Since professional psychology is a multifaceted and evolving field, examining trends and the emphasis that topical issues receive in the literature can provide a candid view on areas of concern to the profession. This study addresses the question: Where has professional psychology been and where is it going? This inquiry used a content analysis methodology, based on a bibliometric approach (see Nederhof, 2006), to gauge the extent of topical emphasis in the field over the past 2 decades. To that end, articles in the journal Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, for years 2012-2005 and 2002-1995, were categorized and the aggregated data compared between these 2 time frames based on main topic. The analysis indicated that the major areas of increasing emphasis in recent years are: Evidence-based treatments, veterans/ active military, multicultural and ethical issues, and natural disasters. This seems, in part, to reflect a) accountability in health care/mental health practice and b) the presence of wars and disasters in the national consciousness over the past decade. Areas of decreasing emphasis were: Graduate/internship training and education, managed care issues, and professional role. In addition, several topical areas have maintained equivocal emphasis over the past 2 decades, i.e., forensic, health, and child psychology, suicide, chronic pain, rural practice, and interpersonal violence. These findings provide a barometer on the diverse range of topics which have been emphasized or deemphasized over time. The perplexing issue is a) whether the published research in professional psychology reflects the issues and concerns of practicing psychologists in the field, and b) which issues will remain fundamental to practice and at the forefront of published research, despite the perennial challenges of an evolving profession. ********** Fowler and Newman (2006) highlighted several keen perspectives on the status of the field of professional psychology and offered a glimpse into the key trends in the field into the 21st century. It would be informative to obtain an objective view on both retrospective and prospective developments in the field and determine areas of emphasis as reflected in the literature. One approach to gauge such trends in professional psychology is to examine key bibliometric sources regarding where the field has been and where it is going (Kenkel, 2006; Norcross et al., 2002; Piotrowski & Keller, 1992; Schui & Krampen, 2010). Content analysis methodologies have been applied to the scholarly and professional literature in order to address the evolution and devolvement of scholarly areas or topics of interest (Denzin & Lincoln, 1998). Indeed, studies, based on content analysis, have been reported during the nascent years in the development of professional psychology; for example, on such issues like professional competency and continuing education (Vitulano & Copeland, 1980) and applications of I/O psychology (Meltzer, 1973). Later, Weaver et al. (1997) conducted a topic-specific systematic review across 8 APA journals. More recently, content analysis has been used to study trends on multi-racial issues covered in counseling journals (Edwards & Pedrotti, 2008). The purpose of the current study is to: a) identify the major topical areas of research coverage in professional psychology, and b) to determine any shifts in emphasis across these areas over time. Conceptual Framework and Study Design Historically, the field of professional psychology encompassed the general areas of clinical and counseling psychology, with emphases in assessment, therapy, and program planning, but over the past 30 years has embraced adjunctive and specialty fields like organizational, forensic, and child psychology, as well as neuropsychology. It would be of interest to examine the specific areas within the field of professional psychology that have received the most scholarly interest in the recent past and determine the areas that are currently being emphasized. …


Summary Objective: Assessment of value of fat plug myringoplasty as office-based procedure in small tympanic membrane perforations. Material and Methods: Prospective study of consecutive patients undergoing fat plug myringoplasty under local anesthesia. Minimum follow-up considered was 6 months, which included several microscopic examinations. All data were recorded and analyzed statistically. Results: 33 patients matched the inclusion criteria; the mean perforation size was 2.8 mm. No change in PTA was noted after surgery in the whole series. Recurrence of per- foration was detected in 7 cases (21%), which was statistically related with the cause of perforation rather than location or size (p-value <0.01). Conclusions: Fat plug myringoplasty is a safe procedure with very low rate of compli- cations, and it is an office-based procedure well tolerate by all patients. Results in case of primary surgery are excellent, with a high success rate (90%). In case of recurrent perforation after traditional surgery, success rate get decreased.


Last August, the Russian army undertook its first offensive action on foreign soil since the end of the Afghanistan war in 1989. After the initial outburst of patriotic fervor faded, the Russian military did not have long to bask in the glory of its first definitive military victory in many years. In early October, the civilian leadership of the Ministry of Defense announced a radical restructuring of the armed forces, one that, if enacted in full measure, would completely change the military's structure and mission capabilities for the foreseeable future. More than nine months have passed since the initial outlines of this reform were announced. This memo will describe the reform's main goals, the military's reaction to it, and the extent to which it has been implemented. It concludes with a discussion of the likely trajectory of the reform process.


Abstract The relationship between cathodoluminescence (CL) response and chemical composition of scheelite from a variety of ore-deposit settings ( e.g ., orogenic Au, skarn, porphyry-related, greisens, VMS) was investigated using SEM-EDS, CL imaging, and LA-ICP-MS techniques. Our detailed study concentrates on five samples of scheelite from a range of ore-deposit settings, including orogenic Au, skarn, VMS, and greisen deposits, but draws on a yet unpublished data base of more than 39 deposits world-wide. Results indicate that the scheelite zonation patterns observed under CL can be useful in discriminating between scheelite arising from differing mineralized environments. Scheelite from orogenic Au deposits exhibits a homogenous CL response in contrast to that from proximal intrusion-related systems, such as porphyries, skarns, and greisens that show a strong oscillatory zonation, with individual zones ranging from 300 μm in width. Results from LA-ICP-MS analyses show significant chemical variations in scheelite with respect to Mo, Sr, As, and ΣREE + Y. Maps generated from CL imaging and LA-ICP-MS data reveal a strong negative correlation between the intensity of the CL response in scheelite and Mo content. While enrichments of Sr, As, and ΣREE + Y are noted, none exhibit a correlatable effect with CL response. Furthermore, the qualitative Mo and W X-ray maps produced via SEM-EDS correlate with the corresponding LA-ICP-MS maps of the scheelite grain, successively delineating the zonation patterns observed under CL. This work also demonstrates that the combination of CL and LA-ICP-MS mapping is a powerful tool in the discussion of observed CL textures, elemental relationships, mineral growth history, and paragenesis.


The principle mechanisms of chloramine residual decay in drinking water distribution systems is examined using a comprehensive model of chloramine reactions calibrated to distribution system data. The results reveal that four principle chloramine decay mechanisms must be considered, including : reactions with hypochlorous acid/ion (HOCl/OCl - ) ; an auto-catalytic reaction in which chloramines spontaneously decay in the absence of other reactants ; oxidation reactions with reduced forms of organics and iron ; and biologically-catalyzed reactions, such as the reactions with nitrite produced by nitrifiers as well as the direct cometabolism of chloramines by nitrifiers. The chloramine reaction model fits the distribution system data best when all of these reactions, including cometabolism of chloramines by nitrifiers, are included in the model.


In the past, nursing students only
had access to classroom theory
to develop their wound care
knowledge. In the project detailed
here, simulated wounds were
developed to teach nursing students at
the University of Salford about tissue
viability management, as part of a Vice
Chancellor's funded project. The aim
was to design a collection of simulated
wounds that accurately replicated the
features of actual wounds, including
realistic wound beds, periwound areas
and exudate. While being overseen by
clinicians, nursing students were tasked
with developing essential skills and
competencies using these models.
This project was evaluated through
regular feedback from the perspective of
both lecturers and students.


A new rich family of complex permittivity profiles is obtained by introduction of additional parameters in the Burman and Gould procedure of generating the generalized Epstein profile. As an example of its possible applications, a model of planar-stripe injection lasers is developed. By proper choice of parameters the permittivity profile along the junction plane can be varied in its central part without affecting its tails. Effects of interaction between the optical field and the charge carriers inside the stripe can thus be modeled. An analytical solution of the wave equation is given, and a number of examples of the near-field pattern for the fundamental lateral mode are calculated for (AlGa)As lasers by a self-consistent iterative technique. The influence of asymmetry of the permittivity on near-field shifts is demonstrated.


