Creep failure of welds in high-temperature power plant steam piping systems is known to be a potential cause of plant failure. Creep behaviour of plain pipes with circumferential welds and cross-weld specimens have received fairly extensive attention. However, research into the creep behaviour of welded thick-walled branched steam pipes has received less attention. Consequently, this thesis addresses improving the understanding of the creep behaviour for this type of geometry. Numerical and analytical methods are used to assess the creep behaviour of typical power plant branched pipe geometries.

The effects of various geometric and material parameters on the creep stress and creep life behaviour of the connections are studied. In particular, the effect of the differing creep properties associated with the various material regions of the weld are investigated. The importance of incorporation of weld properties in creep life assessments is thus assessed.

Finite element steady-state and continuum damage mechanics creep analyses have been used to identify the relative creep strength of typical connections compared to plain pipes. The work identifies typical creep rupture locations within branched pipe welds and the associated damage accumulation at and around these positions.

Various creep life assessment methods/procedures are used in practise: these are mainly the British Standard codes, British Energy's R5 procedure, steady state creep approaches and continuum damage mechanics approaches. The relative accuracy and conservatism of these distinct approaches are addressed for the application to typical branched pipes.

The general formulation of steady-state creep stress is applied to the parametric study of weld materials in a typical multi-material welded branched pipe. An approximate interpolation technique for power-law creep is implemented to reduce the number of analyses needed to span a wide range of material parameters. The method is used to estimate the creep stresses and lives at several critical regions within the various material zones of the weld. The advantages of the technique are related to the small number of analyses required and the simple and compact way of presenting the results for weld design and life assessment purposes.


Setmar is a 3-exons gene coding a SET domain fused to a Hsmar1 transposase. Its different transcripts theoretically encode 8 isoforms with SET moieties differently spliced. In vitro, the largest isoform binds specifically to Hsmar1 DNA ends and with no specificity to DNA when it is associated with hPso4. In colon cell lines, we found they bind specifically to two chromosomal targets depending probably on the isoform, Hsmar1 ends and sites with no conserved motifs. We also discovered that the isoforms profile was different between cell lines and patient tissues, suggesting the isoforms encoded by this gene in healthy cells and their functions are currently not investigated.


A Brief History of Death offers a topical survey of views concerning death and its aftermath in the Western tradition, from prehistory to the present. It explores how humans understand and come to terms with the fact of mortality and looks at the physical and social aspects of death, how dying people are treated, how the dying conduct themselves in the knowledge of their approaching demise and how survivors choose to remember the dead. W. M. Spellman examines the work of archaeologists and palaeoanthropologists to give insight into prehistoric perspectives on death through the interpretation of physical remains. He spotlights the great philosophical and scientific traditions of the West, or what can be termed the rationalist approach to end-of-life issues. The book also examines the major religious traditions that emerged during the so-called 'Axial Age' of the ancient world, focusing particularly on the centuries-long evolution of the Western Christian tradition. Three approaches to the meaning of death - negation of life, continuity in another form and agnosticism - are examined in both religious and secular-scientific contexts. A Brief History of Death considers how we have died throughout history, both in the causes of death and in our varying attitudes to actions that lead to the deaths of fellow humans. The book provides a deeper context for contemporary debates over end-of-life issues, especially the emerging tension between longevity and quality of life.


JASPAR is a widely used open-access database of curated, non-redundant transcription factor binding profiles. Currently, data from JASPAR can be retrieved as flat files or by using programming language-specific interfaces. Here, we present a programming language-independent application programming interface (API) to access JASPAR data using the Representational State Transfer (REST) architecture. The REST API enables programmatic access to JASPAR by most programming languages and returns data in seven widely used formats. Further, it provides an endpoint to infer the TF binding profile(s) likely bound by a given DNA binding domain protein sequence. Additionaly, it provides an interactive browsable interface for bioinformatics tool developers. The REST API is implemented in Python using the Django REST Framework. It is accessible at http://jaspar.genereg.net/api/ and the source code is freeiy available at https://bitbucket.org/CBGR/jaspar under GPL v3 iicense.


Histamine and serotonin are neuromodulators which facilitate numerous, diverse neurological functions. Being co‐localized in many brain regions, these two neurotransmitters are thought to modulate one another's chemistry and are often implicated in the etiology of disease. Thus, it is desirable to interpret the in vivo chemistry underlying neurotransmission of these two molecules to better define their roles in health and disease. In this work, we describe a voltammetric approach to monitoring serotonin and histamine simultaneously in real time. Via electrical stimulation of the axonal bundles in the medial forebrain bundle, histamine release was evoked in the mouse premammillary nucleus. We found that histamine release was accompanied by a rapid, potent inhibition of serotonin in a concentration‐dependent manner. We developed mathematical models to capture the experimental time courses of histamine and serotonin, which necessitated incorporation of an inhibitory receptor on serotonin neurons. We employed pharmacological experiments to verify that this serotonin inhibition was mediated by H3 receptors. Our novel approach provides fundamental mechanistic insights that can be used to examine the full extent of interconnectivity between histamine and serotonin in the brain.


A 63-year-old woman presents with a 1-year history of a chronic dry cough, associated with a sensation of "irritation" in the throat. Prolonged bouts of coughing are associated with stress urinary incontinence and occasionally end with retching and vomiting. The cough is triggered by changes in temperature, strong smells (e.g., the smell of cleaning products), laughing, and prolonged talking. She has no notable medical history, reports being otherwise well, and does not smoke. She has been prescribed a bronchodilator and inhaled and nasal glucocorticoids, but has had no benefit from any of these. The results of a physical examination, chest radiography, and spirometry are normal. How would you further evaluate and manage this condition?


In this study, the location, the significance and the physical and social changes of Orhan Gazi Square, which is one of the important public open spaces in Bursa, Turkey have been analyzed. It is aimed to reveal the phases that the square has experienced until it has reached today's practice of use. It is significant to uncover the historic traces of Orhan Gazi Square from past to present in order to understand its value and characteristics. By this research and evaluation, it is aimed to contribute to the projects in regard to the square to be developed in the future considering its physical and social sustainability. In order to support the claims given in the study, several maps showing the development of construction activities and the square during different periods have been reorganized through the use of existing maps. In addition, old photographs from several archives and photographs showing the actual condition of the square have been used. Although the idea of rearranging the Orhan Gazi Square has remained on the agenda, it is considered that there is no need to make any radical interventions in the square. The city dwellers' changing needs can be met with small-scale arrangements and changes to be made on site. Key Words: Public Open Space, Orhan Gazi Square, Ottoman Period, Republican Period, Bursa


An accelerated pavement testing facility has been developed by Purdue University for the Indiana Department of Transportation. The test facility includes a test pit in which prototype scale pavement sections can be installed. The Accelerated Pavement Tester (APT) loading system has the capability of applying moving wheel loads to the test sections. An initial study utilizing the accelerated pavement test facility has been conducted at Purdue University to determine the minimum crushed aggregate requirements in asphalt mixtures in Indiana. This study addresses effects of various constituents of the asphalt mixture on pavement rutting. The factors included in this study are aggregate type, percentage of crushed gravel, percentage of natural vs. crushed sand, and asphalt content. Combinations of these factors and their levels resulted in 27 sections being tested. Rutting was documented for each test section during APT operation. Marshall mixture design and laboratory tests provide comprehensive information on mixture properties. As a result of both the laboratory and APT results, recommendations are provided for using gravel in asphalt mixture. A finite element program, ABACUS, was used in this study to model the pavement structure and permanent deformation. An approximate approach was used to simulate the APT conditions. A creep model was used to represent the actual pavement rutting. Based on the mixture performance in APT, material constants in the creep model were backcalculated. Regression analyses were conducted to correlate these material constants with mixture physical properties. Mixtures tested with the APT were also tested in a laboratory wheel track device. After these results were evaluated, two of the original mixtures were retested in the APT.


Distributed sensor networks have been widely employed to monitor and protect critical infrastructure assets. The network status can be estimated by centralized state estimation using coordinated data aggregation or by distributed state estimation, where nodes only exchange information locally to achieve enhanced scalability and adaptivity to network dynamics. One important property of state estimation is robustness against false data injection from sensors compromised by attackers. Different from most existing works in the literature that focus on centralized state estimation, we propose two novel robust distributed state estimation algorithms against false data injection. They are built upon an existing distributed Kalman filtering algorithm. In the first algorithm, we use variational Bayesian learning to estimate attack parameters and achieve performance similar to a centralized majority voting rule, without causing extra communication overhead. In the second algorithm, we introduce heterogeneity into the network by utilizing a subset of pre-trusted nodes to achieve performance better than majority voting. We show that as long as there is a path connecting each node to some of the pre-trusted nodes, the attackers can not subvert the network. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed schemes.


Fluctuation of the exchange rate has a different unwanted implication towards the economic growth. The right choice of exchange rate regime will bring an economy back to the equilibrium and many economists claim that it is one of the factors for the positive economic development. In contrast, a long term fluctuation of the real exchange rate from the nominal rate can lead to severe macroeconomic imbalances, lead to speculation attack and against the orthodoxy of macroeconomic parities. However the empirical findings of previous studies with regards to the relationship of exchange rate and trade balance are not inclusive and are inconsistent for different countries. The main objective of this paper is to analyse the long run relationship between fluctuation of exchange rate and trade balance in Saudi Arab. The economy of the Saudi Arab has developed tremendously in which the average gross domestic production (GDP) for the period of 1980 – 2008 is more than 300 percentages. Using the Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) model, we empirically identify that the currency of Saudi Arabia at most of the time are overvalued. The study also shows Saudi Arab is enjoying positive trade balance. Utilising two-step Engel-Granger co-integration technique we find a significant long run relationship between the exchange rate fluctuation and trade balance for Saudi Arab in the long run but not in the short-run.


