Background: The ownership types of pharmacies are important because it plays a significant role at the services provided by pharmacists. The competitive structure of community pharmacy sector might prompt pharmacists to pay attention for business issues more than health issues. Similar to all businesses, community pharmacists must protect their profitability to continue their profession functions. In this context, partnerships are thought as a solution for taking market advantage in community pharmacy sector. Aims: The aim of this study is modeling the community pharmacists' intention towards pharmacist partnership by the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). Attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control are used as estimators of the partnership intention. Methods and Material: The measurement tool was applied face to face to a random sample of 392 community pharmacists within Ankara, Turkey. Two-sample independent t-test and ANOVA are used to determine significant differences between groups. The structural equation model (SEM) is used for modeling the pharmacists' partnership intention. Results: A response rate of 77% was achieved. Developed "Partnership Intention of Community Pharmacists (PICP)" model provided a good fit to the data and explain 66% of the variation in the community pharmacists' partnership intention. One unit increase in the "positive attitudes towards behavior" factor leads 0.22 units increase, one unit increase in the "negative attitudes towards behavior" factor leads 0.15 units decrease, one unit increase in the "subjective norms" factor leads 0.37 increase, and one unit increase in the "perceived behavioral control" factor leads 0.21 units in the "partnership intention". Conclusions: The present work contributes to the literature by developing a structural model for partnership intention that contains attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control. The extension of the PICP model can be used in modeling the pharmacists' behaviors toward pharmacist partnership.


Dezful embayment contains several potential source rocks deposited in tectonically active environments. Existence of various source rocks with different geological ages makes this area one of the most prolific regions throughout the Middle East. The Pabdeh Formation (Lower Paleocene-Eocene), the Gurpi Formation (Santonian-Masstrichtian), the Kazhdumi Formation (Albian) and the Gadvan Formation (Neocomian-Aptian) are among the most favorable source rocks within the embayment. In this study the set of above mentioned source rocks are subject to pyrolysis in Aghajari Oilfield. Results reveal that the Kazhdumi Formation with highest TOC (4.43%) in compare to other probable source rocks has higher hydrocarbon generative potential and is the likeliest source rock responsible for the Asmari and Bangestan reservoirs in the Aghajari Oilfield. Moreover, the pyrolysis of Pabdeh, Gurpi and Gadvan formations show that they are of minor importance as potential source rocks within the studied Oilfield. The burial and thermal history of the Kazhdumi Formation was modeled to infer about the probable time of the hydrocarbon generation. According to Burial history profile and thermal modeling the beginning of the oil window for Kazhdumi Formation was dated at 13Ma. Moreover, the depth of oil expulsion is around 3800m in 9 Ma years ago.


The ability to price risks and devise optimal investment strategies in the presence of an uncertain "random" market is the cornerstone of modern finance theory. We first consider the simplest such problem of a so-called "European call option" initially solved by Black and Scholes using Ito stochastic calculus for markets modelled by a log-Brownien stochastic process. A simple and powerful formalism is presented which allows us to generalize the analysis to a large class of stochastic processes, such as ARCH, jump or Levy processes. We also address the case of correlated Gaussian processes, which is shown to be a good description of three different market indices (MATIF, CAC40, FTSE100). Our main result is the introduction of the concept of an optimal strategy in the sense of (functional) minimization of the risk with respect to the portfolio. If the risk may be made to vanish for particular continuous uncorrelated 'quasiGaussian' stochastic processes (including Black and Scholes model), this is no longer the case for more general stochastic processes. The value of the residual risk is obtained and suggests the concept of risk-corrected option prices. In the presence of very large deviations such as in Levy processes, new criteria for rational fixing of the option prices are discussed. We also apply our method to other types of options, `Asian', `American', and discuss new possibilities (`doubledecker'...). The inclusion of transaction costs leads to the appearance of a natural characteristic trading time scale.


Aim: To examine the clinical safety and effectiveness of insulin aspart (IAsp) therapy in type 2 diabetes (T2D) patients from theASEAN cohort of the international, 24-week, non-interventional A1chieve study. Methods: T2D patients from Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and Singapore, who started IAsp therapy with or without oral glucose-lowering drugs, were included. The primary endpoint was the incidence of serious adverse drug reactions (SADRs), including major hypoglycaemic events. Secondary endpoints included hypoglycaemia, glycated haemoglobin A1c [HbA1c], fasting plasma glucose [FPG], postprandial plasma glucose [PPPG], systolic blood pressure [SBP], body weight and lipids. Quality of life (QoL) was assessed using the EQ-5D questionnaire. Results: Overall, 312 T2D patients (222 insulin-naive and 90 insulin-experienced) with a mean±SD age of 56.6±11.2 years, BMI of 24.2±3.9 kg/m2 and diabetes duration of 7.0±5.7 years were included. The mean daily IAsp dose was 0.51±0.31U/kg at baseline titrated up to 0.60±0.29U/kg at Week 24. No SADRs or major hypoglycaemic events were reported in the entire subgroup. The proportion of patients who reported overall hypoglycaemia decreased from baseline to Week 24 (7.1% vs. 0.3%, p< 0.0001). The mean HbA1c improved from 9.5±1.6% at baseline to 7.6±1.3% after 24 weeks (p< 0.001). The mean FPG, post-breakfast PPPG and SBP also improved (p< 0.001). Health-related QoL scores increased in the entire subgroup (mean increase: 9.8±14.6 points, p< 0.001). Conclusions: Starting IAsp therapy was well-tolerated and was associated with significantly improved overall glycaemic control in the ASEAN cohort. © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.


Carbohydrate recognition is biologically important but intrinsically challenging, for both nature and host-guest chemists. Saccharides are complex, subtly variable, and camouflaged by hydroxyl groups that hinder discrimination between substrate and water. We have developed a rational strategy for the biomimetic recognition of carbohydrates with all-equatorial stereochemistry (β-glucose, analogs, and homologs) and have now applied it to disaccharides such as cellobiose. Our synthetic receptor showed good affinities, not unlike those of some lectins (carbohydrate-binding proteins). Binding was demonstrated by nuclear magnetic resonance, induced circular dichroism, fluorescence spectroscopy, and calorimetry, all methods giving self-consistent results. Selectivity for the target substrates was exceptional; minor changes to disaccharide structure (for instance, cellobiose to lactose) caused almost complete suppression of complex formation.


Abstract The heads of submarine canyons represent a critical link in the transfer of sediment from terrestrial sources to deep basin sinks. Here we report data on grain size, bathymetry, and geochronology from twenty-five modern submarine canyons that suggest this link to be very sensitive to the distance between the canyon head and the shoreline, and, to a lesser extent, wave energy. These data show the width of this zone filters the caliber of sediment delivered into deep water, which has significant implications for understanding sediment budgets and the distribution of reservoir and seal facies. Data from modern systems show that the river mouths or longshore drift cells must come within about 500 m of the head of the canyon to deliver gravel-size material and within 1 to 5 km to deliver sand-size material to be transported down the canyon into deep water. Clay- and silt-size particles are transported greater distances across the shelf, up to a few tens of km, whereas beyond about 40 km, little sediment makes the connection to the heads of canyons and deposits are dominated by condensed, carbonate-rich sediments. Our data from modern systems are consistent with existing sequence stratigraphic models for sediment delivery to deep water. The significance of our work is to show in more detail how and when connections can occur between fluvial to shallow-water systems and submarine canyons and how these connections regulate the quantity and caliber of sediment that can be transported into deep water. Once the process-based conditions for connection are met, then the geology and climate of the source area control the quantity and caliber of sediment that can be moved to deep water. We hypothesize that connection times, and the resultant fractionation of sediment mass and grain size between shelf and deep-water depocenters, may have varied in a predictable way through geologic history. For example, during greenhouse times when sea level was relatively high, but with inherently low high-frequency variability, longer-lived connections between fluvial to nearshore environments and deep water may have been more likely. This scenario would favor the preferential transfer of sediment, especially sand, into deep water, and the development of thick, laterally extensive sand-rich basin-floor deposits. By contrast, during icehouse periods, high-amplitude sea-level fluctuations and inherently wider continental shelves may have resulted in repeated landward and seaward transits of river mouths and shorelines, shorter connection times between source and sink, especially for sand-size sediment, and preferential sequestration of sediment in shelf to shelf-margin parts of the system. These conditions would have resulted in deep-water deposits that are a mixture of locally thick sands, abundant turbidity-current-derived mud, and thin but basin-wide condensed sections that represent periods of sediment starvation in deep water.


Arabidopsis thaliana accession La-er was susceptible, and accession Ms-0 was resistant, to powdery mildew diseases caused by Erysiphe cruciferarum UEA1 and E. cichoracearum UCSC1. The resistance reaction phenotype of A. thaliana Ms-0 to both pathogens was characterized, and the resistance loci were genetically mapped. Growth of E. cruciferarum UEA1 on Ms-0 leaves was arrested after formation of the first appressorium: the underlying host epidermal cell collapsed, and occasionally there was necrosis of one or two host mesophyll cells. Growth of E. cichoracearum UCSC1 on Ms-0 leaves was arrested after emergence of several germ tubes from the conidium, and there was necrosis of host mesophyll cells at the sites of infection. Examination of F2 progeny of a cross La-er x Ms-0 indicated that two independently-segregating dominant loci were required for resistance to E. cruciferarum UEA1. One locus, named RPW6, was genetically mapped to chromosome 5, in a 5.6 cM interval flanked by pCITf16 and PI. The other locus, named RPW7, mapped to chromosome 3 in a 8.5 cM interval flanked by CDC2A and AFC1. Independent effects of RPW6 and RPW7 on E. cruciferarum UEA1 could be detected by quantitative measurements of growth of mycelium and production of conidia. Resistance to E. cichoracearum UCSC1 mapped to a single locus, named RPW8, at a location on chromosome 3 which we could not distinguish from RPW7. Evidently, RPW7 and RPW8 define either a complex resistance locus, or a common resistance gene with dual specificity.


