Financial incentives provided by State property tax programs are a means of promoting ecosystem services from private forest land. Identified by this 50-State 2015 review, categories of ecosystem services frequently promoted by such programs are open space and scenic resources, conservation of soils and wetlands, protection and supply of fish and wildlife, protection and supply of water, production of timber and fiber products, recreational uses and resource preservation, and integrity and sustainability of forests. Focusing on the promotion of these services, preferential property programs required participants to meet certain conditions, including proof of legitimate ownership and use of forest land, appropriate size of parcel and forest conditions, implementation of a professionally prepared forest management plan, informing authorities of intent to harvest timber, engaging in reviews and inspections, and acceptance of the imposition of financial or procedural penalties. Implementation of these conditions required actions by various agencies in many levels of government, most frequently offices of local governments, citizen advisory committees and boards, tax review appeals and equalization boards, forestry boards and commissions, forestry divisions within State natural resource departments, and State departments of finance and revenue. In 2014, promotion of ecosystem services from private forest land involved 58 different State property tax programs enrolling nearly 210 million acres of forest land nationwide. With enrollment in any one program ranging from 400 to more than 413,000 participants, more than 3.85 million participants were the immediate beneficiaries. These participants cumulatively received more than $1.61 billion in annual property tax reduction for purposes of promoting ecosystem services. The annual value of this reduction was an acre-weighted average of $7.68 per acre.


This study was conducted to determine selected haematological and biochemical parameters of pheasants (Phasianus colchicus) bred in Konya city in Turkey. Forty-five healthy pheasants of different ages (1, 5, and 12 months old) were examined. In the blood samples taken from these animals, haematological and biochemical values were determined. Comparing the haematological and biochemical parameters among the age groups, red blood cell counts, haemoglobin amount, haematocrit values, lymphocyte percentage, and total protein and albumin levels increased with the advancement of age. However, glucose, length and width of erythrocyte, length and width of erythrocyte nucleus, and percentages of monocyte and basophile decreased with the advancement of age. Furthermore, the white blood cell counts of the chick and the adults, the plasma total cholesterol and triglyceride of the adults, and the plasma uric acid levels of the chicks were lower than those of the young pheasants. However, thrombocyte count of the chicks was higher than that of the young pheasants. The other parameters investigated, such as mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular haemoglobin, mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration, the percentages of heterophils and eosinophils, and the plasma levels of aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, creatinine, and creatine kinase did not show significant differences related to age. Based on the results, it was concluded that some haematological and biochemical values were influenced by age differences of the pheasants and the data obtained in this study could be useful to establish some baseline values about haematological and biochemical parameters in pheasants.


With but one exception world-wide, males complete suicide at rates exceeding those of females. The male to female suicide ratio in the United States is greater than 4:1. Explanatory hypotheses for these findings focus on gender role behaviors, specifically the greater involvement of men in high-risk health behaviors and the greater propensity of women to seek and use supports for help when in need. This paper explores what is known about gender differences in help-seeking behavior to determine factors that may promote increased help-seeking among men. On the basis of this research, we propose public health intervention approaches that have potential to motivate men at-risk for suicide to seek and receive help.


There has been a lively debate in the last few editions of the Journal of Public Administration. This article focuses on one of the key issues raised in the debate namely the influence of the Minnowbrook and Mount Grace conferences on the discipline of Public Administration. Both of these conferences were held in times of turbulence, Minnowbrook in the United States and Mount Grace in South Africa.
This article examines the similarities and differences between Minnowbrook and Mount Grace. The final section of the paper tries to gauges the extent of influence of Mount Grace's influence on contemporary South African Public Administration. The paper concludes that while Minnowbrook and Mount Grace have both been influential but there were crucial differences between them. Minnowbrook's major contribution was to enrich Public Administration as an academic discipline and to improve scholarship. It also appears to have had some influence on practice. Mount Grace's emphasis was on professional education and training. It has led to the enrichment of Public Administration as an academic discipline and also appears to have had some influence on practice. However Mount Grace appears to have had little impact on the development of academic scholarship in South Africa.


The net neutrality debate is one of several sites of struggles to adapt and redefine rights and obligations of stakeholders in the Internet-centric communications system. Its outcomes will shape the future of the Internet and influence the level and distribution of its benefits. We identify key values that drive the net neutrality discussion and examine the governance mechanisms proposed to achieve these objectives. We find that there is no single policy instrument that allows realization of the range of valued political and economic objectives simultaneously. Contrary to some of the claims advanced in the current debate, safeguarding multiple goals requires a combination of instruments that will likely involve government and nongovernment measures. Furthermore, promoting goals such as the freedom of speech, political participation, investment, and innovation calls for complementary policies.


Electromagnetic simulation using the transmission-line modelling method in conjunction with electric circuit analysis is applied to extract the tuning and matching requirements of RF coils for magnetic resonance imaging. Free-ringing microimaging RF coils were modelled in the unloaded and Krebs-Henseleit physiological buffer solution loaded condition. The simulations determined the frequency response and equivalent lumped-element circuit components of resistance, inductance, (fixed) capacitance, and coupling coefficient. Equivalent lumped-element electric circuit representations were derived for RF coils, and circuit analysis was applied to determine the tuning and matching requirements for the desired resonance frequency and characteristic impedance, respectively. Both capacitive and inductive matching schemes were considered. Experimental comparisons were performed with an agreement of less than 3 pF for the (variable) tuning and matching capacitances used in the tuning and matching networks, thus enabling component selection and validation of the methods. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Concepts Magn Reson Part B (Magn Reson Engineering) 25B: 27–41, 2005


This article discusses a community engagement pilot program for language students offered at Flinders University. For a number of years, the Language in Action program has provided placement opportunities for language students in a range of community settings such as aged-care agencies and cultural associations. From an educational perspective, Language in Action draws from the Deep Approach to World Language Education, which places students in charge of their learning experience and promotes meaningful interactions with communities. The program is also designed to encourage students' prosocial behavior, contributing to developing a sense of meaning in life, relationship satisfaction, and wellbeing. Through Language in Action, students have opportunities not only to improve their language and intercultural skills in near immersion settings, but also to establish social connections with individuals from migrant groups. This article discusses the placement experiences of language students, focusing on students of Italian, in aged-care contexts. It presents the rationale of the Language in Action program in light of some core principles of Positive Psychology. It discusses the program's implementation, preliminary data on students' evaluations of their language development, and the sense of achievement they derive from their placements.


A broad understanding of sincerity includes the assumption that intentions matter for evaluating an action. Studies of Western Christianity often tell of an increasing focus on internal self-interrogation that led to an ideal of sincerity as a form of modern self-expression. Based on research with Russian Orthodox women who expiate abortions, I argue that intention matters here too, but not always and not in the form of deep interiority. During confession and pilgrimage, there are external criteria for evaluating oneself and others, including the ability to carry out plans without distraction and bear hardships without complaint. Some standards originate in the Soviet period, but judging intentions based on observable actions has a long tradition in Orthodox Christianity, traceable to Louis Dumont's idea of the outworldly individual and its modern adaptations. Dumont's perspective opens the way to investigating the temporal and social contexts in which a focus on sincere intentions can emerge.


Antibiotic-resistant fecal bacteria were used to monitor the degree of movement and subsequent ground water contamination by septictank effluent discharged into a drainfield under saturated conditions. Two pits of different depths were constructed to simulate drainfield beds, and ground water samples were removed during 32-day sampling intervals from sampling wells installed at set distances from each inoculation pit. The bacteria added to the deep pit were released into a B2t horizon which contained a higher clay content than the A horizon in which the shallower pit was installed. Streptomycin-resistant strains of Escherichia coli and Streptococcusfaecalis amended to each pit site moved in a directional manner, required more time to reach sampling wells when inoculated into the deeper of the two pits, and moved relatively long distances when considering that the area where the sites were located had only a 2o70 slope. Bacterial numbers peaked in the sampling wells in association with major rainfall patterns and the populations required longer periods to peak in the wells furthest from the inoculation pits. The results indicated that antibiotic-resistant bacteria eliminated the problem of differentiating between the amended bacteria and those nonresistant strains already in the soil, and the potential is excellent for including this type of microbiological procedure for assessing the suitability of a soil site for septic-tank and waste water drainfield installations.


We present an electrical impedance based biosensor on a microfluidic cell culture platform that enables label-free and re- al-time investigation of drug toxicity-induced effects on hepatocytes. The temporal evolution of the impedance at different frequencies strongly suggests distinct information on toxicity effects within the cell culture. The findings indicate that the sen- sor distinguishes between morphological changes and severe cell injury within a cell population owing to the combination of high-density culture, perfusion flow and whole impedance-frequency spectrum analysis. More importantly, cellular changes can be sensed long before cellular death, offering a highly sensitive technique over standard viability assays.


The main objective of this paper was to study the impacts of the Improving Livestock Marketing Project (ILMP) which aimed at improving the marketing efficiency by rehabilitation of Sinjah and Damazin livestock markets in Blue Nile and Sennar States. The study was based on both primary and secondary data. Questionnaires and interviews with Locality Implementation Unites officers were used as primary data. The markets intermediators were targeted, while secondary data were obtained from different sources related to the study area. Descriptive statistics analysis and calculation of the marketing margins were used as tools of analysis. The study revealed that the project have great impacts on intermediators and surrounded area because it improve access to regular updates on animal prices information, increase marketing deals, increase beneficiates outputs and income, created jobs for surrounding communities which acted to improve their livelihoods and reduced poverty. Ministry of Livestock, Fisheries and Rangelands (MLFR) through Multi Donor Trust Fund (MDTF) for the development and rehabilitation of livestock markets is commendable and recommended that, MLFR should consider the challenges in marketing systems specifically on market management to make these rehabilitated markets more attractive. Livestock markets management and market's board should work to decrease the number of intermediators involved in livestock marketing for the benefit of the primary producers.


