The hepatopancreas of decapod crustaceans has been recognised as an important target organ for studying the effects of heavy metal pollution. This dynamic organ, with its capability of detoxifying heavy metals through lysosomal activities, often indicates distinct pathological disturbances. This led to the present investigation in which we examined the ultrastructure of hepatopancreas of the penaeid shrimp Metapenaeus dobsoni (Miers) exposed to culture medium containing 50 and 150 ppb of copper. After an exposure period of 15 d, the hepatopancreas was dissected from individuals belonging to the intermoult stage and the structure studied employing transmission electron microscopy. Structural deformities of the cells were not confined to a specific inclusion. Instead, subcellular organelles including the endoplasmic reticulum, mitochondria, basal lamina, and nucleus showed damage of varying degrees. Damage to the nucleus and its inclusions would have a profound effect on its functioning. Endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria showed partial to total disintegration which probably would have made them non-functional. Smooth endoplasmic reticulum, the prime organelle for detoxification and lipid synthesis, also showed darnage, indicating the possibility of a disruption of the cellular detoxification mechanism. Although at lower levels (50 ppb) copper was found to induce a biphasic effect on the histology and histochemistry of the hepatopancreas, this was not reflected in the nature of structural damage of the subcellular organelles performing vital functions. Presence of electron-dense granules in the haemolymph and epithelia1 cells is indicative of the role played by these granules in detoxification or demobilisation of copper.


Tao is The Way. Tao is the source of all universes. Tao is the principles and laws of all universes. In the sixth book of the Soul Power Series, "New York Times "bestselling author Master Zhi Gang Sha shares the essence of ancient teachings of Tao and reveals a new Tao text for the twenty-first century that he received directly from the Divine. These new divine teachings reveal how Tao exists in every aspect of life, from waking to sleeping to eating and more. Master Sha explains how Tao uses the processes of normal creation and reverse creation for all life. He also shares advanced soul wisdom and practical approaches for "reaching "Tao. In this process, healing, rejuvenation, and life transformation occur. In contrast to the ancient Taoist wisdom, knowledge, and practices, the new sacred teaching in this book is extremely simple, practical, and profound. Studying and practicing Tao has many great benefits, including the ability to: heal yourself and others, as well as humanity, Mother Earth, and all universes return from old age to the health and purity of a baby prolong life Enter the realm of Tao with Master Sha. Your life will be transformed."


Lepage's reputation is that of the auteur, but through discourse, he frames his devised work as self-authoring. We must, he urges, let work 'appear by itself'. Through such statements, Lepage distances himself from authorship.
In this paper, James investigates whether Lepage's work is indeed 'orphaned' (Burke) – lacking the trace of authorial signature. He argues that Lepage's discourse elides authorship by asserting performance as selfauthoring, and mystifies authorial practices by foregrounding intuition (over aesthetic) as the basis of decision. Yet 'authorial strategies' (Fricker) are
identifiable in Lepage performances – convergence, reflexivity, use of character, and others. This contradicts accepted understanding of Lepage's process as having 'absolute freedom' and no 'preconceived ideas' (Caux and Gilbert). The significance of identifying authorship within Lepage's
collaborative context, therefore, is that it compels a re-description of that process, and challenges putative values like creative freedom attributed to it. Lepage's process appears dialogic, and his performances writerly. But while his process is collaborative, and his performances retain a writerly
quality for spectators, Lepage is not 'dead' as an author. Authorship may be elided in discourse, but Lepage's return to authorship is pre-inscribed by the privileging accorded to him in selecting a primary Resource. Through privileged editing of collaborator's subjective materials, Lepage gradually imposes a monologic, readerly condition upon the work. The elision of
authorship in discourse thus conceals a potentially appropriative model of collaboration, and this paper critiques the ethics of such a model. Lepage's reticence regarding authorial process is also challenged. This does more than displace responsibility for 'meaning production onto audiences' (Knowles). Lepage's unwillingness to accept his role as the 'big' author denies ideological signature to his work – a lack that James argues is significant because it circumvents the full connection that Lepage seeks between his localised theatre-making practice, and the globalised context it operates within.


ABSTRACT Deindustrialization wrought socio-economic and cultural change throughout the UK, Western Europe and the USA. Within some deindustrialized zones, multiple indices of deprivation rise significantly which presents complex and interrelated social problems including poverty, unemployment, poor quality private rented housing, complex physical and mental health problems, and crime. The austerity agenda further exacerbates these problems, cuts local support services, and further entrenches the myriad issues embedded in post-industrial communities. This paper draws on a funded research project in a deindustrialized town in the North East of England designed to measure the impact of migration on the settled community. The project found advantages to inward migration alongside increased community tension where poor neighbourhoods yet to recover from long-term deindustrialization saw a rapid increase of international migrants. These tensions represent competition for scarce resources amongst the fragmented multi-ethnic working class trying to get by in areas of "permanent recession".


Third-generation long-range DNA sequencing and mapping technologies are creating a renaissance in high-quality genome sequencing. Unlike second-generation sequencing, which produces short reads a few hundred base-pairs long, third-generation single-molecule technologies generate over 10,000 bp reads or map over 100,000 bp molecules. We analyze how increased read lengths can be used to address longstanding problems in de novo genome assembly, structural variation analysis and haplotype phasing.


1. Bovine corneas were incubated in vitro with [U-(14)C]glucose. 2. The glycosaminoglycans of corneal stroma were isolated and fractionated on cetylpyridinium chloride-cellulose columns. The major components were keratan sulphate (71%), chondroitin 4-sulphate (17%) and chondroitin 6-sulphate (4%). 3. The acid-soluble nucleotides and intermediates of glycosaminoglycan biosynthesis of corneal stroma were separated on Dowex 1 (formate form) and the tissue content and cellular concentrations were determined. 4. The rates of synthesis of the intermediates of glycosaminoglycan biosynthesis in corneal stroma were determined. 5. The incorporation of radioactivity from [U-(14)C]glucose into the uronic acid and hexosamine components of the glycosaminoglycans present in corneal stroma were measured and the turnover rates of these polymers were calculated. It was found that keratan sulphate was turning over in about 723h and chondroitin 6-sulphate in 251h.


The globalization that happens today gives the significant impact to the organization life. Globalization caused the changes that happen too fast at the organization sectors. Demanding the organization to be more capable in adapting, having tenacity, and able to be changed correctly and precise. As well as stay focus to the attention to the working productivity. In the development of industry and organization at the present, the function of the human resources development must be able to become a dependable working partner to company. Every company wanted their workers to have high productivity in working. It is about ideal desire of companies that only focus on profit oriented. Because of that besides paying attention to the
production targets, the company also must pay attention to workers' job satisfactions. Because workers are very worthy asset to the company. This research is correlation research between job satisfactions with turnover intention. Therefore, the technique of analysis used in this research was product moment correlations analysis. The scale method was used to collect data in this research. While the population and sample in this research was employees of PT. PG Kebon Agung Malang. The number population 1720 persons and the sample were 50 persons. The research did try out test before him doing the research. The result of try out based on job satisfaction scale showed that there were 44 valid items from 48 item provided. While based on turnover intention showed that there were 27 valid items from 30 item provided. The result of the research showed the number correlation coefficient of r = -0,473 and p = 0,001. This fact has meant there is a very significant negative correlation between job satisfactions with turnover intention. This has mean, that if job satisfaction of employees is high, it is will followed by a low turnover intention, and conversely, if the job satisfactions of employees is low, it is will followed by high turnover intention. While job satisfactions give effective contribution of determinant coefficient equal to r2 = 0,224 (22,4 %) to turnover intention. While the rest equal to 77,6 % influenced by the others variables.


The automated techniques of measurement of water parameters are developed based on flow analysis (flow injection analysis, sequential injection analysis). PEDD detectors (paired emitter-detector diode), built with the use of two paired light-emitting diodes (LEDs) - emission and detection, can serve that purpose. The aim of the studies was to optimize the system for determination of the dissolved organic substances in coloured water with the use of PEDDs in the flowing-stream measurement system. The investigations were conducted for a number of concentrations of the humic, fulvic and tannic acids, which were measured as the dissolved organic carbon (DOC). Three arrangements of diodes (PEDD) with a selected emission spectrum and absorption characteristics were used. A two-beam flow cell was designed for the measurements. The signal from the detection diode was recorded and converted into absorbance through software written for that purpose. The results obtained showed a high sensitivity in relation to the concentration as well as the selectivity in the type of substances studied. A miniature and cheap photometric flow analysis set was proposed, adapted to work with one or several light wavelengths and steered by a microprocessor unit.


The degree of polymerization of cellulose is very relevant for physical and chemical properties of highly engineered biomaterials. The ability to control the level of depolymerisation to a final specific value opens new opportunities to design cellulose-based nanostructured materials. In this paper, the controlled hydrolysis of cellulose in 0-96% ethanol environment and with nine chosen acids (pKa -10-4.7) was studied in order to tailor the pretreatment of dissolving and kraft pulps for various applications. The acid hydrolysis of cellulose in aqueous environment decreased the viscosityaveraged degree of polymerisation (DPν) and relative cellulose content. However, the addition of small amounts of ethanol preserved the cellulose content nearly at the original level, while decreasing the DPν. Furthermore, when the ethanol concentration increased, the DPν decreased manifoldly. The treatment with strong mineral acids in ethanol environment decreased the DPν by 75-80%, regardless of the initial DPν of the pulps. The correlation between the pKa of the acid and the final DPν was notable, and organic acids yielded a much higher DPν. Also, the electron microscopy study revealed that the outer cell wall layers were intact after the treatment with weak acids, whereas mineral acids in ethanol environment weakened the outer cell wall layers. This caused the dissolution mechanism to change when fibres were immersed in 0.2 M cupriethylenediamine. Fibres with intact outer cell wall layers dissolved via the ballooning mechanism, whereas fibres with ruptured outer cell wall dissolved via either fragmenting or uniform swelling.


