This marks the twentieth anniversary of the publication of a classic of baseball fiction. William Brashler's novel is the story of a black barnstorming ball club in 1939, before Jackie Robinson broke baseball's unofficial color barrier. It was made into a popular film in 1976 that starred James Earl Jones, Billy Dee Williams, and Richard Pryor. This edition includes a new preface by the author and an introduction by Peter Bjarkman that sets the novel in the context both of scholarly literature on the Negro Baseball Leagues and of sports fiction.


Seismic site classifications are used to represent site effects for estimating hazard parameters (response spectral ordinates) at the soil surface. Seismic site classifications have generally been carried out using average shear wave velocity and/or standard penetration test n-values of top 30-m soil layers, according to the recommendations of the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP) or the International Building Code (IBC). The site classification system in the NEHRP and the IBC is based on the studies carried out in the United States where soil layers extend up to several hundred meters before reaching any distinct soil-bedrock interface and may not be directly applicable to other regions, especially in regions having shallow geological deposits. This paper investigates the influence of rock depth on site classes based on the recommendations of the NEHRP and the IBC. For this study, soil sites having a wide range of average shear wave velocities (or standard penetration test n-values) have been collected from different parts of Australia, China, and India. Shear wave velocities of rock layers underneath soil layers have also been collected at depths from a few meters to 180 m. It is shown that a site classification system based on the top 30-m soil layers often represents stiffer site classes for soil sites having shallow rock depths (rock depths less than 25 m from the soil surface). A new site classification system based on average soil thickness up to engineering bedrock has been proposed herein, which is considered more representative for soil sites in shallow bedrock regions. It has been observed that response spectral ordinates, amplification factors, and site periods estimated using one-dimensional shear wave analysis considering the depth of engineering bedrock are different from those obtained considering top 30-m soil layers.


Artificial life originated and has long studied the topic of open-ended evolution, which seeks the principles underlying artificial systems that innovate continually, inspired by biological evolution. Recently, interest has grown within the broader field of AI in a generalization of open-ended evolution, here called open-ended search, wherein such questions of open-endedness are explored for advancing AI, whatever the nature of the underlying search algorithm (e.g. evolutionary or gradient-based). For example, open-ended search might design new architectures for neural networks, new reinforcement learning algorithms, or most ambitiously, aim at designing artificial general intelligence. This paper proposes that open-ended evolution and artificial life have much to contribute towards the understanding of open-ended AI, focusing here in particular on the safety of open-ended search. The idea is that AI systems are increasingly applied in the real world, often producing unintended harms in the process, which motivates the growing field of AI safety. This paper argues that open-ended AI has its own safety challenges, in particular, whether the creativity of open-ended systems can be productively and predictably controlled. This paper explains how unique safety problems manifest in open-ended search, and suggests concrete contributions and research questions to explore them. The hope is to inspire progress towards creative, useful, and safe open-ended search algorithms.


Interaction of water and organic matter (OM) in pores affects the capacity for long-term C sequestration and water retention in soils. This study investigated the effects of the amount and distribution of OM in microstructures on water retention in soil microaggregates. The focus of the study was on the hysteretic soil water characteristic (i.e., the difference between the main drying and wetting curves), which has been largely ignored in previous studies on water‐OM relations. The main drying and wetting branches of the water retention curve were measured using a water activity meter on water-stable microaggregates (53‐250 μm), which were collected from surface soils (0‐15 cm) subject to different management practices: tallgrass prairie restoration on a Mollisol, and tillage with and without N fertilization on an Alfi sol. The results show that the presence of OM in <5-µm-diameter pores increases water retention in microaggregates, while management practices that either increased or decreased the abundance of OM-fi lled pore volume in the microaggregates promoted hysteresis of water retention characteristics due to changes in soil pore structure. Comparison of the drying and wetting curves between intact and combusted (OM removed) microaggregates indicated a strong retention of water by pore-fi lling OM. This retention suggests that the high water saturation in microaggregates from soils under management practices that increased OM-fi lled porosity, which also offered physical protection of the OM, may be a positive feedback mechanism that retards OM decomposition in micropores. The water retention data measured on intact and combusted microaggregates were consistent with results from ultra-small-angle x-ray scattering, and indicated that management practices have a great potential for facilitating the synergistic retention of water and organic C in soils. Abbreviations: ANCOVA, analysis of covariance; OC, organic carbon; OM, organic matter; SSA, specifi c surface area.


Inspired from the context of business-to-business markets, relationship marketing in the context of innovation have been expanded more and more to the consumer markets as well. The paper starts with a review of several most relevant studies on relationship marketing-innovation topic, from the first references to the current complex approaches. The effective stakeholder involvement in the value creation provides a more fertile ground for further successful innovations. All of the variables generating the success of a relationship marketing approach – trust, commitment, communication, seller's customer orientation and empathy, experience and satisfaction a.s.o. – are also involved, with specific particularities, in the management of the innovation and new product development processes. The paper also outline the different perspectives to understand the relationship marketing-innovation approaches, coming from the product type, its business-to-business or business-to-consumer settings, the specific industry, the actual stage of the market evolution – emerging or mature –, the level of technological novelty as dimension of technological uncertainty, the position/ status and role of stakeholders as part in the relationships, the state of the new product development process in which the interactions occurs or special issues like sustainable innovation, for profit and not-for-profit areas etc.


The c-Jun N-terminal protein kinase (JNK) and its two direct activators, namely the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) kinase 4 (MKK4) andMKK7, constitute a signaling node frequently mutated in human pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Here we demonstrate the cooperative interaction of endogenous expression of Kras with loss-of-function mutations in mkk4 or both, mkk4 and mkk7 genes in the pancreas. More specifically, impaired JNK signaling in a subpopulation of Pdx1-expressing cells dramatically accelerated the appearance of Kras-induced acinar-to-ductal metaplasia and pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasias, which rapidly progressed to invasive PDAC within 10 weeks of age. Furthermore, inactivation of mkk4/mkk7 compromised acinar regeneration following acute inflammatory stress by locking damaged exocrine cells in a permanently de-differentiated state. Therefore, we propose that JNK signaling exerts its tumor suppressive function in the pancreas by antagonizing themetaplastic conversion of acinar cells toward a ductal fate capable of responding to oncogenic stimulation. Cancer Res; 74(12); 3344–56. 2014 AACR.


Selecting an appropriate research strategy is key to ensuring that research questions are addressed in a way which has value and is congruent with the overall topic, questions and purpose of the research. This paper will argue that there are situations when a case study strategy is appropriate to use in palliative care research. These include: when complex situations need to be addressed; when context is central to the study; when multiple perspectives need to be recognized; when the design needs to be flexible; when the research needs to be congruent with clinical practice; when there is no strong theory to which to appeal; and when other methodologies could be difficult to conduct. Using case study strategies rigorously and appropriately can contribute to knowledge in a way which is sensitive to the complex, context-dependent and multiprofessional nature of palliative care.


We intend to realize the step-up and step-down operators of the potential V(x) = V1e2βx + V2eβx. It is found that these operators satisfy the commutation relations for the SU(2) group. We find the eigenfunctions and the eigenvalues of the potential by using the Laplace transform approach to study the Lie algebra satisfied the ladder operators of the potential under consideration. Our results are similar to the ones obtained for the Morse potential (β → −β).


Congenital hyperinsulinism of Infancy (CHI) can be associated with cardiac problems such as septal hypertrophy and reversible hypertrophic cardiomyopathy1 2 however, the prevalence and range of cardiac abnormalities in CHI has not been well investigated. Aims and methods With National Research Ethics Service approval and consent, we retrospectively reviewed the prevalence of cardiac abnormalities in 48 children with CHI. 43 patients were genotyped for potassium channel (KATP) mutations. Echocardiography was used to detect structural abnormalities and parameters for left/right/biventricular hypertrophy (LVH/RVH/BVH) that is, interventricular septal thickness in diastole (IVSd) and left ventricular posterior wall diameter (LVPWd) were used to quantify cardiac dysfunction, with serial echocardiography to assess cardiac improvement. ECG were used to corroborate muscle hypertrophy. Results In our cohort of 48 children, 94% (45/48) required diazoxide therapy for CHI management and 48.8% (21/43) had positive KATP mutations. Median age at echocardiography was 23 days (5 days to 10.8 years). Cardiac structural abnormalities were present in 15 (31%) (five patent ductus arteriosus, four atrial septal defect, two ventricular septal defect, two branch pulmonary artery stenosis, one aortic stenosis and one aberrant subclavian artery). Myocardial hypertrophy was present in 29(60%) [23 LVH, 1 RVH, 5 BVH]. Z scores for LVPWd and IVSd were more than 2SD above mean in 51% and 48% of patients respectively. ECG abnormalities consistent with myocardial hypertrophy were present in only 24% (5/21). Cardiac medications (diuretics, digoxin, β blockers) were required in seven (15%), with improved function and discontinuation of therapy in six (75%). No significant associations were found between birthweights, genotypes and cardiac defects using χ2 analysis. Conclusion Our results show that 60% of CHI patients had echocardiographic evidence of myocardial hypertrophy and 15% (7/48) with myocardial hypertrophy at baseline required cardiac supportive treatment with reversal of pathology in 75% (6/7). About a third of patients had cardiac structural abnormalities. We advocate early cardiac assessment in infants with CHI, with baseline echocardiography as the investigation of choice.


