Thinking Through Material Culture: An Interdisciplinary Perspective. By Carl Knappett. (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2005. Pp. ix + 202, preface, maps, photographs, illustrations, notes, bibliography, index. $49.95 cloth) "Material culture"-the phrase, not the thing to which it refers-has recently generated a considerable buzz in art history, where it identifies the ground against which the varied figures of aesthetically charged objects may be arrayed and compared. Building upon well-established morphologies, anthropologists who produce ethnographies of contemporary cultures continue to find "material culture" a useful term. And folklorists who embrace the concept of "folklife" have for some time applied the phrase to segment the range of cultural expressions found in any community, designating some as spoken, some as sung, some as gestural, some as material. A course that Don Yoder taught at the University of Pennsylvania for many years was titled "Material Aspects of American Folk Culture." There was (and is) both precision and balance in the phrase: a whole thing-even so very large and complex a thing as American folk culture-could be dissected and clarified by aligning one of its apparent characteristics with its ontological equivalent. Finding friends among cultural geographers, linguists, and genealogists, to name just a few, Yoder, Warren Roberts, and other American folklorists who first championed folklife studies used "material culture" to suggest the vast reaches of tradition to be found within and beyond it. A half-generation later, Henry Glassie's groundbreaking Pattern in the Material Folk Culture of the Eastern United States (1968) organized what had come before and charted a course for what would come next. Classic's early work was pointedly not about material culture; the first word in his book's title identified its true subject. Pattern's investigation of material folk culture was almost wholly concerned with pinning down the "folk" in material folk culture, not the "material." This was (and is) certainly consistent with the arguments that preoccupied folklorists in the twentieth century. In the scramble to establish folklife studies, history seems a solid thing-too solid, perhaps, but understood if not assumed. Popular historians, Daniel Boorstin, for example, who write about folklore may seem a bit off m their identification of materials, in locating where the action is (1973). But archeologists have seemed to understand folklore, to choose examples that play to both historical and social scientific sensibilities. …


To the Editor,

Esophageal cancer is a highly lethal malignancy with poor survival outcome, and usually presents in advanced stage due to its anatomical characteristics. Treatment of esophageal cancer with airway invasion continues to present difficult management decisions. In these patients, surgery is not considered for the treatment modality because operative complications are considerable and the prognosis is poor, even if radical esophageal dissection may be achieved by combined excision of the trachea. Although long-term survival has been reported in a minority of patients with T4 esophageal cancer after combined chemoradiation therapy, such cases have also been associated with worsening or development of new fistulas as well as treatment-related deaths in a significant proportion of patients [1]. Here we report on a case of a patient with advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma with tracheal invasion treated by concurrent chemoradiotherapy, resulting in sustained complete regression.

A 67-year-old man complained of dysphagia for over 2 months. Upper gastrointestinal endoscopic examination performed in a local hospital showed an ulcerofungating mass in the mid esophagus. He was referred to our hospital for further examination and treatment, and admitted in December, 2006. He was a heavy drinker (more than 30 years) and a heavy smoker (40 cigarettes/day for approximately 40 years). He had no notable medical history. Laboratory data including tumor markers were all within normal limits. Endoscopy showed a circumferential luminal protruding ulcerative mass located between 23 and 30 cm distal from the incisors (Fig. 1A). Histology of a biopsy specimen indicated that it was a well differentiated squamous cell carcinoma. A position emission tomography/computed axial tomography (PET/CT) scan demonstrated marked fludeoxyglucose (FDG) uptake in the mid esophageal mass (maximal standard uptake value [SUVmax] 32.0) with tracheal invasion and regional metastatic lymphadenopathy (SUVmax 12.7) without evidence of distant metastasis (Fig. 2A). A CT scan of the chest showed no finding indicating a tracheoesophageal fistula (Fig. 3). Based on these findings, we made a diagnosis of esophageal cancer with invasion of trachea and regional lymph node metastasis, classified as esophageal cancer, cStage IIIC: T4bN1M0, according to the tumor, node, metastasis (TNM) staging system of the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) and the International Union Against Cancer UICC) [2], and decided to perform concurrent chemoradiation therapy with his informed consent.

Figure 1.

Upper gastrointestinal endoscopic images: (A) baseline, (B) after three cycles of chemoradiotherapy, (C) after completion of chemoradiotherapy, and (D) 6 years after completion of chemoradiotherapy.

Figure 2.

Position emission tomography/computed axial tomography images: (A) baseline, (B) after three cycles of chemoradiotherapy, and (C) 3 years after completion of chemoradiotherapy.

Figure 3.

puted tomography image at baseline.

The regimen of chemotherapy consisted of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and cisplatin. Continuous infusion of 5-FU was administered at a daily dose of 750 mg/m2 on days 1 to 4 every 4 weeks, and infusion of cisplatin was administered over a 2-hour-period at a daily dose of 60 mg/m2 on day 1 every 4 weeks; this regimen was repeated over six cycles for about 6 months with concurrent radiotherapy at a daily fractional dose of 2 Gy five times per week over 5 weeks (total dose 50 Gy). After three cycles of concurrent chemoradiation therapy, the patient showed complete resolution of dysphagia. A repeat PET/CT scan showed no visible hypermetabolic mass on mid esophagus and mild FDG uptake on locoregional lymph node (SUVmax 3.7) (Fig. 2B). Endoscopy also showed no stenotic mass lesion except an ulcer scar on the previous lesion site (Fig. 1B). Throughout the course of chemoradiation therapy, there was no development of significant toxicity except mild radiation pneumonitis.

After completion of therapy, follow-up endoscopy showed no tumor at the previous site of the tumor lesion (Fig. 1C). Thereafter, he underwent periodic clinical and instrumental checks, which were always negative. It is now about 8 years since his first treatment, and the patient is still alive and disease-free. The most recent images of endoscopy and PET/CT scan are shown in Figs. 1D and and2C,2C, respectively.

In our case report, the patient was diagnosed with tracheal invasion (cT4b) based on the finding of PET/CT scan, although pathologic examination by bronchoscopy was not performed. In the latest revision of the combined AJCC/UICC TNM staging criteria, unresectable T4 (T4b) primary disease includes invasion of the aorta, trachea, heart, great vessels, or the presence of a tracheoesophageal fistula. Invasion of the pleura, pericardium, or diaphragm is classified as T4a disease and considered potentially resectable disease.

For patients with locally advanced esophageal cancer, a significant improvement in local control and overall survival was achieved with concurrent chemoradiotherapy compared with radiotherapy alone, and concurrent chemoradiotherapy consisting of 5-FU and cisplatin is now considered the standard therapy for patients with esophageal cancer [3]. Several studies reported that concurrent chemoradiotherapy was also effective for patients with unresectable T4 esophageal cancer [1]; however, there has been substantial controversy regarding its feasibility and effectiveness for T4 tumors invading adjacent structures. In addition, esophageal cancer with airway invasion with or without fistula presents a challenging therapeutic dilemma with no standard therapy, and patients who undergo radiotherapy are at risk for worsening or development of new esophagorespiratory fistulas and esophageal perforation. In our case report, there was no development of significant toxicity except mild radiation pneumonitis throughout the course of chemoradiotherapy, although we were highly concerned about the formation of a tracheoesophageal fistula due to concurrent radiotherapy.

The benefit of surgery after concurrent chemoradiotherapy is controversial, particularly for T4 esophageal cancer. A recent randomized trial (which included patients with T4 tumors) directly comparing chemoradiotherapy alone to chemoradiotherapy followed by surgery failed to demonstrate better survival benefit, although better locoregional control and a lesser need for palliative procedures was observed for both when surgery was a component of multimodality treatment [4]. The patient populations in both were either exclusively or predominantly squamous cell carcinoma. These results suggest that in patients with locally advanced esophageal cancer, particularly squamous cell carcinoma, surgery may be omitted in those who responded well to chemoradiation.

Only a few cases of long-term survival after chemoradiotherapy in patients with advanced esophageal cancer with airway invasion have been reported [5]. To the best of our knowledge, this case showed the longest survival. Our experience suggests that although the prognosis of advanced esophageal cancer with invasion of other organs is usually poor, concurrent chemoradiotherapy can sometimes have a dramatic effect in some patients.


A Mo-Si multilayer mirror has been used for determination of the ellipticity and higher-order content of a synchrotron beam. The method is based on the angular measure of multilayer reflectivity in the region of Bragg first- and second-order reflections. Beam parameters were derived by a fitting procedure.


Cloud computing is causing a paradigm shift in the provision and use of software. This has changed the way of obtaining, managing and delivering computing services and solutions. Similarly, it has brought new challenges to software testing. A particular area of concern is the performance of cloud-based applications. This is because the increased complexity of the applications has exposed new areas of potential failure points, complicating all performance-related activities. This situation makes the performance testing of cloud environments very challenging. Similarly, the identification of performance issues and the diagnosis of their root causes are time-consuming and complex, usually require multiple tools and heavily rely on expertise. To simplify these tasks, hence increasing the productivity and reducing the dependency on human experts, this paper presents a lightweight approach to automate the usage of expert tools in the performance testing of cloud-based applications. In this paper, we use a tool named Whole-system Analysis of Idle Time to demonstrate how our research work solves this problem. The validation involved two experiments, which assessed the overhead of the approach and the time savings that it can bring to the analysis of performance issues. The results proved the benefits of the approach by achieving a significant decrease in the time invested in performance analysis while introducing a low overhead in the tested system.


