Objectives: To provide an overview of the complicity of British American Tobacco (BAT) in the illicit trade of cigarettes across the African continent in terms of rationale, supply routes and scale. Methods: Analysis of internal BAT documents and industry publications. Results: BAT has relied on illegal channels to supply markets across Africa since the 1980s. Available documents suggest smuggling has been an important component of BAT's market entry strategy in order to gain leverage in negotiating with governments for tax concessions, compete with other transnational tobacco companies, circumvent local import restrictions and unstable political and economic conditions and gain a market presence. BAT worked through distributors and local agents to exploit weak government capacity to gain substantial market share in major countries. Conclusions: Documents demonstrate that the complicity of BAT in cigarette smuggling extends to Africa, which includes many of the poorest countries in the world. This is in direct conflict with offers by the company to contribute to stronger international cooperation to tackle the illicit tobacco trade.


Introduction Chiari's network is a remnant of the eustachian valve located in the right atrium. Incomplete involution of the fetal sinus venosus valves results in 'redundant' Chiari's network, which may compromise cardiovascular function [1]. Case Report A male baby was delivered at 39 weeks of gestation by spontaneous vaginal delivery. Baby was born macrosomic with birth weight of 5.29 Kg. Baby was born in poor condition and needed cardiopulmonary resuscitation with heart rate first recorded at two and a half minutes of life and spontaneous breathing first recorded at 25 min of life. Baby was ventilated briefly and then extubated to nasal cannula oxygen. No therapeutic cooling was indicated. He continued to require oxygen as his oxygen saturation levels were in late 80's without oxygen supplementation. His cardiovascular and respiratory examination was otherwise unremarkable. His chest x-ray was reported to be normal. Echocardiogram showed a prominent Chiari network within the right atrium, partly occluding the tricuspid valve orifice which was causing functional impairment of the right ventricle filling and a reversal of flow across the patent foramen ovale. Overall, there was good biventricular function and no other congenital anomalies noted. After the results of echocardiogram, oxygen was withdrawn on day 14 of life and the baby was discharged two days later. Follow up scans showed improvement in the right ventricular filling and improving saturations. Discussion Chiari network is usually considered to be a harmless entity[2]. However it is important to recognise that it can sometimes cause right ventricular inflow obstruction and a right to left flow across an atrial septal defect causing low saturations. This usually improves over the first few weeks of life with improving right ventricular compliance[3]. These babies therefore could be managed in a district general hospital without a need for transfer to a tertiary centre and appropriate counselling could be provided to parents as the outcome is usually positive and surgical intervention is usually not required.


Report of the inaugural meeting of the UK section of the Association of Geoscientists for International Development (AGID-UK), now affiliated to the Geological Society, held in Burlington House, 15 February 1988. AGID is a unique international association of geoscientists with some 90% of its 2500 membership drawn from over 100 Third World countries. After nearly 15 years in existence, it is still the only organization devoted to the application of science to the problems of developing countries. It works in co-operation with local, national and international groups on programmes related to the development of natural resources, environmental planning and geoscience education. Perhaps its most important function is the informal grassroots contact and worldwide collaboration between individual geoscientists who share many of the same problems and the determination to solve them. The theme of the meeting was to explore the role that UK geologists could play towards these ends. Four speakers were invited to address aspects of 'geological aid' from personal experience. Global geoscience. Anthon R. Berger (Ottawa, editor of Episodes) began by suggesting that 'geological aid' was a somewhat outmoded concept. However since geosciences are global in outlook, it is imperative that a proper understanding is developed of the natural forces that lead to global changes and of their interaction with society. It is also imperative to communicate effectively both the results of such research and any consequent warnings to planners, politicians and policymakers. None of this can be done without the full participation of Third World Scientists in the


This thesis presents the design and development of two switching amplifiers used to drive the so-called smart material actuators. Different from conventional circuits, a smart material actuator is ordinarily a highly capacitive load. Its capacitance is non-linear and its strain is hysteretic with respect to its electrical control signal. This actuator's reactive load property usually causes a large portion of reactive power circulating between the power amplifier and the driven actuator, thus reduces the circuit efficiency in a linear power amplifier scenario. In this thesis, a switching amplifier design based on the PWM technique is proposed to develop a highly efficient power amplifier, and peak current mode control is proposed to reduce the actuator's hysteretic behavior. Since the low frequency current loop gain tends to be low due to the circuit's capacitive load, average current mode control is further proposed to boost the low frequency current loop gain and improve the amplifier's low frequency performance. Both of the circuits have been verified by prototype design and their experimental measurement results are given.


We present the first global empirical model for the quiet time F region equatorial vertical drifts based on combined incoherent scatter radar observations at Jicamarca and Ion Drift Meter observations on board the Atmospheric Explorer E satellite. This analytical model, based on products of cubic-B splines and with nearly conservative electric fields, describes the diurnal and seasonal variations of the equatorial vertical drifts for a continuous range of all longitudes and solar flux values. Our results indicate that during solar minimum, the evening prereversal velocity enhancement exhibits only small longitudinal variations during equinox with amplitudes of about 15–20 m/s, is observed only in the American sector during December solstice with amplitudes of about 5–10 m/s, and is absent at all longitudes during June solstice. The solar minimum evening reversal times are fairly independent of longitude except during December solstice. During solar maximum, the evening upward vertical drifts and reversal times exhibit large longitudinal variations, particularly during the solstices. In this case, for a solar flux index of 180, the June solstice evening peak drifts maximize in the Pacific region with drift amplitudes of up to 35 m/s, whereas the December solstice velocities maximize in the American sector with comparable magnitudes. The equinoctial peak velocities vary between about 35 and 45 m/s. The morning reversal times and the daytime drifts exhibit only small variations with the phase of the solar cycle. The daytime drifts have largest amplitudes between about 0900 and 1100 LT with typical values of 25–30 m/s. We also show that our model results are in good agreement with other equatorial ground-based observations over India, Brazil, and Kwajalein.


This paper surveys the literature on the macroeconomic effects of government debt. It begins by discussing the data on debt and deficits, including the historical time series, measurement issues, and projections of future fiscal policy. The paper then presents the conventional theory of government debt, which emphasizes aggregate demand in the short run and crowding out in the long run. It next examines the theoretical and empirical debate over the theory of debt neutrality called Ricardian equivalence. Finally, the paper considers the various normative perspectives about how the government should use its ability to borrow.


Are anomalies strongest when investor sentiment or limits of arbitrage are considered to be greatest? We empirically explore these theoretically deducted predictions. We first identify, categorize, and replicate 100 long-short anomalies in the cross-section of expected equity returns. We then comprehensively study their interaction with popular proxies for time-varying market-level sentiment and arbitrage conditions. We find a powerful (relatively weak) role of the variation in proxies for sentiment (arbitrage constraints). In this context, the predictive power of sentiment is mostly restricted to the short leg of strategy returns. Our insights collectively suggest that the dynamics of sentiment combined with the base level (and not primarily the variations) of limits to arbitrage provide at least a partial explanation for inefficiencies.


Magnetic nanocarriers play an increasing role in various biomedical applications such as the separation of magnetically 'tagged' DNA, drug delivery or identification of biological species. Recent developments in nanotechnology allow the fabrication of both artificial nanocarriers and magnetic separation devices which may achieve great performances at an incredibly small-volume sample handling. However, as the sizes of magnetic carriers and separation devices diminish, important theoretical and experimental challenges may occur mainly due to the important variations of the surface-to-volume ratio. Under these circumstances, intrinsic properties of individual carriers and their influence on functionality and performances of the magnetic manipulation have to be investigated with a higher degree of accuracy. In this paper, we present the state-of-the-art techniques for extracting accurate information about individual magnetic entities from magnetic measurements performed on ordered arrays or clusters of magnetic nano-objects of various dimensionalities and geometries. As the mutual magnetic interactions may be responsible for collective effects, both analytical and numerical techniques for evaluating the mutual interactions between magnetic nanoparticles and nanowires are reviewed, special emphasis being put on the dimensionality of their assemblages. As the efficiency of the manipulation and capture of individual magnetic carriers in magnetic confinement devices depend strongly on their size, the theoretical description of the motion of magnetic particles under various conditions of flow and field configurations become very important especially with the transition to the nanoscale regime. The equations of motion of magnetic nanocarriers in continuous-flow microfluidic devices are reviewed and some solutions for superparamagnetic interacting clusters, non-interacting beads and ferromagnetic contiguous or codebar nanowires are presented. The influence of both carrier size and transition toward the nanoscale regime on the trappability of some magnetic nanocarriers is evaluated in terms of finite-length Navier boundary conditions and applied in order to compare the motion of superparamagnetic beads and ferromagnetic nanowires in conventional continuous-flow magnetic confinement devices.


