1.Single shocks to the column sometimes evoke tentacle contractions, ranging from slight movement of a few scattered tentacles to rapid bending or shortening of all the tentacles. Some individuals are more responsive than others. Complex bursts of electrical activity follow single shocks, but only in tentacles that contract. 2.These single shocks excite pulses in two conducting systems - the through-conducting nerve net (TCNN) and the ectodermal slow conduction system (SSI). When a single shock evokes contractions and bursts of electrical activity, these usually follow the SSI pulse, rarely the TCNN pulse. Stimulation of the SSI alone causes tentacle contraction in responsive anemones. 3.Fast tentacle contractions always follow the second of two closelyspaced TCNN pulses: the TCNN shows facilitation (Pantin, 1935 a ). An SSI pulse, however, does not facilitate subsequent pulses in either the SSI or TCNN. 4.There are two pathways for activation of tentacle contractions. The TCNN pathway is mechano-sensitive and normally requires facilitation. The SSI pathway is mechano- and chemosensitive, only requires a single SSI pulse to evoke contraction, but is very labile. It is proposed that the TCNN and the SSI do not excite the ectodermal muscles directly, but via a multipolar nerve net.


The objective of this study is to develop a CFD tool for performing reliable large eddy simulation (LES) of the compressible evaporating two-phase turbulent flow in a gas turbine combustor. The KIVA-3V code originally developed by Los Alamos National Laboratory is used as a baseline code. The KIVA-3V code has been modified to facilitate LES calculations. Both the temporal and spatial accuracies of the original KIVA-3V code have been improved to second order. A one-equation subgrid scale (SGS) turbulence model is implemented to describe the unresolved turbulent subgrid effect. To ensure that there are sufficient particle numbers to capture the dynamic droplet dispersion process, the ETAB breakup model coupled with a new hybrid droplet-particle algorithm is also implemented into the code. Furthermore, the effect of the subgrid scale (SGS) velocity on the droplet dispersion is included. The SGS velocity is computed from the subgrid turbulent kinetic energy predicted by the one-equation SGS turbulence model. A new collision model based on the concept of "particle cloud" is proposed and implemented in the code. The new model greatly reduces the grid-dependence of the original O'Rourke model in a Cartesian mesh.
The gas solver of the new LES version of KIVA-3V code, which will be referred as KIVA-LES hereby) is validated against large eddy simulations of natural and forced plane impinging jets. Predictions were carried out for different inflow conditions, which include a natural plane impinging jet with a random perturbation on the inflow plane and a forced plane impinging jet with a Strouhal number of 0.36, locked both in phase and laterally in space. The first simulation was performed to quantitatively study the mean flow and turbulence statistics. The computed field variables and turbulence intensity of streamwise velocity agreed well with the experimental results. The second simulation was performed to study the vortex structures of a forced plane impinging jet. The predictions captured the typical vortex structures of this kind of flow, such as spanwise rollers, successive ribs, cross ribs and wall ribs were reproduced by the simulation, which were also previously detected by the experiment of Sakakibara et al. (103) with digital particle image velocimetry (DPIV) system, but to our -best knowledge never wholly reproduced by numerical simulations to date. Moreover, the study has also led to some new findings related to the formation and evolution of successive ribs, cross ribs and wall ribs.
The new collision model is tested against analytical solutions of simplified realistic collision problems in a box volume. The grid-dependence of the model is also checked against some spray test cases. The new collision scheme is computationally more efficient than the frequently used O'Rourke's (87) scheme since it abandons a sampling procedure to compute the collision number. The new model delivers sufficient accuracy in calculating the collision numbers in cases with uniformly distributed droplets although O'Rourke's model seems to perform better for these scenarios. However, for the prediction of a real spray in Cartesian gird, the new model has delivered much improved results. The predictions of the new model do not show any grid-dependent artefacts.
KIVA-LES with the Lagrangian spray models is used to predict non-evaporating and evaporating diesel fuel sprays. The computed results are compared with the experimental data by Hiroyasu and Kadota (55) and Naber and Siebers (81), as well as the predictions of the original KIVA-3V. The predictions are in good agreement with the data. The large scale vortical structures are reproduced by the LES simulations, which cause "branch-like" spray shape and influence the spray penetration depth. The predictions have also captured the differences between the dense and dilute regions of the sprays. The LES analysis of diesel sprays has also demonstrated that SGS velocity has significant influence on the predicted spray angles. Most importantly, grid-convergent results, which were difficult to obtain with the original KIVA-3V, have been obtained in the present study.
Finally, the validated code is used to study evaporating two-phase spray flow in a coaxial gas turbine model combustor. The predictions were compared with some published experimental data. This is a first step towards a more comprehensive numerical analysis of practical industrial combustors where multiple inlets and more complex combustor geometry are encountered. Good agreement with the data is achieved. The predictions have captured the "ring-like" vortex just downstream the annulus and "worm-like" streamwise vortical structure further downstream. The axial droplet mass flux and Sauter mean radius (SMR) are well predicted.
Overall the present study has demonstrated the capability of KIVA-LES with the newly developed collision model to provide reasonably accurate predictions of evaporating two-phase flows in coaxial gas turbine combustors.


One of the most important economic characteristics to consider at the turn of this century is the decline in the
state's capacity to offer basic services to the various populations living all over the globe. Thus, an increasing majority of the world's economic sectors recognizes the
superiority of private initiative and market pressures over collective initiative and centralized planning. More and more analysts are recognizing the fact that well-being will be the result, of personal effort, of the private sector, of competition between enterprises and of a less prominent
role of the state. In this context, rural areas of very least advanced countries were neglected because the state was overly concerned with urban constituents belonging to a particular social sector; efforts undertaken in rural areas were sporadic at best. This kind of situation could be perpetuated in less advanced countries like in some parts of Africa, or some Asia or in a country such as Haiti. The direct consequence of this situation is the persistent economic exclusion of the rural areas. Conversely, the current
neo-liberal movement opens the opportunity to re-think the non-urban areas located in severely underdeveloped countries. A new management concept that would stop or
reverse the tendency to economically restrict these sectors is needed. One could naturally question how sound the
possibility of cooperative management would be if applied to offer crucial basic services such as water and essential sanitation; these services have traditionally been provided
by the state. This study proposes to explore the feasibility it would be to create such public service enterprises.


The paper contains a report of a test of Cooper's NewProd model for predicting success and failure of product development projects. Based on Canadian data, the model has been shown to make predictions which are 84% correct. Having reservations on the reliability and validity of the model on theoretical grounds, we set out to test it using data collected in the Netherlands. Following Cooper's methodology, we selected 19 projects, which had already been marketed and of which 9 were clearcut successes and 10 clearcut failures. We also studied 9 additional projects, which had not yet been commercialised, as the basis for a future a priori test. The projects were given a product score according to Cooper's criteria, and predictions compared with the actual experience. Eightyfour percent were correctly classified, as in Cooper's work. From a practical point of view however the variance was too large to allow the predictions from NewProd to be used with confidence to predict outcomes unless they are clearcut. We believe that the drawback of the methodology is that the product score is a simple combination of the various factors involved. No allowance is made for the possibility that one factor alone might be responsible for failure. We have therefore introduced the concept of a threshold value for each factor. A project for which any factor falls below this value will be deemed a failure. Based on a very limited sample of 19 cases an improvement of reliability was made to 95% of 18 out of 19 products correctly classified. The NewProd concept so modified is being applied to the sample of 9 as yet uncompleted projects, and its predictions will eventually be compared with actual outcomes.


Changes in Young's modulus of the Co-31 mass%Ni-19 mass%Cr-10 mass%Mo alloy (Co-Ni based alloy) with cold-swaging, combined with heat-treatment at temperatures from 673 to 1323 K, was investigated to enhance the Young's modulus of Co-Ni based alloy. After cold-swaging, the Co-Ni based alloy, forming fiber deformation texture, shows the Young's modulus of 220 GPa. Furthermore, after ageing the cold-swaged alloy at temperatures from 673 to 1323 K, the Young's modulus increased to 230 GPa, accompanied by a decrease in the internal fiction and an increase in the tensile strength. This suggests that the increment in Young's modulus is caused by a moving of the vacancies to the dislocation cores and a continuous locking of the dislocations along their entire length with solute atoms (trough model). By annealing at 1323 K after cold swaging, Young's modulus slightly increased to 236 GPa. On the other hand, the tensile strength decreases to almost the same value as that before cold swaging due to recrystallization. These results suggest that the Young's modulus and the strength in the present alloy are simultaneously enhanced by the continuous dislocation locking during aging as well as the formation of fiber deformation texture.


This article provides a theory of interfirm partial ownership. We consider a setting in which an upstream firm can make two alternative types of investment: either specific investment that only a particular downstream firm can use or general investment that any downstream firm is capable of using. When the benefits from specific and general investments are both stochastic, equity participation by the downstream firm in the upstream firm can lead to more efficient outcomes than take-or-pay contracts. The optimal ownership stake of the downstream firm is less than 50 percent under a natural assumption about relative bargaining power.


A systematic analysis of formerly classified Soviet Politburo documents challenges popular misconceptions about the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan. The archival evidence indicates that, far from being a near-complete and chaotic failure, the withdrawal was based on a coherent exit strategy that initially achieved its limited objectives. Moscow's strategy enabled Soviet-trained Afghan forces to withstand the insurgent offensive and allowed the Afghan government to remain in power nearly three years after the Soviet combat forces departed. The Soviet-installed Afghan government ultimately collapsed not from military defeat or bankruptcy but from internal political strife and betrayals. Even though Soviet leaders failed to secure long-term gains as their strategy ran out of time, their experience provides relevant lessons for U.S. strategy formulation in Afghanistan following the withdrawal of U.S. combat forces and is an instructive case that can inform theories of great-power retraction from foreign intervention in general.


