This book examines the ways in which Irenaeus and Clement understood what it means to be human. By exploring these writings from within their own theological perspectives, Dr Behr also offers a theological critique of the prevailing approach to the asceticism of Late Antiquity. Writing before monasticism became the dominant paradigm of Christian asceticism, Irenaeus and Clement afford fascinating glimpses of alternative approaches. For Irenaeus, asceticism is the expression of man living the life of God in all dimensions of the body, that which is most characteristically human and in the image of God. Human existence as a physical being includes sexuality as a permanent part of the framework within which males and females grow towards God. In contrast, Clement depicts asceticism as man's attempt at a godlike life to protect the rational element, that which is distinctively human and in the image of God, from any possible disturbance and threat, or from the vulnerability of dependency, especially of a physical or sexual nature. Here human sexuality is strictly limited by the finality of procreation and abandoned in the resurrection. By paying careful attention to these two writers, Dr Behr offers challenging material for the continuing task of understanding ourselves as human beings.


Through a diachronic study of a large selection of writings (composed within a period of a half century), marked, for the most part, by the seal of a constitutive undetermined genre, this thesis attempts to grasp the rapport to the worldly that takes shape in a particularly complex and divided literary work. Within the framework of socio-criticism, this study strives to uncover the sociality in Kateb's work, that is, to identify the significant elements as well as the function of heterogeneity. In addition, it attempts to identify how the sociohistoric dimension converts exterior space to interior space via a bidirectional movement. This study is directly interested in the literariness of Kateb's work, but is heavily founded in a much larger epistemological perspective that underlines and brings the rapport to History, to memory and to social imaginary into play. This in turns allows us to underscore the aesthetic aspect of Katebian theatre, specifically the historical and thematic change of tragic theatre to heterogeneous theatre, a change incited by either the choice of theatricalized textual materials or by mise-en-scène techniques. Both methods give rise to formal dissidence which liberates, on stage, the spoken word as an instrument of criticism with regard to socio-political action. Based on studies particularly rich in hermeneutics and discourse analysis, (Duchet, Popovic, Angenot, Robin, Biron, Amossy, Maingueneau), as well as on theoretical approaches initiated by de Certeau, Chambers and Riffaterre, this thesis, without overtly delimiting theoretical and disciplinary thought, also outlines where and how Kateb's work coincides with fundamental concepts developed by Agamben, such as « camp », « pouvoir souverain » and « dispositif », or others defined by Foucault, such as « bio-pouvoir » and « analytique du pouvoir ». Whilst explaining and interpreting this polymorphous work, the aesthetic dimension allows us to employ and add various new key concepts in the realm of literary criticism. Finally, the link to History is analysed through the protean notion of « Revolution », which Kateb exploits in order to adopt an open perspective with regard to the future and to attribute meaning to causes striving to transform reality.


Background: Different studies implicated inflammation as associative or causative factor in the development of hypertension (HT). It has been reported that low-grade inflammation enhances development of HT, as high blood pressure is linked with high neutrophils, lymphocytes, C-reactive protein, and interleukin 6. Neutrophil–lymphocyte ratio (NLR) may reflect underlying chronic low-grade inflammation in different inflammatory disorders and cardiovascular diseases including HT. Telmisartan (TLS), which is an angiotensin II receptor type 1 blocker that used in the management of HT, may reduce the associated inflammatory disorders. Thus, the aim of the present study was to assess the level of NLR in relation to the HT severity in patients treated with TLS. Methods: Forty-four patients with severe HT compared with matched 20 patients with mild HT as controls were recruited. Anthropometric and biochemical variables as well as NLR were measured. Results: Blood pressure and lipid profile were higher in patients with severe HT on antihypertensive therapy other than TLS. TLS treatments had improved blood pressure; lipid profile and low NLR compared to patients with severe HT not were on TLS treatment. Conclusion: TLS reduces HT severity through reduction of NLR; therefore, it regarded the optimum angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) drug in the management of HT. Thus, preclinical and prospective studies are warranted in this regards.


Recent experiments revealing the atomic-like spectra in quantum dots call for quantitative theoretical tools. We present a study of the electronic structure of two-dimensional quantum dots up to 58 electrons using Current-Density-Functional Theory (CDFT), which enables us to obtain the ground state energy including the effects of an external magnetic field. We observe a shell structure for the filling of the dot with electrons. Hund's rule determines the spin configuration of the ground state, but only up to 22 electrons. After that, orbital degeneracies are lifted by the non-parabolic effective potential, and high spin states are suppressed. At specific N, a small deformation of the external potential induces a rotational Charge-Density-Wave (CDW) state. In the presence of magnetic fields up to 4.5 T, the dot shows four distinct regimes. We present the magnetic field dependence of the addition spectrum, total angular momentum, and spin configuration.


Summary We present a novel approach to XML data integration which allows a biologist to select data from a large XML file repository, add it to a genome map, and produce a mapping mashup showing integrated data in map context. This approach can be used to produce contextual views of arbitrary XML data which relates to objects shown on a map. A biologist using BioXMash searches in XML tags, and is guided by XML path data availability, shown as the number of values reachable via a path, in both global, genome-wide, and local, per-gene, context. Then she examines sample values in an area of interest on the map. If required, the resulting data is dumped to files, for subsequent analysis. This is a lightweight integration approach, and differs significantly from other known methods. It assumes that data integration can be performed on a lab computer with limited memory, with no database installation or programming knowledge. It is different from BioMarts which predefine possible data selections, in that arbitrary data sources related to map items can be used. BioXMash offers full textual search in XML paths, shows path statistics, and supports visual verification of data values. Repeated scanning of all XML files at query time is avoided by the use of a high level indexing technique. Our prototype demonstrates this new approach. It efficiently supports data browsing on 2 GB od data from GeneCards with an index size of 40 MB.


The fluctuations of measured signals are not always artifacts. A variety of active sensing circumstances where the excitation fields interact with random potentials result in measured signals that fluctuate. As inverse problems are notoriously ill posed, only stochastic information is available in these conditions. Here, we demonstrate a stochastic sensing technique where the statistically non-stationary properties of the excitation fields are purposely manipulated such that the fluctuations of the scattered intensity are enhanced and further exploited to recover information about the interaction potentials. The numerical and experimental results establish the efficacy of this new sensing approach and validate its robustness against various sources of perturbations. A range of remote sensing and biomedical applications that rely on recovering the properties of random scattering potentials and are usually limited by noise could benefit from the sturdy performance of this sensing procedure.


Thomas Dennis emigrated to America from England in 1663, settling in Ipswich, a Massachusetts village a long day's sail north of Boston. He had apprenticed in joinery, the most common method of making furniture in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Britain, and he became Ipswich's second joiner, setting up shop in the heart of the village. During his lifetime, Dennis won wide renown as an artisan. Today, connoisseurs judge his elaborately carved furniture as among the best produced in seventeenth-century America. Robert Tarule, historian and accomplished craftsman, brilliantly recreates Dennis's world in recounting how he created a single oak chest. Writing as a woodworker himself, Tarule vividly portrays Dennis walking through the woods looking for the right trees; sawing and splitting the wood on site; and working in his shop on the chest-planing, joining, and carving. Dennis inherited a knowledge of wood and woodworking that dated back centuries before he was born, and Tarule traces this tradition from Old World to New. He also depicts the natural and social landscape in which Dennis operated, from the sights, sounds, and smells of colonial Ipswich and its surrounding countryside to the laws that governed his use of trees and his network of personal and professional relationships. Thomas Dennis embodies a world that had begun to disappear even during his lifetime, one that today may seem unimaginably distant. Imaginatively conceived and elegantly executed, The Artisan of Ipswich gives readers a tangible understanding of that distant past.


A library of binary PtRh thin-film electrocatalysts was obtained by potentiostatic co-electrodeposition of Pt4+ and Rh3+ on a gold wire in a capillary cell, the capillary separating on the one hand the Pt4+ compartment and on the other hand the Rh3+ compartment. More specifically, this capillary cell enables to hinder the mobility of the ions from the one compartment to the other, thereby creating a continuous gradient of concentrations of Pt4+ and Rh3+ in the solution along the gold wire; as a result, the surface of the gold wire substrate witnesses crossed gradients of Pt4+ and Rh3+ during the electrodeposition, and countless PtRh compositions can be generated on the surface of a single sample. The feasibility of the protocol was confirmed by electron probe microanalysis and sections of the film (with lengths of 1 mm) were subsequently accessed by cyclic voltammetry. The results demonstrate the potential of this approach to perform compositional studies in a single piece of substrate and open new perspectives of studies in catalysis and electrocatalysis with a relatively low-cost and time-saving approach.


We have reported reliable changes in behaviour, brain structure and function in 24 healthy right-handed adults who practiced a finger-thumb opposition sequence task with their left hand for 10 mins daily, over four weeks. Here we extend these findings by employing diffusion MRI to investigate white-matter changes in the corticospinal tract, basal-ganglia, and connections of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Twenty-three participant datasets were available with pre-training and post-training scans. Task performance improved in all participants (mean: 52.8%, SD: 20.0%; group p<0.01 FWE) and widespread microstructural changes were detected across the motor system of the 'trained' hemisphere. Specifically, region-of-interest based analyses of diffusion MRI (n=21) revealed significantly increased fractional anisotropy in the right caudate nucleus (4.9%; p<0.05 FWE), and decreased mean diffusivity in the left nucleus accumbens (-1.3%; p<0.05 FWE). Diffusion MRI tractography (n=22), seeded by sensorimotor cortex fMRI activation, also revealed increased fractional anisotropy in the right corticomotor tract (mean 3.28%; p<0.05 FWE) predominantly reflecting decreased radial diffusivity. These changes were consistent throughout the entire length of the tract. The left corticomotor tract did not show any changes. FA also increased in white matter connections between the right middle frontal gyrus and both right caudate nucleus (17/22 participants; p<0.05 FWE) and right supplementary motor area (18/22 participants; p<0.05 FWE). Equivalent changes in FA were not seen in the left ('non-trained') hemisphere. In combination with our functional and structural findings, this study provides detailed, multifocal evidence for widespread neuroplastic changes in the human brain resulting from motor training.