Creating shared services requires a coordinated integration of four change programs: business process redesign (BPR), organizational redesign, sourcing redesign, and technology enablement. If managed properly, shared services reduce costs, improve services, and can even generate revenues. However, surveys show that many executives fail to achieve the promised results. In this article, we present the lessons Reuters learned during a five-year journey to create global shared services within its finance organization. The lessons highlight how to: (1) Adopt the right transformation approach; (2) Identify processes for shared services by analyzing the costs, attributes, and readiness of process activities; and (3) Get business unit clients and internal staff to cooperate and embrace the shared services initiative.2


Stoneridge Investment Partners, LLC v. Scientific-Atlanta, Inc. is scheduled for oral argument before the U.S. Supreme Court on October 9, 2007. It has been described as "arguably the most important securities law case to reach the Court in a decade" and as securities lawyers' "Roe v. Wade." What is the legal issue that has occasioned this much attention? Phrased as a technical legal argument, plaintiff asserts that it may establish that outside actors committed a Rule 10b-5 violation on a theory of "scheme liability;" in contrast, defendants assert that Central Bank of Denver v. First Interstate Bank of Denver, which found no statutory basis for aiding and abetting liability, precludes plaintiff's theory of liability. What is on trial before the Supreme Court, however, may be the future of private securities fraud litigation. Beyond the legal issue, the parties' positions reflect the differing views in the ongoing debate on the value of private securities fraud litigation. Does scheme liability enhance the compensatory and deterrent functions of private litigation or does it contribute to abusive private litigation that jeopardizes the US markets' competitive position? Thirty one amicus briefs have been filed in the case, about equally divided between the plaintiff's and the defendant's position. There was disagreement within the executive branch as to which side the Solicitor General should support. Most recently, the SEC announced that it would hold a spring 2008 roundtable to debate the various positions on private securities litigation. This paper will first analyze the legal issue in Stoneridge, describe the policy issues from the perspective of the amicus briefs and then provide some commentary on the case's significance to the law and policy of private securities fraud litigation. This paper is a work-in-progress, to be continued upon the Court's opinion.


The authors describe the development and psychometric properties of a new measure called the Skills of Cognitive Therapy (SoCT) in depressed adults and their cognitive therapists. The 8-item SoCT assesses patients' understanding and use of basic cognitive therapy (CT) skills rated from the perspectives of both observers (SoCT-O; therapists in this report) and patients (SoCT-P). Ratings of patients' skill usage are made on 5-point Likert-type scales ranging from 1 (never) to 5 (always or when needed). Higher scores reflect greater patient skill in applying cognitive therapy principles and coping strategies. To develop this scale, a 33-item pool was used, rated by both patients and their therapists at the middle and end of CT (Ns = 359-416), and evaluated the reliability and concurrent and predictive validity of both versions of the scale. The SoCT has excellent internal consistency reliability and moderate correlations between the observer and patient versions. It is important to note that the SoCT showed good predictive validity for response when collected at the midpoint of acute phase CT. Considering both patients' self-ratings and clinicians' SoCT ratings, the odds ratio for responding to CT was 2.6. The practical utility of the SoCT is discussed, as well as its theoretical importance in research of patient CT skills (e.g., acquisition, comprehension, and generalization) as putative moderators or mechanisms of symptom change in the therapy.


Humans increasingly interact with information technology (IT) in order to attain both individual and organizational goals. As a result, studies applying motivational theories to the IT field gain importance in the research literature. Emerging from several different scholarly disciplines, including psychology, social psychology, sociology, business and management, motivational theorists have identified different types of motivations, and consequently developed different theories and concepts related to motivation. All motivational theories and concepts, however, seek to explain why individuals do what they do (Reeve, 2005). This paper surveys applications of motivational theories to the IT field. First, the authors identify three approaches that have been used by researchers applying motivational theories to the IT field. Second, the authors examine these applications using an IT lifecycle framework. Last, the authors propose possible directions for future research in this area.


The ionotropic 5HT(3) receptor was expressed in transiently transfected mammalian cells, yielding an unprecedented high concentration of up to 12 million receptors per cell. Receptor traffic in the plasma membrane of live cells was observed continuously over 24 h by fluorescence scanning confocal microscopy. This was possible by using 5HT(3) receptor-specific fluorescent ligands with high binding affinity and low off-rate to pulse label receptors at any time after appearance on the cell surface, and label subsequently those receptors expressed later by another, spectrally distinguishable, high-affinity fluorescent ligand. Having reached a critical cell surface concentration of approximately 3000 receptors/microm(2), the receptors started to aggregate in patches with a 4-fold increased surface concentration. The clusters were constantly delivered from a pool of freshly expressed receptors isotropically distributed within the basolateral region of the cell membrane. From there, they migrated to and accumulated on the apical cell surface approximately 9 h after transfection. Individual clusters grew until they reached a critical size of 1-2 microm when they merged to form with 3-5 microm large macroclusters. Clustered receptors were immobile on the minute time scale but always coexisted with monomeric receptors in the regions surrounding the clusters as revealed by fluorescence correlation spectroscopy. Because the receptor density of 12 000 receptors/microm(2) in the patches is as high as that found in two-dimensional crystals of certain membrane proteins, such patches might be a proper source for direct crystallization of membrane proteins without prior purification.


The present study of combing ability in sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) was undertaken with the objective of identifying good general combiner for yield and yield component traits. Both General combining ability (gca) and Specific combining ability (sca) variance differ significantly for all the characters. The magnitude of non-additive gene action was higher than the corresponding additive gene action for all the characters in crosses showing suitability of the material for hybrid combinations. In female parents, CMSSS-502B, CMS-17B came out to be good general combiner for most of the yield contributing traits. CMS-SS-502B was found to be good general combiner for head diameter, 100-seed weight, volume weight, seed yield per plant and seed filling per cent. Likewise CMS17B was also found to good general combiner for early flowering and maturity, short plant height, 100-seed weight, volume weight and seed filling per cent. Among male parents SS502-1-1 was good general combiner for biological yield per plant, head diameter, volume weight, seed yield per plant and oil content. Similarly GAUSUF-15 was also good general combiner for early flowering and maturity, short plant height, and 100-seed weight. The crosses showing high desirable sca effect have involved either one or both the parents of high gca effect and in turn had high per se performance. The cross DSFH-4 exhibited high sca effect for seed yield and simultaneously high significant sca effect for biological yield, harvest index, plant height and seed filling percentage. Similarly DSFH-30 had high significant sca effects for seed yield, biological yield, head diameter and volume weight. Therefore, DSFH-4 and DSFH-30 were most ideal cross combinations displaying consistent high sca effect with high per se performance for seed yield and important characters.


Explicit asymptotic formulas are derived for the positions, widths, and strengths of the morphology-dependent resonances in Mie scattering. These formulas are compared with numerical data and found to be highly accurate, especially for the low-order resonances most relevant to nonlinear processes. They permit the interpretation of experimental data on light scattering from microdroplets without resorting to the full apparatus of the Mie scattering formalism.


Consider a set A=(A/sub 1/,A/sub 2/,. . ., A/sub n/) of records, where each record is identified by a unique key. The records are accessed based on a set of access probabilities S=(s/sub 1/,s/sub 2/,. . ., s/sub N/) and are to be arranged lexicographically using a binary search tree (BST). If S is known a priori, it is well known that an optimal BST may be constructed using A and S. The case when S is not known a priori is considered. A new restructuring heuristic is introduced that requires three extra integer memory locations per record. In this scheme, the restructuring is performed only if it decreases the weighted path length (WPL) of the overall resultant tree. An optimized version of the latter method, which requires only one extra integer field per record has, is presented. Initial simulation results comparing this algorithm with various other static and dynamic schemes indicates that this scheme asymptotically produces trees which are an order of magnitude closer to the optimal one than those produced by many of the other BST schemes reported in the literature. >


Microalgae produce secondary metabolites with different characteristics for each genus, species or strain. A single species of microalgae can produce several bioactive compounds, including protease inhibitors which can prevent deterioration of fish. In this study, we observed the growth of Chaetoceros gracilis in the media NPSi and NPSi + NaHCO3 and determined the chemical content and the potency of protease inhibitor from Chaetoceros gracilis in both media. The culture was harvested at 8 and 15 days. Screening of protease inhibitor activity was performed by agar diffusion method. Protease inhibitor activity was tested on three pathogenic protease-producing bacteria, namely Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus and Escherichia coli . The pathogenic bacteria often contaminate foodstuffs. The results showed that media NPSi and NPSi + NaHCO3 affected protein and lipid content of C. gracilis , but the culture age did not affect them. The protein content of C. gracilis cultivated in NPSi media (34.75 and 32.94%) was higher than in NPSi + NaHCO3 media (28.13 and 27.13%), while the lipid content was 16.36 and 18.06, 23.86 and 25.40% respectively. Extracts of C. gracilis grown in NPSi and NPSi+NaHCO3 media had inhibitory activity against the test bacteria. Inhibitory activity against E. coli was greater than S. aureus and B. cereus .


