sound systems.


Solitaire of Love , an achingly lyrical novel by internationally acclaimed Latin American writer Cristina Peri Rossi, explores the sense of emotional exile that sexual passion can evoke. Only the fourth book of Peri Rossi's to be translated into English—the others are The Ship of Fools, A Forbidden Passion, and Dostoevsky's Last Night — Solitaire of Love showcases the mesmerizingly rhythmic language that has become the trademark of this award-winning and prolific author of novels, essay collections, poetry, and short stories.

Tracing the course of a relationship as it evolves into uncompromising self-destruction, the narrator of Solitaire of Love becomes addicted to his own passion and to the body of his beloved. Erotic, romantic love becomes bewitchment, producing a heightened state where time is measured in the rhythms of a chosen body and pride becomes subservient to obsession. The specifics of this other body trump any claim to ordinary existence for the narrator, as sex becomes a kind of idolatrous slavery and love becomes a mechanism for self-immolation. As in Peri Rossi's other works, an ambiguous sense of gender and sexuality arise from her uniquely experimental prose and mystically erotic logic. Language is subsumed into this process as a way to bear witness, to transfix and capture the love object. The limbo of obsession, as described by Peri Rossi, creates an infantilizing brand of loneliness, broken by flashes of joy, insight, fury, and fear.

This novel was originally published in Spanish in 1988.


Technology has long played a central role in the formation of Americans' sense of selfhood. From the first canal systems through the moon landing, Americans have, for better or worse, derived unity from the common feeling of awe inspired by large-scale applications of technological prowess. American Technological Sublime continues the exploration of the social construction of technology that David Nye began in his award-winning book Electrifying America. Here Nye examines the continuing appeal of the "technological sublime" (a term coined by Perry Miller) as a key to the nation's history, using as examples the natural sites, architectural forms, and technological achievements that ordinary people have valued intensely. American Technological Sublime is a study of the politics of perception in industrial society. Arranged chronologically, it suggests that the sublime itself has a history - that sublime experiences are emotional configurations that emerge from new social and technological conditions, and that each new configuration to some extent undermines and displaces the older versions. After giving a short history of the sublime as an aesthetic category, Nye describes the reemergence and democratization of the concept in the early nineteenth century as an expression of the American sense of specialness. What has filled the American public with wonder, awe, even terror? David Nye selects the Grand Canyon, Niagara Falls, the eruption of Mt. St. Helens, the Erie Canal, the first transcontinental railroad, Eads Bridge, Brooklyn Bridge, the major international expositions, the Hudson-Fulton Celebration of 1909, the Empire State Building, and Boulder Dam. He then looks at the atom bomb tests and the Apollo mission as examples of the increasing ambivalence of the technological sublime in the postwar world. The festivities surrounding the rededication of the Statue of Liberty in 1986 become a touchstone reflecting the transformation of the American experience of the sublime over two centuries. Nye concludes with a vision of the modern-day "consumer sublime" as manifested in the fantasy world of Las Vegas.


The first comprehensive study of the marine algal flora of Namibia including descriptions and illustrations of most species is presented. The main objective of this work is to report a flora that, until now, has scarcely been studied. The work compiles all the available information on the marine benthic flora of Namibia and provides new data about it composition and biogeography, as well as detailed descriptions and remarks of most of its species. The samples on which this study is based were collected between 1986 and 1989 in the eulittoral and the upper sublittoral zones of the north half of the Namibian coast. According to the present data, the marine benthic flora of Namibia comprises 196 taxa (147 Rhodophyceae, 20 Phaeophyceae, 15 Ulvophyceae, 6 Cladophorophyceae and 8 Bryopsidophyceae), 21 of which has not been recorded from this coasts. This temperate flora is mainly characterized by a low number of species, a low proportion of Phaeophyceae and a high degree of endemism. Concerning the species number, the flora is quite poor due to both the scarce availability of colonizable substratum and the low diversity of habitats. On the other hand, the low proportion of Phaeophyceae is the reason for which the R/P and (R+C)/P ratios take disproportionately high values and so they are not useful in this geographical area. As regards the degree of endemism, the marine benthic flora of Namibia includes quite a high number of taxa endemic to southern Africa (55 taxa; 28.1% of the flora); 25 of these 55 taxa (12.8% of the flora) are endemic to the biogeographic Benguela Marine Province and only Acrosorium cincinnatum is endemic to the Namibian coasts.