Interest in traditional Asian foods such as tofu and soymilk has developed in the USA during the past few years. Lacking, however, is a small scale, rapid test that will permit plant breeders and food technologists to evaluate the potential of various soybean [(Glycine max L.(Merr)] cultivars and breeding lines to produce these foods. A procedure is described in which 80 g of ground soybean is used to make silken tofu. Glucono-8-lactone serves as the coagulant in the procedure. The method results in tofu whose characteristics are reproducible among different preparations, and whose quality compares favorably with imported Japanese silken tofu that is available commercially in the USA. To evaluate the method, soymilk and tofu were made from 182 experimental, public, and private soybean cultivars grown in Indiana in 1990. Differences were observed among cultivars for soymilk yield, tofu whiteness, and texture (tofu fracturability and hardness). Significant correlations were found between soybean protein content, soymilk protein content, and tofu fracturability. The same correlations have previously been established in the literature based on comparisons of material made by traditional large scale manufacturing methods. A correlation between soymilk solids content and fracturability was also observed when the ratio of water used to process the ground soybean was varied. The small scale method will be useful to evaluate soybean lines from breeding programs.


The relationship between unemployment and self-employment has been studied extensively. Due to its complex, multifaceted nature, various scholars have found a large array of different results, so that the exact nature of the relation is still not clear. An important element of the relation is captured by the recession-push hypothesis which states that in times of high unemployment individuals are pushed into self-employment for lack of alternative sources of income such as paid employment. We make two contributions to this literature. First, we argue that official unemployment rates may not capture the 'true' rate of unemployment as it does not include 'hidden' unemployed who are out of the labour force. Therefore, we propose a new method where the 'recession-push' effect relates not only to the (official) unemployed but also to the inactive population. Second, we argue that the magnitude of the recession-push effect is non-linear in the business cycle, i.e. the effect is disproportionally stronger when economic circumstances are worse. We provide empirical support for our hypotheses by estimating an econometric model on Spanish data.


Effectiveness and feasibility of two strategies to screen for AF in primary care. In chapter2 we examined a programmatic approach in which research nurses screened for AF during influenza vaccination in primary care practices. With this programmatic approach 35% of the population that visited the influenza vaccination sessions was screened and 1.1% of them was newly detected with AF. All screen-detected AF cases were aged ≥60 years and detection rate increased with age up to 4.9% in those aged ≥85 years. The vast majority of these cases were eligible for anticoagulation treatment (19% had a CHA2DS2-VASc score of 1, and 78% a CHA2DS2-VASc score of 2 or more). In chapter 3 we found that this screening approach was almost definitely cost-effective (nearly 99.8% of the simulations) and most likely cost saving (62% of the simulations) for identifying new cases of AF in the population aged ≥65 years. In chapter4 we examined an opportunistic approach in which screening was left at discretion of coworkers of GP practices. In a cluster randomized trial 15 intervention GP practices used the same hand-held single-lead ECG devices at their own discretion to screen all patients aged at least 65 years that visited the practice and 16 control practices provided usual care. The coworkers of intervention practices managed to screen 11% of the eligible population during one study year. Even though the yield was high in the screened group (28 of 919; 3.0%), this did not result in an increased AF detection rate when compared to usual care (both 1.4% during one study year). Patients that were selected for screening by GP practices had more comorbidities as compared to patients that were not screened. Do patients with screen-detected AF more often experience AF-related signs and symptoms than patients without AF? In chapter5 we found that 44% of the patients with screen-detected AF consulted the general practice with AF signs or symptoms two years prior to diagnosis, but this was overall not significantly more than age- and gender matched controls (34%). Signs and symptoms included shortness of breath, fatigue, dizziness, chest pain, (near)syncope, symptoms suspicious for TIA/minor stroke, and palpation of an irregular pulse. Palpitations and an irregular pulse were significantly more prevalent in screen-detected cases than controls: 9.8% vs. 3.7% and 9.8% vs. 0.4%, respectively. In chapter6 we describe a study in which patients filled out a questionnaire just before screening about presence of AF-related symptoms during the past month; palpitations, skipped heart beats, shortness of breath, chest discomfort, dizziness and/or lightheadedness. AF was detected in 3.0% of all patients aged ≥65 years that were screened. Patients with screen-detected AF reported significantly more often AF-related symptoms than those without AF (64.0% versus 44.2%). Most frequently reported were palpitations (32.0% versus 11.7%) and shortness of breath (36.0% versus 15.8%), while dizziness occurred more often among patients without AF (4.0% versus 13.2%). Patients who experienced palpitations or shortness of breath had a twice or more chance of AF at screening; 7.2% and 6.0%, respectively.


We analyze deep multicolor Advanced Camera images of the largest known gravitational lens, A1689. Radial and tangential arcs delineate the critical curves in unprecedented detail, and many small counterimages are found near the center of mass. We construct a flexible light deflection field to predict the appearance and positions of counterimages. The model is refined as new counterimages are identified and incorporated to improve the model, yielding a total of 106 images of 30 multiply lensed background galaxies, spanning a wide redshift range, 1.0 < z < 5.5. The resulting mass map is more circular in projection than the clumpy distribution of cluster galaxies, and the light is more concentrated than the mass within r < 50 kpc h-1. The projected mass profile flattens steadily toward the center with a shallow mean slope of d log Σ/d log r ≃ -0.55 ± 0.1, over the observed range r < 250 kpc h-1, matching well an NFW profile, but with a relatively high concentration, Cvir = 8.2. A softened isothermal profile (rcore = 20 ± 2'') is not conclusively excluded, illustrating that lensing constrains only projected quantities. Regarding cosmology, we clearly detect the purely geometric increase of bend angles with redshift. The dependence on the cosmological parameters is weak owing to the proximity of A1689, z = 0.18, constraining the locus, ΩM + ΩΛ ≤ 1.2. This consistency with standard cosmology provides independent support for our model, because the redshift information is not required to derive an accurate mass map. Similarly, the relative fluxes of the multiple images are reproduced well by our best-fitting lens model.


PURPOSE
The increasing use of small beams in VMAT and SBRT presents significant challenges and calls for new tools for dosimetry measurements. The purpose of this study is to investigate a high spatial-resolution (0.2mm) amorphous silicon flat-panel electronic portal imaging device (EPID) for small field dosimetry.

METHODS
A previously-developed EPID dosimetry system was used to measure the dose distribution of small fields from raw EPID-measured images. The response of the EPID specific to the linac was obtained by using a Monte Carlo simulation and a comprehensive calibration of the detector. The dosimetry system was validated against measurements of field sizes greater than 3×3cm2. In the present study, the EPID-based dosimetry measurement technique was used to obtain the relative output factor for small fields from 0.5cm to 3cm respectively created by both the jaws and the MLCs. 6MV, 10MV, and 15MV photon beams from a Varian TrueBeam were tested. The results were compared with measurements using EBT3 film, EDGE diode detector, and PinPoint ion chamber.

RESULTS
The diode measurement was considered as a reference in this study based on the expectation that its small size(0.8mm) avoids the field size-dependent artifacts of larger detectors. For jaw-defined fields between 2 and 3cm, measurements with all detectors agreed with diode measurements to within 2.7%. For jaw field sizes <2cm, the relative output factors measured using the EPID, film and PinPointTM were lower than the diode by averages of 3.5%, 15.1% and 23.1%, respectively. For MLC fields, output factors measured with EPID, film and PinPoint were found to differ from the diode measurements by averages of +1.7%, -2.2% and -8.1%, respectively.

CONCLUSION
The high spatial resolution EPID dosimetry system proved to be an accurate and efficient dosimetric tool for small field measurements. Accurate output factors can be measured for independent dosimetry calibration and verification.


The 1996 PRWORA reform introduced time limits on the receipt of welfare in the United States. We use variation by state and across demographic groups to provide reduced form evidence showing that such limits led to a fall in welfare claims (partly due to "banking" benefits for future use), a rise in employment, and a decline in divorce rates. We then specify and estimate a life-cycle model of marriage, labor supply and divorce under limited commitment to better understand the mechanisms behind these behavioral responses, carry out counterfactual analysis with longer run impacts and evaluate the welfare effects of the program. Based on the model, which reproduces the reduced form estimates, we show that among low educated women, instead of relying on TANF, single mothers work more, more mothers remain married, some move to relying only on food stamps and, in ex-ante welfare terms, women are worse off.


The paper aimed to investigate the impact of self-confidence on EFL Sudanese tertiary level students. The sample of the study consisted of 221 (male and female) students, department of English language at El-Imam El-Mahdi University and White Nile College for Science and Technology in the White Nile State for the academic year 2013/2014. It is a mixed methods research design "mixing both quantitative and qualitative methods". A descriptive-correlation design was employed to find out the relationship between self-confidence, academic performance and oral communication. A student's questionnaire and a teacher's interview with teachers of English language who teach oral communication were used for data collection. The data was analyzed by using a variety of statistical methods which included percentages, mean, degree of freedom, sig. (2-taild), Presumptive mean, standard -deviation, Pearson Correlation coefficient, Spearman rank correlations, SpearmanBrown equation, two way ANOVA, Ttest, the equation of Cronbach's Alpha and the statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS) for the analysis of the data. The findings revealed a positive, significant correlation between self-confidence, oral communication proficiency and academic performance. The students who scored high in the self-confidence questionnaire also had high scores in oral communication test and academic performance. The study also revealed that there are no statistically significant differences between self-confidence and gender or age of EFL learner. The study concluded with some recommendations which offered to EFL learners, Teachers of English language, administrations of universities, curriculum designers in order to help in directing less confident students to better learning performance. Finally, Further researches were suggested in relation to the impact of personality traits on foreign language learning.


