The challenges to social security systems, the need for change and their capacity to adapt are a focus of attention in recent times. This paper concentrates on the new needs and risks affected by changes in family structures and the division of labour between generations and genders, and investigates which place family- and care-related needs and risks occupy in the changing German 'welfare mix'. The new German Long-Term Care Insurance implemented in 1995 is discussed in more detail as a major piece of welfare-state reform and expansion. The chances for the extension of social rights and coverage of 'new' risks related to unpaid work, care needs and activities, the economic consequences of divorce, lone parenthood and childrearing are discussed. Particular constraints which result from the German political system and power balances as well as from internal structures of the social security system are identified. This paper stresses the need for a comprehensive and sufficiently broad approach to coordinated reform in the social security provisions in order to embrace the complementary regulation of welfare-state and family law regulation. However, the chances for such a coordinated path of reform (as against a piecemeal strategy where reform takes place at the level of single institutions) look rather gloomy because of the complexity of such an endeavour, the multiplicity of actors involved, the power relations and split competences in the German political system. This reinforces the 'path dependency' of the German social security system, which allows for some, though limited, upgrading of care-related social rights for women. In a similar vein, the formerly 'private' life-risk of need for long-term care was transformed into a risk covered by insurance but within rather traditional parameters.


Background: First trimester screening is a program used to identify any chromosome abnormalities in the first trimester of pregnancy by combining ultrasonography and biochemical markers. The aim of this study is to analyse the relationship between ultrasonography (NT, CRL) and biochemical markers (PAPP-A, β-hCG) with the levels of paraoxonase (PON1), a multifunctional enzyme associated with High-Density Lipoprotein (HDL) and Arylesterase (ARE)-level PON1 phenotypic distribution which are the parameters used in the first trimester screening program.
Materials and Methods: Included in the study were pregnant women (n=114) in weeks 11-13 of pregnancy who had undergone first trimester screening tests. Risks were determined through the use of Benetech PRA software, Serum PON1, ARE and stPON1 values were analysed, and PON1 phenotypic distribution was determined through the double substrate method.
Results: No significant correlation was found between the results of the PON1 and ARE activities and the first trimester screening parameters. The Q allele frequency of the study group was 0.787, while the R allele frequency was 0.213. The PON1 phenotype distributions of the pregnant women were as follows: 66 (58%) QQ, 45 (39.4%) QR and 3 (2.6%) RR phenotypes respectively.
Conclusion: There is a need for more advanced studies to evaluate the relationship between the serum PON1, ARE and PON1 phenotypic distributions of pregnant women in their first trimesters with the complications that may develop in later stages of pregnancy.


Background: A polymorphism in exon 4 (C77G) of CD45 that alters CD45 splicing has been associated with autoimmune and infectious diseases in humans. Objective: To investigate the effect of C77G in hepatitis C virus (HCV) infected individuals and study the phenotype and function of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from healthy and hepatitis C infected C77G carriers. Results: C77G individuals showed an increased proportion of primed CD45RA and effector memory CD8 T cells and more rapid activation of the lymphocyte specific protein tyrosine kinase (Lck) following CD3 stimulation. Transgenic mice with CD45 expression mimicking that in human C77G variants had more activated/memory T cells, more rapid proliferative responses, and activation of Lck. Conclusions: Changes in CD45 isoform expression can alter immune function in human C77G variants and CD45 transgenic mice. The C77G allele may influence the outcome of HCV infection.


Since the Arab region largely belongs to the arid climate zone, concerns of fresh water availability in the context of population changes have a long tradition and are well entrenched in the Arab culture. In the future, however, this region is likely to face unprecedented challenges which result from a combination of continued very rapid population growth, combined with the prospect of significant climate warming. This paper presents alternative population scenarios to 2100 which are based on different fertility, mortality and migration assumptions and show that the population of the Arab region is still likely to increase by a factor of more than four. A more extreme scenario combining slow fertility declines with rapid mortality improvements may even result in an eightfold increase by the end of the next century. On the climate side, different General Circulation Models (GCMs) anticipate for the region increases in average temperature of between 3.0 and 4.5 degrees Celsius under doubled CO2 conditions (likely to be reached during the second half of the next century). The combination of these two trends makes population-environment issues in the region a vital challenge.

Because appropriate action requires appropriate scientific analysis which in the field of population-environment interactions is almost entirely lacking, the second part of the paper presents the outline of a possible research strategy. The PDE (Population-Development-Environment) approach that has already been applied to several case studies is proposed as a comprehensive strategy to encourage an interdisciplinary discussion and a science-policy dialogue around the building of a computer-based simulation model of these interactions, which has proven to be a useful facilitating tool.


A Gy4 glycinin cDNA was modified and used to produce structurally altered 11S storage protein subunits. We evaluated these modified subunits for their ability to assemble into oligomers. Alterations made in the acidic polypeptide changed the subunit solubility characteristics but did not eliminate assembly. Modifications in the basic polypeptide usually eliminated assembly of subunits into trimers. A region exhibiting high natural variability located at the COOH terminus of the acidic polypeptide that we have designated the hypervariable region was also studied. Extensive deletions and insertions were tolerated in the hypervariable region without perturbing subunit assembly. Some of the insertions significantly increased the methionine content in the Gy4 glycinin subunit. Together, our results indicated that the structure of the basic polypeptide was more critical for assembly of trimers than that of the acidic polypeptide, an observation that implies that the basic polypeptides direct trimer formation. The assembly assays described here will be useful in efforts to improve seed quality. Using them, the effects of modifications to the storage protein subunits can be rapidly evaluated before introducing the mutated genes into plants.


While the tenets of postmodernism, in its diverse theoretical forms, articulate a wide spectrum of social, individual and epistemic features, factors such as economic and cultural configurations, identity, media technologies and media consumption are common constituents. Although, in the view of many commentators, postmodernism's 'heyday' as a pervasive mode of sociological and philosophical theory was the 1980s, its ethos and expression can be contemporaneously reflected within celebrity culture. This is because the lives of the famous are now central components of media output, dominating journalistic news culture (to the extent of raising professional fears that it is progressively eclipsing hard news coverage), from professional activities to global news coverage of events such as the birth and subsequent naming of Kim Kardashian and Kanye West's second child, Saint, in December 2015. Furthermore, celebrity discourse is an omnipresent element across social media platforms, where their professional and personal activities are continuously visualised, analysed and commented upon (from peons of devotion to aggressive and vitriolic 'trolling'). Yet, such platforms (Facebook, Twitter or Instagram) are also stages from which celebrities such as Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift or Rihanna incessantly post their own messages and images to tens of millions of followers across the globe. Moreover, in addition to the relentless circulation of celebrity images, television genres such as reality TV have established new pantheons of 'ordinary' celebrities whose public identities exist in a middle-state of constructed reality between their real lives and contrived, edited and directed activities (indeed, the distinctively Baudrillardian phrase 'constructed reality' is now the given term for reality TV shows such as the series The Only Way Is Essex and Made in Chelsea).


This paper reviews the role of national administered protection agencies, whose responsibility is the enforcement of national trade remedy laws. After reviewing four recent trade remedy cases we argue that the role of the national administered protection agencies should be changed. Given the additional responsibilities the WTO has assumed in administering the Agreement on Agriculture, the growth of regional integration agreements and the increasing use of anti-dumping and countervailing duty actions against fairly traded imports, we argue that all trade actions should be taken to the WTO for settlement. The role of the national administered protection agencies should be changed to make them agents for trade liberalization. This would involve them taking on three primary functions: 1) as transparency agents; 2) as investigatory agents; and 3) as advocacy agents.


People once stood in awe of electricity, writes Dale Zand, until scientists identified and harnessed its three basic variables: voltage, current, and resistance. Likewise, people marvel at the achievements of successful leaders, such as Lee Iacocca at Chrysler or Jack Welch at GE, and wonder how they do it. In this superb volume, Zand dispels the mystery surrounding leadership so that managers at all levels - from the CEO to the shop supervisor - can develop the skills needed to lead effectively. Zand highlights the three elements required for leadership in today's information-driven organizations: knowledge, trust, and power. Knowledge, Zand argues, is essential to decision making: Leaders must be able to tap information about customers, products, and processes found throughout the organization. The book brims with suggestions about how to tap this knowledge. The author demonstrates, for instance, how a leader's attitudes and behavior can release (or repress) the flow of knowledge in a corporation (he shows how at one failed home-appliance company managers suppressed information about customer complaints and reprimanded factory workers for suggesting changes, fatal mistakes); he outlines how the skillful use of questions can draw out and highlight the knowledge managers and workers possess; and he discusses how to avoid subtle obstacles (such as the complacency of success) to improve the link between knowledge and action. Trust, the second element of the triad, helps a leader achieve open, collaborative communication. Indeed, Zand shows that the degree to which people trust a leader determines how much access they will give him or her to their knowledge. The book explores the key elements in the development of trust (a leader must disclose relevant information, share influence, live up to the spirit of agreements, and not abuse power) and also illustrates some basic laws of trust - mistrust drives out trust; trust stimulates productivity; and mistrusting groups self-destruct. Zand then considers power, showing how the leader must set the agenda for the firm; select, develop, and motivate the people who will implement the agenda; and examine and adjust individual performance. Equally important, he shows that in today's knowledge-driven corporation, the effective leader rarely issues directives, but instead acts more as a consultant or a client. At Chrysler, for example, CEO Robert Eaton, senior managers, and project leaders all meet when a new car model is to be created or redesigned. After the objectives are worked out, the team is turned loose to organize itself and get the job done. Freed from constant second-guessing by top bosses, teams work harder and take greater pride in their work. By the mid-1990s, this design-consignment process at Chrysler was so effective that the companys speed to market and reduction of development costs far exceeded its U. S. competitors. Masterfully written, Triadic Leadership is a down-to-earth, powerful guide. Full of examples-many from the author's consulting experience-of companies from General Motors, Wal-Mart, and American Express to electronics, manufacturing, and health care organizations, it offers a wealth of practical information to managers at all levels, and to anyone who aspires to a leadership position.