The reachability analysis of weighted pushdown systems is a very powerful technique in verification and analysis of recursive programs. Each transition rule of a weighted pushdown system is associated with an element of a bounded semiring representing the weight of the rule. However, we have realized that the restriction of the boundedness is too strict and the formulation of weighted pushdown systems is not general enough for some applications.

To generalize weighted pushdown systems, we first introduce the notion of stack signatures that summarize the effect of a computation of a pushdown system and formulate pushdown systems as automata over the monoid of stack signatures. We then generalize weighted pushdown systems by introducing semirings indexed by the monoid and weaken the boundedness to local boundedness.


Introduction According to Anthony Cronin, "the Beckett man belongs to no category, no class, no nationality or community" (2006: 88). This statement epitomizes an important current in the critical reception of Samuel Beckett that has emphasized the centrality in his works of the solipsistic and self-enclosed individual, and the absence--or deprecating undermining--of meaningful forms of collective affiliation. This critical tendency has generated a series of concepts and ideas that have become commonplace in our reading of Beckett, such as the Cartesian split between mind and body; (2) the isolated and alienated subject; (3) or the impossibility of communication, mainly due to the barrier erected by language between ourselves and others. (4) Beckettian characters are presented as alien to operative communities of any kind--national, religious, political or ideological--, (5) something which cannot be seen as separate from what Cunningham (2008) has called the "abstraction" of Beckett's writings: the extremely oblique, ambiguous, formalized and scarce presence of social and historical references, if they appear at all. (6) The protagonism of the isolated individual and the absence of the community are counterbalanced in Beckett's narrative and theatre by what we could call an intermediate social form, namely, the pair of characters or the couple: Gogo and Didi, Pozzo and Lucky, Winnie and Willie, Nagg and Nell, Hamm and Clov, Murphy and Celia, or Mercier and Camier. This has been seen as a device used to explore other issues and concerns. (7) However, the most common critical tendency has been to identify in Beckett's engagement with the pair of lovers, friends or relatives a parodic or sardonic portrayal of love, friendship and family that undermines any high ideals we may associate with them and that points to the impossibility of going beyond our individual desires and needs, (8) together with a reflection on the power, cruelty and potential suffering that haunts every human relationship. (9) In any case, what the persistent presence of the pair of characters highlights is the impossibility of complete isolation and solipsism, the way the ego is always haunted by imaginary or real others, (10) and the tension between individuality and collectivity. In the particular case of the The Trilogy, which constitutes the focus of this essay, the novels' main characters and narrators are haunted by certain others who seem to function as their doubles, with whom their identities end up merging, but whose existence is uncertain. Thus, in the second part of Molloy, the agent Jacques Moran sets out on the search for Molloy, whose story is traced in the first part, only to end up uncannily resembling him. Malone creates a character called MacMann, who seems to become Malone himself, and in The Unnamable, it is impossible to draw a line between the speaking voice and the stories he tells of Worm and Mahood. But I would like to go beyond the pair of characters and analyze the presence, however veiled and indeterminate, of a wider collectivity that assumes different forms along the Trilogy --the anonymous 'they' to whom Molloy hands in his texts, the organization to which Malone belongs, the asylum in which MacMann lives, or those whom the Unnamable calls his "delegates" (Beckett 1955: 297) and "tormentors" (347)--and to which the different narrators always resist. My argument is that the subtraction from forms of community and collective affiliation that we find in the Trilogy can be seen in the light of Alain Badiou's critique of communitarian ethics and his conception of the state of the historical-social situation as dealing with collective subsets and not with individuals (2007: 105). Following Andrew Gibson's response to Badiou and Beckett, and in particular his vision of The Unnamable as a text characterized by rage and the rejection of established ideas, I would like to explore the possibility that it is their refusal to become part of a community and their resistance to a state demanding conformity and obedience that leads Molloy, Malone and especially the Unnamable to become isolated egos. …


Landslides are part of the natural environment and affect economy and communities worldwide at various scales. Consequently, methods of assessing landslide risk depend heavily on specific demands. Within this frame, spatial landslide hazard and risk assessments are an important tool to support local and regional communities. These assessments include hazard and risk analysis, risk perception and a sustainable risk management. In Bildudalur, Iceland, hazard analysis was performed at 1:5,000 scale and is build on landslide hazard determined by a combination of heuristic analysis, in particular geomorphological assessment, and process modelling. The investigation was focussed on debris flows and rock falls only. Resulting landslide maps give run-out distances of different sized landslide events. This information is assigned to hazard classes expressing through its magnitude the probability of occurrence of a given magnitude within a given region. Risk analysis in Rheinhessen, Germany is based on landslide hazard derived from multivariate statistical analysis at scale 1:25,000. Landslide types were not differentiated specifically, however, most landslides in this region are shallow, translational earth and debris slides and flows. Risk elements were mapped and categorized from aerial photographs and land use plans. Potential damage was calculated as average values based on official German statistics sources. Due to missing information, vulnerability was assigned as 1 (highly vulnerable) thus analysis returns a worst case scenario. Resulting landslide risk map identifies high risk areas in urban settings. Within their scale of investigation, both approaches demonstrate their importance for prevention strategies, in particular for planning and mitigation purposes. The examples are linked to an overall scheme of landslide risk assessment, which has the potential to include other natural hazards and consequently might lead to a mutli-natural risk assessment.


Demographic impacts that will disrupt traditional demand management policy tools are examined. Given the demographics of aging, the lifecycle of consumption for a country, as well as an individual, this paper concludes that one of the key drivers of demand management policy will disappear from many of the wealthy economies over the next 30 years. Economists often speak of the liquidity trap justifying fi scal stimulus. The new mantra may become "forget the liquidity trap, it's the demographic trap" that weighs down the economy. As a result, systemic issues will loom large, affecting housing demand, development models, and portfolio valuations for many of the pension funds needed to support an aging population. Narrowly focused upon household (de)formation, the paper's analysis allows to draw wider implications of the impact of the aging populations.


Nowadays, terms like: confusion, chaos and competition are the main characteristics of the present global business environment. As a result, companies and enterprises are encountered a more complex and competitive environment in comparison to the past. Therefore, if they want to survive in this environment and remain competitive, should deliver their products to the target markets with higher quality, lower prices and apace. One of the secrets of success in this condition is the integration of business processes, so that, the integration of supply chain management is in priority. For getting to this integration, sharing related information among supply chain partners is absolutely crucial. Currently, Information Technology, by facilitating accessibility to comprehensive information plays a key role in this regard. The main purpose of this dissertation is to present an obvious image of benefits and advantages of the
electronic supply chain management and persuading the managers of different industries to adopt this valuable concept in all the
stages of their organizations. In fact, by applying, Sustainable balanced score card technique, the impact of electronic supply chain management on the performance of SMEs, regarding to perspectives such as economic, social, internal process, learning and growth and environmental is evaluated. In this study, the statistical society includes two groups: 1-Online stores located in Tehran, 2-Factories producing food products located in Abbas-Abad industrial estate. Data are collected from a questionnaire survey. In addition, the SPSS software is used to analyze the data. The results indicate that, electronic supply chain management just has positive impacts on economic and learning and growth performances of small and medium sized enterprises.


Metal substrates are excellent alternatives to conducting plastic substrates in flexible solar cells because of the possible sintering process at high temperature. However, the investigation of cells with flexible metal substrates has only recently started with titanium, tungsten, and stainless steel. It was found that they formed semiconductor oxides after the sintering process. In this paper, we probed the properties of dye sensitized solar cells with the metal substrates prepared in three different ways-a bare metal sheet, indium tin oxide (ITO) sputter coating on a bare metal sheet, and ITO sputter coating after the addition of a SiO x layer on the metal sheet. The best cell efficiency was obtained from the cell with bare Ti because it formed a TiO 2 layer which was identical to the main working electrode. When an ITO layer was added, fill factors (FFs) increased for W and SUS 304 and FF decreased for Ti; the addition of a SiO x layer led to a short circuit current increase and FF decrease. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy was taken and analyzed to characterize the resistance element in each circuit, and the corresponding effects were discussed. A new impedance element resulting from the SiO x insulating layer was classified from electrochemical impedance spectroscopic data.


As Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) are developing frequently, new learning approaches have been introduced to facilitate teaching and learning processes. Mobile devices are growing in popularity and there has been an increasing interest in their potential as innovative tools for learning. Mobile learning or shortly (M-learning) is a new learning approach intending to use mobile devices such as laptops, smart phones and personal digital assistant (PDA) in learning process in any place and at any time. M-learning application needs to be designed in a way that considers the special features and constraints of mobile devices such as screen size, available storage, processor speed and battery life. This paper explores the existing design approaches for M-learning and highlights their main limitations. As a step forward in this direction, this paper also proposes a new design approach for M-learning applications focusing mainly on three main aspects: learner, learning content and technology. The approach consists of three phases: starting dimensions (SD) phase, M-learning Development (MLD) phase and Learning Content Design (LCD) phase. Finally, this paper provides a case study scenario to demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed approach.


Existing software process models such as Waterfall and XP are characterised by unstated assumptions, a consequence of which is that we can not easily compare models or transfer data from one model to another. This means that software planners have no mechanism for selecting process activities that are best suited to individual projects. In this paper, we propose a framework for modelling software processes that supports representation and comparison of different kinds of software process. Our framework is based on a lift in focus from 'choosing activities' to 'identifying project objectives and selecting activities to meet those objectives'. We overview some evidence to support the claims of representation and comparison and discuss benefits and limitations of the approach.