As part of the 50 year celebration of Applied Optics, the Optical Society has recognized the 50 most prolific authors for that journal during this period and asked them for reflections and comments on their careers and the field of optics. This is my contribution.


Using the Thera Suit in a Child with CP: A Case Report © Written By: Elizabeth C S Datorre, PT, DPT, MSPT, ATC Background and Purpose: Development of gross motor function in children with cerebral palsy has been a primary goal of physical therapist for decades. The purpose of this report is to describe how the Thera Suit combined with an Intensive Therapy Program, was used in a twelve-year-old boy diagnosed with cerebral palsy (CP). Methods: Prior to participating in the intensive therapy program with the Thera Suit he was classified using the Gross Motor Function Classification System and his gross motor abilities were measured with the Gross Motor Function Measure. The subject participated in intensive therapy with the Thera Suit for three weeks, Monday-Friday, 8:30 am -12:30 pm. In addition, to the program the boy also received a half an hour of aquatherapy and hippotherapy each of the weeks. At the conclusion of the three weeks, and after six months post intervention, the subject's gross motor abilities were measured with the Gross Motor Function Measure. Results: The subject demonstrated improvements at the conclusion of the three weeks in all categories of the Gross Motor Function Measure. The overall improvement from the baseline score was 8.66% without the use of assistive devices and 9.53% with assistive devices. The subject maintained these improvements when re-tested six months post intervention. Conclusion and Discussion: This case report suggests that the Thera Suit with the Intensive Therapy Program, including aquatherapy and hippotherapy, helps improve a patient's functional abilities. Also this case report supports the literature suggesting changing current physical rehabilitation


It is well established that axons regulate Schwann cell phenotype. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether axons influence the arrangement of Schwann cell microtubules (MTs). Using double- labeling immunocytochemistry and confocal microscopy, we show that MTs in undifferentiated Schwann cells are nucleated from and attached to a single MT organizing center (MTOC) that is associated with the centrosome. Physical contact with appropriate axons initiates a myelin- forming phenotype that disperses MT minus ends and induces multiple MT- nucleating sites in Schwann cell perinuclear cytoplasm. The axonal signal that initiates myelin breakdown during Wallerian degeneration induces multiple MTOCs and MT bundles in Schwann cell perinuclear cytoplasm and in cytoplasm between degenerating myelin ovoids. These results establish that axons influence Schwann cell MT distribution by regulating the location and number of MT-nucleation sites.


The purpose of this study was to compare the attitudes of parents and teachers to the use of pharmacological management or intervention for the child with ADHD in the classroom. Particular focus was placed on diflerences in attitude toward the use of stimulants, tOr the management of emotional/behavioural, cognitive/academic, social and classroom ofganizational behaviours of children with ADHD. Thirty female Western Australian primary school teachers and 90 female parents participated in the present investigation. Participants included: (a) parents of nonmedicated children with ADHD, (b) parents of medicated children with ADHD, (c) teachers in regular primary schools, and (d) parents of non-affected children. These participants were given an atti~ude questionnaire to determine their attitudes towards the use of stimulant medications with children who have ADHD. Teachers held significantly less positive attitudes toward the pharmacological management of children with ADHD, than did the parents surveyed. Parents of medicated children with ADHD were significantly more positive in their attitudes towards pharmacological management, than were parents of nonRmedicated children with ADHD. Parents of medically diagnosed children with ADHD, collectively held significantly more positive attitudes toward pharmacological management for these children, than parents of non-affected children. Findings are discussed in relation to previous research, which suggests that differences in attitudes may be related to a respondent's current knowledge and experiences with pharmacological management for children who have ADHD. Practical implications for parental support and education of teachers are outlined.