The shock on human capital caused by COVID-19 is likely to have long lasting consequences, especially for children of low-educated families. Applying a counterfactual exercise we project the effects of school closures and other lockdown policies on the intergenerational persistence of education in 17 Latin American countries. First, we retrieve detailed information on school lockdowns and on the policies enacted to support education from home in each country. Then, we use these information to estimate the potential impact of the pandemic on schooling, high school completion, and intergenerational associations. In addition, we account for educational disruptions related to household income shocks. Our findings show that, despite that mitigation policies were able to partly reduce instructional losses in some countries, the educational attainment of the most vulnerable could be seriously affected. In particular, the likelihood of children from low educated families to attain a secondary schooling degree could fall substantially.


Many communication systems infer and project information about a user's availability, making it possible for others to decide whether and how to contact that user. Presumably when the system infers people are busy, they are less open to interruption. But analysis of 103,962 phone calls made using a popular enterprise communications tool reveals that people are actually significantly more likely to answer the phone when the system projects that they are busy than at other times. A follow-up survey of 569 users of the system suggests that this seemingly counter-intuitive fact may arise because people care a lot about the recipient's availability when initiating phone communications and are unlikely to attempt to call someone who appears to be busy unless the communication is important. Recipients thus perceive incoming calls as more important when they are busy than at other times, making them more likely to answer.


TED Talks are short videos of experts talking about a variety of topics. This paper outlines six TED Talks that connect with the leadership literature and topics commonly taught with an explanation of how they enhance teaching about a corresponding leadership topic. The researcher shares how introducing TED talks related to leadership can stimulate critical thinking about leadership while keeping the class interesting.


One might think that, once we know something is computable, how efficiently it can be computed is a practical question with little further philosophical importance. In this essay, I offer a detailed case that one would be wrong. In particular, I argue that computational complexity theory---the field that studies the resources (such as time, space, and randomness) needed to solve computational problems---leads to new perspectives on the nature of mathematical knowledge, the strong AI debate, computationalism, the problem of logical omniscience, Hume's problem of induction and Goodman's grue riddle, the foundations of quantum mechanics, economic rationality, closed timelike curves, and several other topics of philosophical interest. I end by discussing aspects of complexity theory itself that could benefit from philosophical analysis.


In summer 2014, the U.S. Geological Survey conducted a 21-day geophysical program in deep water along the Atlantic continental margin by using R/V Marcus G. Langseth (Field Activity Number 2014-011-FA). The purpose of the seismic program was to collect multichannel seismic reflection and refraction data to determine sediment thickness. These data enable the United States to delineate its Extended Continental Shelf (ECS) along the Atlantic margin. The same data can also be used to understand large submarine landslides and therefore assess their potential tsunami hazard for infrastructure and communities living along the eastern seaboard. Supporting geophysical data were collected as marine magnetic data, gravity data, 3.5-kilohertz shallow seismic reflections, multibeam echo sounder bathymetry, and multibeam backscatter.

The survey was conducted from water depths of approximately 1,500 meters to abyssal seafloor depths greater than 5,000 meters. Approximately 2,761 kilometers of multi-channel seismic data was collected along with 30 sonobuoy profiles.

This field program had two primary objectives: (1) to collect some of the data necessary to establish the outer limits of the U.S. Continental Shelf, or Extended Continental Shelf, as defined by Article 76 of the United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea and (2) to study the sudden mass transport of sediments down the continental margin as submarine landslides that pose potential tsunamigenic hazards to the Atlantic and Caribbean coastal communities.


Identity theft occurs when personal information is stolen and used for the thief's gain (Cullen, 2007; Sullivan, 2004). Nine million new cases of identity theft are reported each year (Federal Trade Commission, n.d.). Many more cases occur that are not reported or occur without the victim's knowledge. Anyone with a Social Security number (Sharp, Shreve-Neiger, Fremouw, Kane, & Hutton, 2004) can become a victim of identity theft. For example, it is estimated that 500,000 U.S. children are victimized annually (Office of the Florida Attorney General, 2008) with incidents of child identity theft rising more quickly than any other type of identity theft (Cullen, 2007). As with adult victims, thieves may use a child's identity to obtain loans, establish credit accounts and obtain employment (California Office of Privacy Protection, 2006; Collins, 2006). Consequences of identity theft include severely hindered financial security (e.g., inability to obtain loans, obtain rental housing, or gain employment), and impaired mental and physical health. Surprisingly, identity theft, while affecting millions of Americans, has captured limited empirical attention. Research literature is particularly limited on child victims of identity theft.


School districts in the United States often borrow on the municipal bond market to pay for capital projects. Districts serving economically disadvantaged communities tend to receive lower credit ratings and pay higher interest rates. To remedy this problem, 24 states have established credit enhancement programs that promise to repay district debt when a district cannot do so, thereby enhancing the district's credit rating. With a generalized difference-in-differences approach, I rely on cross- and within-district variations to estimate the effect of state enhancement on district bond interest rate, per-pupil capital spending, and student performance. State enhancement reduces district bond interest rates by 6% and increases per-student capital spending by 2% to 7%. It also reduces the disparity in the interest rate and capital spending across districts serving lower- and higher-income families, with no discernible effect on test scores. I find no evidence that the amount of enhanced school debt is associated with significant changes in interest rates paid by state governments. Districts in states without such programs could have achieved cost savings in the range of $383 million to $1 billion from 2009 to 2019 had the states adopted similar programs.


The natural resource curse paradox has given rise to a wide range of explanations, which look at the economic, social and political characteristics of resource-rich countries. This paper focuses on the political economy of natural resources and finds that controlling for sociopolitical factors eliminates the natural resource curse. The analysis then turns to these sociopolitical factors and examines the significant, complex and varied effects of democratization on economic growth in general, as well as in resource-rich countries in particular. I conclude that the type of institutions needed for economic development in resource-rich countries are not specific to either democratic or autocratic systems, but are equally likely to be adopted by either regime, so that no one ideology is more suitable than the other. A corollary to this, however, is the case of weak democracies or low democratization levels. Such states are unable to adopt the necessary strategies and institutions and, thus, pose the greatest threat to economic growth in resource-rich countries. On the other hand, highly autocratic systems in resource-rich countries, such as those in Bahrain and UAE, or perfectly democratic systems, such as those in Norway and Iceland, utilize resources more efficiently for economic development.


We present a general existence result for a type of equilibrium in normal-form games. We consider nonzero-sum normal-form games with an arbitrary number of players and arbitrary action spaces. We impose merely one condition: the payoff function of each player is bounded. We allow players to use finitely additive probability measures as mixed strategies. Since we do not assume any measurability conditions, for a given strategy profile the expected payoff is generally not uniquely defined, and integration theory only provides an upper bound, the upper integral, and a lower bound, the lower integral. A strategy profile is called a justifiable equilibrium if each player evaluates this profile by the upper integral, and each player evaluates all his possible deviations by the lower integral. We show that a justifiable equilibrium always exists. Our equilibrium concept and existence result are motivated by Vasquez (2017), who defines a conceptually related equilibrium notion, and shows its existence under the conditions of finitely many players, separable metric action spaces and bounded Borel measurable payoff functions. Our proof borrows several ideas from Vasquez (2017), but is more direct as it does not make use of countably additive representations of finitely additive measures by Yosida and Hewitt (1952).


00 has won the battle, but the war is not yet over. Success stories have been reported. Reuse has been observed in practice. Work is progressing to deal with a full lifecycle and to tackle mega systems. While the tra.nsition to 00 ma.y or may not be obvious for an individual, it is a complex affair? if not a nightmare, for large organizations. Programmers in divisions are often eager to go 00, their managers are often hesitant. A recurring question is how to deal with the large body of existing software that must keep running while at the same time it becomes more and more of a lia.bility. Corporate software research may be "miles ahead" of what goes on in divisions, but it is not obvious how to transfer these insights and practices into divisional trenches. VVe can rephrase these topics into the following groups of questions:


The definitions set forth in this section apply for purposes of this chapter, except as otherwise provided in this chapter: (a) Commission means the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. (b) Chairman means the Chairman of the Commission. (c) Commissioner and Member mean a member of the Commission. (d) Secretary means the Secretary of the Commission. (e) Executive Director means the Executive Director of the Commission. (f) General Counsel means the General Counsel of the Commission. (g) DOE Act means the Department of Energy Organization Act. (h) DOE means the Department of Energy. (i) Administrative law judge means an officer appointed under section 3105 of title 5 of the United States Code. (j) Attorney means an attorney admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of the United States or the highest court of any State, territory of the United States, or the District of Columbia, or any other person with the requisite qualifications to represent others, who acts in a representative capacity for any participant before the Commission. (k) State Commission means the regulatory body of any State or municipality having jurisdiction to regulate rates or charges for the sale of electric energy or natural gas to consumers or for the transportation of oil by pipeline within the State or municipality. (l) Oath includes affirmation and sworn includes affirmed.