Aims (1) To determine the ability of a novel, internet-based contrast sensitivity test titled the Spaeth/Richman Contrast Sensitivity Test (SPARCS) to identify patients with glaucoma. (2) To determine the test-retest reliability of SPARCS. Methods A prospective, cross-sectional study of patients with glaucoma and controls was performed. Subjects were assessed by SPARCS and the Pelli-Robson chart. Reliability of each test was assessed by the intraclass correlation coefficient and the coefficient of repeatability. Sensitivity and specificity for identifying glaucoma was also evaluated. Results The intraclass correlation coefficient for SPARCS was 0.97 and 0.98 for Pelli-Robson. The coefficient of repeatability for SPARCS was ±6.7% and ±6.4% for Pelli-Robson. SPARCS identified patients with glaucoma with 79% sensitivity and 93% specificity. Conclusions SPARCS has high test-retest reliability. It is easily accessible via the internet and identifies patients with glaucoma well. Trial Registration: NCT01300949.


In their  Heart  publication, Kaufman et al 1 analysed survey data examining patients' self-reported understanding of various elements of care regarding their atrial fibrillation (AF). The authors used a cohort of patients recently diagnosed with AF from a substudy of the Outcomes Registry for Better Informed Treatment of Atrial Fibrillation (ORBIT) II registry. The authors found that on initial survey, about half of patients reported a high understanding of various elements of AF care, such as the benefits of taking blood thinner. Exceptions included 'role of rhythm control' (for which 70% of patients reported a high understanding) and 'benefits of left atrial appendage closure' (for which only 8% of patients reported a high understanding). Overall, patient self-report of understanding of various AF treatment modalities did improve somewhat between baseline and 6-month follow-up; however, there was also some regression—for instance, 15%–20% of patients who reported high understanding of the benefits of oral anticoagulation at baseline reported a downgrade in that level of understanding 6 months later. With the exception of catheter ablation, patients' self-perceived understanding of a given modality of AF care did not correlate to the frequency of use of that modality in their care.

This manuscript raises a number of important issues that are pertinent to the way that we care for patients with any chronic disease, not just AF. …


The September 11th event focused the world's attention on the threat of bioterrorism on the food chain. As a consequence, the USA. implemented the Bioterrorism Act (BTA) containing new import requirements that can be classified as non-tariff barriers (NTBs). This paper analyses these NTBs by performing an assessment of WTO conformity and trade impact: hereby general problems in the analysis of bioterrorist risks are explored as for this new and unknown threat explicit WTO rules are still missing. Additionally, in exploring the BTA relevant process standard rules laid out by the WTO, the analysis indicates the extensive flexibility provided in this framework. This leads to larger scope for national polices on process standards compared to product standards (e.g. residua levels). The empirical trade flow analysis illustrates differences in the compliance costs between countries. This differentiation can be caused by learning costs that may differ among countries. The analysis highlights that perishable products and countries with small import quantities are mostly affected.


The use of lightweight and high-performance materials is nowadays one of the main challenge for the global automotive industry. Companies are forced to look for new ways to design and manufacture a commercially viable lightweight vehicle in order to meet stringent carbon emissions targets and offer highly fuel efficient vehicles to the consumer while maintaining structural performance. The use of polymer matrix composites in substitution of the present metal components remains a top priority. Present composite costs along the whole cycle from raw material obtainment and manufacturing processes to recycling are too high for a mass production. A rapid and reproducible fabrication has not been yet optimized. Resolving these costs and optimizing the remaining technical challenges will be the pass of composites to the mass market. A possible solution is the application of innovative matrix systems involving improvements in terms of processing, costs and mechanical properties.
The main target of the present study is to offer a comparison between the possibilities of PU systems against epoxy systems. Potential of both matrix systems as carbon reinforced structural part in the automotive industry has been analyzed. One epoxy system and three PU systems from different manufacturers, all of them, specially developed for high pressure RTM process, have been studied. Plates with an analog ply construction consisting in 10 unidirectional carbon layers of a special woven fabric have been manufactured. Both mechanical properties and processing parameters during the manufacture of parts have been taken into account. Tensile properties, elastic-plastic behavior of the material, fiber matrix bond quality and compatibility between matrix and sizing have been analyzed. Of main interest has been the study of the interlaminar toughness as it gives directly an idea of the behavior of the final composite against delamination in Mode I and Mode II. An optimal adjustment of processing and chemical parameters has been worked throughout the manufacture of parts for each matrix system in order to obtain a first idea of each system possibilities.
Final results have shown that PU systems show optimal values of mechanical properties under tensile tests and a great improvement against epoxy systems in material toughness, which allows assuming that their application may be suitable for crashing parts where good energy absorption is required. In terms of processing parameters, PU systems present a higher potential than epoxy systems as their versatility on material properties can lead to a higher optimization of the manufacturing process.


Orthodontic treatments are all based on the experimental evidence that teeth can be forced to move in the dental arch by means of applied mechanical forces. Since it allows for prediction of dental mobility, the mechanical characterization of the tissues involved in this process is of paramount importance. In fact, as technologies and strategies in treating pathological situations become increasingly more advanced, better knowledge of dental mobility allows for the optimization of these tools and thus, minimization of the costs of the interventions. Among the tissues that made up the periodontium, the functional unit comprising the bone of the jaw, the periodontal ligament (PDL, a soft connective tissue which binds the teeth to the jaw) and the cementum of the teeth, the PDL is commonly considered to play the major role in dental movements. To obtain insights on its mechanical behavior, specimens of PDL, containing also bone and cementum parts, are extracted and tested with adequate loading profiles. However, due to morphology and size, the excision of such specimens is often delicate and represents one of the main challenge in the experimental characterization of the PDL. Furthermore, for the investigation to be pertinent, it is necessary to test the in-vitro specimens in an environment recreating at best physiological conditions. In this study, the characterization of the mechanical behavior of the periodontium was based on histo-morphological investigation, on mechanical testing of excised specimens containing the three tissues and on numerical modeling. Micro-structural aspects of the periodontium were assessed by morphometric analysis of histological sections. Since it plays a central role in the tooth supporting mechanism, the vascular system was characterized by assessing densities and sizes of blood vessels present in the PDL. Also, the roughness of the interfaces between PDL and bone and between PDL and cementum was quantified via their fractal dimensions. To approach as much as possible an in-vivo–like situation for the mechanical testing of in-vitro specimens, physiological conditions were reconstructed at best in a closed environment created in a custom-made pressure chamber filled with physiological solution. Cylindrical specimens, with diameter of approximately 6mm, were obtained from mandibular first molars of freshly slaughtered bovines. A thorough experimental determination of the contribution of the fluid phase, comprised in the periodontium, to the overall response of the tissues was carried out by imposing sinusoidal tensile-compressive loading profiles (simulating mastication) to specimens subjected to different environmental conditions. A numerical model was then developed to reproduce and analyze the observed phenomena. Eventually, the mechanical response to multiaxial loading was investigated by simultaneously applying axial displacement and lateral hydrostatic confinement to specimens which were wrapped in a thin rubbery membrane. The morphometrical investigation enhanced the high heterogeneity and porosity of the tissues involved. In fact, no general pattern could be established for the structural description of the periodontium. Moreover, the presence of large blood vessels in the PDL suggested that the vascular system should somehow be taken into consideration when describing the mechanical behavior of this ligament. The mechanical testing proved the response of the bone-PDL-cementum functional system to be characterized by the interactions between a porous solid skeleton, forming the structural matrix of the tissues, and a fluid content flowing through it during cyclic tensile-compressive loading profiles. In fact, the solid matrix alone (i.e., emptied of its fluid content) clearly showed an hyperelastic behavior (both for tensile and compressive loading), so that the highly time-dependent hysteric behavior shown during compressive loadings of fully fluid-saturated specimens was mainly attributed to the fluid phase. The numerical model, based on a multiphase mixture formulation, allowing thus for the description of the interactions between a porous compressible hyperelastic matrix (described by an Ogden's strain energy potential) and the fluid filling its pores, well reproduced the mechanical response of the periodontium subjected to cyclic tensile-compressive loadings. The model enhanced also the significant exchange of fluid taking place between the PDL and the bone part of the specimens, proving thus the importance of considering the fluid phase in the mechanical description of the periodontium. Loading rate dependences of the compressive response were also partially captured by such a model. The experimental response to a multiaxial loading showed eventually the dependence of the axial stress on the joined action of level of lateral confinement (hydrostatic pressure) and extent of fluid saturation of the solid matrix.