Hyper-IgE syndrome is a complex primary immunodeficiency involving the immune system, bones, connective tissue and teeth. Along with the high levels of total IgE, syndromic complexity is due to mutations in the STAT3 gene, with subsequent changes in cytokine cascades, with resonance in immunological and somatic changes. The authors describe the essential features of hiper IgE syndrome, exemplified by a clinical case.


Urban transport problems in Pakistan are managed by building larger and better roads. By contrast, the principles of sustainable transport encourage using low-cost public transport that could perform well in mixed land use and high density Pakistani cities. The aim of this paper is to provide a critical overview of public transport policy in Pakistan from the British India period through to recent years. This overview highlights the core problem of the continuing failure of Pakistani cities to develop and manage their public transport systems in such a way as to provide a high level of mobility, equity, and environmental sustainability. The paper identifies several factors, including the importance of governance, capacity building, and urban planning in providing adequate, efficient, and effective public transport in Pakistan.


PURPOSE
To prospectively assess patient anxiety, understanding of the procedure being performed, perception of pain level, and satisfaction with medication given for a variety of diagnostic and therapeutic vascular and visceral (nonvascular) interventional procedures.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
The authors interviewed 204 patients before and after they underwent an interventional radiologic procedure. Patients responded to a series of questions by using a visual analog scale. Patients were grouped according to (a) their level of experience with the procedure and (b) the type of procedure performed (diagnostic or therapeutic visceral procedure or diagnostic or therapeutic vascular procedure).

RESULTS
Patients who had previous experience with a procedure, whether visceral or vascular, were less anxious, had more understanding, and anticipated less pain than did those who did not have experience with a procedure. Patients who had only local anesthesia for visceral biopsy experienced greater pain than did those who had both local and intravenous anesthesia. Satisfaction scores, however, were similar throughout all groups.

CONCLUSION
Patients have a moderate amount of anxiety about interventional procedures and anticipate some discomfort. Most patients have a high level of satisfaction despite the amount of pain they experience during the procedure. Patients experienced with a procedure tend to have a greater understanding of the procedure and less anxiety.


The rapidly changing educational landscape is of increasing importance in university teaching. Universities in Finland are responsible for research and education based on research. Traditionally information and support services related to using and producing knowledge, support research, and education has mostly been seen purely from the students´ perspective. Teaching in universities is still a hidden individual activity, and, as such, challenges the support units to reach and interact with the academic community. This paper will review the aspects influencing the use and production of digital information and knowledge in technical university education; examples illustrating the experiences will be given.


The implementation of a load balancing policy on a continuous basis in a delay-limited distributed computing environment may not only drain the computational resources of each computational element (CE), but can also lead to an unnecessary exchange of loads between the CEs. This degrades the system performance, measured by the overall completion time of the total tasks in the system. Thus, for a given distribution of the load among the CEs, there has to be an optimal number and distribution of discrete balancing instants. This paper focuses on #xing the number of balancing instants and optimizing the completion time over the strength of load balancing, which is controlled by the so-called gain parameter, and the time when the balancing is executed. First, the case when the load balancing is implemented at a single instant per node is presented. Then, a strategy is considered where a second load balancing instant is allowed for each node. The simulations show that both strategies outperform the continuous balancing policy. Moreover, with the double load-balancing strategy the overall completion time is further reduced in comparison to the single load balancing case. It is also seen that the optimal choice of the gain parameter depends on the delay and this dependence becomes more significant as the delays increase. This interplay between the strength of load balancing and the magnitude delay has a direct effect on the performance of the policy and on the sensitivity to the selection of the balancing instants.


Forecasting is a key activity for any business to operate efficiently. It is becoming increasingly common to have to regularly forecast many millions of time series. The dramatic increase in the availability of large collections of time series raises the need for developing reliable efficient and automatic algorithms for forecasting. This thesis presents three such algorithms for large-scale applications based on the meta-learning approach. Each of these algorithms uses vectors of features computed from time series to guide the way the forecasts are computed. The results show the proposed algorithms perform well compared to competitive methods in large forecasting competitions.


A simple approach is formulated to predict the elastic, kinematic pile bending during harmonic or transient excitation for a circular pile (rather than a simplified thin strip). The kinematic response of a pile embedded in two-layer soil is resolved in the frequency domain caused by the upward propagation of shear waves from the underlying bedrock. The simplified approach is generally valid to nonhomogeneous soil profiles, in light of the good comparison with the dynamic FE method and BDWF solution. It employs the soil-displacement-influence coefficients to consider the pile-soil interaction (resembling the spring constant in the BDWF) and provides conservative estimations of maximum kinematic bending moments at the soil-layer interface (with a sharper stiffness contrast). The accuracy of the approach may be improved by incorporating the interaction of soil into the soil-displacement-influence coefficients for such cases with .


Climate models have traditionally only repre- sented heat and water fluxes within relatively shallow soil layers, but there is increasing interest in the possible role of heat and water exchanges with the deeper subsurface. Here, we integrate an idealized 50 m deep aquifer into the land sur- face module of the GISS ModelE general circulation model to test the influence of aquifer-soil moisture and heat ex- changes on climate variables. We evaluate the impact on the modeled climate of aquifer-soil heat and water fluxes sepa- rately, as well as in combination. The addition of the aquifer to ModelE has limited impact on annual-mean climate, with little change in global mean land temperature, precipitation, or evaporation. The seasonal amplitude of deep soil tempera- ture is strongly damped by the soil-aquifer heat flux. This not only improves the model representation of permafrost area but propagates to the surface, resulting in an increase in the seasonal amplitude of surface air temperature of > 1 K in the Arctic. The soil-aquifer water and heat fluxes both slightly decrease interannual variability in soil moisture and in land- surface temperature, and decrease the soil moisture memory of the land surface on seasonal to annual timescales. The re- sults of this experiment suggest that deepening the modeled land surface, compared to modeling only a shallower soil col- umn with a no-flux bottom boundary condition, has limited impact on mean climate but does affect seasonality and inter- annual persistence.


In their article about countertransference and vicarious trauma in work with sexual offenders, Barros and colleagues highlight the importance of awareness of risk for vicarious trauma in forensic psychiatrists and psychologists. This commentary supports the need for more research related to the risk of vicarious trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in forensic experts. Also, forensic mental health professionals need to be aware of the level of risk to which they are exposed in their work evaluating and treating sexual offenders. As more knowledge has developed about PTSD and the diagnostic criteria have evolved between the fourth and fifth editions of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, there is also more awareness of the effects of traumatic exposure on different professional groups and laypeople. For example, judicial authorities in Canada have recently become aware of the traumatic impacts of evidentiary material on jurors, including testimony, print, and video material. Workplace exposure to trauma in inpatient psychiatric centers has received limited research focus. Actual or threatened death or sexual violation in these settings can result in compassion fatigue and burnout. Exposure to video material in the workplace, particularly in forensic settings, can result in PTSD.


In prion and Alzheimer's diseases, the roles played by amyloid versus nonamyloid deposits in brain damage remain unresolved. In scrapie-infected transgenic mice expressing prion protein (PrP) lacking the glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) membrane anchor, abnormal protease-resistant PrPres was deposited as amyloid plaques, rather than the usual nonamyloid form of PrPres. Although PrPres amyloid plaques induced brain damage reminiscent of Alzheimer's disease, clinical manifestations were minimal. In contrast, combined expression of anchorless and wild-type PrP produced accelerated clinical scrapie. Thus, the PrP GPI anchor may play a role in the pathogenesis of prion diseases.


Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to review extant literature and present a proposed research agenda to examine whether environmental, i.e. green performance measures, can be integrated within an existing supply chain performance framework, explore what a meaningful industry‐recognised environmental measure should look like, and understand the direct benefits of incorporating environmental measures within a supply chain performance framework.Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on an extensive literature review in four key areas: performance management, supply chain performance management, environmental management and benchmarking.Findings – The literature suggests there is an opportunity to explore the relationship between the environment and logistics and that environmental supply chain performance measurement (SCPM) should enable organisations to more effectively benchmark their supply chain environmental performance. A framework incorporating these notions and a research agenda for em...


The U-Pb and 4 0 Ar/ 3 9 Ar studies of a unique exposure of crystalline basement along the Jurassic-Early Cretaceous Bangong suture of central Tibet reveal previously unrecognized records of Mesozoic metamorphism, magmatism, and exhumation. The basement includes Cambrian and older orthogneisses that underwent amphibolite facies metamorphism coeval with extensive granitoid emplacement at 185-170 Ma. The basement cooled to ∼300 °C by 165 Ma and was exhumed to upper crustal levels in the hanging wall of a south-directed thrust system during Early Cretaceous time. We attribute Jurassic metamorphism and magmatism to the development of a continental arc during Bangong Ocean subduction, and Early Cretaceous exhumation to northward continental underthrusting of the Lhasa terrane beneath the Qiangtang terrane. We speculate that a Jurassic arc extended regionally along the length of the Bangong suture, but in all other places in Tibet has been buried, either depositionally or structurally, beneath supracrustal assemblages.