Polymath, and also political scientist, Herbert Simon dared to point out that the amounts of time, information, computation, and other resources required for maximizing utility far exceed what is possible when real people have to make real decisions in the real world. In psychology, there are two main approaches to studying actual human judgment and decision making—the heuristics-and-bias and the fast-and-frugal-heuristics research programs. A distinctive characteristic of the fast-and-frugal-heuristics program is that it specifies formal models of heuristics and attempts to determine when people use them and what performance they achieve. These models rely on a few pieces of information that are processed in computationally simple ways. The information and computation are within human reach, which means that people rely on information they have relatively easy access to and employ simple operations such as summing or comparing numbers. Research in the laboratory and in the wild has found that most people use fast and frugal heuristics most of the time if a decision must be made quickly, information is expensive financially or cognitively to gather, or a single/few attributes of the problem strongly point towards an option. The ways in which people switch between heuristics is studied in the framework of the adaptive toolbox. Work employing computer simulations and mathematical analyses has uncovered conditions under which fast and frugal heuristics achieve higher performance than benchmarks from statistics and machine learning, and vice versa. These conditions constitute the theory of ecological rationality. This theory suggests that fast and frugal heuristics perform better than complex optimization models if the available information is of low quality or scarce, or if there exist dominant options or attributes. The bias-variance decomposition of statistical prediction error, which is explained in layperson's terms, underpins these claims. Research on fast and frugal heuristics suggests a governance approach not based on nudging, but on boosting citizen competence.


OBJECTIVE
To assess the challenges and needs of colorectal cancer (CRC) survivors in maintaining employment and returning to work (RTW) from the perspectives of both CRC survivors and employers in the United States.

METHODS
Semi-structured interviews with CRC survivors (n = 10) and employers (n = 4) were transcribed, coded and thematically analysed using NVivo 12 software.

RESULTS
Workplace challenges for survivors included the following: inadequate availability of paid and unpaid leave, limited availability of workplace accommodations, and employers' lack of knowledge about CRC and the recovery process. Survivors were concerned about the lack of adequate financial resources to take unpaid leave and the need to relearn control of bodily functions. Workplace challenges for employers of cancer survivors included the following: limited institutional flexibility to provide individualised accommodations, communication with frontline managers about leave availability for employees and communication with employees about legal protections and limitations. Employers perceived that employees were unwilling to take leave.

CONCLUSION
Colorectal cancer survivors in the US face difficult, sometimes insurmountable, challenges when trying to balance their physical and financial needs within the constraints of employment. Employers recognise challenges associated with this concern. Multi-level interventions-ranging from flexible work schedules to training for frontline managers-might facilitate the RTW process.


A new study of two open clusters, M16 and M67, and two globular clusters, M3 and M71 is presented, exploring data taken with the WFC/INT and the Hubble Space Tele- scope (HST) in a variety of broad-band filters. A dedicated, fully functioning reduction pipeline was constructed to reduce the data used in this study. Employing SExtractor, photometry is conducted in both g and i band filters to obtain Hertzsprung-Russell (HR) diagrams which are fitted with isochrones to determine the average age, distance, metallicity and extinction of each cluster. We find that M16 is ≈ 2 kpc away, with a high dust extinction of E(B-V)≈ 0.5. For M67 the distance was found to be ≈ 0.7 kpc and the cluster is less affected by extinction, showing E(B-V)≈ 0.2. M3 is consistent with being 13 kpc away and it shows little to no extinction. For M71 the distance was found to be ∼ 3kpc and we estimate a moderate extinction of E(B-V)≈ 0.25. The re- sults of this study highlight the stark contrast between open and globular clusters. We find that M16 and M67 (open clusters) have average ages of < 10 Myrs and 3.5 Gyrs, respectively. Globular clusters are found to be much older with ages of 9.5Gyrs and 11 Gyrs for M3 and M71, respectively. It was found that open clusters contained stars that are on average more metal-poor, with lower metallicities of [Fe/H]≈ −0.8 to [Fe/H]≈ −0.5, compared to [Fe/H]≈ −0.5 and [Fe/H]≈ 0.05 for M16 and M67, re- spectively. Future work could be undertaken to correct for issues found in this study, and investigate/infer the metallicities of the birth clouds.


Most evapotranspiration over land occurs through vegetation. The fraction of net radiation balanced by evapotranspiration depends on stomatal controls. Stomates transpire water for the leaf to assimilate carbon, depending on the canopy carbon demand, and on root uptake, if it is limiting. Canopy carbon demand in turn depends on the balancing between visible photon-driven and enzyme-driven steps in the leaf carbon physiology. The enzymedriven component is here represented by a Rubisco-related nitrogen reservoir that interacts with plant‐soil nitrogen cycling and other components of a climate model. Previous canopy carbon models included in GCMs have assumed either fixed leaf nitrogen, that is, prescribed photosynthetic capacities, or an optimization between leaf nitrogen and light levels so that in either case stomatal conductance varied only with light levels and temperature. A nitrogen model is coupled to a previously derived but here modified carbon model and includes, besides the enzyme reservoir, additional plant stores for leaf structure and roots. It also includes organic and mineral reservoirs in the soil; the latter are generated, exchanged, and lost by biological fixation, deposition and fertilization, mineralization, nitrification, root uptake, denitrification, and leaching. The root nutrient uptake model is a novel and simple, but rigorous, treatment of soil transport and root physiological uptake. The other soil components are largely derived from previously published parameterizations and global budget constraints. The feasibility of applying the derived biogeochemical cycling model to climate model calculations of evapotranspiration is demonstrated through its incorporation in the Biosphere‐Atmosphere Transfer Scheme land model and a 17-yr Atmospheric Model Inter comparison Project II integration with the NCAR CCM3 GCM. The derived global budgets show land net primary production (NPP), fine root carbon, and various aspects of the nitrogen cycling are reasonably consistent with past studies. Time series for monthly statistics averaged over model grid points for the Amazon evergreen forest and lower Colorado basin demonstrate the coupled interannual variability of modeled precipitation, evapotranspiration, NPP, and canopy Rubisco enzymes.


Introduction: Diabetes and its complications have a significant impact on patients' quality of life and spirituality can help improve the quality of life in such patients. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship of spirituality with quality of life in patients with Type 2 diabetes. Materials and Methods: This was a descriptive-correlation study. Participants were 145 individuals with type 2 diabetes, patients of rural health clinics and the Valiasr hospital in Khorramshahr city, selected via stratified random and sampling methods. Data collection tools were a version of 29item of the spiritual questionnaire (Parsian and Dunning) and a version of 26-item of the Quality of Life Questionnaire (World Health Organization), both questionnaires with previously confirmed validity and reliability in numerous studies. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 16 software and Pearson's correlation, T-test, ANOVA, Post Hoc and Stepwise Regression analytical statistics. Results: There was a significant positive relationship between spirituality and quality of life (p<0.0001). The results show a statistically significant relationship between spirituality and quality of life with both education and age. Conclusion: A strong correlation between spirituality and quality of life in patients with type II diabetes, demonstrates the roles and responsibilities of healthcare providers, including physicians, nurses and patients' families in meeting the varied spiritual and religious needs of patients along with their therapeutic management. Focusing on improving spiritual health is also important in education programs for these patients. © 2016, Endocrine Research Center. All rights reserved.


Approximate inelastic strain estimation is of great use in several types of applications. Besides classical nonlinear FEA, robust techniques such as Neuber's rule, EGLOSS, etc., are available for this purpose. These robust techniques are applicable for small loads just above the initial yield. These methods find secant modulus based on unbalanced local element energy. They do not account for change in the yield boundary while computing secant modulus. Several traditional secant techniques were developed to update the secant stiffness directly in FEA based on nonlinear schemes. The present study explores simple and systematic methods for determining inelastic effects based on line search and direct secant modulus. The main concept of these methods is the minimization of the total residual energy after first linear FEA. A line search with the displacements due to the unbalanced forces spreads the yield zone considerably closer to the actual state. -- The present study summarizes important categories of available techniques based on the Newton-Raphson and secant schemes (traditional as well as robust). Seven different possible alternatives for robust estimation of inelastic strain based on line search are examined. Two schemes based on Neuber's rule are examined. These are compared with full nonlinear analysis and EGLOSS, etc. The schemes are applied to study the problems of simply supported beam, propped cantilever, fixed beam (all with UDL), bending of rectangular plate with irregular boundary, simple truss, stretching of a plate with a hole, thick cylinder with internal pressure, thick cylinder with a circumferential notch, and torisherical shell. The problems were studied for load ranging from just above initial yield to nearly limit loads. The studies indicate that the line search techniques significantly improve the predictions as compared to those made by existing robust techniques. Recommendations based on these results have been made. Two alternatives have been found to be good for general bending and stretching type problems. Another alternative has been found to be good for strain concentration problems.


