Controls of stem cell maintenance and early differentiation are known in several systems. However, the progression from stem cell self-renewal to overt signs of early differentiation is a poorly understood but important problem in stem cell biology. The Caenorhabditis elegans germ line provides a genetically defined model for studying that progression. In this system, a single-celled mesenchymal niche, the distal tip cell (DTC), employs GLP-1/Notch signaling and an RNA regulatory network to balance self-renewal and early differentiation within the "mitotic region," which continuously self-renews while generating new gametes. Here, we investigate germ cells in the mitotic region for their capacity to differentiate and their state of maturation. Two distinct pools emerge. The "distal pool" is maintained by the DTC in an essentially uniform and immature or "stem cell–like" state; the "proximal pool," by contrast, contains cells that are maturing toward early differentiation and are likely transit-amplifying cells. A rough estimate of pool sizes is 30–70 germ cells in the distal immature pool and ≈150 in the proximal transit-amplifying pool. We present a simple model for how the network underlying the switch between self-renewal and early differentiation may be acting in these two pools. According to our model, the self-renewal mode of the network maintains the distal pool in an immature state, whereas the transition between self-renewal and early differentiation modes of the network underlies the graded maturation of germ cells in the proximal pool. We discuss implications of this model for controls of stem cells more broadly.


There is a growing clamor - particularly from the main beneficiaries of globalization - that rules need to be established to govern the international economy, with a specific focus on questions such as copyright violations, trade sanctions, and protections for increased foreign investment. While there is little doubt that globalization is a major contributor to changes in the definition, boundaries and nature of law, the question remains as to how much law and regulation from different sources is compatible with the assumptions of economic globalization. From a market perspective the point at which state law and regulation move from 'legitimate' non-economic interests into the 'illegitimate' restriction of trade and investment will materialize much sooner than it will from other perspectives. These theoretical questions arise in concrete form for the decisions of international economic institutions such as the WTO. This thoughtful work focuses on the different forms of law which create the legal infrastructure of economic globalization and on how they interact with one another. It also explains how law is used both to maintain and oppose aspects of globalization. In addition it evaluates the governance of the global political economy in terms of the standards of the Rule of Law.


Buttermilk is a by-product obtained from the batting insertion in the process of obtaining cream and butter and it is constituted by fat globules which are surrounded by milk fat globule membranes (MFGMs). During the stirring process, the membrane is ruptured and the various components present therein are released. Because it has a high nutritional content and low cost, buttermilk has drawn attention in the prospect of new forms of application. In addition, its disposal is expensive and not biologically viable. The objective of this work is to present a compilation of the technological and biological activities of buttermilk. Among the technological properties, it is worth mentioning its application as in the production of functional foods, a conduit for the incorporation of probiotics, inhibition of bacterial adherence on industrial surfaces, as well as the encapsulation of easily degraded activities and fermentative processes. Among the biological properties, its antioxidant, hypocholesterolemic, antimicrobial, and anticancer activities stand out. In conclusion, the reuse of buttermilk is economically and sustainably viable and encourages increasing research related to its use.


In view of persistent global inequalities in scientific knowledge production with clear centers and peripheries, this paper examines a lingering concern for many scientists in the Global South: why is it, at times, so hard to have scientific insights from the South recognized? This paper addresses this big question from within a long-term field immersion in a Ugandan–Australian scientific collaboration in molecular biology. I show how disciplinary hierarchies of value affect the distribution of labor between Uganda and Australia and thematize the role of place and its affective atmospheres that texture the quotidian scientific work in this project. Unsurprisingly, they tend to devalue Ugandan sites and contributions, and turn Uganda into a rather unlikely site for new insights to emerge. However, in spite of doing devalued and outsourced "menial" labor such as fieldwork, Ugandan biologists' fieldwork involves affective encounters with their experimental banana plants that thereby become differently thinkable. The paper argues that attending to affective atmospheres that infuse research sites offers clues about scientists' position in global hierarchies and at the same time can help make room for insights that emanate from unexpected places.


-We studied habitat preferences of northern harriers (Circus cyaneus) in 4 counties of the Southern High Plains of northwestern Texas from October 1989 to May 1995. Harriers generally arrived in late July and departed in April. They hunted over a variety of habitats in the study area but mainly in Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) grasslands and vegetated playa basins. CRP grasslands, playa basins, and shortgrass prairie were used disproportionately to their availability, whereas winter wheat was used less than its availability. Brown harriers (adult females or subadults of either sex) foraged in CRP about as often as adult males but more frequently in playas and prairies, whereas adult males foraged more in winter wheat. As underground water sources for irrigation continue to be depleted, agricultural practices are likely to change. Depending on how the land is used after irrigation ceases, harriers might benefit if CRP grasslands, vegetated playas, and shortgrass prairies persist. If dominant land use reverts to livestock grazing, however, the harrier population will be negatively affected.


This research aimed to investigate the impact of the unique work lifestyle of farming on the well-being of Australian farming families. Past organisational research suggests that role conflict and interference have a significant impact on well-being (Carlson et al., 2000; Danes et al., 2000; Greenhaus & Beutell, 1985). Previous research by the current author suggested that the work-home environment of farming families is unique and therefore warranted further investigation due to the potential link between the working environment and the poor mental health status of farming families of Australia (McShane & Quirk, 2009; Page & Fragar, 2002). Due to the limited availability of contextually-specific scales of stress, coping, and inter-role conflict for Australian farming families, this research sought to identify the work and lifestyle determinants of well-being through the development of farming family specific scales of stress, coping, and the work-home interface. The theoretical framework for the development of the scales followed the procedure outlined by Streiner and Norman (1989) and consisted of 6 separate studies, involving a total of 474 participants.

The first study involved interviews with 53 farming family members across Queensland and New South Wales. Interview data was analysed using Grounded Theory and Content Analysis. From this process additional themes of commitment to farming, identification with farming, adaptive and maladaptive characteristics of intergenerational farming, and farming family values were generated from the interview content alongside stress, coping, and work-home interface themes. Generated items (519 items) were prepared for the Item Reduction study which included 13 potential farming family scales pertaining to stress, coping, role interference and completion, intergenerational farming, and buffering characteristics. This study asked farming family members (N=65) to rate items for importance and relevance to the individual, with calculated means and frequencies used to reduce the item set. Items were then formatted for an Expert Review Panel (N=11) who assessed the reduced item set (246 items; n=6 scales). Expert Panel feedback, face validity, and internal consistency were used to further reduce the total item pool to 100 items. A pilot study (N=14) identified additional items for removal and finalised the item set (95 items) for the validity (N=278) and reliability (N=53) studies. The items were distributed across 5 scales and assessed against criteria for factor analysis, criterion validity, discriminant validity, internal consistency, and test-retest reliability. The resulting scales included the Farming Family (FF) Role Impact Scale (18 items), the FF Stressor Scale (29 items), the FF Cope Scale (25 items), the FF Buffer Scale (12 items), and the Intergenerational Farming Impact Scale (11 items). The scales adequately satisfied validation and reliability criteria including exploratory factor analysis (loadings >.3), internal consistency (Cronbach alpha >.8), and test-retest reliability (rho>.6 for 4/5 scales).

Scales of well-being indicated that though farming families reported low levels of psychological distress and moderate levels of life satisfaction, the population was at risk of burnout. Cluster analytical and structural equation modelling techniques were used to identify those factors which contributed to well-being. Overall, results suggested that stressors were the leading contributor to poor well-being and role interference played a key role in psychological distress and work burnout. However the negative impacts of role interference and farming lifestyle stressors were tempered by positive coping styles and the sense of purpose, commitment and value associated with farming. Recommendations were made for policy and health promotion developers to consider the connection to farming as an asset to improve well-being and sustainability of the farming communities and industry.


Cooperative adaptive cruise control and platooning are well-known applications in the field of cooperative automated driving. However, extension toward maneuvering is desired to accommodate common highway maneuvers, such as merging, and to enable urban applications. To this end, a layered control architecture is adopted. In this architecture, the tactical layer hosts the interaction protocols, describing the wireless information exchange to initiate the vehicle maneuvers, supported by a novel wireless message set, whereas the operational layer involves the vehicle controllers to realize the desired maneuvers. This hierarchical approach was the basis for the Grand Cooperative Driving Challenge (GCDC), which was held in May 2016 in The Netherlands. The GCDC provided the opportunity for participating teams to cooperatively execute a highway lane-reduction scenario and an urban intersection-crossing scenario. The GCDC was set up as a competition and, hence, also involving assessment of the teams' individual performance in a cooperative setting. As a result, the hierarchical architecture proved to be a viable approach, whereas the GCDC appeared to be an effective instrument to advance the field of cooperative automated driving.


The principle of net neutrality was adopted by the European Union as a regulation promoting equality among all data packets in the Internet. Considering net neutrality from a purely economic viewpoint, however, the general possibility to prioritize data packets would likely lead to a more efficient use of existing network capacity. This is particularly applicable given the growth in data traffic and time-sensitive applications such as live streaming. Competition among network operators could intensify if they had the possibility to differentiate their offers more finely—and private households would be the primary beneficiary. However, modifications in the spirit of net neutrality must go hand in hand with a clear commitment to competition law and its enforcement. Access to prioritization of individual data packets must be transparent and equally available to all network participants. Network operators which also act as content providers as well as market participants with strong market positions in particular must not have the possibility to discriminate content providers.


