A shear slip fault, an equivalence of a double couple source, has often been assumed to be a kinematic source model in ground motion simulation. Estimation of seismic moment based on the shear slip model indicates the size of an earthquake. However, if the dislocation of the hanging wall relative to the footwall includes not only a shear slip tangent to the fault plane but also expansion and compression normal to the fault plane, the radiating seismic waves will feature differences from those out of the shear slip fault. Taking account of the effects resulting from expansion and compression to a fault plane, we can resolve the tension and pressure axes as well as the fault plane solution more exactly from ground motions than previously, and can evaluate how far a fault zone opens or contracts during a developing rupture. In addition to a tensile angle and Poisson's ratio for the medium, a tensile fault with five degrees of freedom has been extended from the shear slip fault with only three degrees of freedom, strike, dip, and slip.


The research examines whether U.S. food companies will achieve competitive advantages by implementing green strategies throughout their supply chains. Since being green has been a strategy for companies to pursue both financial and social benefits, companies have increasingly implemented green strategies. However, the food industry faces many challenges and issues in the supply chain. Using prior research as the measure to gauge how green strategies will help food companies achieve competitive advantages, this study examined green strategies implemented throughout the supply chain by U.S. food companies. It found that food companies which implement green strategies in food supply chain will consider different strategies in different processes. However, these green strategies should respond to the issues regarding the food supply chain, have innovative thinking, integrate sustainability into the core business strategy, and market their brand image with green concept to the public. By adopting these principles, food companies can achieve competitive advantages through differentiated green.


Radiological and histopathological studies have established that in addition to the classical white matter (WM) demyelinating lesions, cortical grey matter (CGM) lesions are also a significant part of the pathology in multiple sclerosis (MS), and contribute to the clinical and cognitive deficits seen in MS patients. Double inversion recovery (DIR) has been identified as a good sequence for the radiological detection of cortical grey matter lesions. In this project I investigated the role of phase sensitive inversion recovery (PSIR), a T1-weighted MRI sequence, using a 3T MRI scanner, for the detection of CGM lesions in multiple sclerosis. Detection of CGM lesions on a standard DIR sequence (1x1x3mm resolution) was compared with a higher resolution PSIR sequence (0.5x0.5x2mm), to explore if it can help improve the study of CGM lesions. A representative cohort, including patients with relapsing remitting (RR), primary progressive (PP) and secondary progressive (SP)MS, was recruited in this project, together with controls in order to allow a comparison of findings with those of healthy subjects who do not have MS. I systematically investigated if the use of high resolution PSIR scans can improve CGM lesion detection and classification, when compared to DIR. Using the PSIR sequence, I studied the hypothesis that the distribution of lesions impacts the pattern of cognitive impairment seen in patients. CGM lesion volumes were estimated for frontal, temporal , parietal and occipital lobes and cognitive tests were conducted (Hayling, Stroop, immediate and 4 delayed story and figure recall, PASAT (Paced auditory serial addition test) and SDMT (Symbol digit modality test)). Differences between phenotypes and associations with cognitive measures were explored using a multiple regression model. A follow up study was undertaken to understand how CGM lesions evolve with time and in order to explore potential specificity of PSIRdetected CGM lesions, I compared the findings of CGM lesion detection in MS patients, with patients diagnosed with Fabry's disease. Compared with DIR, high resolution PSIR was found to detect a significantly greater number of CGM lesions and also improved the classification of CGM lesions. A fronto-temporal dominance of CGM lesions was noted in my study. Different CGM and JC lesion subtypes were found to be associated with cognitive function; the relationship being influenced by the lobar location and the cognitive function being assessed. In the follow-up study I found that people with SPMS have a grater accrual of CGM lesions than RRMS and the process appeared to be independent of WM lesion accrual. CGM lesions were also seen in patients with Fabry's disease though the frequency was less that in MS. The data presented in my study suggests that PSIR has the potential to improve the quantitative and qualitative study of CGM lesions. CGM lesions were noted across all disease phenotypes, though more common in progressive disease. The distribution, accrual and evolution of CGM lesions provides insights into the pathogenesis of MS and helps understand the contribution of CGM lesions to neurological and cognitive impairment. Detection of CGM lesions has a potential role to help with a diagnosis of MS when it suspected but not confirmed.


Carbonatites have formed for at least the past three billion years. But over the past 700 My the incidence of carbonatites have significantly increased. We compile an updated list of 609 carbonatite occurrences and plot 387 of known age on plate tectonic reconstructions. Plate reconstructions from Devonian to present show that 75% of carbonatites are emplaced within 600 km of craton edges. Carbonatites are also associated with large igneous provinces, orogenies, and rift zones, suggesting that carbonatite magmatism is restricted to discrete geotectonic environments that can overlap in space and time. Temporal constraints indicate carbonatites and related magmas may form an ephemeral but significant flux of carbon between the mantle and atmosphere.


The current willingness of major American Jewish organizations and leaders to dismiss the threat from white supremacists in the name of supporting Israel represents a new stage in the shifting relationship of U.S. Jews toward Zionism. In the first stage, during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the majority of U.S. Jews did not take to Zionism, as its goals seemed antithetical to their aspirations to join mainstream American society. In a second stage, attitudes toward Zionism grew more positive as conditions for European Jews worsened, and Jewish settlement in Palestine grew substantially. Following Israeli statehood in 1948, U.S. Jews began gradually to support Israel. Jewish groups and leaders increasingly characterized criticism of Zionism as inherently anti-Semitic and attacked Israel9s critics. In a third and most recent stage, many major Jewish organizations and leaders have subordinated the traditional U.S. Jewish interest in combatting white supremacy and bigotry when it comes into conflict with support for Israel and Zionism.


We propose a sender-driven system for adaptive streaming from multiple servers to a single receiver over separate network paths. The servers employ information in receiver feedbacks to estimate the available bandwidth on the paths and then compute appropriate transmission schedules for streaming media packets to the receiver based on the bandwidth estimates. An optimization framework is proposed that enables the senders to compute their transmission schedules in a distributed way, and yet to dynamically coordinate them over time such that the resulting video quality at the receiver is maximized. To reduce the computational complexity of the optimization framework an alternative technique based on packet classification is proposed. The substantial reduction in online complexity due to the resulting packet partitioning makes the technique suitable for practical implementations of adaptive and efficient distributed streaming systems. Simulations with internet network traces demonstrate that the proposed solution adapts effectively to bandwidth variations and packet loss. They show that the proposed streaming framework provides superior performance over a conventional distortion-agnostic scheme that performs proportional packet scheduling on the network paths according to their respective bandwidth values.


This dissertation examines daily life and social service practices in a secular homeless shelter for women in Tamil Nadu, south India. The residents of the shelter have diverse backgrounds but local staff members and volunteers describe them collectively as "women with no one": unwed mothers, orphans, widows, women abandoned or abused by husbands and lovers, former sex workers, prisoners' wives, and women deemed mentally or physically unfit for marriage. Daily negotiations of belonging take place among this transient and diverse group of marginalized women and equally diverse and transnational care providers. The closed shelter campus provides an opportunity to query the everyday experience of secularism and pluralism. Shelter board members emphasize these concepts as guiding principles of the institution. Indeed, they are touted in many settings as a necessary and laudable framework for democratic life in globalized and increasingly diverse populations. But how do individuals and communities, in everyday life and interactions, understand and engage with such abstract ideals? Ethnographic research, conducted between August 2008 and August 2009, revealed important insights regarding the ideals shaping the secular goals of the shelter, namely women's social rehabilitation. First, the definition of secularism cannot be assumed and is not universal. Inline with commonsense equations of secularism and pluralism in India, the secular goals of the shelter involved passionate displays of religious conviction, continuous ethical deliberation, and reflection on cultural ideals of womanhood and family. Secularism, in other words, was a religious, cultural, and gendered idea and practice. Second, just as there were many secularisms, many Christianities were embodied and articulated within the shelter. The institution depended on various local and international Christian communities for donations of time and money. They each had different understandings of the relationship between Christianity and women's social rehabilitation. Third, cultural ideals are fragile. The social stigma faced by women living outside of patriarchal family structures and the forced intimacy of women with diverse backgrounds living together on a closed campus emphasized this fact. Faced with the fragility of social and cultural ideals, women at the shelter took great risks to forge new terms of belonging, community, and womanhood. "WOMEN WITH NO ONE": COMMUNITY AND CHRISTIANITY IN A SECULAR SOUTH INDIAN HOMELESS SHELTER


Aphasia disrupts multiple language processes with anomia being one of the most common and persisting deficit. Individuals may use a variety of compensatory strategies to circumvent the problem, including writing, gesturing, and drawing (Farias, Davis, & Harrington, 2006). However, few formal programs have promoted drawing as a means to facilitate communication. Approaches available typically use drawing as a language substitute rather than as a catalyst for enhancing verbal expression (Sacchett, 2002) and there has been minimal focus on drawing as a compensatory strategy for word retrieval (Lyon, 1995). Furthermore, training usually emphasizes recognizing drawing rather than a format for information exchange (Morgan & Helm-Estabrooks, 1987; Sacchett, 2002).

Semantic Feature Analysis (SFA) is a treatment approach based on the premise that although anomic individuals have difficulty retrieving words, ability to access semantic features of targets may be somewhat intact (Beeson, Holland, & Murray, 1995). The semantic system is accessed by producing words related to target words; in SFA, individuals incorporate these strategies as self-cues to retrieve target words (Boyle, 2004; Rider & Wright, 2008). To date, this approach has been used primarily to enhance verbal output only.

