Can open tournaments improve the quality of city services? The proliferation of big data makes it possible to use predictive analytics to better target services like hygiene inspections, but city governments rarely have the in-house talent needed for developing prediction algorithms. Cities could hire consultants, but a cheaper alternative is to crowdsource competence by making data public and offering a reward for the best algorithm. This paper provides a simple model suggesting that open tournaments dominate consulting contracts when cities have a reasonable tolerance for risk and when there is enough labor with low opportunity costs of time. We also illustrate how tournaments can be successful, by reporting on a Boston-based restaurant hygiene prediction tournament that we helped coordinate. The Boston tournament yielded algorithms—at low cost—that proved reasonably accurate when tested "out-of-sample" on hygiene inspections occurring after the algorithms were submitted. We draw upon our experience in working with Boston to provide practical suggestions for governments and other organizations seeking to run prediction tournaments in the future.


If you belong to the dominant culture of your society, it is relatively easy to build an identity and conform. You understand how things run, what is expected of you, and how to meet those expectations. You have freedom to decide whether or not you will fit in. But have you ever considered what it must be like to belong to a minority culture? I certainly didn't, even though the primary school I work in is multicultural. Sixteen years ago, when I arrived, I assumed that it was up to the Samoan students at our school to assimilate into the Anglo-Saxon education system I had grown up with, despite the fact that many of them had been born in Samoa. But something happened over the years. An almost instinctive awareness grew amongst the Samoan parent community about the importance of the maintenance of their children's first language and culture. As a result of much hard work, my school has a Samoan bilingual class, where students learn, and learn in, two languages. The goal of this research was to investigate the effectiveness of the bilingual class from the point of view of students who had left the class at least two years previously, and now attended secondary school. They shared insights into the life of the class, and what they believed were the long term effects for them. Most of what they shared about the class was very positive and affirming, and they attributed feelings of confidence and self esteem to the warmth and cultural nurturing of the class. The ability to speak fluently, and learn in, their first language promoted a sense of identity and self worth. They felt proud of their Samoan identify and equated their abilities in Samoan as crucial to that. This report, then, is about the journey from assimilation of a minority culture into the majority one, to the realization of the rights its members have to maintain their own identity, and the benefits that result.


Ingestible devices have become a popular means for diagnosing and treating the gastrointestinal (GI) tract due to their noninvasive nature. However, their residency period in the GI tract is limited by the transit time through it. In previous work, we designed a tissue attachment mechanism (TAM) inspired by parasitic worms' attachment methods, which were tested for implanting biosensors or drug delivery payloads to the small intestine with a swallowable capsule robot. In that work, the attachment success rate was 91.7%, and the average attachment duration of the TAM was 32.2 hours after factorial optimization of major design factors. This work develops a novel nitinol TAM (NTAM) for improving the attachment duration using the shape-changing properties of nitinol. The attachment strength of the NTAM to the intestinal tissue was assessed ex vivo and in vivo. The attachment duration of the NTAMs in live porcine models was evaluated from radiographic images, and histological analysis of the attachment location of an NTAM was performed after euthanasia. The NTAM was 100% successful in an attachment strength study and achieved a maximum attachment duration of 13 days, while the average attachment duration was 85.63±77.83 hours. Histological analysis did not report any permanent damage to the tissue. This work shows a 2.7-fold improvement in attachment duration over the previous design. This work has demonstrated a method of prolonged attachment to the intestinal wall through a swallowable device, which can be used for long-term drug delivery or biosensing.


The HDL (high-density lipoprotein) Workshop was established in 2009 as a forum for candid discussions among academic basic scientists, clinical investigators, and industry researchers about the role of HDL in cardiovascular disease. This ninth HDL Workshop was held on May 16 to 17, 2019 in Boston, MA, and included outstanding oral presentations from established and emerging investigators. The Workshop featured 5 sessions with topics that tackled the role of HDL in the vasculature, its structural complexity, its role in health and disease states, and its interaction with the intestinal microbiome. The highlight of the program was awarding the Jack Oram Award to the distinguished professor emeritus G.S. Getz from the University of Chicago. The tenth HDL Workshop will be held on May 2020 in Chicago and will continue the focus on intellectually stimulating presentations by established and emerging investigators on novel roles of HDL in cardiovascular and noncardiovascular health and disease states. VISUAL OVERVIEW: An online visual overview is available for this article.


The assessment of health-related quality of life is crucially important in the evaluation of healthcare technologies and services. In many countries, economic evaluation plays a prominent role in informing decision making often requiring preference-based measures (PBMs) to assess quality of life. These measures comprise two aspects: a descriptive system where patients can indicate the impact of ill health, and a value set based on the preferences of individuals for each of the health states that can be described. These values are required for the calculation of quality adjusted life years (QALYs), the measure for health benefit used in the vast majority of economic evaluations. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has used cost per QALY as its preferred framework for economic evaluation of healthcare technologies since its inception in 1999.
 However, there is often an evidence gap between the clinical measures that are available from clinical studies on the effect of a specific health technology and the PBMs needed to construct QALY measures. Instruments such as the EQ-5D have preference-based scoring systems and are favored by organizations such as NICE but are frequently absent from clinical studies of treatment effect. Even where a PBM is included this may still be insufficient for the needs of the economic evaluation. Trials may have insufficient follow-up, be underpowered to detect relevant events, or include the wrong PBM for the decision- making body.
 Often this gap is bridged by "mapping"—estimating a relationship between observed clinical outcomes and PBMs, using data from a reference dataset containing both types of information. The estimated statistical model can then be used to predict what the PBM would have been in the clinical study given the available information.
 There are two approaches to mapping linked to the structure of a PBM. The indirect approach (or response mapping) models the responses to the descriptive system using discrete data models. The expected health utility is calculated as a subsequent step using the estimated probability distribution of health states. The second approach (the direct approach) models the health state utility values directly.
 Statistical models routinely used in the past for mapping are unable to consider the idiosyncrasies of health utility data. Often they do not work well in practice and can give seriously biased estimates of the value of treatments. Although the bias could, in principle, go in any direction, in practice it tends to result in underestimation of cost effectiveness and consequently distorted funding decisions. This has real effects on patients, clinicians, industry, and the general public.
 These problems have led some analysts to mistakenly conclude that mapping always induces biases and should be avoided. However, the development and use of more appropriate models has refuted this claim. The need to improve the quality of mapping studies led to the formation of the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR) Mapping to Estimate Health State Utility values from Non-Preference-Based Outcome Measures Task Force to develop good practice guidance in mapping.


Abstract The objective of the paper is to review the present state of knowledge on health threats that occur as a result of some thermal processing of food products. Depending on the type and properties of raw materials and conditions of processes, carcinogenic, mutagen and genotoxic substances may be formed out of them, which may be treated as a process contamination. They are produced in processing plants, where their content is obligatorily controlled and organic, as well as in the conditions of food production in gastronomic units and households. The paper emphasises the second area of food processing, in particular, house-holds and popularised grilling processes, where there are no other possibilities of control of the threat level and awareness of people who prepare food and consumers is insufficient. The paper presents the most often occurring hazardous compounds, the most important regulations and admissible limits of consumption, as well as principles of thermal processing in a safe manner, and possibilities of limiting the levels of those substances in products


Anchovy ( Engraulis encrasicolus , L.) is one of the most important commercial species of the northern and central Adriatic Sea. The mean annual catch of anchovy estimated by IRPEM for these areas, in the time interval 1975-1996, is equal to 25,000 tonnes. Estimates of anchovy stock biomass at sea in the time interval 1975-1996 were obtained using two population dynamics methods based on different data inputs: Virtual Population Analysis (VPA) and the DeLury model with recruitment index. VPA was carried out tuning the estimated fishing mortality rate at age by fitting on corresponding Catch Per Unit of fishing Effort (CPUE). Both VPA and the DeLury model yielded sensible results. The effect on the assessments due to the use of a different birth date and thus of split-year data was investigated. Biomass values as well as patterns over time so estimated were similar on the basis of both assessment methods and calendar year versus split-year data. In particular, the biomass in more recent years (around 100,000 tonnes) was lower than in the second half of the 1970s and first half of the 1980s (over 200,000 tonnes). The minimum value (lower than 50,000 tonnes) was always estimated in 1987, when a strong drop in the catch and crisis of the anchovy fishery took place. Though high values of both fishing effort and fishing mortality/exploitation rate were obtained for some years before 1987, very low levels of recruitment in 1986 and 1987 seem to be mainly responsible for the collapse of the stock.


The purpose of this research is to define the payout policy of Islamic banks in the GCC and to identify the factors that influence payout distributions. For this purpose, a two stage research strategy was employed. In the first stage, investors' and managers' surveys were conducted to measure the perceptions towards payout policies. In the second stage, the survey results are utilized to formulate and test a payout model by multivariate regression analysis.

In the investors' survey, an electronic questionnaire was posted on internet investment forums in the GCC and sent via email to investors. 287 useable responses were collected. The data was analyzed and the results show that investors prefer to receive dividends due to transaction and agency costs, which supports the dividend relevance hypothesis. The findings suggest that the agency cost is explained by the uncertainty resolution, window dressing and free cash flow hypothesis. Investors were found to assess the payouts, which comprises of dividends and profit distributions for profit and loss saving and investment accounts (PSIA), by comparing it to market and historical rates.

