Introduction 1. Rethinking the Talking Cure: The Therapist Speaks Too I. Theoretical and Empirical Foundations 2. The Continuing Evolution of Psychotherapy: New and Converging Developments in Psychoanalytic, Cognitive-Behavioral, Systemic, and Experiential Approaches 3. Attending to Attachment: Accelerating Interest in the Therapeutic Implications of Attachment Theory and Research 4. Cyclical Psychodynamics I: Vicious and Virtuous Circles 5. Cyclical Psychodynamics II: Anxiety, Exposure, and Interpretation 6. Cyclical Psychodynamics III: Insight, the Therapeutic Relationship, and the World Outside II. Clinical Applications and Guidelines 7. Accusatory and Facilitative Comments: Criticism and Permission in the Therapeutic Dialogue 8. Exploration, Not Interrogation 9. Building on the Patient's Strengths 10. Affirmation and Change 11. Attribution and Suggestion 12. Reframing, Relabeling, and Paradox 13. Therapist Self-Disclosure: Prospects and Pitfalls 14. Achieving Resolution of the Patient's Difficulties: Resistance, Working Through, and Following Through III. Postscript 15. Therapeutic Communication with Couples, Ellen F. Wachtel


Objective To observe the cause and therapy and prevention of teenagers with cervical vertebra diseas. Methods 128 teenagers with cervical vertebra disease were divided into the trial group(n =68)and control group(n = 60). The trial group treated with the Chiropractic techniques of traditional Chinese medicine, physical therapy, cervical vertebra gymnastics and Reasonable preventive measures. The control group treated with physical therapy, Oral drug and Plaster. All cases of two groups were evaluated with CASCS before and after treatment. Results After treatment,the CASCS scores of all cases improved significantly (P< 0.05). But the effect of the trial group was significantly superior to that of the control group (P< 0. 05). Conclusion Comprehensive Treatment is effective on cervical vertebra disease of teenagers. The effective Prevention can Significantly reduce the rate of cervical vertebra disease.

Key words:
Teenagers with cervical vertebra disease; Chiropractic techniques; Cervical vertebra gymnastics


The thesis focuses upon China as one example of a non-European culture which might merit fuller consideration in British school curricula. Five principal questions are addressed. First, should Chinese history be taught in schools? Second, has it been neglected hitherto? Third, can the reasons for neglect be identified? Fourth, could Chinese history be taught in schools, and how might it be approached? Fifth, are there adequate resources for teacher and pupil use? All five are answered in the affirmative. Teaching Chinese history is shown to be justified on grounds of intrinsic interest and importance and educational potential. Nonetheless, a study of schoolbooks, history teaching handbooks and reports, theses, journal articles, school inspectoral reports and the recollections of teachers and advisors suggests that Chinese history has suffered serious neglect in schools. The principal reason behind that neglect is shown to be the theory of historical progress, euro- and Anglo-dominated, and concentration in historical education upon the evidence for and narrative detail of that progress, particularly its constitutional and political features, in pursuit of moral and civic education. The influence of major official and semi-official bodies is noted, as is that of the New History movement of recent years. It is suggested, however, that the pattern has also reflected deep-rooted assumptions as to national worth and superiority and acceptance of a range of ethnic, national and racial stereotypes. The role of the popular media is discussed. Foreign influences are considered. With regard to the fourth and fifth questions, it is argued that Chinese history could be introduced to school curricula but that such development demands a broader world-historical framework. In addition, it must capitalise on the move in recent years towards resource-based evidential learning. The importance of the teacher in stressed, and books on Chinese history and civilisation which a non orientalist could draw upon are suggested. Aspects of Chinese history which might be studied in schools, and the relevant adult literature, are considered. Finally, available books and materials suitable for children's use are recommended.


Fusion proteins between the human 5-HTIA receptor and wild type and pertussis toxin resistant forms of the Gi1alpha and Gi1alpha proteins were constructed and stably expressed in HEK293 cells. These constructs were assessed in terms of second messenger system modulation, receptor-G protein affinity and high affinity GTPase activity and the effects that RGS proteins had on this. In an intact cell assay 5-HT activation of the 5-HT1A receptor-G protein fusions concentration dependently inhibited forskolin stimulated adenylyl cyclase activation. Treatment with pertussis toxin abolished 5-HT1A receptor mediated effects for the receptor alone and the wild type G protein fusions but did not have any effect on cells expressing either the Gly351 or Ile351 Gi1alpha and Gi1alpha 5-HTia receptor-G protein fusion constructs, a result that indicated a lack of coupling to the endogenous pool of G protein by the fusion proteins. Consistent with the results of Bahia et al. (1998) the concentration of 5-HT required to produce a 50% reduction in adenylyl cyclase activity was lowest for the Ile351 Galpha" protein mutant followed by the WT Galpha proteins and was highest for the Gly351 Galpha protein mutants. Although not significant the results, consistent with the literature, also indicated that a lower concentration of 5-HT was required to produce a 50% reduction in adenylyl cyclase activity for the 5-HT1A receptor-Gi1alpha for the Go1alpha fusion proteins. The ability of GDP and suramin to prevent [3H]-8-OH-DPAT specific binding to membranes expressing the 5-HT1A receptor and each of the Gi1alpha and GO1alpha fusion proteins was assessed in radioligand binding assays. The concentrations of either GDP or suramin required to reduce specific binding by 50% were significantly lower for the Ile351 mutants than for the wild type proteins with the Gly351 mutant fusion proteins requiring the highest concentrations. This provided an indication of the affinity of the 5-HT1A receptor for the various G proteins and followed the trend that the more hydrophobic the residue at position 351 of a Gialpha and Goalpha proteins the higher the affinity of the 5-HT1A receptor G protein interaction. The results also indicated that the 5-HTIA receptor had a higher affinity for Gi1alpha than Go1alpha protein interactions. 8-OH-DPAT competition for [3H]-MPPF specific binding to membranes expressing the 5-HT1AGi1alphaC351G/I fusion proteins indicated that a significantly greater proportion of the Ile351 mutant G proteins exist in a 5-HT1A receptor coupled form than the Gly351 G protein mutants. The high affinity GTPase activity of membranes expressing the fusion proteins and the effects of a range of purified RGS protein concentrations was examined. While agonist stimulation of GTPase activity produced an increase in Vmax it did not effect the Km for GTP. The addition of either RGS1 or RGS16 proteins however produced concentration dependent increases in both the Vmax and the Km due to their GAP activity at the Gi1alpha and Go1alpha proteins. The effects of the two RGS proteins were not significantly different, but both proteins produced greater increases in GTPase activity in membranes expressing the Go1alpha fusion protein than membranes expressing the Gi1alpha fusion protein. Neither RGS protein had any significant effect on basal GTPase activity for membranes expressing the Gly351 mutant fusion proteins. Both RGS1 and RGS16 proteins did however produce concentration dependent increases in basal GTPase activity in membranes expressing the Ile351 fusion proteins, a result that reflects the greater intrinsic constitutive GTPase activity of the 5-HT1A receptor-Ile351 G protein fusion constructs. Taking advantage of this latter result, the effects of a range of ligands on high affinity GTPase activity in the absence and presence of a maximal concentration of RGSl protein were examined. In the absence of RGSl protein WAY100635 acted as a weak partial agonist with spiperone, methiothepine, (+)-butaclamol, chlorpromazine and thioridazine acting as inverse agonists. In the presence of RGSl protein, the increase in basal GTPase activity for the Gi1alphaC351l and Go1alphaC351l fusion proteins of 165% and 400% respectively allowed for accurate quantification of ligand effects. Only haloperidol was found to be a neutral ligand at the 5-HT1A receptor-G protein fusions in this assay. Thus, the use of constitutively active receptor-G protein fusions and RGS proteins in a high affinity GTPase assay allowed for accurate discrimination between weak partial, neutral and inverse agonist activity.


Background and objective: Antibiotic resistance has risen perilously in all parts of the world. The lack of appropriate therapeutics to encounter resistant pathogens has enhanced the urge for the development of either new antibiotics or adjuvant therapy with antibiotics. Thus, we aimed to study a comparative antibiogram pattern of 102 clinical isolates towards Elores (a novel antibiotic and adjutant entity of ceftriaxone, sulbactam and disodium edetate) and other antibiotics (colistin, piperacillin/tazobactam, tigecycline, cefoperazone+sulbactam and cefepime+tazobactam). Methods: The clinical samples collected from infective patients admitted to Tertiary care Hospital, Mumbai (India) between June 2016 to December 2016 was further subjected to bacterial identification. Antibiotic susceptibility testing was executed in accordance with the recommendations of Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) guidelines. All isolates included in this study were resistant to carbapenems. Results: Out of 4212 collected samples, carbapenem resistant isolates were recovered from 102 clinical samples in which urine samples contributed 51.96% followed by sputum and tracheal secretion which added 8.82% each while rest of the clinical specimen contributed 30.4%. Klebsiella pneumoniae (61.76%) was most predominant among all the resistant clinical isolates followed by Escherichia coli (18.63%), Acinetobacter baumannii (14.71%), Serratia marcescens (2.94%) and Enterobacter cloacae (1.96%). These 102 clinical isolates which were found resistant towards imipenem and meropenem were included in this study and further processed for antimicrobial susceptibility analysis with respect to other antibiotics. Data suggested, the antibiogram profile of Elores was extremely higher (100% susceptible) towards clinical pathogens over rest of the antibiotics such as piperacillin/tazobactam (0-6.7%), cefoperazone+sulbactam (0-20%), cefepime+tazobactam (0-33.3%) and tigecycline (34.7-100%) but it was found comparable to colistin (87.3-100%) except S. marcescens which shows inherent resistance to colistin. Conclusion: Susceptibility profile data revealed the equivalence of Elores (Antibiotic-adjuvant entity; AAE) with colistin and strong superiority over other antibiotics including β-lactam and β-lactamase inhibitors combination (BL-BLI) and protein synthesis inhibitors. Hence, Elores can be treated as a most efficient treatment option towards infections caused by carbapenem resistant pathogens.