Abstract. Growing interest in boosting urban identity and character is increasing the demand for historic maps and documents of cities in constant evolution as in the case of metropolitan areas, peripheries and riverbank sites. A 'Heritage & Development strategy based on the Historic Urban Landscape approach is required by city makers to ensure that exploitation needs can valorise the site's natural and cultural heritage for sustainable social and economic optimisation.This paper intends to propose innovative virtual hub technologies of brokering, discovering and accessing open data, making available - to a large public of users - the multi-temporal dense stratified evidences of the targeted built environment areas and its surroundings, through the navigation of geo-referenced historical maps, together with current maps, going through design data. Enhancing the practice of publishing maps as open data represents a powerful leverage for time and cost effectiveness among planners, scientists and historians; soliciting their use to gain a vast knowledge of that areas, including a better comprehension of the transformations over the centuries, in order to support decision-making analysis, environmental monitoring and urban area planning; thus contribute to improving the sustainability of interventions respectful of the identity of the urban landscape. A case study of the 'Deux Rives' planning area in the city of Strasbourg is presented to illustrate these issues. The City of Strasbourg's commendable work in publishing the historical maps supports the municipal authority's Heritage & Development strategy in meeting contemporary and future needs while mitigating long-term damage from pressures for new interventions. Innovative virtual hub based applications to gather open data coming from different sources (city territorial services, design data sources, mobility services) can result in immeasurable added value through communicating the wealth of the planned areas and raising awareness among citizens and visitors of the interventions.


BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES
The sciatic nerve may be blocked by several routes, all of them with advantages and disadvantages. It is the largest human nerve in diameter and length, being the prolongation of the upper sacral plexus fascicle (L4, L5, S2 and S3). It leaves the pelvis through the foramen ischiadicum majus, passing below the piriform muscle and going down between the greater trochanter and the ischial tuberosity, continuing along the femoral dorsum, anterior to biceps femoris and semitendinous muscles, to the lower femoral third, where it is divided in two major branches called tibial and common fibular nerves. It becomes superficial at the lower border of the gluteus maximus muscle. Based on this anatomic description, we developed a posterior approach with the following advantages: easy identification of the surface anatomy, superficial level of the nerve at this location; and less discomfort to patients since a 5 cm needle may be used.

METHODS
Seventeen ASA I - III patients aged 21 to 79 years, weighing 55 to 90 kg, undergoing leg or foot surgery were studied. After monitoring, patients were placed in the prone position and blockade was performed at the middle point of the sulcus gluteus (skin fold between nates and posterior thigh), with the aid of a neurostimulator, using 1% plain lidocaine (300 mg). Onset time, blockade performing time, and tibial, common fibular and cutaneous femoris posterior nerves anesthesia were evaluated. Saphenous nerve was also blocked with 5 ml of 1% lidocaine whenever needed.

RESULTS
Adequate anesthesia was obtained in all cases. There was no patient with cutaneous femoris posterior nerve anesthesia. Blockade performing time was 8.58 +/- 5.71 min. Onset time was 5.88 +/- 1.6 min. Sensory and motor block duration was 4.05 +/- 1.1 and 2.9 +/- 0.8 hours, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS
This new approach is effective and easy. However, it is not indicated when the cutaneous femoris posterior nerve anesthesia is necessary.


The basis of locomotion is the rhythmic activity of locomotor organs. During walking, rhythmic alternating bursts occur in leg motoneurons which result from the integration of signals from central pattern generators, sense organs and coordinating signals from neighboring segments. The rhythmic bursting pattern is shaped by rhythmic excitatory and inhibitory drive, as well as a long lasting (tonic) depolarizing modulation. This dissertation investigates the mechanisms that underlie the tonic modulation of neuronal activity, which is the basis of the rhythmic activity. A single-legged preparation of the stick insect was used, that allows the analysis of neuronal activity in mesothoracic motoneurons during front leg stepping, without the influence of local sense organs. Intracellular recordings of the membrane potential in flexor motoneurons ipsilateral and contralateral to the stepping front leg revealed a mean tonic membrane depolarization of 1.8 ±1.1 mV that could outlast the stepping sequence by several seconds. Furthermore, a phasic modulation of membrane potential occurred on top of the tonic depolarization, which was variably coupled to front leg steps. The tonic depolarization was associated with a decrease in input resistance, its amplitude depended on membrane potential and its mean reversal potential was found to be -41 mV. These properties of the tonic depolarization indicate that it is based on a nonselective cation conductance or a mixed inward and outward current through different channels. Furthermore, the tonic depolarization increased the excitability of the membrane to depolarizing input and was found to have long repolarization time constants (tau=800 ms). Pharmacological experiments were performed to identify the participating transmitter(s) and to test for a possible involvement of second messengers. Flexor motoneurons were recorded intracellularly while superfusing pharmacological agents, which were restricted to the mesothoracic ganglion. The muscarinic antagonist atropine decreased the tonic depolarization amplitude, thus indicating a role for acetylcholine in mediating the tonic depolarization via metabotropic receptors. Other transmitters/receptors might be involved too, as octopamine increased the tonic depolarization amplitude. This was supported by the reduction of the tonic depolarization amplitude by an octopaminergic antagonist (mianserin). Serotonin had an opposing effect on the tonic depolarization amplitude. It was shown that serotonin increased, but also decreased the tonic depolarization amplitude in different experiments. Several second messenger pathways might be involved in mediating the tonic depolarization, one of which seems to include calcium in the flexor motoneurons. Furthermore, the increase of the tonic depolarization amplitude by 8-Br-cAMP suggests a role for cAMP in mediating the tonic depolarization. An involvement of an IP3/DAG pathway was indicated by the increase in tonic depolarization in the presence of neomycin and U-73122. Additional experiments addressed the role of the brain (supraesophageal ganglion) in controlling neuronal activity in the mesothoracic ganglion induced by front leg stepping. Especially the relevance of the brain for generating the tonic depolarization was tested in lesion experiments. Brain removal decreased the tonic depolarization amplitude, thus indicating a role for descending pathways in influencing the tonic depolarization. Another preparation was used to investigate the neuronal activity in neck connectives during front leg stepping. The neuronal activity increased and was correlated to front leg stepping velocity. In brainless animals, however, the increased activity in neck connectives was diminished.


In federated learning, a strong global model is collaboratively learned by aggregating clients' locally trained models. Although this precludes the need to access clients' data directly, the global model's convergence often suffers from data heterogeneity. This study starts from an analogy to continual learning and suggests that forgetting could be the bottleneck of federated learning. We observe that the global model forgets the knowledge from previous rounds, and the local training induces forgetting the knowledge outside of the local distribution. Based on our findings, we hypothesize that tackling down forgetting will relieve the data heterogeneity problem. To this end, we propose a novel and effective algorithm, Federated Not-True Distillation (FedNTD), which preserves the global perspective on locally available data only for the not-true classes. In the experiments, FedNTD shows state-of-the-art performance on various setups without compromising data privacy or incurring additional communication costs.


Outsourcing of some business functions pre-dates the technological revolution of the latter part of the twentieth century. Nevertheless, 99% of outsourcing would not be logical or necessary if it was not for the constantly changing and improving technology. Despite the circumstances, most organisations are left with no alternative but to keep trying to improve their systems. They then have two basic alternatives. They can either do it in-house by buying the necessary equipment, software and external help, or they can externalise the function completely by taking one of the outsourcing routes. Research undertaken into project failure rates at the beginning of 2000 has provided the author with a unique insight into the real level of success obtained from choosing either internal or external solutions to the competitive problem. The Outsourcing Dilemma presents the arguments for and against outsourcing and suggests ways in which the enormous problems of maintaining competitiveness might be approached. The book examines: * the changing times that have brought about the need to be competitive in all functions * the various internal solutions to the problem of maintaining competitiveness * the advantages and disadvantages of the external solution of outsourcing * the extent to which outsourcing is being practised and the functions being outsourced * the growing range of alternatives to full outsourcing * a range of factors that potential clients should know about outsourcing providers * factors to consider when choosing an outsourcing service provider * alternative options towards achieving lasting competitiveness. The Outsourcing Dilemma includes controversial case studies highlighting the advantages and potential pitfalls of outsourcing, and a revolutionary long-term competitiveness option - 'Business Satellites' - that does not require short-term dramatic change, expense and disruption. Competitive advantage is a choice. Who are you going to entrust it to?


Today's networks typically carry or deploy dozens of protocols and mechanisms simultaneously such as MPLS, NAT, ACLs and route redistribution. Even when individual protocols function correctly, failures can arise from the complex interactions of their aggregate, requiring network administrators to be masters of detail. Our goal is to automatically find an important class of failures, regardless of the protocols running, for both operational and experimental networks.

To this end we developed a general and protocol-agnostic framework, called Header Space Analysis (HSA). Our formalism allows us to statically check network specifications and configurations to identify an important class of failures such as Reachability Failures, Forwarding Loops and Traffic Isolation and Leakage problems. In HSA, protocol header fields are not first class entities; instead we look at the entire packet header as a concatenation of bits without any associated meaning. Each packet is a point in the {0,1}L space where L is the maximum length of a packet header, and networking boxes transform packets from one point in the space to another point or set of points (multicast).

We created a library of tools, called Hassel, to implement our framework, and used it to analyze a variety of networks and protocols. Hassel was used to analyze the Stanford University backbone network, and found all the forwarding loops in less than 10 minutes, and verified reachability constraints between two subnets in 13 seconds. It also found a large and complex loop in an experimental loose source routing protocol in 4 minutes.


The behavior of a technical system depends on the properties of the subsystems and their physical interaction. The interactions take place at interfaces, which may be characterized as conformal or nonconformal depending on how close the mating surfaces fit together. Engineering surfaces are more or less randomly rough. Contact between rough surfaces is, in general, discontinuous and the real area of contact is a small fraction of the nominal contact area. The influence from roughness increases with the roughnessto-normal load ratio, which normally is significantly higher for conformal interfaces than for nonconformal. The topography of interacting conformal surfaces, as for example in bolted joints, has often a significant influence on the physical behavior of the entire system. Optimization of shape and surface properties of conformal interfaces is thus of vital importance in engineering design of many technical systems. In modularized products, it is of strategic importance. FE modeling of solid bodies is a relatively straightforward technique. Proper modeling of the interaction between the bodies is not straightforward. A method to model the physical behavior of technical systems with a mixture of conformal and non-conformal interfaces is presented. The basic approach is to aggregate mix-fidelity systems models from condensed submodels and to connect them with interface feature models. The parameters describing the properties of an interface feature is obtained directly from characteristic design properties such as shape, material, and surface roughness, or alternatively as a solution to an inverse problem. The modeling method is illustrated with a design scenario for a parallel-kinematics machine.