Splicing is a fundamental process during the expression of most human gene transcripts, with alternative splicing frequently occurring in a tissue-specific and/or developmental manner to further increase our genetic plasticity. We have shown that antisense oligomers can specifically redirect pre-mRNA processing by either excising a selected exon (blocking positive enhancer elements), or promote retention of an exon normally excluded from the mature mRNA (masking splice silencer motifs). Therapeutic alternative splicing is now in clinical trials to address Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), the most common and serious form of childhood muscle wasting. Protein truncating mutations in the DMD gene that preclude synthesis of a functional protein can be removed during dystrophin pre-mRNA processing with splice switching oligomers. Targeting dystrophin exon 51 for excision will restore functional dystrophin expression in the most common subset of DMD deletion patients (about 10% of DMD boys). Following Phase 1 and 2a trials in the UK, an extended placebo-controlled study was initiated under the sponsorship of Sarepta Therapeutics in Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, Ohio. The trial has now been underway for nearly 3 years and clinically significant differences were observed, with treated boys maintaining similar levels of ambulation over the trial period. No serious adverse events have been reported and the trial remains ongoing. These promising DMD trial results have renewed enthusiasm to pursue splice intervention therapies for other disorders. Spinal muscular atrophy, cystic fibrosis, myotonic dystrophy, facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy, asthma, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and stroke are just some of the conditions currently under investigation in our laboratory. An estimated 15% of human mutations induce aberrant splicing and splice switching oligomers may be used as a personalized genetic therapy, regardless of the mutated gene.


SOIL MANAGEMENT AND NITROGEN FERTILIZATION ON WINTER IRRIGATED COMMON BEAN The adoption of a system that facilitates to improve the conditions of soil, associated to nitrogen supply, can be very important to increase the plant efficiency IN using available resources. With the purpose of evaluating the effect of soil management and different stadia of nitrogen application on the development and production of winter irrigated common bean crop, a field experiment was carried out in Selvíria County, State of Mato Grosso do Sul, in the fall – winter growing season of 2002, 2003 and 2004. A randomized block design was used, with 24 treatments, constituted by three soil management system (heavy disk + leveling disk, chisel ploughing + leveling disk and no tillage) and eight stadia of nitrogen application (control without N application, at sowing – S, V3 stadium, V4 stadium, 1/2 S + 1/2 V3, 1/2 S + 1/2 V4, 1/2 V3 + 1/2 V4 and 1/3 S + 1/3 V3 + 1/3 V4), with 4 replications. As conclusion, for the three years of cropping, in only one of them, the no till system provided larger yield in the winter common bean irrigated by aspersion in relation to the conventional soil management. The stadia of nitrogen application did not provide differences in the yield of the bean plant. The nitrogen fertilization provided, on average of three crops, an increase of 62% in the yield of the common bean plant as compared with the control without N.


The built environment is responsible for approximately 50% of the carbon emissions on the planet. Therefore, it is of major importance to reduce the carbon footprint of our structures to better preserve our environment for future generations. Furthermore, studies demonstrate that flooring systems can be responsible for 70% of material consumption in high rise buildings, and about the same proportion of embodied carbon energy. Based on these considerations, this thesis suggests a new form of concrete slab and quantifies its efficiency in terms of material, carbon energy and cost savings compared to a traditional reinforced concrete flooring system. The proposed form of concrete slab is constructed using fabric formwork. It provides the flexibility and ease of construction needed to build such a low-volume structural shape. After establishing that this slab can be about 50% lighter than a traditional reinforced concrete slab, the thesis models and quantifies the savings in other parts of the structure and shows that the embodied carbon footprint of the entire building can be reduced by approximately 50%.


Patients with Trigeminal Neuralgia First Consult Dentists and Will Receive Treatment for Odontogenic Pain.
Background: Trigeminal neuralgia (TN) is characterized by sharp, lancating pain, frequently involving the maxillary and the mandibular distribution of the trigeminal nerve. Hence, TN is an important differential diagnosis to odontogenic pain. Little is known about the frequency of dental misjudgment and unnecessary treatment.
Material and Methods: We conducted a retrospective telephone survey of TN patients that were surgically treated at our institution. Patients were asked to identify whether a physician or dentist was initially consulted when TN symptoms first developed. Patients seen by a dentist were asked what further diagnostic tests were performed and what treatment they underwent. Furthermore, the time interval from first consultation to establishment of the correct diagnosis and diagnosis directed treatment was noted. Secondly, using a written questionnaire only, local dentists were asked to self-assess their level of confidence in identifying TN as a differential diagnosis to odontogenic pain. The study was approved by the Institutional Review Board.
Results: Using the electronic operative log, we identified 118 surgical procedures (82 percutaneous rhizotomies, 33 microvascular decompressions and 3 other procedures) for TN in 93 patients from January 2003 until December 2008. Of these, 51 patients (55%) were accessible and willing to participate in the study. The majority (n=46, 84%) of included patients consulted a dentist first for the evolving symptoms. In only two of these cases (4,8%) the dentist established the diagnosis of TN, 27 (64%) of the remaining patients received various forms of treatment, including extractions of a total of 50 teeth in 14 patients and 13 root canal treatments in four patients. Nearly half the patients (46,4%) were refered to neurologic institution after 1 year or longer. Of 50 dentists that responded to our questionnaire (return rate of 51%), 74,5% felt they would be able to identify patients with TN.
Conclusions: The vast majority of TN patients initially consult their dentist, and still a high percentage will receive dental surgical treatment before the correct diagnosis of TN is established. These figures have been underestimated so far, the number of actual cases might be higher. Better education by neurosurgical and neurological specialists is needed, focusing on the public as well as on dentists and dental surgeons, to overcome pitfalls in the diagnosis and treatment of this debilitating disorder.


Given a telecommunication network, modeled by a graph with capacities, we are interested in comparing the behavior and usefulness of two information propagation schemes, namely multicast and network coding, when the aforementioned network is subject to single arc failure. We consider the case with a single source node and a set of terminal nodes. The problem of studying the maximum quantity of information that can be routed from the source to each terminal, using either multicast replication alone or combined with network coding, has been extensively studied. Multicast protocols allow an intermediate node to replicate its input data towards several output interfaces, and network coding refers to the ability for an intermediate node to perform coding operations on its inputs, for example linear combinations, releasing a coded information ow on its outputs. We consider the survivability extension of the throughput maximization problem where any single arc can fail. We model such a failure by removing this arc from our graph thus losing a part of the information ow of our static routing. Our aim is to design models and algorithms to compute the survivable maximum throughput in multicast network and compare results obtained with and without network coding. The survivable coding advantage is de ned as the quotient of the optimal throughput obtained using survivable network coding over the survivable multicast optimal throughput. We provide theoretical and experimental results on this last quantity.


The discovery of the Carnian Pluvial Episode arose through a chance conversation bringing together two seemingly unrelated strands of research: the extinction of some Triassic crinoids and the stratigraphy of the non-marine Mercia Mudstone Group. Investigations revealed a hitherto unrecognized period of climate change seemingly linked to a largely overlooked episode of biotic turnover. Ignored for more than a decade, an upsurge of interest in recent years has validated our original findings and answered some of the key questions concerning its extent and ultimate cause.


In the Weddell Sea oceanographic data and numerical models demonstrate that Ice Shelf Water, one ingredient in the production of Weddell Sea Bottom Water, is formed by thermohaline interaction of High Salinity Shelf Water with the base of the Filchner-Ronne ice shelves. South of Berkner Island a passage with a water column thickness of about 300 m linking the Filchner and the Ronne regimes is important for the ventilation of the sub-ice shelf cavities. To simulate the flow we tested a two-dimensional thermohaline circulation model on several sections which approximate different geometries of a sub-ice shelf channel bounded by the ocean bottom and the ice shelf base. Temperature and salinity profiles measured in front of the Filchner-Ronne ice shelves are used to force the model. The results indicate that the circulation is sensitive to both salinity (density) forcing and depth of the shelf bottom prescribed at the open boundary representing the Ronne Ice Shelf edge. Where the shelf is shallow, 400 m deep, a closed circulation cell within the Ronne cavity acts like an ice pump with accumulation rates of marine ice at the ice shelf base up to 1.5 m y−1. The total outflow at the Ronne Ice Shelf edge is supported by an inflow from the Filchner regime. Where the shelf is deeper, a flow from the Ronne into the Filchner cavity develops if the bottom salinity at the Ronne Ice Shelf edge exceeds a critical value of 34.67. Seasonal variability imposed at both edges modifies the circulation pattern at the Filchner Ice Shelf edge such that the depth and magnitude of Ice Shelf Water outflow correspond with observations in the Filchner Depression.


We consider the problem of handling missing data with deep latent variable models (DLVMs). First, we present a simple technique to train DLVMs when the training set contains missing-at-random data. Our approach, called MIWAE, is based on the importance-weighted autoencoder (IWAE), and maximises a potentially tight lower bound of the log-likelihood of the observed data. Compared to the original IWAE, our algorithm does not induce any additional computational overhead due to the missing data. We also develop Monte Carlo techniques for single and multiple imputation using a DLVM trained on an incomplete data set. We illustrate our approach by training a convolutional DLVM on incomplete static binarisations of MNIST. Moreover, on various continuous data sets, we show that MIWAE provides extremely accurate single imputations, and is highly competitive with state-of-the-art methods.