Researchers have noted that restorative justice (RJ) practices in schools seem to improve targeted outcomes (e.g. decreased office visits, increased grades, etc.). It has been acknowledged that a 'grassroots' (beliefs level) buy-in from teachers is necessary for the creation of a school environment that is in line with the ideals of RJ. In the current study, an operational definition for restorative justice ideology (RJI) was developed and used as the basis for the creation of a RJI measurement instrument. This is intended to facilitate understandings of the influence that RJ training has on individuals at the beliefs level, and whether the degree to which an individual holds an RJI is associated with the degree to which RJ practices are carried out at the classroom and school level. An exploratory factor analysis was conducted, a three-factor model was selected, and the instrument was tested for reliability and validity. The RJI was then used to investigate whether other individual differences were related to the RJI of teachers. The outcome of this study was the development of a psychometrically sound RJI instrument. Perspective taking, empathic concern, pupil control ideology, personal distress, and self-efficacy were identified as important characteristics of RJI.


Summary We have examined changes in endogenous hormones [indole-acetic acid (IAA), gibberellic acid (GA3), zeatin (Z) and abscisic acid (ABA)], total phenolic contents and seven major phenolic compounds (gallic acid, +(-) catechin, catechol, chlorogenic acid, o-coumaric acid, rutin and quercetin) in shoot tips of two grapevine cultivars ('Çavus' and 'Hafızali') collected during different months, to determine the effects of these endogenous compounds on the survival and subsequent growth of explants in vitro. Shoot tips of grapevine cv. 'Çavus' showed higher explant survival rates than those of 'Hafızali' from all months. Hormone and phenolic compound concentrations also varied depending on cultivar and harvest month. Endogenous compounds showed various correlation coefficients with the survival and subsequent growth of explants. According to our results, the survival and subsequent growth of explants were affected by phenolics and endogenous hormones to various extents. In both grapevine cultivars, shoot tips collected in May exhibited the highest survival rate and growth during the culture period, compared to shoot tips collected in all other months. It may therefore be possible to increase the success of grapevine shoot tip culture by selecting the most suitable collection time.


The lithostratigraphic framework of Lake Van, eastern Turkey, has been systematically analysed to document the sedimentary evolution and the environmental history of the lake during the past ca 600 000 years. The lithostratigraphy and chemostratigraphy of a 219 m long drill core from Lake Van serve to separate global climate oscillations from local factors caused by tectonic and volcanic activity. An age model was established based on the climatostratigraphic alignment of chemical and lithological signatures, validated by 40Ar/39Ar ages. The drilled sequence consists of ca 76% lacustrine carbonaceous clayey silt, ca 2% fluvial deposits, ca 17% volcaniclastic deposits and 5% gaps. Six lacustrine lithotypes were separated from the fluvial and event deposits, such as volcaniclastics (ca 300 layers) and graded beds (ca 375 layers), and their depositional environments are documented. These lithotypes are: (i) graded beds frequently intercalated with varved clayey silts reflecting rising lake levels during the terminations; (ii) varved clayey silts reflecting strong seasonality and an intralake oxic–anoxic boundary, for example, lake‐level highstands during interglacials/interstadials; (iii) CaCO3‐rich banded sediments which are representative of a lowering of the oxic–anoxic boundary, for example, lake level decreases during glacial inceptions; (iv) CaCO3‐poor banded and mottled clayey silts reflecting an oxic–anoxic boundary close to the sediment–water interface, for example, lake‐level lowstands during glacials/stadials; (v) diatomaceous muds were deposited during the early beginning of the lake as a fresh water system; and (vi) fluvial sands and gravels indicating the initial flooding of the lake basin. The recurrence of lithologies (i) to (iv) follows the past five glacial/interglacial cycles. A 20 m thick disturbed unit reflects an interval of major tectonic activity in Lake Van at ca 414 ka bp. Although local environmental processes such as tectonic and volcanic activity influenced sedimentation, the lithostratigraphic pattern and organic matter content clearly reflect past global climate changes, making Lake Van an outstanding terrestrial archive of unprecedented sensitivity for the reconstruction of the regional climate over the last 600 000 years.


Flexure hinges are often used as revolute joints in high-precision compliant mechanism, but without simulations the accurate prediction of their contour-dependent deformation and especially planar motion behavior is a challenging task. This paper presents contour-independent general design equations for the explicit calculation of the rotational stiffness, maximum angular deflection and rotational precision of various notch hinges in dependence of the geometric parameters. The non-linear analytical model describes a clamped beam with included flexure hinge which is loaded with a moment or a transverse force at its free end. In addition to the common semi-circular, corner-filleted, and elliptical flexure hinge, the high-performance polynomial hinge with five different orders is investigated. The deviation of the calculated results compared with the analytical solution depends on the contour and it is mostly relative low for the suggested parameter range. Furthermore, finite elements method (FEM) results correlate well with the predictions based on the analytical solution as well as the solution with the simple, concise and uniform design equations.


CONTEXT.—
Intraoperative diagnosis by frozen section is a mainstay of surgical pathology practice, providing immediate feedback to the surgical team. Despite good accuracy with modern methods, access to intraoperative surgical pathology with an appropriate turnaround time (TAT) has been a limiting factor for small or remote surgical centers, with negative impacts on cost and patient care. Telepathology offers immediate expert anatomic pathology consultation to sites without an in-house or subspecialized pathologist.

OBJECTIVE.—
To assess the utility of live telepathology in frozen section practice.

DESIGN.—
Frozen section diagnoses by telemicroscopy from 2 tertiary care centers with combined 3 satellite hospitals were queried for anatomic site, TAT per block, pathologist, and concordance with paraffin diagnosis. TAT and concordance were compared to glass diagnoses in the same period.

RESULTS.—
For 748 intraoperative diagnoses by telemicroscopy, 694 had TATs with a mean of 18 minutes 56 seconds ± 8 minutes 45 seconds, which was slower than on glass (14 minutes 25 seconds ± 7 minutes 8 seconds, P < .001). Twenty-two (2.89% of available) were discordant, which was not significantly different from the on-glass rate (P = .44) or categorical distribution (P = .31). Two cases (0.27%) had technical failures.

CONCLUSIONS.—
Although in-person diagnoses were statistically faster, the great majority of telemicroscopic diagnoses were returned in less than 20 minutes. This remained true through numerous pathologists, pathology assistants and/or technicians, different hospitals, and during a combined 6 years. The concentration of discordant diagnoses among relatively few pathologists suggests individual comfort with telepathology and/or frozen section diagnosis. In rare cases, technologic issues prevented telemicroscopic diagnosis. Overall, this justifies continued use and expansion of telemicroscopic services in primary intraoperative diagnoses.


INTRODUCTION AND BRIEF BACKGROUND ON AGOA Free trade agreements are seen as necessary to help the countries involved with tariff costs, while providing employment for their citizens. African countries have been striving for economic stability and freedom through the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) of 2000. This Act was designed to provide participating Sub-Saharan African countries access to the United States market through building relationships with American businesses and to encourage the reform of African countries through economic and commercial means. Since some observers say that the AGOA has been lucrative for the United States and some Sub-Saharan African countries but others say that it has not benefited Africa, this paper critically analyzes the necessity for a free trade agreement to be instituted for the region. By employing Transnationalism Theory, it is hypothesized in this essay that if the legislation takes into consideration the economic needs of all the AGOA countries, then these countries will enjoy substantial exports to the United States. By analyzing practices of the Act, this paper draws conclusions from the facts. The paper uses a triangulative approach, which entails both qualitative and quantitative methods. Data Collection was based on the archival technique by analyzing the statements of the Act, other government documents, scholarly articles, books, and Internet sources. The African Growth and Opportunity Act, or AGOA (Title I, Trade and Development Act of 2000, P.L. 106-200), investigated in this essay is a legislation that was approved by the United States Congress in May of 2000 to assist the economies of Sub-Saharan Africa and to improve economic relations between the United States and the region. The major objective of the Act is to encourage African countries to make continual progress toward establishing the following aspects: market-based economies; the rule of law and political pluralism; elimination of barriers to United States trade and investment; protection of intellectual property; efforts to combat corruption; policies to reduce poverty, increasing availability of health care and educational opportunities; protection of human rights and worker rights; and elimination of certain child labor practices. (1) The legislation authorizes the President to determine which Sub-Saharan African countries would be eligible for the AGOA each year. As of this writing, the following are the 40 AGOA-eligible countries: Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Chad, Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, and Zambia. (2) According to the International Trade Administration of the United States Department of Commerce, the United States government intends that the largest possible number of Sub-Saharan African countries is able to take advantage of the AGOA. President Bill Clinton issued a proclamation on October 2, 2000 designating 34 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa as eligible for the trade benefits of the AGOA. The proclamation was the result of a public comment period and extensive interagency deliberations of each country's performance against the eligibility criteria established in the Act. On January 18, 2001, Swaziland was designated as the 35th AGOA eligible country and on May 16, 2002 Cote d'Ivoire was designated as the 36th AGOA eligible country. On January 1, 2003 The Gambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo were designated as the 37th and 38th AGOA eligible countries. On January 1, 2004, Angola was designated as AGOA eligible. Effective January 1, 2004, however, the President removed the Central African Republic and Eritrea from the list of eligible countries. …


By studying the change from the alderman model to parliamentary rule in Norwegian cities and regions, this article analyses how and why reorganisation of political institutions influ- ences support for the institutions reformed. We adopt a mixed methods approach consisting of a survey of politicians in all seven reformed Norwegian local governments, combined with a case study of reorganised governments with high and low levels of support for par- liamentary rule. We find that support for the institutional model in the reformed local gov- ernments depends on the reform's effect on different political positions. Politicians in power are more positive towards parliamentary rule than members in opposition are, and politicians from the big parties are more positive compared to representatives from smaller ones. Institutional change affects the interests of these groups in different ways. In turn, the effects that reform has on different interests influence their support for the reformed insti- tutions. System support is also affected by how the change process is implemented. An inclusive political leadership that builds oversized coalitions and allocates positions such as committee chairs to the opposition results in stronger support for parliamentary rule. The overall finding is that both "pure" institutional effects and contextual factors influence sup- port for parliamentary rule. Support increases when there is a high level of readiness and capacity for change. The reform must also include relevant actors in a way meeting de- mands for procedural fairness. The practical implication for reformers is that they must communicate why the organisation needs reform, arrange for sufficient implementation ca- pacity and include relevant participants in decision-making and change processes.


