Europe came close to become the first region to ban certain types of nano-materials for electrical and electronic equipment as part of the recast of the Directive on the Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment (RoHS Directive) in the European Union. Although this attempt eventually failed in 2011, the preceding debate illuminates challenges posed to the regulation of nanomaterials, and in particular to the implementation of the precautionary principle in that context, when nanotechnology has the great potential to enable the development of novel products relevant to global efforts to counter various security threats such as energy security, resource security, counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency. This article will examine as a case study the recent debate over the ban on the use of certain nanomaterials in electric and electronic equipment in Europe for the purpose of highlighting those challenges confronting the application of the precautionary principle in the context of nanotechnology regulation when the regulatory decision-making may have broader security implications. This article will then set out an alternative regulatory approach by which a more balanced and targeted decision-making process concerning use of nanomaterials can be achieved to accommodate broader security concerns.


This study investigates the professional development (PD) needs of primary English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers whose professional field has received significant interest at the global level in the past two decades. The study takes a different stance from previous research that exclusively generated data from teachers because it sought the perspectives of teacher educators as well. The decision to include teacher educators in this study has proven useful to generate ample data that suggest the inseparable relationships between primary EFL teachers' profiles, their needs and the specific typicality of their professional environment. The study proposes a model of needs-based PD for primary EFL teachers that exemplifies these aspects. The discussion in the study brings implications for future research into the PD needs of primary EFL teachers. It will also inform teacher educators and educational policy-makers to develop a framework of reference for the design of PD programmes that well attend to primary EFL teachers' needs.


In this paper, we present several applications of recent results of large random matrix theory (RMT) to the performance analysis of small cell networks (SCNs). In a nutshell, SCNs are based on the idea of a very dense deployment of low-cost low-power base stations (BSs) that are substantially smaller than existing macro cell equipment. However, a massive network densification causes many new challenges to the optimal system design, such as interference and mobility management, self-organization, security, coverage and performance prediction. We focus especially on the last point and show how RMT can be used to provide tight and tractable approximations of key performance parameters, such as capacity and outage probability, and demonstrate how it can be applied to related optimization problems. Although the results are only tight in the large system limit, they yield close approximations for small systems with as little as three transmitters and receivers. Thus, we believe that RMT offers many yet unexplored applications to the study of SCNs and hope that this paper stimulates further research in this direction.


This dissertation contains three theoretical essays on the functioning and the organization of over the counter markets.
The first paper, "Is Time Enough to Alleviate Adverse Selection?," considers a dynamic adverse selection model in which sellers pay a search cost to find a new buyer. I uncover a relationship between adverse selection and the magnitude of search costs. Interestingly, small search costs may increase the severity of the adverse selection problem, ultimately leading to a lemons market. A market design intervention may mitigate adverse selection and promote full market participation. Conditional upon an adequate level of information disclosure, a per period market participation tax, coupled with a final rebate once a seller trades, introduces a credible signalling device.
The second paper, "Peer Monitoring Incentives via Central Clearing Counterparties," studies how the novel introduction of mandatory clearing for over the counter financial assets may affect dealers' incentives to monitor each other's. The design of the loss allocation rules is crucial. To maximize peer monitoring incentives, a higher share of losses should be payed by surviving members with a greater trade exposure to the defaulting dealer. In practice, this mechanism can be implemented through variation margin haircutting. If all members should contribute, equilibrium outcomes may be inferior to what can be achieved without clearing.
The third paper, "Learning and Price Dynamics in Durable Goods Markets," is joint work with Min Zhang. We set up a dynamic model with two key features: first, agents enjoy heterogeneous use values, and later resell the good; second, prices do not incorporate all available information. Informational frictions slow down learning, and affect price movements asymmetrically in high and low aggregate demand states. Learning and the resale motive are the predominant force for durable goods with short resale horizons, slow time-varying aggregate demand, and similar use values among
buyers.


Researchers have been using ice core data to steadily push our knowledge of climate change back to earlier and earlier times. In his Perspective,
 White
 discusses the importance of the 740,000-year-long record from the European Project for Ice Coring in Antarctica. This is nearly twice the time span previous ice cores have provided and accesses for the first time in an ice core the Mid Bruhnes Event, a fundamental shift in the pattern of climate at about a half-million years ago. When fully analyzed, the EPICA core will provide a rich source of information about greenhouse gases, glaciation cycles, and climate trends. This record leads ice core scientists to believe that ice 1 million years old, when glacial cycles shifted from 41,000- to 100,000-year cycles, is waiting near the base of the Antarctic Ice Sheet.


In PFI transactions the private companies which take on the obligation to build and manage a facility usually provide only a small fraction of the project's capital requirements. Most of the capital is borrowed from banks and other financial institutions. This poses challenges to financial services providers which often have to retain untypical residual project risks. This article describes the types of risks faced by financial services providers and the strategies they use to cope with these risks. Given the often politically-sensitive nature of PFI projects, the authors suggest that financial institutions should investigate a broader set of parameters than they do at present, which relate directly to the political economy of PFI projects.


This study examines the theory that veto players constrain executives and create a more stable political environment. This study extends previous research by looking at two new cases, the empires of China and Japan. I focus on the unconstrained rule of Chinese Emperors compared to their Japanese counterparts in part because of the existence of a developed feudal society in Medieval Japan, but also because China represents one of the earliest forms of meritocratic recruitment for higher offices in the government. Using data on imperial rule, this thesis analyzes the constraining effect of feudal institutions in a context found outside typical literature. I show that constraining the executive this way decreases the probability of being removed from office in both cases, yet has an ambiguous effect on duration of rule once time trends are taken into account. Unexpectedly, the effect of other institutions—namely merit-based—increased the duration of rule for Chinese Emperors. In times when bureaucrats were recruited solely based on merit, Chinese emperors ruled for a longer duration of time and enjoyed a decreased probability of being removed from office. I conclude by theorizing that the merit system created an independent power base that insulated the bureaucracy from executive reprisal, yet still created a powerful centralized state apparatus that undermined


Abstract. Though the presence of intermittent turbulence in the stratosphere has been well established, much remains unknown about it. In situ observations of this phenomenon, which have provided the greatest details of it, have mostly been achieved via sounding balloons (i.e., small balloons which burst at peak altitude) carrying constant-temperature hot-wire anemometers (CTAs). The Turbulence and Intermittency Long-Duration Atmospheric Experiment (TILDAE) was developed to test a new paradigm for stratospheric observations. Rather than flying on a sounding balloon, TILDAE was incorporated as an add-on experiment to the payload of a NASA long-duration balloon mission that launched in January 2016 from McMurdo Station, Antarctica. Furthermore, TILDAE's key instrument was a sonic anemometer, which (relative to a CTA) provides better-calibrated measurements of wind velocity and a more robust separation of velocity components. During the balloon's ascent, TILDAE's sonic anemometer provided atmospheric measurements up to an altitude of about 18 km, beyond which the ambient air pressure was too low for the instrument to function properly. Efforts are currently underway to scientifically analyze these observations of small-scale fluctuations in the troposphere, tropopause, and stratosphere and to develop strategies for increasing the maximum operating altitude of the sonic anemometer.


The visual channel has been shown to be more informative than the auditory channel in perceptual judgments of a performer's level of expression. Previous work has revealed a positive relationship between amplitude of music-related movement and ratings of expression, for example, and observers have been shown to be sensitive to kinematic features of music-related movement. In this study, we investigate relationships between the kinematics of a conductors' expressive gestures and ratings of perceived expression. Point-light representations (totalling 10 minutes) of two professional conductors were presented to participants who provided continuous ratings of perceived valence, activity, power, and overall expression using a virtual slider interface. Relationships between these ratings and 11 kinematic variables computationally extracted from the movement data were subsequently examined using linear regression. Higher levels of expressivity were found to be conveyed by gestures characterized by increased amplitude, greater variance, and higher speed of movement.


This study explores the gender-stereotyped beliefs and perception of secondary school teachers' in classroom practices. A total of 250 teachers' participated in this study. A self-administered questionnaire was used to generate responses from teachers on how gender-stereotypes are played out in their classroom practices. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, one-way ANOVA and t-test. Results indicate that most of the teachers surveyed directly or indirectly promote gender-stereotypes. However, ANOVA test revealed no statistically significant difference between some demographic variables and the three aspects. From these findings, it is recommended that teacher education curricula for both pre- service and in-service must be permeated with opportunities to acquire gender sensitivity knowledge, skills and develop attitudes in classroom layout, use of resources, responsibilities for activities, discipline, classroom language and teacher- students interaction. In addition, Federal and States Ministries of Education need to develop textbooks and materials, establish mechanisms to monitor and evaluate education policy implementation from a gender equality perspective. Keywords-Gender-stereotypes,beliefs,perception,classroom practices, teachers