Taylor and Hough (2013) used drawing to explore improvement of word retrieval skills in a woman with chronic mixed aphasia. Results revealed improvement in naming treatment pictures with some generalization to untreated stimuli as well as relevant increases on the Boston Naming Test-II (BNT-II) (Kaplan, Goodglass, & Weintraub, 2001). The current study extends investigation of drawing treatment to examine if two males with chronic nonfluent aphasia improved ability to name pictured objects through a drawing protocol. In individual single subject designs, HR and TE underwent brief but intense treatment, incorporating drawing with SFA to improve retrieval.


Abstract Parent–child language interaction in early childhood carries long-term implications for children's language and reading development. Conversational interaction, in particular, has been linked to white matter organization of neural pathways critical for language and reading. However, shared book reading serves an important role for language interaction as it exposes children to sophisticated vocabulary and syntax. Despite this, it remains unclear whether shared reading also relates to white matter characteristics subserving language and reading development. If so, to what extent do these environmentally associated changes in white matter organization relate to subsequent reading outcomes? This longitudinal study examined shared reading and white matter organization in kindergarten in relation to subsequent language and reading outcomes among 77 typically developing children. Findings reveal positive associations between the number of hours children are read to weekly (shared reading time) and the fractional anisotropy of the left arcuate fasciculus, as well as left lateralization of the superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF). Furthermore, left lateralization of the SLF in these kindergarteners is associated with subsequent reading abilities in second grade. Mediation analyses reveal that left lateralization of the SLF fully mediates the relationship between shared reading time and second-grade reading abilities. Results are significant when controlling for age and socioeconomic status. This is the first evidence demonstrating how white matter structure, in relation to shared reading in kindergarten, is associated with school-age reading outcomes. Results illuminate shared reading as a key proxy for the home language and literacy environment and further our understanding of how language interaction may support neurocognitive development.


Natural products remain a source of new drugs. Many plant-derived drugs have been introduced to the market and used as medicine in today's society. However, only a small percentage of plants have been investigated for their chemical constituents and medicinal properties.

This study aimed to determine the phytochemical constituents of species belonging to genera that have historical medicinal uses or known biological activities. Five species belonging to three families were investigated in this study: Croton dichogamus Pax (Euphorbiaceae family), Crinum sp. 6538, Crinum hardyi Lehmiller and of Crinum sp. 5629 (Amaryllidaceae family), and Toona sinensis M. Roem (Meliaceae family). The families and genera which were chosen for this study have been reported to possess various classes of compounds with different biological activities including anti-cancer activity.
A total of thirty-three compounds were isolated in this study, of which five compounds were new and one was a new isomer. The roots of Croton dichogamus yielded fifteen compounds including four known sesquiterpenoids (CD.1-CD.4), one new enantiomer of a known sesquiterpenoid (CD.5), four known ent-clerodane diterpenoids (CD.6-CD.9), two new ent-halimane diterpenoids (CD.10-CD.11), one known crotofolane (CD.12), two new crotofolane diterpenoids (CD.13-CD.14) and one known triterpenoid (CD.15). The bulbs of Crinum sp. 6538, Crinum hardyi and of Crinum sp. 5629 gave nine compounds: one new alkaloid (CF.2), seven known alkaloids (CF.1, CF.3, CF.4, CF.5, CF.6, CH.1 and CS.3) along with an alkaloid salt (CF.7). The stem bark of Toona sinensis yielded nine compounds: five known triterpenoids (TS.1-TS.5), two known flavonoids (TS.6-TS.7) and two common phytosterols (TS.8-TS.9). The structures of these compounds were determined using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, infrared spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, electronic circular dichroism and optical rotation measurements. Some of the isolated compounds were screened in vitro for cell viability against Caco-2 (Human Colorectal Adenocarcinoma) cell lines by using the neutral red assay. CD.5 showed some activity with an IC50 of 24.1 µM. Selected compounds were submitted to the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in the USA for testing at one dose of 15 µg/ml NCI60 cell line panel. The mean values of growth inhibition of all compounds did not meet the criteria for further testing against the five-dose NCI60 cell line panel.


Hydrogen solubility of FLiNaK (LiF 46.5 mol% + NaF 11.5% + KF 42 mol%) were investigated with hydrogen plasma interaction. To use molten salt as liquid wall for fusion device, tritium retention property of the molten salt should be studied. Although there have been some reports on hydrogen solubility of FLiNaK, retention property of FLiNaK with hydrogen plasma interaction has not been reported yet. Hydrogen outgassing of molten FLiNaK was measured with RGA after interaction of hydrogen plasma. Hydrogen partial pressure of the RGA was calibrated with an H2 mass flow controller of 5sccm. Hydrogen plasma was generated with 500W ECR source and the molten FLiNaK was contained with heated crucible of diameter of 46mm and depth of 40mm. By measuring hydrogen ion density near the surface of FLiNaK, we evaluated dose of hydrogen to the FLiNaK and calculated retention percentage with measured outgassing amount of hydrogen. Compared to Henry's law, plasma-interacted-FLiNaK showed significantly large amount of hydrogen retention such as 10000 times.


Caries-associated biofilms induce loss of calcium from tooth surfaces in the presence of dietary carbohydrates. Exopolysaccharides (EPS) provide a matrix scaffold and an abundance of primary binding sites within biofilms. The role of EPS in binding calcium in cariogenic biofilms is only partially understood. Thus, the aim of the present study is to investigate the relationship between the calcium dissolution rates and calcium tolerance of caries-associated bacteria and yeast as well as to examine the properties of EPS to quantify its binding affinity for dissolved calcium. Calcium dissolution was measured by dissolution zones on Pikovskaya's agar. Calcium tolerance was assessed by isothermal microcalorimetry (IMC) by adding CaCl2 to the bacterial cultures. Acid-base titration and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy were used to identify possible functional groups responsible for calcium binding, which was assessed by isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC). Lactobacillus spp. and mutans streptococci demonstrated calcium dissolution in the presence of different carbohydrates. All strains that demonstrated high dissolution rates also revealed higher rates of calcium tolerance by IMC. In addition, acidic functional groups were predominantly identified as possible binding sites for calcium ions by acid-base titration and FTIR. Finally, ITC revealed EPS to have a higher binding affinity for calcium compared, for example, to lactic acid. In conclusion, this study illustrates the role of EPS in terms of the calcium tolerance of cariogenic microbiota by determining the ability of EPS to control free calcium concentrations within the biofilms as a self-regulating mode of action in the pathogenesis of dental caries.


The influence of autumn management on the productivity, morphology, and botanical composition of an orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata L.) and white clover (Trifolium repens L.) sward was investigated over 3 yr. Stockpiled (nongrazed) canopies were clipped at fixed intervals throughout autumn from exclosures established in each of nine paddocks to determine growth rates and productivity of standing herbage. Pastures were grazed by weaned lambs (Ovis aries) beginning in August in each of 3 yr. Grazing animals were removed from three replicate paddocks after 30 (early closed), 60, or 90 d (late closed). Paddocks were sampled at 2-wk intervals to determine herbage mass, botanical composition, and total nonstructural carbohydrate concentrations of grasses and legumes. Early-closed paddocks continued to accumulate herbage during autumn, resulting in greater senescence over winter than in late-closed paddocks. Herbage mass in spring was not affected by autumn management. Late-closed paddocks had significantly more clover than did early-closed paddocks in spring. Early-closed paddocks were comprised of grass plants that had relatively few and large tillers and by white clover plants that had fewer growing points than those in late-closed paddocks. In comparison, late-closed paddocks had grass plants comprised of many small tillers and white clover plants with about twice as many growing points. Stolon mass was greater, but total nonstructural carbohydrate concentrations were less during autumn in late- than in early-closed paddocks. The decrease in clover mass over the course of the experiment coincided with a decrease in total herbage mass. A delicate balance between growing points and carbohydrates may be involved in clover presence in mixed swards.


Beginning in the 1890s, reaching its first full realization by modernist writers in the 1920s, and brought to its heyday during the Canadian Renaissance starting in the 1960s, the short story has become Canada's flagship genre. It continues to attract the country's most accomplished and innovative writers today, among them Margaret Atwood, Mavis Gallant, Alice Munro, Clark Blaise, and many others. Yet in contrast to the stature and popularity of the genre and the writers who partake in it, surprisingly little literary criticism has been devoted to the Canadian short story. This book redresses that imbalance by providing the first collection of critical interpretations of thirty well-known and often-anthologized Canadian short stories from the genre's beginnings through the twentieth century.A historical survey of the genre introduces the volume and a timeline comparing the genre's development in Canada, the US, and Great Britain completes it. Geared both to specialists in and students of Canadian literature, the volume is of particular benefit to the latter because it provides not only a collection of interpretations, but a comprehensive introduction to the history of the Canadian short story. Contributors include: Reingard M. Nischik, Martina Seifert, Heinz Antor, Julia Breitbach, Konrad Gross, Paul Goetsch, Dieter Meindl, Nina Kuck, Stefan Ferguson, Rudolf Bader, Fabienne C. Quennet, Martin Kuester, Jutta Zimmermann, Silvia Mergenthal, Caroline Rosenthal, Wolfgang Klooss, Lothar Honnighausen, Heinz Ickstadt, Gordon Bolling, Christina Strobel, Waldemar Zacharasiewicz, Nadja Gernalzick, Eva Gruber, Brigitte Glaser, Georgiana Banita. Reingard M. Nischik is professor and chair of American Literature at the University of Constance, Germany.


