This thesis addresses the question "Is there a moral right to health care, and, if so, what does it entail?" In nearly all Western countries except the United States, the idea of a right to health care is taken for granted. However, since a right to health care has been assumed in most countries, the foundation of that right is unclear, and today, as health care systems are feeling ever-tightening budget constraints, difficult rationing decisions face all countries. Without a clear foundation for the right, countries are left with little guidance in these rationing decisions. A clear foundation should assist in the prioritization of health care interventions. The elements of health care which make it morally special and secure us a human right to it should be reflected in the prioritization of services. Chapter two attempts to clarify the concept of rights. The right to health care being discussed is a moral, positive in rem right, i.e., a morallyjustified, resource-intensive entitlement to health care which can be claimed against society at large. Rights have been given considerable moral status, and they are entrenched in our system of moral justification such that considerations of rights "trump" all non-rights considerations. However, positive rights are dependent on scarce resources to be fulfilled. As a result, the content of a positive right is dependent on the amount of resources available to a given community. Thus, positive rights entail different things in a developed nation than in a developing one. Chapter three examines several theories of justice for strengths and weaknesses vis-a-vis health care, and three arguments are identified as stronger than rest: the right to a decent minimum, Robert Veatch's egalitarianism, and Norman Daniels' Just Health Care. Chapter four presents Jack Donnelly's constructivist theory of human rights and applies it to health care. The priority setting mechanisms of the three main rival theories are compared to those of the constructivist theory. The central concept of the constructivist theory, dignity, contains the subtlety to yield a sensible prioritization of services. The moral importance of health care lies in its ability to maintain and enhance the dignity of individual lives. The constructivist theory suggests that health care interventions should be prioritized by their relative ability to allow individuals to live a life of dignity which calls for a community definition of dignity. Chapter five examines several rationing tools. Because low priority services also make some contribution to dignity, it is not enough to prioritize condition/treatment pairs and effortlessly fund the list as far as the budget allows. We should labour to fund as much of the list as possible by controlling costs high on the list. The concept of dignity assists us in this task: of each rationing device (e.g., waiting lists, technology assessment, etc.) we must ask "Does this method, as being applied, assist or detract from the health service reaching its goal of enhancing the dignity of individuals' lives?" ii


This paper presents a procedure for developing a finite element model of random chopped cotton fiber reinforced polyethylene composites to determine their mechanical properties. In experimental studies, composite plates with polymer (polyethylene) matrix and waste cotton fabrics reinforcements were manufactured in two different volume fractions (7.5% and 15%) by custom made extrusion technique. Some of the produced plates granulated down to the size enough to use in extrusion process and used again for plate production. These processes were repeated at most 6 times. Each processed material was subjected to uniaxial tensile experiments and stress-strain curves were obtained. In the finite elements analysis step, a unit cell model was developed and analyzed by ANSYS to obtain the effectiveness of reinforcements and fiber orientation, according to volume fraction. Finite element analysis results were compared to experimental test results and also effectiveness of fibers are investigated by the use of range of strain energy. It has been observed that by increasing the volume fraction of the reinforcement material, mechanical properties such as strength has been improved.


Somatic embryogenesis is widely preferred as the regeneration route for in vitro studies in cotton. However, the regeneration efficiency through this approach is low; a problem that is believed to be as a result of the biochemical properties of the plant. The objective of this study was to investigate possible relationships between three biochemical factors (reducing sugars, phenols, and free amino acids) and somatic embryogenesis. In vitro cultures of the different embryogenic and non-embryogenic cultivals were established. The levels of reducing sugars, phenols and free amino acids were determined at different developmental stages of the cultures. Higher levels of reducing sugars and lower level of phenol were observed in embryogenic cultivars compared to their non-embryogenic counterparts. There was a general increase in the levels of free amino acids, which decreased with time in the highly embryogenic cultivars, whereas the levels remained high in the poorly embryogenic and non-embryogenic cultivars. The higher content of phenols and free amino acids may be implicated in the poor somatic embryogenic response. The data show that there are factors that may serve as markers of somatic embryogenesis in cotton, which need to be empirically determined for any particular cultivar chosen for genetic improvement through embryogenesis.


Event-driven applications, such as, mobile apps, are difficult to test thoroughly. The application programmers often put significant effort into writing end-to-end test suites. Even though such tests often have high coverage of the source code, we find that they often focus on the expected behavior, not on occurrences of unusual events. On the other hand, automated testing tools may be capable of exploring the state space more systematically, but this is mostly without knowledge of the intended behavior of the individual applications. As a consequence, many programming errors remain unnoticed until they are encountered by the users. We propose a new methodology for testing by leveraging existing test suites such that each test case is systematically exposed to adverse conditions where certain unexpected events may interfere with the execution. In this way, we explore the interesting execution paths and take advantage of the assertions in the manually written test suite, while ensuring that the injected events do not affect the expected outcome. The main challenge that we address is how to accomplish this systematically and efficiently. We have evaluated the approach by implementing a tool, Thor, working on Android. The results on four real-world apps with existing test suites demonstrate that apps are often fragile with respect to certain unexpected events and that our methodology effectively increases the testing quality: Of 507 individual tests, 429 fail when exposed to adverse conditions, which reveals 66 distinct problems that are not detected by ordinary execution of the tests.


The aim of this article is to analyze and identify to which extent changes in serving and counselling customers in public employment intermediation agency in Lithuania that is in subdivisions of Lithuanian Labour Exchange under the Ministry of Social Security and Labour, are based on strengthening empowerment of civil servants and development of their professional discretion. It also aims to evaluate civil servants' expectations related to broader factual usage of professional discretion. The aim of the article is realized analyzing academic literature and data of conducted empirical research, which discover practical usage of professional discretion in the best way when implementing the new customer service model.


This paper examines the determinants of credit union failure in the United Kingdom. Using regulatory data on credit unions, we estimate several discrete-time logit models and evaluate their predictive ability at one, two and three-year time horizons. We find that a small set of financial attributes related to capital adequacy, asset quality, earnings performance and liquidity is useful for early identification of troubled credit unions. Both in and out-of-sample results indicate that this parsimonious set of firm-level characteristics, augmented with national and regional unemployment rates, reliably identifies failures while keeping false alarm rates at modest levels. The results provide support for establishing early-warning criteria for supervisory use in monitoring credit unions.


Abstract In 2010, the U.S. government adopted its first consistent estimates of the social cost of carbon (SCC) for government-wide use in regulatory cost-benefit analysis. Here, the authors examine a number of limitations of the estimates identified in the U.S. government report and elsewhere and review recent advances that could pave the way for improvements. The authors consider in turn socio-economic scenarios, treatment of physical climate response, damage estimates, ways of incorporating risk aversion, and consistency between SCC estimates and broader climate policy.


Endoscopic band ligation is regarded as the main therapeutic option for acute esophageal variceal bleeding, while sclerotherapy may be used in the acute setting if ligation is technically difficult. The incidence of difficult-to-perform band ligation in acute esophageal variceal bleeding, as well as the outcome of patients subjected to injection sclerotherapy as an alternative treatment, has not been clearly investigated. Our aim is to study the outcome of patients subjected to injection sclerotherapy in the acute setting of esophageal variceal bleeding when endoscopic band ligation is technically difficult to perform. We included 151 patients with acute esophageal variceal bleeding originnating from medium or large sized varices. All patients were planned for EBL as the 1st treatment option (EBL group 61.6%), meanwhile, EIS using 5% ethanolamine oleate was reserved as the 2nd treatment option when EBL was technically difficult (EIS group 38.4%). The mean time to restore hemodynamic stability was significantly prolonged in the EIS group (11.5 ± 6.5 hrs versus 9.5 ± 5.0 hrs, p 0.05). Initial control of bleeding was significantly higher in the EBL group versus the EIS group (96.7% vs 84.5%, p 0.021). Re-bleeding was more among the EIS group (42.9% vs 24.2%, p 0.04). There were no significant differences as regarding mortality and duration of hospital stay. So, a considerable proportion of cases presenting with acute variceal bleeding will have difficulty in performing EBL. In these patients, sclerotherapy is not a waning procedure with an accepted success rate, without much additional complications and without deranging mortality.


The present paper combines loss attitudes and linear utility by providing an axiomatic analysis of cumulative prospect theory in the framework for decision under uncertainty. We derive a two-sided variant of Choquet expected utility with possibly different capacities for gains and for losses, and linear utility. Naturally, utility may have a kink at the status quo, which allows for the exhibition of loss aversion. The central condition of our model is termed independence of common increments.


Background & Aim: Hexokinase type I is the most predominant form of the enzyme in brain. It binds reversibly to the outer mitochondria membrane. In normal condition the major part of the enzyme binds to the membrane. Membrane bound form of the enzyme is more active than the soluble form, so this is more a control mechanism of the enzyme activity. Those metabolites that affect the binding or releasing of the enzyme from the mitochondria have regulatory effect on glucose consumption of the cell. Since an increase in phenylalanine and its metabolites causes mental retardation in patients with phenylketonuria, we have studied the effects of these metabolites on the activity, binding and releasing of the enzyme to determine the destructive effect of these metabolites in relation to glucose metabolism in brain. Material & Method: This investigation was an experimental study in which hexokinase activity was determined spectrophotometrically by using G6PD(Glucose-6-Phosphate Dehydrogenase) coupled assay. Results: The results show that phenylpyruvic acid decreases the enzyme activity in bound and soluble forms and increases the release of the enzyme from mitochondria whereas phenylalanine and phenyllactic acid have no effect on the enzyme activity, release and rebinding. Conclusion: It is possible that phenylpyruvic acid causes the reduction of glucose consumption by decreasing hexokinase activity. Therefore, ATP(Adenosine Triphosphate) production declines in brain cells.


Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a multisystem, autoimmune disease characterised by the presence of autoantibodies. Active inflammation in patients with SLE can cause clinical effects in various organs and serum biomarkers can be helpful in monitoring the disease. Over time, patients with SLE have an increased risk of developing atherosclerosis. This risk is partially due to standard risk factors such as smoking and hypertension, but also due to SLE-specific immunological factors. In this thesis I have studied three linked questions; 1) Systemic inflammation can lead to endothelial activation and increased release of nitric oxide. This leads to nitration of serum proteins. Using capture ELISA, I studied levels of nitrated nuclesosomes and nitrated albumin in patients with SLE. Nitrated nucleosome levels were higher in patients with SLE than controls, and were related to some forms of disease activity notably in the central nervous system, but not atherosclerosis. 2) High-density lipoprotein (HDL) and its main structural component, apolipoprotein A1 (ApoA1), have an atheroprotective role. Using direct ELISA, I measured serum levels of anti-ApoA1 and anti-HDL antibodies in patients with SLE. IgG anti-apoA1 levels were associated with increased disease activity and with drug treatment, but not with atherosclerosis. 3) Previous authors used vascular ultrasound to demonstrate asymptomatic carotid plaque in between 30% and 40% of patients with SLE. I used new, more sensitive measures of carotid and femoral atherosclerosis in 100 patients with no previous history of CVD to investigate the factors associated with presence, area, volume and echogenicity of plaque. Thirty-six patients had plaque. Intima–media thickness (IMT) was associated with age and disease duration but not activity. Total plaque area (TPA), however, was increased in patients with persistently active disease and also with anti-HDL levels. Lipid profile was associated with both IMT and TPA. Plaque echogenicity was associated with disease activity and renal function. Comparison of these 100 SLE patients with an age/sex matched control group showed significant differences in morphology and echogenicity of plaque.


Many algorithms have been proposed for the discovery of association rules. The efficiency of these algorithms needs to be improved to handle real-world large datasets. Specifically, for data stored in heterogeneous and geographically distributed healthcare centers. This efficiency can be determined mainly by three factors. The way candidates are generated, the way their supports are counted and the data structure used. Most papers focus on the first and the second factors while few focus on the underlying data structures. In this paper, we present a distributed Multi-Agent based algorithm for mining association rules in distributed environments. The distributed MAS algorithm uses Bit vector data structure that was proved to have better performance in centralized environments. The algorithm is implemented in the context of Multi-Agent systems and complies with global communication standard Foundation for Intelligent Physical Agents (FIPA). The distributed Multi-Agent based algorithm with its new data structure improves implementations reported in the literature that were based on Apriori. The algorithm has better performance over Apriori-like algorithms.


Background UK Biobank (UKB) is a population-based cohort study of half a million participants aged 40–69 recruited between 2006 and 2010 in England, Wales and Scotland. In order to investigate the representativeness of UKB, the distribution of a range of sociodemographic, physical, lifestyle and health-related characteristics was compared between UKB participants and (a) UKB invitees (i.e. all those invited to join UKB including those who did not participate) and (b) findings from nationally representative surveys. Methods The response rate for age, sex and socioeconomic status was compared between 503,310 UKB participants and 8,761,869 UKB invitees. Other characteristics of the cohort were compared with nationally representative data sources, including the UK Census (for data on ethnicity), the Health Survey for England (for data on body mass index, smoking, alcohol consumption and prevalence of self-reported health outcomes) and the Office for National Statistics (for data on national cancer incidence and mortality rates). For all data sources, summary data was selected that matched, as closely as possible, the UKB cohort with regard to population characteristics (age, sex), geographical coverage and period of data collection (2006–2010). Methods The overall response rate to UKB was 5.5%, and was higher in women, older age groups and those from less socioeconomically deprived areas. Compared with the general population, UKB participants were less likely to be obese, to smoke, to drink on a daily basis and have fewer self-reported diseases. The ethnic background of UKB was similar to that of the national population from the 2001 UK Census (both with 95% from a white ethnic background) but less similar compared with the 2011 UK census (91% white ethnic background). Total cancer incidence rates were 31% lower in men and 42% lower in women at ages 65–69 compared with the national population. All-cause mortality in UKB at ages 65–69 was 56.0% lower in men and 67.6% lower in women compared to national death rates. Conclusion UKB is not representative of the general population on a variety of sociodemographic, physical, lifestyle and health-related characteristics, with evidence of a 'healthy volunteer' selection bias. As a result, UKB is not suitable for deriving generalizable disease prevalence and incidence rates, although its large size and heterogeneity of exposure measures do provide valid scientific inferences of associations between exposures and health outcomes that are generalizable to many other populations.


In Moving Home, Sandra Gunning examines nineteenth-century African diasporic travel writing to expand and complicate understandings of the Black Atlantic. Gunning draws on the writing of missionaries, abolitionists, entrepreneurs, and explorers whose work challenges the assumptions that travel writing is primarily associated with leisure or scientific research. For instance, Yoruba ex-slave turned Anglican bishop Samuel Ajayi Crowther played a role in the Christianization of colonial Nigeria. Sarah Forbes Bonetta, a formerly enslaved girl "gifted" to Queen Victoria, traveled the African colonies as the wife of a prominent colonial figure and under the protection of her benefactress. Alongside Nancy Gardiner Prince, Martin R. Delany, Robert Campbell, and others, these writers used their mobility as African diasporic and colonial subjects to explore the Atlantic world and beyond while they negotiated the complex intersections between nation and empire. Rather than categorizing them as merely precursors of Pan-Africanist traditions, Gunning traces their successes and frustrations to capture a sense of the historical and geographical specificities that shaped their careers.


Confronted to the increasing dynamic of Internet routing system and its underlying topology, we propose a reliability and availability analysis method based on the characterization of the dynamic properties (in particular, the stability properties) of routing paths and their corresponding forwarding paths. The key driver underlying this method is that transient but frequent changes in the spatio-temporal properties of routing paths can affect the performance and operating conditions of the corresponding forwarding paths; hence, their reliability. The results obtained by means of this method verify that, although the main cause of instability results from the forwarding plane dynamics, a second order effect relates forwarding and routing path instability events. Applying our analysis method reveals that the dominant source (main cause) of instability originates indeed from the forwarding plane. This result which confirms previous studies from 2003 further corroborates the assumption that the dynamic properties of routing system are mainly driven by its adaptation to the forwarding system (adaptive routing). However, even if the likelihood of forwarding instability becomes the prominent behavior (cause), about 50% of them induce routing path instability whereas the corresponding forwarding path remains unstable. This observation suggests that 50% of the reactive decisions performed by the BGP routing system (reactive routing) tend to further delay convergence of the forwarding paths. In turn, this observation provides the first indication that simple causal effects can't explain anymore the occurrence of instability. Moreover, more elaborated analysis techniques (such as the one proposed in this paper) are required to explain the inter-dependent routing and forwarding paths dynamics which affects their reliability and availability. Keywords—measurement; reliability; availability; analysis; routing; forwarding; paths; dynamics; Internet


Streptococcus iniae is one of the most widespread and costly pathogens in fish aquaculture. Bacteriophages (phages) and bacteriocins may be the optimal new
therapeutic agents for S. iniae that lack many of the problems associated with current control measures. This study aims to discover and characterise phages and bacteriocins with activity against S. iniae.

Cross spotting assays and mitomycin C inductions were conducted to screen for prophage within the JCU library of 48 S. iniae isolates. Phages were induced with 150-350 ng ml-1 mitomycin C, isolated through filtration and concentrated by ultracentrifugation. Phages were characterized by plaque assays on S. iniae, transmission electron microscope analysis, and gel electrophoresis of EcoRI digested phage DNA. Mitomycin C inductions revealed 20.83% of S. iniae isolates show growth curves indicative of lysogeny. Plaque assays confirmed inducible prophages in 14.58% of isolates. Each of the induced phages displayed distinctive host ranges within the S. iniae library. Four phages, vB_SinS-44, vB_SinS-45, vB_SinS-46 and vB_SinS-48 lysed over 78% of isolates, and were highly concentrated. Phage vB_SinS-45 was extracted at the highest concentration of 4.2 × 1011 PFU ml-1 following ultracentrifugation. Transmission electron microscope analysis revealed phage particles from these four samples that exhibited long, non-contractile tails and isometric heads consistent with morphology of Siphoviridae. Restriction digests of phage DNA revealed two distinct cutting patterns, indicating similarity between phages in bacteria isolated from different hosts and geographic regions. The genome sizes estimated from the restriction digest are 28.5 kb and 66 kb for vB_Sin-45 and vB_Sin-46, respectively. The phages isolated and characterized in this study are the first described lysogenic phages associated with S. iniae, and are excellent candidates for genetic modification for use in therapy, prevention or research of S. iniae infections in fish.