BACKGROUND
Hip fractures are a major healthcare problem, presenting a challenge and burden to individuals and healthcare systems. The number of hip fractures globally is rising. The majority of extracapsular hip fractures are treated surgically.

OBJECTIVES
To assess the relative effects (benefits and harms) of all surgical treatments used in the management of extracapsular hip fractures in older adults, using a network meta-analysis of randomised trials, and to generate a hierarchy of interventions according to their outcomes.

SEARCH METHODS
We searched CENTRAL, MEDLINE, Embase, Web of Science and five other databases in July 2020.

SELECTION CRITERIA
We included randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and quasi-RCTs comparing different treatments for fragility extracapsular hip fractures in older adults. We included internal and external fixation, arthroplasties and non-operative treatment. We excluded studies of hip fractures with specific pathologies other than osteoporosis or resulting from high-energy trauma.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS
Two review authors independently assessed studies for inclusion. One review author completed data extraction which was checked by a second review author. We collected data for three outcomes at different time points: mortality and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) - both reported within 4 months, at 12 months and after 24 months of surgery, and unplanned return to theatre (at end of study follow-up). We performed a network meta-analysis (NMA) with Stata software, using frequentist methods, and calculated the differences between treatments using risk ratios (RRs) and standardised mean differences (SMDs) and their corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs). We also performed direct comparisons using the same codes.

MAIN RESULTS
We included 184 studies (160 RCTs and 24 quasi-RCTs) with 26,073 participants with 26,086 extracapsular hip fractures in the review. The mean age in most studies ranged from 60 to 93 years, and 69% were women. After discussion with clinical experts, we selected nine nodes that represented the best balance between clinical plausibility and efficiency of the networks: fixed angle plate (dynamic and static), cephalomedullary nail (short and long), condylocephalic nail, external fixation, hemiarthroplasty, total hip arthroplasty (THA) and non-operative treatment. Seventy-three studies (with 11,126 participants) with data for at least two of these treatments contributed to the NMA. We selected the dynamic fixed angle plate as a reference treatment against which other treatments were compared. This was a common treatment in the networks, providing a clinically appropriate comparison.  We downgraded the certainty of the evidence for serious and very serious risks of bias, and because some of the estimates included the possibility of transitivity owing to the proportion of stable and unstable fractures between treatment comparisons. We also downgraded if we noted evidence of inconsistency in direct or indirect estimates from which the network estimate was derived. Most estimates included the possibility of benefits and harms, and we downgraded the evidence for these treatments for imprecision.  Overall, 20.2% of participants who received the reference treatment had died by 12 months after surgery. We noted no evidence of any differences in mortality at this time point between the treatments compared. Effect estimates of all treatments included plausible benefits as well as harms. Short cephalomedullary nails had the narrowest confidence interval (CI), with 7 fewer deaths (26 fewer to 15 more) per 1000 participants, compared to the reference treatment (risk ratio (RR) 0.97, 95% CI 0.87 to 1.07). THA had the widest CI, with 62 fewer deaths (177 fewer to 610 more) per 1000 participants, compared to the reference treatment (RR 0.69, 95% CI 0.12 to 4.03). The certainty of the evidence for all treatments was low to very low. Although we ranked the treatments, this ranking should be interpreted cautiously because of the imprecision in all the network estimates for these treatments. Overall, 4.3% of participants who received the reference treatment had unplanned return to theatre. Compared to this treatment, we found very low-certainty evidence that 58 more participants (14 to 137 more) per 1000 participants returned to theatre if they were treated with a static fixed angle plate (RR 2.48, 95% CI 1.36 to 4.50), and 91 more participants (37 to 182 more) per 1000 participants returned to theatre if treated with a condylocephalic nail (RR 3.33, 95% CI 1.95 to 5.68). We also found that these treatments were ranked as having the highest probability of unplanned return to theatre. In the remaining treatments, we noted no evidence of any differences in unplanned return to theatre, with effect estimates including benefits as well as harms. The certainty of the evidence for these other treatments ranged from low to very low. We did not use GRADE to assess the certainty of the evidence for early mortality, but our findings were similar to those for 12-month mortality, with no evidence of any differences in treatments when compared to dynamic fixed angle plate. Very few studies reported HRQoL and we were unable to build networks from these studies and perform network meta-analysis.  AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: Across the networks, we found that there was considerable variability in the ranking of each treatment such that there was no one outstanding, or subset of outstanding, superior treatments. However, static implants such as condylocephalic nails and static fixed angle plates did yield a higher risk of unplanned return to theatre. We had insufficient evidence to determine the effects of any treatments on HRQoL, and this review includes data for only two outcomes. More detailed pairwise comparisons of some of the included treatments are reported in other Cochrane Reviews in this series. Short cephalomedullary nails versus dynamic fixed angle plates contributed the most evidence to each network, and our findings indicate that there may be no difference between these treatments. These data included people with both stable and unstable extracapsular fractures. At this time, there are too few studies to draw any conclusions regarding the benefits or harms of arthroplasty or external fixation for extracapsular fracture in older adults. Future research could focus on the benefits and harms of arthroplasty interventions compared with internal fixation using a dynamic implant.


"Wales and the Reformation" is the first full-length study of one of the most significant phases in the history of Wales. Such neglect is surprising given the formative part played by the Reformation in shaping the subsequent destinies of Wales and its people. What is less surprising is that Sir Glanmor Williams has now remedied this deficiency with a work of scholarship that is magisterial in content and polished in style. In the sixteenth century the Roman Church which, for centuries, had regulated religion in Wales was ousted and replaced by a state-established Church, of which the monarch was constituted Supreme Head. It soon became obvious to a small group of intellectuals and reformers that the use of English to impose modifications to traditional worship and belief upon a mainly Welsh-speaking populace would be unlikely to succeed among the mass of the people. From mid-century onwards, therefore, there were determined attempts both to secure adherence to reformed doctrine and to safeguard the native cultural inheritance by means of Welsh translations of the Bible, Prayer Book, and other literature.The translation of the Bible into Welsh was probably the key factor in retaining the native language; it ensured the success of Welsh literature, tied the clergy to Welsh culture, and inspired confidence in the continuance of Welsh nationhood. Slow though progress was in many respects the indispensable translations were achieved and the Welsh were set on the road to becoming a fervent Protestant nation. The switch of allegiance from Rome was neither simple nor straightforward; it provoked great upheaval and confusion, in which secular concerns and material interests became entangled with cultural and devotional consequences. In "Wales and the Reformation" Glanmor Williams succeeds in unfolding this complex story in a lucid and readable fashion.


Abstract
Purpose
Anti-bullying legislation has been adopted in every state to prevent the victimization of youth, but the focus on deterring and criminalizing individual behavior can obscure the contextual factors that contribute to aggression. This theoretical paper engages sociological literature to understand the impact of recent anti-bullying legislation on students' experiences.

Design/methodology/approach
We discuss stigma and account-making theory to theorize the ways students become particularly vulnerable to victimization and may or may not be sufficiently protected under the law. We also engage criminological theories to understand how punishment may not be sufficient for preventing aggressive behavior but may instead lead students to employ strategies to avoid being caught or punished for their behaviors.

Findings
We argue that the majority of current anti-bullying definitions and protocols in use are ambiguous and insufficient in protecting vulnerable groups of students, particularly students with disabilities, overweight students, and LGBT + students.

Originality/value
Our findings suggest that schools should seek to understand and alter the school-wide cultures and norms that permit aggressive behavior in the first place, in turn creating more inclusive school environments.


Igniting a passion for reading and research is core business for school libraries, inevitably placing the library at the center of the 21st century reading and learning experience. It is in this context that digital literature creates some challenging questions for teachers and librarians in schools, while the emergence of digital technology and/or device options also offers a great many opportunities. Collection development in school libraries encompasses an understanding of the need to contextualize these e-literature needs within the learning and teaching experiences in the school. The Australian Library and Information Association's 2013 statement Future of collections 50:50 predicted that library print and ebook collections in libraries would establish a 50:50 equilibrium by 2020 and that this balance would be maintained for the foreseeable future. This statement from the Australian professional body raised the need to know more about e-collections in school libraries. For teacher librarians in Australian schools, the nature of online collections, and the integration of ebooks into the evolving reading culture is influenced by the range and diversity of texts, interfaces, devices, and experiences available to complement existing print and media collections or services. Management and budget constraints also influence e-collections. By undertaking a review of the literature, a discussion of the education context, and a critical analysis of the trends evidenced by national survey data, this paper presents an overview of the changes and emerging trends in digital literature and ebook collections in school library services in Australia today.