Also available as an e-book In a relatively short time the concept of "sustainable development" has become firmly established in the field of international law. The World Commission on Environment and Development concisely defined sustainable development as follows: "development that meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs". This definition takes into account the needs of both the present and future generations as well as the capacity of the earth and its natural resources which by clear implication should not be depleted by a small group of people (in industrialized countries). The aim of this book is threefold : to review the genesis and to clarify the meaning of the concept of sustainable development, as well as to assess its status within public international law. Furthermore, it examines the legal principles that have emerged in the pursuit of sustainable development. Lastly, it assesses to what extent the actual evolution of law demonstrates the balance and integration with all pertinent fields of international law as urged by the Rio, Johannesburg, and World Summit documents. This is the second volume in the Hague Academy of International Law Pocket Book series; it contains the text of the course given at the Hague Academy by Professor Schrijver.


Context. Starbursts and substantial variations in the star formation histories are a common phenomenon in galaxies. Although predominantly found in interacting galaxies, they also occur in isolated galaxies. Aims. We study the stability properties of isolated star-forming dwarf galaxies with the aim of identifying starburst modes. The impact of the stellar birth function, i.e. a spontaneous and an induced star formation mode, the initial mass function (IMF), the stellar feedback and the interstellar medium (ISM) model on the galactic star formation history are investigated. We especially focus on dynamically driven starbursts induced by stellar feedback. Methods. We apply a one-zone model for a star-gas system coupled by both mass and energy transfer. Additionally, we extend the network for active dynamical evolution. This allows for a coupling between the dynamical state of the galaxy and its internal properties, such as star formation activity or the thermal state of the ISM. Results. While the influence of the dynamics on the total star formation rate is strong, especially with nonlinear stellar birth functions, the coupling of the internal properties (gas temperature) on the dynamics is rather limited, because radiative cooling keeps the gas temperature well below the virial temperature. Because of short cooling and feedback timescales, the star formation rate is close to the equilibrium star formation rates. Quasi-periodic starbursts occur, because star formation follows the variations in the gas density induced by decaying virial oscillations. This behaviour is quite insensitive to the nature and the details of the stellar birth description, viz. whether spontaneous or induced star formation is considered or the IMF is varied. A second type of burst is found as an instability operating when the cooling may drop at very low densities with increasing temperature, in regimes beyond 10 4 K. Conclusions. Bursts of star formation occur during transitory phases, when dynamical equilibrium is established. Then they are quasiperiodic on the dynamical timescale. Because of short heating and cooling timescales, the star formation rate follows the equilibrium star formation rate corresponding to the actual gas density.


As part of its proposal for comprehensive tax reform, the House Ways and Means Committee has suggested mark-to-market taxation for derivatives, but apparently not for the underlying assets. Such a partial mark-to-market system would create opportunities for investors to have negative effective tax rates and thereby extract billions of dollars from the U.S. Treasury on an annual basis. I explain the nature of such strategies, develop the underlying theory, and provide specific empirical examples of how they would have worked if the proposed regime had been in place historically. I also describe revisions to the reform proposal that would address the concerns that I raise. In light of my findings, I suggest that Congress either abandon or substantially revise the current proposal.


The effects of different exchanging ions on enhancing the photocatalytic activity of KNbTeO6 are investigated where Ag, Cu, and Sn are substituted for K in an attempt to reduce the materials' band gap energy. The KNbTeO6 parent compound has been successfully prepared by a solid state method. The Ag, Cu, and Sn doped samples were obtained by a facile ion exchange technique. Although only 20% of K+ is exchanged with the guest ions, the band gap energy is significantly reduced from 3.38 eV in KNbTeO6 to 2.76 (Ag-doped), 3.21 (Cu-doped), and 2.51 eV (Sn-doped). The detailed investigation based on the XPS spectra in the valence band region, O K-edge XANES spectra, and theoretical calculation indicates that the hybridization of Ag 4d, Cu 3d, and Sn 5s states with O 2p in the ion exchanged samples creates extra states at the top of the valence band. As a consequence, the valence band maximum shifts and the band gap energy is reduced. The magnitude of such band gap reduction is different for each guest ion and is related to the nature of the hybridization with O 2p. Here, the effects of each guest ion on the electronic structure, morphology, and surface properties are discussed. In addition to having the largest effect on band gap reduction, Sn2+ also increases the dispersion of the conduction band. As a result, Sn-doped KNbTeO6 exhibits the highest photocatalytic activity. The mechanism of methylene blue photodegradation is studied by using different quenchers in the presence of the Sn2+-doped KNbTeO6 photocatalyst. The schematic band diagrams of each sample are proposed based on the experimental and theoretical results.


OBJECTIVE
To review the clinical associations between peritoneal dialysis (PD) and cough.

METHODOLOGY
A literature review was performed on PubMed for articles published between 1983 and 2004 using the search terms "dialysis" and "cough."

RESULTS/CONCLUSIONS
Patients receiving PD are more likely to develop a cough than other patients with end-stage renal disease who are receiving hemodialysis. Although both groups of patients frequently receive medications, such as angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and beta-adrenergic blocking agents, that can trigger cough and both may be at increased risk for fluid overload and pulmonary edema, the increased risk associated with PD appears to relate to gastroesophageal reflux, likely from the peritoneal dialysate.


Many hard computational social choice problems are known to become tractable when voters' preferences belong to a restricted domain, such as those of single-peaked or single-crossing preferences. However, to date, all algorithmic results of this type have been obtained for the setting where each voter's preference list is a total order of candidates. The goal of this paper is to extend this line of research to the setting where voters' preferences are dichotomous, i.e., each voter approves a subset of candidates and disapproves the remaining candidates. We propose several analogues of the notions of single-peaked and single-crossing preferences for dichotomous profiles and investigate the relationships among them. We then demonstrate that for some of these notions the respective restricted domains admit efficient algorithms for computationally hard approval-based multi-winner rules.


This Article discusses the dynamics of shared political accountability and provides a supply- and demand-side analysis of disaster management. Because multiple levels of government share political accountability in national scale disasters, disaster management is subject to a collective action problem. Introducing the concept of horizontal political externalities, this Article explains the shortcomings of disaster management in terms of asymmetric political accountability costs for ex ante preparedness and ex post relief. In the presence of shared accountability, investments in prevention and relief by one government actor confer positive externalities upon other government actors by reducing the overall chance of being held responsible in ensuing disasters. In contrast, ex post disaster relief involves negative externalities when action by one agency makes other agencies or representatives look worse. Because positive externalities are undersupplied and negative externalities are oversupplied, political externalities distort disaster management policy. When political accountability is shared, no single actor bears the full brunt of accountability. In addition, uncertainty and finger pointing reduce the total sum of political accountability. The different effects of ex ante and ex post disaster management on political accountability may shed light on events before and after Hurricane Katrina. I provide suggestions for further avenues of empirical and theoretical research on this new positive political theory of horizontal political externalities and political accountability losses.


This Response to Professor Ramsey's pro-Congress view of the war powers debate presents a complete textual and structural theory of a flexible approach to war powerx Under this flexible system, the President possesses the power to initiate and conduct hostilities as commander-in-chief and chief executive under Article II of the Constitution, checked by Congress's power of the purse. The Declare War Clause simply confers on Congress juridical power to both define the United States's legal relations with other countries and trigger domestic constitutional authorities during wartime. How the nation goes to war will result from the interaction of the political branches using these plenary constitutional powers. The Response first critiques Professor Ramsey's historical accoun which does not address the full context of the framing, and next argues that constitutional text and structure support the flexible war powers system understood by the framing generation. Critics of this approach fail to appreciate the textual significance of the authority independently granted to the President by the Commander-in-Chief and Executive Power Clauses and the "engage in War" language of Article I, Section 10. In addition, they do not appreciate the manner in which the Constitution structures the interaction of executive and legislative branches by creating strict processes with carefully defined roles for the President and Congress, as with the enactment of legislation, in contrast to areas where it does not, as with warmaking. A more comprehensive reading of the text and structure demonstrates that the Constitution does not mandate a specifi4 legalistic process for waging war. Instead, the Constitution vests the executive and legislative branches with different powers involving war, which the President and Congress may use to cooperate or to compete for control over warmaking.


THE GREATEST EVIL THAT CAN BEFALL US": UNIONISM IN ANTEBELLUM ERA KENTUCKY, 1849-1861 Curtis Lushawn Parmley April 05, 2012 During the secession winter of 1860-61 the Commonwealth of Kentucky found itself caught in the middle of the great sectional controversy. With the Union's fate hanging in the balance Kentucky figured as a prominent player in the outcome of that conflict. While the Commonwealth of Kentucky featured strong social and cultural ties to the South, its economic ties ran to both sections. Further, a majority of the people of the Commonwealth of Kentucky shared a nationalist perspective rooted in the old line Whig political ideology that they had a constitutional right to hold property in persons which contributed to their pro-Union sentiment. In the end, Kentucky, an Upper South border slave state, remained loyal to the Union. This master's thesis examines the origins and development of Kentuckian's Unionist sentiment during the Antebellum era and addresses the question: Why did Kentucky, a border slave state, forgo secession and remain loyal to the Union? Although cultural, social, economic, and political factors contributed to Kentuckian's pro-Union sentiment, in the end, Whig ideology constituted the key factor in Kentucky's decision to remain loyal to the Union.