Study Design. Intraobserver and interobserver reproducibility study. Objective. This study investigates the variability in the interpretation of degenerative disc findings using magnetic resonance imaging. Summary of Background Data. Magnetic resonance imaging has been used for years in clinical diagnostics, primarily to investigate disc herniation and spinal stenosis. Less attention has been paid to other disc findings and their assessment reliability. Methods. Three independent readers evaluated magnetic resonance images of the lumbar and the lower and middle thoracic spines of 122 subjects by grading 12 aspects of the intervertebral discs and adjacent endplates using written definitions and example images. Images of 20 subjects were reevaluated for the assessment of intraobserver agreement. Results. Agreement was highest in the lower lumbar and poorest in the middle thoracic spine. Intraobserver agreement was generally fair to excellent for almost all variables in the lumbar and lower thoracic spine (most intraclass correlation and kappa coefficients for these regions were above 0.70). Interobserver agreement was notably lower than intraobserver agreement, except for osteophytes and endplate defects in some regions. Conclusions. Intraobserver agreement in the evaluation of disc degeneration was at an acceptable level, in general, in the lumbar and lower thoracic spine. However, assessments were substantially more variable between readers, which limits comparisons of evaluations between different readers.


Background: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) and risk factors for CVD are prevalent among Appalachians from Kentucky. Appalachian men and women have high rates of engagement in unhealthy behaviors and poor physical health measures that increase their risk for CVD. Objective: In this study, the relationship among gender, CVD risk factors, and health perception in Appalachians from Kentucky was explored. Methods: This cross-sectional secondary analysis is from a randomized controlled trial on CVD health in rural Kentucky. To assess gender differences in smoking history, χ2 was used. Independent t tests compared the mean between participants 50 years or younger and those older than 50 years with differences in body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, hemoglobin A1C, total cholesterol, and physical activity. A multivariate linear regression analysis assessed variables predicting the outcome of health perception. Results: Most participants had a mean BMI of 33 kg/m2 and 94.3% of men used smokeless tobacco compared to 5.7% of the women. Differences existed between gender and current, ever, or never smoked (P < .001). Women had higher total cholesterol levels but men had higher waist circumference. Participants older than 50 years had higher engagement in physical activity than did those 50 years or younger. Higher BMI and hemoglobin A1C level were significant predictors of worse health perception (P ≤ .05). For every unit increase in the physical activity scale, there was a 0.2-unit improvement in health perception (P ≤ .001). Conclusion: Appalachians from Kentucky have many CVD risk factors. Minimal engagement in preventative measures against CVD can worsen patient outcomes.


In recent years, the use of RFID technology has gained popularity in the timber industry for wood-log monitoring. Harvested wood-logs are stored for different time periods before being processed. As a result, the moisture content in the stored wood-logs varies compared to the freshly-cut wood and it must also be noted that the moisture content of freshly cut wood differs from one log to another. Apart from storage time period of wood-logs, the environmental factors such as temperature, rain, snow and sun also contributes to the variation in the moisture content of the wood-logs. This variation of the moisture content changes the dielectric constant of the wood and hence, influences the characteristics of the RFID antenna. In this paper the impact of variations in moisture content in wood and its effect on the performance of the RFID antenna are studied.


Powder metallurgy is expected to be processing technology of titanium aluminides with high strength, which are candidates for lightweight high-temperature materials in near future, because more uniform materials having finer microstructures can be synthesized through powder metallurgical processes than through casting processes. However, the fine microstructures become coarser due to grain growth and therefore the materials become weak during exposure to high temperatures. Reinforcement of titanium aluminides by dispersion of ceramic particles and/or fibers into titanium aluminides matrix is expected to restrain the grain growth by their pinning effect. In this study, a blend of Ti, Al and B powders was mechanically alloyed and sintered by spark plasma activated sintering technique to synthesize TiAl intermetallic material with TiB2 particulate dispersion. As a result, Ti-Al intermetallic powder of non-equilibrium phase was made by mechanical alloying of Ti-Al-B powder mixture and fully dense TiAl-TiB2 composite material was synthesized by sintering the powder at 1223K, 49MPa for 300s.


In many European countries, a variety of different organic certification logos and schemes is found in the market. In the countries of the European Union (EU), the new mandatory EU logo for organic food was introduced in July 2010, so that other organic logos can only be used in addition to the mandatory EU logo. Within the CERTCOST project, consumer perceptions, preferences and willingness-to-pay (WTP) regarding different organic certification logos were investigated. The seven study countries were Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Turkey and United Kingdom. The overall objective was to give recommendations for actors in the organic sector regarding the use and promotion of organic certification logos.
Firstly, an inventory study was conducted in shops with an organic food range in autumn 2008 to get insights into the spectrum of different organic certification logos in the market and the extent of price differences among products with different organic logos. The analysis showed that the importance of different kinds of logos differed considerably between the study countries. Only a few significant price differences between products with and without certain organic logos were found.
Secondly, consumer perceptions, preferences and WTP regarding different organic logos as well as consumer views on a mandatory EU logo were investigated by a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods of consumer research (focus group discussions conducted in spring 2009, choice experiments and structured interviews conducted in early 2010). The results revealed that consumers had a low level of factual knowledge about organic production standards and the organic control system. Nevertheless, consumers clearly preferred certain organic logos more than others. Different kinds of organic logos were preferred across the countries. In Denmark and the Czech Republic, consumers were willing to pay a considerably higher price premium for the governmental logo than for the other tested logos. In Germany, a high WTP was recorded for the logo of the farmers' association Demeter and the governmental logo. In Italy, the old EU logo reached the highest WTP. In Switzerland, the logo of the farmers' umbrella organisation Bio Suisse was clearly preferred. In Turkey, consumers were willing to pay the highest price premium for the logo of the certification body Ecocert. In the UK, the WTP was the highest for the logos of the Soil Association and the certification body 'Organic Farmers & Growers'. In all countries, products without a logo just labelled with the prefix 'organic' were not trusted. The introduction of a mandatory EU logo was generally welcomed by the participants. However, trust in the underlying standards and the control system was not very pronounced except in Italy.
The report briefly outlines the methods and results, while the focus lies on recommendations for different actors in the organic sector with regard to the use and promotion of organic certification logos. To increase consumer trust in the new mandatory EU logo, it is recommended that promotion campaigns should be carried out explaining what the logo indicates. Regarding the investigated governmental logos, it is recommended that their use should be continued, at least in a transition period, since a high level of consumer trust in the logos was recorded. For organic certification logos of private organisations it is recommended that their use should only be continued for logos that offer a clear 'added value' compared to the EU logo.


Despite the considerable research that has occurred over the twenty years following the publication of Ronald Gilson's and Reinier Kraakman's article, The Mechanisms of Market Efficiency, there still remains a fundamental puzzle concerning the price fluctuations of securities. The explanatory power - the R squared - of various models used by financial economists to explain security price fluctuations is quite low, in the range of .20 to .30. What accounts for the other 70% to 80% of price fluctuations? This paper explores the challenges this puzzle poses to our understanding of security markets, the role played by mechanisms of market inefficiency (noise traders) as well as various mechanisms of market efficiency (information revelation via trading; the firm as arbitrageur) and the impact of legal institutions and practices on the operation of security markets.


Asymptomatic bacteriuria (ABU) is a bacterial carrier state in the urinary tract that resembles commensalism at other mucosal sites. ABU strains often lack the virulence factors that characterize uropathogenic Escherichia coli (E. coli) strains and therefore elicit weak innate immune responses in the urinary tract. In addition, ABU strains are active modifiers of the host environment, which they influence by suppressing RNA polymerase II (Pol II)-dependent host gene expression. In patients inoculated with the ABU strain E. coli 83972, gene expression was markedly reduced after 24 h (>60% of all regulated genes). Specific repressors and activators of Pol II-dependent transcription were modified, and Pol II Serine 2 phosphorylation was significantly inhibited, indicating reduced activity of the polymerase. This active inhibition included disease–associated innate immune response pathways, defined by TLR4, IRF-3 and IRF-7, suggesting that ABU strains persist in human hosts by active suppression of the antibacterial defense. In a search for the mechanism of inhibition, we compared the whole genome sequences of E. coli 83972 and the uropathogenic strain E. coli CFT073. In addition to the known loss of virulence genes, we observed that the ABU strain has acquired several phages and identified the lytic Prophage 3 as a candidate Pol II inhibitor. Intact phage particles were released by ABU during in vitro growth in human urine. To address if Prophage 3 affects Pol II activity, we constructed a Prophage 3 negative deletion mutant in E. coli 83972 and compared the effect on Pol II phosphorylation between the mutant and the E. coli 83972 wild type (WT) strains. No difference was detected, suggesting that the Pol II inhibitor is not encoded by the phage. The review summarizes the evidence that the ABU strain E. coli 83972 modifies host gene expression by inhibition of Pol II phosphorylation, and discusses the ability of ABU strains to actively create an environment that enhances their persistence.