The impact of technology in banking is mainly felt in the delivery of banking services through electronic channels. Other than bank branches, electronic channels like ATMs, pC banking, phone banking and banking kiosks have provided other alternatives to acquire banking products and services. Nonetheless, it is not easy changing from traditional methods of banking to one that is paperless and cashless. Also, in view of the high investment cost of operating electronic channels, the return is in fact, uncertain. Therefore, the question now is what would it take to bring about success in implementing electronic distribution channels? The purpose of this study is to find out how electronic channels can be implemented successfully by domestic commercial banks in Malaysia. In order to do so, data is collecetd by self-administrated questionnaires distributed to all the domestic commercial banks in Malaysia. Data collected are analysed by means of primary statistics such as frequency, mean and mode analysis, as well as factor and Spearman correlation analysis. The factor analysis conducted indicated that banks' operation management is the main factors affecting the success of ATMs, PC and branch banking, while product innovation and knowledge development factor are found to have the most effect on the success of banking kiosks and phone banking, respectively. So to determine the association of success factors of each distribution channel, the Spearman's rank correlation is conducted but there was no significant correlation for factors identified under phone banking and branch networks. However, planning and control factor of banking kiosks is found to have an inverse association with product innovation and knowledge development factor. Besides, internal planning and control factor is discovered to cause constrain to product innovation and knowledge development in PC banking.


Vegetation zonation on coastal sand dunes at Bakers Beach consists of Spinifex hirsutus grassland, Helichrysum
paralium-Acacia sophorae heath and a complex of Acacia sophorae heath with Lomandra longifolia herbland, the latter
community being concentrated in the swales. Melaleuca ericifolia swamp forest occupies the drainage line to the rear
of the sand dunes. Although the two seaward zones and the swamp forest may be in equilibrium with the environmental
complex, the vegetation on the main body of the dunes has been degraded from its original state by clearing and stock
grazing and shows evidence of shifting from its present condition towards communities dominated by Leucopogon
parviflorus and Banksia marginata. Eucalyptus viminalis open-forest may have occupied much of this dune system in
the past. Floristic variation along a transect through the dunes is closely related to edaphic and topographic conditions,
supporting models of soil-vegetation relationships on sand dune systems that have been developed elsewhere in
southeastern Australia


The Indian financial system has been revolutionised by the application of a new market design : continuous trading with an anonymous limit order book at NSE and BSE. However, in certain situations, this market design has limitations. Call auctions represent an alternative strategy, where the order flow over a certain time period is pooled, and the market-clearing price obtained through an aggregated supply and demand curve. Call auctions trade off instantaneity of order execution in favour of elimination of impact cost, and can achieve a more trusted price. They can improve the functioning of the market on issues such as market opening, market close, extreme news events, and potentially for illiquid securities including bonds. Call auctions could usefully replace some existing market rules such as `circuit breakers\'. At the same time, there are many subtle elements in making a call auction market work, which require care in market design.


1. Homing experiments were carried out with 338 Manx Shearwaters from Skokholm Bird Observatory, Pembrokeshire. The especial advantages of this species for such work are described. 2. With sunny conditions, strong homeward orientation was shown by birds released at points unknown to them. Early in the season these releases gave very fast, complete returns, more than half back on the first 2 nights. Those on the first night were unequivocal evidence of long, direct flights over unknown country. 3. One shearwater homed at least 3050 miles across the Atlantic in 120½ days. 4. There was a decline in the proportion of returns later in the season, probably due to a loss of stamina. 5. With conditions of heavy cloud the homeward orientation broke down and returns were poorer. 6. The stage of the individual incubation shift has some effect on the homing performance. 7. For the first time we have a demonstration of complete evidence for navigational ability in a wild bird. The suggestion of a form of sun navigation is in line with evidence obtained with pigeons and gulls. The failure of workers with other species to produce such evidence is not considered to weigh against the possibility of navigational ability of this kind in all proven homers. 8. The sun-navigation hypothesis is investigated. Although shearwaters fly to the burrows after dark they are unable to navigate after sundown. Determination of the latitude from the sun9s altitude can only be tested in this species by transequatorial experiments. 9. Determination of longitude by time differences was tested by attempting to desynchronize the necessary internal 'chronometers'. The first attempt was in conclusive owing to cloudy conditions at release. A second attempt was also partially thwarted by the weather, but gave suggestive results favouring the hypethesis. More experiments of this nature are required. 10. An analysis of the range of shearwaters from the colony, based on banding results, is given. 11. The Wilkinson flight-duration recorder was used on this species, but did not give satisfactory results.


In the Peruvian Andes, water infiltration from tropical wetlands, called paramo, generates headwaters for downstream rivers. The hydrological processes of these wetlands are not well understood within the larger hydrological system, impeding efforts to mitigate the rapid environmental changes anticipated due to regional population growth and climate change. This study constructed and calibrated a Water Evaluation and Planning (WEAP) system model for ecosystems with sparse data in the Quiroz-Chipillico watershed in the Piura region of Peru. The model simulates the impacts of possible changes within the hydrological system to assist decision-makers in strategizing about sustainable development for the region, especially the paramo. Using scenarios designed with stakeholder participation, the WEAP model for the Quiroz-Chipillico watershed examines river headflow production, reservoir water levels, and demand coverage for downstream users when the upstream paramo and its environs are subjected to changes of temperature, precipitation, and land use. The model reveals that while temperature and precipitation changes can be expected to impact paramo water production, the anticipated land use changes will be a primary driver of hydrological responses in the paramo and subsequent changes downstream.


From the atomic bomb dropped over Japan to nuclear accidents at Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, and the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, there is strong public demand for information on the cancer risks from radiation exposure. In this article, the author explores some of the biological phenomenon that could alter or confirm current concepts of low-dose effects. Reviewing bystander effects, adaptive responses, and genomic instability, the author writes that these phenomena could revolutionize conventional understanding of how to approach cancer risk assessments in low-dose, possibly protracted, environments. Though current consensus supports a linear no-threshold model, evidence suggests that these biological responses just may overturn that thinking.


Vista is a knowledge-based system that helps scientists design visualization techniques. It generates a technique for a given data set and lets users modify the design interactively using a compositional design methodology. To ensure the effectiveness of its designs, Vista uses many rules, mostly heuristic in nature, that were acquired through literature surveys and discussions with visualization experts. In general, Vista's design was based on research in graphical perception. It extends the design methodology of Automatic Presentation Tool (APT) (J.D. Mckinlay, 1986), a presentation tool for 2D graphics, to three dimensions. While Vista's primary function is to automatically generate an effective visualization technique design for a given data set, it also allows users to interactively modify this design and renders the resulting image using a variety of rendering algorithms.<<ETX>>


With their powerful blend of political and aesthetic concerns, Edward W. Said's writings have transformed the field of literary studies. This long-awaited collection of literary and cultural essays, the first since Harvard University Press published "The World, the Text, and the Critic" in 1983, reconfirms what no one can doubt--that Said is the most impressive, consequential, and elegant critic of our time--and offers further evidence of how much the fully engaged critical mind can contribute to the reservoir of value, thought, and action essential to our lives and our culture.As in the title essay, the widely admired "Reflections on Exile," the fact of his own exile and the fate of the Palestinians have given both form and the force of intimacy to the questions Said has pursued. Taken together, these essays--from the famous to those that will surprise even Said's most assiduous followers--afford rare insight into the formation of a critic and the development of an intellectual vocation. Said's topics are many and diverse, from the movie heroics of Tarzan to the machismo of Ernest Hemingway to the shades of difference that divide Alexandria and Cairo. He offers major reconsiderations of writers and artists such as George Orwell, Giambattista Vico, Georg Lukacs, R. P. Blackmur, E. M. Cioran, Naguib Mahfouz, Herman Melville, Joseph Conrad, Walter Lippman, Samuel Huntington, Antonio Gramsci, and Raymond Williams. Invigorating, edifying, acutely attentive to the vying pressures of personal and historical experience, his book is a source of immeasurable intellectual delight.