This Article argues that the failure of the international earthquake response in Haiti is the result of past and current policies that, however well intentioned, fail to adequately respect the human rights of Haitians, especially Haiti's poor. It demonstrates that while the earthquake created new acute human rights challenges for Haiti, it also exposed the disastrous effects of decades-old policies that systematically undermine the Haitian government's ability to provide basic governmental services and meet the needs of the majority of its people. A legacy of debt and international trade policies has incapacitated the Haitian government, and lack of enforcement of the rule of law has made Haiti' s poor disproportionately vulnerable to natural disasters. Haiti' s earthquake illustrates that the most severe humanitarian emergencies are most often symptomatic of and contributory to a larger human rights emergency. A successful disaster response must place human rights at the center. Under international law, the Haitian government has the primary obligation to realize the human rights of its people, but natural disasters make it difficult for states, already lacking capacity due to resource constraints, to assert full control over policies that are central to their ability to fulfill their human rights obligations. In this context, the international community has an obligation to support the Haitian government toward the realization of rights, and their human rights obligations inhere to regulate their interventions. The most striking aspect of the response to the earthquake in Haiti is perhaps the decision to treat Haiti as a charity case rather than as a space where legal obligations exist and guide interventions. This Article presents legal and practical arguments for why a human rights-based approach is essential to successful disaster response and shows how a failure to prioritize this framework continues to reinforce Haiti's vulnerability to disasters. A human rights-based approach places human rights protection and realization at the center of international assistance, ensuring that the plans, policies, and processes of international assistance are "anchored in a system of rights and corresponding obligations established by international law.�? The rights-based approach ensures that the aim of all activities is to contribute directly to the realization of rights by prioritizing capacity building, participation, transparency, accountability, and nondiscrimination. In Haiti, aid has largely been delivered outside this framework, with a focus on distributions to meet immediate needs at the cost of investing in long-term infrastructure and structural reform. This Article argues that while the practical reality of humanitarian disasters sometimes contains a tension between competing needs, an overemphasis on this tension risks overlooking the interconnectedness between humanitarian relief and human rights enforcement. The UN of the High Commissioner for Human Rights ("OHCHR�?) has identified two chief rationales for the human rights-based approach: (a) "the intrinsic rationale,�? which acknowledges that a human rights-based approach is legally mandated; and (b) "the instrumental rationale,�? which recognizes that it enables better and more sustainable results. This Article begins by examining the legal rationale for the rights-based approach. Part I provides an introduction to the content and sources of the rights-based approach, and then explores the legal obligations of donor states and non-state actors to work within this framework. Part II uses Haiti as a case study to argue that the rights-based approach must be implemented as a matter of best practice even where legal obligations do not demand it. This Part demonstrates that Haiti's recent disasters are not only natural, but also stem from systemic human rights violations that must be addressed. It shows that the rights-based approach enables more successful programming because it ensures project effectiveness and guides investment towards those actors that can ensure project sustainability. If Haiti is to see a different future, the international community must actively implement a rights-based approach to its interventions and programming in Haiti.


Eleven species of family Hemicytheridae and seven of the family Thaerocytheridae are described. Together they comprise 14% of the total Recent ostracod fauna described from the Solomon Islands. In the main the hemicytherids are much more endemic than the thaerocytherids. Three new species have been recorded only from the Solomon Islands, and three species of Caudites, held in open nomenclature due to their rarity, are also probably endemic to the islands. Another three new species have been recorded only from Java and one species of Mimicocythere gen. et sp. nov. also occurs in Australia. The six new species described and illustrated are: Ambostracon (A.) micropapillatum, A. (A.) micromaculata, Caudites shortlandensis, ?C. atypicus, Mutilus dissimilis ssp. nov. and Mimicocythere pseudomelobesoides gen. et sp. nov. Only one of the hemicytherids, Caudites javana Kingma, occurs throughout the Indo-Pacific. It is the Thaerocytheridae, however, that are almost pandemic in tropical regions, with Tenedocythere deltoides and T. transoceanica being distributed particularly widely. A new species of the rare genus Neobuntonia, N. subalata sp. nov., only the second modern species to be described, is also illustrated.


Showcasing the dynamism of contemporary Korean diasporic theater, this anthology features seven plays by second-generation Korean diasporic writers from the United States, Canada, and Chile. By bringing the plays together in this collection, Esther Kim Lee highlights the themes and styles that have enlivened Korean diasporic theater in the Americas since the 1990s. Some of the plays are set in urban Koreatowns. One takes place in the middle of Texas, while another unfolds entirely in a character's mind. Ethnic identity is not as central as it was in the work of previous generations of Asian diasporic playwrights. In these plays, experiences of diaspora and displacement are likely to be part of broader stories, such as the difficulties faced by a young mother trying to balance family and career. Running through these stories are themes of assimilation, authenticity, family, memory, trauma, and gender-related expectations of success. Lee's introduction includes a brief history of the Korean Peninsula in the twentieth century and of South Korean immigration to the Americas, along with an overview of Asian American theater and the place of Korean American theater within it. Each play is preceded by a brief biography of the playwright and a summary of the play's production history.


OBJECTIVE
To determine the dietary patterns and intake of nutrients of concern in dogs with cardiac disease.

DESIGN
Prospective study.

ANIMALS
82 dogs with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) or chronic valvular disease.

PROCEDURE
Owners of dogs were contacted and given a standardized telephone questionnaire regarding diet and a 24-hour food recall to determine daily intake of calories, protein, fat, sodium, potassium, and magnesium.

RESULTS
Among the 82 dogs, 71% had no congestive heart failure (CHF), and 29% had CHF or a history of CHF. Sixty-one percent of dogs had concurrent diseases. Anorexia was or had been evident in 34% of dogs and was significantly more common in the CHF group and in dogs with DCM. Most dogs (92%) received some treats and table food, with a median percentage of daily calories from treats of 19% (range, 0% to 100%). Most owners (57%) that administered pills used human or pet foods for pill administration. Most dogs ate more than the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) minimum values for fat and protein. Daily sodium intake varied from 14 to 384 mg/100 kcal, compared with the AAFCO minimum of 17 mg/100 kcal. A median of 25% of total daily sodium came from treats and table food (range, 0% to 100%). Dogs with CHF ate significantly more sodium, compared with dogs with no CHF.

CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE
Dietary intake for dogs with cardiac disease is highly variable and often not optimal.


EPCglobal Class-1 Generation-2 specification (Gen2 in brief) has been approved as ISO18000-6C for global use, but the identity of tag (TID) is transmitted in plaintext which makes the tag traceable and clonable. Several solutions have been proposed based on traditional encryption methods, such as symmetric or asymmetric ciphers, but they are not suitable for low-cost RFID tags. Recently, some lightweight authentication protocols conforming to Gen2 have been proposed. However, the message flow of these protocols is different from Gen2. Existing readers may fail to read new tags. In this paper, we propose a novel authentication protocol based on Gen2, called Gen2+, for low-cost RFID tags. Our protocol follows every message flow in Gen2 to provide backward compatibility. Gen2+ is a multiple round protocol using shared pseudonyms and Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) to achieve reader-to-tag authentication. Conversely, Gen2+ uses the memory read command defined in Gen2 to achieve tag-to-reader authentication. We show that Gen2+ is more secure under tracing and cloning attacks.


Childbirth is an emotional and physical experience, which may have permanent or longterm positive or negative consequences. Key predictive factors of traumatic and positive childbirth have been previously identified. Criticisms however have been levied towards the pre-dominantly quantitative-based, pathological focus of the literature. Few empirical studies have examined the positive nature of childbirth. Research has also focused on isolated aspects of the pre, intra and post-partum period, as opposed to women's global perceptions. The need to consult with women who have endured traumatic and non-traumatic childbirth and to identify the complex interplay of factors associated with these events has been highlighted in the literature. This research comprises an interpretive phenomenological study. By recruiting and interviewing women who had experienced a self-defined traumatic and positive birth, the research aimed to generate a deeper understanding of the meanings and lived experiences of diverse childbirth events. A further aim was to explore how women
achieved a subsequent positive birth following a traumatic episode, as well as the impact of this experience on maternal wellbeing. Through purposive sampling methods, a total of fourteen women were engaged over two recruitment phases. In phase one an interview was held with ten women who had already experienced a self-defined traumatic and positive birth. In phase two, four vomen were recruited on a longitudinal basis; interviews were held after a traumatic (interview 1) and subsequent birth (interview 2). In addition, all women (across both phases) were also involved in a final interpretation meeting. Thirty-two interviews were held in total. Data were collected through in-depth interviews. Data analysis was undertaken through an interpretive framework based on Heideggerian and Gadamerian hermeneutics. The findings present the women's childbearing journey of tragedy and joy through seven interpretive themes. A theoretical framework has re-conceptualised the women's birth narratives as a hero's tale. This represents a heroic journey of adversity, trials, courage,
determination and triumph. A unique psychosocial model has been synthesised by integrating aspects of the theories of Carl Jung (1968, 1989, 2006), Abraham Maslow (1962, 1970ab as well as how growth-inhibiting (traumatic birth) and growth-enhancing (joyful birth) experiences are internalised by women. This model offers the basis through which a whole systems salutogenic orientation to maternity care can be achieved. Original insights into the transformative, cathartic and self-validating nature of a redemptive birth are also presented. The practical implications of these findings and suggestions for future research have been offered.


The memory system is increasingly becoming a performance bottleneck. Several intelligent memory systems, such as the ActivePages, DIVA, and IRAM archi-tectures, have been proposed to alleviate the processor-memory bottleneck. This thesis presents the Memory Arithmetic Unit and Interface (MAUI) architecture. The MAUI architecture combines ideas of the ActivePages, DIVA, and ULMT architectures into a new intelligent memory system. A simulator of the MAUI architecture was added to the SimpleScalar v4.0 toolset. Simulation results indicate that the MAUI architecture provides the largest application speedup when operating on datasets that are much too large to fit in the processor's cache and when integrated with systems using a high performance DRAM system and a low performance processor. By coupling a 2000 MHz processor with an 800 MHz DRDRAM DRAM system, the Stream benchmark, originally written by John D. McCalpin, completed 121% faster in simulations when optimized to use the MAUI architecture.