This Article proposes that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) consider promulgating an Open Access Distribution Tariff (OADT) to open the nation's electric grid to new products and services at the consumer (distribution) level. Design of the OADT would be comparable to the Open Access Transmission Tariff that the FERC has used previously to open the nation's transmission wires. This Article argues that an OADT is necessary to create a smart electricity network that would be national, multimodal, and interactive. There is no smart electricity network at present, and there are numerous barriers to the development of open networking, such as obstacles to open access, lack of consumer demand for such a network and its products, resistance of incumbent utilities, and a variety of other factors. An open access principle will likely be necessary, but the timing of such regulation is of critical importance. This Article argues that regulatory establishment of an open access principle will eventually be necessary — and to assess when open access might be desirable, this Article examines the revolutionary transformations that took place in three regulated industries: telecommunications, electricity restructuring, and finance.This Article examines key near-term and long-term questions involving an OADT's timing and development by analyzing these regulated industries using three criteria: (1) signifiers of when a transition would be necessary and conditions that might make open access more desirable to industry actors, (2) regulatory prerequisites necessary in the near term, and (3) risks involved in drawing lessons from the specific regulatory transformation (including federalism concerns). This Article concludes that rather than waiting for an organic transformation of the electric grid and evolution of open networking, a deliberate path of preparatory work will best set the foundation for open access.


High-quality audio hands-free systems involve rather complex signal processing. The development of such a system is not a straightforward task. This paper proposes a step-by-step approach to the design and implementation of an audio hands-free system. The proposed design method facilitates the implementation process and leads to a robust audio hands-free system solution. The paper also provides an overview of the problems encountered when designing an audio hands-free system. State-of-the-art solutions as well as recently proposed solutions are referred to in addition to the hands-free system design problems.


With 84% of the German population (around 63 million) using the internet on a regular basis, Germany boasts the most internet users in Europe. This significant digital economy customer base is also coupled with the highest total purchasing power in Europe (EUR 1,968 billion), making Germany a crucial player in the global digital economy. In line with the rest of Germany's stable economy, the internet economy has faced no downturn from the European econom ic crisis.


"Antislavery Women and the Origins of American Jurisprudence" is an essay review of Sarah Roth's Gender and Race in Antebellum Popular Culture (Cambridge University Press, 2014). It assesses Roth's account of the dialog between antislavery and proslavery writers. Roth finds that the antislavery and proslavery writers were joined in their depiction of enslaved people in the 1820s and early 1830s -- as savage people who threatened rebellion. But as antislavery writers shifted to portray enslaved people as humble citizens-in-waiting, the proslavery writers responded with an image of the plantation as a family. This critique turns to southern judges and treatise writers to provide a slightly different picture, which shows that while the public face of the proslavery movement may have been of happy enslaved people, the hard-nosed economic and legal side continued with the initial image of enslaved people. This became particularly salient as the south moved towards Civil War. Roth perceptively portrays the shift in the North that led to increasing calls for African American freedom and citizenship and the rise of empirical critiques of law, which became central to post-war jurisprudence. That is, the antislavery white women in Roth's study injected empirical as well as humanitarian considerations into jurisprudence. Meanwhile, in the southern courts the reaction to calls for citizenship resulted in increasingly dramatic efforts to deny citizenship -- and ultimately in a secession movement along the lines sketched by southern legal thinkers.


This study explores the factors that affect an individual's happiness while transitioning into retirement. Recent studies highlight gradual retirement as an attractive option to older workers as they approach full retirement. However, it is not clear whether phasing or cold turkey makes for a happier retirement. Using longitudinal data from the Health and Retirement Study, this study explores what shapes the change in happiness between the last wave of full employment and the first wave of full retirement. Results suggest that what really matters is not the type of transition (gradual retirement or cold turkey), but whether people perceive the transition as chosen or forced.


Introduction. Soil and Cultivations: Mineral fraction Organic matter. Symbiotic fixation. Conversion of organic nitrogen to nitrate. Ethylene cycle. Bulk density of soil. Soil reconditioning tools. Keyline cultivation. Sources of Plant Nutrients: Fertilizers. Macro nutrients. Micro nutrients. Organic fertilizers. Mineral fertilizers. Plant nutrient loss. Pests and Diseases: Weeds. Pests. Plant diseases. Animal diseases. Fungicides and pesticides. Pesticides. Rotation and Crops. Grassland Management: General considerations. Establishment of grassland. Subsequent management. Seed mixtures. Grassland improvements. Animal Husbandry: Monogastrics. Ruminants. Animal Nutrition: Diets for monogastrics. Diets for ruminants. Some Other Considerations: Yield. Profitability. Food quality. Energy utilisation. Finite resources. Pollution and animal welfare. Labour usage. Epilogue. Appendix I. Appendix II. Appendix III. Index. 50 lit. refs., 13 illus.


Recently to improve properties, highly microstructure controlled ceramics such as fine-grained, textured and laminated structures are required. We have demonstrated a new processing of textured ceramics with a feeble magnetic susceptibility by colloidal processing in a high magnetic field and subsequent heating. As colloidal processing, slip casting and electrophoretic deposition (EPD) have been conducted successfully. Colloidal processing is known to be a powerful method for consolidating fine particles with a high density and homogeneous microstructure. The degree of orientation strongly depends on the particle dispersion and some processing factors, such as particle size, applied magnetic field, concentration of the suspension, sintering temperature, etc. Crystalline-textured controlled laminated composites can be fabricated using EPD by varying the angle between the vectors of electric field and magnetic field. Also textured ceramics with complicated structure can be fabricated by reaction sintering. The colloidal processing in a high magnetic field confers several advantages and it is possible for this type of processing to be applied to non-cubic ceramics, such as alumina, titania, zinc oxide, tin oxide, hydroxy apatite, aluminium nitride, silicon carbide, silicon nitride, etc. The textured ceramics showed anisotropic properties depending on the crystal plane.


A wearable computer that perceives and responds to the wearer's affective state offers a new kind of perceptual interface. Instead of asking the user to continuously select preferences from a menu, the affective wearable gets to know its wearer's preferences by recognizing and responding to signals that carry emotional information. This paper presents a new design for an affective wearable interface, aimed at applications that do not require extensive access to a keyboard and monitor. We replace the standard hand-held keyboard and monitor worn over the eye with a Palm Pilot interface, and modify the Palm Pilot software to accept physiological input as well as traditional forms of input. The complete system can capture patterns from many kinds of user behavior, which can potentially be used to learn good predictors of user preferences. The new application presented here uses the new affective wearable system to aid in music selection by incorporating not only stated user preferences, but also physiological variables that might be indicative of the user's


PURPOSE
To describe in detail the clinical phenotype and electrophysiological features of three patients with Leber congenital amaurosis caused by mutations of AIPL1.

METHODS
Ophthalmologic examination, color fundus photography, detailed electrophysiological assessment, and screening of AIPL1 were undertaken in three subjects. One patient also underwent visual field testing and spectral domain-optical coherence tomography.

RESULTS
All three patients, two of whom were siblings, had histories consistent with Leber congenital amaurosis (severely reduced vision, poorly responsive pupils, and nystagmus presenting within the first year of life). However, each patient had recordable and similar electroretinograms (ERGs), which demonstrated absent cone-driven responses and slow insensitive scotopic responses. The first patient was found to have a homozygous Trp278 stop mutation in AIPL1, whereas the siblings were each found to have novel heterozygous mutations in AIPL1 (Leu17Pro and Lys214Asn).

CONCLUSIONS
Patients with mutations in AIPL1 may present with Leber congenital amaurosis and residual ERGs characterized by slow insensitive scotopic responses. Such responses are likely seen only in very young patients and may not be seen with the typical filter settings recommended by the ISCEV standards because of low-pass filtering. Progressive loss of residual ERG activity in young LCA patients with AIPL1 mutations suggests that gene replacement therapy will likely have to be performed early.