Objectives: Study included 20 patients with diagnosis of fascial space infections of odontogenic origin to assess efficacy of serum CRP levels as monitoring tools for determining severity of infections, hospital stay and efficacy of treatment. Materials and Methods: Blood samples taken on Day 0, 4 and 8 for measuring serum levels of marker. Simultaneously clinical parameters like swelling size, pain etc. were also recorded on Day 0, 4 and 8 and appropriate treatment given to each patient. Correlation between markers and parameters was found using regression and paired t-test. Results: Statistical analysis found strong correlation between lab. values of markes and parameters used to measure severity of infection. Also CRP is significant marker for hospital stay (P<.01). Interpretation and Conclusion: Prospective analysis indicates CRP can be effective marker for determining severity of infection, treatment efficacy and hospital stay. Duration of antibiotic usage, intensive unit care, use of nutritional supplements becomes more rationale. Markers also make treatment cost effective and help protecting patients from side effects of excess drug usage.


Psychology is an integral element of sport today, from the applied techniques of coaches and athletes, to the socio-psychological behaviour of sport fans. Sport and Exercise Psychology: The Key Concepts offers an introductory guide to the vocabulary of sport psychology, to its central theories and most important avenues of research, and to its application in sports performance. Modern and historical illustrations are used throughout the text, while an extensive bibliography and index ensure that the book is an indispensable research tool for any student of sport psychology.


Calls for greater representation of women on the bench are not new. Many people share the intuition that having more female judges would make a difference to the decisions that courts might reach or how courts arrive at those decisions. This hunch has only equivocal empirical support, however. Nevertheless legal scholars, consistent with traditional feminist legal methods, persist in asking how many women judges there are and what changes might bring more women to the bench. This essay argues that achieving diversity in international courts and tribunals – indeed on any bench – will not happen simply by having more female judges. Instead, judges with diverse perspectives and life experiences, regardless of their gender, will make a difference in the substance and form of judicial decisions.

This essay makes two contributions to the dialogue about judicial diversity. First, the essay posits that the overall justice project would be better served by abandoning binary categories like "men" and "women" in favor of recognizing that there is great diversity in both sex (however measured) and gender identity (however expressed). Framing any policy discussion in terms of "men" and "women" will fail to account for biological variety, individual difference, diverse gender identities, multiple sexual orientations, and the significant role that law and society play in constructing these identifiers.

The essay's second intervention employs an expansive view of feminism as a broad justice project to consider that multiple facets of a judge's lived experience, identity and perspective inform decision-making. Bias and elitism in legal education and the legal profession occlude the judicial pipeline. Instead of carrying a flag for more "women" in the judiciary, advocates for more diverse courts and tribunals should focus on elevating those with the least professional capital: people of color, low-income people, immigrants, graduates of non-elite schools, professionals from rural areas, and people with non-cisgender identities, to name a few groups. Adding more women to the bench may seem to be an immediate solution, but it will not achieve the goal. Attaining true diversity will be more difficult.


In this paper, the benefit of rateless codes combining with multi-antenna technique is exploited to provide quality-of-service (QoS) guarantee while maximizing the spectral efficiency in a limited feedback multiuser MIMO downlink. Critical to the design of such a system is the achievement of channel state information (CSI) at the base station (BS) to schedule the optimal users and pre-cancel the interuser interference. In order to reduce feedback amount and decrease scheduling complexity simultaneously, we propose to adopt multi-beam opportunistic beamforming (MOBF) and opportunistic space division multiple access (OSDMA) for the cases of noise and interference limited, respectively. Through theoretical analysis, it is found that, in order to satisfy QoS requirement, the admissible number of users has an upper bound, which is a function of data arrival rate and QoS requirement. With the purpose of balancing the achievable rate and feedback amount, we introduce a new concept, namely netput, as the difference of the above focused factors. By maximizing the netput, we derive the optimal feedback thresholds for the two transmission modes, respectively. Furthermore, according to the characteristics of the considered system, we obtain the optimal switch thresholds for the two modes in terms of the number of users and the SNR, respectively. Finally, our theoretical claims are validated by the numerical results.


Infant morbidity and mortality continues to be a significant problem in the U. S. Preterm birth and/or low birth weight and congenital anomalies are primary causes of infant morbidity and mortality. Analysis of an existing study was done on data from a prospective longitudinal, case based, mixed-methods research study to examine learning needs of parents in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) whose infants were born with complex cardiac anomalies or born extremely premature. The principles of Knowles' Theory of Adult Learning were used to frame the study and findings. Systematic review of the parent and provider interview transcripts from six cases and nurse-kept Interdisciplinary Patient and Family Education Records was conducted to determine parent education needs and provider given information during and after the infant's hospitalization. Findings revealed the theme of parents wanting to answer the question, `What is going on with my baby's care?' while information given by providers was classified under the theme `Whose Team are you on?' Resources utilized to find information by parents were explained by the theme, `Help me Learn'. Contextual variables of parents were also noted to impact learning needs of parents depending on whether the infant was hospitalized or discharged from the hospital and were grouped into themes of `Issues Before the Infant's Birth' and `Adjustment to Everyday Life'. Providers need to be aware of the learning needs of parents, potential factors that may influence this learning, and to consider these needs when giving infant care.


Termination effects of large‐scale artificial ocean alkalinization (AOA) have received little attention because AOA was assumed to pose low environmental risk. With the Max Planck Institute Earth system model, we use emission‐driven AOA simulations following the Representative Concentration Pathway 8.5 (RCP8.5). We find that after termination of AOA warming trends in regions of the Northern Hemisphere become ∼50% higher than those in RCP8.5 with rates similar to those caused by termination of solar geoengineering over the following three decades after cessation (up to 0.15 K/year). Rates of ocean acidification after termination of AOA outpace those in RCP8.5. In warm shallow regions where vulnerable coral reefs are located, decreasing trends in surface pH double (0.01 units/year) and the drop in the carbonate saturation state (Ω) becomes up to 1 order of magnitude larger (0.2 units/year). Thus, termination of AOA poses higher risks to biological systems sensitive to fast‐paced environmental changes than previously thought.


Integrated development environments (IDEs) have become the primary way to develop software. Besides just using the built-in features, it becomes more and more important to be able to extend the IDE with new features and extensions. Plugin architectures exist, but they show weaknesses related to unanticipated extensions and event handling. In this paper, we argue that a more general solution for extending IDEs is needed. We present and discuss a solution, motivated by a set of concrete examples: a domain specific aspect language for IDE events. In it, join points are events of interest that may trigger the advice in which the behavior of the IDE extension is called. We show how this allows for the development of IDE plugins and demonstrate the advantages over traditional publish/subscribe systems.


A study on LiNbO3 crystal irradiation by pulsed KrF excimer laser beam is presented. The interaction with the 248nm laser light modifies the material properties so that, when the irradiation is switched off, a time-periodic variation in the material reflectivity, depending on the irradiation conditions, was observed. This phenomenon can be explained in terms of the electro-optic effect induced by the buildup of internal electric fields since the compositional characterization, performed by the secondary ion mass spectrometry, showed no modification in the element concentration and the high resolution x-ray diffraction did not detect any structural deformation within the crystal.


Price volatility and policy changes may compromise the ability of corn ethanol plants to operate above average variable cost and avoid shutdown. This study derives a variable cost function capable of accommodating two features of ethanol plants; 1) some inputs are used in fixed proportions and some are not, and 2) supply of different types of byproducts may be subject to unobservable market frictions. The function is estimated based on data from a survey of ethanol plants. Increased size does not seem to lower plants' shutdown price. Frictions in byproduct markets seem to result in sub-optimal byproduct mix choices that increase ethanol shutdown price by up to 10 cents per gallon. Futures and other price discovery instruments in byproduct markets may enhance plants' ability to prevent shutdown.


Legionella pneumophila is a gram-negative bacterium that inhabits freshwater ecosystems, where it is present in biofilm or as planktonic form. L. pneumophila is mainly found associated with protozoa, which serve as protection from hostile environments and as replication niche. If inhaled within aerosols, L. pneumophila is also able to infect and replicate in human alveolar macrophages, eventually causing the Legionnaires' disease. The transition between intracellular and extracellular environments triggers a differentiation program in which metabolic as well as morphogenetic changes occur. We here describe the current knowledge on how the different developmental states of this bacterium are regulated, with a particular emphasis on the stringent response activated during the transition from the replicative phase to the infectious phase and the metabolic features going in hand. We propose that the cellular differentiation of this intracellular pathogen is closely associated to key metabolic changes in the bacterium and the host cell, which together have a crucial role in the regulation of L. pneumophila virulence.