To isolate lytic phages, environmental samples were collected from fish and prawn farms in Queensland. Numerous methods to expose S. iniae lytic phages were trialed, including enrichments in various sets of S. iniae isolates, filter-free isolation techniques to minimize damage to phages, and concentration of samples using ultracentrifugation and polyethylene glycol before and after enrichment processes. No lytic phages specific for S. iniae were successfully isolated in this study. Spatial and seasonal distribution of the host bacteria, as well as farm vaccination programs may have prevented the collection of phages from environmental samples. Lytic phages will likely be found on farms experiencing current outbreaks of S. iniae, none of which occurred during this study.

During the course of the project, a bacteriocin-like inhibitory substance (BLIS) with strong antibacterial activity against S. iniae was discovered. This BLIS, found to be produced by Lactococcus lactis ssp. lactis, was characterized through antagonism assays on the S. iniae library, plasmid curing tests, protein isolation, concentration, and SDS-PAGE analysis. The kinetics of production, effects on cell viability, heat, pH and enzyme tolerance of the BLIS were also determined. The BLIS was found to be a protein bacteriocin, termed BacL49, that is heat and pH stable (100°C for 60 min, pH 2.5-9.5), and sensitive to proteinase K, _-chymotrypsin, trypsin and papain. BacL49 active proteins were found to be 5 kDa and 54 kDa in size. The bacteriocin appeared not to be plasmid regulated. BacL49 is produced at the end of the log phase and antagonistic activity decreases following early stationary phase. The bacteriocin displays antagonism against 93.75% of S.iniae isolates. Though BacL49 is susceptible to trypsin, unlike most forms of nisin, sequencing of the protein needs to be completed before confirming that this bacteriocin is unique. BacL49 should be considered as a therapeutic agent against S. iniae, due to its heat and pH stability and bactericidal activity against the majority of S. iniae strains. BacL49 has the potential to be delivered to fish as a purified peptide or in the form of a live probiotic as L. lactis ssp. lactis L49.

Phage therapy remains an excellent potential tool for control of S. iniae in aquaculture, despite the inability of this study to isolate a lytic phage against the bacterium. Further study, in vivo trials, and manipulation of both the bacteriocin and phages isolated in this study could produce novel, effective biocontrol agents in the fight against S. iniae.


This paper describes a pilot study that focused on the perceptions and performance of individuals when opening foodstuff packaging. Demographics are such that the number of people over 65 will increase by 11% by the year 2011 (National Government Statistics 2002). The needs of this section of the United Kingdom population are not adequately catered for in the design of food packaging. The aim of this study is to highlight the needs, aspirations and emotional response of a sample user group when opening basic packaging.


Piroxicam is a potent nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) with a long half-life that permits once daily dose. It exerts a better toleration than other NSAID's with a relatively low incidence of adverse effects. In this study many trials were made to formulate piroxicam as plain tablets with properties comparable to those of capsules and in agreement with pharmacopoeial standards. Different formulas were prepared by the application of direct compression method and wet granulation method with the addition of different excipients. The wet granulation method used in the preparation of piroxicam tablets was modified to improve the properties of the produced tablets. The characteristics of the prepared formulas were tested and the results showed that formula D prepared by wet granulation method, containing PVP as binder and lactose as diluent is the most appropriate formula with a rapid disintegration time and complete dissolution as that of piroxicam capsules. Accordingly, formula D was chosen to be a promising formula of piroxicam plain tablet that could be manufactured as a mass product.


A reliable and efficient DNA storage architecture DNA has the potential to provide large-capacity information storage. However, current methods have only been able to use a fraction of the theoretical maximum. Erlich and Zielinski present a method, DNA Fountain, which approaches the theoretical maximum for information stored per nucleotide. They demonstrated efficient encoding of information—including a full computer operating system—into DNA that could be retrieved at scale after multiple rounds of polymerase chain reaction. Science, this issue p. 950 A resilient DNA storage strategy enables near-maximal information content per nucleotide. DNA is an attractive medium to store digital information. Here we report a storage strategy, called DNA Fountain, that is highly robust and approaches the information capacity per nucleotide. Using our approach, we stored a full computer operating system, movie, and other files with a total of 2.14 × 106 bytes in DNA oligonucleotides and perfectly retrieved the information from a sequencing coverage equivalent to a single tile of Illumina sequencing. We also tested a process that can allow 2.18 × 1015 retrievals using the original DNA sample and were able to perfectly decode the data. Finally, we explored the limit of our architecture in terms of bytes per molecule and obtained a perfect retrieval from a density of 215 petabytes per gram of DNA, orders of magnitude higher than previous reports.


This contribution intends to contribute to the analysis of changes in the model of water governance in Belo Horizonte. The first part of the article explores how different theories concerning governance can be interpreted in different ways and, based on this, develops three water governance models: 1
the previous centralised model

2
the traditional normative model

3
the currently implemented model.

The second part of the contribution focuses on understanding the changes and inertias that occurred in the city from the perspective of three domains, namely, decentralisation, participation and integration. It is shown that, from an historical institutional viewpoint, policy choices made in the past have acted as constraints over future options (application of path dependency theory). The analysis may contribute to understanding the changes in policies within the water sector. The empirical analysis presented leads to the conclusion that the changes in governance were not sufficient to radically transform the management principles applied in practice.


One of the major problems with the GPU on-chip shared memory is bank conflicts. We observed that the throughput of the GPU processor core is often constrained neither by the shared memory bandwidth, nor by the shared memory latency (as long as it stays constant), but is rather due to the varied latencies caused by memory bank conflicts. This results in conflicts at the writeback stage of the in-order pipeline and pipeline stalls, thus degrading system throughput. Based on this observation, we investigate and propose a novel elastic pipeline design that minimizes the negative impact of on-chip memory bank conflicts on system throughput, by decoupling bank conflicts from pipeline stalls. Simulation results show that our proposed elastic pipeline together with the co-designed bank-conflict aware warp scheduling reduces the pipeline stalls by up to 64.0% (with 42.3% on average) and improves the overall performance by up to 20.7% (on average 13.3%) for our benchmark applications, at trivial hardware overhead.


This paper quantifies the life-cycle incidence of key family policy measures in Germany. The analysis is based on a novel dynamic microsimulation model that combines simulated family life-cycles for a base population from the 2009 wave of the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) with a comprehensive tax-benefit model. The results indicate that households in Germany benefit considerably from family- and marriage-related transfers, yet also reveal substantial variation behind the population average. Moreover, it is shown that some measures, such as income tax splitting, may make individuals in fact worse off, in financial terms, over the long course, as a result of negative labour supply incentives which are reinforced through detrimental effects on human capital accumulation.


Decisions on land utilisation and management have socio-economic and environmental implications. In this study, I use a mixed-methods approach to explore how Māori land governance structures influence decisions on land utilisation and hence greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with rural activities on Māori freehold land. General land and Māori freehold land are the main land statuses in Aotearoa New Zealand. General land, under private ownership, is not subject to the distinct statutory regime of Māori freehold land and can be owned by any New Zealander. Māori freehold, under collective 'ownership', is regulated by the Te Ture Whenua Māori Act 1993 (TTWM) and its 'ownership' is based on a customary regime and ancestral connections. The TTWM provides a range of legal entities, including the two Māori land governance structures examined in this thesis – Māori incorporations and Ahu Whenua trusts – to facilitate decision-making and to administer land and assets on behalf of the 'owners'. First, I explore how Māori land governance structures influence decisions on land utilisation and management. I discuss three case studies of Māori farms administered by different governance structures involved in agribusiness. Their decision-making process structure can be separated into two levels: the governance of the land and the operation of the enterprise. Maori land governance structures help to make 'successful' decisions, by balancing landowners' interests with optimal operation and performance of the agribusiness. This success not only depends on the legal constitution of the governance structure, but also on processes that are highly variable due to cultural and social values, and the capability of the board members to reach decisions.  Second, I explore decision-making processes concerning carbon farming, an opportunity to receive carbon credits from reforestation or afforestation. Face-to-face semi-structured interviews with a small group of Māori landowners revealed two central decisions: switching to forestry and joining the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme (NZ ETS). Forestry provides an economic opportunity to access long-term capital through timber harvests: but carbon farming is a relatively new experience, which provides additional short-term revenue prior to harvesting. Third, I extend the qualitative analysis by econometrically modelling the relationship between Māori land governance structures and land-cover choices. I use maximum likelihood methods to estimate the probability of allocation of land in 2012 and the probability of land-cover transitions between 1997 and 2012. For Māori freehold land, there is a positive relationship between having a Māori land governance structure in place and the allocation of land in 2012 in forestry and a negative association with pasture. From 1997 to 2012 Māori land governance structures were associated with more transitions to forestry and fewer transitions into scrub. Four, using hypothetical scenarios, I build on the econometric model of land-cover transitions to compare the effects of transitions between forestry, pasture and scrub across the period 1997–2012, and the role of the Māori land governance structures. I examine the implications of these transitions for private land and Māori freehold land in terms of both carbon dioxide equivalent and warming equivalent. Overall, Māori freehold land governance structures in the hypothesised scenarios would lead to an increase of the amount of carbon sequestered, relative to the actual levels of sequestration observed. The current way of counting GHGs leads to a much lower estimate of the contribution in reductions to the impact of warming. Understanding drivers for these decisions can help to identify areas for the development of effective public policies regarding climate change mitigation.