I. LAW V. JUSTICE Many theologians, ethicists, political scientists and occasionally even international lawyers would like to revive the "just war" (bellum justum) doctrine in present-day international law. This doctrine was prevalent in the writings of the "fathers of international law" in the sixteenth through the eighteenth centuries. It was borrowed from the Church canonists. Although the roots of the doctrine go back to St. Augustine (early in the fifth century), (1) its principal expression is the Thomist analysis (in the thirteenth century). St. Thomas Aquinas held that a "just war" had to satisfy three cumulative conditions: (i) the authority of a prince (auctoritas principis); (ii) a just cause (causa justa); and (iii) righteous intention (intentio recta). (2) Through the writings of the "fathers of international law"--Victoria (who, not coincidentally, was a Spanish Dominican monk) and others--the Thomist ideas percolated from theology into the Law of Nations. But it is important to bear in mind that, from the very beginning, the list of "just causes" was manipulated by the "fathers of international law" to fit the political needs of their respective countries. Thus, Victoria--in addressing Spain's war against the "Indians" in the New World--upheld the justice of that war on the made-to-measure excuse that the Indians had violated the Spaniards' right to travel freely, to carry out trade, and to propagate Christianity. (3) Even in its heyday, the "just war" doctrine was mostly a convenient tool or fig-leaf, and States went to war whenever they deemed fit, using or abusing an arbitrary list of "just causes." There is no indication whatever that the "just war" doctrine affected the practice of States by limiting in a perceptible manner their freedom to go to war. No wonder that, by the nineteenth century, the international legal literature abandoned the "just war" doctrine and openly admitted that States had full discretion to "resort to war for a good reason, a bad reason or no reason at all." (4) Through bilateral non-aggression pacts, States could relinquish in individual cases their general right to go to war. But, otherwise, war could be waged whenever it was considered advantageous. International law underwent a metamorphosis only in the twentieth century: first (in a somewhat restricted fashion) in the 1928 Kellogg-Briand Pact for Renunciation of War as an Instrument of National Policy, (5) and then--in a sweeping prohibition of the use (and even the threat) of force in international relations--in Article 2(4) of Charter of the United Nations of 1945. As proclaimed by the International Court of Justice, in 1986, in the Nicaragua case, this prohibition is now reflected in customary international law. (6) There is no reason to think that the congruence of Charter and customary law on the use of force has disintegrated between 1986 and 2003. Can future customary international law part company in this regard with the law of the Charter? In theory, the answer to the question is affirmative. But one must keep in mind that the interdiction of the use of inter-State force is generally acknowledged today as jus cogens (a peremptory norm). (7) A revision of jus cogens--albeit feasible--is not easy to bring about. (8) The overall prohibition of the use of inter-State force is subject to only two exceptions, both explicitly recognized in the Charter: (a) self-defense in response to an armed attack, (9) and (b) military action taken or authorized by the Security Council in a binding decision, following determination of the existence of a threat to the peace, a breach of the peace, or an act of aggression. (10) The powers of the Security Council pursuant to the Charter are extensive, but--unless the five Permanent Members (vested with a veto power) are willing to put these powers in play the Security Council may remain aloof (not to say paralyzed) notwithstanding a manifest need for action. …


This Article is based on eighteen months of anthropological fieldwork conducted among poor, pregnant women receiving prenatal care provided by the Prenatal Care Assistance Program ("PCAP") at a large public hospital in New York City. The Prenatal Care Assistance Program ("PCAP") is a special program within the New York State Medicaid program that provides comprehensive prenatal care services to otherwise uninsured or underinsured women. This Article attempts to accomplish two goals. The first goal is to argue that PCAP's compelled consultations – with social workers, health educators, nutritionists, and financial officers – function as a gross and substantial intrusion by the government into poor, pregnant women's private lives. Indeed, the families that these women seek to create or expand are made "public" in as much as the state insists upon expunging the highly-idealized line that is thought to protect the "private family" from state involvement in order to maintain a supervisory, regulatory, and occasionally punitive presence in poor women's families. The second goal is to investigate why it is that indigent women and families fail to enjoy a presumption of privacy with regard to matters that have been imagined, within political and popular discourse, as private. The Article concludes that poor women and families do not enjoy a presumption of privacy because the inability to thrive within a capitalist economy, and the consequent reliance upon the state for financial survival, is thought to index a perceived moral laxity that results in the production of unplanned, unwanted children and their subsequent mistreatment and exploitation; moreover, the mistreatment and exploitation of children is sufficiently probable and expected that the prevention thereof justifies the violation or dramatic limitation of all poor, pregnant women's rights to be free from state intervention in private matters.


After introducing the main features of the aerodynamics of wind turbines, a review of key theoretical studies and aerodynamic modelling methods provides the opportunity to focus on predictive methods and the main technical challenges associated with the aerodynamics of HAWTs. The basic aerodynamic method adopted in this study, a classic Blade Element Momentum theory model, BEM, is described next and its extension to yawed flow is detailed for completeness. Analysis then focuses on how stall delay due to three-dimensional effects can be predicted on a HAWT. Implementation of a semi-empirical stall delay model shows sensitivity to blade geometry but no dependency on wind velocity or rotational speed. This seems to be physically incorrect and suggests that a deeper understanding of 3-D effects is still needed if better algorithms are to be developed.

The work then examines the onset of dynamic stall. A 2-D semi-empirical correlation of vortex stall onset, developed previously at Glasgow University, is implemented and validated through available field data from the NREL turbine Phases II and IV. The comparison of measured and predicted locations of dynamic stall onset highlights some interesting features of the three-dimensionality of the process; after the local inception, earlier dynamic stall appears to be triggered in adjacent stations. An attempt to study how 3-D stall delay interacts with the onset of dynamic stall, shows that stall delay appears not to influence the inception of dynamic stall in the way it does static stall. Moreover, the firsts signs of dynamic stall onset are generally best characterised by the correlation when it assumes locally 2-D flow. This is a significant result, as it demonstrates that the earliest signs of dynamic stall onset on wind turbines can be correctly predicted using 2-D tools. A closer examination of the discrepancies between the predictions and measurements has highlighted the particular aerodynamic characteristics of the S809 aerofoil, utilised as the blade section of the NREL turbines. The unusual stalling characteristics of this aerofoil bring into question the significance of the static stall angle in relation to dynamic stall. It is show that other features of the static behaviour may provide a more appropriate link to dynamic stall for some aerofoils.

Finally, the phenomenon of tower shadow on a downwind turbine is studied. Unaveraged pressure measurements and integrated normal force coefficients from tests conducted at Glasgow University are analysed. The analysis highlights many interesting features of the tower shadow response. In particular, as the blade enters the tower shadow region, there is a rapid reduction in normal force due to the tower wake velocity deficit. As the blade leaves the tower shadow, the recovery is consistently slower and more progressive and apparently extends further than the edge of the velocity deficit region. These observations are then used in a examination of tower shadow modelling. A steady model, based on a cosine shaped velocity deficit is evaluated by comparison with the wind tunnel measurements. Unfortunately neither the phase nor the intensity of the response is adequately captured. This leads to the implementation of a new model, based on classic unsteady thin aerofoil theory that accounts for the aerofoil wake induced velocities. The unsteady model captures, in a satisfactory manner, the global response of the blade through the tower shadow region, with a negligible computational cost.


We are reporting 2 cases of accidental eucalyptus oil ingestion presenting with status epilepticus. Both the cases presented to our hospital casualty actively convulsing within half hour of eucalyptus oil consumption. As there is no specific antidote for eucalyptus oil, the cases were managed with appropriate supportive treatment. The extreme toxicity of eucalyptus oil poisoning is being emphasized. To the best of our knowledge there are no reports of children presenting with status epilepticus following eucalyptus oil poisoning from India.


Shanghai is the largest city in China with fast growth of population and economics during the last two decades. Management of water resource and water supply systems is one of the most important strategies for its sustainable urban development. In order to meet the increasing requirements of water demand, studies on policies and technologies for water resources development and water supply management have been implemented in the last few years. New water resource projects, water saving policies and water quality improvement have been adopted and played important roles for Shanghai's long-term rapid development.