The study of quantum magnetism remains at the forefront of condensed matter physics. Spin models provide a large class of many-body systems, in which cooperative quantum phenomena can be studied in a controlled way. In addition, the neutron scattering technique offers a near-ideal tool to probe the state of magnetic materials. This thesis presents neutron scattering studies of three selected materials, each representing an important aspect of quantum magnetism. CuGeO$_3$ is a quasi one-dimensional $S=1/2$ spin--Peierls material. This is an example of a system that has a quantum ground state with no classical analogue. The spins dimerize to form a coherent non-magnetic singlet, where the expectation value of each individual spin is zero, as if they were `hidden'. As a consequence, the excitations (called solitons) are different from the spin waves of a classical system. In a high magnetic field, the solitons can be condensed to form a periodic lattice. Through neutron scattering measurements, the structure of this soliton lattice has been determined, and the excitations in the soliton phase have been identified. Cu(DCOO)$_2 \cdot$4D$_2$O is a two-dimensional $S=1/2$ Heisenberg antiferromagnet on a square lattice. The $T=0$ ground state of this system has long range order similar to the classical system. But the order parameter is reduced by quantum fluctuations, and the physical observables are renormalized. In particular, it was found that the spin wave dispersion is non-uniformly renormalized. At finite temperatures long range order is destroyed by thermal and quantum fluctuations, which act together. Still, there are strong correlations, which on short length and time scales resembles the long range order. The temperature dependence of the correlation length and the excitation spectrum has been measured using two specialized neutron scattering methods. LiHoF$_4$ is a three- dimensional Ising ferromagnet, in which the magnetic order can be destroyed even at $T=0$ by applying a large magnetic field transverse to the Ising axis. Ordinary phase transitions occur as a function of temperature, when the thermal fluctuations become strong enough to destroy the order. At $T=0$ there are no thermal fluctuations and the transition is driven by quantum fluctuations, which are controlled by some external parameter,in this case the magnetic field. It is important to understand the universal behaviour of such quantum phase transitions, as several novel phenomena in solid state physics may be related to the proximity of a quantum critical point. Using inelastic neutron scattering the behaviour of the excitations around the quantum critical point in LiHoF$_4$ has been investigated. This thesis was submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a Ph.D.\ in physics at the University of Copenhagen. The work presented was carried out in the Department of Condensed Matter Physics and Chemistry at Ris\o{} National Laboratory, Denmark. The supervisors were Des McMowrrow from Ris\o{} and Jens Jensen from the University of Copenhagen.


Ventilation standards and guidelines typically treat ventilation as a constant and specify its value. In many circumstances a designer wishes to use intermittent ventilation, rather than constant ventilation, but there are no easy equivalencies available. This report develops a model of efficacy that allows one to calculate how much intermittent ventilation one needs to get the same indoor air quality as a the continuous value specified. We have found that there is a simple relationship between three dimensionless quantities: the temporal ventilation effectiveness (which we call the efficacy), the nominal turn-over and the under-ventilation fraction. This relationship allows the calculation of intermittent ventilation for a wide variety of parameters and conditions. We can use the relationship to define a critical time that separates the regime in which ventilation variations can be averaged over from the regime in which variable ventilation is of low effectiveness. We have found that ventilation load-shifting, temporary protection against poor outdoor air quality and dynamic ventilation strategies can be quite effective in low-density buildings such as single-family houses or office spaces. The results of this work enable ventilation standards and guidelines to allow this extra flexibility and still provide acceptable indoor air quality.


The Group B Streptococcus (GBS) 'hypervirulent' ST‐17 clone is strongly associated with invasive neonatal meningitis. Comparative genome analyses revealed that the serine‐rich repeat (Srr) glycoprotein Srr2 is a cell wall‐anchored protein specific for ST‐17 strains, the non‐ST‐17 isolates expressing Srr1. Here, we unravel the binding capacity of GBS Srr proteins to relevant components of the host fibrinolysis pathway. We demonstrate that: (i) Srr2 binds plasminogen and plasmin whereas Srr1 does not; (ii) the ability of ST‐17 strains to bind fibrinogen reflects a high level surface display of Srr2 combined with a higher affinity of Srr2 than Srr1 to bind this ligand; and (iii) Srr2 binding to host plasma proteins results in the formation of bacterial aggregates that are efficiently endocytosed by phagocytes. Importantly, we show that Srr2 increased bacterial survival to phagocytic killing and bacterial persistence in a murine model of meningitis. We conclude that Srr2 is a multifaceted adhesin used by the ST‐17 clone to hijack ligands of the host coagulation system, thereby contributing to bacterial dissemination and invasiveness, and ultimately to meningitis.


Recent studies of terrestrial glaciovolcanic terrains have elucidated the utility of volcanic deposits as recorders of ice conditions at the time of eruption. Practically all of these investigations, however, have focused upon the associations of volcaniclastic and coherent lava lithofacies at or proximal to the source vent. Very few studies have documented the emplacement of effusion-dominated, basaltic glaciovolcanic eruptions and their distal deposits that more accurately reveal paleo-ice conditions. Both Mauna Kea volcano, Hawaii and the Tennena volcanic center (TVC), on Mount Edziza, British Columbia, Canada, preserve records of interaction between coherent lavas and an ice sheet inferred to be associated with the last glacial maximum (LGM). The identification, mapping and description of subglacial TVC lava flows reveals the spatial distribution and characteristics of primary volcanic lithofacies and associated glaciogenic lithofacies, and reveals the processes of the emplacement of the distal lava flows under thick ice. Exposure dating with cosmogenic nuclides proves the most effective technique to temporally constrain the emplacement of these subglacial lavas. This work shows; 1) classification schemes that utilize remotely sensed imagery are locally robust but are not readily viable as identifiers of subglacial lavas in other volcanic terrains, 2) the distribution of primary hydrovolcanic clastic deposits at the TVC are confined to the cone, but coherent pillow lavas including distinctive vertically-oriented and distended pillows are widespread, 3) multiple lobes of massive sheet lavas record high initial magma discharge rates, 4) associated glaciogenic facies that underlie or onlap the TVC lavas indicate active subglacial meltwater drainage at the time of the eruption. Analyses of H2O/CO2 in pillow rim samples give broad constraints for emplacement pressures equivalent to 500-1400 m of overlying ice. No subaerial lava morphologies are found on the cone or in the proximal to distal lithofacies, and the sequence is interpreted as documenting an eruption of basaltic lava flows beneath either the LGM Cordilleran ice sheet or a Younger Dryas expansion of the still-extant Edziza ice cap. To further constrain the age of the eruption exposure dating with cosmogenic chlorine-36 is the most viable method as demonstrated on Mauna Loa explosive deposits.


ABSTRACT A popular information security-related motivation theory is the Protection Motivation Theory (PMT) that has been studied extensively in many information security contexts with promising results. However, prior studies have found inconsistent findings regarding the relationships within PMT. To shed light on these inconsistent findings, we introduce the attitudinal ambivalence theory to open the black box within PMT. We tested our model on data collect ed from 1,383 individuals facing potential cyberattacks of their emails in a field experiment. The results of polynomial regression with response surface analysis showed that attitudinal ambivalence is generated from the opposition between an individual's evaluations of maladaptive rewards and social norms (i.e., descriptive norm and subjective norm). This attitudinal ambivalence, in turn, affects individuals' evaluations of their coping appraisal process and protection motivation, and ultimately protection behavior. We discuss the theoretical and managerial implications of identifying the determinants and outcomes of attitudinal ambivalence in the information security context. From a theoretical standpoint, our work contributes to the information security literature by incorporating attitudinal ambivalence, which arises from the intrapersonal and interpersonal appraisal processes, into PMT. From a practical standpoint, our work provides insights into designing effective fear appeals to avoid triggering attitudinal ambivalence and thus encouraging adoption of security protection behavior.