Studies have shown that weight concern is prevalent in children and that many children believe smoking can be used to control appetite and weight. However, little is known about the impact of the combination of these factors on smoking initiation in children. Initial research has indicated that weight concern predicts smoking initiation in adolescents, but these studies have not addressed the role of weight control outcome expectancies. The purpose of this study was to prospectively investigate the relationship between weight concern and smoking initiation, and to evaluate weight control outcome expectancies as a moderator of this relationship in children. Cross-sectional analyses were conducted to determine whether children who had tried smoking possessed greater concern about weight than those who had not. The impact of sex and race on these relationships were also examined. Results indicated that smokers endorsed greater weight concern, F (1, 708) = 6.71, p = .01, and dieting than non-smokers, F (1, 708) = 7.043, p = .008, and that black children had greater weight concern than white children, F (1, 708) = 3.999, p = .046. Dieting predicted smoking at five months, X² (3, N = 708) = 24.297, p = .000, and smokers had greater weight concern over time than non-smokers, F (2, 691) = 3.569, p = .029. Weight control outcome expectancies did not predict smoking at five months, and was not supported as a moderator of the relationship between weight concern and smoking.


The mandible condyles are often target to anatomical variations. However, there are a great number of causes, such as age, gender, ethnicity, facial type, occlusal force, functional load, and malocclusion. Furthermore, they may present symptoms or not, and they can be even caused by intraarticular fractures, due to bone remodeling. We report an uncommon bilateral fusion between neck and mandibular condyle. This anatomical curiosity should be kept in mind by clinicians and academics that may manipulate this anatomical area.


Buckling restrained braces are passive energy dissipators used for seismic protection of building frames; such devices consist of slender steel bars connected usually to the frame to be protected either like conventional (concentric) diagonal braces or like chevron braces. Under horizontal seismic motions, the interstory drifts generate axial strains in the steel bars beyond their yielding points, such tension-compresssion cycles constitute the hysteresis loops. Thebuckling of the steel bars (core) is prevented by embedding them in a stockiest encasing; it consists usually of a steel tube filled with mortar. A crucial issue is to allow sliding between the core and the encasing to prevent relevant shear stress transfer. This work aims to contribute to a better understanding of the behavior of buckling restrained braces, the final objective is to foster its mass use in developing countries (in earthquake prone regions), particulary for reinforced concrete building frames. The research approach consists of designing, producing and testing (in Argentina) five reduced scale dissipators (about 400 mm long) and of taking profit of the gained experience to design, to produce and to test (in Spain) four full size (near 3000 mm long) prototype devices. All these tests are a individual, i.e. no subassemblies (accounting for the building frames) are considered. The main conclusion is that it is possible to obtain a reasonably cheap (about 1000 US$ per unit; this amount corresponds to production in Spain (summer 2006) without optimizing the fabrication process), efficient, robust, low maintenance and durable prototype device requiring only a low-tech production process (suitable for developing countries). Moreover, the results show that the fatigue life of buckling restrained braces, even highly uncertain, can be significantly bigger than expected (according to some previously published results); it might allow extending the life of these devices after a number of strong seismic inputs. A numerical analysis of the buckling behavior of these devices is performed; it allows formulating some design recommendations. Further research needs are identified.


Background & objectives: During recent decades, there has been a change in the epidemiology of Candida infections, characterized by a progressive shift from a predominance of Candida albicans to non-albicans Candida species. This study was undertaken to analyze the change in the epidemiology of candidaemia and antifungal use at tertiary care hospital in New Delhi, India, over a period of 10 years. Methods: A retrospective review of candidaemia between 1999 and 2008 and antifungal use from 2000 to 2008 was performed at Sir Ganga Ram Hosptial, New Delhi. Initially (1999-2005), isolates were differentiated as C. albicans and non- albicans Candida species. Between 2006-2008, these were identified to the species level and antifungal susceptibility was performed. Results: The occurrence of candidaemia and total antifungal use increased significantly. Candidaemia due to non-albicans species increased and this was correlated with an increasing use of fluconazole. There was emergence and increased isolation of a novel species C. haemulonii with decreased susceptibility to both amphotericin B and azoles. Overall, sensitivities of 89.6, 90.9, 88.6, 68.8 and 54.3 per cent to amphotericin B, 5 flucytosine, voriconazole, fluconazole and itraconazole, respectively were observed. Cross-resistance or reduced susceptibility to both fluconazole (MIC >16 μg/ml) and voriconazole was observed in 11.3 per cent isolates. Interpretation & conclusions: The study demonstrates a shift to non-albicans Candida species causing fungaemia and the emergence of amphotericin B and azole resistant novel species, C. haemulonii. Decreased susceptibility to fluconazole, as well as the threat of emergence of cross-resistance to voriconazole in the background of high azole consumption may limit the use of these agents as a presumptive therapy for Candida blood stream infections (BSI).


Introduction: Library is one of the essential elements of universities which provide some important educational needs of students. Virtual education can not be exempted and virtual libraries are important support for virtual training programs. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the viewpoint of administrators and students in virtual education centers about the virtual library, its role and resources. Methods: This study was a descriptive survey. The research instrument was a researcher made questionnaire that its validity and reliability was confirmed. The study population consisted of 19 virtual training centers in Tehran city. Out of 19 centers, simple randomized sampling was done in five Centers. The sample size was 360 students. Data collection was conducted online and descriptive statistics using SPSS 18 and Excel software were used. Results: The results showed that viewpoints of administrators and students about the mission and services of virtual libraries in some cases were similar and in some cases were different. One of the administrators' reasons for setting up a virtual learning system was lifelong learning, and lack of knowledge about virtual libraries was the reason for inadequate use of virtual libraries. The best format of virtual library from the administrators' and students' viewpoint, was portal document format (PDF). Conclusion: One of the most important function of a virtual library, is lifelong learning and empowering users to provide information and educational needs. The main reason for not setting up a virtual library is t lack of knowledge about it.


The Columbia River is the paradigmatic example of the influence of technology on an ecosystem, having been developed for hydropower, navigation, and flood control throughout the 20th century. The upshot is that the Columbia Basin is now home to the largest interconnected hydroelectric system in the world and a seaport 465 miles inland. The cost has been high, however: near extermination of the basin's salmon runs, once the world's largest. Because the decline of Columbia Basin salmon has had significant adverse effects on cultural, historic, and religious values, since 1980 the region has made efforts to reverse the decline, in what has been termed as the world's largest biological restoration program. This article critically surveys efforts to recover Columbia Basin salmon under the Northwest Power and Endangered Species Acts, the Northwest Forest Plan, and unimplemented plans developed by Columbia Basin tribes with treaty fishing rights and the federal Columbia Basin Ecosystem Management Project. The article suggests that the proliferation of such plans is a product of the inability (or unwillingness) of the federal agencies managing the Federal Columbia Basin Hydroelectric System - by far the chief cause of salmon mortalities - to appreciably reduce the adverse effects of their operations. Thus, these salmon restoration plans have become amphibious, focusing on upriver habitat issues that might protect salmon spawning, rather than change project operations in the mainstem river, which would increase power costs. The article suggests that this upland focus may produce a significant change in public land management in the Columbia Basin, although the result may not be a material improvement in the plight of the salmon.


Arising from many applications at the intersection of decision-making and machine learning, Marginal Maximum A Posteriori (Marginal MAP) problems unify the two main classes of inference, namely maximization (optimization) and marginal inference (counting), and are believed to have higher complexity than both of them. We propose XOR_MMAP, a novel approach to solve the Marginal MAP problem, which represents the intractable counting subproblem with queries to NP oracles, subject to additional parity constraints. XOR_MMAP provides a constant factor approximation to the Marginal MAP problem, by encoding it as a single optimization in a polynomial size of the original problem. We evaluate our approach in several machine learning and decision-making applications, and show that our approach outperforms several state-of-the-art Marginal MAP solvers.