Field experiments were conducted at Welenchity experimental field site, Melkassa Agricultural Research Center from June to October during the years 2010 and 2011 cropping seasons. The aim of the study was to determine optimum time of intercropping haricot bean into the maize based cropping system under conservation tillage practices, Tied-ridge and Zero-tillage. The experiment was laid out in split-plot design, with tillage practices a) Tied-ridge and b) Zero-tillage as main plot and time of intercropping haricot bean 1) Planting haricot bean simultaneously with maize, 2) Planting haricot bean 15 days after maize was planted and 3) planting haricot bean 30 days after maize was planted as sub-plots. Intercropping was assessed on the basis of the performance of the main and component crops indices as grain yield, biomass weight, partial and total LER and competitive indices such as relative crowding coefficient (K), aggressivity (A), competitive ratio (CR) and system productivity index (SPI).There was no interaction between tillage practices and time of intercropping haricot bean in any of the indices studied. Main effects of tillage practices had no significant effects on all the indices considered during both 2010 and 2011 growing seasons, but grain yield, biomass weight, partial and total LER tended to be higher in the tied-ridge treatment during 2010 and vis-versa during 2011 seasons. The results obtained showed that the greatest intercrop yields of maize and haricot bean were obtained when both crops were planted at the same time. In both years, highest total land equivalent ratio (LERt) values were obtained when planting of maize and haricot bean was done at the same time followed by planting of haricot bean 15 days after maize was planted indicating the advantages of intercropping over the sole planting. Partial LERm was always higher than LERb during 2010 season and vis-versa during 2011 season. The results of competitive indices indicate that maize was the dominant crop in the mixture as measured by the positive values of A, and the high values of Km than Kb in the mixture. On the other hand, CR values of haricot bean were higher than maize in the mixture suggesting haricot bean was more competitive than maize in the intercropping system. Moreover, the data of SPI indicated that intercropping haricot bean at the same time with maize had higher SPI during both 2010 and 2011 season. In conclusion, intercropping of haricot bean simultaneously with maize exhibited an overall advantage over the other time of intercropping and sole cropping in terms of grain yield, partial LERm, LERb and LERt and competitive ratio indices and could therefore be recommended for Central rift valley areas of Ethiopia where maize and haricot bean are major crops.


Objective: Parkinson's disease (PD) is one of the most common progressive neurodegenerative disorders. Though the exact etiology of PD is largely unknown, oxidative stress has been reported to play an important role in PD. Nowadays, natural products have gained attention as an alternate therapy to delay the onset of neurodegeneration. The aim of the current study was to assess the neuroprotective and neurorescue potential of Eggplant (Solanum melongena L) Extract (EE) in 6-OHDA-induced Parkinsonian rat model.
Materials and Methods: The filtered crude extract of eggplant fruit was prepared and their total flavonoids content was analysed by aluminium chloride (AlCl3) method. Free radical scavenging activity was determined by DPPH assay. Neuroprotective activity was performed on Wistar healthy male models. Phytochemical analysis was carried out by LC/MS analysis.
Results: Our results indicated the presence of substantial amounts of phenolics and flavonoids in EE, suggestive of potent free radical scavenging activity. Antioxidant assays revealed that EE exhibits significant ROS scavenging activity. Neurobehavioral analysis showed corrected circling behaviour induced by D-amphetamine and spontaneous locomotor activity in the animals that received EE before or after the 6-OHDA lesioning. Treatment of EE before or after the 6-OHDA lesioning significantly restored the altered levels of oxidative markers in the substantia nigra as well as levels of antioxidant enzymes in the striatum regions of rat brain. Additionally, EE also restored levels of dopamine and dihydroxyphenyl acetic acid and increased expression of tyrosine hydroxylase in the ipsilateral striatum region of the 6-OHDA intoxicated rat brain. Finally LC/MS analysis of the extract revealed the presence of several flavonoids such as kaempferol, quercetin, naringenin and phenolics such as gallic acid, caffeoyl putrescine, and 5-caffeoylquinic acid.
Conclusion: Taken together, our findings indicate that the EE has both neuroprotective as well as neurorescue effects in 6-OHDA-induced Parkinson's in rat model which could potentially be due to the presence of antioxidant flavonoids and phenolics.


OBJECTIVE
This study aimed to better understand low-income parents' child dental care decisions through a life course approach that captured parents' experiences within the social context of poverty.

METHODS
We conducted 43 qualitative life history interviews with 10 parents, who were long-term social assistance recipients living in Montreal, Canada. Thematic analysis involved interview debriefing, transcript coding, theme identification and data interpretation.

RESULTS
Our interviews identified two emergent themes: lay diagnosis and parental oral health management. Parents described a process of 'lay diagnosis' that consisted of examining their children's teeth and interpreting their children's oral signs and symptoms based on their observations. These lay diagnoses were also shaped by their own dental crises, care experiences and oral health knowledge gained across a life course of poverty and dental disadvantage. Parents' management strategies included monitoring and managing their children's oral health themselves or by seeking professional recourse. Parents' management strategies were influenced both by their lay diagnoses and their perceived ability to manage their children's oral health. Parents felt responsible for their children's dental care, empowered to manage their oral health and sometimes forgo dental visits for their children because of their own self-management life history.

CONCLUSION
This original approach revealed insights that help to understand why low-income parents may underutilize free dental services. Further research should consider how dental programs can nurture parental empowerment and capitalize on parents' perceived ability to diagnose and manage their children's oral health.


The Supervisory Board has nominated Wiebe Draijer (48) as Chairman of the Executive Board of Rabobank Nederland. He is currently president of the Social and Economic Council (SER) of the Netherlands. The appointment of Wiebe Draijer has been submitted for review by the regulators. Wiebe Draijer is the intended successor of Rinus Minderhoud, who acts as Interim Chairman of the Executive Board, following the resignation of Piet Moerland on 29 October 2013. The switchover to Rabobank will be made in close consultation with the SER. The bank will provide more information once the prerequisite approval process has been concluded. Wout Dekker, Rabobank Chairman of the Supervisory Board, comments: "With Wiebe Draijer on board, we will have an all-round Chairman of the Executive Board. In view of his background and personality, we have found a perfect match. Rabobank will benefit from his industrial and strategic expertise and his societal leadership. Wiebe Draijer is recognised for his ability in bridging leadership; in bringing together various parties with a diversity of interests. This is exactly what Rabobank is looking for. While being mindful of its history and retaining its cooperative identity, Rabobank is preparing for the future and being able to continue to fulfil its economic and social role in the Netherlands and internationally." Wiebe Draijer was born in 1965. He studied mechanical engineering in Delft and in 1992 received an MBA from the Insead Business School. From 1990 to 2003, he was employed as a consultant at the McKinsey consultancy firm. In 2004, he was appointed the company's managing partner for the Netherlands and in 2006 for the Benelux countries. Wiebe Draijer was also a member of the innovation platform comprising government and independent experts, which boosted innovation and entrepreneurship in the Netherlands. As from 1 September 2012, Wiebe Draijer was appointed president of the Social and Economic Council of the Netherlands. In this role he played a decisive role in the establishment of the Dutch Energy Agreement for Sustainable Growth. Wiebe Draijer is married, with four children.


BACKGROUND: In every neonate presenting with prolonged jaundice persisting beyond day 21 of life, neonatal cholestasis should always be excluded even if the infant is breast fed. Pale stools are an alarm symptom and additional tests for neonatal cholestasis should be carried out directly. CASE DESCRIPTION: We describe the case of a five-week-old girl of Chilean origin who was referred with conjugated hyperbilirubinaemia. The jaundice had possibly arisen directly after birth, but due to the dark skin colour of the neonate the jaundice was not recognized as such, although her scleras were yellow. According to the stool colour card, her stools were pale. The findings of a histological examination of a liver biopsy confirmed the diagnosis of biliary atresia, for which a Kasai hepatoportoenterostomy was performed. CONCLUSION: Neonatal cholestasis is always pathological and requires further investigation. In infants with dark skin, jaundice is sometimes difficult to see and inspection of the scleras should give the definitive answer.


In 2011, the Danish Energy Agency initiated a study into ventilation solutions for the retrofit of schools to identify the most promising technologies. The reason was an increasing awareness that the ability of school children to absorb, adapt and use knowledge was affected negatively by inadequate ventilation rates. This paper presents an output of this study. A method for evaluation of the ventilation systems is proposed. The method consists of three categories with a clear separation to create a scoring board that facilitates transparent and unbiased evaluation. The method was applied in an analysis of ventilation solutions in schools and the finding was that centralized or decentralized balanced mechanical ventilation activated by CO2 and temperature sensors in the individual classrooms has the highest score and has the best market maturity. Other solutions are possible but unacceptable performance on some performance issues thus has to be accepted. Furthermore, a set of design rules for ventilation solutions in the case of school retrofit is presented. The design rules require an analysis of the building typology before the best solution can be chosen for a specific school.


ABSTRACT Consider two heterogenous populations of agents who, when matched, jointly produce an output, Y. For example, teachers and classrooms of students together produce achievement, parents raise children, whose life outcomes vary in adulthood, assembly plant managers and workers produce a certain number of cars per month, and lieutenants and their platoons vary in unit effectiveness. Let and denote agent types in the two populations. Consider the following matching mechanism: take a random draw from the W = wj subgroup of the first population and match her with an independent random draw from the X = xk subgroup of the second population. Let β(wj, xk), the average match function (AMF), denote the expected output associated with this match. We show that (i) the AMF is identified when matching is conditionally exogenous, (ii) conditionally exogenous matching is compatible with a pairwise stable aggregate matching equilibrium under specific informational assumptions, and (iii) we calculate the AMF's semiparametric efficiency bound.