A common practice in biodiversity conservation is restoration of former species-rich grassland on ex-arable land. Major constraints for grassland restoration are high soil fertility and limited dispersal ability of plant species to target sites. Usually, studies focus on soil fertility or on methods to introduce plant seeds. However, the question is whether soil fertility reduction is always necessary for getting plant species established on target sites. In a three-year field experiment with ex-arable soil with intensive farming history, we tested single and combined effects of soil fertility reduction and sowing mid-successional plant species on plant community development and soil biological properties. A controlled microcosm study was performed to test short-term effects of soil fertility reduction measures on biomass production of mid-successional species. Soil fertility was manipulated by adding carbon (wood or straw) to incorporate plant-available nutrients into organic matter, or by removing nutrients through top soil removal (TSR). The sown species established successfully and their establishment was independent of carbon amendments. TSR reduced plant biomass, and effectively suppressed arable weeds, however, created a desert-like environment, inhibiting the effectiveness of sowing mid-successional plant species. Adding straw or wood resulted in short-term reduction of plant biomass, suggesting a temporal decrease in plant-availablemore » nutrients by microbial immobilisation. Straw and wood addition had little effects on soil biological properties, whereas TSR profoundly reduced numbers of bacteria, fungal biomass and nematode abundance. In conclusion, in ex-arable soils, on a short term sowing is more effective for grassland restoration than strategies aiming at soil fertility reduction.« less


The quasi-static mechanical properties of the aorta of Octopus dofleini were investigated using biaxial inflation and uniaxial force-extension tests on vessel segments in vitro. The octopus aorta is a highly compliant and non-linearly elastic structure. The elastic modulus (i.e. the stiffness) measured circumferentially (EC) and longitudinally (EL) increased markedly with distension of the vessel wall. EC was always greater than (EL), and varied from about 104 to 2×105Nm−2 between 2 and 5 kPa pressure respectively, the approximate range of resting blood pressure in this species. Increasing vessel wall stiffness is necessary for the aorta to be compliant at low pressure, and at the same time to be protected from 'blowout' at high pressure. The non-linear elasticity of the octopus aorta at physiological pressures can be attributed to the properties of the rubber-like elastic fibres which are present in the vessel wall, with little contribution from stiff collagen fibres being required until very high pressures. Dynamic mechanical properties of the aorta were measured by the method of forced oscillations. The dynamic modulus in the circumferential direction increased continuously to almost twice the static value as the frequency was raised from 0.05 to 10 Hz. At the same time, the viscous damping, tan δ, increased from 0.11 to 0.27. The resilience of the octopus aorta was close to 70 % at the revant physiological frequencies. We conclude that this vessel is suitably designed to function as an efficient elastic energy storage component in the octopus circulatory system.


The spatial QRS-T angle (SA) is a vectorcardiographic (VCG) parameter that has been identified as a marker for changes in the ventricular depolarization and repolarization sequence. Recent research has developed a number of different linear electrocardiographic lead transformation matrices that have removed the lead system related barriers for the utilization of the SA in monitoring applications. However, monitoring applications utilize upon high-pass filters with cutoff frequencies as high as 0.67 Hz. Such high-pass filters are known to influence the ST-segment of the electrocardiogram (ECG). The aim of this research was to quantify the influence of different 0.67 Hz high-pass monitoring filters on the SA. We assessed the differences between the SA values computed from 0.05 Hz high-pass filtered Frank VCGs and SA value obtained from different 0.67 Hz high-pass filtered VCGs (0.67 Hz zero-phase high-pass filtered Frank VCGs, 0.67 Hz nonlinear-phase high-pass filtered Frank VCGs and 0.67 Hz zero-phase high-pass filtered VCGs derived from the Mason-Likar (ML) 12-lead ECG). The differences between the SA values were determined using a study population of 181 subjects and quantified as random error (span of Bland-Altman 95% limits of agreement). The random error magnitude due to the derivation of the VCG from ML 12-lead ECG data was not found to be substantially increased by the utilization of the zero-phase 0.67 Hz high-pass filter (random error magnitude based upon ML derived 0.67 Hz filtered VCG data: 45.40° vs. random error magnitude based upon ML derived 0.05 Hz filtered VCG data 39.57°). This finding suggests that it is possible to utilize zero-phase (or alternatively linear-phase) high-pass filters in SA monitoring applications that utilize VCG data derived from the ML 12-lead ECG.


a new railway line for commuter trains through central Stockholm, the 'city line', is under construction and will open in 2017. The line will have two new underground stations and these will be equipped with platform screen doors in order to enhance air quality and prevent suicides. Several stations along the line will have only two platform tracks and this will limit capacity. Neither trains nor platform doors will be fully automatized and thus the drivers will have to stop the trains in exact position to match the platform doors. consequently, adding extended times for opening and closing doors will prolong the dwell time by approximately 12 s/stop. an extensive capacity evaluation has been carried out as a railSys simulation in order to find out whether a capacity of 24 trains/hour/ direction can be reached. The core part of the study was to prepare dwell time distributions for all stations along the line. These distributions include several terms, namely additional braking time due to a more careful and precise braking, time to correct stopping position (stochastic), door opening time, passenger exchange time (stochastic), door closing time, door obstruc- tion time (stochastic) and driver's reaction time before departure. The simulation results indicate that the extended dwell times caused by the platform screen doors limit capacity to 22 trains/hour in one direction and 24 trains/hour in the other direction. This difference comes from the fact that the station with the longest dwell times is located adjacent to a station with four platform tracks where trains can recover delays. Thus, the delay level differs significantly between the two traffic directions. This delay difference influences the useful capacity in such a way that the most punctual direction has a higher capacity.


The degradation of pesticide in mango 'Mahajanaka' from Wiang Nong Long district, Lumphun province, was studied. Profenofos and carbaryl residue of mango fruits was measured after dip in profenofos + carbaryl in 500 and 850 mg L-1, respectively. The results found that at 25°C profenofos degraded faster than at 5 and 13°C. The concentrations of profenofos were 0.23, 0.29 and 0.46 mg kg-1 after dip in pesticide at 6, 15 and 18 days, respectively. The carbaryl residue was non-detectable in the mango stored at 13 and 25°C for 3 days, while in the stored mango in 5°C, 0.13 mg kg-1 of the residue was still detected, which is lower than the MRL of Thai Agricultural Standard, established by the National Bureau of Agricultural Commodity and Food Standards.


This paper aims to highlight the significance of labour issues – namely, the minimum wage (MW) and standard working hours (SWH) – in shaping candidates' electoral platforms in the 2012 chief executive (CE) election of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) under the sovereignty of the People's Republic of China (PRC). We first offer a brief review of labour politics regarding the MW case as a precursor to the SWH drafting and enactment process. We then provide an analytical delineation of some of the labour and socio-economic dimensions of the CE electoral contest by comparing the candidates' campaign planks in relation to SWH. We then attempt to predict the likely course of the SWH debate under the leadership of Leung Chun-ying, who eventually won the CE election and assumed power on 1 July 2012. We conclude by examining Leung's social engineering attempts to increase popular support amongst low- and middle-income (LMI) households as part of his long-term strategy for the 2017 CE elections and his broader Beijing-entrusted political agenda.


The purpose of the study was to test the completeness and accuracy of data from general practice clinical computer systems for research. A cross-sectional survey was used to measure: (1) accuracy and completeness of diagnostic data; (2) completeness and timeliness of clinical measurements; and (3) completeness of risk factor data. High levels of completeness were found for recorded blood pressure (over 80 per cent) and for body mass index (75 per cent), which differed between population groups. Depending on the case definition used, a sevenfold variation was found in the prevalence of depression; fivefold for peptic ulcer disease; threefold for hyperlipidaemia; and very little for hypothyroidism. These results illustrate how routine clinical data in selected high recording practices are now achieving reasonable levels of accuracy and completeness for a range of key variables, although there is substantial inter-practice variation. The data quality opens exciting possibilities for study design.


Natural steel corrosion of reinforced concrete (RC) structures is a slow process which researchers find necessary to accelerate in laboratory tests to obtain needed damage in a short time. Regrettably, there is no standard procedure for accelerating steel corrosion in RC specimens. Researchers therefore continue to use various techniques to accelerate it. Unfortunately, structural damage and rate of steel corrosion are dependent on the accelerated corrosion technique used. Despite that, results obtained by researchers are applied by structural engineers and asset managers to in-service structures. This paper reviews previous techniques used to accelerate steel corrosion. Where possible it proposes standard procedures to accelerate steel corrosion. In other instances it points out needed further research. One of the procedures recommended in the paper is to contaminate selected faces of RC specimens with chlorides, as opposed to immersing samples in NaCl solution or adding chlorides to concrete mixes. It is also recommended to allow specimens to sufficiently dry during steel corrosion so as to promote steel corrosion.


The paper summarises - in terms of bacterial removal and re-growth - the results of a pilot scale study performed on a continuous flow pilot plant, using peracetic acid (PAA) as disinfecting agent. Trials were carried out with increasing doses and contact times (6, 12, 18, 36, 42, 54 min). The paper reports data deriving from the only doses (15 and 25 mg L-1) which were able to ensure the respect of the limits for agricultural re-use, according to Italian law. Disinfection efficiency was comparable for E. coli, TC and FC, and lower for total heterotrophic bacteria (THB), and clearly grew with increasing Cat values. The effect of contact time was greater at the lower doses. Microbial counts, performed by both traditional methods and flow cytometry, immediately and 6 hours after the sample collection (PAA was previously inactivated by sodium thiosulphate and bovine catalase), showed that no appreciable re-growth took place after 6 hours for coliform group bacteria. THB formed a slightly lower number of colonies immediately after collection than after 6 hours. The slight variations observed after 6 hours were the result of the recovered ability of forming colonies and of the lysis of some of the residual bacteria, as it was shown by flow cytometry.