This paper analyzes the requirements for a social welfare‐optimized transition path toward a carbon‐free economy, focusing particularly on the role of R&D and other technological measures to achieve timely supply‐side transformations in the global production regime that will avert catastrophic climate instability. We construct a heuristic integrated model of macroeconomic growth constrained by geophysical system with climate feedbacks, including extreme weather damages from global warming driven by greenhouse gas emissions, and 'tipping point' for catastrophic runaway warming. A variety of options for technology development and implementation, and the dynamic relationships among them will be examined: interactions among the, each having a distinctive primary functionality CO2 emissions control. The specifications recognize (i) the endogeneity and embodiment of technical innovations, and (ii) the irreversibility and long gestation periods of required intangible (R&D) and tangible capital formation. Efficient exercise of these options is shown to involve sequencing different investment and production activities in separate temporal "phases" that together form a transition path to a carbon free economy. To study the requirements of a timely (catastrophe‐ averting) transition, we formulate a sequence of optimal control sub‐problems linked together by transversality conditions, the solution of which determines the optimum allocation of resources and sequencing of the several phases implied by the options under consideration. Ours is "planning‐model" approach, which departs from conventional IAM exercises by eschewing assumptions about the behaviors of economic and political actors in response to market incentives and specific public policy measures. Solutions for each of several multi‐phase models yields the optimal phase durations and rates of investment and production that characterize the transition path. Sensitivity experiments with parameters of economic and geophysical sub‐systems provide insights into the robustness of the requirements analysis under variations in the technical and geophysical system parameters. JEL codes: Q540, Q550, O310, O320, O330


—The 70-kDa heat shock protein (HSP70) is known to protect the brain from injury through multiple mechanisms. We investigated the effect of pharmacological HSP70 induction in experimental traumatic brain injury (TBI). 3-month-old male C57/B6 mice were given 17-N-allyla- mino-17-demethoxygeldanamycin (17-AAG) intraperitoneally (IP, 2 mg/kg) or intracerebroventricularly (ICV, 1 l g/kg) to determine whether HSP70 could be induced in the brain. Mice were subjected to TBI via cortical controlled impact, and were treated with 17-AAG (or vehicle) IP according to one of two treatment regimens: (1) 2 mg/kg at the time of injury, (2) a total of three doses (4 mg/kg) at 2 and 1 d prior to TBI and again at the time of injury. Brains were assessed for HSP70 induction, hemorrhage volume at 3 d, and lesion size at 14 d post-injury. Immunohistochemistry showed that both IP and ICV administration of 17-AAG increased HSP70 expression primarily in microglia and in a few neurons by 24 h but not in astrocytes. 17-AAG induced HSP70 in injured brain tissue as early as 6 h, peaking at 48 h and largely sub-siding by 72 h after IP injection. Both treatment groups showed decreased hemorrhage volume relative to untreated mice as well as improved neurobehavioral outcomes. These observations indicate that pharmacologic HSP70 induction may prove to be a promising treatment for TBI. Published by Elsevier Ltd. on behalf of IBRO.


The main aim of this research is to investigate the causes, characteristics and consequences of workplace anger and in particular to identify the factors associated with expression and suppression of anger. The research was conducted in two stages. Stage one of this exploratory study involved in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 24 participants in management and non-management positions, working within four different employment sectors: education, health, retail and wholesale. Participants were asked general questions about their experiences of anger at work, followed by more specific questions. Analysis of the data resulted in several sub-categories, sub-subcategories and themes being identified within the categories of causes, characteristics, short and long consequences of anger incidents. In addition, the analysis resulted in the development of a theoretical model on workplace anger, which acted as the starting point for the development of items for an event contingent anger diary for the second stage of the research. In stage two of the research, participants (n=187) from management and non-management positions, working within the four different employment sectors completed the event-contingent anger diary over a period of four working weeks. The context, source and gender of anger incidents were also explored. Participants also completed the self-report measures on trait anger and job satisfaction. Results show the distribution of the causes and characteristics of anger of incidents in relation to the context, source and employment sector. Furthermore, results show that working in the retail and wholesale sector were significant predictors of expressing anger, and being angered by a student/pupil was a significant predictor of expression of anger. Also, causes of anger which involved disrespect, unjust treatment, unprofessional behaviour, powerlessness, humiliation/jealousy and job incompetence were incidents which were significant predictors of expressing anger. The results also showed, that the more stressed an individual was before an anger incident, the larger the odds of expression. Also, the more an individual was satisfied with their work the more likely they were to express their anger, and the more satisfied an individual was with their coworkers the more likely they were to suppress their anger. Finally, the current research is discussed in terms of its implications for the preventions and reduction of anger at work, and suggestions for future research are proposed.


Background: Although dialysis treatment is considered as a life-saving treatment for chronic renal failure patients, the caregivers face challenges in caretaking of these patients. Objectives: This study is aimed to explain the perspectives and experiences among caregivers of the patients undergoing hemodialysis in Iran. Methods: A qualitative design, based on a thematic analysis approach, was used to reach the study aim. In this study, 25 hemodialysis family caregivers were selected by purposeful sampling. The data were gathered through in-depth and unstructured interview and field observation and analyzed by the inductive thematic approach. Results: The three main themes were generated from the analysis of the data indicating that the caregivers face challenges such as heavy burden of care, tension in care, and emotional exhaustion. Conclusion: Caretaking of the hemodialysis patients is constantly accompanied with challenges and concerns regarding the effective care for patients. Health-care providers need to address these concerns based on both patient- and caregiver-focused approaches, rather than only patient focused, to the design and planning for helping the patients and their caregivers.


Economic literature had shown the existence of the interrelationship between the financial decisions of the firms and their competitive decisions; either by convenience or by data availability, most of empiric papers addressed separately the influence of both kinds of decisions over firm performance. With it, this paper through a cross-section model, which uses information of around 3,900 enterprises in 14 Iberoamerican countries, explores jointly the possible effects of both kinds of decisions of the firms (financial and competitive) over their performance. The results suggest the existence of differences in the relationships between variables accordingly the market competition intensity. Also the results suggest that the financial decisions of the firms could be used as an additional tool of the competitive strategy of the firms.


Abstract The Assessment Experience Questionnaire has been widely used to measure conditions of learning from assessment. It is one of three methods used in the 'Transforming the Experience of Students through Assessment' research process, originally funded by the Higher Education Academy to explore programme assessment patterns, and now used extensively in universities in the United Kingdom. Given the growth of assessment and feedback research over the last decade, the Assessment Experience Questionnaire is ripe for revision. Critics have queried its theoretical and statistical robustness. This study investigated the psychometric properties of the Assessment Experience Questionnaire, as the first step in the process of strengthening the instrument. Specifically, we examined the validity of the questionnaire with a sample of final year undergraduate students from eight UK universities (n = 633). Results were mixed, confirming that the questionnaire has some value, but indicating that not all sub-scales possess adequate psychometric properties to underpin confident conclusions. As a result, we have embarked on a process of making conceptual modifications to the Assessment Experience Questionnaire, both to update the theoretical constructs, and to ensure stronger overall validity.


The article proposes a methodology for assessing the competitive position of the university in the market of educational services, based on the development and application of the model of mutual influence of the factors of the university's competitiveness. An algorithm for assessing competitiveness is presented. The indicators of the activity of the higher educational institution that have the greatest impact on the competitive position of the university are highlighted according to the Pareto principle. A cognitive map of the situation that determines the mutual influence of the factors is constructed. A simulation model based on the integration of the principles of system dynamics and cognitive modeling, which allows the balancing of values of key parameters, is developed. The values of the model variables during the experiments can be changed, while determining the sensitivity of the vector of output parameters. Using a method based on specifying control points, a scale of characteristics for each factor has been developed. The results of modeling on the basis of real data are presented.


This study analyzed participants in an online professional development and certification program can to see if they could predict the learning value of individual distance education tools. The Texas Center for Educational Technology (TCET) funded by the Texas Telecommunications Infrastructure Fund (TIF) designed the Technology Applications Certification Program (TACP). In the TACP, students are offered four graduate level classes which, when combined, meet the standards for the State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) Technology Applications certification. The four courses that comprise the TACP are Computers in Education, Introduction to the Internet, Multimedia in Technology Applications, and Introduction to Video Technologies. The first course started in January 2002 with approximately 706 participants in 40 cohorts across the state of Texas. The TACP combines two different worlds of technology training. Half of the coursework was completed through asynchronous content and discussions, while the remaining classes were hands-on classes in local district computer labs. These face-to-face meetings enabled learners to get hands-on training with direct assistance. Between the online and face-to-face segments, a variety of learning tools were introduced to the participants. Participants were surveyed through the online Snapshot Survey in January and again in September.


There has been a growing literature concerning the role of online technologies in fostering collective action in democratic countries (Bennett and Segerberg, 2012, 2013; Bimber et al., 2005). However, studies in non-democratic settings have tended to focus on high profile but often relatively short-term mobilisations. Longer-term online activism and campaigns outside democratic settings have remained relatively under-researched and difficult to analyse. This thesis, therefore, seeks to examine some of the existing assumptions around collective action, derived largely from experiences in democratic countries, by focusing on a country with no tradition of collective activism. It draws on Bennett and Segerberg's (2013) framework of connective action logic, to analyse two case studies from Saudi Arabia:the Women's Right to Drive Campaign (October 26th campaign), and the Teachers' Rights campaign.
In particular, this study examines the role of the Internet in three areas: (a) mobilising support for campaigns; (b) shaping the organisational structure of collective action; and (c) challenging the systemic environment. In order to address these issues, the thesis draws on two types of data: firstly, extensive interviews with campaigners and international journalists and secondly, social network analysis.
Final results indicate that Internet technologies have help to create a new space, allowing social campaigners to express themselves without significant disruption and to achieve some of their goals, although the social and political context plays an equally important role in shaping campaigns as technology does. It has also proved a useful tool for countering media hostility and negative coverage. The Internet did not affect the organisational structure of either of these campaigns, which still followed a hierarchal structure even though some started as 'connective action'.


Rey develops her newly discovered abilities with the guidance of Luke Skywalker, who is unsettled by the strength of her powers. Meanwhile, the Resistance prepares


The main task of numerical relativity is to solve Einstein equations with the aid of supercomputer. There are two main schemes to write Einstein equations explicitly as differential equations. One is based on 3 + 1 decomposition and reduces the Einstein equations to a Cauchy problem. The another takes the advantage of the characteristic property of Einstein equations and reduces them to a set of ordinary differential equations. The latter scheme is called characteristic formalism which is free of constraint equations in contrast to the corresponding Cauchy problem. Till now there is only one well developed code (PITT code) for characteristic formalism. In PITT code, special finite difference algorithm is adopted for the numerical calculation. And it is this special difference algorithm that restricts the numerical accuracy order to second-order. In addition, this special difference algorithm makes the popular Runge–Kutta method used in Cauchy problem not available. In this paper, we modify the equations for characteristic formalism. Based on our new set of equations, we can use usual finite difference method as done in usual Cauchy evolution. And Runge–Kutta method can also be adopted naturally. We develop a set of code in the framework of AMSS-NCKU code based on our new method and some numerical tests are done.