The cultural context of my question is the Faculty of Nursing at Fukuoka Prefectural University in Japan. The history, economics and politics of this social context are important to my inquiry as I am seeking to influence the education and the social formation of a new faculty of nursing through the design and pedagogisation of a curriculum for healing and enquiring nurses. This is also the context for my own learning between September 2004 & September 2008 as I ask, research and answer the question: 'How am I developing a curriculum and pedagogy for healing and enquiring nurses in living my life of learning as an educational inquiry?' The research context focuses on my knowledge-creation as I seek to answer my questions and contribute to the development of a new epistemology for a new scholarship of educational inquiry for healing nurses. The development of this epistemology will be studied as part of the process through which the embodied knowledge of nursing practitioners is validated and legitimated as nursing attributes of professional praxis in relationship to embracing healing and care. This will involve the clarification of my embodied values in the process of their emergence in my nursing and teaching practice. Such a process will also involve the clarification of my own values and knowledge as I design and pedagogise a curriculum for the healing and enquiring nurse. In the process of this clarification, the embodied values and knowledge become transformed into a life affirming flow of energy as living educational standards of judgment and practice. These can be used to evaluate the validity of my knowledge claims and praxis, with my peers.


State policy makers face important choices in responding to P.L. 99–157 that will greatly affect the future course of preschool special education and have important educational and economic implications. This paper reviews the current situation in preschool special education: who is served, how they are served, and what it costs. It goes on to examine how alternative responses to P.L. 99–457 might alter who is served and what kinds of programs are provided. It is argued that large expansions in the population served and significant changes in the types of programs offered may be warranted. The available choices are shown to have different economic implications and a strategy is recommended for developing state preschool special education polices that take into account costs as well as benefits.


INTRODUCTION The massive devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana and Mississippi in August 2005(1) left behind shattered communities that will be left to pick up the pieces for months and years to come.2 The alarming number of hurricanes to strike the United States coastline in 2004 and 20053 suggests that history can, and likely will, repeat itself. Significant breakdowns in communication and confused emergency and law enforcement responses from local, state, and federal officials in the hours and days after Hurricane Katrina led to chaos and panic in the affected areas, endangering citizens' property and lives.4 The delayed reaction to this crisis suggests the need for an expansion of existing presidential authority to use active military forces to rapidly secure the disaster area and rescue survivors.5 This Note will argue that Congress should supply the President, and by extension, the military, authority to engage in domestic law enforcement when circumstances dictate rapid action to prevent widespread loss of life and property, such as in the case of Hurricane Katrina. Part I examines the failure ofthe local, state, and federal response in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Part II explores the history and legality of presidential authority to deploy federal troops in domestic theaters. Part III examines previous instances in which the President has used existing statutory authority to use federal troops in domestic emergencies. Part IV examines the arguments made against weakening the posse comitatus doctrine, and how they translate to modern American policy and values. Finally, Part V concludes with recommendations to modify the federal structure to give the President more flexibility in ordering federal troops into active duty in times of extreme emergency. I. LOCAL, STATE, AND FEDERAL RESPONSE TO THE KATRINA DISASTER Hurricane Katrina crashed ashore near the border of Louisiana and Mississippi on August 29, 20056 with 145-mile-per-hour winds7 and a twenty- to thirty-foot storm surge.8 The wind and rain from the hurricane caused the levees protecting the city of New Orleans from Lake Pontchartrain's waters to fail,9 engulfing over eighty percent of the city in up to twenty feet of water.10 The flooding stranded 20,000 New Orleans residents at the Louisiana Superdome, which was intended only to be a "shelter of last resort."11 Thousands more were stranded on building rooftops for over two days without food or water, trying desperately to stay out of the flood- water.12 Local and state authorities struggled to respond to the overwhelmingly massive rescue and relief effort brought on by the breach of New Orleans' levees.13 Louisiana National Guard troops evacuated their headquarters to the Superdome, and communications were nonexistent among the troops leading the rescue effort.14 Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico stated that 200 National Guard troops were packed and ready to go to New Orleans, but two days passed before state officials responded to Richardson's offer of assistance.15 More than 250 members ofthe New Orleans Police Department abandoned their duties in the days following the flooding, and reports indicated that some officers even looted homes and businesses.16 In the absence of law enforcement in the city, many stranded residents looted local stores, carrying away electronics, clothing, shoes, and firearms.17 Property owners defended themselves on their own using shotguns and small firearms.18 By August 3 1 , two days after the storm's landfall, the Mayor of New Orleans had ordered the city's police to abandon search and rescue efforts and return to their traditional duties of law enforcement.19 Supply trucks were delayed entering the city because drivers refused to proceed without a police escort, and Baton Rouge abandoned its offer to send riot-trained officers to New Orleans after its chief administrative officer decided he did not want to place so many of his officers in harm's way. …


Neither universalism nor isolationism can be regarded as legitimate representations of a pluralist global society. In economic terms the current paradigm engenders instability by enhancing inequality within and among diverse constituencies. The present-day factual reality denies the zero-sum game pattern and, together with that, the reliability of the Westphalian model. What type of legal processes should be used in order to ensure investor protection for the purpose of concluding free trade agreements between the EU and a sovereign of equal calibre? With this question in mind and against the reality of an enlarged EU and other altered economic contingencies, this essay explores a number of relevant disputes on investor protection obligations and state aid control. Eventually, the essay advocates a model based on enhanced systematic – and thus open – communication across various constituencies and a more perceptive contemplation of the interactions between state and non-state trade governance as ground for a new conception of international trade relations in the new millennium.


A three-dimensional model of root system development and soil water flow is described and applied to actual conditions along a hillslope. In the model, gravitropism, hydrotropism, and circumnutation were employed as the main factors controlling root elongation. Root systems of 2-yr-old pine trees ( Pinus massoniana Lamb.) on natural slopes in southern China were excavated and examined, and their development was simulated through the use of continuously monitored temperature and rainfall data. In the simulated root systems, angles between first-order lateral root segments and the vertical direction on the upslope portion of a tree were larger than those on the downslope portion of the tree; hence, root systems exhibited asymmetric architectures. This asymmetry was more obvious for root systems developed on the downslope side of the hillslope. Because root systems simulated without the effect of hydrotropism did not develop asymmetric architectures, the direction of soil water flux and the effect of hydrotropism appear to be the main factors contributing to the observed architectural asymmetry, typical of root systems along hillslopes. Calculations with the proposed root system model were helpful in elucidating and understanding the predominant processes affecting root system development on hillslopes.


Higher education institutes are undergoing fundamental changes and rapid development. Customers (faculty, staff, student)2 demand high quality services at reasonable and affordable costs. Customer dissatisfaction and a growing awareness of gaps between actual and ideal service have led to intensifying pressure to improve quality.

Total Quality Management (TQM) is considered one of the most important methods adopted by managers in recent decades to make their organizations more sustainable, competitive and profitable. It has been admitted that TQM is not embraced by universities as much as industries and governments, particularly in developing countries.

The present research is an important first exploratory empirical study of TQM implementation in Iran which assesses the extent to which the TQM approach is applied in Medical Sciences Universities (MSUs) and to propose a convenient model for effective implementation of TQM to promote the performance of the universities, increasing of customer satisfaction and to remain competitive in the region.

The data were obtained from the field work at two major Iranian medical sciences universities as the representatives of MSUs through self administered questionnaires (adapted from an established Baldrige model) and also face to face semi structured interviews regarding the research objectives and research questions with a rage of stakeholders. The questionnaire aimed to investigate the implementation of TQM in MSUs, while, semi-structured interviews aimed to gain an understanding of themes which had emerged from the questionnaire as well as to validate the findings resulting from the questionnaire.

Different statistical techniques (e.g. descriptive analysis, multiple regression, spearman"s correlation, Kruskal-Wallis) were used to describe the respondents" characteristics and identify and explain findings of the data .The analysis of the data revealed that although the current state of the TQM practice in MSUs, in terms of seven Baldrige educational categories, is not satisfied, but it seems the universities have started improving in some areas. The results also indicated four new TQM implementation impediments: a) managers are multi jobs b) financial problems of the staff and lack of interest in participating in TQM training and programs, c) non accountability of the mangers to the ministry, and d) lack of time for TQM implementation. In addition the results showed that, there is a correlation amongst the seven categories. Also, it was found that the government (the ministry) policy acts as an encouraging factor to implement TQM successfully through the assessment of the senior leaders of the university. Moreover, the results showed that there is no difference in their levels of views on Baldrige TQM model by male and female respondents.

The study has proposed a model which would be more helpful to the top managements of hifgher education institutions for providing the quality educational service to their customers as well as improvement in the delivery mechanisms.

The research has identified some useful implications for Universities leadership and academic researchers. The study concludes by identifying recommendations of further research, considers the limitations of the research and discusses the researcher"s personal learning.


Abstract The largest population of endangered humpback chub Gila cypha inhabits the Colorado River below Glen Canyon Dam and the lower 14 km of the Little Colorado River (LCR), Arizona. Currently, adults from both rivers spawn and their progenies grow and recruit to adulthood primarily within the LCR, where we studied G. cypha's life history using hoop net capture data. Humpback chub undergo an ontogenesis from diurnally active, vulnerable, nearshore-reliant young-of-the-year (YOY; 30–90 mm total length) into nocturnally active, large-bodied adults (≥180 mm TL). During the day, adults primarily resided in deep midchannel pools; however, at night they dispersed inshore amongst the higher densities of YOY conspecifics. Many YOY G. cypha shifted to nocturnal habitats that provided greater cover, possibly, to avoid inshore invading adults. These findings mirror predator-prey scenarios described in other freshwater assemblages, but do not refute other plausible hypotheses. Gila cypha piscivorous activity may escalate in hoop nets, which can confine fish of disparate sizes together; adults were significantly associated with YOY conspecifics and small dead fish in hoop nets at night and eight G. cypha (156–372 mm TL) regurgitated and/or defecated other fish body parts during handling following capture. Gila cypha can definitely be piscivorous given the opportunity, but the magnitude of their piscivorous activity in the wild is debatable.