The flourishing field of fixed point theory started in the early days of topology with seminal contributions by Poincare, Lefschetz-Hopf, and Leray-Schauder at the turn of the 19th and early 20th centuries. The theory vigorously developed into a dense and multifaceted body of principles, results, and methods from topology and analysis to algebra and geometry as well as discrete and computational mathematics. This interdisciplinary theory par excellence provides insight and powerful tools for the solvability aspects of central problems in many areas of current interest in mathematics where topological considerations play a crucial role. Indeed, existence for linear and nonlinear problems is commonly translated into fixed point problems; for example, the existence of solutions to elliptic partial differential equations, the existence of closed periodic orbits in dynamical systems, and more recently the existence of answer sets in logic programming. The classical fixed point theorems of Banach and Brouwer marked the development of the two most prominent and complementary facets of the theory, namely, the metric fixed point theory and the topological fixed point theory.Themetric theory encompasses results and methods that involve properties of an essentially isometric nature. It originates with the concept of Picard successive approximations for establishing existence and uniqueness of solutions to nonlinear initial value problems of the 1st order and goes back as far as Cauchy, Liouville, Lipschitz, Peano, Fredholm, and most particularly, Emile Picard. However, the Polish mathematician Stefan Banach is credited with placing the underlying ideas into an abstract framework suitable for broad applications well beyond the scope of elementary differential and integral equations. Metric fixed point theory for important classes of mapping gained respectability and prominence to become a vast field of specialization partly and not only because many results have constructive proofs, but also because it sheds a revealing light on the geometry of normed spaces, not to mention its many applications in industrial fields such as image processing engineering, physics, computer science, economics, and telecommunications. A particular interest in fixed points for set-valued operators developed towards the mid-20th century with the celebrated extensions of the Brouwer and Lefschetz theorems by Kakutani and Eilenberg-Montgomery, respectively. The Banach contraction principle was later on extended to multivalued contractions by Nadler. The fixed point theory for multivalued maps found numerous applications in control theory, convex and nonsmooth optimization, differential inclusions, and economics. The theory is also used prominently in denotational semantics (e.g., to give meaning to recursive programs). In fact, it is still too early to truly estimate the importance and impact of set-valued fixed point theorems in mathematics in general as the theory is still growing and finding renewed outlets. This special issue adds to the development of fixed point theory by focusing on most recent contributions. It includes works on nonexpansive mappings in Banach and metric spaces, multivalued mappings in Banach and metric spaces, monotone mappings in ordered spaces, multivalued mappings in ordered spaces, and applications to such nonmetric spaces as modular spaces, as well as applications to logic programming and directed graphs.


Driven by a shift in the political economy towards knowledge and information, and by the emergence of mass higher education, the historic central value of the liberal arts to the contemporary university is endangered. This essay presents an analysis of the current status of the university and asserts the value of the liberal arts to the covenant that sustains it. A history of the origin of the contemporary university, along with its dependence upon the liberal arts, is outlined. Finally, a definition of the liberal arts for the contemporary university is proposed, along with suggestions for models that could incorporate it. The argument concludes with a plea for anchoring university life in commitment to a modern understanding of the value of the liberal arts for faculty, students, and society.


CONTEXT The substantial changes in adolescent alcohol use prevalence over time suggest that population-level environmental factors are important determinants of use, yet the potential influence of such environmental factors is inadequately understood. OBJECTIVE To investigate whether adolescents in birth cohorts and/or time periods characterized by restrictive social norms toward alcohol were at decreased risk for alcohol use and binge drinking, controlling for individual attitudes (disapproval) toward use. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS In 32 annual national surveys of US high school students, a total of 967 562 students contributed outcome data from 1976 through 2007. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Frequency of past-year alcohol use and any instance of binge drinking (≥5 drinks) in the past 2 weeks, analyzed using multilevel models clustering individuals within periods and birth cohorts. Period- and cohort-specific social norm scores (indicating the proportion disapproving of weekend binge drinking) were modeled as predictors, controlling for individual attitudes and demographic characteristics. RESULTS Individuals who matured in birth cohorts with more restrictive social norms were less likely to use alcohol compared with individuals who matured in cohorts with more permissive norms; each 5% increase in the cohort-specific disapproval was associated with a 12% decrease in the odds of past-year alcohol use (odds ratio = 0.88; 99% CI, 0.87-0.89). The effects of cohort-specific disapproval were notably stronger among white adolescents than nonwhite adolescents. CONCLUSIONS This study documents the importance of considering time-varying population-level risk factors in the study of adolescent alcohol use and indicates that, even after an individual's personal attitudes are accounted for, risk is shaped by cohort effects whereby the norms within the cohort contribute to the risk of adolescent alcohol use.


Those who fear the social and political effects by the war on terrorism focus on the increased powers of public police, but they ignore another powerful group: the private police. It is often difficult to distinguish private from public police officers. Yet the law sees matters differently, by recognizing an absolute distinction between the two groups. This separation also leaves largely unregulated the private police, who are by far the largest provider of policing services in the United States. While the law multiplies distinctions between private and public police, the functions, responsibilities, and appearance of the two are increasingly difficult to tell apart. This is the paradox of private policing. Courts have not developed comprehensive rules governing private police, and statutory regulation is minimal. Legal scholars have paid them hardly any attention. This article begins to remedy that ignorance, by drawing a contrast between the rigid legal conception of the private police, on the one hand, and their increasingly complicated and shifting social role on the other. Drawing upon materials from ethnographic observation, this article argues that private police participate in much of the policing work that their public counterparts do. Exactly what constitutes policing and who may legitimately call themselves police are now contested issues. As a consequence, the Article argues that the regulatory framework governing the police, by giving insufficient consideration to these increasingly unsettled questions, creates legal distinctions at odds with actual police work. Furthermore, the contemporary proposition that private police ought to serve as partners with public police in a common enterprise of crime prevention must be met with caution, for these partnerships carry unresolved questions as to the proper balance of burdens, benefits, and controls that are distributed between the public and private sectors.


The surface acoustic waves generated by a pulsed laser in pipes are studied by using the finite element method. The time domain waveforms of guided waves in three different thickness pipes are obtained in the near field. The numerical results denoted that the excited waves by a pulsed laser in a thin-walled pipe are typical lamb wave like in a thin plate, while in a thick pipe the main features of the surface waves are two kinds of waves: the surface skimming longitudinal wave and the Rayleigh wave, which will be useful in the applications in non-destructive evaluation of pipes.


In the 1980s, Professor Derrick Bell posited a theory of interest convergence as part of his critical race theory work, arguing that the major strides forward in civil rights law and policy that benefited African Americans in the 1950s and 1960s only occurred because of the perceived benefits of those changes to white elites during that time. In Bell's view, it was only at the point at which the interests of powerful whites converged with those of marginalized racial minorities that significant changes in civil rights law could occur. Twelve years after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, numerous lawmakers, scholars, activists, and policy makers find themselves entrenched in a different struggle for civil and human rights: combatting counterterrorism laws and policies that overreach in their efforts to detain, interrogate, surveil and kill suspected terrorists. In this symposium essay, the Author uses Professor Bell's theory of interest convergence to frame the debate over an increasingly common counterterrorism tool: the use of unmanned aerial vehicles ("drones") to target and kill individuals suspected of encouraging or planning terrorist acts. Interest convergence theory can help us examine the shifting parameters of the drone program in several ways: first, to map the areas of interest convergence between politically powerful groups and those interested in protecting marginalized groups such as Muslims and Arabs, which can help explain why certain limitations on the use of targeted killings have been put into place already; second, to consider the plausibility of the fulfillment of the promises made by President Obama in his May 2013 speech on the administration's national security policies, in which he stated that the parameters of the targeted killings program will be narrowed; and third, in a limited fashion, to consider whether interest convergence can offer guidance on pushing for further limitations on the use of targeted killings.


Embodied in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is the evocative proposition that "[e]veryone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression." But beneath that level of abstraction there is anything but universal agreement. Modern democratic societies disagree on the text, content, theory, and practice of this liberty. They disagree on whether it is a privileged right or a subordinate value. They disagree on what constitutes speech and which speech is worthy of protection. They disagree on theoretical foundations, uncertain if the right is grounded in libertarian impulses, the promotion of a marketplace of ideas, or the advancement of participatory democracy. In short, the freedom of expression is a universal value that is fraught with cultural contingencies.There are various responses to this ideological pluralism. One response is to seek normative uniformity. That approach represents the unusual circumstance in which almost all countries have balanced competing interests and uniformly concluded that a particular government practice need not be pursued. Far more common is the situation - evident in the free speech context - in which one human right is balanced against other competing goods on a country-by-country basis. The precise balance achieved in each country will differ. This book review argues that the dissonance between countries need not be challenged in pursuit of uniformity. Indeed, in those cases in which the differences reflect an appropriate balance of competing goods, it should be celebrated. Constitutional exceptionalism recognizes and celebrates each country's attempt to optimize the general welfare of that country by balancing competing goods in a manner consistent with that country's constitutional text, structure, history, precedent, and national experience. The point of constitutional exceptionalism is not to deny the existence or importance of any particular right. Rather, it is to accept the legitimacy of each modern democracy's attempt in its constitutional order to balance competing rights and interests as an expression of their cultural and national identity. Ronald Krotozynski counts himself among the proponents of "weak" transjudicial dialogue who celebrates this free speech pluralism. His recent book, The First Amendment in Cross-Cultural Perspective, offers a useful guide to the comparative experiences of five modern democracies (United States, Canada, Japan, Germany, and the United Kingdom). He outlines the free speech guarantees of each country in light of text, structure, history, precedent, and national experience. He emphasizes how each factor is critical in understanding the free speech guarantees of that country. This book review essay also considers the difficulties of a truly comprehensive free speech analysis. The essay argues that comparative constitutional analysis suffers from the curse of dimensionality. A comparison of one speech variant (i.e., hate speech) in a few countries using one contextual factor (i.e., precedent) is easy. A comparison of multiple speech variants in numerous countries using several contextual factors is exceedingly difficult. But only comparisons undertaken in such high dimensional space can reveal whether or not there are free speech clusters and outliers as is often asserted. This curse of dimensionality raises serious questions about the feasibility of comparative constitutional analysis. The essay does not question Krotozynski's serious and scholarly attempt at a narrow and deep comparison of free speech guarantees in five modern democracies. But it does cast doubt on the narrow and shallow comparisons that are often undertaken by constitutional jurists.