Energy consumption is on the rise due to rapid technological progress and a higher standard of living. The use of alternative energy resources is essential to meet the rising energy demand and mitigate the carbon emissions caused due to use of fossil-based fuels. Biodiesel produced from non-edible oils such as castor seed oil (CO) can be used in diesel engines to replace fossil diesel. However, the quality and yields for CO biodiesel is low due to the presence of ricinolic acid C18:1OH (79%). In this study, two-stage conversion techniques were used to improve the yields and properties of CO biodiesel. The catalyst CaCu(OCH3)2 was prepared from waste eggshell and synthesized with copper oxide in the presence of methanol. The castor oil was subjected to pyrolysis at 450–500 °C and then transesterified in the presence of modified catalyst. The reaction parameters such as methanol-to-oil ratio and catalyst and reaction time were investigated, and the optimum combination was used to produce castor biodiesel from pyrolysis castor oil. Results showed that the cetane number and oxidation stability were increased by 7% and 42% respectively. The viscosity, density, flash point, and iodine value were decreased by 52%, 3%, 5% and 6%, respectively. The calorific values remained the same. This study suggests that pyrolyzed castor seed oil followed by transesterification in the presence of a modified catalyst gave better fuel properties and yields than the conventional transesterification process for biodiesel fuel production.


OBJECTIVES
Bipolar patients are at high risk for suicidal ideation and attempts. Suicidal behavior is correlated with poor family communication and/or high levels of intrafamilial conflict, particularly among adolescent bipolar patients. This article describes the application of family-focused therapy (FFT) as an adjunct to pharmacotherapy in the management of suicidal ideation and behavior among bipolar patients.

METHODS
We describe the empirical basis of FFT in studies of adult and adolescent patients. We then describe the manner by which the three modules of FFT - psychoeducation, communication skills training and problem solving - are adapted to address the clinical issues presented by suicidal bipolar adults or adolescents and their families.

RESULTS
Key objectives of the treatment are to help the family recognize that suicidal behavior is a part of the pathophysiology of bipolar disorder but that it is also to some extent under environmental control. Thus, the family is in a unique position to develop and help assure the success of a suicide prevention contract. A case study of an adolescent with suicidal behavior is presented.

CONCLUSIONS
Future research should include a focus on: (i) cross-cultural issues in suicide and bipolar disorder; and (ii) the adaptation of interventions shown to be effective in reducing suicidal behaviors in non-bipolar populations.


Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, is one of the most common developmental disorders, with an average of 9 per cent of children between the ages of five and seventeen diagnosed per year in the USA. It is also one of the most controversial. Since the 1950s, when hyperactivity in children was first diagnosed, psychiatrists, educators, parents and politicians have debated the causes, treatment and implications of the disorder. Hyperactive: The Controversial History of ADHD is the first history of the disorder. Matthew Smith highlights the limitations of regarding ADHD as simply neurological, and contends that hyperactive children are also a product of their social, cultural, political and educational environment. Instead of simply accepting conventional understandings of ADHD, this book addresses the questions central to the emergence of the disorder: Why were children first diagnosed with the disorder? Why did biological explanations become predominant? Why did powerful drugs become the preferred treatment? And why have alternative explanations failed to achieve legitimacy? By thinking through these issues Smith demonstrates how knowledge of the disorder's history can be used to empower those affected to make better choices about diagnosis and treatment. As a historian with past experience of working with troubled children and youth, Matthew Smith offers a history that is not only rigorous, but also accessible and highly relevant to those working with and caring for those diagnosed with ADHD. A revealing and clear-headed study of a controversial and emotive subject, this is an essential book for psychologists, teachers, policy makers and, above all, parents.


This paper presents the current land regime and nature of economic development found on most Native American reservations, drawing predominantly from the Navajo Nation. It then considers the situation according to (1) neo-classical economics and (2) New Institutional Economics (NIE). The paper begins with the paired assumptions that economic growth can and should reach reservations and that the U.S. and tribal governments can improve upon past performance and institutional arrangements. Policy solutions to reservation commercial and light industrial underdevelopment, corresponding to each economic perspective in turn, are then discussed. The paper broadens the range of policy options available to tribes considering their land use policies and development priorities. The paper is a mixture of law, economic theory, and land use planning.


Presently, most people are aware that pollution of the external air (atmospheric pollution) is prejudicial to health, but few know that the indoor environment can also have highly noxious effects in human beings. In certain cases indoor pollution even can reach levels higher than about ten times that of external pollution. All over the world there are more and more frequent unpleasant manifestations in relation to indoor Lisboa Codex environment quality. This domain is a new challenge for environmental education, which has a fundamental role in the increment of the quality of life. The main objective of this paper is the relationship among the different environmental parameters, the occupational health and the variety of sensations and states of mind in which satisfaction with the indoor environment is expressed. They are referred to as the several causes of an inadequate indoor environment.


In order to investigate the biomechanics of four types of skin injuries caused by different etiological factors, and to explore the healing characteristics of various injuries, twenty rabbits were randomly assigned into four experimental groups (n=5). Four types of injuries were made on the dorsum of the rabbits. Blood glucose concentrations were measured on day 0, 1 and 3. Tensile strength was measured using tensiometer. Body weights of the rabbits with excision skin wounds were 7.81% less on day 10 compared to that before wounding. Blood glucose concentrations on day 1 rose from 24.54% to 28.92%, with the maximum for frostbite and minimum for burn wound rabbits (P?0.05). Tensile strengths of frostbite rabbits were significantly greater than those of the burn rabbits (P?0.05). Daily mean healing velocities of the excision wounds, cauterization burns, scalds and frostbites were 0.18±0.10, 0.34±0.08, 0.33±0.11 and 0.42±0.16 cm2/d, respectively. Healing velocity in case of excised wounds was less than that of frostbites (P?0.05). Meanwhile, healing velocities in burns and scald groups were faster than that in the excision wound group (P?0.05). It was concluded that injuries could result in an increase in the blood glucose level. The excision skin wound obviously affected the rabbits' growth and reduced healing velocity.


Despite being the single largest cassava-producing country, yields in Nigeria remain consistently poor and among the lowest. Regionally, yields are also particularly low across Africa. Pests and pathogens, including plant-parasitic nematodes, play an important role in this current yield deficit. African countries are not only faced with the problem of food security but also that of nutritional deficiency, due to limited micronutrients in the diet. In this study, six biofortified cultivars were evaluated for their response to inoculation with approximately 30 000 root-knot nematode (Meloidogyne incognita) eggs in 30 l pots in Nigeria. All cassava cultivars proved highly susceptible to M. incognita infection after 6 months, with nematode reproduction factor ranging from 7.0 to 44.8. Galling was common on feeder roots and gall index scores were recorded between 4 to 5 (on a scale of 1-5 where 5 ⩽ 100 galls). Meloidogyne incognita infection significantly reduced plant height, stem girth, fresh plant mass, fresh storage root number and storage root weight. Percentage yield loss of between 41.8-88.4% was recorded in M. incognita-infected plants compared with non-infected controls. Although M. incognita reduced storage root weight, it did not necessarily affect the nutritional quality (total carotenoid) or dry weight percentage of the biofortified cassava cultivars. Total carotenoid and dry weight contents of the control cultivar were similar to some of the biofortified cultivars. The high susceptibility of the biofortified cassava cultivars to M. incognita infection indicates that substantial yield losses are likely being experienced by farmers, as this nematode pest is prevalent across sub-Saharan Africa and the tropics.


