Using CPS data from 1979-2009 we examine how cyclical downturns and industry-specific demand shocks affect wage differentials between white non-Hispanic males and women, Hispanics and African-Americans. Women's and Hispanics' relative earnings are harmed by negative shocks, while the earnings disadvantage of African-Americans may drop with negative shocks. Negative shocks also appear to increase the earnings disadvantage of bad-looking workers. A theory of job search suggests two opposite-signed mechanisms that affect these wage differentials. It suggests greater absolute effects among job-movers, which is verified using the longitudinal component of the CPS.


The smoker's perspective is seldom sought in cessation research. Consequently, cessation approaches may be less effective because they are not based on assumptions and interpretations shared by those who smoke. Understanding how chronic relapsing smokers interpret their predicament could enhance cessation approaches, improving the chances for complete, permanent cessation. To generate such an understanding, five participants were recruited who had attempted to quit smoking several times. Aiming for depth rather than breadth, multiple interviews were conducted with each participant, who also kept an event diary, recording current smoking, nicotine withdrawal, lapsing and relapsing. Narratology, a biographical method of symbolic interactionism drawing on thematic, structural, and dialogic analysis, was used to elicit the participants' points of view from interview and diary data. The findings show that participants make sense of their chronic relapsing through a master narrative of 'willpower versus weakness'. Meanwhile, the tobacco control domain is largely driven by 'cost', and subsidised treatments are driven by the 'addiction' master narrative. This gap between ways of making sense of smoking and relapse can cause self-stigma, reducing the likelihood that quitting will be attempted and that quit attempts will succeed. Changes are proposed to mitigate the negative effects on self-efficacy brought about through the present approach to tobacco control. Ways to improve the effectiveness of existing treatments are suggested. Finally, the value of the narrative method is highlighted, with suggestions for its use in research where elucidating the insider point of view may improve treatment outcomes.


Closely-held businesses are valued for many tax, legal, and business reasons. Recent growth in the use of employee retirement plans that invest in the common stock of the sponsoring closely-held company (Employee Stock Ownership Plans(1)) has resulted in the need for annual valuations of these companies for compliance with U.S. tax and pension regulations (Pratt 1993). These plans require annual valuations to determine the market value of the stock donated to the plan and to determine the price to be paid to retiring employees. Litigation is another reason for valuations. Many jurisdictions have adopted equitable distribution laws requiring businesses that are owned by one spouse to be treated as marital property and valued in connection with divorce actions. This is an important and growing cause for valuations (Pratt 1993). Legislation and case law protecting minority interest shareholders require corporations to repurchase shares of oppressed minority shareholders at an appraised fair value. Currently, all states in the U.S. except for West Virginia provide this type of relief to minority shareholders (Pratt 1993). These requirements, in addition to continuing needs in the areas of financial planning, estate and gift taxation, and actual transfers of ownership, have resulted in a large and growing demand for the valuation of closely-held businesses. There is a variety of models available for valuing small businesses. In choosing the appropriate models in any particular situation, an appraiser must make judgments regarding which models will most accurately predict market value. Little empirical guidance is available in the literature to assist in this judgment. This paper presents the results of an empirical test comparing two of the most commonly used models - the earnings capitalization model and the excess earnings model. (In addition to these models, there are the discounted cash flows model, models based on assets such as net asset value and liquidation value, and models that consider comparable sales of the same or similar companies(2).) The second section of this paper discusses the underlying concepts of two of the most widely used valuation models. The third section describes previous empirical work. The fourth section describes the test used to compare the applicability of the excess earnings model to the earnings capitalization model, and the final section summarizes the results and conclusions reached. UNDERLYING CONCEPTS The objective of a valuation of a business is to estimate its fair market value, that is, "the price at which the property would change hands between a willing buyer and willing seller when the former is not under any compulsion to buy and the latter is not under any compulsion to sell, both parties having reasonable knowledge of relevant facts" (IRS Revenue Ruling, 59-60). For publicly-traded companies, the fair market value is demonstrated in market transactions. However, since there is no market for closely-held companies, some other method of estimating the value is necessary. Two commonly used models for valuing small businesses are those based upon the present value of future benefits. Three other models often considered by appraisers are discounted cash flows, earnings capitalization, and excess earnings. Small business literature provides strong theoretical support for the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model (Carland and White 1980; Lloyd and Hand 1982; Burns and Walker 1991). However, the DCF model has only limited usage in practice. Carland and White suggest that the infrequent use of the DCF model is due to its complexity. Pratt (1993) argues that its infrequent use is due to the difficulty in estimating future cash flows. Lippitt and Mastracchio (1993) examine the relationship between DCF and Earnings Capitalization (EC) and demonstrate that in many situations the models result in similar values if the treatment of capital assets under the EC model is modified using estimates that are readily available from within the historical cost accounting system. …


Abstract In modern applications, such as Electronic Voting, e-Health, e-Cash, there is a need that the validity of a signature should be verified by only one responsible person. This is opposite to the traditional digital signature scheme where anybody can verify a signature. There have been several solutions for this problem, the first one is we combine a signature scheme with an encryption scheme; the second one is to use the group signature; and the last one is to use the strong designated verifier signature scheme with the undeniable property. In this paper, we extend the traditional digital signature scheme to propose a new solution for the aforementioned problem. Our extension is in the sense that only a designated verifier (responsible person) can verify a signer's signature, and if necessary (in case the signer refuses to admit his/her signature) the designated verifier without revealing his/her secret key is able to prove to anybody that the signer has actually generated the signature. The comparison between our proposed solution and the three existing solutions shows that our proposed solution is the best one in terms of both security and efficiency. Abstract: In modern applications, such as Electronic Voting, e-Health, e-Cash, there is a need that the validity of a signature should be verified by only one responsible person. This is opposite to the traditional digital signature scheme where anybody can verify a signature. There have been several solutions for this problem, the first one is we combine a signature scheme with an encryption scheme; the second one is to use the group signature; and the last one is to use the strong designated verifier signature scheme with the undeniable property. In this paper, we extend the traditional digital signature scheme to propose a new solution for the aforementioned problem. Our extension is in the sense that only a designated verifier (responsible person) can verify a signer's signature, and if necessary (in case the signer refuses to admit his/her signature) the designated verifier without revealing his/her secret key is able to prove to anybody that the signer has actually generated the signature. The comparison between our proposed solution and the three existing solutions shows that our proposed solution is the best one in terms of both security and efficiency.


We have quantum chemically analyzed the bonding mechanism behind the affinity of various heterocalixarenes for anions with a range of geometries and net charges, using modern dispersion-corrected density functional theory (DFT-D3BJ). The purpose is to better understand the physical factors that are responsible for the computed affinities and thus to develop principles for a more rational design of anion receptors. Our model systems comprise heterocalixarenes 1-4 as hosts, which are characterized by different bridging heteroatoms (O, N, S) as well as the anionic guests Cl-, Br-, I-, BF4-, CH3CO2-, H2PO4-, HSO4-, NCS-, NO3-, PF6-, and SO42-. We use various analysis schemes (EDA, NCI, and NBO) to elucidate the interactions between the calixarene cavity and the anions to probe the importance of the different bonding modes (anion-π, lone-pair electron-π, σ-complexes, hydrogen bonds, and others) of the interactions. Electrostatic interactions appear to be dominant for heterocalixarenes with oxygen bridges whereas orbital interactions prevail in the case of nitrogen and sulfur bridges. Dispersion interactions are however in all cases non-negligible.


The prevalence of HIV/AIDS has reached alarming proportions in South Africa. Although it is strongly associated with depressive moods, there are very few published studies on its treatment in patients with HIV/AIDS. This article reviews the prevalence, treatment and potential effects of depressive disorders on immunity and adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART).The studied prevalence of depressive disorders in HIV-positive patients varies widely, ranging from 0% to 47.8%. However, these patients have nearly twice the likelihood of having had a recent episode of major depressive disorder compared with HIV-negative individuals. Currently available antidepressant medications are equally effective in treating HIV/AIDS patients and the general population. Furthermore, intervention studies have shown that psychotherapy reduces depressive symptoms and is well tolerated. Interpersonal psychotherapy is more successful than supportive psychotherapy in lessening depression, and patients experience improved functioning physically and emotionally. Untreated depression may be associated with reduced adherence to ART, immunosuppression, and more rapid HIV illness progression. In South Africa, HIV/AIDS patients may be at greater risk for psychiatric disorder given the potentially stressful living conditions including high rates of unemployment and poverty, poor and unstable housing, inadequate social services, and high rates of crime and domestic violence. A lack of data on depression in South Africa underscores the need for further research.