The principal nutritional problems of developed economies are related to the excessive and unbalanced intake of energy and nutrients. During the 20th century, as economies improved and food production became more efficient, conditions related to undernutrition were replaced by epidemics of coronary heart disease, certain cancers and other chronic conditions related to food overconsumption. In developed countries such as the United States, obesity became the predominant public health nutrition problem. To prevent obesity, people must consume less energy and be more active, but the food supplies of developed economies offer their populations amounts of energy that greatly exceed physiological need. Food overproduction causes competition in the food industry, limits its expansion, and leads food producers to invest heavily in marketing. To increase sales, food companies must encourage people to consume more of their products, substitute their products for others or develop new markets. Such efforts create an environment in which food is readily available at all times and readily overconsumed. Marketing expenditures for any single food product greatly exceed the total amounts available to governments for national campaigns to prevent chronic diseases. Existing government policies often support this environment through price supports and other means. To reverse obesity and its health consequences, governments need to consider ways to address the food environment through policies in education, agriculture, school meals, pricing, taxation and other means, as well as to develop mechanisms to fund new programme initiatives.


Tyrosylprotein sulfotransferase-2 catalyses important, but a less explored posttranslational modification of proteins. The crystallographic structure of the full complex, containing the enzyme, PAPS cofactor and the peptide substrate (WTFC) revealed important structural and atomistic details about the overall structure, binding sites and interactions in TPST-2, but is not informative about the conformational flexibility, which is a fundamental protein property. In a recent computational study we analyzed the impact of conformational flexibility on key geometric determinants and interactions in WTFC. However, there are still unexplained effects about how the conformational dynamics influences the formation of the catalytically active dimer form of the enzyme and also how the binding of the cofactor and the substrate to the apoenzyme influences the structure and the pattern of correlated motions in the enzyme. In order to provide the missing knowledge we performed a molecular dynamics study on the dimerization mutant W113A, the apoenzyme (APO), enzyme–cofactor complex (ES), and enzyme–substrate complex (ES) and compared the results to the WTFC. We identified new hydrophobic interactions important for the stabilization of the enzyme dimer and provided structural insight about the role of the key mutation W113A for the dimerization in the absence of experimentally-derived structure. In addition we showed that the binding of the substrate and cofactor to the apoenzyme contributes to the stability of the whole active complex, influences the local interactions in the binding site and importantly, affects the pattern of the correlated motions in the entire molecule.


High-quality images provided by 3D seismic surveys have transformed the interpretations of salt geometries in passive margins. Complementary field studies are needed to expand the ideas derived from seismic image interpretation. The Cotiella Basin exposes middle Coniacian–early Santonian basins developed by post-rift gravity-driven extension and passive diapirism in the proto-Atlantic Ocean. Salt-related sedimentary and structural features were preserved during the subsequent Pyrenean Orogeny, but the diapirs were squeezed to such a degree that they were completely destroyed. As a result, their influence on the development of the Cotiella Basin remains unclear. This paper presents a 3D geometric reconstruction of the extensional faults, the stratigraphic surfaces and the associated salt structures with the main objective of discussing the role of extension versus salt withdrawal. Our results indicate that the main Cotiella Basin was dominated by extensional faulting combined with along-strike salt migration, whereas the smaller Armeña, Mediodía and Seira basins were mainly dominated by salt withdrawal, involving the growth of passive diapirs, salt pillows and transfer faults. This is relevant because the described structures constitute an almost unique example to study in outcrop the structural style and kinematics of structures usually found offshore.


An environmental force termed KELEA (kinetic energy limiting electrostatic attraction) is postulated to reduce the strength of intermolecular (hydrogen) bonding of water molecules, resulting in increased kinetic activity of the water. While regular water does not directly absorb KELEA from the environment, various dipolar compounds with separated electrical charges can seemingly act as a primary antenna for KELEA, with secondary transfer of energy into nearby water. Moreover, once sufficiently activated, the separated electrical charges in activated water can apparently function as a receiver for KELEA, leading to further activation of the water and also to the activation of added water. Prior publications have addressed the agricultural and potential clinical benefits of using KELEA activated water. This article is intended as the first in a series of papers describing useful industrial applications of KELEA activated water. The focus of the present paper is on the improved efficiency of industrial water heating and cooling systems by using KELEA activated water provided by pelleted, ground and heated volcanic rock as supplied by Kiko Technology.


Census data at the enumeration area level can help us to understand some essential aspects about residential building, in particular, in a Country where the portion of buildings demolished and rebuilt is almost nothing, the variable time of construction provides the dimension of the urban sprawl. This information was compared with national seismic hazard map, developed by National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV), to assess the evolution of the residential building compared to natural phenomena such as seismic events. The comparison between various types of information was carry out using GIS software, in particular "overlay" functions allows us to assign to each enumeration area the level of seismic hazard. Moreover, the use of microdata at the enumeration area level, it allows the calculation of the vulnerability indicators, grouped by time of construction and by population density, in seismic hazard classes at the municipal level.


Abstract: This study assesses the links between global value chain (GVC) participation and the labour market to examine the relatively unexplored employment-related distribution effects of GVC integration. Based on the Mincer wage model, we examine the relationship between GVC participation and worker productivity and wages at the individual level. Our main estimation method is a simple ordinary least squares estimation using pooled crosssectional data from the Thai Labour Force Survey for the period 1995–2011. We also separately examine the effects of forward and backward GVC participation on wages and wage distributions. Our results show that GVC participation induces higher monthly wages for individuals and increases productivity in the labour market through either the forward linkage or backward linkage. We even find that GVC participation can help mitigate inequality. Our findings show that GVC participation promotes inclusive job creation and provides more job opportunities for rural, female, and low-skilled workers. Policies to support leveraging the existing strong industries through upgrading, smoothing labour movements while improving agricultural productivity, and preparing to move towards a services economy can help prepare Thailand, and other developing countries in general, to upgrade to higher value chains. Although GVC participation may be a catalyst for higher wages, greater labour productivity, and more inclusive job creation, its employment effects are complicated. An unbalanced policy framework might contribute to uneven income distributions and exclusive job creation as participating in GVCs through different linkages can benefit different stakeholders in varying ways. Therefore, a policy framework that balances the benefits among stakeholders in terms of wage distributions and job inclusion is ideal.


The effect of CO2 enrichment and irradiance on the growth and gas exchange of two tropical grasses, Panicum laxum (C3) and Panicum antidotale (C4) were investigated. The two species were grown at either 350 (low) or 700 (high) µL L-1 CO2 concentration, under 40% (low) or 100% (high) of direct sunlight and supplied with ample water and nutrition. Elevated CO2 enhanced plant dry weight at both irradiances in the C3 species (1.41-fold and 1.71-fold increase at low and high light, respectively) but only at high light in the C4 species (1.28 fold increase). CO2 enrichment had no effect on the dry weight of P. antidotale, when stem development was suppressed by growth under artificial lighting. When measured at the CO2 concentration at which they were grown, assimilation rates were similar in the low and high CO2 grown plants, for both species. However, when measurements made at low CO2 were compared, CO2 assimilation rates of the high light, high CO2 grown C3 and C4 species were lower than those of their low CO2 grown counterparts. High CO2 strongly reduced the stomatal conductance of both species, while it affected the Rubisco content (30% decrease) of the high light C3 species only. This work shows clearly that C4 species can respond to CO2 enrichment under favourable growth conditions, and that acclimation to elevated CO2 in pasture grasses does not necessarily involve accumulation of non-structural carbohydrates or reduction of total N or soluble proteins in source leaves.


Blunt chest wall trauma is a common reason for patients attending emergency departments. It may be the result of assault, falls, or motor vehicle accidents. Injuries sustained range from minor soft tissue damage and uncomplicated rib fractures to life threatening thoracic insults. Pectoral muscle haematomas following rib fractures are rare. We report such a case and discuss the subsequent clinical course and management.

A 31 year old male intravenous drug user, presented to our emergency department two weeks following a blunt trauma assault, during which he sustained a right sided chest injury. His complaint of right anterior chest pain exacerbated by deep inspiration, coughing, and movement, was associated with pyrexial episodes and night sweats. He was not taking any medication at the time, but was smoking 10–15 cigarettes per day.

Clinical examination revealed right sided bronchial breathing, confirmed by the radiographic presence of right middle zone consolidation. In addition, the patient was noted to have a comminuted right third rib fracture. He was pyrexial, tachycardic, and tachypnoeic. A small haematoma was also noted on the right anterior chest wall. He was admitted under the care of the medical receiving team for intravenous antibiotic treatment of his pneumonia and improved over the following days. An echocardiograph, to exclude bacterial endocarditis, showed normal …


The application of in situ powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) to monitor the polymorphic transformation and crystallization of glycine from an ionic liquid–water system is introduced. We compared the polymorphic crystallization processes of glycine in pure water, a hydrophilic ionic liquid 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([Emim]BF4)- and a hydrophobic ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([Bmim]PF6)-water system. In these three cases, the mixture was predominantly composed of the metastable α-glycine, while the least stable β-glycine was only observed during the growth of crystals at room temperature and 32% humidity. The phase transformation from α- to β-glycine was clearly observed through the change in the intensity of characteristic peaks at 29.9° and 18.0° (2 theta) in the XRD patterns. In addition, the effect of the ionic liquid [Bmim]PF6 as an anti-solvent on the re-crystallization process of glycine from three commercially available brands was estimated. Also, the satisfactory reproducibility was obtained from glycine crystallization in the ionic liquid [Emim]BF4-water system in four independent experiments. Therefore, laboratory-based powder XRD analysis can not only provide dynamic information about phase transformation in situ, but can also discover the unstable or transition state in the polymorphic design and control crystallization processes by adding ionic liquids or other additives.