Aims In May 2020, a nationwide, web-based system for remote entry of patient-reported outcomes (PROs) in inflammatory rheumatic diseases was launched and implemented in routine care (DANBIO-from-home). After 1.5 years of use, we explored clinical characteristics of patients who did versus did not use the system, and the time to first entry of PROs. Methods All patients followed in DANBIO were informed about DANBIO-from-home by electronic invitations or when attending their clinic. Characteristics of patients who did/did not use DANBIO-from-home in the period after implementation were explored by multivariable logistic regression analyses including demographic and clinical variables (gender, age group, diagnosis, disease duration, use of biological disease-modifying agent (bDMARD), Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ), Patient Acceptable Symptom Scale (PASS)). Time from launch to first entry was presented as cumulative incidence curves by age group (<40/40–60/61–80/>80 years). Results Of 33 776 patients, 68% entered PROs using DANBIO-from-home at least once. Median (IQR) time to first entry was 27 (11–152) days. Factors associated with data entry in multivariate analyses (OR (95% CI)) were: female gender (1.19 (1.12 to 1.27)), bDMARD treatment (1.41 (1.33 to 1.50)), age 40–60 years (1.79 (1.63 to 1.97)), 61–80 years (1.87 (1.70 to 2.07), or age >80 years (0.57 (0.50 to 0.65)) (reference: age <40 years), lower HAQ (0.68 (0.65 to 0.71)) and PASS 'no' (1.09 (1.02 to 1.17). Diagnosis was not associated. Time to first entry of PROs was longest in patients <40 years of age (119 (24–184) days) and shortest in the 61–80 years age group (25 (8–139) days). Conclusion A nationwide online platform for PRO in rheumatology achieved widespread use. Higher age, male gender, conventional treatment and disability were associated with no use.


Autonomous weapons are robotic systems that, once activated, can select and engage targets without further intervention by a human operator. Advances in computer technology, artificial intelligence, and robotics may lead to a vast expansion in the development and use of such weapons in the near future. Public opinion runs strongly against killer robots. But many of the same claims that propelled the Cold War are being recycled to justify the pursuit of a nascent robotic arms race. Autonomous weapons could be militarily potent and therefore pose a great threat. For this reason, substantial pressure from civil society will be needed before major powers will seriously consider their prohibition. However, demands for human control and responsibility and the protection of human dignity and sovereignty fit naturally into the traditional law of war and imply strict limits on autonomy in weapon systems. Opponents of autonomous weapons should point out the terrible threat they pose to global peace and security, as well as their offensiveness to principles of humanity and to public conscience.


Prison as one of society institutes and organizations contains a group of people and a chain of incidents necessarily happens inside it. To become familiar with the incidents happening all the time in this small social unit and with its related consequences, the identification of its culture, economical, social, and behavioral, pathology dimensions is necessary. Studies show that before the management of jails begins its operations including behavioral control of newcomer prisoners tries to lead them to the desired social circuit, the prison itself and its prisoners, the inveterate prisoners come along teaching the prison alphabets to the newcomer prisoners. From the sociological point of view, prison's tendency towards prison policy with its present conditions, management has lost its remedial and renovation functions and motives considerably. According to the existing statistics, between 30 to 50% of the prisoners who are released from jails, recommit crime out of jail. Although imprisoning the criminals and completing their punishment stages is to be regarded as a responding approach towards declining the rate of crimes, in most of the cases this leave behind many economical, social, and cultural expenses in prisons and consequently it does not play a meaningful role in the reduction of crimes. This paper is a study of the sociology of prison and a study of tendency of prison policy from pathological point of view (considering its consequences and related expenses). Harms related to the aforementioned matter have been described under three different titles: "Harms Addressing Prisoner", "Harms Addressing Family" and "Harms Addressing Society".


Objective: To pre-train fair and unbiased patient representations from Electronic Health Records (EHRs) using a novel weighted loss function that reduces bias and improves fairness in deep representation learning models. Methods: We defined a new loss function, called weighted loss function, in the deep representation learning model to balance the importance of different groups of patients and features. We applied the proposed model, called Fair Patient Model (FPM), to a sample of 34,739 patients from the MIMIC-III dataset and learned patient representations for four clinical outcome prediction tasks. Results: FPM outperformed the baseline models in terms of three fairness metrics: demographic parity, equality of opportunity difference, and equalized odds ratio. FPM also achieved comparable predictive performance with the baselines, with an average accuracy of 0.7912. Feature analysis revealed that FPM captured more information from clinical features than the baselines. Conclusion: FPM is a novel method to pre-train fair and unbiased patient representations from EHR data using a weighted loss function. The learned representations can be used for various downstream tasks in healthcare and can be extended to other domains where bias and fairness are important.


The simple fabric face mask is a key agent in the fight against the global spread of COVID-19. However, beyond its role as a protective covering against coronavirus infection, the face mask is the bearer of powerful symbolic and political power and arouses intense emotions. Adopting an international perspective informed by social theory, The Face Mask in COVID Times: A Sociomaterial Analysis offers an intriguing and original investigation of the social, cultural and historical dimensions of face-masking as a practice in the age of COVID. Rather than Beck's 'risk society', we are now living in a 'COVID society', the long-term effects of which have yet to be experienced or imagined. Everything has changed. The COVID crisis has generated novel forms of sociality and new ways of living and moving through space and time. In this new world, the face mask has become a significant object, positioned as one of the key ways people can protect themselves and others from infection with the coronavirus. The face mask is rich with symbolic meaning as well as practical value. In the words of theorist Jane Bennett, the face mask has acquired a new 'thing-power' as it is coming together with human bodies in these times of uncertainty, illness and death. The role of the face mask in COVID times has been the subject of debate and dissension, arousing strong feelings. The historical and cultural contexts in which face masks against COVID contagion are worn (or not worn) are important to consider. In some countries, such as Japan and other East Asian nations, face mask wearing has a long tradition. Full or partial facial coverings, such as veiling, is common practice in regions such as the Middle East. In many other countries, including most countries in the Global North, most people, beyond health care workers, have little or no experience of face masks. They have had to learn how to make sense of face masking as a protective practice and how to incorporate face masks into their everyday practices and routines. Face masking practices have become highly political. The USA has witnessed protests against face mask wearing that rest on 'sovereign individualism', a notion which is highly specific to the contemporary political climate in that country. Face masks have also been worn to make political statements: bearing anti-racist statements, for example, but also Trump campaign support. Meanwhile, celebrities and influencers have sought to advocate for face mask wearing as part of their branding, while art makers, museums, designers and novelty fashion manufacturers have identified the opportunity to profit from this sudden new market. Face masks have become a fashion item as well as a medical device: both a way of signifying the wearer's individuality and beliefs and their ethical stance in relation to the need to protect their own and others' health. The Face Mask in COVID Times: A Sociomaterial Analysis provides a short and accessible analysis of the sociomaterial dimensions of the face mask in the age of COVID-19. The book presents seven short chapters and an epilogue. We bring together sociomaterial theoretical perspectives with compelling examples from public health advice and campaigns, anti-mask activism as well as popular culture (news reports, blog posts, videos, online shopping sites, art works) to illustrate our theoretical points, and use Images to support our analysis. Short and accessible analysis of the sociomaterial dimensions of the face mask in the age of COVID-19 Examples from public health advice and campaigns, anti-mask activism, and popular culture The ideal primer for HSS uni courses focusing on COVID-19 © 2021 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston. All rights reserved.


An empirical review of the three fiscal stimulus packages of the 2000s shows that they had little if any direct impact on consumption or government purchases. Households largely saved the transfers and tax rebates. The federal government only increased purchases by a small amount. State and local governments saved their stimulus grants and shifted spending away from purchases to transfers. Counterfactual simulations show that the stimulus-induced decrease in state and local government purchases was larger than the increase in federal purchases. Simulations also show that a larger stimulus package with the same design as the 2009 stimulus would not have increased government purchases or consumption by a larger amount. These results raise doubts about the efficacy of such packages adding weight to similar assessments reached more than thirty years ago. (JEL E21, E23, E32, E62, H50)


By tracing the way in which the CJEU and national courts react to legislation and Treaty reform, and the way in which the Member States, Commission and other actors in the legislative process react to judicial interventions, this collection of essays explores the nature of the dynamic relationship between courts and legislatures within the EU. It is clear that the boundaries between the legal and political realms are contested, and that the judiciary and the legislature are engaged in a struggle, not so much about the substantive contours of the internal market project, but rather about their relative institutional positions. The contributors consider all aspects of the internal market project, from goods to capital and citizenship, examining areas where there has been significant Treaty change as well as those in which the Treaty framework has remained substantially unaltered.


Waterless urinals save precious fresh water normally used for flushing and reduce odour levels in restrooms. However, existing models of waterless urinals available on the market are expensive and maintenance costs of the odour traps of these urinals are also quite high. Experiments conducted using a low cost membrane-based waterless-urinal odour prevention trap available in India revealed a reduction of over 90.5% in ammonia gas concentration in the urinals. The ammonia levels observed, in the range of 0.22 to 0.30 ppm in waterless urinals fitted with the odour trap evaluated in this study, is comparable to values reported for the widely used sealant liquid based waterless urinals in the past. No sign of clogging was observed in the clogging tests conducted. Passage of particles up to 4 mm in size in the particle flow analysis tests conducted is somewhat higher than the 2 mm reported for sealant liquid and membrane odour traps in previous studies, and it reveals that the odour trap can perform in adverse conditions without getting clogged. Economics of installation and maintenance aspects of waterless urinals carried out here show that the odour trap evaluated in this study can really be a cost effective alternative.


