The forest cover in Laos has decreased over the past three decades for variety of reasons. The current Laos Government has committed itself to restoring the forest cover to 70 per cent by 2020. As a result, many conservation projects and programs have been planned and implemented in different parts of the country. REDD+ was introduced in late 2007; however, progress of implementation of REDD+ has been slow. This paper examines and updates the status of REDD+ implementation in Laos, using information from literature and interviews with relevant individuals. The paper reveals that progress of REDD+ is slow not only due to external factors but also on internal factors. Currently, there are various international organisations and NGOs, from both the public and private sectors, attempting to pilot REDD+ projects. Laos faces many challenges in implementing REDD+, including institutional arrangements; appropriate methods for carbon accounting, reporting and verification; benefit sharing; and engaging local communities.


I. Introduction John Stuart Mill's On Liberty is one of the most enduring documents in the intellectual history of the English language. It is not merely debated by each subsequent generation of political theorists, but brought to bear in political struggles as a "spokes-text" of social groups in order to frame their visions of historical change. In part, this timelessness is by design: Mill purged the text of almost all direct references to contemporary individuals, organizations, and institutions. And this intentional abstraction of political philosophy from contemporary events has served him well for posterity. An immense body of secondary literature happily meets him on his own ground, discussing the (in)validity of distinctions between self- and other-regarding action, the meaningfulness of his "one very simple principle" (or whether it is actually very simple), and so on. And the text's basic arguments have proven adaptable to the long span of history's changing institutional settings and lines of conflict--institutions and conflicts often unimaginable from the book's mid-nineteenth-century, British context. On Liberty was not, however, written for posterity. It was drafted as an intervention in a dramatic public furor over the politics of the Crimean War, a conflict whose apogee during 1855 and 1856 was the ferment out of which Mill first conceived and began to pen On Liberty, along with the initial drafts of many of his subsequent publications. In February 1855, Mill wrote in a letter to his wife: The more I think of the plan of a volume on Liberty, the more likely it seems to me that it will be read & make a sensation. The title itself with any known name to it would sell an edition. We must cram into it as much as possible of what we wish not to leave unsaid. (1) What was happening in the Britain, even the world, of 1855 that there appeared to be such a public hunger for treatises on the subject of liberty that they would be devoured almost regardless of their content or author? What pressing questions hung in the air of Mill's England, to which a volume on liberty could offer answers? What events raised such questions? And what was the "sensation" that Mill expected? That it would it be trumpeted or reviled? By whom? The dominant paradigm of Mill scholarship is poorly equipped to answer questions like these. With some late exceptions, (2) virtually all Mill research can be categorized as "classical intellectual history"--contextualizing Mill's thought more against the background of leading intellectuals of the day and their published writings, than in relation to social events and thinkers' embeddedness in politically and economically engaged social groups. While histories of ideas have almost disappeared from the landscape of mainstream historiography, historians of political thought have only slowly, and in rare instances, turned to social history. (3) A look to the historical record offers answers to these questions, and provides us with a new understanding of On Liberty and its meaning: a meaning no less relevant to subsequent generations for having been plucked from the ether of abstraction. On Liberty addressed itself to two major themes: the first was the threat to a population from its own government, through coercion from above and the erosion of citizens' rights to act and speak freely; the second was the more subtle danger--often not even recognized as a threat--that individuals might be led by their fellow citizens into uninformed, undeliberated, and enslaving beliefs through social pressure. This second theme was, in essence, a response to the role of public opinion in setting the course of historical change, and a critique of the process through which public opinion was often formed. Mill was not the first to raise either of these questions, for they were the two primary questions kicked up by the Crimean War, fleshed out in debates over specific public policies, administrative actions, and a sequence of two serious ministerial crises. …


The financial implications of going in to business are complicated. Independence is tempting, partnership has its pitfalls and private limited companies are as exposed to business misfortune as the sole trader. The structure of your business is a legal framework - it determines your share of profits and losses and your responsibilities to associates and investors. Whether you are setting up as a sole trader, a partnership or a limited company, it is essential to ensure that you are operating within the law. This 13th edition of "Essential Law for Your Business" covers all the key issues which affect your legal standing, such as taxation, intellectual property, debt collection, bankruptcy, employment law, insurance, takeovers and mergers. It fully complies with current UK company law and includes new sections on first business contracts, fraud, business premises renovation allowance and the Outside Investment Small Firms Guarantee Scheme (SFGS). Written by a practising solicitor, who also lectures on business law, "Essential Law for Your Business" will reassure every business person who needs to know where they stand should a legal situation arise.


The osteology of Acrorhinichthys poyatoi gen. et sp. nov., a pycnodontid fish from the marine Cenomanian (Late Cretaceous) of Lebanon, is studied in detail. The new fossil genus belongs to the order Pycnodontiformes, but is less evolved than the Pycnodontidae. It still exhibits a few bony plates (= tesserae ) in the gular region, 3 teeth on the premaxilla and 5 teeth on the dentary, and its parietal is devoid of a brush-like process. It shares a few characters with Akromystax , the most primitive taxon within Pycnodontidae, characters lost in the other members of the family.


The semantic fluency task has been used to understand the effects of semantic relationships on human memory search. A variety of computational models have been proposed that explain human behavioral data, yet it remains unclear how millions of spiking neurons work in unison to realize the cognitive processes involved in memory search. In this paper, we present a biologically constrained neural network model that performs the task in a fashion similar to humans. The model reproduces experimentally observed response timing effects, as well as similarity trends within and across semantic categories derived from responses. Three different sources of the association data have been tested by embedding associations in neural connections, with free association norms providing the best match.


Abstract. Numerical simulation results of wind wave in the Caspian Sea by using wind forcing data are presented. The numerical modeling which is applied in this study is based on numerical spectral wave model which is based on Navier-Stokes equations. It solves these equations through each of mesh elements. Moreover, in this model high-resolution unstructured grid for the Caspian Sea has been used in order to reach finer accuracy. The wind forcing data are given from European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF). The measurement data, which are gained from Ports and Marine Organisation (PMO) of Iran, are used in order to estimate the accuracy of the model. The results have shown better accuracy in comparison with PMO simulation. Mean of the coefficient of determination (R-squared) for significant wave height in this simulation is 0.8059, though, in PMO simulation this coefficient is reported 0.7056. Better accuracy requires more measurement data and also finer resolution of bathymetry data.


In The New American Exceptionalism (2009), Donald E. Pease relies on sociologist Ghassan Hage's description of "two utterly different ways" of "national belonging" that he calls active and passive (28). The active citizen, Hage notes, includes "[t]he nationalist who believes him or herself to 'belong to the nation,' in the sense of being part of it, [which] means that he or she expects the right to benefit from the nation's resources, to 'fit into it,' or 'feel at home within' it" (qtd. in Pease 28). Inhabiting what Pease calls the "national will to manage the spatial field," the maternal speaker in Emma Lazarus's "The New Colossus" (1883) enacts an active mode of what Hage calls "national belonging." Lazarus's speaker, in other words, experiences a sense of agency, entitlement, and a feeling of being at home. She aligns her will with the fantasy of America as what Pease calls a "State of Exception" following Italian philosopher Giorgio Agamben's State of Exception. By contrast to how Lazarus represents her lyric speaker as a citizen who feels at home within the nation, the immigrants, described as "poor wretched refuse," remain silent throughout the poem, and thus "passive" in terms of governmental belonging. In "The New Colossus," America is represented as a "State of Exception" in that the new empire is imagined as a benign ("mild" eyed)--rather than martial--and maternal--rather than male--figure that offers a "world-wide welcome" to displaced exiles from discredited Old World empires. (1) In "The Latin Deli" (1993), the Puerto Rican born poet Judith Ortiz Cofer (b. 1952) self-consciously reimagines the passive status and silent posture of the immigrants of Lazarus's poem. Writing in a different climate in which a diasporic, bifurcated, and multicultural poetics was widely accepted by this time, Cofer's revision of Lady Liberty into a patroness at a Latin deli suggests that the language of "The New Colossus" and the figure welcoming immigrants to America were ripe for revision. Cofer replaces the active/passive model Lazarus sets up between her speaking subject and the silent immigrants about whom she speaks in her address to another nation (give me your tired ...) with a multilingual and dialogic conversation. Cofer's poem represents the linguistic disposition of two sets of speakers--The Mother of Exiles, recast as an immigrant shopkeeper, and her unruly, unassimilated, and often dissatisfied customers. Both sets of speakers are ambiguously situated within the active/passive model. Cofer represents an individuated set of immigrants as they assess--in realistic, rather than idealistic, terms--the difference between what Pease would call the "exceptional" promise of the national realm beyond "the golden door," described at the end of the Lazarus poem, and the lived experience of displacement, loss, and exile in a new country within which they do not quite "feel at home." An expression of a mythic American monoculture in tension with an emerging multiculture, "The New Colossus" offers an ambivalent message to the arriving immigrants. Although the immigrants are welcomed, the form, tone, diction, and style in which the welcome is framed signify that the new cultural realm will exclude their difference from the Lazarus speaker's linguistic disposition. Ranen Omer-Sherman notes the contrast between the speaker's sentiment (welcome) and the form and tone in which that sentiment is expressed (reservation): "[A]t the same time that her lyrics sympathize with the immigrant's plight, Lazarus positions herself at a great distance from the masses" (186). It is Lazarus's voice (both as poet and as the figure of the national imaginary, Lady Liberty), not theirs, that is the authorized vocal expression of the nation as a unified corporate body. The immigrants' linguistic disposition will not be validated as an admissible element of their entrance into the United States. (2) Unless a linguistic transformation occurs, the poem's classical frame strongly implies, the immigrants will remain passive citizens, uncanny figures for the National Other within the context of the National Same. …


Analysis of high resolution satellite images has been an important research topic for urban analysis. One of the important features of urban areas in urban analysis is the automatic road network extraction. Two approaches for road extraction based on Level Set and Mean Shift methods are proposed. From an original image it is difficult and computationally expensive to extract roads due to presences of other road-like features with straight edges. The image is preprocessed to improve the tolerance by reducing the noise (the buildings, parking lots, vegetation regions and other open spaces) and roads are first extracted as elongated regions, nonlinear noise segments are removed using a median filter (based on the fact that road networks constitute large number of small linear structures). Then road extraction is performed using Level Set and Mean Shift method. Finally the accuracy for the road extracted images is evaluated based on quality measures. The lm resolution IKONOS data has been used for the experiment.