Introduction: In biomedical systems repeated measurements are often collected, thus presenting a statistical challenge due to high temporal correlation. This research
investigates the potential utility of two distinct statistical methodologies in their application.

Application: Two clinically diverse biomedical systems, linked by the common methodological interest of assessing control and performance, are considered. (i) An application to renal anaemia aims to investigate the stability of haemoglobin levels, measured monthly for 13 months within 151 patients, with the ultimate goal of improving
patient control; (ii) the second an application concerns cerebral autoregulation (a stable cerebral blood flow over a range of arterial blood pressure), to maintain patient safety during a surgical procedure to prevent stroke. Repeated measurements of cerebral blood flow and arterial blood pressure were collected on 36 patients, yielding a total of 4519 cerebral blood flow and 4574 arterial blood pressure measurements (note that the number of observations vary between patients).

Statistical methodology: Functional data analysis and multilevel modelling are utilised in the investigation of these two biomedical systems. Functional data analysis considers observations as a function rather than a highly correlated sequence of measurements. Multilevel modelling assumes that measurements are clustered and that within clusters, measurements are scattered about a trend in an uncorrelated manner.

Results: Assessment of control within the renal anaemia system and knowledge of the relationship within the cerebral autoregulation system, has been achieved through
the successful application of functional data analysis. Loess curves were used as means of exploring the cerebral blood flow – arterial blood pressure relationship in the cerebral autoregulation application. B-splines and phase plots were used to explore haemoglobin control in the renal anaemia system. Further, multilevel modellingincorporating autoregressive correlation structures appropriately models the dependency amongst model residuals due to temporal correlation. Both functional data analysis and multilevelmodelling have demonstrated their utility in the application to model control in biomedical systems.

Conclusions: The novel application of these statistical methodologies has successfully provided contemporary insight into these biomedical systems and shows strong prospects for further applications.


This paper presents an illustrated, validated taxonomy of research that compares spatial measures to human behavior. Spatial measures quantify the spatial characteristics of environments, such as the centrality of intersections in a street network or the accessibility of a room in a building from all the other rooms. While spatial measures have been of interest to spatial sciences, they are also of importance in the behavioral sciences for use in modeling human behavior. A high correlation between values for spatial measures and specific behaviors can provide insights into an environment's legibility, and contribute to a deeper understanding of human spatial cognition. Research in this area takes place in several domains, which makes a full understanding of existing literature difficult. To address this challenge, we adopt a visual summary approach. Literature is analyzed, and recurring topics are identified and validated with independent inter-rater agreement tasks in order to create a robust taxonomy for spatial measures and human behavior. The taxonomy is then illustrated with a visual representation that allows for at-a-glance visual access to the content of individual research papers in a corpus. A public web interface has been created that allows interested researchers to add to the database and create visual summaries for their research papers using our taxonomy.


Sub-micron calcium phosphate ceramic thin films were formed by vertically dipping transparent quartz plates in a particulate sol-gel suspension. Primary adult rat bone marrow cell populations were cultured on the ceramic thin films in conditions known to allow the differentiation of cells of the osteoclast lineage. Monitoring the cultures for periods of 11 to 28 days revealed the creation of resorption lacunae in the thin films by multinucleate cells. Some cultures were heated at 42 °C overnight to remove adherent cells; using bright field light microscopy (LM), after staining with silver nitrate, the degree of resorption could be easily assessed. Other cultures were fixed and stained for tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) activity and prepared for LM and/ or scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Examination of the cultures, following fixation, showed the multinucleate cells associated with resorption lacunae to be TRAP positive. The nuclearity of the cells varied considerably. SEM showed that the cells had resorbed the thin films to produce discrete resorption lacunae similar to those found in normal bone tissue. From their morphology, TRAP positive staining, and resorptive activity, the cells were considered to be osteoclasts. The size of individual or combined lacunae varied from < 10 μm to 1 mm. These thin film culture substrata may be employed to investigate the function of individual resorbing cells or, especially after removal of the adherent cell layer, easily quantify resorption which is the major functional activity of osteoclasts. We conclude that these thin film ceramic culture substrata can be used as alternatives to bone slices in osteoclast resorption assays and thus could be employed to investigate both the functional and metabolic activities of osteoclasts.


Allium cepa is highly valued for its therapeutic properties. It has been used as a food remedy from time immemorial . Research shows that onions may help guard against m any chronic diseases. That's probably because onions contain g enerous amounts of the flavonoid quercetin. Studies have shown that quercetin prote cts against cataracts, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. In addition, onions contain a variety of other naturally occurring chemicals known as organosulfur com-pounds that have been linked to lowering blood pressure and cholesterol levels.Although rarely used specifically as a medic inal herb, the onion has a wide range of beneficial actions on the body and when eaten (espe cially raw) on a regular basis will promote the general health of the body. The bulb is anthelm intic, anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, antispasmodic, carminative, diuretic, expectorant, febrifuge, hypoglycaemic, hypotensive, lithontripic, stomachic and tonic. When used regula rly in the diet it offsets tendencies towards angina, arteriosclerosis and heart attack. This is used particularly in the treatment of people whose symptoms include running eyes and nose. The o nions ability to relieve congestions especially in the lungs and bronchial tract, is har d to believe until you have actually witnessed the results. The drawing of infection, congestion and colds out of the ear is also remarkable. The onion will relieve stomach upset and other gastroin testinal disorders and it will also strengthen the appetite. Pharmacologically know as Allium cepa , onion is found in every household. The purple skinned onion tastes great. Additionally, it has several health benefits and is part of many home remedies and beauty solutions.


Mitigating the threat of insecticide resistance in African malaria vector populations requires comprehensive information about where resistance occurs, to what degree, and how this has changed over time. Estimating these trends is complicated by the sparse, heterogeneous distribution of observations of resistance phenotypes in field populations. We use 6423 observations of the prevalence of resistance to the most important vector control insecticides to inform a Bayesian geostatistical ensemble modelling approach, generating fine-scale predictive maps of resistance phenotypes in mosquitoes from the Anopheles gambiae complex across Africa. Our models are informed by a suite of 111 predictor variables describing potential drivers of selection for resistance. Our maps show alarming increases in the prevalence of resistance to pyrethroids and DDT across Sub-Saharan Africa from 2005-2017 as well as substantial spatial variation in resistance trends.


A mini dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Education in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master Of Education (Educational Psychology) in the Department of Educational Psychology and Special Needs Education at the University Of Zululand, 2017


Free and informed consent is one of the most widespread and morally important practices of modern health care; competence to consent is its cornerstone. In this book, Becky Cox White provides a concise introduction to the key practical, philosophical, and moral issues involved in competence to consent. The goals of informed consent, respect for patient autonomy and provision of beneficent care, cannot be met without a competent patient. Thus determining a patient's competence is the critical first step to informed consent. Determining competence depends on defining it, yet surprisingly, no widely accepted definition of competence exists. White identifies nine capacities that patients must exhibit to be competent. She approaches the problem from the task-oriented nature of decision making and focuses on the problems of defining competence within clinical practice. Her proposed definition is based on understanding competence as occurring in a special rather than a general context; as occurring in degrees rather than at a precise threshold; as independent of consequential appeals; and, as incorporating affective as well as cognitive capacities. Combining both an ethical overview and practical guidelines, this book will be of value to health care professionals, bioethicists, and lawyers.


Recently there has been a great deal of study of measures of computational complexity. In light of the results of Blum [1] yielding speedup theorems for abstract complexity measures, and the lack of any general agreement as to reasonable complexity measures, there is reason to study even artificial complexity measures, such as the number of tape reversals on a one-tape Turing machine, which lack intuitive appeal but do lead to some amusing results. The present paper, which should be read in connection with [2], provides the usual Hartmanis-Stearnstype speedup theorem [3] for off-line one-tape Turing machines; namely, the appropriate reversal complexity classes associated with f(x) and cf(x) are the same for any constant c>0. The proofs are based on straightforward applications of the notion of crossing sequences [4].


Teaching Grammar, Structure and Meaning introduces teachers to some basic ideas from the increasingly popular field of cognitive linguistics as a way of explaining and teaching key grammatical concepts. Particularly suitable for those teaching post-16 English Language, this book offers a methodology for teaching key aspects of linguistic form and an extensive set of learning activities. Written by an experienced linguist and teacher, this book contains: · an evaluation of current approaches to the teaching of grammar and linguistic form · a revised pedagogy based on principles from cognitive science and cognitive linguistics · a comprehensive set of activities and resources to support the teaching of key linguistic topics and text types · a detailed set of suggestions for further reading and a guide to available resources Arguing for the use of drama, role play, gesture, energy dynamics, and visual and spatial representations as ways of enabling students to understand grammatical features, this book explores and analyses language use in a range of text types, genres and contexts. This innovative approach to teaching aspects of grammar is aimed at English teachers, student teachers and teacher trainers.