Natural gas is defined as a combustible mixture of hydrocarbons coming from ground deposits and it is mainly used as a source of energy for burners and motors. Its consumption is increasing worldwide, as this represents a cheap and abundant source of energy, while releasing less CO2 emissions than other fossil fuels, in addition to low emissions of particulates. The diversification of the supply sources of gas and the increase of international trading through pipelines and liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipments makes the gas quality vary more than before, which is a rising challenge for the natural gas industry, as currently the vast majority of gas appliances and motors are unable to adapt to changes in gas quality. This will even worsen in the upcoming years with the multiplication of biogas sources and power-to-gas systems that will be added to the pipeline networks. In order to accomodate the appliances to changes in gas quality, compact and low cost natural gas quality transducers have to be developped for the natural gas industry. The present Thesis aimed at investigating the existing methods to determine natural gas quality for combustion, focusing on the determination of the Wobbe Index (WI), which is a key parameter to set up the air-fuel ratio of the combustion in burners and motors, and to qualify a new type of dynamic viscosity transducer developped at Laboratoire de Production Microtechnique (LPM) of EPFL for the determination of the combustion properties. Inference transducers are a new kind of transducers that allow determining the combustion parameters of the gas by relating to fundamental thermo-physical parameters, and not through the determination of the concentration of the gas constituents, as in gas chromatographs and spectrometers. Here, the dynamic viscosity is chosen as the most promising thermo-physical property of a natural gas to relate to the WI and the Higher Heating Value (HHV). The viscometer takes measurements proportional to the resistance to flow of a gas through a capillary under the action of pulses of heat, and it can be therefore be described as a thermal pumping gas viscometer. A mathematical model and a finite element model (FEM) are used to predict the behavior of the system and for thermal optimization, which are combined by a thermal characterization of the system. The miniature heater used to generate the heat pulses inside the viscometer is a key element of the transducer, and after reviewing potential technologies, the design choices are reported and the fabrication process is exposed, followed by a mechanical and thermal characterization. In order to determine and validate the conversion of the WI from the dynamic viscosity, theoretical relations are analyzed and empirical characterizations are done with a test and calibration setup allowing to create given mixes of gases. Finally, the degradation of the transducer to contaminants of natural gas is investigated, and the analysis is focused to the characterization of the corrosion by the sulfur compounds of natural gas. Test vehicles are developed to study the effect of sulfur corrosion on metallic parts, electronic substrates, silicone adhesives and wirebonds materials, and experiments are held with the dedicated test setups developed at LPM of EPFL.


Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is a human pathogen that can cause severe disease in immunocompromised or immunosupressed individuals and also in newborns infected in utero. Transcription of the viral genome occurs by a process in which three classes of HCMV genes, immediate early, early and late are expressed in a regulated temporal cascade. The HCMV protein pp71, encoded by gene UL82, is located in the tegument of the HCMV virion and is delivered to cells immediately upon infection. This protein has been identified as a transactivator of viral immediate early gene expression. It also stimulates expression from a number of heterologous promoters by a mechanism that is not promoter sequence specific. Protein pp71 has multiple properties; it can increase the infectivity of transfected viral DNA, modulate the cell cycle and interact with the retinoblastoma family of proteins. Within the cell nucleus, pp71 co-localises with the cellular proteins PML and hDaxx at sub-cellular structures named nuclear domain 10 (ND10). The interaction of pp71 with hDaxx is believed to promote the degradation of hDaxx, resulting in relief of repression at the HCMV major immediate early promoter. Protein pp71 has also been reported to have the unusual property of mediating long-term expression of reporter genes cloned into a herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV 1) vector. This study describes a comparison of pp71 with the non-human UL82 homologues from simian CMV, baboon CMV, rhesus CMV and chimpanzee CMV, named S82, B82, RH82 and Ch82, respectively.

Plasmids expressing all of the UL82 homologues as enhanced yellow fluorescent protein (EYFP) or myc-tagged proteins were constructed and analysed for expression by transfection into HFFF2 cells. The EYFP-tagged UL82 homologues all directed b-gal expression in short-term assays, while only pp71 directed both short-term and long-term gene expression. Only myc tagged pp71 was observed to direct gene expression in both the short-term and long-term assays.

The EYFP-tagged proteins and myc tagged pp71 and Ch82 were cloned into a mutated HSV-1 vector to produce recombinant viruses. Functional assays in human glioblastoma (U373) cells confirmed that all of the EYFP-tagged and myc tagged non-human UL82 homologues were able to direct short-term expression but only EYFP- and myc-tagged pp71 directed long-term gene expression, confirming results obtained in transfection assays.

In agreement with previous reports, pp71 was shown to promote the resumption of gene expression from quiescent HSV-1 genomes. Comparison of the pp71 and Ch82 homologues indicated that pp71 is unique in its ability to do so. No reactivation was observed in cells infected with an HSV-1 recombinant that expressed EYFP-tagged Ch82.

In order to establish the region of pp71 responsible for mediating long-term gene expression six plasmids encoding EYFP-tagged hybrid proteins were constructed. The C-terminus, N-terminus and mid-regions of pp71 were substituted for the equivalent Ch82 regions using homologous restriction sites in both coding sequences. All EYFP-tagged hybrids mediated short-term gene expression, while only one protein, with the mid region of pp71 inserted between the C- and N-terminal regions of the Ch82 homologue, appeared to stimulate long-term gene expression. However, levels of expression were significantly lower than that achieved by pp71. A HSV-1 recombinant expressing the hybrid protein was used to confirm results from transfection assays, suggesting that the mid-region of pp71 may be involved in mediating its long-term properties. Given the significantly lower degree of gene expression directed by the hybrid protein in short-term assays it was concluded that alterations to pp71 may result in structural changes that prevent normal function of the protein.

Immunofluorescence studies revealed further differences between the non-human UL82 homologues and pp71. In confirmation of previously published findings, in the majority of HFFF2 cells infected with a HSV-1 recombinant expressing EYFP tagged pp71, this protein localised to discrete punctate ND10 foci at all times tested. In cells infected with a HSV-1 recombinant expressing S82 a pattern distinct from that of pp71 was observed. S82 exhibited a punctate/diffuse pattern of fluorescence, which became increasingly diffuse at later times post-infection. The remaining non-human UL82 homologues, despite localising to the discrete punctate foci characteristic of pp71 at early times post infection, all showed nuclear distribution patterns akin to that of S82 at later times, in cells infected with the HSV-1 recombinants expressing EYFP-tagged Ch82, B82 and Rh82. All non-human UL82 homologues, like pp71, co-localised with the endogenous cellular proteins hDaxx and PML at the times tested. Interestingly, however, at later times post-infection, the S82 protein appeared to disperse hDaxx throughout the nucleus, a feature that was not observed with the remaining UL82 homologues. Examination of the hybrid protein observed to stimulate long-term gene expression revealed that, like pp71, it localised to discrete punctate foci, and co-localised with both PML and hDaxx at all times post-infection. In contrast to other published studies, it was not possible to demonstrate pp71-mediated hDaxx degradation, by either pp71 or the non-human UL82 homologues.

The work presented in this thesis confirms the previous observation that pp71 directs long-term gene expression, reactivates quiescent genomes and co localises in the nucleus with hDaxx and PML. It also characterises the non-human UL82 homologues of pp71. This study shows that, while each non human UL82 homologue shares some characteristics with pp71, subtle functional differences exist between these proteins.


Surveys the developments of the last 20 years in the area of vision for mobile robot navigation. Two major components of the paper deal with indoor navigation and outdoor navigation. For each component, we have further subdivided our treatment of the subject on the basis of structured and unstructured environments. For indoor robots in structured environments, we have dealt separately with the cases of geometrical and topological models of space. For unstructured environments, we have discussed the cases of navigation using optical flows, using methods from the appearance-based paradigm, and by recognition of specific objects in the environment.


Recent studies have characterized a number of the Ags that are recognized by melanoma-reactive T cells. Although the majority of tumor Ags appear to represent nonmutated gene products, a variety of epitopes have been shown to arise from either mutated or alternatively processed transcripts. Here, we report that the screening of a cDNA library with a HLA-A24-restricted melanoma-reactive T cell cloid derived from tumor infiltrating lymphocytes resulted in the isolation of a variant of the gp100 gene that had retained the entire fourth intron of this gene, termed gp100-in4. The gp100-in4 transcript could be detected by reverse transcriptase-PCR but could not be detected in Northern blots conducted with melanoma RNA, indicating that it represents a relatively rare transcript. Read-through of this transcript into the region corresponding to the fourth intron gave rise to an additional 35 amino acids not found in the normal gp100 glycoprotein, and a peptide within this region conforming to the HLA-A24 consensus motif (VYFFLPDHL) was shown to be recognized by the T cell cloid. The sequence of the intron was identical with that of a previously isolated genomic gp100 clone, and T cells that recognized the gp100-in4 gene product were found to recognize HLA-A24-matched allogeneic melanoma cell lines and melanocytes, demonstrating that this represents a nonmutated epitope. These results further extend the types of Ags that can be recognized by melanoma-reactive T cells to aberrant transcripts of melanosomal genes.


Ten university students attended a two week study abroad tour of the early childhood centers in Pistoia Italy. Using a qualitative design students participated in reflective writing activities in order to assess their understandings and perceptions regarding pedagogical documentation practices in early childhood education. Pedagogical documentation is one aspect of Reggio-inspired social constructivist practice that is becoming increasingly important in educational practices and teacher education programs as a form of curriculum development and student assessment. Findings from this study indicate that studying abroad increased students' understanding and influenced their perceptions of pedagogical documentation. These findings provide significant implications to the field of early childhood educational practice and teacher education programs embracing a social constructivist approach.


This paper studies flapping-wing micro air vehicles (FWMAV) whose transmission mechanisms use flexures as energy storage elements to reduce needed input power. A distinguishing feature of the proposed four-bar mechanism is the use of rubber-based flexures in two of its joints. These lightweight and compact flexures have been used for the first time in the design of an FWMAV whose projected total weight is approximately 3 g. This paper discusses in detail how the flexures were designed and how the challenges associated with their fabrication were met. Flexure stiffnesses were chosen based upon a simple, computationally efficient model of the four-bar mechanism actuated by an electric motor to flap two wings at 18 Hz. An instrumented test stand was designed to easily replace the upper part of the four-bar flexure mechanism and wings, and it was used to experimentally determine the power savings associated with flexures of different stiffnesses. While the measured power savings (maximum of 20%) may seem modest, they were nevertheless significant, considering that the use of the rubber-based flexures produced approximately 0.3 g added thrust at a less than 1% cost in weight (0.02 g).