In August 2017, the ACM Education Council initiated a task force to add to the broad, interdisciplinary conversation on data science, with an articulation of the role of computing discipline-specific contributions to this emerging field. Specifically, the task force is seeking to define what the computing contributions are to this new field, in order to provide guidance for computer science or similar departments offering data science programs of study at the undergraduate level. The ACM Data Science Task Force has completed the initial draft of a curricular report. The computing-knowledge areas identified in the report are drawn from across computing disciplines and include several sub-areas of AI. This short paper describes the overall project, highlights AI-relevant areas, and seeks to open a dialog about the AI competencies that are to be considered central to a data science undergraduate curriculum.


Since the publication of the Approved Lists of Bacterial Names, the type species of the genus Salmonella has been S. choleraesuis. At the time of publication of the Approved Lists, five Salmonella species had standing in the nomenclature, and the description of S. choleraesuis was the same as that of the serotype of that name. Several studies have shown that the genus Salmonella consists of only one species, and the strict application of the Bacteriological Code would recognize S. choleraesuis (the type species) as the single Salmonella species. This can lead to confusion and hazards since the specific epithet is also the name of a serovar (serovar Choleraesuis). This confusion is increased by the common practice of using serovar names as if they represented species names (e.g., S. typhi, S. choleraesuis, and S. typhimurium). Some serovars (e.g., Salmonella choleraesuis subsp. choleraesuis serovar Typhi) are highly pathogenic and cause a disease different from that caused by other serovars (e.g. S. choleraesuis subsp. choleraesuis serovar Choleraesuis). To avoid further confusion, it is proposed to use for the single Salmonella species a name which has not been used earlier for a serotype. It is thus requested that the type species of the genus Salmonella be Salmonella enterica sp. nov., nom. rev. with strain CIP 60.62 (a H2S-producing clone of strain LT2) as the type strain. Since the name S. choleraesuis is not proposed for rejection, bacteriologists who do not accept the single species concept of the genus Salmonella will be free to use the name S. choleraesuis as a synonym of Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serotype Choleraesuis.


Abstract Background Weight loss and sports supplements containing deterenol have been associated with serious adverse events including cardiac arrest. Objective To determine the presence and quantity of experimental stimulants in dietary supplements labeled as containing deterenol sold in the United States. Methods Dietary supplements available for sale in the US and labeled as containing deterenol or one of its synonyms (e.g., isopropylnorsynephrine and isopropyloctopamine) were purchased online. For each brand, one container or subsample was analyzed by NSF International (Ann Arbor, MI) and one container or subsample by the Netherland's National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM, Bilthoven, The Netherlands). When differences existed between the two containers or subsamples of the same brand, both products were reanalyzed by Sciensano (Brussels, Belgium). NSF International carried out qualitative and quantitative analyses using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) quadrupole-Orbitrap mass spectrometry. RIVM performed qualitative and quantitative analysis using UHPLC quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Sciensano carried out qualitative analysis using UHPLC quadrupole-Orbitrap mass spectrometry. Results Seventeen brands of supplements were analyzed. Many brands included more than one prohibited stimulant in the same product: 4 brands (24%, 4/17) included 2 stimulants, 2 (12%, 2/17) combined 3 stimulants, and 2 (12%, 2/17) combined 4 stimulants. The range of quantities per recommended serving size of the 9 stimulants detected were 2.7 mg to 17 mg of deterenol; 1.3 mg to 20 mg of phenpromethamine (Vonedrine); 5.7 mg to 92 mg of beta-methylphenylethylamine (BMPEA); 18 mg to 73 mg of octodrine; 18 mg to 55 mg of oxilofrine; 48 mg of higenamine; 17 mg of 1,3-dimethylamylamine (1,3-DMAA); 1.8 mg to 6.6 mg of 1,3-dimethylbutylamine (1,3-DMBA); and 5.3 mg of 1,4-dimethylamylamine (1,4-DMAA). Conclusion Weight loss and sports supplements listing deterenol as an ingredient contained 9 prohibited stimulants and 8 different mixtures of stimulants, with as many as 4 experimental stimulants per product. These cocktails of stimulants have never been tested in humans and their safety is unknown.


The introduction of mandatory margining for non-cleared portfolios has major implications for the pricing and risk measurement of OTC derivatives. In particular, a model for estimating future initial margin requirements is necessary to enable the calculation of pricing adjustments (MVA), net counterparty credit exposures and credit capital (RWA). Existing literature on the topic suggests a model which makes use of regression techniques, but little detail is available on the predictive quality of these models within a Monte Carlo simulation framework. We review these regression-based initial margin models in detail and compare their output against the actual margin requirements measured by the ISDA SIMM methodology. We observe that the models generally perform well for single trades but show some degradation for single option products and larger diversified portfolios. We investigate potential extensions and improvements to the model, along with examining some additional "conservatism" features that may have application in the context of credit exposure measurement. The Initial Margin modelling approaches discussed here are similarly applicable to centrally cleared or exchange-traded portfolios.


The purpose of this study was to collect and evaluate reading and writing data related to an oral language intervention program being trialled in two rural schools in north western Tasmania. Two other schools, within ten kilometres, were used as control examples, to determine the effect of the variables and attributes of the intervention program. Prior to this study, school leaders monitoring kindergarten and preparatory student data noted a trend. Early years' students showed declining literacy scores on state-wide assessments. The Tasmanian Educational Performance Services (EPS) state-wide Reading Recovery data also indicated that fewer preparatory students were reading and writing, at an age-appropriate level, as they began Grade one.
A multi-method research approach was conducted with twelve preparatory students from each of two intervention and two non-intervention schools, using standard classroom assessment tools to monitor student outcomes. Questionnaires were used with teachers and caregivers, consisting of demographic, Likert scale and open-ended questions. Semi-structured interviews were used to build on quantitative student data and establish a thorough understanding of other issues impacting on student outcomes. The study period was approximately six months, in the second half of the preparatory year. The aim was to determine if the chosen intervention program, Albany District Oral Language Focus (ADOLF) led to measureable improved student outcomes in oral language, reading and writing.
This research indicated that all study students, whether classified as 'average' or 'at risk' made gains in some or all of the oral language, reading or writing assessment tools. There was no notable gain to student outcomes at intervention schools for those students of most concern. Teachers indicated that the focused intervention program on questioning developed a culture of questioning and inquiry throughout the preparatory classroom program. Teacher awareness and skill in using questioning was noted as developing and extending student vocabulary as well as supporting the increased time for focused interactions during classroom activities.
This thesis attempts to understand oral language learning opportunities, arising from the ADOLF intervention, with the preparatory students participating in this study and the teaching practices that supported them as early readers and writers. Other factors, beyond the school, were considered for their impact on early literacy learning, in relation to improving student outcomes. Nevertheless, this research resulted in further questions being raised for future data collection, review of appropriateness assessment tools and research to be undertaken.


Background: Noncompliance with established prevention measures (seat belts/helmets) continues to be prevalent. Research has shown three primary methods of increasing compliance: legislation, education, and postcollision intervention. We hypothesized that after a motor vehicle collision (MVC) or motorcycle crash (MCC), there are higher rates of safety device noncompliance and this behavior will not align with the benefits of prevention. The study of these patterns will, therefore, provide insight for interventions and education. Materials and Methods: This was a prospective, survey-based study of 165 patients performed during June–July 2016 at a Level 1 trauma center. Inclusion criteria consisted of adults involved in either MCC or MVC. Study groups consisted of the MVC and MCC cohorts and those compliant and noncompliant with safety devices. Outcomes were analyzed by comparison of demographics, injury severity score, self-reported safety device use, and substance abuse. Answers given to the final open-ended question of the survey were sorted based on subject matter as it related to reasoning of safety device use. Results: Seat belt users (71.3%) were older (46 vs. 39 years, P = 0.038) and had fewer passengers (1.5 vs. 2.2, P = 0.012). Helmet wearers (30.6%) were more likely women (odds ratio: 9.6, P = 0.009) and less likely to have a positive blood alcohol concentration (BAC) (59.1% vs. 100.0%, P = 0.01). Primary reasons for seat belt use were habit, safety, and law, while primary reasons for helmet use were safety and habit. Overall noncompliant individuals from both MCC and MVC cohorts were more likely to have a positive BAC. Conclusions: Noncompliant patients' reasoning was contradictory to the known benefit of safety restraints. Primary prevention device use relies on establishing habit and perceived safety. Through the postcollision survey, we were able to gather more insight for lack of compliance and this behavioral pattern. Immediate intervention allowed for an opportunity in safety education. Benefit was noted in patients' opportunity for self-reflection and willingness to change behavior. The following core competencies are addressed in this article: Patient care, Practice-based learning and improvement.


Freeze-out transactions have been subject to different standards of judicial review in Delaware since 2001, when the chancery court, in In re Siliconix Inc. Shareholders Litigation, held that, unlike merger freeze-outs, tender offer freeze-outs were not subject to "entire fairness review". This dichotomy, in turn, gave rise to a tension in the literature regarding the potential impact of Siliconix, as well as the treatment that freeze-outs should receive. While some defended the regime established by Siliconix, others argued for doctrinal convergence through a universal application of entire fairness, and still others proposed alternative variations of convergence based on how the negotiation process is conducted. The Delaware Chancery Court itself, in fact, subsequently made a partial step toward convergence by narrowing the scope of its precedent, as reflected in In re CNX Gas Corporation Shareholders Litigation. The empirical evidence on the effect of Siliconix (and, therefore, on the practical relevance of different standards of judicial review), however, is limited. In particular, in "Post-Siliconix freeze-outs: Theory and Evidence," Guhan Subramanian found that minority shareholders obtain lower cumulative abnormal returns (CARs) in tender offer freeze-outs relative to merger freeze-outs, and, based on this finding, Subramanian advocates for doctrinal convergence. That article, however, does not formally examine whether Siliconix generated a structural change in relative CARs in both transactional forms and, therefore, whether the differences in outcomes are actually attributable to the disparity in standards of judicial review. The purpose of this work is, therefore, to fill this gap in the literature. To this end, this work uses a difference-in-differences approach, which compares changes over time (before and after Siliconix) between CARs in tender offers (the treatment group) and CARs in statutory mergers (the control group). As further discussed in the text, the results seem to suggest, in line with Subramanian's intuition, that Siliconix actually had at least some negative effect on CARs in tender offers, since the estimator of difference-in-differences is consistently negative and generally significant. Based on the results, this work discusses specific policy implications, particularly in terms of regulatory convergence.