'Acts of caring': applied drama, puppetry, medical simulation and 'sympathetic presence' in Person-Centred NursingMatt Jennings, Lecturer in Drama, School of Creative Arts, Ulster University, firstname.lastname@example.com Deeny, Senior Lecturer, School of Nursing, Ulster University email@example.com practices and principles of Nursing are associated with kindness, respect and compassion (Nursing and Midwifery Council, 2016). Nursing pedagogy promotes these attributes as necessary for therapeutic practice (McCormack and McCance, 2016). Such values resonate with a relational 'ethics of care', as described by Noddings (2013) and Held (2005). However, Nurses can struggle to maintain these qualities in the workplace, in the context of 'mechanistic' paradigms of care (De Zulueta, 2013), inadequate staffing levels and challenges to patient safety (Louch et al, 2016). Models such as Person-Centred Nursing (PCN) have emerged as frameworks for improvement (McCormack and McCance, 2016). One key feature of PCN is the concept of 'sympathetic presence', whereby a nurse actively responds to the physical and emotional state of a patient 'in the moment' (McCormack and McCance, 2016). However, the key challenge is to develop 'sympathetic presence' into a set of transferable skills. Since 2013, students and staff of Nursing and Drama degree programmes at Ulster University (UU) have been using applied drama and actor training techniques to enhance 'role play' practice for Mental Health and Adult Nursing students. Evidence suggests that Nursing students have advanced their self-awareness and communication skills, demonstrating an improved understanding of 'sympathetic presence' and its value within the nurse-patient relationship (Deeny and Jennings 2016).More recently, this intervention has incorporated the application of puppetry to medical simulation. Karen Torley (Banyan Puppet Theatre) has been working with Nursing and Drama students and staff to explore the use of puppetry techniques to animate medical mannequins. In approaching the mannequin 'care-fully' - through awareness and connection of breath and touch - the object attains a sense of agency, within an intimate 'aesthetics of care' (Thompson 2015). Using puppetry within medical simulation, health professionals can practise humanising an object, in order to avoid objectifying humans.Key Words: Applied Puppetry, Empathy, Sympathetic Presence, Patient-Centred Care, Care Ethics, Applied Drama, Aesthetics of Care, Pedagogy.References: De Zulueta,P. ( 2013) Compassion in 21st century medicine: Is it sustainable? Clinical Ethics, 8(4). 119-128.Held, V. (2005) The Ethics of Care: Personal, Political and Global. Oxford: Oxford University Press Jennings, M and Deeny, P., (2016) Development of an interactive model of creative play and critical reflection to advance 'sympathetic presence' in Nursing practice: a case of interdisciplinary pedagogy with Nursing and Drama. Performing Care Research Symposium, Royal Central School of Speech and Drama (London), December 15th 2016Louch, G., O'Hara, J., Gardner, P. and O'Connor, D.B. (2016) The daily relationships between staffing, safety perceptions and personality in hospital nursing: A longitudinal on-line diary study. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 59, 27-37. McCormack,B and McCance,T.(Eds) (2016) Person-centred Practice in Nursing and Health. Oxford: Wiley Blackwell.Noddings, N. (2013) Caring: A Relational Approach to Ethics and Moral Education. Berkeley: University of California Press.Nursing and Midwifery Council (2015) The Code: Professional Standards of Practice and Behaviour for Nurses and Midwives. London: NMC O'Neill, K (2013) (ed.) Patient-centred Leadership; rediscovering our purpose. London: King's FundThompson, J. (2015) Towards an aesthetics of care. Research in Drama Education: The Journal of Applied Theatre and Performance. 20(4): 430-441


Image reconstruction techniques from signals received by sensors find application in several fields, including radio interferometry for astronomical investigations and magnetic resonance imaging for medical applications. This paper presents a novel method for image reconstruction based on the iterative scanning of a region of interest. A modified approximate message passing (AMP) algorithm is adopted to extract relevant image information with low computational complexity from signals received by sensors. The method is illustrated by simulations, with reference to the LOFAR radio interferometer, and compared in the case of radio astronomy with the CLEAN algorithm.


The gap between historical events and the way courts recount them in appellate decisions is highlighted by the differences in fact descriptions offered in the same case: Strickland v. Washington. The Supreme Court's majority decision ignores or recasts facts found in the lower courts in this case. Paul Ricoeur, the leading philosopher of narrative, provides a framework that explains how legal facts are malleable and subject to distortion in his work on non-fiction narratives. He lays out instabilities inherent in any use of language and then broadens his inquiry to show that the transition from the oral to the written word can profoundly change the intended meaning of a text. What becomes central in this shift is the reader's understanding rather than the author's intent. Ricoeur explains the three phases of writing non-fiction narratives: 1) the documentary phase, 2) the explanatory phase, and 3) the narrative phase. The key for understanding judicial discretion is the second or explanatory phase. Here Ricoeur explains the uncertainty that emerges as parties try to adjust their rendering of facts to come to agreement. By ignoring or embellishing facts in the record, courts may obscure explanatory chains that undergird settled decisions in lower courts. Therefore, appellate courts may do what previous theorists suggested: base decisions on factual descriptions that have little to do with historical events. Applying Ricoeur's insights to the Strickland line of cases, the holdings in Wiggins and Rompilla rest on factual considerations considered irrelevant in Strickland. The upshot is startling: representation by counsel in Strickland, who did very little, was found constitutionally effective; representation by counsel in these two later cases, who did a great deal, was found ineffective. Although the Court continues to use the legal formula announced in Strickland, it has changed the law in that case by changing the way it recounts facts found in the lower courts.


Background and Aim: Scientific literature has emphasized the role of education and nonpharmacological methods such as relaxation techniques as the priority treatment for anxiety in pregnancy. This study aimed to determine the effect of education, based on the health belief model (HBM) associated with relaxation on anxiety of nulliparous women. Materials and Methods: In an experimental study, 120 nulliparous women referring to health centers in Qazvin City were assigned randomly to experimental and control groups by means of multi-stage sampling. Intervention course included 3 sessions of group education and a relaxation training session in addition to an educational CD and theory-based training booklet. The data collection tools included demographic questions, 58 item Pregnancy Related Anxiety Questionnaire (PRAQ), Knowledge scale and HBM related questions which were filled out by the participants in a self reported manner before and after the intervention. Using SPSS 20.0, data were analyzed by analytical tests such as T-test, chi-square, MannWhitney U and ANOVA. Results: The mean scores of knowledge, perceived sensitivity and severity, perceived barriers & benefits, self efficacy and cue to action constructs improved significantly in the experimental group after the intervention (P<0.001). Results revealed a significant decrease in the total anxiety score (from 241.9 ± 42.3 to 164.1 ± 40.4, P< 0.01) and its dimensions in the experimental group after the intervention. Conclusion: Regarding the effect of theory based relaxations training on reduction of anxiety in nulliparous women, use of these interventions to improve the health of women during pregnancy is recommended.


We describe a new synthetic method for the isolation of the UiO-66 amino-functionalized material (called metal organic resin-1, MOR-1) and its composite with alginic acid (HA). MOR-1 can be prepared in high yield (∼70%) and purity within an hour via a reflux reaction of ZrCl4 and 2-amino-terephthalic acid in acifidied aqueous solution, whereas addition of sodium alginate to the fine suspension of MOR-1 resulting from the reflux synthesis affords the MOR-1-HA composite. This inexpensive, green and fast preparation method results in UiO-66 amino-functionalized materials (MOR-1 and MOR-1-HA) of the same quality and microporous features as those of compounds isolated with the slower solvothermal synthesis involving toxic and costly organic solvents. Field Emission-Scanning Electron Microscopy (FE-SEM) studies revealed that MOR-1 consists of spongy nanoparticles (150–300 nm in size), whereas MOR-1-HA nanoparticles are relatively compact. Thus, for the first time we could visualize the effect of alginic acid partially coating the surface of the MOR particles. The composite prepared by this method can be successfully utilized as a stationary phase, mixed with sand, in an anion-exchange column. The column shows excellent hexavalent chromium sorption properties and can be easily regenerated and reused several times with almost no loss of its initial Cr(VI) removal capacity. Remarkably, this ion exchange column is capable of eliminating Cr(VI) ions from chrome plating wastewater samples, thus indicating its potential for applications in industrial wastewater treatment.


PURPOSE
Despite concerns that power morcellation may adversely affect prognosis of patients with occult uterine cancer, empirical evidence has been limited and inconclusive. In this study, we aimed to determine whether uncontained power morcellation at the time of hysterectomy or myomectomy is associated with increased mortality risk in women with occult uterine cancer.

METHODS
By linking statewide hospital discharge records with cancer registry data in New York, we identified 843 women with occult endometrial carcinoma and 334 women with occult uterine sarcoma who underwent a hysterectomy or myomectomy for presumed benign indications during the period October 1, 2003, through December 31, 2013. Within this cohort, we compared disease-specific and all-cause mortality of women who underwent laparoscopic supracervical hysterectomy/laparoscopic myomectomy (LSH/LM), a surrogate indicator for uncontained power morcellation, with women who underwent supracervical abdominal hysterectomy and total abdominal hysterectomy (TAH), which did not involve power morcellation. Multivariable Cox regressions and propensity score method were used to adjust for patient characteristics.

RESULTS
Among women with occult uterine sarcoma, LSH/LM was associated with a higher risk for disease-specific mortality than TAH (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 2.66, 95% CI, 1.11 to 6.37; adjusted difference in 5-year disease-specific survival, -19.4%, 95% CI, -35.8% to -3.1%). In the subset of women with leiomyosarcoma, LSH/LM was associated with an increased risk for disease-specific mortality compared with supracervical abdominal hysterectomy (aHR, 3.64, 95% CI, 1.50 to 8.86; adjusted difference in 5-year disease-specific survival, -31.2%, 95% CI, -50.0% to -12.3%) and TAH (aHR, 4.66, 95% CI, 1.97 to 11.00; adjusted difference in 5-year disease-specific survival, -37.3%, 95% CI, -54.2% to -20.3%). Among women with occult endometrial carcinoma, there was no significant association between surgical approach and disease-specific mortality.