James, Tamara. The World is your Oyster. Illus. Emma SanCartier.  Vancouver: Simply Read Books, 2009. Print. It is never a bad thing to introduce children (and other language learners) to the many fascinating idioms, metaphors, and baffling expressions that are key to really understanding English. This nicely-illustrated book strings together twenty-two such sayings, the second half giving feel-good and inspirational sayings to overcome the "feel-bad" descriptions in the first half. A few examples, however, left me scratching my head. "Some days your world is raining cats and dogs" implies in this story that the world is conspiring against you, or you are overwhelmed by the demands of the world, rather than the more common, simpler interpretation of an extremely heavy rainstorm (although, I suppose, such rain might thwart your long-anticipated plans to play outside). Another example is feeling like you want to "throw yourself to the lions;" I always thought other people were thrown to the lions. Another quibble with this book is that the extremely literal illustrations do nothing to help illuminate the real meanings of the idioms. A picture of a cute little kitty-cat yanking out a boy's tongue might be humorous, but says nothing about being at a loss for words. The image of a child and a bull stomping on china plates implies purposeful destruction and anger rather than just being clumsy, gauche, or inconsiderate. The sayings are important and the artwork is first-rate, but without further explanation, someone unfamiliar with the sayings might be "led down the garden path." Recommendation: 2 out of 4 stars Reviewer: David Sulz David is a librarian at the University of Alberta working mostly with scholars in Economics, Religious Studies, and Social Work. His university studies included: Library Studies, History, Elementary Education, Japanese, and Economics. On the education front, he taught various grades and subjects for several years in schools as well as museums. His interest in Japan and things Japanese stands above his other diverse interests.


The alignment of adjacent frames is considered an essential operation in video super-resolution (VSR). Advanced VSR models, including the latest VSR Transformers, are generally equipped with well-designed alignment modules. However, the progress of the self-attention mechanism may violate this common sense. In this paper, we rethink the role of alignment in VSR Transformers and make several counter-intuitive observations. Our experiments show that: (i) VSR Transformers can directly utilize multi-frame information from unaligned videos, and (ii) existing alignment methods are sometimes harmful to VSR Transformers. These observations indicate that we can further improve the performance of VSR Transformers simply by removing the alignment module and adopting a larger attention window. Nevertheless, such designs will dramatically increase the computational burden, and cannot deal with large motions. Therefore, we propose a new and efficient alignment method called patch alignment, which aligns image patches instead of pixels. VSR Transformers equipped with patch alignment could demonstrate state-of-the-art performance on multiple benchmarks. Our work provides valuable insights on how multi-frame information is used in VSR and how to select alignment methods for different networks/datasets. Codes and models will be released at https://github.com/XPixelGroup/RethinkVSRAlignment.


Non-symmetrical metallophthalocyanines (MPc), in which M is zinc(II), chloromanganese(III), or cobalt(II), containing a thiazole ring in their peripheries were synthesized by the statistical condensation of two different phthalonitriles, namely 4-(4-phenyl-2-thiazolyl)thiophthalonitrile (1) and 4-tert-butylphthalonitrile (2). The newly prepared compounds were characterized via elemental analysis techniques, including ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometry, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and mass spectrometry. The redox properties of the MPcs were tested via cyclic and square wave voltammetry methods. The redox results elucidated the effects of the metal centers and electrolytic systems on the electrochemical activities of the designed phthalocyanine complexes. The heavy metal ion recognition abilities of these complexes were also analyzed by employing an AT-cut quartz crystal resonator with a fundamental resonance frequency of 10 MHz. The results revealed that Cu2+ at a concentration of 0.40 mg L−1 in the aqueous solution caused a ∼31 kHz frequency shift of the quartz crystal coated with a thin film of MnPc (5). This considerable observed shift in the resonance frequency indicated the powerful sensing ability of compound 5 to detect Cu2+ ions, even in liquid phase. Furthermore, the heavy metal ion sensing results showed that this examined sensitivity of the QCM-based sensor strongly depends upon the atomic radius of the metal ions in aqueous solution.


We study the dependence of salinity on temperature in two by two degrees latitude-longitude boxes, for surface and upper-thermocline waters of the eastern North Atlantic subtropical gyre. The initial data set, from historical databases as well as from recent hydrographic cruises in the region, is carefully scrutinized to reject dubious measurements. We search for polynomial relations of variable degree between salinity and temperature, the optimal fit is selected as the polynomial with the lowest degree that satisfies several statistical criteria. An independent hydrographic cruise is used to confirm that the method performs substantially better than estimates from climatological data, and leads to relatively low deviations in geopotential anomaly and other derived quantities. An error propagation analysis using the Monte Carlo method shows equally good results.


A report proposes an alternative method of control for precision landing on a remote planet. In the traditional method, the attitude of a spacecraft is required to track a commanded translational acceleration vector, which is generated at each time step by solving a two-point boundary value problem. No requirement of continuity is imposed on the acceleration. The translational acceleration does not necessarily vary smoothly. Tracking of a non-smooth acceleration causes the vehicle attitude to exhibit undesirable transients and poor pointing stability behavior. In the alternative method, the two-point boundary value problem is not solved at each time step. A smooth reference position profile is computed. The profile is recomputed only when the control errors get sufficiently large. The nominal attitude is still required to track the smooth reference acceleration command. A steering logic is proposed that controls the position and velocity errors about the reference profile by perturbing the attitude slightly about the nominal attitude. The overall pointing behavior is therefore smooth, greatly reducing the degree of pointing instability.


In the current hyperconnected era, modern Information and Communication Technology (ICT) systems form sophisticated networks where not only do people interact with other people, but also machines take an increasingly visible and participatory role. Such Human-Machine Networks (HMNs) are embedded in the daily lives of people, both for personal and professional use. They can have a significant impact by producing synergy and innovations. The challenge in designing successful HMNs is that they cannot be developed and implemented in the same manner as networks of machines nodes alone, or following a wholly human-centric view of the network. The problem requires an interdisciplinary approach. Here, we review current research of relevance to HMNs across many disciplines. Extending the previous theoretical concepts of socio-technical systems, actor-network theory, cyber-physical-social systems, and social machines, we concentrate on the interactions among humans and between humans and machines. We identify eight types of HMNs: public-resource computing, crowdsourcing, web search engines, crowdsensing, online markets, social media, multiplayer online games and virtual worlds, and mass collaboration. We systematically select literature on each of these types and review it with a focus on implications for designing HMNs. Moreover, we discuss risks associated with HMNs and identify emerging design and development trends.


Representation learning is typically applied to only one mode of a data matrix, either its rows or columns. Yet in many applications, there is an underlying geometry to both the rows and the columns. We propose utilizing this coupled structure to perform co-manifold learning: uncovering the underlying geometry of both the rows and the columns of a given matrix, where we focus on a missing data setting. Our unsupervised approach consists of three components. We first solve a family of optimization problems to estimate a complete matrix at multiple scales of smoothness. We then use this collection of smooth matrix estimates to compute pairwise distances on the rows and columns based on a new multi-scale metric that implicitly introduces a coupling between the rows and the columns. Finally, we construct row and column representations from these multi-scale metrics. We demonstrate that our approach outperforms competing methods in both data visualization and clustering.


This paper reviews a number of the mathematical models used in cancer modelling and then chooses a specific cancer, breast carcinoma, to illustrate how the modelling can be used in aiding detection. We then discuss mathematical models that underpin mammographic image analysis, which complements models of tumour growth and facilitates diagnosis and treatment of cancer. Mammographic images are notoriously difficult to interpret, and we give an overview of the primary image enhancement technologies that have been introduced, before focusing on a more detailed description of some of our own recent work on the use of physics-based modelling in mammography. This theoretical approach to image analysis yields a wealth of information that could be incorporated into the mathematical models, and we conclude by describing how current mathematical models might be enhanced by use of this information, and how these models in turn will help to meet some of the major challenges in cancer detection.


It is believed that the only reasonable form of development is the development that comes from within, sustainable development that comes through the will and desires of the people. The ideas behind the creation of Local Government in Nigeria is that the people at the local level are assumed to have the fullest awareness of their needs.  Every local jurisdiction has its unique economic, social and physical characteristics and its historical tradition which are better understood by its people.  Thus, the Local Government Areas are created to provide the services which the Federal and State Governments cannot easily undertake due to their remoteness from the local communities. Therefore, the concept of local government is to bring governance closer to the people at the grassroots, with the aim of caring for the socio-economic and development needs of local populace. Over the years, it has been observed that massive rural-urban migration and over congestion are heating up lives in the cities. Others have contented that Local Governments are docile in terms of aggressive revenue collection to augment allocations from the federation account which they get on monthly basis. Yet, others hinged Local Governments' abysmal revenue generation on dishonesty on the part of council revenue collectors, who, in most cases, misappropriate collections made on behalf of the council. In the face of these charges or allegations, it has become pertinent to investigate why Local Governments in the country have poor revenue generation efforts. The thrust of this paper therefore is to find a lasting solutions to the financial problems hindering local governments in Nigeria, most especially strategies to ameliorate the over-dependence on allocation for the up-keep of the Local Government. The paper also recommends amongst others, that any official who  divert local government funds to their personal purse should be punished in accordance with the law of the land, use of council staff for revenue collections should be encouraged and stop using agents who are not council staff. The paper concludes that undoubtedly, for Local Governments to be able to perform these functions creditably, they need sufficient funds. Keywords : Local, Relevant, Mobilize, Revenue, Autonomy, Allocation.


