The chemical, mineralogical and main physical properties of 20 samples belonging to the polygenic sedimentary "Agnano breccias" were determined within the framework of a wide-ranging research study on the building stones and mortars used in the cities of Pisa and Lucca (western Tuscany, Italy) throughout the Middle Ages. Data was drawn from unweathered samples collected in abandoned quarries near the village of Agnano (Mt. Pisano, Pisa, Italy). The analysed breccias exhibit a wide range of macroscopic features and chemical and physical properties. Nonetheless, all the analysed samples can be construed as belonging to a single compositional "family", whose individual members are mixtures in different proportions of a carbonatic component and a silicatic one. Agnano breccias were widely used during the Middle Ages, when they were worked into square blocks and used as an inexpensive, low-grade building material. Minor quantities were quarried up to the 19 th century. Their uses and the deterioration processes to which they are subjected are also briefly described.


One of the six blades of an agricultural rotary cutter used for cutting down small trees and bushes broke into two pieces while the blades were rotating. One piece was hurled from the cutter and struck a young farmer, who had been operating the machine, causing a near fatal leg injury. In the ensuing litigation against the manufacturers and marketer of the machine each litigant retained a metallurgist and other experts. The metallurgists jointly directed laboratory work on the broken blade conducted at an independent laboratory according to a protocol which they developed and which was approved by the court. As a result of the laboratory work the present authors, working for the Plaintiffs, concluded that failure of the blade occurred because it contained quench cracks introduced when it was manufactured. The Defendants' metallurgists concluded that the blade had been misassembled onto the machine and, as a result, had failed by fatigue. Eventually, the case was set for a jury trial in a Circuit Court in rural Kentucky. The jury found for the Plaintiffs and awarded them $5.9 million in damages. Part of this judgement was later reversed by the Kentucky Court of Appeals and the case was then settled without a second trial under terms which were not revealed.


The cloud, in the past few years, has become the preferred platform for hosting web applications. Many of these web applications store their data in a distributed cloud storage system, which greatly simplifies application development and provides increased availability and reliability. However, with increasing user demand for web applications, these cloud storage systems often become the performance bottleneck. To address the cloud's performance demands, many storage system features, such as strong consistency and transactional support, are often omitted in favour of performance. Nonetheless, transactions remain necessary to ensure data integrity and application correctness. In this thesis, we introduce CrossStitch, which is an efficient transaction processing framework for distributed key-value storage systems. CrossStitch supports general transactions, where transactions include both computation and key accesses. It is specifically optimized for short-lived transactions that are typical of cloud-deployed web applications. In CrossStitch, a transaction is partitioned into a series of components that form a transaction chain. These components are executed and the transaction is propagated along the storage servers instead of being executed on the application server. This chained structure, in which servers only communicate with their immediate neighbours, enables CrossStitch to implement a pipelined version of two-phase commit to ensure transactional atomicity. CrossStitch is able to eliminate a significant amount of setup overhead using this structure by executing the transaction and the atomic commit protocol concurrently. Therefore, CrossStitch provides low latency and efficient transactional support for cloud storage systems. Our evaluation demonstrates that CrossStitch is a scalable and efficient transaction processing framework for web transactions.


African American landowners have been reluctant to take advantage of intergenerational succession laws which provide for an orderly transfer of property from one generation to the next. This reluctance has led to a prevalence of heir property. Heir property is created when a person dies intestate. Heir property has created an impediment to wealth accumulation and has contributed to African American land loss in America. Partition actions are a byproduct of heir property which has operated to accelerate the loss of real property in the African American community. The Uniform Partition of Heir Property Act provides for procedural safeguards that would allow for cotenants of heir property to buy out other heirs and provide more discernable notices of partition actions. These factors will likely militate against the precipitous loss of African American lands due to partition lawsuits initiated because of heir property.


Abstract : Remotely piloted aircraft (RPA; also known as drone) operators have critical roles in the U.S. Air Force (USAF), ranging from intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions to delivering weapons on targets for close air support and precision strike operations. The health and wellness of RPA operators are critical to sustaining performance readiness. As a result, the USAF School of Aerospace Medicine was requested by USAF line operator and medical leadership to conduct a field survey to assess for general areas of health-related behaviors (i.e., sleep and exercise; alcohol, tobacco, and caffeine use; common reasons for seeking medical care and mental health support services; and reasons for increased prescription and over-the-counter medication usage). A total of 1,094 MQ-1 Predator/MQ-9 Reaper operators (pilots, sensor operators, and mission intelligence coordinators) from three USAF major commands completed the web-based survey, resulting in a 49% response rate. Statistical analyses were performed to assess for between-group major command differences to quantitative and qualitative items assessing (a) the amount of sleep obtained before work and the frequency of engaging in structured physical exercise throughout the week; (b) the amount, frequency, and increase in consumption of alcohol, tobacco, and caffeine and the reasons for increased consumption; (c) medical conditions worsened by current unit assignment and occupational stress; (d) changes in healthcare utilization since being assigned to Predator/Reaper operations and the reasons for these changes; and finally (e) increases in medication utilization since being assigned to Predator/Reaper operations and the reasons for such increases. A number of recommendations are provided for line and medical leadership for optimizing health for RPA operators. Such recommendations included optimizing work hours and shift work schedules, managing the ergonomic strains inherent in the Predator/Reaper workstations,


Improving commercial bank capital requirements has been a top priority on the regulatory agenda since the beginning of the 2008 financial crisis. Unfortunately, some of the information necessary to make informed decisions about capital regulation has been missing. Existing regulations establish numerical capital requirements. Regulators, however, have significant discretion to set higher capital requirements for individual banks. In considering necessary reforms, regulators often focus on specific numerical requirements, but sometimes ignore the structure of the regulations and discretionary enforcement efforts. Without clear information about discretionary capital enforcement actions, it is impossible to make informed judgments about the current capital regulation system. This Article provides a more complete picture of discretionary capital enforcement. It reports an empirical study of all publicly available formal capital enforcement actions between 1993 and 2010. The data, compiled from more than 2300 enforcement actions, reveal four significant insights. First, the number of capital enforcement actions has dramatically increased during the current economic downturn. Second, an increasing number of banks are subject to individual capital requirements – requirements that are higher than the requirements specified in statutes and regulations. Third, the data suggest that enforcement rates are not consistent among bank regulators. In particular, the Federal Reserve is less likely than other regulators to bring serious capital enforcement actions and is less likely to increase capital requirements. Fourth, the data show a near complete absence of capital enforcement actions issued to the largest banks. Because the study clearly reveals an increase in discretionary capital enforcement actions, the Article examines the proper role of this discretionary enforcement. It concludes that a capital regulation system that relies heavily on discretion is troublesome. Discretionary capital enforcement is often ineffective and costly. Moreover, the focus on individual bank conditions can blind regulators to macroeconomic problems. Instead, policymakers should work to create capital rules that are sufficient without significant discretionary capital enforcement.


The failures of memory function in post-traumatic stress disorder and its relationship with severity of symptoms need to take new approaches to improve the memory performance in patients. The aim of this study was to investigate the Effectiveness of emotional working memory Training on improvement memory in adolescents with PostTraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). For this purpose, 4 adolescents (M: 2 F: 2) were selected available sampling by using 2 instruments (SCID-I) & (IES-R) The selected people– one by one were under emotional working memory training during 20 sessions. All people were assessed during three stages (pretraining, posttraining and 2 month follow up) by children' Wechsler Digit Span Test (direct and reverse). Data were analyzed using the indices for trend changes, slope and the visual inspection of the charts; recovery percent index and effect size were used to determine the clinical significance. The results showed that emotional working memory training lead to increase in ability of participants in memory from pretest to follow up who suffering from PostTraumatic Stress Disorders. Regarding the current study, it can be said that emotional working memory training is an appropriate choice for increase in memory in adolescents suffering from PostTraumatic Stress Disorder.


A jigsaw is a recently proposed generative model that describes an image as a composition of non-overlapping patches of varying shape, extracted from a latent image. By learning the latent jigsaw image which best explains a set of images, it is possible to discover the shape, size and appearance of repeated structures in the images. A challenge when learning this model is the very large space of possible jigsaw pixels which can potentially be used to explain each image pixel. The previous method of inference for this model scales linearly with the number of jigsaw pixels, making it unusable for learning the large jigsaws needed for many practical applications. In this paper, we make three contributions that enable the learning of large jigsaws -a novel sparse belief propagation algorithm, a hybrid method which significantly improves the sparseness of this algorithm, and a method that uses these techniques to make learning of large jigsaws feasible. We provide detailed analysis of how our hybrid inference method leads to significant savings in memory and computation time. To demonstrate the success of our method, we present experimental results applying large jigsaws to an object recognition task.


A report discusses a cryogenic reaction control system (RCS) that integrates a Joule-Thompson (JT) device (expansion valve) and thermodynamic vent system (TVS) with a cryogenic distribution system to allow fine control of the propellant quality (subcooled liquid) during operation of the device. It enables zero-venting when coupled with an RCS engine. The proper attachment locations and sizing of the orifice are required with the propellant distribution line to facilitate line conditioning. During operations, system instrumentation was strategically installed along the distribution/TVS line assembly, and temperature control bands were identified. A sub-scale run tank, full-scale distribution line, open-loop TVS, and a combination of procured and custom-fabricated cryogenic components were used in the cryogenic RCS build-up. Simulated on-orbit activation and thruster firing profiles were performed to quantify system heat gain and evaluate the TVS s capability to maintain the required propellant conditions at the inlet to the engine valves. Test data determined that a small control valve, such as a piezoelectric, is optimal to provide continuously the required thermal control. The data obtained from testing has also assisted with the development of fluid and thermal models of an RCS to refine integrated cryogenic propulsion system designs. This system allows a liquid oxygenbased main propulsion and reaction control system for a spacecraft, which improves performance, safety, and cost over conventional hypergolic systems due to higher performance, use of nontoxic propellants, potential for integration with life support and power subsystems, and compatibility with in-situ produced propellants.