Study questions "cancer stem cell" hypothesis in breast cancer But scientists identify promising cellular targets for new therapies. A Dana-Farber Cancer Institute study challenges the hypothesis that "cancer stem cells" - a small number of self-renewing cells within a tumor - are responsible for breast cancer progression and recurrence, and that wiping out these cells alone could cure the disease. Instead, the scientists report in the March issue of Cancer Cell that they have identified two genetically distinct populations of cancer cells in samples of human breast tumors - one of the types being a cell recently proposed by other scientists to be a true breast cancer stem cell. "If the breast cancer cells were all coming from a single cancer stem cell, you might be able to cure the disease with just one drug," said Kornelia Polyak, MD, PhD, of Dana-Farber, senior author of the paper. "But our findings suggest that the tumor cells come from a 'stem-like' progenitor cell, and then diverge genetically, so I think you have to treat both cell types." The results suggest that both cell types, and probably others, are involved in the development of breast cancer. While analyzing the genetics of each cell type, the researchers discovered that the proposed "cancer stem cells" were driven by an activated molecular pathway that makes them resemble normal stem cells. Women whose breast tumors are largely made up of these "stem-like" cells are at higher risk of recurrences. On the positive side, the abnormal activated pathway in these cells, known as the TGF-Beta1 signaling pathway, can be blocked by experimental drugs now entering clinical trials, said Polyak, who is also an associate professor at Harvard Medical School. Such inhibitors, in combination with other therapies, may improve the prognosis in breast cancers fueled by these cells. Dr. Polyak is also an Associate Editor of Cancer Biology and Therapy. Clonal evolution or cancer stem cells? According to a longstanding cancer model, known as "clonal evolution," tumors arise from normal cells that mutate and generate abnormal offspring that also mutate, forming a mass of genetically varied cancer cells. However, there has been a new wave of interest in an alternative explanation - that tumors are initiated and driven by a single, abnormal type of adult stem cell found in, for example, breast tissue, resulting in a population of genetically identical tumor cells. Moreover, several pathways and genes required for normal stem cell function are activated in cancer cells and play essential roles in the development of tumors. According to the cancer stem cell hypothesis, the few self-renewing stem cells that fuel the cancer are difficult to kill, and their persistence may explain why tumors so often recur following successful therapy. In 2003, scientists purified what they proposed were breast cancer stem cells from patients' tumors. The distinctive molecule, or marker, on the cells' surface, known as CD44+, was identical to the marker on normal breast cells. When injected into mice lacking an immune system, the CD44+ cells demonstrated the ability to initiate breast tumors. The scientists also found closely related cells with a CD24+ marker and suggested that they were offspring of CD44+ cells. The team led by Polyak and Michail Shipitsin, also of Dana-Farber and HMS, used gene activity analysis to clarify the relationship of the two cell types. They generated gene libraries from CD24+ and CD44+ cells purified from normal mammary epithelium and fluids within the chest, and from primary invasive tumor samples collected from breast cancer patients. The findings, the scientists reported, fit more closely with the clonal model than the cancer stem cell hypothesis. That is, the CD24+ cells were very similar to the CD44+ cells, but not always genetically identical which they would have been if the CD44+ cells were true stem cells and the CD24+ their offspring. "Although CD44+ cells appear to express many stem cell markers, the genetic difference between CD24+ and CD44+ cells within a tumor questions the validity of the cancer stem cell hypothesis in breast cancer, and suggests clonal evolution involving intra-tumoral heterogeneity as an alternative explanation," the authors wrote. Moreover, the Polyak team found that the CD44+ cells, but not the CD24+ cells were driven by the activated TFG-Beta1 pathway. For that reason, they said, "tumors composed of mostly CD44+ cells may have worse clinical behavior than tumors mainly composed of CD24+ cells, and these patients may benefit from therapy targeting the TFG-Beta1 pathway." Other authors of the paper are from Harvard Medical School; Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine; GeneGo Inc.; the Vavilov Institute for General Genetics, Moscow; Harvard School of Public Health; Brigham and Women's Hospital, and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. This work was supported by Novartis Pharmaceuticals, Inc., the National Institutes of Health, and the US Department of Defense. Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (www.dana-farber.org) is a principal teaching affiliate of the Harvard Medical School and is among the leading cancer research and care centers in the United States. It is a founding member of the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center (DF/HCC), designated a comprehensive cancer center by the National Cancer Institute. Contact Information: Bill Schaller and Richard Saltus; (617) 632-4090.


In this paper we investigate the EigenVector Algorithm for Blind Equalization (EVA), and extend its application to the equalization of time-varying fading channels. The modified iterative algorithm, termed Block-Based EVA (BBEVA), is evaluated in terms of ISI suppression, MSE and by examining the signal constellation at the output of the equalizer. Simulation results show that the BBEVA performs better than the non-blind Least Mean Squares (LMS) algorithm.


Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) is the de facto standard for secure end-to-end web communication. However, numerous flaws discovered during recent years, such as Apple's "goto fail" bug, and cryptographic weaknesses as illustrated by the Poodlebleed vulnerability, have brought the efficiency of the mostly self-regulated web security market into question. In this cross-disciplinary paper, the authors survey some 160.000 HTTPS-enabled servers among popular web sites over a time period of three years. The research question is what effect the introduction of best practices and vulnerability publication have on web server security in the form of protocol support. Main findings include that (i) insecure configurations, although well known, can remain widespread for over a decade, (ii) the introduction of best practices affect the decline of insecure configurations only moderately, whereas highly publicized security flaws have a significant impact, and (iii) economic incentives for website owners to provide secure services are weak, motivating such other levers of influence as legislation or blocking of noncompliant sites.


In this paper, we propose a novel multi-channel Medium Access Control (MAC) protocol for distributed Cognitive Radio Networks (dCRNs), which adopts a non-preemptive MaxWeight scheduling policy based on the availability of the licensed channels and the individual backlog of the Secondary Users (SUs). Under this protocol each SU competes for a data channel using the RTS-CTS mechanism, and the channel assignment is conducted by a distributed algorithm working without the need of a central entity. An analytical model for the individual SU's transmission probability, packet service time, and network aggregate goodput is proposed, which relies on a Discrete Time Markov Chain used to model the SU MAC behavior. Simulation results considering different number of SUs and data channels are used to assess the proposed model, characterizing the level of idle spectrum utilization achieved by the MAC protocol.


This study examines an important but often overlooked aspect of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) that calls for school systems to be held accountable not just for test score performance but also for their high school graduation rates. It includes an analysis of NCLB's accountability provisions, a preliminary review of the states' accountability workbooks, an overview of state approaches to measuring graduation rates, and three alternative strategies for calculating a graduation rate that states may choose to adopt under NCLB. State-level graduation rates are then calculated for the high school class of 2000 according to each of the three methods using a single nationwide data source, the U.S. Department of Education's Common Core of Data. This study is also able to compare graduation rates for separate racial and ethnic
subgroups using one of these measures. This indicator, the Cumulative Promotion Index (CPI), was developed by Urban Institute researchers and may offer conceptual and methodological advantages over alternatives approaches.


The ability to detect and quantify polymorphism of pharmaceutical compounds is critically important in ensuring weather the formulated product delivers the desired therapeutic properties or not because different polymorphic forms of a drug exhibit different solubilities, stabilities and bio-availabilities. Amorphous materials are often preferred in the pharmaceutical industry due to their enhanced dissolution rate and bioavailability. Since the amorphous state is metastable and thermodynamically less stable relative to the crystalline state, there is always a potential for unexpected crystallization in storage. Conversion of amorphous to crystalline state can be evaluated by stability studies. Accurate quantification of crystalline phase present in drug materials has become increasingly imperative, due to stringent regulatory concerns about polymorph characterization. In the present study, a quantification PXRD method has been developed to determine the amount of Linagliptin Form-A in Linagliptin amorphous 5 mg tablets. This method is capable of determining the amount of Linagliptin Form-A in Linagliptin amorphous drug substance and Linagliptin tablets. This study emphasizes on the importance of mathematical calculation for physical mixture preparation for polymorphic quantification in drug product. Validation of quantization method was carried out with respect to specificity, precision, ruggedness, linearity, robustness, Limit of Detection (LOD) and Limit of Quantification (LOQ). This method can also be used at the manufacturing site to check the presence of crystalline phase of Linagliptin Form-A in amorphous drug substance and drug product.


About the book: The guitar is one of the most evocative instruments in the world. It features in music as diverse as heavy metal, blues, indie and flamenco, as well as Indian classical music, village music making in Papua New Guinea and carnival in Brazil. This cross-cultural popularity makes it a unique starting point for understanding social interaction and cultural identity. Guitar music can be sexy, soothing, melancholy or manic, but it nearly always brings people together and creates a common ground even if this common ground is often the site of intense social, cultural, economic and political negotiation and contest.This book explores how people use guitars and guitar music in various nations across the world as a musical and symbolic basis for creating identities. In a world where place and space are challenged by the pace of globalization, the guitar provides images, sounds and styles that help define new cultural territories. Guitars play a crucial part in shaping the commercial music industry, educational music programmes, and local community atmosphere. Live or recorded, guitar music and performance, collecting and manufacture sustains a network of varied social exchanges that constitute a distinct cultural milieu.Representing the first sustained analysis of what the guitar means to artists and audiences world-wide, this book demonstrates that this seemingly simple material artefact resonates with meaning as well as music.


Oversampled Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM) visible and near-infrared hyperspectral data over Mount Sharp in Gale Crater, Mars, were used to generate spatially sharpened maps of the location of red crystalline hematite within the uppermost stratum of an ∼6.5-km-long ridge on the mound's northern flank. Finely layered strata underlie the ridge to the north and have dips consistent with the nearby Mount Sharp sedimentary sequence. Fe-Mg smectites are exposed in a valley to the south of the ridge. Emplacement of the hematite is hypothesized to result either from exposure of anoxic Fe^(2+)-rich groundwater to an oxidizing environment, leading to precipitation of hematite or its precursors, or from in-place weathering of precursor silicate materials under oxidizing conditions. These hypotheses and implications for habitability will be testable with in situ measurements by the Mars rover Curiosity when it reaches Mount Sharp.


Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a challenging pathogen due to both innate and acquired resistance to antibiotics. It is capable of causing a variety of infections, including chronic lung infection in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. Given the importance of iron in bacterial physiology and pathogenicity, iron-uptake and metabolism have become attractive targets for the development of new antibacterial compounds. P. aeruginosa can acquire iron from a variety of sources to fulfill its nutritional requirements both in the environment and in the infected host. The adaptation of P. aeruginosa to heme iron acquisition in the CF lung makes heme utilization pathways a promising target for the development of new anti-Pseudomonas drugs. Gallium [Ga(III)] is an iron mimetic metal which inhibits P. aeruginosa growth by interfering with iron-dependent metabolism. The Ga(III) complex of the heme precursor protoporphyrin IX (GaPPIX) showed enhanced antibacterial activity against several bacterial species, although no inhibitory effect has been reported on P. aeruginosa. Here, we demonstrate that GaPPIX is indeed capable of inhibiting the growth of clinical P. aeruginosa strains under iron-deplete conditions, as those encountered by bacteria during infection, and that GaPPIX inhibition is reversed by iron. Using P. aeruginosa PAO1 as model organism, we show that GaPPIX enters cells through both the heme-uptake systems has and phu, primarily via the PhuR receptor which plays a crucial role in P. aeruginosa adaptation to the CF lung. We also demonstrate that intracellular GaPPIX inhibits the aerobic growth of P. aeruginosa by targeting cytochromes, thus interfering with cellular respiration.