This study mainly focuses on the utilization of renewable energy to drive machine loads i.e., solar energy to drive the induction motor. To lessenthe load on conventional energy sources there is a need to move towards solar energy to supply power to electrical loads. Solar power generation is a hygienic and pollution free power generation and it is an inexhaustible power generation too. In this paper, simulations of solar photovoltaic system fed induction motor is presented and analyzed briefly. In addition to this, controlling of solar photovoltaic system with fast digital controller i.e. FPGA based results also presented. An MPPT charge controller is used in solar energy harvesting applications to extract the maximum power from an ambient solar energy source even under variations in light intensity and temperature. Initial stage FPGA controlled charge controller provides constant DC power at its output terminals and it is converted into AC by using FPGA controlled 3level diode clamped inverter. In this paper open circuit voltage mode FPGA controlled MPPT charge controller is designed to get constant DC power. This DC power is acting as a source to FPGA controlled 3-Level inverter; and converts into AC power by this inverter. Sinusoidal Pulse Width Modulation (SPWM) is implemented in a Xilinx system generator environment and MATLAB to control the inverter. This inverter output is used to feed the induction motor. THDs of voltages and currents of 3-level inverter and induction motor are also observed. KeywordsSolar PV system, Solar PV cells/modules, MPPT Technique, System model, DC-DC Boost converter, Multilevel Inverter, FPGA control algorithm


Modern welfare states undermine human flourishing In the thirty-first IEA Discussion Paper, Professor Philip Booth explains how modern welfare states and high levels of public debt undermine human flourishing. His arguments are presented in the context of Catholic social teaching. Professor Booth asks whether, in the field of welfare, the state is serving the family – as should be the case – or the other way round. Are our systems of welfare, supporting the networks of solidarity, reciprocity and community or displacing them? Are our systems of welfare supporting human flourishing through family formation, work and saving or discouraging these things? Are our systems of welfare imposing upon people who have not yet been born obligations that we do not know that they will be able to meet? A time of financial stringency is a good time to ask these questions because, if savings are to be made, it is much better that welfare is reformed at the same time in ways that better enable human flourishing.


This research is carried out with the aim to develop assistive
technology that helps users following the beat in music, which is of
interest to cohchlear implant users. The envisioned technology would
use tactile feedback on each musical beat. However, this raises
fundamental questions about uni- and cross-modal perception which
are not addressed in similar context in the literature. The aim of this
study was i) to find out how well users are able to follow tactile
pulses. ii) To gain insights in the differences between auditory,
tactile and combined auditory-tactile feedback. A tapping experiment
was organized with 27 subjects. They were requested to tap along
with an auditory pulse, a tactile pulse and a combined auditory-tactile
pulse in three different tempi. An evaluation with respect to
regularity and asynchrony followed. Subjects were found to perform
significantly better in terms of reqularity and asynchrony for the
auditory and auditory/tactile condition with respect to the tactile only
condition. Mean negative asynchrony (MNA) for auditory and
combined (auditory and tactile) conditions were in the range of
previous studies. The MNA's for the tactile conditions showed a
remarkable dependence on tempo. In the 90BPM condition a clear
anticipation (-20ms) was reported, for the 120BPM condition the
mean was around zero, the 150BPM condition showed a positive
MNA (a reaction vs anticipation). An effect that could be
encorporated into the design of an assistive technology.


Mini/Micro-channel type compact heat exchangers have attracted much attention during the last decade. The reason is mainly the possibilities of reducing the size, weight and cost of the heat exchangers compared to current designs. Also, new applications, where objects of small size need to be cooled, as electronics and micro-electro-mechanical devices, require heat exchangers with miniature channels. For the application of mini channel heat exchangers, it is necessary to have accurate design tools for predicting heat transfer and pressure drop. The present paper aims to set up an experimental set-up to study the fluid flow and single phase heat transfer through mini-channel heat sink. The present set-up add to the knowledge of the fundamentals of single phase heat transfer and pressure drop in narrow channels, thereby aiding in the development of this new, interesting technology with the possibility of decreasing the size of electronics through better cooling, and of increasing the energy efficiency of thermal processes and thermodynamic cycles through enhanced heat transfer.


Abstract Background The relation between blood pressure and kidney cancer risk is well established but complex and different study designs have reported discrepant findings on the relative importance of diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and systolic blood pressure (SBP). In this study, we sought to describe the temporal relation between diastolic and SBP with renal cell carcinoma (RCC) risk in detail. Methods Our study involved two prospective cohorts: the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition study and UK Biobank, including >700 000 participants and 1692 incident RCC cases. Risk analyses were conducted using flexible parametric survival models for DBP and SBP both separately as well as with mutuality adjustment and then adjustment for extended risk factors. We also carried out univariable and multivariable Mendelian randomization (MR) analyses (DBP: ninstruments = 251, SBP: ninstruments = 213) to complement the analyses of measured DBP and SBP. Results In the univariable analysis, we observed clear positive associations with RCC risk for both diastolic and SBP when measured ≥5 years before diagnosis and suggestive evidence for a stronger risk association in the year leading up to diagnosis. In mutually adjusted analysis, the long-term risk association of DBP remained, with a hazard ratio (HR) per standard deviation increment 10 years before diagnosis (HR10y) of 1.20 (95% CI: 1.10–1.30), whereas the association of SBP was attenuated (HR10y: 1.00, 95% CI: 0.91–1.10). In the complementary multivariable MR analysis, we observed an odds ratio for a 1-SD increment (ORsd) of 1.34 (95% CI: 1.08–1.67) for genetically predicted DBP and 0.70 (95% CI: 0.56–0.88) for genetically predicted SBP. Conclusion The results of this observational and MR study are consistent with an important role of DBP in RCC aetiology. The relation between SBP and RCC risk was less clear but does not appear to be independent of DBP.


Obtaining information on whether the child has the potential for growth is not an easy task. Research shows that using different matrix like Raven or different batteries in a static way cannot be indicative of children further development. This study attempts to probe the potential predictability of children's performance during Dynamic Assessment of their Future development. 41 children between ages 3 to 6 years old participated in this study. The data in pretest, ZPD, and posttest were converted into Rasch Measure. The results of different analysis indicate that relying on children's actual performance cannot be an indicative factor of their development in the future.


A new taxon of early cynodont, Abdalodon diastematicus gen. et sp. nov., is described. The new taxon is represented by a single skull from the upper Permian Tropidostoma Assemblage Zone (AZ) of the Beaufort Group (Karoo Basin, South Africa), which was previously referred to Procynosuchus delaharpeae. Abdalodon is distinguished from Procynosuchus by the presence of only four upper and three lower incisors, fewer postcanines, a well‐developed depression on the lateral surface of the maxilla posterior to the canine root, a tall mandibular symphysis forming a distinct 'chin', a relatively short snout, and weak or absent interdigitation of sutures in the interorbital region. These features are shared with the only other Tropidostoma AZ cynodont, Charassognathus gracilis. Abdalodon is distinguished from Charassognathus by its postcanine morphology, the presence of an expanded masseteric fossa, inset postcanine tooth rows, a broader interorbital region, and proportionally shorter temporal region. Most strikingly, Abdalodon has a lengthy diastema between the canines and postcanines on both the maxilla and the dentary. Charassognathus has a short diastema between the upper canine and postcanines, but not the lowers, and diastemata are absent from the tooth rows of Procynosuchus. Phylogenetic analysis recovers Abdalodon as the sister‐taxon of Charassognathus, forming a clade (Charassognathidae fam. nov.) at the base of Cynodontia. These taxa represent a previously unrecognized radiation of small‐bodied Permian cynodonts. Despite their small size, the holotypes of Abdalodon and Charassognathus probably represent adults and indicate that early evolution of cynodonts may have occurred at small body size, explaining the poor Permian fossil record of the group.


Main objective of this research is to obtain antibacterial effect of metallophthalocyanine (M: Zn) with four eugenol substituents on cotton fabric. Eugenol is the main component in the essential oil extracted from cloves (Eugenia Caryophillis) and is proved to be active against many pathogenic bacteria, fungi and viruses. Metal ions like zinc, copper, silver…etc. are used as antibacterial agents. It is expected that antibacterial properties of eugenol and zinc metal ion can be combined in this phthalocyanine pigment. A suspension of the phthalocyanine green pigment was prepared by of a convenient dispersant using zirconia ball milling method. Then its particle size distribution was characterized by a laser diffraction particle size analyzer. Cotton fabric was colored with pigment printing and then rubbing fastness and light fastness of fabrics were tested according to ISO 105×12 and ISO 105 B02 test methods respectively. Antibacterial properties of the fabric were investigated according to AATCC 147-1998 test method. The samples were tested against two types of bacteria: Staphylococcus Aureus (S. Aureus, Gram positive) and Klebsiella Pneumoniae (K. Pneumoniae, Gram negative). It was observed that it had an effective antibacterial action to S. Aureus bacteria but not effective on K. Pneumoniae bacteria. In contrast with pigment printing general properties, better wet and dry rubbing fastness results and less light fastness result were obtained.