This paper conducts a field experiment with a spontaneous short-distance ridesharing company to understand the interaction of monetary and pro-social motivations of drivers. Drivers pick up passengers (hired by the author) without knowing the amount that they will be paid, and can decide privately and freely after the trip whether to receivepayment, to donate it to charity or to do nothing. Both monetary and pro-social motivations are found to be relevant. However, pro-social incentive works better for short-distance (5 km) trips, while monetary incentive seems to be more efficient for long-distance (20 km) trips. Drivers tend to be more generous to give up their compensation when the favour they offer is small. The author discusses the importance of taking pro-social motivations into design of daily ride-sharing, especially when the sector focuses on monetary incentive of the date.


This project was designed to examme the effects of NaCI on growth and
regeneration of callus and cell suspension cultures of the five rice cultivars namely,
Puteh Perak, Mahsuri, Basmati-370, Nona Bokra and Khari Gunja. In addition,
changes of nitrogen assimilating enzymes, phosphatase and some dehydrogenase of
Kreb's Cycle in cell suspension cultures of Basmati-370 and Puteh Perak were also
investigated. The callus cultures were induced from embryo section of seeds of rice
using MS solid media containing 10 µM 2,4-D and 2 µM kinetin. Cell suspension
cultures were initiated in liquid media from the induced embryogenic callus of rice
using salts of the B5 media containing 10 µM 2,4-D. The five rice cultivars tested had
high rates of callus induction (80-88%).
In the one step NaCI treatment, the growth of control callus and cell suspension
cultures of the five rice cultivars decreased and significant morphological changes
were observed. At 180 mM NaCI treatment , the reduction in callus growth was 29,
36, 42, 32 and 42% while at 70 mM NaCl, reduction in the growth of cell suspension
culture was 38, 53, 58, 41 and 55% in Puteh Perak, Mahsuri, Basmati-370, Nona
Bokra and Khari Gunj a, respectively compared to the control culture without NaCI
(100%). The callus growth was completely retarded at 540 mM NaCI treatment while
in cell suspension it was at 210 mM NaCl. The multiple step NaCl-treated callus and
cell suspension cultures of the five rice cultivars produced higher growth (% dry weight) in the presence of NaCI compared to the control cultures. The callus and cell suspension of the five rice cultivars on high NaCl containing media reached a
maximum growth at range of 10-1 3th passages and 6-9th passages, respectively while
the control cultures proliferated at constant rate. The multiple step NaCl-treated cell
suspension of Basmati:J70 showed stability to NaCI treatment compared to the
control.
MS solid regeneration media containing 3 /-lM lAA and 40 /-lM kinetin was most
suitable for plant regeneration of callus and cell suspension of five rice cultivars. The
plant regeneration capacity of one step NaCl-treated callus and cell suspension
cultures of the five rice cultivars decreased with the increased concentrations of NaCI
in the treatment media. Higher regeneration frequencies were observed from multiple
step NaCl-treated callus of Puteh Perak, Mahsuri and Nona Bokra and cell suspension
cultures of Puteh Perak and Nona Bokra compared to the control while lower
regeneration than the control was obtained in other cultivars. The plant regeneration
capacity of multiple step NaCl-treated and control cultures decreased with the increase
in culture age. However, NaCl-treated cultures maintained higher regeneration
capacity for up to 48 weeks of culture compared to the control.
The growth rate of cell suspension of Basmati-370 increased from day 4 up to
day 1 0 and the activities of ACP, ALP, GS, MDH, NADP-ICDH and SDH were
highest on day 10 while GDH and GOGAT on day 8 and NR on day 6 during the 14
days of culture period. The activities of GDH, GOGAT, NR, ACP, ALP, MDH and
NADP-ICDH extracted from NaCI-treated cell suspension of Basmati-3 70 increased
while GS and SDH activities decreased. The activities of GDH, NR, ALP and MDH
decreased in cell suspension of Puteh Perak but increased in Basmati-370 under
increasing NaCI treatments. The GS and SDH activities increased in the presence of
NaCI of Puteh Perak but decreased in Basmati-370 and the GOGAT, ACP and NADPICDH
increased by NaCI in both cultivars tested. The addition of NaCI (0-200/-lM) to
the assay mixture resulted in increased specific activities of GDH, NR, GOGAT,
ACP, MDH and NADP-ICDH at low concentration but decreased the activities at high
concentrations while the specific activities of GS, ALP and SDH continously
decreased. Changes in selected enzyme activities of cell suspension of rice due to
NaCI indicates that NaCl interferes with nitrogen and phosphorus metabolism.


This review is based upon the foreign health care professionals (FHCP) who go to various developed countries (United Kingdom, United States of America, Australia, Germany and France) from developing countries (India, Pakistan, Africa, Philippines etc) for work to have a better life style, good income, more opportunities, but experienced cultural shock with other types of problem. "Cultural shock" is the mixture of anxiety and feelings of confusion, excitement and insecurity and each person feels it differently. To explore this topic in depth, we divided the topic into separate themes to achieve maximum knowledge that followed by reflection, recommendations and conclusion. FHCP generally feel the unfamiliar environment when they visit to a completely different culture in a foreign country and feel certain problems (familial, professionals, technical etc.) along with cultural shock. Following these findings, we have identified three themes: The first theme will discuss about the cultural shock among FHCP and its impact. The second theme will be a focus on different issues of FHCP about their failure or struggle due to culture shock and third theme which is management challenges in order to establish appropriate culture in organization. For this review, we searched and selected various peer reviewed articles online using search engines and databases including Medline, Scopus, Cinahl and Cochrane and books from the University of Northampton library and peer reviewed journals including International Journal of Intercultural Relations, Human Resources for Health, British Medical Journal and Bulletin of The World Health Organization as well. This review will help to explore different aspects of FHCP such as adjustment with entirely different culture, lack of experience, different lifestyles, face problems being immigrants, and working in a completely different setup with certain rules and regulations.


Muscle diseases are an expanding field, mainly due to the progress in genetics and biochemistry. Evaluation starts with a thorough history of the patient's symptoms and signs. The leading clinical manifestations are weakness, atrophy, myalgia, fatigue, more rarely myotonia and in the child hypotonia or walking difficulty. A detailed family history might give clues to an underlying genetic etiology. Diagnostic workup begins with the measurement of serum creatine kinase. Electroneuromyography is an important investigation procedure which includes motor and sensory nerve conduction studies and concentric needle electromyography. Muscle biopsy is performed in all patients with clinical evidence of myopathy. A fine-needle technique is generally used, more often than a surgical biopsy. Molecular analysis of candidate genes is becoming a major diagnostic tool in many muscle disorders. Muscle imaging, in particular MR, provides diagnostic and follow-up information, especially in dystrophic, metabolic and inflammatory myopathies. Exercise testing can be useful in some metabolic myopathies. There is no standard protocol for the choice and course of investigations which must always be based on a detailed clinical evaluation. It is important to establish a precise diagnosis in order to inform the patient about the nature and the evolution of the disease, the therapeutic options and to propose, when indicated, genetic counseling.


Polyamine metabolism in wheat responding to biotic and abiotic stress was examined. Putrescine, spermidine and spermine concentrations increased in Puccinia graminis f.sp. tritici-infected first leaves of wheat (Triticum aestivum L. cv. Sappo). However, an examination of ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) and arginine decarboxylase (ADC) revealed that, with the exception of day 3 after inoculation, no increase in activity occurred. ADC activity in both healthy and P. graminis-infected plants was very low. On isolation of pustule and inter-pustule regions of infected first leaves, polyamine concentrations were found to be highest in the pustule areas although inter-pustule regions also exhibited increased polyamine concentrations compared with healthy controls. The activity of ODC was higher in both pustule and inter-pustule regions. The effects of infection by P. graminis on polyamine metabolism in second leaves and stems of wheat were variable. Following a brief study of ADC activity in mannitol- treated wheat leaf segments, a detailed examination was made of polyamine metabolism in osmotic and water-stressed wheat plants. In general, the initial studies revealed an increase in ADC activity during osmotic stress. This increase was prevented by the addition of difluoromethylarginine (DFMA) to the incubation mixture. On examination of ADC and ODC activities in whole wheat plants watered with solutions of mannitol, the second leaves exhibited the greatest increase in enzyme activity. Putrescine, spermine and cadaverine concentrations also increased in the second leaves of treated plants. The concentration of polyamines in the first leaves and roots of treated plants varied throughout the experimental period. On examination of the distribution of 14c-mannitol in wheat plants treated with the radioisotope, greatest accumulation was observed in the roots. The first leaves of treated plants, however, contained a higher concentration of 14c-mannitol than the second leaves. Polyamine metabolism in wheat plants water-stressed using polyethylene glycol (PEG) was examined. The activities of ADC and ODC in water-stressed tissue were not significantly different from enzyme activities in control tissues, with the exception of cytosolic ODC activity which decreased in water-stressed roots. The concentrations of putrescine and cadaverine in water-stressed wheat plants were not significantly different when compared with healthy controls. However, reductions in the concentrations of spermidine and spermine in stressed first leaves and spermidine in stressed second leaves were observed, on comparison with control tissue. A detailed examination was made of the growth of the oat-infecting fungus Pyrenophora avenae, grown on solid and liquid media containing the polyamine biosynthesis inhibitors -difluoromethylornithine (DEMO), methyl-glyoxal bis(guanylhydrazone) (MGBG) and ethylmethylglyoxal bis(guanylhydrazone) (EMGBG). All of the compounds inhibited mycelial growth of the fungus. However, MGBG and EMGBG were more effective than DFMO. The addition of exogenous putrescine and spermidine almost completely prevented inhibition of mycelial growth by DFMO, However, no such effect was observed for inhibition by MGBG or EMGBG. In general, the size of the fungal cells was not significantly affected by either the inhibitors or the exogenous polyamines. DFMO and MGBG, alone and in combination, reduced the activity of ODC in P. avenae and, when grown in media containing EMGBG, the fungus showed reduced activity of S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase (SAMDC). DFMO significantly increased SAMDC activity in P. avenae. The concentrations of putrescine and spermidine decreased when P. avenae was grown in media containing DFMO or DFMO/MGBG combined, while MGBG reduced spermidine and spermine concentrations. All of the compounds reduced the concentration of cadaverine, which is a significant component of P. avenae. The respiration rate of the fungus decreased when grown in media containing MGBG, MGBG/carnitine or DFMO/MGBG combined. The effects of DFMO and MGBG on infection of wheat leaves by P. graminis were also examined. A range of concentrations of DFMO and MGBG, alone and in combination, were applied as pre- and post-inoculation treatments. By the end of the experiment, 17 days after inoculation, pre- and post-inoculation application of the inhibitors had substantially reduced P. graminis infection. The addition of putrescine or spermidine to inhibitor sprays substantially reduced the effects of the inhibitors and in some instances increased the infection above that of the controls. Leaf dry weight was usually reduced in plants exposed to pre- and post-inoculation application of inhibitors, with the greatest reductions normally occurring at the higher inhibitor concentrations. This effect was normally reversed by the addition of polyamines to the inhibitor sprays.