Debate over whether to legalize physician-assisted suicide and its constitutional status has largely ignored the context for end-of-life care and this practice. For a large proportion of Americans, that context is some form of managed care. This compels consideration of how the cost-containment measures essential to managed care would affect the use of physician-assisted suicide in jurisdictions where the practice may be legalized. This article considers the organizational and incentive structure of managed care, together with available data on physician attitudes and practice in the context of managed care. Those data indicate that in the cost-containment environment of managed care, physicians may be more inclined to consider assisted suicide. Moreover, data indicate that treatment of factors known to lead patients to consider PAS (especially depression) may lag. The article thus argues that treatment and insurance context matters. The author suggests how context should bear on the constitutional status of bans on assisted suicide and the states' policy determination of whether to legalize the practice.


Girard d'Athee and the Men from the Touraine
Their Roles under King John

Clause 50 of Magna Carta 1215 proscribes a group of men who are never again to hold office in England. They are described as Girard d'Athee's relatives (parentes), and although some of their names appear, no reasons are given for their inclusion in the clause. This thesis traces the lives of Girard d'Athee and his group, from their origins in the Touraine, through their arrival in England, through their responsibilities and influence under John, concluding with a brief resume of their careers under Henry III. It also analyses the reasons for the inclusion of Clause 50 in the 1215 version of Magna Carta. Were the men proscribed because of their foreign birth or because they abused their positions as servants of the king? Did the barons fear their military might, or merely object to their misdemeanours? Did the established baronage and zealous parvenus covet the rewards bestowed on Athee and his clan or were they simply jealous of the increasingly close friendship these men were forging with John? Or was the clause nothing more than the result of a personal vendetta against members of the clan? By comparing and contrasting the careers of the men from the Touraine with that of another contemporary of theirs from the same area, Peter de Maulay, who was not proscribed in Clause 50, a clear appreciation of their value to the king and country can be determined. A balanced judgement suggests that their actions justified the king's confidence in them, and that they did not deserve the censure and suspicion of the chroniclers, some influential members of the baronage, and several modern historians.


Recent studies have found significant excess mortality in women during and immediately after armed conflicts. This article directly assesses one of the most likely explanations, namely that war negatively affects reproductive health. Armed conflicts may contribute to sustain high fertility levels through increased social insecurity, loss of reproductive health services, and lower female education. Further, war's deteriorating impact on health infrastructure is expected to increase the relative risk that women die from complications associated with pregnancy and childbirth. These claims are tested in a global time-series cross-national study from 1970 through 2005. Three major findings are reported. First, armed conflicts are associated with higher overall fertility in low-income countries only. Second, maternal mortality rates are elevated, albeit moderately, in conflict countries. Third, conflicts in neighboring countries are associated with lower maternal mortality, possibly indicating that health interventions among refugee and host populations are relatively successful. While addressing one of the least successful UN Millennium Development Goals, this study also responds to the UN Security Council Resolution 1325, in which Article 16 specifically calls for the "Secretary-General to carry out a study on the impact of armed conflict on women and girls."


One hundred twenty individually fed steers (initial BW 283 kg) were utilized in an 84-d growing trial to evaluate effects of increased metabolizable lysine from non-enzymatically browned soybean meal (SoyPass) in grass hay based diets containing wet distillers grains plus solubles (WDGS). Treatments were arranged as a 2 × 3 factorial design with two levels of WDGS (20% or 35% of DM) and three levels of supplemental SoyPass replacing 0%, 30%, or 60% of WDGS. The statistical model included animal as the experimental unit and level of WDGS and SoyPass substitution were included as fixed effects. Covariate regression was used to test for linear and quadratic interactions between WDGS and SoyPass substitution. No interactions were detected for ADG between SoyPass supplementation and level of WDGS in the diet (P = 0.76). Additionally, SoyPass inclusion had no effect on ADG (P = 0.49). However, ADG was increased for steers consuming the 35% WDGS diet compared to steers offered the 20% WDGS diet (1.13 vs. 0.86 kg/d, respectively; P < 0.01). A SoyPass × WDGS interaction was detected for DMI (P = 0.01). As SoyPass replaced WDGS in the 35% diet, DMI increased linearly from 8.10 to 8.93 kg/d (P = 0.01). In the 20% WDGS diet, DMI decreased as SoyPass replaced 60% of the WDGS compared to 30% (7.68 vs. 8.36, P = 0.02). Therefore, G:F decreased linearly (P = 0.01) as SoyPass replaced WDGS in the 35% treatment and increased quadratically (P = 0.02) for the 20% WDGS treatment. Furthermore, BUN increased linearly as SoyPass replaced WDGS in the 20% diet (P = 0.01) but was not affected by SoyPass substitution in the 35% diet. Overall, results indicate forage-based growing diets formulated with low-levels of WDGS (< 20%) may be deficient in metabolizable lysine, which could be supplied with SoyPass.


Abstract Focusing on the behavior of hydrogen isotopes onto synthetic zeolites (SZ) at cryogenic temperatures such as liquefied nitrogen, we have been developing a system of pressure swing adsorption (PSA) process for hydrogen isotope separation applicable to fusion fuel processing, environmental tritium safety confinement or recovery of tritium from heavy water reactors. We have previously reported the experimental results of successive isotope separation and enrichment in a H2-D2 mixture by the PSA process using a single column packed with SZ-5A. In this work, a PSA experiment using SZ-13X was carried out in a similar way to the previous experiment for comparing the functional adsorbents. The result shows that the PSA process operation with SZ-13X can make the performance of heavier isotope enrichment with efficiency at a factor of near twice in comparison to the same operation with SZ-5A.


— The testing of vehicular communication technologies, the study of urban mobility patterns, the evaluation of new traffic policies cannot dispense from vehicle mobility simulation. As is often the case, the larger the dataset, the better. Indeed, in recent years, many projects in the fields of mobility or vehicular communication have sought new traffic simulators with extended areas of investigation, possibly covering a whole city and its suburbs. In this spirit, we have modeled an urban traffic simulation in a 600-Km 2 area in and around the Municipality of Turin, leveraging the SUMO tool. This paper aims at reporting in detail the methodology we followed in the creation of this dataset. Our results demonstrate that a complete modeling of such a wide area is possible at the expense of minor simplifications, reaching a very good level of approximation.


Bullying perpetration and victimization have become pervasive problems in American schools. Recent research suggests a causal association between prolonged periods of victimization and overt acts of school violence. These findings are germane to students with disabilities in light of evidence suggesting these students are victimized more often than typically developing peers. The purpose of this review is to provide special educators with an overview of definitions and issues related to bullying perpetration and victimization and to synthesize research on this topic as it pertains to students with disabilities by disability type, personal characteristics, and educational placement. It was concluded that additional research is needed on prevalence and types of bullying, factors related to perpetration or victimization, and appropriate school-based interventions for special needs populations.


"The published works of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) represent the most immediate and tangible measure of the new policy-related knowledge attributable to the institute, its staff, and research partners. This study provides a quantitative assessment of the number, nature, form, and use of IFPRI's published products since 1979 and compares and contrasts that with the publication performance of several similar agencies, including the economics and social sciences programs of the Centro Internacional de Mejoramiento de Maiz y Trigo (CIMMYT) and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) respectively, the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics (ABARE), the Bangladesh Institute for Development Studies (BIDS), and the now defunct Stanford University Food Research Institute (SFRI). Overall, IFPRI's circulated output is extensive, published not only in a broad portfolio of leading scholarly journals, but also in a wide range of books, technical reports, and extension documents. The amount of published output has tended to increase throughout IFPRI's history, and it continues to do so. Going beyond counting and classifying IFPRI's published record, we report the results of a bibliometric assessment of IFPRI and the comparison institutes for the period 1981–96 using the publication and citation performance details recorded in the Institute for Scientific Information's (ISI) Science Citation Index and Social Science Citation Index data bases. Citations to published literature are not indicative of an impact on policy or the economy generally but on further research and analysis. An analysis of coauthorship patterns provides an indication of impact too (more directly through the conduct of joint research), as well as indications of the way the research is carried out. Our analysis reveals the role IFPRI plays as a knowledge intermediary between the scholarly community and policy clienteles, but that a high proportion of its research collaborations leading to formal publications (and especially publications in the leading journals covered in ISI's data bases) involve researchers in advanced agencies. This partly reflects the limited capacity to perform food policy research in many developing countries — itself a reflection of local priorities for education and limited, long-term international support to increase scientific capacity in developing countries — and also underscores the role IFPRI could, and arguably should, play in redressing this state of affairs." Authors' Abstract