Article III of the Constitution was designed to establish a federal judiciary, in the words of Federalist No. 81, "competent to the determination of matters of national jurisdiction." (1) The Framers were unwilling to rely on the state courts for this purpose, as the Antifederalists preferred, largely because "the prevalency of a local spirit may be found to disqualify the local tribunals for the jurisdiction of national causes." (2) Indeed, the Framers were so apprehensive of state court bias, or the perception of bias, in favor of local interests that they considered a neutral federal tribunal necessary in some cases for the peace and harmony of the union. (3) They took care, accordingly, to extend federal jurisdiction to "cases in which the State tribunals cannot be supposed to be impartial." (4) In particular, Article III, Section 2 provides that "[t]he judicial Power shall extend to," among other things, "Controversies between two or more States;--between a State and Citizens of another State; between Citizens of different States;--between Citizens of the same State claiming Lands under Grants of different States, and between a State, or the Citizens thereof, and foreign States, Citizens or Subjects." (5) Thus, although the Framers generally left undisturbed the exclusive jurisdiction of state courts over cases arising under state law, they established concurrent jurisdiction in federal courts over cases in which the impartiality of state courts would be tested most directly: those cases in which the interests of the state itself, or of its citizens, were adverse to the interests of other states, foreign countries, or their citizens. Of particular concern to the Framers in establishing federal jurisdiction over disputes "between citizens of different states" was the crippling effect that judicial bias favoring in-state interests, whether real or perceived, would have on interstate commerce. By ensuring that a neutral federal court--the "tribunal which, having no local attachments, will be likely to be impartial between the different states and their citizens" (6)--was available to adjudicate disputes between parties of diverse state citizenship, the Framers were animated by much the same spirit that resulted in the various substantive constitutional protections against state interference with interstate and foreign commerce. (7) As Justice Joseph Story explained in his classic Commentaries on the Constitution, the grant of federal jurisdiction over interstate disputes was intended "to increase the confidence and credit between the commercial and agricultural states," for "[n]o man can be insensible to the value, in promoting credit, of the belief of there being a prompt, efficient, and impartial administration of justice in enforcing contracts." (8) The value of diversity jurisdiction in promoting interstate commerce, however, depends largely on the equal availability of the federal forum to both sides of an interstate dispute. It follows, as Justice Story explained for the Supreme Court in the landmark case of Martin v. Hunter's Lessee, (9) that diversity jurisdiction was not intended by the Framers "to be exercised exclusively for the benefit of parties who might be plaintiffs, and would elect the national forum, but also for the protection of defendants who might be entitled to try their rights, or assert their privileges, before the same forum." (10) The federal courts have nevertheless narrowed federal jurisdiction over cases involving citizens of different States by imposing a number of doctrines-including, most notably the requirement of complete diversity between all plaintiffs and all defendants--that restrict access to the federal courts, especially by defendants. After discussing these judicially imposed limitations on the diversity jurisdiction, we demonstrate in this Article: that the requirement of complete diversity is inconsistent with the history and purposes of the diversity clause of Article III; that it is not required by, and may well contravene, that provision of the Constitution; and that it rests on a construction of the diversity statute that the Supreme Court has acknowledged was erroneous. …


Algebra, defined as a method to determine the unknown by means of what is known, given the link between the two, took its initial steps toward disciplinary status during the third/ninth century when al-Khwārizmī produced the first systematic study on the subject. Later Muslim mathematicians followed his lead due to this novel discipline's propensity for improvement and beneficial application. Thus they applied arithmetic to algebra to make it more practical and open and, as a result, derived great benefits from employing it in matters of inheritance, commerce, land surveys, architecture, and other areas. Roughly 550 years after its formation as a discipline, algebra reached its peak in the aforementioned areas. One of its most famous practitioners, Ibn al-Hā'im, had a lasting and widespread influence first with his commentary on Yāsamīnī and then with his versified work al-Muqni' and its commentary al-Mumti'. However, the latter work eluded the researchers' attention – perhaps it was overshadowed by the former or lost among the other commentaries – despite its remarkable presentation of the entire conceptual and methodical repertoire of algebra as it was known at that time, not to mention its analysis of the problems and discussion of the philosophical implications in a long-lasting debate on Islamic mathematical history: Should algebra be arithmetical, geometrical, or both? Which track would be more conducive to improving the discipline so it could break new ground in the historical studies of mathematics? Thus, this article seeks to present the status of Ibn al-Hāim's al-Mumti' fī sharh al-Muqni' in the history of mathematics, along with its outstanding features and mathematical analysis.


The main descriptive characters of sabellid polychaetes are presented. Easily misunderstood morphological features are clarified by a series of schematic drawings. The importance of scale is emphasised and some aspects of population ecology and reproduction are addressed. An introduction to Euchone Malmgren (Polychaeta: Sabellidae: Sabellinae) is given and the diagnostic character is discussed. A new taxon, Euchone x, is described from the North Sea and Northern Norwegian Sea. Jasmineira candela Grube from the Adriatic Sea is redescribed and Jasmineira oculata Langerhans from Atlantic waters is reinstated. Some little-known records of Chone in Northern Atlantic waters are presented and one anomalous taxon is described. A historical overview of sabellid systematics is given. Because the binomial system of taxonomic nomenclature still used today was devised more than a century before evolutionary thinking, finds of organisms that do not 'fit' into the traditional systematic hierarchy are not unexpected. An introduction to phylogenetic systematics is given and some current issues are discussed. The concept of phylogenetic taxonomy is introduced. Phylogenetic analyses were carried out of taxa mainly within Euchone with some members of Chone, Jasmineira and Amphicorina. Euchone sensu Malmgren is revealed as being an artificial taxon. Five taxa previously assigned to Euchone are recognised as a discrete sister group to Chone, Euchone and Jasmineira. The data set is further used to demonstrate how phylogenetic taxonomy might be applied to the study group of organisms. Some behavioural observations were made on captive live specimens of Euchone x and the ecological implications are discussed. Some observations are provided on its reproduction and an enigmatic parasitic organism found within the radiolar crown is investigated. Although several important aspects of the taxonomy of the group were resolved, there remain many future challenges in the taxonomy and systematics of soft-bottom sabellin fan worms.


This paper reports research seeking to understand the economic implications for central Queensland graziers of participating in a carbon trading scheme and to measure the likely participation of graziers in an emissions trading scheme under various market design scenarios. An initial desktop study was undertaken to compare an enterprise which produced only cattle to one which produced cattle and sequestered carbon. The findings from this analysis were used to inform the design of an experimental auction to test alternative carbon trading scenarios. An experimental workshop was conducted at seven locations across central Queensland with a range of beef producers, extension officers and consultants. Participants were presented with a scenario in which they had the choice of maintaining current management practices against altering management practices to reduce beef production and enter into a carbon sequestration contract (CSC). They were asked at what price they would enter into a CSC and how that price and likelihood of participating would change under a range of alternative contract conditions. The results of the experimental auctions found significantly higher than breakeven prices for carbon would be required before landholders would offer land as a carbon offset. Participation rates were influenced by price and also the carbon contract rules. Five rule changes were trialled and all were found to have a significant impact on reducing participation and increasing required payment levels.


It is shown that a good instrumentation strategy, based on reliable measurements of displacements and pressures, is necessary for monitoring the safety and the behavior of civil works during construction and operation. A significant step forward was achieved by the development of a new generation of instruments. Constant tension invar wires give best accuracy of distance measurements for minimal interference with construction works or operation. Continuous piezometers for boreholes allow precise landslide monitoring and proper remedial works implementation. Vibrating wire sensors have been used in strainmeters and in pressure cells for many years, and their reliability is proved. Recently developed self-inductance sensors allow more sensitive and accurate monitoring. Successful experience on a number of large projects show that electronic equipment can best satisfy all the conditions of a good instrumentation, and results in an improved overall safety at least cost.


Background: Infected nonunions of the tibia pose significant challenges for complete resolution and functional restoration. local bone tissue remains without bactericidal concentrations, thus not interfering with bacterial growth.So acrylic bone cement is the gold standard for dead space management and the standard carrier for local antibiotic delivery in themanagement of orthopaedics infections. The aim of this study is to assess the outcome after treatment of infected non-unions of tibia treated by Antibiotic cement impregnated intramedullary nailing (ACIIMN).Patients and methods: This study included 12 cases with infected non union tibia were admitted to Orthopedic Surgery Department, Faculty of Medicine, Zagazig University Hospitals. The used methods of the study includes and preoperative evaluation, methods of treatment and postoperative follow up and methods of postoperative evaluation. All patients were followed-up, with an average follow-up time of 18 months. Results: Age was distributed as 44.66±9.48 and majority were male with 83.3% and DM was present in 25% of studied group. The mean duration of infection was 9.58±2.06. Union time was distributed as 32.33±6.44 weeks. Only three cases needed additional method. The overall outcome showed 75% had successful union without any additional methods and 25% of our studied group had persistent infection. Unfavorable outcome significantly associated with higher age. Conclusion: Antibiotic cement impregnated nailing is a safe and simple and effective procedure than other methods in the management of infected nonunion of tibia. It is the best option that significantly reduce the union time without causing much problem. The method utilizes existing easily available instrumentation and materials and is technically less demanding at any orthopaedic center.