In information retrieval, queries can fail to find documents due to mismatch in terminology. Query expansion is a well-known technique addressing this problem, where additional query terms are automatically chosen from highly ranked documents, and it has been shown to be effective at improving query performance. However, current techniques for query expansion use fixed values for key parameters, determined by tuning on test collections. In this paper we show that these parameters may not be generally applicable, and more significantly that the assumption that the same parameter settings can be used for all queries is invalid. Using detailed experiments with two test collections, we demonstrate that new methods for choosing parameters must be found. However, our experiments also demonstrate that there is considerable further scope for improvement to effectiveness through better query expansion.


Sand-textured soils are found in a wide range of landscapes, from dune fields to coastal areas. The quantification of light penetration through these soils, particularly considering possible variations in the presence of water in their pore space, is of considerable interest not only for remote sensing applications, but also for agricultural, ecological and geophysical studies. Despite its relevance, however, the literature on this topic is still scarce. Moreover, the available light penetration (transmittance) datasets for these soils are affected by experimental and modeling limitations. These include, for instance, the use of samples with morphological and mineralogical characteristics markedly different from those of naturally occurring sand-textured soils. In the investigation described in this thesis, we demonstrate the importance of properly accounting for the iron oxide contents and grain (particle) distributions of these soils in applied research initiatives linked to their spectral responses, notably in the 400 to 1000 nm region of the light spectrum. In order to overcome the limitations outlined above and strengthen the current knowledge in this area, we employed a predictive simulation platform supported by measured data. This platform has as its central component a first-principles light transport model for particulate materials whose implementation has been substantially enhanced during this work. Thus, using this platform, we were able to perform controlled in silico experiments on selected representative samples of these soils by systematically varying their water content, their thickness and the angle of light incidence. Our findings provide an original multi-faceted assessment, both in terms of spectral and angular dependencies, of the light transmission profiles of dry and wet sand-textured soils.


Mountain channels can be strongly coupled with adjacent hillslopes, exchanging both mass and energy. However, hypotheses of the underlying cause and effect relations are based on indirect observations that do not resolve the mechanics of channel-hillslope coupling at the process scale. Here we present direct observational data of a coupled channel-hillslope system in the catchment area of the Erlenbach, a mountain stream in Switzerland. A slow-moving landslide flanking this alpine stream failed after a flood had eroded an alluvial step in the channel at its base, representing evidence for an upsystem link in channel-hillslope coupling. Progressive accumulation of landslide debris in the channel resulted in a renewed step, stabilizing the hillslope and restoring the channel step in a downsystem link. Thus, upsystem and downsystem coupling mechanisms are joined in a negative feedback cycle. In this cycle, debuttressing and rebuttressing due to channel bed erosion and alluviation are the dominant controls on hillslope stability. Based on an order of magnitude estimate it is plausible that the observed feedback mechanism is a relevant process in the production of coarse (>2 mm) sediment in the Erlenbach.


For the debate on orality, literacy and memorization, India provides some striking evidence. In his comparative analysis of 'oral aspects of scripture', Graham gives the Hindu tradition a special place, for the 'ancient Vedic tradition represents the paradigmatic instance of scripture as spoken, recited word' (Graham 1987:68). The Vedas, the oldest texts of Hinduism, have been transmitted orally for three thousand years or more, despite the very early implementation of writing, and it is the Vedas as recited from memory by Brahmans that are alone authoritative. A corollary of the spoken word's primacy is that in teaching the Vedas and other texts, although 'written texts have been used', 'a text without a teacher to teach it directly and orally to a pupil is only so many useless leaves or pages' (ibid.: 74).


This paper examines the implication of Multiple Intelligences Theory for learning styles in the EFL classroom. The multiple intelligence profiles of students and teachers at two secondary schools were obtained in order to determine their strengths and weaknesses in the different intelligences. In addition, the teachers' and learner's preferences for EFL activities catering for the intelligences were defined. Furthermore, the frequency of use of the EFL activities was examined in order to determine how the various intelligences were actually addressed in the teaching and learning processes. The research was conducted in Rijeka, Croatia, thus providing insights into a specific cultural context. Results showed the need for raising both the teachers' and learners' awareness of the existence of Multiple Intelligences learning styles, and of the farreaching implications for the teaching and learning of English as a foreign language.


Background. One of the many controversies surrounding chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is the possible impact of the diagnostic label: is it disabling or enabling? In this paper, we discuss the pros and cons of labelling CFS. Method. A narrative synthesis of the literature. Results. Diagnosed CFS patients have a worse prognosis than fatigue syndrome patients without such a label. The ways in which CFS patients perceive themselves, label their symptoms and appraise stressors may perpetuate or exacerbate their symptoms, a process that involves psychological, psychosocial and cultural factors. Labels can also lead to conflicts with doctors who fear diagnosis might lead to worse outcomes. However, on the other hand, finding a label that fits one's condition can provide meaning, emotional relief and recognition, whilst the denial of the diagnosis of CFS in those who have already reached their own conclusion can be very counter productive. The act of diagnosis therefore seems to be a trade-off between empowerment, illness validation and group support, contrasted with the risk of diagnosis as self-fulfilling prophecy of non-recovery. Conclusions. The answer to the question of 'to label or not to label' may turn out to depend not on the label, but on what that label implies. It is acceptable and often beneficial to make diagnoses such as CFS, provided that this is the beginning, and not the end, of the therapeutic encounter.


In view of various biological activities of benzoxazoles, thiadiazoles and oxadiazole derivatives, it was our interest to prepare benzoxazole derivatives involving 1,3,4-thiadiazole and 1,3,4- oxadiazole nucleus and evaluate them for antifungal and anti-inflammatory activity using carrageenan induced rat paw edema model. The structures of all the synthesized compounds were characterized by IR, 1H-NMR and MASS spectral data. All the synthesized compounds were screened for antifungal and anti-inflammatory activity. Among all the active compounds thiadiazole and oxadiazole derivatives showed good activity.


Abstract. The Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Expedition 337 was the first expedition dedicated to subseafloor microbiology that used riser-drilling technology with the drilling vessel Chikyu. The drilling Site C0020 is located in a forearc basin formed by the subduction of the Pacific Plate off the Shimokita Peninsula, Japan, at a water depth of 1180 m. Primary scientific objectives during Expedition 337 were to study the relationship between the deep microbial biosphere and a series of  ∼  2 km deep subseafloor coalbeds and to explore the limits of life in the deepest horizons ever probed by scientific ocean drilling. To address these scientific objectives, we penetrated a 2.466 km deep sedimentary sequence with a series of lignite layers buried around 2 km below the seafloor. The cored sediments, as well as cuttings and logging data, showed a record of dynamically changing depositional environments in the former forearc basin off the Shimokita Peninsula during the late Oligocene and Miocene, ranging from warm-temperate coastal backswamps to a cool water continental shelf. The occurrence of small microbial populations and their methanogenic activity were confirmed down to the bottom of the hole by microbiological and biogeochemical analyses. The factors controlling the size and viability of ultra-deep microbial communities in those warm sedimentary habitats could be the increase in demand of energy and water expended on the enzymatic repair of biomolecules as a function of the burial depth. Expedition 337 provided a test ground for the use of riser-drilling technology to address geobiological and biogeochemical objectives and was therefore a crucial step toward the next phase of deep scientific ocean drilling.