In this study, standard and non-standard isiZulu varieties are compared and contrasted. While standard isiZulu is proved to be treasured, it is not very well known or spoken among young urban and rural isiZulu speaking learners. The socio-historical development of isiZulu is examined in order to account for the dichotomy between 'deep' and 'urban' isiZulu. 'IsiZulu esijulile' ['deep isiZulu'] and 'isiZulu sasedolobheni' ['urban isiZulu'] are terms found useful to describe the differences. In order to achieve the objectives of the study, the characteristics of standard and non-standard language in general and standard and non-standard isiZulu in particular are discussed. The empirical section of this thesis is based on a multi-method approach, that is, one hundred rural and urban learners are the participants of this study. This investigation suggests that the dichotomy between urban and rural varieties is not as stark as initially proposed (Mesthrie, 2002).


The new rush to discover and exploit hydrocarbon resources in West Africa, and particularly in the Gulf of Guinea, has raised hopes in the affected countries for new petroleum wealth and economic development. History shows, however, that major oil and gas discoveries have a very mixed record, at best, in terms of societal gains and political stability. This article therefore assesses the macroeconomic and governance implications of the recent oil and gas rush in West Africa. Clearly, sound management of the resource revenues will be crucial in national efforts to tackle poverty and promote socio-economic development. While there is a large body of literature available on the issues and best practices related to oil and gas resource management and the design of associated institutions and financial mechanisms, the article fills two gaps. First, while Nigeria and Angola have received ample attention, this article focuses on some smaller countries in the Gulf of Guinea that have only recently emerged as oil and gas producers, such as Liberia, Niger and Sierra Leone. Secondly, it highlights implications for two major socio-economic characteristics of these emerging resource-rich states: (1) energy poverty; and (2) agricultural dependence and lock-in on single crops. The early evolution of institutions to manage the newfound revenues is found to be critical to long-term prosperity or instability. A legacy of beneficial or problematic social impact of new resources hinges on the success in using the new petroleum resources to establish an 'enabling environment' where resource wealth is seen across society as a means to build stable institutions, reduce social and economic inequality and drive national prosperity.


The first detailed examination of the collison of Rome and the Seleukid kingdom which ended in the battle of Magnesia, 189 BC, provides a case study in ancient diplomacy and war.


We report a method for imaging and tracking the interactions between bacteria and surfactants by using two ionic surfactants with aggregation-induced emission (AIE) characteristics. The fluorescence of the cationic AIE-active surfactant, tetraphenylethene-dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide (TPE-DTAB), can be turned on in the presence of bacteria, while the anionic AIE-active surfactant, tetraphenylethene-sodium dodecyl sulfonate (TPE-SDS), hardly interacts with bacteria due to electrostatic repulsion. Moreover, TPE-DTAB is applied for imaging its interaction with bacteria. In the fluorescence images, TPE-DTAB with one positively-charged ammonium is firstly attracted to the anionic surfaces of bacteria through electrostatic attraction, and then its long alkyl chain could insert into the bacterial membrane. The disturbing effect of membrane permeability leads to the death of bacteria. Unexpectedly, TPE-DTAB containing a certain amount of TPE-SDS can attain a higher efficiency of killing bacteria. The negative charge of the bacterial membrane has decreased due to the neutralization of TPE-DTAB, making TPE-SDS easier to get close to and react with membrane proteins. The synergistic effect on membrane damage leads to the higher antibacterial efficiency and massive agglomerations of dead bacteria.


Summary

1. Up to 73% of the world's rangelands are degraded, and increasing demand for meat in developing countries and a growing human population are likely to exert even greater pressures on rangelands in the next 20–50 years. Restoration of rangeland grazing potential and resilience is therefore important, particularly in the face of climate change.

2. We investigated the influence of past stocking rates (from 1910 to 1987), rainfall, and current grazing regimes (from 1988 to 2008) on plant assemblages, grazing potential, and diversity of palatable species in southern Karoo rangelands, South Africa.