ABSTRACT Background: Healthcare financing has been on the global agenda for many countries to elevate the health status of the citizens at the same time aim for a lean and sustainable health system. Singapore in particular has demonstrated progressive leaps in health care financing through various reforms. Materials and Methods: A systematic review of articles related to health care financing in Singapore was compiled using a series of keyword search in various databases (Medline, CINAHL, and PubMed ). Studies that were conducted from 1981 to 2015, written in English and used either a quantitative or qualitative design that focus on health care reform in Singapore were included in this study. Result: Most of the studies revealed that the most innovative factor in the health care financing in Singapore was the structure and the comprehensive health insurance systems that are in place but it was not necessarily deemed beneficial or affordable to its citizens. The systematic review yielded over 125 results, only 7 of which were relevant to this study after examining in full text. A purposeful approach was then pursued. Snowballing on bibliographic references and undertaking key author and grey-literature searches proved as an effective complimentary approach to the original review and was reverted to in addition to the original search. This method brought the full-text results up to 5. Conclusion: Healthcare financing have a direct influence on the citizens of Singapore and although comprehensive, it also has deficiencies and issues that still need to be addressed. Keywords: Health care, Reform, Financing, Singapore, systematic review


Abstract. Heritage elements, from historic buildings to stone sculptures and panels, stand as key elements in the history of humanity. Unfortunately, the deterioration of both the surface and the interior of these elements is inevitable, endangering the quality and existence of these structures of high historical value in the event of a delay in the implementation of the required maintenance tasks. InfraRed Thermography, IRT, appears as one of the most recent techniques to detect and characterize possible pathologies in structures in their early stages, being very useful for a preventive analysis in heritage elements. This paper presents a methodology for the automatic detection and characterization of one of the most severe and frequent pathologies in heritage structures, moisture, from thermal images. The proposal stands as a demonstration of the potential of the IRT technique for heritage conservation applications, and as a new step towards the automation of the inspection process and optimization of the decision-taking in conservation actions within cultural heritage. For that, two thermal criteria and a semi-automatic image rectification process are implemented as main phases of the methodology, obtaining good results for the detection of moisture zones and accurate area values with regard to the real dimensions of each moisture zone. Specifically, an F-score average of 78 % ± 19 % regarding detection performance and a percentage relative error of minimum 4 %, and maximum of 12 %, referred to the area computation in unit metrics are obtained.


Abstract This paper investigates the global exponential synchronization and quasi-synchronization of inertial memristive neural networks with time-varying delays. By using a variable transmission, the original second-order system can be transformed into first-order differential system. Then, two types of drive-response systems of inertial memristive neural networks are studied, one is the system with parameter mismatch, the other is the system with matched parameters. By constructing Lyapunov functional and designing feedback controllers, several sufficient conditions are derived respectively for the synchronization of these two types of drive-response systems. Finally, corresponding simulation results are given to show the effectiveness of the proposed method derived in this paper.


PROBLEM
Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) encompass a spectrum of conditions, including autistic disorder; pervasive developmental disorders, not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS); and Asperger disorder. Impairments associated with ASDs can range from mild to severe. In 2000, in response to increasing public heath concern regarding ASDs, CDC established the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network. The primary objective of this ongoing surveillance system is to track the prevalence and characteristics of ASDs in the United States. ADDM data are useful to understand the prevalence of ASDs and have implications for improved identification, health and education service planning, and intervention for children with ASDs. Because complete, valid, timely, and representative prevalence estimates are essential to inform public health responses to ASDs, evaluating the effectiveness and efficiency of the ADDM methodology is needed to determine how well these methods meet the network's objective.

REPORTING PERIOD
2002.

DESCRIPTION OF SYSTEM
The ADDM Network is a multiple-source, population-based, active system for monitoring ASDs and other developmental disabilities. In 2002, data were collected from 14 collaborative sites. This report describes an evaluation conducted using guidelines established by CDC for evaluating public health surveillance systems and is based on examination of the following characteristics of the ADDM Network surveillance system: simplicity, flexibility, data quality, acceptability, representativeness, sensitivity, predictive value positive (PVP), timeliness, stability, data confidentiality and security, and sources of variability.

RESULTS AND INTERPRETATION
Using multiple sources for case ascertainment strengthens the system's representativeness, sensitivity, and flexibility, and the clinician review process aims to bolster PVP. Sensitivity and PVP are difficult to measure, but the ADDM methodology provides the best possible estimate currently available of prevalence of ASDs without conducting complete population screening and diagnostic clinical case confirmation. Although the system is dependent on the quality and availability of information in evaluation records, extensive quality control and data cleaning protocols and missing records assessments ensure the most accurate reflection of the records reviewed. Maintaining timeliness remains a challenge with this complex methodology, and continuous effort is needed to improve timeliness and simplicity without sacrificing data quality. The most difficult influences to assess are the effects of changes in diagnostic and treatment practices, service provision, and community awareness. Information sharing through education and outreach with site-specific stakeholders is the best mechanism for understanding the current climate in the community with respect to changes in service provision and public policy related to ASDs, which can affect prevalence estimates.

PUBLIC HEALTH ACTIONS
These evaluation results and descriptions can be used to help interpret the ADDM Network 2002 surveillance year data and can serve as a model for other public health surveillance systems, especially those designed to monitor the prevalence of complex disorders.


Although the fractional delay filtering literature is full of design methods and implementation techniques for fractional sample interpolators, a fundamental need for the proposition of low-order efficient designs still strongly exists. Proposed is such a system for half-sample interpolation. In contrast to the typical systems studied in the literature for fractional delay filtering, the system proposed continuously adapts its interpolation kernel to the statistical variations of the input signal, and this is in fact the reason for it being needless of having a high order. Satisfactory performance of the proposed structure has been demonstrated via simulation.


Background: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) and its associated high morbidity and mortality cause a significant economic burden and decreased quality of life in affected patients in Antigua, the rest of the Caribbean and globally. The causes of CKD in Antigua, morbidity and mortality factors affecting the sampled patients were evaluated with a view to formulating interventions to minimize the occurrence and the impact of these factors. Objective: To determine the causes of CKD over a nine-year period and the causes of morbidity and mortality among patients with CKD at the two main hospitals in Antigua. Methods: A retrospective review was done of the medical records of patients with CKD who were diagnosed between January 1, 2005 and December 1, 2013. Chronic kidney disease was defined as a glomerular filtration rate of less than 60 mL/minute/1.73 m2. The causes of CKD, the patients' admission diagnoses, the causes of death and laboratory investigations were evaluated. Results: The documented causes of CKD in these patients were diabetes mellitus (51% of the patients), hypertension (26%), glomerulonephritis (5%) and lupus nephritis (4%). The causes of morbidity among the patients with CKD were myocardial infarction (5.1%), unstable angina (12.7%) and ischaemic stroke (12%). Contributing significantly to the patients' morbidity were catheter-associated sepsis (8.1%, p < 0.001) and lower respiratory tract infections (5.4%). The main factors contributing to the patients' mortality were myocardial infarction (16.7%) and catheter-associated sepsis (16.7%). Conclusion: This study documented that the most common causes of CKD among the sampled patients in Antigua were diabetes mellitus and hypertension. Ischaemic heart disease and infections were the major causes of morbidity and mortality among the patients. Early recognition and aggressive management of CKD and its risk factors and complications are important in reducing the clinical and economic burden associated with CKD.


In this paper we propose a new security, the Call Option Enhanced Reverse Convertible (COERC). The security is a form of contingent capital, i.e. a bond that converts to equity when the market value of equity or capital falls below a certain trigger. The conversion price is set significantly below the trigger price and, at the same time, equity holders have the option to buy back the shares from the bondholders at the conversion price. Compared to other forms of contingent capital proposed in the literature, the COERC is less risky in a world where bank assets can experience sudden, large declines in value. Moreover, the structure eliminates concerns of an equity price "death spiral" as a result of manipulation or panic. A bank that issues COERCs also has a smaller incentive to choose investments that are subject to large losses. Furthermore, COERCs reduce the problem of "debt overhang," the disincentive to replenish shareholders' equity following a decline.


Cardiovascular diseases exert a huge burden on individuals and society, with coronary heart disease (CHD) the single most common cause of death in the United Kingdom and other developed countries (British Heart Foundation 2004). Improved clinical care has been responsible for around two fifths of the decline in mortality from CHD in England and Wales over the past decade (Unal et al 2004). This article describes how developments in cardiac care, most of which have closely engaged nurses, have contributed to improvements in care for patients with acute myocardial infarction and other acute coronary syndromes.