Context: Yoga is an ancient science, which originated in India. Pranayama has been assigned a very important role in yogic system of exercises. It is known that regular practice of breathing exercises (pranayama) increases parasympathetic tone, decreases sympathetic activity, and improves cardiovascular functions. Different types of breathing exercises alter autonomic balance for good by either decrease in sympathetic or increase in parasympathetic activity. Mukh Bhastrika (yogic bellows), a type of pranayama breathing when practiced alone, has demonstrated increase in sympathetic activity and load on heart, but when practiced along with other types of pranayama has showed improved cardiac performance. Aim: The present study was conducted to evaluate the effect of long term practice of fast pranayama (Mukh Bhastrika) on autonomic balance on individuals with stable cardiac function. Settings and Design: This interventional study was conducted in the department of physiology. Materials and Methods: 50 healthy male subjects of 18 - 25 years age group, fulfilling the inclusion and exclusion criteria underwent Mukh Bhastrika training for 12 weeks. Cardiovascular autonomic reactivity tests were performed before and after the training. Statistical Analysis Used: The parameters were analyzed by Student t test. Results: This study showed an increase in parasympathetic activity i.e., reduced basal heart rate, increase in valsalva ratio and deep breathing difference in heart rate; and reduction in sympathetic activity i.e., reduction in fall of systolic blood pressure on posture variation. Conclusion: It can be concluded that Mukh Bhastrika has beneficial effect on cardiac autonomic reactivity, if practiced for a longer duration.


When solving a problem, human beings must face situations in which they should choose among different alternatives by means of reasoning and mental processes. Many of these decision problems are under uncertain environments including vague, imprecise and subjective information that is usually modeled by fuzzy linguistic approach. This approach uses linguistic information or natural language words and its relation to mental reasoning processes of the experts when expressing their assessments. In a decision process multiple criteria can be evaluated which involving multiple experts with different degrees of knowledge. Such process can be modeled by using Multi-granular Linguistic Information (MGLI) and Computing with Words (CW) processes to solve the related decision problems. Once decision makers (experts) provided their opinions, it is necessary to combine all these opinions to obtain a single overall result that can be interpreted. An aggregation operator allows accomplishing this objective calculating a global value in different ways. In this paper we study the use of aggregation operators in multi-criteria decision-making processes comparing them and obtaining conclusions about their use in our framework. Furthermore, we propose a new aggregation operator taking into account the criteria importance to evaluate the alternatives, and then an illustrative example shows its outcomes.


Confused by cryptic computer programs, algorithms and formulae? In this book, anyone who can operate a PC, standard software and the Internet will learn to understand the biological basis of bioinformatics of the existence as well as the source and availability of bioinformatics software how to apply these tools and interpret results with confidence. This is aided by introductory chapters to important aspects of bioinformatics detailed bioinformatics exercises, including solutions a glossary of definitions and terminology relating to bioinformatics. Quickly learn to manage bioinformatics!


An intelligent model for the purpose of evaluating and affecting delivery of services as a function of initial capital investment is developed and discussed. The algorithm associated with such a model, maps the principles of sustainability of business success as dependent not only on the content of the business but also on the impact that it has on the beneficiaries and users of its outputs. Such modeled functions take into account surrounding factors and diverse forces that influence the delivery of services, goods or in general any desired output. An evidence of accumulative market forces and their impact on optimal delivery of goods and services is proved and illustrated. The obtained curves proved that the general collective effect of surrounding market forces is power based, which does agree with witnessed practical cases. Using intelligence in the model greatly assisted in determining and predicting vital critical points and breaking points of optimal service delivery.


Since the measurement of HbA1 has become available to the diabetologists, the physicians and patients tend to rely exclusively on this parameter for the assessment of metabolic control. Therefore, in this study, 24 hour glucose profiles of 8 selected patients (4 under intensified conventional therapy, ICT, and 4 under continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion, CSII) with HbA1 values indicating good metabolic control were taken three times at four week intervals and were compared to mean blood glucose (MBG), mean average of glucose excursions (MAGE) and Schlichtkrull's M-value. MBG of the 24 profiles was 114 +/- 21 mg/dl. The patients under CSII were somewhat lower than the patients under ICT. In 16 of the 24 profiles, there was at least one period of hypoglycemia of 50 mg/dl and below. Only in one patient, M-value and MAGE showed stable metabolic control. In conclusion, hyperglycemic excursions in patients under intensified conventional therapy or treated by continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion do escape their reflection in the HbA1 values because of low blood sugar periods following hyperglycemic swings. Undoubtedly, the partial failure of ICT and CSII to prevent diabetic complications might be ascribed to the incomplete assessment of the metabolic control based on HbA1 values exclusively.


The International Labour Organization estimates that there are 12.5 million children and adolescents under the age of fifteen currently working in Latin America and the Caribbean. Of these, 9.6 million (77%) perform tasks that pose a risk to their physical and psychological health. This article presents a brief comparative analysis of child labor in Brazil and Uruguay in order to discuss the challenges of confronting this phenomenon in two very different countries that have embraced divergent strategies to deal with similar problems. To do this, the article presents an overview of the incidence of child labor in Brazil and Uruguay and seeks to demonstrate how far the category of labor is from a universal definition in the academic world, which is also repeated in the debate on the definition of child labor. It is possible to identify different moments of the debate in Latin America regarding the concept of child labor. Some approaches have been more contextualized than others, but all remain controversial and are sometimes considered incomplete. It will also consider the changes in the world of labor and how they interfere in this phenomenon. Despite advances in the fight against child labor overall, Brazil is starting to stagnate in its efforts to reduce the number of child and adolescent workers, and its challenge is to find new political solutions to address this problem. Uruguay still needs to place the issue more centrally on the nation's political and social agenda in order to guarantee consistent research on the problem that can guide its policy responses.


Facilities provided by social network sites allow individuals to use social networks for various purposes such as communication, entertainment and information sharing. These purposes vary depending on the social networks individuals use and on their personality traits. The present study examined preservice teachers' social network use purposes with respect to their personality traits. The participants of the study were 660 preservice teachers attending a Turkish university. For data collection in the study "Scale of Social Network Use Purposes" and "Basic Personality Traits Inventory" were used. The research data were analyzed using Pearson Correlation Analysis and Multi-Linear Regression Analysis. The findings revealed that among the personality traits, conscientiousness, openness to experience and negative valence were predictors of the sub-factors of social network use purposes. As for other personality factors, neuroticism and extraversion were not significant predictors of the total social network use purpose score or its sub-factors.


From 2 hours to 23 days following experimental subarachnoid hemorrhage, the accumulation of indium-111-labeled platelets on the intimal surface of the middle cerebral artery was studied in 23 cats. Subarachnoid hemorrhage was produced by transorbital rupture of the right middle cerebral artery. Of the 23 cats, 17 exhibited right middle cerebral artery/left middle cerebral artery radioactivity ratios of greater than 1.25. When these results were compared with those of 12 control cats, 0.001 less than p less than 0.005 (chi2 test). Thus, the results from the control and experimental groups are significantly different and indicate early (after 2 hours) preferential accumulation of intimal platelets in the ruptured right middle cerebral artery compared with the unruptured left middle cerebral artery and new platelet deposition continuing for up to 23 days. However, the experimental group did not reveal a clear pattern for platelet accumulation following subarachnoid hemorrhage. There was no simple correlation between the magnitude of the radioactivity ratios and the time after hemorrhage when the cats were killed although the ratios for 2 hours to 7 days seemed greater than those for 8 to 23 days. Assuming the pivotal role of platelets in the angiopathy of subarachnoid hemorrhage, the administration of antiplatelet agents as soon as possible following its occurrence may be of value.


A model of cloud services is emerging whereby a few trusted providers manage the underlying hardware and communications whereas many companies build on this infrastructure to offer higher level, cloud-hosted PaaS services and/or SaaS applications. From the start, strong isolation between cloud tenants was seen to be of paramount importance, provided first by virtual machines (VM) and later by containers, which share the operating system (OS) kernel. Increasingly it is the case that applications also require facilities to effect  isolation and protection of data managed by those applications. They also require flexible data sharing with other applications, often across the traditional cloud-isolation boundaries; for example, when government, consisting of different departments, provides services to its citizens through a common platform. These concerns relate to the management of data. Traditional access control is application and principal/role specific, applied at policy enforcement points, after which there is no subsequent control over where data flows;a crucial issue once data has left its owner's control by cloud-hosted applications andwithin cloud-services. Information Flow Control (IFC), in addition, offers system-wide, end-to-end, flow control based on the properties of the data. We discuss the potential of cloud-deployed IFC for enforcing owners' data flow policy with regard to protection and sharing, aswell as safeguarding against malicious or buggy software. In addition, the audit log associated with IFC provides transparency and offers system-wide visibility over data flows. This helps those responsible to meet their data management obligations, providing evidence of compliance, and aids in the identification ofpolicy errors and misconfigurations. We present our IFC model and describe and evaluate our IFC architecture and implementation (CamFlow). This comprises an OS level implementation of IFC with support for application management, together with an IFC-enabled middleware.


K-Ar and Rb-Sr ages were measured on rapidly cooled igneous rocks from Kinnekulle, Sweden (Ordovician bentonite), the Cerberean Cauldron, Australia (late Devonian felsic volcanics), Mount Dromedary, Australia (Cretaceous monzonite) and Cooma, Australia (Jurassic syenite). No systematic bias was detected between the ages determined by the two techniques, calculated using the constants recommended by the I.U.G.S. Subcommission on Geochronology. The K-Ar and Rb-Sr ages of the Jurassic syenite also were indistinguishable from its zircon U-Pb age. The Kinnekulle A1 bentonite gives a minimum age of 446 ± 3 Ma for the early Caradocian Diplograptus molestus Zone. The Cerberean Cauldron volcanics give a minimum age of 367 ± 2 Ma for the early Frasnian. These data are consistent with a small upwards revision of the ages in Gale et al.'s 1979 time scale as proposed by Gale et al. (1980).