Nuclear activities generate radioactive elements which require processes for their decontamination. Although biological remediation has proved to be efficient in industrial applications, no biotechnology solution is currently operational for highly radioactive media. Such a solution requires organisms that accumulate radionuclides while withstanding radioactivity. This paper describes the potentialities of an extremophile autotrophic eukaryote, Coccomyxa actinabiotis nov. sp., that we isolated from a nuclear facility and which withstands huge ionizing radiation doses, up to 20 000 Gy. Half the population survives 10 000 Gy, which is comparable to the hyper-radioresistant well-known prokaryote Deinococcus radiodurans. The cell metabolic profile investigated by nuclear magnetic resonance was hardly affected by radiation doses of up to 10 000 Gy. Cellular functioning completely recovered within a few days. This outstanding microalga also strongly accumulates radionuclides, including 238U, 137Cs, 110mAg, 60Co, 54Mn, 65Zn, and 14C (decontamination above 85% in 24 h, concentration factor, 1000–450 000 mL g−1 fresh weight). In 1 h, the microalga revealed as effective as the conventional physico-chemical ion-exchangers to purify nuclear effluents. Using this organism, an efficient real-scale radionuclide bio-decontamination process was performed in a nuclear fuel storage pool with an important reduction of waste volume compared to the usual physico-chemical process. The feasibility of new decontamination solutions for the nuclear industry and for environmental clean-up operations is demonstrated.


Micro grids are expected to be one of the most realistic energy systems for efficient use of renewable energy sources with few adverse effects on the main electric power grids. However, it is difficult to maintain the supply‐and‐demand balance because distributed renewable energy generation units (DREGs), such as photovoltaic generation systems and wind turbine generation systems, generate a significant portion of electrical energy in the micro grids. Therefore, an operation planning method is needed considering the uncertainty in weather prediction in order to ensure stable micro grid operations. This paper presents an optimization method for operation plans of controllable generators in micro grids that copes with the uncertainty of DREG outputs. In the proposed method, the optimal operation plans are determined by, depending on the problem conditions, either an enumeration method or Tabu Search with preprocessing. Numerical simulations were carried out for a micro grid model in order to verify the usefulness of the proposed method. In the simulations, the daily operation plan and the modified half‐hourly one were determined by the proposed method. As a result, we could obtain the optimal plans which had enough reserve margins for coping with the fluctuations caused by DREGs and demand.


The Wine Song in Classical Arabic Poetry: Abu Nuwas and the Literary Tradition, by Philip F. Kennedy. New York: Oxford University Press, and Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1997. xii + 244 pages. Appends. to p. 279. Gloss. to p. 285. Bibl. to p. 294. Indices to p. 304. $90. Reviewed by Roger Allen The title of this volume is more general than the subtitle and is an accurate reflection of the book's contents and methodology. For, while the name of Abu Nuwas (c. 757-815 AD) is certainly one to draw the attention, indeed often to tweak the fancy, of a broad spectrum of scholars working in the field of "classical" Arabic cultural production, the focus of this volume is on poetry per se and, more specifically, on the genre of the wine poem, khamriyya, from its earliest manifestations in the pre-Islamic poetic corpus to its finest elaboration in the works (and personae) of Abu Nuwas. After an introductory section, Philip F. Kennedy subdivides his analysis into four chapters, in each of which a principal theme is investigated. The first chapter examines the institution of wine itself, the development of the love poem (ghazal) in its different guises, and the various ways in which the traditional exordium to the qasidah (nasib) served as a precedent for the newly emerging genres of the Islamic period. The other three chapters examine the development of the khamriyya in the context of a set of themes whose origins are to be found in much earlier times: the way in which hikma (knowledge of man's ephemerality) is to be applied in the context of dahr (fate, also death); the use of the wine theme in the lampoon (hija') genre and particularly its application in the content of naqa'id ("flytings"); and, finally, the theme of repentance (tawba). In each of these chapters, Abu Nuwas and his poetic genius emerge from a discussion of the development of the various thematic combinations (and oppositions) within a context that is focused rigorously on the poems themselves and not on their societal framework. In this connection, two points need to be noted regarding this publication. First, the Arabic texts of the examples are printed in full text with vocalization, and they are accompanied by translations that combine a closeness to the original with a pleasing readability in English. Second, this approach allows Kennedy to show his enviable knowledge of the Arabic poetic tradition, invoking examples from the pre-Islamic period (most notably, al-A'sha) through the Umawi period, up to and including Abu Nuwas's contemporaries, especially Abu al-Atahiya. …


Regional Forest Agreements (RFAs) are State–Federal agreements underpinning the management of the majority of Australia's commercially productive native forests. Introduced between 1997 and 2001, they were designed to deliver certainty to forest industries while, simultaneously, guaranteeing environmental protection, including the conservation of biodiversity. Using examples, we argue that RFAs in some jurisdictions have failed to do either. We strongly recommend a comprehensive reassessment of RFAs. This is needed to: (1) take into account significant new knowledge on forest ecology and management that has been gathered in the past 20 years, including updated prognoses for some critically endangered species; (2) better evaluate the full range of wood and non-wood products and services provided by forests; (3) accommodate new methods of forest inventory and more environmentally sensitive silvicultural systems; and (4) better account for the impacts of natural disturbances, such as fires, on the area available for logging, sustained yield, and forest ecosystem integrity per se. Without a substantial overhaul of the RFAs, there is a significant risk of undervaluing the full range of native forest values, exacerbating species declines, and permanently damaging forest ecosystems.


In multiagent systems, often agents need to be assigned to different roles. Multiple aspects should be taken into account for this, such as agents' skills and constraints posed by existing assignments. In this paper, we focus on another aspect: when the agents are self-interested, careful role assignment is necessary to make cooperative behavior an equilibrium of the repeated game. We formalize this problem and provide an easy-to-check necessary and sufficient condition for a given role assignment to induce cooperation. However, we show that finding whether such a role assignment exists is in general NP-hard. Nevertheless, we give two algorithms for solving the problem. The first is based on a mixed-integer linear program formulation. The second is based on a dynamic program, and runs in pseudopolynomial time if the number of agents is constant. Minor modifications of these algorithms also allow for determination of the minimal subsidy necessary to induce cooperation. In our experiments, the IP performs much, much faster.


The dendritic (or dendrimer) effect is observed when a functional group behaves differently when it is alone or linked to a dendrimer; its properties can even vary depending on the generation of the dendrimers. The dendritic effect can be observed with any type of dendrimer, and for any type of property, even if it has been most generally tracked in catalysis and biology, and to a lesser extent in the field of materials. This review is mainly oriented towards the various types of dendritic effects observed with polyphosphorhydrazone dendrimers, even if many examples obtained with other types of dendrimers are given.


The Supreme Court's jurisprudence addressing the associational rights of political parties is both highly consequential and deeply inconsistent. It dates back at least as far as the Court's White Primary decisions more than a half-century ago. In recent decades, the Court has imposed an arguably ad hoc formula, striking down regulations on political parties on First Amendment grounds in some cases, while upholding them in others. From a jurisprudential perspective, critics might point to insufficiently principled distinctions between these cases. From a normative perspective, the very expansion of First Amendment rights to political parties, like the parallel extension to corporations in Citizens United, is ripe for scrutiny. It relies on a questionable underlying premise: political parties, as entities, should be entitled to constitutional rights comparable to those afforded to individuals. As a consequence, this Article argues entities the Framers would have viewed as dangerous factions are empowered, and individuals—the literal targets of the First Amendment's protection—are disempowered. This Article offers and explores a doctrinal alternative as a corrective: the American political party system should be treated as a limited public forum, subject to the Court's well-established public forum doctrine.


Wireless channels, due to multipath propagation and Doppler spread, are characterized by frequencyand time-selectivity, so-called doubly-selective wireless channels. In this dissertation, we concentrate on adaptive channel estimation and equalization for communications systems over doubly selective channels, exploiting basis expansion models (BEM). Since the time-varying nature of the channel is well captured in the complex exponential basis expansion model (CE-BEM) by the known exponential basis functions, the time variations of the (unknown) BEM coefficients are likely much slower than those of the channel and thus more convenient to track. First, a subblock-wise channel estimation based on CE-BEM is considered, where we track the BEM coefficients using time-multiplexed (TM) periodic training symbols. Assuming the BEM coefficients follow a first-order AR model, Kalman filtering is used to track the BEM coefficients. This first-order AR assumption, however, is not necessarily true and possibly incurs significant modeling errors in estimation. We then seek adaptive channel estimation schemes with no a priori model for the BEM coefficients using recursive least-square (RLS) algorithm with finite memory. Next, taking the performance of BEM-based approach into account, we investigate an adaptive soft-in soft-out turbo equalization for coded communication systems, exploiting CEBEM for the overall channel variations and AR model for the BEM coefficients. We extend an existing turbo equalization approach based on symbol-wise AR modeling of channels to channels based on CE-BEM. Based on the subblock-wise approach, we also propose a decision-directed tracking based on BEM, where we track the BEM coefficients using the information symbol decisions of a decision feedback equalizer (DFE) as virtual training. The time gap between symbol decisions and required channel estimates, arising from the decision-directed tracking, is bridged by CE-BEM-based channel prediction using the estimated BEM coefficients. We also adopt an exponentially-weighted (EW) RLS algorithm for our BEM-based decision-directed tracking scheme. Decision-directed tracking requires fewer training symbols compared to the training-based tracking, for the same performance. The contribution of the proposed BEM-based channel estimation and equalization schemes is that we track the BEM coefficients in CE-BEM, not the channel taps directly, based on


Current scientific reforms focus more on solutions to the problem of reliability (e.g. direct replications) than generalizability. Here, we use a cross-cultural study of social discounting to illustrate the utility of a complementary focus on generalizability across diverse human populations. Social discounting is the tendency to sacrifice more for socially close individuals—a phenomenon replicated across countries and laboratories. Yet, when adapting a typical protocol to low-literacy, resource-scarce settings in Bangladesh and Indonesia, we find no independent effect of social distance on generosity, despite still documenting this effect among US participants. Several reliability and validity checks suggest that methodological issues alone cannot explain this finding. These results illustrate why we must complement replication efforts with investment in strong checks on generalizability. By failing to do so, we risk developing theories of human nature that reliably explain behaviour among only a thin slice of humanity.