BACKGROUND
We conducted a study to examine regional variation in the utilization of inpatient electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) across the United States, and its impact on length of hospital stay and cost.

METHODS
Analysis of the Nationwide Inpatient Sample databases to compare patient and hospital characteristics, and regional variation of ECT administration across different regions of the United States.

RESULTS
The study included 41,055 inpatients who had ECT from 4,411 hospitals. Electroconvulsive therapy use is significantly higher in the Midwest. A higher proportion of females (65.2%) than males received ECT across the United States. Medicaid beneficiaries were less likely to undergo ECT compared with patients with Medicare (52.2%) or private insurance (32%). Electroconvulsive therapy was used mainly for mood disorders (84.3%). There were marked reductions of inpatient costs ($25,298 to $38,244) and average hospital stay (16 days) when ECT was initiated within the first 5 days of admission compared with later during the hospitalization.

CONCLUSIONS
There is a wide variability of utilization of ECT, depending on the region, type of hospital, and type of insurance carrier. The utilization of ECT services is reduced across the United States. Appropriate utilization of this effective treatment can greatly help patients who are not responding to standard therapeutics, reduce overall health care cost and length of stay, and, most importantly, alleviate suffering.


Commercial paper sells at an extra discount if it matures in the next calendar year but Treasury bills do not. The discount is apparent in downward price shifts before the year-end, and upward price shifts at the turn of the year that are significantly correlated with the simultaneous returns to small stocks, and that cannot reflect tax-loss selling. Cross-sectional and time-series tests on prices, as well as flow of funds evidence on trades by institutional investors, indicate that both the debt and equity patterns reflect agency problems related to portfolio disclosures. Copyright 1997 by American Finance Association.


A small molecule binds to a core protein in the circadian clock and slows down time. Because of the close association of the circadian clock with a wide range of physiological processes, identification of clock-modulating small molecules may prove useful for the treatment of circadian-related disorders, which include circadian sleep disorders, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and metabolic disease. Hirota et al. screened for chemical compounds that affected the period of the circadian clock in a human osteosarcoma cell line. A carbazole derivative named KL001 appeared to act by inhibiting proteolytic degradation of the cryptochrome proteins, which in turn caused a lengthening of the circadian period. KL001 also inhibited glucagon-induced gluconeogenesis in primary cultures of mouse hepatocytes. T. Hirota, J. Wook Lee, P. C. St. John, M. Sawa, K. Iwaisako, T. Noguchi, P. Y. Pongsawakul, T. Sonntag, D. K. Welsh, D. A. Brenner, F. J. Doyle III, P. G. Schultz, S. A. Kay, Identification of small molecule activators of cryptochrome. Science 337, 1094–1097 (2012). [Abstract] [Full Text]


Thin-walled tubes with origami patterns are popular design for the energy observing devices. However, less study has been done when they subjected to cracks. In this work, the origami square tube with different height to wall thickness ratio are first studied to investigate the collapse modes and deformation mode. Further more, stress concentration areas are identified by numerical simulations. Finally, horizontal and vertical crack was implemented in one of the side in order to study the effect on the deformation mode.


Coral−algae symbiosis represents the trophic and structural basis of coral reef ecosystems. However, despite global threats to coral reefs and the dependence of coral health and stress resistance upon such mutualisms, little is known about the community ecology of endosymbiotic Symbiodiniaceae. Concepts and methods from metacommunity ecology may be used to help us understand the assembly and stability of symbiont communities and the mutualisms they comprise. In this study, we sampled colonies of the symbiont-generalist coral Galaxea fascicularis in southwestern Japan and assessed the effects of environmental and host factors on Symbiodinia ceae community composition, while simultaneously exploring residual correlations among symbiont types that may reflect non-random assembly processes such as species interactions. We metabarcoded the Symbiodiniaceae ribosomal internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) region and characterized the endosymbiotic community using 2 different OTU identity cut-offs, and analyzed them with generalized dissimilarity modeling and joint species distribution modeling. We found that Symbiodiniaceae form discrete communities characterized by the dominance of ITS2 types C1, C21a, or D1, that are each associated with a different suite of co-occurring background types and tend to exclude each other in an endosymbiotic community. The communities showed modest responses to temperature, water depth, host genotype, polyp size, and bleaching status, and there was local sequence variation within the ITS2 types. After accounting for the effects of those variables, residual correlations remained in community composition, pointing to the possibility that Symbiodiniaceae community assembly in corals may be structured by interspecific competitive or facilitating interactions rather than only exogenous variables.


Latino men are more likely to binge drink than their non-Latino male counterparts. Moreover, Latino fathers who misuse alcohol may show rigid masculine values (traditional machismo) rather than sensitivity and warmth (caballerismo). In an online survey of 309 Latino fathers, the researchers explored the relationship between problem drinking and traditional machismo, caballerismo, child–father relationship, father self-efficacy, and fatherhood identity. The study found that problem drinking was associated with higher levels of traditional machismo and child–father conflict and lower levels of fatherhood identity. In addition, fatherhood identity moderated the relationship between traditional machismo and problem drinking. These results underscore the significance of fatherhood identity for Latino men and support a strengths-based approach for substance abuse interventions for Latino fathers.


A retrospective study was conducted to investigate the effectiveness and safety of a sedation protocol with pethidine and midazolam for ultrasound-guided percutaneous renal biopsy in 64 paediatric cases in a regional hospital from 1 July 1998 to 30 June 2005. Forty-nine (77%) patients were successfully sedated with pethidine and midazolam (group A). The mean dose of pethidine for group A patients was 0.56 mg/kg while that of midazolam was 0.21 mg/kg. Fifteen (23%) patients required ketamine in addition to pethidine and midazolam (group B). Both age (student's t test, p<0.0001) and sex (chi square test, p<0.025) were statistical significantly associated with the use of ketamine using univariate analysis. Group B patients (range 2-14 y.o., mean = 6.6 y.o.) were younger ( p<0.05) than group A patients (range 3-18.5 y.o., mean age = 11.6 y.o.). The percentages of transient oxygen desaturation were 2% for group A and 13.3% for group B, this difference was not statistically significant (Fisher's exact test, p=0.134). In conclusion, the combination of intravenous pethidine and midazolam was an effective and safe sedation protocol for ultrasound-guided percutaneous renal biopsy in children.


In his work on the role of the listener in language change, Ohala (1981) suggests that acoustic byproducts of physiological linguistic processes may sometimes be perceived by listeners as linguistically important information, creating a cycle which may ultimately lead to language change. To explore this issue, we investigated anticipatory vowel-to-vowel coarticulation in English, which previous work has shown can exert influence over as much as three vowels' distance. The perceptibility of such effects at various distances from the influencing vowel was tested using event-related-potentials (ERP) and behavioral methodologies. Even the longest-distance effects were perceptible to some listeners. This group of listeners also provided production data. While the strongest support for a language-change hypothesis like that discussed here would come from a production-perception correlation, this was not found. However, we argue that even in the absence of such a correlation, the present findings are broadly consistent with such an account.


Several specimens preserving the cranial structure of Nyctiphruretus acudens, a parareptile from the Permian Mezen River locality, Russia, are described here for the first time. Previous studies have offered conflicting reconstructed images of Nyctiphruretus but no illustrations of actual specimens. The new information was incorporated into two existing analyses of parareptilian relationships. The results indicate that Nyctiphruretus is closely related to procolophonoids, pareiasaurs and other non-pareiasaurian Mezen River parareptiles but the interrelationships within this group remain unresolved. Nyctiphruretus was recovered either as the sister taxon of a clade formed of pareiasaurs and the other non-pareiasaurian Mezen River parareptiles, or as the sister taxon of procolophonoids. This is the first time the Nyctiphruretus-Procolophonoidea clade received support in a phylogenetic analysis. The interrelationships between several other groups within the Parareptilia also remain unresolved, or poorly supported, highlighting the need for more detailed descriptions and analyses of this enigmatic group of extinct reptiles.


Philip Short recently faced the problem of having established a plant genus that turned out to be a homonym of an earliernamed genus. In 2014, he erected the name Roebuckia for a range of daisy species in his review of Brachyscome. However, Roebuckia had already been established as a name for a fossil (Early Cretaceous) plant from Western Australia by myself (McLoughlin, 1996). Because homonyms are illegitimate according to the International Code of Nomenclature for Algae, Fungi and Plants (McNeill et al., 2012), Philip was obliged to establish a new name (Roebuckiella) for those species he had previously assigned to Roebuckia (see Short, 2015). How, then, can one be sure that when establishing a new genus, the chosen name has not been used before?


During the last four decades the German Revolution 1918/19 has only attracted little scholarly attention. This volume offers new cultural historical perspectives, puts this revolution into a wider time frame (1916-23), and coheres around three interlinked propositions: (i) acknowledging that during its initial stage the German Revolution reflected an intense social and political challenge to state authority and its monopoly of physical violence, (ii) it was also replete with "Angst"-ridden wrangling over its longer-term meaning and direction, and (iii) was characterized by competing social movements that tried to cultivate citizenship in a new, unknown state.


We observe clamping of the output spatial light distribution of a waveguide array. Using a chirped pulse amplifier we reach peak intensities in the waveguides of ~24 GW/cm2. At this level, three photon absorption in the AlGaAs material clamps the discrete spatial soliton to a set distribution. Further increase in intensity does not change the distribution.