To examine the roles of glycine in neurotoxicity caused by NMDA, primary rat cortical cultures were exposed to 100–300 microM NMDA plus glycine (0–3000 microM) or other glycine analogs in a simple saline solution, and toxicity was assessed by the amount of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) released from the cultures. NMDA-induced neurotoxicity was abolished by 100 microM D-2-amino-5-phosphonovaleric acid (D-APV), phencyclidine (IC50, 4.1 microM), and Mg (IC50, 7.5 mM), or by reducing [Ca]0 to 0.1 mM. NMDA-induced neurotoxicity could also be abolished by 7-chlorokynurenic acid (IC50, 8.6 microM), suggesting the presence of residual glycine in the culture medium (confirmed by high-performance liquid chromatography measurement). Moreover, in the presence of 30 microM 7-chlorokynurenic acid, glycine, D-serine, D- alanine, beta-fluoro-D-alanine, and 1-aminocyclopropanecarboxylic acid could restore the neurotoxic action of NMDA, and their relative potencies and relative efficacies were the same as measured in electrophysiological assays in Xenopus oocytes or cultured neurons. The addition of greater than 100 microM glycine doubled the excitotoxic effect of NMDA. The potency of glycine was low (EC50, 27 microM), and this effect was not due to a direct action on the NMDA receptor. The above-mentioned agonists were unable to substitute for glycine, even at high concentrations (1 mM). On the other hand, beta-alanine, taurine, and GABA (1 mM) did potentiate NMDA neurotoxicity, and strychnine (IC50, 550 nM) could greatly reduce neurotoxicity in the presence of 1 mM glycine plus 300 microM NMDA.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


Surprise is often defined in terms of disconfirmed expectations, whereby the surprisingness of an event is thought to be dependent on the degree to which that event contrasts with a more likely, or expected, outcome. We propose that surprise is more accurately modelled as a manifestation of an ongoing sense-making process. Specifically, the level of surprise experienced depends on the extent to which an event necessitates representational updating. This sense-making view predicts that differences in subjective probability and surprise arise because of differences in representational specificity rather than differences between an expectation and an outcome. We describe two experiments which support this hypothesis. The results of Experiment 1 demonstrate that generalised representations can allow subjectively low probability outcomes to be integrated without eliciting high levels of surprise, thus providing an explanation for the difference between the two measures. The results of Experiment 2 reveal that the level of contrast between expectation and outcome is not correlated with the difference between probability and surprise. The implications for models of surprise are discussed.


Home assistants are becoming a widespread product, but they mostly come as a compact device and offer very few customization and personalization features, which often leads to dissatisfaction. With the technological advancements, these systems are becoming more adaptable to the users' needs and can better imitate a human personality. To achieve that efficiently, understanding how different users envision their desired assistant is crucial. To identify people's customization and personalization preferences and their desired personality for a home assistant, we designed a set of storyboards depicting a variety of possible features in a domestic setting and conducted a user study (), including a series of semi-structured interviews. Our quantitative results suggest that users prefer an agent which is highly agreeable and has higher conscientiousness and emotional stability. Furthermore, we discuss users' customization and personalization preferences for a home assistant, which could be considered when designing the future generation of home assistants.


We provide evidence regarding the relationship between director training programs and improved financial reporting. Director Training Programs (DTP) help directors better understand the specific context in which a firm operates, including its operations and environment; awareness of business norms and values; standards of probity and accountability; and their fiduciary duties as an agent of investors. This study explores a recent requirement for director training and its effect on the quality of financial reporting for publicly listed companies in three eastern countries. This study examines the relationship between DTP and the quality of financial reporting of Australian, Malaysian and Pakistani publicly listed companies by using a sample of data from 2011 to 2013. We determined that Australian companies that incur additional DTP expenditures and have a flexible training schedule (Online DTP)improve their financial reporting quality and that a well established DTP positively affects financial reporting quality in Malaysia. In addition, the results indicate that firm size negatively affects financial reporting quality in the Asia Pacific and older companies (firm age) suffer from low-quality financial reporting. © 2017, University of Finance and Management in Warsaw. All rights reserved.


Through the recent National Health Insurance Act (NHIA), the Philippines have committed themselves to introducing a social health insurance with universal coverage within 15 years. Germany was the first country to introduce a social health insurance system more than 100 years ago. Its system is based on the principles of corporatism, federalism and a mandate for equity. Based on a long-term German experience with equity, quality, cost and efficiency issues, the Philippines' NHIA is analysed concerning the entitlement to benefits and the benefit package, the organization of the health insurance programme, health insurance financing, and provider payment mechanisms. It is suggested that the Philippines could profit from including preventive and promotive services as well as pharmaceuticals in the benefits package. The organization of the health insurance system could be decentralized using the 13 regions as its principal units. To achieve financial equity between regions and health funds, a contribution compensation scheme is proposed. To prevent over-utilization in over-served areas and to promote utilization in under-served areas, a relative value scale for fee-for-service payments seem advisable.


The concepts of variability and uncertainty are regarded as cornerstones in statistics. Proportional reasoning plays an important connecting role in reasoning about variability and therefore teachers need to develop students' statistical reasoning skills about variability, including intuitions for the outcomes of repeated sampling situations. Many teachers however lack the necessary knowledge and skills themselves and need to be exposed to hands-on activities to develop their reasoning skills about variability in a sampling environment. The research reported in this article aimed to determine and develop teachers' understanding of variability in a repeated sampling context. The research forms part of a larger project that profiled Grade 8–12 teachers' statistical content and pedagogical content knowledge. As part of this larger research project 14 high school teachers from eight culturally diverse urban schools attended a series of professional development workshops in statistics and completed a number of tasks to determine and develop their understanding of variability in a repeated sampling context. The Candy Bowl Task was used to probe teachers' notions of variability in such a context. Teachers' reasoning mainly revealed different types of thinking based on absolute frequencies, relative frequencies and on expectations of proportion and spread. Only one response showed distributional reasoning involving reasoning about centres as well as the variation around the centres. The conclusion was that a greater emphasis on variability and repeated sampling is necessary in statistics education in South African schools. To this end teachers should be supported to develop their own and learners' statistical reasoning skills in order to help prepare them adequately for citizenship in a knowledge-driven society.


Considering a temperature dependent two-level quantum system, we have numerically solved the Landau-Zener transition problem. The method includes the incorporation of temperature effect as a thermal noise added Schrödinger equation for the construction of the Hamiltonian. Here, the obtained results which describe the changes in the system including the quantum states and the transition probabilities are investigated and discussed. The results successfully describe the behavior of the transition probabilities by sweeping the temperature.


Asst.Prof.Dr. Çınar ÖZEN Izmir University of Economics Department of International Relations and the EU The end of cold war influenced the security environment of Europe. Today the concept of security is defined wider than before and as such an important debate is now under way in international security theories. Integrationist approach to security versus neorealism is constituting the core of this debate. With a wider definition of security European Union's role has also an increasing importance. Yet, the EU is actually at the point of crucial choice between an 'integrationist approach to security' and 'traditional realist/neorealist thought'. The result of this choice will determine the future of European security. In order to maintain its growing role in the European security system, the EU should refrain from block politics and from creating new confrontations in Europe.


Sample disturbances in laminated soils may be caused by several factors including water movement between the clay and sand layers upon removal of overburden pressures. The research reported in this article examines the impact of this water movement on various geotechnical parameters. Samples of kaolin with laminations were formed and subjected to isotropic consolidation and subsequently sheared under undrained conditions. Further tests were carried out in which the samples were isotropically unloaded after consolidation and isotropically reloaded under undrained conditions and this was then followed by undrained shearing. Tests were also carried out to examine the impact of unloading/reloading on the yield stress and small strain stiffness (G max ). The results have shown that the isotropic unloading/reloading process under undrained conditions leads to reduction in undrained shear strength, small strain stiffness (G max ) and yield stresses. Comparative tests carried out on unlaminated samples showed that the unloading/reloading process has a marginal impact on the above mentioned geotechnical properties.


Safe, clean drinking water is a foundation of society and water quality monitoring can contribute to ensuring this. A case study application of the CANARY software to historic data from a UK drinking water distribution system is described. Sensitivity studies explored appropriate choice of algorithmic parameter settings for a baseline site, performance was evaluated with artificial events and the system then transferred to all sites. Results are presented for analysis of nine water quality sensors measuring six parameters and deployed in three connected district meter areas (DMAs), fed from a single water source (service reservoir), for a 1 year period and evaluated using comprehensive water utility records with 86% of event clusters successfully correlated to causes (spatially limited to DMA level). False negatives, defined by temporal clusters of water quality complaints in the pilot area not corresponding to detections, were only approximately 25%. It was demonstrated that the software could be configured and applied retrospectively (with potential for future near real time application) to detect various water quality event types (with a wider remit than contamination alone) for further interpretation.