Investors were found to diversify their investments based on risk and return. If the characteristics of an asset (e.g. dividend policy) are changed, investors would switch to other assets that meet their investment objectives. In terms of stock repurchases, investors perceive it as a signal that the stock price is undervalued. On the other hand, stock dividends were interpreted by investors as a stock split or capital increase. As for Islamic banking, customers reported that the primary motivation to deal with these banks is the religious obligation.

In the managers' survey, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 managers to understand the payout process and the factors that influence distributions. The results show that PSIA distributions are mainly driven by competitors' payouts, historical distributions, and signalling. As for dividends, managers reported that the payout decision is relevant to the firm's value. Dividends were believed to comply with the increasing stream hypothesis and the Lintner model. Managers believe that stability of the payout policy is perceived by investors as a positive signal of the bank's strength. They also believe in the maturity and growth effects arguing that new banks have relatively higher capital expenditures which flatten out over time. Consequently, mature banks tend to have higher and more stable dividend distributions. Finally, managers reported that banks' liquidity and financial ability has a positive relationship with dividend distributions.

Based on the feedback of stage one, a payout model that comprises of PSIA and dividend models was formulated and tested by employing multivariate regression analysis. The study uses the financial data of 13 Islamic banks in the GCC between 1993 and 2008. The results show that PSIA is influenced by competitors' distribution and historical distribution rates. On the other hand, the results of the dividend model show that dividends are influenced by profitability, historical dividends and the level of maturity. The results of the PSIA model support the competitive payout hypothesis, increasing stream hypothesis, the Lintner model and information signaling hypothesis. The results of the dividend model support the increasing stream hypothesis, the Lintner model, information signaling hypothesis, and the growth and maturity effects. The findings for the competitive payout hypothesis reported by investors, managers, and the PSIA model support the existence of displaced commercial risk, which calls for additional research in this area by the banks and regulators to control it by focusing on research for cooperative insurance schemes, prudent reserve practices, and liquidity management.


This, our second author international, cross-disciplinary study on open access had 1296 respondents. Its focus was on self-archiving. Almost half (49%) of the respondent population have self-archived at least one article during the last three years. Use of institutional repositories for this purpose has doubled and usage has increased by almost 60% for subject-based repositories. Self-archiving activity is greatest amongst those who publish the largest number of papers. There is still a substantial proportion of authors unaware of the possibility of providing open access to their work by self-archiving. Of the authors who have not yet self-archived any articles, 71% remain unaware of the option. With 49% of the author population having self-archived in some way, this means that 36% of the total author population (71% of the remaining 51%), has not yet been appraised of this way of providing open access. Authors have frequently expressed reluctance to self-archive because of the perceived time required and possible technical difficulties in carrying out this activity, yet findings here show that only 20% of authors found some degree of difficulty with the first act of depositing an article in a repository, and that this dropped to 9% for subsequent deposits. Another author worry is about infringing agreed copyright agreements with publishers, yet only 10% of authors currently know of the SHERPA/RoMEO list of publisher permissions policies with respect to self-archiving, where clear guidance as to what a publisher permits is provided. Where it is not known if permission is required, however, authors are not seeking it and are self-archiving without it. Communicating their results to peers remains the primary reason for scholars publishing their work; in other words, researchers publish to have an impact on their field. The vast majority of authors (81%) responded that they would willingly comply with a mandate from their employer or research funder to deposit copies of their articles in an institutional or subject-based repository. A further 13% would comply reluctantly; 5% would not comply with such a mandate. In a separate exercise we asked the American Physical Society (APS) and the Institute of Physics Publishing Ltd (IOPP) what their experiences have been over the 14 years that arXiv has been in existence. How many subscriptions have been lost as a result of arXiv? Both societies said they could not identify any losses of subscriptions for this reason and that they do not view arXiv as a threat to their business (rather the opposite -- in fact the APS helped establish an arXiv mirror site at the Brookhaven National Laboratory).


Background: Studies have shown that previous injury, not necessarily anatomically related, is an important injury risk factor. However, it is not known whether a player runs an increased risk of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury after returning to play from other injury types. Purpose: To analyze whether professional soccer players are more susceptible to ACL injury after returning to play from any previous injury. Study Design: Case-control study; Level of evidence, 3. Methods: A total of 101 elite male soccer players suffering a first-time complete ACL injury between 2001 and 2014 were included and matched according to team, age, and playing position with control players who did not have a current injury (1:1 match). For each injured player, the 90-day period prior to the ACL injury was analyzed for injuries and compared with that of control players by using odds ratios (ORs) and 95% CIs. Results: The odds of a player with an ACL injury sustaining a previous injury in the 90-day period did not differ significantly from that of controls (OR, 1.20; 95% CI, 0.66-2.17; P = .65). Testing the frequency of absence periods due to injury between the groups revealed that the odds of a player with an ACL injury having a previous period of absence due to injury did not differ compared with controls (OR, 1.14; 95% CI, 0.64-2.01; P = .77). Conclusion: Players with ACL injury did not have a greater occurrence of absence due to injury in the 3 months preceding their ACL injury compared with matched controls. This indicates that previous injury of any type does not increase the risk of suffering an ACL injury.


Reviews of the recent literature, emphasize the importance of farmers training and the topic of knowledge transfer from the final customers to the farmers is becoming more and more fashionable. Training farmers and farm managers supports not only an important step to better agricultural practices and products, but also the diversification into non-agricultural activities, encouraging the rural truism sector or developing new skills and competences among the involved actors. Having a clear evidence on how the structural instruments of the 2007-2013 rural development framework helped both demanders and suppliers of specialized training, offers more answers to the problem of professionalizing the agricultural sector, increases the interest in qualitative results and make them a competitive advantage. Our work wants to provide an overview of how executive institutions created the frame of accessing training by assigning public expenditures and resources from European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and how farmers and farm managers proved their willing and interest in achieving those results. The conclusions revealed the anticipated hypothesis, meaning that the member states with an emerging economy level started the implementation of the training measures in a hesitating manner and did not have a coherent behavior in absorbing the existing funds, while other states registered the highest values in indicators like number of participants, number of applications for advisory services, number of economic actors in trainings or public expenditures assignment, and the results where indeed in the same direction.


ABSTRACT The article presents the results of studies of urban youth culture in two Russia's predominantly Muslim regions. Gerard Delanty's theory of cultural encounters and the cultural scene approach form the theoretical base of the work. Its empirical base is the research project entitled 'Fields of positive interethnic interactions and youth cultural scenes in the Russian cities'. Fields of interactions are regarded as contact zones where some combination of practices and agents produces a potential for bridging ethnic divides. The results of two case studies conducted within the project are discussed in the article. First, a case study of a Tatar post-folk metal group demonstrates that elements of ethnic culture can be used as a resource for creating communicative ties among young people. Second, a study of animé fans describes the formation of a new youth cultural style in Makhachkala and the difficulties in interaction of its carriers with a mostly conservative environment.


In situ characterization and control of the phase of broadband femtosecond pulses in microscopy can be achieved with a novel simplified scheme based on spectral shear interferometry for direct electric field reconstruction (SPIDER): the use of a femtosecond pulse shaper eliminates the need for an interferometer setup, allows dispersion-free SPIDER operation and at the same time compression even of complex pulses. Beyond compression, the scheme allows precise phase control at the site of the microscopic experiment. We present the underlying principles, design considerations, and details of the experimental implementation, and show the successful operation of the shaper-assisted collinear (SAC) SPIDER to characterize, compress, and tailor broadband femtosecond pulses in situ. The reliability is demonstrated by comparison with independent cross-frequency-resolved optical gating measurement, and improved multiphoton imaging with SAC-SPIDER-compressed pulses is shown. Its simplicity and versatility make SAC-SPIDER an extremely useful tool for next-generation broadband nonlinear microscopy.


Bansal and Yaron (2004) demonstrate, by calibration, that the Consumption-Based Capital Asset Pricing Model (CCAPM) can be rescued by assuming that consumption growth rate follows a stochastic volatility model. They show that the conditional equity premium is a linear function of conditional consumption and market return volatilities, which can be estimated handily by various Generalized Autoregressive Conditonal Heterskedasticity (GARCH) and Stochastic Volatility (SV) models.We find that conditional consumption and market volatilities are capable of explaining cross-sectional return differences. The Exponential GARCH (EGARCH) volatility can explain up to 55% variation of return and the EGARCH model augmented with (cay) -a cointegrating factor of consumption, labor income and asset wealth growth- greatly enhance model performance. We proceed to test another hypothesis: if Bansal and Yaron estimator is an unbiased estimator of true conditional equity premium, then the instrumental variables for estimating conditional equity premium should no longer be significant.We demonstrate that once the theoretical conditional risk premium is added to the model, it renders all instrumental variables redundant. Also, the model prediction is consistent with observed declining equity premium.


This study investigated the effect of instruction in problem-solving skills on computer engineering majors' performance in programming in the Verilog. Comparisons were made among two treatment groups (deduction and analogy) and a control group, whose pretest and posttest scores were analyzed with the analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) statistical procedure. Results showed that problem-solving skills' instruction significantly increased students' achievement.