In the future, the Internet may ultimately be constrained by energy consumption and the capability to provide quality of service (QoS). As regards the Internet core, hybrid optical switching (HOS) is promising to provide service differentiation and reduced energy consumption in respect to current electronic switching solutions. In this paper we present a novel hybrid HOS network architecture that efficiently integrates the optical packet, burst, and circuit switching on the same network. The proposed HOS network envisages the use of two parallel switches, a slow optical switch for the transmission of circuits and long bursts, and a fast switch for the transmission of packets and short bursts. The most appropriate switching method is selected for the traffic generated by different applications and the less power consuming elements are utilized for transmission, ensuring flexibility, QoS differentiation, and low energy consumption. The HOS network is organized in an overlay model with the HOS control layer performing routing, signaling, and link management, and with the HOS forwarding layer managing the reservation of resources and data scheduling. Performance and energy efficiencyof the analyzed network are assessedby means of a combined analytical and simulation approach.


Purpose

This paper aims to investigate factors associated with higher or lower television audience retention from one programme aired sequentially after another, referred to as lead-in audience retention. Lead-in is a primary determinant of television programme audience size.

Design/methodology/approach

The study models a series of factors linked to lead-in audience retention, such as rating of the second programme, genre match and competitor options. The hypothesised relationships are tested across over 1,000 pairs of programmes aired in the UK and Australia, using multivariate linear regression models.

Findings

The study finds the factors consistently related to significantly higher lead-in audience retention are the rating of the second programme in the pair and news genre match in programming. Factors consistently linked to lower audience retention include the rating of the initial programme and the number of competitor options starting at the same time as the second programme.

Practical implications

The findings help television networks understand drivers of lead-in audience retention. Knowledge that can be used to inform the design of tailored marketing plans for programmes based on schedule, timing and adjacent programming. Further, the findings help advertisers and media buyers with scheduling television advertising to achieve reach or frequency objectives.

Originality/value

No previous studies have comprehensively combined all four factors driving lead-in audience retention into a single model. The testing across multiple markets adds to the robustness of the findings. In particular, the discoveries about the impact of competitor network activities and genre build considerably on past research.


In ecology, the term seascape is used to describe a complex dynamic patchwork of interconnected marine and near-shore habitats (e.g., coral reef, sea grass, open water, mangrove, sandy beaches). This monograph examines this novel way of viewing the marine environment and discusses how economics can contribute to this approach to provide new analytical, management, and policy insights. A simple model of a twohabitat marine system (coral reefs and mangroves) is developed. The model is used to illustrate that, even if the focus is on whether or not to develop only the coastal habitat (i.e., mangroves), taking into account its connectivity with the rest of the seascape (i.e., coral reef) can affect the decision as to how much and which part of the coastal should be developed. The impact of seascape connectivity is examined for three marine ecosystem services: storm protection, habitat-fishery linkages, and water pollution and sediment control.


The nature of the client-auditor relationship is a critical issue for stakeholders and other users of the audited financial statements. This type of relationship is
predicated on trust; however, it is susceptible to differing motives, conflict of interest, and information asymmetries. An external auditor's independence is crucial to users of audited financial statements. A number of factors may impact the independence of the external auditor. This study investigates stakeholders' perceptions of NAS on auditor independence in Saudi Arabia, where NAS is banned except tax and zakat service.
This study adopted the framework developed by the Independence Standard Board (ISB) Statement of Independence Concepts: A Conceptual Framework for Auditor Independence, which identified five types of threats, four of which occurs
when auditors provides NAS for their audit clients. A mail questionnaire method was used to collect the data. Participants were divided into six groups: major audit firms; minor audit firms; loan officers; financial analysts; financial directors; and academics.
Non-parametric statistical tests were used in this study, including the Kruskal-Wallis Test and the Mann-Whitney Test, to draw inferential conclusions regarding the data
collected. Findings show that participant categories differ in their views on legalising NAS for Saudi auditor clients. While minor audit firms, financial directors, and academics
supported the joint provision of audit and NAS, the other three categories did not. This result was supported by the second hypothesis, where the minor audit firms
viewed that auditor independence with NAS can be maintained. In addition, all participant categories agreed that the joint provision enhances audit quality.
Furthermore, participant categories were divided about the effectiveness of the total ban of NAS. However, all groups agreed that certain procedures can be undertaken to enhance auditor independence. These procedures are: separation of
personnel; disclosure of fees; and limiting recruiting services. The familiarity threat was selected by the academic group as the greatest risk to auditor independence while the self-interest threat was selected by the other five categories. Conclusions of this study are that NAS could be extended in Saudi Arabia, with the exception of NAS with proven risk to auditor independence. The nature of the NAS relationship should be clear and pre-approved by the client, and NAS fees published. Further, audit firm personnel undertaking NAS must be separated from the
firm's auditors at all times during the procedures.


This paper investigates undefined behavior in C and offers a few simple techniques for operationally specifying such behavior formally. A semantics-based undefinedness checker for C is developed using these techniques, as well as a test suite of undefined programs. The tool is evaluated against other popular analysis tools, using the new test suite in addition to a third-party test suite. The semantics-based tool performs at least as well or better than the other tools tested.


In this paper, we propose a unified analysis of variants of distributed SGD with arbitrary compressions and delayed updates. Our framework is general enough to cover different variants of quantized SGD, Error-Compensated SGD (EC-SGD) and SGD with delayed updates (D-SGD). Via a single theorem, we derive the complexity results for all the methods that fit our framework. For the existing methods, this theorem gives the best-known complexity results. Moreover, using our general scheme, we develop new variants of SGD that combine variance reduction or arbitrary sampling with error feedback and quantization and derive the convergence rates for these methods beating the state-of-the-art results. In order to illustrate the strength of our framework, we develop 16 new methods that fit this. In particular, we propose the first method called EC-SGD-DIANA that is based on error-feedback for biased compression operator and quantization of gradient differences and prove the convergence guarantees showing that EC-SGD-DIANA converges to the exact optimum asymptotically in expectation with constant learning rate for both convex and strongly convex objectives when workers compute full gradients of their loss functions. Moreover, for the case when the loss function of the worker has the form of finite sum, we modified the method and got a new one called EC-LSVRG-DIANA which is the first distributed stochastic method with error feedback and variance reduction that converges to the exact optimum asymptotically in expectation with a constant learning rate.


Low levels of full-length survival motor neuron (SMN) protein cause the motor neuron disease, spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). Although motor neurons undoubtedly contribute directly to SMA pathogenesis, the role of muscle is less clear. We demonstrate significant disruption to the molecular composition of skeletal muscle in pre-symptomatic severe SMA mice, in the absence of any detectable degenerative changes in lower motor neurons and with a molecular profile distinct from that of denervated muscle. Functional cluster analysis of proteomic data and phospho-histone H2AX labelling of DNA damage revealed increased activity of cell death pathways in SMA muscle. Robust upregulation of voltage-dependent anion-selective channel protein 2 (Vdac2) and downregulation of parvalbumin in severe SMA mice was confirmed in a milder SMA mouse model and in human patient muscle biopsies. Molecular pathology of skeletal muscle was ameliorated in mice treated with the FDA-approved histone deacetylase inhibitor, suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid. We conclude that intrinsic pathology of skeletal muscle is an important and reversible event in SMA and also suggest that muscle proteins have the potential to act as novel biomarkers in SMA.


This excessive praise for Antonio Salazar by a priest may express the classic triangle of a charismatic juncture, yet it dates from a moment in which Salazar was already leader of the Portuguese dictatorship and was driving forward with the institutionalisation of the Estado Novo (New State). The takeover of power by Salazar transpired in the elitist context of a crisis within the military dictatorship; nevertheless, it provides us with an interesting example of a post hoc utilisation of some of the characteristic processes that are associated with charismatic leadership. 2 Salazar was not the charismatic leader of a political party that led him to power, nor was he the most visible 'candidate' dictator during the final years of the parliamentary regime. There were others who preceded him that had greater charismatic appeal: Sidonio Pais, who led the brief dictatorship of 1918, being a case in point. During Salazar's lengthy regime, he cultivated a 'charismatic' image, despite himself and despite his personality. During the 1930s he used all the methods possible to construct an image that would enable him to strengthen his position as dictator and encounter models of legitimation. This text will examine three interrelated areas. The first of these areas to be investigated is the process by which the political space opened up for charismatic alternatives to the crisis of liberal democracy in Portugal. This involves considering the location of some of the cleavages (e.g. secular/religious, civil/military) taking place during this period, as well as the absence of a fascist party as an important political actor in the fall of the democratic regime. The second aspect to be examined is the late development of fascism as a movement in Portugal. As a movement, fascism only appeared during the military dictatorship, when it was led by the charismatic Rolao Preto. Its existence was brief, being destroyed by Salazar's emerging authoritarian order. Finally, the third area for investigation


Several cotton genotypes with resistance to Meloidogyne incognita have been released in recent years. To estimate the durability of this resistance, galling severity on these resistant genotypes by M. incognita was measured. Nematode isolates (115 total) were collected from cotton fields in 14 Texas counties in August and September 1996 and 1997. Four additional isolates from Maryland, Mississippi, and North Carolina were also tested. The isolates were evaluated in 12 greenhouse experiments for their ability to gall roots of the resistant cotton genotypes M315, Acala NemX, and Stoneville LA887 and the susceptible cultivar Deltapine 90. Numbers of galls on each genotype by each isolate were counted 60 days after inoculation with 10,000 eggs/plant. M315 consistently had the fewest galls for each nematode isolate, whereas Deltapine 90 had the greatest number of galls. Numbers of galls on NemX and LA887 were usually intermediate and more variable. For each separate experiment, analysis of variance indicated that the effects of nematode isolates, cotton genotypes, and isolate-genotype interaction were significant (P < 0.05). In two of the experiments, nematode reproduction was also measured and galling was positively correlated (r = 0.68 and 0.86) with egg production by M. incognita. Nematode isolates from one field exhibited higher root galling and reproduction (P < 0.05) on resistant genotypes than other isolates, suggesting a need for gene deployment systems that will enhance the durability of resistance.