In this work, we study the security of public WLAN-based positioning systems. Specifically, we investigate the Skyhook positioning system, available on PCs and used on a number of mobile platforms, including Apple's iPod touch and iPhone. By implementing and analyzing several kinds of attacks, we demonstrate that this system is vulnerable to location spoofing and location database manipulation. In both, the attacker can arbitrarily change the result of the localization at the victim device, by either impersonating remote infrastructure or by tampering with the service database. Our attacks can easily be replicated and we conjecture that--without appropriate countermeasures--public WLAN-based positioning should therefore be used with caution in safety-critical contexts. We further discuss several approaches for securing WLAN-based positioning systems.


In dynamic value networks (VNs), knowledge serves as a basis for close collaboration of actors (i.e. firms with their partners and customers) to enhance co-creation of integrated solutions. In order to provide a technical foundation for seamless knowledge transfer among actors, VNs require distributed and interoperable intraand inter-organizational knowledge management systems (KMS), which rely largely on advanced information and communication technology (ICT). KMS cannot be seen as stand-alone information systems but should address a variety of issues (e.g. organizational or social issues) in relation to knowledge management. Therefore, the new generation of such complex systems, appropriate for VNs, must deal with this variety of issues, ranging from merely business-oriented to pure technologically-oriented issues. Although scholars have studied knowledge transfer and ICT issues in VN settings, their insights and results remain fragmented because of the diverse research efforts from different perspectives (either from a more business or a more technical perspective). This necessitates that a broader perspective needs to be established. This study endeavors to address simultaneously potential issues of both knowledge transfer and ICT in a VN by developing a comprehensive integrated framework. The development of the framework is based on a three-step methodology which comprises the exploration and classification of generic ICT issues in a VN setting, and subsequently integrating knowledge transfer issues with ICT issues. The proposed integrated framework provides a well-structured theoretical basis for future KMS requirement engineering in VN environments. © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. Peer-review under responsibility of the organizing committee of CENTERIS 2016.


Considers the cognitive nature of courses connected with ICT or using ICT as an integral part of the course, including some views on the associated learning and teaching styles. Which factors lead to learning outcomes and are these intended or fortuitous? Factors may include ones specific to particular subject areas and their relationship with ICT, motivation associated with ICT usage, the interest which teachers, pupils and students who enjoy using ICT bring to the learning context.

Recent developments in the use of ICT, particularly in an educational context where us of ICT has become one of the learning strategies in the portfolio of options teachers possess, have meant that the pedagogic usage has become more important generally. The focus of this book is on the curricular use of ICT and so course evaluation and design are the main contents of each chapter. In this sense the curriculum becomes the cognitive site of learning. Most other books look at specific pedagogic uses rather than the debate between subject and skill learning. Also, a government research paper indicates that thinking skills may well become the new focus for the next phase of development.


This report examines how research institutions are responding to data management requirements of the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, and other federal agencies. It also considers what role, if any, academic libraries and the library and information science profession should have in supporting researchers' data management needs. University of North Texas (UNT) Library Director Martin Halbert opens the report with an overview of the DataRes Project, a two-year investigation of data management practices conducted at UNT with colleagues Spencer D. C. Keralis, Shannon Stark, and William E. Moen. His introduction is followed by a series of papers that were presented at the DataRes Symposium that UNT organized in December 2012.


Treating computers as authors for copyright purposes is a non-solution to a non-problem. It is a non-solution because unless and until computer programs can qualify as persons in life and law, it does no practical good to call them "authors" when someone else will end up owning the copyright anyway. And it responds to a non-problem because there is nothing actually distinctive about computer-generated works.There are five plausible ways in which computer-generated works might be considered meaningfully different from human-generated works: (1) they are embedded in digital copies, (2) people create them using computers rather than by hand, (3) programs can generate them algorithmically, (4) programmers as well as users contribute to them, and (5) programs can generate them randomly. But all of these distinctions are spurious. Old-fashioned pen-and-paper works raise all of the same issues. A close look at the creative process shows how little really changes when authors use digital tools. The problems posed for copyright by computer-generated works are not easy, but they are also not new.


We studied reproductive characters of a population of the tortoise Testudo h. hermanni in the Plaine des Maures (Var), and compared these to another population in southern France and to T. h. boettgeri in Greece. Clutch characters, which are measures of total reproductive investment, showed no differences between subspecies or sites after body size correction by ANCOVA. Egg characters, which measure the division of this investment among offspring, did vary significantly among both subspecies and sites after correcting for body mass. The presence of such local variation should discourage relocation of the threatened T. h. hermanni even between populations of the same subspecies.


We present a simple modification of a standard total internal reflection fluorescence microscope to achieve nanometric axial resolution, typically ≈10  nm. The technique is based on a normalization of total internal reflection images by conventional epi-illumination images. We demonstrate the potential of our method to study the adhesion of phopholipid giant unilamellar vesicles.


OBJECTIVE
To study the prevalence of deformities of vertebrae and intervertebral discs in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) in relation to fixed hyperkyphosis of the spine.

METHODS
Altogether 50 patients (15 women, 35 men) with AS were studied. Hyperkyphosis was measured by the occiput to wall distance (OWD). Anterior (Ha), mid- (Hm), and posterior height (Hp) of the vertebrae and intervertebral discs were measured on lateral radiographs of the thoracic (Th5-Th12) and lumbar spine (L1-L5). Vertebral shapes were analyzed according to McCloskey, et al. Wedging of discs was calculated as Ha/Hp. Hyperkyphosis was defined as OWD > 1 cm.

RESULTS
In the thoracic spine, the prevalence of vertebral deformities was higher in patients with hyperkyphosis (n = 38) compared to patients without hyperkyphosis (n = 12) (45% vs 8%; p = 0.01). The prevalence of thoracic vertebral deformities in patients with hyperkyphosis differed little between men and women (39% vs 58%; p > 0.10) and among patients above and below the age of 45 years (50% vs 33%; p > 0.10). Patients with one or more deformed thoracic vertebrae had a higher mean OWD than patients without deformed vertebrae (12 +/- 7 vs 7 +/- 6 cm; p < 0.01). The total sum of deformities of the thoracic vertebrae and discs explained 43% of the variance of the age adjusted OWD (p < 0.001). Deformities of lumbar vertebrae and discs did not contribute to hyperkyphosis.

CONCLUSION
In patients with AS and hyperkyphosis, deformities of the thoracic vertebrae occur frequently and, together with wedging of the thoracic discs, contribute significantly to fixed hyperkyphosis of the spine.


The way in which family members are supported by staff from the mental services after the suicide of a relative is an important, though not well researched area. This research aims to explore two main areas; firstly to explore from the family members perspectives how they were supported by staff after the suicide of their relative and whether this was what they would have wanted as a means of support. Secondly mental health staff were asked about what and how they provided support to families after the suicide of a relative and how they felt about what was provided by them and the service. This research project presents a qualitative study using grounded theory analysis of data collected from family members and mental health staff members about their experiences after the death from suicide of a family member or patient receiving care from the mental health services. The study sample comprised six staff and five family members who were interviewed face to face about what they experienced. The interviews were audiotaped and transcribed verbatim, then analysed in keeping with grounded theory, by using constant comparison of data, paying particular attention to reflexivity and researcher influence upon the data and on-going analysis. The core categories arising out of the analysis from the staff interviews showed that staff feel ill equipped to inform family members or provide support after their relative has died by suicide. More specifically the core categories presented the following key areas for staff as follows; 1. Training and awareness raising about suicide, including broadening understanding about the context within which suicide occurs. 2. The emotions involved with and related to the impact of suicide. 3. Skills and competence in breaking bad news to others including family members after suicide. 4. Including families in the care of people receiving mental health services. 5. Awareness and support with the formal processes that ensue following suicide. 6. Staff support after suicide, including managers, colleagues as well as staff in general in the organisation. The core categories from the analysis of family members interviews showed, that; 1. Family members felt excluded and unheard by staff following the suicide of a relative. 2. Family members spoke about their fear for the future and the legacy of suicide. 3. The formal processes that take place after suicide were unclear and inconsistent for family members. 4. The emotional aftermath of suicide was significant however as core category 5 indicated, the family members experienced a mismatch between what they wanted and what they received from mental health staff and the organisation. Consequently core category 6. Showed how their experience motivated the family members to speak out and join the research into this subject. Conclusions are therefore set out with recommendations that promote guidance and training to mental health staff and services about ways to work with patients and families, incorporating current NHS policy, to improve staff skills and confidence; to 'attune' with patients and families, by including families in mental health care and afterwards if suicide happens, to which Family Therapy/systemic psychotherapy theory and practice could contribute in a variety of ways.