3. We used herbivore exclusion experiments to test whether resting rangeland for 20 years enables recovery of plant assemblages (where seed sources are present within 50 m), regardless of previous grazing history. Mean annual rainfall over this period was 15% higher than the mean annual rainfall for the preceding 80 years and included two exceptionally wet years.

4. While rainfall was a primary driver of total vegetation cover, grazing history explained differences in plant species composition: plots with shared historical grazing intensity were more similar than plots with the same grazing regimes between 1988 and 2008.

5. In historically heavily-grazed exclusion plots, cover of the palatable species Tripteris sinuata (formerly Osteospermum sinuatum) returned to levels comparable to that in both exclusion and lightly-grazed plots with a moderate grazing history. Five palatable species (Pteronia empetrifolia, Tetragonia spicata, Berkheya spinosa, Hereroa latipetala and Ruschia spinosa) failed to re-establish, however, despite the presence of seed-producing plants nearby. Furthermore, only cover of P. empetrifolia increased significantly in historically moderately-grazed plots. Cover of unpalatable plants (e.g. Pteronia pallens) increased in all plots over time.

6.Synthesis and applications. These findings suggest that present species composition of arid shrublands reflects historical management at time scales greater than 20 years. Despite high rainfall enabling the return of grazing potential through recovery of a single forage species, rest alone did not ensure the return of all palatable species, with implications for rangeland resilience. Restoring the full suite of palatable species over management timeframes will require more complex interventions such as reseeding or selective clearing.


Background and Aims: The aim of this study was to examine the mediating role of resiliency in the perception of academic support and academic buoyancy among the students of Payam Noor University. Methods: 140 students were selected by using stratified sampling method, and fit out academic support, resiliency and academic buoyancy questionnaire. All tools had a desirable validity and reliability. Data were analyzed with path analysis. Results: The results showed that academic support of professors, parents and peers directly affects the resilience. Also, indirect effects of teachers, parents and peers academic support on academic buoyancy through resilience was confirmed. This means, that academic support through the resiliency increase the student academic buoyancy. Conclusions: The findings highlight the role of academic support on student's resiliency, for arriving to academic buoyancy. The findings of study were discussed regarding to theoretical and empirical evidence and suggestions have been made for this purpose.


Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) have markedly increased rates of major adverse cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events (MACCEs) and mortality. Therefore, identifying early biomarkers predicting clinical outcomes in patients with CKD is critical. We aimed to determine whether osteoglycin, a basic component of the vascular extracellular matrix, was associated with MACCEs or all-cause mortality, using data from a prospective randomized controlled study, K-STAR (Kremezin STudy Against Renal disease progression in Korea: NCT 00860431). A total of 383 patients (mean age: 56.4 years, men/women = 252/131) with CKD stage 3 to 4 from the original trial were enrolled in the present study. We measured serum osteoglycin level and examined the impact of osteoglycin on clinical outcomes. The mean value of osteoglycin levels was 13.3 ± 9.4 ng/mL (healthy control: 5.3 ± 2.1 ng/mL). In multivariable analysis, lower levels of proteinuria and hemoglobin and higher levels of C-reactive protein were significantly associated with higher osteoglycin levels. Estimated glomerular filtration rate was not related to osteoglycin level. During a mean follow-up period of 56 months, 25 deaths, 61 MACCEs, and 76 composite outcomes (all-cause mortality or MACCEs) occurred. In the non-diabetic group, each 1-ng/mL increase in serum osteoglycin was associated with all-cause mortality and composite outcome (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.058, P = 0.031; HR = 1.041, P = 0.036). However, osteoglycin levels were not associated with mortality, MACCEs, or composite outcome in the diabetic group. Our results indicate that serum osteoglycin is a potential predictor of adverse outcomes in patients with CKD.