In 1999 the Arti Foundation, under the creative leadership of Kadek Suardana, staged an adaptation of Shakespeare's Macbeth in the classical Balinese dance-drama form of gambuh. The production signaled the foundation's intent to actively engage with classical forms of Balinese performing arts as a means of stimulating interest in their ongoing survival. The foundation was established and staged Gambuh Macbeth within a context of a discourse exhorting Balinese to preserve their heritage, in particular those classical forms such as gambuh perceived to be in danger of disappearing. This discourse of preservation (pelestarian) has come to encapsulate a sense of the past as representing demise or loss and a concomitant imperative to intervene to ensure that forms do not die out. At an official level the discourse has tended to be somewhat programmatic and based on a static sense of pelestarian as "museumification." My concern in this article is to explore the implications of such a discourse for artistic production in Bali. In particular, how it can impose constraints upon choreographers, composers, and dramaturgs seeking to create modern Balinese performing arts that resonate with a wider public surrounded by a surfeit of traditional forms. I argue that the Arti Foundation and the production of Gambuh Macbeth offer insight into the potential of pelestarian that offers a creative model for reinvigorating traditional forms in Bali.


We have tested three human monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) IgG1b12, 2G12, and 2F5) to the envelope glycoproteins of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1), and a tetrameric CD4-IgG molecule (CD4-IgG2), for the ability to neutralize primary HIV-1 isolates from the genetic clades A through F and from group O. Each of the reagents broadly and potently neutralized B-clade isolates. The 2F5 MAb and the CD4-IgG2 molecule also neutralized strains from outside the B clade, with the same breadth and potency that they showed against B-clade strains. The other two MAbs were able to neutralize a significant proportion of strains from outside the B clade, although there was a reduction in their efficacy compared with their activity against B-clade isolates. Neutralization of isolates by 2F5 correlated with their possession of the LDKW motif in a segment of gp41 near the membrane-spanning domain. The other two MAbs and CD4-IgG2 recognize discontinuous binding sites on gp120, and so no comparison between genetic sequence and virus neutralization was possible. Our data show that a vaccine based on the induction of humoral immunity that is broadly active across the genetic clades is not impossible if immunogens that express the epitopes for MAbs such as 2F5, 2G12, and IgG1b12 in immunogenic configurations can be created. Furthermore, if the three MAbs and CD4-IgG2 produce clinical benefit in immunotherapeutic trials in the United States or Europe, they may also do so elsewhere in the world.


Background Photoactivatable fluorescent probes developed specifically for single molecule detection extend advantages of single molecule imaging to high probe density regions of cells and tissues. They perform in the native biomolecule environment and have been used to detect both probe position and orientation. Methods and Findings Fluorescence emission from a single photoactivated probe captured in an oil immersion, high numerical aperture objective, produces a spatial pattern on the detector that is a linear combination of 6 independent and distinct spatial basis patterns with weighting coefficients specifying emission dipole orientation. Basis patterns are tabulated for single photoactivated probes labeling myosin cross-bridges in a permeabilized muscle fiber undergoing total internal reflection illumination. Emitter proximity to the glass/aqueous interface at the coverslip implies the dipole near-field and dipole power normalization are significant affecters of the basis patterns. Other characteristics of the basis patterns are contributed by field polarization rotation with transmission through the microscope optics and refraction by the filter set. Pattern recognition utilized the generalized linear model, maximum likelihood fitting, for Poisson distributed uncertainties. This fitting method is more appropriate for treating low signal level photon counting data than χ2 minimization. Conclusions Results indicate that emission dipole orientation is measurable from the intensity image except for the ambiguity under dipole inversion. The advantage over an alternative method comparing two measured polarized emission intensities using an analyzing polarizer is that information in the intensity spatial distribution provides more constraints on fitted parameters and a single image provides all the information needed. Axial distance dependence in the emission pattern is also exploited to measure relative probe position near focus. Single molecule images from axial scanning fitted simultaneously boost orientation and axial resolution in simulation.


Background: Patient′s knowledge of anticoagulation therapy is important to achieving and maintaining optimal therapy outcome as well as reducing adverse events. The aim of this study was to assess knowledge of warfarin therapy among patients attending Warfarin Clinic at a public hospital. Materials and Method: A cross-sectional survey of 128 patients was conducted at a Warfarin Clinic. Face to face interviews were conducted, using standard questionnaires to determine demographic characteristics and knowledge of warfarin therapy. Results: The mean age of participants was 50.5 years. Majority of patients were male (56.2%), Malays (46.89%) and married (78.1%). A large proportion of patients had only primary (33.6%) and secondary school education (43.0%). The result indicates almost all patients know the indication (95.8%) and dosage (92.2%) of warfarin. In addition, 89.1% of patients know what to do in case of a missed dose. However, more than half of participants do not know the consequence of missing a dose. Most patients know the purpose of INR monitoring and the consequence of INR value above or below the therapeutic range. There were only 42.2% of the patients who know the frequency of INR monitoring. Knowledge of drug interaction indicates more than 50% of patients possess knowledge of warfarin-alcohol, warfarin-vitamin, warfarin-OTC and warfarin-food interaction. There were 64.1% of patients who know when to seek immediate medical attention and 56.3% who are aware of side effect monitoring. Categorization of knowledge level shows 41.4% of patients have good level of knowledge about anticoagulation therapy. However, only 33.6% of patients have excellent knowledge while 1.6% of patients were found to have poor knowledge of warfarin therapy. Conclusion: It can be concluded majority of patients attending warfarin clinic have insufficient knowledge about warfarin therapy.


The book represents the results of a synchronic and diachronic cross-African survey of quotative indexes. These are linguistic expressions that signal in the ongoing discourse the presence of a quote (often called "direct reported speech"). For this purpose, 39 African languages were selected to represent the genealogical and geographical diversity of the continent. The study is based primarily on this language sample, in particular on the analysis of quotative indexes and related expressions from a text corpus of each sample language, but also includes a wide range of data from the published literature on other African as well as non- African languages. It is the first typological investigation of direct reported discourse of this magnitude in a large group of languages. The book may thus serve as a starting point of similar studies in other geographical areas or even with a global scope, as well as stimulate more detailed investigations of particular languages. The results of the African survey challenge several prevailing cross-linguistic generalizations regarding quotative indexes and reported discourse constructions as a whole, of which two are of particular interest. In the syntactic domain, where reported discourse has mostly been dealt with under so- called sentential complementation, the study supports the minority view that direct reported discourse and also a large portion of indirect reported discourse show hardly any evidence for the claim that the reported clause is a syntactic object complement of some matrix verb. With respect to grammaticalization, the work concludes that speech verbs are, against common belief, not a frequent source of quotatives, complementizers, and other related markers. Far more frequent sources are markers of similarity and manner; generic verbs of equation, inchoativity, and action; and pronominals referring to the quote or the speaker. Another more general conclusion of the study is that especially direct reported discourse can be fruitfully analyzed as part of a larger linguistic domain called "mimesis". This comprises expressions which represent a state of affairs by means of enactment/ performance rather than with the help of "canonical" linguistic signs and includes, besides reported discourse, world-referring bodily gestures, ideophone-like signs, and non-linguistic sound.


Acute massive pulmonary embolism (PE) is a life-threatening condition that requires prompt and aggressive interventions, including anticoagulation, catheter-directed thrombolysis (CDT), mechanical thrombectomy, or surgical thromboembolectomy. The aim of this study was to evaluate the treatment outcome in patients with massive PE who were treated with either ultrasound-accelerated thrombolysis using the EkoSonic Endovascular System (EKOS) or CDT intervention. During a recent 10-year period, the clinical records of all patients with massive PE undergoing catheter-directed interventions were evaluated. Patients were divided into two treatment groups: EKOS versus CDT interventions. Comparisons were made with regard to the treatment outcome between the two groups. Twenty-five patients underwent 33 catheter-directed interventions for massive PE during the study period. Among them, EKOS or CDT was performed in 15 (45%) and 18 (55%) procedures, respectively. In the EKOS group, complete thrombus removal was achieved in 100% cases. In the CDT cohort, complete or partial thrombus removal was accomplished in 7 (50%) and 2 (14%) cases, respectively. Comparing treatment success based on thrombus removal, EKOS treatment resulted in an improved treatment outcome compared with the CDT group (p ≤ .02). The mean time of thrombolysis in EKOS and CDT group was 17.4 ± 5.23 and 25.3 ± 7.35 hours, respectively (p = .03). The mortality rate in the EKOS and CDT group was 9.1% and 14.2%, respectively (not significant). Treatment-related hemorrhagic complication rates in the EKOS and CDT group were 0% and 21.4%, respectively (p = .02). A significant reduction in Miller scores was noted in both groups following catheter-based interventions. No significant difference in relative Miller score improvement was observed between groups. Ultrasound-accelerated thrombolysis using the EkoSonic system is an effective treatment modality in patients with acute massive PE. When compared with CDT, this treatment modality provides similar treatment efficacy with reduced thrombolytic infusion time and treatment-related complications.