Using RNA-seq technology, we found that the majority of microRNAs (miRNAs) present in CFU-E erythroid progenitors are down-regulated during terminal erythroid differentiation. Of the developmentally down-regulated miRNAs, ectopic overexpression of miR-191 blocks erythroid enucleation but has minor effects on proliferation and differentiation. We identified two erythroid-enriched and developmentally up-regulated genes, Riok3 and Mxi1, as direct targets of miR-191. Knockdown of either Riok3 or Mxi1 blocks enucleation, and either physiological overexpression of miR-191 or knockdown of Riok3 or Mxi1 blocks chromatin condensation. Thus, down-regulation of miR-191 is essential for erythroid chromatin condensation and enucleation by allowing up-regulation of Riok3 and Mxi1.


This paper presents the aerodynamic characterization of a new concept of long range projectile, fitted with six fins. Three distinct projectile architectures were investigated: two with canted fins, while the last one presents twisted fins. The aerodynamic characteristics are determined based on system identification techniques and free flight data obtained by means of different available measurement techniques like radar, magnetometers, accelerometers and 3D high speed optical system. Estimation results from experimental measurements were com-pared to aerodynamic predictions for two configurations investigated.


Master storyteller Ralph Moody tells the thrilling story of a plucky horse who refused to quit, a down-on-his-luck jockey who didn't let horrendous accidents keep him out of the saddle, and a taciturn trainer who brought out the best in both. During the Great Depression, Seabiscuit captured the hearts of Americans from the streets to the White House, winning more money than any horse at that time and shattering speed records across the country. In this real-life story Moody captures the hoof-pounding excitement of the explosive early races to an unforgettable showdown with the feared Triple Crown winner War Admiral. Moving and inspirational, Come on Seabiscuit! is a reminder of the qualities that make a real American champion. Ralph Moody is best known for his eight Little Britches books, which have delighted generations of readers and are all available in Bison Books editions. Ralph Moody captured the hearts of young readers everywhere with his beloved Little Britches saga. In this Bison Books edition of his 1963 classic, Moody brings to life the story of a knobby-kneed little colt called Seabiscuit, who against all odds became one of the most celebrated racehorses of all time. Although Seabiscuit was the grandson of the legendary Man O' War, he was neither handsome nor graceful. His head was too big, his legs too short, and his gallop was awkward. His owners gave up on Seabiscuit when he was two, raced him too heavily, and tried unsuccessfully to sell him. It took the keen eyes of trainer Tom Smith to recognize the heart, courage, and gallant determination of Seabiscuit, the qualities of a truly great horse. Smith's unfailing patience and astute treatments, the love and skill of jockey Red Pollard, and the continued support of owner Charles Howard forged Seabiscuit into a champion. Ralph Moody (1898-1982) was a working cowboy from the age of ten, a trick rodeo rider, and a student of good horseflesh. He is the author of Come on Seabiscuit! as well as the Little Britches series about a boy's life on a Colorado ranch, all available in Bison Books editions.


People's power and status can be manifested through the language they use. It was generally perceived that men's speeches are more assertive and direct than women's because of men's higher social status in the societies. Yet, studies have argued that there should be no difference in terms of men and women's linguistic politeness behaviors if they are in the same power position; instead, the addressees'gender is the critical determinant to the addressers'linguistic performances. This research provided some evidence from evaluative communications in TV reality talent shows to further verify whether or not the addressers' and the addressees' gender id entities are significantly correlated to the addressers' linguistic politeness behavior, focusing specifically on their use of mitigating strategies for criticism amelioration. The current analysis referred to Brown and Levinson's(1987) politeness theory and face notion. Results manifested that it is the addressers' gender instead of the addressees' gender that was related to the addressers' communication style in this particular situational context. Specifically, male judges utilized more mitigating utterances than female judges did. The major implication of the findings is that the functions of politeness devices that speakers perceive and the situational information of the speech context leave greater influences on the addressers' politeness behavior than the gender of their addressees.


The aim of this research is to increase cohesion of a PSA by including silica nanoparticles. The silica nanoparticles form reversible agglomerates and bind polymer molecules by adsorption. The adhesive becomes a reversible gel. Under pressure over a time suitable for bond formation the PSA can still flow due the time scale for the reversible silica physical gel to respond. The effect of cohesion on PSA bond formation can be characterised using modulated force thermomechanical analysis. The change in relaxation of a nano-silica filler on an elastomer, analogous to a PSA, has been measured using stress relaxation. The mastercurve measurements on bond strength (peel test) and viscoelastic cohesion (modulated force thermomechanical analysis) demonstrates the contribution of a bulk property (cohesion) to a surface property (bond strength) and reveals the mechanism of PSA. The PSA mechanism leads to the concept that an adhesive bond can be enhanced through formation of physical crosslinks by the high surface to volume ratio of a nanofiller. PSA-silica nanocomposites enable better control of adhesive bond formation and subsequent removal than adventitious chemical gelation during polymerization.


This study examined the predictive relationship between mindfulness and counseling, self-efficacy and the potential mediating effects of attention and empathy. Master's-level counseling interns and doctoral counseling students (N = 179) were surveyed to determine levels of mindfulness. attention. empathy. and counseling self-efficacy. Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients revealed significant pairwise relationships between the 4 variables of interest. A multiple-mediator path analysis supported the hypotheses that mindfulness
is a significant predictor of counseling self-efficacy and that attention is a mediator of that relationship, Results suggest that mindfulness may be an important variable in the development of key counselor
preparation outcomes.


Since the publication of green building standards from the last decade, the designer of green buildings have often encountered the challenges of limited time but considerable complexity in the process of evaluating their design according to the rules specified in the standards. Also, the design process is usually an iterative one, which includes rule-checking tasks that are tedious and repetitive. With the advancement of technologies in Building Information Modeling (BIM), artificial intelligence, and Virtual Reality (VR), this research investigates and develops a BIM-assisted Rule-based approach for automating checking of green building design. The developed approach utilizes as much information available in a building's BIM model as possible to automate the design evaluation complied with green building standards. It also provides visual feedbacks through the BIM model to assist the designer in green building design. To evaluate and demonstrate this approach, an Application Programming Interface (API) tool has been developed in this research to extend the capability of BIM software for both automatic rule-checking of green building design and real-time visualization of feedbacks from the rule-checking. A rule base is used to manage the design rules specified in green building standards and facilitate the automation of rule checking. In addition, visualization of the rule-checking results (e.g. highlights of places in the design that do not satisfy the design requirements) is supported in a 3D VR environment of a building's BIM model.


In this paper, an adaptive motion vector smoothing scheme based on weighted vector median filtering is proposed in order to eliminate the motion outliers more effectively for improving the quality of side information in frame-based distributed video coding. We use a simple motion vector outlier reliability measure for each block in a motion compensated interpolated frame and apply weighted vector median filtering only to the blocks with unreliable motion vectors. Simulation results show that the proposed adaptive motion vector smoothing algorithm improves the quality of the side information significantly while maintaining low complexity at the encoder in frame-based distributed video coding.


This is one in a series of eleven videos is intended to answer basic questions about Islam for a general audience. This web series is a part of the Migration Stories project, sponsored by the Kansas African Studies Center and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Migration Stories seeks to gather stories in various forms about both the experience of immigration for Africans and the impact of changing demographics for Midwestern communities.


Inverse reinforcement learning (IRL) aims to recover the reward function and the associated optimal policy that best fits observed sequences of states and actions implemented by an expert. Many algorithms for IRL have an inherently nested structure: the inner loop finds the optimal policy given parametrized rewards while the outer loop updates the estimates towards optimizing a measure of fit. For high dimensional environments such nested-loop structure entails a significant computational burden. To reduce the computational burden of a nested loop, novel methods such as SQIL [1] and IQ-Learn [2] emphasize policy estimation at the expense of reward estimation accuracy. However, without accurate estimated rewards, it is not possible to do counterfactual analysis such as predicting the optimal policy under different environment dynamics and/or learning new tasks. In this paper we develop a novel single-loop algorithm for IRL that does not compromise reward estimation accuracy. In the proposed algorithm, each policy improvement step is followed by a stochastic gradient step for likelihood maximization. We show that the proposed algorithm provably converges to a stationary solution with a finite-time guarantee. If the reward is parameterized linearly, we show the identified solution corresponds to the solution of the maximum entropy IRL problem. Finally, by using robotics control problems in MuJoCo and their transfer settings, we show that the proposed algorithm achieves superior performance compared with other IRL and imitation learning benchmarks.


We present a method for efficiently enumerating all allowed, topologically distinct, electronic band structures within a given crystal structure in all physically relevant dimensions. The algorithm applies to crystals without time-reversal, particle-hole, chiral, or any other anticommuting or anti-unitary symmetries. The results presented match the mathematical structure underlying the topological classification of these crystals in terms of K -theory and therefore elucidate this abstract mathematical framework from a simple combinatorial perspective. Using a straightforward counting procedure, we classify all allowed topological phases of spinless particles in crystals in class A . Employing this classification, we study transitions between topological phases within class A that are driven by band inversions at high-symmetry points in the first Brillouin zone. This enables us to list all possible types of phase transitions within a given crystal structure and to identify whether or not they give rise to intermediate Weyl semimetallic phases.