Cancer has become a leading cause of death and disability and a serious yet unforeseen challenge to health systems in low-and middle-income countries. A protracted and polarized cancer transition is under way and fuels a concentration of preventable risk, illness, suffering, impoverishment from ill health, and death among poor populations. Closing this cancer divide is an equity imperative. The world faces a huge, unperceived cost of failure to take action that requires an immediate and large-scale global response.Closing the Cancer Divide presents strategies for innovation in delivery, pricing, procurement, finance, knowledge-building, and leadership that can be scaled up by applying a diagonal approach to health system strengthening. The chapters provide evidence-based recommendations for developing programs, local and global policy-making, and prioritizing research. The cases and frameworks provide a guide for developing responses to the challenge of cancer and other chronic illnesses. The book summarizes results of the Global Task Force on Expanding Access to Cancer Care and Control in Developing Countries, a collaboration among leaders from the global health and cancer care communities worldwide, originally convened by Harvard University. It includes contributions from civil society, global and national policy-makers, patients and practitioners, and academics representing an array of fields.


The administration of soluble mouse thyroglobulin (MTg) in conjunction with bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) led to the termination of natural tolerance to MTg in mice. The extent of autoimmunity correlated with responsiveness to MTg, previously shown by the injection of MTg in complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) to be dependent upon the H-2 haplotype. In good responder B10.BR (H-2k) mice given MTg either with LPS or in CFA, high antibody levels to MTg and extensive mononuclear cell infiltration in the thyroid were observed. In contrast, congenic poor responder B10.D2 (H-2d) mice given MTg plus LPS showed low levels of antibody to MTg, compared to those receiving MTg in CFA, and insignificant cellular infiltration of the thyroid. In no instance did autoimmunity develop in either good or poor responder strain given MTg, LPS, or CFA along although LPS was antigenic in both of these congenic strains. Since the genetic difference in responsiveness to MTg is known to be T-cell based, the involvement of T cells in LPS-treated mice was suspected. This was further ascertained by the use of athymic poor responder (BALB/c) mice and thymectomized, irradiated, and bone marrow- reconstituted B10.BR mice. Antibodies to MTg were detected only in heterozygous (nu/+) mice and good responder mice reconstituted with both thymus and bone marrow cells. In addition, significant cellular infiltration in the thyroid occurred only in fully reconstituted good responder mice. Thus, the adjuvant effect of LPS on responsiveness to MTg required T cells. Since unmodified MTg and LPS abrogated selftolerance to MTg, the need for cross-reactive T cells could be excluded. These observations suggest the presence of self-reactive T cells.


The focus of this piece is on exploring questions regarding school organizational structures and cultures and their unintentional encouragement of teenage absenteeism. The organizational structure and culture of a school setting contributes to how students experience the system. School characteristics and culture can influence student absenteeism and truancy (Epstein & Sheldon, 2002). Perhaps organizational school structures endorse and reward particular peer groups while shunning or ignoring others. If so, peer identity becomes relevant in schools as the values, attitudes, and beliefs held within the peer groups predispose those in the group to endorse or reject the mission of schools. Eckert (1989) insightfully classified students into two groups describing this endorsement or rejecting scenario. She called some students "Jocks," endorsers of the system endorsers, and others "Burn-outs," non-endorsers of the system.  Does peer group identity influence high school absenteeism? Harris (1996) claims that peer groups are more powerful than parents in shaping values. "Teenagers sort themselves out into peer groups that vary in their attitudes toward intellectual achievement, and they can usually find anti-intellectual groups even in middle-class neighborhoods" (Harris, p. 263). If this is in fact the case, the choice of peer group could have a profound effect upon the academic outcome of a high school student.  Maslow, Erickson, Kohlberg, and many other theorists have studied development across the human life span. They each espouse the stages of human development, and they all have room for the notion of those stages being interrupted or challenged when environmental factors make it more difficult for a person to keep growing and developing. Teenagers are especially prone to environmental influences because they are still being formed as persons, and the cruel reality is that many struggle daily for acceptance from their peers.  Predictors of a student's potential for a successful life after high school are comprised of family identity, income, and choice of peer group. Perhaps if teachers and other school personnel are aware of this phenomenon, being intentional about reaching out to all peer groups could increase students' feelings of welcome, and school attendance would increase.


Background: Culturally and linguistically diverse children often produce linguistic features that may mask or mimic characteristics of language impairment (LI) (Gutierrez-Clellen 2009). Language screening instruments are time efficient tools used by Speech Language Pathologists (SLPs) to distinguish children who may need additional language assessment (Guiberson & Rodriguez, 2010). A previous survey conducted in the El Paso, TX region determined that only 30% of SLPs felt that screenings instruments, for English-Spanish bilingual children, produced accurate results (Cutis, Summers, Smith, & Stubbemann, 2016). Additionally, the study found that SLPs often used non standardized screening tools due to the lack of valid screening instruments for bilingual children. Purpose: This study investigated the diagnostic accuracy (specificity and sensitivity) of a bilingual language screening instrument, the Bilingual English Spanish Oral Screener (BESOS), in accurately identifying preschool-aged children at risk of LI. Methods: Forty-two children, aged 3-6 years, participated in this study. Participants were grouped by age: 3-4 year olds and 5-6 year olds. Participants were administered the BESOS and an in-depth language assessment using gold standard measures: The Preschool Language Scales- Fifth Edition (PLS-5), Language Sample Analysis (LSA) and ITALK. Sensitivity and specificity of the BESOS were determined. Results: The BESOS demonstrated overall good sensitivity (85.7%) and specificity (80%). The BESOS demonstrated sensitivity of 85.71% and specificity of 71.43% within 3-4 year old group and specificity of 92.86% within the 5-6 year old group. Conclusion: This study has expanded research in the area of linguistically and culturally appropriate screening instruments. Specifically, our research determined that the BESOS holds promise in identifying risk of LI within preschool-aged children from the El Paso, TX region. Further considerations for the BESOS will be discussed.


Beside a priori theoretical assumptions on instantaneous or long-run effects of structural shocks, sign restrictions have become a prominent means for structural vector autoregressive (SVAR) analysis. Moreover, changes in second order moments of systems of time series can be fruitfully exploited for identification purposes in SVARs. By means of Monte Carlo studies, we examine to what degree theory-based and statistical identification approaches offer an accurate quantification of the true structural relations in a standard model for monetary policy analysis. Subsequently, we discuss how identifying information from theory-based and statistical approaches can be combined on the basis of a low-dimensional empirical model of US monetary policy.


Ethiopia's remarkable socio-economic transformation over the last decade has been marked by: a reorientation of expenditure from recurrent to capital; a significant devolution of resources from Federal Government to Regions; and a clear prioritization of infrastructure spending, while protecting spending on education at four percent of GDP. The Government of Ethiopia has also leveraged external resources to boost spending in pro-poor sectors, particularly health and social protection. As a result, Ethiopia is home to the largest social safety net program in Africa, and has also achieved remarkable health outcomes using cost effective approaches. Recent investments have seen a significant build-up of capital stock, with capital spending at sector level pointing towards increased service capacity. The current public investment-led strategy requires to be complemented by increased budgetary provisions in operations and maintenance so that new investments translate into enhanced service coverage and delivery. As Ethiopia lays the foundation to become a middle income country, and the changing global environment implies declining external assistance, it is imperative that domestic taxation activity support this transition. The current tax-to-GDP ratio is low compared to peer countries, and the tax structure would benefit from increased contributions by direct tax sources. Therefore, there is an immediate need for advancing tax reforms and improve capacity and quality of tax administration. Broadening the tax bases, through review of exemptions, as well as review of tax rates might be venues to consider. Additional revenues will create the much-needed fiscal space to increase funding for operations and maintenance for service delivery, and support fiscal sustainability. As a follow-up to this Public Expenditure Review, the Government of Ethiopia has asked the World Bank to provide further analytical support, with a view to enhance domestic revenue mobilization through simpler and more efficient taxation, while retaining equity priorities in public finances.