The peoples of Africa are neither ethnically, culturally, nor religiously homogeneous. European colonial powers took little note of this reality in carving up the continent, a fact reflected in the periodic outbreak of civil war since decolonialization. Likewise, Western European models of development, whether in their liberal or Marxist manifestations, have so far failed to meet African development needs. The path to stability in Africa is through its people's character and goals. "Almanac of African Peoples and Nations" provides an essential guide to the major ethnic groups of the African continent, highlighting the major contributions and basic features of each. The "Almanac" reviews Africa's language families and their respective national and geographic concentrations, explaining ethnic classification based on linguistic difference and including language groups that are not indigenous to Africa. The major African peoples are then listed by country with a statistical breakdown on their respective shares in the total population of each country and maps indicating their concentration. The major section of the volume includes a comprehensive listing and descriptive profile of each ethnic, national, and tribal group detailing their history, customs, economic systems, and political and social organizations. The "Almanac" points out as well which groups support revisionist political aspirations and shows the internal and external pressures they are subject to. Yakan notes that African societies are not highly integrated and must support multitudes of influential sub-cultures with conflicting agendas and loyalties. Arguing that tribalism reflects Africa's historical experience and cultural heritage, he sees the resolution of the continent's problems in consociational democracy, proportional representation, federalism, or some form of autonomous rule.


Introduction: While the malignant cells in the fluid are available in malignant pleural effusions (MPE), in paramalignant pleural effusions (PMPE), the malignant cells do not exist. We aimed to compare the results of patients with MPE and PMPE.
Materials and Methods: 134 patients (MPE: 106 PMPE: 28) were analysed retrospectively. Patients were divided into 2 groups as MPE, and PMPE. Results were analysed. P<0.05 was considered significant.
Results: 65 of the patients with MPE were malignant mesothelioma (MM), while 41 of them were pleural metastasis. 28 of patients were PMPE. Male gender, right localization and exudative feature were found to be significant for patients with MPE. On the other hand, pleural effusion having exudative feature was significant for patients with PMPE. MM, chondrosarcoma, lung and liver cancer were found to be more effective in the formation MPE. Mortality was higher in patients with MPE (n=4). Tube thoracostomy was found as primary treatment method in treatment of patients with MPE.
Conclusion: MPE and PMPE are caused by underlying malignant diseases. The mortality rate is higher in patients with pleural metastatic. Tube thoracostomy and pleurodesis are the primary treatment methods.


A new approach of the string theory called the Prediction Model Based on String Invariants (PMBSI) was applied here to time-series forecast. We used 2-end-point open string that satisfies the Dirichlet and Neumann boundary conditions. The initial motivation was to transfer modern physical ideas into the neighboring field called econophysics. The physical statistical viewpoint has proved to be fruitful, namely in the description of systems where many-body effects dominate. However, PMBSI is not limited to financial forecast. The main advantage of PMBSI include absence of the learning phase when large number of parameters must be set. Comparative experimental analysis of PMBSI vs. SVM was performed and the results on artificial and real-world data are presented. PMBSI performance was in a close match with SVM.


The objective of this study is to investigate the empirical relationship between exports and economic growth in order to ascertain whether the hypothesis of export-led growth is valid in the case of South Africa. This study has not only focused on sectoral exports for the period 19902011; but it has also examined total exports for the period extending from 1970 to 2011. Using quarterly data and time series econometric techniques of co-integration and Granger-causality tests over the two set of periods, the key findings of the study are as follows: (i) At the aggregate level (using total exports): the technique of co-integration suggests that total exports and GDP moved together in the long-run, though deviations from the steady state might happen in the short-run. Furthermore, Granger causality tests inferred from the Vector Error Correction model reveal that the direction of causality between export and GDP growth is bidirectional. (ii) At the sectoral level (using the main component of exports): export-growth link emerges as a long-run behavioural relationship since a co-integrating relation was found among output and agricultural, manufactured and mining exports. This relationship demonstrates that manufactured exports have the greatest positive impact on output growth. (iii) Sectoral level Granger-causality tests based on ECM reveal the existence of a long run causality running from manufactured exports to GDP; whereas the short-run causality runs from manufactured and mining exports to GDP. However, the Toda-Yamamoto Granger test confirms only short-run causality from manufactured exports to GDP. In both cases, there is evidence of a uni-directional causality from exports to GDP. The above results show that the hypothesis of export-led growth is valid for South Africa. This implies that exports, particularly manufactured and mining exports play a key role in driving economic growth. Hence, the key policy implication of these results is that, measures which aim at stimulating production for exports and shifting the content of exports will meaningfully contribute to the improvement of GDP growth and employment prospects in South Africa.


The bone marrow plays a unique role within the immune system. We compared the phenotype and function of virus-specific CD8(+) T cells from matched samples of human peripheral blood and bone marrow. Analysis of virus-specific memory CD8(+) T cells showed widely divergent partition of antigen-specific populations between blood and bone marrow. T cells specific for Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) lytic antigens were enriched 3-fold in marrow compared with blood, whereas the response to EBV latent epitopes was equivalent between the 2 compartments. No difference in EBV viral load or expression of the EBV lytic protein was observed between blood and bone marrow. In direct contrast, although cytomegalo-virus (CMV)-specific T cells were the largest virus-specific population within peripheral blood, they were reduced by 60% within marrow. Bone marrow T cells were found to exhibit a unique CCR5(+)CXCR6(+)CXCR3(-) homing phenotype which has not been observed on T cells from other secondary lymphoid organs or peripheral organs. Expression of CCR5 and CXCR6 was higher on EBV-specific T cells within peripheral blood compared with CMV-specific populations. These observations identify a novel bone marrow homing phenotype for CD8(+) memory T cells, which necessitates a reevaluation of the magnitude of antigen-specific populations within the lymphoid system.


A winch system provides a method for launch and recovery capabilities for kites and tethered blimps or balloons. Low power consumption is a key objective, as well as low weight for portability. This is accomplished by decoupling the tether-line storage and wind ing/ unwinding functions, and providing tailored and efficient mechanisms for each. The components of this system include rotational power input devices such as electric motors or other apparatus, line winding/unwinding reel(s), line storage reel(s), and independent drive trains. Power is applied to the wind/unwind reels to transport the tether line. Power is also applied to a line storage reel, from either the wind/unwind power source, the wind/unwind reel itself, or separate power source. The speeds of the two reels are synchronized, but not dependent on each other. This is accomplished via clutch mechanisms, variable transmissions, or independent motor controls. The speed of the storage reel is modulated as the effective diameter of the reel changes with line accumulation.


This study examines if interdisciplinary teaching can be said to facilitate the learning and use of fractions by Swedish 12-year-old pupils. Home and Consumer Studies is well suited to interdisciplinary teaching, and young people can therefore find it interesting to study maths since the setting is relevant to them. Building on variation theory and a learning study, we examined pupils' (n=18) ability to double fractions greater than ½ when using a recipe. The general results show that what is to be learned benefits if it is presented in different ways, that teachers should not take pupils' knowledge for granted, and mathematically that it is not necessary to divide something to be able to double it. We argue that the study shows that genuine problems based on pupils' interest and life world can enhance motivation and, in turn, learning.


Research on organisational commitment has gained momentum over the last two decades because of its association with positive work practices. As organisations undertake restructuring measures to maintain a leaner workforce, employee commitment to the organisation has now become more critical than ever. The main objectives of this research are: (a) to establish whether Meyer and Allen's multidimensional organisational commitment is applicable to a Kenyan setting; (b) to determine whether there are any sector (i.e. public and private) and occupational group (i.e. academic and administrative) differences in the levels organisational commitment, job satisfaction and turnover intentions; and (c) to examine the extent to which demographic characteristics, professional commitment, job and role-related factors, and HRM practices influenced organisational commitment, job satisfaction and turnover intentions among employees in public and private universities.
This study was motivated by the state of Kenyan universities, particularly public universities as centres of excellence which are responsible for the development of human resources required for national development. Over the last two decades, public universities have been facing a myriad of problems which have affected their ability to motivate and retain their employees. This has been as a result of the general state of economic decline the country has been experiencing since the late 1980s. Consequently, facilities are rundown, students' unrest on the increase while employees are dissatisfied because of various monetary and non-monetary factors resulting in high turnover rates
among academics while those who have remained are actively involved in moonlighting activities to supplement their income. The declining conditions in public universities have pushed private universities from the periphery to the forefront. Although, they offer market-oriented courses, their dependence on tuition fees as their main source of funding has made them unaffordable to ordinary Kenyans, thus raising concerns about equity in these institutions. The data for this study was collected using questionnaires from 829 academic and 785 administrative employees from three public and three private universities, with a response rate of 54% (446 academic employees) and 62% (486 administrative employees) after data screening. The data was analysed using statistical package (SPSS). In addition, semi-structured interviews were conducted from 15 academic and administrative employees with the aim of validating the data collected from the questionnaires.
The findings indicated that Meyer and Allen's multidimensional organisational commitment was applicable in the Kenyan context. Secondly, the independent variables (i.e. personal characteristics, job and role-related factors, professional commitment and HR practices) were stronger predictors of organisational commitment, job satisfaction and turnover intentions for academics than for the administrative employees. Thirdly, employees from private universities were more committed to their universities and satisfied with their jobs than employees from public universities. Finally, age, education, professional commitment, role overload, supervisory support, job security, promotional opportunities, distributive justice and participation in decision making were the most important predictors of organisational commitment, job satisfaction and turnover intentions among employees in Kenyan universities.
These results are significant for theory, policy and practice. In light of the applicability of the multidimensional organisational commitment to the Kenyan context, university managers should try to understand and establish work-related practices which are likely to enhance the most 'desirable' component of commitment.