Online quantum state learning is a recently proposed problem by Aaronson et al. (2018), where the learner sequentially predicts $n$-qubit quantum states based on given measurements on states and noisy outcomes. In the previous work, the algorithms are worst-case optimal in general but fail in achieving tighter bounds in certain simpler or more practical cases. In this paper, we develop algorithms to advance the online learning of quantum states. First, we show that Regularized Follow-the-Leader (RFTL) method with Tallis-2 entropy can achieve an $O(\sqrt{MT})$ total loss with perfect hindsight on the first $T$ measurements with maximum rank $M$. This regret bound depends only on the maximum rank $M$ of measurements rather than the number of qubits, which takes advantage of low-rank measurements. Second, we propose a parameter-free algorithm based on a classical adjusting learning rate schedule that can achieve a regret depending on the loss of best states in hindsight, which takes advantage of low noisy outcomes. Besides these more adaptive bounds, we also show that our RFTL with Tallis-2 entropy algorithm can be implemented efficiently on near-term quantum computing devices, which is not achievable in previous works.


This research considers the mathematical performance of Irish second-level students. The author considers the ability of Irish students to utilise the mathematics learned in a classroom situation to solve authentic, real-life problems. It is a mixed methods study involving testing, structured observations and semi-structured interviews. The research participants are Irish second-year, second-level mathematics students and grade 8 students from a school in the state of Massachusetts (both groups share a mean age of 13.5 years). The students from Massachusetts were involved solely at the testing stage of the data collection process in order to consider Irish performance with regard to mathematical performance from students in a different education system.
The observed mathematics lessons provide a valuable insight into the teaching and learning practices used at second-level. The quantitative analysis of the classroom observations highlight patterns and learning theories used in the mathematics lessons observed with interesting results. Two tests were implemented: one traditional in format and based on the Irish Junior Certificate examination; the second consisting of an authentic scenario where students are asked to demonstrate their mathematical comprehension when faced with questions posed in an unfamiliar manner. Statistical analysis of both tests, using a two-sample t-test and a one-way ANOVA, provide the comparison techniques required to consider students performance and highlight various similarities and differences between the test results. The final stage in the data collection process involved semi-structured interviews with the mathematics teachers which provide qualitative data to enrich the findings from the quantitative aspects of the study.
The findings provide an interesting insight into the ability of Irish students to solve mathematics when presented in a traditional, familiar context consisting of closed-ended questions compared with their ability to solve mathematical
questions that are unfamiliar in style and consist of realistic, open-ended, messy questions. This study suggests that an ability to perform well in a traditional examination does not necessarily illustrate an ability to utilise the mathematics learned for examination success when faced with unfamiliar scenarios. The Irish students involved in this research performed at a significantly higher standard in the traditional test given compared with a lack-luster performance in the realistic test. The same pattern held true for the Massachusetts' cohort; however the gap in performance between the two test types was considerably smaller for these students.
An inability to utilise school-learned mathematics when solving real-life problems is a worrying phenomenon and the author hopes that this body of work will engage educators and policy makers in discussion, thus contributing to progress in this field.


This book looks at a much-debated phenomenon in contemporary cinema: the re-emergence of filmmaking practices – and, by extension, of theoretical approaches – that give precedence to cinema as the medium of sensation. France offers an intriguing case in point here. A specific sense of momentum comes from the work of a group of filmmakers bent on exploring cinema's unique capacity to move us both viscerally and intellectually. Though extremely diverse, the films of Olivier Assayas, Catherine Breillat, Claire Denis, Vincent Dieutre, Bruno Dumont, Bertrand Bonello, Philippe Grandrieux, Pascal Ferrand and Nicolas Klotz, to name but a few, demonstrate a characteristic awareness of cinema's sensory impact and transgressive nature. In effect, with its interweaving of theoretical enquiry and film analysis, and its emphasis on the materiality of film, Cinema and Sensation's approach could also apply to the work of comparable filmmakers like David Lynch, Abel Ferrara or Wong Kar-Wai. Cinema and Sensation draws on the writings of Antonin Artaud, George Bataille and Gilles Deleuze, whilst also responding to the continuing interest in theories of haptic visuality (Laura Marks) and embodied spectatorship (Vivian Sobchack) inspired by Maurice Merleau-Ponty's phenomenology.Explored as forms of embodied thought, the films are shown to offer alternative ways of approaching key existential and socio-cultural questions: desire, violence and abjection as well as the growing supremacy of technology, globalisation, exile and exclusion – these are the themes and issues that appear embedded here in the very texture of images and sounds.


Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a globally prevalent neurodevelopmental disorder for which early diagnosis and intervention is the mainstay of management. In the African continent, limited data is available regarding the non-clinic based samples. Lack of information available to caregivers and inadequate skilled manpower often limit early detection and access to the few available though under resourced services in the community. Community based screening can be an important drive to create awareness and improve information dissemination regarding services available for those living with this disorder. This is a descriptive cross-sectional study utilizing data obtained from participants of a community-based autism screening exercise. The surveillance exercise was part of the annual Orange Ribbon initiative for autism awareness and screening held in 2014. Data was obtained from 85 participants involved in the Autism Surveillance screening exercise within the Lagos community. Community public service radio announcements state wide and word of mouth were used to invite and enroll eligible participants to the screening and consultation exercise. A second stage screening and a brief sociodemographic questionnaire followed by a third stage clinical interview and evaluation using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders - 5 Edition (DSM 5) were used. Appropriate consultation and referrals to services in the community were given. Participants had a mean age of 7.53 years (SD 4.35). Twenty-nine (34.5%) met the diagnosis of ASD. Other diagnosis included attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), language and speech disorder, intellectual disability (8.3%) and learning disorders (9.5%). Main health concerns to caregivers were poor language development in all (100%), of which 11 (40.7%) were non-verbal; gaze avoidance was seen in 14 (48.3%) and challenging behavior in 12 (42.9%). Comorbidities included seizure disorders (3.4%) and ADHD (6.9%). Persons with autism had history of ASD behavior more often when compared to the other neurodevelopmental disorders and these findings were statistically significant. Referrals were given to caregivers to engage in services within the community. As seen in this study, community understanding of ASD is poor in such locations, in which many persons with other neurodevelopmental disorders are often presented as having autism. Caregivers in the study location are distressed by many symptoms associated with autism and their comorbid conditions. Currently there is an evident role for frequent large scale community based screening and autism awareness exercises possibly using inter-sectoral collaboration as a strategy.


To document an individual's longitudinal construction of risk is a logistically intensive task. To identify a logistically feasible approach, we review existing agent-based experience documentation approaches within the context of a specified risk source - performance of a transportation network. The most promising documentation method, GPS tracking, was then tested in a four month pilot study This study found that while GPS tracking documents an individual's activities in extreme detail, the psychological context of these activities is missing. To contextualize this data, the feasibility of applying three different hedonic psychology research methodologies is assessed. From the perspective offered by this pilot study, it is believed a daily survey documenting the individual's observed key experiences combined with a focused survey qualifying recent GPS documented experience variances shows potential for being a comprehensive and logistically feasible methodology for documenting an individual's longitudinal construction of risk.


OBJECTIVE To test the effects of implementing computer-assisted Monitoring of Individual Needs in Diabetes (MIND) in routine diabetes care on psychological status and glycemic control, identify predictors of poor psychological outcomes, and evaluate care providers' experiences. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS The MIND procedure was implemented as part of the annual review in diabetes clinics across eight countries in a prospective observational study with a 1-year follow-up. MIND encompasses well-being (World Health Organization Five Well-Being Index [WHO-5]), diabetes-related distress (Problem Areas in Diabetes [PAID]), a Life Event Inventory, and the patient's agenda for their consultation. Medical data and agreed case-management actions were retrieved from the charts. RESULTS Of the total 1,567 patients, 891 patients (57%) were monitored at a 1-year follow-up. Twenty-eight percent of the patients screened positive for depression and/or diabetes distress at baseline and considered cases, 17% of whom were receiving psychological care. Cases were significantly more often female and had type 2 diabetes and worse glycemic control compared with noncases. Clinically relevant improvements in WHO-5 and PAID were observed over time in cases, irrespective of referral (effects sizes 0.59 and 0.48, respectively; P < 0.0001). Glycemic control did not change. Female sex, life events, and concomitant chronic diseases were predictors of poor psychological outcomes. MIND was well received by patients and staff. CONCLUSIONS MIND appears suitable for screening and discussion of emotional distress as part of the annual review. Broader dissemination in diabetes care is recommendable, but sustainability will depend on reimbursement and availability of support services.


Two joint-transform correlator systems based on deformable-mirror-device (DMD) spatial light modulators and charge-coupled-device (CCD) video cameras are described. The system designs provide for real-time correlation between video-formatted input scenes and stored reference images. The DMD light modulators are used exclusively for inputting data in the optical stages of these systems, and the CCD cameras are used to provide the critical square-law detection required in joint-transform architectures. Experimental verification of the functionality of these DMD/CCD joint-transform systems is also presented.