ABSTRACT This paper reports on research undertaken into the processes through which student teachers begin to formulate an identity as a professional teacher. Using Fuller's investigations into the attitudes of trainee teachers towards their courses (1969) as a baseline, a discussion is established on the place of the student voice in contemporary initial teacher training programmes. In order to further investigate the potential importance of affording student teachers the opportunity to reflect on and express their thinking and feeling as they embark on their chosen career path, the concerns of a group of student drama teachers were recorded and interpreted. The vehicle for this exercise involved writing and subsequently performing reflective monologues. These were analysed by using The Listening Guide as composed by Gilligan et al. (2003). This paper illustrates how the methodology revealed distinct yet generally harmonious voices at work in the group in the first few weeks of their training year. Subsequent analysis suggests a model for the initial formation of a teaching identity built on aspects of self, role and character. Recognising the relative values and relationships between these factors for student teachers may, it is argued, provide greater security for them while affording their tutors insights which could help them to re‐shape initial teacher training programmes.


Simulation models for three different country elevator configurations were created to assess the impact of
segregating wheat into two different quality categories on queue length and time in the system compared to a no–segregation
strategy. Assumptions used to develop the three configurations resulted from an infrastructure characterization of the grain
receiving system(s) and scale ticket summary reports. The model configurations varied based on sampling location, number
of drives and receiving pits, number and capacity of bucket elevators, truck sizes, and storage capacity. Time data revealed
that locating the sampling station ahead of the scale is essential when segregating grain into two quality categories. The model
representing country elevators with two legs (bucket elevators) and two drives appeared best suited for segregating grain.
A historical verification test was performed using the 10 most active hours of the day for three commercial elevators and
comparing these data with model output. A degenerative test of model validation was performed by evaluating the tons
received with the percent small trucks and a sensitivity analysis was performed looking at the relationship between the
average time a truck spends in the system and truck size. The results generated by this model conformed to expectations during
the verification and validation process and appeared consistent with the observations of country elevators made by the
researchers. The models will provide a useful tool for future economic analysis of segregation activities at country elevators.


Given the current profusion of devices for viewing media, video content created at one aspect ratio is often viewed on displays with different aspect ratios. Many previous solutions address this problem by retargeting or resizing the video, but a more general solution would re-edit the video for the new display. Our method employs the three primary editing operations: pan, cut, and zoom. We let viewers implicitly reveal what is important in a video by tracking their gaze as they watch the video. We present an algorithm that optimizes the path of a cropping window based on the collected eyetracking data, finds places to cut, and computes the size of the cropping window. We present results on a variety of video clips, including close-up and distant shots, and stationary and moving cameras. We conduct two experiments to evaluate our results. First, we eyetrack viewers on the result videos generated by our algorithm, and second, we perform a subjective assessment of viewer preference. These experiments show that viewer gaze patterns are similar on our result videos and on the original video clips, and that viewers prefer our results to an optimized crop-and-warp algorithm.


In a complex, heterogeneous network environment, such as the Internet, packets traversing different networks may be subjected to different treatments and may face different traffic loads across the routing path. This paper addresses the key issue of how to assign delay budgets to each network node along the routing path so that the end-to-end delay requirements of the supported applications are met. First, we describe a methodology to compute for a given flow a set of feasible per-node delays for the class of delay-based servers. We then formalize an optimal per-node delay assignment problem which takes into consideration the workload across the routing path. The solution, for homogeneous and heterogeneous networks, is provided. The resulting solution is optimal, but its implementation overhead is relatively high. To overcome this shortcoming, we propose two heuristics, EPH() and LBH(), to approximate the optimal strategy. EPH() uses the equi-partition concept to compute initial delay values and adjust these delay values to meet the end-to-end delay requirements. LBH() uses a relaxation factor to distribute the load proportionally across all nodes on the routing path. A simulation-based comparative analysis shows that the heuristics perform closely to the optimal schemes.


Investigates the visualization of geometric algorithms. We discuss how limiting the domain makes it possible to create a system that enables others to use it easily. Knowledge about the domain can be very helpful in building a system which automates large parts of the user's task. A system can be designed to isolate the user from any concern about how graphics is done. The application need only specify "what" happens and need not be concerned with "how" to make it happen on the screen. We develop a conceptual model and a framework for experimenting with it. We also present a system, GASP (Geometric Animation System, Princeton), which implements this model. GASP allows quick generation of 3D geometric algorithm visualizations, even for highly complex algorithms. It also provides a visual debugging facility for geometric computing. We show the utility of GASP by presenting a variety of examples. >


GST is an Indirect Tax which has replaced many Indirect Taxes in India. The Goods and Service Tax Act was passed in the Parliament on 29th March 2017. The Act came into effect on 1st July 2017; Goods & Services Tax Law in India is a comprehensive, multistage, destination-based tax that is levied on every value addition. In simple words, Goods and Service Tax (GST) is an indirect tax levied on the supply of goods and services. This law has replaced many indirect tax laws that previously existed in India. GST is one indirect tax for the entire country. This article deals with Analysis of GST Collection of India.


Research examines the concept of ethical imagination as one of the influential concepts in the architectural design process. Who is known as "the Architect's ability to think according to moral frameworks to become an important source and then to be the task of balancing the poetic and the disciplined imagination to produce an ethical architectural text that benefits the individual and society. ", thus be the research problem (implications of morally imaginative concept in architecture ). So the research aims to explain the basics of moral fiction in architecture, and we are on it. Research assumes that the foundations of moral fiction have an impact on the formulation of the architectural product . For the purpose of addressing the research issue and achieving the objectives of research and verification of its hypothesis, a knowledge framework was first built . Then a comprehensive theoretical framework for the imagination of the moral architecture extracted from the architectural propositions to be finalized in three main indicators is. Principles of moral constructional imagination, the foundations of moral and ethical imagination, moral logic of the Moral imagination architecture. Then apply them to elected projects to illustrate their impact on the architectural output and to arrive at conclusions that show the architectural imagination according its basics .


In recent years radical fundamentalists have had a formidable intellectual and social impact on Sunni Islam countries such as Egypt, Syria, and Lebanon. This highly acclaimed book by an eminent Arabist focuses on the development of Sunni Muslim fundamentalism, discussing how it rejected Western values, broke with pan-Arabism, and took on an activist political position. This enlarged edition contains a new chapter, "In the Shadow of Khomeini," which considers the growth and influences of Shi'ite radicalism since the Iranian Revolution, reviews the principal areas of controversy between Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims, and assesses whether rapprochement between the two groups is likely. Review of the earlier edition: "Sivan ...not only introduces Western readers to scores of important but little-known contemporary Islamic thinkers, ...He also breaks new ground in his analysis of their work and activities."-Shaul Bakhash, Wilson Quarterly "A gem of a small book...Sivan writes clearly, dispassionately, and with enviable command of his subject. His book makes a large and almost entirely new body of information available." -Daniel Pipes, The New Leader "Not just scholars but everyone seriously interested in the contemporary Middle East is in Sivan's debt."-G.H. Jansen, Los Angeles Times "This study by Emmanuel Sivan is exceptional; it is professional, insightful, and persuasive...A well-informed interpretation of recent events based directly on relevant Arabic writings."-Michael W. Dols, History "Thorough, thought-provoking, and very instructive."-William M. Brinner, Middle East Review Emmanuel Sivan is professor of history at Hebrew University and editor of the Jerusalem Quarterly


Futile Forest Fragments Most of the planet's terrestrial biodiversity is found in tropical forests, but much of this critical habitat now persists as fragmented patches surrounded by agriculture. Smaller forest patches sustain fewer species than larger patches or contiguous forest. However, the numbers of species that will disappear from a forest fragment—and the rate of species loss—remain poorly understood. Gibson et al. (p. 1508) surveyed islands in a reservoir in Thailand to measure the rate of loss of small mammals from small forest fragments. Collapse of the entire native community (up to 12 species) from 16 forest fragments was observed after 25 years of isolation. Thus, small forest fragments hold little value for mammalian biodiversity, and conservation efforts should instead focus on the preservation of large forest expanses. The rapid loss of native mammals from isolated Thai forests suggests that forest fragments cannot maintain biodiversity. Tropical forests continue to be felled and fragmented around the world. A key question is how rapidly species disappear from forest fragments and how quickly humans must restore forest connectivity to minimize extinctions. We surveyed small mammals on forest islands in Chiew Larn Reservoir in Thailand 5 to 7 and 25 to 26 years after isolation and observed the near-total loss of native small mammals within 5 years from <10-hectare (ha) fragments and within 25 years from 10- to 56-ha fragments. Based on our results, we developed an island biogeographic model and estimated mean extinction half-life (50% of resident species disappearing) to be 13.9 years. These catastrophic extinctions were probably partly driven by an invasive rat species; such biotic invasions are becoming increasingly common in human-modified landscapes. Our results are thus particularly relevant to other fragmented forest landscapes and suggest that small fragments are potentially even more vulnerable to biodiversity loss than previously thought.


We propose a general equilibrium model with oligopolistic output markets where two channels can cause a change in market power: (i) technology, via changes to productivity shocks and the cost of entry, (ii) market structure, via changes to the number of potential competitors. First, we disentangle these narratives by matching data on markups, labor reallocation and costs, finding that both channels are necessary to account for the data. Second, we show that changes in technology and market structure yield positive welfare effects through reallocation and selection, but off-setting negative effects from dead-weight loss and overhead. Overall, welfare is 9 percent lower in 2016 than in 1980. Third, the changes we identify explain and decompose cross-sectional patterns in declining business dynamism, declining equilibrium wages and labor force participation via reallocation toward larger, more productive firms.