Uptake and metabolism of propanil were measured in both susceptible (S) and resistant (R) biotypes of Jungle-rice, Echinochloa colona (L.) link at different growth stages. Results showed that there was no significant difference in uptake between S and R biotypes of E. colona at any given growth stage, but that uptake was significantly reduced at older plant growth stages in all biotypes studied. Metabolism of propanil was more rapid in R biotypes than in S biotypes at all growth stages studied. Specific and total aryl acylamidase activity, responsible for the first stage of propanil metabolism, was higher in R biotypes than in S at all growth stages, but declined to about 50% of the maximum at older growth stages, confirming the importance of this enzyme in conferring resistance to this herbicide. The area of necrosis that developed around a single drop of propanil deposited on the adaxial leaf surface was used to assess the degree of propanil resistance; it was found that resistance increased at older E. colona growth stages in contrast to the rate of propanil metabolism and amidase activity. Treatment of leaves with the amidase inhibitors, carbaryl or piperophos, simultaneously with propanil, caused a decrease in resistance at growth stages where amidase activity was greatest. This treatment was less effective at older growth stages. These results show that, in E. colona, propanil metabolism is important for conferring resistance in younger plants (four-six-leaf stage). It is suggested that restricted uptake confers resistance in older plants


Differentiable sorting algorithms allow training with sorting and ranking supervision, where only the ordering or ranking of samples is known. Various methods have been proposed to address this challenge, ranging from optimal transport-based differentiable Sinkhorn sorting algorithms to making classic sorting networks differentiable. One problem of current differentiable sorting methods is that they are non-monotonic. To address this issue, we propose a novel relaxation of conditional swap operations that guarantees monotonicity in differentiable sorting networks. We introduce a family of sigmoid functions and prove that they produce differentiable sorting networks that are monotonic. Monotonicity ensures that the gradients always have the correct sign, which is an advantage in gradient-based optimization. We demonstrate that monotonic differentiable sorting networks improve upon previous differentiable sorting methods.


In this dissertation I explore some recent philosophical attempts to address questions related to global justice and world politics, principally through the work of Amartya Sen and Thomas Pogge. My discussion focuses on some central intractable puzzles, and I argue that global justice is best seen as a predicament – an unanswerable, impossible question which cannot be readily dismissed, but also as a topic of deliberation and contestation which, once predicated, requires a depth and seriousness of response which confounds conventional disciplinary and conversational boundaries.

The disciplinary decorum of liberal political philosophy minimises attention to the historical context of the theorist, along with evidence and interpretive argument about history and social theory. Writers such as Pogge and Sen have pushed against those constraints, attempting to develop more empirically informed and practically oriented accounts. However, I argue that they have underestimated the need for a deeper engagement with history, and for a more radical challenge to implicit understandings of the character of the world. Without a more robust engagement with the power-infused politics of the real world, the abstraction of political philosophy will continue to produce accounts which are inadequate to the dimensions of domination, the character of human suffering, and the dynamic and strategic character of normative argument.

To counteract the bias towards conciliation and public reason in recent liberal political philosophy, I emphasise a history of deeply connected reciprocal engagement, cooperation, and struggle. This orientation allows a better sense of the power and persistence of the rhetoric of justice, and particularly its capacity to motivate social and political movements of resistance to domination. Liberal humanitarianism unduly privileges the beneficiaries of past injustice. A perspective of rough justice is needed – attuned to the dialectic between facticity and evaluative aspiration which the concept of justice has long embodied, and recognising claims to rough equality, fair treatment, and reparation – on the basis of a broadly connected, deeply reciprocal, and deeply conflictual history.


Abstract This paper examines the importance of senior management commitment to successful implementation of TQM initiatives. Subsumed under the general heading of senior management commitment will be the issues of employee commitment and, in consequence, the TQM success. The interrelationship between CEO commitment, employee commitment and effectiveness of TQM programmes is usually a very close and linear one, not least because, if a TQM organization wishes to improve and achieve success it has no choice but to be committed fully from top to shop floor. As commitment of senior management and employees are not substitutable, it is difficult to study either issue in isolation. The paper opens with an attempt to offer a clear explanation of TQM practices, and goes on from this to outline the importance of a highly-committed CEO and his or her senior management team as a test of whether an organization considers TQM initiatives as a managerial panacea towards competitive advantage or just another management fad. The implications of management commitment for employee motivation and wider aspects of TQM success are discussed. The paper then examines the evidence that 'mobility of management' – Deming's fourth deadly disease – has a negative effect at both aggregate and company levels, and instances the ways in which world-class organizations utilize senior management commitment to act as a spur to the adoption and successful implementation of TQM programmes. The changes in CEOs or other top executives that have recently taken place are surveyed, and it is argued that the evidence indicates the centrality of 'mobility of senior management' to TQM failure. Following on from this, some potential problem areas in terms of current causes of low commitment of senior management and why CEO commitment dropped off so dramatically, are discussed, followed by a number of general organizational factors adduced to explain these barriers to TQM success. The paper concludes with some brief remarks about prospects for the highly-committed senior management of TQM organizations, and the need for further empirical research on the factors that impedes transition to a stable total quality (TQ) environment.


Studies investigated the effects of benzo(a)pyrene (BP) treatment on epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor binding and kinase activity in human placental cell cultures. Specific binding of 125I-EGF to cells from early gestation placentae was significantly decreased by 37 and 60% following exposure to 1 and 10 microM BP, respectively, for 24 hr. In contrast, cells cultured from term placentae showed no inhibitory effect of either concentration of BP. Specific binding of 125I-labeled insulin and insulin-like growth factors-I and -II to early gestation cells was decreased only 15-18% at 10 microM BP, which indicates that loss of membrane receptors appears to be selective for EGF. Scatchard analysis of early gestation cells revealed that BP was associated with a dose-dependent loss in the number of high affinity EGF binding sites. Evidence from cross-linking and autophosphorylation experiments confirmed that the Mr 170,000 binding protein was decreased in a dose-dependent manner following BP treatment. In comparison, term placental cells exhibit a 26% loss of EGF receptor autophosphorylation without alteration in binding following exposure to 10 microM BP. Thus, early gestation cells exhibit a BP-related down-regulation of EGF receptors, whereas term placental cells show receptor desensitization. No adverse effect of BP treatment was observed on the incorporation of [35S] methionine into proteins secreted by early gestation cells. Further experiments compared the effects of BP with the related poly-cyclic compounds beta-naphthoflavone, alpha-naphthoflavone, and 3-methylcholanthrene. In early gestation cells, EGF binding and receptor autophosphorylation were measurably decreased at 10 microM concentrations of these polycyclic compounds, but to a lesser extent than observed with BP. In term placental cells, however, EGF binding was unchanged or increased, whereas receptor autophosphorylation was decreased 10-26%. Thus, exposure of term placental cells to these polycyclic compounds leads to a dissociation between EGF binding and receptor protein kinase activity. Finally, aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase activity was induced 20- to 200-fold in early placental cells exposed to BP, beta-naphthoflavone, and 3-methylcholanthrene. In summary, the direct effects of BP and related compounds observed on placental EGF receptors may indicate altered function of EGF in the regulation of cell growth and differentiation in the human placenta.


This paper presents an energy-efficient packet inter- face architecture and a power management technique for gigabit Ethernet controllers, where low-latency and high-bandwidth are required to meet the pressing demands of very high frame-rate data. More specifically, a predictive-flow-queue (PFQ)-based packet interface architecture is presented, which adjusts the operating frequency of different functional blocks at a fine granu- larity so as to minimize the total system energy dissipation while attaining performance goals. A key feature of the proposed archi- tecture is the implementation of a runtime workload prediction method for the network traffic along with a continuous frequency adjustment mechanism, which enables one to eliminate the latency and energy penalties associated with discrete power mode tran- sitions. Furthermore, a stochastic modeling framework based on Markovian decision processes and queuing models is employed, which make it possible to adopt a precise mathematical program- ming formulation for the energy optimization under performance constraints. Experimental results with a designed 65-nm Gb Ethernet controller show that the proposed interface architecture and continuous frequency scaling result in system-wide energy savings while meeting performance specifications.


In order to identify the sources of the observed diffuse high-energy neutrino flux, it is crucial to discover their electromagnetic counterparts. To increase the sensitivity of detecting counterparts of transient or variable sources by telescopes with a limited field of view, IceCube began releasing alerts for single high-energy (Eν >  60 TeV) neutrino detections with sky localisation regions of order 1° radius in 2016. We used Pan-STARRS1 to follow-up five of these alerts during 2016–2017 to search for any optical transients that may be related to the neutrinos. Typically 10–20 faint (miP1 ≲ 22.5 mag) extragalactic transients are found within the Pan-STARRS1 footprints and are generally consistent with being unrelated field supernovae (SNe) and AGN. We looked for unusual properties of the detected transients, such as temporal coincidence of explosion epoch with the IceCube timestamp, or other peculiar light curve and physical properties. We found only one transient that had properties worthy of a specific follow-up. In the Pan-STARRS1 imaging for IceCube-160427A (probability to be of astrophysical origin of ∼50%), we found a SN PS16cgx, located at 10.0′ from the nominal IceCube direction. Spectroscopic observations of PS16cgx showed that it was an H-poor SN at redshiftz = 0.2895 ± 0.0001. The spectra and light curve resemble some high-energy Type Ic SNe, raising the possibility of a jet driven SN with an explosion epoch temporally coincident with the neutrino detection. However, distinguishing Type Ia and Type Ic SNe at this redshift is notoriously difficult. Based on all available data we conclude that the transient is more likely to be a Type Ia with relatively weak Si IIabsorption and a fairly normal rest-framer-band light curve. If, as predicted, there is no high-energy neutrino emission from Type Ia SNe, then PS16cgx must be a random coincidence, and unrelated to the IceCube-160427A. We find no other plausible optical transient for any of the five IceCube events observed down to a 5σlimiting magnitude ofmiP1 ≈ 22 mag, between 1 day and 25 days after detection.