Rehabilitation of large Anthropocene rivers requires engagement of diverse stakeholders across a broad range of sociopolitical boundaries. Competing objectives often constrain options for ecological restoration of large rivers whereas fewer competing objectives may exist in a subset of tributaries. Further, tributaries contribute toward building a "portfolio" of river ecosystem assets through physical and biological processes that may present opportunities to enhance the resilience of large river fishes. Our goal is to review roles of tributaries in enhancing mainstem large river fish populations. We present case histories from two greatly altered and distinct large-river tributary systems that highlight how tributaries contribute four portfolio assets to support large-river fish populations: 1) habitat diversity, 2) connectivity, 3) ecological asynchrony, and 4) density-dependent processes. Finally, we identify future research directions to advance our understanding of tributary roles and inform conservation actions. In the Missouri River United States, we focus on conservation efforts for the state endangered lake sturgeon, which inhabits large rivers and tributaries in the Midwest and Eastern United States. In the Colorado River, Grand Canyon United States, we focus on conservation efforts for recovery of the federally threatened humpback chub. In the Missouri River, habitat diversity focused on physical habitats such as substrate for reproduction, and deep-water habitats for refuge, whereas augmenting habitat diversity for Colorado River fishes focused on managing populations in tributaries with minimally impaired thermal and flow regimes. Connectivity enhancements in the Missouri River focused on increasing habitat accessibility that may require removal of physical structures like low-head dams; whereas in the Colorado River, the lack of connectivity may benefit native fishes as the disconnection provides refuge from non-native fish predation. Hydrologic variability among tributaries was present in both systems, likely underscoring ecological asynchrony. These case studies also described density dependent processes that could influence success of restoration actions. Although actions to restore populations varied by river system, these examples show that these four portfolio assets can help guide restoration activities across a diverse range of mainstem rivers and their tributaries. Using these assets as a guide, we suggest these can be transferable to other large river-tributary systems.


In this dissertation, I investigate the potential of boosting within the framework of relational rule learning. Boosting is a particularly robust and powerful technique to enhance the prediction accuracy of systems that learn from examples. Although boosting has been extensively studied in the last years for propositional learning systems, only little attention has been paid to boosting in relational learning. In this work, I identify the particular challenges brought about by boosting relational rule learners. I show that boosting can be accomplished successfully for relational rule learning, where success is defined in terms of prediction accuracy, learning time complexity and the interpretability of learning results. To this end, I propose C2RIB, an efficient, effective and usable boosted ILP learner which is based on a boosting framework and a relational rule learner, which together account for learning time complexity and understandability of learning results as the two specific challenges we are confronted with when boosting relational rule learners. A thorough empirical evaluation of C2RIB indicates that this particular boosted relational rule learner performs competitively with state-of-the-art ILP systems with respect to learning time, predictive accuracy, and interpretability of learning results. Furthermore, I investigate the potential of boosting for active relational feature selection. Feature selection, the search for a subset of most relevant features among the available ones, constitutes an important technique for systems that learn from examples to improve their efficiency and enhance the quality and interpretability of their results. Most feature selection methods in relational learning transform the given examples from a relational into a propositional representation in order to utilise a propositional feature selection algorithm. Moreover, existing approaches are passive in so far as they determine feature subsets to be used for learning prior to the actual learning process. In contrast, here I propose C2RIBD, a learning system that successfully embeds active feature selection into a boosted ILP learner, and selects relevant features on the basis of the current learning process without performing a change of representation. C2RIBD yields significant reductions of learning time complexity, while maintaining both the predictive accuracy and the intelligibility of the hypotheses that are learned.


Abstract SEA is currently becoming an important tool for sustainable development. The main principles of SEA are to incorporate environmental considerations to the process of development of strategic documents and to make the process of the decision-making more transparent. Over the past years, there have been an increasing number of countries especially transitional and developing countries such as Belarus that consider joining the international conventions for SEA such as EU Directive 2001/42/EC (the SEA Directive) and UNECE SEA Protocol. This research focuses on the capacity assessment for SEA implementation in Belarus. The benchmarks for SEA capacity assessment were defined. For identifying the approaches for SEA implementation in the countries in transition, the experience of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe was analyzed. The capacity assessment for Belarus was made involved three levels, namely, system level, as well as organizational and individual levels. The paper analyses strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats for SEA implementation in Belarus. The study concludes with some suggestions that might help to improve capacity for SEA implementation.


Both research and practice in recent decades have emphasised the benefits associated with various types of network structures. Most of these advocates seem to assume that networks are a novel phenomenon that can be explained as a response to problems inherent in the large, integrated business enterprise. This perception is representative of a general view of industry dynamics as a succession of waves of organising, dictated by selection patterns, in which more efficient forms displace outdated ones. Our point of departure is that networks did not spring out of nowhere in the 1980s. They have always been there, but were more or less 'hidden' since prevailing frameworks for the analysis of the business landscape were aligned with business recipes emphasising the characteristics and benefits of single companies, markets and hierarchies. The paper focuses on the mutual influence between business recipes and historical narratives of industrial development. We argue that dominant business recipes at a particular point in time are formed by interpretations of successful patterns of behaviour prevailing for current conditions. Business recipes tend to build their own momentum and continue to be exploited long after the conditions that gave rise to their emergence have disappeared. Eventually, new narratives emerge to explain epochal transformations, expose fissures in old recipes and inspire new patterns of business behaviour.


The ability to defer federal and state income taxes on both the periodic contribution and annual returns in a qualified retirement plan provides a well-known and powerful wealth accumulation tool. Given aggressive investing in these plans and a continuation of historic rates of return on financial assets, some investors will find that both income during the retirement years and the effective marginal tax rate will be higher than in the working years. Consequently, part of the additional expected return to taking greater risk would be lost to taxes. This article demonstrates that efficient (i.e., utility-maximizing) portfolio design should account for the potential for higher average and marginal income tax rates in retirement. Failure to fully consider the ultimate tax effects probably will result in a suboptimal portfolio of assets during both the accumulation and distribution phases. Essentially, assets may be invested with less risk and yet achieve the same or even higher levels of economic welfare. In general, failure to consider progressive taxes will tend to result in a portfolio being overinvested in higher-risk assets such as common stock.


Offshore outsourcing (OO) of business activities from North to South does not only relocate investments and jobs, it has also brought about new business demands on suppliers activities and their social and environmental impact. The objectives of the study are firstly, to explore whether offshore outsourcing (OO) activities of Malaysian firms (herein refers to as contracting firms) matter in corporate social responsibility practices, and secondly, to examine whether government policy and support matters in the CSR practices of the contracting firms. The focus is on Malaysian based local or foreign vendors, contract manufacturers or subcontractors in the electrical and electronics industry. The findings of the study indicate, firstly, that the level of CSR practices is positively influenced by the degree of OO activities. In addition, the study also concludes that other firms' attributes, namely the size of the company's workforce and degree of foreign ownership have a significant impact on the firms' CSR practices, while no apparent relationship is found with firms' profitability and leverage. Secondly, that the government plays an important role shaping the perception, rhetoric and organisation of CSR activities by firms; nevertheless, most contracting firms do not recognize any support for CSR upgrading from the government or local institutions.


Composites can be tailored to specific applications by adjusting process variables. These variables include those related to composition, such as volume fraction of the constituents and those associated with processing methods, methods that can affect composite topology. In the case of particle matrix composites, orientation of the inclusions affects the resulting composite properties, particularly so in instances where the particles can be oriented and arranged into structures. In this work, we study the effects of coupled electric and magnetic field processing with externally applied fields on those structures, and consequently on the resulting material properties that arise. The ability to vary these processing conditions with the goal of generating microstructures that yield target material properties adds an additional level of control to the design of composite material properties. Moreover, while analytical models allow for the prediction of resulting composite properties from constituents and composite topology, these models do not build upward from process variables to make these predictions.
 This work couples simulation of the formation of microscale architectures, which result from coupled electric and magnetic field processing of particulate filled polymer matrix composites, with finite element analysis of those structures to provide a direct and explicit linkages between process, structure, and properties. This work demonstrates the utility of these method as a tool for determining composite properties from constituent and processing parameters. Initial particle dynamics simulation incorporating electromagnetic responses between particles and between the particles and the applied fields, including dielectrophoresis, are used to stochastically generate representative volume elements for a given set of process variables. Next, these RVEs are analyzed as periodic structures using FEA yielding bulk material properties. The results are shown to converge for simulation size and discretization, validating the RVE as an appropriate representation of the composite volume. Calculated material properties are compared to traditional effective medium theory models. Simulations allow for mapping of composite properties with respect to not only composition, but also fundamentally from processing simulations that yield varying particle configurations, a step not present in traditional or more modern effective medium theories such as the Halpin Tsai or double-inclusion theories.


Finally, the aim of this project is to convert a normal boat into an autonomous one by using GPS technology. The acquisition of the GPS signals is performed by an external antenna that collects information of the boat, such as position, direction, speed, etc. and sends the information to the control system which modifies the angle of the rudder and throttle in order to sail through the desired route.


This paper deals with analysis of surface integrity after hard turning with wiper insert. Surface integrity expressed in terms of surface roughness, microstructure and residual stress state is compared with conventional insert geometry. Structure and stress state after hard turning is also compared with the following super finished and ball burnished surfaces. The results show that wiper cutting insert enables obtaining surface of low surface roughness at high feeds as well as more favourable stress and structure state as opposed to those produced by conventional insert. Surfaces produced by wiper insert exhibit higher resistance against mechanical load as those induced by ball burnishing.