Traditionally, the monolayer (two-dimensional) cell cultures are used for initial evaluation of the effectiveness of anticancer therapies. In particular, these experiments provide the IC50 curves that determine drug concentration that can inhibit growth of a tumor colony by half. The multicellular spheroid (three-dimensional) cultures have a histological and biochemical advantage over two-dimensional cultures for cancer models due to the fact that gene-expression patterns in spheroids are moreaa similar to those observed in real tumor samples. However, three-dimensional cultures are time consuming, costly and laborious. Therefore, it is crucial to develop a mathematical model to investigate how to use information from the IC50 approach to predict how a three-dimensional tumor will respond to the treatment. One of the goals of this study is to answer the question if the IC50 concentration assessed from the two-dimensional cell culture will be sufficient enough to kill half off the cells in a three-dimensional spheroid? Another question is to determine whether there is a mathematical way to scale the IC50 concentration to be effective towards the three-dimensional case. Using the individual-cell-based model we address these questions and our results have shown that in both models as the diffusion rates increase the IC50 values decrease. Furthermore, the IC50 value for the three-dimensional model is two order of magnitude higher than the IC50 value of two-dimensional model. This comparison of the cellular growth in the twoand three-dimensional cases under treatment showed that if the drug diffusion rates are higher, then there is greater likelihood of reducing tumor growth using drug concentrations that are lower, hence less damaging to cancer patients.


Medical ethics manual Author: John R Williams Publisher: World Medical Association, Ferney-Voltaire, France; 2005 ISBN: 92-990028-1-9; softcover; 134 pages; English, French and Spanish full-text versions can be downloaded free from the World Medical Association's web site: http://www.wma.net/(copies of the English print version can be obtained by contacting the publisher) In 1999 the Fifty-first Annual General Assembly of the World Medical Association (WMA) passed a resolution that medical ethics and human rights be included as obligatory courses in all medical school curricula. Subsequently, the WMA went through an extensive global consultation process, resulting in publication of its Medical ethics manual. The stated goal of this manual is "to fill the void of a basic, universally used curriculum for the teaching of medical ethics". This is an ambitious but worthy goal. In view of the complexity of today's multicultural and legal bounds to medical practice, burgeoning information overload, and rapid technological advances in medicine, the challenges to producing this manual were enormous. WMA has risen to these challenges well and published a book that has an attractive pocket-size format, is easy to read, and is appealing to a wide audience. The first chapter outlines the principles of medical ethics. The next three chapters deal separately with the principal ethical issues of concern to a physician--those related to the patient, society at large, and colleagues --and in this way the book elegantly simplifies a very complex topic. The penultimate chapter, on the ethics of medical research, is followed by one on the responsibilities and privileges of a physician. These six chapters cover the entire range of issues relevant to medical ethics. Strengthening the teaching of medical ethics; Internet resources; WMA resources; a glossary, and several case studies are subsequently dealt with in five appendixes. One can easily visualize a young doctor in a remote setting having to deal with a patient with a terminal illness but who refuses treatment. The doctor feels morally bound to insist on some treatment--any treatment--for this patient who has entrusted himself to his care. What is this young doctor to do? Does he accept the patient's request to stop treating him, or does he continue prescribing medicines knowing that they may be futile? He has no senior colleague or bioethicist with whom to discuss his dilemma. The Medical ethics manual, particularly the section on the right of self-determination, may provide him with some guidance. There will be many other such instances, in many countries, in many remote settings, where physicians will use this manual to understand better the issues of patient rights, their own responsibilities, and the role of families and others in the care of patients. It deals very comprehensively not only with traditional concepts such as confidentiality, communication, and consent but also with more topical issues: the care of HIV-positive patients; beginning-of-life issues such as assisted reproductive technologies, prenatal genetic screening and abortion; and end-of-life issues such as euthanasia and assisted suicide--topics that are relevant to practising physicians worldwide. Moral and ethical actions are often underpinned by philosophical discourses that can be quite daunting; their presence in a practical book such as this could have been a diversion. The author has deftly skirted this difficult issue by highlighting issues through the use of case studies. These case studies--one per chapter--have been chosen with great care, in that they could apply to a wide variety of settings and are almost universal in their relevance. However, they merely illustrate what is right or wrong. The really interesting and challenging case studies appear in Appendix E. These are examples of what today's doctors commonly and increasingly have to face in their practice but which are moral dilemmas with no clear solutions. …


Eurasian and North American continental glaciers reached Last Glacial Maximum around 21 kyr back. Lower sea level exposed Bering land bridge that opened human migration routes from Asia to North America. Large ice sheets blanketed much of the northern hemisphere. Northern Europe underwent significant ecological shifts at that time and later. Pleistocene–Holocene transition transformed also Baltic Sea Region, it was one of last colonized areas by Paleolithic societies. Periglacial environments with glacier retreat process made up deglaciated territories and during Younger Dryas and Preboreal time major shifts in climate happened whilst animals and plants adapted to new environments. Inland dunes were forming and sporadic eventual settlements of ancient reindeer hunters appeared near shorelines of rivers. Human colonization process is difficult to be assessed for that time due to sparse findings, fluctuations of sea level and natural processes that destroyed archaeological evidence, however geomorphological, paleobotanic and archaeological evidence has been studied for the region. Research of the Fennoscandian ice sheet retreat, deglaciation phases, ancient shores and following paleoecological processes of the Late Weichselian and Preboreal include modern analytical methods in combination with geomorphological studies. Thus it is possible to fill the gap of poor archaeological evidence through restoration of environmental situation. Modern humans first arrived and quickly spread across southern Europe c. 45–40,000 cal BP. Around 14-15 kyr back in history Southern Baltic region experienced the Hamburgian and Ahrensburgian traditions with remarkable site locations of archaeological findings, some of which are extended also in Scania and Denmark regions, however most part of Fennoscandia and Baltic remained under ice cover. Tremendous environmental transformations occurred during deglaciation phases when changes in plant and animal communities occured, e.g., presence of reindeer herds became important for human approaching the harsh northern tundra deserts. Finally, the human colonization is point in prehistory when Paleolithic societies of southern Europe migrated north and settled new developed ecosystems. Recognition and chronology of the Late Weichselian deglacial phases is complicated and have yet unresolved regional and local interpretations however end moraines and geomorphological evidence help to restore the prehistorical geographical map and history of ancient sea stages. Ages are based on radiocarbon, cosmogenic isotopes 36Cl and 10Be, OSL and thermoluminescence dating, supplemented by 'floating' chronologies based on laminas of ice-dammed lake deposits counting, nevertheless not continued until the present. Hundreds of thermoluminescence dates from glacial sediments were seriously questioned and available ages usually are interpreted together providing sketch in a regional context. Interesting works have been performed on inland dunes using OSL, they pinpoint on stabilization of periglacial and post-glacial dunes stabilization dyring Younger Dryas and Preboreal. The results suggest that distribution of parabolic dunes is in close association with distribution of sandy glaciofluvial and glaciolacustrine sediments. High-precision spatial analysis suggest that, e.g., in Latvia, at least four morphological types of inland dunes can be distinguished and the parabolic dunes are dominant. They have started to form under cold and dry climate approximately 12.3 – 11.3 kyr OSL years ago. Later degree of aeolian processes and parabolic sand dune formation gradually subsided. Inland dunes still serve as geomorphological proxies helping to restore Periglacial and Post-Glacial landscape history in Baltic Sea Region helping also archaeologists to explain their findings. The East Baltic Stone Age is known for its array of bone and antler artefacts. Several hunting and fishing tool sets of bone and antler were determined, in, e.g., Latvia, pointing each stage of the Baltic Stone Age. Oldest were formed when ice sheet retreated and the conditions for human habitation made possible. The ethnic and cultural identity of paleolithic people in East Baltic is not known, but it is accepted view that they were reindeer hunters and anthropologically close to nowadays saami (Lapland) and nency cultures in Russia Far North. C14 evidence in East Baltic points that reindeers were present from Allerod times till beginning of Preboreal.


Norman Daniels' theory of justice and health faces a serious practical problem: his theory can ground the special moral importance of health and allows distinguishing just from unjust health inequalities, but it provides little practical guidance for allocating resources when they are especially scarce. Daniels' solution to this problem is a fair process that he specifies as "accountability for reasonableness". Daniels claims that accountability for reasonableness makes limit-setting decisions in healthcare not only legitimate, but also fair. This paper assesses the latter claim. Does accountability for reasonableness result in fair limit-setting decisions? It is argued that the answer to this question is not a clear yes. Daniels is remarkably unclear about the criterion of fairness that accountability for reasonableness satisfies. The paper discusses different options for resolving this lack of clarity and examines how they apply to Daniels' accountability for reasonableness framework. It is concluded, first, that accountability for reasonableness is not a paradigm case of any of the classic notions of procedural justice; second, that what might be called "constrained pure procedural justice" best reflects how accountability for reasonableness results in fair limit-setting decisions; and third, that the procedural conditions of accountability for reasonableness must be further specified and amended to better achieve a fair process, and hence fair limit-setting decisions.