Tropical grasses grown as cover crops can mobilize phosphorus (P) in soil and have been suggested as a tool to increase soil P cycling and bioavailability. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of tropical grasses on soil P dynamics, lability, desorption kinetics and bioavailability to soya bean, specifically to test the hypothesis that introducing grass species in the cropping system may affect soil P availability and soya bean development according to soil P concentration. Three grass species, ruzi grass (Urochloa ruziziensis), palisade grass (Urochloa brizantha) and Guinea grass (Megathyrsus maximus), were grown in soils with contrasting P status. Soya bean was grown after grasses to assess soil P bioavailability. Hedley P fractionation, microbial biomass P, phytase‐labile P and the diffusive gradient in thin films were determined, before and after cultivation. It was found that grasses remobilized soil P, reducing the concentration of recalcitrant P forms. The effect of grasses on changing the P desorption kinetics parameters did not directly explain the observed variation on P bioavailability to soya bean. Grasses and microorganisms solubilize recalcitrant organic P (Po) forms and tropical grasses grown as cover crops increased P bioavailability to soya bean mainly due to the supply of P by decomposition of grass residues in low‐P soil. However, no clear advantages in soya bean P nutrition were observed when in rotation with these grasses in high‐P soil. This study indicates that further advantages in soya bean P nutrition after tropical grasses may be impeded by phytate, which is not readily available to plants.


Abstract This article delves into a relatively neglected aspect of feminist, or anti-oppressive practice, namely that of practitioners' experiences of this work, and specifically, their personal and professional identifications with feminism. It explores the question: is feminism, in the context of feminist practice, something one does, a professional "persona" adopted at particular times and for particular purposes at work, or something one is, transcending—or linking—the personal and professional realms? Drawing upon a qualitative, exploratory study, this article investigates understandings of, and identifications with, feminism within the context of an area of practice, namely domestic violence intervention, which is explicitly feminist. It focuses on the relationship of the research participants, practitioners in this field, to feminism in terms of their identification with feminist principles. Paying attention to these issues has implications for feminist and other anti-oppressive ways of working, particularly where these are adopted by organisations as the required model of practice. The broader question, that of whether one needs to—or "should"—be (or identify as) feminist in order to engage in feminist practice, while beyond the scope of the current study, is critical, both for feminist theorising in general and in relation to specific concerns such as professional education, development, and supervision.


Abstract Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a significant number of changes to elective and emergency neurosurgical practice. Materials and Methods: This paper reports the results of an online survey of Society of British Neurological Surgeons (SBNS) members undertaken between 10th and 24th of June 2020 regarding changes in consent practice in response to COVID-19, as well as the physical challenges experienced while operating under higher levels of personal protective equipment (PPE). Results: Despite the real and substantial risks associated with COVID-19, 23% of surgeons reported they were not made any changes to their usual consent process, and 54% of surgeons indicated that they made reference to COVID-19-associated risks in their written consent documentation. 93% of neurosurgeons reported physical difficulties operating using PPE; 62% reported visors/goggles fogging up, 55% experienced 'overheating', 62% reported fatigue, and 82% of surgeons reported difficulty communicating with the theatre staff. Conclusions: This survey highlights discrepancies in the consent practice between neurosurgeons which needs to be addressed at both local and national levels. The PPE being used in neurosurgical operations is not designed for use with specialist equipment (82% of respondents reported having to remove PPE to use the microscope) and the reported physical difficulties using PPE intraoperatively could significantly impact on both neurosurgeon performance and patient outcomes. This requires urgent attention by NHS procurement and management and should be urgently escalated to trust occupational health authorities as a workplace safety concern.


There were 200 participants in total, on a voluntary basis in the study. Of these participants, 100 were male students aged 18-25 years who exercised regularly and vigorously, and 100 were male aged 1825 years who did not participate in any physical activity. The measurements of BMI, body fat composition, hip-to-waist ratio, and skinfolds measured at nine different anatomical areas of their bodies (pectoral, biceps, triceps, subscapular, abdominal, suprailiac, thigh, midaxillary and the medial part of the leg) using skinfold caliper were recorded in the Excel format. It was determined that there was a significant difference (p<0.05) between the BMI of those who exercised regularly and of those who did not, and that there were significant differences (p<0.05) between muscle weights, hip-to-waist ratio, body fat composition, total body water, and basal metabolic rates of the participants who exercised regularly and of those who did not. It was determined that the total body water was increased in the subjects who exercised regularly due to increased muscle weight and mass, their hip-to-waist and body fat ratios were lower, and basal metabolic rates were higher when compared to the non-exercisers. It was also determined that there were significant differences (p<0.05) between the two groups regarding of skinfold caliper measurements at nine different areas. When the data from the study, which is the first to include nine different anatomical regions, was evaluated, it was concluded that the sedentary lifestyle influences the onset of obesity and it can be partially treated with physical activity.


Temperature control of thermal fabrics has recently become a topic of interest. It was reported that the electrical resistance of fabrics embedded with conducting yarns can be affected by temperature change. In this paper the quantitative relationship between electrical resistance of a conductive knitted fabric and temperature was established. Based on this relationship, a theoretical model was proposed to control the temperature of conductive knitted fabrics in different courses and different wales. One important parameter of fabrics, which reflects how the electrical resistance of a fabric changes in percentage corresponding to the temperature change and is independent of the sizes of the fabrics, is the β value ( = k α R 0 , where k, α, R0 are the electrical resistance decrease speed, thermal diffusivity and initial resistance of the fabrics). By analyzing the β value, initial resistance R0 and thermal diffusivity α of the fabrics, satisfactory simulation of the experimental data was achieved by using the model, which indicates that the model can be used in temperature control in future applications.


We consider the problem of detecting all moving and evading targets in 2.5D environments with teams of UAVs. Targets are assumed to be fast and omniscient while UAVs are only equipped with limited range detection sensors and have no prior knowledge about the location of targets. We present an algorithm that, given an elevation map of the environment, computes synchronized trajectories for the UAVs to guarantee the detection of all targets. The approach is based on coordinating the motion of multiple UAVs on sweep lines to clear the environment from contamination, which represents the possibility of an undetected target being located in an area. The goal is to compute trajectories that minimize the number of UAVs needed to execute the guaranteed search. This is achieved by converting 2D strategies, computed for a polygonal representation of the environment, to 2.5D strategies. We present methods for this conversion and consider cost of motion and visibility constraints. Experimental results demonstrate feasibility and scalability of the approach. Experiments are carried out on real and artificial elevation maps and provide the basis for future deployments of large teams of real UAVs for guaranteed search.


This study compared plasma lipids and lipoproteins between lactating and nonlactating women at 6 weeks postpartum. In addition, the changes in plasma lipids, lipoproteins and apoproteins were investigated in Taiwanese women during pregnancy. The effect of the traditional Taiwanese diet consumed after delivery on the plasma lipid profile was also discussed. Forty-four healthy pregnant women and 16 nonpregnant control subjects were included in this study. Blood samples of the pregnant women were drawn at the end of each trimester, after delivery, these women had their blood drawn at 6 weeks postpartum. The results revealed that plasma total triglyceride (TG) increased two to three fold during late pregnancy, while total cholesterol only increased by 30% to 40% above control levels. The TG level remained high at 6 weeks postpartum, whereas cholesterol returned to a concentration comparable to the control group. This result indicates that the traditional high cholesterol, high fat diet consumed after delivery does not delay the return of plasma cholesterol level to the control value. Lactating mothers had plasma levels of TG, cholesterol, low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) and high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) that were similar to the control group. All parameters except HDL-C in the nonlactating group were significantly higher than the control group. Plasma HDL-C level in the nonlactating group, however, was significantly lower than the control group. HDL-C as well as the HDL-C/LDL-C ratio were significantly higher in women who breast-fed for at least 2 weeks than in the nonlactating group. These findings suggest that lactation promotes the normalization of plasma lipids and lipoproteins after delivery.


Abstract Hepatic encephalopathy (HE) is a multifactorial neuropsychiatric disease that affects patients with cirrhosis. We review the clinical impact, pathogenesis, evaluation, management, and prevention of overt HE in patients with cirrhosis. Articles published between January 1960 and November 2012 were acquired through a MEDLINE search of different combinations of the terms hepatic encephalopathy, pathophysiology, treatment, prophylaxis, prevention, prognosis, and recurrence. The Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project database was used to obtain prevalence and cost information related to hospitalizations of patients with HE. The literature describes significant morbidity and mortality of HE in patients with cirrhosis. Overt HE develops in 30% to 45% of patients with cirrhosis and is associated with a substantial pharmacoeconomic burden, particularly HE-related hospitalizations. The development of HE in patients with cirrhosis portends a worsened prognosis and is incorporated into the Child-Pugh classification of the severity of liver disease. In the hospitalized patient, the development of HE is associated with precipitating events (eg, gastrointestinal bleeding, dehydration, infection), and in some patients, its course is characterized by frequent and severe relapses. In addition, hospitalized patients with overt HE have a 3.9-fold increased mortality risk. Patient management employs nonabsorbable disaccharides, the nonsystemic antibiotic rifaximin, or both, to treat acute HE episodes and prevent HE relapse. In open-label trials, use of the nonabsorbable disaccharide lactulose reduced the risk of overt HE recurrence in patients compared with no-lactulose control groups for ≤ a median of 14 months. In a randomized, placebo-controlled trial, rifaximin 550 mg twice daily was more effective in maintaining HE remission compared with placebo and was associated with a reduction in HE-related hospitalizations. Recent advances in treatment and preventative therapies may reduce the personal, societal, and economic impact of this disorder.