Curvilinear structures are common in medical imaging, which typically require dedicated processing techniques. We present a new structure to process these, that we call the polygonal path image, denoted P. We derive from P some curvilinear structure enhancement and analysis algorithms. We show that P has some interesting properties: it generalizes several concepts found in other methods; it makes it possible to control the smoothness and length of the structures under study; and it can be computed efficiently. We estimate quantitatively its performance in the context of interventional cardiology for the detection of guide-wires in X-ray images. We show that P is particularly well suited for this task where it appears to outperform previous state of the art techniques.


As minimally invasive surgical techniques progress, the demand for efficient, reliable methods for vascular ligation and tissue closure becomes pronounced. The surgical advantages of energy-based vessel sealing exceed those of traditional, compression-based ligatures in procedures sensitive to duration, foreign bodies, and recovery time alike. Although the use of energy-based devices to seal or transect vasculature and connective tissue bundles is widespread, the breadth of heating strategies and energy dosimetry used across devices underscores an uncertainty as to the molecular nature of the sealing mechanism and induced tissue effect. Furthermore, energy-based techniques exhibit promise for the closure and functional repair of soft and connective tissues in the nervous, enteral, and dermal tissue domains. A constitutive theory of molecular bonding forces that arise in response to supraphysiological temperatures is required in order to optimize and progress the use of energy-based tissue fusion. While rapid tissue bonding has been suggested to arise from dehydration, dipole interactions, molecular cross-links, or the coagulation of cellular proteins, long-term functional tissue repair across fusion boundaries requires that the reaction to thermal damage be tailored to catalyze the onset of biological healing and remodeling. In this review, we compile and contrast findings from published thermal fusion research in an effort to encourage a molecular approach to characterization of the prevalent and promising energy-based tissue bond.


Food justice scholars and advocates have made a simple but important point: for all the attention we pay to the food we eat, we pay far too little attention to the people who feed us. But can law play a role in directing consumer attention to labor-related issues? Traditional food law paradigms provide at best incidental benefits to food workers because these types of laws typically rely on transparency and disclosure schemes that serve narrow consumer-centric interests. An increasing number of laws attempt to disseminate information about the working conditions of the people who pick, process, and produce our food so that consumers can also consider the ethical and moral consequences of their food choices. In assessing this attempt to rebrand labor enforcement in consumer protection terms, this Article does two things. First, this Article identifies the conditions under which such schemes are most likely to succeed. Regulators should target food markets characterized by relative consumer wealth, norm consensus regarding which outcomes are desirable, and an established intermediation infrastructure to give disclosure laws the best chances for improving labor conditions along the food chain. Even where these conditions exist, a second point this Article makes is that disclosure laws should supplement, not supplant, traditional labor enforcement strategies that rely on worker-initiated complaints. This is because certain values, like autonomy, equity, and community standing are best vindicated by the workers themselves instead of by others (like consumers) on their behalf. Crowding out workers from the enforcement process creates the risk of exacerbating the structural forms of inequality that define work across the food system.


The paper provides a formalisation of the monetary folk proposition that fiat base money is an asset of the holder but not a liability of the issuer. The issuance of irredeemable fiat base money can have pure fiscal effects on private demand. With irredeemable fiat base money, weak restrictions on the monetary policy rule suffice to rule out liquidity trap equilibria - equilibria in which all current and future short nominal interest rates are at their lower bounds. In a model with flexible prices, liquidity trap equilibria cannot occur as long as the private sector does not expect the monetary authority to reduce the nominal money stock to zero in the long run. In a New-Keynesian model out provided the private sector expects the authorities not to reduce the nominal stock of base money below a certain finite level in the long run. Liquidity trap equilibria can exist if and for as long as the private sector expects that the monetary authorities will ultimately reverse any current expansion of the monetary base in present value terms.


The query reformulation approach (also called semantic query optimization) takes advantage of the semantic knowledge about the contents of databases for optimization. The basic idea is to use the knowledge to reformulate a query into a less expensive yet equivalent query. Previous work on semantic query optimization has shown the cost reduction that can be achieved by reformulation, we further point out that when applied to distributed multidatabase queries, the reformulation approach can reduce the cost of moving intermediate data from one site to another. However, a robust and eecient method to discover the required knowledge has not yet been developed. This paper presents an example-guided, data-driven learning approach to acquire the knowledge needed in reformulation. We use example queries to guide the learning to capture the database usage pattern. In contrast to the heuristic-driven approach proposed by Siegel, the data-driven approach is more likely to learn the required knowledge for the various reformulation needs of the example queries. Since this learning approach minimizes the dependency on the database structure and implementation, it is applicable to heterogeneous multidatabase systems. With the learning capability, the query reformulation will be more eeective and feasible in real-world database applications.


Land management professionals (foresters, wildlife biologists, range managers, and land managers such as ranchers and forest land owners) often have need to evaluate their management activities. Photographic monitoring is a fast, simple, and effective way to determine if changes made to an area have been successful. Ground-based photo monitoring means using photographs taken at a specific site to monitor conditions or change. It may be divided into two systems: (1) comparison photos, whereby a photograph is used to compare a known condition with field conditions to estimate some parameter of the field condition; and (2) repeat photographs, whereby several pictures are taken of the same tract of ground over time to detect change. Comparison systems deal with fuel loading, herbage utilization, and public reaction to scenery. Repeat photography is discussed in relation to landscape, remote, and site-specific systems. Critical attributes of repeat photography are (1) maps to find the sampling location and of the photo monitoring layout; (2) documentation of the monitoring system to include purpose, camera and film, w e a t h e r, season, sampling technique, and equipment; and (3) precise replication of photographs. Five appendices include (A) detailed instructions for photo sampling, (B) blank forms for field use, (C) specifications and photographs of recommended equipment, (D) filing system alternatives, and (E) suggestions for taking photographs and analyzing change over time.


"In the transition from an industrial society to a service society, changes must be expected, especially on the labour market. A number of authors assume that these changes are reflected above all in an increasingly external-numerical flexibilisation, which influences the events on the labour market in the form of a generally increased labour market mobility and decreasing employment stability ('turbo labour market'). The paper examines the thesis of an increasing significance of the external-numerical flexibility with the aid of simple, descriptive procedures based on the panel data of the IAB employment sample for the labour market of western Germany for the years 1976 to 1995. Here it is shown that there is no question of generally increasing accelerated labour market dynamics, but that labour market mobility has been stagnating if not even slightly declining since the 1970s; in addition to this the stability of employment relationships is not decreasing over time - as was perhaps to be expected- but is increasing; also unemployment is not increasingly becoming the 'normal case' in workers' careers - in spite of unemployment figures that are rising in absolute terms. Finally the paper does not only refute the thesis of the 'turbo labour market'; scepticism about the opposing thesis of the increasingly sclerotic labour market seems to be appropriate. For concentrating mainly on the development of external-numerical flexibility all too easily obscures the view of alternative strategies implemented by firms to increase flexibility. A fixed framework for industrial relations alone is not a sign of a labour market that is unable to adapt. It is more the case that the findings presented in this paper are to be interpreted in connection with a growing internal flexibilisation of Germany's firms." (author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))


All nurses who care for patients with LDDs must have demonstrated initial competency with LDDs and should participate in periodic in-service training to maintain that competency. Clearly an educated critical care nurse is the most essential partner that a patient with an LDD can have for preventing complications and ensuring that the best outcomes for the patient are achieved. Nurses caring for patients with an LDD must have a clear institution-specific policy and procedure available to guide the care of these patients.


With long-term policymaking apparently gridlocked on even such a vital topic as global warming, it is heartening to learn that political consensus around an environmental issue has led to timely progress in a few instances. In the Forum essay that starts on p. 598 of this issue, Robert H. Richmond and his coauthors describe how three Micronesian island communities have been able—through science, resource stewardship, and traditional leadership systems—to change land-use practices in ways that should reduce deposition of damaging sediments on coral reefs. Because coral reef degradation (stemming in large part from runoff and landbased sources of pollution) is a critical problem worldwide, the consensus that communities on Palau, Guam, and Pohnpei achieved in favor of action is worthy of note. Whether it will actually benefit reefs remains to be seen, but any good news about reef management ought to be scrutinized for lessons that can be used elsewhere. The authors of the article, six of whom are native islanders, credit certain attitudes prevalent in many Pacific island cultures with allowing the communities to decide on their own to change their ways. Traditional policies, they say, acknowledge from the outset the need to control human activities for a community's benefit. That premise contrasts with US federal legislation, which stresses often outdated mitigation measures of dubious effectiveness. Moreover, some of the islands have direct reef tenure or ownership, and in many of them, the same villages or clans own both reefs and the upland areas in the watersheds that crucially affect the reefs via runoff. Thus, these communities are historically familiar with the concept of "ridge-to-reef" stewardship, and they have a long-term perspective. Leaders on the three islands studied were briefed about research on the influence of local land use on adjacent coral reefs, and provided their own experience-based knowledge as background and context. As a consequence, in Guam and in Palau, residents soon initiated watershed restoration activities, and in Palau, they put a stop to clearing and grading of mangroves. In Pohnpei, local chiefs agreed to establish a protected area that limits harmful upland farming practices. The successes came about "through the participation of culturally connected researchers, traditional leaders, and community-based organizations," and seemingly resulted from consensus rather than hard-fought compromise. Needless to say, not all traditional stewardship policies lead to successful ecosystem management, and formulas that led to progress in small island communities may not work in larger nations. But some lessons are applicable. As Richmond and colleagues ask, if coastal and offshore leases can be given for fish cages and oil drilling, why not for community-based conservation and protection? Most environmental issues involve multiple stakeholders, although many stakeholders are unaware of what they stand to lose if a resource is damaged. Finding effective ways to make more people aware of their stake, and what they can do to protect it, would be a useful tactic for biologists. Most researchers attach importance—or should—to maintaining their objectivity on matters of science. At the same time, most want to ensure that their work is put to good use. Respectful communication of research findings to the players in ecological dramas, so that they are motivated to defend their own interests, can only help.


Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel from 1984-2009, we follow persons from their working life into their retirement years and find that, on average, employed people maintain their life satisfaction upon retirement, while long-term unemployed people report a substantial increase in their life satisfaction when they retire. These results are robust to controlling for changes in other life circumstances and suggest that retiring is associated with a switch in the relevant social norms that causes an increase in identity utility for the formerly unemployed. This is supportive of the idea that, by including identity in the utility function, results from the empirical life satisfaction literature can be reconciled with the economic theory of individual utility.


International tribunals have repeatedly invoked substantial deprivation as the litmus test for expropriation under international law. International expropriation cases, however, can be more accurately classified in three ways: (i) direct or indirect appropriations; (ii) arbitrary deprivations that cannot be justified by the exercise of state police powers to protect public order or morals, human health or the environment; or (iii) cases where the state has abrogated a previously granted permission and the investor is deprived of its investment. Regulatory expropriation questions cannot be adequately addressed without a thorough examination of compensation policy. Cases of regulatory expropriation involve conflicting policies and interests which are not easily, if at all, reconcilable. While the explicit incorporation of US regulatory takings analysis into new investment treaties provides useful guidance to tribunals, this new wave approach does not solve the underlying tension between investment protection and the exercise of police power regulation. The policy rationale for expropriation protection cannot rest on a general principle of protection against wealth deprivation. Many regulations result in some form of wealth deprivation. Police power regulation allows for wealth deprivations when the state determines drastic action is required to protect the populace. Instead, there are two primary rationales for the protection against expropriation. The first is to provide a remedy where the state directly or indirectly acquires a foreign investor's property. This protects against unjust enrichment and ensures that where there is a public benefit the burden of obtaining that benefit is born by the general public. The second rationale is to ensure that state measures do not deprive investors of their investments unless the measure is reasonably necessary to protect an essential public interest recognized under the narrow police powers exception. International expropriation law provides a minimum standard of protection. Its role is not to achieve a welfare-maximizing optimal balance in the protection of foreign investment(s). Rather, its purpose is to provide a minimum level of protection from state appropriations and arbitrary conduct. If foreign investors want protection beyond that minimum level, they should use appropriate risk allocation mechanisms such as insurance, contract and diversification.


When the capacity of the spillway of a dam is exceeded for a given flood, overtopping occurs; in such cases potentially dangerous hydrodynamic actions and scour downstream of the dam need to be foreseen. Detailed studies of jets impinging in plunge pools from overflow nappe flows are scarce. This work addresses plunge pool flows, and compares numerical results against our own experiments. The energy dissipation is larger than 75% of the impingement jet energy. Instantaneous velocities and air entrainment were obtained with the use of an Acoustic Doppler Velocimeter and optical fibre probe, respectively. Mean velocity field and turbulence kinetic energy profiles were determined. To identify the level of reliability of models, numerical simulations were carried out by using the 'homogeneous' model of ANSYS CFX, together with different turbulence closures. The numerical results fall fairly close to the values measured in the laboratory, and with expressions for submerged hydraulic jumps and horizontal wall jets. The observations can be well predicted for characterized profiles at a minimum distance of 0.40 m downstream from the stagnation point, horizontal velocities greater than 40% of the maximum velocity in each profile, and when the ratio of the water cushion depth to the jet thickness is lower than 20.


Eukaryotic cells maintain an immense amount of genetic information by tightly wrapping their DNA around positively charged histones. While this strategy allows human cells to maintain more than 25,000 genes, histone binding can also block gene expression. Consequently, cells express histone acetyl transferases (HATs) to acetylate histone lysines and release DNA for transcription. Conversely, histone deacetylases (HDACs) are employed for restoring the positive charge on the histones, thereby silencing gene expression by increasing histone‐DNA binding. It has previously been shown that histones bind and silence viral DNA, while hyperacetylation of histones via HDAC inhibition restores viral gene expression. In this study, we demonstrate that treatment with Entinostat, an HDAC inhibitor, enhances transgene (luciferase) expression by up to 25‐fold in human prostate and murine bladder cancer cell lines when used with cationic polymers for plasmid DNA delivery. Entinostat treatment altered cell cycle progression, resulting in a significant increase in the fraction of cells present in the G0/G1 phase at low micromolar concentrations. While this moderate G0/G1 arrest disappeared at higher concentrations, a modest increase in the fraction of apoptotic cells and a decrease in cell proliferation were observed, consistent with the known anticancer effects of the drug. DNase accessibility studies revealed no significant change in plasmid transcriptional availability with Entinostat treatment. However, quantitative PCR studies indicated that Entinostat treatment, at the optimal dose for enhancing transgene expression, led to an increase in the amount of plasmid present in the nucleus in two cancer cell lines. Taken together, our results show that Entinostat enhances polymer‐ mediated transgene expression and can be useful in applications related to transient protein expression in mammalian cells. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2016;113: 1345–1356. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.


Recently, an overwhelming amount of philosophical works by women has been made available by historians of philosophy. However, this (re)discovery is not adequately reflected in the curricula of philosophy departments in general. This paper discusses which argumentative strategy is most feasible in order to include significantly more women in the philosophy curriculum. In From the Exclusion of Women to the Transformation of Philosophy: Reclamation and its Possibilities (2014), Sarah Tyson identifies four reclamation models, which feminist scholars have utilized to contend why and how women should be included in the philosophy canon. It is shown that the key difference between the so-called corrective and transformative model is whether misogyny is considered an intrinsic feature of philosophy or merely an unfortunate development. It is argued that regardless of the ontological status of the philosophical discipline, both strategies promote engagement with women's work in a way that revolutionizes current philosophical practice.


Background and purpose — There have been few comparative studies on total knee replacement (TKR) with cemented tibia and uncemented femur (hybrid TKR). Previous studies have not shown any difference in revision rate between cemented and hybrid fixation, but these studies had few hybrid prostheses. We have evaluated the outcome of hybrid TKR based on data from the Norwegian Arthroplasty Register (NAR). Patients and methods — We compared 4,585 hybrid TKRs to 20,095 cemented TKRs with risk of revision for any cause as the primary endpoint. We included primary TKRs without patella resurfacing that were reported to the NAR during the years 1999–2012. To minimize the possible confounding effect of prosthesis brands, only brands that were used both as hybrids and cemented in more than 200 cases were included. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and Cox regression analysis were done with adjustment for age, sex, and preoperative diagnosis. To include death as a competing risk, cumulative incidence function estimates were calculated. Results — Estimated survival at 11 years was 94.3% (95% CI: 93.9–94.7) in the cemented TKR group and 96.3% (CI: 95.3–97.3) in the hybrid TKR group. The adjusted Cox regression analysis showed a lower risk of revision in the hybrid group (relative risk = 0.58, CI: 0.48–0.72, p < 0.001). The hybrid group included 3 brands of prostheses: LCS classic, LCS complete, and Profix. Profix hybrid TKR had lower risk of revision than cemented TKR, but the LCS classic and LCS complete did not. Kaplan-Meier estimated survival at 11 years was 96.8% (CI: 95.6–98.0) in the hybrid Profix group and 95.2% (CI: 94.6–95.8) in the cemented Profix group. Mean operating time was 17 min longer in the cemented group. Interpretation — Survivorship of the hybrid TKR at 11 years was better than that for cemented TKR, or the same, depending on the brand of prosthesis. Hybrid fixation appears to be a safe and time-efficient alternative to cemented fixation in total knee replacement surgery.


Abstract : To many in the United States, China looms large and threatening. This monograph attempts to answer, through an analysis of China's defense establishment under the leadership of Jiang Zemin, questions such as: What are the national security and national military goals of China's leaders? What strategies are Chinese leaders considering in pursuit of these goals? What is the likelihood that these goals will be attained? It assesses the political and economic determinants of China's effort to modernize its armed forces. Four possible strategies are outlined: (1) playing the superpower game," (2) playing to its strengths," (3) changing the rules of the game," or (4) don't play that game." The factors that will determine the selection of a strategy are examined. The most likely strategy is identified and its outcome of evaluated. Lastly, the implications of the study for the U.S. defense community are addressed.