There is increasing evidence that fermentation in the large intestine is important for health, and that health-promoting effects are mediated by fermentation products such as butyric and propionic acid. As the formation of carboxylic acids (CAs) from various carbohydrates reaching the colon has been shown to vary, it is of great interest to identify food factors that could be of importance to this process. Few studies have concentrated on the effects of the physico-chemical properties of the carbohydrates and the effects of probiotics. The present work was an attempt to increase our knowledge in this area. For this purpose, a rat model was set up. A human model was also used to investigate how the colonic concentration of carboxylic acids in healthy subjects would be influenced by dietary supplementation with a ?-glucan-enriched oat bran, and how the concentration varied over three consecutive days. The degree of polymerization (DP) and the solubility of the fructo-oligosaccharides were of great importance for CA formation, while the monomeric composition was of less importance. Fructo-oligosaccharides with a low DP generated high levels of butyric acid throughout the colon, whereas those with a high DP gave high levels of propionic acid. A low solubility of the fructo-oligosaccharides was related to a lower degree of caecal fermentation, and more extensive formation of butyric acid in the distal part of colon. Lactitol and lactulose yielded high proportions of acetic acid and low proportions of butyric acid. The probiotic bacteria affected both the pattern of CAs and the site of release in the hindgut of rats. However, the type of indigestible carbohydrate had more pronounced effects on the profiles and concentrations of CAs in the caecum than the probiotic added. In the distal part of the colon, on the other hand, the combination of pre- and probiotics was of great importance for the results. Bb-12 in combination with inulin of low solubility specifically increased the caecal pool of propionic acid in the rats. The amount of lactic acid, however, increased in the distal colon, which may have been due to the limited amount of substrate in relation to the number of probiotics in this part. Together with lactitol, Bb-12 reduced the concentration of CAs in the distal colon, indicating an accelerated absorption of CAs. The concentration of CAs was higher throughout the hindgut of rats fed pectin and Bb-12. With UCC500 and pectin, the formation of CAs shifted from the caecum to the distal part of the colon, while the combination with lactitol stimulated formation of CAs in the caecum. Together with inulin of high solubility, none of the probiotics investigated increased the proportion of butyric acid and propionic acid at any place in the hindgut of rats. The proportion of lactic acid was generally higher, however, and similarly for succinic acid in rats fed UCC500. Rats fed GG had the lowest body weight gain and the highest caecal tissue weight. The caecal pH in rats fed GG and Bb-12 was lower than expected from the concentration of CAs, indicating that these strains reduce the formation of alkaline components e.g. ammonia. ?-glucan-enriched oat bran increased the faecal concentration of CAs in humans after 8 weeks, indicating an increased concentration in the distal colon also. No significant differences in CA concentrations could be seen for different days, which supports the adequacy of the experimental periods. An experimental design, with 20 subjects and a dietary supplementation with the test food product for 8 weeks, thus appears suitable for screening of potential differences in faecal carboxylic acid patterns. (Less)


First, it is not clear from Gold & Stoljar's definition of biological neuroscience whether it includes computational and representational concepts. If so, then their evaluation of Kandel's theory is problematic. If not, then a more direct refutation of the radical neuron doctrine is available. Second, objections to the psychological sciences might derive not just from the conflation of the radical and the trivial neuron doctrines. There might also be the implicit belief that, for many mental phenomena, adequate theories must invoke neurophysiological concepts and cannot be purely psychological.


Title of Dissertation: OBSERVED TELECONNECTIONS IN NORTHERN WINTER: SUBSEASONAL EVOLUTION AND TROPICAL LINKAGES Stephen R. Baxter, Doctor of Philosophy, 2016 Dissertation directed by: Professor Sumant Nigam, Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Science Teleconnections refer to the climate variability links between non-contiguous geographic regions, and tend to be associated with variability in both space and time of the climate's semi-permanent circulation features. Teleconnections are welldeveloped in Northern winter, when they influence subseasonal-to-seasonal climate variability, notably, in surface temperature and precipitation. This work is comprised of four independent studies that improve understanding of tropical-extratropical teleconnections and their surface climate responses, subseasonal teleconnection evolution, and the utility of teleconnections in attribution of extreme climate events. After an introduction to teleconnection analysis as well as the major teleconnection patterns and associated climatic footprints manifest during Northern winter, the lagged impact of the Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) on subseasonal climate variability is presented. It is found that monitoring of MJO-related velocity potential anomalies is sufficient to predict MJO impacts. These impacts include, for example, the development of significant positive temperature anomalies over the eastern United States one to three weeks following an anomalous convective dipole with enhanced (suppressed) convection centered over the Indian Ocean (western Pacific). Subseasonal teleconnection evolution is assessed with respect to the PacificNorth America (PNA) pattern and the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). This evolution is analyzed both in the presence and absence of MJO-related circulation anomalies. It is found that removal of the MJO results only in small shifts in the centers of action of the NAO and PNA, and that in either case there is a small but significant lag in which the NAO leads a PNA pattern of opposite phase. Barotropic vorticity analysis suggests that this relationship may result in part from excitation of Rossby waves by the NAO in the Asian waveguide. An attempt is made to elegantly differentiate between the MJO extratropical response and patterns of variability more internal to the extratropics. Analysis of upper-level streamfunction anomalies is successful in this regard, and it is suggested that this is the preferred method for the real time monitoring of tropical-extratropical teleconnections. The extreme 2013-2014 North American winter is reconstructed using teleconnection analysis, and it is found that the North Pacific Oscillation-West Pacific (NPO/WP) pattern was the leading contributor to climate anomalies over much of North America. Such attribution is cautionary given the propensity to implicate the tropics for all midlatitude climate anomalies based on the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) paradigm. A recent hypothesis of such tropical influence is presented and challenged.


With an ever-increasing proportion of the world's population living in cities, soil properties such as salinity, acidity, water retention, erosion and pollution are becoming more significant in urban areas. While these are known issues for agriculture and forestry, as urban development increases, it is essential to recognise the potential of soil properties to create problems for the environment as well as structural concerns for buildings and other engineering works.

Understanding Soils in Urban Environments explains how urban soils develop, change and erode. It describes their physical and chemical properties with a focus on specific soil problems that cause environmental damage, such as acid sulfate soils, and also affect the integrity of engineering structural works. This fully revised second edition addresses contemporary issues, including an increase in the use of green roofs and urban green space as well as manufactured soils in a variety of urban environments.

Understanding Soils in Urban Environments provides a concise introduction to all aspects of soils in urban environments and will be extremely useful to students in a wide range of disciplines, from soil science and urban forestry and horticulture, to planning, engineering, construction and land remediation, as well as to engineers, builders, landscape architects, ecologists, planners and developers.


Collapse is part of the growth cycle of volcanoes with active rift-zones. As the
volcano develops and grows disequilibrium between the strength of the edifice
and the applied stresses, produce instability within the edifice which can
potentially lead to catastrophic lateral collapse. The intra-eruptive periods on
persistently active volcanoes are often short-lived. The recent intra-eruptive
windows at Piton de la Foumaise, Reunion Island (1994-1996), Etna, Sicily
(1994-1997) and the less-frequently-active Cumbre Vieja ridge on La Palma
(1994-1998), have provided a valuable opportunity in which to compare the
background deformation (which can indicate whether the edifice is stable
between eruptions). Influences such as gravitational loading, tectonic activity,
creep or the intrusion of fresh magma would cause coherent deformation patterns,
and even small movements within the estimated errors of the measuring
techniques are assessed over time to identify patterns. For each site the
background seismicity has remained low and no flank eruptions were recorded
during the monitoring program.
The results suggest that each site is stable between eruptions. Etna has shown
increasing activity since 1995 reflected by a general pattern of inflation. This
inflation and a small isolated pocket of inflation on the SW flank are attributed to
the intrusion of magma in 1995. A coherent pattern of very minor deformation
was observed spanning the 1949 fault of the Cumbre Vieja from 1994 to 1997,
however, this was not sustained in 1998. Piton de la Fournaise remained stable
during the monitoring program and then erupted at the end of the study in 1998.
This inter-eruptive period also provides an optimal time for the transition from
one technique to another. On each site the existing EDM (Electronic Distance
Measurement) networks were re-occupied using GPS (Global Positioning
System), the comparison of individual vectors indicated that the accuracy was
approximately 5-12mm, which was less than the expected error between EDM
surveys. The networks at all sites have been expanded during the quiescent period
and the use of GPS has permitted the optimal positioning of survey stations in
order to assess future ground deformation.


In October 2009, the unemployment rate broke double digits for the first time in over two decades. That month, nearly 15.4 million Americans found themselves out of a job. This represented a stark shift from just two years earlier, when the unemployment rate was 4.6 percent and seven million Americans were looking for work. While unemployment remained elevated for a time, it has been falling quickly in recent years. This past January, the unemployment rate dropped below five percent for the first time in eight years. While there have been some monthly fluctuations since then, the unemployment rate has averaged 4.9 percent through the first six months of 2016. Along with the relatively strong rate of job growth — the economy has added 2.4 million private- sector jobs over the past 12 months — the low unemployment rate has engendered discussions of whether the labor market is fully recovered. This debate is extremely relevant to both monetary and fiscal policy: if the job market is still weak, the Federal Reserve ("Fed") should keep interest rates low and the government should run larger budget deficits; if the job market is nearly recovered, the Fed should begin increasing rates and the government should avoid fiscal stimulus. This paper argues that the labor market is still weak despite the low unemployment rate. Many media outlets and policymaking institutions have argued the opposite — as one Fortune headline recently put it, "The U.S. Economy Is Finally at Full Employment." [1] Similarly, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), which is tasked with advising members of Congress on economic policy, estimates that unemployment fell to its natural long-term rate in the first quarter of 2016. [2] Perhaps most importantly, the Fed seems to accept this view as well. Earlier this month, Kansas City Federal Reserve President Esther George said that "the economy is at or near full employment"; in May, San Francisco President John Williams said it was "basically at full employment." [3] Fed Chair Janet Yellen has expressed a similar position, stating that the labor market is close to full employment. [4] Finally, in their June "Summary of Economic Projections," voting members of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) — the group tasked with setting interest rate policy — estimated that the long-run unemployment rate lies between 4.6 and 5.0 percent, with the median forecaster projecting a rate of 4.8 percent. [5] In line with this view, Fed officials predicted five rate hikes through the end of 2017. If the labor market is weaker than the Fed believes, raising rates in the near future will needlessly throw many Americans out of work. This paper presents evidence that the job market remains weak; in general, the estimates indicate that the economy is about two-thirds recovered from the Great Recession.