The recent explosion in neuroscience research has markedly increased our understanding of the neurobiological correlates of many psychiatric illnesses, but this has unfortunately not translated into more effective pharmacologic treatments for these conditions. At the same time, researchers have increasingly sought out biological markers, or biomarkers, as a way to categorize psychiatric illness, as these are felt to be closer to underlying genetic and neurobiological vulnerabilities. While biomarker-based drug discovery approaches have tended to employ in vivo (e.g., rodent) or in vitro test systems, relatively little attention has been paid to the potential of computational, or in silico, methodologies. Here we describe such a methodology, using as an example a biophysically detailed computational model of hippocampus that is made to generate putative schizophrenia biomarkers by the inclusion of a number of neuropathological changes that have been associated with the illness (NMDA system deficit, decreased neural connectivity, hyperdopaminergia). We use the specific inability to attune to gamma band (40 Hz) auditory stimulus as our illness biomarker. We expose this system to a large number of virtual medications, defined by systematic variation of model parameters corresponding to five cellular-level effects. The potential efficacy of virtual medications is determined by a wellness metric (WM) that we have developed. We identify a number of virtual agents that consist of combinations of mechanisms, which are not simply reversals of the causative lesions. The manner in which this methodology could be extended to other neuropsychiatric conditions, such as Alzheimer's disease, autism, and fragile X syndrome, is discussed.


An in vitro cell culture system for estimating the human blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability of drugs is required for the development of drugs with effects on the central nervous system. In this study, cultured human brain microvascular endothelial cells (hBME) were characterized. hBME cells exhibited concentration-dependent uptake of L-Leu, L-Glu and L-Lys with K(m) values of 51.1+/-23.1 microM, 163.3+/-79.8 microM and 72.4+/-56.6 microM, respectively. The cellular accumulation of rhodamine123 in hBME cells was unaffected by P-glycoprotein (P-gp) substrates (cyclosporin A, quinidine and verapamil), while the accumulation in human P-gp-overexpressing cells was significantly increased in the presence of these P-gp substrates. RT-PCR revealed that hBME cells expressed large neutral amino acid transporter 1 (LAT1) and its associated molecule (4F2hc), excitatory amino acid transporter 3 (EAAT3), cationic amino acid transporter 1 (CAT1), glucose transporter 1 (GLUT1), monocarboxylic acid transporter 1 (MCT1) and multidrug resistance-associated protein 1 (MRP1). However, no expression of multidrug resistance protein 1 (MDR1) was detected. The results suggest that these amino acid transporters are functionally expressed at the human BBB, and that hBME cells retain the in vivo BBB transport functions and expression characteristics. Consequently, hBME cells should be a useful tool for studies of the human BBB.


The quickest way to get rich is to marry someone rich, but how do you do this if you aren't yet rich? TV chat-show host Ronnie Appleyard is preoccupied with this question as he pursues wealthy heiress Simona Quick over two continents in the company of braying aristocrats, Greek shipping magnates, American dandies and the dreaded mother-in-law to be. But as he comes closer to his prize other questions present themselves. Is the androgenous Simona really worth it? Why doesn't she like sex? Is it possible to drink all day? With his unerring eye for absurdity and class satire Kingsley Amis shows us what happens when money meets naked ambition.


This dissertation was researched in two main parts. The first enquiry was to establish whether the Afrikaner women practised any form of craft during their time of interment in the Anglo-Boer War concentration camps, during 1899-1902. The second part explores the appropriation of craft within the Post-Modern context by five South African artists. During this research into the craft practises of Afrikaner women in the concentration camps, I discovered that this particular issue has not been satisfactorily documented. The reasons for this are directly connected to the patriarchal system of the Calvinist Afrikaner. The impact which this system had on the craft practices of Afrikaner women and the lack of documentation thereof, are discussed. The paucity of information on Afrikaner women"s history led to primary research where I gained the information I needed from the descendents of interned women. The findings of this research includes various forms of needlecraft such as embroidery, quilting, crocheting, and dress and bonnet making. Amongst the artefacts found were two ceramic dogs made in the camp. Various forms of tin and wire artefacts were also found. The contribution to the impoverished Afrikaner women by Hobhouse, the South African Agricultural Association and the South African Women"s Federation is explained in relation to this dissertation. The freedom that Post-Modern thought created amongst artists enabled them to explore exciting ways of executing their art. The five South African artists whose work I chose to explore are Billy Zangewa, Sue Pam-Grant, Gina Waldman, Antionette Murdoch and Nirmi Ziegler. Their art practices are varied but the common denominator is the incorporation of various forms of traditional feminine craft into their work. They subvert the patriarchal order, draw attention to land issues, explore women"s fragility and raise awareness concerning the abuse of the environment. I conducted an interview with Ziegler and relied on written documentation for the research concerning the other artists. I also made use of my own analysis and instinct as a woman and mother to interpret some works. As an Afrikaner woman I execute my work by using traditional feminine craft and specific motives found during my research. I deliver commentary on the lack of vi documentation of all of Afrikaner women"s history. I use myself as an example of an Afrikaner woman and document my own history within the greater Afrikaner history which is contained and embedded within the history of South Africa. My research into and documentation of the craft practises of Afrikaner women during and directly after the Anglo-Boer War adds to the body of knowledge concerning the history of Afrikaner women. The same applies to the work of the five artists I explored. The diversity of material, concept and execution of their work will add some knowledge to the existing body of knowledge about their work, but more so to the documentation of women's history.


Buccal drug delivery combines the advantage of enhanced patient acceptance/ compliance of oral delivery, with overcoming drug degradation and poor absorption in the gastro intestinal tract (GIT), especially for large molecule therapeutics, such as insulin. Orally disintegrating tablets (ODTs) that dissolve rapidly in the mouth, are gaining widespread popularity, especially with extreme populations, including children and the elderly. This project unifies the advantages of buccal drug delivery with that of ODTs, with the view to developing a non-invasive delivery system for proteins like insulin. This work was carried out in three parallel streams: A Quality by Design (QbD) based characterisation of excipients to identify and predict multi-functional behaviours as binder/ disintegrant/ mucoadhesive agent in ODT formulations; the investigation of a cost effective and easily reproducible cell culture based in vitro method for assessment of buccal delivery; and protein characterisation followed by an in vitro investigation of the effect of basic and acidic amino acids on the solubility, permeability, mechanism and transport route of insulin through TR146 buccal cell culture layers as safe and effective alternative permeation enhancers for proteins. D-mannitol based tablets containing 7% low-substituted hydroxypropyl cellulose (LHPC) with 1.3 % Polyox™ polymers compacted at 30 kN were able to maintain high mechanical properties with fast disaggregation of tablets and mucoadhesive properties. Addition of 1.2 to 1.5 mM Ca2+ to cell culture media was found to increase culture stratification, forming a tighter barrier to paracellular transport of macromolecules, to mimic in vivo barriers. Amino acids were able to significantly enhance insulin solubility in water, and exhibited a concentration-dependent enhancement of insulin permeability (over 400% enhancement) in vitro. Interestingly, results revealed that insulin was transported by an active transcellular process, probably provided by the presence of insulin receptors and amino acid nutrient transporters on the cell membrane. This result obtained for insulin is the first indication of a possible amino acid mediated transport of insulin via formation of insulin-amino acid neutral complexes by ion pairing.


Estimating the relevance of documents based on the user feedback is an essential component of search, retrieval and ranking problems. User click modeling in search has focused primarily on factoring out the position bias. It is easy to see that the query type (generic queries vs specific queries) and user intent (purchase vs exploration) also introduce a bias in the click signal. In other words, the results not matching with the user intent will not be clicked. In this paper, we outline a technique to model the interplay of query, user intent and position bias with respect to the relevance of the retrieved search results. In particular, we define two intents namely purchase and explore, and estimate the relevance of the documents with respect to these two intents. We also relate them to the relevance estimates from considering only the position bias. We empirically demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach by comparing its performance against the well-known CoEC measure and the recently proposed factor model approach for relevance estimation.


A review of zirconocene mediated intramolecular cocyclisations and the elaboration of the resultant zirconacycles is presented as a background to the work presented in this thesis. The first area of novel work is the attempted intramolecular trapping of zirconocene ?2-alkene complexes, generated by an unprecedented endocyclic cyclometallation, with a pendant alkyne. A series of inter- and intramolecular transformations other than the desired transformation were observed. The second area of work presented is the synthesis and biological testing of two ligands for receptors from the NR4A subfamily of orphan nuclear receptors. Our interest in this area stemmed from previous work in our group on the zirconocene mediated synthesis of ligands for receptors in the NR5 subfamily. The third area of research presented is the zirconocene mediated cocyclisation of a series of novel ynamides and elaboration of the resulting zirconacyclopentadienes. Also presented in this chapter is the use of the exocyclic dienes formed through protonolysis of the zirconacyclopentadienes in a series of Diels-Alder reactions in excellent regio- and stereoselectivity. The penultimate area of research is the first total synthesis of (+)-mucosin utilising a zirconocene mediated cocyclisation of a diene followed by the insertion of an ?-silyl alkyl carbenoid to gain the major diastereoisomer with the correct stereochemistry of the four contiguous stereocentres. The route taken to (+)-mucosin can be easily adapted in order for the synthesis of the natural product (?)-mucosin to be realised. Finally the well established chemistries of carbenoid insertion and isonitrile insertion into zirconacyclopentanes are combined in order to furnish a series of novel cyclohexanones.