For sprint events longer than 100 m, more than half the race is run on the bend, yet bend sprinting has received little attention in biomechanics literature. The aim of this thesis was to understand the effect of the bend on maximal effort sprint performance and technique, using bend radii and surfaces typical of outdoor competition. Three empirical studies were undertaken with experienced bend sprinters. Initial 3D kinematics investigations revealed an approximately 5% velocity decrease on the bend compared to the straight. However, step characteristic changes contributing to this reduction were different for the left and right steps. For the left step there were significant decreases in step frequency (p < 0.05), due to increased ground contact time, which agreed with previously proposed theoretical models. For the right step, however, a significantly reduced flight time resulted in a significant reduction in step length (p < 0.05). Maintaining step length and an 'active touchdown' were closely related to an athlete's ability to better maintain straight line velocity on the bend. Generally, velocity decreased as bend radius decreased, with mean differences of up to 2.3% between lanes 8 and 2. However, changes to athletes' technique due to different lanes were not conclusive. Ground reaction forces revealed between-limb differences during bend sprinting. Furthermore, frontal plane forces were up to 2.6 times larger on the bend than on the straight. Overall, asymmetries were identified between left and right steps for several performance, technique and force variables, suggesting that bend sprinting induces different functional roles between left and right legs, with the left step contributing more to turning to remain on the bend trajectory. The differences in kinematic and kinetic characteristics between the bend and straight, and between-limb asymmetries mean that athletes should apply the principle of specificity to bend sprinting training and conditioning, without sacrificing straight line technique.


Purpose: Despite aggressive conventional therapy, glioblastoma (GBM) remains uniformly lethal. Immunotherapy, in which the immune system is harnessed to specifically attack malignant cells, offers a treatment option with less toxicity. The expression of cytomegalovirus (CMV) antigens in GBM presents a unique opportunity to target these viral proteins for tumor immunotherapy. Although the presence of CMV within malignant gliomas has been confirmed by several laboratories, its relevance as an immunologic target in GBM has yet to be established. The objective of this study was to explore whether T cells stimulated by CMV pp65 RNA-transfected dendritic cells (DC) target and eliminate autologous GBM tumor cells in an antigen-specific manner. Experimental Design: T cells from patients with GBM were stimulated with autologous DCs pulsed with CMV pp65 RNA, and the function of the effector CMV pp65-specific T cells was measured. Results: In this study, we demonstrate the ability to elicit CMV pp65-specific immune responses in vitro using RNA-pulsed autologous DCs generated from patients with newly diagnosed GBM. Importantly, CMV pp65-specific T cells lyse autologous, primary GBM tumor cells in an antigen-specific manner. Moreover, T cells expanded in vitro using DCs pulsed with total tumor RNA demonstrated a 10- to 20-fold expansion of CMV pp65-specific T cells as assessed by tetramer analysis and recognition and killing of CMV pp65-expressing target cells. Conclusion: These data collectively demonstrate that CMV-specific T cells can effectively target glioblastoma tumor cells for immunologic killing and support the rationale for the development of CMV-directed immunotherapy in patients with GBM. Clin Cancer Res; 20(10); 2684–94. ©2014 AACR.


We did not, as Brakel & Shevrin imply, intend to classify either System 1 or System 2 as rational or irrational. Instrumental rationality is assessed at the organismic level, not at the subpersonal level. Thus, neither System 1 nor System 2 are themselves inherently rational or irrational. Also, that genetic fitness and instrumental rationality are not to be equated was a major theme in our target article. We disagree with Bringsjord & Yang's point that the tasks used in the heuristics and biases literature are easy. Bringsjord & Yang too readily conflate the ability to utilize a principle of rational choice with the disposition to do so. Thus, they undervalue tasks in the cognitive science literature that compellingly reveal difficulties with the latter. We agree with Newton & Roberts that models at the algorithmic level of analysis are crucial, but we disagree with their implication that attention to issues of rationality at the intentional level of analysis impedes work at the algorithmic level of analysis.


The porcine weakly β-haemolytic intestinal spirochaetes (WBHIS) comprise four distinct species. Serpulina pilosicoli is the agent of porcine intestinal spirochaetosis, and the other three species appear to be non-pathogenic commensals although some strains may be involved in colitis. Very little research has been undertaken to determine the relative distribution of the WBHIS species within pig herds, and the population structure and strain distribution of S.pilosicoli is virtually unknown. Fellstrom et al.(l) previously showed a relationship between the presence of biochemical group IV WBHIS (S. pilosicoli) and diarrhoea in Swedish pig herds. In some cases, WBHIS with three distinct phenotypes were detected in pigs from the one farm. Over a three year period from June 1993 to June 1996, we isolated 96 WBHIS from Australian pigs with diarrhoea or production problems and an additional 28 WBHIS isolates were obtained from overseas collaborators. In the present study multilocus enzyme electrophoresis (MLEE) was used to: a) confirm the identity of each WBHIS, and therefore determine association between a particular WBHIS species and diarrhoea in Australian pigs; b) examine the population structure and strain distribution of S. pilosicoli; and c) compare genetic relationships between S. pilosicoli strains isolated from pigs, humans, dogs and avian species.


Technology is changing the way that children are communicating (particularly elementary and pre-school aged children), and these changes have significant implications for alternative dispute resolution processes and practices. Although ADR practitioners and theorists are not ignoring technology, we have focused almost exclusively on the question of how we can use technology to enhance our existing practices. We are not paying sufficient attention to the fact that young children are communicating differently than we communicate. Insufficient energy is being dedicated to the question of how those differences in communication inevitably influence the way that those children resolve disputes. The article analyzes social science research that describes and documents how technology is changing the ways in which children are communicating. The successes of software and hardware developers are coming so quickly that it is difficult for those of us outside the technology fields to stay informed. Dispute resolvers are not asking how new technologies, technologies of which we may not even be aware (or at least not fully understand), are changing the way that our children are communicating. We also are not asking how those changes affect alternative dispute resolution. The article suggests ways in which ADR will change as a result of the ways children are communicating. It also discusses the future of current theories and approaches to ADR, such as "mindfulness meditation" (frequently discussed by Professor Leonard Riskin, among others).


This paper is based on research conducted as an initiative under the Open and Collaborative Science in Development Network (OCSDNet) to explore new innovative mechanisms that can enhance collaborative disaster recovery planning, knowledge management, and learning in the Caribbean. The need for enhanced knowledge management to mitigate disaster risk through the sharing of information and knowledge is a strategic imperative of the Caribbean Disaster Management community. We employ a preliminary conceptual application of the Knowledge Commons/IAD Framework to illustrate how this kind of institutional analytic process can illuminate and inform strategy, governance and desirable collective action, as well as the merits of alternative enabling technologies. The study contributes to arguments challenging the neutrality of infrastructure for collective action. It highlights the importance, and perhaps imperative, of an institutional approach to the design and implementation of socio-technical systems.


Background: There are numerous teaching strategies that suit the pedagogical learning, but not all can yield the desired outcome and be properly applied by nurse tutors in both classroom and clinical area. Therefore, identifying the utilization of the teaching strategy for nurse tutors is very detrimental in nursing education. Methods: Descriptive exploratory design which utilized both qualitative and sequential quantitative methods was applied to Iterated Purposive Probability Sampling (IPPS) of 10 nursing colleges in Malawi. This was done to 129 student and 82 nurse tutors in two structured questionnaires, 40 in-depth interviews and 10 focus groups. There were 56 variables for the teaching strategy under five ranked Likert scale and the Cronbach's Alpha was found to be 0.964 without standardisation and it was 0.963 after standardisation. Results: Direct teaching strategies like the lecture method are very common although nurse tutors prefer to combine with other interactive instructions. There is statistical association of use of role play and group discussion methods and nurse tutor work experience with odds ratios of OR ≤ 1.624; CI(0.576 ± 4.579); p ≥ 0.359 and OR ≤ 1.397; CI(0.882 ± 2.306); p ≥ 0.147 respectively. The ability to use different teaching strategies competently is still very limited among nurse tutors in Malawi nursing colleges. This compromises quality of learning among nursing students in the colleges. Conclusion: Developing a new teaching strategy that could combine the different attributes in the variety of the teaching instructions can promote the quality of nursing education in Malawi.


For over three decades, Afghanistan has been a battleground in which many of the states of the wider neighbourhood have been involved. The importance of fostering a concerted effort for Afghan peace and stability is widely agreed upon, yet such a process remains difficult to bring about. Some analysts emphasize states and their security relationships, seeing Afghanistan as an 'insulator' caught between different regional state systems, each with a strong dynamic of its own. Other analysts emphasize various transnational networks and see Afghanistan as the 'core' of a larger conflict formation. This chapter takes as its starting point the former perspective, which has been codified by Barry Buzan and Ole Waever (2003) as the regional security complex (RSC) approach. The chapter examines the security dynamics of each of the regions surrounding Afghanistan – South Asia, the Persian Gulf and South Asia – adopting a comparative and historical perspective, with an emphasis on the period since the late 1970s. It concludes that each of Afghanistan's three surrounding regions is characterized by deep security concerns of its own. These concerns nonetheless inform the engagement of neighbouring countries in Afghanistan, which then comes to reflect conflicts and cleavages specific to the respective regions. One central implication is that a more promising strategy for Afghanistan might be to seek a unilateral non-offensive or neutral status, rather than full security integration with its neighbours. Although such a strategy would necessitate the creation of a forum for Afghanistan's neighbours to foster understanding for the Afghan position, it represents a dramatic departure from mainstream policy proposals with their emphasis on an integrated regional approach.


Nominal sets provide a foundation for reasoning about names. They are used primarily in syntax with binders, but also, e.g., to model automata over infinite alphabets. In this paper, nominal sets are related to nominal renaming sets, which involve arbitrary substitutions rather than permutations, through a categorical adjunction. In particular, the left adjoint relates the separated product of nominal sets to the Cartesian product of nominal renaming sets. Based on these results, we define the new notion of separated nominal automata. These automata can be exponentially smaller than classical nominal automata, if the semantics is closed under substitutions.