The current shift in demographics - aging and shrinking populations - in many countries around the world presents a major challenge to companies and societies alike. One particularly essential implication is the emergence and constant growth of the so-called "graying market" or "silver market", the market segment more or less broadly defined as those people aged 50 and older. Increasing in number and share of the total population while at the same time being relatively well-off, this market segment can be seen as very attractive and promising, although still very underdeveloped in terms of product and service offerings. This book offers a thorough and up-to-date analysis of the challenges and opportunities in leveraging innovation, technology, product development and marketing for older consumers and employees. Key lessons are drawn from a variety of industries and countries, including the lead market Japan.


Rural towns often do not see community developments geared towards creating public spaces for multi-cultural experiences, the arts and recreation. Instead small towns are more exposed to commercial properties coming in and out the area. Introducing public spaces that offer various community activities and events will benefit people's human and social capital. Human capital meaning skills and knowledge. Social capital meaning advantages and skills that come from interpersonal engagements (Anderson, 2004). Community centers designed for the unique needs of small towns can house programming to introduce new and rewarding opportunities for community engagement and personal development. Existing buildings within the community hold the potential to serve as community centers and adaptable interior spaces can add to a variety of programming options. The problem is the lack of community development geared towards creating public spaces for multi-cultural experiences, the arts and recreation. Small towns have limited exposure to diverse activities, events, skills sets and knowledge, along with limited spaces to support such. However older public building within small towns exist that are not being occupied or utilized to serve the community. People within small towns therefore are often restricted from acquiring a broad range of experiences and skills. To address this problem, evaluation of the current community state is necessary. This will reveal what opportunities are present and which are missing in terms of community engagement. Interviews, focus groups, and surveys are methods to gain information from the inhabitants of small towns. A diverse selection of participations will allow information to be more reflective of a wide range of ages groups, racial groups, and economic gr2wwoups. I plan to reach out to local schools for the students and staff member for participants in interviews, focus groups and electronic surveys. Examination of unoccupied buildings in small towns will reveal what facilities are available to house a potential community center. From that also assess if the interior spaces could incorporate adaptable design systems. Altogether this research will support the importance of community art centers in rural areas that offer adaptive reuse of historical building. In addition expose how the design of these building and programming show seek to support the unique needs of small towns.


CONTEXT
Although an invasive strategy is frequently used in patients with non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndromes (NSTE ACS), data from some trials suggest that this strategy may not benefit women.

OBJECTIVE
To conduct a meta-analysis of randomized trials to compare the effects of an invasive vs conservative strategy in women and men with NSTE ACS.

DATA SOURCES
Trials were identified through a computerized literature search of the MEDLINE and Cochrane databases (1970-April 2008) using the search terms invasive strategy, conservative strategy, selective invasive strategy, acute coronary syndromes, non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction, and unstable angina.

STUDY SELECTION
Randomized clinical trials comparing an invasive vs conservative treatment strategy in patients with NSTE ACS.

DATA EXTRACTION
The principal investigators for each trial provided the sex-specific incidences of death, myocardial infarction (MI), and rehospitalization with ACS through 12 months of follow-up.

DATA SYNTHESIS
Data were combined across 8 trials (3075 women and 7075 men). The odds ratio (OR) for the composite of death, MI, or ACS for invasive vs conservative strategy in women was 0.81 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.65-1.01; 21.1% vs 25.0%) and in men was 0.73 (95% CI, 0.55-0.98; 21.2% vs 26.3%) without significant heterogeneity between sexes (P for interaction = .26). Among biomarker-positive women, an invasive strategy was associated with a 33% lower odds of death, MI, or ACS (OR, 0.67; 95% CI, 0.50-0.88) and a nonsignificant 23% lower odds of death or MI (OR, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.47-1.25). In contrast, an invasive strategy was not associated with a significant reduction in the triple composite end point in biomarker-negative women (OR, 0.94; 95% CI, 0.61-1.44; P for interaction = .36) and was associated with a nonsignificant 35% higher odds of death or MI (OR, 1.35; 95% CI, 0.78-2.35; P for interaction = .08). Among men, the OR for death, MI, or ACS was 0.56 (95% CI, 0.46-0.67) if biomarker-positive and 0.72 (95% CI, 0.51-1.01) if biomarker-negative (P for interaction = .09).

CONCLUSIONS
In NSTE ACS, an invasive strategy has a comparable benefit in men and high-risk women for reducing the composite end point of death, MI, or rehospitalization with ACS. In contrast, our data provide evidence supporting the new guideline recommendation for a conservative strategy in low-risk women.


Background. Tannins, as polyphenolic secondary metabolites of plants, are attributed both beneficial and adverse functions when they are consumed by animals, effects that depend on the chemical structure and the concentration used. Among the beneficial properties of tannins, their ability to modulate the ruminal microbiota has been observed, reducing the populations of methanogens and methane (CH4) emissions. In addition, effects of tannins have been observed on the performance of ruminants, attributable to tannins or the by-products of their degradation. Objective. Compile and analyze available information about the properties of tannins, their use in ruminant feeding, their effects on ruminal microorganisms, and the results obtained in the mitigation of CH4. Methodology. A literature review was made through databases available on the web such as NCBI, ELSEVIER, Google Scholar, Oxford Academic, as well as information available in books. Main findings. In the present review, information was collected on the characteristics and properties of condensed tannins (TC) and hydrolyzable tannins (TH), their effects and adaptations in the populations of ruminal microorganisms, in addition to the effects of tannins on the metabolism of ruminants. Implications. The dose and source of tannins in the ruminant diet are decisive in the results obtained in terms of CH4 emissions and animal response. Performance will depend on the tolerance of the animal species to the effects of each type of tannin consumed. Conclusion. A better understanding of the properties, the effects on the microbiota and on the animal metabolism, could help in the implementation of more appropriate strategies for the use of forages that can contribute to the reductions in CH4 emissions, with a balanced approach with the production and animal welfare.


The catalytic gas phase hydrogenation of m-dinitrobenzene (1 atm, 423 K) over laboratory synthesised (1 mol%) Au supported on Al2O3, TiO2, Fe2O3 and CeO2 and a reference Au/TiO2 (World Gold Council) has been investigated. The catalysts were prepared by deposition-precipitation (DP) and impregnation (IMP), where the former route generated smaller (surface area weighted) mean Au particle sizes (1.5–2.8 nm) compared with the IMP synthesis (3.5–9.0 nm). The catalysts have been characterized in terms of temperature programmed reduction (TPR), H2 chemisorption/temperature programmed desorption (TPD), BET area, powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) analyses. Hydrogen consumption over the T range 371–457 K during activation of Au on TiO2, Al2O3 and CeO2 can be associated with Au3+ → Au0 reduction. XRD analysis demonstrated the presence of metallic gold in Au/Fe2O3pre-TPR. A partial and complete reduction of the hematite support to magnetite (Fe2O3 → Fe3O4) was observed post-TPR to 423 and 673 K, respectively; H2-TPD results suggest the participation of spillover hydrogen in this step. Exclusive –NO2group reduction and time invariant conversions were observed for all the catalysts considered in this study. An increase in the specific hydrogenation rate with a decrease in the mean Au size (from 9 to 3 nm) was observed. m-Nitroaniline was generated as the sole product over Au/TiO2 and Au/Fe2O3 whereas Au/CeO2 promoted the exclusive formation of m-phenylenediamine and a mixture of both products was obtained over Au/Al2O3. Our findings establish a basis for the development of a sustainable (clean and continuous) process for the hydrogenation of m-dinitrobenzene where product composition can be controlled through the choice of the oxide support.


Several trends in the financial industry could have weakened the competitiveness of small banks in recent years. Despite those challenges, small banks have grown more rapidly than larger banks over the period from 1985 to 2001, and their profitability has been sustained at high levels. However, small banks have needed to increase the interest rates offered on deposit accounts in order to attract progressively more deposit funding. In this paper, we provide empirical evidence that this increased interest cost primarily reflects the high rate of return that small banks were able to earn on their assets. Moreover, we show with an arbitrage model that the decline in the real value of deposit insurance has only a small effect on deposit rates as long as bank failure rates are in the low range of recent years.


OBJECTIVE
To determine accuracy of knowledge and sexual behaviour patterns of junior high school students in New Providence towards HIV/AIDS and identify gender variations.

METHODS
A cross-sectional study with cluster sampling of classrooms was undertaken at two schools utilizing a questionnaire. SPSS was used for statistical analysis.

RESULTS
Three hundred and fifty-four students participated in the study; the mean age was 12.25 years, 55.1% males and 44.9% females. Most (88%) students identified sexual intercourse as a mode of HIV transmission, 62.5% were accurate regarding anal sex and 32.9% were accurate about sexual intercourse in the water, as modes of HIV transmission. Abstinence was identified as a method of HIV prevention by 54.1% of students although 85.2% of students knew that condoms were a method of prevention. On beliefs regarding transmission, 21.2% believed mosquito bites and 13.1% believed toilet seats were routes for disease spread. Only 16.9% of participants reported a history of sexual intercourse; of those, 57.6% indicated that they were age ≤ 10 years when they first had intercourse. Concerning use of birth control, 64.5% of sexually experienced respondents reported never using any method.

CONCLUSION
Junior high school students have fairly accurate knowledge of HIV/AIDS but misconceptions regarding transmission are still prevalent; patterns in gender variation are few.


EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: With many public health concerns on the rise (e.g.,physical inactivity and chronic disease), public health organizations are seeking to increase effectiveness and efficiency through interdisciplinary partnerships. Some research has suggested that park and recreation agencies may be ideal partners for organizations trying to promote public health; however, research exploring such partnerships is limited. The purpose of this study was to explore experiences with health partnerships from the perspective of park and recreation managers. Data collection consisted of individual semi-structured interviews with 12 managers from different public park and recreation organizations who had experience with health partnerships. Data was digitally recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed thematically. Participants described a partnership process that included exploring potential partners, planning the partnership, implementing the partnership activity(ies), and evaluation. During the exploration phase, the park and recreation organizations considered a wide range of partners and approached potential partners in a variety of ways including through informal relationships and through contacting people with whom no previous relationship existed. During the planning phase, managers negotiated the details of the partnership to ensure that the goals of the organizations aligned, to establish clear expectations, to determine leadership responsibilities, and to develop relationships. During the implementation phase, participants executed the partnership activity such as a program or event. Although some challenges were mitigated by planning, some arose during this phase such as lack of time or resources, perceived inequity of workloads, and waning enthusiasm. Finally, during the evaluation phase, managers appraised both the outcomes of the partnership activity(ies) and the partnership itself. Overall, participants suggested that in the current fiscal climate health partnerships represent a viable strategy for pooling resources to increase efficiency and expand services to the community. Their advice to managers seeking to develop health partnerships included the following: 1) do not be afraid to approach a wide variety of potential partners; 2) consider using partnerships for a wide variety of initiatives;3) be prepared to convey the mutual benefits of the partnership including the contributions of park and recreation organizations such a facilities, programming expertise, positive public image, and community connections; 3) determine the mechanics of the partnership (such as leadership roles, input expectations, communication strategies, etc.) early on; and 4) consider utilizing the expertise of health partners to improve health outcome evaluation.


* New! Zip through the learning curve in a snap with the free DVD! * Hundreds of new Photo Objects, companion project files, QuickTime movie tutorials, sample plugins, and more. * Don't miss the website www.howtocheatinphotoshop.com complete with Reader Forum where Steve answers your questions directly! When you're short on time with crunching deadlines, but there's no way you can sacrifice quality, this book/DVD comes to the rescue. Nobody knows more about how to work fast under pressure and still produce top-notch photographic images than hands-on graphic artist and journalist, Steve Caplin. Steve cuts through the grind with on-the-job, do-it-now skills, techniques, and shortcuts guaranteed to show you how to work faster, smarter, and better to produce the best work of your life. With a lifetime of practical experience in photo-montage Steve is the go-to person for professional designers, graphic artists, illustrators, photographic retouchers, and students of design media and illustration who want to create photorealistic effects using Photoshop. Updated for Photoshop CS4, this must-have resource is also backwards compatible - relevant to any version of Photoshop. 'How to Cheat in Photoshop CS4' helps you "cheat in" (or take advantage of) Photoshop in two important ways. You learn how to make images look like photographs, when they're not so that you can create photographic work without a studio. And you find useful shortcuts to work more efficiently, economically, and with quick solutions to achieve the same superb results that come from long, complex operations that take forever. Whether you're working for print or the web, dip into this book and extract the info you need - fast. Icons mark where Photoshop files or movie tutorials are available for you to open immediately to try for yourself. Stuck? Visit the Reader Forum on the web and question the author directly (and expect other readers to weigh in, too!) at www.howtocheatinphotoshop.com. Crammed with gems that other books simply don't cover, and unique in that it's written by a working professional sharing his tips on how he makes money producing this imagery, this book/DVD excels in practical tips to turn the ordinary into the awe-inspiring, quickly. Don't miss how to create new artwork from scratch from starting points that aren't always obvious. This fully updated new edition shows you how to get the most out of Photoshop CS4, including the Quick Selection and Cloning tools, and more. Yet it's backwards compatible with previous releases of Photoshop. The book's step-by-step tutorials alongside the DVD packed with hundreds of images, project files, and live tutorials show you how to: * Create convincing smoke effects and make effective explosions - the simple way * Take years off someone's appearance * Turn a photograph of someone looking straight into the camera into a different perspective with the entire head (not just the eyes) * Modify a statue so it looks like a living person or paint hair directly on any surface * Produce the perfect cutout in the shortest time with Photoshop CS4's new Quick Selection tool... and more A host of timesaving techniques and insider secrets teach you to work faster and more adeptly moving from the problem to the solution to get fantastic results! Steve Caplin is a professional graphic artist, author and journalist. * Extensive new material to show you how to take your Photoshop skills to a professional level* DVD includes all the brand new images from the book, 300 high resolution AbleStock images plus over 2 hours of QuickTime movies of the projects * Benefit from a professional illustrator's timesaving tips and tricks!


The paper deals with what today we would call rational and irrational procedural methods in Greek adjudication in archaic times. In Draco's law of homicide dating back to 621-620 B.C., I see the first known move from deciding the outcome of a case by imposing purgatory oaths towards voting by a panel of judges. Although deciding on the proper wording of a purgatory oath demanded a great deal of legal experience on the part of the state authorities, the outcome of the trial depended on the irrational decision of the culprit himself to brave the wrath of the gods if he committed perjury. In Draco's law we find, firstly, the method of imposing contrary oaths (diomosiai) on each litigant (which explains the dikazein of the officials, the basileis). It was therefore not the oaths that were decisive, but the vote of the fifty-one ephetai who decided which oath was the better one. The party who won the case was the one best able to persuade the judges, and in this way, reasoning achieved a new level. This was the origin of the more rational classical Athenian procedural law. In this sense, I restored the text in the much disputed lacuna in IG I3 104.12 from the diomosiai mentioned in Ant. 6.16.


Pollack (1991) demonstrated that second-order recurrent neural networks can act as dynamical recognizers for formal languages when trained on positive and negative examples, and observed both phase transitions in learning and interacted function system-like fractal state sets. Follow on work focused mainly on the extraction and minimization of a finite state automaton (FSA) from the trained network. However, such networks are capable of inducing languages that are not regular and therefore not equivalent to any FSA. Indeed, it may be simpler for a small network to fit its training data by inducing such a nonregular language. But when is the network's language not regular? In this article, using a low-dimensional network capable of learning all the Tomita data sets, we present an empirical method for testing whether the language induced by the network is regular. We also provide a detailed "-machine analysis of trained networks for both regular and nonregular languages.


Let G be a finite graph with vertex set V and edge set E. A graph complex on G is an abstract simplicial complex consisting of subsets of E. In particular, we may interpret such a complex as a family of subgraphs of G. The subject of this thesis is the topology of graph complexes, the emphasis being placed on homology, homotopy type, connectivity degree, Cohen-Macaulayness, and Euler characteristic. We are particularly interested in the case that G is the complete graph on V . Monotone graph properties are complexes on such a graph satisfying the additional condition that they are invariant under permutations of V . Some well-studied monotone graph properties that we discuss in this thesis are complexes of matchings, forests, bipartite graphs, disconnected graphs, and not 2-connected graphs. We present new results about several other monotone graph properties, including complexes of not 3-connected graphs and graphs not coverable by p vertices. Imagining the vertices as the corners of a regular polygon, we obtain another important class consisting of those graph complexes that are invariant under the natural action of the dihedral group on this polygon. The most famous example is the associahedron, whose faces are graphs without crossings inside the polygon. Restricting to matchings, forests, or bipartite graphs, we obtain other interesting complexes of noncrossing graphs. We also examine a certain "dihedral" variant of connectivity. The third class to be examined is the class of digraph complexes. Some well-studied examples are complexes of acyclic digraphs and not strongly connected digraphs. We present new results about a few other digraph complexes, including complexes of graded digraphs and non-spanning digraphs. Many of our proofs are based on Robin Forman's discrete version of Morse theory. As a byproduct, this thesis provides a loosely defined toolbox for attacking problems in topological combinatorics via discrete Morse theory. In terms of simplicity and power, arguably the most efficient tool is Forman's divide and conquer approach via decision trees, which we successfully apply to a large number of graph and digraph complexes.


The search for meaning, as a universal human quest, seeks to answer questions pertaining to the purpose in life. Preaching, as an ecclesiastical communicative tool, should be a platform from which to address such universal concerns. But how relevant are contemporary pulpit messages in light of this ongoing search and in light of the suffering experienced by many in our South African context with its unique history and ongoing challenges? Revisiting concepts such as meaning, hope and community are foundational components in our contemporary deliberations of the intention and practice of preaching today. If the homiletical intention is to instill hope, establish community and address humanities questions related to embracing the abundance in abundant life, then the praxis thereof should demonstrate a commitment to the relevance of people's struggles. In the context of a post-apartheid South Africa, these questions are more pronounced as people experience the ongoing effects of poverty, prejudice, injustice and are confronted with the HIV/AIDS pandemic. For preaching to remain relevant it would need to extend its boundaries from the pulpit to the community. It will need to understand the plight of its people by addressing the questions that communities are asking, rather than providing messages far removed from humanities current experiences. In order to maintain this balance of hope, it will require an evaluation of the emphasis placed on representing both the social and spiritual aspects of the gospel. Social, with its focus on following the example of Christ on earth, and Spiritual, with its emphasis on both a realized and eschatological hope. Embracing this holistic message of the gospel should inherently contribute to personal and communal transformation as it is a message of good news for physical, emotional, socio-economic, psychological and spiritual realities. The language employed in this ongoing commitment requires constant renewal in order to synchronize the needs of the people with the message of hope. A message that is needed, longed for and inherently meaningful.