Eutrophication is a major inland water problem that is researched by many environmentalists and hydrologists. A eutrophic inland water body can cause many negative water problems, such as taste and odor, biotoxin, and low dissolved oxygen. Many previous studies were effective based on using remote sensing to evaluate water body trophic state. In this study, the Cheney Reservoir is selected as an object to test the performance of using remote sensing, specifically the Landsat Thematic Mapper sensor, to evaluate the trophic state of a reservoir. Based on Landsat TM imagery, the chlorophyll a concentration is estimated to be used to indicate the trophic state of the Cheney Reservoir in August, 2011. It is found that the processed Landsat TM images were successfully used to run the regression analysis to assess the whole lake chlorophyll-a concentration, thereby the spatial distribution of trophic state of the Cheney Reservoir in Aug, 2011 was done. During this study, the field measurement and laboratory analysis data were acquired in collaboration with the US Geological Survey in Lawrence, KS. From the results of this study, mean chlorophyll-a concentration is about 10 ug/L, and high-mesotrophic is the dominating trophic state. Both results are comparable with previous studies from Smith in 2001 and 2002. The conclusion of this study is that use remote sensing methods with data of Landsat TM can successfully evaluate the trophic state Cheney Reservoir in August, 2011. The study is limited by the time difference between field measurement and Landsat TM imagery data, and lack of the same testing on different reservoirs. The major error is from a 14-days difference between the time of image acquisition (August 1, 2011) and the time when the chlorophyll-a measurements were taken (August 15, 2000). In the future work, more attention will put on overcome the mentioned limitation, and reduce error.


The Internet is often thought to be a model of resilience, due to a decentralised, organically-grown architecture. This paper puts this perception into perspective through the results of a security analysis of the Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) routing infrastructure. BGP is a fundamental Internet protocol and its intrinsic fragilities have been highlighted extensively in the literature. A seldom studied aspect is how robust the BGP infrastructure actually is as a result of nearly three decades of perpetual growth. Although global black-outs seem unlikely, local security events raise growing concerns on the robustness of the backbone. In order to better protect this critical infrastructure, it is crucial to understand its topology in the context of the weaknesses of BGP and to identify possible security scenarios. Firstly, we establish a comprehensive threat model that classifies main attack vectors, including but non limited to BGP vulnerabilities. We then construct maps of the European BGP backbone based on publicly available routing data. We analyse the topology of the backbone and establish several disruption scenarios that highlight the possible consequences of different types of attacks, for different attack capabilities. We also discuss existing mitigation and recovery strategies, and we propose improvements to enhance the robustness and resilience of the backbone. To our knowledge, this study is the first to combine a comprehensive threat analysis of BGP infrastructures withadvanced network topology considerations. We find that the BGP infrastructure is at higher risk than already understood, due to topologies that remain vulnerable to certain targeted attacks as a result of organic deployment over the years. Significant parts of the system are still uncharted territory, which warrants further investigation in this direction.


Broadband-light-sensitized upconversion (UC) photon management phenomenon in La3Ga5GeO14:Cr3+,Yb3+,Er3+ is reported, featuring the concentrated broadband noncoherent light excitable at room temperature. Energy transfer among Cr3+/Yb3+/Er3+ in the Stokes and UC luminescence processes reveals that Yb3+ as a "bridge" is requisite for Cr3+-sensitized UC luminescence of Er3+. Low Cr3+ contents are preferred for UC luminescence of Yb3+-Er3+, since it would be quenched by high Cr3+ contents. The designed UC emissions 2H11/2→4I15/2 and 4S3/2→4I15/2 of Er3+ at around 510 ~560 nm are proposed to through Energy transfer upconversion (ETU) mechanism based on the Cr3+-Yb3+ dimer model with superexchange interaction according to crystallographic data and the decay curves of Er3+ UC emission. This research may open up a new perspective to design novel photonic materials excitable by broadband noncoherent light for improving the photoresponse of solar cells.


The article deals with a phenomenon quite widely observed in the reality and judicial practise of the recent years where property is alienated by a person not entitled to do so to the third parties acting in good faith. Consequences of such transactions in case they are deemed to be invalid and the contents of the principle "bona fides" ("good faith") are being analysed. The effort is made to establish a relation between the action for vindication and action to declare a transaction invalid, i.e. between the means of protecting one's rights under the norms of law of property and law of obligations. The author has chosen the general scientific dialectic, historic, comparative and logic methods as a basis for the research being conducted. Although the problem in question has deep roots in the history of humanity, its theoretical aspects have not been discussed enough in Lithuanian legal literature. Therefore it is extremely important to have a broad theoretical background and thorough analysis of the basic principles enabling the courts to be able to find a uniform problem solving model.


Patterns of stream flow in relatively undisturbed Canadian Shield basins are closely linked to their physical and vegetative characteristics and meteorological conditions. The physical characteristics include topography, soil-till composition, depth and structure, slope morphology and bedrock geology. Hydrological flowpaths through, and in-situ chemical processes in the soil-till matrix are influenced greatly by the composition of these features and by the antecedent hydrological conditions preceding a given storm or snowmelt event. A long term data set, collected by the Dorset Environmental Science Centre, is used to examine eight forested basins within the Muskoka-Haliburton region of south-central Ontario. The basins have a range of physical characteristics representative of this part of the Canadian Shield. Statistical analysis of streamflow from all basins for approximately 20 years indicates that the response of basins with shallow till is significantly more variable than basins with deeper till. For this data set, streamflow patterns were assessed relative to ambient temperature and precipitation meteorological conditions. This analysis quantifies the differences between annual responses in shallow and deeper tilled basins. A new approach is taken to quantify antecedent moisture conditions in the study basins. These antecedent moisture conditions are related to precipitation magnitude and basin runoff coefficients. Regression equations quantify these relationships for the study basins and demonstrate significant differences which are related to the physical characteristics of the basin. A daily time series of antecedent moisture conditions constructed for four study basins for four consecutive years explains runoff coefficient patterns in basins with shallow and deep till.


Lax regulation enabled trust companies to take excessive risks, according to previous studies of the Panic of 1907, leading to a loss of confidence and massive runs. These studies have, however, given relatively little attention to the historical development of trust companies. This article argues that a more historical perspective can lead to a better understanding of the institutional framework and the actions of trust companies. Depositors did not lose confidence because of inadequate regulation; depositors lost confidence in specific trust companies because of false rumors, and diversity among trust companies hindered cooperation to halt the Panic.


ABSTRACT This paper seeks to identify the practices of information accuracy in the tourism information environment by adapting the Systematic Literature Review (SLR) method. The SLR method consists of review planning, performing review, analysis and result reporting steps. Based on the SLR method, we had reviewed 133 journals that were published between 1989 and April 2017, the period of the review on the information accuracy practices. The identified 133 journals had provided study details on the information accuracy practices in the tourism environment. In this paper, the opportunities and challenges in dealing with tourism information have been explained as well. The SLR findings had revealed that the existing research on information accuracy in the tourism context was not sufficiently practiced by the tourism information providers and that there was still room for improvement. The existing information accuracy practices in tourism covers a minimal number of topics and very few closely related studies were available for this review. The SLR findings were twofold. On the one hand, tourism information providers should embrace the many opportunities that tourism information can offer to improve information accuracy practices. On the other hand, it also consciously evaluates the consequences of tourism information and the effects of inaccurate information accessed the tourism stakeholders.


The growth of the wireless Internet has led to the optimization of network protocols to provide for a better performance. Most of the Internet traffic uses TCP, the de facto transport layer protocol. Unfortunately, TCP performance degrades in the mobile and wireless environments. A good amount of research has been attempted to improve its performance in the unpredictable mobile and wireless environments where link disconnections, packets losses and delays are common. Most of these proposed solutions target the case where the mobile host acts as a TCP receiver. For various reasons, almost none of the solutions have reached the stage of deployment. In this paper, we propose an interlayer collaboration model for TCP performance improvement in mobile and wireless environments. We specifically target the case where a mobile acts as a TCP sender. ILC-TCP is an end-to-end approach and does not need any special support from the base station infrastructure. ILC-TCP is evaluated against the normal TCP in various scenarios. Performance results suggest that ILC-TCP performs better than the normal TCP in many scenarios involving long disconnections, frequent disconnections and in the scenarios where a mobile host moves at considerable speeds.


Eocene ironstone of Gabal Ghorabi mine area (El Bahariya depression, Egypt), represents an unconformity-bounded condensed succession, exhibiting a lateral facies change towards the equivalent relatively thicker carbonates of the surrounding scarps. It rests unconformably on different horizons of the underlying folded Cenomanian Bahariya Formation and is subdivided into two main shallowing-upward ironstone sequences, separated by an intra-Eocene (paleokarst) unconformity. The lower ironstone sequence comprises four ironstone facies namely: a) lagoonal/tidal flat mud-ironstone facies, b) lagoonal fossiliferous ironstone facies (proximal tempestite), well developed in the southern sector of Gabal Chorabi mine area, c) shallow subtidal-intertidal nummulitic-ooidal-oncoidal ironstone facies, dominated in the southern and central sectors of Gabal Chorabi, and d) Shallow subtidal nummulitic ironstone facies, that dominated in the northern sector. The upper ironstone sequence begins by the deposition of shallow subtidal green mudstone facies as a result of a new marine transgression followed by a peritidal ironstone sequence, which consists of three repeated shallowing-upward cycles. The upper ironstone sequence is intensively lateritized and karstified and iron ore laterite and stratabound karst-related barite are formed. The main valuable minerals founded in the area are haematite and goethite, and the main gangue minerals are quartz, dolomite, apatite and barite.