Remote sensing has become an important source of land use/cover information at a range of spatial and temporal scales. The existence of mixed pixels is a major problem in remote-sensing image classification. Although the soft classification and spectral unmixing techniques can obtain an abundance of different classes in a pixel to solve the mixed pixel problem, the subpixel spatial attribution of the pixel will still be unknown. The subpixel mapping technique can effectively solve this problem by providing a fine-resolution map of class labels from coarser spectrally unmixed fraction images. However, most traditional subpixel mapping algorithms treat all mixed pixels as an identical type, either boundary-mixed pixel or linear subpixel, leading to incomplete and inaccurate results. To improve the subpixel mapping accuracy, this paper proposes an adaptive subpixel mapping framework based on a multiagent system for remote sensing imagery. In the proposed multiagent subpixel mapping framework, three kinds of agents, namely, feature detection agents, subpixel mapping agents and decision agents, are designed to solve the subpixel mapping problem. This confirms that MASSM is appropriate for the subpixel mapping of remote-sensing images. But the major problem is that the selection of the parameters becomes assumption in order to overcome these problems proposed work focus on adaptive selection of parameters based on the optimization methods, it automatically selects the parameters value in the classification, and it improves the classification results in the remote-sensing imagery. Experiments with artificial images and synthetic remote-sensing images were performed to evaluate the performance of the proposed artificial bee colony based optimization subpixel mapping algorithm in comparison with the hard classification method and other subpixel mapping algorithms: subpixel mapping based on a back-propagation neural network and the spatial attraction model. The experimental results indicate that the proposed algorithm outperforms the other two subpixel mapping algorithms in reconstructing the different structures in mixed pixels.


In thinking about the impact of social computing and Web 2.0 trends affecting information seekers (and the professionals who help them), the age-old problem of determining credibility in an authorless environment again comes to the fore. First impressions are key for web page content. Regardless of the quality or credibility of content, a poorly designed or aesthetically unappealing web page will likely produce a negative impression of credibility. This study compared credibility judgments for websites in which the visual design had been varied. A factor analysis showed patterns of higher credibility scores for higher visual design treatments. The importance of the findings presented here is that visual design has impact beyond decoration. It is a common (if latent) assumption that all serious web sites wish to be perceived as credible, believable, and trustworthy, especially in an authorless environment.


Total water vapour (TWV) measurements are rare in Antarctica, and therefore our knowledge about the spatial and temporal TWV variability is limited. Model simulations can help to close this gap and to understand the driving factors (like storm strength and variability). Measurements are available from radiosounding and can be derived indirectly from ground based GPS observations.The regional climate model HIRHAM4 is used to get a better insight on the Antarctic climate in the last four decades. This model is driven at its boundaries by ERA40 reanalysis data.A comparison of Antarctic TWV between measurements (radiosounding and GPS), reanalysis data (NCEP, ERA40 and ERA Interim) and HIRHAM4 simulations is presented. Additionally the uncertainties in both measurements and simulations are quantified. On the Antarctic Peninsula the correlation between the different data is high. Contrary for continental stations, HIRHAM tends to be too dry. To explain the differences between the different data sets, the synoptic activity and the wind direction is analyzed.


This short paper introduces BasiScript, a 9-million-word corpus of contemporary Dutch texts written by primary school children. The data were collected over three years with 17,216 children contributing texts throughout this period. Each word token in the corpus is annotated with the correct orthographical form, the associated lemma and the part of speech. The most frequent polysemous words have been annotated for word meaning, while all words in the lexicon that was derived from the BasiScript corpus have been annotated for corpus and subcorpora frequency, dispersion, length, family size, family frequency, orthographic neighborhood size, and orthographic neighborhood frequency. Images of the texts are available to researchers. The present article describes the corpus and presents a comparison of BasiScript with BasiLex (a Dutch corpus with texts primary school children are likely to read, completed in 2015) by means of frequency profiling.


Fractions are very hard to learn. As the joke goes, "Three out of two people have trouble with fractions". Yet the invention of a notation for fractions is very ancient, dating back to Babylonians and Egyptians. Moreover, it is thought that ratio representation is innate. And obviously, fractions are part of our everyday life. We read them in recipes, we need them to estimate distances on maps or rebates in shops. In addition, fractions play a key role in science and mathematics, in probabilities, proportions and algebraic reasoning. Then why is it so hard for pupils to understand and use them? What is so special about fractions? As in other areas of numerical cognition, a fast-developing field in cognitive science, we tackled this paradox through a multi-pronged approach, investigating both adults and children.Based on some recent research questions and intense debates in the literature, a first behavioural study examined the mental representations of the magnitude of fractions in educated adults. Behavioural observations from adults can indeed provide a first clue to explain the paradox raised by fractions. Contrary perhaps to most educated adults' intuition, finding the value of a given fraction is not an easy operation. Fractions are complex symbols, and there is an on-going debate in the literature about how their magnitude (i.e. value) is processed. In a first study, we asked adult volunteers to decide as quickly as possible whether two fractions represent the same magnitude or not. Equivalent fractions (e.g. 1/4 and 2/8) were identified as representing the same number only about half of the time. In another experiment, adults were also asked to decide which of two fractions was larger. This paradigm offered different results, suggesting that participants relied on both the global magnitude of the fraction and the magnitude of the components. Our results showed that fraction processing depends on experimental conditions. Adults appear to use the global magnitude only in restricted circumstances, mostly with easy and familiar fractions. In another study, we investigated the development of the mental representations of the magnitude of fractions. Previous studies in adults showed that fraction processing can be either based on the magnitude of the numerators and denominators or based on the global magnitude of fractions and the magnitude of their components. The type of processing depends on experimental conditions. In this experiment, 5th, 6th, 7th-graders, and adults were tested with two paradigms. First, they performed a same/different task. Second, they carried out a numerical comparison task in which they had to decide which of two fractions was larger. Results showed that 5th-graders do not rely on the representations of the global magnitude of fractions in the Numerical Comparison task, but those representations develop from grade 6 until grade 7. In the Same/Different task, participants only relied on componential strategies. From grade 6 on, pupils apply the same heuristics as adults in fraction magnitude comparison tasks. Moreover, we have shown that correlations between global distance effect and children's general fraction achievement were significant.Fractions are well known to represent a stumbling block for primary school children. In a third study, we tried to identify the difficulties encountered by primary school pupils. We observed that most 4th and 5th-graders had only a very limited notion of the meaning of fractions, basically referring to pieces of cakes or pizzas. The fraction as a notation for numbers appeared particularly hard to grasp. Building upon these results, we designed an intervention programme. The intervention "From Pies to Numbers" aimed at improving children's understanding of fractions as numbers. The intervention was based on various games in which children had to estimate, compare, and combine fractions represented either symbolically or as figures. 20 game sessions distributed over 3 months led to 15-20% improvement in tests assessing children's capacity to estimate and compare fractions; conversely, children in the control group who received traditional lessons improved more in procedural skills such as simplification of fractions and arithmetic operations with fractions. Thus, a short classroom intervention inducing children to play with fractions improved their conceptual understanding. The results are discussed in light of recent research on the mental representation of the magnitude of fractions and educational theories. The importance of multidisciplinary approaches in psychology and education was also discussed. In sum, by combining behavioural experiments in adults and children, and intervention studies, we hoped to have improved the understanding how the brain processes mathematical symbols, while helping teachers get a better grasp of pupils' difficulties and develop classroom activities that suit the needs of learners.