[1] Six moderate magnitude earthquakes (5 < Mw < 6) ruptured normal fault segments of the southern sector of the North Apennine belt (central Italy) in the 1997 Colfiorito earthquake sequence. We study the progressive activation of adjacent and nearby parallel faults of this complex normal fault system using ∼1650 earthquake locations obtained by applying a double-difference location method, using travel time picks and waveform cross-correlation measurements. The lateral extent of the fault segments range from 5 to 10 km and make up a broad, ∼45 km long, NW trending fault system. The geometry of each segment is quite simple and consists of planar faults gently dipping toward SW with an average dip of 40°–45°. The fault planes are not listric but maintain a constant dip through the entire seismogenic volume, down to 8 km depth. We observe the activation of faults on the hanging wall and the absence of seismicity in the footwall of the structure. The observed fault segmentation appears to be due to the lateral heterogeneity of the upper crust: preexisting thrusts inherited from Neogene's compressional tectonic intersect the active normal faults and control their maximum length. The stress tensor obtained by inverting the six main shock focal mechanisms of the sequence is in agreement with the tectonic stress active in the inner chain of the Apennine, revealing a clear NE trending extension direction. Aftershock focal mechanisms show a consistent extensional kinematics, 70% of which are mechanically consistent with the main shock stress field.


The academic study of persuasion through digital games started from a game-centric
approach by trying to understand how persuasiveness can be structured within digital
games. However, players' performances and the context in which games are played
also have an important role in the process of persuasion. The role of these two factors
has been the focus of attention in recent research on persuasive games through
studies that try to find a balance between players' preferences and needs and
persuasive goals. The objective of this paper is to broaden the understanding of the
potential of persuasive gaming practices by providing a theoretical framework that
serves to structure previous theoretical approaches on how digital games can be used
to persuade players. This theoretical framework serves to explain the different types
of persuasion that can be established through digital games, which contributes to
better understand how serious games should be designed to respond to different
types of serious goals. The three types of persuasion proposed here are: exocentric
persuasion, as a game-centric approach for persuasion; endocentric persuasion, as a
player-centric approach for persuasion; and game-mediated persuasion, as a contextcentric approach for persuasion.


This book provides a general overview and original analysis of new developments and applications in several areas of Computational Intelligence and Information Systems. Computational Intelligence has become an important tool for engineers to develop and analyze novel techniques to solve problems in basic sciences such as physics, chemistry, biology, engineering, environment and social sciences. The material contained in this book addresses the foundations and applications of Artificial Intelligence and Decision Support Systems, Complex and Biological Inspired Systems, Simulation and Evolution of Real and Artificial Life Forms, Intelligent Models and Control Systems, Knowledge and Learning Technologies, Web Semantics and Ontologies, Intelligent Tutoring Systems, Intelligent Power Systems, Self-Organized and Distributed Systems, Intelligent Manufacturing Systems and Affective Computing. The contributions have all been written by international experts, who provide current views on the topics discussed and present recent, original insights from their own experience in these fields.


Nemhauser and Trick presented the problem of finding a timetable for the 1997/1998 Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) in basketball. Their solution, found with a combination of integer programming and exhaustive enumeration, was accepted by the ACC.Finite-domain constraint programming is another programming technique that can be used for solving combinatorial search problems such as sports tournament scheduling. This paper presents a solution of round-robin tournament planning based on finite-domain constraint programming. The approach yields a dramatic performance improvement, which makes an integrated interactive software solution feasible.


Scholars and activists commonly see international law as occupying a privileged normative and political position in world politics, where international legal institutions are assumed to advance various important goals, including international stability, human justice, and even global order as a whole. I explore this attitude toward international law, which I call an 'enchanted' view, and contrast it to the 'disenchanted' alternative. Where the enchanted view presumes the normative valence and political wisdom of following international law, the disenchanted approach treats these as open questions for inquiry and discussion. The disenchanted approach is more empirically minded, and more politically open, than the enchanted, and leads to a distinct research program on legalization in international affairs — one that is attentive to the politics of law, the connections between law and power, the ambiguity that exists between legality and policy wisdom.