Background/Context Working theories about student goal orientation, understanding of intelligence, and affective mediation of task engagement inform current beliefs about students and learning and motivation. Much research has focused on identifying effective teaching strategies to raise the achievement of disadvantaged students; however, less is known about how students who attend high-poverty schools conceptualize school and teachers, and motivation and learning. Our study draws from literature on student motivation and learning to understand how students who attend Comprehensive School Reform (CSR) schools think about motivation and learning. Research Question We examined students' responses to pictures of student-teacher interaction to understand how students who attend CSR schools think about motivation and learning. Story analysis was guided by the following questions: How do student stories portray student-teacher interaction? Specifically, what interpersonal supports and opportunities do they describe? What motivational systems are attributed to story characters? What are their challenges, behaviors, and goals? How do the story characters feel and manage their emotions? Population Students (N = 174) in Grades 3–5 who attended three CSR schools. Research Design Data collection consisted of student stories in response to a picture of student-teacher interaction. Project instruments and procedures are an adaptation of the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT). Conclusions Results suggest that students in these CSR schools held positive beliefs about their teachers and classroom learning. Story content analyses indicated that students' perceptions of student-teacher interaction reflect a concern with achievement rather than affiliation. Achievement goals of story characters primarily concerned correctness; understanding and volitional engagement also were expressed. Story characters primarily were portrayed as compliant, optimistic, and relatively positive about their interaction with their teacher and their learning. In approximately one third of the narratives, story characters struggled with problems of varied magnitude; however, in half of these stories, characters were able to navigate solutions and overcome negative emotions and obstacles.


This paper deals with an experimental investigation of the flame characteristics of premixed Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) - air mixtures with different equivalence ratios on a multi-hole matrix burner. Lowest possible fuel-lean mixing conditions are envisaged. Results show that the flame pattern changes into four different types which are oscillatory flames in the middle region, flames with oscillations along the centerline, flames with very little oscillations and stable flames from all the holes. Species concentration measurements are performed with the help of  gas analyzer and the results show that the concentrations of carbon-monoxide and oxygen decreases, whereas that of carbon-dioxide and nitric oxide increases with increase in the volumetric flow rate of LPG and air mixture. In addition to this, temperature measurements are carried out using a K-type thermocouple over the burner surface at different heights. Temperature contours for each plane have been presented.


The metaphase configurations of 400 strains from 63 species of Hawaiian Drosophila were determined from squash preparations of larval brain tissue or spermatogenic cells from adult testes. These karyotypes include configurations from seven species not previously described. Metaphases of 148 Hawaiian species have been recorded, including species of the "picture-wing" group, the "modified mouthpart" group, and the "bristle-foot" group. A comparison between Hawaiian species and non-endemic species was made on the basis of chromosome numbers and configurations. Among the Hawaiian species, 85.8% have retained the primitive haploid configuration of five rods and one dot compared with only 34.8% of species from the rest of the world. In only 4.7% of Hawaiian species is the chromosome number reduced from the basic haploid number of six, whereas itisreduced in 47.6% of the species from other areas. Most of the changes in chromosome size and shape among the Hawaiian species seem to be the result of added heterochromatin or chromosome fusions; no evidence of pericentric inversions has been found in modified karyotypes.


"The Endless Summer defined our sport. For the first time the rest of the world would have a clear look at the surfing lifestyle." Matt Warshaw, Surfer's Journal History of Surfing Films "Brown cobbled together $50,000 and set out with two California surfers, Mike Hynson and Robert August, to produce a true documentary on real surfers. Not beach bums or playboys who sang to their girlfriends, surfers were athletes who enjoyed the adventure of scanning the globe in search of the perfect wave." "The Sick Six: Six of the Most Important Surf Movies Ever Made, from the Fifties to Now" The early 1960s was a time in which youth was shamelessly exploited by the mass media. Surfing was identified as a hot new sport with a youthful focus epitomising the ideal Californian lifestyle. This led to a surf craze in America and Australia. Surf music in the shape of The Beach Boys, Dick Dale and His Del-Tones, Jan and Dean, and a dance improbably named The Surfer Stomp seemed to offer a new direction for a tired and corrupt pop industry replete with manufactured pop stars named Bobby or Frankie.1 The Beach Boys particularly were marketed as all-American high school boys who surfed, were clean-cut, and cared only for cars, girls and fun, fun, fun. Hollywood produced up to seventy surf-related exploitation films purporting to lift the lid on just what happened on the beach when adults were not around to regulate undesirable behaviour. Out of this heady, consumerist mix emerged what many surfers regard as the definitive surf movie, Bruce Brown's The Endless Summer (1964). The Endless Summer has a simple premise, the quest for the perfect wave, which is one of the defining myths of surf culture and representations of surfing outside the subculture. Brown follows the travels of two surfers, Robert August and Mike Hynson, around the globe in order to experience an endless summer and catch the perfect wave. To do this the friends travel to little known destinations such as Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Tahiti and Ghana in addition to Malibu and Hawaii. Brown explained that: "Originally we were just going to South Africa and then come back.. .But it turned out to be $50 cheaper to go all the way round the world, so we did that."2 The Endless Summer belongs to a sub-genre of surf films Booth describes as "pure."3 These are surf films made by surfers for a limited surfing audience and typically exhibited at surf clubs. Brown's credentials as a surfer, a surf filmmaker and his association with significant shapers such as Dale Velzy would assure the authenticity of surf culture to its audiences. "Pure" surf films relied on the film producer distributing and exhibiting them around a "four wall" circuit. As with many four-wall producers at the time, Brown exhibited the film along with a running commentary around the usual high school halls, and clubhouses to enthusiastic surfer audiences.4 On the tour Brown developed a script from which he distilled the best of the jokes and script elements before recording a permanent soundtrack. In an effort to gain Hollywood studio distribution, Brown, aided by Paul Alien, toured around America to places such as Wichita, Kansas, a venue little famed for its waves, where the film ran for two weeks to full houses. However, something unexpected happened with The Endless Summer, it crossed over the border from niche to mainstream audiences when the distribution was taken up by Columbia. Indeed, such was the popularity of the film that Newsweek dubbed The Endless Summer one of the best 10 films of 1964. So why was Endless Summer so popular? Robert August, one of the film's "stars" believes that the re-release of the film in 1966 was a reminder to Americans of a more innocent time, providing them with time out from Vietnam and the possibility to have fun for a while, "it was the right time for it" (Robert August, Surfer's Journal History of Surfing Films).5 Bruce Brown is not sure: I don't know. …


Courts and scholars have vigorously debated the proper role of customary international law in American courts: To what extent should it be considered federal common law, state law, or general law? The debate has reached something of an impasse, in part because various positions rely on, but also are in tension with, historical practice and constitutional structure. This Article describes the role that the law of nations actually has played throughout American history. In keeping with the original constitutional design, federal courts for much of that history enforced certain rules respecting other nations' "perfect rights" (or close analogues) under the law of nations as an incident of political branch recognition of foreign nations, and in order to restrain the judiciary and the states from giving other nations just cause for war against the United States. Rather than viewing enforcement of the law of nations as an Article III power to fashion federal common law, federal courts have instead applied rules derived from the law of nations as a way to implement the political branches' Article I and Article II powers to recognize foreign nations, conduct foreign relations, and decide momentous questions of war and peace. This allocation of powers approach best explains the most important federal cases involving the law of nations across American history. This Article does not attempt to settle all questions of how customary international law interacts with the federal system. It does aspire, however, to recover largely forgotten historical and structural context crucial to any proper resolution of such questions.


London is a creative and cultural melting pot for international designers to develop their creative identity. London Fashion Week is renowned for showing an edgier breed of fashion designer, and for celebrating cutting-edge couture that pushes the boundaries of convention. This is the first book to embrace the whole of the UK ands its creative influence on international fashion. It is aimed at industry professionals, students and anyone with an interest in fashion. Both inspirational and informative, it will also appeal as a coffee-table book, being visually inspiring and modern. This book focuses on the British designers since 2000 who have made their influence resonate globally: designers such as Stella McCartney, Alexander McQueen, Hussein Chalayan, Vivienne Westwood, John Galliano, Julien MacDonald, Giles Deacon, Matthew Williamson and Paul Smith. Each chapter is devoted to one designer and defines visually how Britishness informs their work, showing final collections, process work and studio space. Text in the form of questions and answers or running text illustrates each designers British influence and distinct style.


Abstract This article considers the concept of superfluity and its pertinence to the study of law. While not a familiar theoretical category, superfluity directs attention to a range of important contemporary problems. The focus here is on the systematic production of superfluous people. Reference is made to writing by Hannah Arendt, for whom the production of superfluous people was central both to totalitarianism and, more generally, to capitalist imperialism. Reference is also made to recent writing by Zygmunt Bauman and Loïc Wacquant, who have addressed 'human waste' and 'advanced marginality' in the context of neoliberal restructuring. The article raises the question of how legal processes and structures, and especially those associated with international or transnational law, may contribute to the production of superfluity, as described by these authors. It appears that we know relatively little on this subject, and that more work is needed. At the end of the article, the possibility is evoked of an alternative, reclaimed or 'real' superfluity, understood as the 'in-the-wayness' of those struggling to transform the conditions in which human superfluity is produced and reproduced.