Spontaneous Raman scattering and laser-induced fluorescence are combined to perform simultaneous point measurements of major species concentrations, temperature, and hydroxyl radical concentration in turbulent nonpremixed flames. The Raman-scattering data for major species concentrations and temperature characterize the instantaneous, local, collisional quenching environment of the OH molecule. Collisional quenching corrections are applied for each laser shot so that absolute hydroxyl concentrations are obtained in turbulent flames using linear laser-induced fluorescence.


The discharge of heavy metals into aquatic ecosystem has become a matter of concern in South Africa over the last few decades. These pollutants are introduced into the aquatic systems significantly as a result of various industrial operations. Conventional methods for metal removal such as ion exchange, reverse osmosis, etc. have proven to be expensive. Due to the increasing awareness of ecological effects of heavy toxic metals, a research on new and cheap technologies involving the removal of heavy toxic metals from wastewater on the principle of adsorption was investigated in this study. The aim of the study was to investigate the adsorption characteristics of marine algae on copper solution as an alternate cheaper option with emphasis on its adsorption efficiency, stability and regeneration. In this study, the rate and extent for removal of copper is subjected to parameters such as pH, initial metal concentration, biosorbent size, contact time, temperature and the ability of the biomass to be regenerated in sorption-desorption experiments. The metal adsorption was found to be rapid within 25 minutes. The maximum copper uptake of 30 mg of copper / g of biomass has been observed, in the following conditions: 100 mg / L, 0.1 g of biomass, pH 4 and at temperature of 25°C. Metal biosorption behaviour of raw seaweed Sargassum in six consecutive sorption-desorption cycles were also investigated in a packed-bed column, during a continuous removal of copper from a 35 mg/l aqueous solution at pH 4. The sorption and desorption was carried out for an average of 85 and 15 hours, respectively, representing more than 40 days of continuous use of the biosorbent. The weight loss of biomass after this time was 13.5%. The column service time decreased from 25 hrs in the first cycle to 10 hrs for the last cycle. From this study, it was found that copper uptake is increasing with increase in pH, with optimum being pH 4. The biomass of the marine algae Sargassum species demonstrated a good capacity of copper biosorption, highlighting its potential for effluent treatment processes.


A major geologic boundary has been proposed in the Southern Rocky Mountains separating Proterozoic crustal provinces with different ages and tectonic histories. These provinces probably correlate with the Yavapai (1.8–1.7 Ga) and Mazatzal (1.7–1.6 Ga) provinces of Arizona. Geologic, geochemical, geochronologic, and xenolith data suggest that the boundary lies within a ∼300 km-wide zone that trends northeastward through southern Colorado and northern New Mexico. This zone also seems to have focused later tectonic and thermal effects. However, no major shear zone that might represent a discrete tectonic suture has been identified in the area, and there is no agreement on precisely where the boundary is or what tectonic significance it may have. We present a review of evidence supporting extrapolation of the Yavapai-Mazatzal boundary through the Southern Rocky Mountains. Limitations in the precision, quantity, and interpretation of available data probably contribute to disagreement over the location of the boundary. However, the disparity in boundaries defined by different data sets may partly reflect a complex or gradational transition between crustal domains. We propose a speculative model for the boundary based on a preliminary structural analysis. Tectonic fabrics appear to be consistent with the initial juxtaposition of arc terranes of the Yavapai and Mazatzal provinces on a low-angle thrust system with later modification and steepening of the boundary during continued crustal shortening. This model explains the diffuse isotopic boundary as a manifestation of a vertically heterogeneous crustal column that might promote isotopic mixing. The cryptic structural expression of the suture may result from a layer-parallel style of suturing and complex post-accretionary tectonic overprinting.


Several Al-based MOFs of the CAU family have been investigated for application in the adsorption driven allocation of heat and cold. The special water adsorption behaviour of CAU-10-H makes it ideal for application in adsorption driven heat pumps and chillers. For increased performance, CAU-10-H crystals have been grown directly on both γ-alumina and metallic aluminium. Crystal growth on these surfaces can be controlled by the addition of acids.


We consider a basic problem at the interface of two fundamental fields: submodular optimization and online learning. In the online unconstrained submodular maximization (online USM) problem, there is a universe $[n]=\{1,2,...,n\}$ and a sequence of $T$ nonnegative (not necessarily monotone) submodular functions arrive over time. The goal is to design a computationally efficient online algorithm, which chooses a subset of $[n]$ at each time step as a function only of the past, such that the accumulated value of the chosen subsets is as close as possible to the maximum total value of a fixed subset in hindsight. Our main result is a polynomial-time no-$1/2$-regret algorithm for this problem, meaning that for every sequence of nonnegative submodular functions, the algorithm's expected total value is at least $1/2$ times that of the best subset in hindsight, up to an error term sublinear in $T$. The factor of $1/2$ cannot be improved upon by any polynomial-time online algorithm when the submodular functions are presented as value oracles. Previous work on the offline problem implies that picking a subset uniformly at random in each time step achieves zero $1/4$-regret.
A byproduct of our techniques is an explicit subroutine for the two-experts problem that has an unusually strong regret guarantee: the total value of its choices is comparable to twice the total value of either expert on rounds it did not pick that expert. This subroutine may be of independent interest.


Martensitic steels form a material class with a versatile range of properties that can be selected by varying the processing chain. In order to study and design the desired processing with the minimal experimental effort, modeling tools are required. In this work, a full processing cycle from quenching over tempering to mechanical testing is simulated with a single modeling framework that combines the features of the phase-field method and a coupled chemo-mechanical approach. In order to perform the mechanical testing, the mechanical part is extended to the large deformations case and coupled to crystal plasticity and a linear damage model. The quenching process is governed by the austenite-martensite transformation. In the tempering step, carbon segregation to the grain boundaries and the resulting cementite formation occur. During mechanical testing, the obtained material sample undergoes a large deformation that leads to local failure. The initial formation of the damage zones is observed to happen next to the carbides, while the final damage morphology follows the martensite microstructure. This multi-scale approach can be applied to design optimal microstructures dependent on processing and materials composition.


Under certain conditions a changing speckle pattern exists at the output plane of a multimode fiber, resulting in modal noise which can degrade the error performance of a fiber data link. Fiber motion is the usual cause of such speckle change, and Daino et al. have studied the first-order statistics of such modal noise, assuming a single frequency source. But source frequency variation can also cause modal noise; and source frequency diversity has been shown effective in its reduction. In this paper we use a speckle theory approach to study the frequency dependence of modal noise. We have measured and analyzed the correlation of two speckle patterns as a function of source frequency difference, and the speckle spatial frequency distribution as a function of fiber parameters. We have also measured the speckle contrast as a function of fiber length for several sources and fiber types. Such information permits the prediction of the modal noise statistics, from which corresponding changes in error rates can be derived.


This paper investigates the forecast performance of a traditional cross-classification model and alternative models that seek to address the shortcomings of traditional cross-classification analysis, specifically when it has cells with inadequate data. The study uses five cross-sectional datasets collected in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1965, 1981, 1990, 1996, and 2000. Alternative models, estimated with travel data collected in the base year, were assessed for their ability to replicate the number of trips made by households in each cell of a cross-classification matrix and at the traffic zone level, respectively, in each of the five years. The results showed that the traditional crossclassification analysis (CCA) model, notwithstanding having a few unreliable cells provided more consistent predictions of travel than any of the alternative methods. They also show that it is better to synthesize trip rates for only those cells of the cross-classification matrix with inadequate data rather than to adjust the entire trip-rate matrix as is currently the practice.


Partial Least Squares (PLS) methods embrace a suite of data analysis techniques based on algorithms belonging to PLS family. These algorithms consist in various extensions of the Nonlinear estimation by Iterative PArtial Least Squares (NIPALS) algorithm, which was proposed by Herman Wold as an alternative algorithm for implementing a Principal Component Analysis. The peculiarity of this algorithm is that it calculates principal components by means of an iterative sequence of simple ordinary least squares regressions. This feature allows overcoming computational problems due to missing data or landscape data matrices, i.e. matrix having more columns than rows.

PLS methods were born to handle data sets forming metric spaces. This involves that all the variables embedded in the analysis are observed on interval or ratio scales.

In this work we evidenced how NIPALS based algorithms, properly adjusted, can work as optimal scaling algorithms. This new feature of PLS, which had been until now totally unexplored, allowed us to device a new suite of PLS methods: the Non-Metric PLS (NM-PLS) methods.

NM-PLS methods can be used with different aims:
- to analyze at the same time variables observed on different measurement scales;
- to investigate non linearity;
- to discard the hard assumption of linearity in favor of a milder assumption of monotonicity.

In particular, these methods generalize standard NIPALS, PLS Regression and PLS Path Modeling in such a way to handle variables observed on a variety of measurement scales, as well as to cope with non linearity problems.