In this paper we analyse the short-term spot price of European Union Allowances (EUAs), which is of particular importance in the transition of energy markets and for the development of new risk management strategies. We use daily spot market data from the second trading period of the EU ETS. Emphasis is given to short-term forecasting of prices and volatility. Due to the characteristics of the price process, such as volatility modelling, breaks in the volatility process and heavy-tailed distributions, we investigate the use of Markov switching GARCH (MS-GARCH) models. We find that these models distinguish well between states, and that the volatility processes in the states are clearly different. Our findings support the use of MS-GARCH models for risk management, especially because their forecasting ability is better than other Markov switching or simple GARCH models.


Introduction Education is big business. Estimates are that over $200 billion are being spent annually to support public education in the United States. Of local school district expenses, approximately 70 percent of the budget monies are used to pay for administrative and teacher salaries. Monies available for purchase of textbooks and teaching supplies are typically about 2.9 percent of the total operating budget for school systems (Robinson and Protheroe, 1995). School district budgets are not the only monies spent on education in communities. Teachers for years have reported using out of pocket funds to supplement monies provided by local school districts. Teacher expenditures typically are used to support their own classroom teaching by purchasing teaching supplies, materials, and equipment. In a study conducted in two western states, Latham and Fifield (1993) found that on average, the surveyed teachers spent $444 annually. "On average, elementary school teachers spent $511, middle/junior high teachers spent $298, and high school teacher spent $484 per year." (Latham and Fifield, p. 44). Assuming the correctness of these figures, teachers in the United States are spending more that $1 billion annually for their classrooms. In a study conducted in Minnesota, Olszewski and Maury (1994) found on average that K-12 teachers spent $492 per year on behalf of their students. This figure is slightly higher than the Latham and Fifield amounts. Typical out of pocket expenditures were spent for instructional supplies, instructional materials, audio-visual aids, incentive and motivational items, food, and for computer software and hardware. Olszewski and Maury calculated out of pocket expenditures to total nearly $23 million for teachers in the state of Minnesota. In reviewing the small number of studies dealing with out of pocket expenditures by teachers, it appears that teachers felt that school budgets are not meeting the needs of teachers by providing adequate monies for teaching supplies and teaching aids. Therefore, if teachers want to provide an appropriate education, the only recourse for them is to spend their own money. Statistics on school budgets appear in newspapers frequently, but typically, no mention is made of out of pocket expenditures by school teachers. Also, no reports on out of pocket expenditures of elementary school teachers in South Dakota, Iowa, or Nebraska were found in reviewing educational literature. Therefore, the investigators believed that elementary school teachers in South Dakota, Iowa, and Nebraska would be able to provide valuable insight into the out of pocket expenditures as it relates to those states. Research Procedures A postcard questionnaire consisting of five questions about out of pocket expenditures and school spending on materials, supplies, and equipment was constructed and field tested. Comments from elementary teachers were also requested. One hundred elementary schools each in South Dakota, Iowa, and Nebraska were randomly selected from school district directories released by the Departments of Education in each of the states. It was decided that if possible, equal number of first through sixth grade teachers would be sampled in this study. Therefore, in each state, questionnaire number one was addressed to a first grade teacher, number two to a second grade teacher, and on through grade six. The process continued until 100 teachers from the 100 randomly selected elementary schools in each state were selected. A total of 300 questionnaires were mailed to elementary school teachers. Fifty-two percent of the South Dakota, fifty-one percent of the Iowa, and fifty percent of the Nebraska elementary teachers returned their questionnaires for analysis. The first through sixth grade teachers responded to five basic questions: (1) In the last 12 months have you spent your personal money to purchase materials, supplies, or equipment which were used specifically for your classroom? …


Through various health-focused technology proj ects, we discovered that the emotional response to technology was related to uptake and sustained use of health monitoring technologies. In this paper we present a case study of how we synthesized constructs of social cognitive theory, technology as experience, and diabetes management guidelines as a framework for making design recommendations for blood glucose monitoring technology that address the emotional response of users. We suggest applying this theoretical lens for design may help attend to emotional responses of users in an effort to decouple strong negative emotions that are paired to health monitoring technologies that provide a single value health result.


A collective autonomic system consists of collaborating autonomic entities which are able to adapt at runtime, adjusting to the state of the environment and incorporating new knowledge into their behavior. These highly dynamic systems are also known as ensembles. To ensure correct behavior of ensembles it is necessary to support their development through appropriate methods and tools which can guarantee that an autonomic system lives up to its intended purpose; this includes respecting important constraints of the environment. This State-of-the-Art Survey addresses the engineering of such systems by presenting the methods, tools and theories developed within the ASCENS project. ASCENS was an integrated project funded in the period 2010-2015 by the 7th Framework Programme (FP7) of the European Commission as part of the Future Emerging Technologies Proactive Initiative (FET Proactive). The 17 contributions included in this book are organized in four parts corresponding to the research areas of the project and their concrete applications: (I) language and verification for self-awareness and self-expression, (II) modeling and theory of self-aware and adaptive systems, (III) engineering techniques for collective autonomic systems, and last but not least, (IV) challenges and feedback provided by the case studies of the project in the areas of swarm robotics, cloud computing and e-mobility


Some subsidies (such as for fossil fuels and fisheries) adversely affect global public goods (such as a stable climate and the maintenance of global fish stocks); others affect global price levels (domestic support for certain agriculture commodities), or have negative consequences for a trading partner. World Trade Organization (WTO) members have negotiated an agreement on subsidies, but there are severe limits to that agreement's ability to exercise discipline, and the prospects of its amendment remain limited. This article examines whether states can improve discipline through the use of informal mechanisms and, if so, under what conditions. Informal discipline on subsidies depends on the existence of fora to discuss definitions, generate information about their incidence, discuss whether a particular measure fits the definition, and consider whether a remedy exists. This article takes international organizations (IOs) seriously as fora for generating 'law', not simply as bodies exercising power or coercion, and it explores a particular view of law. If codification is not the only indicator of law, if one accepts that law also emerges in social interaction, then we must attend to the less formal places where the law of subsidies emerges, and affects state actions. The analysis of where disciplines might be found is based on a three-level set of comparisons: (i) within the WTO, involving horizontal compared to sectoral disciplines, with a focus on committee and other peer-review processes, rather than the traditional focus on the dispute settlement system; (ii) the WTO compared to, and in complement with, other IOs addressing particular sectors; and (iii) IOs compared to, and in complement with, non-governmental organizations. The article provides four case studies involving subsidies: (i) export credits, (ii) shipbuilding, (iii) fisheries, and (iv) fossil fuels. It assesses variations in number of actors, the conceptualization of the problem, definitions, obligation, data, and organizations across these case studies and the impact of such differences on the development of subsidy disciplines.


The global financial crisis has highlighted the limitations of risk-sensitive bank capital ratios. To tackle this problem, the Basel III regulatory framework has introduced a minimum leverage ratio, defined as a banks Tier 1 capital over an exposure measure, which is independent of risk assessment. Using a medium sized DSGE model that features a banking sector, financial frictions and various economic agents with differing degrees of creditworthiness, we seek to answer three questions: 1) How does the leverage ratio behave over the cycle compared with the risk-weighted asset ratio? 2) What are the costs and the benefits of introducing a leverage ratio, in terms of the levels and volatilities of some key macro variables of interest? 3) What can we learn about the interaction of the two regulatory ratios in the long run? The main answers are the following: 1) The leverage ratio acts as a backstop to the risk-sensitive capital requirement: it is a tight constraint during a boom and a soft constraint in a bust; 2) the net benefits of introducing the leverage ratio could be substantial; 3) the steady state value of the regulatory minima for the two ratios strongly depends on the riskiness and the composition of bank lending portfolios.


"A Picture of Moving to Work Agencies' Housing Assistance," one of six reports produced by HUD's MTW retrospective evaluation, describes MTW agencies in charts, graphs, and tables. It reports the demonstration's growth between 2003 and 2017 (from 22 to 39 agencies), and its increasing share of HUD funding to PHAs (from 9 to 17 percent). It documents MTW agencies' large size and their high-cost housing markets. It shows that MTW agencies and traditional PHAs serve households that are nearly the same in terms of age, sex, disability status, family composition, income, and rent burden, but that MTW-assisted households are more likely to be Black. Further, it shows that neighborhood poverty levels for assisted households hardly differ by agency type. Only a few differences emerged: Compared to traditional PHAs, between 2008 and 2016, MTW agencies more rapidly increased the use of project-based vouchers and added new households to their portfolios. In 2016, MTW agencies provided local, non-traditional housing assistance to about 10,000 households, counting sponsor-based programs, development units, and homeownership assistance. An online feature associated with this report, hosted by the Urban Institute, provides information about housing assistance at each individual MTW agency in 2008 and 2016 and allows users to download the data underlying this report.


The targeted chemical design of luminescent conjugated polythiophenes may yield new therapeutic compounds for treating prion diseases. Putting prions in their place In a mouse model of prion disease, Herrmann et al. evaluated the therapeutic efficacy of luminescent conjugated polythiophenes (LCPs), which are molecules with a high affinity for ordered protein aggregates. Intracerebral administration of LCPs into prion-infected mice using osmotic pumps increased survival. Solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance and in silico binding studies of LCPs to simplified model fibrils allowed the authors to define structural rules, which they then used for the design of LCPs with superior prophylactic and therapeutic potency. The new work demonstrates the feasibility of rational drug design for developing therapeutics to treat prion diseases. Prions cause transmissible spongiform encephalopathies for which no treatment exists. Prions consist of PrPSc, a misfolded and aggregated form of the cellular prion protein (PrPC). We explore the antiprion properties of luminescent conjugated polythiophenes (LCPs) that bind and stabilize ordered protein aggregates. By administering a library of structurally diverse LCPs to the brains of prion-infected mice via osmotic minipumps, we found that antiprion activity required a minimum of five thiophene rings bearing regularly spaced carboxyl side groups. Solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance analyses and molecular dynamics simulations revealed that anionic side chains interacted with complementary, regularly spaced cationic amyloid residues of model prions. These findings allowed us to extract structural rules governing the interaction between LCPs and protein aggregates, which we then used to design a new set of LCPs with optimized binding. The new set of LCPs showed robust prophylactic and therapeutic potency in prion-infected mice, with the lead compound extending survival by >80% and showing activity against both mouse and hamster prions as well as efficacy upon intraperitoneal administration into mice. These results demonstrate the feasibility of targeted chemical design of compounds that may be useful for treating diseases of aberrant protein aggregation such as prion disease.