New information and communication technologies impose on the contemporary world such a dynamics that the resulting synergy and convergence effects of transformational change simultaneously within economical, social and cultural realm are difficult to predict. As a result, within growing complexity and unpredictability of the ambient conditions, there is no defined, closed repertoire, strategy or solution, whether business oriented or institutional that provides both effective and innovative approach to the increasing structural problems of the global environment. The only existing solution to maintain a sustainable competitive advantage within the today world of permanent and endogenous change seems to be the human capital (potential) involvement: its creativity and innovation approach, which solely can become a source of Schumpeter's creative destruction.
This implies in case of emerging economies, which are still lag behind the mature, developed countries both in economic, social and cultural standard of living that to close this gap, the interdisciplinary approach to human capital (human resources) is required. This is especially so in reference to the transformational potential of information and communication technologies (ICTs) with its new management techniques, new business models, and new regulatory policies. Thus, the objective of this conference is to provide a forum for interested researchers and practitioners to exchange their experiences and creative ideas related to ICT management for global competitiveness and economic, social and cultural growth in emerging economies. Possible topics may include but are not limited to the following: • Economical, psychosoacial and legal frameworks as they relate to ICT and ICT Management; • Unique ICT management techniques for emerging and transition economies; • Methods for measuring the benefits and costs of projects involving the adoption of ICT; • The role of human and social capital; • Gender and other socio-demographic factors in human and social capital and in innovations processes; • Innovative ways for generating revenues and creating commercial knowledge products; • Educational systems and training as they relate to ICT and ICT Management; • ICT innovations to support small and medium enterprises; • ICT innovations as a path to economic growth; • ICT productivity with specific reference to the prevalent social and business conditions; • Global supply chain management in emerging and transition economies; • Country specific case studies, with specific reference to the prevalent psychosocial and business conditions; • ICT off-shoring/outsourcing into emerging and transition economies; • ICT project management, with specific reference to the prevalent social and business conditions; • Digital divide in emerging and transition economies; • E-Commerce impact in emerging and transition economies; • E-Government in emerging and transition economies; • Psychological, social, and economic aspects of Internet use in emerging and transition economies; • Virtual reality in psychological treatment and psychotherapy; • Analytical psychology and psychotherapy in era of new technology; • Information and communication technologies in personnel recruitment, assessment and development; • Leadership and new technologies; • Psychological aspects of working in a virtual team; • Information and communication technologies in an ageing society; and • Quantitative methods and information technology in management.


: The COVID-19 pandemic is leading to mental health problems due to disease experience, physical distancing, stigma and discrimination, and job losses in many of the settings hardest hit by the pandemic. Health care workers, patients with COVID-19 and other illnesses, children, women, youth, and the elderly are experiencing post-traumatic stress disorders, anxiety, depression, and insomnia. Virtual mental health services have been established in many settings and social media is being used to impart mental health education and communication resources. This rapid review highlights mental health services across countries hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. More needs to be done to take these services to scale and ensure equity and efficiency. The impact of COVID-19 on mental health in sub-Saharan Africa could be immense, given the weak health care systems. Similar to the Ebola epidemic of 2014–2016, COVID-19 is expected to cause anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorders. Uptake of mental health care services is generally low, and communities rely on social resources. Hence, efforts to control the disease transmission should be contextualized. Low digital literacy, low smartphone penetration and limited internet connection make online mental health services a limited option for service delivery. Safeguarding social and cultural resilience factors and coping mechanisms is critical in the sub-Saharan African context. Mass media is a feasible way of providing social resources. Community health workers can be trained quickly to provide mental health education, screening and counselling services. Toll-free mental health helplines can be used to provide services to health care workers and those needing customized care. Mental health and psychosocial support services need to be integrated into the pandemic response and coordinated nationally. It is critical for these services to continue during and after the epidemic.


In December 2012, participating States of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the world's largest security organization, adopted the OSCE Consolidated Framework for the Fight against Terrorism. This Consolidated Framework builds on previously adopted decisions, commitments and mandates over the past ten years. The document constitutes an important milestone for the Organization. OSCE has contributed considerably to efforts of the international community aimed at effectively countering terrorism while adhering to the rule of law and upholding human rights standards.


Serious logic vulnerabilities exist in real-world services that use security protocols such as OpenID, OAuth, and PayPal Standard. We introduce Certified Symbolic Transaction (CST), an approach for building provably secure multiparty online services. The kind of provable security that we focus on is actually an extreme form, which we call protocol-agnostic security – it holds a system implementation to an end-to-end global security predicate completely independent of the adopted protocol, and thus fundamentally guards the implementation against logic flaws in the protocol and developers' misunderstandings of the protocol. We show that it is entirely practical for developers to apply CST on real-world systems. Unlike traditional verification approaches, CST invokes static verifications at runtime: it treats every multiparty transaction as a runtime process for creating a proof obligation for a generalpurpose (thus protocol-agnostic) static program verifier. We have applied CST on five commercially deployed systems, and show that, with only tens (or 100+) of lines of code changes per party, the enhanced implementations achieve protocol-agnostic security. We also stress-tested CST by building a gambling system integrating four different services, for which there is no existing protocol to follow. Our security analysis shows that 12 out of 14 logic vulnerabilities reported in the literature will be prevented by CST. Because transactions are symbolic and cacheable, CST has near-zero amortized runtime overhead. We make the source code of these systems public, which can be immediately deployed for real-world uses.


Social power, alcohol intoxication, and anonymity all have strong influences on human cognition and behavior. However, the social consequences of each of these conditions can be diverse, sometimes producing prosocial outcomes and other times enabling antisocial behavior. We present a general model of disinhibition to explain how these seemingly contradictory effects emerge from a single underlying mechanism: The decreased salience of competing response options prevents activation of the Behavioral Inhibition System (BIS). As a result, the most salient response in any given situation is expressed, regardless of whether it has prosocial or antisocial consequences. We review three distinct routes through which power, alcohol intoxication, and anonymity reduce the salience of competing response options, namely, through Behavioral Approach System (BAS) activation, cognitive depletion, and reduced social desirability concerns. We further discuss how these states can both reveal and shape the person. Overall, our approach allows for multiple domain-specific models to be unified within a common conceptual framework that explains how both situational and dispositional factors can influence the expression of disinhibited behavior, producing both prosocial and antisocial outcomes.


This class, required of all Master of Architecture students, presents a critical review of works, theories, and polemics in architecture in the aftermath of World War II. The aim is to present a historical understanding of the period, and to develop a meaningful framework to assess contemporary issues in architecture. Special attention will be paid to historiographic questions of how architects construe the terms of their "present."


Abstract The number of managed honey bee colonies has considerably decreased in many developed countries in recent years and ectoparasitic mites are considered as major threats to honey bee colonies and health. However, their general biology remains poorly understood. We sequenced the genome of Tropilaelaps mercedesae, the prevalent ectoparasitic mite infesting honey bees in Asia, and predicted 15 190 protein-coding genes that were well supported by the mite transcriptomes and proteomic data. Although amino acid substitutions have been accelerated within the conserved core genes of two mites, T. mercedesae and Metaseiulus occidentalis, T. mercedesae has undergone the least gene family expansion and contraction between the seven arthropods we tested. The number of sensory system genes has been dramatically reduced, but T. mercedesae contains all gene sets required to detoxify xenobiotics. T. mercedesae is closely associated with a symbiotic bacterium (Rickettsiella grylli-like) and Deformed Wing Virus, the most prevalent honey bee virus. T. mercedesae has a very specialized life history and habitat as the ectoparasitic mite strictly depends on the honey bee inside a stable colony. Thus, comparison of the genome and transcriptome sequences with those of a tick and free-living mites has revealed the specific features of the genome shaped by interaction with the honey bee and colony environment. Genome and transcriptome sequences of T. mercedesae, as well as Varroa destructor (another globally prevalent ectoparasitic mite of honey bee), not only provide insights into the mite biology, but may also help to develop measures to control the most serious pests of the honey bee.


Among the main criticisms currently confronting the US Patent and Trademark Office are concerns about software patents and what role they play in the web of litigation now proceeding in the smart phone industry. We will examine the evidence on the litigation and the treatment by the Patent Office of patents that include software elements. We present specific empirical evidence regarding the examination by the Patent Office of software patents, their validity, and their role in the smart phone wars. More broadly, this article discusses the competing values at work in the patent system and how the system has dealt with disputes that, like the smart phone wars, routinely erupt over time, in fact dating back to the very founding of the United States. The article concludes with an outlook for systematic policymaking within the patent system in the wake of major recent legislative and administrative reforms. Principally, the article highlights how the US Patent Office acts responsibly when it engages constructively with principled criticisms and calls for reform, as it has during the passage and now implementation of the landmark Leahy-Smith America Invents Act of 2011.


This book deals with the way that the auditory system processes acoustic signals. The current edition has been thoroughly revised to reflect the progress that has been made since the previous edition. Particularly major updates have been made in the following areas: cochlear function, including cochlear mechanics, hair cell function and mechanisms of transduction; the auditory central nervous system, a major area of advance in recent years; physiological correlates of auditory perception, including speech perception; and, cochlear pathophysiology and sensorineural hearing loss, including the restoration of hearing by electrical stimulation of the ear, and molecular and cellular approaches to hair cell repair, replacement, and regeneration.A reading scheme has been provided to guide readers to the section most appropriate for their interests. The book is written so that those entering auditory research from very little background in auditory neuroscience are able to understand the current research issues and research literature. It is also intended to be a source book and reference work for advanced undergraduates studying the special senses, and for clinicians in the speciality of Otorhinolaryngology.It offers a contemporary look at the physiology of hearing: each chapter has been thoroughly revised. It is an excellent reading companion to practitioners and scholars. It is also suitable for those undertaking auditory research. It includes a reading scheme to guide readers through the book.