AFTER ALMOST three decades of school reform, student achievement nationally is about where it was when we started, and student behavior has declined dramatically. Numbers of dropouts, especially in our cities and among the poor and minorities, have gotten much higher. Yet we have spent many billions of dollars; countless professionals have carried out extensive amounts of work; public officials have spawned endless legislation, regulations, and mandates; and everyone has exhibited no end of good intentions. Maybe it's time for something different. W. Edwards Deming pointed out years ago that persistent problems in organizations stem not from workers but from the system: the structure of the work; systemic practices, policies, and methods; and conventional thinking.(1) The success of Toyota is an outstanding example of how Deming's methods can build a company of excellence that dominates its market. When I was a young teacher, I lived in New Jersey and worked in the Bronx. Each morning I would drive to the George Washington Bridge and cross the Hudson River. If all went well (no breakdowns, accidents, bad weather), my delay at the bridge usually ran about 30 minutes. In the evening, I retraced my route and spent more time waiting. As I sat in my car, wasting gas and polluting the air, I frequently cursed the toll takers (blaming the workers). In retrospect, I understand that they could not have improved traffic flow more than a smidgen even if every toll taker operated at 100% efficiency all the time. Since those days, however, there has been a dramatic improvement in the flow of traffic across the bridge. What has made the difference? The structure of work at the bridge had remained essentially the same for over 50 years. Then one day, someone reconsidered the whole system of toll taking and made a startling observation. If tolls were eliminated on one side of the bridge and doubled on the other, the same amount of revenue would be collected overall, and delays would be cut by more than 50%, since extra toll takers would be transferred to places on the collection side. The change was put into place and delays were significantly reduced; the same amount of revenue was collected; toll-taker productivity increased dramatically; resource use was perhaps even a little less. If we generalized and did the same thing at all the bridges and tunnels up and down the Hudson, or in all parts of New York State, or all across the United States, we could reduce driver stress and related medical and emotional problems (thereby decreasing health care costs), lessen air pollution, and reduce gasoline consumption. We might even reduce the divorce rate by creating many more peaceful and enjoyable dinners for commuters. Happier drivers. Happier toll takers. Happier families. This change was actually the second continuous systemic improvement. The first had been the advent of exact-change lanes. This change had also resulted in collection of the same amount of revenue while using fewer resources. Having made such a simple systemic improvement, the leaders at the bridges and tunnels did not stop. They continued to try to improve the system and, indeed, committed to continuous self-improvement. How did they know what to improve? They also committed to continuous self-assessment of the system to find out. Everyone involved with the system--not just those at higher levels of the bureaucratic hierarchy--is welcome to suggest ways to improve it. Following Deming's principle of continuous improvement, subsequent changes were made. First was the Easy Pass system, a radio tag that allowed drivers to pass a toll booth without stopping and which again required fewer resources while increasing productivity. …


This paper presents results of the measured and predicted response of a bridge pier model-structure which is constructed at the Volvi-Greece European Test Site for Earthquake Engineering. Despite the disadvantage of being unable to produce significant in-situ levels of ground motion, when desired, as can be generated by an earthquake simulator, this is in part compensated at the Test Site by the realistic foundations conditions, which are present for model structures that are built there and are supported on the soft soil deposits in-situ. The current extension of the in-situ facility includes the possibility of subjecting the model structures to low to medium intensity man-made dynamic excitations. At this point in time the model structures that are built at the test site include: a) A 6-story Reinforced Concrete building with masonry infills; b) A single bridge pier specimen built for the purposes of the currently running Euro-Risk program, which is supported by the European Union. The variation of the fundamental dynamic characteristics of the 6-story 1/3 3-D frame model structure was measured over a period of ten years. Masonry infills were added to this model structure at a certain period of its life span. So far, only one earthquake of moderate intensity has subjected the 6-story model structure to seismic loads and excited the permanent instrumentation system. The current sequence of experiments includes man-made dynamic excitations for both the 6-story structure and the single bridge pier model. The main objective of the recent tests, which are partially presented in this paper and involve the bridge pier model, is to include influences on the dynamic structural response arising from the flexible foundation support conditions.


Beverages in aluminium cans are widely available, and for convenience, drinks are often consumed directly from the can. Cans are exposed to various environments during production, storage and shipping during which the lid may be contaminated with microorganisms. This study on can lid contamination was divided into three experiments to determine (1) the cleanliness of randomly collected cans, (2) the transfer rate from hands to can lids and (3) the survival of bacteria on lids during storage. Over 190 cans were tested for presence of ATP using a standard luciferase enzyme kit. Of the 194 randomly selected cans, 90 (46.39%) were in the dangerous unsanitary category, 60 (30.93%) were considered cautionary as far as sanitation while 44 (22.68%) were categorized as clean. In the second experiment, subjects handled and opened cans with hands inoculated with E. coli and greater than 50% transfer to wet cans lids and greater than 30% transfer to dry can lids was found. In the third experiment, inoculated can lids were found to harbor E. coli for up to 14 days.


Sexual minority men are at increased risk for sexual victimization at all ages compared to heterosexual men; yet, most research on victimization focuses on the experiences of heterosexual women. This study compares the rates of multiple forms of interpersonal violence (violence perpetrated by another person) in a sample of sexual minority status college men and heterosexual men on campus. Participants (n = 53 sexual minority men, n = 364 heterosexual) completed an anonymous web survey containing measures of childhood abuse, adolescent/adult sexual victimization, adolescent/adult sexual aggression, intimate partner victimization and aggression, rape empathy, PTSD symptoms, and social desirability. ANCOVAs, covarying for demographic characteristics and social desirability, revealed that sexual minority men were more likely to experience the most severe forms of adolescent/adult sexual victimization as well as childhood emotional abuse. There were no differences in rates of sexual aggression or intimate partner violence. Sexual minority men who experienced sexual assault were more likely to report being assaulted by other men than were heterosexual men. Regarding self-reported sexual aggression, we found no differences in rates of sexual aggression. Sexual minority men had higher levels of rape empathy and rape acknowledgment than heterosexual men. Our results indicate sexual minority men are at higher risk than heterosexual men for the most severe forms of sexual victimization and experience different psychological consequences of sexual victimization indicating there may be a need for specialized intervention services.


High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) is the next generation video compression standard currently under development within the ITU-T/ISO sponsored Joint Collaborative Team on Video Coding (JCT-VC). The standardization, and eventual adoption, of HEVC will contribute significantly to the future development of many consumer devices. Areas such as broadcast television, multimedia streaming, mobile communications and multimedia/video content storage will all be impacted by implementation of the emerging HEVC standard. Up to this point in time the research focus of HEVC has been on improvements to video compression efficiency and little work has been conducted into streaming of HEVC. In this work we consider the practical barriers to HEVC streaming in realistic environments and propose HEVStream, a streaming and evaluation framework for HEVC encoded content. Our framework fills the current gap in enabling networked HEVC visual applications and permits the implementation, testing and evaluation of HEVC encoded video streaming under a range of packet loss, bandwidth restriction and network delay scenarios in a realistic testbed environment. We provide a basic error concealment method for HEVC to overcome limitations within the decoder and an RTP packetisation format for HEVC Network Abstraction Layer (NAL) units. Comprehensive results of HEVC streaming experiments under various network circumstances are reported. These results provide an insight into the reduction in picture quality, measured as peak signal to noise ratio (PSNR), that can be expected under a wide range of network constraint and packet loss conditions. We report an average loss of 3.61dB when a bandwidth reduction of 10% is applied. We believe that this work will be amongst the first to report on successful design and implementation of HEVC network applications, and evaluation of the effects of network constraints or limitations on the quality of HEVC encoded video streams.


It is an interactive experience in which you will find recipes for living your life more authentically, as well as master time-honored lessons that you can bring to your coaching clients. Regardless of the personal coaching techniques or skills you may have learned, you may still not be the most effective coach you can become. This book will help you move closer to that goal. Life coaching is more than a collection of techniques and skills. It is more than something you do. Life coaching reflects who you are-it is your authentic being in action.Readers of Pat Williams's and Deborah Davis's book, Therapist as Life Coach, know Pat to be a gifted life coach and passionate teacher. Here Pat and colleague and writer, Lloyd J. Thomas, build on this earlier book and share a unique insight into the coaching process, which shows you precisely how to enhance your professional practices through practical and effective life coaching. It also empowers you to change your own lives through use of the practical information and philosophy presented here. Total Life Coaching is organized into a series of 50 life lessons, and is designed to be either read cover-to-cover or dipped into, as needed, for assistance when conducting a coaching session. Keeping life's processes on the "message and lesson" level makes living and life coaching much easier and more enjoyable. Total Life Coaching guides you step-by-step through the complex process of learning and coaching these fifty important lessons. The lessons are organized into 8 sections: Creating a Personal Identity; Coaching Spirituality and Life Purpose; Coaching Communication Skills; Living Life with Integrity; Success: Clients Achieving their Potential; Coaching Cognitive Skills; Creating High-Quality Relationships; Understanding Your Past to Create a Desired Future.Each lesson is presented as a structured recipe and includes: * The life lesson * The messages contained within the lesson * Coaching objectives for your clients regarding the lesson * What you need to know about the lesson to provide the framework for coaching it * Coaching methods, exercises, questions, and language for bringing each lesson to your clients * Sample coaching conversations that exemplify the coach-client dialogue for the coaching of the lesson.