ABSTRACT GS-9131 is a phosphonoamidate prodrug of the novel ribose-modified phosphonate nucleotide analog GS-9148 that demonstrates potent anti-human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) activity and an excellent resistance profile in vitro. Prodrug moieties were optimized for the efficient delivery of GS-9148 and its active diphosphate (DP) metabolite to lymphoid cells following oral administration. To understand the intracellular pharmacology of GS-9131, incubations were performed with various types of lymphoid cells in vitro. The intracellular accumulation and antiviral activity levels of GS-9148 were limited by its lack of cellular permeation, and GS-9131 increased the delivery of GS-9148-DP by 76- to 290-fold relative to that of GS-9148. GS-9131 activation was saturable at high extracellular concentrations, potentially due to a high-affinity promoiety cleavage step. Once inside the cells, GS-9148 was efficiently phosphorylated, forming similar amounts of anabolites in primary lymphoid cells. The levels of GS-9148-DP formed in peripheral blood mononuclear cells infected with HIV-1 were similar to that in uninfected PBMCs, and approximately equivalent intracellular concentrations of GS-9148-DP and tenofovir (TVF)-DP were required to inhibit viral replication by 90%. Once it was formed, GS-9148-DP was efficiently retained in activated CD4+ cells, with a half-life of 19 h. In addition, GS-9131 showed a low potential for drug interactions with other adenine nucleoside/nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitors, based on the lack of competition for anabolism between suprapharmacologic concentrations of GS-9148 and TVF and the lack of activity of GS-9131 metabolites against purine nucleoside phosphorylase, an enzyme involved in the clearance of 2′,3′-dideoxyinosine. Together, these observations elucidate the cellular pharmacology of GS-9131 and illustrate its efficient loading of lymphoid cells, resulting in a prolonged intracellular exposure to the active metabolite GS-9148-DP.


This article canvasses the issues and significance of the appeal in State of Mississippi, Jim Hood AG v. AU Optronics Corp., to be heard by the Supreme Court in November 2013. The Mississippi Attorney General instituted an action under Mississippi antitrust and consumer protection statutes against liquid crystal display panel manufacturers. After the defendants removed the litigation to federal court under the Class Action Fairness Act ("CAFA"), the Fifth Circuit held that the litigation was properly removable. This appeal concerns whether state parens patriae actions are an exception to CAFA removal provisions and therefore the litigation must be remanded to Mississippi state court.CAFA defines a mass action as any action that joins the monetary claims of 100 or more persons to be tried jointly on the grounds that the plaintiffs' claims involve common questions of law or fact. 28 U.S.C. § 1332(d)(11)(B)(i). However, each plaintiff in a mass action must satisfy the $75,000 amount in controversy requirement that exists for regular diversity plaintiffs. Mass actions do not include claims that the defendant joins; actions where all claims are asserted on behalf of the general public pursuant to a state statute authorizing the action; or claims that are consolidated or coordinated solely for pre-trial proceedings. 28 U.S.C. § 1332(d)(11)(B)(ii). If a mass action is removed to federal court, it cannot be transferred to a multidistrict litigation court unless a majority of the plaintiffs request the transfer to the MDL forum. 28 U.S.C. § 1332(d)(11)(C). Since CAFA's enactment, federal courts have split concerning whether state AG parens patriae actions constitute CAFA mass actions subject to CAFA removal. Courts have taken two approaches to this question. Thus, some courts have looked to the entire complaint to determine whether an action is a true parens patriae action brought by the AG on behalf of state citizens for a recovery accruing the state's benefit. If the court takes this "whole complaint" approach and finds a true parens patriae action, then the court will conclude that the action is not a mass action subject to CAFA removal and the case will remain in state court. On the other hand, some federal courts apply a "claim-by-claim" approach, which requires the court to pierce the pleadings and evaluate whether the AG has asserted claims on behalf of individual citizens. If the complaint includes claims for the benefit of individual persons — especially claims for monetary relief — then the court will assess whether more than 100 claims have been asserted to constitute a mass action, subject to CAFA removal. In cases where state AGs have alleged parens patriae claims on behalf of the state, but included claims for restitution to individual citizens, these courts have found such actions to be mass actions subject to removal under CAFA.The Mississippi AG's appeal focuses attention on a significant problem that has emerged since CAFA's enactment in 2005, because numerous defendants sued in state parens patriae actions have attempted to remove these actions to federal court under CAFA. Consequently, the stakes are high for all state attorneys general who desire to retain their authority over parens patriae litigation in their own state courts. Like a band of brothers, 46 AGs have filed an amicus brief in support of the Mississippi AG. In addition, consumer advocate groups, the AARP, and Public Citizen have all weighed in on the side of the Mississippi AG.There is no unanimity among federal courts concerning whether such parens patriae actions are immune from removal and should remain in state courts. Moreover, CAFA makes no specific reference to parens patriae actions; the decisional law is unclear; and the drafters' intentions are muddied by CAFA's questionable legislative history. Furthermore, CAFA's additional exemption for litigation concerning the "general public" adds another dollop of confusion to the CAFA cauldron.


Studying in a second language is probably one of the greatest challenges for international students. In this study, the relationship between language preparation and the first year graduate study among East Asian international graduate students in the United States was investigated in order to provide implications and suggestions for university administrators and policymakers. Language preparation before arriving in the United States and their first year experiences were explored in order to understand the challenges that East Asian international students face. The findings from 12 interviews reveal the first year academic experience of East Asian international graduate students and the needs of this population regarding university language support. In addition, the findings allow policymakers and higher education administrators to better understand the difficulties this population faces as well as the importance of support services and mentoring programs in ensuring their academic success in the United States. Keywords: Language Proficiency; International Graduate Student; Academic Performance; Adjustment Process As a crucial center of information and advanced technology, the United States attracts students and scholars worldwide (Sandhu, 1995). According to the Open Doors 2006) report, 564,766 international students studied in American higher education institutions in the 2005-2006 academic year (approximately 3.9% of the total postsecondary enrollment) including 259,717 students in graduate programs (approximately 46% of the total number of international students). Approximately 58% of the total international graduate enrollment were students who were born in Asia (Open Doors, 2006). Hence, this study's focus is Asian international graduate students. Specifically, our participants were all of East Asian descent. They were from the numbers two, three, and four countries--China, Korea, and Japan (India being number one) for pursuing graduate studies at U.S. higher education institutions (Open Doors, 2006). Although international students have already become a component of student population in U.S. postsecondary education, based on a report released by the Association of International Educators (NAFSA, 2006), "the era of robust growth in international student enrollments in the U.S. was already over" (p.2). Now, fewer international students are enrolled in U. S. higher education institutions than there were before the events of September 11, 2001. Other countries are working to attract the world's scientific, technological, and intellectual elites from around the globe. As the report states, "what is most alarming is that, for the first time, the United States seems to be losing its status as the destination of choice for international students" (NAFSA, 2006, p.2). Given this situation, a comprehensive strategy was presented, including effective policy coordination for admission, monitoring, and services for international students; more flexible and coordinated visa policy; and removing excessive governmentally imposed barriers. However, most of these strategies are at the national and state levels. For higher education institutions, one of the most important efforts geared at attracting international students and providing quality education is understanding and meeting their educational needs. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to use qualitative methods to explore the most prominent educational needs of international students and provide corresponding implications for educational administration and policy. A lack of proficiency in English is the number one issue for international students who are from non-English speaking countries and the primary obstacle faced by international students in the U.S. (Mori, 2000; Selvadurai, 1998). Therefore, we chose language difficulty as the primary educational issue for international students. In our research, we define "language" as "English," which is the linguistic medium for instruction at American universities. …


Research indicates the sacroiliac joint (prevalence of sacroiliac syndrome ranges from 19.3% and 47.9% (Toussaint et al., 1999)) as being the primary source of low-back pain in 22.5% of patients with back pain (Bernard et al., 1987:2107-2130). Treatment options that are available for the treatment of low-back pain include allopathic (Hellman and Stone, 2000), and manual therapies such as hydrotherapy and traction (Cull and Will, 1995). It has been found that allopathic interventions have been less effective than spinal manipulative therapy, even with spinal manipulative therapy having various modes of application (e.g. side posture and drop piece manipulations) (Gatterman et al., 2001). Drop table thrusting techniques were found to be effective for patients with neuromuskuloskeletal problems such as facet syndrome (Haldeman et al., 1993), however, it is still not known which specific drop piece technique is the most appropriate for sacroiliac syndrome. Thus it is important to ascertain the clinical effectiveness of the technique as certain conditions prevent the patient from being positioned in the conventional side posture for treatment of sacroiliac syndrome (White, 2003; Pooke, 2003; Hyde, 2003; Pretorius, 2003; Haldeman, 2003; Cramer, 2003; Engelbrecht, 2003). Therefore this study aims at determining the efficacy of a maintained contact drop piece manipulation technique.