Probiotics, Prebiotics, and Synbiotics-Ronald Ross Watson 2015-09-23 Probiotics, Prebiotics, and Synbiotics: Bioactive Foods in Health Promotion reviews and presents new hypotheses and conclusions on the effects of different bioactive components of probiotics, prebiotics, and synbiotics to prevent disease and improve the health of various populations. Experts define and support the actions of bacteria; bacteria modified bioflavonoids and prebiotic fibrous materials and vegetable compounds. A major emphasis is placed on the health-promoting activities and bioactive components of probiotic bacteria. Offers a novel focus on synbiotics, carefully designed prebiotics probiotics combinations to help design functional food and nutraceutical products Discusses how prebiotics and probiotics are complementary and can be incorporated into food products and used as alternative medicines Defines the variety of applications of probiotics in health and disease resistance and provides key insights into how gut flora are modified by specific food materials Includes valuable information on how prebiotics are important sources of micro-and macronutrients that modify body functions


Kurkela, T., Aalto, T., Varama, M. & Jalkanen, R. 2005. Defoliation by the common pine sawfly (Diprion pini) and subsequent growth reduction in Scots pine: a retrospective approach. Silva Fennica 39(4): 467–480. The foliage status in the main stem of Scots pines (Pinus sylvestris) was studied retrospectively using the needle trace method (NTM) on a stand, seriously defoliated by the pine sawfly (Diprion pini) in the 1980s. Needle density increased abruptly in the seasons following the defoliation. The strongest reduction in annual needle production occurred one year later. As a consequence of lower needle production, the annual number of attached needles decreased three to five years after the defoliation. Needle retention and the average age of attached needles tended to increase after defoliation. In analyses of covariance with the NTM variables, needle density (logarithmic transformed values) and average age of attached needles, had the highest, significant, negative relationship with radial and height increments both in the period prior to the defoliation and in the time when the trees were suffering from defoliation. The relationships between height increment and the number of needles and needle loss were positive and significant. Also radial increment had a positive relationship with the number of needles but not with needle loss. Interestingly, an abrupt increase in the needle density gave a good indication of the effects of a sudden defoliation in pines.


A neural network (NN) adaptive model-based combined lateral and longitudinal vehicle control algorithm for highway applications is presented in this paper. The controller is synthesized using a proportional plus derivative control coupled with an online adaptive neural module that acts as a dynamic compensator to counteract inherent model discrepancies, strong nonlinearities, and coupling effects. The closed-loop stability issues of this combined control scheme are analyzed using a Lyapunov-based method. The neurocontrol approach can guarantee the uniform ultimate bounds of the tracking errors and bounds of NN weights. A complex nonlinear three-degree-of-freedom dynamic model of a passenger wagon is developed to simulate the vehicle motion and for controller design. The controller is tested and verified via computer simulations in the presence of parametric uncertainties and severe driving conditions


One of the most encouraging, but also the most challenging, aspects of current research on psychopathology is the diversity of measures used to assess constructs across research studies and programs. Clearly, this diversity reflects the creativity and generativity of our field and the continual growth of our science. At the same time, however, this diversity also makes data harmonization across studies difficult, if not sometimes impossible. The National Human Genome Research Institute recognized this conundrum in the field of genetics and started an initiative referred to as consensus measures for Phenotypes and eXposures (PhenX) to identify and recommend a small number of measures for each of 21 broad research domains that could be used as common assessments to facilitate integration across genomewide association studies (1–4). These measures are made available to the scientific community, at no cost, in the PhenX Toolkit (https://www.phenxtoolkit.org). Subsequently, the PhenX consensus process was used to identify measures in support of substance abuse and addiction (SAA) research, adding depth to the toolkit in this area. This project was funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) with the participation of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Perhaps due to a growing awareness of the need to share data across studies to increase statistical power and study impact, a number of other common data element programs have been underway, including the PatientReported Outcomes Measurement Information System (5), the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Toolbox (6), the Neurological Quality of Life (7), the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke Common Data Elements program (8,9), and the NIH Common Data Elements program (http://www. nlm.nih.gov/cde/). The program staff at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), as well as its funded researchers, have also recognized the challenges posed by a lack of common measures across studies. The NIMH has taken note of this recent emphasis on larger scale studies to address core questions about the mechanisms of psychopathology and recent attempts at data harmonization across studies of psychopathology that address similar issues. Accordingly, the NIMH felt that it was time to identify brief, low-burden measures that NIMH-funded researchers could include in their studies to increase cross-study data compatibility. The goal of the current report is to briefly describe the genesis and development of the PhenX project, to outline the process that the Mental Health Research Panel used to select a set of common measures, to describe the measures themselves, and to outline the goals associated with including these measures in future studies.


The low dust temperatures (<14 K) of Planck Galactic cold clumps (PGCCs) make them ideal targets to probe the initial conditions and very early phase of star formation. "TOP-SCOPE" is a joint survey program targeting ∼2000 PGCCs in J = 1–0 transitions of CO isotopologues and ∼1000 PGCCs in 850 μm continuum emission. The objective of the "TOP-SCOPE" survey and the joint surveys (SMT 10 m, KVN 21 m, and NRO 45 m) is to statistically study the initial conditions occurring during star formation and the evolution of molecular clouds, across a wide range of environments. The observations, data analysis, and example science cases for these surveys are introduced with an exemplar source, PGCC G26.53+0.17 (G26), which is a filamentary infrared dark cloud (IRDC). The total mass, length, and mean line mass (M/L) of the G26 filament are ∼6200 M☉, ∼12 pc, and ∼500 M☉ pc−1, respectively. Ten massive clumps, including eight starless ones, are found along the filament. The most massive clump as a whole may still be in global collapse, while its denser part seems to be undergoing expansion owing to outflow feedback. The fragmentation in the G26 filament from cloud scale to clump scale is in agreement with gravitational fragmentation of an isothermal, nonmagnetized, and turbulent supported cylinder. A bimodal behavior in dust emissivity spectral index (β) distribution is found in G26, suggesting grain growth along the filament. The G26 filament may be formed owing to large-scale compression flows evidenced by the temperature and velocity gradients across its natal cloud.


The State and Local Policy Program of the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota, in partnership with the Minnesota Department of Transportation and the Metropolitan Council, has studied value pricing since 1994. These partners were awarded a grant by the Federal Highway Administration in Fall 1999 to continue this work. This project included major components of both national outreach and continuing efforts to develop political support for value pricing in the Minneapolis-St. Paul region. This report summarizes the major activities that took place as part of this project, and includes as appendices, the major documents that were produced. These include three papers that were presented at the Transportation Research Board, a major pilot project proposal, and some other documents that were used locally.


Abstract—The effect of the time delay of thermal coupling on the synchronization of two VO_2-oscillators has been studied for the first time. A modification of the methods for determining high order synchronization parameters has been proposed. The dependence of these parameters on the magnitude of the time delay and distance between the oscillators in the presence of internal noise has been studied. The results will contribute to the development of technology for creating three-dimensional neural networks.


All Australian jurisdictions regulate the admission of expert opinion evidence. The rules focus on 'specialised knowledge', the existence of a 'field', and 'training, study or experience'.[footnote* In most Australian jurisdictions the admission of expert opinion evidence is governed by s 79 of the Uniform Evidence Law ('UEL'): see Evidence Act 1995 (Cth); Evidence Act 2011 (ACT); Evidence Act 1995 (NSW); Evidence Act 2001 (Tas); Evidence Act 2008 (Vic); Evidence Act 2004 (NI); Evidence (National Uniform Legislation) Act 2011 (NT). The common law continues in Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia. See Kristy Martire and Gary Edmond, 'Rethinking Expert Opinion Evidence' (2017) 40 Melbourne University Law Review 967; Gary Edmond and Kristy Martire, 'Knowing Experts? Section 79, Forensic Science Evidence and the Limits of "Training, Study or Experience"' in Andrew Roberts and Jeremy Gans (eds), Critical Perspectives on the Uniform Evidence Law (Federation Press, 2017) 80.] They purport to regulate oral testimony but also the expert reports prepared in advance of potential proceedings, which often shape the way charge decisions are made, pleas are negotiated, and cases are settled, prosecuted, defended and occasionally appealed.


Prior to the advent of the Companies Act 71 of 2008, a defendant, confronted with a claim brought by a company of dubious financial standing, was able to invoke the provisions of s 13 of the previous Companies Act 61 of 1973 and bring an application requesting the court to order provision for the security for the costs of the pending action. Section 13 stated: 'Where a company or other body corporate is plaintiff or applicant in any legal proceedings, the court may at any stage, if it appears by credible testimony that there is reason to believe that the company or body corporate or, if it is being wound up, the liquidator thereof, will be unable to pay the costs of the defendant or respondent if successful in his defence, require sufficient security to be given for those costs and may stay all proceedings till the security is given'.