Three new algorithms are been proposed to implement NM-PLS methods: the Non-Metric NIPALS algorithm, the Non-Metric PLS Regression algorithm, and the Non-Metric PLS Path Modeling algorithm.

All these algorithms provide at the same time specific PLS model parameters as well as scaling values for variables to be scaled.

Scaling values provided by these algorithms are been proved to be optimal, in the sense that they optimize the same criterion of the model in which they are involved. Moreover, they are suitable, since they respect the constraints depending on which among the properties of the original measurement scale we want to preserve.


Sustainability scholars frame urbanization as a multidimensional concept with divergent environmental impacts. Through synthesizing recent quantitative studies of urbanization in criminology, we evaluated this multidimensional framework in a longitudinal, cross-national analysis of homicide rates for 217 countries between 2000 and 2015. For the analysis, we also highlighted the issue of missing data, a common concern for cross-national scholars in a variety of disciplines. While controlling for other relevant factors, we compared results from panel models that use the common technique of listwise deletion (n = 113) and from structural equation models (SEM) that handle missing values with full information maximum likelihood (n = 216). While the estimates for the control variables are non-significant in the SEM approach, the findings for the urbanization variables were robust and multidimensional. In particular, while the proportion of the population that is urban is positively related to homicide, the proportion of the population living in large cities of at least one million inhabitants is significantly and negatively related to homicide in all models. Given our focus on urbanization, we outline our contribution not only in the context of criminology but also the cross-national sustainability literature, which often uses similar variables with missing values.


An experimental investigation of a turbine stage featuring very high end wall angles is presented. The initial turbine design did not achieve a satisfactory performance and the difference between the design predictions and the test results was traced to a large separated region on the rear suction-surface. To improve the agreement between computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and experiment, it was found necessary to modify the turbulence modeling employed. The modified CFD code was then used to redesign the vane, and the changes made are described. When tested, the performance of the redesigned vane was found to have much closer agreement with the predictions than the initial vane. Finally, the flowfield and performance of the redesigned stage are compared to a similar turbine, designed to perform the same duty, which lies in an annulus of moderate end wall angles. A reduction in stage efficiency of at least 2.4% was estimated for the very high end wall angle design. © 2014 by ASME.


Behavioral support interventions are used to help pregnant smokers stop; however, of those tested, few are proven effective. Systematic research developing effective pregnancy-specific behavior change techniques (BCTs) is ongoing. This paper reports contributory work identifying potentially-effective BCTs relative to known important barriers and facilitators (B&Fs) to smoking cessation in pregnancy; to detect priority areas for BCTs development. A Nominal Group Technique with cessation experts (n = 12) elicited an expert consensus on B&Fs most influencing women's smoking cessation and those most modifiable through behavioral support. Effective cessation interventions in randomized trials from a recent Cochrane review were coded into component BCTs using existing taxonomies. B&Fs were categorized using Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) domains. Matrices, mapping BCT taxonomies against TDF domains, were consulted to investigate the extent to which BCTs in existing interventions target key B&Fs. Experts ranked 'smoking a social norm' and 'quitting not a priority' as most important barriers and 'desire to protect baby' an important facilitator to quitting. From 14 trials, 23 potentially-effective BCTs were identified (e.g., 'information about consequences). Most B&Fs fell into 'Social Influences', 'Knowledge', 'Emotions' and 'Intentions' TDF domains; few potentially-effective BCTs mapped onto every TDF domain. B&Fs identified by experts as important to cessation, are not sufficiently targeted by BCT's currently within interventions for smoking cessation in pregnancy.


Background and objectives: Nurses may experience a significant amount of occupational stress in work place and this challenging nature of their job affects their job satisfaction and spiritual wellbeing. This study is conducted in 2017 to determine the relationship between job satisfaction and spiritual well-being of nurses in Razi Hospital of Saravan.
 Method: This descriptive analytic study included 80 nurses in Razi Hospital, Saravan chosen by continent sampling method. Demographic information questionnaire, Nurse Stress Scale (NSS), Job Satisfaction Survey (JSS), and Paloutzian and Ellison spiritual well-being scale were used. Chi-square, one way ANOVA and Pearson statistical test were performed on the collected data using SPSS 23.
 Results: This study showed a significant negative relationship between occupational stress and not only job satisfaction (r=- 0.34, P=0.004) but also spiritual well-being (r=-0.58, P=0.000). No significant relationship was observed between demographic information and occupational stress.
Conclusion: Results of current study stats that occupational stress is high in the nurses. Thus, it is necessary to think of methods to reduce occupational stress and the subsequent complications.


The aim of this grounded theory study was to identify, describe, and generate a theoretical explanation of what it means to be a nurse educator in New Zealand in the 1990's and to be free to explore individual experiences within a broader social context. Sixteen participants from three Schools of Nursing in New Zealand were interviewed over a period of four months and a total of 36 hours of tape recorded data were collected. Constant comparative analysis of data eventuated in the identification of four conceptual categories named as being a teacher, settling down, finding a place, and coping with change. These conceptual categories were drawn together in the core category which was termed being-in-becoming. Being-in-becoming in the context of this study means that the person is the nurse teacher simply because that person has taken on the work of a teacher. But in being a teacher the person is adapting, changing, and learning how to become a teacher. Being-in-becoming is a process which is on-going, never ending, and constantly changing. The essence of this study is that the teacher's experience of being-in-becoming is particularly influenced by personal development and the way the person comes to "know" about the world of nursing education which is also intimately connected to the way nursing curriculum is defmed, and experienced by individual teachers. These fmdings have implications for nursing education where there is a need for recognition of the teacher's concerns, background meanings, and problems which influence a person's experience of being a nurse educator. The expectation that feelings should be "managed" so therefore can be ignored is inconsistent in a group which claims caring to be the essence of nursing practice. Also, educational organisations need to reconsider their demands when excessive workloads are constantly cited as a major problem for workers. The organisation has the responsibility to acknowledge the human experience of those who work within the organisation, and undertake to respond in ways which can improve the situation for all concerned.


During Hellenistic and Roman times, Elaia, the harbour city of ancient Pergamon, was an important place of trade and traffic at the western coast of Asia Minor. Intense military and mercantile activities are documented by literary sources and archaeological evidences. This dissertation focuses on (I) the reconstruction of shoreline displacements; (II) the detection of sea-level fluctuations; (III) the usability and history of the three harbour sites; and (IV) the investigation of human impact on the environment since mid-Holocene times in the environs of Pergamon's so-called "maritime satellite" Elaia. The geo-bio-archives of the area were studied using terrestrial and semi-aquatic vibracorings and geophysical exploration. Investigated sites were measured by Differential GPS. The sediments were examined using sedimentological, micropalaeontological and geochemical methods. Palynological and archaeobotanical analyses provided evidence for the former vegetation. Robust chronostratigraphies were established using radiocarbon (14C) and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating as well as archaeological dating of artefacts. The postglacial marine transgression drowned the later settled shores of the Bay of Elaia 5500 BC, reaching its maximum ca. 1 km inland around 1500 BC. Since 850 BC, increasing settlement activities in the area led to accelerated hinterland erosion, sedimentation and a seaward shift in the shoreline. The time of the Pergamenian occupation (250 BC–AD 180) is documented by intense building activities and an increased population, which is also visible in the palynolgical record. During its prime, Elaia operated three harbours: the closed harbour, the open harbour and a beach harbour. The construction of the closed harbour basin was determined by a series of interdisciplinary methods to 246–215 BC. Estimations of the water depths in the closed harbour basin (~2.5 m in Hellenistic times) and the open harbour area (~1 m in Hellenistic times) led to the conclusion that the closed harbour basin could be exploited by common ship classes until AD 150. Shortly afterwards, increased siltation led to its abandonment. The closed harbour basin, which shows no signs of dredging activities, acted as a favourable sink for human waste, as evidenced by eggs of parasites, enhanced heavy-metal concentration and debris of craftsmanship. The first detection of the Black Sea dinocyst species Peridinium ponticum in the Mediterranean Sea documents traffic relations with the Black-Sea region. This is supported by archaeological finds of coins, seals and ceramics originating from abroad. Water depth in the open harbour area in front of the ship sheds was insufficient to anchor larger vessels. Thus, the ships were slipped to the ship sheds. The beach harbour in the eastern district of the city of Elaia acted as an area where foreign soldiers and merchants beached their ships and put up their camps. For the first time, a reliable regional sea-level (RSL) curve for a continental site on the Turkish Aegean coast was established using a new type of reliable sea-level index point. The curve correlates well with actual RSL curves of the nearby Aegean region; it is also in good agreement with sea-level curves derived from glacio-hydro-isostatic models. Five stages of human impact are evident over the past eight millennia. The natural vegetation (deciduous oak forests) existed before ca. 850 BC. It is followed by a degradation period caused by increased settlement activities and lumbering until around 250 BC. During Elaia's most flourishing time, ca. 250 BC–AD 180, the human impact is on its maximum, documented by a significant vegetation change, the occurrence of human parasites, debris of craftsmanship, higher heavy metal concentrations, economic relations and intense construction activity. The siltation of the harbours in addition to the declining political importance of the city from late Roman times onwards led to its abandonment. Thus, the human impact on the environment decreased up to around AD 800. Since those days, the absence of human impact led to a new natural vegetation: pines. The climax vegetation of the period before 850 BC never re-established. To sum up, this PhD thesis is a valuable example of an interdisciplinary cooperation, focused on solving the questions dealing with shoreline displacements, sea-level studies, coastal evolution, hazards and ancient harbour research in an archaeological context.