Laser based efficient new nanofabrication methods with technical feasibility for the fast uptake in industrial application are of significant global demand. A recent simplest approach in this way is the standard pulsed laser deposition (PLD), used since 1960s after the development of high power lasers. Over all, PLD is a fit method towards the preparation of a variety of nanomaterials only for research purpose. Nevertheless, the method is relatively slow and could not adopted in industrial scale application. A recent new-fangled development in this direction is the atmospheric-PLD (APLD), where ablation of the target by a laser pulse occurs at atmospheric gas pressure and the ablated material is delivered to the substrate using a flowing medium such as gas or atmospheric plasma. With this method, a variety of nanomaterials such as plasmonic metal NP film could be produced for practical ap


Background: Injury patterns in elite athletes over long periods continue to evolve. The goal of this study was to review of the injuries and medical conditions afflicting athletes competing in the National Basketball Association (NBA) over a 17-year period. Design: Descriptive epidemiological study. Methods: Injuries and player demographic information were reported by each team's athletic trainer. Criteria for reportable injuries were those that resulted in (1) physician referral, (2) a practice or game being missed, or (3) emergency care. The demographics, frequency of injury, time lost, and game exposures were tabulated, and game-related injury rates and 95% confidence intervals were calculated. Results: A total of 1094 players appeared in the database 3843 times (3.3 ± 2.6 seasons). Lateral ankle sprains were the most frequent orthopaedic injury (n, 1658; 13.2%), followed by patellofemoral inflammation (n, 1493; 11.9%), lumbar strains (n, 999; 7.9%), and hamstring strains (n, 413; 3.3%). The most games missed were related to patellofemoral inflammation (n, 10 370; 17.5%), lateral ankle sprains (n, 5223; 8.8%), knee sprains (n, 4369; 7.4%), and lumbar strains (n, 3933; 6.6%). No correlations were found between injury rate and player demographics, including age, height, weight, and NBA experience. Conclusion: Professional athletes in the NBA experience a high rate of game-related injuries. Patellofemoral inflammation is the most significant problem in terms of days lost in competition, whereas ankle sprains are the most common injury. True ligamentous injuries of the knee were surprisingly rare. Importantly, player demographics were not correlated with injury rates. Further investigation is necessary regarding the consequences and sport-specific treatment of various injuries in NBA players. Clinical Relevance: Knowledge of these injury patterns can help to guide treatments and provide more accurate guidelines for an athlete to return to play.


Task scheduling typically employs a worker thread per hardware context to process a dynamically changing set of tasks. It is an appealing solution to exploit modern multi-core processors, as it eases parallelization and avoids unnecessary context switches and their associated costs. Naively bundling DBMS operations into tasks, however, can result in sub-optimal usage of CPU resources: highly contending transactional workloads involve blocking tasks. Moreover, analytical queries assume they can use all available resources while issuing tasks, resulting in an excessive number of tasks and an unnecessary associated scheduling overhead. In this paper, we show how to overcome these problems and exploit the performance benefits of task scheduling for main-memory DBMS. Firstly, we use application knowledge about blocking tasks to dynamically adapt the number of workers and aid the OS scheduler to saturate CPU resources. In addition, we show that analytical queries should issue a low number of tasks in cases of high concurrency, to avoid excessive synchronization, communication and scheduling costs. To achieve that, we maintain a concurrency hint, reflecting recent CPU availability, that partitionable analytical operations can use as a limit while adjusting their task granularity. We integrate our scheduler into a commercial main-memory column-store, and show that it improves the performance of mixed workloads, by up to 12.5% for analytical queries and 370% for transactional queries.


The specialized knowledge that exists among information systems development (ISD) teams must be shared and integrated to successfully develop systems solutions. Unfortunately, knowledge sharing and integration continues to be problematic. In this study, we seek out those antecedent characteristics that ISD teams should possess to facilitate the collaboration and knowledge integration necessary for enhanced performance. We propose cooperative learning theory as a lens to understand knowledge integration activities in ISD projects. We suggest that knowledge integration behaviors are discretionary, and that ISD professionals must feel autonomy in deciding to engage in them. We investigate whether the effects of autonomy on cooperative learning and of cooperative learning on work outcomes vary depending on the types of autonomy present in ISD teams. A research model is proposed, and it is empirically tested through a study of 206 ISD professionals from 38 ISD teams. Our findings suggest that autonomous teams engage more frequently in cooperative learning behaviors, and consequently perform more effectively and are more satisfied. We also find that relationships exist between the type of autonomy present in teams and the resultant elements of cooperative learning and work outcomes.


Recent efforts have catalogued genomic, transcriptomic, epigenetic and proteomic changes in tumors, but connecting these data with effective therapeutics remains a challenge. In contrast, cancer cell lines can model therapeutic responses but only partially reflect tumor biology. Bridging this gap requires new methods of data integration to identify a common set of pathways and molecular events. Using MAGNETIC, a new method to integrate molecular profiling data using functional networks, we identify 219 gene modules in TCGA breast cancers that capture recurrent alterations, reveal new roles for H3K27 tri-methylation and accurately quantitate various cell types within the tumor microenvironment. We show that a significant portion of gene expression and methylation in tumors is poorly reproduced in cell lines due to differences in biology and microenvironment and MAGNETIC identifies therapeutic biomarkers that are robust to these differences. This work addresses a fundamental challenge in pharmacogenomics that can only be overcome by the joint analysis of patient and cell line data.


Information and knowledge sharing collaborations are essential for scientific research and innovation. They provide opportunities to pool expertise and resources. They are required to draw on today's wealth of data to address pressing societal challenges. Establishing effective collaborations depends on the alignment of intellectual and technical capital. In this thesis we investigate implications and influences of socio-technical aspects of research collaborations to identify methods of facilitating their formation and sustained success. We draw on our experience acquired in an international federated seismological context, and in a large research infrastructure for solid-Earth sciences. We recognise the centrality of the users and propose a strategy to sustain their engagement as actors participating in the collaboration. Our approach promotes and enables their active contribution in the construction and maintenance of Common Information Spaces (CISs). These are shaped by conceptual agreements that are captured and maintained to facilitate mutual understanding and to underpin their collaborative work. A user-driven approach shapes the evolution of a CIS based on the requirements of the communities involved in the collaboration. Active users' engagement is pursued by partitioning concerns and by targeting their interests. For instance, application domain experts focus on scientific and conceptual aspects; data and information experts address knowledge representation issues; and architects and engineers build the infrastructure that populates the common space. We introduce a methodology to sustain CIS and a conceptual framework that has its foundations on a set of agreed Core Concepts forming a Canonical Core (CC). A representation of such a CC is also introduced that leverages and promotes reuse of existing standards: EPOS-DCAT-AP. The application of our methodology shows promising results with a good uptake and adoption by the targeted communities. This encourages us to continue applying and evaluating such a strategy in the future.


Between 1990 and 1993, 16 cats were referred with acute onset blindness or intraocular haemorrhage. Blood pressure assessment, using the Doppler ultrasonic recording technique in 11 of the cats, proved these cases to be hypertensive. Fifteen cats underwent further investigation, revealing 13 with some degree of renal impairment and one as hyperthyroid. Five underwent cardiac ultrasound and all showed evidence of cardiac hypertrophy. The eyes from four of the cats were examined histologically and showed serous or haemorrhagic retinal detachments with varying degrees of retinal degeneration and a range of ocular hypertensive vascular changes. Two cats had full post mortem examinations which revealed evidence of renal and thyroid pathology.


We present a novel approach for full body pose tracking using stochastic sampling. A volumetric reconstruction of a person is extracted from silhouettes in multiple video images. Then, an articulated body model is fitted to the data with stochastic meta descent (SMD) optimization. By comparing even a simplified version of SMD to the commonly used Levenberg-Marquardt method, we demonstrate the power of stochastic compared to deterministic sampling, especially in cases of noisy and incomplete data. Moreover, color information is added to improve the speed and robustness of the tracking. Results are shown for several challenging sequences, with tracking of 24 degrees of freedom in less than 1 second per frame.


The aim of this project was characterization of monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) against O 1 Man. 69, a vaccine strain of the Ankara Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) Institute and detection of the antigenic variation in field virus strains. For that purpose,17 MAbs were used. Activities of MAbs against 146S, enzyme treated 146S (146S-T) and 12S antigenic particles of O 1 Man. 69 virus strain were estimated by indirect ELISA. Reaction to viral capsid proteins was detected by Western immunoblotting and detection of the neutralization specificity was done by both in vitro and in vivo neutralization tests and mouse protection assay. Twenty O type field virus strains collected from several provinces in Turkey were compared with the FMD virus vaccine strain by trapping ELISA. As a result of characterization studies, neutralizing Mabs against VP1 structural protein were identified.Thirteen field virus isolates were close to each other whereas seven did not share some of the epitopes with the vaccine strain.