Police brutality is one of the most serious and enduring human rights violations in the United States today. One means by which victims may seek redress is under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, which provides a civil cause of action against state actors who deprive individuals of their constitutional rights. This Note examines § 1983 litigation brought by post-arrest, pretrial detainees alleging the use of excessive force by law enforcement officials. There is currently a circuit split regarding whether such claims must be brought under the Fourth Amendment's proscription of unreasonable seizures of the person or the Fourteenth Amendment's guarantee that no State will deprive a citizen of liberty without due process of law. This issue's resolution has significance as to the plaintiffs burden of proof, and thus, his or her likelihood of attaining a favorable verdict. This Note contends that the best approach is a hybrid model that involves a synthesis of both Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment standards because it is both practical and mindful of recent lines of U.S. Supreme Court


Scar pregnancy, characterized by the implantation of a pregnancy on a previous uterine scar, is a rare and complex condition. This article presents a series of 11 cases of scar pregnancies, providing insights into the clinical features, diagnostic methods, and management strategies employed. A retrospective analysis was conducted on 11 cases of scar pregnancies diagnosed and managed at our institution between (date range. Patient demographics, obstetric history, presenting symptoms, ultrasound findings, serum beta-Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (β-hCG) levels, and treatment outcomes were evaluated. The study cohort had a mean age of (mean age) years, with an age range of (age range). All patients had a history of previous cesarean section. Vaginal bleeding was the most common presenting symptom, followed by abdominal pain. Transvaginal ultrasound played a pivotal role) in diagnosis, revealing characteristic features such as an empty uterine cavity, gestational sac within the scar tissue, and absence of myometrial layer. Serum β-hCG levels were monitored to assess the progression and viability of the pregnancies. Management approaches included medical treatment with methotrexate, surgical intervention via dilatation and curettage, and, in some cases, hysterectomy. Scar pregnancy represents a rare and challenging condition that necessitates prompt recognition and appropriate management to mitigate potential complications such as uterine rupture and maternal morbidity. This series of 11 cases contributes to the existing body of knowledge by elucidating the clinical manifestations, diagnostic modalities, and therapeutic interventions for scar pregnancies. Further research is warranted to refine our understanding of this condition and optimize its management strategies.


Abstract. The use of Structure-from-Motion algorithms is a common practice to obtain a rapid photogrammetric reconstruction. However, the performance of these algorithms is limited by the fact that in some conditions the resulting point clouds present low density. This is the case when processing materials from historical archives, such as photographs and videos, which generates only sparse point clouds due to the lack of necessary information in the photogrammetric reconstruction. This paper explores ways to improve the performance of open source SfM algorithms in order to guarantee the presence of strategic feature points in the resulting point cloud, even if sparse. To reach this objective, a photogrammetric workflow is proposed to process historical images. The first part of the workflow presents a method that allows the manual selection of feature points during the photogrammetric process. The second part evaluates the metric quality of the reconstruction on the basis of a comparison with a point cloud that has a different density from the sparse point cloud. The workflow was applied to two different case studies. Transformations of wall paintings of the Karanlik church in Cappadocia were analysed thanks to the comparison of 3D model resulting from archive photographs and a recent survey. Then a comparison was performed between the state of the Komise building in Japan, before and after restoration. The findings show that the method applied allows the metric scale and evaluation of the model also in bad condition and when only low-density point clouds are available. Moreover, this tool should be of great use for both art and architecture historians and geomatics experts, to study the evolution of Cultural Heritage.


PURPOSE
Obesity is a risk factor for the development of colon cancer. However, the influence of body mass index (BMI) on the outcome of patients with established colon cancer remains uncertain. Moreover, the impact of change in body habitus after diagnosis has not been studied.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
We conducted a prospective, observational study of 1,053 patients who had stage III colon cancer and who were enrolled on a randomized trial of adjuvant chemotherapy. Patients reported on height and weight during and 6 months after adjuvant chemotherapy. Patients were observed for cancer recurrence or death.

RESULTS
In this cohort of patients with stage III cancer, 35% of patients were overweight (BMI, 25 to 29.9 kg/m(2)), and 34% were obese (BMI >or= 30 kg/m(2)). Increased BMI was not significantly associated with a higher risk of colon cancer recurrence or death (P trend = .54). Compared with normal-weight patients (BMI, 21 to 24.9 kg/m(2)), the multivariate hazard ratio for disease-free survival was 1.00 (95% CI, 0.72 to 1.40) for patients with class I obesity (BMI, 30 to 34.9 kg/m(2)) and 1.24 (95% CI, 0.84 to 1.83) for those with class II to III obesity (BMI >or= 35 kg/m(2)) after analysis was adjusted for tumor-related prognostic factors, physical activity, tobacco history, performance status, age, and sex. Similarly, after analysis was controlled for BMI, weight change (either loss or gain) during the time period between ongoing adjuvant therapy and 6 months after completion of therapy did not significantly impact on cancer recurrence and/or mortality.

CONCLUSION
Neither BMI nor weight change was significantly associated with an increased risk of cancer recurrence and death in patients with colon cancer.


The emergence and maturity of integrated photonic platforms over the past decade allowed for reliable integration of a large number of photonic components on a single substrate. This ability to process and control coherent light on a chip is a potential pathway for the realization of novel low-cost systems capable of non-conventional functionalities for optical wavefront engineering. In this thesis, integrated active flat optics architectures for generation, manipulation, and reception of optical wavefronts are investigated. In particular, the application of such systems for imaging, ranging, and sensing are studied and multiple photonic systems including a large scale transmitter, a high-sensitivity receiver, and a high-resolution transceiver are demonstrated. For generation of optical wavefronts, solutions for engineering a radiative optical waveform via emission by an array of nano-photonic antennas are studied and a chip-scale photonic transmitter is implemented. The transmitter forms an optical phased array with a novel architecture in a CMOS compatible silicon photonics process which not only dispenses with the limitations of previously demonstrated systems but also yields a narrower beamwidth leading to a higher resolution. Moreover, an integrated adaptive flat optical receiver architecture that collects samples of the incident light and processes it on-chip with high detection sensitivity is implemented. To detect the optical samples with a high signal to noise ratio, an optoelectronic mixer is proposed and designed that down-converts the optical signals received by each antenna to a radio frequency signal in the electronic domain, provides conversion gain, and rejects interferers. This system allows arbitrary wavefront manipulation of the received signal by adapting itself to new conditions — a capability that does not exist in conventional cameras. Using this system, we realized the first high-sensitivity optical phased array receivers with one-dimensional and two-dimensional apertures and the functionality of the chips as ultra-thin lens-less cameras were demonstrated. To achieve a high-resolution integrated photonic 3D imager with low system complexity, a double spectral sampling method is developed through a special wavefront sampling arrangement on the transmitter and receiver apertures. This transceiver architecture includes a multi-beam transmitter and a high-sensitivity receiver that can distinguish the illuminated points separately and process them simultaneously using a digital signal processor. Moreover, novel ultra-low power architectures for generation and reception of short RF/microwave pulses are explored. Such systems have a broad range of applications including imaging and ranging. In this study, the capability of generating and receiving orthogonal Hermite pulses of various orders using a capacitor-only time-varying network is demonstrated.


This article describes a new way to use monthly data to improve the national forecasts of quarterly economic models. This new method combines the forecasts of a monthly model with those of a quarterly model using weights that maximize forecasting accuracy. While none of the method's steps is new, it is the first method to include all of them. It is also the first method to be shown to improve quarterly model forecasts in a statistically significant way. And it is the first systematic forecasting method to be shown, statistically, to forecast as well as the popular survey of major economic forecasters published in the Blue Chip Economic Indicators newsletter. The method was designed for use with the quarterly model maintained in the Research Department of the Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank, but can be tailored to fit other models. The Minneapolis Fed model is a Bayesian-restricted vector autoregression model.