We demonstrated 5 mm-thick bulk gallium nitride (GaN) with nearly perfect crystal quality. To achieve this, intentional etch pit formation by in situ dry HCl etching and ex situ wet etching in H3PO4 solution was employed on freestanding GaN templates followed by regrowth by hydride vapor phase epitaxy (HVPE). This consecutive etching gave rise to a number of large and deep etch pits on the whole surface of the freestanding GaN. We believe that these can reveal the etch pits originating from the dislocations with the edge, and mixed components. Intentionally formed etch pits were partially covered with the fresh regrown bulk GaN layer, being transformed into voids. Dislocations cannot propagate into new GaN layers through the voids, thus resulting in the reduction of dislocation density. 5 mm-thick bulk GaN exhibits a smooth, transparent surface and extremely high crystal quality with full width at half maximum (FWHM) of 21 arcsec in (0002) X-ray rocking curve and etch pit density (EPD) of 3 × 102 per cm2. This method can provide a promising way to fabricate bulk GaN with extremely low dislocation density, suitable for the fabrication of high-performance devices.


This article reconstructs Adam Smith's theory of international trade and compares it with the way it is presented in modern textbooks as the theory of absolute advantage. This textbook presentation falls short of Smith's original ideas. I argue that the reason for this is the doxographic reconstruction of Smith's theory to fit him into a Whig history of international trade theory. In this way the historiography of international trade theory has falsely established Smith as a forerunner of modern neoclassical trade theory. I conclude by discussing to what extent Smith's insights can still be relevant today and what can be learnt from the mistreatment Smith has suffered in the historiography of international trade theory.


Back-trap mottle is a common and serious print quality problem in lithographic offset printing of coated papers. It is caused by nonuniform ink retransfer from an already printed surface when it passes through a subsequent printing nip with the print in contact with the rubber blanket in that nip. A nonuniform surface porosity gives rise to mottle. A key parameter in mottling contexts is the coating mass distribution, which must be uniform. Good relationships between mottle and mass distribution have also been reported; the mottle pattern coincides with that of the coating mass distribution. High blade pressures, compressible base papers, and high water pick-up between application and metering, which plasticizes the paper, yield uniform mass distributions, but these parameters might have a detrimental effect on the runnability in blade coating in terms of web breaks. The general opinion has been that nonuniform surface porosity is caused by binder migration and enrichment of binder in the coating surface, more in the high coat weight areas and less in the low coat weight areas. Recent research has suggested that a more probable mechanism is depletion of binder in the coating surface. Nonuniform shrinkage of the pigment matrix (filter cake) formed during the consolidation between the first critical concentration (FCC) and the second critical concentration (SCC) is another possible mechanism. Relevant relaxation times for latex and the time scales for consolidation show that the high coat weight areas shrink more than the low coat weight areas in the coating layer. A recent pilot-scale experiment has shown that the drying strategy did not affect the differences in shrinkage between high and low coat weight areas. The drying strategy has a pronounced impact on mottle. A high evaporation rate at the beginning of the evaporation results in less mottle than a low evaporation rate. The least mottle is obtained if the drying is performed with a gap in the course of evaporation between the FCC and the SCC.


When an orchid is deliberately or inadvertently relocated, it is likely to encounter a range of biological challenges to long term survival including a complex and dynamic insect community which could alter conservation expectations yet there have been few studies of the phytophagous insects associated with wild orchids. We have investigated the assemblage of such insects associated with terrestrial orchids being monitored in our long term studies in Gatineau Park, Quebec, Canada. Aphids, leafminers, moths, thrips, weevils, and whiteflies were found to be injurious to orchids although in different combinations and with varying impact according to the orchid host, habitat and year. Loss of seeds and even complete desiccation of plants was observed. Where the leafminer, Parallelomma vittatum Meigen (Diptera: Scathophagidae) infested Cypripedium reginae Walter randomly, this was not the case with Cypripedium parviflorum var. pubescens (Willd.) Knight where specific plants were repeatedly infested. Some infestations such as with the leafminers seemed to be in equilibrium with parasitoids thus minimizing potential impact. A likely climate-related asynchrony of parasitoid and leafminer led to an outbreak in 2009 which heavily impacted the introduced Epipactis helleborine (L.) Crantz while a phenological shift in a thrips primary host, Trillium grandiflorum (Michaux) Salisb. (Melanthiaceae), in 2010, contributed to severe herbivory in habitats where both E. helleborine and trillium occurred. If climate change can lead to changes in insect abundance and impact on orchids, it would be useful to investigate the potential impact of phytophagous insects before assisted migration is considered as a conservation measure.


The synthesis of some new cobalt (III) complexes: [Co (5-Xsalen) (PEt3)] ClO4.H2O (where X= H, NO2, Br, OMe) were synthesized and characterized using elemental analysis, 1HNMR, IR and UV-vis spectroscopy. The summarized results of these spectral evidences are in conformity with the structure of the synthesized complexes. In this study, we synthesized four novel complexes of Co (III) by the reaction of the metal ions with the salen ligands. The ligands coordinated with the metal ions through N- and O-donors. The complexes exhibited a geometry based on the coordination number 5. The results showed 1HNMR spectra of these complexes are consistent with the suggest formulation and show that the cobalt in these complexes is low spin. Its structure was established by 1HNMR, IR, and UV-visible spectroscopy.


Recent years have witnessed substantial progress in understanding the behavior of EM for mixture models that are correctly specified. Given that model misspecification is common in practice, it is important to understand EM in this more general setting. We provide non-asymptotic guarantees for population and sample-based EM for parameter estimation under a few specific univariate settings of misspecified Gaussian mixture models. Due to misspecification, the EM iterates no longer converge to the true model and instead converge to the projection of the true model over the set of models being searched over. We provide two classes of theoretical guarantees: first, we characterize the bias introduced due to the misspecification; and second, we prove that population EM converges at a geometric rate to the model projection under a suitable initialization condition. This geometric convergence rate for population EM imply a statistical complexity of order $1/\sqrt{n}$ when running EM with $n$ samples. We validate our theoretical findings in different cases via several numerical examples.


While there is much talk of an emerging interest in spirituality in Australia, there is evidence of a declining affiliation with the established Churches. The impact of mainstream Christianity in these circumstances would appear to be waning. The continued attention given to the Church in the wake of these realities and that of the Church's dealing with situations of sexual abuse has often focussed around the way in which the Church has used its power and influence. While undoubtedly there is much evidence of the Church's service and care for its members and those most in need, more questions are being asked about the accountability of those who minister within the boundaries of Catholic Church structures, and the healthiness of those very structures for helping the Church to live out its mission with integrity. Further questioning has often been around the perceived intent of Church authorities, as seen by many, to return the Church to times prior to the Second Vatican Council when clerical authority was unquestioned. There are divergent viewpoints as to whether the call of the Council for wider involvement of lay people in Church decision-making and structures is in the process of being reversed. The researcher, coming from his experience as a member of a Catholic Religious Congregation of Men, is interested in looking broadly at the issue of how power is used in the Catholic Church, with a particular focus on a case study of one Group of Male Religious in the Archdiocese of Melbourne. The aim of the study is to provide further insight into use of power in the Catholic Church, and to offer some recommendations for future use of that power in a healthy and constructive way for the benefit of the Church and, ultimately, all of society.


This paper presents an integrated optimal power flow (OPF) with phase shifter approach to enhance power system security. The general OPF calculations are hourly based and the control variables of OPF are continuous. The calculations of phase shifter are daily based, however, and the variables related to phase shifter are discrete. Therefore, the general OPF cannot be directly used to solve this problem. The paper develops the rule-based OPF with phase shifter scheme to bridge the problems. In order to effectively alleviate the line overloads, the ranking of phase shifter locations is conducted based on contingency analysis and sensitivity analysis. The best phase shifter sites are identified and selected into a rule-based system accordingly. The handshaking procedure between the adjustment of the selected phase shifters and OPF calculation is proposed using a rule-based method. The hourly based OPF problem is solved by the extended quadratic interior point method. The IEEE 30-bus system is used to test the proposed scheme.


To the Editor:—I read with interest the article "Ultrasound Guidance in Caudal Epidural Needle Placement" by Chen et al. However, I have a couple of points to raise. The author's assertion that the application of ultrasonography to locate the sacral hiatus for caudal epidural injections has not been described is inaccurate. The footprint property of the transducer is not mentioned in the article. The linear array transducer cannot be used in all patients. In obese patients, it is sometimes necessary to use a curvilinear array transducer with lower frequency ranges to achieve a sonographic image of reasonable quality. Similarly, in very thin individuals, a transducer with a smaller footprint is more appropriate. I agree with the authors regarding the advantage of using ultrasonography for caudal epidural needle placement. The article mentions the fact that ultrasound cannot provide us with the image information as to the depth of the inserted needle as the only disadvantage. It makes no mention of the most important limitation of this method, i.e., inadvertent intravascular injection. Inadvertent intravascular injection, which has been reported to occur in 5–9% of these procedures, cannot be avoided with this technique. This is important because aspiration or return of blood is neither sensitive nor specific for intravascular positioning of the needle. Toxic concentration of local anesthetic may occur on inadvertent injection into an epidural vein.


In this paper, we describe a Gaussian wave-based state space to model the temporal dynamics of electrocardiogram (ECG) signals. It is shown that this model may be effectively used for generating synthetic ECGs as well as separate characteristic waves (CWs) such as the atrial and ventricular complexes. The model uses separate state variables for each CW, i.e. P, QRS and T, and hence is capable of generating individual synthetic CWs as well as realistic ECG signals. The model is therefore useful for generating arrhythmias. Simulations of sinus bradycardia, sinus tachycardia, ventricular flutter, atrial fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia are presented. In addition, discrete versions of the equations are presented for a model-based Bayesian framework for denoising. This framework, together with an extended Kalman filter and extended Kalman smoother, was used for denoising the ECG for both normal rhythms and arrhythmias. For evaluating the denoising performance, the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) improvement of the filter outputs and clinical parameter stability were studied. The results demonstrate superiority over a wide range of input SNRs, achieving a maximum 12.7 dB improvement. Results indicate that preventing clinically relevant distortion of the ECG is sensitive to the number of model parameters. Models are presented which do not exhibit such distortions. The approach presented in this paper may therefore serve as an effective framework for synthetic ECG generation and model-based filtering of noisy ECG recordings.