Abstract. In the past, many studies have been carried out to demonstrate the influence of meteoroids on the atmospheric metal layer, observed roughly in the altitude range 80–105 km. Even with the capability of present day resonance lidars to measure metal densities within single meteor trails, it has been difficult to prove any influence of meteors on the average metal layer. In contrast to approaches taken earlier, we discuss here the seasonal characteristics of potassium, calcium, calcium ion, iron and sodium above 110 km altitude where the average nocturnal densities are so low that the existence of a baseline level of metal atoms and ions is often overlooked. By comparing simultaneous and common-volume observations of different metal layers at one location, we demonstrate that despite their different seasonal characteristics at lower altitudes remarkably similar seasonal characteristics are observed at higher altitudes. In addition, a qualitative agreement is also found for potassium at different latitudes. A comparison of metal densities at 113 km altitude with known meteor showers indicates a strong influence of shower meteoroids on the topside of the metal layers. Simultaneous observations of K along with Ca, Fe and/or Na permit the calculation of abundance ratios, which at 113 km altitude are quite similar to values measured in single meteor trails by ground based lidars. Furthermore, the increase in densities throughout summer is strong evidence for the influence of sporadic meteoroids on the high metal layers. This increase correlates well with the seasonal variation of sporadic micrometeor input independent of meteor showers. Given these evidences, we contend that there is a direct influence of ablating meteoroids on the topside of the mesospheric metal layer.


BACKGROUND
Many risk factors have been implicated for eating disorders, although little is known about those for binge eating disorder.

METHODS
A community-based, case-control design was used to compare 52 women with binge eating disorder, 104 without an eating disorder, 102 with other psychiatric disorders, and 102 with bulimia nervosa.

RESULTS
The main risk factors identified from the comparison of subjects with binge eating disorder with healthy control subjects were certain adverse childhood experiences, parental depression, vulnerability to obesity, and repeated exposure to negative comments about shape, weight, and eating. Compared with the subjects with other psychiatric disorders, those with binge eating disorder reported more childhood obesity and more exposure to negative comments about shape, weight, and eating. Certain childhood traits and pronounced vulnerability to obesity distinguished the subjects with bulimia nervosa from those with binge eating disorder.

CONCLUSIONS
Binge eating disorder appears to be associated with exposure to risk factors for psychiatric disorder and for obesity. When compared with the wide range of risk factors for bulimia nervosa, the risk factors for binge eating disorder are weaker and more circumscribed. Pre-morbid perfectionism, negative self-evaluation, and vulnerability to obesity appear especially to characterize those in whom bulimia nervosa subsequently develops.


This book represents the first asymptotic analysis, via completely integrable techniques, of the initial value problem for the focusing nonlinear Schrodinger equation in the semiclassical asymptotic regime. This problem is a key model in nonlinear optical physics and has increasingly important applications in the telecommunications industry. The authors exploit complete integrability to establish pointwise asymptotics for this problem's solution in the semiclassical regime and explicit integration for the underlying nonlinear, elliptic, partial differential equations suspected of governing the semiclassical behavior. In doing so they also aim to explain the observed gradient catastrophe for the underlying nonlinear elliptic partial differential equations, and to set forth a detailed, pointwise asymptotic description of the violent oscillations that emerge following the gradient catastrophe. To achieve this, the authors have extended the reach of two powerful analytical techniques that have arisen through the asymptotic analysis of integrable systems: the Lax-Levermore-Venakides variational approach to singular limits in integrable systems, and Deift and Zhou's nonlinear Steepest-Descent/Stationary Phase method for the analysis of Riemann-Hilbert problems. In particular, they introduce a systematic procedure for handling certain Riemann-Hilbert problems with poles accumulating on curves in the plane. This book, which includes an appendix on the use of the Fredholm theory for Riemann-Hilbert problems in the Holder class, is intended for researchers and graduate students of applied mathematics and analysis, especially those with an interest in integrable systems, nonlinear waves, or complex analysis.


Abstract Glyphosate, an herbicidal derivative of the amino acid glycine, was introduced to agriculture in the 1970s. Glyphosate targets and blocks a plant metabolic pathway not found in animals, the shikimate pathway, required for the synthesis of aromatic amino acids in plants. After almost forty years of commercial use, and multiple regulatory approvals including toxicology evaluations, literature reviews, and numerous human health risk assessments, the clear and consistent conclusions are that glyphosate is of low toxicological concern, and no concerns exist with respect to glyphosate use and cancer in humans. This manuscript discusses the basis for these conclusions. Most toxicological studies informing regulatory evaluations are of commercial interest and are proprietary in nature. Given the widespread attention to this molecule, the authors gained access to carcinogenicity data submitted to regulatory agencies and present overviews of each study, followed by a weight of evidence evaluation of tumor incidence data. Fourteen carcinogenicity studies (nine rat and five mouse) are evaluated for their individual reliability, and select neoplasms are identified for further evaluation across the data base. The original tumor incidence data from study reports are presented in the online data supplement. There was no evidence of a carcinogenic effect related to glyphosate treatment. The lack of a plausible mechanism, along with published epidemiology studies, which fail to demonstrate clear, statistically significant, unbiased and non-confounded associations between glyphosate and cancer of any single etiology, and a compelling weight of evidence, support the conclusion that glyphosate does not present concern with respect to carcinogenic potential in humans.


Credit ratings issued by credit rating agencies regulated in Hong Kong are serviceable in the European Union (EU) because Hong Kong is recognized for these purposes as an equivalent jurisdiction. The perimeter of Hong Kong's credit rating regime has recently come under the scrutiny of the Securities and Futures Appeals Tribunal, which has established important boundary lines impacting on the authorization, supervision and enforcement of the credit rating industry in Hong Kong. This article analyzes the case and identifies four elements central to it, namely, the information-based, document-based and act-based perimeters of the Hong Kong regime as well as its primary regulatory objective. It is suggested that the Tribunal's approach to these elements may represent a material departure of Hong Kong's legal and supervisory framework from the regime in the EU that could adversely affect Hong Kong's standing as an equivalent jurisdiction.


The intense selection process for economic traits conducted by the poultry breeding programs has been caused several changes in broiler meat quality. A database belonging to a selection program of a broiler male line was used to estimate heritability and genetic correlations for feed conversion ratio and meat quality traits, which were: initial and final pH, lightness, drip loss, thawing loss and shear force. Two-trait analyses were performed and the components of co(variance) and genetic parameters were determined using the Bayesian approach and the GIBBS3F90 software. The heritability estimate found for feed conversion ratio (0.52) showed high influence of direct additive genetic effects on the expression of this trait; therefore, this trait is able to respond to selection. The genetic correlation estimates obtained (-0.50 to 0.33) were indicative of important associations between feed conversion ratio and meat quality traits. The selection to improve feed conversion ratio may cause injury in greater or lesser degree for L*, drip loss (DL), thawing loss (TL) and shear force (SF) in broilers. It is recommended the monitoring of consequences of feed conversion ratio used as selection criteria or meat quality traits in broilers, due to its unfavorable indirect selection for these variables in this population. Breeding methods for efficiency improvements in broilers feed are suggested, which also benefit sensorial and functional properties of the meat.


[1] It has been suggested that galactic shock asymmetry induced by our galaxy's infall toward the Virgo Cluster may be a source of periodicity in cosmic-ray exposure as the solar system oscillates normally to the galactic plane, thereby inducing an observed terrestrial periodicity in biodiversity. There are a number of plausible mechanisms by which cosmic rays might affect terrestrial biodiversity. Here we investigate one of these mechanisms, the consequent ionization and dissociation in the atmosphere, resulting in changes in atmospheric chemistry, which culminate in the depletion of ozone and a resulting increase in the dangerous solar UVB flux on the ground. We estimate the enhancement of cosmic-ray intensity for a range of reasonable parameters of the galactic wind and galactic magnetic field, and use these to compute steady-state atmospheric effects. At the lower end of this range, we find that the effects are far too small to be of serious consequence. At the upper end of this range, the level of ozone depletion approaches that currently experienced due to anthropogenic effects such as accumulated chlorofluorocarbons, i.e., ∼2.1% global average loss of ozone column density. We discuss some of the possible effects. While much smaller intensity than the atmospheric effects of a nearby galactic gamma-ray burst, the duration of the effects would be about 106 times greater. Current ozone depletion is a documented stress on the biosphere; it is not clear whether its consequences would be severe if of extended duration. We conclude that, for estimates at the upper end of the reasonable range of the cosmic-ray variability over geologic time, the mechanism of atmospheric ozone depletion may provide a small additional stress, enhancing the impact of other events. However, in order to account for large fluctuations in biodiversity correlated with cosmic-ray flux, other mechanisms should be investigated.


Closely examining the Darfur, Sudan, genocide, and making reference to other genocides, this Article argues that the genocide prevention strategies which are currently favored by the United Nations are ineffective. This Article details the failures of targeted sanctions, United Nations peacekeepers, and other antigenocide programs. Then, this Article analyzes the Genocide Convention and other sources of international human rights law. Because the very strong language of the Genocide Convention forbids any form of complicity in genocide, and because the Genocide Convention is jus cogens (meaning that it prevails over any conflicting national or international law), this Article concludes that the Genocide Convention forbids any interference, including interference based on otherwise valid laws, against the procurement of defensive arms by groups which are being victimized by genocide.