I. INTRODUCTION A. The Citadel Case B. The Road Ahead II. THE CONSTITUTION, OBSCENITY, AND INDECENCY A. The Constitution B. Obscenity C. Indecency 1. Federal Communications Commission v. Pacifica Foundation 2. Sable Communications of California, Inc. v. Federal Communications Commission 3. The Commission's Guidance a. Statutory Basis/Judicial History b. Indecency Determinations: Case Comparisons i. Explicitness/Graphic Description versus Indirectness/Implication ii. Dwelling Repetition versus Fleeting Reference iii. Presented in a Pandering or Titillating Manner or for Shock Value c. Enforcement Process d. Conclusion 4. The Separate Statement of Commissioner Susan Ness a. Recommended Procedural Improvements b. Broadcasters Are Part of a National Community 5. The Separate Statement of Commissioner Harold W. Furchtgott-Roth 6. The Dissenting Statement of Commissioner Gloria Tristani III. ANALYSIS A. The Commission and Indecency 1. Procedural Concerns 2. The Subjective Nature of Indecency Regulation a. The First Prong b. The Second Prong c. "For the Broadcast Medium" d. The Three Non-exclusive Factors e. The Citadel Case f. The Sarah Jones Case B. The Commission and Obscenity IV. PROPOSAL V. CONCLUSION I. INTRODUCTION A. The Citadel Case On June 1, 2001, the Federal Communications Commission ("FCC" or Commission") released a Notice of Apparent Liability ("NAL") written by Enforcement Bureau Chief David Solomon which fined the Citadel Broadcasting Co. and KKMG-FM of Pueblo, Colorado, $7000 for "willfully broadcasting indecent language" (1) in violation of federal law. (2) The indecent material consisted of lyrics from the controversial rapper Marshall Mathers, known as Eminem, from his single, "The Real Slim Shady." (3) The station claimed that the version of the song they aired was a radio-edited version, which they rendered decent through the use of muting devices and sound effects. (4) The FCC ruled, however, that even with editing, the single was indecent, (5) and further that the attempt to edit the song did not even warrant a reduction in the fine. (6) Rather than simply pay the fine, Citadel challenged the NAL. (7) This led to a January 8, 2002, opinion, again authored by FCC Enforcement Bureau Chief David Solomon, declaring that the radio-edited version of the song was not indecent and revoking the fine. (8) The Commission reversed its decision despite the introduction of no new facts in the case. (9) The new opinion made mention of the prior NAL only to say that it was rescinded and did nothing to explain why such a reversal was warranted. (10) It is within this context of administrative half-truth and constitutional gray area that judges and attorneys have been playing their roles for years. As the Citadel cases prove, what is or is not indecent is hardly clear. But a larger issue looms: If the government is so ill-equipped to answer the required questions, why do we keep letting them decide? B. The Road Ahead This Note will explore the relevant law regarding the issue of indecency and obscenity, with particular focus on a 2001 Policy Statement released by the FCC. It will continue by examining the major problems with the regulatory scheme as it now exists, and offer an alternative. Finally, this Note argues that leaving the subjective decisions regarding indecency to market forces, leaving parents to determine what should or should not be indecent, and leaving the FCC free to pursue obscenity with greater zeal is the most appropriate course of action for the future. …


In the mid-1950s Olive Pink campaigned to have an area of land in Alice Springs set aside as a flora reserve. In 1956 the area was gazetted as the Australian Arid Regions Flora Reserve, with Pink appointed as honorary curator. Although Pink was not a professional horticulturalist or botanist, she established a garden that marked itself out from contemporary gardens, such as Maranoa Gardens and the Australian National Botanic Gardens, which were similarly committed to showcasing indigenous Australian plants. Pink's approach was pioneering in that she aimed to create a collection of plants selected by a delineated 'climatic zone' and geographic area rather than drawn from all parts of the continent. This article argues that Pink developed a distinctive form of horticultural work informed by her passion for and close artistic observation of desert flora; her long experience establishing and maintaining gardens under central Australian ecological conditions; along with her anthropological insight into Indigenous knowledge of flora gained through her studies with Arrernte and Warlpiri people. Today we might recognize the principles that informed Pink's garden through the concepts of 'water-wise gardens' and environmental sustainability practices.


INCONVENIENT JUSTICE: THE STRUGGLE TO
"CLOSE THE BOOKS" IN AFGHANISTAN AND NEPAL BY Tazreena Sajjad
 ABSTRACT Inconvenient Justice argues for a
more nuanced understanding of the dynamic "local" that goes beyond
the realm of a cultural framework. Correspondingly, it suggests
that conceptualization of the "local" needs to be problematized
further to expose the tensions and hierarchies of and within the
local, and to question whose version of the local is actually
prioritized in transitional justice programming. Specifically it
asserts that the local must be understood as an inter-subjective
concept and that the "local" in transitional justice should be seen
as a dynamic, evolving phenomenon. This research examines five
specific areas, which it insists, are critical components defining
the local: (i) the historical context within which "transitional
justice" mechanisms are implemented; (ii) the limitations of, and
opportunities for, local legal systems to engage with transitional
justice questions; (iii) the internal/domestic and international
politicking around the "transitional justice" discourse; iv) the
importance of centrally placing the local to define justice; and,
(v) as an illustration of the domestic struggle for long-term
justice, the role of National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs)
which link local voices to national and international platforms of
decision-making and balance their role of advocating for human
rights, while looking into past instances of abuses. Using a
comparative case study approach, this research draws on one hundred
and fifteen in-depth interviews conducted with international and
national organizations, policy-makers, government officials,
journalists, experts, and victims' groups in Kabul, Kathmandu,
Washington D.C., and New York. It also incorporates participant
observation, narrative research and analyses of reports,
correspondence, press releases, agreements, bills, official texts,
newspaper articles and petitions to provide an in-depth
understanding of the complexities of the justice question in both
these contexts.%%%%Degree awarded: Ph.D. School of International
Service. American University


With and without physical context, we explored 59 undergraduate students'conceptual and procedural understanding of vector components using both open ended problems and multiple choice items designed based on research instruments used in physics education research. The results showed that a number of students produce errors and revealed alternative conceptions especially when asked to draw graphical form of vector components. It indicated that most of them did not develop a strong foundation of understanding in vector components and could not apply those concepts to such problems with physical context. Based on the findings, we designed a worksheet to enhance the students' conceptual understanding in vector components. The worksheet is composed of three parts which help students to construct their own understanding of definition, graphical form, and magnitude of vector components. To validate the worksheet, focus group discussions of 3 and 10 graduate students (science in-service teachers) had been conducted. The modified worksheet was then distributed to 41 grade 9 students in a science class. The students spent approximately 50 minutes to complete the worksheet. They sketched and measured vectors and its components and compared with the trigonometry ratio to condense the concepts of vector components. After completing the worksheet, their conceptual model had been verified. 83% of them constructed the correct model of vector components.


Television and American Culture. Jason Mittell. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2010. 450 pp. $49.95 pbk. I have been a student for many years, successfully completed untold number of classes, and have collected a handful of advanced degrees. But I have never read a textbook from cover to cover until now. While I have missed the opportunity (or foresight) to take a television studies class in all those years, Jason Mittell' s book went a long way toward formalizing and synthesizing what has been, for me, a fragmented education on a vast and multifaceted subject. Thanks to this unusually engaging and comprehensive text, current and future students of television studies need not suffer a similar deficiency. Mittell's book captures the subject at a critical juncture. After decades of struggle to become recognized as a valid field of inquiry in the academy, television itself is now looking at an uncertain future both in format and purpose. There is now a solid body of scholarship that considers specific aspects of the intersection of TV and American society, and Mittell cites particular pertinent works in his "Further Reading" sections at the end of each chapter. Gary Edgerton's The Columbia History of American Television (Columbia University Press, 2007) and Erik Barnouw's classic Tube of Plenty: The Evolution of American Television (Oxford, 1990) are fine examples of comprehensive treatments, but most compendia tend toward a chronological paradigm. While many other treatments use a topical, critical theory approach to explore TV and its impact, to date there is nothing as soup-tonuts and simultaneously digestible as what Mittell has done. Naturally, Mittell, an associate professor of American studies and film and media culture at Middlebury College, and author of Genre & Television: From Cop Shows to Cartoons in American Culture (Routledge, 2004), speaks to the medium's history, but he does so in the context of the three sections with which he delineates the scope of his book: institutions, meanings, and practices. Within those parameters, he addresses production and ownership; advertising; the FCC and the public interest; narrative and genres; representations of race, ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation; social impact oi viewing; children's viewing; global issues; and technology. What makes this book so readable is the absence of the soporific neutrality and plodding dullness of the typical textbook. Mittell peppers his book with plenty of specific program examples from across the historical spectrum, and notably starts off with the Janet Jackson/Justin Timberlake "wardrobe malfunction" incident during the 2004 Super Bowl half-time show. He uses this example to illustrate several essential aspects of television, including its role as a for-profit industry; an element of democracy; a creative form; a societal mirror; and a form of technology. …


Using Camtasia Studio 8, you can quickly create videos of just about anything on your computer (computer software or PowerPoint presentations), and post your completed lessons on the web, YouTube, Screencast.com, or burn them to a CD/DVD. Your lessons can include videos, animations, interactivity, audio, quizzes and surveys. This book will introduce you to the essential Camtasia Studio 8 skills you need to know to get up and running with Camtasia as quickly as possible. Lessons include, but are not limited to: recording videos using the Camtasia Recorder, using the Studio, adding media (videos and images), adding callouts, animations and transitions, adding, editing and recording audio, producing and sharing, creating quizzes and creating menus.


Abstract: Outdoor educators are concerned about a perceived human disconnection from nature. There is awareness of a lack of human affiliation, connection, or identity with nonhuman nature and its impact on attitudes and behaviors. This essay raises the possibility that despite our concern, we may contribute toward this disconnection via language that supports a separation of the natural and the cultural. Our ability to separate ourselves conceptually from the rest of nature may be partially to blame for environmental degradation, therefore challenging the nature-culture dichotomy is both useful and constructive. This essay will present examples of how outdoor educators can attempt to get past this problematic dichotomy and motivate more relational discourse within the practice of outdoor education.