The Random Intercept (RI) factor model is proposed as an alternative to traditional genetic factor models for the analysis of longitudinal twin data. This model constitutes a more factorially complex alternative to the single factor models which is yet more parsimonious than multifactor counterparts. Specifically, addition of general random intercept factors provides a way to model general individual differences in genetic and environmental components. Exploration of the appropriate factorization proceeds by testing the full model containing both a random intercept factor as well as the traditional factor which has freely estimated factor loadings the genetic and environment components of the model. When both of these components are not present for all genetic and environmental components, this model is frequently not empirically identified under Maximum Likelihood(ML) estimation. Bayesian estimation with subsequent model comparison using Bayes Factors is proposed as a remedy of this problem. Feasibility of the approach to model estimation and comparison is illustrated using a simulation study. The approach is then empirically illustrated using prospective longitudinal data from a study of body mass index in young women. Model comparisons indicate that while the estimated additive genetic contribution to body mass appears well modeled by a random intercept factor model that common and unique environmental effects were well-modeled by intercept-only factors. Heritability estimates under the RI appeared markedly different than those obtained under the traditional model.


Type 2 diabetes is an increasingly prevalent condition with complications including blindness and kidney failure. Evidence suggests that type 2 diabetes is associated with a sedentary lifestyle, with physical activity demonstrated to increase glucose uptake and improve glycaemic control. Proposed mechanisms for these effects include the maintenance and improvement of insulin sensitivity via increased glucose transporter type four production. The optimal mode, frequency, intensity and duration of exercise for the improvement of insulin sensitivity are however yet to be identified. We review the evidence from 34 published studies addressing the effects on glycaemic control and insulin sensitivity of aerobic exercise, resistance training and both combined. Effect sizes and confidence intervals are reported for each intervention and meta‐analysis presented. The quality of the evidence is tentatively graded, and recommendations for best practice proposed. © 2013 The Authors. Diabetes/Metabolism Research and Reviews published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Massive tree mortality has occurred rapidly in frequent-fire-adapted forests of the Sierra Nevada, California. This mortality is a product of acute drought compounded by the long-established removal of a key ecosystem process: frequent, lowto moderate-intensity fire. The recent tree mortality has many implications for the future of these forests and the ecological goods and services they provide to society. Future wildfire hazard following this mortality can be generally characterized by decreased crown fire potential and increased surface fire intensity in the short to intermediate term. The scale of present tree mortality is so large that greater potential for "mass fire" exists in the coming decades, driven by the amount and continuity of dry, combustible, large woody material that could produce large, severe fires. For long-term adaptation to climate change, we highlight the importance of moving beyond triage of dead and dying trees to making "green" (live) forests more resilient.


Micropower's 6-10KW converter has a small capacitance at the input of the converter.The line inductance can be big and then possibly induce oscillations onto the input of the converter. After a detailed study on the converter system, it is observed that the frequency is almost same when the system starts oscillating with higher amplitude. The aim of the thesis is to design the system mathematically using a state space representation and simulating the model to describe why it can oscillate. A systematic procedure is explained. Inorder to validate, the simulation results are verified with the experimental results conducted on the physical converter.


The Mongols, in the late sixth and early seventh century AH, invaded their surrounding territories and occupied large parts of the civilized world at that time, constituting the largest contiguous empire in human history in terms of land area. The Mongols' devastating attack on Iran took place in the early seventh century AH and resulted in the loss of many of our cultural heritage. Mongol rule and creation of Ilkhani family in Iran and Central Asia as well as the acceptance of Islam at the end of their rule and also the use of Iranian artists and arts would end in flourishing of architecture and its affiliates. Undoubtedly one of the most important surviving monuments of that period is the Dome of Soltaniyeh decorated by unmatched paintings on plaster, tiling, lattice brickwork, plaster and brick Mogharnas, plasters on fabric and inscriptions embellished with Quranic verses and traditional content. The current study which is a analytical/descriptive study, aimed at investigation of decorations of Ilkhaniera and its unmatched masterpiece of the Dome of Soltaniyieh.


This study set out to explore the current usage and knowledge of new media as a public relations tool and channel amongst practising public relations consultants in Australia. The research was motivated by a nationwide benchmarking study by de Bussy and Wolf (2009), which concluded that new media was an extremely low priority for Australian public relations practitioners. Taking into account the speed of change associated with new media adoption, the authors examine whether these findings are still true today.

This study takes a qualitative approach, based on a critical analysis of semistructured interviews with Western Australia (WA) based Registered Consultancy Group (RCG) members of the Public Relations Institute of Australia (PRIA) (n=7). Findings suggest a cautious attitude towards the benefits of new media amongst RCG consultants. This is largely based on the assertion that the dynamics of basic communication principles and theories have not changed and that there is consequently no perceived pressure to move into the new media sphere half heartedly.


In this paper I summarize the various activities used in class room and laboratory teaching of first and second year engineering. These activities can be grouped under 'active learning'. I describe the activities and the various attributes associated with each activity along with the advantages of using the mentioned activity model instead of simply a single ended lecturing model. Although most of these have erupted from an urge to increase students learning while making the topics increasingly interesting for them, most of these strategies have been researched out globally as effective teaching practices. Traditionally lecturers may think that they are doing active learning when questions are asked and a few students always answer or discussions amongst the same group of people take place from time to time. Although this includes student participation, it is engaging only a small fraction of a big class which is not optimum in terms of benefit to the class as whole and individuals of the class. Active learning is taking place in your class when you ask a question, pose a problem, or throw some type of challenge at them; ask your students to work individually or in pairs or small groups to come up with a response; give them some set time to do it; stop them, and invite one or more individuals or groups to share their responses with the class. The teacher as an expert can further comment on the answer if required. This paper concludes with a number of proven methods of including active learning strategies in first and second year Physics/electronics engineering class. Reference to global research about these strategies is included.


This paper provides an overview of the Reserve Bank of India's approach to macroprudential regulation and systemic risk management, and reviews lessons drawn from the Indian experience. It emphasizes the need for harmonization of monetary policy and prudential objectives, which may not be possible if banking supervision is separated from central banks. It also notes that supervisors need to have the necessary independence and flexibility to act in a timely manner on the basis of available information. Macroprudential regulation is an inexact science with limitations and needs to be used in conjunction with other policies to be effective.


An optical modulator of a metasurface constructed by an arrayed nano-ridge-aperture with a central nano-cylinder (NRANC) is designed and fabricated. The coupling effect between the localized surface plasmons (LSPs) distributed over each nano-apex of the nano-ridge-aperture and the outer-edge of the central nano-cylinder, and the surface plasmons polaritons (SPPs) generated over the periodic metasurface, have been investigated carefully. The tapered structure can be utilized to concentrate the incident energy and also remarkably enhance the localized light-field. The electrical dipolar induced on the tapered structure will regulate the reflectance or transmission characters. The coupling effect of the LSPs formed over the NRANC will lead to an enhancement of the induced surface electrical dipolar and further regulate the optical properties of the NRANC. By varying the geometrical parameters of the metasurface, the resonance frequency of the LSPs mode can also be adjusted and the movement of transmittance peak can be viewed, and the enhancement factor would reach as large as 1.4×103. The coupling between the LSPs and SPPs would stimulate Fano resonance. Adjusting the incidence angle of illuminating lasers in the visible and infrared ranges could modulate the stimulation of SPPs, so as to induce a relatively large alteration on the transmittance spectral. Through performing the near-field optical measurements, the near-field optical characteristic including the surface induced charge information can be viewed, and a small (∼96 nm at x-direction) and bright hot-spot is already observed under 45° oblique incidence of 633 nm TM lasers. The metasurface of constructed NRANC highlights several potential applications such as color filter, reflective reflectors, surface enhanced Raman.


Residents of Maxwell Hill, a suburb of Beckley, West Virginia, reported from January until March of 1988 a series of earth tremors. The tremors rattled dishes, and the noises associated with tremors were sometimes loud enough to wake people at night. These events were puzzling because Beckley is in an area of low seismic activity. Maxwell Hill is located above abandoned coal mines, though no direct subsidence damage to surface structures has been documented. A research program was initiated to determine whether subsurface ground movements associated with the abandoned mines could be responsible for the seismic activity experienced at the surface. A hypothesis is proposed which states that seismic disturbances can be caused by abandoned mine failure when two conditions are met. First, some instability must exist at the mine level. The most likely cause of instability is the failure of pillars of coal that were left for support at the time of mining. Second, subsurface movements can result in significant seismic activity only when the rock above the mine contains at least one very strong and brittle layer that is prone to fail violently through rupture or fault slip movement. Analysis of the data indicates that both hypothesized conditions for mine-related seismicity appear to have been satisfied in the case of Maxwell Hill. It has therefore been concluded that the earth tremors experienced by Maxwell Hill residents probably are related to the abandoned mines. Analysis of the potential magnitude of these events indicates that they are unlikely to cause significant surface damage. The probability that future events will disturb the residence of Maxwell Hill should be quite low based on the identified mechanism.