Drought, especially persistent drought, may impact forests in direct and indirect ways. Low to moderate drought stress directly reduces plant growth processes at the cellular level, while more severe stress also substantially diminishes photosynthesis (Kareiva and others 1993, Mattson and Haack 1987). Indirectly, forest communities subjected to drought stress may be more susceptible to infestations, and in some cases major outbreaks, of tree-damaging insects (Mattson and Haack 1987). Furthermore, drought impedes decomposition of organic matter and reduces moisture content in woody debris and other potential fire fuels, substantially heightening wildland fire risk (Clark 1989, Keetch and Byram 1968, Schoennagel and others 2004).


Abstract This paper provides insights into the neutronic similarities between a representative high-capacity rail-transport cask containing typical pressurized water reactor (PWR) spent nuclear fuel assemblies and critical reactor state-points, referred to as commercial reactor critical (CRC) state-points. Forty CRC state-points from five PWRs were analyzed, and the characteristics of CRC state-points that may be applicable for validation of burnup-credit criticality safety calculations for spent fuel transport/storage/disposal systems were identified. The study employed cross-section sensitivity and uncertainty analysis methods developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the TSUNAMI set of tools in the SCALE code system as a means to investigate neutronic similarity on an integral and nuclide-reaction-specific level. The results indicate that except for the fresh-fuel-core configuration, all analyzed CRC state-points are either highly similar, similar, or marginally similar to the representative high-capacity cask containing spent nuclear fuel assemblies with burnups ranging from 10 to 60 GWd/tU in terms of their shared uncertainty in keff due to cross-section uncertainties. On a nuclide-reaction-specific level, the CRC state-points provide significant coverage, in terms of neutronic similarity, for most of the actinides and fission products relevant to burnup credit. Hence, in principle, the evaluated CRC state-points could serve as part of a set of benchmark experiments for determining a bias and bias uncertainty to be applied to the calculated keff of a spent fuel transport/storage/disposal system to correct for approximations in computational methods and errors and uncertainties in nuclear data. Note, however, that an evaluation to quantify the uncertainties associated with various CRC modeling parameters (e.g., fuel isotopic compositions, physical characteristics of reactor core components, and reactor operating history information), which has relevance to the use of these critical configurations for bias determination, was not performed as part of this study.


A new approach has been experimentally demonstrated to control the stored energy by applying a non-axisymmetric magnetic field using the DIII-D in-vessel coils to modify the energy confinement time. In future burning plasma experiments as well as magnetic fusion energy power plants, various concepts have been proposed to control the fusion power. The fusion power in a power plant operating at high gain can be related to the plasma-stored energy and hence, is a strong function of the energy confinement time. Thus, an actuator, that modifies the confinement time, can be used to adjust the fusion power. In relatively low collisionality DIII-D discharges, the application of non-axisymmetric magnetic fields results in a decrease in confinement time and density pumpout. Gas puffing was used to compensate the density pumpout in the pedestal while control of the stored energy was demonstrated by the application of non-axisymmetric fields.


Infectious diseases caused by pathogenic bacteria, viruses and protozoa, are the most common and widespread health risk associated with drinking water. Most waterborne pathogens are introduced into drinking water supplies by human or animal faeces (enteric pathogens) but they can also exist naturally in water environments as indigenous aquatic micro-organisms. Controlling the risks related to these pathogens is a permanent challenge for the water industry. In addition to the constantly evolving range of pathogens to consider, assessing and managing such risks requires the integration of information issued by a wide range of disciplines. The necessary knowledge is however still sketchy and incomplete for most pathogens, and research efforts are necessary to fill the remaining gaps of knowledge.

The purpose of this study is to provide an updated, comprehensive review of current knowledge on a selection of pathogens of interest for the drinking water industry, and to identify the remaining gaps of knowledge and thus the necessary research to be conducted. Emphasis has been laid on the information needed to assess and manage the risks related to each of these pathogens in drinking water production and distribution. The pathogens considered in this review were selected on the basis of:

Each micro-organism in this study is described in a summary fact sheet composed of the following items: microbiology, human health effects, geographical distribution, epidemiology, ecology, inactivation/removal, surrogates, environmental detection and research needs.

Since much remains unknown about many aspects that are common to viruses, the study features a general section on virus research needs. A special section summarizes the risk management research conducted on waterborne pathogens. Finally, the conclusion gives an overview of the main gaps in current knowledge on waterborne pathogens.

This title belongs to GWRC Report Series .

ISBN: 9781843391791 (Print)

ISBN: 9781780401744 (eBook)


Vegetative parts of bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus) are important forage for many boreal forest mammal, bird and insect species. Plant palatability to insects is affected by concentration of nutrients and defense compounds in plants. We expected that palatability of bilberry leaves to insect herbivores is influenced by light availability and soil productivity (both affecting nitrogen concentration and constitutive carbon-based defense compound concentration) and herbivory by mammals (affecting nitrogen concentration and induced carbon-based defense compound concentration). We studied bilberry leaf herbivory under different light availability, soil productivity and mammalian herbivory pressure in small sampling units (1m x 1m) in boreal forest in Norway. We used generalized linear mixed models and generalized additive mixed models to model insect herbivory on bilberry leaves as a function of shade, soil productivity and mammalian herbivory. Observed insect herbivory on bilberry leaves increased with increasing shade levels. Predicted insect herbivory increased with increasing previous mammalian herbivory at high shade levels and this response was magnified at higher soil productivity levels. At low to intermediate shade levels, this response was only present under high soil productivity levels. Our results indicate that light availability is more important for variation in bilberry leaf palatability than soil nutrient conditions.


Water is a fundamental need; all ecosystems including human being depend largely on availability of water, both in high quality and sustainable supply. Improved quality drinking water has the ability to improve our standard of living, reduces mortality rates and morbidity associated with water borne diseases. Damaturu have witnessed unprecedented increase in population due to its new status when made the capital of Yobe State in 1991. Provision of safe drinking water thus, became inadequate and a matter of serious concern, this led to prevalence of water borne diseases like diarrhea and other gastro intestinal disorder. Yobe State has embarked on the construction of "Yobe regional water supply project" which promises 100% access to portable water to Damaturu. The general objective of the study is to determine households' willingness to
pay for an improved quality drinking water. Choice experiment approach was used, and four attributes of drinking water quality were identified namely; tap water quality (TWQ), Tap water supply (TWS) tap water pressure (TWP) and Price. Random sample of 300 respondents were surveyed in- person. Conditional logit model (CLM), mixed
logit model (MLM) and latent class logit model (LCM) were analyzed and interpreted. Discussion was made on the estimates obtained from the three models to find out
households' marginal willingness to pay and to assess household demand preferences on heterogeneous tap water attributes. TWQ3 is the most consistently valued among other attributes, in simple and interaction CLM mean WTP stood at 220% and 126%. While, in simple and interaction MLM mean WTP stood at 682% and 572%, but the mean WTP
for LCM class1 and 2 unconditional stood at 190% and 126% conditional LCM for class1 and 2 is 152% and 120% respectively. TWS and TWP were equally valued.Respondents with higher level of education indicate high willingness to pay. Identifying the mix of attributes and their prices based on respondents' drinking water demand preferences, would help policy makers to know and provides households with a preferred and affordable drinking water which would, facilitates effective tariff structure for cost recovery and sustainability.


Full-Scale Testing of Blast-Induced Liquefaction Downdrag on Auger-Cast Piles in Sand Joseph Erick Hollenbaugh Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, BYU Master of Science Deep foundations like auger-cast piles and drilled shafts frequently extend through liquefiable sand layers and bear on non-liquefiable layers at depth. When liquefaction occurs, the skin friction on the shaft decreases to zero, and then increases again as the pore water pressure dissipates and the layer begins to settle, or compact. As the effective stress increases and the liquefiable layer settles, along with the overlaying layers, negative skin from the soil acts on the shaft. To investigate the loss of skin friction and the development of negative skin friction, soilinduced load was measured in three instrumented, full-scale auger-cast piles after blast-induced liquefaction at a site near Christchurch, New Zealand. The test piles were installed to depths of 8.5 m, 12 m, and 14 m to investigate the influence of pile depth on response to liquefaction. The 8.5 m pile terminated within the liquefied layer while the 12 m and 14 m piles penetrated the liquefied sand and were supported on denser sands. Following the first blast, where no load was applied to the piles, liquefaction developed throughout a 9-m thick layer. As the liquefied sand reconsolidated, the sand settled about 30 mm (0.3% volumetric strain) while pile settlements were limited to a range of 14 to 21 mm (0.54 to 0.84 in). Because the ground settled relative to the piles, negative skin friction developed with a magnitude equal to about 50% of the positive skin friction measured in a static pile load test. Following the second blast, where significant load was applied to the piles, liquefaction developed throughout a 6-m thick layer. During reconsolidation, the liquefied sand settled a maximum of 80 mm (1.1% volumetric strain) while pile settlements ranged from 71 to 104 mm (2.8 to 4.1 in). The reduced side friction in the liquefied sand led to full mobilization of side friction and end-bearing resistance for all test piles below the liquefied layer and significant pile settlement. Because the piles generally settled relative to the surrounding ground, positive skin friction developed as the liquefied sand reconsolidated. Once again, skin friction during reconsolidation of the liquefied sand was equal to about 50% of the positive skin friction obtained from a static load test before liquefaction.