Lateral forces in biological membranes affect a variety of dynamic cellular processes. Recent synthetic efforts have introduced fluorescent "flippers" as environment-sensitive planarizable push–pull probes that can detect lipid packing and membrane tension, and respond to lipid-induced mechanical forces by a shift in their spectroscopic properties. Herein, we investigate the molecular origin of the mechanosensitivity of the best known flipper, Flipper-TR, by an extended set of molecular dynamics (MD) simulations in membranes of increasing complexity and under different physicochemical conditions, revealing unprecedented details of the sensing process. Simulations enabled by accurate refinement of Flipper-TR force field using quantum mechanical calculations allowed us to unambiguously correlate the planarization of the two fluorescent flippers to spectroscopic response. In particular, Flipper-TR conformation exhibits bimodal distribution in disordered membranes and a unimodal distribution in highly ordered membranes. Such dramatic change was associated with a shift in Flipper-TR excitation spectra, as supported both by our simulated and experimentally-measured spectra. Flipper-TR sensitivity to phase-transition is confirmed by a temperature-jump protocol that alters the lipid phase of an ordered membrane, triggering an instantaneous mechanical twisting of the probe. Simulations show that the probe is also sensitive to surface tension, since even in a naturally disordered membrane, the unimodal distribution of coplanar flippers can be achieved if a sufficiently negative surface tension is applied to the membrane. MD simulations in ternary mixtures containing raft-like nanodomains show that the probe can discriminate lipid domains in phase-separated complex bilayers. A histogram-based approach, called DOB-phase classification, is introduced that can differentiate regions of disordered and ordered lipid phases by comparing dihedral distributions of Flipper-TR. Moreover, a new sensing mechanism involving the orientation of Flipper-TR is elucidated, corroborating experimental evidence that the probe tilt angle is strongly dependent on lipid ordering. The obtained atomic-resolution description of Flipper-TR mechanosensitivity is key to the interpretation of experimental data and to the design of novel mechanosensors with improved spectroscopic properties.


The existence and development of organizations depends on achievement of requisite holistic efficiency and effectiveness of their operations and bahaviour. But in theory (of organization and management) and business practice do not exist common understanding of efficiency and effectiveness, their relations and sinergies. When we try to investigate their definitions and relations we must take into account problems of many conflicts, which reflect their "different non-optimalty (unsuitability, inapproapriateness)". This contribution discusses three theses: 1) how to more (requisitely) holistically understand relations between efficiency and effectiveness in the frame of business (its working and functioning), 2) how to understand their relations from the viewpoint of conflicts, and 3) one can create solution to remove a problem of different conflicts between efficiency and effectiveness in business.


Resist resolution remains a significant issue for EUV. Strong concerns persist regarding the use of chemically amplified resists owing to their diffusion characteristics. Current EUV resist development is focused on a) large-scale screening efforts in an attempt to identify promising platforms and b) refinement and optimization of the processing of these formulations. Resolution arguably remains the parameter of highest importance at this time. The intrinsic resist resolution limit has been claimed to be determined by the resist diffusion length and various metrics have been proposed to characterize this diffusion length as well as resist resolution. Characterization of the intrinsic resolution limit of resists, however, is not a trivial issue due to practical complications such as pattern collapse and top-loss. Here we investigate a variety of resolution and diffusion length metrics and study the correlation between these metrics and observed resist performance when applied to a variety of leading EUV resists. The metrics we study include resist modulation transfer function, corner rounding, through-dose sub-resolution contact printing, iso-focal bias, line-edge-roughness correlation length, and mask error factor. We present an analogous study of resist process refinements. Process refinements are capable of significantly enhancing resolution, expanding process latitude, mitigating resist failure mechanisms, and attenuating line-edge and line-width roughness. Metrics used for correlation of resolution and diffusion length with resist performance show significant utility when applied to process refinement studies as well. Additionally, we show that LWR mitigation can be accomplished in selected EUV resists using post-development surface conditioner rinses. A similar post-development rinse apprach is also demonstrated to reduce pattern collapse at sub-40 nm CDs. Such strategies may become increasingly attractive as CDs shrink toward 32 nm and 22 nm nodes.


Motivation -- Develop a portable, mobile information and communication device with specific applications that meet the identified needs of people with mild dementia. Research approach -- A qualitative study with a user centred design was applied: Three iterative development cycles of one year each were performed, in which around 15 persons with mild dementia and their carers participated in each cycle of development to attune the functions and form of the cognitive prosthetic to their needs and wishes. A mixed methods approach of qualitative interviews and standardised tools were used for the evaluations that were performed by formulating research questions and assigning appropriate methods for data collection before, during and after the field tests at the end of each development cycle. Findings/Design -- The COGKNOW Day Navigator consists of a touch screen, a mobile device, sensors, a home hub and a central server. Several features such as colours and icons, can be adjusted to personal preferences, which was much appreciated by users. The functions to support people in their daily activities were overall appreciated, though there were individual differences in preferences and abilities to use them. Research limitations/Implications - It was recommended to perform an impact study within the target group for a longer period of time when the system is considered stable and to make use of a randomised controlled design in a larger study population. Originality/Value -- The research built upon previous evidence of needs of people with mild dementia and the findings are valuable in directing further research and innovation. However, it was found that this technology can be complex to implement in a manner that ensures good quality of service delivery during field tests. Take away message -- The work has shown the value of designing an analysis framework for development of assistive technology that gives a strong voice to people with dementia and their carers.


Abstract Lactarius ferruginascens sp. nov. and L. indoaquosus sp. nov. are described from the East and South districts of Sikkim, a small Himalayan state in India. Macro- and micromorphological descriptions coupled with the illustrations and nrITS-based molecular analyses are given for both species. Lactarius ferruginascens is a species in L. subg. Plinthogalus with striking features such as a sticky pileus surface caused by the ixohymeniderm structure of the pileipellis, watery white latex which is turning rusty brown on the lamellae and the occurrence under Abies sp. in the subalpine mixed forest. Lactarius indoaquosus is a new representative of L. subg. Russularia with completely transparent and unchanging latex and is furthermore characterized by basidiospores with a zebroid ornamentation, the absence of hymenial macrocystidia and the occurrence under Castanopsis sp. in the temperate broadleaf forest. Both species are illustrated and compared with related taxa.


Important features of both the incidence and magnitude of tort liability depend heavily, and therefore arbitrarily, on luck. One of a number of examples is the eggshell-plaintiff rule, which imposes liability for all the physical injury a defendant causes, even if the amount of that injury was unforeseeable. In each instance, tort liability hinges on chance in a way that bears only an attenuated relationship, or no relationship, to the degree of responsibility that can fairly be attributed to the party in question. Despite the arguable injustices that tort luck reflects, it remains in the background, largely uncontroversial. Tort luck would be surprising, intolerable, or both, if it were not enmeshed in a system that relies so heavily on liability insurance to cushion its impact. Liability insurance reconciles, ameliorates, or eliminates many of the anomalies and contradictions in tort doctrines that might long ago have disappeared if it were not for liability insurance. This Article analyzes the ways that liability insurance interacts with tort luck, identifying the pervasive presence of insurance in tort liability, from both qualitative and quantitative perspectives. It then examines the tort doctrines and practices that make liability hinge, arguably arbitrarily, on luck, and the ways in which insurance ameliorates this tort luck. Finally, the Article develops a counter-history of tort law, exploring the shape that tort law might have taken if liability insurance had not been available to play a role in ameliorating tort luck.


In this paper an online optimal distributed algorithm is introduced for multi-agent systems synchronization under unknown dynamics based on approximate dynamic programming and neural networks. Every agent has employed an actor-critic structure to learn its distributed optimal policy and the unknown dynamics of every agent is identified by employing a neural network approximator. The unknown dynamics are identified based on the experience replay technique where the recorded data and current data are used to adopt the approximators weights. The introduced algorithm learns the solution of coupled Hamilton-Jacobi equations under unknown dynamics in an online fashion. While the weights of the identifiers and actor-critic approximators are being tuned, the boundedness of the closed loop system signals are assured using Lyapunov theory. The effectiveness of the proposed algorithm is shown through the simulation results.


In this paper we use the hybrid integrated model WITCH to quantify and analyze the investments and financial flows stimulated by a climate policy to stabilize Greenhouse Gases concentrations at 550ppm CO2-eq at the end of the century. We focus on investments to decarbonize the power sector and on investments in knowledge creation. We examine the financial flows associated with the carbon market and the implications for the international trade of oil. Criticalities in investment requirements will emerge when coal power plants with carbon capture and sequestration and nuclear power plants are deployed around 2020-2040, both in high and low income regions. Investments in energy related R&D increase sharply and might cause stress in the short term. However, the transition to a low-carbon world, although costly, appears to be manageable from a financial point of view. In particular, R&D financial needs can easily be accommodated using revenues from the carbon market, which is expected to eventually become more important than the oil market in terms of traded value.


As the cost of NGS has decreased, the library preparation cost has become a larger portion of the total expenditure. This is especially true for high-throughput applications, such as single-cell analysis. Therefore, there is a need to develop methods that can not only study the transcriptomes of single cells, but can also feasibly analyze large numbers of single cells.

Miniaturizing the sample preparation volume provides the opportunity for significant cost savings. Using TTP Labtech's mosquito liquid handlers, reagent and sample quantities can be scaled down to picogram values.