CONCLUSION
Uncontained power morcellation was associated with higher mortality risk in women with occult uterine sarcoma, especially in those with occult leiomyosarcoma.


Accurate computational localization of single fluorescent particles is of interest to many biophysical studies and underlies recent approaches to high resolution microscopy using photo-switchable fluorophores. The position of individual particles is typically computed by least-squares fitting of a Gaussian intensity profile to the image, whose band-width is either derived from an idealized theoretical model of the point spread function (PSF), or itself fitted to the image. However, the band-width best approximating the actual PSF may differ significantly from its theoretical value, while fitting it is expected to degrade localization accuracy. Here, instead, we measure the real PSF bandwidth using fluorescent beads as calibration probes, and use this new bandwidth in a Gaussian model fitting algorithm. We show on simulated and real images that this simple modification of the standard localization procedure results in significant improvement of the 3D accuracy in the nanometer range.


We consider the reconstruction of sparse signals in the multiple measurement vector (MMV) model, in which the signal, represented as a matrix, consists of a set of jointly sparse vectors. MMV is an extension of the single measurement vector (SMV) model employed in standard compressive sensing (CS). Recent theoretical studies focus on the convex relaxation of the MMV problem based on the (2,1)-norm minimization, which is an extension of the well-known 1-norm minimization employed in SMV. However, the resulting convex optimization problem in MMV is significantly much more difficult to solve than the one in SMV. Existing algorithms reformulate it as a second-order cone programming (SOCP) or semidefinite programming (SDP) problem, which is computationally expensive to solve for problems of moderate size. In this paper, we propose a new (dual) reformulation of the convex optimization problem in MMV and develop an efficient algorithm based on the prox-method. Interestingly, our theoretical analysis reveals the close connection between the proposed reformulation and multiple kernel learning. Our simulation studies demonstrate the scalability of the proposed algorithm.


Where do new ideas come from? Although all new ideas build on old, this can happen in different ways. Some new ideas, or solutions to old problems, are achieved through methodical, analytical processing. Other new ideas come about in a sudden burst of insight, often based on or generating a restructured view of the problem itself. Behavioral, brain imaging, and eye-tracking results all reveal distinct cortical networks contributing to insight solving, as contrasted with analytic solving. Consistently, the way in which people solve problems appears to relate to the way they engage attention and cognitive control: across time, across moods, and across individuals. Insight is favored when people can disengage from strong stimuli and associations - figuratively and literally looking "outside the box" of the problem to suddenly solve with a new idea.


This study investigates and analyzes Critical Success Factors (CSFs) construct in Supply Chain implementation to minimize product lead-time and to identify the relationship between reducing raw material lead-time and improving product lead time. Short delivery lead time and efficient management on material inventories are two crucial elements that determine the competitiveness of many contract assembly manufacturers, especially in contract manufacturing. Assemble-to-Order (ATO) environment has become popular because companies do not want to keep finished goods inventories that lead to an increase in operational cost. ATO manufacturing involves production only upon receiving confirmed orders from customers. Thus, this study focuses on CSFs in Supply Chain Management (SCM) implementation and develops a comprehensive SCM framework for ATO contract manufacturing. Raw material lead time and material management process flow are the main concerns in the SCM context and ATO manufacturing environment. This study investigates elements to minimize the issues caused by the long product lead time and to identify the relationship between reducing raw material lead time and improving product lead time. Material classification, raw material improvement strategy, and suppliers' relationships are reviewed to develop and enhance current material strategy in accordance with present situations. An overall supplier material management system will be developed to improve the entire supply chain system as well as information sharing and identification methods. Information sharing from manufacturers to suppliers and vice versa is important to ensure that manufacturers can obtain scheduled and timely production information. Information from manufacturers to suppliers provides an advantage for the suppliers to prepare the raw materials and capacity plan to meet ATO requirements. The framework is unique as it addressed the importance of CSFs constructs, planning and monitoring processes to continue the success in SCM implementation. This framework integrates most of the planning process as the first input namely product classification, material management strategy, information sharing, logistic management and supplier relationship. This includes demand planning, supply planning, demand fulfillment, replenish planning and lead time planning. The planning process covered all demand and supply from customers, suppliers and manufacturers perspectives. The monitoring process in this framework is a guideline to companies on continuous SCM implementation.


This study reports the distribution, abundance and habitat use of juvenile goliath grouper Epinephelus itajara along fringing red mangrove Rhizophora mangle shorelines of the Florida Keys, USA. The species has been protected from fishing in US waters since 1992, after reach- ing commercial extinction, yet juvenile habitat use remains poorly studied. The aim of this study was to evaluate the importance of underwater mangrove habitat structure and complexity in determining distribution of juvenile goliath grouper in the Florida Keys. Visual underwater surveys were used to record juvenile presence, abundance and size. Habitat characteristics as continuous variables (depth, canopy, overhang and prop root width) and nominal variables (bottom type, sun exposure, shoreline shape and shoreline type) were also recorded. Juveniles aggregated in sites with high structural complexity, soft sediment and eroded shorelines. Well-developed fringing red mangrove shorelines were the preferred juvenile goliath grouper habitat.


ABSTRACT Conflict and polemic between Sunni Muslims and Shiites have a long history. In the contemporary era, this polemic has been accentuated by the conflictual situation in the Middle East, and it is also colouring the minority Muslim situation. This article is concerned with Islamic interpretations related to 'othering', taking as its main focus an analysis of publications on a Swedish Sunni website, 'Maktabah Dâr-ul-Hadîth', which has clear Salafi leanings. Reports show that Shiites currently feel threatened by Salafis in minority contexts and the material cited in this article 'others' Shiite Islam and Shiites (amongst others), creating a stereotypical image that may have the potential to influence sectarian violence in real life. Several of the texts on the website deal with theological issues concerning the alleged false beliefs of Shiites. However, the article does not focus on theological creed but rather on manhaj, the programme for action, that is, the behaviour towards Shiites that is recommended in various situations, such as at work, in greeting Shiites or being invited to a Shiite wedding, thus affecting everyday situations. The analysis looks into what kind of 'othering' is promoted and what effect this othering might have if put into practice.


The Kenya government in collaboration with other stakeholders involved in the provision of family planning services have put in place various strategies and policies to increase uptake of family planning services. These are aimed at increasing contraceptive prevalence rate (CPR), reduction in both total fertility rate (TFR) and unmet need for family planning services. Despite the various strategies and policies, total fertility rate still remains high at 4.6 percent, while CPR and unmet need for family planning are estimated at 46 percent and 24 percent, respectively. The purpose of the study was to examine the utilization level of family planning services and to analyze the determinants of demand for family planning services among women in City slums in Kenya. To realize this objective, a survey design was adopted. The target population constituted women in city slums in Kenya, who were identified through multistage random sampling. Primary data was collected from the women using a structured interview schedule. A fact sheet was used to summarize the data collected before it was cleaned, coded and edited for completeness and accuracy. The study revealed low usage of contraceptives compared to the national level. Use of the services varied in terms of demographic and socioeconomic factors of the woman and also the woman's perception in terms of the facility/provider factors such quality, friendliness of staff and promotion. Various factors accounted for the low use of family planning services. These included partner's approval, quality of the services, friendliness of the staff administering the services and the woman's knowledge about family planning services. Other factors included the woman's income level, proximity to the provider and the religious background of the woman. To increase the use of family planning services among women in slums, activities of community based distributors should be revived and enhanced, promotion of family planning education and activities at the household level should be accorded priority. Formation of lobby groups to enhance cultural change, awareness creation and counselling and integrating family planning services with HIV/AIDS are recommended.


This book offers a revisionist account of poetry and embodiment from Milton to Romanticism. Scholars have made much of the period's theories of matter, with some studies equating the eighteenth century's modernity with its materialism. Yet the Enlightenment in Britain also brought bold new arguments for the immateriality of spirit and evocative claims about a coming spirit realm. Protestant religious writing was of two minds about futurity, swinging back and forth between patience for the resurrected body and desire for the released soul. This ancient pattern carried over, the book argues, into understandings of poetry as a modern devotional practice. A range of authors agreed that poems can provide a foretaste of the afterlife, but they disagreed about what kind of future state the imagination should seek. The mortalist impulse-exemplified by John Milton and by Romantic poets Anna Letitia Barbauld and William Wordsworth-is to overcome the temptation of disembodiment and to restore spirit to its rightful home in matter. The spiritualist impulse-driving eighteenth-century verse by Mark Akenside, Elizabeth Singer Rowe, and Edward Young-is to break out of bodily repetition and enjoy the detached soul's freedom in advance. Although the study isolates these two tendencies, each needed the other as a source in the Enlightenment, and their productive opposition didn't end with Romanticism. The final chapter identifies an alternative Romantic vision that keeps open the possibility of a disembodied poetics, and the introduction considers present-day Anglophone writers who continue to put it to work.


The aim of this article is to analyse the differences of e-government development between a) member states of the Eastern Border of the European Union (EU-8) and member states of the old EU (EU-15); b) member states of EU-8 and the all countries of EU (EU-28); c) member states of EU-8 and countries, which became member states of EU after 2004 (EU- 5). Comparative analysis was used to determine and evaluate the tendencies of e-government development in EU-8 during the period of 2003-2012. Data of United Nations E-Government survey about e-government development was used in this article. Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria compose EU-8. It was estimated that countries of EU-8 made significant progress in development of e-government. However the gap between member states of EU-8 and countries of EU-15, EU-5 and EU-28 still remains. Higher homogeneity in the area of e-government development in the countries of EU-8, EU- 15 and EU-5 compared to the countries of EU-28 was found.