Large earthquakes, such as Wenchuan in 2008, Mw 7.9, Sichuan, China, provide an opportunity for earthquake early warning (EEW), as many heavily shaken areas are far (∼50  km) from the epicenter and warning times could be sufficient (≥5  s) to take preventive action. On the other hand, earthquakes with magnitudes larger than ∼M 6.5 are challenging for EEW because source dimensions need to be defined to adequately estimate shaking. Finite-fault rupture detector (FinDer) is an approach to identify fault rupture extents from real-time seismic records. In this study, we playback local and regional onscale strong-motion waveforms of the 2008 Mw 7.9 Wenchuan, 2013 Mw 6.6 Lushan, and 2017 Mw 6.5 Jiuzhaigou earthquakes to study the performance of FinDer for the current layout of the China Strong Motion Network. Overall, the FinDer line-source models agree well with the observed spatial distribution of aftershocks and models determined from waveform inversion. However, because FinDer models are constructed to characterize seismic ground motions (as needed for EEW) instead of source parameters, the rupture length can be overestimated for events radiating high levels of high-frequency motions. If the strong-motion data used had been available in real time, 50%–80% of sites experiencing intensity modified Mercalli intensity IV–VII (light to very strong) and 30% experiencing VIII–IX (severe to violent) could have been issued a warning with 10 and 5 s, respectively, before the arrival of the S wave. We also show that loss estimates based on the FinDer line source are more accurate compared to point-source models. For the Wenchuan earthquake, for example, they predict a four to six times larger number of fatalities and injured, which is consistent with official reports. These losses could be provided 1/2∼3  hr faster than if they were based on more complex inversion rupture models.


In June 2000, I returned to spend several weeks in Nicaragua after two years away and found the capital city of Managua transformed by the rebuilding of an urban center, with new government buildings, immense traffic circles and plazas, and hotels and commercial establishments in abundance. My first day back, I ventured into one of two major shopping malls and discovered that the movie Boys Don't Cry (Muchachos no lloran, with subtitles) was playing at a multiplex cinema. In a city where a couple of years before the only movie theatres were exceptionally seedy and offered X-rated porn, I was curious to see what reception this film would have in the Nicaraguan setting soon after its release to wide acclaim in the United States. The audience at the matinee was small and fairly middle class-not surprising in a nation where the two-dollar ticket price was beyond the means of the majority-but it seemed to appreciate the movie's powerful story of sexual-identity transgression and its consequences in the American Midwest.' When it comes to sex and sexuality, some stories are told whereas others remain untold. Histories of sexuality everywhere are subject to revision and debate when local, national, or transnational conditions prompt caution on the one hand or allow more open discussion of sexual difference and transgression on the other.2 Periods of social transformation may present opportunities for personal or national reflection on the politics of gender and sexuality, or they may push such reflection to the margins in the name of settling larger historical accounts. But what happens when personal or local desires are supported by


Occupational therapy practitioners are key health care providers for people with musculoskeletal disorders of the distal upper extremity. It is imperative that practitioners understand the most effective and efficient means for remediating impairments and supporting clients in progressing to independence in purposeful occupations. This systematic review provides an update to a previous review by summarizing articles published between 2006 and July 2014 related to the focused question, What is the evidence for the effect of occupational therapy interventions on functional outcomes for adults with musculoskeletal disorders of the forearm, wrist, and hand? A total of 59 articles were reviewed. Evidence for interventions was synthesized by condition within bone, joint, and general hand disorders; peripheral nerve disorders; and tendon disorders. The strongest evidence supports postsurgical early active motion protocols and splinting for various conditions. Very few studies have examined occupation-based interventions. Implications for occupational therapy practice and research are provided.


Let $X$ be a smooth curve over a finitely generated field $k$, and let $\ell$ be a prime different from the characteristic of $k$. We analyze the dynamics of the Galois action on the deformation rings of mod $\ell$ representations of the geometric fundamental group of $X$. Using this analysis, we prove analogues of the Shafarevich and Fontaine-Mazur finiteness conjectures for function fields over algebraically closed fields in arbitrary characteristic, and a weak variant of the Frey-Mazur conjecture for function fields in characteristic zero.
For example, we show that if $X$ is a normal, connected variety over $\mathbb{C}$, the (typically infinite) set of representations of $\pi_1(X^{\text{an}})$ into $GL_n(\overline{\mathbb{Q}_\ell})$, which come from geometry, has no limit points. As a corollary, we deduce that if $L$ is a finite extension of $\mathbb{Q}_\ell$, then the set of representations of $\pi_1(X^{\text{an}})$ into $GL_n(L)$, which arise from geometry, is finite.


This article has been accepted for publication and undergone full peer review but has not been through the copyediting, typesetting, pagination and proofreading process which may lead to differences between this version and the Version of Record. Please cite this article as an 'Accepted Article', doi: 10.1002/art.40007 © 2016 American College of Rheumatology Received: Sep 21, 2016; Accepted: Nov 17, 2016


This paper investigates the creation of common places in informal peri-urban settlements in India through negotiation and sharing, and aims to develop a sensitive understanding of the role of amenity buildings and the effect of the post-hoc introduction of infrastructure. The approach takes collective architectural making as a catalyst for self-empowerment and social change, discussed primarily through first-hand experience of practical testing through small-scale live interventions.

Two case studies of on-going live projects addressing the scarcity of resources provide an empirical basis for this study: [1] The Kachhpura Settlement Upgrading Project started in 2006 focuses on sanitation in Agra; [2] The Quarry Classrooms Project, initiated in 2008 deals with amenity buildings in quarry worker settlements in Navi Mumbai. Both projects were carried out as collaboration between Indian NGOs, local communities, and architectural researchers and students, in a continual cyclical process of negotiation involving a strong hands-on approach from the bottom up.

Connections are established between improved access to basic services, amenities and facilities and the opportunities for creating common places, leading to suggestions on improving, appropriating and cultivating shared territories in today's informal peri-urban settlements, culturally and physically.

This paper concludes with suggestions on how the notion of cooperative placemaking might be applied in other situations of rapid change and scarce resources where architect, NGO and local population might collaborate to provide shared infrastructure and community facilities, whilst creating opportunities for improving livelihoods and the quality of life within informal peri-urban settlements in India.


In this article, the authors measure and evaluate the efficiency of anesthesiology and intensive care wards in the Slovak Republic using the suitable methods and check suit-ability of methods and variables used in the Slovak healthcare environment. Nowadays, trends are towards modification of basic data envelopment analysis (DEA) incorporating other quantitative methods. In this study, the authors examined the influence of contextual variables on CCR DEA efficiency scores. Variables Ageing index and Unemployment rate had unexpected sign/effect on efficiency. Variables Average length of stay and Bed occupancy rate seem to be adequate to be used and checked for sig- nificance in terms of selected wards of the Slovak Republic healthcare. Such types of articles are completely missing in the Slovak Republic. Methods and variables the authors have used could be modificated to needs of individual wards. These findings could be used to build information system of efficiency in the Slovak healthcare within cooperation with National Health Information Center.


............................................................................................................... iii ÖZET............................................................................................................................ v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ....................................................................................... vii TABLE OF CONTENTS .......................................................................................... viii LIST OF TABLES ...................................................................................................... xi LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................... xii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ................................................................................


Transport of larger smoke particles generated by a fire in a compartment is studied. An atrium fire with three different heat release rates is taken as an example. The air flow pattern and temperature contours are predicted by a fire field (or application of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model. The paths of smoke particles are modeled by the Lagrangian method coupled with the air movement induced by hot smoke. Distribution of smoke particles and their trajectories are then calculated. By superimposing the trajectories of particles of different sizes, the shape of the smoke plume is observed.


This article examines the relationship between natural resources and processes of conflict and cooperation as they occur in the Global South. We introduce key issues and reflect on emerging research. With a focus on middle-range theory, moving from empirical phenomena to analytical understanding, what emerges is a nuanced view of conflict and cooperation, as embedded within specific contexts and wider processes of power and accumulation. In considering how social ecological resilience can emerge from the poorest and most marginalised groups in the Global South, middle-range theory built upon comparative case study research and data-rich analyses brings issues of environmental (in)justice in resource access and distribution to the fore. Our conclusions reiterate a view of conflict transformation whose dynamics are locally situated, with complex drivers that negate any conjuring of simplistic solutions and underline the important role research can play in informing appropriate development action.


Experimental study on the influence of fibre content on crack behaviour and propagation in synthetic-fibre reinforced beams has been reported in this paper. The tensile behaviour of metallic fibre concrete is evaluated in terms of residual flexural tensile strength values determined from the load-crack mouth opening displacement curve or load-deflection curve obtained by applying a centre-point load on a simply supported notched prism. The results achieved demonstrate that an increase in fibre content has an almost negligible effect on compressive and tensile splitting properties, causes a marginal increment in flexural tensile strength and increasesthe Re3 value. Keywords—Fibre-Reinforced Concrete, Crack, Flexural Test, Ductility, Fibre Content, Experimental Study.