This paper reports on how female students' motivation for higher education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) was influenced by the recruitment event The Girls' Day at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. In the event, high-achieving females in their last year of upper secondary school visited the university for two days filled with lectures, introduction to study programmes, and interaction with STEM students. Questionnaire and focus group data were collected at several times after the event. The findings indicate that the event influenced the participants' STEM motivations by affecting their expectation of success and subjective value of STEM tertiary education. Meeting university STEM students was emphasized as the most important factor. These students provided 'trustworthy' information, and served as achievable role models helping the participants to see themselves as future STEM students. The majority of the participants rated the costs (in terms of required effort) of studying STEM higher after the event than they did before, but this did not weaken their expectation of success. While learning about the difficulty and required effort, the participants were also introduced to strategies for coping with these costs: study groups, tutor support, and 'it is tough for everyone' attitudes.


This purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of incident recall (hurtful, kind) on forgiveness decisions in romantic relationships. Participants (N=73) were undergraduate students in a current relationship of at least one month in length, recruited through a mass email. In an online survey, participants were asked to think of a time within the past month that their partner was either kind or hurtful towards them. Next, they imagined twelve hypothetical transgressions committed by their partner.. For each transgression, participants indicated the extent to which they would engage in exit, voice, loyalty, and neglect responses. Results showed that in both incident recall conditions, participants reported significantly greater voice than exit responses. In the kind condition, participants reported significantly more loyalty than neglect responses. However, this effect was not observed in the hurt condition. Therefore, when people recall a kind event, they tend to respond with both active and passive constructive responses to a hypothetical transgression. Implications and future directions for research are discussed.


In this paper we propose a dynamic multinomial probit model in order to estimate the long-run and short- run effects of marketing mix variables on brand choice. The latent variables, which contain the unobserved perceived utilities, follow a first-order vector error correction autoregressive process of order 1 with current and lagged explanatory variables. The unrestricted autoregressive parameter matrix concerns the intertemporal correlation in perceived utilities of households over purchase occasions and indicates the persistence in brand choice. As explanatory variables we consider relative prices and promotional activities like feature and display. An important and novel feature of our model is that it allows for different long-run and short-run effects of promotional activities, thereby extending the models that are currently available in the literature. Additionally, to account for different base preferences for brands across households, we allow for consumer heterogeneity. Our application concerns a panel of households choosing among several brands of a FMCG. Our estimated model turns out to be an improvement over a static model and over a model with only short-run effects, in terms of in-sample fit and out-of-sample forecasts. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


The limited capacity of distribution grids for hosting renewable generation is one of the main challenges towards the energy transition. Local energy markets, enabling direct exchange of energy between prosumers, help to integrate the growing number of residential photovoltaic panels by scheduling flexible demand for balancing renewable energy locally. Nevertheless, existing scheduling mechanisms do not take into account the phases to which households are connected, increasing network unbalance and favoring bigger voltage rises/drops and higher losses. In this paper, we reduce network unbalance by leveraging market transactions information to dynamically allocate houses to phases using solid state switches. We propose cost effective mechanisms for the selection of households to switch and for their optimal allocation to phases. Using load flow analysis we show that only 6% of houses in our case studies need to be equipped with dynamic switches to counteract the negative impact of local energy markets while maintaining all the benefits. Combining local energy markets and dynamic phase switching we improve both overall load balancing and network unbalance, effectively augmenting DER hosting capacity of distribution grids.


This paper addresses to develop a novel strategy to relax the adhesion forces for picking and placing operation in a micro range. In a micro range, the attracting forces such as the van der Waals, capillary, and electrostatic forces become dominating due to a scaling effect. The attractive forces cause the adhesion between the object and the endeffector. Therefore, it is hard to manipulate an object in a micro range. This paper shows that when an oscillating endeffector approaches to an object, the adhesion between the object and the oscillating endeffector can be reduced. Also, based on the experimental analysis, we clarify the relation between the oscillation and the pushing amount of the endeffector on the object, where the adhesion force can be released effectively. Using this relaxation method and the relation, we develop a strategy for picking and placing operation in a micro range. This strategy provides an accurate manipulation. Some experimental results show the effectiveness of this approach.


Background: Sick building syndrome (SBS) is defined as a condition occurring in those who live or work in a modern building and who suffer from symptoms such as headache, fatigue, lack of concentration and irritation of the skin and mucous membranes. Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between personal characteristics, environmental factors and the prevalence of SBS among the secretaries working in a hospital. Method: In this cross-sectional study, questionnaires were administered to all secretaries who were working in Kütahya hospital in January and March 2018. The questionnaire used in the study included the sociodemographic characteristics of the participants and the question form "MM 040 NA Hospital" to evaluate SBS symptoms. These symptoms were the clinical symptoms reported by the secretaries as a result of exposure to factors within the hospital. Temperature, humidity, carbon dioxide concentration, light intensity and noise level were measured in the indoor environment of the hospital. Chi square test, Spearman's correlation coefficient and logistic regression models were used in the analysis of data. Results: The study was completed with 177 people, 61.6% women, and the mean age was 30.14±5.7. The prevalence of SBS was found to be 20.9%. The risk of SBS was found to be 2.9 times higher for females, 2.8 times higher for individuals who described the working environment as dusty, 2.6 times higher for subjects complaining of stuffy "bad" air, dry air and an unpleasant odour. All measurements were found to be within acceptable limits. The risk of SBS was found to be 1.2 times higher with increases in the measured noise level, and 2.1 times higher with increased carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations. Conclusion: The factors impacting the risk of experiencing SBS were determined. Bearing these factors in mind, we think that hospital administrations should be informed about arrangements and measures that will improve the quality of the internal environment of the hospital.


Justice John Paul Stevens retired from the Supreme Court almost a decade ago and turned ninety-eight years old in April 2018. How should we remember his legacy on the Supreme Court? This Article places his legacy within his election law jurisprudence. Specifically, Justice Stevens provided a consistent theory, which we term "impartial governance," that has had a lasting impact on the field. This theory undergirds Justice Stevens's creation of the important Anderson-Burdick-Crawford balancing test that federal courts use to construe the constitutionality of laws that impact the right to vote, such as voter ID laws. It is part of his important opinions on redistricting, which are now gaining steam in the current debate over partisan gerrymandering. It animates his opinions on campaign finance law. And it explains his dissent in Bush v. Gore, arguably the most controversial case to reach the Court. Impartial governance surely stems from Justice Stevens's own personal history, where he witnessed his father deal with the criminal justice system, clerked for liberal Justice Wiley Rutledge, and served as a moderate Republican battling corrupt Chicago political machines. This Article recounts that history and highlights how it impacted his election law jurisprudence, with an Appendix summarizing each of Justice Stevens's sixty-seven election law opinions. As we reflect on his life and career, these insights into Justice Stevens's impartial governance theory of election law will help scholars, the media, and the public understand
his enduring legacy.


In the fall of 2010, Sarah Endline, CEO and Founder of sweetriot, an organic chocolate company, was deciding the best way to grow her organic chocolate company, while keeping her chocolate physically and conceptually on the shelf. She wanted to grow the offerings and profits of her company, while maintaining its social mission and unique flair. The case tracks the origins of sweetriot from Sarah's formative early career experiences, to the company's launch and beyond as Sarah prepares future products, establishes production channels, and seeks future funding. Sarah was not content to just be a small New York City candy company. Her goal was for sweetriot to be the number one natural chocolate company in the world and to thus be a vehicle to drive change globally. How can she meet that objective while also keeping the company true to its social roots?Learning Objective: To examine how social entrepreneurs can grow their businesses' profits and products while maintaining mission.


In their assessment of the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID), adopted by the EU in April 2004 and implemented at Member State level by the end of 2007, Karel Lannoo and Diego Valiante find that the legislation has been remarkably successful in terms of improving market structure and efficiency. In their view, the upcoming MiFID review should therefore take a 'light touch', clarifying some definitions and extending price transparency to related segments of securities markets. They argue that more integrated price transparency solutions will also allow end-users to fully participate in the changes brought about by MiFID, restoring investors' trust and pushing more liquidity in equity markets. The start of ESMA then should allow for better enforcement of the conduct of business rules.


The extract below is an edited version of Dr Lindsay's presidential address—entitled 'Listening and Reflecting'—to the paediatric section of the Royal Society of Medicine in October 1989. Mary Lindsay qualified in medicine in 1951 and, as Dermod MacCarthy's paediatric registrar, appeared in James Robertson's influential film 'Going to hospital with mother'.1 2 Later, as a consultant child psychiatrist, she worked again with Dr MacCarthy and his patients, pioneering the model of liaison work described in this lecture. In 1976, Dr Lindsay, although a child psychiatrist working in the home counties, was elected to the British Paediatric Association, and in 1993 elected FRCP, something of an honour. In 1974, she and Dr MacCarthy started the celebrated child psychiatry/paediatric meetings at the postgraduate centre at Stoke Mandeville Hospital, which took place three times a year and continued for 18 years.

Mary Lindsay has been a distinguished presence at the interface of paediatrics and psychiatry for six decades, with many lectures and publications to her name, from 1955 to the present day. In an early BMJ paper following up children with coeliac disease, she noted how chronic disease slows the child's development.3 From her medical beginnings as a junior paediatrician, she has championed the cause of a child's right to have parental visits and overnight stays. Mary is currently completing a study of the changing history of parents' access to their hospitalised children over three centuries.