Paired data may occur because two measurements are made on the same subject or because measurements are made on two subjects that have been matched according to other variables. Hypothesis tests on paired data can be analyzed by considering the difference between the paired items as the response. The distribution of differences is usually symmetric. In fact, the distribution must be symmetric if the individual distributions of the two items are identical. Hence, the paired t-test is appropriate for paired data even when the distributions of the individual items are not normal.


Objective

This Workshop offers a forum to colleagues from academia and industry. It will present a critical re-appraisal on the rational of the EU ban, and the overall economic impact of this measure as well as regulatory attempts to stimulate licensing of new products. Additional contributions are devoted to current RD activities within the industry, and new targets and strategies in product development will be presented and discussed.


The purpose of this study was to examine select psychometric properties of the Behavioral Regulation in Exercise Questionnaire (BREQ; Mullen, Markland, & Ingledew, 1997). To accomplish this aim, data were gathered in 2 phases to evaluate the BREQ's factorial composition and structure and the relation between the BREQ, need satisfaction, exercise behavior, and relevant motivational constructs. Participants completed measures assessing psychological need satisfaction, optimism, perceived behavioral control, exercise behavior, and the BREQ. Phase 1 results supported the original 4-factor measurement model and a simplex model of structural relations between latent BREQ constructs suggested within self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985), and results supported the positive relations between more self-determined motives and greater psychological need satisfaction and frequent exercise behavior. Phase 2 results provided further construct validity evidence for the BREQ by linking subscale scores with greater perceived behavioral control in a manner consistent with theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985). Collectively, these results further support the construct validity of the BREQ and lend credence to the notion of measuring exercise motivation from a multidimensional perspective using self-determination theory as a guiding framework in the exercise domain.


A useful assignment in ComputerAssisted Reporting (CAR) classes is a final project in which students take responsibility for applying CAR techniques to a set of data (database). Often, however, students do not know how to begin such an assignment. CAR classes typically spend a semester teaching very specific techniques, but do not do much to teach strategies for computer-assisted analysis. Techniques for creativity could be useful in this endeavor. Data analysts should think: What could I do with this data set that would be interesting and informative? But it could also be useful to give more emphasis throughout the class to analysis strategies - general approaches that can be applied to CAR analyses of data sets. This article provides some suggested strategies for CAR analysis that can help students and professionals move ahead when confronted with a database that they want to analyze or that they are expected to analyze. These strategies are based on our experience in teaching classes in both computerassisted reporting and research methods for several years. By strategies for analysis in computer-assisted reporting we mean approaches to analysis that are general enough to apply to many data sets and that are capable of leading the journalist to significant and interesting conclusions. Strategies for analysis in computer-assisted reporting are at a higher level of abstraction than the tools of CAR - the particular computer programs and specific online resources that are emphasized in many CAR courses. Textbook approaches Textbooks dealing with computer-assisted reporting - like many classes - tend to focus on specific skills and computer programs rather than analysis strategies. Emphasis is on how to do rather than how to think. For instance, Brant Houston in Computer-Assisted Reporting (1999) focuses on "the essential skills and information" and "step-by-step procedures that guide students through the complexities of commonly used software programs" (p. viii). The emphasis is on helping students "master the powerful tools of today's newsroom" (p. ix). Lisa C. Miller's Power Journalism: Computer-Assisted Reporting (1998) devotes most of its space to Internet and World Wide Web resources. The rest of the book includes technique-oriented chapters dealing with spreadsheets, database managers, and working with data on floppies or tapes, and chapters on ethics of CAR and supplementing CAR with interviewing and interpretation. Overall, the book is intended to "guide you, step by step, through cyberspace, spreadsheets, and database managers" (p. vi). Bruce Garrison's Computer-Assisted Reporting (1998) also focuses mostly on the tools of CAR - the techniques of using the Internet, accessing databases, using spreadsheets and database managers, and doing some analysis with statistical software. Garrison's Successful Strategies for Computer-Assisted Reporting (1996) sounds like it is headed in the right direction, but it deals mostly with how journalists have actually used CAR. The emphasis is on case studies rather than presenting a typology of strategies from which the data analyst can choose. Most classes in computer-assisted reporting probably present students with numerous examples of data analysis, but this does not necessarily carry over to help them select the appropriate analysis strategy when presented with a new database. Several chapters of this book deal with software programs and online resources - essentially the level of tools rather than strategies. Margaret H. DeFleur in her book Computer-Assisted Investigative Reporting (1997) comes closest to describing some strategies for CAR. She says the book "is not a `how-to' book in the strictest sense" (p. viii). The purpose of her book is to "describe the historical and intellectual development of a new area of practice in journalism" (p. viii). The book "develops an understanding of both the historical development and the analytical methodology of this form of analysis" (p. …


Whether you are an academic librarian, school librarian, or public librarian, if you work in Reference you probably get asked about how to cite a book or article in a particular style. One of the thorniest parts about helping someone with a citation is knowing how that style capitalizes words in the title. It is not obvious. The three primary citation styles (MLA, APA, and Chicago) have all published updated citation style manuals in the last couple of years and there have been some changes even in how titles are capitalized. This article describes the changes and breaks down the differences between each of the citation styles.


In modern industry, there usually exist high-precision stages, such as reticle stages and wafer stages in VLSI lithography tools, metrology stages in coordinate measurement machines, motion stages in CNC machine tools, etc. These stages need high-precision measurement/metrology systems for monitoring its XY movement. As the metrology systems are quite accurate, we often cannot find a standard tool with better accuracy to implement a traditional calibration process for systematic measurement error (i.e., stage error) determination and measurement accuracy compensation. Subsequently, selfcalibration technology is developed to meet this challenge and to solve the calibration problem. In this chapter, we study the self-calibration of two-dimensional precision metrology systems and present a holistic self-calibration strategy. This strategy utilizes three measurement views of an artifact plate with mark positions not precisely known on the un-calibrated two-dimensional metrology stage and constructs relevant symmetry, transitivity, and redundancy of the stage error of the metrology stage. The misalign‐ ment errors of all measurement views, especially including those of the translation view, are totally determined by detailed mathematical manipulations. Then, a redundant equation group is synthesized, and a least-square–based robust estimation law is employed to calculate out the stage error even under the existence of random measure‐ ment noise. Furthermore, as the determination of the misalignment error components of the measurement views is rather complicated but important in previous and the proposed methods, this chapter also significantly analyzes the necessity of this costly computa‐ tion. The proposed approach is investigated by simulation computation, and the simulation results prove that the proposed determination scheme can calculate out the stage error rather exactly without random measurement noise. Furthermore, when there exist various random measurement noises, the calibration accuracy of the proposed strategy is also investigated, and the results illustrate that the standard deviations of the calibration error are consistently with the same level of those of the random measure‐ ment noises. All these results verify that the proposed scheme can realize the stage error rather accurately even under the existence of random measurement noise. The practical © 2016 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. procedure for performing a standard self-calibration is also introduced for engineers to facilitate actual implementation.


OBJECTIVE
To examine the impact of a decision aid (DA) designed to promote informed decision making for screening with the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test and to test a theoretical model of factors influencing decisional conflict.

DESIGN
Structural equation modeling examined pathways between DA exposure, knowledge, schema, prostate cancer risk perceptions, decisional anxiety, and decisional conflict. Sample participants included 200 men from the general population (exclusive of African Americans) and 200 African American men. Half of the men in each subsample were randomly assigned to receive the DA.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
Decisional conflict regarding prostate cancer screening.

RESULTS
The DA influences level of decisional conflict by increasing patient knowledge. This effect of knowledge on decisional conflict is indirect, however, through an association with greater perceived risk and lower decisional anxiety. Also, positive PSA schema was associated with lower decisional anxiety and decisional conflict. It is important that exposure to the DA had no impact on PSA schema.

CONCLUSION
Schemas about testing must be considered in developing messages about the risks and benefits of testing. If schemas are counter to message content, mechanisms for modifying schemas must be incorporated into interventions.


The function of proteins is tightly related to their interactions with other molecules. The study of such interactions often requires to track the molecules that enter or exit specific regions of the proteins. This is investigated with molecular dynamics simulations, producing the trajectories of thousands of water molecules during hundreds of thousands of time steps. To ease the exploration of such rich spatio-temporal data, we propose a novel workflow for the analysis and visualization of large sets of water-molecule trajectories. Our solution consists of a set of visualization techniques, which help biochemists to classify, cluster, and filter the trajectories and to explore the properties and behavior of selected subsets in detail. Initially, we use an interactive histogram and a time-line visualization to give an overview of all water trajectories and select the interesting ones for further investigation. Further, we depict clusters of trajectories in a novel 2D representation illustrating the flows of water molecules. These views are interactively linked with a 3D representation where we show individual paths, including their simplification, as well as extracted statistical information displayed by isosurfaces. The proposed solution has been designed in tight collaboration with experts to support specific tasks in their scientific workflows. They also conducted several case studies to evaluate the usability and effectiveness of our new solution with respect to their research scenarios. These confirmed that our proposed solution helps in analyzing water trajectories and in extracting the essential information out of the large amount of input data.