1. This thesis has been undertaken as a first attempt to an analysis

of the economics of railway transport in Australia. The first

intention was merely a study of the revenue and expenditure of the

Tasmanian Government Railways, but in order to get the necessary

perspective, it was essential to study the methods of other Australian

railway sustems as well. This part of the work is contained in the

first nine sections of the thesis, which also includes the geographic

and historical settings of the problem.
2. In the processs of gathering the material for this part of the work

a lot of interesting material was met with concerning the capital

position of both the Tasmanian and other Australian railway systems

and some of the other problems facing Australian railways. It happened

fortunately that while the thesis was being written the Royal

Commission enquiring into the position of the Victorian Railways was

sitting, and a lot of material, much of which will soon be buried in

the back files of Melbourne newspapers, became available. For this

reason the last four sections were added to the thesis, which

therefore naturally falls into two parts. Since the completion of the

work the Victorian Commission has issued its report, and as the

evidence before the Commission has been referred to in several places,

an appendix (No. XIV) has been added dealing briefly with some of the

relevant findings of the Commission. The Mechanical Transport Sub-

Committee of the Development and Migration Commission is at present

investigating the position of the Tasmanian Railways, but has so far

published no report, and has not taken evidence in public.


The aeroelastic FLEX 5 code and a semi-advanced rigid multibody model has been utilized for simulating drivetrain forces and moments in a real 500 kW wind turbine. Experimental validation is carried out with results based on known physical properties of the blades, tower, hub, gearbox, shaft and nacelle, etc. The multibody model consists of eight bodies, from rotor to generator, where most joints are made using simple constraints. Semi-advanced gear constraints are used for obtaining (worst-case) gear tooth reaction forces in the first stage of the planetary gearbox. This constraint is useful for not only transferring torque but also for calculating the gear tooth and internal body reaction forces. The method is appropriate for predicting gear tooth stresses without considering all the complexity of gear tooth geometries. This means that, e.g. gear tooth load-sharing and load-distribution among multiple planetary gears are not taken into account. Finite Element Method (FEM) calculations show that when the wind turbine runs close to the maximum wind speed, the maximum gear tooth stress is in the range of 500–700 MPa, which is considered to be realistic using a "worst-case" method. The presented method is based on a comprehensive description of the aerodynamic input, including inflow turbulence and shear, as well as various modifications for yaw, dynamic stall and dynamic inflow. Forces and torque from the aeroelastic and industry-accepted code FLEX 5 are used as input to the multibody program, where the gear constraint is formulated such that the maximum tooth forces are included directly in the solution. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


LA-ICP-MS is increasingly used for single cell analysis in two different detection modes using either the imaging mode with subcellular resolution or alternatively single spot analysis of cells with a larger laser spot size. This study compares the analytical figures of merit of both detection modes (signal to noise, precision, accuracy, throughput), as well as ease of operation and data evaluation. Adherent 3T3 fibroblast cells were stained with two metal dyes (mDOTA-Ho, Ir-DNA-intercalator) and several dozen cells were measured using both modes. We found a ten times higher throughput for single spot analysis, which has as well a straightforward data analysis, shortening the total analysis time further. The signal to noise ratio for single spot analysis was found to be slightly better compared to the signal to noise of pixels in imaging. The mean metal intensity per single cell differed by only 10% between both modes and obtained distributions were found to show no statistically significant differences. Using matrix matched calibration based on standards spotted onto nitrocellulose membrane, we achieved detection limits (10σ) of 12 fg for Ir and 30 fg for Ho and quantified 57 ± 35 fg Ir and 1192 ± 707 fg Ho per single cell. Compared to a conventional ICP-MS measurement of a digest of ∼60 000 cells, 54% of Ir content and 358% Ho content was found using quantitative LA-ICP-MS. The difference might be a consequence of the two metal dyes binding to different structures of the cell and therefore might behave differently in sample preparation for conventional and LA-ICP-MS.


Background We describe 6 cases of a poorly recognized vascular neoplasm that can simulate angiosarcoma. Design Cases of a rare vascular tumor with a proclivity for the genitourinary tract encountered in our consultation material were prospectively collected between the year 1999 and 2008. Follow-up information was obtained when possible. Results There were 6 tumors from 4 men (66%) and 2 women, ranging in age from 49 to 75 years (median, 59.5) involving the kidney and renal hilum (4, 66%) and testis (2). Tumors ranged from 1.3 to 1.7 cm (median, 1.6 cm) and were grossly well-marginated with a hemorrhagic mahogany spongy appearance. Microscopically, at low power they had a loosely lobulated architecture and were associated with a medium-caliber vessel (5/6, 83%). Most kidney (3/4, 75%) tumors showed minor extensions into adjacent adipose tissue. At higher magnification, the tumors consisted of anastomosing sinusoidal capillary-sized vessels with scattered hobnail endothelial cells within a framework of nonendothelial supporting cells. There was a minimal inflammatory backdrop consisting of lymphocytes but not plasma cells or acute inflammation. Mitoses were absent (5/6, 83%) or rare (1 case; in supporting cells). There was mild cytologic atypia in one of the cases but no multilayering of endothelial cells in any case. Vascular thrombi were typical (5/6, 83%) and the lesions had zones of central sclerosis with focal necrosis (5/6, 83%). Two (33%) tumors featured prominent extra-medullary hematopoiesis and 2 tumors (33%) had striking hyaline globules reminiscent of those seen in Kaposi's sarcoma. Immunohistochemistry was available on some cases and the lesions stained with CD34, CD31, and FVIII but not human herpes virus type 8, keratin AE1/3, epithelial membrane antigen, HMB45, placental alkaline phosphatase, or human chorionic gonadotropin. In all but one submitted consultation, the possibility of angiosarcoma had been raised based on the anastomosing vascular pattern. On follow-up, there were no recurrences or metastases in 5 cases (range: 8 to 36 mo; median 12 mo, mean 15 mo), and 1 patient was lost to follow-up. Conclusions Anastomosing hemangioma of the genitourinary tract is a rare neoplasm displaying some overlapping features of both sinusoidal hemangioma and hobnail hemangioma of soft tissue and skin. However, in our opinion, it is a unique neoplasm with a proclivity for the kidney. Its anastomosing appearance can lead to concern for angiosarcoma but, despite small numbers and limited follow-up in our series, evidence to date supports that the lesion is benign.


Cryptic crosswords, the dominant crossword variety in the UK, are a promising target for advancing NLP systems that seek to process semantically complex, highly compositional language. Cryptic clues read like fluent natural language but are adversarially composed of two parts: a definition and a wordplay cipher requiring character-level manipulations. Expert humans use creative intelligence to solve cryptics, flexibly combining linguistic, world, and domain knowledge. In this paper, we make two main contributions. First, we present a dataset of cryptic clues as a challenging new benchmark for NLP systems that seek to process compositional language in more creative, human-like ways. After showing that three non-neural approaches and T5, a state-of-the-art neural language model, do not achieve good performance, we make our second main contribution: a novel curriculum approach, in which the model is first fine-tuned on related tasks such as unscrambling words.We also introduce a challenging data split, examine the meta-linguistic capabilities of subword-tokenized models, and investigate model systematicity by perturbing the wordplay part of clues, showing that T5 exhibits behavior partially consistent with human solving strategies. Although our curricular approach considerably improves on the T5 baseline, our best-performing model still fails to generalize to the extent that humans can. Thus, cryptic crosswords remain an unsolved challenge for NLP systems and a potential source of future innovation.