The present study investigated the structural characterization of exopolysaccharides (EPS) produced by Campylobacter jejuni, Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis and a number of Bifidobacterium breve strains. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, size exclusion chromatography coupled with multiangle laser light scattering (SEC-MALLS), anion exchange chromatography, HPAEC-PAD analysis, monomer and linkage analysis employing GC-MS have been used to characterise the EPS structures.

Monomer analysis of the EPS produced by Campylobacter jejuni showed the presence of glucose, linkage analysis showed the presence of an �-(1�6) glycosidic linked repeating monomer unit and NMR (1D- and 2D- experiments) showed that the EPS is an �-dextran.

NMR and size exclusion chromatography analysis for B. animalis subsp. lactis shows the presence of a complex mixture of EPS. Monomer analysis for different batches suggests that each contains variable amounts of rhamnose, glucose and galactose along with trace levels of mannose. The results of the linkage analysis indicate that a complex mixture of differently linked sugars is present including : terminal rhamnose, 1,2-linked rhamnose, 1,3-linked rhamnose, terminal hexoses, 1,2,3-linked rhamnose, 1,4-linked hexose, 1,3-linked hexose, 1,6-linked hexose, Nacetyl sugars and 1,3,4-linked hexoses. SEC-MALLS showed the presence of different molecular weight EPSs. Uronic acid analysis showed that in 5.0 mg of EPS sample, only 0.28 mg of uronic acid is present.

1D- and 2D-NMR experiments were performed on the EPS samples produced by B. breve strains including UCC2003, JCM7017, JCM7019 and NCFB2258. Analysis of EPS extracted from cells using sodium hydroxide (NaOH) showed that complex mixtures of polysaccharides were being recovered. However, a common set of NMR signals was present in all the EPS samples from B. breve. Analysis of this set of signals suggests that, on treatment of cells with NaOH, a �-(1�6)-linked glucan is released from a variety of bifidobacterial strains.


The aim of the study was to identify mechanisms acting at internal frost destruction of concrete. By 'internal frost destruction' is meant damage caused inside concrete that is moisture insulated from the surroundings, i.e. when no moisture exchange with the surroundings is possible during freeze-thaw. Thus, the aim was not to investigate destruction processes (scaling) taking place at the surface of concrete exposed to water or salt solution. The aim should be reached by experimental work at which different parameters, that are supposed to influence destruction, such as concrete quality, moisture content, freezing rate, and duration of freezing temperature were varied independently of each other. The effect of these parameters on formation of ice, and on the behaviour of the concrete during freeze-thaw should be monitored. In this way it was imagined that the individual effect of each fundamental parameter could be identified. The aim was to use the experimental results to test different existing destruction theories like the hydraulic pressure theory and the microscopic ice lens theory. The aim was not to build a quantitative model for internal frost destruction.


This is the first of two articles studying the structure of left adequate and, more generally, of left Ehresmann monoids. Motivated by a careful analysis of normal forms, we introduce here a concept of proper for a left adequate monoid M. In fact, our notion is that of T-proper, where T is a submonoid of M. We show that any left adequate monoid M has an X*-proper cover for some set X, that is, there is a left adequate monoid that is X*-proper, and an idempotent separating surjective morphism of the appropriate type. Given this result, we may deduce that the free left adequate monoid on any set X is X*-proper. In a subsequent paper, we show how to construct T-proper left adequate monoids from any monoid T acting via order-preserving maps on a semilattice with identity, and prove that the free left adequate monoid is of this form. An alternative description of the free left adequate monoid will appear in a paper of Kambites. We show how to obtain the labeled trees appearing in his result from our structure theorem. Our results apply to the wider class of left Ehresmann monoids, and we give them in full generality. We also indicate how to obtain some of the analogous results in the two-sided case. This paper and its sequel, and the two of Kambites on free (left) adequate semigroups, demonstrate the rich but accessible structure of (left) adequate semigroups and monoids, introduced with startling insight by Fountain some 30 years ago.


The authors present a method to minimize Value–at–Risk where price, local quantity, and aggregate quantity are all stochastic and correlated. The framework is quite general in that it accommodates both local and aggregate quantity, and the quantity variable may be for an asset that is subject to a stochastic convenience yield. The framework is more general than that of Ahn et al. [1999]. The solution identifies an optimal strike price for a quantity–triggered put option used to minimize Value–at–Risk. The authors identify situations where this put option is more effective than its plain–vanilla counterpart in reducing both price and quantity risks.


Although the sampling theorem is well known, its demonstration assumes generalized delta functions and periodic signals, which are not defined in Hilbert spaces, as well as bandlimited signals which not exist in reality because they must have infinite duration. In this paper, we consider the sampling theorem in Hilbert spaces. We present a simple and complete demonstration of the sampling theorem that uses only signals defined in Hilbert spaces, i.e., we do not use generalized delta functions or periodic signals. We also establish the aliasing effects as a corollary of the theorem.


Organic chemistry is possibly the most visual science of all chemistry disciplines. The process of scientific inquiry in organic chemistry relies on external representations, such as Lewis structures, mechanisms, and electron arrows. Information about chemical properties or driving forces of mechanistic steps is not available through direct perception, and thus looking beyond the respresentation is challenging for learners. In this study, we investigated the categorization behavior of undergraduate students enrolled in an organic chemistry course when engaged in various categorization tasks involving electrophilic addition reactions to alkenes. The critical attribute a student chose to make a category out of a set of reactions was classified as perceptual or relational and gave insights into how students process and store information about reactions at an early level of expertise. Our results support the notion that students are prone to the surface level of representations and make sense of reactions depicted in a very minimalistic fashion. Implications for approaching this phenomenon in teaching are discussed.


ISO 9000 has taken a size able portion of the global industry, especially in the manufacturing
industry by storm since its inception in 1987. Many problems associated with ISO 9000
implementation emanated from the reliance of belief or faith while neglecting the direct
relationship to employee's roles and responsibilities. This study explores and discusses
issues in the implementation of ISO 9000 at the employees' level. The issues encompass
employees' reaction towards ISO 9000 and general employee factors in the implementation
of ISO 9000. The issues were gathered from existing literature and verified by local
manufacturing companies via questionnaires. The questionnaire response rate was 38.8%
or 50 responses out of the 129 questionnaires sent. The results from the findings
indicated the important employee issues in the successful implementation of ISO 9000
are commitment, teamwork, training and involvement, amongst others. It is believed this
study will further enhance understanding and place importance in the issues concerning
employees of a company implementing ISO 9000.


The author shows why she considers rape not to be just a brutal crime but a reflection of how our society is conditioned. To do this she traces the use and meaning of rape from Biblical times through to Bangladesh and Vietnam, unravels the origins of rape laws in medieval codes and examines interracial and homosexual rape and child molestation. She also includes a discussion of Freudian sexual psychology, legal defence strategy and the message behind popular books, magazines and films. Always, she argues, the myths generated by the latter serve to glamorize the victim while they romanticize the rapist - even in cases of rape murder.


Abstract. This study describes an analysis carried out within the European community project "ALARM" (Assessment of Landslide Risk and Mitigation in Mountain Areas, 2004) on landslide risk assessment in the municipality of Corvara in Badia, Italy. This mountainous area, located in the central Dolomites (Italian Alps), poses a significant landslide hazard to several man-made and natural objects. Three parameters for determining risk were analysed as an aid to preparedness and mitigation planning: event occurrence probability, elements at risk, and the vulnerability of these elements. Initially, a landslide hazard scenario was defined; this step was followed by the identification of the potential vulnerable elements, by the estimation of the expected physical effects, due to the occurrence of a damaging phenomenon, and by the analysis of social and economic features of the area. Finally, a potential risk scenario was defined, where the relationships between the event, its physical effects, and its economic consequences were investigated. People and public administrators with training and experience in local landsliding and slope processes were involved in each step of the analysis. A "cause-effect" correlation was applied, derived from the "dose-response" equation initially used in the biological sciences and then adapted by economists for the assessment of environmental risks. The relationship was analysed from a physical point of view and the cause (the natural event) was correlated to the physical effects, i.e. the aesthetic, functional, and structural damage. An economic evaluation of direct and indirect damage was carried out considering the assets in the affected area (i.e., tourist flows, goods, transport and the effect on other social and economic activities). This study shows the importance of indirect damage, which is as significant as direct damage. The total amount of direct damage was estimated in 8 913 000 €; on the contrary, indirect damage ranged considerably from 2 840 000 to 9 350 000 €, depending on the selected temporal scenario and the expected closing time of the potentially affected structures. The multi-disciplinary approach discussed in this study may assist local decision makers in determining the nature and magnitude of the expected losses due to a dangerous event, which can be anticipated in a given study area, during a specified time period. Besides, a preventive knowledge of the prospective physical effects and economic consequences may help local decision makers to choose the best prevention and mitigation options and to decide how to allocate resources properly, so that potential benefits are maximised at an acceptable cost.