Regional colleges and universities are unique in their historic commitment to serve the economic, social, and cultural interests of particular communities. Drawing on the findings of a multi-site case study of two regional institutions, this paper outlines the goals of community-university interaction, then focuses more specifically on the processes of collaboration as distinct from the participants' desired outcomes. Separating goals from process in this way allows us to explore the civic/democratic impact of these initiatives beyond their economic impact. Findings suggest that when community-university engagement initiatives focus too narrowly on economic development goals, project leaders sometimes neglect the potential of engagement initiatives as catalysts for participatory democracy, thereby limiting input from traditionally under-represented groups. Scholars and practitioners can draw from community development literature, as well as the scholarship related to community-university engagement, allowing simultaneous attention to the nature of relationships between universities and the communities they serve and the process of building inclusive relationships.


Monetary policy was freed from the straightjacket of pegging U.S. Treasury interest rates following the Treasury-Federal Reserve Accord in 1951. This newfound freedom led to a growing debate inside and outside the Federal Reserve System about the appropriate measures to use as operating guides. This article examines the contributions of Malcolm Bryan, president of the Atlanta Fed from 1951 through 1965, to this debate and to the evolution of monetary policy in the postaccord era. ; Bryan parted company with most of his colleagues on the Federal Open Market Committee by trying to steer policy away from a focus on interest rates and money market conditions to placing more weight on the monetary aggregates. This article reviews the transcripts of the committee meetings during Bryan s tenure, which reveal his desire to prevent the disruptive effects of short-run fluctuations in money growth and the longer-term effects of expansive Fed actions, namely, inflation. ; Bryan's approach to monetary policy was a dramatic departure from the prevailing views of the FOMC at the time. In addition to trying to implement the new and controversial research results coming out of monetary economics, his introduction of short-run aggregate growth targets-growth cones-stands out as a significant and innovative development in U.S. monetary policy. Even though his targets and procedures were not adopted by the FOMC at the time, his strategy for monetary policy would resurface as the inflation produced by the policies against which Bryan fought became unacceptable.


In this paper, we provide an explanation of why privatization may attract foreign investors interested in entering a regional market. Privatization turns the formerly-public firm into a less aggressive competitor since profitmaximizing output is lower than the welfare-maximizing one. The drawback is that social welfare generally decreases. We also investigate tax/subsidy competition for FDI before and after privatization. We show that policy competition is irrelevant in the presence of a public firm serving just its domestic market. By contrast, following privatization, it endows the big country with an instrument which can be used either to reduce the negative impact on welfare of an FDI-attracting privatization or to protect the domestic industry from foreign competitors.


Poly(triazine imide) with incorporated lithium chloride has recently attracted substantial attention due to its photocatalytic activity for water splitting. However, an apparent H/Li disorder prevents the delineation of structure-property relationships, for example, with respect to band-gap tuning. Herein, we show that through a combination of one- and two-dimensional, multinuclear solid-state NMR spectroscopy, chemical modelling, automated electron diffraction tomography, and an analysis based on X-ray pair distribution functions, it is finally possible to resolve the H/Li substructure. In each cavity, one hydrogen atom is bound to a bridging nitrogen atom, while a second one protonates a triazine ring. The two lithium ions within each cavity are positioned between two nitrogen atoms of neighbouring triazine rings. The thereby induced local dipole moments cause slight buckling of the framework and lateral displacements of the Cl- ions at a coherence length below 2 nm. Nevertheless, the average structure conforms to space group P21 21 21 . In this way, we demonstrate that, in particular, the above-mentioned techniques allow for smart interplay in delineating the real structure of PTI/LiCl.


Optical transmission allows massive data transfers thanks to its tremendous transport capacity. Sustained efforts have been made to address the physical constraints that limit its flexibility, but as for today, translucent architectures involving electrical treatments are still favored. Optical Burst Switching (OBS) appears as a promising alternative to Optical Circuit Switching (OCS) in an all-optical framework - provided contention resolution is efficiently solved. In this paper, we investigate further contention resolution with a recourse to the electrical domain. We will thwart the drawbacks of the resulting translucent architecture, i.e., increased delays and equipment cost, by exploiting traffic grooming. Firstly, the contending payload will be submitted to a local aggregation process instead of being stored in dedicated buffers. Secondly, we propose a new transmission scheme, called CAROBS, that exploits dynamic traffic grooming, both at the network edge and in the core network. At the network edge, aggregation queues with different destinations can contribute to build burst trains whose cars can be later optically discarded, one or several at a time, at some intermediate nodes. In the core network, local traffic can be inserted at the tail/head of the train subject to some conditions. A proper dynamic management of the burst trains and of the aggregation pools allows a reduction of the aggregation delays and of the contention rate. Combining our grooming scheme with our translucent architecture annihilates the drawback of signal conversion: Loss-less transfer is achieved without neither impacting the delay nor the equipment cost. It results in an impressive throughput increase that puts OBS close to the performance of OCS with similar features and services, allowing to take full advantage of the high responsiveness to bursty traffic that OBS enjoys.


In this article, we introduce some recent research trends within the field of adaptive/approximate dynamic programming (ADP), including the variations on the structure of ADP schemes, the development of ADP algorithms and applications of ADP schemes. For ADP algorithms, the point of focus is that iterative algorithms of ADP can be sorted into two classes: one class is the iterative algorithm with initial stable policy; the other is the one without the requirement of initial stable policy. It is generally believed that the latter one has less computation at the cost of missing the guarantee of system stability during iteration process. In addition, many recent papers have provided convergence analysis associated with the algorithms developed. Furthermore, we point out some topics for future studies.


It may surprise casual students of insurance that relatively few insurance law scholars are equally at home writing about torts. Until recently, insurance law scholarship was essentially contract law scholarship, even as the major disputes of the past quarter-century have emerged from the transformation of tort liability that occurred in the 1960s. For their part, torts scholars have tended to treat insurance as an afterthought - a footnote to important debates about such things as corrective justice, deterrence, and efficiency. Furthermore, although these fields are naturally hospitable to law and economics scholars, relatively little effort has been expended to analyze the systematic interaction between these different bodies of law and bureaucracy. In contrast, Professor Abraham's important book, The Liability Century, ably threads this needle by providing a cogent analysis of these two highly important and interrelated fields.Books about the tort system tend to be polemics relentlessly drained of nuance. Either the tort system is awful - an unmitigated hindrance to the national economy and progress - or the tort system is the only thing standing between the welfare of the American public and the abyss: its principal flaw is that there is not more of it. The Liability Century is, by contrast, a largely anthropological exercise. Peering over the ridge separating the old century from the new, Abraham examines what might be labeled The Ages of American Liability Law. Through these ages, he elucidates the appealing metaphor with which he opens his study: Astronomers have discovered a solar formation they call a binary star. This formation consists of two suns, each in orbit around the other. Their center of gravity lies at a point in between them, and they revolve around that center of gravity. Neither star could remain where it is, or as it is, without the other. They are two separate bodies, but each is dependent on the other for its place in the universe.In this Book Review, I provide an overview of Abraham's major themes, comment on their persuasiveness, and offer some direction to readers for other sources they might wish to consider. As the passage above suggests, Abraham's thesis is that tort law and liability insurance enjoy a symbiotic relationship. Although tort law emerged first, and necessitated the development of insurance, each system has deeply influenced the other's path. Like the binary star, neither would be anything like its present self without the influence of the other.Binary systems, however, form in nature. Abraham examines several instances in which the interaction of the very human institutions of tort and insurance law frustrated the hopes of their planners. The book is divided into eight chapters. Chapter One introduces the reader to the evolution of personal injury law and liability insurance. Chapters Two though Five each tackle discrete areas of reform throughout the modern history of liability law. Chapters Six and Eight further flesh out the major themes of the book, while Chapter Seven considers the legal response to mass disasters, including 9/11.


We develop a heat exchanger modules for a multi-burner boiler. The heat exchanger module is kind of a heat recovery steam generator (HRSG). This heat recovery system has 8 heat exchanger modules. The 1st module consists of 27 bare tubes due to high temperature exhaust gas and the others consist of 27 finned tubes. The maximum steam pressure of each module is 1 ㎫ and tested steam pressure is 0.7 MPa. In order to test these heat exchanger modules, we make a 0.5 t/h flue tube boiler (LNG, 40 N㎥/h). We tested the heat exchanger module with changing the position of each heat exchanger module. We measured the inlet and outlet temperature of each heat exchanger module and calculated the heat exchange rate. Based on test results, we develop a heat transfer calculation program to predict flue gas. Calculation results show that temperature and temperature difference between measured and calculated flue gas exit temperature is less than 20 ℃ when flue gas inlet temperature is 620 ℃.


Gender diversity in the workplace is considered both an economic and ethical imperative and as such has garnered substantial research attention. To advance the literature, this study analyzes firm-level predictors of women in top management roles across all wine producers in Australia between 2007 and 2013. In the main, firm size reduces the likelihood of women representation in top roles, as predicted. Firms with strong environmental sustainability credentials are more likely to have higher levels of women's representation in top roles, including in CEO and marketer roles, supporting our hypothesis. However, contrary to the prediction, high export orientations within firms were found to negatively impact women's representation in top roles; namely, women in the CEO and winemaker roles. The findings are discussed and future research directions put forth.