Covid-19 pandemic has massive impacts on the activity of human in the world, including in Indonesia. To reduce the transmission of the virus, Indonesian government issues a policy to restrict daily public activities, affecting key national sectors, such as education systems. All learning activities are switched from the conventional face-to-face mode to being remote via the use of the Internet. After the pandemic begins to subside, the government then plans to reopen all schools and to allow face-to-face learning. However, this decision has sparked controversy in the social media, including Twitter. This paper describes a methodology to perform sentiment analysis on a collection of tweets that are in connection with the restart of the face-to-face learning mode. In particular, our experiments using hand-crafted features based on the tweets demonstrate that data-driven models are useful for automatic sentiment orientation classification on Twitter data. The best model achieved in this study has 69,1% accuracy, 68.6% precision, 69.1% recall, and 67,8% F1-Score. This result is achieved by using unigram, Support Vector Machine, and tweet + number of words (count) feature combinations.


The "correspondence problem" refers to the task of maintaining object identity as the objects or the eyes move. Overall, the many studies using ambiguous motion displays (e.g., the motion quartet) find little or no influence of features (e.g., color or size) in resolving correspondence but a dominant influence of spatial and temporal proximity. In contrast, recent studies using the Ternus display show that feature information can play an important role in solving the correspondence problem (e.g., Hein & Moore, VSS 2009, VSS 2010). We investigated this conflict between the two paradigms by looking at the effect of distance on the strength of the feature influence in a variation of the Ternus display. Three equally spaced discs, aligned vertically, were presented in alternation with a second set displaced vertically so that the bottom two discs of the first set line up with the top two of the other set. The discs could be perceived as moving up and down together (group motion) or with one disc "jumping" from top end to the bottom while the other discs remained stationary (element motion). We varied the horizontal offset between the two sets of discs so that they would move slightly sideways as well as up and down. We biased the percept toward element motion by matching features of surface polarity, size or spatial frequency. We found that the percept of element motion decreased as the horizontal shift increased and that the distance at which the decrease started differed for the different features. These findings suggest that feature information contributes to correspondence but only over a small spatial range. This limited range explains why the Ternus display shows a feature effect – the central discs are typically spatially superimposed – whereas other apparent motion displays use large spatial offsets and show little or no feature effects.


A growing body of commentary calls for the Supreme Court to recalibrate its Fourth Amendment jurisprudence in response to technological and social changes that threaten the traditional balance between public safety and personal liberty, This Article joins the discussion, highlighting a largely overlooked consideration that should be included in any modernization of Fourth Amendment doctrine – crime severity. The Supreme Court emphasizes that "reasonableness" is the "touchstone" of Fourth Amendment analysis. Yet, in evaluating contested searches and seizures, current Fourth Amendment doctrine ignores a key facet of reasonableness, the crime under investigation. As a result, an invasive search of a suspected jaywalker is, legally speaking, no more or less reasonable than the same search of a suspected murderer. Through the years, the primary objection raised by the Supreme Court and academics to altering this status quo is that a crime severity variable would be unworkable. While a handful of scholars continue to argue for an increased role for crime severity in Fourth Amendment jurisprudence, this powerful objection remains unanswered. In an effort to fill this void in the debate, and introduce crime severity as a critical component of a revitalized search and seizure jurisprudence, this Article proposes a concrete framework for incorporating crime severity into Fourth Amendment doctrine. The Article then explores specific applications of the framework to highlight the constructive role crime severity distinctions can play in defining the constitutional parameters of searches and seizures in the modern era.


This essay explores the representation of the modern Jewish city in Palestine, envisioned in two fin-de-siècle futuristic tales: Theodor Herzl's Altneuland (1902) and Violet Guttenberg's A Modern Exodus (1904). Focusing on the northern port city of Haifa, transformed by the Jews from a poor Oriental town into a thriving Europeanized metropolis, both novelists employ the city's spatial, cultural, and human features to present radically different views concerning the national Jewish rejuvenation: for Herzl, it becomes a utopian triumph; for Guttenberg, a deplorable failure. Notwithstanding their different assessments of the Zionist vision, both authors share certain anti-Semitic assumptions about the nature of "the Jew" (greedy, intolerant, vulgar), which are inscribed into the urban space. Herzl's ideal Haifa is designed precisely to reform the diaspora Jew by introducing such modern urban measures that would render these detestable Jewish traits obsolete. Guttenberg's disordered city, in comparison, reflects an inability to alter the Jewish character: no wonder that London, not Haifa, becomes the final destination of her "Modern Exodus."


The Sydney Harbour Bridge has become a recognised symbol of Sydney and Australia. Despite it being historically documented it has not been analysed in terms of specifically applying the concepts of modernity and postmodernity. This article explores the facets of the Harbour Bridge by applying modern and postmodern concepts to the historical information to gain a greater understanding of the Bridge and the present moment we live in. From this we can conclude that these concepts, although maybe not consciously in the mindset of those at the time, provided the foundations for the development of the Bridge. Modernist ideas upheld and praised science used in the Bridge construction. Progress was embraced leading to pressure from society to build the Bridge, which resulted in Sydney's progression beyond the Bridge. Ideas of equality and secularisation were associated with the Bridge. A renewed interest in the history of the Bridge resulted from postmodern ideas of looking back upon the past however this raises questions of exploiting the past. The Bridge can be understood as a site of chaos from a postmodern view as it takes on multiple meanings. Sydney would not be as we know it today without the influence of these concepts.


See the pages below for course-specific resources. Concur Booking Travel [2] Concur Reconciling Procurement Card [3] Concur Reconciling Travel [4] CU Marketplace Approver [5] CU Marketplace Invoice Match Exception Approver [6] CU Marketplace Receiver [7] CU Marketplace Requestor [8] CU Marketplace Shopper [9] Procurement Card Approving Official Training [10] Procurement Card Cardholder Training [10] Procurement Purchasing and Contract Management [11] Travel and Travel Card Training [12] Fiscal Code of Ethics [13]


1. TIMBER SPECIES OF EAST AFRICA
These fall into four groups: indigenous and exotic; each divided
into Broad leaved (or hardwood)species and Conifers (or softwood) species.
Indigenous Broad leaved species
These comprise the majority of the species and occur over the whole
of East Africa though they are of particular economic importance to
Uganda and Tanzania in the absence of large supplies of conifers. This
group includes such species as Mvule, E.A. Camphor, African Mahogany,
Muninga and many others most of which are more used for joinery than
building though certain properties such as a locally favourable supply
and durability may encourage their use in some circumstances. These
timbers occur in natural forests though there are a few plantations.
Indigenous Conifers
The two species~ Pedo and Cedar9 are declining in importance in
Kenya as they become worked outo Both grow on the slopes of the higher
mountains mainly in Kenya and N. Tanzania. Cedar may be classified as a
scarce timber in large sizes but Podo is still available in Kenya and is
fairly common in No Tanzaniao
Exotic Broad leaved species
The main species are ubiquitous ~~ligna gum and grevillea from
Australia. Other eucalypts are also grown in plantations and there is
some teak in Tanzaniao The eucalypts have mainly been used for poles
and not great deal in converted form in construction though there is no
reason why this should not be done.
Exotic Conifers
These include Cypress and Pine and are grown extensively in the
Kenya Highlands and parts of Tanzania. Cypress is the main construction
timber over much of East Africa and this market will be shared with
Pine as increasing quantities of the latter become available.


In the south-west German village of Hayingen, the playwright-director Martin Schleker presents large open-air productions of politically sensitive yet entertaining plays to mass audiences on an annual basis. This article explores the element of risk in Schleker's work: his use of purely amateur performers; his job-creation schemes for young people; and his left-wing and often anti-Catholic stance on issues such as racism and nuclear arms before often deeply conservative, culturally Catholic audiences. Schleker's work is situated in the wider context of the state-funded, civic theatres in Germany, and of the tradition of open-air 'Naturtheater' which is particularly strong in the Swabian region. Some assumptions surrounding such binary divides as amateur-professional and high art-entertainment are also explored. Data for this article was collected in the Hayingen 'Naturtheater' during a period of ethnographic research supported by the Leverhulme Trust. Having completed her doctorate at Sheffield University, Alison Phipps has been working as a lecturer in the Department of German – and in particular in the Centre for Intercultural Germanistics – at Glasgow University since October 1995. She has published in the areas of her research interests, which include contemporary German theatre and performance research, Ethnographic approaches to language education, and popular German culture and intercultural studies.


Mitochondrial dysfunction, associated with insulin resistance, is characterized by low expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma coactivator-1alpha (PGC-1alpha) and nuclear-encoded mitochondrial genes. This deficit could be due to decreased physical activity or a decreased response of gene expression to exercise. The objective of this study was to investigate whether a bout of exercise induces the same increase in nuclear-encoded mitochondrial gene expression in insulin-sensitive and insulin-resistant subjects matched for exercise capacity. Seven lean and nine obese subjects took part. Insulin sensitivity was assessed by an 80 mU.m(-2).min(-1) euglycemic clamp. Subjects were matched for aerobic capacity and underwent a single bout of exercise at 70 and 90% of maximum heart rate with muscle biopsies at 30 and 300 min postexercise. Quantitative RT-PCR and immunoblot analyses were used to determine the effect of exercise on gene expression and protein abundance and phosphorylation. In the postexercise period, lean subjects immediately increased PGC-1alpha mRNA level (reaching an eightfold increase by 300 min postexercise) and protein abundance and AMP-dependent protein kinase phosphorylation. Activation of PGC-1alpha was followed by increase of nuclear respiratory factor-1 and cytochrome c oxidase (subunit VIc). However, in insulin-resistant subjects, there was a delayed and reduced response in PGC-1alpha mRNA and protein, and phosphorylation of AMP-dependent protein kinase was transient. None of the genes downstream of PGC-1alpha was increased after exercise in insulin resistance. Insulin-resistant subjects have a reduced response of nuclear-encoded mitochondrial genes to exercise, and this could contribute to the origin and maintenance of mitochondrial dysfunction.