ABSTRACT The rodent Peromyscus leucopus is a major natural reservoir for the Lyme disease agent Borrelia burgdorferi and a host for its vector Ixodes scapularis. At various locations in northeastern United States 10 to 15 B. burgdorferi strains coexist at different prevalences in tick populations. We asked whether representative strains of high or low prevalence differed in their infections of P. leucopus. After 5 weeks of experimental infection of groups with each of 6 isolates, distributions and burdens of bacteria in tissues were measured by quantitative PCR, and antibodies to B. burgdorferi were evaluated by immunoblotting and protein microarray. All groups of animals were infected in their joints, ears, tails, and hearts, but overall spirochete burdens were lower in animals infected with low-prevalence strains. Animals were similar regardless of the infecting isolate in their levels of antibodies to whole cells, FlaB, BmpA, and DbpB proteins, and the conserved N-terminal region of the serotype-defining OspC proteins. But there were strain-specific antibody responses to full-length OspC and to plasmid-encoded VlsE, BBK07, and BBK12 proteins. Sequencing of additional VlsE genes revealed substantial diversity within some pairs of strains but near-identical sequences within other pairs, which otherwise differed in their ospC alleles. The presence or absence of full-length bbk07 and bbk12 genes accounted for the differences in antibody responses. We propose that for B. burgdorferi, there is selection in reservoir species for (i) sequence diversity, as for OspC and VlsE, and (ii) the presence or absence of polymorphisms, as for BBK07 and BBK12. IMPORTANCE Humans are dead-end hosts for Borrelia agents of Lyme disease (LD), and, thus, irrelevant for the pathogens' maintenance. Many reports of human cases and laboratory mouse infections exist, but less is known about infection and immunity in natural reservoirs, such as the rodent Peromyscus leucopus. We observed that high- and low-prevalence strains of Borrelia burgdorferi were capable of infecting P. leucopus but elicited different patterns of antibody responses. Antibody reactivities to the VlsE protein were as type-specific as previously characterized reactivities to serotype-defining OspC proteins. In addition, the low-prevalence strains lacked full-length genes for two proteins that (i) are encoded by a virulence-associated plasmid in some high-prevalence strains and (ii) LD patients and field-captured rodents commonly have antibodies to. Immune selection against these genes may have led to null phenotype lineages that can infect otherwise immune hosts but at the cost of reduced fitness and lower prevalence. Humans are dead-end hosts for Borrelia agents of Lyme disease (LD), and, thus, irrelevant for the pathogens' maintenance. Many reports of human cases and laboratory mouse infections exist, but less is known about infection and immunity in natural reservoirs, such as the rodent Peromyscus leucopus. We observed that high- and low-prevalence strains of Borrelia burgdorferi were capable of infecting P. leucopus but elicited different patterns of antibody responses. Antibody reactivities to the VlsE protein were as type-specific as previously characterized reactivities to serotype-defining OspC proteins. In addition, the low-prevalence strains lacked full-length genes for two proteins that (i) are encoded by a virulence-associated plasmid in some high-prevalence strains and (ii) LD patients and field-captured rodents commonly have antibodies to. Immune selection against these genes may have led to null phenotype lineages that can infect otherwise immune hosts but at the cost of reduced fitness and lower prevalence.


This study of the normal median nerve was designed to compare techniques of using the shortest and average F-wave latencies, F-wave values between extremities, and F-wave values with the conventional motor response values and to determine the relationships between F-wave latency and arm length. We examined 40 median nerves in 20 subjects with no known pathology. The motor response latency was measured from wrist and elbow stimulation sites by conventional techniques. We then applied multiple stimuli at the same sites to record a series of 10 F-wave latencies and determined shortest and average F-wave latencies. Values of F-wave and M-response conduction are reported. No significant difference was found in F-wave latency or velocity between extremities within subjects, using either the shortest or average latency technique. We propose a formula for calculating the estimated F-wave distal latency based on the conventional motor response distal latency. The F-wave conduction velocities of the forearm were faster and more variable than the motor nerve conduction velocities. A high correlation was found between F-wave distal latency and arm length. Using the method described, the F wave can be a useful measure in evaluating the conduction of proximal segments of peripheral motor nerves.


Does the U.S. Constitution guarantee a right to a vaccine passport? In the United States and elsewhere, vaccine passports have existed for over a century, but have recently become politically divisive as applied to COVID-19. A consensus has emerged among legal experts that vaccine passports are often constitutionally permissible. Yet there has been almost no serious analysis about whether a vaccine passport can be a constitutional right: whether a government is constitutionally obligated to exempt fully vaccinated people from many liberty-restricting measures. While some measures may be unconstitutional regardless of to whom they apply, we argue that there exist certain public-health restrictions from which the vaccinated must constitutionally be exempted, even if the unvaccinated need not be. The government is never constitutionally obligated to impose liberty-restricting measures in response to an epidemic. But where it does so, it often has an obligation to exempt those who, being successfully vaccinated, pose little danger of transmitting the disease or suffering serious illness. Under U.S. constitutional law, vaccinated people might be entitled to exemptions from six sets of restrictions: (1) domestic travel and movement; (2) international travel; (3) uncompensated shutdowns, under the Fifth Amendment takings clause; (4) abortion, under the constitutional right to privacy; (5) restrictions on access to gun stores, under the Second Amendment; and (6) assembly and worship, under the First Amendment freedom of assembly and free exercise clauses. Contrary to some social-justice and liberty-based arguments, this conclusion is also consistent with longstanding liberal principles of fair allocation of costs, equity, liberty, and non-discrimination.


Deregulation of the Australian dairy industry could affect the utilization of resources by milk producers and the profitability of dairy production. In this study we examine the feed mix that dairy producers use, both pastures and supplements, under partial and total deregulation. We are particularly interested in the interaction of pasture utilization and farm profitability. The results of this research demonstrate that profitable low-input dairy is constrained by the most limiting resource, feed supplied by pasture, and that the interactions between economic and biological processes are critical to farm profitability.


What are the terms of legitimate punishment in a liberal democracy? Traditional approaches to this question tend to focus on the purposes punishment is supposed to serve (deterrence, retribution, rehabilitation, moral education, etc.) while giving little if any consideration to the coercive deployment of state power punishment represents. In this article, I take the coercive nature of state punishment as my starting point. My aim is to determine what normative constraints, if any, exist on the state's power to punish criminal offenders in a liberal democracy - a determination, I argue, that is especially urgent given the current size of America's prison population. To answer this question, I draw on the work of John Rawls. I do so because I share Rawls' view that, if the exercise of state power in a liberal democracy is to be legitimate, it must be justifiable in terms that all members of society subject to that power would accept as just and fair. Rawls' deliberative model was originally intended for questions of ideal theory, on which all members of society are assumed to act justly towards others. The first task of the paper is thus to render Rawls' model applicable to problems of partial compliance, of which punishment is one. Ultimately I argue that, assuming conditions of partial compliance, deliberating parties would approach the task of selecting principles of punishment by considering the implications of various alternative principles as if they could end up as either crime victim or punished offender once they enter society as citizens. Having established this perspective, and its consistency with the basic liberal ideals of moral equality and individual sovereignty, I then go on to determine the principles of punishment that would be selected by parties deliberating under these conditions and would thus constitute the terms of legitimate punishment in liberal democracy. I identify five such principles, at the heart of which is what I call, following Braithwaite and Pettit, the "parsimony principle." The basic idea of this central principle is that the punishment of convicted offenders must be no more severe than necessary to yield an appreciable deterrent effect on the commission of serious offenses. Finally, I consider how the principles of legitimate punishment might be translated into actual criminal justice policy. Here, I concede that the inevitability of reasonable disagreement, even among legislators deliberating in good faith over what punishments the principles allow, means that in practice we can never be fully confident of the legitimacy of any punishments imposed. As I show, however, the principles of legitimate punishment I identify still provide the basis from which to call into question the legitimacy of a range of criminal justice policies currently in force in the United States, including mandatory minimums, California's "three strikes" law, the under-funding of indigent defense, and the widespread overcrowding and sexual violence in the nation's prisons and jails. In this way, the theoretical analysis I offer provides a basis for challenging the legitimacy of many criminal sentences being served right now in American prisons.


1. Extracts were prepared from bovine hypothalamus and cerebral cortex by gel filtration on Sephadex G-25 and G-50. 2. The vasopressin in the hypothalamic extracts was inactivated with thioglycollate and the effectiveness of inactivation was tested in the alcohol-anaesthetized rat. 3. The inactivated hypothalamic extracts caused a significant rise, and the cortical extracts an insignificant fall, in the urinary sodium excretion of the conscious rat. 4. Incubation of tubule fragments in hypothalamic extracts caused a significant rise in intracellular sodium concentration of the tubules when compared with incubation in Ringer, whereas incubation in cortical extracts caused a rise which was not significant. Nevertheless the rise in intracellular sodium concentration produced by incubating the tubules in hypothalamic extracts was not significantly different from the rise produced by incubation in cortical extracts.


David Dabydeen's "Turner" (1994) is well-known as an ekphrastic response to J. M. W. Turner's Slavers Throwing Overboard the Dead and Dying—Typhon Coming On (1840) and firmly established as an important achievement in the field of postcolonial Caribbean poetry. While such a status is wholly justified, it is the premise of this essay that the critical privileging of Dabydeen's text as the horizon for The Slave Ship's poetic legacy is not without its drawbacks. The most serious of these is that it has resulted in a certain blindness towards another long and complex ekphrastic poem on Turner's masterpiece that emanates from an American rather than a Caribbean literary context and that was published in the same year as Dabydeen's—William B. Patrick's "The Slave Ship." It is not this essay's purpose to speculate on why "Turner," written by a black Caribbean author, has enjoyed such critical prestige while "The Slave Ship," written by an author who is a white American, has been rendered critically invisible, nor is the concern to adjudicate between the aesthetic merits of the two poems, which would seem to have been composed entirely independently of one another. The aim, rather, is to bring the transatlantic encounter between Patrick's text and Turner's painting into critical view for the first time and demonstrate the ways in which it extends and enriches the current understanding of contemporary ekphrastic poetry that takes the Middle Passage as its subject.