A new technique for tube sinking has been developed which should, in a number of ways, help to solve the problems associated with conventional tube sinking processes, eg die wear and the need for a swaged down leading end for easy insertion through the die. The conventional reduction die is altogether replaced by a die-less reduction unit of stepped bore configuration. The deformation is induced by means of hydrodynamic pressure and drag force generated in the unit due to the motion of the tube through the viscous fluid medium (polymer melt). The dimensions of the die-less reduction unit are such that the smallest bore size is dimensionally greater than the nominal diameter of the undeformed tube, thus metal to metal contact and hence wear, should no longer be a problem. As no conventional reduction die is used, the need for a reduced diameter leading end is also eliminated. Experimental results show that greater reduction in tube diameter and the coating thickness were obtained at slower drawing speeds (about 0.1 m/s). The maximum reduction in diameter noted was about 7 per cent.Analytical models have been developed, assuming with Newtonian and non-Newtonian characteristics of the pressure medium, which enabled prediction of the length of the deformation zone, percentage reduction in diameter and drawing stress. In the non-Newtonian analysis account was taken of the pressure coefficient of viscosity, derived from the available data; the limiting shear stress, which manifests itself as slip in the polymer melt and the strain hardening and the strain rate sensitivity of the tube material.The percentage reduction in diameter predicted using the Newtonian analyses appear to differ considerably from the experimental results both in trend and magnitude. Non-Newtonian analysis predicted theoretical results which are much closer to the ones observed experimentally.


Abstract A series of long-term laboratory experiments was started in 1995 to investigate longer-term dissolution/ precipitation reactions that may occur in the alkaline disturbed zone surrounding a cementitious repository for radioactive waste. They consist of samples of UK basement rock reacting with either Na-K-Ca-OH water ('young' cement porewater) or Ca-OH water ('evolved' cement porewater) at 70°C. This paper summarizes results of reactions occurring over the first 15 months. Experiments of both fluid types showed many similar features, though primary mineral dissolution and secondary mineral precipitation were more extensive in the experiments involving Na-K-Ca (younger) cement porefluids compared to more evolved (Ca-rich) cement porefluids. Dissolution of dolomite, and to a lesser extent silicates (probably K-feldspar, but also possibly mica) occurred relatively rapidly at 70°C. Dolomite dissolution may have been a key factor in reducing pH values, and may be a key mineral in controlling the extent of alkaline disturbed zones. Dissolution was followed by precipitation of brucite close to dolomite grains, at least two generations of C-S-H phases (which may have contained variable amounts of K, Al and Mg); overgrowths of calcite; small crystals of hydroxyapophyllite; and elongate crystals of celestite. Though hydroxyapophyllite was observed (a phase commonly associated with zeolites), there was no evidence for the formation of zeolites in the experiments. Fluid chemical changes track the mineralogical changes, with C-S-H phases being a major control on fluid chemistry. In the 'young' porewater experiments there were decreases in pH, and K, Ca and Mg concentrations, together with transitory increases in SiO2 concentrations. In the 'evolved' porewater experiments there were decreases in pH, Mg, Ca and Sr concentrations, together with small increases in K and SiO2 concentrations. A number of experiments are still running, and will be sampled in coming years.


Ray-tracing is the commonly used technique to calculate the absorption of light in laser deep-penetration welding or drilling. Since new lasers with high brilliance enable small capillaries with high aspect ratios, diffraction might become important. To examine the applicability of the ray-tracing method, we studied the total absorptance and the absorbed intensity of polarized beams in several capillary geometries. The ray-tracing results are compared with more sophisticated simulations based on physical optics. The comparison shows that the simple ray-tracing is applicable to calculate the total absorptance in triangular grooves and in conical capillaries but not in rectangular grooves. To calculate the distribution of the absorbed intensity ray-tracing fails due to the neglected interference, diffraction, and the effects of beam propagation in the capillaries with sub-wavelength diameter. If diffraction is avoided e.g. with beams smaller than the entrance pupil of the capillary or with very shallow capillaries, the distribution of the absorbed intensity calculated by ray-tracing corresponds to the local average of the interference pattern found by physical optics.


The World Bank's influential Doing Business Report (DBR) has been a key platform for the American-driven dissemination of global norms of good corporate governance. A prominent part of the DBR is the related party transactions (RPT) index, which ranks 190 jurisdictions from around the world on the quality of their laws regulating RPTs. According to the RPT Index, the regulation of RPTs in Commonwealth Asia's most important economies is stellar. In the 2018 RPT Index, Singapore ranked 1st, Hong Kong and Malaysia tied for 3rd, and India came in at 20th. However, despite the uniformly high RPT Index scores in all of Commonwealth Asia's most important economies, empirical, case-study, and anecdotal evidence overwhelmingly suggests that there are in practice significant inter-jurisdictional and intra-jurisdictional differences in the actual function and regulation of RPTs in Commonwealth Asia.

In this article, we assert that the conspicuous gap between what the RPT Index suggests should be occurring and what is actually occurring in Commonwealth Asia exists because it fails to capture the complexity of RPTs in three respects, which we term: (1) regulatory complexity; (2) shareholder complexity; and, (3) normative complexity. First, it appears that the RPT Index overly emphasizes the role played by a jurisdiction's formal corporate and securities laws in determining the effectiveness of its RPT regulation, and it fails to pay due regard to its corporate culture and rule of law norms in determining the efficiency of its RPT regulation. Second, the RPT Index erroneously assumes that controlling shareholders are a homogeneous group driven by similar incentives. Third, the general assumption that RPTs per se are evidence of defective corporate governance and that stricter regulation of RPTs consequently equates to "good law" is erroneous.

Demonstrating the frailties of the RPT Index is important in practice because jurisdictions – especially developing ones – commonly look to the DBR and its indices when reforming their laws. In addition, the RPT Index is built on some of the most influential research in the field of comparative corporate law, which makes our challenge to the validity of the RPT Index academically significant.


The production and use of biofuels has increased in the present context of sustainable development. Biofuel production from plant biomass produces not only biofuel or ethanol but also co-products containing lignin, modified lignin, and lignin derivatives. This research investigated the utilization of lignin-containing biofuel co-products (BCPs) in pavement soil stabilization as a new application area. Laboratory tests were conducted to evaluate the performance and the moisture susceptibility of two types of BCP-treated soil samples compared to the performance of untreated and traditional stabilizer-treated (fly ash) soil samples. The two types of BCPs investigated were (1) a liquid type with higher lignin content (co-product A) and (b) a powder type with lower lignin content (co-product B). Various additive combinations (co-product A and fly ash, co-products A and B, etc.) were also evaluated as alternatives to stand-alone co-products. Test results indicate that BCPs are effective in stabilizing the Iowa Class 10 soil classified as CL or A-6(8) and have excellent resistance to moisture degradation. Strengths and moisture resistance in comparison to traditional additives (fly ash) could be obtained through the use of combined additives (co-product A + fly ash; co-product A + co-product B). Utilizing BCPs as a soil stabilizer appears to be one of the many viable answers to the profitability of the bio-based products and the bioenergy business. Future research is needed to evaluate the freeze-thaw durability and for resilient modulus characterization of BCP-modified layers for a variety of pavement subgrade and base soil types. In addition, the long-term performance of these BCPs should be evaluated under actual field conditions and traffic loadings. Innovative uses of BCP in pavement-related applications could not only provide additional revenue streams to improve the economics of biorefineries, but could also serve to establish green road infrastructures.


Usage of recycled asphalt pavement (RAP) in the construction of new pavements has increased in recent years due to the movement to conserve energy and raw materials, and reuse waste materials. To assess the effectiveness of RAP materials in new asphalt mixes, it is important to evaluate the properties of the recovered binders and aggregates. The widely used "Abson" method is employed in this study to recover asphalt binder from RAP. Also, the frequently used "NCAT ignition" method is used to extract aggregates. A laboratory study comprising two field RAP materials, two simulated RAP materials, and corresponding virgin materials was undertaken to assess possible influences of the aforementioned recovery processes. The performance grade (PG) of the recovered binders, and gradation, durability (LAAbrasion and Micro-Deval), specific gravity, sand equivalent, and insoluble residue of the extracted aggregates were evaluated as per the AASHTO and Oklahoma Dept. of Transportation (ODOT) standards. The test results showed that the Abson method notably influenced the critical PG temperatures of the recovered binder. It was also observed that some mechanical properties (durability and sand equivalent) of RAP aggregates were inconsistent with their virgin counterparts. Furthermore, field RAP aggregates showed significant variations in LA Abrasion loss and insoluble residue test results. The findings of this study are expected to be helpful in the evaluation of RAP for reuse in asphalt paving.