Acoustic tomography is a type of inverse problem. The idea of estimating physical quantities that influence sound propagation by measuring the parameters of propagation has proven to be successful in many practical domains, including temperature and wind estimation in the atmosphere. However, in most of the previous work in this area, the algorithms used have not been proven mathematically to provide the correct solution to the inverse problem. This paper considers the problem of reconstructing 2D temperature and wind fields by using acoustic tomography setups. Primarily, it shows that the classical time-of-flight measurements are not sufficient to reconstruct wind fields. As a solution, an additional set of measurements related solely to the parameters of sound propagation—more precisely, to the angles of departure/arrival of sound waves—is suggested. To take the full benefit of this additional information, the bent-ray model of sound propagation is introduced. In this work, it is also shown that, when a temperature and a source-free 2D wind field are observed on bounded domains, the complete reconstruction is possible using only measurements of the time of flight. Conversely, the angles of departures/arrivals are sufficient to reconstruct a temperature and a curl-free 2D wind fields on bounded domains. Further, an iterative reconstruction algorithm is proposed and possible variations to the main scheme are discussed. Finally, the performed numerical simulations confirm the theoretical results, demonstrate fast convergence, and show the advantages of the adopted bent-ray model for sound propagation over the straight-ray model.


The internet has steadily become integrated with our everyday lives, and it is scarcely worth remarking that the quotidian footprint we leave is increasingly digital. This being the case, the question of what will happen to our digital legacy when we die is an increasing important one. Digital accounts containing emails, photos, videos, music collections, documents of all kinds, social media content, eBooks and the like, all trace the life we have led, and if they are to be conserved and bequeathed, if family and friends are to benefit from this often highly emotive and evocative desiderata, if history is to be recorded, we need to prepare these accounts and assets for the inevitability of death. A difficulty though, is that the demands of curating such a legacy are formidable, the importance of creating digital archives from personal data contained in online accounts is not well-established in the public arena, and the products and services available to facilitate this are largely inadequate. Future generations and future historians are the poorer for this. In this presentation we will point out some of the difficulties involved in curating and bequeathing a digital legacy, and suggest a partial remediation.


This paper contains the chapters on welfare economics, morality, and the law from a general, forthcoming book, Foundations of Economic Analysis of Law (Harvard University Press, 2003). I begin in chapter 26 with a discussion of the normative foundations of economic analysis, namely, the subject of welfare economics. I also describe notions of morality and fairness, which play an important, if dominant, role in much normative discourse about law, and I discuss the connections between welfare economics and morality. A theme of this discussion is that notions of morality have functional aspects, and that, for a complex of reasons, they also take on importance in their own right to individuals. Then in chapter 27, I consider the observed relationship between law and morality, and comment on what might be thought to be the optimal relationship between law and morality. In chapter 28, I discuss issues concerning income distributional equity and the law, including the question of whether the distributional effects of legal rules should influence their selection. The answer to this question will be a qualified no, given that society has an income tax system that can serve to redistribute income or to correct problems with distribution that arise due to the effects of legal rules.


With the growing number of systems that provide user-generated reviews come new forms of trust relationships. User trust in vendors can be mediated by trust in either reviews or reviewers, or possibly both. These new forms of trust relationships might be affected by barriers to trust such as uncertainty about offered services and anonymity of users, as well as biased reviews. While current work is dedicated towards investigating the influential factors on trust, this study undertakes a different approach. First, it investigates the influence of interface design on users' assessment of trustworthiness. Second, it explores the way that interface design can affect users' perception of trustworthy and untrustworthy reviews and reviewers, by signalling the influential factors on trust. Third, this study investigates the effect of users' prior beliefs in the form of dispositional trust in the assessment of trustworthiness. To do so, an exploratory study gathering quantitative and qualitative data was conducted with 16 participants who interacted with a high-fidelity prototype. Our results show that users' assessment of trustworthiness is influenced by interface elements that relate not only to the review, but also to the reviewer, implying that trust in reviews is mediated by trust in reviewers. Furthermore, users' dispositional trust appears to affect the perceived trustworthiness of reviewers, especially because of elements relate to the reviewers' background, which transfers onto the reviews. Our results have implications for researchers and designers to help users' assessment of the trustworthiness of reviews and reviewers.


Sleep disorders are common in a general population. It effect one in 5 adults and has several short term and long term bad side effects on health. Sleep apnea (SA) is the most important and common component of sleep disorders. This paper presents an automatic approach for detecting apnea events by using few bio-singles that are related to breathe defect. This work uses only air flow, thoracic and abdominal respiratory movement as input. The proposed algorithm consists of three main parts which are signal segmentation, feature generation and classification. A new proposed segmentation method intelligently segments the input signals for further classification, then features are generated for each segment by wavelet packet coefficients and also original signals. In classification phase a unique parallel PSO-SVM algorithm is investigated. PSO used to tune SVM parameters, and also data reduction. Proposed parallel structure used to help PSO to search space more efficiently, also avoiding fast convergence and local optimal results that are common problem in similar parallel algorithms. Obtained results demonstrate that the proposed method is effective and robust in sleep apnea detection and statistical tests on the results shown superiority of it versus previous methods even with more input signals, and also versus single PSO-SVM. Using fewer signals means more comfortable to subject and also, reduction of cost during recording the data.


PURPOSE
Myopia is a common vision problem affecting almost one third of the world's population. It can occur as an isolated genetic condition or be associated with other anomalies and/or syndromes. Seventeen myopia loci have been identified on various chromosomes; however, no specific gene mutations have yet been identified.

METHODS
Two large multigeneration Asian Indian pedigrees (UR006 and UR077) with isolated, nonsyndromic myopia were studied, in which the condition appeared to segregate as an X-linked recessive trait (MYP1; MIM 310460). The degree of myopia was variable in both families, ranging from -6 to -23 D (mean, -8.48 D) with the majority >7.0 D. To map the myopia locus in these families, polymorphic microsatellite markers covering the entire X chromosome were used in linkage analyses performed on 42 genomic DNA samples (13 affected and 29 normal) from both families.

RESULTS
Marker DXYS154, which is located within the pseudoautosomal region in distal Xq28 (PAR2; pseudoautosomal region 2), gave a combined maximum LOD score of 5.3 at = 0 under an autosomal recessive model. Other markers in the region (near but not within the PAR2 region) that showed no recombination with the phenotype in both the families included DXS1108, DXS8087, and F8i13.

CONCLUSIONS
Observation of recombination in family UR006 refined the disease locus to a ∼1.25-Mb region flanked by the proximal marker DXS1073 and distal marker DXYS154. Mutation search in exons and splice junctions of candidate genes CTAG2, GAB3, MPP1, F8Bver, FUNDC2, VBP1, RAB39B, CLIC2, TMLHE, SYBL, IL9R, SPRY3, and CXYorf1 did not detect a pathogenic or predisposing variant.


We introduce a novel approach to cultural heritage experience: by means of ego-vision embedded devices we develop a system, which offers a more natural and entertaining way of accessing museum knowledge. Our method is based on distributed self-gesture and artwork recognition, and does not need fixed cameras nor radio-frequency identifications sensors. We propose the use of dense trajectories sampled around the hand region to perform self-gesture recognition, understanding the way a user naturally interacts with an artwork, and demonstrate that our approach can benefit from distributed training. We test our algorithms on publicly available data sets and we extend our experiments to both virtual and real museum scenarios, where our method shows robustness when challenged with real-world data. Furthermore, we run an extensive performance analysis on our ARM-based wearable device.


Molecular excitation by the simultaneous absorption of two photons provides intrinsic three-dimensional resolution in laser scanning fluorescence microscopy. The excitation of fluorophores having single-photon absorption in the ultraviolet with a stream of strongly focused subpicosecond pulses of red laser light has made possible fluorescence images of living cells and other microscopic objects. The fluorescence emission increased quadratically with the excitation intensity so that fluorescence and photo-bleaching were confined to the vicinity of the focal plane as expected for cooperative two-photon excitation. This technique also provides unprecedented capabilities for three-dimensional, spatially resolved photochemistry, particularly photolytic release of caged effector molecules.


The Growing Up in Scotland study (GUS) is an important longitudinal research project aimed at tracking the lives of a cohort of Scottish children from the early years, through childhood and beyond. The study is funded by the Scottish Government and carried out by the Scottish Centre for Social Research (ScotCen). Its principal aim is to provide information to support policy-making, but it is also intended to be a broader resource that can be drawn on by academics, voluntary sector organisations and other interested parties. Focusing initially on a cohort of 5,217 children aged 0-1 years old and a cohort of 2,859 children aged 2-3 years old, the first wave of fieldwork began in April 2005.


The Routledge Handbook of Discourse Analysis covers the major approaches to Discourse Analysis from Critical Discourse Analysis to Multimodal Discourse Analysis and their applications in key educational and institutional settings. The handbook is divided into six sections: Approaches to Discourse Analysis, Approaches to Spoken Discourse, Genres and Practices, Educational Applications, Institutional Applications, and Identity, Culture and Discourse. The chapters are written by a wide range of contributors from around the world, each a leading researcher in their respective field. All chapters have been closely edited by James Paul Gee and Michael Handford. With a focus on the application of Discourse Analysis to real-life problems, the contributors introduce the reader to a topic, and analyse authentic data. The Routledge Handbook of Discourse Analysis is vital reading for linguistics students as well as students of communication and cultural studies, social psychology and anthropology.