This study analyzes the performance of a method to isolate microsatellites from largely unknown target genomes. This reporter genome protocol (RGP) utilizes naturally occurring repeat motifs in genomes of distantly related organisms as hybridization probes. The RGP proved very successful in all 13 enrichment reactions from eight marine target species (comprising a dinoflagellate, a diatom, and six arthropod species), yielding on average 85.5% positive colonies. The RGP naturally screens for all repeat types occurring in the reporter genomes and is therefore less biased than standard protocols that typically test few, short motifs only. Using the genomes of Mus musculus, Drosophila melanogaster, and Homo sapiens as reporter genomes in this study, 133 different di‐ to hexanucleotide repeat types were obtained. Success of the RGP did not depend on overall microsatellite density in the reporter genome but increased with genetic distance between target and reporter genomes because hybridization to conserved nonrepeat regions is less frequent. Relative abundance of repeat types in the reporter genome had a significant effect on repeat type frequencies in the target library. Altogether, the RGP greatly simplifies the isolation of microsatellites from unknown genomes and makes microsatellite markers more attractive for a wide range of studies.


As the number of students engaging in higher education increases, so too does their diversity. Additionally, there is growing pressure on universities to better prepare graduates for the varied paths they will pursue beyond study. In responding to these conditions it is important to develop pedagogical approaches that are both inclusive and engaging. One adaptation needed is in relation to the practice and documentation of reflection for learning. Reflection is widely practiced across higher education, and is favoured by the WorkIntegrated Learning field for the ways it helps students make sense of their learning. The ongoing reliance on journals for practising and documenting reflection has several benefits; however, a diverse student body, engaging with diverse learning experiences, is likely to benefit from being offered diverse, flexible ways of engaging with reflective practice. Informed by student and practitioner reflective data gathered at an Australian university, this conceptual paper accepts the challenge to "disrupt" (deFreitas 2007) the text and "move beyond the diary" (Harvey et al. 2012) to present an argument for the value and role of alternative modes of reflection, spanning arts-based, embodied, mindful and technological approaches. Underpinning this advocacy of diverse mediums for reflection are the principles of inclusivity and universal design.


As part of a screening program to reduce the vertical transmission of bacterial kidney disease (BKD) in 1992, kidney tissue and ovarian fluid from subclinically affected broodstock Atlantic salmon Salmo salar L. were assayed for the presence of Renibactenum salmoninarum. Of the methods used, culture on selective kidney disease medium (SKDM) agar identified the highest number of samples positive for R. salmoninarum followed by the indirect fluorescent antibody technique (IFAT). The comparatively low sensitivities of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and Western blot assay reflected the low levels of R. salmoninarum in most infected samples. Also, for many individual fish sampled, R. salmoninarum was detected either in the kidney tissue or in ovarian fluid but not in both. In an attempt to increase the level of detection, a method involving incubation of ovarian fluid cellular debris in SKDM broth followed by Western blotting was used to screen ovarian fluids in 1993. This relatively simple procedure identified more positive samples than either of the established methods of SKDM agar culture or IFAT Although it increased the total numbers of positive samples identified by 32%, incomplete correlation among methods was observed. Therefore, to ensure that the maximum number of positive samples is detected, it is advisable to use a combination of these methods.


The European Union commences another budget period (2007-2013). This means significant changes for agriculture and rural areas with respect to the manner and the scope of financing of this sector, which were started in 2003 by the Luxembourg reform. The objective of the article is to analyse the introduced changes and evaluate their results and potential impact on the Polish agriculture and rural areas. Changes in the organisation of the so-called agricultural funds, their scope and the manner of management necessitate harmonisation of Polish agricultural legislation with that of the EU as well as adjustments in the institutional system, established in the first half of the current decade. The author analyses the effects of these changes on Polish agriculture and legal and organisational system, as well as the expected impact of the available financial funds on transformations of the Polish agricultural sector and rural areas in the coming years.


Abstract In large cities around the world, the effects of air pollution on human health present a growing problem. In this commentary, we assert that governments alone are not responsible for addressing such issues and health care professionals (HCPs) need to consider whether their duty of care should extend beyond normal clinical boundaries. When considering the ethics around the generation and effects of air pollution, especially in relation to justice and health care, actions taken by HCPs (e.g. in a country such as India) potentially extend beyond treating individual patients one-at-a-time for toxic effects of emissions and include advocating on behalf of others. While these problems are not unique to India, India is particularly badly affected by air pollution, and the situation there is made worse by large sectors of the population having limited access to health care, resulting in poor morbidity and mortality outcomes compared with other SE Asian countries. Using illustrative scenarios, we consider the effects of air pollution on present and future generations, recognising, however, that cause and effect are sometimes disconnected, with human behaviour in one place having far-reaching consequences in another place or at another time. Furthermore, the consequences of air pollution do not fall evenly across populations, and an injustice arises if economically challenged, vulnerable sectors of the population pay a price (in this case impaired health) for the actions of others. From a moral perspective, HCPs should be willing to look beyond their traditional role as 'healers' and advocate on behalf of others to help limit harms caused by this often invisible yet life-limiting and life-threatening form of pollution. This may require cultural change to existing models of health care, including the role of the HCP, to improve health security in India and elsewhere.


This article describes the development of trademark liability for engaging in corporate criticism or parody on the Internet, and the emerging judicial consensus that imposing liability on this form of political speech violates the First Amendment rights of Internet users. The article begins by analyzing the expansion of trademark rights from a method of protecting merchants against counterfeiting into a broad-ranging tort against any invasion of consumers' good feelings towards a business or its products. Courts and Congress made this expansion possible by eroding the requirement of commercial competition as a prerequisite to trademark liability, and by crafting sometimes overbroad rules against creating initial interest confusion, establishing negative associations with a trademark, or cybersquatting on a domain name similar to a mark. Fortunately, the federal appellate courts are making it increasingly clear that the First Amendment shields Internet speech devoted to criticizing or making fun of corporations from censorship under trademark law. The author argues that this emerging consensus is consistent with the principal normative justifications for trademark rights as a means of preserving valuable property interests and promoting economic efficiency. Finally, he contends that trademark rights should be restricted to policing commercial competition, rather than non-commercial Internet speech. This limitation is essential if consumers are to preserve their autonomy in light of the pervasive influence of advertising, and their ability to participate fully in a democratic society in light of the considerable power of the business world.


The Helanshan Donglu wine zone (China) is one of the most successful wine region of China, and the phenolic characterisation and antioxidant capacity of the primarily young, monovarietal wines from there were evaluated. The result showed that Helanshan Donglu wines contained abundant phenolic compounds, especially flavan-3-ols, and possessed high antioxidant capacity. In different grape varieties, the phenolic profiles varied greatly in both red and white wines. For red wines, Cabernet Sauvignon represented the highest total phenols (2 631 mg/L GAE), total flavonoids (1 840.83 mg/L CTE) and antioxidant capacity. Gamay and Cabernet Gernischt possessed the highest total flavan-3-ols (1 108.08 mg/L CTE) and total anthocyanins (258.78 mg/L CGE). Amongst the white wines, Chardonnay and Chenin blanc showed the highest phenolic contents and antioxidant capacity. (+)-Catechin and (-)-epicatechin were dominant phenolic constituents in both the red and white wines. Gallic acid and salicylic acid were the second most abundant in red wines, while gentisic acid was the second most abundant in white wines.


We investigate the performance of the method proposed in Part I of this paper in several situations of interest in diffuse optical imaging of biological tissues. Monte Carlo simulations were extensively used to validate the approximate scaling relationship between higher-order and first-order self moments of the generalized temporal point-spread function in semi-infinite and slab geometry. More specifically we found that in a wide range of cases the scaling parameters c1, c2, c3 [see Eq. (36) of Part I] lie in the intervals (1.48, 1.58), (3.1, 3.7), and (8.5, 11.5), respectively. The scaling relationships between higher-order and first-order self moments are useful for the calculation of the perturbation of a single defect in a straightforward way. Although these relationships are more accurate for inclusions of linear size less than approximately 6mm, their performance is also studied for larger inclusions. A good agreement, to within approximately 10%, was found between the perturbations of single and multiple defects calculated with the proposed method and those obtained by Monte Carlo simulations. We also provide formulas for the calculation of the moments up to the fourth order for which it is clear how lower-order moments can be used for the calculation of higher-order moments.


At present, with the ASEAN community in Thailand, a nursing professional field is requiring more English communication at work, and with others in this 21st century. The English communication skills are important to ensure the smooth and successful achievement at work of their profession. The objectives of this study were 1). to study the level of obstacle and success in English communication of nursing students at private university, Saraburi 2) to compare the difference of the obstacles and success in using English skills for communication of nursing students at private university, Saraburi divide by demographic profile. The purposive sampling group was a cohort of ninety-two nursing students at private university, Saraburi who passed the "English for nursing communication" course in the academic year 2018. The tool was adapted from the relevant literature review. The statistical analysis was t-test and One-Way ANOVA. The three sections; general information, the obstacles in using English for communication which was further branched into the learners, the instructors and the institution, and the success in using English for communication and was tested for the content validity and the reliability. The Alpha-reliability Coefficient obtained was 0.90. The study found that the obstacles to the learners were high, while both the instructors and institution were at a moderate level. The successfulness in using English for communication was high. The different genders and ages have no obstacles and success different. However, the different grades have a different level of both obstacles in learner and instructors at significant level of 0.05 but not different in obstacle of institution and success. Therefore, instructors should encourage and increase the motivation to study English communication for the learners. In the 21st century, there are many opportunities to practice using English for communication in everyday life which help increase confidence in using English for Communication in the nursing profession. Moreover, using English for communication increases the nursing students' self-confidence and their opportunities in the professional field of nursing.