There is a growing body of evidence indicating that the nervous and immune systems cross-talk during inflammatory and immune responses. Secretion of pro-inflammatory neuropeptides from the tachykinin family, including substance P (SP) and hemokinin-1 (HK-1), favors cellular immunity by binding the neurokinin 1 receptor (NK1R) to promote immune cell survival and activation. Dendritic cells (DCs) are essential for the stimulation of cellular immunity; however, the ability of pro-inflammatory tachykinins to affect the immune-stimulatory function of DCs remains elusive. Since DCs home strategically to peripheral and lymphoid tissues where tachykinins are secreted, we hypothesized that signaling via the NK1R enhances DC longevity and their T cell-stimulatory function, including the induction of type-1 CD4+ T cell helper (Th1) and CD8+ cytotoxic T cell (CTL/Tc1) responses. Using DCs generated from murine bone marrow precursors (BMDCs), I describe that BMDCs express functional NK1R, and agonistic signaling via the receptor rescues BMDCs from apoptosis. The immunological relevance of these findings were validated in vivo, as I demonstrate that adoptive transfer of NK1R-signaled BMDCs loaded with antigen (Ag) migrate efficiently to tissue-draining lymph nodes (DLNs) where they survive longer and induce superior type-1 DTH responses compared to adoptive transfer of control Ag-loaded BMDCs. Secondly, I investigated the mechanisms by which NK1R-signaled BMDCs favor cellular immunity, including their ability to generate Th1 and CTL/Tc1 responses. I show that agonistic signaling via the NK1R promotes the maturation of BMDCs and inhibits their secretion of IL-10, and adoptive transfer of NK1R-signaled BMDCs elicits enhanced Ag-specific Th1 and CTL/Tc1 responses. The individual roles of adoptively transferred NK1R-signaled BMDCs and endogenous DCs were further addressed by comparing the development of type-1 immunity in wild-type, IL-12 knockout (IL-12p35-/-) and Diphtheria Toxin Recetor (DTR) transgenic (inducible depletion of CD11c+ DCs) mice. With these models, I demonstrate that generation of robust Ag-specific Th1 and CTL/Tc1 responses requires secretion of IL-12p70 by endogenous DCs and inhibition of IL-10 production by transferred BMDCs. Collectively, our data strongly suggest that adoptive transfer of NK1R-signaled BMDCs promotes enhanced type-1 immunity by mechanisms involving both exogenous and endogenous DC populations.


This paper reviews the background and extent of the expansive soils problem in South Africa. The origin of expansive soils is discussed and indicators of heaving conditions which should be recorded during the site investigation are identified. An appraisal is given of the traditional and more recent methods of heave prediction and the selection of suitable foundation types is reviewed. Recommendations are provided for the design of stiffened raft foundations.


textabstractAsset liability management (ALM) is an important and challenging
problem for institutional investors and financial intermediaries. The
requirement to fulfill its liablilities constrains the institutional
investor in its asset allocation possiblilites. We formulate an ALM
model for pension funds as a multistage stochastic programming model.
Relevant variables such as future inflation rates, stock retruns, and
bond yields are unknown. This is incorporated in the ALM model by
means of an event tree, which represents the expected development of
the economic variables as well as the corresponding uncertainty.
The event tree is constructed by sampling from a time series model
for the variables, and is therefore subject to sampling uncertainty.
Moreover, for the event tree to be realistic, it is required not to
exhibit arbitrage opportunies. In ths paper we examine the effect
of sampling uncertainty and the structure of the event tree on the
optimal policies. Furthermore, we consider the effect of random
sampling and the tree structure on the probability of arbitragefree
trees. We also compare the optimal solutions to the ALM problem for
trees with an without arbitrage. For these purposes, we consider
data from a Dutch pension fund.


Fashion design is as science that has been newly recognized in the arts and it's a distinctive art that revolves around highlighting the human body, concealing its defects and identifying it. And   because fashion design requires high skills to clarify many details of the costume and formulate it clearly, from here was the direction of the research to work to raise the skills of female students of the first year- Division of Home Economics- and developing their skills in drawing  "Drape", which is one of the most difficult techniques in fashion drawing because it requires mastery of using shadow and light and embodiment of the third dimension of designs, and with help of sculptures(Hardening process) in the construction of fixed  mannequins with clear details to achieve the best education in  less teaching time. This technique was applied on three mannequins and were treated   statistically  by the researcher, and by using the opinions of both students and judges about the effectiveness of the educational method and the availability of elements and foundations of design. In addition to the presence of statistical indications on the acceptance of designs by judge, whether the graphic designs transferred by students or some other designs made for the subject" Foundations of design clothes".


The Practical, End-to-End Guide to WebSphere Infrastructure Engineering and Technical Management Companies depend on the IBM WebSphere platform to deliver mission-critical Web applications and services and to provide the foundation for Service Oriented Architecture (SOA). To gain maximum value from WebSphere technologies, organizations must implement comprehensive, integrated best practices for managing their WebSphere infrastructures. In this book, one of the most experienced enterprise WebSphere support managers introduces those best practices and explains exactly how to make the most of them. Drawing on his tremendous real-world expertise, Ying Ding shows how to maximize the WebSphere platforms reliability, stability, scalability, and performance for large enterprise systems. Youll find insightful discussions of each option and strategy for managing WebSphere, including practical guidance on making the right tradeoffs for your environment. Whether youre a WebSphere administrator, developer, consultant, support manager, engineer, or architect, this book brings together the information you need to run your WebSphere infrastructure with maximum effectiveness and efficiency. Coverage includes Planning, hiring, training, funding, and building a world-class WebSphere engineering support organization Implementing tight standards and consistent, comprehensive processes for managing the entire WebSphere engineering life cycle Creating optimal testing environments, administering parallel testing pipelines, and managing testing workloads Empowering production support teams with knowledge, system privileges, and the right tools Managing production emergencies and critical situations: evaluating problem severity, mitigating customer experience, restoring service, performing post-problem resolution, and much more Maximizing the stability of large-scale interconnected WebSphere systems for composite applications Supporting WebSphere platforms that provide end-to-end SOA infrastructure Introduction 1 Chapter 1: Organization Models and Choices 7 Chapter 2: Building a World-Class WebSphere Team Through Hiring and Training 41 Chapter 3: WebSphere Operations Framework 75 Chapter 4: Engagement Challenges 93 Chapter 5: Server Build 121 Chapter 6: Functional and Integration Testing Environment Support 139 Chapter 7: Stress-Testing Environment Support 153 Chapter 8: Production Environment Support 171 Chapter 9: Managing a Production Emergency 195 Chapter 10: System Upgrade and Product Maintenance Management 239 Chapter 11: Critical Work Relationships 261 Chapter 12: Managing the Stability of Large Enterprise WebSphere Systems 283 Chapter 13: WebSphere Engineering Going Forward 303 Index 321


The periodontal pathogen T. denticola resides in a stressful environment rife with challenges, the human oral cavity. Knowledge of the stress response capabilities of this invasive spirochete is currently very limited. Whole genome expression profiles in response to different suspected stresses including heat shock, osmotic downshift, oxygen and blood exposure were examined. Most of the genes predicted to encode conserved heat shock proteins (HSPs) were found to be induced under heat and oxygen stress. Several of these HSPs also seem to be important for survival in hypotonic solutions and blood. In addition to HSPs, differential regulation of many genes encoding metabolic proteins, hypothetical proteins, transcriptional regulators and transporters was observed in patterns that could betoken functional associations. In summary, stress responses in T. denticola exhibit many similarities to the corresponding stress responses in other organisms but also employ unique components including the induction of hypothetical proteins.


While seasonally dry conditions are typical of large areas of the tropics, their biogeochemical responses to seasonal rainfall and soil carbon (C) sequestration potential are not well characterized. Seasonal moisture availability positively affects both productivity and soil respiration, resulting in a delicate balance between C deposition as litterfall and C loss through heterotrophic respiration. To understand how rainfall seasonality (i.e., duration of the wet season and rainfall distribution) affects this balance and to provide estimates of long‐term C sequestration, we develop a minimal model linking the seasonal behavior of the ensemble soil moisture, plant productivity, related C inputs through litterfall, and soil C dynamics. A drought‐deciduous caatinga ecosystem in northeastern Brazil is used as a case study to parameterize the model. When extended to different patterns of rainfall seasonality, the results indicate that for fixed annual rainfall, both plant productivity and soil C sequestration potential are largely, and nonlinearly, dependent on wet season duration. Moreover, total annual rainfall is a critical driver of this relationship, leading at times to distinct optima in both production and C storage. These theoretical predictions are discussed in the context of parameter uncertainties and possible changes in rainfall regimes in tropical dry ecosystems.


In this paper, a basic framework for efficient scalable video coding, namely progressive fine granularity scalable (PFGS) video coding is proposed. Similar to the fine granularity scalable (FGS) video coding in MPEG-4, the PFGS framework has all the features of FGS, such as fine granularity bit-rate scalability, channel adaptation, and error recovery. On the other hand, dif- ferent from the FGS coding, the PFGS framework uses multiple layers of references with increasing quality to make motion predic- tion more accurate for improved video-coding efficiency. However, using multiple layers of references with different quality also introduces several issues. First, extra frame buffers are needed for storing the multiple reconstructed reference layers. This would increase the memory cost and computational complexity of the PFGS scheme. Based on the basic framework, a simplified and efficient PFGS framework is further proposed. The simplified PFGS framework needs only one extra frame buffer with almost the same coding efficiency as in the original framework. Second, there might be undesirable increase and fluctuation of the coeffi- cients to be coded when switching from a low-quality reference to a high-quality one, which could partially offset the advantage of using a high-quality reference. A further improved PFGS scheme can eliminate the fluctuation of enhancement-layer coefficients when switching references by always using only one high-quality prediction reference for all enhancement layers. Experimental results show that the PFGS framework can improve the coding efficiency up to more than 1 dB over the FGS scheme in terms of average PSNR, yet still keeps all the original properties, such as fine granularity, bandwidth adaptation, and error recovery. A simple simulation of transmitting the PFGS video over a wireless channel further confirms the error robustness of the PFGS scheme, although the advantages of PFGS have not been fully exploited.