Introduction: Inappropriate prescribing in the elderly is associated with poor clinical outcomes. Using 2015 Beers criteria update, we aimed to evaluate the prevalence of inappropriate medication prescribing among elderly non-critically ill inpatients and to identify factors associated with inappropriate prescribing. Materials and Method: This cross-sectional study included patients aged 65 years and over admitted to the internal medicine and surgical wards. Using 2015 Beers criteria, we assessed potentially inappropriate medication prescribing, both prior to admission and during the hospital stay. Binary logistic regression analysis was used to assess the predictors of PIM. Results: Among 351 patients, the use of at least one PIM was identified in 29.3% of cases prior to admission, 98% of which continued to receive PIMs during the hospital stay. Additionally, at least one potentially inappropriate medication was identified in 47.2% of patients during the hospital stay. The most common PIMs prior to admission were proton pump inhibitors (26.2%), followed by alpha blockers (5.1%) and digoxin (4%). Proton pump inhibitors were also the most common PIMs in the hospital (42.5%), followed by alpha blockers (4.8%) and metoclopramide (4.3%). According to the binary logistic regression analysis, factors that significantly affected PIM prescription in the hospital were the number of drugs prescribed in the hospital (odds ratio 1.222, P=0.001) and medical ward admission (odds ratio 1.686, P=0.035). Conclusion: There is an alarmingly high prevalence of PIM use among Jordanian elderly patients, with polypharmacy being its major factor.


The command link described was developed for use with a radar tracked, surface-to-surface guided missile. However, it has features which are applicable to a variety of other uses, wherever communications must be disguised and coded to prevent undesired interference, and to insure secrecy. The command link is of the time division variety, utilizing a pseudorandom command code, which code pulses are interspersed among a completely random set of pulses. A large variation is possible in the time between successive command pulses, in the time between complete commands, in the time of a complete command, in the time between random pulses (maximum and minimum values), and in the nature of the pseudorandomness. Automatic and continuous synchronism between transmitter and receiver is maintained by transmitting at intervals (not necessarily periodic) a single synchronizing pulse which is a part of the pseudorandom code. The synchronizing action can also be obtained from any or all of the other commands without the need for a separate synchronizing pulse, if desired. Note that the synchronizing pulses are nonperiodic, and are fully encoded. The synchronizing process in the receiver is unique in that a single pulse received does the job. The circuit utilizes 3-stage counter, operated continually in a counting mode from an internal oscillator, with the received synchronizing pulse resetting the counter to a fixed count. This reset serves to introduce a fixed time delay between the received pulse and the output of the third stage.


Talfiq, though not considered as one source of Islamic law, is frequently used by contemporary scholars. In fact, talfiq was not accepted by majority of classical scholars especially during the era of development of schools of jurisprudence. The period of reformation in Islam (tajdid) in the 20th century has initiated its popularity among the Muslim community particularly with the call to free them from the bondage of rigidness in adopting a particular school of jurisprudence. Talfiq, in fact is an alternative for contemporary scholars who find ijtihad (independent legal reasoning) limited and difficult to provide legal solutions. Yet, there are doubts on whether the ruling derives from talfiq should be treated as a permanent solution or temporary, at least, until the scholars are able to do ijtihad (independent legal reasoning) using recognised sources in the discipline of usul al-fiqh (principles of jurisprudence). As such, this thesis critically studies the concept of talfiq so as to include the scholarly debates between both the proponents and the opponents of talfiq. In order to see the application of this concept in the reality of modern society, this research will refer to the resolutions and decisions passed by The Shariah Advisory Council of Bank Negara Malaysia (SAC). The aim is to analyse to what extent that the use of talfiq is effective in solving issues pertaining to Islamic finance. Due to the global progress in Islamic finance, an analysis on methods used in formulating laws from other selected countries is done to ascertain the applicability of talfiq as the solution of Syariah problems. Hence, data collection includes both the library research and interviews which are further analysed using inductive, deductive and comparative methods. The study reveals that in today's world, talfiq is highly needed in the process of formulating laws. However, it should be treated as an alternative and not a requirement. Thus, its application should be controlled to avoid negative effects that would arise with it. The study also found that talfiq has been used as an alternative method in formulating rulings among the members of SAC. This is proven through the detailed analysis of its application in numbers of Syariah resolutions.


Background Arthritis (compression) gloves are commonly provided to people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and undifferentiated inflammatory arthritis (IA) in the UK health service. These apply pressure and warmth to relieve hand pain, stiffness and improve hand function. A systematic review identified little evidence to support their use.1 Objectives This randomised controlled trial tested effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of mid-finger length compression (intervention) gloves (20% Lycra: commonest glove model provided) with control gloves (i.e. oedema gloves: 11% Lycra: fitted at least one size too big) in people with RA and IA. Methods Both gloves, which had similar thermal qualities although the control gloves did not provide compression, were provided by rheumatology occupational therapists, following training.2 Participants were also given brief advice on hand exercise and joint protection. Adults with RA/IA and persistent hand pain were randomised 1:1 to the two glove types, stratified by disease modifying anti-rheumatic drug (DMARD) change in previous 12 weeks. The primary outcome was dominant hand pain on activity Visual Analogue Scale (VAS:0–10); other outcomes included night hand pain, hand stiffness (both 0–10 VAS); Measure of Activity Performance Hand (MAP-HAND: 0–3). Multiple linear regression was undertaken to estimate the effect of group allocation on hand pain during activity, adjusting for the stratification variable and baseline values. Cost-effectiveness used individual patient level costs (intervention plus healthcare utilisation) and health benefit data (EQ-5D) to calculate costs and QALYs. Results 206 participants were randomised (103 to each glove type): median age 59 years [IQR 51,67]; women:166 (81%); mean disease duration: 8.2 (SD 9.5) years; employed:76 (37%); right hand dominant:185 (90%). Of these, 163 (79%) completed 12 week follow-up questionnaires. Both groups reported similar adherence to glove wear (mean 5.2 days/week). At 12 w, hand pain scores in both groups similarly improved: the between-groups mean difference of 0.1 was not statistically significant (95% CI: −0.47 to 0.67;p=0.72). There were no significant differences between groups on any measures, with both groups improving similarly between baseline and 12 w. 73% in both groups considered gloves beneficial. Intervention gloves had higher costs (£552 (SD £464); control £391 (SD £543) but comparable benefits to control gloves. Intervention gloves would cost £83 700 to gain one QALY and were not likely to be cost-effective. Conclusions Compression (intervention) and loose-fitting arthritis (control) gloves had similar effects on hand pain, stiffness and function. Therefore, compression is not the 'active ingredient' in arthritis gloves. Loose fitting gloves providing warmth were perceived as equally effective by participants. We do not know if the therapist effect is important or whether ordinary gloves providing warmth would provide similar results. References [1] Hammond, et al. Clin Rehabil201630:213–24. [2] Prior, et al. Rheumatology2017. www.abstractsonline.com/pp8/#!/4205 Acknowledgements This project was funded by the NIHR Research for Patient Benefit Programme (PB-PG-0214–33010). The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NHS, the NIHR or the Department of Health. Disclosure of Interest None declared


The reduction of chromium, nickel, and manganese oxides by hydrogen, CO, CH4, and model syngas (mixtures of CO + H2 or H2 + CO + CO2) and oxidation by water vapor has been studied from the thermodynamic and chemical equilibrium point of view. Attention was concentrated not only on the convenient conditions for reduction of the relevant oxides to metals or lower oxides at temperatures in the range 400–1000 K, but also on the possible formation of soot, carbides, and carbonates as precursors for the carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide formation in the steam oxidation step. Reduction of very stable Cr2O3 to metallic Cr by hydrogen or CO at temperatures of 400–1000 K is thermodynamically excluded. Reduction of nickel oxide (NiO) and manganese oxide (Mn3O4) by hydrogen or CO at such temperatures is feasible. The oxidation of MnO and Ni by steam and simultaneous production of hydrogen at temperatures between 400 and 1000 K is a difficult step from the thermodynamics viewpoint. Assuming the Ni—NiO system, the formation of nickel aluminum spinel could be used to increase the equilibrium hydrogen yield, thus, enabling the hydrogen production via looping redox process. The equilibrium hydrogen yield under the conditions of steam oxidation of the Ni—NiO system is, however, substantially lower than that for the Fe—Fe3O4 system. The system comprising nickel ferrite seems to be unsuitable for cyclic redox processes. Under strongly reducing conditions, at high CO concentrations/partial pressures, formation of nickel carbide (Ni3C) is thermodynamically favored. Pressurized conditions during the reduction step with CO/CO2 containing gases enhance the formation of soot and carbon-containing compounds such as carbides and/or carbonates.


Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) has been demonstrated as the primary pathway through which morbidity and mortality is achieved post-trauma. However, less is known about protective factors to PTSD, depression, and self-reported health outcomes of adults following a traumatic event. Through examination of residential fire survivors, the current project evaluated the predictive validity of protective factors of PTSD as they relate to PTSD, depression, and somatic health outcomes. Additionally, the project collapsed the three outcomes variables into a unified health construct and evaluated protective factors ability to predict health. It was hypothesized the peritraumatic emotionality, social support, and resource loss would predict PTSD, depression, and somatic health. Additionally, it was predicted that peritraumatic emotionality, social support, and resource loss would predict a unified construct of health. Participants were assessed via self-report and semi-structured interviews approximately four months post-fire. Results of the current project demonstrated strong associations amongst peritraumatic emotionality and resource loss for many of the outcome variables. However, social support was not found to be a predictor of any of the outcomes variables. When evaluating the unified health construct, resource loss was found to significant predict a resilient group of trauma survivors four months post-fire. The present study suggests lower peritraumatic emotionality and lower sustained resource loss are significant protective factors for resiliency from trauma.