Thirty six Etawah-grade does (BW 20.4-44.2 kg, age 2.5-7 years) were used to study the efficacy of increasing secretion of endogenous hormones of pregnancy by superovulation of does to stimulate of growth prenatal in uterus. The does were injected with pregnant mare serum gonadotrophin (PMSG), 0 IU/kg BW [grouped into nonsuperovulation-NSO] and 15 IU/kg BW [grouped into Superovulation-SO]. Intravaginal sponge (60 mg medroxyprogesterone acetate) was applied for 14 days to synchronize estrus cycle. Twenty four hours prior to sponge removal, PMSG was injected to stimulate superovulation. After sponge removal, five experimental does were mixed with one buck for natural mating. Superovulation prior to mating increased number of corpora lutea, mean of maternal serum estradiol concentration, progesterone concentration, litter size, average birth weight and average milk yield, by 112, 67, 42, 27, 32, and 35%, respectively. Those were correlated with the increase of uterine, corpora lutea, and individual birth weight.


In contrast to thermal receivers that provide heat for steam cycles, in solar thermochemistry often receiver-reactors are used, where materials undergo a reaction while being irradiated by concentrated sunlight. When applied to two-step redox cycles, multiple processes take place in such receiver-reactors, though on different timescales. This leads to design compromises and to high technical requirements for the implementation. A concept for an indirect particle-based system for thermochemical cycles was therefore proposed in which the heat required for the reduction of redox particles is provided by inert heat transfer particles that absorb concentrated solar radiation in a dedicated particle receiver. The novel and central component in this indirect system is the particle mix reactor. It functions by mixing the two particle types for heat transfer and establishing a controlled atmosphere under decreased oxygen partial pressures in a common reactor chamber. The design of an experimental setup for demonstration and investigation of the particle mix reactor is presented in this work. Potential operation modes and design options for particle heater, mixing unit, and oxygen partial pressure decrease are discussed and illustrated. The selection of a mixer type is based on the homogeneity of the obtained mixture. It is supported by the use of discrete element method (DEM) simulations, which were compared to experimental results from a separate setup. Heat loss estimations for the mixing process in the selected mixer geometry are performed for alumina heat transfer particles and strontium iron oxide redox particles. The components' geometries, the overall experimental setup design, as well as operation steps are presented.


Within the field of Digital Humanities, a great effort has been made to digitize documents and collections in order to build catalogs and exhibitions on the Web. In this paper, we present WeME, a Web application for building a knowledge base, which can be used to describe digital documents. WeME can be used by different categories of users: archivists/librarians and scholars. WeME extracts information from some well-known Linked Data nodes, i.e. DBpedia and GeoNames, as well as traditional Web sources, i.e. VIAF. As a use case of WeME, we describe the knowledge base related to the Christopher Clavius's corre spondence. Clavius was a mathematician and an astronomer of the XVI Century. He wrote more than 300 letters, most of which are owned by the Historical Archives of the Pontifical Gregorian University (APUG) in Rome. The built knowledge base contains 139 links to DBpedia, 83 links to GeoNames and 129 links to VIAF. In order to test the usability of WeME, we invited 26 users to test the application.


[Sabbagh s] memoir offers a vital yet unfamiliar perspective on the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict and a heartfelt, judicious invitation to dialogue. "Publishers Weekly" Palestinians feature regularly in news headlines, but their country is much less known. In this humane and deeply compelling book, Karl Sabbagh traces Palestine and Palestinians from their roots in the melange of tribes, ethnic groups, and religions that have populated the region for centuries, and describes how, as a result of the interplay of global power politics, the majority of Palestinians were expelled from their home to make way for the new Jewish state of Israel. "Palestine: A Personal History" offers a sympathetic portrait of the country s rich heritage as well as evidence of the long-standing harmony between Arabs (Muslim and Christian) and the small indigenous Jewish population in Palestine. Karl Sabbagh has written both a transporting narrative and a meditation on a region that remains a flashpoint of conflicta story of how past choices and actions reverberate in the present day."


Background: As of 1942, there were neither indigenous radiographers nor radiography training institutions in Nigeria. Presently, progress made is breathtaking. Despite the strides, there were no readily accessible records to give researchers insight on the trajectory of the profession since the beginning of the 20th century.

Objective: To trace the origin, investigate the quests, ascertain the conquests of the radiography profession in Nigeria and then document them for easy accessibility.

Methods: A prospective, longitudinal historical research spanning 6 years (2013 – 2019). Data emanated from records of the professional association (ARN), publications in the radiography profession, and interview of older radiographers, especially those who were witnesses to professional milestones. Internet search complemented retrieved information. The draft of the work was uploaded continually on radiographers' Facebook and WhatsApp platforms for inputs. The author resolved discrepancies in the account through the weight of evidence for or against.

Results: Approximately 5,000 persons have passed through basic radiography training in Nigeria, with ≤ 5% having postgraduate qualifications. Training institutions have evolved from two monotechnics to ≥ 10 universities, with three of those are involved in postgraduate education. Radiography has witnessed considerable role extensions from traditional x-ray to more advanced practices and complex modalities. Conquests were, however, sometimes reversed, or jeopardized by internal upheavals and meddlesome interlopers.

Conclusion: Radiography in Nigeria has witnessed breathtaking evolution in training and practice from the time of World War II (WWII) until date. Radiographers themselves, with significant assistance from non-radiographers, engineered those milestones. A consolidation of intra-professional cohesion and inter-professional synergy is needful, for more focused and dedicated services to humanity.


Mixed–motive games represent situations that confront people with a conflict between cooperative and non–cooperative alternatives. Despite this common basis, recent research has shown that the consistency of people's choices across different mixed–motive games is rather low. The present research examined behavioural consistency within the same mixed–motive game, by presenting participants with a series of one–shot Prisoner's Dilemma Games. Across this set of games, payoffs were manipulated in order to intensify or weaken the conflict between self and the other party while maintaining the game's underlying structure. Our findings indicate that significant differences in choice behaviour are observed as a function of both situational (i.e. manipulations of the Prisoner's Dilemma Game's payoff structure) and personality differences (i.e. individual differences in personality and motivational traits). Moreover, our included situational variables and personality features did not interact with each other and were about equally impactful in shaping cooperation. Crucially, however, despite the significant behavioural differences across game variants, considerable consistency in choices was found as well, which suggests that the game's motivational basis reliably impacts choice behaviour in spite of situational and personality variations. We discuss implications for theorizing on mixed–motive situations and elaborate on the question how cooperation can be promoted. © 2018 European Association of Personality Psychology


Book synopsis: Trade unions in most of Europe are on the defensive: in recent decades they have lost membership, sometimes drastically; their collective bargaining power has declined, as has their influence on government; and in many countries, their public respect is much diminished.

This book explores the challenges facing trade unions and their responses in ten west European countries: Britain, Ireland, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, and Italy. Based on a substantial number of interviews with key union representatives and academic experts in each country, together with the collection of a large amount of union documentation and background material, the book gives an account of how trade unionism has evolved in each country, the main recent challenges that unions have faced, and their responses. The book engages with the debates of the past two decades on union modernization and revitalization, and more generally with theories of institutional change and the literature on varieties of capitalism.

Some observers ask whether unions remain relevant socio-economic actors, but challenging times can stimulate new thinking, and hence provide new opportunities. This book aims to show why trade unions are (still) important subjects for scientific analysis: first, as a means of collective 'voice' allowing employees to challenge management control and bringing a measure of balance to the employment relationship; second, as a form of 'countervailing power' to the socio-economic dominance of capital; and third, their potential as a 'sword of justice' to defend the weak, vulnerable and disadvantaged, express a set of values in opposition to the dominant political economy, and offer aspirations for a different—and better—form of society.


Floral evolution requires reassessment in basal monocots, including species formerly assigned to Melanthiaceae, in the light of recent developments in the molecular phylogenetics of monocots. We have investigated flowers of Tofieldia (Tofieldiaceae), Japonolirion (Petrosaviaceae), and Narthecium (Nartheciaceae). We confirm Engler's (1888) hypothesis that orientation of lateral flowers in monocots is dependent on presence and position of additional phyllomes on the pedicel. The type of floral orientation that occurs in Tofieldia is unusual for monocots, since the additional phyllomes are represented by calyculus scales rather than a bracteole, and the outer whorl tepals are initiated alternating with the calyculus scales. In Japonolirion and Narthecium, a bracteole is inserted in an adaxial-transverse or transverse position; either the outer median tepal is adaxial or no single tepal is inserted in the median position. In Tofieldia, the pedicel has a calyculus of an abaxial and two adaxial-transverse phyllomes; the outer median tepal is adaxial. Additional phyllomes on the pedicel are not adaxial, in contrast to adaxial prophylls in the vegetative regions. The presence or absence of a bracteole or calyculus is taxonomically important. Tofieldia pusilla differs from the other species of Tofieldia examined in the absence of a flower-subtending bract, but the calyculus demonstrates some bract-like features in position, structure and development, which can be interpreted as a hybridization of developmental pathways. The abaxial calyculus scale of T. coccinea is delayed in development.