"This paper introduces some of the Information Technology solutions adopted in Web based INtelligent Design Support (WINDS) to support education in A/E/C design.
 The WINDS project
 WINDS is an EC-funded project in the 5th Framework, Information Society Technologies programme, Flexible University key action. WINDS is divided into two actions:
 ·The research technology action is going to implement a learning environment integrating an intelligent tutoring system, a computer instruction management system and a set of co-operative supporting tools.
 ·The development action is going to build a large knowledge base supporting Architecture and Civil Engineering Design Courses and to experiment a comprehensive Virtual School of Architecture and Engineering Design.
 During the third year of the project, more than 400 students all over Europe will attend the Virtual School. During the next three years the WINDS project will span a total effort of about 150 man-years from 28 partners of 10 European countries.
 The missions of the WINDS project are:
 Advanced Methodologies in Design Education. WINDS drives a breakdown with conventional models in design education, i.e. classroom or distance education. WINDS implements a problem oriented knowledge transfer methodology following Roger Schank's Goal Based Scenario (GBS) pedagogical methodology. GBS encourages the learning of both skills and cases, and fosters creative problem solving.
 Multidisciplinary Design Education. Design requires creative synthesis and open-end problem definition at the intersection of several disciplines. WINDS experiments a valuable integration of multidisciplinary design knowledge and expertise to produce a high level standard of education.
 Innovative Representation, Delivery and Access to Construction Education. WINDS delivers individual education customisation by allowing the learner access through the Internet to a wide range of on-line courses and structured learning objects by means of personally tailored learning strategies. WINDS promotes the 3W paradigm: learn What you need, Where you want, When you require.
 Construction Practice. Construction industry is a repository of ""best practices"" and knowledge that the WINDS will profit. WINDS system benefits the ISO10303 and IFC standards to acquire knowledge of the construction process directly in digital format. On the other hand, WINDS reengineers the knowledge in up-to-date courses, educational services, which the industries can use to provide just-in-time rather than in-advance learning.
 WINDS IT Solutions
 The missions of the WINDS project state many challenging requirements both in knowledge and system architecture. Many of the solutions adopted in these fields are innovative; others are evolution of existing technologies. This paper focuses on the integration of this set of state-of-the-art technologies in an advanced and functionally sound Computer Aided Instruction system for A/E/C Design. In particular the paper deals with the following aspects:
 Standard Learning Technology Architecture
 The WINDS system relies on the in progress IEEE 1484.1 Learning Technology Standard Architecture. According to this standard the system consists of two data stores, the Knowledge Library and the Record Database, and four process: System Coach, Delivery, Evaluation and the Learner.
 WINDS implements the Knowledge Library into a three-tier architecture:
 1.Learning Objects:
 ·Learning Units are collections of text and multimedia data.
 ·Models are represented in either IFC or STEP formats.
 ·Cases are sets of Learning Units and Models. Cases are noteworthy stories, which describes solutions, integrate technical detail, contain relevant design failures etc.
 2.Indexes refer to the process in which the identification of relevant topics in design cases and learning units takes place. Indexing process creates structures of Learning Objects for course management, profile planning procedures and reasoning processes.
 3.Courses are taxonomies of either Learning Units or a design task and Course Units.
 Knowledge Representation
 WINDS demonstrates that it is possible and valuable to integrate a widespread design expertise so that it can be effectively used to produce a high level standard of education. To this aim WINDS gathers area knowledge, design skills and expertise under the umbrellas of common knowledge representation structures and unambiguous semantics. Cases are one of the most valuable means for the representation of design expertise. A Case is a set of Learning Units and Product Models. Cases are noteworthy stories, which describe solutions, integrate technical details, contain relevant design failures, etc.
 Knowledge Integration
 Indexes are a medium among different kind of knowledge: they implement networks for navigation and access to disparate documents: HTML, video, images, CAD and product models (STEP or IFC). Concept indexes link learning topics to learning objects and group them into competencies. Index relationships are the base of the WINDS reasoning processes, and provide the foundation for system coaching functions, which proactively suggest strategies, solutions, examples and avoids students' design deadlock.
 Knowledge Distribution
 To support the data stores and the process among the partners in 10 countries efficiently, WINDS implements an object oriented client/server as COM objects. Behind the DCOM components there is the Dynamic Kernel, which dynamically embodies and maintains data stores and process. Components of the Knowledge Library can reside on several servers across the Internet. This provides for distributed transactions, e.g. a change in one Learning Object affects the Knowledge Library spread across several servers in different countries. Learning objects implemented as COM objects can wrap ownership data. Clear and univocal definition of ownerships rights enables Universities, in collaboration with telecommunication and publisher companies, to act as "education brokers". Brokerage in education and training is an innovative paradigm to provide just-in-time and personally customised value added learning knowledge."


Vietnam is widely seen as a development success, with rather rapid economic growth and a reported reduced role of the state, yet presents many paradoxes to conventional analytical frameworks. Two of relevance are accounts that stress a combination of a strongly hegemonic regime with weak internal sovereignty in terms of both the internal coherence of the apparat and its interactions with the rest of Vietnamese society, and also associated accounts that deny much role to intentionality in explaining apparent development success. This article will contextualise accounts of political intention and policy development towards water issues in Vietnam through an examination of two main empirics: the evolution of formal policy, understood as documents of the state, as well as of political intention, understood as documents of the ruling Party; and the by now extensive series of 'active' case studies that have examined donor as well as other projects in the sector. It will examine the notion, in the contexts suggested by the Vietnamese experience, that attempts to explain Vietnamese water policy, which have shown a tendency to shift away from assumptions that an analytical framework's categories may easily and without too much risk be extended across different contexts. Rather, comparisons of Vietnamese experience across contexts will tend, if they are to be persuasive, to shift to the use of languages that reflect ontological fluidity, in that what things mean is expected to change over time, without reference to an imagined transcendental and universal 'real'. In this sense, Vietnamese water policy may be usefully understood as an example of how 'success gives voice to the local'.


Translator training has made a significant contribution to the welfare of translation in the job market all over the world. The issue of curriculum development has always been part and parcel of such training which is likely to pave the way for employability. This issue should then be given due attention in view of recent developments in the field of translation and technology, and the considerably larger and more robust job market. This article aims to explore the status of professionally-oriented translation, curriculum-wise in Palestine as illustrated in two Palestinian universities offering MA in translation on the hope of giving some advice to developers of academic postgraduate translation programmes. First, the article closely examines the course description of the courses (be core or elective) in the two universities. The article then shows that although most of the courses offered help graduates manage to get jobs or moonlight, the curricula seem to fail to match employability in the growing market place, as some courses at these universities, with a varying degree, are unrelated to the local job market. The article concludes that (1) the issue of curriculum permanent planning and design in the light of the job market becomes vital in translator training and education; (2) developing a curriculum should be responsive to local, regional and international translation industry demands, and thus it might contribute to sustainable development in the Palestine translation industry; and (3) information technology-based courses should be given more attention and developed so as to keep abreast of today's rapidly technological developments, since these courses might qualify graduates to cross various geographical borders to compete globally with peer translators. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.sal.0.30.17419


The thesis aimed at investigating the source, identity, and biological effects of organic compounds released from biochar into air and water. Biochar is the carbonaceous product of biomass pyrolysis for agro/environmental purposes. However, its application to soil could be hindered by the presence of contaminants. Apart from priority regulated compounds, a wide range of organic species can be adsorbed onto biochar porous structure during its production, and their mobility in the environment could generate beneficial or negative impacts. Techniques based on solid-phase microextraction (SPME) were developed to determine volatile (VOCs) and water-soluble organic compounds (WSOCs) released from several biochars from different feedstocks and pyrolysis conditions. Head space (HS) and direct immersion (DI)-SPME coupled with GC-MS suitably detected a variety of thermal degradation products of biomass biopolymers (lignin, hemi/cellulose, lipids and proteins). The patterns of VOCs/WSOCs were directly connected with the biochar carbonisation degree measured by H/C molar ratios. Biochars with H/C <0.7 presented distinctively different profiles and reduced intensities compared to less carbonised ones. SPME-GC-MS, ultra-high resolution mass spectrometry (Negative Electrospray Ionisation Fourier Transform Ion Cyclotron Resonance Mass Spectrometry, ESI-FT-ICR-MS) and fluorescence spectroscopy-Parallel Factor Analysis (PARAFAC) were employed to compare the complex composition of WSOCs with that of the vapours condensed into bio-oil during pyrolysis. Biochar preferentially released aromatic species with acid functionalities resembling those of natural organic matter (fulvic acids), while lignin-like structures characterised the bio-oils. Germination tests revealed that high levels of VOCs/WSOCs can induce phytotoxicity, but when biochar contamination is low, organic species were associated to stimulating effects on seedlings growth. The green analytical methods based on SPME were suitable for screening the effect of pyrolysis process conditions on the presence of mobile compounds in the resulting biochar and its quality for soil applications.


ndividuals and families make key decisions that impact many aspects of financial stability and determine the future of the economy. These decisions involve balancing current sacrifice against future benefits. People have to decide how much to invest in health care, exercise, their diet, and insurance. They must decide how much debt to take on, and how much to save. And they make choices about jobs that determine employment and unemployment levels. Forward-Looking Decision Making is about modeling this individual or family-based decision making using an optimizing dynamic programming model. Robert Hall first reviews ideas about dynamic programs and introduces new ideas about numerical solutions and the representation of solved models as Markov processes. He surveys recent research on the parameters of preferences--the intertemporal elasticity of substitution, the Frisch elasticity of labor supply, and the Frisch cross-elasticity. He then examines dynamic programming models applied to health spending, long-term care insurance, employment, entrepreneurial risk-taking, and consumer debt. Linking theory with data and applying them to real-world problems, Forward-Looking Decision Making uses dynamic optimization programming models to shed light on individual behaviors and their economic implications.


From group theory, we have deduced the minimum number of laser beams to create corresponding two-dimensional photonic quasilattices with high-order symmetries. One case is that a quasi-periodicity with eightfold, tenfold, or twelvefold symmetry can be formed by only five linearly polarized beams, which can reduce fabrication complexity and considerably improve feasibility. Accordingly, we have fabricated large-area eightfold and twelvefold photonic quasi crystals by use of a minimum beam single-exposure holographic lithography technique. The high-order symmetries of the fabricated microstructures are confirmed by scanning electron microscopy images and diffraction patterns.