Podocyte or endothelial cell VEGF-A knockout causes thrombotic microangiopathy in adult mice. To study the mechanism involved in acute and local injury caused by low podocyte VEGF-A we developed an inducible, podocyte-specific VEGF-A knockdown mouse, and we generated an immortalized podocyte cell line (VEGFKD) that downregulates VEGF-A upon doxycycline exposure. Tet-O-siVEGF:podocin-rtTA mice express VEGF shRNA in podocytes in a doxycycline-regulated manner, decreasing VEGF-A mRNA and VEGF-A protein levels in isolated glomeruli to ∼20% of non-induced controls and urine VEGF-A to ∼30% of control values a week after doxycycline induction. Induced tet-O-siVEGF:podocin-rtTA mice developed acute renal failure and proteinuria, associated with mesangiolysis and microaneurisms. Glomerular ultrastructure revealed endothelial cell swelling, GBM lamination and podocyte effacement. VEGF knockdown decreased podocyte fibronectin and glomerular endothelial alphaVbeta3 integrin in vivo. VEGF receptor-2 (VEGFR2) interacts with beta3 integrin and neuropilin-1 in the kidney in vivo and in VEGFKD podocytes. Podocyte VEGF knockdown disrupts alphaVbeta3 integrin activation in glomeruli, detected by WOW1-Fab. VEGF silencing in cultured VEGFKD podocytes downregulates fibronectin and disrupts alphaVbeta3 integrin activation cell-autonomously. Collectively, these studies indicate that podocyte VEGF-A regulates alphaVbeta3 integrin signaling in the glomerulus, and that podocyte VEGF knockdown disrupts alphaVbeta3 integrin activity via decreased VEGFR2 signaling, thereby damaging the three layers of the glomerular filtration barrier, causing proteinuria and acute renal failure.


Abstract Innovative policy measures often imply institutional adjustments. Whether such adjustments are accomplished often depends upon the presence of institutional entrepreneurship: actors who take responsibility to initiate the necessary actions to redesign existing institutional practices. The question arises under which conditions can institutional entrepreneurship be developed? And, what might be the cause of lacking institutional entrepreneurship? In this article, the latter question is examined through in-depth collaborative research project for exploring alternative, adaptive flood risk strategies for flood proofing the unembanked area of the north-end of the city district Feijenoord in Rotterdam. Due to climate change, these areas are increasingly vulnerable to flooding. The traditional, institutionalized solution of raising the ground level before initiating new spatial developments does not suffice in the long term. Therefore, the city government explored alternative strategies for more adaptive ways of dealing with flood risks. Together with representatives of key stakeholders in the area, two key strategies for the unembanked areas were elaborated. These strategies have significant implications for the distribution of costs, risks and responsibilities and necessitate alternative governance architectures that exceed the current institutional structures. During the research project, it became clear that the developed alternative strategies fundamentally differed from the current institutional system. Thus, institutional redesign was necessary. This proved to be virtually impossible, especially because none of the involved actors was willing nor capable of undertaking entrepreneurial activities to start such redesign. This observation led us to further investigate into the causes and the consequences of the absent entrepreneurship.


ABSTRACT Biofilm growth, antibiotic resistance, and mutator phenotypes are key components of chronic respiratory infections by Pseudomonas aeruginosa in cystic fibrosis patients. We examined the dynamics of mutator and antibiotic-resistant populations in P. aeruginosa flow-cell biofilms, using fluorescently tagged PAO1 and PAOMS (mutator [mutS] derivative) strains. Two-day-old biofilms were treated with ciprofloxacin (CIP) for 4 days (t4) at 2 μg/ml, which correlated with the mutant prevention concentration (MPC) and provided an AUC/MIC ratio of 384 that should predict therapeutic success. Biofilms were monitored by confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM), and the numbers of viable cells and resistant mutants (4- and 16-fold MICs) were determined. Despite optimized pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) parameters, CIP treatment did not suppress resistance development in P. aeruginosa biofilms. One-step resistant mutants (MexCD-OprJ or MexEF-OprN overexpression) were selected for both strains, while two-step resistant mutants (additional GyrA or GyrB mutation) were readily selected only from the mutator strain. CLSM analysis of competition experiments revealed that PAOMS, even when inoculated at a 0.01 proportion, took over the whole biofilm after only 2 days of CIP treatment outnumbering PAO1 by 3 log at t4. Our results show that mutational mechanisms play a major role in biofilm antibiotic resistance and that theoretically optimized PK/PD parameters fail to suppress resistance development, suggesting that the increased antibiotic tolerance driven by the special biofilm physiology and architecture may raise the effective MPC, favoring gradual mutational resistance development, especially in mutator strains. Moreover, the amplification of mutator populations under antibiotic treatment by coselection with resistance mutations is for the first time demonstrated in situ for P. aeruginosa biofilms.


Stochastic models and Monte Carlo algorithms for simulation of flow through porous media beyond the small hydraulic conductivity fluctuation assumptions are developed. The hydraulic conductivity is modelled as an isotropic random field with a lognormal distribution and prescribed correlation or spectral functions. It is sampled by a Monte Carlo method based on a randomized spectral representation. The Darcy and continuity equations with the random hydraulic conductivity are solved numerically, using the successive over relaxation method in order to extract statistical characteristics of the flow. Hybrid averaging is used: we combine spatial and ensemble avergaing to get efficient numerical procedure. We provide some conceptual and numerical comparison of various stochastic simulation techniques, and focus on the prediction of applicability of the randomized spectral models derived under the assumption of small hydraulic conductivity fluctuations.


Today's data center networks employ expensive networking equipments in associated structures that were not designed to meet the increasing requirements of the current large-scale data center services. Limitations that vary between reliability, resource utilization, and high costs are challenging. The era of cloud computing represents a promise to enable large-scale data centers. Computing platforms of such cloud service data centers consist of large number of commodity low-price servers that, with a theme of virtualization on top, can meet the performance of the expensive high-level servers at only a fraction of the price. Recently, the research in data center networks started to evolve rapidly. This opened the path for addressing many of its design and management challenges, these like scalability, reliability, bandwidth capacities, virtual machines' migration, and cost. Bandwidth resource fragmentation limits the network agility, and leads to low utilization rates, not only for the bandwidth resources, but also for the servers that run the applications. With Traffic Engineering methods, managers of such networks can adapt for rapid changes in the network traffic among their servers, this can help to provide better resource utilization and lower costs. The market is going through exciting changes, and the need to run demanding-scale services drives the work toward cloud networks. These networks that are enabled by the notation of autonomic management, and the availability of commodity low-price network equipments. This work provides the readers with a survey that presents the management challenges, design and operational constraints of the cloud-service data center networks


In reaction to the prevalent space design paradigm, we would like to explore a combination of transparent polymer laminate membranes and high tensile strength webbing as the envelope of future transparent space habitats. Further study reveals fascinating possibilities in the use a tensegrity structures as the exo- or endoskeleton for such envelopes. In the following work we look at thin shell transparent structures as possible observation modules in space habitats or as the domed component for a colony on the moon or another planet. For such structures the internal pressure is not only a load but their shaping force as well, i.e. they are de-facto inflatables. We investigate their feasibility based on available technologies, such as lobed balloons. Other sources of technological transfer are ETFE (ethylene-tetrafluoroethylene copolymer) cushions, safety laminate foils, and hi-tech laminate sails design. We further develop the basic idea of using lobed transparent membranes in space habitats through several case studies. We would finally like to spur a discussion about design process as it relates to inflatable structures.


INTRODUCTION
Atherosclerosis, which is the cause of diseases of the cardiovascular system, and frequent and serious complications of type 1 diabetes (T1DM), has an autoimmune origin. Some diseases of this type, as rheumatoid arthritis, but also Hashimoto thyroiditis or celiac disease are associated with a higher incidence of heart disease. So far no studies evaluated the preclinical phase of development of atherosclerosis (cIMT) in young patients with T1DM and the comorbid additional autoimmune diseases.

AIM OF THE STUDY
was evaluation of cIMT (carotid intima media thickness) carotid arteries and the risk factors of atherosclerosis in young patients with type 1 diabetes according to the comorbid autoimmune diseases and a comparison group of patients with known vascular complications and a group of healthy people.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
The study involved a group of 90 adolescents and young adults with T1DM in middle age 17,1±3years, with an average disease duration of 10,5±3,3 years. Diabetes patients were divided into 4 groups - diabetes without complications - C, diabetes with celiac disease - CC, diabetes with Hashimoto's thyroiditis - CH, diabetes with vascular complications - CN. The control group (K) consisted of 22 healthy age-matched volunteers. In statistical analysis rated: average A1C of all the years of illness, BMI, blood pressure, lipid values, duration of illness, presence of diabetes complications, daily insulin dose and cIMT thickness of the common carotid artery.

RESULTS
cIMT of T1DM patients was significantly higher: 0,470 mm than in healthy: 0,409 mm. In the group with vascular complications of diabetes was found the highest rate of cIMT: 0,501 mm in comparison to the group of diabetes without complications: 0,462 mm, diabetes with celiac disease: 0,462 mm, and diabetes with Hashimoto's thyroiditis: 0,453 mm. HbA1c was highest in the group CN: 9,84±1,5%, compared to CH: 9,04± 1,2%, CC: 8,84±1,8% and C without complications: 8,55±1,2%. BMI was highest in the group CN: 23,3± 4,4kg/m2and CH: 22,6 ± 2,4 kg/m2. It was the same with waist circumference: CN: 79,33± 9,39and CH: 79,2 ± 9,56 cm. Patients with vascular complications were characterized by the higher value of blood pressure and lipids compared to patients with additional autoimmune disease. Coexistence of celiac disease was not associated with a greater value of cIMT and cardiovascular risk factors in young patients with type 1 diabetes.

CONCLUSIONS
1. Increased value of cIMT, and thus increased risk of early disease of the cardiovascular system depends primarily on metabolic compensation and classic risk factors for atherosclerosis. 2. The coexistence of additional autoimmune disease does not significantly affect the value of cIMT in the study population. 3. Young patients with diabetes type 1 and coexisting Hashimoto disease have greater BMI and waist circumference, what can lead to earlier macroangiopathy in the future.