Post-Normal Science is a total management conception of the complex science-related issues. By an inclusion of large-scale complex systems as models of our modern society, it is able to provide a coherent framework for an extended participation in decision-making and/or assessing possible solutions and alternatives for complex public issues, based on the new technology of global sensitivity analysis. Global sensitivity analysis is a means of quality control of generic models and is useful in the assessment of public policies. Global sensitivity analysis provides a new technical tool for Post-Normal Science. Keywords– Post-Normal Science, global sensitivity analysis, large-scale complex systems


Abstract SE Asia comprises a collage of Gondwana-derived continental blocks assembled by the closure of multiple Tethyan and back-arc ocean basins now represented by suture zones. Two major biogeographical boundaries, the Late Palaeozoic Gondwana–Cathaysia divide and the Cenozoic-Recent Australia–Asia divide (Wallace Line) are present. Palaeozoic and Mesozoic evolution involved the rifting and separation of three collages of continental terranes from eastern Gondwana and the opening and closure of three successive ocean basins, the Palaeo-Tethys (Devonian–Triassic), Meso-Tethys (Permian–Cretaceous) and Ceno-Tethys (Late Triassic–Cenozoic). This led to the opening and closing of ocean gateways and provision of shallow-marine and terrestrial land bridges and stepping-stones for biotic migration. The SE Asia core (Sundaland) comprises a western Sibumasu block, an eastern Indochina–East Malaya block, and the Sukhothai Island Arc terrane between. The Jinghong, Nan-Uttaradit and Sra Kaeo sutures represent the Sukhothai closed back-arc basin. The Palaeo-Tethys is represented by the Changning-Menglian, Chiang Mai/Inthanon and Bentong-Raub suture zones. The West Sumatra and West Burma blocks were accreted to the Sundaland core in the Late Permian–Early Triassic. SW Borneo and/or East Java–West Sulawesi are now identified as the missing 'Argoland' that separated from NW Australia in the Jurassic and accreted to SE Sundaland in the Cretaceous.


The research is conducted as an empirical study which explains how environmental disclosure varies across European countries and reflects factors that explain this variation at the European Union level. The paper identifies and analyze five factors that explain the varies of environmental disclosure across European Union Countries: strength of auditing and accounting standards, government mandated disclosure of environmental performance and pollutant release, development, number of companies which had implemented ISO 14001/EMAS, eco-label awards obtained by companies within the country, environmental performance. After the empirical and theoretical analyze we can conclude that the introduction of mandatory environmental disclosure is the most efficient way to increase the quantity and the quality of environmental disclosure at the European Union level. This study is not a research of some particular entities regarding environmental disclosure. The paper discusses environmental disclosure as an average of all the environmental disclosure of all the entities within a European Union country. The paper is of interest to anyone involved in the process of environmental disclosure, either as entity or other user of environmental information's.


Metallic dampers can enhance structural performance by reducing seismically induced lateral displacements, and by reducing inelastic behavior of beams and columns. Limiting story drift also indirectly allows for mitigation of damage to nonstructural components that are sensitive to lateral deformations. However many nonstructural elements and components are vulnerable to excessive accelerations. Therefore, in order to protect these components, floor accelerations in buildings should be kept below certain limits. In this perspective, this paper investigates the seismic performance of single-degree-of-freedom (SDOF) systems with metallic and viscous dampers installed in parallel, to determine the effectiveness or appropriateness of using metallic dampers to mitigate lateral displacements, simultaneously with viscous dampers to reduce acceleration demands. Parametric analyses investigate the effectiveness of adding various levels of viscous damping on the equivalent hysteretic damping and on the spectral floor acceleration for short, intermediate, and long period structures.


The proton exchange membrane fuel cell, with its advantages of high power density, low pollution, low noise and high efficiency, has attracted much attention and is a very promising internal combustion engine. So far, several countries or regions successfully developed fuel cell locomotives. However, the fuel cell is not market-oriented or wide range of application. Fuel cells and locomotive maintenance system has just started. Its poor reliability and short service life problems have been hindering the widespread use of proton exchange membrane fuel cells. Health management is an effective solution to ensure the safe operation of fuel cell. Many serious faults can be effectively avoided by preliminary health assessment and prediction. Based on the research results of experts from home and abroad, this paper has made some further research. In this paper, BP network algorithm for establishing the relationship between the respective input signal and the output voltage, and a voltage is proposed to balance the fuel cell as an indicator of health management strategies. In this paper, a new way of strategy is put forward for the health maintenance and life extension of the proton exchange membrane fuel cell for locomotive.


How serious are the threats to our environment? Here is one measure of the problem: if we continue to do exactly what we are doing, with no growth in the human population or the world economy, the world in the latter part of this century will be unfit to live in. Of course human activities are not holding at current levels--they are accelerating, dramatically--and so, too, is the pace of climate disruption, biotic impoverishment, and toxification. In this book Gus Speth, author of Red Sky at Morning and a widely respected environmentalist, begins with the observation that the environmental community has grown in strength and sophistication, but the environment has continued to decline, to the point that we are now at the edge of catastrophe. Speth contends that this situation is a severe indictment of the economic and political system we call modern capitalism. Our vital task is now to change the operating instructions for today's destructive world economy before it is too late. The book is about how to do that.


Abstract. Aerosols and their precursors are emitted abundantly by transport activities. Transportation constitutes one of the fastest growing activities and its growth is predicted to increase significantly in the future. Previous studies have estimated the aerosol direct radiative forcing from one transport sub-sector, but only one study to our knowledge estimated the range of radiative forcing from the main aerosol components (sulphate, black carbon (BC) and organic carbon) for the whole transportation sector. In this study, we compare results from two different chemical transport models and three radiation codes under different hypothesis of mixing: internal and external mixing using emission inventories for the year 2000. The main results from this study consist of a positive direct radiative forcing for aerosols emitted by road traffic of +20±11 mW m−2 for an externally mixed aerosol, and of +32±13 mW m−2 when BC is internally mixed. These direct radiative forcings are much higher than the previously published estimate of +3±11 mW m−2. For transport activities from shipping, the net direct aerosol radiative forcing is negative. This forcing is dominated by the contribution of the sulphate. For both an external and an internal mixture, the radiative forcing from shipping is estimated at −26±4 mW m−2. These estimates are in very good agreement with the range of a previously published one (from −46 to −13 mW m−2) but with a much narrower range. By contrast, the direct aerosol forcing from aviation is estimated to be small, and in the range −0.9 to +0.3 mW m−2.


Movements for life reform, natural healing, and health foods have persisted in Sweden since the last decades of the 19th century. Stressing the importance of less alcohol and other drugs, a proper diet, and the use of natural healing methods, they have displayed conflicts concerning individual rights to decide in matters concerning one's own body and health in relation to a conventional medicine and state demands. Swedish movements for natural healing and health foods have developed under influence from leading figures and movements in Sweden, Germany, Switzerland, North America, and England. In 1900, the Swiss physician Maximilian Bircher-Benner (1867-1939) launched his theory of "sunlight food", meaning that uncooked vegetables and fruits were containing the most energy, whereas meat was radically less nourishing. His theories were contrary to contemporary medical and bourgeois culture considering meat as the optimum food, at least for real men. He became an outsider in medicine until the discovery of vitamins in the 1920s lent him some support. His clinic "Lebendige Kraft" in Zurich received well-to-do clients from all over the world; these were treated with different physical methods, raw vegetarian food, and proper routines for day and night. Stressing the importance of raw vegetarian food, Bircher-Benner influenced vegetarians and food reformers in Sweden during the 20th century. In the 1930s, especially women with connections to the Swedish vegetarian association, founded in 1903, recommended his philosophy of food and natural healing. Menus copied from his books were used in health resorts, vegetarian pensions, and restaurants. But during the decades around World War II, Are Waerland dominated the Swedish health-food scene, demanding adherence to his very restrictive health food programme. The post-war health movements drew on both Waerland and Bircher-Benner in their food recommendations. This article proposes factors facilitating or counteracting a broader acceptance of Bircher-Benner's ideas in Sweden. Health resorts and strong lay traditions in the health care field have maintained a tradition of non-invasive and non-pharmacological healing methods. A strained relationship between medical doctors and lay vegetarian spokesmen have made a more serious discussion of the topic difficult. Political associations tied to natural healing in Germany during the 1930s have affected the debate and have probably also restrained a broader acceptance of these ideas. Today, scientific studies have resulted in official nourishment recommendations similar to a previously launched "health food".


China's maritime periphery or ''near seas''—the Yellow Sea, the East China Sea, and the South China Sea—are waters through which a great deal of vital commerce flows, as China, Japan, Korea, and numerous Southeast Asian countries are all major trading nations that import the energy and raw materials that sustain their thriving economies. Since 2009 the East and South China Seas have become increasingly fraught with tension. This has generally been attributed to rising Chinese assertiveness, but not because China has started making a lot of assertions it never made before. As the authors assembled here point out in replete detail, China's explicit claims to the Diaoyu/Senkaku islets in the East China Sea date back at least to 1971, while it can trace its claim in the South China Sea back to the publication of the famous ''nine-dashed line'' map by the Nationalists in 1947 (at the time it contained eleven segmented lines; the victorious Communists subsequently dropped two). What has changed since 2009 is China's more rigorous enforcement of existing claims. This too is brought out in the articles collected below: its actors have seized islands well within the exclusive economic zones (EEZs) of neighboring Southeast Asian nations, detained fishing boats and confiscated their catch, cut the cables of ships engaged in oil exploration, harassed American surveillance vessels, and most recently undertaken ''reclamation'' of subsurface islets in order to construct airstrips and harbors.