This thesis assessed the validity and reliability of wireless near infrared spectrometry for monitoring muscle oxygenation during exercise in children. Additionally, it also observed the physiological and performance developments of children participating in club-based athletic training.
Study One represented the first attempt to investigate criterion validity and intra-unit reliability of the Moxy wireless near infrared spectroscopy monitor during exercise in children. Fourteen children, 9 males (aged 9.67 ± 0.52 years) and 5 females (aged 9.87 ± 0.68 years) participated in the study. Muscle oxygenation was measured during treadmill running at 4, 6 and 8 km.h-1 with the Moxy and with the NIRO-200 laboratory-based system. At 4 km.h-1 the Moxy recorded higher mean muscle oxygenation than the NIRO-200 (62.16 ± 8.1 compared to 59.61 ± 5.2), whilst at 6 km.h-1 the NIRO-200 measured higher mean values than the Moxy (59.90 ± 7.6 compared to 61.05 ± 6.1). At 8 km.h-1 mean values were 59.46 ± 8.7 for the Moxy and 59.25 ± 5.4 for the NIRO (Figure 1). No significant difference was found muscle oxygenation measures recorded by the Moxy compared to the NIRO-200 (F(1, 78) = .44, p= .508, η2= .006). Whilst Bland Altman analysis showed positive mean differences of 3.17%, 1.32% and 0.50% at 4 km.h-1, 6 km.h-1 and 8 km.h-1 respectively, 96% of data points fell within limits of agreement. Additionally, strong correlation was evident at 8 km.h-1 (r = .800, P< .05) but only moderate at 4 km.h-1 (r = .351, P< .05) and 6 km.h-1 (r = .497, P< .05) showing that the Moxy measures muscle oxygenation closer to the criterion measure at higher running speeds in children. The Moxy demonstrated intra-unit reliability through CV values of 5% at 4 km.h-1 and 6 km.h-1. Strong ICC values were also evident at 4 km.h-1 (r = .809, P< .001) and 6 km.h-1 (r = .834, P< .001). At 8 km.h-1 CV improved to 3% and ICC categorised as almost perfect (r = .940, P< .001). Intra-unit reliability values from the Moxy were strong and therefore this suggests that this wireless monitor can reliably monitor longitudinal changes in muscle oxygenation. In conclusion, the Moxy NIRS monitor provides a valid and reliable a tool for monitoring muscle oxygenation during running activity in children.
Study Two observed the physiological and performance development of eighteen children, 10 males (aged 9.67 ± 0.87) and 8 females (aged 9.56 ± 0.53), who participated in athletic training. This study also introduced the novel observation of 24 weeks of exercise in addition to the first use of wireless near infrared spectroscopy technology to observe longitudinal changes in muscle oxygenation in children. After 24 weeks, 10 metre (ES = 0.48), 20 metre (ES = 0.73) and 40 metre (ES = 0.73) sprint times were significantly faster and jump height significantly higher (ES = 0.43), whilst no change was recorded on fat free mass, calf or thigh circumference. After 24 weeks, 400 metre (ES = 0.25) run time was significantly faster with measures of muscle oxygenation showing mean muscle oxygenation significantly higher (ES = 0.78), deoxygenation half-relaxation time (THR) significantly faster (ES = 0.19) and actual muscle oxygenation values recorded at THR significantly higher (ES = 0.78). Deoxygenation half-relaxation time and mean SmO2 were found to demonstrate significant change only between weeks 12 to 24. Pre-run muscle oxygenation showed no change. In conclusion, the study found that 24 weeks of athletic training resulted in beneficial improvements to sprint and jump performance. Different temporal patterns were evident for jump performance that matched previous research but not for the acceleration phase of the sprint. The first use of a wireless NIRS monitor to measure longitudinally found significant and beneficial changes in muscle oxygenation over 24 weeks that may indicate an improvement in the ability to supply and remove oxygen from the blood during exercise, with the significant change occurring from 12 to 24 weeks.


Purpose of reviewMyelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are characterized by significant biologic and clinical heterogeneity. Because of the wide outcome variability, accurate prognostication is vital to high-quality risk-adaptive care of MDS patients. In this review, we discuss the current state of prognostic schemes for MDS and overview efforts aimed at utilizing molecular aberrations for prognostication in clinical practice. Recent findingsSeveral prognostic instruments have been developed and validated with increasing accuracy and complexity. Oncologists should be aware of the inherent limitations of these prognostic tools as they counsel patients and make clinical decisions. As more therapies are becoming available for MDS, the focus of model development is shifting from prognostic to treatment-specific predictive instruments. In addition to providing additional prognostic data beyond traditional clinical and pathologic parameters, the improved understanding of the genetic landscape and pathophysiologic consequences in MDS may allow the construction of treatment-specific predictive instruments. SummaryHow to best use the results of molecular mutation testing to inform clinical decision making in MDS is still a work in progress. Important steps in this direction include standardization in performance and interpretation of assays and better understanding of the independent prognostic importance of the recurrent mutations, especially the less frequent ones.


Bit-sliced systems are formed by interconnecting identical slices or cells to form a one-dimensional iterative logic array (ILA). This paper presents several design techniques for constructing easily testable bit-sliced systems. Properties of ILA's that simplify their testing are examined. C-testable ILA's, which require a constant number of test patterns independent of the array size, are characterized, and a method for making an arbitrary ILA C-testable is presented. A new testability concept for arrays called I-testability is introduced. I-testability ensures that identical test responses can be obtained from every cell in an ILA, and thus simplifies response verification. I-testable ILA's are characterized, as well as CI-testable arrays, which are simultaneously C- and I-testable. A method of making an arbitrary ILA CI-testable is presented. The application of C- and I-testing to the design of bit-sliced (micro-) computers is investigated. For this purpose a family of easily testable processor slices is described. The design of a self-testing CPU based on I-testing is discussed, and compared with a more conventional self-testing design.


A k-uniform hypergraph H = ( V; E) is said to be self-complementary whenever it is isomorphic with its complement (H) over bar = ( V; ((V)(k)) - E). Every permutation sigma of the set V such that sigma(e) is an edge of (H) over bar if and only if e is an element of E is called self-complementing. 2-self-comlementary hypergraphs are exactly self complementary graphs introduced independently by Ringel ( 1963) and Sachs ( 1962). For any positive integer n we denote by lambda(n) the unique integer such that n = 2(lambda(n)) c, where c is odd. In the paper we prove that a permutation sigma of [1, n] with orbits O-1,..., O-m O m is a self-complementing permutation of a k-uniform hypergraph of order n if and only if there is an integer l >= 0 such that k = a2(l) + s, a is odd, 0 (i)n = b2(l+1) + r,r is an element of {0,..., 2(l) - 1 + s}, and (ii) Sigma(i:lambda(vertical bar Oi vertical bar) For k = 2 this result is the very well known characterization of self-complementing permutation of graphs given by Ringel and Sachs.


Separating content from noise in historical manuscripts is a fundamental task in digital palaeography. This study presents a fully automated segmentation approach based on the response of Harris corner detectors. The strength and clustering efficiency of the detected corners in the manuscripts are evaluated and used to segment the content from the background and noise. In addition, a manuscript reconstruction technique is proposed from the gradient field using the Poisson method to guide the interpolation. This reconstruction is able to remove noise significantly and hence enhances the contrast of the content thus making it easier for users to read and process these documents. The proposed approaches are evaluated using various standard databases to highlight their effectiveness and robustness to a multitude of noise and writing styles. Subjective and objective evaluations of the experimental results show that these techniques are able to successfully segment and reconstruct a very diverse set of scanned documents. An analysis of the results has also shown that the proposed technique compares favourably against similar counterparts.


Background: Mental capacity based mental health legislation has been proposed, but its potential impact on practice has not been described. Aims: To describe the extent to which mental capacity based law might change prescriptions of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in England and Wales. Method: A qualitative study using focus groups and semi-structured interviews of psychiatrists, was followed by a cross sectional study of 186 consultant psychiatrists. Results: Psychiatrists were divided in their management of detained but apparently competent patients refusing ECT. From the cross sectional survey, 15.9% reported having prescribed ECT in such patients, but some expressed views that the treatment was not acceptable under these circumstances. Conclusions: Mental capacity based legislation could limit the use of compulsory treatment to some individuals refusing treatment. However, it might equally lead to psychiatrists redefining their operational definitions of mental capacity. Declaration of interest: This study was funded by the Department of Health.


In this multi-method study, we combine a longitudinal field study and agent-based modeling to examine the social construction process of user beliefs of collaborative technology over time. We argue that the primary methods in the technology acceptance literature—variance-based analysis and interpretive case study—are limited in understanding the reciprocal social influence process inherent to user beliefs of collaborative technology. Drawing on Bijker's (1995) social construction of technology theory and Salancik and Pfeffer's (1978) social information processing theory, research questions regarding the social construction of user beliefs are developed. We describe the longitudinal field study and agent-based modeling employed for answering the research questions. The future steps of this research-in-progress are outlined. We discuss the implications of this study at the end.