The work reported here took place while Dr Lindsay was for almost 20 years an Honorary Consultant Child Psychiatrist in the paediatric department at the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, where, at his request, she joined the diabetic clinic of the late Professor David Baum and then his successor Dr (now Professor) David Dunger, sitting in with the paediatrician and taking part where appropriate. The crucial condition …


Low birth weight (LBW) at birth may be the outcome of either preterm birth (before 37 weeks of gestation) or retarded fetal (intrauterine) growth. By National Family Health Servey- 3(NFHS) report, proportions of low birth weight babies were found 23% for rural and 19% for urban population. The causes of low birth weight are complex and interdependent, and various maternal factors are known to influence the birth weight of neonates. The present study was conducted in the department of Pediatrics, Sri Siddhartha Medical College Hospital, Tumkur, Karnataka, India. A total of 100 consecutive newborn babies with birth weight 2500gms or less were included in this study. Male babies were 57% and 43% were female babies. In this study 51% of the mothers were in the age group of 21-25yrs with mean ± SD: 23.62±4.15. In this study 65% of the babies were in the birth weight range of 1500-2499grams and 30% of the babies were in the range of 1001-1499grams with mean ± SD: 1615.98±388.24. In this study 39% of the mothers had less interpregnancy interval, 20% mothers had consanguineous marriage, 15% of the mothers had previous history of low birth weight babies and 16% of the mothers had history of abortion. Thirty six percent of the mothers had severe pregnancy induced hypertension and 28% of the mothers had anemia. Acute gastroenteritis and decreased liquor in mothers had a significant association with low birth weight with p value =0.0044 and 0.0002 respectively. The most important factor influencing the birth weight of new born is the socioeconomic environment that has the direct influence on maternal nutrition, height, weight and Hb%. Meanwhile, young maternal age, high parity, lack of birth spacing, lack of education, APH, toxemia, UTI and malaria are additional factors responsible for LBW babies in our set up. Health education, socioeconomic development, maternal nutrition, and increasing the use of health services during pregnancy, are all important for reducing low birth weight babies.


OBJECTIVE
To determine the strength of the association between antenatal psychosocial risk factors and adverse postpartum outcomes in the family, such as assault of women by their partner, child abuse, postpartum depression, marital dysfunction and physical illness.

DATA SOURCES
MEDLINE, Cinahl, Famli, Psych Abstracts and the Oxford Database of Perinatal Trials were searched from relevant articles published from Jan. 1, 1980, to Dec. 31, 1993, with the use of MeSH terms "depression, involutional," "child abuse," "child neglect," "domestic violence," "family," "marital adjustment," "family health," "newborn health," "child health," "physical illness," "social support," "psychosocial risk," "prediction," "risk factors," "obstetrics" and "prenatal care." Further articles were identified from bibliographies.

STUDY SELECTION
Of the 370 articles identified through the search, 118 were included for review. Studies were included if they examined the association between psychosocial risk factors and the outcomes of interest. Articles were excluded if they were reviews of poor quality or they had one or more of the following features: insufficient description of the sample, a high attrition rate, a lack of standardized outcome measures, outcomes other than the ones of interest or results that had already been reported in a previous study.

DATA EXTRACTION
The strength of evidence of each study was evaluated. On the basis of the evidence, each risk factor was assigned a rating of the strength of its association with each of the postpartum outcomes. The ratings were class A (good evidence of association), class B (fair evidence) and class C (no clear evidence). Of the 129 antenatal psychosocial risk factors studied, 15 were found to have a class A association with at least one of the postpartum outcomes.

DATA SYNTHESIS
Child abuse and abuse of the mother by her partner were most strongly correlated (class A evidence) with a history of lack of social support, recent life stressors, psychiatric disturbance in the mother and an unwanted pregnancy. Child abuse was also strongly associated with a history of childhood violence in the mother or her partner, previous child abuse by the mother's partner, a poor relationship between the mother and her parents, low self-esteem in the mother and lack of attendance at prenatal classes. Postpartum abuse of the mother was also associated with a history of abuse of the mother, prenatal care not started until the third trimester and alcohol or drug abuse by the mother or her partner (class A evidence). Child abuse had a fair (class B) association with poor marital adjustment or satisfaction, current or past abuse of the mother and alcohol or drug abuse by the mother or her partner. There was class B evidence supporting an association between abuse of the mother and poor marital adjustment, traditional sex-role expectations, a history of childhood violence in the mother or her partner and low self-esteem in the mother. Postpartum depression was most strongly associated with poor marital adjustment, recent life stressors, antepartum depression (class A evidence), but was also associated with lack of social support, abuse of the mother and a history of psychiatric disorder in the mother (class B evidence). Marital dysfunction was associated with poor marital adjustment before the birth and traditional sex-role expectations (class A evidence), and physical illness was correlated with recent life stressors (class B evidence).

CONCLUSIONS
Psychosocial risk factors during the antenatal period may herald postpartum morbidity. Research is required to determine whether detection of these risk factors may lead to interventions that improve postpartum family outcomes.


Co is very toxic gas so separation of this gas is very important .In this study separation of co and h2 Has been studied. Prevent the emission of carbon monoxide in the environment is very important..in this study LennaedJones potential was used for gas-gas and gas-carbon nanotube interactions and the potential parameters for the carbongas and carbon-carbon interactions were obtained from the Lorenz-Berthelot combining rules. The study has been done by using the equation state of Virial and finding the second coefficient in Virial equation. Final steps were the inside density, outside density and total density of nanotubes .My calculation.result show that this sepration is possible.


Abstract Background: The management of plantar fasciitis varies among clinicians because no single treatment has strong scientific evidence to support its use to improve outcome. Steroid injections are more commonly used in our practice with varied and unpredictable response. This study set out to compare the effects of steroid injections with conservative regimen (analgesics, stretch exercises and insoles) versus conservative management alone for the treatment of plantar fasciitis. Methods: A double blind randomised controlled trial. Eighty-eight patients with plantar fasciitis were randomised to two treatment arms, 47 to the steroid injection arm and 41 to the control arm. Both arms received standard conservative management. Visual analogue scale (VAS) and Foot Function Index (FFI) scores of the patients were recorded at study entry, at one month and at two months. Results: The mean age of the overall study cohort was 42.9 years (SD 9.1). Forty-eight per cent were male. There was a significant reduction in mean pain scores, after one month and after two months in both the steroid and the control arms (p<0.005). The mean FFI at study entry was 50.5 (SD 18.2). At one month and two months follow-up, the mean FFI scores were 43.4 (SD 16.2) and 41.4 (SD 15.3), respectively (P<0.001). There was no statistically significant difference in pain scores between patients who received steroid injections 7.36 (SD 1.6) and those in the control arm 7.22 (SD 1.7) at one month (P = 0.73) (CI–0.64 to 0.9). There was also no statistically significant difference in pain scores between the two groups of patients: steroid injections 6.77 (SD 1.8) and the controls 6.54 (SD 1.7) at two months (P = 0.59) (CI–0.61 to 1.06). FFI scores at one month were 43.25 (SD 17.63) for the steroid group and 43.79 (SD 14.73) for the control group (P = 0.88) (CI–7.78 to 6.6). At two months, the scores were 42.26 (SD 17.19) for the steroid arm and 40.48 (SD 13.30) for the control arm (P = 0.615) (CI–5.21 to 8.75). Conclusions: Patients with plantar fasciitis improve significantly with conservative management. At one and two months, compared to a control group of conservative management alone, injection of steroids does not make a difference in improving pain and functionality.


In 2015, the beautiful jazz funeral in New Orleans for composer Allen Toussaint coincided with a debate over removing four Confederate monuments. Mayor Mitch Landrieu led the ceremony, attended by living legends of jazz, music aficionados, politicians, and everyday people. The scene captured the history and culture of the city in microcosm--a city legendary for its noisy, complicated, tradition-rich splendor. In City of a Million Dreams, Jason Berry delivers a character-driven history of New Orleans at its tricentennial. Chronicling cycles of invention, struggle, death, and rebirth, Berry reveals the city's survival as a triumph of diversity, its map-of-the-world neighborhoods marked by resilience despite hurricanes, epidemics, fires, and floods.
Berry orchestrates a parade of vibrant personalities, from the founder Bienville, a warrior emblazoned with snake tattoos; to Governor William C. C. Claiborne, General Andrew Jackson, and Pere Antoine, an influential priest and secret agent of the Inquisition; Sister Gertrude Morgan, a street evangelist and visionary artist of the 1960s; and Michael White, the famous clarinetist who remade his life after losing everything in Hurricane Katrina. The textured profiles of this extraordinary cast furnish a dramatic narrative of the beloved city, famous the world over for mysterious rituals as people dance when they bury their dead.


Computational time is high for Multilayer perceptron (MLP) trained with backpropagation learning algorithm (BP) also the complexity of the network increases with the number of layers and number of nodes in layers. In contrast to MLP, functional link artificial neural network (FLANN) has less architectural complexity, easier to train, and gives better result in the classification problems. The paper proposed an evolutionary functional link artificial neural network (EFLANN) using genetic algorithm (GA) by eliminating features having little or no predictive information. Particle swarm optimization (PSO) is used as learning tool for solving the problem of classification in data mining. EFLANN overcomes the non-linearity nature of problems by using the functionally expanded selected features, which is commonly encountered in single layer neural networks. The model is empirically compared to FLANN gradient descent learning algorithm, MLP and radial basis function (RBF). The results proved that the proposed model outperforms the other models on medical datasets classification.