This chapter focuses on some of the key legal elements relating to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and AIDS. The AIDS Drug Assistance Program is one of the key government-funded programs that provide AIDS-related drugs to those who could otherwise not afford them. A recent study found that HIV therapies reduce infectivity by 60%. Access to HIV therapies reduces the viral load (or the amount of HIV present in a person's bloodstream)—a key factor in curbing infectivity and in reducing the ability to transmit HIV. There is now evidence that AIDS, if untreated, affects the cognitive functioning of patients, sometimes quite early in the disease process. AIDS patients should be educated about the common neurological complications of HIV infection, including peripheral neuropathy as well as neurocognitive disorder. The American Medical Association has stated that physicians have an ethical obligation to provide care for patients with HIV infection and AIDS. AIDS has affected all aspects of family life. Injection drug use is responsible for over 30% of the transmission of HIV/AIDS in certain parts of this country, like New York City. It emphasized the need to protect human rights and human dignity in the context of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Efforts to prevent the spread of HIV have helped decrease the transmission in developed countries. It is learned from experience that coercion in the form of threats, penalty, and discrimination is not an effective tool to prevent the spread of an epidemic such as AIDS.


Abstract In calcific aortic valve disease (CAVD), pathological differentiation of valve interstitial cells (VICs) and lesion formation occur focally in the fibrosa layer. We have shown that VIC pathological differentiation in vitro is sensitive to matrix stiffness. We therefore hypothesized that focal changes in the stiffness of the fibrosa with CAVD progression correlate with alterations in the extracellular matrix (ECM) and pathological cell phenotypes in vivo. Twenty-four male Yorkshire pigs were fed either a control or experimental diet supplemented with 12% lard and 1.5% cholesterol for 2 or 5 months (n = 6 per group). Effective moduli were measured in focal regions of the fibrosa (n = 295) and ventricularis (n = 142) layers of intact right coronary aortic valve leaflets by micropipette aspiration. Histology was conducted within radial center sections and selected focal test locations within the fibrosa from each leaflet to characterize local ECM and cell phenotypes. Early stage disease was induced by the experimental diet, as evidenced by more significant proteoglycan-rich lesions (~10 - 200 µm thick) onlayed on the fibrosa (p < 0.05, controlling for genetic variability). Interestingly, lipid deposition was seen in only 28% of regions with early lesions, and 15% of regions without early lesions. No osteoblastic or macrophage cells were present in control or experimental valves, with only slight myofibroblast presence at the base of some 5 month lesions. Chondrogenic Sox9-positive cells were observed extensively and were positively correlated with proteoglycan content (p < 0.0001). Regions within the fibrosa were significantly stiffer than those in the ventricularis in both control and experimental valves (p <0.001). Although there were no significant differences between the control and experimental overall tissue moduli at these early time points, modulus heterogeneity did increase with disease. Furthermore, lesions in the fibrosa had lower moduli than non-lesion fibrosa locations (p < 0.06). These soft lesions contained significantly more proteoglycan (p <0.001) and Sox9 expression (p = 0.014) than normal fibrosa tissue. In conclusion, ECM remodelling can occur in a porcine model of early CAVD in the absence of lipid deposition, inflammatory cells, osteoblasts, or myofibroblasts, but with significant proteoglycan-rich lesion and chondrogenic cell presence. Mechanically soft proteoglycan-rich lesions may support chondrogenic VIC differentiation, providing new insights into early CAVD pathogenesis.


How is it that people come to appropriate (privately own) and justly use resources in the world that initially exist within conditions of 'common ownership'? The historical story in our world is surely that the strong pushed aside the weak and did as they pleased. This is how title over something was secured. But in this project I seek out an answer to the question, how does a person legitimately appropriate or use resources which are initially existed within conditions of common ownership. I argue that persons may come to legitimately appropriate and use such resources only if they abide by the duty, suggested by John Locke, to 'leave enough and as good' for others. I interpret the duty to leave others enough and as good when we use 'common resources' in a Georgist fashion and likewise maintain that a person may appropriate a common resource only if she pays the competitive value of the resource in a fashion which best promotes equal initial opportunity for welfare. After arguing that appropriators of common resources have the aforementioned duty I extend my analysis to suggest that users of common resources likewise have a duty to pay the competitive value of using common resources in the fashion which best promotes equal initial opportunity for welfare.


The dead girl genre of Young Adult (YA) literature is characterized by dying or recently deceased female narrators and/or central characters who embark on exciting new adventures once dying or dead, often find that they are now listened to and taken seriously, and generally find true love and satisfying sexual experiences. My concern is with these books as artifacts of a culture that allows little to no sexual agency or subjectivity for (living) teenaged girls and young women. In addition, we increasingly hear of cases of young women being harassed and bullied for their sexual activity, sometimes to the point of suicide. Based on a content analysis of these books, I consider the questions of how it is that dead has come to be promoted as a viable sexual subject position for young women, and how these books might actually nurture a culture of bullying and suicide.


[1] Previous isotopic investigations of Aptian/Albian oceanic anoxic event (OAE) 1b from the western North Atlantic (Blake Nose) posited that increased sea surface temperatures and decreased salinity led to stratification of the upper water column, resulting in lowered dissolved oxygen and enhanced organic matter preservation. We examined calcareous nannofossils from the same site in the western North Atlantic (Blake Nose) to evaluate changes in surface water conditions prior to, during, and after the Aptian/Albian OAE1b. The results of our analysis conflict somewhat with the previous interpretation that OAE1b at Blake Nose was linked to water column stratification. The signal from calcareous nannofossils indicates that in the late Aptian, prior to OAE1b, oligotrophic conditions in the surface waters were replaced by mesotrophic conditions that persisted throughout the OAE event and into the early Albian. We speculate that increased surface water productivity facilitated to some degree the development of OAE1b at Blake Nose.


Indigenous and non-Indigenous public history partnerships present unique challenges. Historical colonial practices and their present persistence, divergent historical perspectives, and disciplinary standards that enforce antiquated notions of objectivity and historical truth complicate the spaces of "shared authority." Moreover, public history institutions and their academic counterparts have historically broadcast colonial success. How can we foster partnerships that do not reinforce "asymmetrical relations of power"? How can educators build capacity in students to partner ethically with Indigenous Nations? This essay draws from a growing body of interdisciplinary scholarship to argue that a triad of concepts–shared authority, contact zones, and survivance–can aid in the development of decolonial public history practices and curricula.


This working paper explores the role of the Internet in reconfiguring marriages, introducing couples that meet in person and later marry, through a set of online surveys of married couples in Britain, Australia, and the US. We found that a sizeable proportion of online married couples in each country first met their spouse online, usually through an online dating service, chat room or on instant messaging (IM). This is more prominent for younger couples, but many couples at all ages can be found who met online. Moreover, our initial analyses, based on UK couples, indicate that meeting online is likely to introduce people to others whom they would not be as likely to meet through other means. The Internet might well open people to more diversity in their choice of a partner, such as by introducing individuals with greater differences in age or education, but with more similar interests and values. These findings are preliminary, but suggestive of significant social trends and indirect implications of social networking in the digital age. Based on these observations, we are planning to extend our analyses of the differences across couples introduced online and offline to our Australian and US samples. Also, we are planning additional surveys in more countries that can examine the degree that these findings can be supported in other contexts and overtime. This working paper was prepared for discussion at a forum, entitled 'Meeting, Dating, Marriage and the Internet', held at the Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford, 3 October 2008. The research was supported by a grant from eHarmony, a US based online match-making company supporting research on the science of relationships.


Here we present new applications for silicon nitride (SiN) membranes to evaluate biological processes. We determined that 50-nanometer thin films of SiN produced from silicon wafers were sufficiently durable to bind active rotavirus assemblies. A direct comparison of SiN microchips with conventional carbon support films indicated that SiN performs equivalent to the traditional substrate to prepare samples for Electron Microscopy (EM) imaging. Likewise, SiN films coated with Ni-NTA affinity layers concentrated rotavirus particles similarly to affinity-coated carbon films. However, affinity-coated SiN membranes outperformed glow-discharged conventional carbon films 5-fold as indicated by the number of viral particles quantified in EM images. In addition, we were able to recapitulate viral uncoating and transcription mechanisms directed onto the microchip surfaces. EM images of these processes revealed the production of RNA transcripts emerging from active rotavirus complexes. These results were confirmed by the functional incorporation of radiolabeled nucleotides into the nascent RNA transcripts. Collectively, we demonstrate new uses for SiN membranes to perform molecular surveillance on life processes in real-time.


A typical sensor consists of a sensing element and a transmitter. The major functions of a transmitter are limited to data acquisition and communication. The recently developed transmitters with 'smart' functions have been focused on easy setup/maintenance of the transmitter itself such as self-calibration and self-configuration. Recognizing the growing computational capabilities of microcontroller units (MCUs) used in these transmitters and underutilized computational resources, this thesis investigates the feasibility of adding additional functionalities to a transmitter to make it 'smart' without modifying its footprint, nor adding supplementary hardware. Hence, a smart sensor is defined as sensing elements combined with a smart transmitter. The added functionalities enhance a smart sensor with respect to performing process fault detection and variable prediction. This thesis starts with literature review to identify the state-of-the-arts in this field and also determine potential industry needs for the added functionalities. Particular attentions have been paid to an existing commercial temperature transmitter named NCS-TT105 from Microcyber Corporation. Detailed examination has been made in its internal hardware architecture, software execution environment, and additional computational resources available for accommodating additional functions. Furthermore, the schemes of the algorithms for realizing process fault detection and variable prediction have been examined from both theoretical and feasibility perspectives to incorporate onboard NCS-TT105. An important body of the thesis is to implement additional functions in the MCUs of NCSTT105 by allocating real-time execution of different tasks with assigned priorities in the real-time operating system (RTOS). The enhanced NCS-TT105 has gone through extensive evaluation on a physical process control test facility under various normal/fault conditions. The test results are satisfactory and design specifications have been achieved. To the best knowledge of the author, this is the first time that process fault detection and variable prediction have been implemented right onboard of a commercial transmitter. The enhanced smart transmitter is capable of providing the information of incipient faults in the process and future changes of critical process variables. It is believed that this is an initial step towards the realization of distributed intelligence in process control, where important decisions regarding the process can be made at a sensor level.