We report a detailed ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) study of the structural and vibrational properties of aqueous [Fe(tpy)2]2+ (tpy = 2,2':6',2''-ter-pyridine) in the low-spin (LS) and high-spin (HS) states, which extends our previous work on aqueous [Fe(bpy)3]2+ (bpy = 2,2'-bipyridine) [L. M. Lawson Daku and A. Hauser, J. Phys. Chem. Lett., 2010, 1, 1830-1835; L. M. Lawson Daku, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2018, 20, 6236-6253]. Upon the LS → HS change of states, the axial and distal Fe-N bonds of aqueous [Fe(tpy)2]2+ are predicted to lengthen by 0.226 Å and 0.206 Å, respectively, in excellent agreement with experiments [X. Zhang et al., J. Phys. Chem. C, 2015, 119, 3312-3321; G. Vankó et al., J. Phys. Chem. C, 2015, 119, 5888-5902]. The lengthening of the Fe-N bonds results from their weakening, which also gives rise to an increased thermal fluctuation of the molecular structure. As with [Fe(bpy)3]2+, the first hydration shell of [Fe(tpy)2]2+ consists in a chain of hydrogen-bonded water molecules wrapped around the ligands. The predicted hydration number of [Fe(tpy)2]2+ in both spin states is ≈15 while it was found for [Fe(bpy)3]2+ to increase from ≈15 to ≈17 on passing from the LS to the HS state. Due to the ≈0.2 Å lengthening of the Fe-N bonds in both complexes upon the LS → HS transition, the water molecules can get closer to the Fe atom: by ≈0.4 Å for [Fe(tpy)2]2+ and by ≈0.2 Å for [Fe(bpy)3]2+. This difference is ascribed to the fact that the bpy ligands with their trigonal coordination motif provides a bulkier environment to the Fe atom than the tpy ligands with their tetragonal coordination motif. In other words, upon the tpy → bpy substitution, the bulkier environment provided by the bpy ligands repels the hydration shell, the displacement being greater in the HS state than in the LS state. As a consequence of their chemical similarity, the calculated LS and HS IR spectra of aqueous [Fe(tpy)2]2+ closely resemble those of aqueous [Fe(bpy)3]2+, the LS → HS transition translating into a global increase in intensity. The present work taken with the one on aqueous [Fe(bpy)3]2+ enhances our understanding of the spin-state dependence of the structural and vibrational properties of Fe(ii) polypyridyl complexes in water, highlighting the strong interpenetration between their coordination sphere and their hydration shell.


The IPv6 unicast addressing format includes a separation between the
prefix used to route packets to a subnet and the interface identifier
used to specify a given interface connected to that subnet. Currently,
the interface identifier is defined as 64 bits long for almost every
case, leaving 64 bits for the subnet prefix. This document describes
the advantages of this fixed boundary and analyzes the issues that
would be involved in treating it as a variable boundary.


The prevalence of community-based violence (CBV) exposure among black American male emerging adults ages 18 to 25 with a history of involvement with the criminal justice system is a major public health concern. Although exposure (whether as victim or witness) to CBV is linked with negative outcomes, empirical research examining black men's negative emotional responses to seeing videos of real-life incidents of CBV on social media is scant. To address these identified concerns and make recommendations for future research, the present study examines the relationship between seeing videos of CBV on social media and three types of negative emotional responses (that is, feeling sad, angry, and fearful) prior to incarceration among a sample of 101 black men detained in a midwestern jail. Social media use and seeing videos of CBV on social media were moderately high for study participants. Seeing a video involving police violence was significantly associated with an increase in the odds of feeling sad, angry, and fearful. Social media research is an emerging area that has the potential to advance our understanding of the impact of seeing social media videos of police violence on the well-being of black men and factors that mediate or moderate this relationship.


When first published, The Sociological Tradition had a profound and positive impact on sociology, providing a rich sense of intellectual background to a relatively new discipline in America. Robert Nisbet describes what he considers the golden age of sociology, 1830-1900, outlining five major themes of nineteenth-century sociologists: community, authority, status, the sacred, and alienation. Nisbet focuses on sociology's European heritage, delineating the arguments of Tocqueville, Marx, Durkheim, and Weber in new and revealing ways. When the book initially appeared, the Times Literary Supplement noted that "this thoughtful and lucid guide shows more clearly than any previous book on social thought the common threads in the sociological tradition and the reasons why so many of its central concepts have stood the test of time." And Lewis Coser, writing in the New York Times Book Review, claimed that "this lucidly written and elegantly argued volume should go a long way toward laying to rest the still prevalent idea that sociology is an upstart discipline, unconcerned with, and alien to, the major intellectual currents of the modern world." Its clear and comprehensive analysis of the origins of this discipline ensures The Sociological Tradition a permanent place in the literature on sociology and its origins. It will be of interest to those interested in sociological theory, the history of social thought, and the history of ideas. Indeed, as Alasdair Maclntyre observed: "We are unlikely to be given a better book to explain to us the inheritance of sociology from the conservative tradition."


A methodology is presented allowing manufacturers and retailers vertical contracting in their pricing strategies on a differentiated product market to be introduced. This contribution allows price-cost margins to be recovered from estimates of demand parameters both under linear pricing models and two part tariffs. Two types of nonlinear pricing relationships, one where resale price maintenance is used with two part tariffs contracts and one where no resale price maintenance is allowed in two part tariff contracts in particular are considered. The methodology then allows different hypotheses on contracting and pricing relationships between manufacturers and retailers in the supermarket industry to be tested using exogenous variables supposed to shift the marginal costs of production and distribution. This method is applied empirically to study the retail market bottled water in France. Our empirical evidence shows that manufacturers and retailers use nonlinear pricing contracts and in particular two part tariff contracts with resale price maintenance. Finally, using the estimation of our structural model, some simulations of counterfactual policy experiments are introduced.


Development, and thus language development takes place at many interacting timescales, ranging from the milliseconds of lexical retrieval to pragmatic development at the scale of the life span. Different factors play a role in development at different time scales and even the same factor may play out differently at different time scales. Motivation in language learning may impact on long term intentions like a successful career, but also on short term motives like passing an examination. Such motivational drives interact, leading to a complex non-linear trajectory over time. There is hardly any research that looks at the same developmental process at different time scales and much of the research on second language development needs to be reconsidered on the basis of these insights.


OBJECTIVES
The aims of this study were (i) to determine the spatial resolution and sensitivity of micro- versus nano-computed tomography (CT) techniques and (ii) to validate micro- versus nano-CT in a dog dental implant model, comparative to histological analysis.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
To determine spatial resolution and sensitivity, standardized reference samples containing standardized nano- and microspheres were prepared in polymer and ceramic matrices. Thereafter, 10 titanium-coated polymer dental implants (3.2 mm in Ø by 4 mm in length) were placed in the mandible of Beagle dogs. Both micro- and nano-CT, as well as histological analyses, were performed.

RESULTS
The reference samples confirmed the high resolution of the nano-CT system, which was capable of revealing sub-micron structures embedded in radiodense matrices. The dog implantation study and subsequent statistical analysis showed equal values for bone area and bone-implant contact measurements between micro-CT and histology. However, because of the limited sample size and field of view, nano-CT was not rendering reliable data representative of the entire bone-implant specimen.

CONCLUSIONS
Micro-CT analysis is an efficient tool to quantitate bone healing parameters at the bone-implant interface, especially when using titanium-coated PMMA implants. Nano-CT is not suitable for such quantification, but reveals complementary morphological information rivaling histology, yet with the advantage of a 3D visualization.


This article proposes a regime in which contracting parties would select menus of synthetic (hypothetical) cases published by private associations who then would commit to adjudicate future disputes between the parties based on those cases. The first half of the article analyzes common law and its regulatory alternatives and explains the advantages of synthetic common law relative to each alternative. The second half of the article analyzes how a synthetic common law regime could reduce uncertainty and unfairness in the market for financial derivatives. A synthetic common law regime could eliminate many of the problems associated with the current regulatory alternatives of common law, statutory law, private law, and private arbitration. Because synthetic common law would be based on ex ante findings by the parties, it more likely would reflect societal practice and parties' expectations than does common law, which is based on ex post findings by a judge or jury. Because parties could incorporate synthetic common law cases at very low cost, the regime would not suffer from the depletion of relevant precedents, as real common law has. Because synthetic common law would be based on broadly ranging menus of cases, it would avoid the inflexibility of statute-based regimes. Because synthetic common law would rely on analogical reasoning by private judges based on cases specified ex ante, it would avoid certain intractable problems associated with private contract provisions, including the difficulty of specifying contingencies of rapidly evolving practices. Because synthetic common law would be administered privately it would generate the benefits of existing private dispute resolution regimes, but because synthetic common law would provide to parties a list of cases to govern any dispute, it would avoid the uncertainty and secrecy associated with private arbitration. Synthetic common law is an alternative regime to consider for legal scholars writing in the area of institutional competence and public choice. A public choice analysis need not compare only a legislature captured by special interests to a sluggish and ill-equipped judiciary. In certain areas of practice ? especially those with rapidly evolving technologies (e.g., finance, telecommunications, intellectual property, computer law, the Internet, and perhaps commercial or corporate law) ? synthetic common law may be a reasonable middle road.


The homo economicus (Economic Man) concept is one of the best-known components of economic theorising frequently recognised as a part of the "hard core" of the mainstream 20-century economics. This model gained such a high status in times of the marginal revolution, although it was coined in the 1830s by the classical economist John S. Mill. Nowadays, homo economicus is commonly perceived as a model of rational economic agent maximising utility or preferences. The article aims to show that both the Millian approach and the marginal approach were more complex than the contemporary incarnation of Economic Man. One of the key differences between the early stages in the evolution of homo oeconomicus and the modern version of it refers to the notion of rationality. Whereas it is the constitutive element of the 20-century homo oeconomicus, the requirement of full rationality was never explicitly articulated by Mill and marginal economists. Therefore, at the early stages of its evolution, the homo economicus model would have been much more resistant to the objections formulated against it by the 20-century critics.