Ractopamine is a beta-adrenergic agonist that is approved for use in beef cattle, pigs and turkeys as a repartitioning agent to increase lean muscle deposition and decrease lipogenesis. Although the effects of dietary ractopamine on the proteome profile of post-mortem pork muscles have been examined, its influence on beef muscle proteome has not been studied. Therefore, the objective of this study was to examine the effect of ractopamine on the proteome profile of post-mortem beef longissimus lumborum (LL) muscle. LL muscle samples were obtained from the carcasses of six (n = 6) steers fed ractopamine (RAC; 400 mg ractopamine hydrochloride for 28 days) and six (n = 6) steers fed no ractopamine (CON). The muscle proteome was analysed using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and tandem mass spectrometry. Five differentially abundant spots were identified, and all the spots were over-abundant in RAC. The identified proteins were involved in muscle structure development (F-actin-capping protein subunit beta-2; PDZ and LIM domain protein-3), chaperone activity (heat shock protein beta-1), oxygen transport (myoglobin), and glycolysis (L-lactate dehydrogenase A chain). These results suggested that dietary ractopamine could influence the abundance of enzymes associated with muscle development and muscle fibre type shift in beef LL muscle. Keywords: growth promotants, meat quality, proteomics


Organisational learning is essential for innovation and effectiveness (Franco & Almeida 2011); especially in healthcare where organisational learning can directly improve the quality of care provided to patients. Incident reporting is a common governance tool within healthcare (Mahajan 2010) and feedback from incident reporting has the potential to facilitate individual and organisational learning that could lead to enhanced practices (Levitt & March 1988). Furthermore, the identification and resolution of problems encountered in the course of one's work is a method for achieving organisational learning (Tucker & Edmondson 2003); in practical terms, incorporating lessons learnt into the organisation's 'memory' by way of governance processes, policies and systems. However, little research has explicitly examined the potential for incident reporting to foster organisational learning or the mechanisms through which this might occur.
The purpose of this study was to examine whether providing short cycle feedback through an incident reporting system produced organisational learning. Specifically, the study investigated whether the short cycle feedback system would facilitate single-loop organisational learning, which is defined as learning to identify errors and develop ameliorating strategies to prevent their recurrence (Argyris & Schon 1978). Single loop learning was measured as i) an improvement in incident reporting rates; ii) a decrease in actual incidents; and, iii) a decrease in the severity of incidents.
This research was conducted over 2 Stages. Stage 1 involved a longitudinal study conducted over 5 phases and undertaken in 2 wards (study and control) within a major metropolitan hospital in south-west Sydney. During Phase 1, a pre-intervention questionnaire was administered to staff in the control ward and study ward to evaluate staff members' attitudes towards incident reporting and feedback. In Phase 2, verbal querying was used to collect data on observed and reported incidents in order to quantify incident underreporting. During Phase 3, staff in the study ward received a short cycle feedback intervention that aimed to produce and provide feedback from an incident report to the reporting staff member within a 72 hour timeframe. A senior nurse provided feedback in a formative, consultative manner, which was delivered face-to-face to the incident reporter. During Phase 4, the short cycle feedback intervention was withdrawn and underreporting continued to be measured via verbal querying. During Phase 5, a post-intervention questionnaire was administered to staff in the control ward and study ward to evaluate staff members' attitudes towards incident reporting and feedback.
The feedback intervention and comparisons between pre-intervention and post-intervention questionnaires demonstrated an improvement in staff members' perception regarding the utility of incident reporting systems and that short cycle feedback facilitated learning outcomes. Expected results, such as a reduction in incident severity and actual incidents, were equivocal. Consequently, during Stage 2 of the study a focus group was conducted with members of the hospital's senior management team to critique the results and develop strategies to promote feedback mechanisms within the organisation. Focus group participants commented on the virtues of the study and recommended strategies to enhance medical staff participation and expand the feedback specialist role to improve engagement of after-hours and weekend staff. The focus group determined that these strategies, in conjunction with a replication study at a larger Hospital and across multiple specialties, would strengthen the findings from Stage 1.
The study concluded that short cycle feedback did facilitate single loop learning, evidenced by changes in staff attitudes, knowledge and behaviour regarding incident reporting and clinical practices. The study also found that short cycle feedback produced 3 additional forms of learning: double-loop organisational learning, triple-loop organisational learning, and vicarious learning. Double loop learning was evidenced by new values regarding incident reporting utility. Triple loop learning was observed by a further understanding of incident reporting as a tool within a learning continuum system. Vicarious learning was demonstrated via a change in skills and behaviours of participants that did not directly receive short cycle feedback but learnt vicariously about its value. Hence, the research demonstrated that short cycle feedback


Abstract In addition to portraits and diplomatic reports, Renaissance courts relied on fashion dolls to acquaint themselves with foreign dress. Unfortunately, literature on this subject is scarce and often disappointing. Overlooked by doll historians, a letter written by Federico Gonzaga (1500–40) in 1515 reveals that François Ier (1494–1547) requested a fashion doll from Isabella d'Este (1474–1539). After examining this document within the context of what is currently known about Renaissance fashion dolls, this essay explores what François I er's interest in these objects suggests about his personality and his relationship to the women of his court.


Abstract Clonal asexual propagation by cuttings is an efficient technique for capturing genetic gain in forestry. However, selected clones (selected for growth, wood properties and stem form) often prove to be difficult to root, thereby limiting the rate of deployment for further field testing and subsequent commercialization. This constraint will also delay the time taken for new clones to be identified. It is thus imperative that a propagation system runs efficiently and economically to realize genetic gain. It is widely hypothesized that rooting ability of clones is under genetic control. Although true for some clones, this study showed that the sand bed minihedge system resulted in improved rooting percentages through rejuvenation, better nutrition and improved climatic control of hedges. Additional benefits of this system included a more robust root system, faster growth and improved plant quality of minicuttings, which are favourable traits to reduce transplant stress when planted in-field.


Author(s): Smith, Richard John | Advisor(s): Chow, Julian C. C. | Abstract: This study is about the role of immigrants and minority businesses in a recent community development initiative administered by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The Federal Renewal Community, Empowerment Zone and Enterprise Community (RC/EZ/EC) programs spanned the Clinton and Bush administrations and promised to be a synthesis of the two poles of community development policy in that the Federal government would invest in people in a particular place. The regulatory goals of this program are to develop community and faith-based partnerships, promote economic opportunity and advance sustainable community development. Local governments applied for and won the first wave of 8 EZ and 65 ECs in 1994. Later HUD designated 15 urban EZs in 1998 and in the year 2001 designated 8 EZs and 40 Renewal Communities. Meanwhile, the immigration to the US had increased dramatically through workers, refugee inflows and family reunification. How did the RC/EZ/EC program that was targeted to neighborhoods with high poverty and unemployment incorporate immigrants compared to native born? The introduction reviews the evolution of the program in the context of community development and entrepreneurship in the United States. The introduction also describes specific program components using a typology of four types of communities 1) those with high immigration and services targeted to immigrants; 2) those with low immigration and no services targeted to immigrants; 3) those with high immigration but without services targeted to immigrants and 4) those with low immigration but services targeted to immigrants none the less.The most interesting finding from the analysis of the reports is that about one third of low immigration communities actively recruit immigrants and immigrant entrepreneurs in their community economic development strategy. The second chapter asks if there a policy treatment effect of the EZECs compared to the rest of the county on entrepreneurship controlling for the jobs housing imbalance and longitudinal immigration trends. The rate of native born entrepreneurs in wage credit EZs increased 14 to 24% from 1990 to 2000 holding other variables constant (N=134). In regards to the impact of the EZEC on the jobs housing imbalance, there was a 6 to 17% reduction in target areas compared to the rest of the county holding other variables constant (N=162). The third chapter compares changes from 1990 to 2007 in business and non-profit establishments in RC/EZ/ECs in California, chosen because it is a high immigration state, and Tennessee, a low immigration state, using the National Establishment Time Series Database. There was a 25% increase in jobs for businesses with five or fewer employees in the wage credit areas during the wage credit period holding pre-intervention levels and trends for control and other treatment groups constant. However, minority businesses in California in wage credit areas experienced a 15% reduction in job growth holding other variables constant. The biggest effect size was a doubling of new wage credit eligible businesses in wage credit areas. On the other hand, the retail sector experienced a one time 30% reduction in new firms. For businesses with five or fewer employees, there was a 23% increase in new businesses holding other variables constant, but this was accompanied by a 3% reduction in the rate of new business formation. Minority businesses in Tennessee also saw a 115% increase in new businesses. The last section concludes with recommendations for theory, research and policy. In particular, the Obama Administration has no plans to continue the RC/EZ/EC program. The new urban program is called the Sustainable Communities program and this is tied to parallel programs in the Department of Transportation and the Environmental Protection Agency. While the emphasis on sustainability can recover a missed opportunities in the EZ/EC principals, the shift to a regional planning approach may lead to disinvestment in low income neighborhoods that are not well connected to transit. Overall, the while the literature is mixed on the impact of the RC/EZ/EC program on neighborhoods, my research adds to the literature that argues that the program has a net social gain. However, additional outreach, training and credit strategies are needed to reach immigrant and minority entrepreneurs.