We consider a model where the criminal decision of each individual is affected by not only her own characteristics, but also by the characteristics of her friends (contextual effects). We determine who the key player is, i.e., the criminal who once removed generates the highest reduction in total crime in the network. We propose a new measure, the contextual intercentrality measure, that generalizes the one proposed by Ballester, Calvó-Armengol, and Zenou (2006) by taking into account the change in contextual effects following the removal of the key player. We also provide an example showing that the key player can be different whether contextual effects are taken into account or not. This means that the planner may target the wrong person if it ignores the effect of the "context" when removing a criminal from a network.


The current study aimed to assess the effects of media consumption on body dissatisfaction and negative affect using Ecological Momentary Assessment, a method of assessment over time and in the participants' naturalistic environment. Thirty undergraduate female participants were assessed randomly five times per day for five days via text messages sent to their phones. During each assessment, participants reported the number of minutes spent watching TV, reading a magazine, and using the internet, as well as their current levels of negative affect and body dissatisfaction. Results demonstrated that the total time spent consuming media was a significant predictor of guilty feelings. Further results demonstrated that internet use specifically is a significant predictor of guilty feelings. The results indicated that overall media consumption did not significantly predict body dissatisfaction. These findings are particularly interesting given the focus in recent years on developing media literacy interventions for negative body image and eating pathology. Further examinations comparing the effects of overall media consumption versus body-focused media consumption may identify which specific content area are causing the negative effects demonstrated in previous research. Future work should also further investigate the relationship between guilt and online media consumption to determine what role, if any, guilt may have in the development or exacerbation of body dissatisfaction over time.


Higher Education sector of any country plays a pivotal role in national development. If such a key sector is weak, there is every likelihood that research, development and innovation will be week. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of quality culture on university performance. The hypothesis was developed based on the extant literature. Data were collected from Nigerian universities via a structured questionnaire survey using the entire census. Partial Least Squares (PLS) algorithm and bootstrap techniques were used to test the study's hypothesis. The result revealed that quality culture had a significant positive effect on university performance. Based on the empirical evidence, quality culture is paramount to the success of university; therefore, universities should develop a good practice of quality culture for better performance. Improved university performance can address the problem of low-quality universities. The outcome of this study provides significant contributions to the literature. Corresponding author: Ahmed Abubakar Email address for corresponding author: email@example.com First submission received: 26th January 2017 Revised submission received: 11th March 2017 Accepted: 10th April 2017


A library of 3,4,6,7-tetrahydro-3,3,6,6-tetramethyl-9,10-diphenylacridine-1,8-dione derivatives were synthesized via microwave-assisted three-component reaction employing silica supported sulphuric acid under solvent free conditions and tested for in vitro cholesterol esterase inhibitory activity. All synthesized compounds exhibited moderate to good inhibition of cholesterol esterase enzyme. Among all the synthesized acridinedione derivatives, compound HSM-1a showed the most promising activity with IC50 value of 1.53 µM against cholesterol esterase enzyme. Enzyme kinetic studies carried out for HSM-1a, revealed its mixed-type inhibition approach. Molecular protein–ligand docking studies were also performed to figure out the key binding interactions of HSM-1a with the amino acid residues of the enzyme's active site. Furthermore, acquiescence of some potent compounds to the Lipinski rule was also determined.


Microfilaremic dogs, developing ascites acutely following a reaction to diethylcarbamazine therapy, had similar protein concentrations in their ascitic fluid and plasma. In contrast, in dogs chronically infected with Dirofilaria immitis, the protein concentrations of ascitic fluid were found to be significantly lower than plasma protein concentrations. The acute development of ascites in such dogs is associated with high ascitic protein levels.


Gaussian processes are the gold standard for many real-world modeling problems, especially in cases where a model's success hinges upon its ability to faithfully represent predictive uncertainty. These problems typically exist as parts of larger frameworks, wherein quantities of interest are ultimately defined by integrating over posterior distributions. These quantities are frequently intractable, motivating the use of Monte Carlo methods. Despite substantial progress in scaling up Gaussian processes to large training sets, methods for accurately generating draws from their posterior distributions still scale cubically in the number of test locations. We identify a decomposition of Gaussian processes that naturally lends itself to scalable sampling by separating out the prior from the data. Building off of this factorization, we propose an easy-to-use and general-purpose approach for fast posterior sampling, which seamlessly pairs with sparse approximations to afford scalability both during training and at test time. In a series of experiments designed to test competing sampling schemes' statistical properties and practical ramifications, we demonstrate how decoupled sample paths accurately represent Gaussian process posteriors at a fraction of the usual cost.


The focus of this paper is the expression of motion events in Serbo-Croatian in the context of Talmy's (1985) typology. Attested electronic corpus data and extensive dictionary data have been used for the purpose of analysis. Prefixes and two morphosyntactic processes that they are responsible for play the crucial role here. These processes are termed combinatory potential and morphological blocking. They guide verb choice (Path vs. Manner verb), the presence of detail regarding Path of motion (whole vs. partially expressed Path), the presence or absence of Manner elaboration, and the frequency of manner of motion verbs in general. Consequences for cross-linguistic contrasting and the study of acquisition and translation are also discussed.


INTRODUCTION: ABOLITIONISM, BLACK ABOLITIONISTS AND THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD-AN ADJUSTED VIEW OF "THROUGH A GLASS DARKLY" In the antebellum period one of the most formidable challenges posed to the nation and the nefarious business in human chattel it protected under the guise of "private property," was that of abolitionism. It was a movement for the immediate and total dismantling of the institution of slavery. The challenge was made even more formidable because of the movement's involvement in the clandestine operations of one of slavery's effective nemesis, the Underground Railway. The operations were of the kind in which many participated but few took the time to fathom the meaning behind such operations beyond that of freedom. What, therefore, was the Underground Railroad? On the one hand the Underground Railroad was really a moral challenge posed to a nation that defended an immoral institution. On the other hand, and in the words of one writer, the Underground Railroad was "not a route, but a net-work; not an organization, but a conspiracy of thousands of people banded together for the deliberate purpose of depriving their southern neighbors of their property [in defiance of the law]." (2) It was "like a ferment beneath the surface of southern society," (3) and was at the core of the country's moral dilemma. So much so that as a formidable force it challenged an ignominious fugitive slave law, and eventually "brought on the Civil War" and the destruction of slavery. (4) Who were those "thousands of people banded together" in a "conspiracy" against slavery? Adjacent to the Hudson River and its environs many of the morally committed were undoubtedly coconspirators in the secretive operations of the Underground Railroad. Unfortunately, because of some glitch in the historical methodology, our view of those "thousands of people" is as "through a glass darkly." The "legend" of the Underground Railroad that has come down to us has been more about "the bravery and daring of [the slave's] white abettors" than the enslaved. (5) In paraphrasing Larry Gara, the author of the book, The Liberty Line The legend of the Underground Railroad, one is left wondering if without those "white abettors" would many escaped slaves have successfully made their way to Canada and other points north? (6) For example, it is recorded that some fugitives were not even aware of a committed group referred to as abolitionists. "In 1841 Joseph Struge, a British abolitionist traveler, met a fugitive couple on a boat going from New York to Albany. They had escaped by railway and steamboat, carrying forged passes. Sturge learned that they had never head of the vigilance committees that existed "to facilitate the escape of runaway slaves." (7) More contemporary, revisionist writers have cleared up "through a glass darkly" by, for one, dissipating the shroud of mist that obscured our view of the participatory role of free northern Blacks in the rescue of fugitive slaves. The writings of the revisionist historian Benjamin Quarles, in particular his seminal study Black Abolitionists, contributes to a sharpening of that participatory role; a role that formerly was relegated to the margins of history. (8) In the words of C. Vann Woodward these black abolitionists "[were] crowded off-stage by the [white] abolitionists." (9) And with respect to the legend of the Underground as a melodrama, and the usurpation of the center-stage position, Woodward wrote: One very human thing the authors of the melodrama did was to seize the spotlight. They elected themselves the heroes. It was not that the abolitionists attempted to stage Othello without the princely Moor, but they did relegate the Moor to a subordinate role. The role assigned him was largely passive-that of the trembling, helpless fugitive completely dependent on his noble benefactors. The abolitionist was clearly the hero, and as Gerrit Smith, one of them, put it, the thing was bought off by the 'Abolitionists and the Abolitionists only. …


As Review Editor for Contemporary South Asia, I invite academic colleagues, research students and other suitably qualified persons to review one or more of the works listed below. Potential reviewers should send their full name, position, institutional affiliation (if applicable), full mailing address, a brief summary of their previously published work, and the title of the book(s) they would like to review to:


Could an artificial intelligence become a legal person? As of today, this question is only theoretical. No existing computer program currently possesses the sort of capacities that would justify serious judicial inquiry into the question of legal personhood. The question is nonetheless of some interest. Cognitive science begins with the assumption that the nature of human intelligence is computational, and therefore, that the human mind can, in principle, be modelled as a program that runs on a computer. Artificial intelligence (AI) research attempts to develop such models. But even as cognitive science has displaced behavioralism as the dominant paradigm for investigating the human mind, fundamental questions about the very possibility of artificial intelligence continue to be debated. This Essay explores those questions through a series of thought experiments that transform the theoretical question whether artificial intelligence is possible into legal questions such as, "Could an artificial intelligence serve as a trustee?" What is the relevance of these legal thought experiments for the debate over the possibility of artificial intelligence? A preliminary answer to this question has two parts. First, putting the AI debate in a concrete legal context acts as a pragmatic Occam's razor. By reexamining positions taken in cognitive science or the philosophy of artificial intelligence as legal arguments, we are forced to see them anew in a relentlessly pragmatic context. Philosophical claims that no program running on a digital computer could really be intelligent are put into a context that requires us to take a hard look at just what practical importance the missing reality could have for the way we speak and conduct our affairs. In other words, the legal context provides a way to ask for the "cash value" of the arguments. The hypothesis developed in this Essay is that only some of the claims made in the debate over the possibility of AI do make a pragmatic difference, and it is pragmatic differences that ought to be decisive. Second, and more controversially, we can view the legal system as a repository of knowledge-a formal accumulation of practical judgments. The law embodies core insights about the way the world works and how we evaluate it. Moreover, in common-law systems judges strive to decide particular cases in a way that best fits the legal landscape-the prior cases, the statutory law, and the constitution. Hence, transforming the abstract debate over the possibility of AI into an imagined hard case forces us to check our intuitions and arguments against the assumptions that underlie social decisions made in many other contexts. By using a thought experiment that explicitly focuses on wide coherence, we increase the chance that the positions we eventually adopt will be in reflective equilibrium with our views about related matters. In addition, the law embodies practical knowledge in a form that is subject to public examination and discussion. Legal materials are published and subject to widespread public scrutiny and discussion. Some of the insights gleaned in the law may clarify our approach to the artificial intelligence debate.


Postpartum depression is a common disabling psychosocial disorder that could have adverse effects on the life of the mother, infant, and family. The present study was conducted to evaluate the effect of ketamine on preventing postpartum depression in women undergoing caesarian sections considering the relatively known positive effect of ketamine on major depression. The present double-blind, randomized clinical trial was conducted on 134 women undergoing scheduled caesarian sections. Participants were randomly allocated into two groups of control and intervention. To induce anesthesia, 1–2 mg/kg of body weight of Nesdonal and 0.5 mg/kg of body weight of ketamine were used in the intervention group, while only 3–5 mg/kg of body weight Nesdonal was administered in the control group. Data were gathered using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) in three stages: before the caesarian section and two and four weeks after the caesarian section. Data were analyzed using variance analysis with repeated measures and the Chi-square test. Results of the present study showed that the mean (± standard deviation) of the depression score in the intervention and control groups were 13.78±3.87 and 13.79±4.78(p = 0.98) before the caesarian section, 11.82±3.41 and 14.34±4.29 (p < 0.001) two weeks after and 10.84±3.48 and 13.09±3.79 (p = 0.001) four weeks after the caesarian section, respectively. Using ketamine in the induction of general anesthesia could be effective in preventing postpartum depression. However, further studies are required to strengthen these findings.


The Bufo bufo species group includes four species distributed in the western Palearctic: B. bufo, B. eichwaldii, B. spinosus and B. verrucosissimus. Both B. bufo and B. verrucosissimus are known to occur in Turkey, but their range boundaries and the taxonomic status of B. verrucosissimus are still uncertain. In this study, we analyzed the variation in a set of morphological characters and in two mitochondrial and two nuclear DNA markers to address these questions. Phylogenetic analyses of sequence data support two main clades of common toads in Turkey, corresponding to B. bufo and B. verrucosissimus. The latter is subdivided into two allopatric subclades including populations along the Mediterranean and Black Sea coast, respectively. Discriminant analysis of morphological data showed separation among groups as defined by molecular analyses. We discuss these results and their implications for the evolutionary history of common toads in Turkey.


BACKGROUND
The canal of Nuck is a fold of peritoneum that invaginates into the inguinal canal and closes at or just before birth. If the canal of Nuck remains open in female infants, herniation of the uterus, adnexa and/or bowel loops may arise through the inguinal canal into the labia majora.

CASE REPORT
The present case is a 12-week-old female infant with complaints of left groin swelling and discomfort. Ultrasonographic examination revealed a left inguinal hernia containing both adnexa (ovaries and fallopian tubes), uterus and small bowel loops with fluid.

CONCLUSION
A hernia containing ovary and uterus should be considered as a possible cause in a female infant with a groin mass. Ultrasonography of the inguinal mass lesions should be performed routinely in a female infant for accurate diagnosis.


A company's ability to successfully introduce radically new products and services is a key success factor for sustaining competitive advantage. This is particularly true for the automotive industry, where smaller manufacturers with niche products struggle to compete with the large-scale efforts of their bigger competitors, and are thus in desperate need to innovate their way out of the current crisis. A key challenge for companies seeking innovation is how to better understand the role of risk in innovative practice. The purpose of this study is to investigate how managers within an automotive company perceive the concept of innovation and the relation between innovation and risk. The study is based on interviews with fifteen managers representing a cross-section of disciplines. The analysis of the informants' answers resulted in two overarching themes, "novelty" and "value", which were further broken down into seven sub-themes to highlight different facets of innovation that were raised by managers from these disciplines. While there were many similarities in the perceptions, the most striking differences related to; 1) innovation as being about the "combination of things to something new", and 2) innovation as being about increasing "customer value". Several informants noted that risk taking is a success factor to achieve innovation, but they also acknowledged that there are several inhibiting factors that are in contradiction with this approach, such as limited time and money. Further the paper has highlighted the crucial challenge of how to effectively balance risk and opportunity to invest in long-term opportunities, without risking short-term growth.


Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Functions (BRDF) seek to represent variations in surface reflectance resulting from changes in a satellite's view and solar illumination angles. BRDF representations have been widely used to assist in the characterisation of vegetation. However BRDF effects are often noisy, difficult to interpret and are the spatial integral of all the individual surface features present in a pixel. This paper describes the results of an approach to understanding how BRDF effects can be used to characterise vegetation. The implementation of the Ross Thick Li Sparse BRDF model using MODIS is a stable, mature data product with a 10 year history and is a ready data source. Using this dataset, a geometric optical model is proposed that seeks to interpret the BRDF effects in terms of Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and a height-to-width ratio of the vegetation components. The height-to-width ratio derived from this model seeks to represent the dependence of NDVI to changes in view zenith angle as a single numeric value. The model proposed within this paper has been applied to MODIS pixels in central Australia for areas in excess of 18,000 km 2 . The study area is predominantly arid and sparsely vegetated which provides a level of temporal and spatial homogeneity. The selected study area also minimises the effects associated with mutual obscuration of vegetation which is not considered by the model. The results are represented as a map and compared to NDVI derived from MODIS and NDVI derived from Landsat mosaics developed for Australia's National Carbon Accounting System (NCAS). The model reveals additional information not obvious in reflectance data. For example, the height-to-width ratio is able to reveal vegetation features in arid areas that do not have an accompanying significant increase in NDVI derived from MODIS, i.e. the height-to-width ratio reveals vegetation which is otherwise only apparent in NDVI derived from the higher resolution Landsat NCAS dataset.


Improving professional attitudes and behaviors requires critical self reflection. Research on reflection is necessary to understand professionalism among medical students. The aims of this prospective validation study at the Mayo Medical School and Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine were: (1) to develop and validate a new instrument for measuring reflection on professionalism, and (2) determine whether learner variables are associated with reflection on the gross anatomy experience. An instrument for assessing reflections on gross anatomy, which was comprised of 12 items structured on five‐point scales, was developed. Factor analysis revealed a three‐dimensional model including low reflection (four items), moderate reflection (five items), and high reflection (three items). Item mean scores ranged from 3.05 to 4.50. The overall mean for all 12 items was 3.91 (SD = 0.52). Internal consistency reliability (Cronbach's α) was satisfactory for individual factors and overall (Factor 1 α = 0.78; Factor 2 α = 0.69; Factor 3 α = 0.70; Overall α = 0.75). Simple linear regression analysis indicated that reflection scores were negatively associated with teamwork peer scores (P = 0.018). The authors report the first validated measurement of medical student reflection on professionalism in gross anatomy. Critical reflection is a recognized component of professionalism and may be important for behavior change. This instrument may be used in future research on professionalism among medical students. Anat Sci Educ 6: 232–238. © 2012 American Association of Anatomists.


Plug-in Electric Vehicles (PEVs) are becoming widely popular given their economic and environmental advantages. Nevertheless, when connected for battery replenishment, the PEVs can affect the Power Quality (PQ) of the distribution power grids. In this paper, an intermediate control unit for the commercial battery chargers has been developed in the laboratory that can directly control the PEV charging load by modifying the power levels during the AC charging. The impacts of a mass-produced PEV on the Point of Common Coupling (PCC) during the charging period with different power levels using the in-house developed unit have been investigated through field measurements. Furthermore, a Home Charging Management System (HCMS) that employs the intermediate control unit has been designed. Based on the outcome of the field studies, the charging impacts due to the integration of PEVs in the distribution systems is examined through network modelling and simulation. The results from the field experiments together with the model based case study, demonstrate that the proposed intermediate control unit can be adopted effectively for scheduling the PEV charging by controlling the PEV load in the distribution networks.