Abstract Hemangioblastoma tends to occur in the infratentorial regions and rarely in the supratentorial regions. This tumor is strongly associated with von Hippel-Lindau disease (VHLD), especially in the supratentorial regions, with only 12 cases of suprasellar hemangioblastoma unrelated to VHLD. However, all these cases were diagnosed based on clinical screening and confirmation of family history. We report a case of suprasellar hemangioblastoma that was successfully removed through an extended transsphenoidal approach and diagnosed as a sporadic case unrelated to VHLD by immunohistochemical examination. A 67-year-old woman had mild diabetes insipidus and a visual field defect. Head magnetic resonance imaging revealed a suprasellar tumor compressing the optic chiasm upward. The tumor was totally removed without complication through an extended transsphenoidal approach. Postoperative histologic examination disclosed large vacuolated stromal cells and rich capillary networks, and the diagnosis was established as hemangioblastoma. Clinical screening and confirmation of family history revealed no specific results, and additional immunohistochemical staining showed diffuse cytoplasmic expression of anti-VHLD gene-derived protein (pVHL). We emphasize that pVHL immunohistochemical evaluation would be wise to adopt, especially for patients with a high risk of VHLD related to younger age and supratentorial lesions.


Abstract Haematococcus pluvialis is a genus of green algae that keeps the high interest of the scientists for decades due to its capacity to synthesize astaxanthin. Among many others, astaxanthin is one of the most demanded natural anti-oxidant and the product of the future. It has the widest usage as source of nutrient rich food and health promoting compounds. Astaxanthin has got various applications in the nutraceuticals as immune system enhancer and anti-cancer agent, in the cosmetics as anti-aging component, as additive to food, as well as in the aquaculture industries. As a key requirement for the research in this field is to find out the better conditions and media to stimulate the H.pluvialis higher growth rate to reach in the field of microalgae economically sustainable cultivation and processing. The effect of WC versus BG-11 media to enhance growth rate of Haematococcus pluvialis has been examined. This study employed a parallel testing of stimulating effect of extra vitamins versus phosphorus. Combination of mentioned parameters with gentle shacking have been determined as multiple effectors that contribute to green algae cultures to grow to high density. Importantly, this study demonstrates that extra phosphorus contribute to growth rate of H.pluvilais positively, meanwhile addition of extra vitamins in combination with extra phosphorus impact both positively and negatively to promote cells division. Shacking influences the culture growth as either stimulator or repressor.


Background Hip abductor muscle weakness may result in impaired frontal-plane pelvic control during gait, leading to greater medial compartment loading in people with knee osteoarthritis (OA). Objective This study investigated the effect of an 8-week home strengthening program for the hip abductor muscles on knee joint loading (measured by the external knee adduction moment during gait), strength (force-generating capacity), and function and pain in individuals with medial knee OA. Design The study design was a nonequivalent, pretest-posttest, control group design. Setting Testing was conducted in a motor performance laboratory. Patients An a priori sample size calculation was performed. Forty participants with knee OA were matched for age and sex with a control group of participants without knee OA. Intervention Participants with knee OA completed a home hip abductor strengthening program. Measurements Three-dimensional gait analysis was performed to obtain peak knee adduction moments in the first 50% of the stance phase. Isokinetic concentric strength of the hip abductor muscles was measured using an isokinetic dynamometer. The Five-Times-Sit-to-Stand Test was used to evaluate functional performance. Knee pain was assessed with the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index questionnaire. Results Following the intervention, the OA group demonstrated significant improvement in hip abductor strength, but not in the knee adduction moment. Functional performance on the sit-to-stand test improved in the OA group compared with the control group. The OA group reported decreased knee pain after the intervention. Limitations Gait strategies that may have affected the knee adduction moment, including lateral trunk lean, were not evaluated in this study. Conclusions Hip abductor strengthening did not reduce knee joint loading but did improve function and reduce pain in a group with medial knee OA.


There is widespread agreement that future continuous interactive (CI) applications will require edge computing capabilities from mobile networks. There is also widespread expectation that the emerging 5G network architecture, with its constituent technology components, will be the context in which this will be realized. Indeed many of the components that will be part of such an environment have been studied in standalone manner. However, the question of whether an end-to-end combination of these components would satisfy application requirements, or indeed, how these components would be combined into service offerings by mobile network providers, have not been meaningfully addressed. Towards addressing these challenges, we propose ACACIA - a service abstraction framework that enables CI applications on edge clouds in mobile networks. Evaluation of our prototype implementation shows that our holistic approach provides a 70% end-to-end application level latency reduction when compared with existing cloud and mobile solutions.


Abstract This paper presents the results of computer simulations with a community of actors playing a large number of voluntarily iterated two-person-PD. The simulations are designed to enable uncooperative actors to exploit partners, leave them and find a new partner who knows nothing about their previous behavioral history. Hit-and-run exploitation should thrive under these conditions. However, as Schuessler (1989; 1990) has shown, the setting is highly unfavorable to uncooperative players. The present study extends this result to a wider set of strategies which can alternatively stay with defectors {and try to improve them) or leave them quickly. In addition, a class of seemingly clever strategies is introduced which try to exploit the expected dynamics of looking for a partner. Still, a high amount of egoistical cooperation can persist in the present scenario.


Recently, the Israeli Ministry of Education initiated a mandatory nationwide curriculum for Jewish kindergarten children focusing on the study of the Holocaust. This initiative raises general questions regarding the inclusion of sensitive historical issues in curricula for young children. In this article, we use the new Holocaust curriculum as an instructive case through which to address the broader questions about what might constitute an appropriate and acceptable curriculum in early childhood. We discuss the initiative from three disciplinary perspectives: a developmental sciences perspective, an anthropological/cultural perspective, and a learning sciences perspective. As we demonstrate, these three perspectives not only represent different disciplines but also highlight different aspects of this issue, thus exposing the complexities of this discussion. We show that understanding these perspectives separately and then trying to combine them may enable a richer and more complex look on the broader questions that this specific curriculum raises. We conclude with an endeavor to integrate the three perspectives, all of which should be taken into account when constructing a curriculum for young children.


The Community Broadcasting Association of Australia (CBAA) asserts that community radio should promote a culturally diverse society by representing those sections of the community much less visible in the mainstream media. This echoes the Australian Federal Government's vision of social inclusion/cohesion in a society in which all Australians are valued and are able to participate fully. There are those, however, who are marginalised by mainstream culture and can find themselves alienated as a result of, for example, their language, religion, ethincity, sexuality or niche interests. Societal participation for those groups can be challenging and may mean some members feel a sense of isolation and lonliness. The incidence of loneliness in Australia is growing. The personal and social consequences of loneliness are significant for those affected but also for policy-makers. Community broadcasting is uniquely positioned to provide opportunities for volunteering, community participation, and sociability for niche community groups, all of which contribute towards countering the effects of loneliness. In this regard, community radio can be described as rhizomatic. It has the potential to generate social capital for the participants and the listeners via its many community entrance points and social pathways. Community radio is often a two-way street with content producers and consumers occupying the same position, thus blurring the line between the traditional professional broadcaster and the passive listener. The generated niche communities of interest expand away from a station towards the audience, and simultaneously, into the community station from the listeners. Overall, this article argues that community broadcasting in Australia should be valued as a medium that can reduce social isolation and enrich community cohesion.


Abstract. Quantitative characterization of soil organic carbon (OC) content is essential due to its significant impacts on surface–subsurface hydrological–thermal processes and microbial decomposition of OC, which both in turn are important for predicting carbon–climate feedbacks. While such quantification is particularly important in the vulnerable organic-rich Arctic region, it is challenging to achieve due to the general limitations of conventional core sampling and analysis methods, and to the extremely dynamic nature of hydrological–thermal processes associated with annual freeze–thaw events. In this study, we develop and test an inversion scheme that can flexibly use single or multiple datasets – including soil liquid water content, temperature and electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) data – to estimate the vertical distribution of OC content. Our approach relies on the fact that OC content strongly influences soil hydrological–thermal parameters and, therefore, indirectly controls the spatiotemporal dynamics of soil liquid water content, temperature and their correlated electrical resistivity. We employ the Community Land Model to simulate nonisothermal surface–subsurface hydrological dynamics from the bedrock to the top of canopy, with consideration of land surface processes (e.g., solar radiation balance, evapotranspiration, snow accumulation and melting) and ice–liquid water phase transitions. For inversion, we combine a deterministic and an adaptive Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) optimization algorithm to estimate a posteriori distributions of desired model parameters. For hydrological–thermal-to-geophysical variable transformation, the simulated subsurface temperature, liquid water content and ice content are explicitly linked to soil electrical resistivity via petrophysical and geophysical models. We validate the developed scheme using different numerical experiments and evaluate the influence of measurement errors and benefit of joint inversion on the estimation of OC and other parameters. We also quantify the propagation of uncertainty from the estimated parameters to prediction of hydrological–thermal responses. We find that, compared to inversion of single dataset (temperature, liquid water content or apparent resistivity), joint inversion of these datasets significantly reduces parameter uncertainty. We find that the joint inversion approach is able to estimate OC and sand content within the shallow active layer (top 0.3 m of soil) with high reliability. Due to the small variations of temperature and moisture within the shallow permafrost (here at about 0.6 m depth), the approach is unable to estimate OC with confidence. However, if the soil porosity is functionally related to the OC and mineral content, which is often observed in organic-rich Arctic soil, the uncertainty of OC estimate at this depth remarkably decreases. Our study documents the value of the new surface–subsurface, deterministic–stochastic inversion approach, as well as the benefit of including multiple types of data to estimate OC and associated hydrological–thermal dynamics.