Sustainable production is using non-polluting processes and systems by considering energy conservation and natural resources, which is sustainable in terms of economic, safety and health for employees, society and consumers. In general sustainable production refers to valuable social production for all working people. There are different perspectives on sustainable production indicators. However, some recent researches offered indicators for measuring sustainable production. Increasing the number of indicators causes managers' confusion in using them.  This paper offers a fuzzy inference system for indicators ranking in organizations. In this study, general prioritizations regardless of the type of manufacturing industry were considered and effort was focused on showing the relative degree of indicators for managers. So that it offers good understanding about importance of each indicator with regard to others for assessmenting the past, present and future of organizations. The results of the present study shows that beside economy, specialists have great attention on the environmental issues which is important and necessary for manufacturing in protecting natural resources and environments.


Montane wetlands provide valuable habitat for nesting waterfowl and other waterbirds in the western United States, but relatively little information is available about the nesting ecology of their waterbird communities. We describe the general nesting ecology of breeding waterbirds at a large, shallow, montane wetland in southeastern Idaho during 1997-2000. Habitats include upland grasslands and intermittently to semipermanently flooded wetland habitats. We located a total of 1207 nests of 23 bird species: Eared Grebe ( Podiceps nigricollis ), Canada Goose ( Branta canadensis ), Mallard ( Anas platyrhynchos ), Gadwall ( A. strepera ), American Wigeon ( A. americana ), Green-winged Teal ( A. crecca ), Blue-winged Teal ( A. discors ), Cinnamon Teal ( A. cyanoptera ), Northern Shoveler ( A. clypeata ), Northern Pintail ( A. acuta ), Redhead ( Aythya americana ), Canvasback ( A. valisineria ), Lesser Scaup ( A. affinis ), Ruddy Duck ( Oxyura jamaicensis ), Northern Harrier ( Circus cyaneus ), American Coot ( Fulica americana ), Virginia Rail ( Rallus limicola ), Greater Sandhill Crane ( Grus canadensis tabida ), American Avocet ( Recurvirostra americana ), Long-billed Curlew ( Numenius americanus ), Wilson's Snipe ( Gallinago delicata ), Wilson's Phalarope ( Phalaropus tricolor ), and Short-eared Owl ( Asio flammeus ). Most nests were initiated in May-early June and were terminated (hatched or destroyed) by the 3rd week of June. Mean daily survival rate (DSR) for Canada Goose nests was 0.954 ± 0.005 ( s ‾x ; n = 127 nests), equivalent to Mayfield nest success of 21%. Mean DSR for dabbling duck nests over all 4 years was 0.938 ± 0.006 ( n = 41), equivalent to Mayfield nest success of 11%. For all other species where we found > 10 nests each year (Eared Grebe, Redhead, Canvasback, Coot, Sandhill Crane, American Avocet, and Wilson's Snipe), > 50% of nests found hatched at least 1 young. Success rates for geese, cranes, and ducks were lower than reported for Grays Lake during 1949-1951 and lower than most other wetlands in the region.


This study evaluates the capability of horizontal subsurface-flow constructed wetlands (SSF CWs) for treating pretreated swine wastewater as a function of contact time (CT) and type of macrophyte under the local conditions of Yucatan, Mexico. Experiments were conducted from July 2004 to November 2005 on a swine-fattening farm. The study had three stages: first, macrophytes were located and collected; second, plants were acclimatised; and third, a pilot plant with 6 wetlands was set up, operated and evaluated. The effectiveness of the wetlands was intensively tested over 2 periods (April and November 2005). The results indicate that treatment efficiency significantly improved with increased CT for most of the analysed contaminants. The highest removal rates were recorded at a CT of 3 d and ranged between 64 and 78% for total suspended solids, 52 and 78% for COD, 57 and 74% for BOD5, 57 and 79% for total nitrogen, 63 and 75% for ammonium nitrogen, 70 and 81% for nitrate, 0 and 28% for total phosphorus and 3.3 and 4.2 log-units for total coliforms. Results also suggest that the macrophyte species used did not significantly differ on their contribution to overall treatment efficiency. However, vegetated beds slightly improved water quality when compared to unplanted systems. Horizontal SSF CWs are a suitable technology for treating swine wastewater under the local conditions of Yucatan. Contact time should be given special attention in the design of future full-scale facilities.


Historically, racist attitudes and policies among officials and citizens in the United States have influenced the effectiveness of educational reform efforts. Given that reality, this article describes an implementation of the Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) program within a broad sociopolitical context that includes a community's beliefs about intelligence, race, and academic achievement. AVID, designed to help low-income and minority high school students attend college; challenged this community's fundamental beliefs about academic success and subsequently met resistance from educators and community members who believed that intelligence is fixed and racially based. A case study approach was taken to explore how racism shapes educational reform in the local context and to identify ways to reverse its negative effects. In recent years, school reform efforts have focused increasingly on the strategies that educators in districts or schools have deployed to renew and improve their schools. Notable among these reform efforts are the Accelerated Schools program (Levin, 1987), the Comer School Development Program (Comer, 1980, 1988, 1997), and the Coalition of Essential Schools (Sizer 1992), which have been adopted and implemented throughout the country. These organizational development models emerged as antidotes to top-down models of school reform that were criticized for being insensitive to the obstacles and constraints facing teachers attempting to implement educational reforms. These models are heuristic because they show how educational innovations are negotiated in the practical, nitty-gritty details of daily life in schools. However, because their focus is on schoollevel strategies for self-renewal and improvement, they downplay the actions that initiated reform and the governmental, community, and district actions that occurred away from and before the school attempted rejuvenation and renewal (Datnow, Hubbard, & Mehan, 1999). Experts have called for locally adapted change that is sensitive to local education practice and context (Elmore, 1996; Elmore & McLaughlin, 1988; Fullan & Hargreaves, 1996; McLaughlin, 1990). As Goodman (1995) stated: What is most important [if we are to be truly transformative in schooling] ... is the recognition that school restructuring efforts be built upon an open discourse regarding the type of culture we wish to build and the relationship between schooling and this future society. (p. 7) Reform agents point out that efforts fail when they do not fully address the context in which the school is located or when they ignore the culture of the school (Sarason, 1996). Schools are political domains; therefore attention must be paid to the power that is embedded in all relationships that unfold therein (Datnow, 1998; Fullan, 1991; Giroux & McLaren, 1986; Hargreaves, 1994). The implementation of reform efforts is a conditional process in which the consequences of actions taken in one context may become the conditions for actions in another (Datnow et al., 1999; Hall & McGinty, 1997). On the one hand, in their exuberance to present the rich details of educational change in local contexts, educational researchers must not lose sight of the importance of actions taken in sociopolitical contexts that exist at a distance to the school. On the other hand, they cannot be content to treat sociopolitical factors as disembodied forces. The enactment of these factors in social interaction must be revealed and explained. In this article, we describe the implementation of a reform model aimed at improving the academic opportunity of African American youth in a community in a southern state. The purpose of this research is threefold: (a) to describe more fully the process by which this school implemented, incorporated, and enacted a reform design that was developed externally; (b) to explore more fully the dynamic relationship among structural constraints, cultural arrangements, and people's actions in the context of this school reform effort; and (c) to illustrate how cultural beliefs about race and intelligence become structural constraints impinging on educational reform. …


Yoga is widely practiced as a means to promote physical, psychological and spiritual well-being. While a number of studies have documented the efficacy of yoga for functioning in healthy individuals and those experiencing illness or pain, biopsychosocial effects have not been detailed. We propose an analogue between the physical, psychological and spiritual effects of practice as espoused in yoga traditions, and the biopsychosocial model of health. To this end, we present a review and conceptual model of the potential biopsychosocial benefits of yoga, which may provide clues regarding the possible mechanisms of action of yoga upon well-being. Physical systems activated through yoga practice include musculoskeletal, cardiopulmonary, autonomic nervous system and endocrine functioning. Psychological benefits include enhanced coping, self-efficacy and positive mood. Spiritual mechanisms that can be understood within a Western medical model include acceptance and mindful awareness. We present empirical evidence that supports the involvement of these domains. However, additional well-conducted research is required to further establish the efficacy of yoga for health states, and to understand how posture, breath and meditative activity affect the body, mind and spirit.


Recently, it has been suggested that it may be possible to use combinations of coupled quantum wire waveguides to form quantum computational qubits [1],[2]. However, there are several related problems intrinsic to this approach. First, in order to completely switch the electron probability wave from one waveguide to another, the length of the region in which the two waveguides are coupled must be tuned quite precisely. In addition, even with a well-tuned coupling length, it appears that complete transmission of the probability wave cannot be achieved [2]. Both of these problems may be mitigated by the addition of a bias along the length of the quantum wires – this would effectively alter the coupling length and may also increase the transmission gain. We show that adding this bias does not provide gain to overcome the lack of 100% coupling between the two guides, but can be used to compensate for imprecision in the length of the device's coupling region.