A meeting on Biota and palaeoatrnospheres was held at the Geological Society's apartmenfs at Burlington House on 19 December 1987. It was a joint Ordinary Meeting with the Linnean Society and the Palaeontological Association. This symposium formed part of the celebrations of the Linnean Societ of London, and was held on the eve of its bicentenary year of 1988. The Linnean Society had elected to hold a series of joint meetings with other Societies with allied or overlapping interests, and the Geological Society was an obvious choice. The two societies have been linked physically, by occupying adjoining premises in Burlington House, but more importantly by shared Fellowship, from the earliest days of their co-existence in the present rooms. The principal common ground of the two Societies lies largely in palaeontology and so it was appropriate that plans for a joint meeting should also have involved the Palaeontological Association, which in turn shares membership with both the Geological Society and the Linnean Society. It was, in this way, that the three bodies came to convene a symposium which was to reflect some aspect of their common interests. The organizers decided to try to avoid any of the aspects of conventional palaeontology, but rather sought out a topic which would bring together biologists and geologists on less well-worn ground. The theme of the interaction of the atmosphere and biota through time was chosen as one which fulfilled this aim, but one which was also topical. The recently initiated International Geosphere–Biosphere Programme has


In the last 40 years, agriculture in the industrialized countries has undergone a revolution. That has dramatically increased yields, but it has also led to extensive rural depopulation; widespread degradation of the environment; contamination of food with agrochemicals and bacteria; more routine maltreatment of farm animals; and the undermining of Third World economies and livelihoods through unfair-trading systems. Confronted by mounting evidence of environmental harm and social impacts, mainstream agronomists and policy-makers have belatedly recognized the need for change. "Sustainable agriculture" has become the buzz phrase. But that can mean different things to different people. We have to ask: sustainable agriculture for whom?; whose interests are benefitting, and whose are suffering? At issue is the question of power - of who controls the land and what it produces. Most of the changes currently under discussion will actually strengthen the status quo and the underlying causes of the damage. The result will be greater intensification of farming, environmental destruction and inequality. There are no simple off-the-shelf alternatives to industrial agriculture. There are, however, groups throughout the world who have contributed to this report and who are working together on a new approach that, in Wendell Berry's words, "depletes neither soil nor people".


Within sub-Saharan Africa, AIDS is becoming a greater threat to rural communities due to the high numbers of urban dwellers and migrant labourers who return to their rural villages when they fall ill and due to the lack of information and health services. Previous studies have found a reduced rate of infection among people who have high educational attainment, and thus advocate for education as the vaccine against new HIV infections among the youth. However, very little research has focussed on the delivery of sexuality and HIV&AIDS education in rural classrooms. With teachers positioned at the forefront of the pandemic, especially in rural communities, it is important to understand how teachers experience teaching about sexuality in rural schools. In this paper, I explore the experiences of eight women teachers through focus group discussions. Thematic inductive analysis was used to identify the stumbling blocks within sexuality education classrooms in rural schools. Societal constructions of childhood and nostalgia for past traditional practices were found to be the major challenges to teaching. The findings highlight the need for a sexuality education curriculum that integrates traditional ways of knowing into formal sexuality education in order for it to be effective in reducing further spread of HIV.


Small businesses account for over fifty percent of the Gross National Product of the U.S. economy; and the security of their information systems is critical for them to operate compete and remain profitable. While many security studies have been conducted and reported on enterprise scale organizations similar research on small businesses in the U.S. is limited. One small business was evaluated by an information security audit to determine if its information resources and network were adequately secure and will be used as a test case to identify an approach a typical small business may take to secure their networks and data to avoid unnecessary liability exposure. By examining the specific risk factors in this case study the author believes parallels can be drawn by other small businesses as a starting point for examining their own risk factors. Additionally this study provides a series of proposed mitigation processes to improve the small businesses' network security that can be adopted by other small businesses in like circumstances. The mitigation processes are specifically tailored to the small business industry itself as opposed to a larger organization that has a greater exposure to risk vulnerability and that also has larger asset pools from which to secure their networks.  The method utilized for this research was qualitative in nature using a form of Participatory Action Research (PAR). This approach was most appropriate in that it allows the researcher to act in partnership with the small business to attempt to affect social change that will help in securing the small business's information resources. An information security audit was performed on a small business to identify actual and potential threats and an electronic questionnaire was distributed to the employees to gauge their individual perspectives of the clarity and comprehensibility of the business's security policy the consequences of violations to the company's policy how well the company's policy is disseminated and tracked for compliance and if they have knowledge of steps to be taken in response to an incident or disaster. There were four objectives of this study. The first objective was to evaluate a small business's information security posture. The second objective was to determine if the small business had experienced any information technology security incidents. The third objective was to evaluate whether the incidents were caused by a lack of a policy standard or procedure; an ineffective policy standard or procedure; a lack of training and education; or a reluctance to enforce or monitor adherence to established policy standards or procedures. And the fourth objective was to recommend to the small business any changes or additions that would reduce the small business's exposure to information security threats risks and vulnerabilities through effective information security risk management.


We generalize the flux insertion argument due to Laughlin, Niu-Thouless-Tao-Wu, and Avron-Seiler-Zograf to the case of fractional quantum Hall states on a higher-genus surface. We propose this setting as a test to characterize the robustness, or topologicity, of the quantum state of matter and apply our test to the Laughlin states. Laughlin states form a vector bundle, the Laughlin bundle, over the Jacobian-the space of Aharonov-Bohm fluxes through the holes of the surface. The rank of the Laughlin bundle is the degeneracy of Laughlin states or, in the presence of quasiholes, the dimension of the corresponding full many-body Hilbert space; its slope, which is the first Chern class divided by the rank, is the Hall conductance. We compute the rank and all the Chern classes of Laughlin bundles for any genus and any number of quasiholes, settling, in particular, the Wen-Niu conjecture. Then we show that Laughlin bundles with nonlocalized quasiholes are not projectively flat and that the Hall current is precisely quantized only for the states with localized quasiholes. Hence our test distinguishes these states from the full many-body Hilbert space.


BACKGROUND
Fiscal constraints faced by Medicare are leading to policies designed to reduce expenditures. Evidence of the effect of reduced reimbursement on the mortality of Medicare patients discharged from all major hospital service lines is limited.

METHODS
We modeled risk-adjusted 30-day mortality of patients discharged from 21 hospital service lines as a function of service line profitability, service line time trends, and hospital service line and year-fixed effects. We simulated the effect of alternative revenue-neutral reimbursement policies on mortality. Our sample included all Medicare discharges from PPS-eligible hospitals (1997, 2001, and 2005).

RESULTS
The results reveal a statistically significant inverse relationship between changes in profitability and mortality. A $0.19 average reduction in profit per $1.00 of costs led to a 0.010-0.020 percentage-point increase in mortality rates (p < .001). Mortality in newly unprofitable service lines is significantly more sensitive to reduced payment generosity than in service lines that remain profitable. Policy simulations that target service line inequities in payment generosity result in lower mortality rates, roughly 700-13,000 fewer deaths nationally.

CONCLUSIONS
The policy simulations raise questions about the trade-offs implicit in universal reductions in reimbursement. The effect of reduced payment generosity on mortality could be mitigated by targeting highly profitable services only for lower reimbursement.


The 'architecture of the mind' consists of both the biological brain coupled with the technologies that we have developed to extend our cognition. From the moment that we started storing our thoughts in permanent symbolic form outside of our bodies via Venus figures, body paint markings and cave paintings, humans have 'offloaded' cognition onto symbols outside of the brain. These external, materialized symbols have allowed us to extend our cognitive abilities beyond the limits of our biological brains. Far from 'making us stupid', the Internet represents merely the next great extension of this 'external symbolic storage system'. For all the dramatic and disruptive change that the Internet surely represents, placing it in this long term historical context renders this change more familiar, perhaps even less jarring. Understanding that there has been a deep history of intimacy between humans and their cognitive tools provides a framework for thinking about the possible futures of the brain-Internet interface: the future of the architecture of the mind.


Public road authorities have a key responsibility in driving initiatives for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the road construction project lifecycle. A coherent and efficient chain of procurement processes and methods is needed to convert green policies into tangible actions that capture the potential for GHG reduction. Yet, many infrastructure clients lack developed methodologies regarding green procurement practices. Designing more efficient solutions for green procurement requires an evaluation of the current initiatives and stages of development.

A mapping of the current GHG reduction initiatives in Australian public road procurement is presented in this paper. The study includes the five largest Australian state road authorities, which cover 94% of the total 817,089 km of Australian main roads (not local) and account for 96% of the total A$13 billion annual major road construction and maintenance expenditure. The state road authorities' green procurement processes and tools are evaluated based on interviews and a review of documents. Altogether 12 people, comprising 1-3 people of each organisation, participated in the interviews and provided documents. An evaluation matrix was developed for mapping the findings across the lifecycle of road construction project delivery.

The results show how Australian state road authorities drive decisions with an impact on GHG emissions on the strategic planning phase, project development phase, and project implementation phase. The road authorities demonstrate varying levels of advancement in their green procurement methodologies. Six major gaps in the current green procurement processes are identified and, respectively, six recommendations for future research and development are suggested. The greatest gaps remain in the project development phase, which has a critical role in fixing the project (GHG reduction) goals, identifying risks and opportunities, and selecting the contractor to deliver the project. Specifically, the role of mass-haul optimisation as a part of GHG minimisation was reviewed, and mass-haul management was found to be an underutilised element with GHG reduction potential.