Purpose
The purpose of this paper is threefold: to describe the equity-oriented design of a publicly accessible and openly networked computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) initiative that has supported educator discussion about equity topics; to identify design principles for equity-oriented design in open education; and to propose a model for the design of open learning initiatives that are mutually committed to educational equity and educational openness.

Design/methodology/approach
This paper draws from design-based research methodology, specifically design narrative and the worked example. The paper is one response to the need for more "designerly work" in the learning sciences, generally, and more specifically in domains such as CSCL.

Findings
Four design principles are identified that informed the equity-oriented creation and iteration of the Marginal Syllabus, an open CSCL initiative: leveraging the open web, fostering multi-stakeholder partnerships, working with open content and engaging professional learning as an open practice. This paper also advances the open palimpsests model for equity-oriented design in open education. The model integrates design principles to assist CSCL and open education designers and researchers in creating or iterating projects to be more equity-oriented learning opportunities.

Originality/value
This paper's design narrative identifies Marginal Syllabus design principles and advances the open palimpsests model for equity-oriented design in open education. The design narrative demonstrates how critical perspectives on the relationship between equity and digital technology can encourage collaboration among diverse project stakeholders, attune to the dynamics of power and agency and respond to the worldly needs of partners and participants.


The synthesis, structure, and properties of methylene-bridged [6]cycloparaphenylene ([6]CPP), a non-alternant aromatic belt, are described. This belt-shaped methylene-bridged [6]CPP, in which each phenylene unit is tethered to its neighbors by methylene bridges, was constructed through six-fold intramolecular nickel-mediated aryl-aryl coupling of triflate-functionalized pillar[6]arene in 15% isolated yield. Compared with the analogous [6]CPP, the methylene bridges co-planarize neighboring paraphenylene units and enhance the degree of pi-conjugation, resulting in a significant decrease in energy gap. Moreover, the incorporation of small molecules in the defined pocket of methylene-bridged [6]CPP makes it an attractive supramolecular architecture. Methylene-bridged [6]CPP is characterized by high internal strain energy reaching 110.2 kcal·mol-1, attributed to its restricted structure. This work not only exhibits an efficient strategy to construct a new family of aromatic belt, but also showcases their properties, which combine the merits of CPPs and pillararenes.


Data obtained from neutron scattering are presented for the generalized perpendicular magnetic susceptibility Imχ⊥(q,ω) at room temperature along the <001>-axis of a single crystal of face-centred-cubic Mn73Ni27 whose elastic, magnetic and crystallographic characteristics have also been closely examined. Here q stands for the wavevector and ω for the frequency of an excitation in the crystal. Plotted against q and ω, the measured function shows a broad ridge that sweeps up from ℏω = 4 meV at q = 0 to ca. 140 meV at the zone boundary qmax. We take this to be the track of an exceptionally diffuse spin-wave mode. The broadening of this excitation, however, is so great that beyond energies of ca. 40 meV it would have to be said that the whole Brillouin zone is involved in the setting-up of an excited state at any specified energy. To investigate that feature, attempts were made to analyse the measured Imχ as a well-defined spin-wave 'dispersion law' of elementary form, broadened either in q or in ω by some simply-expressed interaction. A successful outcome would indicate, in these two extreme cases, that the broadening arose from the excitation being limited by considerations respectively of space or of time. Our efforts to fit χ with broadening in ω ran into problems, making it difficult to argue for a picture of well-defined spin waves interacting strongly with phonons, electrons or other quanta. By contrast, the entire set of 15 spectral surveys could be fitted to a smooth theoretical function with a statistical chi-squared per degree of freedom of 1.57 if we took a sharp antiferromagnetic spin-wave dispersion law subject to a generalized Ornstein–Zernike broadening-in-q function based on a spatial correlation function between spin magnitudes varying as e−κr/rα, where r is an interatomic distance in Å and α = 0.59 was the best-fitting exponent. The dispersion law thus obtained was linear between∼0.15qmax and∼0.65qmax, over which range the fit indicated a propagation velocity of 34 km s−1. Up to a rather higher limit of wavevector, κ was also quite accurately linear in q, specifically κ = (0.25 ±0.01)q. Correspondingly, linewidths were accurately linear in q out to about 0.8qmax. Thus the tremendous broadening of the spin-wave line in the 27% nickel alloy is preponderantly due to the spin correlation function suffering severe decoherence as a function of distance in all spatial directions—an effect we attribute to the magnetic structural irregularities induced by the alloying. A 'spin wave' in these materials is therefore a rather localized oscillation confined to a restricted region of mean dimension just a few angstroms.


This paper aimed to examine what parents of children aged three to six understand about their rights during the IEP process. Literature from the past ten years (2002-2012) revealed that parents had some understanding of the IEP process including planning and contributing to development of IEP documents and participating in IEP meetings. Findings regarding parents being valued during the IEP process varied. In terms of the results of communication strategies utilized during the IEP process, literature showed that parents understood terminology used during IEP meetings better during the subsequent ones than the initial one. However, written documents such as the prior written notice were often difficult for parents to understand. Limitations and implications are addressed along with recommendations for future studies to assess the generalizability of the current findings.


Many breast cancers occur in conjunction with overexpression of the ERBB2 oncogene (also known as HER-2 or Neu). Although gene amplification can lead to ERBB2 overexpression, some human cancers overexpress ERBB2 even without gene amplification. Zuo et al. noticed that a large percentage of older female mice heterozygous for a mutation in the Foxp3 gene (Foxp3sf/+) developed spontaneous cancers; about 60% of these were mammary carcinomas. Further, these mice showed increased susceptibility to developing mammary cancer in response to treatment with the carcinogen DMBA together with progesterone. Analysis of normal mammary epithelial tissue and mammary cancer cells microdissected from heterozygous mice revealed that the wild-type allele of Foxp3 was expressed in the former and silenced in the latter, which also showed increased ErbB2 expression. Chromatin immunoprecipitation analysis indicated that a Foxp3 fusion protein, which decreased ErbB2 expression when transfected into a mouse mammary tumor cell line (TSA), bound the ErbB2 promoter, and mutational analysis of reporter activity combined with electrophoretic mobility shift assay indicated that Fox3p binding was required for repression of ErbB2. FOXP3 silencing with siRNA in normal human mammary epithelial cells led to an increase in ERBB2 expression, whereas induction of FOXP3 expression in a breast cancer cell line with ERBB2 gene amplification decreased ErbB2 abundance at the cell surface. Defects in FOXP3 were observed in human breast cancer cell lines and breast cancer tissues, and the presence of such defects showed a correlation with increased abundance of ErbB2. Intriguingly, transfection of Foxp3 into breast cancer cell lines reduced their in vitro and in vivo growth. Thus, the authors conclude that FOXP3 is a tumor suppressor that regulates ERBB2. Medema and Burgering discuss the implications of X chromosome inactivation with regard to X-linked tumor suppressors and the possibility that the role of Foxp3 in development of regulatory T cells may contribute to its tumor suppressor activity. T. Zuo, L. Wang, C. Morrison, X. Chang, H. Zhang, W. Li, Y. Liu, Y. Wang, X. Liu, M. W. Y. Chan, J.-Q. Liu, R. Love, C.-g. Liu, V. Godfrey, R. Shen, T. H.-M. Huang, T. Yang, B. K. Park, C.-Y. Wang, P. Zheng, Y. Liu, FOXP3 is an X-linked breast cancer suppressor gene and an important repressor of the HER-2/ErbB2 oncogene. Cell 129, 1275-1286 (2007). [PubMed] R. H. Medema, B. M. Th. Burgering, The X factor: Skewing X inactivation towards cancer. Cell 129, 1253-1254 (2007). [PubMed]


Influenza A virus (IAV) in swine, so-called swine influenza A virus (swIAV), causes respiratory illness in pigs around the globe. In Danish pig herds, a H1N2 subtype named H1N2dk is one of the main circulating swIAV. In this cohort study, the infection dynamic of swIAV was evaluated in a Danish pig herd by sampling and PCR testing of pigs from two weeks of age until slaughter at 22 weeks of age. In addition, next generation sequencing (NGS) was used to identify and characterize the complete genome of swIAV circulating in the herd, and to examine the antigenic variability in the antigenic sites of the virus hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA) proteins. Overall, 76.6% of the pigs became PCR positive for swIAV during the study, with the highest prevalence at four weeks of age. Detailed analysis of the virus sequences obtained showed that the majority of mutations occurred at antigenic sites in the HA and NA proteins of the virus. At least two different H1N2 variants were found to be circulating in the herd; one H1N2 variant was circulating at the sow and nursery sites, while another H1N2 variant was circulating at the finisher site. Furthermore, it was demonstrated that individual pigs had recurrent swIAV infections with the two different H1N2 variants, but re-infection with the same H1N2 variant was also observed. Better understandings of the epidemiology, genetic and antigenic diversity of swIAV may help to design better health interventions for the prevention and control of swIAV infections in the herds.