Building a doctoral program in leadership is never an easy task, and building an interdisciplinary doctoral program is even more difficult. Yet, it is the interdisciplinary approach that differentiates typical leadership programs from others and offers learners an integrated view of leadership theories and practices. This special report presents an example of designing and implementing an interdisciplinary doctoral program that promotes social justice leadership. Drawing from firsthand experiences of program faculty, staff, and administration, we share lessons learned and the logic behind adopting an interdisciplinary approach for those creating programs that seeks to promote social justice. We found that by allowing students and faculty to convene together, rather than disperse into separate, isolated academic disciplines, emerging scholar-practitioners are encouraged to engage in realistic, professional practice investigation and problem-solving techniques. Through this experience, we also found that conscious coursework design involves integrating multiple, often quite divergent, disciplines into a core set of courses. Additionally, we learned that unifying students through a common mission permits distinctive discussions, including personal reflection and ethical decision-making opportunities among the concepts, constructs, and knowledge that extend beyond disciplinary lines (Cherney et al., 2012). We also found that cultivating a diverse student body and faculty base requires everyone to work strategically within the program, recognizing the call for coherence and consistency across disciplinary lines. Finally, we discovered that developing a dissertation in practice allows students to implement an evidence-based solution within their professional practice setting as their pinnacle doctorate work (Herr & Anderson, 2014; Olson & Clark, 2009). We conclude this paper by reiterating our finding that leadership programs that promote social justice are enhanced by adopting an interdisciplinary approach as this allows for the creation of a program that challenges students to learn at a more complex level, faculty to integrate disciplines, and programs to promote socially just ideals. We discuss implications for other schools seeking to develop an interdisciplinary doctoral leadership program.


Although anthropogenic edges are an important consequence of timber harvesting, edges due to natural disturbances or landscape heterogeneity are also common. Forest edges have been well studied in temperate and tropical forests, but less so in less productive, disturbance‐adapted boreal forests. We synthesized data on forest vegetation at edges of boreal forests and compared edge influence among edge types (fire, cut, lake/wetland; old vs. young), forest types (broadleaf vs. coniferous) and geographic regions. Our objectives were to quantify vegetation responses at edges of all types and to compare the strength and extent of edge influence among different types of edges and forests. Research was conducted using the same general sampling design in Alberta, Ontario and Quebec in Canada, and in Sweden and Finland. We conducted a meta‐analysis for a variety of response variables including forest structure, deadwood abundance, regeneration, understorey abundance and diversity, and non‐vascular plant cover. We also determined the magnitude and distance of edge influence (DEI) using randomization tests. Some edge responses (lower tree basal area, tree canopy and bryophyte cover; more logs; higher regeneration) were significant overall across studies. Edge influence on ground vegetation in boreal forests was generally weak, not very extensive (DEI usually < 20 m) and decreased with time. We found more extensive edge influence at natural edges, at younger edges and in broadleaf forests. The comparison among regions revealed weaker edge influence in Fennoscandian forests. Synthesis. Edges created by forest harvesting do not appear to have as strong, extensive or persistent influence on vegetation in boreal as in tropical or temperate forested ecosystems. We attribute this apparent resistance to shorter canopy heights, inherent heterogeneity in boreal forests and their adaptation to frequent natural disturbance. Nevertheless, notable differences between forest structure responses to natural (fire) and anthropogenic (cut) edges raise concerns about biodiversity implications of extensive creation of anthropogenic edges. By highlighting universal responses to edge influence in boreal forests that are significant irrespective of edge or forest type, and those which vary by edge type, we provide a context for the conservation of boreal forests.