Abstract Bereavement support services are recognised as an integral part of hospices and palliative care services. Exploratory surveys on the nature of such services have been conducted in recent years in several countries, including the USA, UK and Australia. The purpose of this paper is to compare the main findings of these surveys and to offer preliminary suggestions on how to improve this component of care both within and across these three countries. Through this comparison, a number of common aspects of service delivery were highlighted. Common difficulties were also found, including low numbers of paid staff, variations in specialist training, insufficient levels of funding, and the lack of the use of validated bereavement assessment tools. Bereavement support is an important aspect of hospice and palliative care service delivery. In all countries, further research and policy development is required to address the common difficulties.


The purpose of this study is to explore Shel Silverstein's complex and highly controversial book The Giving Tree from a different lens which incorporates the theories of the contemporary French philosopher Michel Serres. This investigation will highlight that this widely popular tale is not merely a narrative about giving as the title unequivocally implies, but it is also a story about happiness. Indeed, the theme of happiness, which has only been mentioned in passing by researchers such as Richard Neuhaus and Jean Elshtain, appears to be the central focus of this short story for children. Specifically, the progressive disenchantment of the character "Boy" throughout the narrative compels the reader to ponder whether the modern world is conducive to any type of genuine or lasting happiness at all. Moreover, regardless of the debatable intentions of this reclusive author, The Giving Tree is a poignant representation of the parasitic relationship that the alienated modern subject has with the remainder of the biosphere which provides sustenance to all of the earth's sentient and non-sentient beings. The utter disillusionment of the protagonist later in life after a seemingly pleasant childhood also causes the reader to question the hollow virtues of consumerism that are allegedly supposed to maximize one's happiness.


This paper proposes a tree-based pursuit algorithm that efficiently trades off complexity and approximation performance for overcomplete signal expansions. Finding the sparsest representation of a signal using a redundant dictionary is, in general, a NP-Hard problem. Even sub-optimal algorithms such as Matching Pursuit remain highly complex. We propose a structuring strategy that can be applied to any redundant set of functions, and which basically groups similar atoms together. A measure of similarity based on coherence allows for representing a highly redundant sub-dictionary of atoms by a unique element, called molecule. When the clustering is applied recursively on atoms and then on molecules, it naturally leads to the creation of a tree structure. We then present a new pursuit algorithm that uses the structure created by clustering as a decision tree. This tree-based algorithm offers important complexity reduction with respect to Matching Pursuit, as it prunes important parts of the dictionary when traversing the tree. Recent results on incoherent dictionaries are extended to molecules, while the true highly redundant nature of the dictionary stays hidden by the tree structure. We then derive recovery conditions on the structured dictionary, under which tree-based pursuit is guaranteed to converge. Experimental results finally show that the gain in complexity offered by tree-based pursuit does in general not have a high penalty on the approximation performance. They show that the dimensionality of the problem is reduced thanks to the tree construction, without significant loss of information at hand.


Salorthidic Fluvaquents originating from Seville, Andalusia, were sampled and subjected to rheological and particle charge investigations. Structural changes in a managed and a natural site under pasture were compared based on physicochemical laboratory analyses, scanning electron microscopy, particle charge density (PCD) measurements, and rheological tests. An uncultivated site located at the riparian zone of the Guadalquivir River showed a natural fluvio‐marine‐affected development. A regular influx and exchange of salts in the groundwater, especially in the form of NaCl and calcite, dominate soil genetic processes. In contrast, drainage of the saline‐sodic soils for cultivation, furrow irrigation, and phosphogypsum fertilization have led to a modification of the salinity gradients throughout the reclaimed soil profile. Sodium ions on the exchangers were released due to the Ca amendment, which led to a decreased exchangeable Na+ concentration (exchangeable Na percentage [ESP] < 15) in the topsoil. The soil microstructure of the carbonate‐rich and clayey soil remained stable, and surface sealing and crusting were reduced, particularly in the Ap horizon. Results from PCD measurements, derived zeta potential, ζ, and the rheological parameters loss factor tanδ and integral z were consistent. Comparing reclaimed and natural conditions, the rheological parameters integral z and ζ potential showed a linear correlation to ESP and the cation ratio of soil structural stability. This was indicated by increased integral z values and ζ potentials, showing a trend toward stable agglomeration and increased microstructural strength in the case of the ameliorated reclaimed topsoil. Phosphogypsum amelioration was appraisal as successful using approach.


This paper presents a direct torque control (DTC) technique for brushless dc (BLDC) motors with non-sinusoidal back electromotive force (EMF) using a four-switch inverter in the constant torque region. This approach introduces a two-phase conduction mode as opposed to the conventional three-phase DTC drives. Unlike conventional six-step current and voltage control schemes, by properly selecting the inverter voltage space vectors from a simple look-up table at a predefined sampling time, the desired quasi-square wave current is obtained. Therefore, a much faster torque response is achieved compared to conventional current and voltage control schemes. In addition, for effective torque control, a novel switching pattern incorporating the voltage vector look-up table is designed and implemented for a four-switch inverter to produce the desired torque characteristics. Furthermore, to eliminate the low-frequency torque oscillations, pre-stored back EMF constant versus position look-up tables are designed and used in the torque estimation. As a result, it is possible to achieve two-phase conduction DTC of a BLDC motor drive with faster torque response due to the fact that the voltage space vectors are directly controlled. A theoretical concept is developed and the validity and effectiveness of the proposed DTC scheme are verified through the simulations and experimental results.


The texture and substructure development during post-dynamic annealing of an austenitic Ni-30%Fe model alloy after complete dynamic recrystallization was investigated using electron back-scattered diffraction (EBSD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). A novel mechanism of metadynamic softening is proposed based on the experimental investigation of the grain structure, crystallographic texture and dislocation substructure evolution. The initial softening stage involved rapid growth of the dynamically formed nuclei and migration of the mobile boundaries. The subboundaries within DRX grains progressively disintegrated through dislocation climb and dislocation annihilation, which ultimately led to the formation of dislocation-free grains, while the grain boundary migration gradually became slower. As a result, the DRX texture was largely preserved throughout the annealing process.


The Petersberg tasks refer to the scope of EU military missions. A military mission is defined by the requirement that it respond to threats and security challenges with available capabilities. For the EU, both emerging threats and available capabilities have gone through many changes since the inception of the original Petersberg tasks in 1992. This paper explores the changing dimension of EU military missions in response to the changing security environment and the EU's search for a global strategy.


Speculation about the future of the North Korean regime has been intense for nearly two decades. In the 1990s, economic crises and famine led to predictions of the Kim regime's imminent downfall. Today analysts highlight impending famine as well as threats to the regime's position brought by eroding information control. Several theories of authoritarian control help to explain how Kim Jong-il and his family have remained in power and how this might change over time. The Kim regime has employed a variety of authoritarian tools to protect itself both from popular revolt and from internal coups. Its social policies, reliance on certain ideas and nationalism, and use of force prevent the onset of revolution. Through numerous other tools (elite co-optation, manipulation of foreign governments for financial aid, and the coupproofing of domestic institutions), the regime protects itself from coups d'tat and elite unrest. This framework not only helps to explain the past resilience of the regime, but it suggests that the regime is not in danger of being unseated by coups or revolution. Yet it also suggests that the regime has not adequately prepared for succession after Kim's death. This analysis has implications for policy planning about the future of the Korean Peninsula, as well as for negotiations with and coercive strategies toward Pyongyang.


Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) can help social enterprises and other organizations working on global sustainability issues and in the human development sector in general scale their social impact. The flexibility, dynamism, and ubiquity of ICTs make them powerful tools for improving relationships among organizations and their beneficiaries, multiplying the effects of action against many, if not all, aspects of global unsustainability, including poverty and exclusion. The scaling of social impact occurs in two different dimensions. On one hand, ICTs can increase the value proposition of a program or action (depth scaling) in different ways: providing accurate and fast needs recognition, adapting products and services, creating opportunities, building fairer markets, mobilizing actions on environmental and social issues, and creating social capital. On the other hand, ICTs can also increase the number of people reached by the organization (breadth scaling) by accessing new resources, creating synergies and networks, improving organizational efficiency, increasing its visibility, and designing new access channels to beneficiaries. This article analyzes the role of ICT in the depth and breadth scaling of social impact.


The use of plasma as an industrial tool has become the norm within the surface treatment industry. However, our understanding of the plasma surface interactions is still within the R&D phase. What can be done experimentally is limited due to the electromagnetic properties of plasma and the intrusive nature of the methods available for experimentalists. Incorporating complex boundaries (reactor
walls/treated surfaces/external circuitry) in computerized simulation is a sought after goal in the battle of understanding industrial plasma peculiarities .
A flexible-easily configurable- modus operandi has been devised to implement the effects of complex boundaries within the vicinity of an electromagnetically active system. The technique is based on the spatial conversion of the system into dynamic electromagnetically time-variable elements, then using circuit/Maxwellian approach to obtain and analyze time snapshots of the spatial voltage distribution across the system. The technique has been benchmarked using simplified case studies/models that can be theoretically analyzed, and has been found
to be both robust and reliable. We used this technique to analyze a plasma system within the vicinity of complex boundaries. The plasma it self has been implemented
within the simulation using two different theoretical approaches, further demonstrating the flexibility of the technique. The end result of this study yield in two folds: the potential distribution along adjustable boundary layers, with a special interest in what is commonly known as a triple junction configuration. And the impact of
the used plasma model on the results. We conclude with a discussion of the results, and future planned work.