The geometrical theory of free-space radiative energy transfer is extended to include the case of partially coherent, radiating sources. For quasi-homogeneous sources an explicit formula for the generalized specific intensity that applies both inside and outside the source is given. Such sources are shown to radiate mainly according to classical theory, and the spectral energy flux density is given by the same expression everywhere. Outside the source only nonevanescent, traveling waves exist, and both the energy density function and the cross-spectral density function of the field are explicitly expressed in terms of the generalized specific intensity. Within a quasi-homogeneous-wave model all the energy expressions then reduce to those of classical theory. Inside the source there are also evanescent, standing waves, but their contributions to the cross-spectral density function and the energy expressions are shown to be negligible.


The atrocities perpetrated by the Government of Sudan (GoS) and the Janjaweed militia during the third post-2003 Darfuri conflict constituted the first internationally condemned and acknowledged genocide of the twenty-first century. With the indictment of incumbent Sudanese President Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir, the International Criminal Court (ICC) not only addressed the humanitarian crisis in Darfur, but also challenged international immunity for heads of state. This indictment marked the first time that a sitting president of a state has ever been indicted by the ICC, which has led to significant and unprecedented legal and political discussion. However, as of 2016, the ICC seems to be incapable of enforcing the warrant since al-Bashir remains at large seven years after his initial indictment. This essay examines the history of the conflicts in Darfur, the reasoning articulated by the ICC for its indictment of al-Bashir, and the international community's reaction to the ICC's judgment. The author then reviews the ongoing discussion that surrounds the issue of state immunity in the context of the current enforcement dilemmas and the future prospects for the ICC. The essay then concludes by assessing the significance of the case and its long-term legal implications.


Music is inherently associated with tourism, which is considered as an attractive force, reflection of the sustenance status and lifestyle and a carrier of messages and human community motivations. By its being interlaced with the human psyche and physique, music, as an art, is considered as one of the tourist attractions. Music-based tourism is amongst the vast branches of cultural tourism and, nowadays, a considerable part of the international tourists are interested in this type of tourism. Music is not just considered as an art existent in societal grounds and it is now for years that this art has stepped into this wide world and is acting within the format of a large industry. It is a sort of industry that plays an attractive experiential and sensory role in tourism destination management. Familiarity with the native culture, observation and participation in musical performance, healing and revitalization of the spirits are amongst the applications that prospers those days having less demands to a destination. The present article has been carried out based on a qualitative method of descriptive and interpretational type. Data has been collected based on a documentary and library research as well as through interviewing. To this end, 24 interviews have been conducted based on snowball method till theoretical saturation was obtained. This lead to the identification of 362 open codes and 8 secondary topics. The present study aimed at determining effect of music and musical instrument on the attraction of the domestic tourists. The results indicated that the collective memories' narrations, memorable senses, recalling of a certain destination and event-centeredness were amongst the secondary topics influencing traveling tours with the centrality of music. Whereas the experienced, attractive and spectacular phenomenon as well as the learnable and destination-associating phenomenon, were amongst the secondary topics that were identified in this regard. The results of this study indicated that music-based tourism was a means, a goal and a method for tourism destination management and promotion of the native knowledge and cultural values.


Traditionally, the quality of a forecasting model is judged by how it compares, in terms of accuracy, to alternative models. However, by providing a relative measure, no indication is given as to how much scope there might be for improvements beyond the benchmark model. When judgemental methods are used alongside simple forecasting models, the scope for such improvements is considerable and difficult to benchmark. Derivation of targets for forecasting quality is thus not straightforward. The approach taken in this paper is to consider forecast error as consisting of irreducible error due to intrinsic unpredictable uncertainty, and error due to less than perfect modelling, estimation and forecasting. As the intrinsic uncertainty presents a bound on forecast accuracy, our derivation of an accuracy target is based on the measurement of this irreducible uncertainty. The motivation and data for this case-study was taken from the short-term sales forecasting process of a major, international high-technology manufacturer.


.When a literature search and discussion with manufacturers revealed that there was virtually no existing data related to the fracture propedies and behavior of any copper beryllium alloy C 17510, a series of test programs was undedaken to ascertain this information for several variations in material process and chemistry. Theso variations in C 17510 were primarily optimized for combinations of strength and conductivity. While originally intended for use as cyclically loaded high-field, high-strength conductors in fusion energy research, material testing of C 17510 has indicated that it is an attractive and economical alternative for a host of other sbuctural, mechanical and electrical applications. :! ASTM tests performed on three variations of C 17510 alloys includcd both J-integral and plane strain fracture toughness testing (E813, E399) and fatigue crack growth rate tests (E647), as well as verifying tensile, hardness, Charpy, and other well defined mechanical properties. Fracture testing was performed at both room and liquid nitrogen temperatures, which bound the thermal environment anticipated for the fusion components being designed. Fatigue crack propagation stress ratios ranged from nominal zero to minus one at each temperature. In order to confirm the test results, duplicate and independent test programs were awarded to separate facilities with appropriate test experience, whenever possible. !The primary goal of the test program, to determine and bound the fracture toughness and Paris constants for C 17510, was accomplished. In addition, a wealth of information was accumulated pertaining to crack growth characteristics, effects of directionality and potential testing pitfalls. The paper discusses the test program and its findings in detail.


Numerous biological, physical and chemical parameters are involved in retention and removal of chemical pollutant and bacteria in wastewater treatment systems. Biofilm presence was often cited for its influence in these mechanisms. Sandy soil is the most used packing material in wastewater treatment study and little information is available for the other soil. The objectives of this study were to compare purification efficiency of packing materials (soil) and to allow a better understanding in purification mechanisms in one-site wastewater treatment. Our work focused on water pollution removal and biofilm development. For this purpose, four experimental reactors were packed with sand and silt suitable for on-site wastewater treatment plant. They were dosed with septic effluent at loads of 5 and 12 cm/j for sand and 2 and 5 cm/j for silt. The purification performances and biofilm development were monitored on 245 for sand filters and 65 days for silt filters. Dissolve oxygen concentration from the treated effluents showed better values for the low loads and for the silt reactors. Also, organic pollutant remove by oxidation (COD and DOC) were better eliminated in the following reactors: Silt (2 cm/j) > Silt (5 cm/j) > Sand (5 cm/j) > Sand (12 cm/j). Adsorption was the mechanism of ammonium removal in silt although nitrification took part in sand. Biofilm development was observed in the first 2.5 cm and 10 cm in the sand reactors loaded at 5 and 12 cm/j respectively.


Research undertaken as Project Director (Head of Design) Poitiers Architects, Hamburg.

The project engages with international debate about 'Shrinking Cities', the shift in population from medium-size cities to 'mega cities', a phenomenon investigated by an international research project initiated by Philipp Oswalt for the German Federal Cultural Foundation which has been widely published and exhibited.
(For further information see both volumes of 'Shrinking Cities ', edited by Philipp Oswalt, Hatje Cantz Verlag, Ostfildern Ruit, 2005.)

'Kemper Trautmann Haus' (see article by A.Steinhausen, Deutsche Bauzeitung , Sept.2006, ISSN 0721-1902) was built on a highly prestigious, yet very demanding Hamburg city-centre site near the lake (Alster).
In addition to the requirement of creating views towards the water – which was achieved by the curved glass facade towards the street, creating a gap to the adjacent building and opening the view onto the Alster, another challenge was the proximity of adjacent buildings – restricting natural lighting.
This was addressed by creating an approximately 4 sqm gap at the rear of the building providing maximum daylight and reducing energy consumption.

The rigour of the initial concept, developed through detailed massing studies via scale models and 3d modelling and computer daylight simulation studies, is signified through the success of the building as a high profile real estate development.

As an outstanding example of contemporary German Architecture and exemplary approach towards the regeneration of cities and building in dense urban contexts, this project was shown in the German Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale in 2006, 10 Sept – 19 Nov 2006

This original design won the 3rd Prize in the 'Contract World Awards 2007' in the category 'Office' http://www.contractworld.com/40828?x=1 and was short-listed for an international RIBA Award.


Machine learning algorithms such as random forests or xgboost are gaining more importance and are increasingly incorporated into production processes in order to enable comprehensive digitization and, if possible, automation of processes. Hyperparameters of these algorithms used have to be set appropriately, which can be referred to as hyperparameter tuning or optimization. Based on the concept of tunability, this article presents an overview of theoretical and practical results for popular machine learning algorithms. This overview is accompanied by an experimental analysis of 30 hyperparameters from six relevant machine learning algorithms. In particular, it provides (i) a survey of important hyperparameters, (ii) two parameter tuning studies, and (iii) one extensive global parameter tuning study, as well as (iv) a new way, based on consensus ranking, to analyze results from multiple algorithms. The R package mlr is used as a uniform interface to the machine learning models. The R package SPOT is used to perform the actual tuning (optimization). All additional code is provided together with this paper.


A high percentage of graduates in Economics and Business start a professional career in jobs related to accounting, auditing or finance. These areas have been characterized in recent decades by a large international as well as numerous financial scandals due to fraud and accounting manipulations. In Higher Education is necessary to ensure that key transferable skills are developed in the accounting subjects. The case method has been applied, by analyzing the accounting subjects of a Business Degree. The elements of the case are: syllabus analysis, faculty's opinion and actual practice and video recording of seminars. A detailed analysis shows that the transversal competences that are currently being taught and evaluated are oral communication skills and to a lesser degree written communication skills and teamwork. The ethical and social responsibility of the company is discussed tangentially through case studies in one compulsory subject. In this work we show in which areas there can be inconsistencies in the development and evaluation of transversals skills in higher education and specifically in the accounting area.