From the last decade on, the matter of refugees in Turkey has become a key issue in almost all social and political areas including education. Following the refugee influx from 2011 on, Turkey has immediately taken action to provide the Syrian refugee students with necessary educational opportunities in its mainstream schools. The present study was targeted at revealing Turkish teachers' attitudes towards these Syrian refugee students in their classrooms. A total of 95 in-service teachers from different fields participated in the study. The data were collected through a composite instrument. Teachers' attitudes were categorized under three main subheadings; communication, adaptation, and efficiency. The statistical results indicated that the teachers were eager to help the refugee students overcome their adaptation problems which were mainly caused by their language-related deficiencies. They also had positive attitudes to communicate effectively with these students although they did not have enough practice in their undergraduate years in regards with the refugee education. Moreover, the teachers with high efficacy beliefs had better attitudes toward refugee students in their classrooms. The results were discussed in line with the refugee education and teacher education policies in the literature. © 2021 EJAL & the Authors. Published by Eurasian Journal of Applied Linguistics (EJAL). This is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution license (CC BY-NC-ND) (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).


This thesis studies the economic and social consequences of unemployment
and long-term (or repeated) unemployment. The first two chapters are concerned with
economic consequences. They study how unemployment affects the working of the
labour market. The last two chapters are interested in social consequences. They look
at whether future generations' outcomes are altered by their parents' unemployment.
Chapter two uses data on UK regions over a period of 23 years to test the
hypothesis that the composition of unemployment alters the dampening effect of
unemployment on wages. Several specifications are estimated using dynamic panel
data methods and are tested to check the robustness of the results. The hypothesis is
verified for manual or unskilled workers, but not for non-manual or skilled workers.
The next three chapters use the British National Child Development Study
(NCDS). The third chapter studies the job search behaviour of individuals who
declared themselves unemployed and looking for work when aged 23 years old. We
define job search as the combination of three decisions: whether they have considered
applying for a job which would mean moving house, which would have a lower pay
than their previous job, or which would require a lower qualification. We find that
using a model that incorporates the dependence of these decisions improves
efficiency. Young people who have been unemployed before are found to accept
mobility but not to alter their expectations on wages and skill content.
In the fourth chapter, we want to determine whether the labour market
situation of the parents influences in any way the social behaviour of children. The
findings show that, controlling for - persistent - financial difficulties, the
unemployment of the father during childhood seems to have a detrimental effect on
his children's outcomes. There is some evidence that those who have a non-working
mother during early childhood are better off than others, except in cases where the
mother is single.
The last chapter draws on the previous one and studies whether these effects
can be translated into unfavourable outcomes in adult life, in particular social
exclusion. A new index of social exclusion is constructed. We find that anti-social
behaviour and social difficulties during childhood are associated with later risks of
social exclusion.


Philosophically in American society there has been much debate about the validity of art as a reflection of cultural importance. Historically in this country, art was thought to be antithetical to the Puritanical sensibility that defined the character of American life. Perceived as luxury, it was believed that high art caused the moral decay of great civilizations unlike the sciences which advanced the course and direction of civilization. By emphasizing methods of analysis and interpretation art historians have begun to illuminate the complex role of the visual arts as a primary vehicle through which we can illustrate how civilizations thrive. Fundamentally, there exists in human kind an innate desire to create some visual form of personal and public record of the 'self and the environment within which we exist. The most well known examples from ancient history are the cave drawings and small iconic objects of the Neolithic and Paleolithic cultures. These images and objects, in the absence of a written language, provide untold value to the understanding of human existence and the character of the human species. Without these kinds of creative models we would be unable to trace the social and scientific anthropology of human history. The process of translating a concept into visual language is indicative of the multifaceted expressive powers of man. The fact that these images and objects exist asserts the primacy of the instinctive creative impetus and the complexity of the mind in humanistic and scientific terms. In order to appreciate and interpret the importance of creativity we must look beyond the social and cultural constructs of a specific time and place and recognize the invaluable dimensions of the physical object. To decode and extrapolate information from these materials requires an insight based on a confluence of science and art. Harvard University scientist, Edward O. Wilson said it most eloquently; "Artistic inspiration common to everyone ... rises from the wells of human nature ... It follows that even the greatest works of art might be understood fundamentally with the knowledge of the biologically evolved epigenetic rules that guided them ... interpretation will be the more powerful when braided together from history, biography, personal confession and science." (1) It is this philosophy that has transformed the discipline of art history and proffered a growing demand for revisionist methodology specific to the purpose of identifying the complex value of the creative process as a dimension of human anatomy. The ancient cultures of North America, for example, had no word for art rather it was a part of the human condition that had intrinsic educative and spiritual powers. In the absence of a written language the manner through which to instruct a people came through a visual code of clues depicted on functional objects. During the maturation of western culture, the distinction of naming 'Art' as a phenomenon separate from the actions of everyday life, prohibits the ability of the common man and woman to be engaged in creative activities. Art gradually evolved into a pursuit available to only those who were wealthy or educated enough to understand the salient qualities of artistic expression and in this day and age, can afford to visit the museums that house and exhibit these objects. The disadvantage of this distinction is that creativity gradually becomes dormant from its biological origins. Indeed, the very definition of the word 'art' means human creativity, without reference to cultural heritage, economic prowess or intellectual ability. In this essay, the dialogue of this creative impulse and the scientific realm is displayed through a didactic selection of American art images because of the relative directness of expression, their iconic value to American culture and emphasis on the depiction of reality. (This method can be applied to any form of creative expression). These works provide an opportunity to evaluate the, factual, iconological and semiological aspects of interpretations of the time. …


We report a novel single step in situ process of growth and nitrogen-electron cyclotron resonance plasma treatment of vertically aligned multi walled carbon nanotubes (VA-MWCNTs) that leads to concurrent end opening by metal cap removal, nitrogen incorporation and intercalation along with substitution at graphitic sites resulting in n-type electronic doping. Microscopic and spectroscopic evaluations of the nitrogen treated MWCNTs reveal negligible iron content with significant conservation of both structure and alignment. The nitrogen induced electronic change increases distinct π* states as evidenced by Near Edge X-ray Absorption Fine Structure (NEXAFS) and 5 cm−1 downshift of G-band, as observed from Raman spectroscopy, confirm n-type doping. The combined effect of plasma activation (both cavities and surface of the end opened VA-MWCNTs) and n-type doping enhances the field emission performance of the CNTs resulting in high current density (15 mA cm−2) at low applied voltage of 1.5 V μm−1 with low turn on and threshold electric fields (Eto-0.52 and Eth-0.76 V μm−1). This low energy highly controllable plasma has great implications not only in the fabrication of various n-type materials and bio related application but also many other interesting areas for cost effective energy related applications.


Abstract Increasing public pension participation rates in developing countries is an important policyobjective. We study three possible constraints to such participation by using a randomized controltrial and the administrative records covering about 40 percent of Mongolian subdistricts. We findthat providing information about subsidiary monetary benefits (survivors' and disability pensions)does not increase participation significantly. However, providing information about the mobilephone payment of pension funds and dispatching experts to a pension administrative agency froma foreign aid agency both increase payments. These results imply that perceived transaction costsand trust affect demand for pension services. They also suggest that foreign aid can affect citizens' participation in public services by changing their perception of these services.


This article examines the use of Facebook by social movement organizations (SMOs) and the ramifications from that usage for their organizational form. Organizational forms have been viewed to be in flux as networked communication becomes embedded in mobilization repertoires. In what follows, it is shown that the utilization of Facebook by networked heterarchical organizations is seen to grant them access to a hitherto untapped demographic for the purpose of mobilization. Concurrently, questions are raised pertaining to organizational form, particularly in relation to the role the Facebook audience plays in movement organizations. Communication on Facebook may catalyze deliberation, information sharing and mobilization. Moreover, evidence was found pointing to its use for the self-organization of protest participation. Yet, engagement between SMOs and their Facebook audience bore little on decision-making within the organizations. Although limited in scope, the emerging contribution of such communication may be by way of channelling items into decision-making agendas.


Although next‐generation DNA sequencing technologies have made rare variant association studies feasible and affordable, the development of powerful statistical methods for rare variant association studies is still under way. Most of the existing methods for rare variant association studies compare the number of rare mutations in a group of rare variants (in a gene or a pathway) between cases and controls. However, these methods assume that all causal variants are risk to diseases. Recently, several methods that are robust to the direction and magnitude of effects of causal variants have been proposed. However, they are applicable to unrelated individuals only, whereas family data have been shown to improve power to detect rare variants. In this article, we propose two adaptive weighting methods for rare variant association studies based on family data for quantitative traits. Using extensive simulation studies, we evaluate and compare our proposed methods with two methods based on the weights proposed by Madsen and Browning. Our results show that both proposed methods are robust to population stratification, robust to the direction and magnitude of the effects of causal variants, and more powerful than the methods using weights suggested by Madsen and Browning, especially when both risk and protective variants are present. Genet. Epidemiol. 36:499‐507, 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.