The agricultural industry has been experiencing a shortage in qualified college graduates to fill its numerous open positions in recent years. The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of visual storytelling on the occupational aspirations of non-agricultural undergraduate students. Social media channels, virtual storytelling and the higher education classroom provide a unique opportunity to convey information about and recruit students into the agricultural career field. The diffusion of innovation model provides the framework for the introduction of agricultural jobs in a non-agricultural business classroom while the social cognitive theory provides the understanding of the importance of self-efficacy in decisionmaking. A posttest only, nonequivalent quasi-experimental study was conducted and used descriptive and independent sample t-tests for statistical analysis. Participants were randomly assigned to two groups, Group A and Group B, to determine who received treatment. Both groups were presented with written job descriptions. Job 1 described an entry-level grain merchandising position based out of a rural elevator. Job 2 described an entry-level analyst position in a grain division of an agricultural company located in an urban setting. Group B was presented with video presentations of job responsibilities for both positions. A total of 31 responses were collected, providing a 0.53% response rate. Collected data showed students' confidence increased with job duties and responsibilities they had cultivated previous experience within class. However, data did not show a significant relationship between presentation methods of the job descriptions. It is recommended that human resources professionals continue to utilize written job descriptions, especially when recruiting non-agricultural students. Faculty members should actively demonstrate to students how the coursework they complete directly translates into job skills and capabilities.


Abstract
 A revision of the specimens from southern South America deposited at CTES herbarium identified as Heterodermia comosa (Eschw.) Follmann & Redón was made. As a result, four new species, viz. H. mobergiana Michlig, M.P. Rodríguez & Aptroot, H. neocomosa M.P. Rodríguez L.I. Ferraro & Aptroot, H. ramosociliata M.P. Rodríguez, Michlig & Aptroot, and H. sorediosa Michlig, L.I. Ferraro & Aptroot, all closely related to H. comosa, are here proposed. Each species is described, illustrated and commented. A distribution map is also presented.


The economic environment in which a firm operates is constantly changing. This thesis contains three essays to examine how firms adapt their innovation and international
activities to a variety of external changes. The first paper, "Information Frictions and the Law of One Price: 'When the States and the Kingdom became United'", shows how information frictions affect the exporting behavior of merchants, exploiting a unique historical experiment: the transatlantic telegraph, established in 1866. Using a newly collected data set on cotton trade based on historical newspapers, I find that information frictions result in large and volatile deviations from the Law of One Price. There are also real effects, because exports
respond to information about foreign demand shocks, and average exports increase after the telegraph and become more volatile. I provide a model in which exporters
use the latest news about a foreign market to forecast expected selling prices when their exports arrive at the destination. Their forecast error is smaller and less volatile the more recent the available information. The welfare gains from the telegraph are estimated to be around 8% of annual export value.
The second paper, "Survive another day: Using changes in the composition of investments to measure the cost of credit constraints" is joint work with Luis Garicano.
We introduce a novel empirical strategy to measure the credit shocks that were triggered by the recent financial crisis: Theoretically, we show that credit shocks affect long term investments by more than short term ones. Credit shocks can then be measured within firms by the relative drop of long run relative to short run investments; using firm-times-year fixed effects to absorb idiosyncratic demand shocks. Using data on Spanish
manufacturing firms we find that credit constraints are equivalent to an additional tax rate of around 11% on the longest lived investment.
While the trade literature has established a positive impact of globalization on the productivity of firms, there is lacking consensus about the underlying mechanism at work: Trade theory focuses on a market access mechanism, but empirical papers point out that import competition matters as well. The third paper, "The roles of import competition and export opportunities for technical change", conducts a "horse race" between the two mechanisms. Using Spanish firm level data, I find robust evidence that access to export markets leads to productivity increases, but only for firms that were already highly productive before. The evidence on import competition is weaker and very heterogeneous, pointing towards an omitted variable bias in earlier papers.


Sexual dysfunction and cognitive deficits are markers of the ageing process. Mammalian sirtuins (SIRT), encoded by sirt 1-7 genes, are sensitive to serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT). In addition to reproductive function, SIRT and 5-HT regulate cognitive functions. The selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor; citalopram (CIT), a potent antidepressant, causes sexual dysfunction as a side effect in rodents and humans. Hence, we studied sirt mRNA expression (RT-PCR) and protein (immunohistochemistry) in the preoptic area (POA) of male mice after chronic CIT treatment (10mg/kg for 4 wk) and during ageing. SIRT4 immunoreactivity was observed mainly in neurons in the POA. sirt1, sirt4, sirt5, and sirt7 were up-regulated in the ageing POA of 52 wk (mid-age) aged male mice. The number of SIRT4 immunoraective neurons increased in the medial septum area (12 wk 1.00±0.15 vs 36 wk 1.68±0.14 vs 52 wk 1.54±0.11, p<0.05) of 52 wk old mice. Furthermore we observed that CIT treatment up-regulated sirt2 and sirt4 expression in comparison to 12 weeks (wk) old male mice. sirt could mediate ageing processes in the POA which includes deficits in social recognition and reproductive dysfunction. The up-regulation of SIRT4 immunoreactive cells only by ageing and not by CIT points to additional factors other than 5-HT might be important for the modulation of SIRT4. Together, these studies suggest that 5-HT and ageing might utilize SIRT4 in the POA as a common pathway to regulate reproduction amongst other functions.


Using new public management (NPM) theory as a context, this thesis evaluates the results of successive Victorian government policy initiatives to introduce competition and partly privatise the prison system during the 1992 to 2010 period. The evaluation comprised three performance themes: first, cost; second, conditions and service delivery; and third, accountability. This thesis thus examines the Government's policy promise that the introduction of NPM would advance the prison system's overall performance. Specifically, costs would fall, conditions and service standards would improve, and accountability would be enhanced. Datasets were collected from government sources and used to construct proxy measures for each of the performance criteria. The findings of this study are mixed. First, there was no long-term evidence to support the claim that privatisation initiatives reduced operational costs. While there was a significant initial fall in costs - most likely attributable to a more highly competitive environment -the results also showed a significant rise in operational costs during the 2003/04 to 2009/10 period. Thus, there was no overall decline in operating costs over the period of the study. The reforms slightly improved a limited number of prison conditions. For example, there was a fall in assault rates and a modest improvement in out-of-cell hours, although there are some doubts about the veracity of these findings since much of the data was under-reported or missing. On the other hand, there was a significant fall in vocational education and training opportunities for prisoners. Additionally, the reforms delivered marginal improvements to accountability mechanisms and processes. Minimum standards and service delivery outcomes (SDOs) were introduced. Managerial accountability processes were also improved through the introduction of a state-wide reform program which included output-based budgeting and performance management systems. On the downside, the Office of the Correctional Commissioner (OCSC), which had a steering, governance and regulatory role, was never fully independent. For example, the Minister was not compelled to report any changes in prison conditions to Parliament, and thus adverse developments and problematic incidents could be hidden from the public gaze. Despite these mixed findings, this study signals to policy makers and public managers that a number of problematic issues remain embedded in both the governance and the management of Victoria's prison system. Additionally, this study identified a number of performance gaps. For example, the datasets used to adjudicate on prison conditions and the consequent rehabilitation processes were often unreliable and discontinuous. Overall then, the results did not show a significant improvement in the Victorian prison system's performance over the 1992 to 2010 period. But, neither can the results be used to argue that the prison privatisation project was a policy failure. While these findings show that the Government's privatisation policy did not deliver on its optimistic aspirations, it did provide incentives to improve service delivery specifications, develop more rigorous performance standards, and enhance accountability processes, all of which are the building blocks for improving overall prison performance.


Quantitatively predicting phenotype variables by the expression changes in a set of candidate genes is of great interest in molecular biology but it is also a challenging task for several reasons. First, the collected biological observations might be heterogeneous and correspond to different biological mechanisms. Secondly, the gene expression variables used to predict the phenotype are potentially highly correlated since genes interact though unknown regulatory networks. In this paper, we present a novel approach designed to predict quantitative trait from transcriptomic data, taking into account the heterogeneity in biological samples and the hidden gene regulatory networks underlying different biological mechanisms. The proposed model performs well on prediction but it is also fully parametric, which facilitates the downstream biological interpretation. The model provides clusters of individuals based on the relation between gene expression data and the phenotype, and also leads to infer a gene regulatory network specific for each cluster of individuals. We perform numerical simulations to demonstrate that our model is competitive with other prediction models, and we demonstrate the predictive performance and the interpretability of our model to predict alcohol sensitivity from transcriptomic data on real data from Drosophila Melanogaster Genetic Reference Panel (DGRP).


In this paper we compare the state of the art of language awareness in source code editors and word processors. Language awareness refers to functions operating on the elements and structures of a formal or natural language. Language-aware functions allow users to work with meaningful units, increasing efficiency and reducing errors. While all modern source code editors provide programmers with language-aware functions, similar functions for natural-language editing are almost nonex-istent. Writers have to manipulate characters, which makes editing and revising challenging and results in typical errors. We describe the LingURed project, in which we implement language-aware editing functions for German with the goal of supporting experienced writers. Our approach is based on the combination of standard editor functionality and shallow localized natural language processing. Prototypical functions demonstrate the feasibility of the approach. Based on our preliminary experience we discuss requirements for NLP components suitable for use in interactive editing environments.