In 1921 and 1924, the United States passed laws to sharply reduce the influx of immigrants into the country. By allocating only small quotas to the nations of southern and eastern Europe, and banning almost all immigration from Asia, the new laws were supposed to stem the tide of foreigners considered especially inferior and dangerous. However, immigrants continued to come, sailing into the port of New York with fake passports, or from Cuba to Florida, hidden in the holds of boats loaded with contraband liquor. Jews, one of the main targets of the quota laws, figured prominently in the new international underworld of illegal immigration. They ultimately managed to escape permanent association with the identity of the "illegal alien" in a way that other groups, such as Mexicans, thus far, have not. In After They Closed the Gates, Libby Garland tells the untold stories of the Jewish migrants and smugglers involved in that underworld, showing how such stories contributed to growing national anxieties about illegal immigration. Garland also helps us understand how Jews were linked to, and then unlinked from, the specter of illegal immigration. By tracing this complex history, Garland offers compelling insights into the contingent nature of citizenship, belonging, and Americanness.


Hungary was compelled to release great emigration waves several times during the course of its history. In 1956, shortly after the Post-War polarisation and the Hungarian uprising, the Irish government granted asylum to 541 Hungarian refugees. The arrival of the Hungarians marked Ireland's first participation in the UN refugee program and consequently had a series of outcomes which were unplanned as the Irish government struggled to find a long-term solution to the situation in the Knocknalisheen refugee camp where the Hungarians were first housed. This study gives voice to the experiences of these twenty former Hungarian refugees who came to Ireland over 50 years ago and remained in Ireland when the majority eventually relocated to Canada once they experienced the reality of economic conditions in Ireland. Set in a qualitative framework, this research explores the cross-cultural adaptation of members of the Hungarian community in Ireland: what it meant fifty years ago to adapt to a new culture, and to preserve national identity in a political situation, when there was no way back home. Data was collected through twenty interviews, archive documents and newspapers and a Grounded Theory approach was applied for the interviews and content analysis for the documents.

This study contributes to existing research in the field of cross-cultural adaptation, by making visible the experiences of a group of Hungarian refugees, and extending our understanding of the challenges they faced at that time. It provides insights into the socio-political consequences of the arrival of the Hungarian refugees in 1956 into an impoverished and deeply conservative Ireland from both host society and newcomer perspectives. These had implications for employment prospects for the refugees and also raised gender issues for the refugees in their new society. Finally, this study also provides insights on identity change in the cross-cultural adaptation process, as well as identifying strategies for preservation of one's original culture while adapting to a new cultural environment and the loss of the heritage language from first to second generation.


Abstract Washington‐Tehran relations have come to occupy centrestage in the recent months given the United States' current preoccupation with the Middle East. The US‐Iran association can be traced back to 1953, when the CIA organised a coup to oust the elected government of Mohammed Mossadeq. Since then, the US has never really disengaged itself from the one of the most strategically important Middle East nations. This paper attempts to identify current US concerns regarding Iran and explores the possibility of a US offensive against Iran similar to that in Iraq. The US‐Iran relations have the potential of transforming into better, long‐lasting ties provided the US takes into account some critical issues.


This paper presents an efficient and effective method for an optimal pulsewidth-modulated (PWM) control of switched-capacitor dc-dc power converters. Optimal switching instants are determined based on minimizing the output ripple magnitude, the output leakage voltage and the sensitivity of the output load voltage with respect to both the input voltage and the load resistance. This optimal PWM control strategy has several advantages over conventional PWM control strategies: 1) it does not involve a linearization, so a large-signal analysis is performed; and 2) it guarantees the optimality. The problem is solved via both the model transformation and the optimal enhancing control techniques. A practical example of the PWM control of a switched-capacitor dc-dc power converter is presented.


ABSTRACT: The Coal Mine Roof Rating (CMRR) system was developed ten years ago to fill the gap between geologic characterization and engineering design. It combines many years of geologic studies in underground coal mines and worldwide experience with rock mass classification systems. Like other classification systems, the CMRR begins with the premise that the structural competence of mine roof rock is determined primarily by the discontinuities that weaken the rock fabric. Since its introduction, CMRR has been incorporated into many aspects of mine planning, including longwall pillar design, roof support selection, feasibility studies, and extended cut evaluation. It has also become truly international, with involvement in mine designs and funded research projects in South Africa, Canada, and Australia. Most recently, a new streamlined process to determine the CMRR from exploratory drill cores has been developed. Just three types of information are now required: • Fracture spacing Rock Quality Designation (RQD) from a standard geotechnical drill log • Uniaxial compressive strength from standard lab tests, geophysical downhole logging, or axial point load tests, and; • Diametral point load testing. The CMRR has been implemented in a computer program, which can be obtained from NIOSH free of charge. The program facilitates calculation of the CMRR from either underground or drillcore data. Values from many locations can be saved in a single file, and an interface with autocad allows CMRR contour plots to be integrated into mine planning.


We investigate a spectrum sensing method based on asymptotic analysis of the discrete Fourier transform of the received multiantenna signal, possibly non-Gaussian, for flat-fading primary user signals in white noise under noise variance uncertainty. The proposed approach is based on the generalized likelihood ratio test (GLRT) paradigm for a restricted version of the problem obtained by ignoring the spatial structure of the primary users' received signals, and it permits the noise variances to be different at different antennas without requiring knowledge of their values. Simulation examples show the efficacy of the proposed approach compared with the energy detector and some existing time-domain GLRT approaches. A performance analysis of the proposed detector is carried out and verified via simulations. It is also shown that the proposed test statistic is equivalent to an existing time-domain GLRT statistic except that the latter has been derived under the assumption that received signal is Gaussian whereas we make no such assumption.


The scheme for solving of a mixed problem is proposed for a differential equation \[a(x)\frac{\partial T}{\partial \tau}= \frac{\partial}{\partial x} \left(c(x)\frac{\partial T}{\partial x}\right) -g(x)\, T\] with coefficients $a(x)$, $g(x)$ that are the generalized derivatives of functions of bounded variation, $c(x)>0$, $c^{-1}(x)$ is a bounded and measurable function. The boundary and initial conditions have the form $$p_{1}T(0,\tau)+p_{2}T^{[1]}_x (0,\tau)= \psi_1(\tau), q_{1}T(l,\tau)+q_{2}T^{[1]}_x (l,\tau)= \psi_2(\tau), $$ $$T(x,0)=\varphi(x), $$ where $p_1 p_2\leq 0$, $q_1 q_2\geq 0$ and by $T^{[1]}_x (x,\tau)$ we denote the quasiderivative $c(x)\frac{\partial T}{\partial x}$. A solution of this problem seek by the reduction method in the form of sum of two functions $T(x,\tau)=u(x,\tau)+v(x,\tau)$. This method allows to reduce solving of proposed problem to solving of two problems: a quasistationary boundary problem with initial and boundary conditions for the search of the function $u(x,\tau)$ and a mixed problem with zero boundary conditions for some inhomogeneous equation with an unknown function $v(x,\tau)$. The first of these problems is solved through the introduction of the quasiderivative. Fourier method and expansions in eigenfunctions of some boundary value problem for the second-order quasidifferential equation $\big(c(x)X'(x)\big)' -g(x)X(x)+ \omega a(x)X(x)=0$ are used for solving of the second problem. The function $v(x,\tau)$ is represented as a series in eigenfunctions of this boundary value problem. The results can be used in the investigation process of heat transfer in a multilayer plate.


Climate change has mutated from being a physical phenomenon to be studied to an idea to be contested. The sites of adjudication between competing truth claims have therefore moved from the secluded academy and scientific peer review to the vociferous agora and the extended peer community. This move is illustrated here using the case of the shrinking glaciers of Mt Kilimanjaro. Both the British engineer Guy Callendar, in 1944, and the American campaigner Al Gore, in 2006, claimed that the primary cause of this glacial recession was rising world temperature. Both were passionate believers in the reality of human-induced global warming, but they had very different resources at their disposal to advance these beliefs. While Callendar's claim was revealed only to the editor of the science journal Nature, Gore's claims were visible to millions through his film An Inconvenient Truth. While the force of Callendar's claim was weighed and adjudicated by one peer reviewer, the validity of Gore's claim was tested very publicly in the British courts. Both claims about the cause of Kilimanjaro's retreating glaciers were found wanting. The paper argues that this simple, but powerful, comparison between identical claims-making drawn from two different eras of science, yet with contrasting processes of truth-adjudication, illuminates the different 'post-normal' world of science climate change now inhabits. The case study is used to reflect on the role of the extended peer community in establishing and validating scientific knowledge about climate change: who participates, how trust is stabilised and whether science is thereby democratised.


We present Merlion, a system that enables end-users to build custom mobile applications by creating mashups from existing desktop applications. The original application executes on a machine running remote desktop software (such as VNC server) without any modifications. Users can utilize the Merlion Designer to select relevant visual regions of the original application and create an alternate layout that is more suitable to their circumstances (e.g. taking the screen real-estate of their mobile device into account). Once the custom application has been designed, the user can utilize the Merlion Runtime (running on the user's mobile device) to interact with their custom application. Merlion can improve user productivity by simplifying user interfaces, automate repetitive actions, make applications available across different mobile form factors, and can allow applications that work on different OS platforms to operate in concert. In this paper, we describe the design of the Merlion system, details of our initial prototype, and discussion of the benefits and challenges of our approach.