The metathetical reaction between the lithium 1-azaallyl compound [{HMPA·LiN(H)C(t-Bu)CH2}2] (1) with zirconocene dichloride (2) results in the formation of the zirconocene ketimide [Cp2Zr(Cl)N=C(t-Bu)CH3] (3; Cp = cyclopentadienyl) and lithium chloride. After it is transferred to the transition metal, the azaallyl ligand isomerizes to a ketimido variation. An energetic preference of 11.9 kcal mol-1 in favor of the zirconocene ketimide over its theoretical azaallyl isomer was determined by ab initio molecular orbital calculations (at the HF/LanL2DZ level). These studies, in combination with an X-ray diffraction analysis of 3, suggest that the preference for the ketimide isomer is due to the presence of a heteroallenic (Zr-N-C) interaction. This bonding mode is consistent with the short Zr-N bond length of 2.007(2) i.. found in the crystal structure of 3. Treatment of 3 with MeLi affords the corresponding methyl derivative [Cp2Zr(Me)N=C(t-Bu)CH3] (4). 1H NMR spectroscopic experiments reveal that addition of the Lewis acid B(C6F5)3 to 4 results in methide abstraction, with retention of the ketimide unit on the cationic zirconocene. Ab initio molecular orbital calculations confirmed the energetic preference for the 1-ketimide cation [Cp2ZrN=C(t-Bu)CH3]+ over either the 1-azaallyl isomer [Cp2Zr{1-N(H)C(t-Bu)CH2}]+ or the 3-azaallyl isomer [Cp2Zr{3-N(H)C(t-Bu)CH2}]+ (by 17.9 and 1.2 kcal mol-1, respectively). Both 3 and 4 have been shown to be active catalysts for the polymerization of ethylene in combination with a MAO cocatalyst. In addition, 4 polymerizes ethylene in combination with a mixed B(C6F5)3/i-Bu3Al cocatalyst.


Plastics have achieved a dominant position in agriculture because of their transparency, lightness in weight, impermeability to water and their resistance to microbial attack. It is use as food and fruits packaging, fruit bag, food container, seedling bag, mulching film, protective for greenhouse, dryer shed and among others. However, this generates higher quantity of wastes that are difficult to dispose by farmers. The plastic residues remain on the soil for some years as large pieces and they are impediment to plant growth and also a potential hazard to animals if the land is subsequently put down to grass. To address these problems, the project aim to d evelop and evaluate the biodegradable film for mango fruit bag during development. Cassava starch and p olybutylene succinate (PBS) was used in the development biodegradable film. The PBS and starch was melt-blended in a twin-screw extruder and then blown into film extrusion machine. The physic-chemical-mechanical properties of biodegradable fruit bag were done following standard methods of test. Field testing of fruit bag was also conducted to evaluate its durability and efficiency field condition. The PHilMech-FiC fruit bag is made of biodegradable material measuring 6 x 8 inches with a thickness of 150 microns. The tensile strength is within the range of LDPE while the elongation is w ithin the range of H DPE. However, it has higher density, thickness swelling and absorbed more water. It is projected that after thirty six (36) weeks, the film will be totally degraded. Results of field testing shows that the quality of harvested fruits using PHilMech-FiC biodegradable fruit bag in terms of percent marketable, non-marketable and export, peel color at ripe stage, flesh color, TSS, o Brix, percent edible portion is comparable with the existing bagging materials such as Chinese brown paper bag  and old newspaper.


Google Android, Google's new product and its first attempt to enter the mobile market, might have an equal impact on mobile users like Apple's hyped product, the iPhone. In this Technical report we are going to present the Google Android platform, what Android is, describe why it might be considered as a worthy rival to Apple's iPhone. We will describe parts of its internals, take a look "under the hood" while explaining components of the underlying operating system. We will show how to develop applications for this platform, which difficulties a developer might have to face, and how developers can possibly use other programming languages to develop for Android than the propagated language Java.


During a spring‐summer bloom in a large Arctic polynya, vertically distinct protist communities (phytoplankton and protozoa) occurred within layers caused by interleaving and entrainment of different water masses. We developed a ternary community distance index to quantify the variability in protist community structure in these heterogeneous surface layers. This index was highly correlated (r = 0.984, n = 6) with the extent of physical interleaving (quantified as the root mean square deviations in temperature between measured and smoothed profiles) indicating a high degree of physical‐biotic coupling within water columns of the polynya. Water mass layering created favorable conditions for ciliate blooms. These blooms were associated with distinct temperature‐salinity layers. These layers might act as processing traps for particulate organic matter, with highest concentrations of viruses and bacteria (specifically cells with open or leaky membranes, suggesting microbial grazing pressure) occurring in highly interleaved water columns. In contrast, viral and bacterial concentrations were lowest at a noninterleaved station where protist biomass was dominated by flagellates and small dinoflagellates that were evenly distributed down the water column. Water mass interleaving is likely to contribute to microbial biodiversity, community structure and vertical segmentation of biogeochemical processes in the upper ocean.


Although the average annual precipitation of the Clatsop Plains is 78.5 inches, the area is not without problems of water supply. The Clatsop Plains area is underlain by Tertiary bedrock of low permeability that stores and yields small quantities of ground water, which may be of poor chemical quality. This Tertiary bedrock furnishes only minor ground-water discharge to maintain the base flow of streams. The flow of rivers and creeks, normally abundant during the wet season, decreases greatly during the dry summer months. The lowlands are overlain by extensive deposits of dune and beach sand. The dune sand is permeable and can absorb and store, as fresh water, a large percentage of the annual precipitation. In the central part of the dune area, the saturated thickness of the sand ranges from 95 to more than 150 feet. Most of the ground water in the sand discharges to the ocean through beach-line seeps and underflow. Much of the water now being discharged to the ocean could be recovered by pumping from properly located, designed, and constructed wells. Three test wells drilled as part of this study are capable of yielding 100 gallons per minute although they are equipped with only short lengths of well screen. It is estimated that 2,500 acre-feet of ground water per year per square mile of area may be available for withdrawal in the 10square mile area that is most favorable for development. The water from the dune sand is soft to moderately hard, has a low chloride concentration, and is of generally good chemical quality; however, at places it is weakly acidic and contains sufficient dissolved iron to make iron removal necessary for some uses. Ground water from shallow depths beneath a few swampy low-lying areas is brown and contains excessive concentrations of iron. INTRODUCTION Water to supply the needs of the Clatsop Plains might be obtained from the ground, streams, and manmade reservoirs. Streamflow, normally abundant during the wet seasons of the year, decreases greatly during summer, and the lack of suitable reservoir sites makes surface Al A2 CONTKIBUTIONS TO THE HYDKOLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES


We investigate the effect of Rashba spin-orbit coupling (SOC) on the optoelectronic properties of $n$- and $p$-type monolayer ${\mathrm{MoS}}_{2}$. The optical conductivity is calculated within the Kubo formalism. We find that the spin-flip transitions enabled by the Rashba SOC result in a wide absorption window in the optical spectrum. Furthermore, we evaluate the effects of the polarization direction of the radiation, temperature, carrier density, and the strength of the Rashba spin-orbit parameter on the optical conductivity. We find that the position, width, and shape of the absorption peak or absorption window can be tuned by varying these parameters. This study shows that monolayer ${\mathrm{MoS}}_{2}$ can be a promising tunable optical and optoelectronic material that is active in the infrared to terahertz spectral range.


A long-standing idea is that the macroevolutionary adaptive landscape – a 'map' of phenotype to fitness – constrains evolution because certain phenotypes are fit, while others are universally unfit. Such constraints should be evident in traits that, across many species, cluster around particular modal values, with few intermediates between modes. Here, I compile a new global database of 599 species from 94 plant families showing that stomatal ratio, an important functional trait affecting photosynthesis, is multimodal, hinting at distinct peaks in the adaptive landscape. The dataset confirms that most plants have all their stomata on the lower leaf surface (hypostomy), but shows for the first time that species with roughly half their stomata on each leaf surface (amphistomy) form a distinct mode in the trait distribution. Based on a new evolutionary process model, this multimodal pattern is unlikely without constraint. Further, multimodality has evolved repeatedly across disparate families, evincing long-term constraint on the adaptive landscape. A simple cost-benefit model of stomatal ratio demonstrates that selection alone is sufficient to generate an adaptive landscape with multiple peaks. Finally, phylogenetic comparative methods indicate that life history evolution drives shifts between peaks. This implies that the adaptive benefit conferred by amphistomy – increased photosynthesis – is most important in plants with fast life histories, challenging existing ideas that amphistomy is an adaptation to thick leaves and open habitats. I conclude that peaks in the adaptive landscape have been constrained by selection over much of land plant evolution, leading to predictable, repeatable patterns of evolution.


The point of departure for this investigation were some generally accepted impressionistic statements about durational differences in Dutch and German vowels. An acoustic analysis of utterances spoken by various groups of speakers was carried out. Differences between native speakers and second-language learners were manifest to a varying degree. Long training does not guarantee the best approximation to native performance. Furthermore it is apparent that current ideas about vowel duration in the two languages should be modified: the differences are not so great as generally thought. Phonological factors rather than specific durations are relevant. Unlike Dutch, German vowels are considerably longer before voiced than before voiceless medial consonants.


Most countries of Latin America lived through long dictatorships before transitioning to democracy in the late twentieth century. Who keeps the spirit of resistance alive during bleak periods of intense repression? Who reaffirms the principles of democracy when they are violated with impunity? In Panama, a clandestine weekly titled El Grito (The Cry), published during the first four years of the military dictatorship installed in 1968, became a reliable source of information, a vehicle of protest, and a mouthpiece of democratic education. Never divining that those responsible for the clandestine publication were women, the military regime was unable to stop it. Uncovering unknown details of the weekly, this paper retrieves the effort made by a small group of middle-class women who did not identify with any political party and had no financial support other than their own limited resources. We suggest that attention be paid to the actors—often from relegated social groups—who keep the spirit of protest alive in countries during long periods of political repression. We show that, contrary to general expectations, those occupying subordinate positions in society may have an advantage in carrying out resistance activities against authoritarian regimes.