This case reports on an elderly patient with symptomatic Zenker's diverticulum who was successfully treated with endoscopic septoplasty. A 91 year old male presented with recurrent dysphagia to solids, regurgitation associated with coughing and choking attacks. The symptoms had been present for approximately 12 months and were recently becoming more bothersome. Barium swallow suggested a Zenker's diverticulum (Figure 1a). Initial oesophagogastroduodenoscopy (OGD) confirmed a 20 mm Zenker's diverticulum with some retained food debris. The patient was referred for a surgical opinion, however he was deemed not to be a surgical candidate. The surgical team referred the patient to our unit for consideration of endoscopic treatment. We repeated OGD under conscious sedation with titrated doses of Midazolam and Fentanyl and identified the diverticulum (Figure 1b, black arrow) and the septum (Figure 1B, white arrow). After insertion of a nasogastric tube into the stomach we performed endoscopic myotomy with a needle knife (Figure 1c, white arrow). When the myotomy was completed an Olympus endoclip was placed at the apex of the incision. The patient was discharged from hospital on the same day without any complication. Due to residual symptoms, the procedure was repeated three months later and the myotomy extended. Following the second procedure he had complete symptom resolution and was able to consume a normal diet. He has remained symptom free after 18 months of follow-up. Surgery is the mainstay of treatment for patients with a symptomatic Zenker's diverticulum and is associated with symptom resolution in up to 96%. The surgical options include open diverticulectomy or diverticulopexy with cricopharyngeal myotomy or alternatively endoscopic stapling. In symptomatic non-operative candidates or patients unwilling to undergo surgery, endoscopic Zenker's septoplasty is safe alternative with acceptable outcomes. Studies report complete symptom resolution in up to 82% of patients and a low complication rate with major complications (perforation, neck abscess) in 1.6% and minor complications in 6.1%. Mortality from this procedure has not been reported in the literature. Due to the nature of the procedure there is a learning curve, however this learning curve is unknown, and the opportunity for training is limited. An animal model has been described that may allow for further training in this technique and potentially more widespread application.


Background and Objective: Alcohol use has been suggested to interfere with condom use and to increase sexual risk behaviors. However, data on the prevalence of this practice among female sex workers and its association with condom use and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are limited. Methods: Data were collected through the baseline survey of an HIV prevention project among 454 establishment-based female sex workers in Guangxi, China, in 2004. Both global association and situational analysis were performed using 2 measures of alcohol use (alcohol intoxication and drinking alcohol before having sex with a client). Multiple logistic regression analyses were performed to examine the association of alcohol use with women's condom use and STIs. Results: One-third of women reported being intoxicated with alcohol at least once a month during the previous 6 months, and about 30% reported using alcohol before having sex with clients. In comparison with women who did not use alcohol before engaging in sex with clients, women who did so reported significantly less consistent condom use and higher rates of both current STIs and a history of STI. However, alcohol intoxication was not associated with condom use and STIs. These findings indicate event-specific rather than global associations of alcohol use with inconsistent condom use and STIs. Conclusion: Alcohol use before commercial sex is associated with unprotected sex and increased risk for STIs. Interventions that address both alcohol use and HIV risk behaviors in the context of commercial sex may have a great impact in preventing the spread of HIV in China.


This thesis primarily deals with the superiority complex as seen in William Shakespeare?s Coriolanus, which is the main character of this play. Shakespeare wraps this story in a good form of tragic drama in which the tragic hero meets his downfall because of a flaw in his character. Later, the thesis writer discusses the causes of Coriolanus?s superiority complex and how the superiority complex is manifested in Coriolanus?s life. Thus, the purpose of the study is, firstly. to show that Coriolanus becomes superior because of the influences of his personal qualities, his family atmosphere and the circumstances of the environment. In addition, it is also to show that the Coriolanus?s superiority reveals itself in his intense egocentricity, his pride and his gods-like nature. Then, in her methodology, the thesis writer uses several sources found in library, CD-ROM and internet search engines such as the collection of books and articles. It is a way to get wider and deeper information or criticism about the book itself and the author as well. As a matter of fact, the thesis writer deals with psychological theory namely Adler?s Superiority Complex as the theme of the study, yet she mainly uses literary approach in analyzing Corilanus?s character. In this character study, the thesis writer discusses two analysis namely Coriolanus?s upbringing and Coriolanus?s adulthood. In conclusion, the thesis writer finds that a man with superiority complex shows his egocentricity, pride and gods-like nature which are mostly caused by himself and his environment including his family atmosphere.


Purpose of the article: The present article deals with associations between the development of money supply measured by the monetary base M2 and the development of the Japanesee wider stock index Nikkei 225. The objective of the article is set if the money supply is significant macroeconomic factor which cause the stock bubbles.
Methodology/methods: Regarding to the aim of the article was using historic monthly nominal data of money supply (measured with monetary base M2) and monthly close price of Nikkei 225 since 1967 to 2011, adjusted of splites and dividends. This period contain two bubbles which were on japanesee market and the time of economic crisis after 2007. From econometric methods, will be using stationary test – Augmented Dickey-Fuller test, for cointegration between two time series is using Engel-Granger cointegration test and the impact of money supply on japanesee stock index is measured by Granger causality test.
Scientific aim: The aim of this article is by using econometric methods find if the nominal money supply, measured by monetary base M2 is a significant factor, which cause the stock bubbles on japanesee stock market.
Findings: According to the results of the empirical analysis was found that mnominal money supply represented by wider monetary base M2 is not a significant factor which cause the bubbles, which were identify on japanese stock market in selected period. Concrete wasn't found the impact of money supply on Archipelago boom in 70th and Heisei boom in the 80th. In empirical analysis was only found a long relationship (cointegration) between money supply and stock index Nikkei 225, what correspond with economic theory.
Conclusions: This paper can be expand with real variables (inflation adjusted) and compare the result. Higher potencial of this paper is added there another macroeconomic variables, first of all oil price or producer price index, because according to the literature review this can be a significant factors which cabn cause the bubbles and find relationship between these factors and japanese stock index development. Other way is compare the results with e.g. US capital maret, which suppport the market and economy by quantitative easing too.


Diabetes is increasing in epidemic proportions worldwide. The number of people with diabetes is currently estimated to amount to nearly 180 million in the over 140 IDF member countries. While a relatively large number of studies have so far been carried out into the causes and development of diabetes mellitus in the Caucasian populations, up until recently, data on the aetiology and pathogenesis of the condition in the Asian population was still relatively scarce. The Asian Young Diabetes (ASDIAB) Study, the most significant results of which are revealed below, was intended to fill this gap.


The principal theorem of this thesis is a theorem by Peano on the existence of a solution to a certain integral equation. The two primary notions underlying this theorem are uniform convergence and equi-continuity. Theorems related to these two topics are proved in Chapter II. In Chapter III we state and prove a classical existence and uniqueness theorem for an integral equation. In Chapter IV we consider the approximation on certain functions by means of elementary expressions involving "bent line" functions. The last chapter, Chapter V, is the proof of the theorem by Peano mentioned above. Also included in this chapter is an example in which the integral equation has more than one solution. The first chapter sets forth basic definitions and theorems with which the reader should be acquainted.


CONTEXT
Although the nonmedical use of stimulant drugs such as cocaine and methamphetamine is increasingly common in many rural areas of the United States, little is known about the health beliefs of people who use these drugs.

PURPOSE
This research describes illicit stimulant drug users' views on health and health-related concepts that may affect their utilization of health care services.

METHODS
A respondent-driven sampling plan was used to recruit 249 not-in-treatment, nonmedical stimulant drug users who were residing in 3 rural counties in west central Ohio. A structured questionnaire administered by trained interviewers was used to collect information on a range of topics, including current drug use, self-reported health status, perceived need for substance abuse treatment, and beliefs about health and health services.

FINDINGS
Participants reported using a wide variety of drugs nonmedically, some by injection. Alcohol and marijuana were the most commonly used drugs in the 30 days prior to the interview. Powder cocaine was used by 72.3% of the sample, crack by 68.3%, and methamphetamine by 29.7%. Fair or poor health status was reported by 41.3% of the participants. Only 20.9% of the sample felt they needed drug abuse treatment. Less than one third of the sample reported that they would feel comfortable talking to a physician about their drug use, and 65.1% said they preferred taking care of their problems without getting professional help.

CONCLUSIONS
Stimulant drug users in rural Ohio are involved with a range of substances and hold health beliefs that may impede health services utilization.


Today on almost every desk in every office sits a computer. Eighty years ago, desktops were equipped with a nonelectronic data processing machine: a card file. In Paper Machines, Markus Krajewski traces the evolution of this proto-computer of rearrangeable parts (file cards) that became ubiquitous in offices between the world wars. The story begins with Konrad Gessner, a sixteenth-century Swiss polymath who described a new method of processing data: to cut up a sheet of handwritten notes into slips of paper, with one fact or topic per slip, and arrange as desired. In the late eighteenth century, the card catalog became the librarian's answer to the threat of information overload. Then, at the turn of the twentieth century, business adopted the technology of the card catalog as a bookkeeping tool. Krajewski explores this conceptual development and casts the card file as a "universal paper machine" that accomplishes the basic operations of Turing's universal discrete machine: storing, processing, and transferring data. In telling his story, Krajewski takes the reader on a number of illuminating detours, telling us, for example, that the card catalog and the numbered street address emerged at the same time in the same city (Vienna), and that Harvard University's home-grown cataloging system grew out of a librarian's laziness; and that Melvil Dewey (originator of the Dewey Decimal System) helped bring about the technology transfer of card files to business.


The central intent of this essay is based on the author's master's thesis named 'Creating alternative community futures: A community futures tragedy.' This thesis explored the question "Can local governments empower their communities with the opportunity and capacity to create alternative futures?" Local governments in their role of managing issues and planning for the future have more recently embraced the concepts of community engagement and sustainable development. This essay presents the results from a community visioning project 'Maroochy 2025' and highlights a tragedy of lost opportunity to galvanise community momentum and capacity to create alternative futures. However, the learnings from Maroochy 2025 highlight the case for anticipatory democracy practices and participatory leadership. If the new purpose of local governments is to support the creation of sustainable communities, then local governments will need to engage their communities in more meaningful ways and re-define implementation models within the constraints of representative democracy.