Introduction: Till date Medical Educators used to teach as they have been taught. In India; even today a large number of the doctors working as faculty in Medical Colleges are not really trained to teach. Hence, introducing educators to the Evidence Based Education System (EBES) and implementation of EBES curriculum is need of the hour. EBES is the integration of professional wisdom with the best available empirical evidence in making decisions about how to deliver instructions. Therefore, the purpose of study is to develop and implement EBES Curriculum. Methods: There are various ways to deliver instructions including Evidence Based Medicine (EBM). EBM is the process of systematically reviewing, appraising and using clinical research findings to aid the delivery of optimum clinical care to patients. Here, in Sumandeep Vidyapeeth (SV), we introduced EBM on January 23, 2007 but decided to implement it in phase manner (Phase –I, II, and III). Year wise curriculum for EBM and assessment techniques (Assignments and Annual Examination) was developed. Library resources were enhanced to enable best searches of current literature. We have also sensitized the educators through inhouse, national and international workshops and also through an International Conference. Results: Batch of first year MBBS for the year 2010-11 gone through the EBM examination and cleared it. Currently, EBM course is being implemented for 2nd year MBBS batch. Faculty feedback for EBM workshop is as follows: Overall rating by the participants for teaching EBM session by the resource persons was 85% from very good to excellent. Rating for searching evidence session was 56% from very good to excellent. However, rating for critical appraisal of the article session was only 44% from very good to excellent. Conclusion: Based on our findings we conclude that this system is highly effective for delivering teaching instructions and if we will be able to implement for all four years of MBBS then we will very soon achieve the target of not only health for all but also Millennium Development Goals for our area.


The five disquieting environmental phenomena of today are bio-extinction, climate warming, lifestyle diseases, pollution and a looming resource scarcity. These are the consequences of human activities like releasing greenhouse gases, discharging effluents, over-using both renewable and non-renewable resources, chemicalising everything, generating harmful wastes, and causing radiation. Quality has always implied the idea of causing no harm. Nevertheless, products do cause damage – by using fossil energy, releasing chemicals that could impair inter-generational health, by needing incineration, or clogging landfills and water bodies while resisting recycling or bio-degradation. These are ecological and societal problems that cannot be slotted away as 'externalities'. The definition of quality must now read as fulfilling the needs of customers and society. Quality-based management has the philosophies, systems and techniques to define problems and find causes with long-term customer orientation and respect for humanity. Reduction of wastes is its bread and butter. Corporations have the responsibility to not harm the earth. The twin lack of incentives or coercive regulations and taxes may get rectified soon. Wise businessmen will do well to turn to quality to mitigate harm and thus be future-ready. This paper elaborates the threats and the ways in which corporations can respond through quality.


This thesis investigates the influence of hedges and roads (linear landscape features) on the patch-to-patch foraging movements of insect pollinators and consequent pollen- mediated gene flow in white clover, Trifolium repens. Experimental arrays were located within the lowland UK agricultural landscape incorporating a range of patch separation distances from 25m to 250m (using both artificial and natural linear features). Mark-re-sight, "residence" (the number of visits per foraging bout) and pollen transport observations were used to observe pollinator movement characteristics between experimental patches and re-parameterise an existing model of patch-to-patch gene flow. Levels and directions of plant gene flow were observed with phenotypic and isozyme markers, allowing validation of model predictions. Harmonic radar technology was used for the first time to track butterfly flight paths; data support the hypothesis of a 150 to 200m perceptual range, and non-random flight direction but limited association to wind direction, hedges, tracks or fence lines. Mark-re-sight observations indicated similar levels of patch visitation regardless of patch location, and trap-lining by Bombus spp. only between patches 50m or less apart. A single track road significantly enhanced gene flow between connected patches and was not a barrier to gene flow across it. In contrast, a hedge did not facilitate enhanced gene flow between connected patches and was a partial barrier where it occurred between patches. Model predictions of gene flow (1.3%, range 0.8 to 2.5%) agreed well with observed levels (ranging from 0.2 to 31.4%). It is proposed that pollinator movement observations alone could not provide an accurate means of estimating low level gene flow unless the variables of residence and pollen carryover were also considered. The possible influence of spatial and temporal variables including the role of hetero-specific forage on pollinator foraging movements and consequent plant gene flow from the local to landscape scale is also discussed


BACKGROUND
Approximately 110,000 people in the United Kingdom are affected with familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH). At least 75 per cent are undiagnosed. Treatment with statins is effective but effective primary prevention requires early diagnosis. The best strategy to achieve this is unclear. This paper compares the costs and benefits over a 10 year period of two strategies found in our previous modelling: population screening of 16-year-olds or tracing family members of affected patients.

METHODS
Computer modelling of time-limited data was conducted. The number available for screening and the potential new cases in England and Wales aged 16-54 years were estimated. The costs (of screening and treatment) and benefits (deaths averted) that might be accrued over 10 years were assessed.

RESULTS
Screening 16-year-olds results in 470 new diagnoses, and over 10 subsequent years averts 11.7 deaths at a cost of 6,176,648 pounds sterling, giving a cost per case identified and treated of 13,141 pounds sterling (including a 10 year drug cost of 1,584,918 pounds sterling). By contrast, screening first-degree relatives of known uases results in 13,248 new diagnoses, 560 deaths averted over 10 years, at a cost of 46,430,681 pounds sterling giving a cost per case identified and treated of 3,505 pounds sterling (including 10 year drug cost of 44,645,760 pounds sterling). The cost per death averted would be 3,187 pounds sterling.

CONCLUSIONS
Although the two approaches appear similar in cost-effectiveness over a lifetime, the shorter-term (10 year) cost-effectiveness clearly favours family tracing. This represents good value for money compared with common medical interventions, and suggests that pilot FH family tracing programmes should be conducted.


This study is about the role and operation of 'third sector' organisations (TSOs) within the Taiwanese social welfare context. TSOs have increased dramatically and become actively involved in social service provision. This phenomenon has not only had significant impact on the development and operation of TSOs in Taiwan but it is also of increasing interest to public policy academics. The latter are especially interested in the implications for the government-third sector relationship. This research examines the reasons why TSOs have been established, why they actively participate in social service provision, and their role and operation within the social welfare context of Taiwan. The study has both quantitative and qualitative data. It sampled 'social service' and 'charitable' organisations (SSCOs), which are the main type of TSOs in Taiwan, to examine their role, operation and interaction with government. Questionnaires were mailed to collect quantitative data first. After the quantitative data were collected and analysed, semi-structured interviews were undertaken to collect qualitative data. The study found that TSOs in Taiwan exist in a highly institutionalised environment, which is affected by traditional Confucian ideas and contemporary Western ideas such as social justice and civil rights. The rapid growth of TSOs has a strong connection with the desire to fill social service gaps left by government and family. TSOs mainly play the role of service provider rather than that of advocate. They cooperate with government in social service provision and have developed different types of symbiotic relationships with government. A 'resonance effect' between government and TSOs was also found as they implement social policy.


ABSTRACT There has been a persistent conflict over agricultural biotechnology, and existing governance institutions relying on traditional processes of scientific risk assessment have failed to address the sociopolitical dimensions of this disagreement. Although there are demands to incorporate socioeconomic impact (SEI) assessment into regulatory deliberations, these often neglect to look beyond the technology in isolation to also include the networks of relations agricultural biotechnologies require and create. This paper argues that understanding the impacts of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) cultivation requires attentiveness to the operational context of the technology as well as a wide range of actors and potential pathways of harm. In order to do this and contribute new empirical research, this paper adopts a system-based perspective and focuses on socioeconomic impacts for a particular actor that is both critically important and highly vulnerable for sustainable agri-food systems: beekeepers. The paper explores the European Court of Justice ruling on the contamination of beehive products with GMOs. It then describes consequent legislative developments and the socioeconomic impacts observed in the wake of this in both Spain and Uruguay. The paper documents the distributive injustice being experienced by beekeepers and highlights the significance of assessing socioeconomic considerations from a systems-based understanding of agriculture and biotechnologies.