K. pneumoniae commonly infects hospitalized patients, and these infections are increasingly resistant to carbapenems, the antibiotics of last resort for life-threatening bacterial infections. To prevent and treat these infections, we must better understand how K. pneumoniae causes disease and discover new ways to predict and detect infections. This study demonstrates that colonization with K. pneumoniae in the intestinal tract is strongly linked to subsequent infection. This finding helps to identify a potential time frame and possible approach for intervention: the colonizing strain from a patient could be isolated as part of a risk assessment, and antibiotic susceptibility testing could guide empirical therapy if the patient becomes acutely ill. ABSTRACT Klebsiella pneumoniae is among the most common causes of hospital-acquired infections and has emerged as an urgent threat to public health due to carbapenem antimicrobial resistance. K. pneumoniae commonly colonizes hospitalized patients and causes extraintestinal infections such as urinary tract infection, bloodstream infection (septicemia), and pneumonia. If colonization is an intermediate step before infection, then detection and characterization of colonizing isolates could enable strategies to prevent or empirically treat K. pneumoniae infections in hospitalized patients. However, the strength of the association between colonization and infection is unclear. To test the hypothesis that hospitalized patients become infected with their colonizing strain, 1,765 patients were screened for rectal colonization with K. pneumoniae, and extraintestinal isolates from these same patients were collected over a 3-month period in a cohort study design. The overall colonization prevalence was 23.0%. After adjustment for other patient factors, colonization was significantly associated with subsequent infection: 21 of 406 (5.2%) colonized patients later had extraintestinal infection, compared to 18 of 1,359 (1.3%) noncolonized patients (adjusted odds ratio [OR], 4.01; 95% confidence interval, 2.08 to 7.73; P < 0.001). Despite a high diversity of colonizing isolates, 7/7 respiratory, 4/4 urinary, and 2/5 bloodstream isolates from colonized patients matched the patient corresponding rectal swab isolates, based on wzi capsular typing, multilocus sequence typing (MLST), and whole-genome sequence analysis. These results suggest that K. pneumoniae colonization is directly associated with progression to extraintestinal infection. IMPORTANCE K. pneumoniae commonly infects hospitalized patients, and these infections are increasingly resistant to carbapenems, the antibiotics of last resort for life-threatening bacterial infections. To prevent and treat these infections, we must better understand how K. pneumoniae causes disease and discover new ways to predict and detect infections. This study demonstrates that colonization with K. pneumoniae in the intestinal tract is strongly linked to subsequent infection. This finding helps to identify a potential time frame and possible approach for intervention: the colonizing strain from a patient could be isolated as part of a risk assessment, and antibiotic susceptibility testing could guide empirical therapy if the patient becomes acutely ill.


This essay argues that society's demands on the higher education system are to some extent legitimate. However, there seem to be some unintended effects of the dominant discourses of performativity, which impact deplorably on education and educational research. We deal with some of the tensions which permeate higher education discourses, in particular the duration of research projects, the atomism of individuals doing research, and the relationship between research and education policy. We recognise that at least there is a willingness within the higher education sector to engage critically with value-laden aspects of education.


We explore the idea of public policy from the perspective of evolutionary thinking. This involves paying attention to concepts like diversity, population, selection, innovation, coevolution, group selection, path-dependence and lock-in. We critically discuss the notion of evolutionary progress. The relevance of evolutionary dynamics is illustrated for policy and political change, technical change, sustainability transitions and regulation of consumer behaviour. A lack of attention for the development of evolutionary policy criteria and goals is identified and alternative choices are critically evaluated. Finally, evolutionary policy advice is compared with policy advice coming from neoclassical economics, public choice theory and theories of resilience and adaptive management. We argue that evolutionary thinking offers a distinct and useful perspective on public policy design and change. -- Adaptive management ; coevolution ; escaping lock-in ; evolutionary politics ; evolutionary progress ; innovation policy ; optimal diversity ; resilience ; social-technical transition


A number of large submarine intraplate volcanic ridges have been discovered throughout the South Pacific Basin, but their origins are enigmatic. Recent shipboard geophysical surveys reveal that the Sojourn Ridge, one of these large intraplate ridges, becomes a chain of discrete seamount volcanoes that intersects the ridge axis. This seamount chain exhibits several features that suggest that it is directly related to the Sojourn Ridge. The Sojourn Seamount Chain grows continuously in both volume and number of seamounts with distance from the spreading axis; several loci of recent volcanic activity along the chain are evident in the side-scan imagery, and a mantle Bouguer anomaly low underlies the entire length of the chain. This evidence provides new constraints on the origin of intraplate volcanic ridges. The continuation of the Sojourn Ridge system as a volcano chain that extends to within 5 km of the spreading axis implies active generation of magma and a focusing mechanism, such as flexural stresses induced by the mass of the volcanic pile, as the probable mechanism for developing volcanic ridges and long seamount chains.


The ongoing review of the IMF, initiated in 2005 by Managing Director De Rato, presents an excellent opportunity to re-examine the role, functions and governance of the Fund. In particular, the objective, scope and conduct of IMF surveillance have been identified as a key area for renewal. In this paper, we offer a new vision for IMF surveillance. There are two main parts to our proposal. First, we develop "Guidelines for Economic Policy Frameworks" that outline the objective and scope of surveillance. They delineate the benchmarks against which members economic policy frameworks can be assessed. The Guidelines also serve to clarify the principles under which surveillance is conducted, and reaffirm members' commitments to the surveillance process under their Article IV obligations. The second element of our proposal is a "Surveillance Remit". The Remit defines the aim of surveillance and the obligations of the Fund to pursue this goal. As such the Remit creates a mechanism to hold the Fund accountable. An important implication of the Remit is that it requires the Fund to become more independent in its day-to-day operations. In addition, we propose procedures for communicating surveillance and for assessing the Fund's conduct of surveillance. Taken together, the various elements reinforce each other, providing a clear role for the IMF, as well as its member countries, in the surveillance process. This principles-based approach can bolster the credibility and legitimacy of surveillance, and ultimately its effectiveness, to the benefit of all members.


This paper attempts to give a high-level overview of the field of artificial and computational intelligence (AI/CI) in games, with particular reference to how the different core research areas within this field inform and interact with each other, both actually and potentially. We identify ten main research areas within this field: NPC behavior learning, search and planning, player modeling, games as AI benchmarks, procedural content generation, computational narrative, believable agents, AI-assisted game design, general game artificial intelligence and AI in commercial games. We view and analyze the areas from three key perspectives: 1) the dominant AI method(s) used under each area; 2) the relation of each area with respect to the end (human) user; and 3) the placement of each area within a human-computer (player-game) interaction perspective. In addition, for each of these areas we consider how it could inform or interact with each of the other areas; in those cases where we find that meaningful interaction either exists or is possible, we describe the character of that interaction and provide references to published studies, if any. We believe that this paper improves understanding of the current nature of the game AI/CI research field and the interdependences between its core areas by providing a unifying overview. We also believe that the discussion of potential interactions between research areas provides a pointer to many interesting future research projects and unexplored subfields.


This study is aimed at developing novel, inexpensive hydrogels for containing drug and with the potential for targeting cancer cells in vitro. In this work, Folic acid has been conjugated with α-Cyclodextrin and then used as a building block for constructing novel supramolecular hydrogels together with Poly(ethylene glycol) methyl ether in aqueous solutions. Resultant hydrogel materials have been investigated with respect to their controlled release characteristics for the encapsulated drug Doxorubicin hydrochloride and biological activity was also studied for this supramolecular hydrogels.


Abstract. Graphics processing units (GPUs) are an attractive solution in many scientific applications due to their high performance. However, most existing GPU conversions of climate models use GPUs for only a few computationally intensive regions. In the present study, we redesign the mpiPOM (a parallel version of the Princeton Ocean Model) with GPUs. Specifically, we first convert the model from its original Fortran form to a new Compute Unified Device Architecture C (CUDA-C) code, then we optimize the code on each of the GPUs, the communications between the GPUs, and the I / O between the GPUs and the central processing units (CPUs). We show that the performance of the new model on a workstation containing four GPUs is comparable to that on a powerful cluster with 408 standard CPU cores, and it reduces the energy consumption by a factor of 6.8.


The assumption that asset prices are determined by the efforts of end investors to maximize intertemporal utility supports a pricing theory that is both elegant and intuitive. Unfortunately, the assumption is counterfactual. End investors, with few exceptions, lack the capacity to behave in a fashion consistent with the theory. More to the point, they don't try. Instead, investment decision-making is delegated. Thus, it is important to understand the investment management ecosystem. Is it a simple pass-through mechanism? We do not believe so and argue, instead, that the lack of alignment implies the cross-section of asset returns is significantly influenced by active money managers and deviates from the predictions of the consumption-based model. Using a simple thought experiment, we demonstrate that the widely adopted discounted cash flow model is likely both to drive prices and to determine the cross section of average returns. This leads to a self-fulfilling feedback loop in which once an asset pricing model is adopted by active managers as a means of estimating the discount rate, it becomes a determinant of expected returns.