In answering these questions, Janet Sayers highlights the revolution wrought in both sexes' psychology by adolescence, particularly by its fantasies of divided selves and loves and of 'boy crazy' grandiosity and romance.

 Illustrated throughout with fascinating examples from a groundbreaking study of adolescent memories and dreams, Boy Crazy presents an engaging account of this little-researched period of human development. Sayers also draws on her own work as a therapist, and weaves in vignettes from fiction and film, to demonstrate the significance we attach in adulthood to our experiences as adolescents. She suggests that men and women respond differently to the sexual awakening that takes place during their teens, and to their own memories of that part of their life. In relating the findings of her research the author also explores to what extent the theories of Freud, Jung and feminism shape our understanding of the formative effect of adolescent experiences and emotions.

 Boy Crazy provides a fascinating insight into the repercussions of adolescence on our adult lives and loves and will appeal to the general and specialist reader alike.


The results of seismology and geochemistry for mantle structure are widely believed to be discordant, the former favoring whole-mantle convection and the latter favoring layered convection with a boundary near 650 km. However, a different view arises from recognizing effects usually
ignored in the construction of these models, including physical plausibility and dimensionality. Self-compression and expansion affect material properties that are important in all aspects of mantle geochemistry and dynamics, including the interpretation of tomographic images. Pressure
compresses a solid and changes physical properties that depend on volume and does so in a highly nonlinear way. Intrinsic, anelastic, compositional, and crystal structure effects control seismic velocities; temperature is not the only parameter, even though tomographic images are often
treated as temperature maps. Shear velocity is not a good proxy for density, temperature, and composition or for other elastic constants. Scaling concepts are important in mantle dynamics, equations of state, and wherever it is necessary to extend laboratory experiments to the parameter
range of the Earth's mantle. Simple volume-scaling relations that permit extrapolation of laboratory experiments, in a thermodynamically self-consistent way, to deep mantle conditions include the quasiharmonic approximation but not the Boussinesq formalisms. Whereas slabs, plates, and the upper thermal boundary layer of the mantle have characteristic thicknesses of hundreds of kilometers and lifetimes on the order of 100 million years, volume-scaling predicts values an order of magnitude higher for deep-mantle thermal boundary layers. This implies that
deep-mantle features are sluggish and ancient. Irreversible chemical stratification is consistent with these results; plausible temperature variations in the deep mantle cause density variations that are smaller than the probable density contrasts across chemical interfaces created by
accretional differentiation and magmatic processes. Deep-mantle features may be convectively isolated from upper-mantle processes. Plate tectonics and surface geochemical cycles appear to be entirely restricted to the upper ~1,000 km. The 650-km discontinuity is mainly an isochemical phase change but major-element chemical boundaries may occur at other depths. Recycling
laminates the upper mantle and also makes it statistically heterogeneous, in agreement with high-frequency scattering studies. In contrast to standard geochemical models and recent modifications, the deeper layers need not be accessible to surface volcanoes. There is no conflict
between geophysical and geochemical data, but a physical basis for standard geochemical and geodynamic mantle models, including the two-layer and whole-mantle versions, and qualitative tomographic interpretations has been lacking.


Grid-based magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations have proven invaluable for the study of astrophysical accretion disks. However, the fact that angular momentum transport in disks is mediated by MHD turbulence (with structure down to very small scales) raises the concern that the properties of the modeled accretion disks are affected by the finite numerical resolution of the simulation. By implementing an orbital advection algorithm into the Athena code in cylindrical geometry, we have performed a set of global (but unstratified) Newtonian disk simulations extending up to resolutions previously unattained. We study the convergence of these models as a function of spatial resolution and initial magnetic field geometry. The usual viscosity parameter (α) or the ratio of thermal-to-magnetic pressure (β) is found to be a poor diagnostic of convergence, whereas the average tilt angle of the magnetic field in the (r, ϕ)-plane is a very good diagnostic of convergence. We suggest that this is related to the saturation of the MHD turbulence via parasitic modes of the magnetorotational instability. Even in the case of zero-net magnetic flux, we conclude that our highest resolution simulations (with 32 zones and 64 zones per vertical scale height) have achieved convergence. Our global simulations reach resolutions comparable to those used in local, shearing-box models of MHD disk turbulence. We find that the saturation predictors derived from local simulations correspond well to the instantaneous correlations between local flux and stress found in our global simulations. However, the conservation of magnetic flux implicit in local models is not realized in our global disks. Thus, the magnetic connectivity of an accretion disk represents physics that is truly global and cannot be captured in any ab initio local model.


Aircraft operators rely on gas path analysis techniques for monitoring the performance and health of their gas turbine engine assets. This is accomplished by analyzing discernable shifts in measurement parameters acquired from the engine. This paper reviews the founding mathematical principles of gas path analysis, including conventional approaches applied for estimating engine performance deterioration. Considerations for extending the application of gas path analysis techniques to Electrified Aircraft Propulsion (EAP) systems is also discussed, and simulated results from their application to an EAP concept comprised of turbomachinery and electrical system hardware is provided. Results are provided comparing the parameter estimation accuracy offered by taking a whole-system approach towards the problem setup versus that offered by analyzing each subsystem individually. For the latter, the importance of having accurate direct or inferred measurements of external mechanical torque loads placed upon turbomachinery shafts is emphasized.


Discusses the implications of the High Court ruling in N v HM Advocate where in a trial for offences of shameless indecency and incest, the Crown had sought to rely on the tape recorded evidence of one of the complainants, who had given evidence against the accused in a previous trial that was deserted and was unfit to give evidence by the time of the second trial. Considers whether the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 s.259 on the use of hearsay evidence applied and, if it did, whether the trial judge had any discretion to exclude the evidence where the conditions of s.259 were met. Examines whether a discretion should exist under s.259 and whether admission of the tape recording in the instant case violated the accused's right to a fair trial under the European Convention on Human Rights 1950 Art.6.


This report explores the untapped growth that could result from the better functioning of services markets in the EU and aims to bridge the gap between the policy debate and the latest empirical economic analysis in this field. The authors find ample scope for further economic growth in the EU, both from the reform of domestic services and from the deepening of the 'single services market'. Domestic and EU-level services reforms are so intertwined economically that indeed we may speak of a 'double dividend' and, for the eurozone, a 'triple dividend'.


The decision in Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum Co. left open a number of questions about the scope of the Alien Tort Statute (ATS). One such question is the extent to which Kiobel 's holding on extraterritoriality applies to the oft-neglected final words of the ATS: "The district courts shall have original jurisdiction of any civil action by an alien for a tort only, committed in violation of the law of nations or a treaty of the United States."What if one such treaty obliged the United States to provide a civil forum for litigation ofhumanrights violations that occurred abroad and did not involve piracy?


The study presents the results from a project that was aimed at determining the level of awareness and understanding of sustainable development at Central University of Technology, Free State (CUT) among staff and students at the time of the commencement of the institutional Sustainable Development Project. The objectives of the study was twofold, firstly to assess the level of students' knowledge and understanding of sustainable development; and secondly to find out whether staff and students are interested in sustainable development and if they find it relevant to the university's mission. In achieving the objectives of the survey a pilot study was undertaken to test the understanding and awareness of sustainable development at CUT.


ABSTRACT The article examines the role of linkage in Viktor Orbán's Hungary, where liberal democratic institutions and practices have eroded since 2010. Levitsky and Way (2010, Competitive authoritarianism: hybrid regimes after the Cold War, New York: Cambridge University Press) provided a definition of linkage, and theorized an important role for these links in the democratization process. However, there has been less examination of how linkages affect the quality of existing democracies. Looking at the case of Hungary, I formulate hypotheses about the role of linkage and maintaining the quality of democracy. I propose that links that may encourage democratization have proven too weak to sustain democratic quality in the face of illiberal, populist challenges. I also argue that new linkage patterns have been forming with tend to degrade democratic quality, specifically between populist parties in Hungary and those in other parts of Europe; and between Hungarian parties and various institutions, including parties and the state, in Russia. The paper hopes to use the linkage model to inform developments in the literature on democratic regression and democratic quality.


Author(s): Tutterow, Vestal; McKane, Aimee T. | Abstract: Pumping systems account for nearly 20% of the world's energy used by electric motors and 25% to 50% of the total electrical energy usage in certain industrial facilities. Significant opportunities exist to reduce pumping system energy consumption through smart design, retrofitting, and operating practices. In particular, the many pumping applications with variable-duty requirements offer great potential for savings. The savings often go well beyond energy, and may include improved performance, improved reliability, and reduced life cycle costs.Most existing systems requiring flow control make use of bypass lines, throttling valves, or pump speed adjustments. The most efficient of these is pump speed control.When a pump's speed is reduced, less energy is imparted to the fluid and less energy needs to be throttled or bypassed. Speed can be controlled in a number of ways, with the most popular type of variable speed drive (VSD) being the variable frequency drive (VFD). Pump speed adjustment is not appropriate for all pumping systems, however. This overview provides highlights from Variable Speed Pumping A Guide To Successful Applications, which has been developed by Europump and the Hydraulic Institute as a primer and tool to assist plant owners and designers as well as pump, motor,and drive manufacturers and distributors. When the requirements of a pump and system are understood, the user can consult this guide to help determine whether variable speed pumping is the correct choice. The guide is applicable for both new and retrofit installations and contains flowcharts to assist in the selection process.