Incomplete β-oxidation of fatty acids in mitochondria is a feature of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Previous studies revealed that plasma concentrations of medium- and long-chain acylcarnitines (by-products of incomplete β-oxidation) are elevated in T2DM and insulin resistance. In a previous study, we reported that mixed D,L isomers of C12- or C14-carnitine induced an NF-κB-luciferase reporter gene in RAW 264.7 cells, suggesting potential activation of proinflammatory pathways. Here, we determined whether the physiologically relevant L-acylcarnitines activate classical proinflammatory signaling pathways and if these outcomes involve pattern recognition receptor (PRR)-associated pathways. Acylcarnitines induced the expression of cyclooxygenase-2 in a chain length-dependent manner in RAW 264.7 cells. L-C14 carnitine (5-25 μM), used as a representative acylcarnitine, stimulated the expression and secretion of proinflammatory cytokines in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, L-C14 carnitine induced phosphorylation of JNK and ERK, common downstream components of many proinflammatory signaling pathways including PRRs. Knockdown of MyD88, a key cofactor in PRR signaling and inflammation, blunted the proinflammatory effects of acylcarnitine. While these results point to potential involvement of PRRs, L-C14 carnitine promoted IL-8 secretion from human epithelial cells (HCT-116) lacking Toll-like receptors (TLR)2 and -4, and did not activate reporter constructs in TLR overexpression cell models. Thus, acylcarnitines have the potential to activate inflammation, but the specific molecular and tissue target(s) involved remain to be identified.


For believers who have grown weary or disillusioned with their Christian commitment, the letter to the Hebrews offers much practical assistance. In this day of dwindling church attendance and clergy burnout, a new reading of Hebrews offers an encouraging, renewed understanding of the person and work of Jesus Christ. The letter of James deals primarily with the social and practical aspects of Christianity, reminding the reader that Christian faith touches every aspect of life. One of the most useful books in the New Testament, its concerns are grounded in day-to-day questions: how do we live? what should we live? and what are the implications of Christian faith for our lives? This epistle will challenge and encourage modern readers in search of a life of integrity. Books in the Westminster Bible Companion series assist laity in their study of the Bible as a guide to Christian faith and practice. Each volume explains the biblical book in its original historical context and explores its significance for faithful living today. These books are ideal for individual study and for Bible study classes and groups.


Abstract:This article deploys the term "artist-producer" to respond to Gary D. Beckman's (2007) call for an effective definition for artist entrepreneurship, one that illustrates the productive work that artists do and counters longstanding romantic notions of artists as creative geniuses who are unconcerned with commerce. Unpacking the term entrepreneur historically and focusing on its troubling relationship to class, race, and gender, even among entrepreneurship scholars, I illustrate how and why many artists still resist the de facto entrepreneur label even as they take what many identify as entrepreneurial approaches. Returning to Beckman's domain of training, though outside of the university setting, I show how a number of contemporary community-based artist training and professional development programs across the U.S. reflect, even nurture, the longstanding artist ambivalence to entrepreneurship even as they fulfill some of its key dynamics; moreover, I note how these programs are creating a very specific approach to entrepreneurship, or entrepreneurs, by training what I call "artist-producers" – artists capable of balancing both their expressive ambitions with their material concerns in strategic ways. Ultimately, the artist-producer designation illustrates what many scholars, artists and arts organizers talk about when we talk about artist entrepreneurship; it defines a type of entrepreneurship that by its very structure acknowledges the nation's weak cultural infrastructure and offers a collaborative, productive, even sustainable way of working for artists.


Dear Editor: Disorders of perceptions can be seen in schizophrenia, mania, delirium, metabolic and endocrinal disorders, epilepsy, brain tumors and drug intoxication, or by direct effects of some drugs (for example, hallucinogens). They can also be seen in the electrical stimulus of structures such as the amygdale and temporal cortex and in other pathologies of the brain (1). Perceptual disorders can also be observed, except for brain pathology or psychopathology. In these cases, it is largely suggested that the reason for perceptual disorders is sensory deprivation. Even though the mechanism is not well known, it is believed to be similar to phantom extremity phenomenon (2). In the literature, there are articles about visual hallucinations observed in patients having visual defects without suffering from any psychiatric disorder (2-6). This was first claimed by Charles Bonnet, a Swiss scientist. Bonnet's grandfather experienced live visual hallucinations at age 89 years, 11 years after having cataract surgery (3). Interestingly, Bonnet himself suffered from visual defects and afterward had similar symptoms. Morisier first named this Charles Bonnet Syndrome (CBS) in 1938 (4). Once the syndrome was named, many similar cases were reported, and diagnostic criteria were developed for CBS (5,6). In this article, we report on the case of a patient with auditory hallucinations in the left ear only. The patient has suffered from hearing loss in the left ear for 5 years, but has not used a hearing and for the last 2 years. Case Report A woman, aged 63 years, complained that she was hearing voices for the past 1 ½ to 2 years and that the voices had increased in the last month, especially at night. At first, she was afraid of the voices and thought she was mad; then she realized they were not real. She had hearing loss in her left ear following a car accident 5 years ago, and it was recommended that she use a hearing aid. Since the aid disturbed her ear, she used it irregularly for 3 years and not at all thereafter. Five to 6 months later, she started to hear voices. Everything was normal in the patient's psychiatric examination except for auditory hallucinations and anxious mood. There was no substance use or psychiatric illness in her history. Complete blood count, biochemical tests, thyroid function test, EEG, cranial computed tomography scan, and neurological examinations of the patient were normal. Her score on the Mini-Mental State Exam was 27. The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory and Beier Sentence Completion tests were evaluated as normal. Treatment was started with olanzapine 10 mg daily and diazepam 10 mg daily. Later, diazepam was stopped and continued by olanzapine 5 mg daily only. On the tenth day of treatment, the auditory hallucinations disappeared. The patient was observed for 10 months at regular intervals; she took olanzapine 5 mg daily and used a hearing aid for 7 months. During this time, no psychopathology had been detected. How could sensory deprivation cause disorders of perception? Even though the mechanism is not well known, it is believed to work similarly to phantom extremity phenomenon. In phantom extremity phenomenon, the sensory deprivation could be due to amputation of a body part, damage of the sensory nerve, brachial plexus, or blockage of the spinal cord by anesthetic agent (2). In this case report, the sensory deprivation now caused by damage to the auditory ways after an accident. In both cases, the stimuli going to the cortex were blocked. However, how the perceptual disorders occur is still not known. Perhaps the hallucinations are due to receptor hypersensitivity. …


ABSTRACT Pseudomonas aeruginosa airway infections are a major cause of mortality and morbidity of cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. In order to persist, P. aeruginosa depends on acquiring iron from its host, and multiple different iron acquisition systems may be active during infection. This includes the pyoverdine siderophore and the Pseudomonas heme utilization (phu) system. While the regulation and mechanisms of several iron-scavenging systems are well described, it is not clear whether such systems are targets for selection during adaptation of P. aeruginosa to the host environment. Here we investigated the within-host evolution of the transmissible P. aeruginosa DK2 lineage. We found positive selection for promoter mutations leading to increased expression of the phu system. By mimicking conditions of the CF airways in vitro, we experimentally demonstrate that increased expression of phuR confers a growth advantage in the presence of hemoglobin, thus suggesting that P. aeruginosa evolves toward iron acquisition from hemoglobin. To rule out that this adaptive trait is specific to the DK2 lineage, we inspected the genomes of additional P. aeruginosa lineages isolated from CF airways and found similar adaptive evolution in two distinct lineages (DK1 and PA clone C). Furthermore, in all three lineages, phuR promoter mutations coincided with the loss of pyoverdine production, suggesting that within-host adaptation toward heme utilization is triggered by the loss of pyoverdine production. Targeting heme utilization might therefore be a promising strategy for the treatment of P. aeruginosa infections in CF patients. IMPORTANCE Most bacterial pathogens depend on scavenging iron within their hosts, which makes the battle for iron between pathogens and hosts a hallmark of infection. Accordingly, the ability of the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa to cause chronic infections in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients also depends on iron-scavenging systems. While the regulation and mechanisms of several such iron-scavenging systems have been well described, not much is known about how the within-host selection pressures act on the pathogens' ability to acquire iron. Here, we investigated the within-host evolution of P. aeruginosa, and we found evidence that P. aeruginosa during long-term infections evolves toward iron acquisition from hemoglobin. This adaptive strategy might be due to a selective loss of other iron-scavenging mechanisms and/or an increase in the availability of hemoglobin at the site of infection. This information is relevant to the design of novel CF therapeutics and the development of models of chronic CF infections. Most bacterial pathogens depend on scavenging iron within their hosts, which makes the battle for iron between pathogens and hosts a hallmark of infection. Accordingly, the ability of the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa to cause chronic infections in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients also depends on iron-scavenging systems. While the regulation and mechanisms of several such iron-scavenging systems have been well described, not much is known about how the within-host selection pressures act on the pathogens' ability to acquire iron. Here, we investigated the within-host evolution of P. aeruginosa, and we found evidence that P. aeruginosa during long-term infections evolves toward iron acquisition from hemoglobin. This adaptive strategy might be due to a selective loss of other iron-scavenging mechanisms and/or an increase in the availability of hemoglobin at the site of infection. This information is relevant to the design of novel CF therapeutics and the development of models of chronic CF infections.