This paper argues that Beiijing's handling of the Xinjiang and Uyghur issues at the domestic, regional and international levels is characterised by a number of contradictions. Domestically, the July 2009 unrest suggests that China's longstanding approach to Xinjiang is at risk of failure due to the contradictions inherent in the logic that underpins Beijing's strategy. Regionally, Beijing faces a contradiction between its growing influence on the governments of Central Asia and the ambivalent attitude of Central Asian publics towards China. Internationally, the major implication of the July unrest has been to signal the internationalisation of the Uyghur issue whereby it has become a significant irritant in Beijing's relations with a number of major Western states, including the USA and Australia. It has been Beijing's own approach to Xinjiang domestically and its handling of the Uyghur issue in its diplomacy that has contributed to the internationalisation of the issue.


With escalating challenges of the business environment, the corporate world is fast realizing the worth of human resource for attaining sustainable competitive advantage. This has given place to the ideology that Human Resource Management (HRM) needs to be aligned to the Strategic Management (SM) process of the organization. This integration of the above two fields is termed as Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM). Despite the increasing importance of SHRM, there is a paucity of valid instruments for measuring such integration in the Indian context. Keeping in mind the fact that India is one of the fastest growing markets today, there is a need to develop a reliable and valid instrument for measuring SHRM in the Indian context.  The volatile and changing business environment of India offers a good testing field for a study on SHRM. On the basis of an extensive literature review, four constructs of SHRM were identified and developed, collectively called as SHRM Inventory henceforth. The scales were empirically tested in the Indian context to establish unidimensionality, reliability and validity using Structural Equation Modelling capabilities of LISREL version 8.50.  The study is pioneering in the sense that it provides a reliable and valid instrument for measuring HRM-strategy integration that has been empirically tested in the Indian context.


The internal network consists of communication substructures, governmental and nongovernmental developed data centers and software substructures that have been expanded across the nation. This network provides the required capacity for "maintenance and exchange of local information in the nation for electronic services development" and "access of internet" through nationwide bandwidth connecting bed for home users, businesses and executive administrations. This network integrates specialized, local and national networks in the country, consisting of two private and public sectors. The private sector is to connect and to exchange information and services between the executive administrations and private sector, providing the required services for general users. These two sectors join each other at such points as data centers. The problem of this research is the fact that since many national administrations have a number of access points and that all administrations must join this network within the next five years, and that identifying information technology indices such as existing points, connected to national headquarters and number of existing points, connected to provincial and city offices and number of existing and connected points of associated businesses for executive administrations of the nation is of great importance for materialization of an electronic government in the nation, in this research, we have been determined to prioritize the aforesaid factors and indices. The research method is of descriptive mathematical type and the technique used is TOPSIS. Moreover, the names of ministries have not been given herein this survey.


The southern Okinawa Trough has been widely considered an important area with hydrothermal activity. Several active hydrothermal fields have been reported, especially around the Yonaguni Knoll IV. In this study, we collected marine sediment cores around the Yonaguni Knoll IV by using the R/V Ocean Research 1. Core sites with and without gas disturbance were selected based on the single-beam bathymetry (Chirp) by using the onboard echo sounder system. For the sites away from gas disturbance, which are generally considered showing the background situation in the southern Okinawa Trough, variations of the magnetic susceptibility in these cores are relatively stable with values about between 20 × 10-5 and 60 × 10-5 SI. As for the sites with clear gas-features detected by the Chirp sonar, the signature with dramatically changing magnetic susceptibility is observed in the cores. In general, gasfeatures are considered linking to the hydrothermal activity in the southern Okinawa Trough. Magnetic signature with such abruptly changing magnetic susceptibility could also be considered being caused by authigenic iron sulfides associated with the hydrothermal alternation. Therefore, the rock magnetic anomaly could be suggested as an indicator revealing the hydrothermal activity in the southern Okinawa Trough. Article history: Received 30 October 2018 Revised 11 July 2019 Accepted 31 July 2019


A comprehensive study of: leakage conduction in Pb(ZrxTi1-x)O-3 films with Pt electrodes is carried out. The conduction properties of films prepared in different ways (sol-gel coating, metalorganic chemical vapor deposition, sputtering) were studied by using different experimental techniques including variation of the applied voltage profile, photoassisted measurements, measurements at elevated temperatures, and variation of the prehistory of the samples. Based on the collective data, it is concluded that two different regimes of carrier injection (with the critical electric field of the crossover between these regimes being independent of the measuring technique) are responsible for true leakage conduction in Pt-Pb(ZrxTi1-x)O-3-Pt films. A space-charge influenced-injection model is proposed for the interpretation of the experimental results obtained. This model describes well the main features of the observed current-voltage characteristics and provides a reasonable fit for the current-voltage curves measured at elevated temperatures, the values of the fitting parameters being in good agreement with the results of other studies. The true leakage current in the Pt-Pb(ZrxTi1-x)O-3-Pt system is shown to be time dependent because of the influence of the injected charge entrapment during measurement. According to the present results, an activation energy of about 0.9 eV describes the temperature dependence of conduction in the range of 70-200 degrees C. It is shown that a possible origin of the crossover in the activation energy at the temperature range 120-140 degrees C widely reported in the Literature can be a consequence of the measuring procedure. (C) 1998 American Institute of Physics.


The objective of this research was to develop and test a risk assessment and decision-making framework for managing groundwater dependent ecosystems (GDEs) with declining water levels due to climate change, anthropogenic extraction, land use and land management. The framework was developed by a multidisciplinary team of ecologists, modellers and hydrogeologists in south-western Australia, a biodiversity hotspot that has already suffered three decades of below average rainfall and consequently declining groundwater levels due to increased groundwater abstraction and land use change. This has provided a 'living experiment' providing validation of the framework against observed changes (not just modelled projections). The combination of this research together with input from a suite of end-users, other scientists and experts from across Australia has provided a robust and adaptable framework.

The report outlines how the framework was developed and tested on three different types of GDEs: surface expression of groundwater in 1) wetlands on the Gnangara Groundwater System in Perth and 2) the Blackwood River, and 3) the subterranean expression of groundwater in the Leeuwin Naturaliste Ridge Cave System. However, the framework could be adapted to any type of GDE or surface water system.

The framework integrates a standard risk assessment protocol enabling the approach to be easily transferred to sites within Australia and internationally. The framework is based around the construction of a conceptual model which identifies the interrelationships between climate, hydrology, water quality and/or biotic resources and the biota in an ecosystem. Before the framework is undertaken, management issues are identified and the site is characterised in terms of the type of GDE, its spatial extent, hydrogeology and assets within the site location. The framework then proceeds through five steps: identify the hazard, determine the exposure and vulnerability of the GDE, assess the effects of the hazard, characterise risk and then manage the risk. A suite of tools are provided by this framework for managing risk and climate change adaptation including: the identification of hazards and their cause(s), exposure and vulnerability of GDEs to hydrological stress, key drivers that cause ecosystem change, thresholds of tolerance of the biota for these key drivers, conceptual models, and risk assessment and decision-making tools in the form of Bayesian Belief networks and spatial models of risk.


Linear programming (LP) is an extremely useful tool and has been successfully applied to solve various problems in a wide range of areas, including operations research, engineering, economics, or even more abstract mathematical areas such as combinatorics. It is also used in many machine learning applications, such as $\ell_1$-regularized SVMs, basis pursuit, nonnegative matrix factorization, etc. Interior Point Methods (IPMs) are one of the most popular methods to solve LPs both in theory and in practice. Their underlying complexity is dominated by the cost of solving a system of linear equations at each iteration. In this paper, we consider \emph{infeasible} IPMs for the special case where the number of variables is much larger than the number of constraints. Using tools from Randomized Linear Algebra, we present a preconditioning technique that, when combined with the Conjugate Gradient iterative solver, provably guarantees that infeasible IPM algorithms (suitably modified to account for the error incurred by the approximate solver), converge to a feasible, approximately optimal solution, without increasing their iteration complexity. Our empirical evaluations verify our theoretical results on both real-world and synthetic data.


Recently, more researchers have begun to examine coping behaviour on the individual level during organisational change. This study explores the effects that emotional intelligence and personality traits might have on coping behaviour of state-owned enterprise employees during a period of organisational change. In particular, the present study (1) explores the concept of organisational change in an Indonesian state-owned enterprise, (2) creates an appropriate scale for coping with organisational change, (3) explores whether personality traits correlate with employees' coping behaviour during organisational change, (4) explores whether emotional intelligence correlates with employees' coping behaviour during organisational change, (5) explores whether age, gender, and tenure have moderating effects on the roles of personality traits and emotional intelligence in coping with organisational change. Conceptual frameworks were developed in line with the concepts of organisational change, coping, state-owned enterprise, personality traits, and emotional intelligence. SPSS was employed to test the proposed hypotheses. Data were collected from 300 employees of an Indonesian state-owned enterprise. The study revealed that: (1) individual coping occurred regardless of whether or not organisational change was common or was expected, (2) five main coping strategies of, resistance, problem solving, self-blame, avoidance, and obtaining information, were used to develop a Coping with Organisational Change Scale (COCS), (3) extraversion, emotional intelligence, and rank were significantly correlated with problem solving, (4) agreeableness was significantly correlated with self-blame, and (5) there were no moderating effects of age, gender, and tenure in coping with organisational change. The implications of these findings are discussed in terms of the existing literature on coping with organisational change, and the fundamental conceptual framework set out at the beginning of this research could shape the direction for future research on the construct of coping with organisational change.