Urban sprawl has been at the centre of current debate on urban structure. Compared to the rich literature on urban sprawl in Western cities, relatively little is known about the physical consequence and the causes of urban sprawl in China. In China, for peasant collective-owned land (COL), land use right cannot be sold, transferred or leased for non-agricultural construction'. COL could be developed until it is acquired and leased out by the government. Through the process of land acquisition, the peasants could only get the compensation for 30 years' average of annual agricultural production value in addition to compensation for attachments, crops and vegetables which sometimes could hardly support the life of peasants who lost their land. To compensation for the peasants' loss, the government would leave 10-15% of the acquired land to peasant collectives as Collectively Owned Economic Development Land (COEDL), allowing it used for industrial or commercial purpose. However, development of COEDL manifested to have low development density, quality and output. With a property rights approach, this research evaluates the development process of COEDL in Guangzhou. It has been revealed that high cost to obtain the permit of land use change (nongzhuanyong zhibiao), and to provide infrastructure and public facilities reduce the incentives of peasants to use COEDL legally and more efficiently. Furthermore, as COEDL is forbidden to transfer or mortgage, the financing ability of peasant collectives is thus impaired severely, allowing them only low investment on development. Use of COEDL thus contributes to urban sprawl in China.


A century after it was first published, Charles A. Beard's An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution remains a significant and controversial part of constitutional scholarship and history. Just as Beard sought to historicize the Founders as they drafted and adopted the Constitution, this article attempts to historicize Beard as he researched and wrote his classic text on the Constitution. Because Beard was both a graduate student and professor at Columbia University before and while he researched and wrote his book, this article explores the particular influence that Columbia University's institutional and intellectual climate may have had on Beard and the writing of An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution. This article contends that Charles Beard was the product of a unique Columbia tradition of inductive, proto-institutionalist research in political economy – a tradition that at its core sought to meld serious political and historical scholarship with progressive social activism. Yet, in many ways, Columbia's influence on Beard was more reinforcing than it was revolutionary. Columbia, in other words, facilitated an evolution rather than a dramatic transformation in Beard's thinking. His time at Columbia provided him with new scholarly perspectives and research methods, but ultimately these new views heightened his innate tension between scholarly objectivity and political advocacy, between his belief in social scientific research and his desires for social democratic reform. In short, Beard's time at Columbia, as both a student and junior scholar, refined his personal predilections and his early upbringing and education, rather than radically converting him into a new thinker and writer. This article was part of a special symposium on the 100th Anniversary of Charles Beard's An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution, hosted by the University of Virginia's Miller Center and law school.


Abstract This study empirically assesses the role of social proximity, defined as the concentration of family members (FM) in firms, on firm performance. Based on longitudinal micro-data for the period 1995–2010 connecting information on workers and their workplaces in the Swedish labour market, the effects of FM (parents, children, siblings and grandparents) on per capita productivity in 15,359 firms were analysed. The results indicate that FM positively affect firm performance. In particular, the results suggest that in specialized regions (mainly small regions) FM have a positive influence on performance and can thus compensate for relative shortage of regional agglomeration economies.


Since the helium-cooled pebble bed (HCPB) breeding blanket was accepted as a reference blanket concept for a future DEMO reactor in the European Union almost 10 yr ago, research and development on the breeder unit (BU) has been conducted. As the basic module of the modular blanket segmentation, the BU is the key component to fulfill the prescribed functions of the breeding blanket. In the paper, two design schemes of the HCPB BU are discussed: (a) a design with double breeder beds confined by an m-shaped container and (b) a design with a single breeder bed confined by a simpler n-shaped container. The first design features a stack of parallel straightforward channels in the cooling plates, and the second design features a group of meandering channels. The two BU variants are analyzed numerically with regard to the performance of their neutronics, thermal hydraulics, and structural mechanics. Based on the numerical analyses, the two variants are compared in the three aspects. Finally, possible improvements on the HCPB BU designs are proposed.


PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine organizational-level determinants of commercial bank profitability.Design/methodology/approachUsing bank-level longitudinal panel data for the 2005–2014 period, this study conducts univariate and multivariate statistical analyses, i.e. ordinary least squares (OLS), fixed-effects and feasible generalized least-squares (FGLS) regressions, to analyze profitability variables in Swedish commercial banks.FindingsThe findings indicate that the organizational-level determinants growth, lagged profitability and capital adequacy are positively related to banks' current profitability. No relationship was found between banks' size and their profitability. Moreover, no relationship was found between the macroeconomic control variable gross domestic product (GDP) and bank profitability.Practical implicationsGiven that organizational-level determinants explain sustainable bank profitability, the findings can be used by bank managers as a basis for low-risk bank policy formulation, and by regulators in monitoring banks relative to international standards (i.e. the Basel Accords).Originality/valueTo the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first study to investigate determinants of bank profitability in Sweden, a country with a strong tradition of bank-based financing, with previous experience of a domestic bank crisis in the 1990s, and where the recent global financial crisis had relatively little impact on domestic banks.


Interconnect delay has become a limiting factor for circuit performance in deep sub-micrometer designs. As the crosstalk in an on-chip bus is highly dependent on the data patterns transmitted on the bus, different crosstalk avoidance coding schemes have been proposed to boost the bus speed and/or reduce the overall energy consumption. Despite the availability of the codes, no systematic mapping of data words to codewords has been proposed for CODEC design. This is mainly due to the nonlinear nature of the crosstalk avoidance codes (CAC). The lack of practical CODEC construction schemes has hampered the use of such codes in practical designs. This work presents guidelines for the CODEC design of the ldquoforbidden pattern free crosstalk avoidance coderdquo (FPF-CAC). We analyze the properties of the FPF-CAC and show that mathematically, a mapping scheme exists based on the representation of numbers in the Fibonacci numeral system. Our first proposed CODEC design offers a near-optimal area overhead performance. An improved version of the CODEC is then presented, which achieves theoretical optimal performance. We also investigate the implementation details of the CODECs, including design complexity and the speed. Optimization schemes are provided to reduce the size of the CODEC and improve its speed.


Neodymium ion (Nd3+)-doped yttrium aluminum borate (YAB) nonlinear laser materials show strong prospects for highly efficient laser oscillations in kinds of multi-frequency conversion systems. Although excellent optical and spectroscopic properties for Nd-doped YAB have been demonstrated, detailed information of its microstructure as well as the incorporation of the laser ion Nd3+ is still lacking. Herein, the structural evolution of NdxY1−xAl3(BO3)4 systems are systematically investigated using the CALYPSO structure search method in conjunction with first-principles calculations. Our study demonstrates a stable configuration with C2 space group for a Nd-doped YAB crystal, which suggests that the impurity Nd3+ ions can accurately substitute for Y3+ sites. With the increase in Nd concentration, two traditional structures of NdAl3(BO3)4, γ-NAB and β-NAB, are identified and compared with previous experimental measurements. For the local [NdO6]9− unit, we introduced the correlation crystal field Hamiltonian to analyze the energy levels and have obtained a new set of crystal field parameters which leads to an improved fit with a RMS deviation of 13.32 cm−1 between the 135 theoretical and observed Stark levels. Our results could largely account for the well-known anomalous splitting of the 2H11/2 multiplets. Additionally, the transition intensities from the excited states to ground 4I9/2, including electric dipole and magnetic dipole contributions, are calculated. It is found that the characterization of two emission lines 4F5/2 → 4I9/2 and 2H(2)9/2 → 4I9/2, occurring at approximately 800 nm, is totally different. These findings provide a deep understanding of rare-earth doped laser materials and suggest a new way to explore the luminescence properties of such materials.


Abstract Institutions of higher education are well situated globally for transformation toward sustainability. The case of the Water Resources Planning Committee (WRPC) at Appalachian State University in North Carolina, United States offers insight into how educational institutions might identify and leverage transformative opportunities. The article suggests that a "window of opportunity" can open when diverse actor-groups share a common interest or goal and when individuals are able to "bridge" the groups as a way to create synergy. Once together, these groups can collaborate by sharing knowledge and resources. They do not avoid conflict, but rather constructively use organizational tensions and cultivate flexibility to further common goals. This case study focuses on interrelationships among a public university's teaching and research missions and its place within a broader community as it transforms toward sustainably managing campus-water resources.


During the period 20-8 ka BP, movements of the polar front in the North Atlantic Ocean between the latitudes of Iceland and the Iberian peninsula greatly affected the climate of western Europe. During the Lateglacial, sea-surface temperature changes were particularly marked in the Bay of Biscay. Such migrations of the polar front, which have been shown to be time-transgressive, have been used to explain Lateglacial climatic events in northwestern Europe. A comparative study of Lateglacial and early Holocene records from lacustrine sites in northern and northwestern Spain and the Pyrenees confirms that the Lateglacial climatic amelioration was time-transgressive along the seaboard of western Europe, beginning 500-1000 years earlier in northwestern Spain than in the British Isles. This time-lag is further exaggerated in the vegetational response by migrational lags and edaphic factors. There are marked differences in the nature and chronology of Lateglacial plant successions, not only between southwest and northwest Europe, but particularly between sites in northwestern Spain, the coastal lowlands of the Pays Basque and the Pyrenees. Sites in northwestern Spain, including that of Sanabria Marsh, here published in detail for the first time, show the moderating climatic influence of the Atlantic Ocean throughout the Lateglacial. There, the climatic amelioration began early, perhaps before 14 ka BP. Deciduous oak forest had already begun to develop during Lateglacial times; this observation suggests that the perglacial refugia for these trees lay close to the maritime Atlantic coasts of Spain and Portugal, and not in the Pyrenees as some authors have proposed. After the onset of the Lateglacial climatic amelioration, pine and birch forest became widespread in the Pyrenees but oaks were very sparse or absent. Oak forest only developed there after 10 ka BP in the early Holocene. The Younger Dryas episode of cooling can be detected, but only by a small expansion of herbaceous plant communities in some areas and with almost no lowering of the treeline. In contrast, Lateglacial conditions in the Pays Basque appear to have been cold and bleak. Even birch and pine forest was poorly developed and may have disappeared with the onset of the Younger Dryas cooling. Acid heathland with Empetrum and ericaceous plants then developed, to be replaced by oak-hazel forest in the early Holocene. Here, clearly, the influence of cold polar water conditions in the Bay of Biscay was very strong. Pollen diagrams from marine cores in the Bay of Biscay are also reviewed, but low sedimentation rates, bioturbation and differential transport and preservation of pollen make comparison with continental pollen diagrams difficult and correlation only possible in broad terms. Accurate vegetational interpretations are impossible. Palynologists working on archaeological cave and rock shelter sequences in southwest France and northern Spain have claimed to recognize, between 32 and 14 ka BP, a series of interstadial intervals with expansions of temperate trees. Careful consideration of pollen diagrams covering the purported Laugerie and Lascaux interstadials, said to occur between 16 and 20 ka BP (conventionally the maximum period of glacial advance of the last glacial stage), suggests that temperate pollen has percolated down through overlying deposits and been preserved in certain sedimentologically favourable beds. Although widely accepted by archaeologists, these interstadials appear to have no reality and must be rejected. There is no trace of them in the long lacustrine records of Les Echets (Beaulieu & Reille 1984) and Grande Pile (Woillard 1975, 1978). There is thus no good palynological record for 30-16 ka BP from south-west Europe, other than the long pollen sequence from Padul in southern Spain (Pons & Reille 1986).