In this analysis some limitations of the linear Born approximation in the diffraction tomography problem from far-zone data are pointed out. The analysis is performed by means of singular-value decomposition of the scattering operator in the scalar two-dimensional case of a circular dielectric cylinder illuminated by a TM-polarized plane wave. It is shown that the validity of the Born approximation entails the important condition that the scattering object not present too-fast spatial variations of the permittivity profile. For the rotationally symmetric cylinder, evidence is presented that the imaginary part of the normalized scattered far field has no information content for real permittivity objects. Moreover, for angularly varying cylinders the information content of the scattered far field for a single view is approximately the same as in the multiview case. Examples of singular-value and singular-function behavior and of profile reconstruction are depicted for the considered geometries.


OBJECTIVE
The primary objective of this article is to review the literature regarding clinical effects, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics of antipsychotics in older people and to examine potential mechanisms underlying the age-related antipsychotic sensitivity.

DATA SOURCES
Data for this review were identified by searches of PubMed (1950-2007) and references from relevant articles and books. Search terms included antipsychotic, neuroleptic, elderly, aging, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, and dopamine, and only articles written in English or Japanese were consulted.

DATA SELECTION
Studies, reviews, and books pertaining to the clinical effects, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics with regard to the use of antipsychotics in older patients were selected.

DATA SYNTHESIS
The prevailing practices and clinical guidelines suggest that elderly patients can obtain therapeutic benefits at a lower dose and experience adverse effects from antipsychotics more often than younger patients, although there are still few trials that have directly compared elderly patients with the young. The literature suggests an age-related increase in brain access of drugs and demonstrates a decrease with age in the principal components in the dopaminergic system, including endogenous dopamine level and dopamine receptor density.

CONCLUSIONS
While clinicians conclusively hold that patients become more sensitive to antipsychotics as they become older, this proposition has only modest empirical support and warrants further investigation. Age-related functional decline in the dopaminergic system predicts lower antipsychotic doses for older patients. We propose a hierarchical series of testable hypotheses to address the relative contribution of age-related pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic changes to antipsychotic drug sensitivity.


Assessment is the daily life of a teacher; designing plans, setting questions, giving feedback and grading are all activities that teachers undertake on a regular basis. Yet, the close examination of such activities can be hindered by constraints caused by the context in which different teaching and learning activities occur and an unawareness of the effect that assessment has on the students themselves.

This book provides a practical guide on the effective use of assessment. It includes the use of assessment tools and pedagogical design that help students deepen their learning. Major issues on assessment and some excellent examples are presented as a useful resource to university teachers in enhancing teaching and students' learning. It will also be found useful by teachers when implementing various assessment methods. School administrators and teaching development professionals will find the book useful when making decisions related to learning and teaching issues in their institutions.


The huge costs of armed conflict, the great challenge of state failure, and the slow pace of international actions to address world poverty all point to weaknesses in the global institutional framework and the need for much more effective international cooperation. In this book, Kemal Dervis argues that it is time to build a new international governance structure, breaking away from a system that reflects the post World War II world toward one that is appropriate to the realities and requirements of the 21st century. He proposes a reform of the international institutional architecture based on high-level governance in both the political and economic domains by a renewed and modernized United Nations. Navigating between careful realism and bold idealism, he formulates a coherent vision encompassing both institutional reform and new ideas for policies supported by the specialized institutions such as the IMF, the World Bank, the WTO, the UN agencies themselves, and regional institutions such as the regional development banks. In this plea for "better" globalization, Dervis proposes that, under the legitimizing umbrella of the UN, the specialized institutions deal with the deep causes of the obstacles to poverty reduction and instability rather than their immediate manifestations. He recognizes the great potential that more and freer trade can have for accelerating growth throughout the world. He also stresses, however, that for this potential to be unleashed, the hearts and minds of people must be won by transforming not only the WTO framework but the entire governance of the international economic system into something that is perceived as more legitimate and more responsive to the concerns of the developing world as well as wealthy and creditor nations.


This article considers welfare reform's impact in rural America. Professor Pruitt asserts that federal welfare reform legislation, the Personal Responsibility Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA), reflects an urban political agenda that failed to consider rural realities. Based on her analysis of two particular populations - those living in persistent poverty and those in female-headed households - she concludes that PRWORA has exacerbated rural poverty. While PRWORA's focus was on work and time limits on assistance, it gave individual states latitude to design and implement programs tailored to their economic and demographic circumstances. Pruitt illustrates how some states with significant rural populations used this latitude to institute programs that respond to the structural barriers endemic to rural locales: greater transportation challenges in light of spatial isolation from jobs, services, and training opportunities; limited child care choices; and deficits in human capital. But she also points out how states' responses to these challenges have been piecemeal, and their ameliorative impact limited, in the absence of rural economic development. Pruitt analyzes the contradiction between the decline in the number of rural families receiving welfare (a rate commensurate with that of urban families in the PRWORA era), and the rise in rural poverty since 2002. Building on evidence that PRWORA has aggravated the hardships of the rural poor, the article closes by theorizing our national failure to address rural poverty. Pruitt asserts that the failure is due in part to rural myths and stereotypes, including the significance of the informal economy as a safety net for the rural poor. She also discusses the difficulty in seeing the problem of rural poverty because of a tendency for urban residents to romanticize even hardship in the context of the rural idyll they imagine. Pruitt argues that rural myths must be revealed as such, and the limitations and downsides of rural interpersonal familiarity and community must be fully understood, before law and policy makers will address rural poverty in a meaningful way.


A lane departure warning system relying exclusively on a camera has several shortcomings and tends to be sensitive to, e.g., bad weather and abrupt manoeuvres. To handle these situations, the system proposed in this thesis uses a dynamic model of the vehicle and integration of relative motion sensors to estimate the vehicle's position on the road. The relative motion is measured using vision, inertial, and vehicle sensors. All these sensors types are affected by errors such as offset, drift and quantization. However the different sensors are sensitive to different types of errors, e.g., the camera system is rather poor at detecting rapid lateral movements, a type of situation which an inertial sensor practically never fails to detect. These kinds of complementary properties make sensor fusion interesting. The approach of this Master's thesis is to use an already existing lane departure warning system as vision sensor in combination with an inertial measurement unit to produce a system that is robust and can achieve good warnings if an unintentional lane departure is about to occur. For the combination of sensor data, different sensor fusion models have been proposed and evaluated on experimental data. The models are based on a nonlinear model that is linearized so that a Kalman filter can be applied. Experiments show that the proposed solutions succeed at handling situations where a system relying solely on a camera would have problems. The results from the testing show that the original lane departure warning system, which is a single camera system, is outperformed by the suggested system.


Activities directed at "including" more people in the use of digital technology are predicated on the assumption that such inclusion is invariably a good thing. It appears so, when judged solely by immediate practical convenience. However, if we also judge in terms of human rights, whether digital inclusion is good or bad depends on what kind of digital world we are to be included in. If we wish to work towards digital inclusion as a goal, it behooves us to make sure it is the good kind.


Symposium: Difference, Solidarity and Law: Building Latina/o Communities Through LatCrit Theory. LatCrit Theory, a new school of thought, produced a "critique of the black-white paradigm," that required and yet requires a good deal of working through. This essay, a friendly critique of that critique, begins that working through, and does so using the materials and insights of the Beat Generation and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Race, in this essay, emerges as a form of violence, not difference. Race, within the LatCrit critique of the black-white paradigm, has been treated as "socially constructed," but only in part. Only in part because the LatCrit critique of the black-white paradigm often presents whiteness and blackness, especially blackness, as natural, pre-political, and timeless essences.


Abstract.
 Morphospace occupation through time provides a view of diversification distinct from the more familiar taxonomic tabulations. However, this view is subject to the same geological biases long recognized in studies of taxonomic diversification, where techniques for correcting secular bias in sampling have become standard practice. In this study, we apply sampling standardization techniques to a morphospace investigation to test whether observed stratigraphic trends in morphospace occupation are artifacts of trends in sampling. When sampling bias is corrected by randomized subsampling, all disparity metrics show stationary patterns, or at most directional changes of small magnitude. Metrics describing the average dispersion of taxa in morphospace are less subject to sampling bias than those describing the total extent of morphospace occupied. We also investigate a measure of disparity that is insensitive to sampling intensity, introducing a geographic component of morphological disparity. By analogy to &agr; and &bgr; components of taxonomic diversity, we suggest the notions of &agr; and &bgr; disparity, and find that &agr; disparity remains roughly constant through time. Our analysis also allows us to present the first taxonomic diversity curve of diatoms under shareholder quorum subsampling (SQS), showing similar results to previously published subsampling methods: a roughly twofold rise over the Cenozoic, with peak diversity around the Eocene/Oligocene boundary. Tests for methodological bias from choices in ordination method and data culling during morphospace construction indicate that our results are relatively insensitive to both factors: Cenozoic occupation of planktonic diatom morphospace is largely unchanging. We find a similarly stationary pattern when we directly analyze the morphological data, seeing no change in the prevalence of taxa with different sets of morphological characters. More broadly, our results make clear that a complete view of morphological disparity must consider sampling biases, which can be addressed with wellestablished, quantitative methods in morphospaces populated using occurrence-level data.