Scattering phase matrices are calculated for randomly oriented hexagonal cylinders and equivalent spheroids. The scattering solution for spheroids utilizes a numerical integral equation technique called the T-matrix method, while that for hexagonal cylinders employs a geometric ray-tracing method. Computational results show that there is general agreement for the phase functions P11 for hexagonal cylinders and spheroids with the same overall dimensions or surface area, except for the 22 and 46° halo features and the backscattering maximum produced by the hexagonal geometry. Values of P12 which are associated with linear polarization when the incident light is unpolarized differ in the forward directions where hexagonal cylinders have two positive polarization maxima. Large differences are observed in the P33 and P44 elements.


This paper examines the extent to which the international trade regime impacts the international investment regime. While commentators have identified rich areas of cross-fertilization and suggested increasing convergence between the two regimes, the evidence reveals only a limited and selected degree of influence. Specific attention is paid to four areas: the design and architecture of the investment regime; the patterns of investment treaty formation; the substance of investment treaty provisions; and treaty interpretation. Across these four areas, interactions between the two regimes remain sporadic and decentralized. Given the different normative orientations of the two regimes, one should not expect growing rapprochement in the foreseeable future between the two regimes.


The large sky localization regions offered by the gravitational-wave interferometers require efficient follow-up of the many counterpart candidates identified by the wide field-of-view telescopes. Given the restricted telescope time, the creation of prioritized lists of the many identified candidates becomes mandatory. Towards this end, we use astrorapid, a multiband photometric light-curve classifier, to differentiate between kilonovae, supernovae, and other possible transients. We demonstrate our method on the photometric observations of real events. In addition, the classification performance is tested on simulated light curves, both ideally and realistically sampled. We show that after only a few days of observations of an astronomical object, it is possible to rule out candidates as supernovae and other known transients.


The Best Value (BV) environment was introduced into the Netherlands in 2006. By 2008 testing was being done by a partnership of Arizona State University and Scenter (Sicco Santema, professor from Delft University). In 2010, the first significant test of the BV approach was done by the Rijkswaterstaat to deliver the $1B fast track infrastructure projects, and by 2015, the BV approach had become the "buzzword" of procurement and the professional procurement organization NEVI. However, in the delivery of professional engineering services, larger, more traditional services which were built on a system of relationships between clients and vendors, clients controlling the expert, and the importance of "billable man-hours". The transition from a traditional approach to a BV approach is very challenging. Large traditional professional organizations naturally will have more difficulty adapting to the new approach. The BV approach utilized the expertise of experts to replace the need for relationships and owner management, direction and control (MDC). It also places less value on traditional practices that have been used by professional services to get business (relationships and working together with the client in a trust based relationship). The study captures the efforts of a very successful engineering firm (the second largest in the Netherlands) as they attempt to become successful in this new approach. The Best Value team that they have put together has had outstanding results in using the BV approach to changing their paradigm.


RATIONALE: Crustaceans, such as shrimp, crab, crayfish and lobster, play important role in human nutrition; they also can be important causes of severe acute hypersensitivity reactions. For patients diagnosed with a crustacean allergy, strict avoidance is the only proven therapy, highlighting the need for more specific treatment. Our aim was to evaluate the efficacy and tolerance of sublingual shrimp immunotherapy in Egyptian patients allergic to shrimp. METHODS: This study was intended to help in diagnosis of shrimps allergen in 60 allergic patients (subdivided to 3 groups Urticaria (G1), rhinitis (G2) & asthma (G3)) and evaluate the sublingual immunotherapy by employing skin prick test, specific Immunoglobulin E, Total Immunoglobulin E, Immunoglobulin G, Eosinophilis and Peak Expiratory Flow Rate (PEFR), before and after therapy. Inclusion criteria were a history of shrimp allergy and positive skin prick test to crude shrimp extract from two species [Penaeus semisulcatus and Metapenaeus stebbingi] at allergy and clinical immunology unit, in-Shams Hospitals. They underwent immunotherapy with extract of shrimp species and administered sublingually (SLIT). The measurement of all latter investigations for shrimp allergen on the start and 6 months after immunotherapy, as compared to placebo control, were performed. Results: The clinical response and laboratory improvement of the patients was correlated with their decline in the eosinophils (p < 0.001), total Immunoglobulin E (p < 0.001) and specific Immunoglobulin E test (p < 0.001) and with their increased in PEFR (p < 0.001) and Immunoglobulin G (p < 0.001). This study suggests that the most desenstized responsed group was rhinitis group followed by Urticaria group. Also,The more effective season induce allergy in summer (48.3%) followed by springs (28.3%) and genatic predisposition of allergic diseases was highly accepted in patients had a family history (68%). In conclusion, sublingual immunotherapy for shrimp allergy was safe, simple, uncostly, well tolerated and efficacious, gave a good results especially in the treatment of patients with allergic rhinitis.


Two new species of Aphelodoris Bergh are described from the north-western coast of Australia. Aphelodoris gigas sp. nov. has been found only in the Dampier and Kimberley regions in Western Australia, while A. karpa sp. nov. is known to occur in northern Western Australia and also in the Northern Territory. These species both possess a two-part prostate; this is the first time this has been reported in the genus Aphelodoris, and thus lends support for inclusion in the family Halgerdidae. Redescription of A. greeni Burn from Tasmania indicates that a two part prostate also occurs in at least one southern Australian species. The range extension reported here for A. greeni indicates that it is sympatric with A. juliae Burn in southern Tasmania, and not allopatric as was previously thought. The sperm morphology of A. gigas sp. nov., A. greeni Burn and A. varia (Abraham) is described, and shows acrosomal internal structure (short, angular striations through part of the pedestal) that is to date unrecorded among the Doridina. The spermatological characteristics of these Aphelodoris species appear most similar to the dorid genera Sclerodoris and Asteronotus.


In three sections some interactions at the workshop "YuMi in Action! Ethics and Engineering as Transdisciplinary Robotics Performance" and related later reflections are summarized. The primary emphasis is to illustrate what transdisciplinarity is and how transdisciplinarity could work as a certain form of scientific cooperation. Therefore four principles of biomedical ethics are applied to human robot interactions just like the VDI codex of engineering ethics. Methodological fundamentals of transdisciplinary cooperation are discussed related to concrete medical applications of the robot "YuMi." In the last section the question of transdisciplinary research is (experimentally) related to the metaphor of "social submarines" and concrete practical issues that endanger real transdisciplinarity. Here we close with the question whether children ́s more or less unbiased imagination could be seen as a requirement of real transdisciplinarity.


The positive consequences of offering employees opportunities to express their opinions about the matters, concerns, and decisions related to their roles have been largely recognized (Bellavance, Landry, & Schiehll, 2013). These include a sense of ownership, inclusion, fairness of decisions, respect, and increased decisions acceptance by employees. However, rarely do any write about the potential negative outcomes of such organizational policies, specifically if they are deceitfully implemented. This research argues that under conditions where managers disregard the appropriate benefits of such policies, but implement them anyway for an apparent semblance of employee-consideration or due to organizational policy directives, this may lead their employees to be distrustful of such actions and consequently of the managers who implement them. This perceived deception of managers will lead to negative effects of these opportunities where employees are given a chance to voice their opinions, rather than foster positive benefits they have been designed for. In this research we studied the negative effects of such dubious implementation of this useful managerial strategy among the employees and managers of selected industries. We developed a survey to gather data from 317 respondents. Our findings suggest that the perceived negative effects of such mock opportunities results in employees' increasingly lowered participative behaviour in such opportunities and increasingly higher conflict within organization.


The approximately two million gay and lesbian elders in the United States are an underserved and understudied population. At a time when gay men and lesbians enjoy an unprecedented degree of social acceptance and legal protection, many elders face the daily challenges of aging isolated from family, detached from the larger gay and lesbian community, and ignored by mainstream aging initiatives. Drawing on materials from law, history, and social theory, this book integrates practical proposals for reform with larger issues of sexuality and identity. Beginning with a summary of existing demographic data and offering a historical overview of pre-Stonewall views of homosexuality, author Nancy J. Knauer goes on to address the invisibility of this community. She examines the multiple double binds central to their identity formation, including ageism among gays and lesbians and homophobia among seniors. Further, the book focuses on specific legal concerns such as estate planning, housing, discrimination, and financial insecurity, and how they impact this community uniquely. Integrating theory with practical questions of policy, and advancing a new understanding of the construction of sexuality and identity, this book advocates meaningful new reforms designed to ensure equity and dignity in aging regardless of sexual orientation.


Administrative law solves conflicts. But, at the same time, it's a battlefield. Principles and values do exist. And judicial review plays an important role in crafting and enforcing them. Nonetheless, a significant part of administrative law is in the hands of multiple political, institutional and economic actors, who struggle, interact and bargain. Each of them acts as a rational agent, trying to maximize its welfare through the manipulation of administrative law. Outcomes of this multipolar struggle and, subsequently, rules of administrative law differ from one legal order to another. But logics are common to different administrative law systems around the world. And some preliminary hypothesis about most successful strategies - like power to rule, coalition capacity, costs allocation - can be generalized or tested in different contexts. Conflicts in administrative law, of course, are not a single battle war. Each move of one actor follows the moves of the others. This is why administrative law is a repeated interactions game. Each move is incremental and path-dependent. Legal devices and mechanisms set up in the previous round cannot be easily and fully dismantled. As a consequence, understanding administrative law in complex legal orders and societies requires a microanalysis approach: "Devil is in the details".