: White-nose syndrome (WNS) in bats, caused by Pseudogymnoascus destructans ( Pd ), is a cutaneous infection that has devastated North American bat populations since 2007. At present, there is no effective method for controlling this disease. Here, we evaluated the effect of propolis against Pd in vitro. Using Sabouraud dextrose agar (SDA) medium, approximately 1.7 × 10 7 conidia spores of the Pd strain M3906-2/mL were spread on each plate and grown to form a consistent lawn. A Kirby–Bauer disk diffusion assay was employed using different concentrations of propolis (1%, 2%, 3%, 4%, 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 25%), in plates incubated at 8 ◦ C and 15 ◦ C. At 8 ◦ C and 15 ◦ C, as the concentration of propolis increased, there was an increasing zone of inhibition (ZOI), reaching the highest degree at 10% and 25% concentrations, respectively. A germule suppression assay showed a similar effect on Pd conidia germination. A MALDI-TOF-MS analysis of propolis revealed multiple constituents with a potential anti-Pd activity, including cinnamic acid, p-coumaric acid, and dihydrochalcones, which could be further tested for their individual effects. Our study suggests that propolis or its individual constituents might be suitable products against Pd .


This article seeks to proffer an improved definition for "education records" without altering the legislation's original design. Part I provides a historical account of Watergate's climate to illustrate why privacy rights blossomed during the 1970s and provided an atmosphere conducive to the passage of FERPA. Part II details FERPA's legislative history. Part III presents the statute's current definition of "education records" and evaluates how courts interpret FERPA. Part IV suggests a modernized definition that considers the computerization of education and, correspondingly, education records. The section begins with a comparison of FERPA and the Privacy Act of 1974. Thereafter, it exposes how schools are misusing FERPA to their advantage rather than protecting student privacy and parental access to records. Part IV proceeds to focus on judicial treatment of e-mail communications in the education setting, asking whether e-mails that personally identify students are truly "education records" under FERPA. The conclusion to Part IV describes how we can return FERPA to its original design. Part V calls on Congress to address this issue and improve student privacy protections; inertia and inaction are an invitation to return to the days of Watergate.


The digital revolution has transformed the lives of many, but also has left untouched the lives of many others. As a result, a large segment of the world population misses out on the tremendous political, social, economic, educational, and career opportunities created by the digital revolution. This gap between the information haves and have-nots is commonly referred to as the digital divide. Although evidence suggested that the digital divide in the United States is closing, the same is not true for the less developed countries. In light of the alarming disparities between the information haves and have-nots, the Howard M. Squadron Program in Law, Media and Society at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Yeshiva University selected the digital divide as the topic for its Second Squadron Symposium on Internet, Law & Society. Included in the symposium issue published by the Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal are articles by Andrew Celli, Mark Cooper, Kenneth Dreifach, B. Keith Fulton, Allen Hammond, and Jack Qiu. As an introduction to this symposium issue, this Article highlights the global significance of the digital divide. It discusses five key prerequisites for bridging this inequitable gap: awareness, access, affordability, availability, and adaptability. It also explores the inequalities in Internet access between the developed and less developed countries and explains why including the less developed countries in the digital revolution would benefit the developed countries as well as the less developed countries. The Article concludes by highlighting the various areas that may present challenges to policies seeking to bridge the digital divide.


Motivated by systems in which droplets grow and shrink in a turbulence-driven supersaturation field, we investigate the problem of turbulent condensation in a general manner. Using direct numerical simulations, we show that the turbulent fluctuations of the supersaturation field offer different conditions for the growth of droplets which evolve in time due to turbulent transport and mixing. Based on this, we propose a Lagrangian stochastic model for condensation and evaporation of small droplets in turbulent flows. It consists of a set of stochastic integro-differential equations for the joint evolution of the squared radius and the supersaturation along the droplet trajectories. The model has two parameters fixed by the total amount of water and the thermodynamic properties, as well as the Lagrangian integral time scale of the turbulent supersaturation. The model reproduces very well the droplet size distributions obtained from direct numerical simulations and their time evolution. A noticeable result is that, after a stage where the squared radius simply diffuses, the system converges exponentially fast to a statistical steady state independent of the initial conditions. The main mechanism involved in this convergence is a loss of memory induced by a significant number of droplets undergoing a complete evaporation before growing again. The statistical steady state is characterized by an exponential tail in the droplet mass distribution. These results reconcile those of earlier numerical studies, once these various regimes are considered.


The split-synthesis approach offers a quick and easy method for producing a large diversity of substances for the discovery of novel protein ligands. Screening of the resulting one-bead-one-compound (OBOC) libraries with fluorescently labelled proteins is not trivial, however, since the resin beads can display significant autofluorescence. Here we present a simple two-channel microscopy image-based screening method for OBOC libraries on TentaGel MB-HMBA resin using tracers labelled with fluorophores. Bead images are taken at short exposure times in the RHO and FITC channels to keep photobleaching of the fluorophores at a minimum. Simple RGB colour vector addition ensures the identification of beads with high fluorescence intensities in the RHO channel. Pre-sorting of the library to exclude highly fluorescent beads is not necessary. The presented method is especially suited for small laboratories without automation equipment. By screening a library with a maximum of 117 649 peptoid hexamers we discovered 18 sequences that bind the human chemokine interleukin-8 (CXCL8) with affinities between 11 μM and 112 μM.


Lyme disease (LD) is a complex, multisystemic illness. As the most common vector- borne disease in the United States, LD is caused by bacterial spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto, with potential coinfections from agents of anaplasmosis, babesiosis, and ehrlichiosis. Persistent symptoms and clinical signs reflect multiorgan involvement with episodes of active disease and periods of remission, not sparing the coveted central nervous system. The capability of microorganisms to cause and exacerbate various neuropsychiatric pathology is also seen in pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorders associated with streptococcal infections (PANDAS), a recently described disorder attributed to bacterium Streptococcus pyogenes of group A beta-hemolytic streptococcus in which neurologic tics and obsessive-compulsive disorders are sequelae of the infection. In the current overview, LD and PANDAS are juxtaposed through a review of their respective infectious etiologies, clinical presentations, mechanisms of disease development, courses of illness, and treatment options. Future directions related to immunoneuropsychiatry are also discussed.


Issues important to the philosophy of social science are widely discussed in the American academy today. Some social scientists resist the very idea of a debate on general issues. They continue to focus on behaviorist and positivist criteria, and the concepts, methods, and theories appropriate to a particular and narrow form of scientific inquiry. McCarthy argues that a new and valuable perspective may be gained on these questions through a return to philosophical debates surrounding the origins and development of nineteenth- and twentieth-century German sociology. In Objectivity and the Silence of Reason he focuses on two key figures, Max Weber and JUrrgen Habermas, reopening the vibrant and rich intellectual dispute about knowledge and truth in epistemology and concept formation, logic of analysis, and methodology in the social sciences. He uses this debate to explore the forms of objectivity in everyday experience and science, and the relations between science, ethics, and politics. McCarthy analyzes the tension in Weber's work between his early methodological writings with their emphasis on interpretive science, subjective intentionality, cultural and historical meaning and the later works that emphasize issues of explanatory science, natural causality, social prediction, and nomological law. While arguing for a value-free science, Weber was highly critical of the disenchanted and meaningless world of technical reason and rejected positivist objectivity. McCarthy shows how Habermas attempted to resolve tensions in Weber's work by clarifying the relationship between the methods of subjective interpretation and objective causality. Habermas believes that social science cannot be silent in the face of alienation, false consciousness, and the oppression of technological and administrative rationality and must adopt methodologies connected to the broader ethical and political questions of the day. Drawing deeply on the Kantian and neo-Kantian tradition that contributed to the development of Weber's method, Objectivity and the Silence of Reason demonstrates the crucial integration of philosophy and sociology in German intellectual culture. It elucidates the complexities of the development of modern social science. The book will be of interest to sociologists, philosophers, and intellectual historians.


GDP-l-fucose synthase is an autoantigen recognized by cerebrospinal fluid–infiltrating CD4+ T cells from HLA-DRB3* patients with multiple sclerosis. Move over myelin Although it is well established that autoreactive lymphocytes induce demyelination in multiple sclerosis, the exact antigenic targets that initiate disease are undefined. Planas et al. studied CD4+ T cells from the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with multiple sclerosis. One CD4+ T cell clone was reactive to the human enzyme GDP-l-fucose synthase; T cells from other patients were then identified, as well as myelin-reactive cells. Intriguingly, some of the GDP-l-fucose synthase–reactive cells could also be stimulated by a bacterial version of the enzyme. These tantalizing results identify a new autoantigen and suggest that one possible trigger of disease could be cross-reactivity to microbiota-derived peptides. Multiple sclerosis is an immune-mediated autoimmune disease of the central nervous system that develops in genetically susceptible individuals and likely requires environmental triggers. The autoantigens and molecular mimics triggering the autoimmune response in multiple sclerosis remain incompletely understood. By using a brain-infiltrating CD4+ T cell clone that is clonally expanded in multiple sclerosis brain lesions and a systematic approach for the identification of its target antigens, positional scanning peptide libraries in combination with biometrical analysis, we have identified guanosine diphosphate (GDP)–l-fucose synthase as an autoantigen that is recognized by cerebrospinal fluid–infiltrating CD4+ T cells from HLA-DRB3*–positive patients. Significant associations were found between reactivity to GDP-l-fucose synthase peptides and DRB3*02:02 expression, along with reactivity against an immunodominant myelin basic protein peptide. These results, coupled with the cross-recognition of homologous peptides from gut microbiota, suggest a possible role of this antigen as an inducer or driver of pathogenic autoimmune responses in multiple sclerosis.