Public safety interests are paramount when providing information to older drivers, particularly when encouraging their appropriate self-regulation of driving. However, older drivers' views of their needs may not match those of professionals/experts who represent public safety interests. A demographically stratified sample of 102 South Australian drivers aged 65-85 was surveyed on their perceptions of their information needs, together with interviewing relevant professionals and visual examination of Australian older driver handbooks. The findings indicated older driver information provision should value maintaining driving as the learning basis, but the provision should cater more for different learning styles. Professionals believed future alternative mobility planning to be highly salient for older drivers, yet older drivers rated this a low priority. There is a need to investigate better ways of informing older drivers about matters of public safety interest, to ensure older drivers take more notice of them. (a) For the covering entry of this conference, please see ITRD abstract no. E210298.


Manufacturing sectors in Sweden have a long history that leads to common non-optimized flows on the shop floor. Especially when having a really high product mix and a low-volume of customized products, a great deal of effort with respect to flow optimization is needed to stay present and compete in the globalized market. The goal of this project is to support the design and development of the implementation of new production systems and logistics flows considering the shop floor plant layout of a Swedish middle-size water pumps factory. In this paper, with the help of different types of simulation models and optimization, some results of a new technologically adapted production line are analyzed and relevant information and potential improvements in the production are found. The further development of optimization studies using the exiting simulation models is stated as ongoing and future work. The obtained and potential results can serve for decision makers and stakeholders to apply changes and adaptations in the system considering the mid and long term goals of the company.


Evolutionary Algorithms (EAs), when used for global optimization, can be seen as unconstrained optimization techniques. Therefore, they require an additional mechanism to incorporate constraints of any kind (i.e., inequality, equality, linear, nonlinear) into their fitness function. Although the use of penalty functions (very popular with mathematical programming techniques) may seem an obvious choice, this sort of approach requires a careful fine tuning of the penalty factors to be used. Otherwise, an EA may be unable to reach the feasible region (if the penalty is too low) or may reach quickly the feasible region but being unable to locate solutions that lie in the boundary with the infeasible region (if the penalty is too severe). This has motivated the development of a number of approaches to incorporate constraints into the fitness function of an EA. This tutorial will cover the main proposals in current use, including novel approaches such as the use of tournament rules based on feasibility, multiobjective optimization concepts, hybrids with mathematical programming techniques (e.g., Lagrange multipliers), cultural algorithms, and artificial immune systems, among others. Other topics such as the importance of maintaining diversity, current benchmarks and the use of alternative search engines (e.g., particle swarm optimization, differential evolution, evolution strategies, etc.) will be also discussed (as time allows).


This paper proposes new solution strategies for a challenging optimization problem, called Cooling-aware Workload Placement Problem, that looks for a workload placement that optimizes the overall data center power consumption given by the sum of the server power consumption and of the computer room air conditioner power consumption. We formulate CWPP as a Mixed Integer Non Linear Problem using a cross-interference matrix that links the workload placement to the cold air temperature. Since state-of-the-art Mixed Integer Non Linear solvers can solve to optimality only the smallest instances, we devised two heuristics to obtain good feasible solutions: (i) a heuristic algorithm based on an integer linear relaxation of the problem, and (ii) a Variable Neighborhood Search algorithm. Both heuristic algorithms are evaluated against the best lower bounds obtained with a Mixed Integer Non Linear solver. Computational results show that both heuristics provide solutions that have a small percentage gap from the optimal solutions.


Over the last two decades Mexico has had an open trade regime, experienced macroeconomic stability, and made substantial progress in education. However, average workers? earnings have stagnated and earnings for workers with more schooling have declined, compressing the earnings distribution and lowering the returns to education. This paper hypothesizes that these developments are explained by large and persistent of distortions that misallocate resources towards less productive firms, since these firms are substantially less intensive in educated workers than more productive ones. It is shown that at the same time that the relative supply of workers with more years of schooling has increased, misallocation of resources toward less productive firms has persisted. These two trends have generated a widening mismatch between the supply and demand for educated workers. The paper decomposes worker earnings into observable and unobservable firm and individual worker characteristics and simulates a counterfactual earnings distribution in the absence of misallocation. Under the counterfactual, earnings differentials across schooling levels would increase, as would the returns to education. In parallel, earnings differentials, rather than narrowing over time, would widen. The paper concludes by arguing that the persistence of distortions that misallocate resources toward lower-productivity firms impedes Mexico from taking full advantage of its investments in the human capital of its workers.


Mapping digital circuits onto field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) usually consists of two steps. First, circuits are mapped into look-up tables (LUTs). Then, LUTs are mapped onto physical resources. The configuration of LUTs is usually determined during the first step and remains unchanged throughout the second. In this paper, we demonstrate that by reconfiguring LUTs during the second step, one can increase the flexibility of FPGA routing resources. This increase in flexibility can then be used to reduce the implementation area of FPGAs. In particular, it is shown that, for a logic cluster with I inputs and N k-input LUTs, a set of N×k (I+N-k+1):1 multiplexers can be used to connect logic cluster inputs to LUT inputs while maintaining logic equivalency among the logic cluster I/Os. The multiplexers (called a local routing network) are shown to be the minimum required to maintain logic equivalency. Comparing to the previous design, which employs a fully connected local routing network, the proposed design can reduce logic cluster area by 3%-25% and can reduce a significant amount of fanouts for logic cluster inputs.


Accurate construction of shear force and bending moment diagrams (V/M diagrams) is one of the most important skills students learn in the Statics course since mastery of this topic is a prerequisite to successful design of beams and shafts in courses such as Mechanics of Materials, Machine Design, Structural Analysis, and Structural Design. Unfortunately, a significant proportion of Statics students do not attain adequate proficiency in constructing V/M diagrams. In response to this problem, several computer-based learning aids have been developed in recent years to improve student performance in constructing V/M diagrams. Although results have been encouraging, assessment of the effectiveness of these learning aids has often been limited in scope. Engineering mechanics instructors at the University of Missouri – Rolla have addressed this problem by developing and testing a series of computer-based learning aids on V/M diagrams for use by Statics students and instructors. Approximately 230 students participated in the assessment. About forty percent used the computer-based learning aids and the rest served as a control group. Quantitative and qualitative measures were used for comparison, and subjective comments were solicited from each group. Students in the experimental group scored significantly higher on learning outcomes and confidence ratings with respect to the content covered in the computer based learning aids. This paper describes the computer-based exercises developed for V/M diagrams and their assessment.


This thesis addresses the growth and magnetic characterization of 2D bimetallic nanostructures deposited by atomic beam epitaxy (ABE) on Pt(111). These structures possess both tunable high perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) and magnetic moment. These properties make them appealing as model systems in order to learn how to control the properties of the futures media used in magnetic data storage. Our study combined two in situ measurements techniques : variable-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy (VT-STM) as a local probe allows insight on the morphology of nanostructures, while magneto-optic Kerr effect (MOKE) is a spatially integrating technique giving access to the variation of the overall magnetization of a sample. The first part of this work focuses on the growth of iron on the Pt(111) surface. Growth was investigated on the atomic scale as a function of the substrate temperature in the case of low coverages. We have fitted the mean cluster size as a function of the annealing temperature with mean field rate equations for diffusion-controlled growth. The activation parameters for monomer, dimer and trimer diffusion could be inferred from this procedure. The formation of monatomic Fe wires has also been evidenced on the temperature range 160 K–260 K. The origin of their formation was discussed. In a second part, we have made use of our knowledge on the growth of cobalt and iron on Pt(111) in order to fabricate "core-shell" Co nanostructures of which density, size and shape were controlled. Therefore, we could realized both compact and ramified structures within the size range 800–1800 atoms. The study of the mechanism of magnetization reversal of these model structures has revealed a strong size and shape dependence. This is due to the shape-induced non-uniformity of the local magnetization and the number of pinning centers. The conclusions are that ramified structures with arms longer than 150 A reverse their magnetization by nucleation and domain-wall motion while compact structures reverse coherently their magnetization. The third part deals with the magnetic properties of one monolayer thick bimetallic "Co core-shell" nanostructures on Pt(111). The blocking temperature TB marks the transition between superparamagnetic and blocked states and is inferred from the magnetic anisotropy. Here, we performed magnetic zero-field susceptibility measurements so as to determine TB in our samples. From our experiments, we show the possibility to make up a fine tuning of the nanostructure magnetic anisotropy and overall magnetization. In the case of the FexCo1-x alloy, TB adopt a bell-shape with x and exhibit a maximum at x = 0:5. The various lateral and vertical interfaces between Co from one side and Fe, Pt or Pd from the other side are at the origin of substantial TB variation. Those variations are inferred from the symmetry breaking and the strong hybridization between the d orbitals of these elements.


To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the MA in Understanding and Securing Human Rights offered at the School of Advanced Study, University of London, we are pleased to publish a commemorative edited volume on human rights themes authored by distinguished alumni and faculty.

The chapters reflect on cutting-edge challenges in the field of human rights. Topics include refugee protection, women's human rights, business and human rights, the role of national and international legal mechanisms and emerging themes such as tax justice, rights in the digital age, theories of change, and poetry.

It is a credit to the MA programme that the chapters are
rich with critical analysis, diverse expertise and innovative approaches.This book will be essential reading for students of human rights and practitioners who can benefit from the insights into theory and practice offered here.