In contrast to the view that national immigration policy began in 1875, this article explores evidence that immigration policy dates from the early republic period. Built around the naturalization clause, which regulates the ability of aliens to own land and shaped their willingness to immigrate to America, this early republic immigration policy included strong norms of prospectivity, uniformity, and transparency. Drawing on these norms, which readily apply in both the naturalization and immigration contexts, the paper argues against the plenary power doctrine, particularly as it purports to authorize Congress to change the rules of immigration midstream and apply them to individuals who have already arrived in this country. The paper also argues against Congress's practice of adopting private legislation. These contentions, in turn, provide the foundation for a criticism of the so-called public rights doctrine and its use to justify restrictions on the judicial role.


Ethics plays a crucial role in recruitment and selection because human resource is the key source of competitive advantage for an organization if properly hired and managed. It is therefore important to put in place ethical consideration to ensure that candidates are reviewed according to their merit, fairness and equity and to also ensure that they posses the right knowledge, skills and abilities for the job. The main objective of the study was to examine how ethical issues in recruitment and selection affect employee performance in two public universities in Nyeri County. The study adopted descriptive research design in order to gather the required information. The study used stratified random sampling as its sampling design. The finding of the study revealed that ethical issues in recruitment and selection had positive and statistically significant effect on employee performance with discrimination being ranked the most unethical practice in recruitment and selection.


We report on a study of the electrical-transport properties of monolayers of phthalocyaninepolysiloxane (PcPS) polymers, and evaluate their potential for use as molecular wires. Monolayers have been deposited with the Langmuir–Blodgett technique on top of Si/SiO2 substrates with interdigitated electrodes. Current–voltage curves have been measured as a function of temperature for samples with varying electrode distance and number of monolayers. In the undoped state, the conduction is well described by the space-charge-limited-current model. From the data we obtain material characteristics such as the density of trap states within the gap and an estimate of the charge-carrier mobility. It appears that the conductivity is too low to yield a measurable current through a single PcPS polymer. Chemical doping and a field effect have been investigated. Oxygen is effective in doping the PcPS layers, resulting in a two orders of magnitude increase of the conductivity. Iodine is not effective as a dopant. By application of a voltage on a back-gate, we observe a field-effect-induced increase of the conductivity by three orders of magnitude. The effect however decays rapidly in time.


As part of Asia Triennial Manchester, and following on from Conflict in Visual Culture Part 1 presented by The Centre for Chinese Contemporary Art, Castlefield Gallery has invited Prof. Jim Aulich, Leanne Green and Gary Bratchford of Manchester Institute for Research and Innovation in Art and Design (MIRIAD) to present Conflict in Visual Culture Part 2, featuring three interrelated discussions that examine institutions and practices of image production associated with conflict. Spanning photography, illustration and graphic poster art throughout the 20th century they will explore the visual narratives that recur when nations justify war and people react against it.

Jim Aulich is Professor of Visual Culture in MIRIAD at MMU. He has curated exhibitions related to the Vietnam War, Falklands Conflict, Communism in Eastern Europe and its collapse in 1989. Between 2003-06 he was Director of the Posters of Conflict Project at IWM, London and was lead curator for the exhibition War Posters. Weapons of Mass Communication at IWM in 2007-08. His most recent publications include articles on Soviet propaganda in Britain 1941-45 for Visual Culture in Britain and 'Graphic Arts and Advertising as War Propaganda' for the open access 1914-1918 online. International Encyclopedia of the First World War. He is currently writing a book on graphic arts and the left in Britain.

Leanne Green is a 3rd year AHRC funded PhD student based between MIRIAD, MMU and IWM London. Her recent publications have included articles on First World War propaganda and the representation of Belgian refugees in First World War publicity. She is currently Associate Lecturer at MMU, Assistant Curator at MOSI and Project Co-ordinator for a Pop-Up-Republics exhibition to be held at IWM North as part of Asia Triennial Manchester 2014.

Gary Bratchford is a fully funded AHRC PhD student based at the MIRIAD research centre at MMU. He is a board member of the International Sociology Associations' Visual Sociology Group and sub editor of the Visual Sociology Newsletter. His PhD title is 'Visual Activism in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories'. His recent publications include articles on Image research, published in the open access British Library E-book Looking At Images: A Researchers Guide, and the production of political visibilities in Gaza (forthcoming).


This thesis proposes a game theoretic analysis of interdomain routing. In the two following chapters we try to capture some of the intricacies of the current Internet routing protocol, the Border Gateway Protocol (BGP).
The first chapter of the thesis paper presents a survey of recent adv ances in the application of game theory to model the behaviour of interdomain routing. In these models, the
participants of the interdomain routing game are represented as strategic agents seeking to improve their benefits through the manipulation of the interdomain routing protoco l BGP.
The main results achieved over the last few years in this field include models to an alyze the stability of the interdomain routing and the design of mechanisms that guarantee BGP to be incentive-compatible with or without monetary transfers. However, over the last years, the research community has been deeply concerned about
the scalability issues that the Internet routing is facing. As the Internet popularity grows, so do the network resources needed in order to sustain its worldwide availability. In the second chapter of this thesis we consider a commons model in which the Global Routing
Table (GRT) is a public resource. We use this model to study the economic incentives the ASes have for deaggregating their assigned address blocks. We evaluate the efficiency of the global routing system, the properties of the game equilibria and we examine its relation
to the social welfare point of the considered game setup. We find that the str ategy adopted by the ASes in the interdomain is not an overall optimum strategy and it leads to an inefficient exploitation of the common resource. Therefore, we prove that the GRT, just like any common natural resource, "remorselessly generates tragedy", following Hardin's game theoretic analysis on the tragedy of the commons. Finally, we introduce in the model a pricing
mechanism that aims to avoid the tragedy of the Internet routing commons.


The Catholic Church has a rich history of women choosing to devote their lives to God and the Church through religious vocations. The theological shifts at the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) affected the spirituality and lifestyle for many women religious. These changes renewed the identity of women religious and their role within the modern world. Over the past few years in the United States of America, the Vatican has conducted two assessments involving American women religious. The purpose of this study was to explore the identity of American women religious and to explore the impact of the current events within the Church on their identity with emphasis on their sense of generativity. The Listening Guide (Gilligan, 1982) was used to analyse the narratives of 8 American women religious from an apostolic congregation. The findings suggest that these women continue to identify with the principles of Vatican II. Specifically, they view themselves as mature, faithful women who serve God and others through the charism and ministry of their chosen vocation. Although they are upset by the recent attitude and actions of the Vatican regarding the Apostolic Visitation and the assessment of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, they are united in their faith that the current tensions in the Church are creative. As such, they are able to thrive in the face of adversity, evidenced by how they have modeled their values of collaboration and collective discernment in their response to the Vatican. They discussed the importance of group cohesion that fosters individual spirituality within the collective identity. They also emphasized the ability to thrive despite criticism from the Vatican by maintaining their social identity in their daily activities. Finally, they embraced the possibility of an imminent transformation within the Church.


How we view others and ourselves can have a very powerful influence on our lives and how we make decisions. The purpose of this study was to observe self-selected body size images for oneself, self-selected body size figures for a healthy, overweight and obese figure, and the relationship between self-selected body size figures and physical activity (PA) in young adult, male and female, college students (n=34, aged 18-22). During the spring of 2015, PA was measured for seven consecutive days using both accelerometers and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ). For accelerometer data, 3day means were computed. Self-selected body size figures were assessed using the Body Image Assessment Scale-Body Dimensions (BIAS-BD) along with selected demographics. Participants chose what they thought represented their own body figure, and a healthy, overweight, and obese body figure. The self-selected body size figures were then compared to PA. No relationship between self-reported and measured PA was found (p=0.13), therefore only accelerometer data were used when reporting findings. When comparing self-selected body size figures and accelerometer-measured PA for the total sample, as self-selected body size figure increased, the amount of time doing moderate-vigorous activity decreased (p=0.04). The implication is that a higher perceived body size could be a barrier to physical activity. When comparing self-selected body figure size and what image represented a healthy, overweight, or obese body figure, there were similarities in both males and females. As self-selected body size figure went up, what they thought a healthy person looked like increased as well, significantly for females (p=0.025) and trending for males (p=0.059). For females, there was no significant association between self-selected body size figure and what they perceived as