Reasoning with evidence is error prone, especially when qualitative and quantitative evidence is combined, as shown by infamous miscarriages of justice, such as the Lucia de Berk case in the Netherlands. Methods for the rational analysis of evidential reasoning come in different kinds, often with arguments, scenarios and probabilities as primitives. Recently various combinations of argumentative, narrative and probabilistic methods have been investigated. By the complexity and subtlety of the subject matter, it has proven hard to assess the specific strengths and points of attention of different methods. Comparative case studies have only recently started, and never by one team. In this paper, we provide an analysis of a single case in order to compare the relative merits of two methods recently proposed in AI and Law: a method using Bayesian networks with embedded scenarios, and a method using case models that provide a formal analysis of argument validity. To optimise the transparency of the two analyses, we have selected a case about which the final decision is undisputed. The two analyses allow us to provide a comparative evaluation showing strengths and weaknesses of the two methods. We find a core of evidential reasoning that is shared between the methods.


One of the key conjunctions in the IC engine is that made by the top compression ring to the cylinder liner. Although the compression ring has seen considerable improvements since its introduction into steam engines by John Ramsbottom in the 1850s, its multiple and often contradictory functions still remain a challenge today. The primary aim has always been to seal the combustion chamber and guard against leakage of combustion gasses. The ring is also required to conduct some of the generated heat away. These requirements call for good ring-bore conformance, but often at the expense of increased friction.A simplified inter-ring gas flow model, as well as the measured chamber pressure using a Kistler pressure transducer is carried out under motored conditions to obtain the net gas pressure acting behind the ring. This and the elastic pressure as the result of ring restoring tension force in fitment constitute the contact load, which is usually carried by a mixed-hydrodynamic regime of lubrication. The conjunction pressures are treated as a combination of hydrodynamic generated pressures and asperity-pair interactions. The former is obtained by solution of two dimensional Reynolds equation, whilst the latter is determined assuming a Gaussian distribution of asperities on the counterfaces. Surface topography of the bounding solids; the compression ring and the liner are measured and used as appropriate statistical functions in the Greenwood and Tripp model.Using an analytical flow model, pressure acting behind the ring (on the inner periphery of the ring) is obtained, leading to the calculation of ring-bore friction. A floating liner is used to measure friction of piston and ringpack in situ. The characteristic of the predicted variations are compared with the measured data. However, a quantitative comparison is not possible as the measured data corresponds to all the conjunctions of piston system, including the oil control rings as well as the piston skirt. The results show that variation of gas force behind the ring significantly changes the ring-bore contact, thus friction and the nature of interactions.Copyright © 2012 by ASME


As online courses become more popular with college students, it is important for student affairs professionals to understand how this unique environment influences student learning and growth. This paper examines the impact of the asynchronous online learning environment on student cognitive development. Kolb's (1984) Experiential Learning Theory of Development is used to explain this influence and further inform student affairs practice in a previously unexplored realm.


The inherent tensions in the financial sector mean that episodes of extreme stress are inevitable, if unpredictable. This is so even if the regulatory and supervisory regimes are in many respects effective. The capacity of government to intervene may determine whether the distress is confined to the financial sector or breaks out into the real economy. Although adequate resolution authority to address a failing financial firm is a necessary objective of the current regulatory reform, a firm-by-firm approach will be unable to address a major systemic failure such as the Financial Crisis of 2007-08, which may require capital support of the financial sector to avoid severe economic harm. We therefore propose the creation of a Systemic Emergency Insurance Fund ("the Fund") ("SEIF"), scaled appropriately to the size of the US economy, $1 trillion. The facility should be funded (and partially pre-funded) by risk-adjusted assessments on all large financial firms, including hedge funds, that benefit from systemic stability. The Department of the Treasury ("Treasury") would administer the Fund, use of which would be triggered by a "triple key" concurrence among Treasury, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation ("FDIC"), and the Federal Reserve ("Fed"). Unlike a taxpayer "bailout," such a fund would mutualize systemic risk among financial firms through a facility overseen by the regulators. The funding mechanism will give financial firms new incentives to warn regulators of growing systemic risk. Such standby emergency authority avoids the need for high stakes legislative action mid-crisis, which can be destabilizing even if successful and catastrophic if not. Such an approach is superior to the financial sector nationalization strategy that is found in the newly enacted Dodd-Frank financial regulatory reform.