With the rise of the digital economy over the past decade and as internet platforms and 'over-the-top' players take centre stage, Europe has struggled to compete with other regions. The new Juncker Commission has kept its promise to propose legislative steps towards a connected Digital Single Market, but will the member states buy into this strategy and will it be enough to reignite Europe's ailing digital economy, asks Colin Blackman in this new CEPS Commentary.


Soluble oligomers are common to most amyloids and may represent the primary toxic species of amyloids, like the Aβ peptide in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Here we show that all of the soluble oligomers tested display a common conformation-dependent structure that is unique to soluble oligomers regardless of sequence. The in vitro toxicity of soluble oligomers is inhibited by oligomer-specific antibody. Soluble oligomers have a unique distribution in human AD brain that is distinct from fibrillar amyloid. These results indicate that different types of soluble amyloid oligomers have a common structure and suggest they share a common mechanism of toxicity.


This thesis consists of three chapters that fall under the broad banner of applied microeconomics.
The first chapter analyses the role of the 2008 amendment to the USA Lacey Act in combatting international trade in illegal timber. Comparing US timber imports over time and across countries and products, I show that the US timber imports fell after the introduction of the Lacey Act. I find the fall in timber imports is accompanied by a fall in illegal trade as measured by the difference between importer and exporter reported statistics. Finally, using the case of Indonesia, I provide suggestive evidence in favor of a reduction in deforestation as a result of the policy.
The second chapter analyzes the effect of a year long rolling blackout in Colombia on mothers' short and long run fertility behavior and socioeconomic outcomes. We use an extensive period of power rationing in Colombia throughout 1992 as a natural experiment and exploit exogenous spatial variation in the intensity of power rationing as an instrumental variable. We show that power rationing induced a "mini baby boom" nine months later. In particular, it increased the probability that a mother had a baby by five percent. Women who were exposed to the shock and had an additional child find themselves in worse socio-economic conditions more than a decade later.
The third chapter documents the way in which the types of people who are admired has changed, arguing that the responses to this question tells us something about the way in which society has been evolving - the 65 years of data are probably the longest consistent series on social attitudes. We present robust correlations between admiration and trust, allowing us to provide information on trends in trust on a consistent basis back to the late 1940s, earlier than most other data sources.


Returning from a foreign holiday, Hamish Macbeth is worried because he senses a dark cloud of evil hanging over the Highland village of Lochdubh. He learns that a newcomer, Catriona Beldame, is regarded as a witch and various men have been seen visiting her. Hamish himself is charmed by her until he finds out she has been supplying dangerous potions. At first the villagers wont listen to him, saying that the loveless Hamish has turned against all women. He threatens to kill her so that when she is found murdered, he must clear his name and then work to solve yet another murder to bring peace and quiet back to his beloved village. His investigations are complicated by a romance with a female forensic expert. Perhaps hell get married at last!


In potential-field inversion, careful management of singular value decomposition components is crucial for obtaining information about the source distribution with respect to depth. In principle, the depth-resolution plot provides a convenient visual tool for this analysis, but its computational complexity has hitherto prevented application to large-scale problems. To analyze depth resolution in such problems, we developed a variant ApproxDRP, which is based on an iterative algorithm and therefore suited for large-scale problems because we avoid matrix factorizations and the associated demands on memory and computing time. We used the ApproxDRP to study retrievable depth resolution in inversion of the gravity field of the Neapolitan Volcanic Area. Our main contribution is the combined use of the Lanczos bidiagonalization algorithm, established in the scientific computing community, and the depth-resolution plot defined in the geoscience community.


Data centers can lower costs significantly by provisioning expensive electrical equipment (such as UPS, diesel generators, and cooling capacity) for the actual peak power consumption rather than server nameplate power ratings. However, it is possible that this under-provisioned power level is exceeded due to software behaviors on rare occasions and could cause the entire data center infrastructure to breach the safety limits. A mechanism to cap servers to stay within the provisioned budget is needed, and processor frequency scaling based power capping methods are readily available for this purpose. We show that existing methods, when applied across a large number of servers, are not fast enough to operate correctly under rapid power dynamics observed in data centers. We also show that existing methods when applied to an open system (where demand is independent of service rate) can cause cascading failures in the software service hosted, causing the service performance to fall uncontrollably even when power capping is applied for only a small reduction in power consumption. We discuss the causes for both these short-comings and point out techniques that can yield a safe, fast, and stable power capping solution. Our techniques use admission control to limit power consumption and ensure stability, resulting in orders of magnitude improvement in performance. We also discuss why admission control cannot replace existing power capping methods but must be combined with them.


This study aimed to develop a scale to investigate cybervictimization among the members of an online social utility. Eight hundred ninety-six participants were recruited with a 36-item web-based survey, which was developed through literature review and expert opinions. The dataset was used for an exploratory factor analysis. After dysfunctional items were eliminated, a 28-item set emerged with a very high internal consistency coefficient explaining half of the total variance with a single-factor structure. The second administration was realized with 200 new participants to confirm the single-factor structure. Along with acceptable fit indices, higher values of internal consistency coefficient and explained variance were observed. It was confirmed that different forms of cyberbullying identified in the literature were included in the questionnaire such as flaming, harassment, cyberstalking, denigration, masquerade, outing and trickery, and exclusion. Receiving religious or politic messages, and unwanted behaviors specifically directed at participants were within the factor structure of the scale. When unwanted behaviors were directed at a larger set of audience, or when the exact target was not the users themselves, such behaviors were not within the factor structure even though somebody else was mistreated. Preliminary findings were discussed followed by implications and suggestions for further research.


Climatescope seeks to bring quantitative rigor to the basic question of what makes a country attractive for clean energy investment, development, and deployment.Climatescope ranks countries on their past, present, and future ability to attract investment for clean energy companies and projects. This marks the third year that the Climatescope survey has been conducted and the methodology that underpins it has been refined each year. In 2012 and 2013, the research focused exclusively on 26 nations in Latin America and the Caribbean. This year, it was expanded across Africa and Asia to include an additional 29 nations plus 15 Chinese provinces and 10 Indian states.


Abstract : Every weapon system operates in context with one or more system of systems (SoS). It is the SoS that provides warfighting capability. Each system is managed independently by a program office with program-centric priorities. These systems must be interconnected and interoperable, so the program office must collaborate across the SoS. The SoS are always changing and evolving, triggered by variety of stimuli. Acquisition program offices can be characterized with a set of organizational behaviors that respond to the environment, are influenced by SoS architecture, and can be described by their fitness and contribution to SoS. Using Geert Hofstede's cultural dimensions, integrated with a modified version of the Bak-Sneppen biological evolutionary model, this research highlights which set of behaviors are significant in affecting the SoS fitness. Through the use of agent based modeling, it was determined that organizational behaviors of willingness and ability were significant factors to local fitness with correlation of 0.548 and 0.535 respectively. Using these factors, a regression model was built to predict the local fitness of the system. Additionally, global fitness was highly dependent on the influence from connected systems. Lastly, the SoS global fitness remained highly stable after a period of time throughout different modeling strategies.


When the Peninsular War ended in 1814, the prolonged struggle had all but exhausted both British government finances and the British public's enthusiasm for war. The authoritarian rule of Ferdinand VII aroused long-standing British suspicions of Spanish ways, which emerged in British literary works that depicted a retrograde, fanatical Spain. The tumultuous years following Ferdinand's reign also led to divisions among the European powers, some favouring the restoration of Ferdinand, with the British government and liberal forces vehemently opposed.

This diverse volume focuses on British reactions to, and representations of, Spanish affairs during this lively period (1814?1823). It demonstrates both Spain's visibility in Regency Britain and the consequent inspiration and dialectical activity of British politicians, artists and intellectuals. It does so through a combination of literary, social, historical and cultural perspectives that bring both fresh light to this formative period of nineteenth-century British attitudes to Spain and a wealth of new scholarly material.


With degradation in transistors dimensions and complication of circuits, Three-Dimensional Network-on-Chip (3-D NoC) is presented as a promising solution in electronic industry. By increasing the number of system components on a chip, the probability of failure will increase. Therefore, proposing fault tolerance mechanisms is an important target in emerging technologies. In this paper, two efficient fault-tolerant routing algorithms for 3-D NoC are presented. The presented algorithms have significant improvement in performance parameters, in exchange for small area overhead. Simulation results show that even with the presence of faults, the network latency is decreased in comparison with state-of-the-art works. In addition, the network reliability is improved reasonably.


Abstract This article presents an investigation of corpus-based methods for the automation of help-desk e-mail responses. Specifically, we investigate this problem along two operational dimensions: (1) information-gathering technique, and (2) granularity of the information. We consider two information-gathering techniques (retrieval and prediction) applied to information represented at two levels of granularity (document-level and sentence-level). Document-level methods correspond to the reuse of an existing response e-mail to address new requests. Sentence-level methods correspond to applying extractive multi-document summarization techniques to collate units of information from more than one e-mail. Evaluation of the performance of the different methods shows that in combination they are able to successfully automate the generation of responses for a substantial portion of e-mail requests in our corpus. We also investigate a meta-selection process that learns to choose one method to address a new inquiry e-mail, thus providing a unified response automation solution.