Two loci (Dt1 and Dt2) affect stem termination in soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.]. Both of these alleles have been backcrossed into near-isogenic lines (hereafter referred to as isolines) of the indeterminate cv. Clark (Dt1Dt1 dt2dt2). The semi-determinate isoline (Dt1Dt1 Dt2Dt2) is 75% the height of Clark and the determinate isoline (dt1dt1 dt2dt2) is 50% as tall as Clark. Recently, determinate Clark isolines have also been developed with the cv. Peking and Soysota as donor parents. These lines were similar in height to the semi-determinate isoline. The objective of this research was to determine the genetic control of this new phenotype. The gene controlling the tall determinate phenotype was found to be identical in Peking and Soysota and allelic to dt1. The gene symbol dt1-t has been approved by the Soybean Genetics Committee. Several leaf and stem characters were studied in the stem termination isolines. Although dt1-tdt1-t and Dt2Dt2 phenotypes are similar in plant height, dt1-tdt1-t is more similar to dt1dt1 when considering leaf and stem traits at the top of the plant.


Occupying a strategic location in the heart of central Europe, Poland is a developing state whose progress calls for close observation. The most populous country in Central Europe and the sixth most populous in the European Union, Poland has been the exemplar for transitioning from communism to competitive democracy and a market economy. In the 1980s, Poland's Solidarity movement challenged the state's communist regime. The country became democratic, restructured its economy around a competitive market ethic in the 1990s, joined NATO in 1999, and officially acceded to the European Union in 2004. Although EU accession has certified Poland's inclusion in the development of an integrated Europe, integration has yet to fully take root. In order to achieve this integration, Poland must now accomplish three key goals: adopt all EU policies and programs into its own government, take an active part in decision making regarding further EU expansion, and develop a strategy for a new economic perspective. The first step towards significant integration into the European Union requires full adoption of EU law into Polish legislation and increased focus on the free flow of persons, agriculture, and fishery. The reformative stage of the Common Agricultural Policy requires legislative changes to Polish dairy and sugar markets, a task that Poland has emphasized must be financed by the European Union rather than by individual state coffers. Poland, commonly known as "the bread basket of Europe," will also have to employ a European model of agriculture, which includes the use of organic farming and the agricultural development of rural areas. Poland's focus will be set on the modernization of food processing plants as well as the implementation of sanitary and veterinary inspections and control. The full execution of inspections and control also applies to the fishing industry, with fleet management and maritime resource control systems receiving specific attention. In order to begin this transformation, Poland has not only made legislative adjustments, but it has also been intensively training its civil servants for the new national and local administrative duty requirements. Effective cooperation between the Polish government and the national parliament regarding Poland's role and responsibilities within the European Union is clearly the country's next major hurdle. What is crucial after this point is Poland's stance on the issues regarding the expansion of the European Union. …


Abstract:To compensate for an accumulated delay, Arabic societies, like the rest of the non-Western societies: China, Russia, most of the African states, Asians and Latin Americans; have attempted since the end of the 19th century to join the Industrial Revolution by official strategies. The failure of these strategies has driven many of these societies to change their choices and to revolt against their totalitarian systems during the 1970's. It's also the case of Arabic societies who started their fight for democratization in the 1980's, well before American intervention. But this transition has been delayed due to the particular place the Middle East occupies in international geopolitics and geoeconomy. While the states of Central Europe and the former Soviet Union have well received the democratic system, the states of the Middle East have been considered unfit to integrate themselves into what must be called the club of global democracy, whose center is found in the Occident. The positions seem for the moment changed and nothing now prevents the Arabic states from joining the other democratic nations in the democratic club.


The study was done to identify the most active fungitoxic component of cinnamon bark (Cinnamomum zeylanicum) oil that can be used as a marker for standardization of cinnamon extract or oil based natural preservative of stored seeds. Aspergillus flavus and A. ruber were used as test fungi. The hexane extracted crude oil and the hydro-distilled essential oil from cinnamon bark had complete growth inhibition concentration (CGIC) of 300 and 100 µl/l, respectively. Both oils produced three fractions on preparative thin layer silica-gel chromatography plates. The fraction-2 of either oil was the largest and most active, with CGIC of 200 µl/l, but the fungitoxicity was also retained in the other two fractions. The fraction-1 and 3 of the crude oil reduced growth of both the fungal species by 65%, and those of distilled oil by 45% at 200 µl/l. The CGIC of these fractions from both the sources was above 500 µl/l. The gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (GC-MS) of the fraction-2 of the hexane extract revealed that it contained 61% cinnamaldehyde, 29% cinnamic acid, and two minor unidentified compounds in the proportion of 4% and 6%. The GC-MS of the fraction-2 of the distilled oil revealed that it contained 99.1% cinnamaldehyde and 0.9% of an unidentified compound. The CGIC of synthetic cinnamaldehyde was 300 µl/l and that of cinnamic acid above 500 µl/l. The 1:1 mixture of cinnamaldehyde and cinnamic acid had CGIC of 500 µl/l. The data revealed that cinnamaldehyde was the major fungitoxic component of hexane extract and the distilled essential oil of cinnamon bark, while other components have additive or synergistic effects on total fungitoxicity. It is suggested that the natural seed preservative based on cinnamon oil can be standardized against cinnamaldehyde.


Background: VEGFR, KIT, RET, and MET pathways are implicated in several solid tumors. Cabozantinib is an oral inhibitor of these kinase pathways, and hence has found its use in treatment of multiple malignancies. However, it has several side effects that can limit tolerance amongst patients. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCT) to determine the risk of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) events in patients with advanced solid tumors treated with cabozantinib. Methods: We systematically conducted a comprehensive literature search using MEDLINE, EMBASE databases, and meeting abstracts through September 30, 2018. Phase 3 trials that mention HRQOL events like pain, arthralgia, fatigue, and reduced appetite as adverse effects were incorporated in the analysis. Mantel-Haenszel method was used to calculate the estimated pooled risk ratio (RR) with 95% CI. Random effects model was applied. Results: 4 phase 3 RCTs with a total of 2,703 patients with medullary thyroid cancer, prostate cancer, renal cell carcinoma, and hepatocellular carcinoma were eligible. Studies comparing cabozantinib (C) vs everolimus, C vs placebo, C vs prednisone were included in the analysis. The relative risks of all-grade side effects were as follows: fatigue, 1.378 (95% CI: 1.236–1.536; P<.0001); asthenia, 1.704 (95% CI: 1.190–2.441; P=.004); reduced appetite, 2.088 (95% CI: 1.471–2.964; P<.0001); back pain, 1.047 (95% CI: 0.871–1.259; P=.626); pain in limbs, 1.444 (95% CI: 1.128–1.847; P=.004); arthralgia, 0.982 (95% CI: 0.707–1.363; P=.912). The RR of high-grade side effects were as follows: fatigue, 1.937 (95% CI: 1.483–2.528; P<.0001); asthenia, 2.211 (95% CI: 1.536–3.184; P<.0001); reduced appetite, 4.329 (95% CI: 2.372–7.900; P<.0001); back pain, 1.227 (95% CI: 0.738–2.040; P=.431); pain in limbs, 2.933 (95% CI: 1.127–7.635; P=.028); arthralgia, 0.820 (95% CI: 0.394–1.709; P=.597). Conclusion: Our meta-analysis showed that cabozantinib contributed to significant toxicity of all grades of fatigue, asthenia, pain in limbs, and reduced appetite. Identifying and addressing these toxicities will be important in improving quality of life for these patients.


The right to fair housing was initially created by the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments and the Civil Rights Act of 1866. During the twentieth century, however, state governments adopted laws prohibiting various types of housing discrimination before Congress enacted the most important federal guarantee - the Fair Housing Act of 1968 (Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968). Indeed, not only did state governments precede the federal government in expanding the right to fair housing between the late 1930s and 1968, but state laws were usually broader than Title VIII in both their coverage and administrative enforcement provisions. Title VIII also strongly encouraged the expansion of fair housing rights at the state and local levels by requiring that subnational governments have the first opportunity to enforce the Fair Housing Act if they passed legislation substantially equivalent to Title VIII. This cooperative federalism requirement has dramatically influenced the growth and enforcement of fair housing rights. States and localities throughout most of the nation have significantly strengthened the right to fair housing since the early 1980s, increasingly enforcing Title VIII. To determine how well this cooperative federalism arrangement is working, we first compare the enforcement performance of HUD and state and local civil rights agencies along several dimensions by relying on two data sets obtained from HUD. Using one of these data sets, we then explore the extent to which federal, state, and local agencies provide outcomes favoring complainants in housing discrimination cases. We find that Title VIII enforcement at the state and local levels is often better than HUD enforcement. We further conclude that state civil rights agencies resolve complaints in favor of complainants nearly as often as HUD and that localities sometimes do so even more frequently. We address policy implications briefly in our conclusions.


Anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions have been steadily increasing since the Industrial Revolution. The release of greenhouse gases and the results in changes in global climate have made it a challenge for parks and protected areas to respond to the potential negative impacts to ecological integrity. The predicted rate of climate change is forecasted to be faster than the rate of deglacial warming and a fragmented landscape between large protected areas further contributes to our challenges. The Algonquin to Adirondack corridor provides a corridor for flora and fauna to migrate in the face of climate change. Assessing the perceived threats, current level of monitoring and assessment, and climate change policy provides the framework to assess our preparedness to adapt to climate change on study areas within the Algonquin to Adirondack corridor. To compile data, a literature review was completed and 8 individuals representing 7 governmental and non-governmental organizations were interviewed. The findings include: 1) there are concerns that climate change is affecting study areas, however, climate change is a large problem that many areas are not financially or capacity-wise able to deal with; 2) monitoring and assessment relevant to climate change is occurring within study areas but no standardized method is utilized; 3) budget cuts for all organizations is impacting the ability to accomplish continuous data collection, however, citizen science may potentially fill this gap; 4) there are no specific climate change policies for parks and adjacent regions. The main policy recommendation based on this research is to employ an adaptive management approach to take into account the unpredictable nature of our climate future. Additionally, given the board range of climate change impacts, tackling this issue can be done quicker and more effectively when accomplished strategically and using partnerships across this region.