Twenty-one years past since Weiser's vision of ubiquitous computing (UbiComp) has been written, and it is yet to be fully fulfilled despite of almost all the needed technologies already available. Still, the widespread interest in UbiComp and the results in some of its fields pose a question: why we are not there yet? It seems we miss the 'octopus' head. In this paper, we will try to depict the reasons why we are not there yet, from three different points of view: interaction media, device integration and applications.


Pastures in the coast of the Gulf of Mexico are characterized by native species (Paspalum spp., Axonopus spp., etc.). These, are limited by productivity due to their low nutritional quality and poor persistence on grazing. The adaptation of new grass and legume species is essential to improve the productivity of animal production. An initial assessment should include the climatic and edaphic adaptation to the region. Species, such as Andropogon gayanus, Pueraria phaseoloides, Centrosema spp., Arachis pintoi, and Cratylia argentea, were evaluated, showing encouraging results compared to native species; our efforts were focused on C. argentea. Several research methods were applied to meet the objectives outlined for each experiment, including methodologies for the establishment of new species. All these trials were subject to rigorous experimental designs, and data were analyzed statistically, using the most adequate programs. These experiences allow us to visualize the most promising materials for the specific conditions of climate and soil. The potential results of this new forage species stand out. Also, these experiments allowed the development of new management practices to improve the productivity of the animal production systems of the region. C. argentea demonstrated its high forage value as a species suitable for silvopastoral systems.


Alien Tort Statute litigation has generated a growing number of questions about the the scope of statute, but in Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum Co. the Supreme Court finally answered one of them: the presumption against extraterritoriality applies to the statute. Going forward, courts may apply a robust version of the presumption, effectively ending ATS litigation as we currently know it. Or, they may not. The Court's citations to Morrison v. Nat'l Austl. Bank Ltd. suggest the former; some language in the various opinions suggests the latter. This article explores these uncertainties and also discusses additional factors that may be significant for the courts' application of the presumption in future cases: a potential analogy between the ATS and the Sherman Act, the purpose of the ATS, and the appropriate deference to accord the executive branch in ATS litigation. Finally, it considers the significance of Kiobel to the development and enforcement of international law and argues that the uncertain course charted by the Court in ATS litigation is in many respects unexceptional.


EXPLORING VISUAL PREVENTION: DEVELOPING INFOGRAPHICS AS EFFECTIVE CERVICAL CANCER PREVENTION FOR AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN Candace Patrice Parrish, M.S. A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia Commonwealth University, 2016 Director: Rowena Briones, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Public Relations Robertson School of Media & Culture The purpose of this dissertation is to explore the creation of a cervical cancer health prevention infographic, geared toward African American women ages 30 to 65, to be potentially used to raise health literacy and influence positive behaviors towards practicing prevention measures—ultimately preventing unnecessary deaths. This dissertation also produced a cervical cancer health prevention infographic prototype for African American Women ages 30 to 65 to be further tested and implemented within future health communication campaigns. Cervical Cancer is both preventable and treatable (if diagnosed during early stages); therefore the amount of individuals dying from the cancer should be minimal. Still, African American Women in this study's target health population are dying from Cervical Cancer the most. Existing research highlights that social determinants of health (like income, education and literacy) play varying roles as barriers to prevention (Baldwin, 1996; J. L. Davis et al., 2013; Egbert & Parrott, 2001; Ford et al., 2013; McKinnon, Harper, & Moore, 2011; Sung, AlemaMensah, & Blumenthal, 2002; Williams & Templin, 2013). . This dissertation specifically focuses on targeting the potential to increase health literacy on Cervical Cancer to potentially positively influence prevention uptake. Drawing upon fields like health communication, visual communication and social science research, this research endeavor presents an interdisciplinary approach to potentially solving health communication issue within an at-risk population. The theoretical framework in guiding infographic production for this dissertation was the Health Belief Model, which is widely used in health communication research to assess failure of prevention uptake (du Pré, 2014; Glanz et al., 2005; Maibach & Parrott, 1995; Rosenstock, 2000). The Health Belief Model in conjunction with existing literature regarding health literacy, cultural stigma and relevance in communication campaigns geared toward African American Women ages 30 to 65, infographic content was created and presented to study participants via six interactive focus groups. The focus group methodology of qualitative research allowed for 17 study participants to confidentially engage in dialogue with peers concerning the issue at hand while also helping to create the content hierarchy, enhance and suggest visuals, colors and themes of the proposed infographic. Iterative data analysis approaches allow for constant assessment of study outcomes and themes. This study produces theoretical, practical and methodological implications for future research on the lacking area of scholarly literature. Findings from this dissertation suggest a need to (1) test the proposed infographic for potential national health campaign usage, (2) a need for more long-term collaborative community efforts for continual population access in research on Cervical Cancer prevention, and (3) future assessment of a newer form of focus group research that focuses on incorporation smaller participant groups for increased hands-on interactivity.


Abstract Intercalation of surfactant and polymer chains between the clay platelets gives rise to molecular ordering that changes both the chain conformation and mobility with respect to the bulk phase. As a local probe, nuclear magnetic resonance is particularly suited for such investigations, and this review reports the main results obtained in the solid state. The properties of the modified clays are studied as a function of the surfactant loading, the nature of the head group, and the length of the hydrocarbon chain(s). The structure and charge of the mineral also influence the behaviour of molecules in the gallery space. Among papers on polymer/clay nanocomposites, those dealing with poly(ethylene oxide) have been studied in particular, using a multinuclear approach. Natural clays often contain paramagnetic species such as Fe(III) that perturb the nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) relaxation processes and can prevent observation of appropriate NMR data. Accordingly, most organic/clay hybrids are studied with hectorite or synthetic smectites. However, the paramagnetic effect has also been found useful in characterizing clay dispersion within the polymer matrix of the nanocomposites.


In this paper, the response of equipment in structures on a particular friction-type device, the resilient-friction base isolator, is examined. The R-FBI is composed of layers of Teflon coated steel plates with a central rubber core to provide the restoring force, thus unlike the laminated rubber bearing systems, the vertical and lateral load carrying functions are decoupled. A semi-analytical approach is used to determine the response of the equipment. A single degree of freedom subsystem model is considered and interaction effects between all the subsystems are included in the formulation. The maximum acceleration response of the equipment when the system is subjected to harmonic and earthquake ground motion is determined. The results of a series of numerical experiments which illustrate the effect of subsystem period, subsystem damping, and friction coefficient of the isolator on the response of the equipment are presented. The fixed-base response is also shown for purposes of comparison.


Aerobic fitness was evaluated in 25 women with fibrositis, by having them exercise to volitional exhaustion on an electronically braked cycle ergometer. Compared with published standards, greater than 80% of the fibrositis patients were not physically fit, as assessed by maximal oxygen uptake. Compared with matched sedentary controls, fibrositis patients accurately perceived their level of exertion in relation to oxygen consumption and attained a similar level of lactic acidosis, as assessed by their respiratory quotient and ventilatory threshold. Exercising muscle blood flow was estimated by 133xenon clearance in a subgroup of 16 fibrositis patients and compared with that in 16 matched sedentary controls; the fibrositis patients exhibited reduced 133xenon clearance. These results indicate a need to include aerobic fitness as a matched variable in future controlled studies of fibrositis and suggest that the "detraining phenomenon" may be of relevance to the etiopathogenesis of the disease.


Back ground: With a view to explore the possibilities of finding new molecules with proven therapeutic efficacy for human use with potent sperm attenuating activity and lower side effect profile than nonoxynol9 (N-9). the present study was designed to investigate spermicidal activity in Xestospongia officinalis. Material and Methods: The extract, fractions followed by isolation and characterization of bioactive molecules were done from freshly collected animals. Results:The methanol extract of the Xestospongia officinalis caused 100% mortality of human sperms at 0.01% concentration in vitro while N-9 (reference control) exhibited an equivalent activity at 0.05%. On further fractionation, the activity was localized in n-butanol soluble fraction from which the major compounds purified was mixture of alkaloids which was found to be equipotent to N-9 and killed 100% human sperm at the concentration of 0.05% in ~20 s, in vitro. Conclusions:The mixture of alkaloids were much safer than N-9 towards normal vaginal flora (Lactobacillus) in vitro though it affected the viability of HeLa cells like other surfactants. Thus alkaloids from Xestospongia officinalis can suitably replace N-9 in vaginal contraceptives to make them more vaginal eco-friendly.  2015 Trade Science Inc. INDIA


The midsouthern USA typically has a mid- to late-summer drought that limits the productivity of nonirrigated maize (Zea mays L.) production. We hypothesized that by increasing seeded population and narrowing row spacing, short-season maize hybrids in the Midsouth would have similar yield but require less irrigation compared with hybrids currently grown. Irrigated experiments were conducted at Fayetteville, AR, in 2001, 2002, and 2003 and at Keiser, AR, in 2002 and 2003. Factors evaluated included maize maturity (75- to 110-d maize hybrids) and maize seeded population (5 to 20 seed m(-2)) sown in 50-cm rows. Between emergence and black layer, short-season maize hybrids required 30 to 50% less irrigation than did their full-season counterparts. Yield of short-season maize at high plant populations (approximately equal to 19 plants m(-2)) was equal to that of full-season hybrids, which reached maximum yield at lower plant populations (approximately equal to 8 plants m(-2)). Maize biomass at maturity had a linear relationship with cumulative intercepted photosynthetically active radiation (CIPAR) from emergence to maturity, but maize yield had an asymptotic relationship with CIPAR with little increase in yield for CIPAR above 555 MJ m(-2). This research indicates that increasing plant population for short-season maize hybrids increased CIPAR, which compensated for a short growing season to achieve similar potential yield to full-season hybrids in the Midsouth with substantially less irrigation.