Many approaches used for diagnostics today are based on a precise model. This excludes diagnostics of many complex types of machinery that cannot be modelled and simulated easily or without great effort. Our aim is to show that by including human experience it is possible to diagnose complex machinery when there is no or limited models or simulations available. This also enables diagnostics in a dynamic application where conditions change and new cases are often added. In fact every new solved case increases the diagnostic power of the system. We present a number of successful projects where we have used feature extraction together with case-based reasoning to diagnose faults in industrial robots, welding, cutting machinery and we also present our latest project for diagnosing transmissions by combining Case-Based Reasoning (CBR) with statistics. We view the fault diagnosis process as three consecutive steps. In the first step, sensor fault signals from machines and/or input from human operators are collected. Then, the second step consists of extracting relevant fault features. In the final diagnosis/prognosis step, status and faults are identified and classified. We view prognosis as a special case of diagnosis where the prognosis module predicts a stream of future features.


We describe a general analysis package for supernova (SN) light curves, called SNANA, that contains a simulation, a light-curve fitter, and a cosmology fitter. The software is designed with the primary goal of using SNe Ia as distance indicators for the determination of cosmological parameters, but it can also be used to study efficiencies for analyses of SN rates, estimate contamination from non-Ia SNe, and optimize future surveys. Several SN models are available within the same software architecture, allowing technical features such as K-corrections to be consistently used among multiple models, and thus making it easier to make detailed comparisons between models. New and improved light-curve models can be easily added. The software works with arbitrary surveys and telescopes and has already been used by several collaborations, leading to more robust and easy-to-use code. This software is not intended as a final product release, but rather it is designed to undergo continual improvements from the community as more is learned about SNe. We give an overview of the SNANA capabilities, as well as some of its limitations.


We present results of a seismic reflection and refraction investigation of the Aleutian island arc, designed to test the hypothesis that volcanic arcs constitute the building blocks of continental crust. The Aleutian arc has the requisite thickness (30 km) to build continental crust, but it differs strongly from continental crust in its composition and reflectivity structure. Seismic velocities and the compositions of erupted lavas suggest that the Aleutian crust has a mafic bulk composition, in contrast to the andesitic bulk composition of continents. The silicic upper crust and reflective lower crust that are characteristic of continental crust are conspicuously lacking in the Aleutian intraoceanic arc. Therefore, if island arcs form a significant source of continental crust, the bulk properties of arc crust must be substantially modified during or after accretion to a continental margin. The pervasive deformation, intracrustal melting, and delamination of mafic to ultramafic residuum necessary to transform arc crust into mature continental crust probably occur during arc-continent collision or through subsequent establishment of a continental arc. The volume of crust created along the arc exceeds that estimated by previous workers by about a factor of two.


Advances in diagnostic and therapeutic technology have not appreciably changed the outlook of patients with pancreatic cancer. While those patients presenting with localized resectable disease have the best prognosis, local control and intra-abdominal metastases remain significant obstacles to survival. Localized chemoradiation has modestly improved median survival in localized and locally advanced disease. Patients presenting with locally advanced disease at diagnosis benefit from surgical palliation which includes biliary and gastric bypass. Intraoperative interstitial brachytherapy has been effective when utilized at laparotomy to improve local control in locally advanced disease. Advances in laparoscopic techniques have provided the ability to more accurately stage patients prior to laparotomy and perform palliative procedures without the need for laparotomy. The utilization of high-dose-rate brachytherapy has proven effective in palliating obstructive symptoms with minimal morbidity on an outpatient basis. Recent efforts have focused on preoperative chemoradiation to improve resectability in selected patients and prophylactic hepatic irradiation to reduce metastases for patients with locally advanced disease.


The activity concentrations of natural radionuclides 226Ra, 232Th and 40K in bauxite ore, alumina, dross tailing, aluminium scraps and soil samples collected from an aluminium industry in Nigeria were determined by gamma ray spectroscopy method. The mean values of 226Ra, 232Th and 40K content of the samples ranged from 16 ± 6 (alumina) to 31 ± 10 (scrap), 41 ± 0.12 (scrap) to 134 ± 21(bauxite) and 47 ± 14 (bauxite) to 354 ± 8 (scrap) Bq·kg-1, respectively. The mean activity concentrations of 226Ra and 40K in all the samples are lower than the world average for soil while 232Th is higher with the exception of alumina and scrap. As a measure of radiation hazard to the occupational workers and the members of the public, the radium equivalent activities and external gamma dose rates due to the radionuclides at 1 m above ground surface were calculated. The radium equivalent activities which varied between 88 ± 10 (alumina) and 222 ± 34 (bauxite) Bq·kg-1 are within the safety recommended limit of 370 Bq·kg-1. The mean annual effective doses calculated from the absorbed dose rates in air were between 54 ± 6 (alumina) and 134 ± 20 (bauxite) μSv·y-1, which is lower than the 1 mSv·y-1 recommended for the general public. The annual gonadal dose equivalent of all the samples with the exception of alumina was higher than the world average for soil.


Ellis‐van Creveld (EvC) syndrome is a genetic disorder with mutations in either EVC or EVC2 gene. Previous case studies reported that EvC patients underwent orthodontic treatment, suggesting the presence of craniofacial bone phenotypes. To investigate whether a mutation in EVC2 gene causes a craniofacial bone phenotype, Evc2 knockout (KO) mice were generated and cephalometric analysis was performed. The heads of wild type (WT), heterozygous (Het) and homozygous Evc2 KO mice (1‐, 3‐, and 6‐week‐old) were prepared and cephalometric analysis based on the selected reference points on lateral X‐ray radiographs was performed. The linear and angular bone measurements were then calculated, compared between WT, Het and KO and statistically analyzed at each time point. Our data showed that length of craniofacial bones in KO was significantly lowered by ∼20% to that of WT and Het, the growth of certain bones, including nasal bone, palatal length, and premaxilla was more affected in KO, and the reduction in these bone length was more significantly enhanced at later postnatal time points (3 and 6 weeks) than early time point (1 week). Furthermore, bone‐to‐bone relationship to cranial base and cranial vault in KO was remarkably changed, i.e. cranial vault and nasal bone were depressed and premaxilla and mandible were developed in a more ventral direction. Our study was the first to show the cause‐effect relationship between Evc2 deficiency and craniofacial defects in EvC syndrome, demonstrating that Evc2 is required for craniofacial bone development and its deficiency leads to specific facial bone growth defect. Anat Rec, 299:1110–1120, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.


Malekzadeh's article traces the development of the social, religious, cultural, and political messages that have shaped the image of the child and childhood within postrevolutionary Farsi textbooks (grades 1-3) produced by the Islamic Republic of Iran over the past thirty years (1979-2008). More than just primers, Farsi textbooks serve as the foundation of the state's project to produce the New Islamic Citizen by providing young students with their first exposure to the ideology of the Revolution and the official values of the Islamic Republic. This article demonstrates that the content of Iran's postrevolutionary curriculum, as seen through the prism of the concept of childhood, has been highly politicized and historically contingent. Representations of childhood are absent from the post-1979 textbooks until the mid-1990s. Since 2003, Iran's curriculum has embraced childhood as a generalized experience, shared equally by Iranian children of all genders and backgrounds. At the same time, textbook authors attach particularistic qualities to the transition from childhood to adulthood, depicting the process of growing up as a distinctly gendered experience. The article concludes with a consideration of how social and economic structures—specifically Iran's marriage and labor markets—are artificially extending the experience of childhood. Faced with high rates of unemployment, more and more young Iranians are staying at home with their parents as they extend their education well into their twenties and thirties, trapped in a state of "waithood," a phenomenon that has done more to shape and refashion the contours of childhood than any of the textbooks produced during the postrevolutionary period.


What if someone argued that one of your basic conceptions about how to develop software was misguided? What would it take to change your mind? That's essentially the dilemma faced by advocates of test-driven development (TDD). The TDD paradigm argues that the basic cycle of developing code and then testing it to make sure it does what it's supposed to do-something drilled into most of us from the time we began learning software development- isn't the most effective approach. TDD replaces the traditional "code then test" cycle. First, you develop test cases for a small increment of functionality; then you write code that makes those tests run correctly. After each increment, you refactor the code to maintain code quality.


Residential Treatment for Children & Youth is inviting submissions to a Special Issue on Adolescent and Young Adult Refugees and Unaccompanied Minors in Residential Care. Conceptual (commentaries, theoretical discussions) and empirical (quantitative and qualitative research papers, short reports, case studies) submissions are encouraged that address policy and practice issues related to the needs, experiences and transitions of this population. We are particularly interested in contributions examining the (potential) role of and challenges for residential care settings and other types of out-of-home care as well as aftercare transition structures in responding to the needs of unaccompanied minors, refugee youth and young adults.


Increasing traffic volumes and a travelling public that is becoming more and more environmentally conscious but intolerant to traffic delays, are common issues facing the authorities in urban areas across the world. This results in great pressure on engineers to develop more innovative ideas for long lasting pavement repairs. The situation in South Africa is no different albeit on a smaller scale relative to countries like the United States. Repair on the urban roads in Gauteng is becoming increasing challenging especially when no capacity upgrade has been undertaken for a number of years. This is particularly true for the Ben Schoeman freeway which is the main link between Johannesburg and Pretoria. This paper discusses some of the latest progress made in concrete technology as a result of these challenges. It focuses on the implementation of these technologies on the Ben Schoeman freeway from design to construction. Many of the concrete pavements in South Africa are nearing the end of their design lives and implementing new repair methods as well as sharing the good and bad experiences amongst practitioners, contractors and the client is becoming increasingly important if not a must.