Treatise on Geophysics, Second Edition, is a comprehensive and in-depth study of the physics of the Earth beyond what any geophysics text has provided previously. Thoroughly revised and updated, it provides fundamental and state-of-the-art discussion of all aspects of geophysics. A highlight of the second edition is a new volume on Near Surface Geophysics that discusses the role of geophysics in the exploitation and conservation of natural resources and the assessment of degradation of natural systems by pollution. Additional features include new material in the Planets and Moon, Mantle Dynamics, Core Dynamics, Crustal and Lithosphere Dynamics, Evolution of the Earth, and Geodesy volumes. New material is also presented on the uses of Earth gravity measurements. This title is essential for professionals, researchers, professors, and advanced undergraduate and graduate students in the fields of Geophysics and Earth system science.

Comprehensive and detailed coverage of all aspects of geophysics
Fundamental and state-of-the-art discussions of all research topics
Integration of topics into a coherent whole


The overall morphology and dynamics of magnetospheric substorms is well established in terms of the observed qualitative auroral features seen in ground‐based magnetometers. This paper focuses on the quantitative characterization of substorm dynamics captured by ground‐based magnetometer stations. We present the first analysis of substorms using dynamical networks obtained from the full available set of ground‐based magnetometer observations in the Northern Hemisphere. The stations are connected in the network when the correlation between the vector magnetometer time series from pairs of stations within a running time window exceeds a threshold. Dimensionless parameters can then be obtained that characterize the network and by extension, the spatiotemporal dynamics of the substorm under observation. We analyze four isolated substorm test cases as well as a steady magnetic convection (SMC) event and a day in which no substorms occur. These test case substorms are found to give a consistent characteristic network response at onset in terms of their spatial correlation. Such responses are differentiable from responses to the SMC event and nonsubstorm times. We present a method to optimize network parametrization with respect to the different individual station responses, the spatial inhomogeneity of stations in the Northern Hemisphere, and the choice of correlation window sizes. Our results suggest that dynamical network analysis has potential to quantitatively categorize substorms.


Russian 8th graders score relatively high on the TIMSS mathematics test. But they perform poorly on the PISA mathematics test compared to students in Eastern and Central European countries that traditionally taught a math curriculum similar to Russia's. In this paper, we push beneath the surface of this puzzle by focusing on how students from higher and lower social class background in Russia performed over a decade on the PISA and TIMSS tests compared to students of similar social class background in Eastern European countries and in some much higher income neighbors in Western Europe. We also compare Russian students in Russia with those in Russian language schools in Latvia. We conclude that the Russian PISA "problem" is located mainly in the relatively low performance of higher social class students and may be more related to the Russian math curriculum or the test itself than students' math knowledge.


Extracted from text ... IMIESA SEPTEMBER 2005 - 43
MATERIAL
A new material for SA?
by Nicholas McDiarmid
The use of ductile cast iron pipes is steadily increasing throughout Africa, but various local groups in
the piping industry still see it as an underused option in
the supply of bulk water and distribution networks, where
the bias remains with steel products. They promote ductile cast iron pipes as an advantageous alternative that may highly appropriate in
the South African context.
What is cast iron?
Cast iron is made by adding larger amounts of carbon to molten iron than ..


The paper describes a project at the School of Nursing at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban South Africa to increase access to university based education through the use of videoconference specialist education for nurses in rural areas of KwaZulu-Natal. Objectives: To evaluate the perceptions of lecturers and participants on the use of video-conferencing for nurse education. Methodology: Two surveys were conducted: a perceptions survey with lecturers of the School of Nursing and an initial and second survey with participants of a pilot advanced midwifery education programme conducted by video-conferencing. Results: Both participants and lecturers had very little prior experience of video-conferencing, but felt that it would increase access for rural nurses to high quality specialist education. Concerns were mainly about technical issues in running and conducting the sessions and the application of progressive education strategies using this technology Conclusion: Videoconferenced academic specialist nursing programs would provide technology enhanced learning for remote nurses in KwaZulu-Natal, but for optimal use, the presenters need to be trained in the use of VC.


In the modern world, lithium-ion batteries are widely used in electronic devices, such as smartphones, laptops, and electric cars. However, they are highly unstable during charging and their capacity drops significantly over time, despite that they are highly efficient and easy to use. Therefore, it is imperative to develop more efficient batteries. Polyolefin-based lithium-ion battery separators are limited by their weak thermal stability. In order to overcome such limitations, we developed a ceramic coated and nonwoven materials based composite separator. We hypothesized that the method used to develop the separator will have improved thermal and electrochemical properties because of superior air permeability and electrolyte uptake. This separator was manufactured by utilizing the Dip-coating method, whereby ceramic layers composed of Al2O3 nanoparticles and Polyvinylidene fluoride-hexafluoropropylene (PVDF-HFP) were coated to both sides of a Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) support which was fabricated by electrospinning. The ventilation map and electrolyte uptake demonstrated that the composite non-woven separator had superior electrolyte uptake properties when compared to conventional PE separators. This resulted in excellent electrochemical properties - especially a great increase in high-rate discharge characteristics. Finally, thermal shrinkage was improved compared to conventional PE separators indicating greater thermal stability. Overall, our PVA separator displayed superior thermal and electrochemical properties. By gaining knowledge on improving heat and thermochemical properties, we can gain critical insight on future lithium-ion battery designs that have to work in extreme conditions.


Malaria parasite endemicity and development have been associated with ascorbic acid availability and the activity of G-6-PD. There is no record of studies that relate the two parameters in malaria subjects. Plasma ascorbic acid levels and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G-6-PD) activity in symptomatic malaria, asymptomatic malaria and malaria negative subjects in Calabar Municipality were measured to evaluate the relationship. The level of ascorbic acid in malaria subjects (2.22±1.82m/dl) was significantly lower (P<0.05) than the level in control subjects (3.47±0.97mg/dl). However, the level of ascorbic acid in symptomatic malaria (2.22 ± 1.82 mg/dl) was significantly lower than the level in control subjects (P<0.05). The G-6-PD activities in malaria positive subjects, (asymptomatic, 12.75 ± 6.2U/gHb and symptomatic malaria, 18.5 ± 6.1U/gHb) were significantly higher than the activity in control subjects (8.34 ± 6.6U/gHb, P<0.05). The G-6-PD/ascorbic acid ratios in non-malaria (2.40), asymptomatic (3.73), and symptomatic (8.33) malaria subjects differed significantly (P<0.05). A positive correlations was observed between ascorbic acid level and G-6-PD activity in asymptomatic malaria subjects (r =0.444, p<0.05), while a negative correlation was observed in non-malaria subjects (r = 0.239, P<0.05). These results show an inverse relationship between ascorbic acid level and G-6-PD activity in malaria subjects. The G-6-PD/Ascorbic acid ratios differentiate between non-malaria, asymptomatic and symptomatic malaria. Both the levels of ascorbic and the activity of G-6-PD vary significantly with malaria status and with level of malaria parasitaemia. From these finding we advice that G-6-PD activity results should be interpreted in relation to malaria status in malaria endemic zones.


Newborn screening for genetic conditions is conducted in all 50 states, but parents' opinions of such screening are largely unknown. As newborn screening has expanded from a few relatively common conditions requiring early treatment to a broader spectrum of conditions with uncertain prognosis, it is important to understand parents' views. Stated preference surveys provide quantifiable data on parent preferences about features of newborn screening tests, the economic value of testing, and the effect of a test's features on its probable uptake and value. We conducted formative research and developed a stated preference survey on parents' preferences regarding voluntary newborn screening. We reviewed the literature on parents' attitudes toward newborn screening and factors related to those attitudes and developed a list of condition and test attributes. We narrowed the list by expert review and conducted focus groups with parents of infants to determine if they understood the attributes and to see which attributes parents viewed as relevant. We found that some parents struggled with the probability-based attributes. The most relevant attributes were developmental disability, physical disability, incidence, recurrence, lifespan, sensitivity, and cost. The survey developed from this study could provide data for economic evaluation, test prioritization, and educational material development.


Background: Neonatal mortality remains a major contributor to death among children younger than 5 years in developing countries. It accounts for approximately 40% of all childhood mortality in resource-poor countries. Each year, 7 million neonates globally are stillborn or dying within 30 days of birth (neonatal period). Reducing Neonatal mortality requires that interventions be readily accessible and available in the immediate perinatal period. Such countries have weak health metrics and systems, resulting in a paucity of perinatal and neonatal mortality information and a deficiency in quality of available data. Objective: This study was undertaken to determine the neonatal mortality rate (NMR) and perinatal mortality rate (PMR), causes of death, and associated risk factors among hospital live births admitted to the NICU of Misurata teaching hospital in Libya. Methods: A descriptive, retrospective study based on hospital files records. From January 2013 to December 2013, information was collected from the registration book at labour room including operating theatre and newborn admitted in the neonatal intensive care unit of Misurata teaching hospital in Libya. The information collected include, history, clinical examination, investigation, treatment and outcome.


This chapter provides the first detailed description of the form and use of the three strategies for expressing reciprocity in Mawng, a non-Pama Nyungan language of the Iwaidjan language family (Australia). The only productive strategy is the reciprocal complex construction which has transparently developed from a biclausal reciprocal construction. Other strategies for encoding reciprocity include the use of a highly restricted verbal suffix ‑njili and the use of naturally reciprocal predicates in the unmarked "bare reciprocal construction". Since there is only one productive way to form reciprocals in Mawng, choice of strategy is not determined by the semantics of an event but is structurally constrained by the constructional combinatorics of the predicate most appropriate to the event.