The fish-eye view afforded by modern endoscopes undoubtedly makes for marvellous visualisation of anatomy in the depths of a dry but diseased ear. When coupled to digital, single-lens reflex cameras, with real-time review of the images obtained, photography of the ear becomes a real pleasure (as evident in this book). The challenge, for those of us who recall earlier times, is to digitise all the 35 mm slides we once produced. The illustrations early in this book do indeed show the superiority of the view obtained with the endoscope, when compared with that of the binocular operating microscope. Inspection and documentation none would dispute then. The ability to see around corners should be an obvious advantage in identification of disease. The debate has, rather, been whether the endoscope actually facilitates dealing with what it has so nicely revealed. That doubt at first seems counterintuitive, having accepted the quality of the view. However, the slimmest endoscope still takes up valuable space in the external canal, and all authors here agree that the widest, 4 mm endoscope is the safest and most effective. Again, all authors here suggest use of the nondominant hand to hold the endoscope, rather than using a suspension device, so we have lost the advantage of bimanual work. Furthermore, any blood, pus or condensation on the lens requires withdrawal and cleaning, so suction must alternate with surgical manipulation. The tip can get damagingly hot as well, let us recall! The art of this book is to (very convincingly) demonstrate applications and indications for endoscopic ear surgery, and to consider future developments. The editor of this international multi-authorship publication is an assistant professor in Philadelphia. We seem to glimpse her many times in the description of the operating theatre set-up, but concealed by a gown, face mask and a very stylish pink scrub hat. It was refreshing to read that the acknowledgements express gratitude, not just to the high and mighty, but also to the colleague who helped with child care during the editorial work! The content is of course superbly illustrated and the layout does make 'cherry picking' one's favourite topics easy. I found the description of the instrumentation and operating theatre set-up thought provoking and, as a result, I detect the 'wind of change' locally. Fat graft tympanoplasty I have always found unconvincing, but even quite sizeable perforations are closed in chapter 4, I must concede. We will forgive one inverted image there! Three chapters on chronic suppurative otitis media will surely have the greatest relevance for our readers, and there is excellent coverage of retraction pockets, sinus tympani cholesteatoma and the 'second-look' procedure managed endoscopically. Later chapters range from office-based minor surgery to posterior fossa surgery. The latter is a lengthy chapter and the photography is superbly reproduced. Cochlear endoscopy I thought must be a very recent development, but the opening sentence of the chapter tells us it 'has been performed for over two decades' either as an adjunct to implantation or drug delivery. How about a camera chip on the tip of your cochlear implant electrode to guide your way towards the apex? The final brief chapter hesitates to predict future developments, but


A speed independent circuit has the property that the relative speed of operation of the various logic elements does not affect the over-all behavior of the circuit. Such circuits have properties which are of particular importance in the design of reliable asynchronous circuits. An Arithmetic Control for a digital computer is one type of logic which can profitably use these characteristics. The design objective established for the Arithmetic Control for the new Illinois computer was to obtain speed-independent operation. This design effort was not completely successful since a small portion of the logic in this control cannot be considered speed-independent unless an assumption is made which is not justified in practice. Using this fact as motivation, these studies investigate three new methods for designing speed-independent logic. In these studies, two very different approaches to the design of control logic are used. The first method is based on a building-block technique where a control logic is formed by properly interconnecting standard subsections of speed-independent logic. When the second technique is used, the sequencing problem is represented by Gray Code movements on an n-cube; these sequencing movements are determined by the mapping of flow chart requirements onto the n-cube. Since the controls designed using these very differents methods were only slightly different in size, it was concluded that within the context of these studies the choice of design method has only a small effect on control size.


Heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) are synonymous with high fuel consumption due to
their weight and bluff nature. At a time when fuel prices are high and haulage operators
have an environmental responsibility to reduce CO2 emissions, there is great
interest in the possible methods of curbing fuel consumption. With up to 50 percent
of HGV fuel consumption attributed to aerodynamic drag, there are improvements
which can be made to the design and manufacture of haulage trailers in order to
reduce fuel consumption and reduce CO2 emissions.
Various design modifications, both those able to be retrofitted and only possible
at the point of manufacture, are tested using computational
fluid dynamics (CFD),
to establish the potential drag reduction when compared to a baseline case. These
are evaluated in both normal and side-wind conditions. The baseline case is modelled
to represent a HGV combination that is representative of the average trailer
in operation in the UK industry. It is found that in combination, the trailer modifications analysed can reduce the aerodynamic drag of the overall vehicle geometry
by up to 26%.
Additional geometry is also tested that is specific to the UK industry due to the
lack of a limitation on overall vehicle height. These tests highlight the consequences
of unchecked vehicle geometry and the effects that inappropriate truck and trailer
matching can have on the overall drag contribution of the vehicle. These cases along
with the comparative and baseline cases show that the
ow characteristics of the
vehicle geometry differs greatly between normal and conditions of side-wind. This
in turn dictates the e effctiveness of the geometry modifications dependent on their
intended area of drag improvement, and can inform design decisions when incorporating
these at the point of manufacture.


This paper considers reinforcement learning problems with additional similarity information. We start with the simple setting of multi-armed bandits in which the learner knows for each arm its color, where it is assumed that arms of the same color have close mean rewards. An algorithm is presented that shows that this color information can be used to improve the dependency of online regret bounds on the number of arms. Further, we discuss to what extent this approach can be extended to the more general case of Markov decision processes. For the simplest case where the same color for actions means similar rewards and identical transition probabilities, an algorithm and a corresponding online regret bound are given. For the general case where transition probabilities of same-colored actions imply only close but not necessarily identical transition probabilities we give upper and lower bounds on the error by action aggregation with respect to the color information. These bounds also imply that the general case is far more difficult to handle.


Dear editor, the fecal occult blood test is the presently widely used screening laboratory test for colorectal cancer. At present, the test is usually based on an immunological diagnostic principle (1, 2). A false positive fecal occult blood is common and widely mentioned in literature. Nevertheless, the false negative is little mentioned in the paper. Here, the authors discuss the issue of the fecal occult blood test's false negative problem. The case is a consultation on a patient's laboratory aberration. This patient had hemorrhoids and rectosigmoidoscope showed active bleeding. Nevertheless, the stool occult blood test in this patient always showed a negative result. The physician in charge consulted a clinical pathologist for this problem, and the latter noted that this case is that of a false negative due to the prozone effect. The dilutional preparation of the stool sample is done for confirmation. Before dilutional preparation, the result is negative, and is positive afterwards. In fact, the prozone phenomenon is a common but little mentioned problem in clinical diagnosis. The problem can be seen in serological tests. For the fecal occult blood test, the false negative due to prozone effect is little mentioned in the paper, and the practitioner should recognize that there is also a possibility of a false negative in this test. According to the principle behind the fecal occult blood test principle, a hemoglobin concentration above 0.5 mg/mL can cause a prozone effect and a false negative.


Noor Huda Ismail discusses the evolution of terrorism in Indonesia and his involvement in rehabilitation efforts. Overview For this episode of Sub Rosa podcast, Andrew spoke to Noor Huda Ismail, an Indonesian author, film-maker, activist, and PhD candidate. Huda set up several non-government rehabilitation programs for terrorists released from jail in Indonesia, to help prevent them from becoming involved in violent extremism again. He's now based in Australia, studying the involvement of Indonesians with the "Islamic State" in Syria and Iraq. The episode begins by discussing Noor Huda's journey into this world. We talk about his teenage years in a boarding school in a central Java that was run by Abdullah Sungkar and Abu Baku Bashir. Sungkar and Bashir were members of an Indonesian jihadist movement called Darul Islam and would become the co-founders of the terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah (JI). Several students in this school were recruited into JI, trained in Afghanistan, and later carried out bombings in Indonesia in the early 2000s. But Huda's life went in a very different direction. Huda explains how he felt compelled to help tackle terrorism in Indonesia. He was inspired by non-government efforts he saw working in Northern Ireland, and tried to set up similar programs in Indonesia. Not all of these worked, and he explains several of the successes and failures in this episode. We also talk about the evolution of terrorism in Indonesia, strengths and weaknesses of the state's counter-terrorism efforts, how the Syrian civil war and the rise of the "Islamic State" has changed the threat, and how he conducts research on this.