Abstract Objective To compare the efficacy and safety of three polyspecific antivenoms for bites by pit vipers. Design Randomised double blind comparative trial of three antivenoms. Setting Shell, Pastaza, southeastern Ecuador. Participants 210 patients with incoagulable blood were recruited from 221 consecutive patients admitted with snake bite between January 1997 and December 2001. Intervention One of three antivenoms manufactured in Brazil, Colombia, and Ecuador, chosen for their preclinical potency against Ecuadorian venoms. Main outcome measures Permanent restoration of blood coagulability after 6 and 24 hours. Results The snakes responsible for the bites were identified in 187 cases: 109 patients (58%) were bitten by Bothrops atrox, 68 (36%) by B bilineatus, and 10 (5%) by B taeniatus, B brazili, or Lachesis muta. Eighty seven patients (41%) received Colombian antivenom, 82 (39%) received Brazilian antivenom, but only 41 (20%) received Ecuadorian antivenom because the supply was exhausted. Two patients died, and 10 developed local necrosis. All antivenoms achieved the primary end point of permanently restoring blood coagulability by 6 or 24 hours after the start of treatment in > 40% of patients. Colombian antivenom, however, was the most effective after initial doses of 20 ml (two vials), < 70 ml, and any initial dose at both 6 and 24 hours. An initial dose of 20 ml of Colombian antivenom permanently restored blood coagulability in 64% (46/72) of patients after 6 hours (P = 0.054 compared with the other two antivenoms) and an initial dose of < 70 ml was effective at 6 hours (65%, P = 0.045) and 24 hours (99%, P = 0.06). Early anaphylactoid reactions were common (53%, 73%, and 19%, respectively, for Brazilian, Colombian, and Ecuadorian antivenoms, P < 0.0001) but only three reactions were severe and none was fatal. Conclusions All three antivenoms can be recommended for the treatment of snakebites in this region, though the reactogenicity of Brazilian and Colombian antivenoms is a cause for concern.


A federal role in funding and constructing internal improvements – building roads, canals, and railroads, river and harbor projects, and erecting lighthouses and other aids to navigation – was one of the most persistent and contentious issues of antebellum American politics. Elites based in the various regional economies of the American coastal plain shared an interest in developing the transportation infrastructure of the country: They were isolated from one another by poor inland transportation links and the legacy of colonial trading patterns; furthermore, they were separated from the interior by formidable geographic obstacles. Many Americans also shared the belief that increased interregional communications would strengthen the fragile union by fostering shared economic interests. The case for federally funded internal improvements was thus strong – the program could serve both local and national economic interests as well as a critical nation-building role. Further, promoters made a convincing case that only the federal government could effect the desired projects – the federal budget typically operated in surplus while the states lacked adequate resources, and the states faced difficult coordination problems best solved through national political institutions (see, for example, Albert Gallatin's 1808 plan). Despite all of this, a significant and sustained federal internal improvements program was not achieved, although appropriations did increase long enough for us to identify a short-lived "era of internal improvements" extending from about 1825 to 1837 (18th through 25th Congress). In short, the study of internal improvements is a study of political failure, which we can define as the prolonged failure of a majority to establish its favored policy.


TESTING CAMERA TRAP DENSITY ESTIMATES FROM THE SPATIAL CAPTURE MODEL AND CALIBRATED CAPTURE RATE INDICES AGAINST KANGAROO RAT (DIPODOMYS SPP.) LIVE TRAPPING DATA by Timothy A. Walker Camera trapping studies often focus on estimating population density, which is critical for managing wild populations. Density estimators typically require unique markers such as stripe patterns to identify individuals but most animals do not have such markings. The spatial capture model (SC model; Chandler & Royle, 2013) estimates density without individual identification but lacks sufficient field testing. Here, both the SC model and calibrated capture rate indices were compared against ten sessions of live trapping data on kangaroo rats (Dipodomys spp). These camera and live trapping data were combined in a joint-likelihood model to further compare the two methods. From these comparisons, the factors governing the SC model's success were scrutinized. Additionally, a method for estimating missed captures was developed and tested here. Regressions comparing live trapping density to the SC model density and capture rate were significant only for the capture rate comparison. Missed image rate had a significant relationship with ambient nighttime temperatures but only marginally improved the capture rate index calibration. Results showed the SC model was highly sensitive to deviations from its movement model, producing potentially misleading results. The model may be effective only when movement assumptions hold. Several factors such as camera coverage area, microhabitat, and burrow locations could be incorporated into the SC model density estimation process to improve precision and inference.


We contribute an extension of large-deviation results obtained in [N.J.B. Aza, J.-B. Bru, W. de Siqueira Pedra, A. Ratsimanetrimanana, J. Math. Pures Appl. 125 (2019) 209] on conductivity theory at atomic scale of free lattice fermions in disordered media. Disorder is modeled by (i) a random external potential, like in the celebrated Anderson model, and (ii) a nearest-neighbor hopping term with random complex-valued amplitudes. In accordance with experimental observations, via the large deviation formalism, our previous paper showed in this case that quantum uncertainty of microscopic electric current densities around their (classical) macroscopic value is suppressed, exponentially fast with respect to the volume of the region of the lattice where an external electric field is applied. Here, the quantum fluctuations of linear response currents are shown to exist in the thermodynamic limit and we mathematically prove that they are related to the rate function of the large deviation principle associated with current densities. We also demonstrate that, in general, they do not vanish (in the thermodynamic limit) and the quantum uncertainty around the macroscopic current density disappears exponentially fast with an exponential rate proportional to the squared deviation of the current from its macroscopic value and the inverse current fluctuation, with respect to growing space (volume) scales.


The paper focuses on the future of global economic governance in the light of the current state of multilateral trade negotiations. The aim is to analyse identified key historical issues at the heart of the decision-making system of the World Trade Organization (WTO). The current and ongoing Doha Round of trade negotiations and the multilateral system reflect inequalities that still prevail in the global trade architecture. Is there a need for a paradigm shift? The paper will provide recommendations on how reform of the multilateral decision-making structures should focus on promoting the interests of developing countries that have historically been marginalised. Developing countries, like those making up BRICS, stand ready to contribute to the construction of a new international architecture, to bring the voices of the south together on global issues and to deepen their ties in various areas.


Felix tympanoplasty: functional results of a single surgeon's technique in the scope of a literature review on influencing factors.

OBJECTIVE
The outcome of myringoplasties may be affected by local, general or epidemiologic factors. We reduced the variability of the surgical procedure to a minimum, in order to better evaluate the role of these factors on the functional results. To accomplish this, a single surgical procedure performed by a single surgeon was analysed in this retrospective study. The analysis was performed on a cohort study of patients who underwent the Felix tympanoplasty as their only operation.

METHODS
Thirty-nine patients were included in the study from January 2001 to January 2011. Postoperative changes from preoperative levels of air-bone gaps were compared according to patient characteristics using linear regression models. We evaluated the following conditions: sex, age, rural or urban living, smoking, alcohol consumption, frequent infantile otitis, frequent adult recurrent otalgia, frequent adult recurrent otorrhoea, contralateral chronic otitis, tympanic membrane perforation size, tympanosclerosis, otorrhoea and inflammatory tympanic membrane at the time of the operation.

RESULTS
Evidence of a larger air-bone gap reduction was detected for patients with a history of frequent otorrhoea and with a perforation size >50% of the area of the tympanic membrane. In contrast, there was evidence of a lower air-bone gap reduction detected for patients with tympanosclerosis. The impact on hearing of all other variables did not reach statistical significance. Conlusion: Patients with a history of frequent ear discharge and those with large tympanic membrane perforations had better chances of obtaining greater improvement to their hearing postoperatively. The presence of preoperative tympanosclerosis decreased the mean change from preoperative to postoperative air-bone gaps.


EAHP EU MONITOR 05 DECEMBER 2012 New report on improving innovation in European healthcare systems A report entitled 'Building an Open Innovation ecosystem in Europe for healthcare' has been launched in the European Parliament. The report calls firstly for a task force to be set up within the European Commission to promote open innovation within healthcare and secondly, for the adaptation of EU industrial policies to develop lead markets for lifescience innovation. The report is a product of a special task force established and funded under the Cyprus Presidency of the EU and made up of representatives of the pharmaceutical industry and other stakeholders, including the European Brain Council, the Cyprus Ministry of Health and the NHS Institute for Innovation (UK). Responding to the sustainability threats faced by European health systems (eg, ageing, chronic diseases, financial pressures), the report calls for more coordinated approaches to innovation, such as the existing Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI). The report aims to provide 'an Open Innovation roadmap to create an integrated and interdependent environment (ecosystem) where companies, scientists, policymakers, governments, patients and other organisations can interact productively to promote radical change and innovation in healthcare supported by new developments in information and communication technologies'. Its four major recommendations to the European Union are to: 1. establish a new Public-Private Partnership under the European Commission-funded Horizon 2020 research programme focused on common industry and public health needs, building on the achievements of and lessons learned from the IMI; 2. create a cross directorate task force within the European Commission to address the barriers to establishing this Open Innovation healthcare ecosystem through a partnershipcentred approach; 3. create an European Health Institute aiming at integrating the different actions from multiple stakeholders that are needed to empower citizens to be at the heart of healthcare across the European Union; and 4. use the upcoming industrial policies (as announced in the Commission Update of the Industrial Policy flagship initiative—'A Stronger European Industry for Growth and Economic Recovery', 10 October 2012) to develop the concept of 'lead markets' for life science innovation.