A unique model of pulse-width-modulated (PWM) converters, operating in the continuous conduction mode, is developed. This model is compatible with general purpose electronic circuit programs such as SPICE. It can be used to simulate DC, small signal and transient behavior of PWM converters. The simulation of switching regulators is simplified by using this equivalent circuit model to replace the nonlinear part of the PWM converters. An effective switching regulator analysis program, called SWAN, is developed and used to simulate small-signal characteristics of a switching regulator.<<ETX>>


It is known that unilateral labyrinthectomy (UL) causes a syndrome of oculomotor, postural and autonomic
system disorders, which diminish over time in a process of behavioral recovery known as vestibular compensation (VC). The problem
of VC remains one of the actual tasks of modern neuroscience, directly associate with recovery of vestibular nucleus activity on the
injured side. However its central mechanisms are not completely uncovered yet. In the unilaterally labyrinthectomized albino rats the
effect of cobra venom on activity of lateral vestibular neurons and its protective action in combination with GABA was studied.
Materials and methods: Experiments were carried out on six groups of rats: normal, unilaterally labyrinthectomized (UL), UL with
administration of Naja Naja Oxiana (NOX) venom (5% LD50, 21µg/kg, im), normal with combination of GABA (2 mg/kg, im), UL
with combination of GABA and UL with administration of NOX venom and GABA injection. Electrophysiological patterns of lateral
vestibular nucleus neurons at 9th day after the UL in response to stimulation of paraventricular and supraoptic nuclei of hypothalamus
in all groups were studied.
Results: The increasing of inhibitory and excitatory reactions of Deiters' neurons at early stage of vestibular compensation following
NOX injection and reaching the norm at late stage was revealed. Administration of GABA resulted in depression of activity in normal
and UL groups.
Conclusion: The cobra venom not only causes acceleration of vestibular compensation but also prevents the depressive effects of
GABA on Deiters' neurons


Competitive pressures drive physician offices toward on-site clinical laboratory testing programs to streamline service, generate revenue, and make better decisions during patient visits. The Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments continue to govern all laboratory tests performed for patient diagnosis, monitoring, or treatment. However, new diagnostic tools reduce regulatory hassles previously associated with point-of-care testing. Of course, regulatory consequences are still an important consideration when commencing a testing program or adding to an existing one. Here we focus on the regulatory restraints surrounding physician office laboratories to help you determine whether or not it makes sense to test in your setting.


Expert database systems extend the functionality of conventional database systems by providing a facility for creating and automatically executing Condition-Action rules. While Condition-Action rules in database systems are very powerful, they also can be very difficult to program, due to the unstructured and unpredictable nature of rule processing. We provide methods for static analysis of Condition-Action rules; our methods determine whether a given rule set is guaranteed to terminate, and whether rule execution is confluent (has a guaranteed unique final state). Our methods are based on previous methods for analyzing rules in active database systems. We improve considerably on the previous methods by providing analysis criteria that are much less conservative: our methods often determine that a rule set will terminate or is confluent when previous methods could not. Our improved analysis is based on a ``propagation'''' algorithm, which uses a formal approach based on an extended relational algebra to accurately determine when the action of one rule can affect the condition of another. Our algebraic approach yields methods that are applicable to a broad class of expert database rule languages.


The paper studies the effect of heat treatment conditions on the microstructure of the LN-1 (Nb–10W–5Mo–1.5Zr–0.15C) and TS6 (Ti–10.5Cr–7V–4Mo–3Al–1Zr) alloys. It is shown for the LN-1 alloy that, under specific temperature conditions, a sufficiently high level of plasticity, necessary for subsequent deformation, is realized in the alloy. The structural studies have revealed the formation of finely dispersed niobium-zirconium carbides in the matrix during thermomechanical strengthening with the use of preliminary annealing. It is demonstrated that cold deformation by drawing (ε = 24 %) of the TS6 alloy leads to the formation of a cellular-band structure with high dislocation density along the cell boundaries. In the process of subsequent aging, the β-phase disintegrates with heterogeneous isolation of thin α-phase plates thus ensuring a considerable increase in the strength characteristics of the alloy.


Background in art history In the early twentieth century, numerous composers and artists — including Scriabin, Schoenberg, and Kandinsky — explored connections between music and visual art. Even so, Lithuanian artist-composer Mikalojus Konstantinas Ciurlionis (1875–1911) stands apart in the extent of his formal training in both areas, and the degree to which he believed the two media interpenetrated. Initially trained as a musician, Ciurlionis studied painting at the Warsaw School of Fine Arts from 1904 through 1906. Between 1907 and 1909 he aimed at synthesis of the arts with paintings often analogous to musical forms (for example, the four-painting Sonata of the Sun). Some scholars have linked Ciurlionis to symbolism; others have linked him to abstraction. Still others have examined musical metaphor in Ciurlionis's painting. Background in music theory As Ciurlionis's involvement in painting deepened, his music changed to emphasize intersecting lines and a preoccupation with isometry, suggesting increasingly literal translation of visual principles into musical notation. Each of the four visual plane isometries (rotational symmetry, reflection, translation, and glide reflection) has its musical counterpart, giving rise to various theories of musical isometry (cf. David Lewin and Ernö Lendvai). Aims The authors show how Ciurlionis's creative process in his music was influenced by visual principles. Main contribution Ciurlionis's posthumous fame was as an artist until publication of his music began in 1957. Since then, although several Lithuanian scholars have analysed his music, scholars outside Lithuania have focused on his paintings. The extent to which Ciurlionis's newly discovered "visual thought" of 1904–1906 permeated his music during those years and thereafter has scarcely been examined. Implications By examining the structural similarity of Ciurlionis's different artistic media, one is able to uncover the deeper unity of his artistic expression. Examination of some of the distinctive tendencies of Ciurlionis's art manifested in his music yields a deeper understanding of his unique creative process.


Active learning effectively collects data instances for training deep learning models when the labeled dataset is limited and the annotation cost is high. Data augmentation is another effective technique to enlarge the limited amount of labeled instances. The scarcity of labeled dataset leads us to consider the integration of data augmentation and active learning. One possible approach is a pipelined combination, which selects informative instances via the acquisition function and generates virtual instances from the selected instances via augmentation. However, this pipelined approach would not guarantee the informativeness of the virtual instances. This paper proposes Look-Ahead Data Acquisition via augmentation, or LADA framework, that looks ahead the effect of data augmentation in the process of acquisition. LADA jointly considers both 1) unlabeled data instance to be selected and 2) virtual data instance to be generated by data augmentation, to construct the acquisition function. Moreover, to generate maximally informative virtual instances, LADA optimizes the data augmentation policy to maximize the predictive acquisition score, resulting in the proposal of InfoSTN and InfoMixup . The experimental results of LADA show a significant improvement over the recent augmentation and acquisition baselines that were independently applied.


Animal welfare presents particular policy challenges. Good welfare provides private productivity benefits to producers and some level of positive external benefit to people who care about animal welfare status. But markets for welfare fail, meaning that private producers are unlikely to provide the correct level of external benefit and social welfare will not be maximised. Accordingly, there is a rationale for government to be involved in the provision of animal welfare. The public good nature of animal welfare supply presents policy challenges for government regulators. Specifically, in setting regulatory targets, Defra, as the regulator, aims to maximise social welfare by designing regulation that delivers benefits that are at least equal to regulatory costs at the margin. This means that regulatory targets must be informed by some assessment of benefits of welfare policies. This paper considers this problem in the context of the proposed EU Directive on broiler welfare. The paper describes the application of the contingent valuation method to measure the economic benefits of broiler welfare, and considers how the results inform welfare target setting.


The peroxisomal proliferator-activated nuclear receptor-α (PPARα), the target for most hypolipidemic drugs in current clinical use, regulates the transcription of genes involved in lipid metabolism and transport, and energy homeostasis. More recently, PPARα and its ligands have been implicated in inflammatory responses and the regulation of cell proliferation. PPARα also regulates the expression of Cyp4a fatty acid ω-hydroxylases and Cyp2c arachidonic acid epoxygenase genes. To study the role of the PPARα receptor and of its Cyp2c epoxygenase gene target in tumorigenesis, we treated mice injected with tumor cells with Wy-14,643, a PPARα-selective ligand. Compared with untreated controls, Wy-14643-treated animals showed marked reductions in tumor growth and vascularization, which were accompanied by decreases in the plasma levels of pro-angiogenic epoxygenase metabolites (EETs), hepatic EET biosynthesis, and Cyp2c epoxygenase expression. All these Wy-14643-induced responses were absent in PPARα-/- mice and are thus PPARα-mediated. Primary cultures of mouse lung endothelial cells treated with Wy-14643 showed reductions in cell proliferation and in the formation of capillary-like structures. These effects were absent in cells obtained from PPRAα-/- mice and reversed by the addition of EETs. These results identify important anti-angiogenic and anti-tumorigenic roles for PPARα, characterize the contribution of its Cyp2c epoxygenases gene target to these responses, and suggest potential anti-cancer roles for this nuclear receptor and its ligands.


The European Lubricating Grease Institute held its 31 Annual General Meeting in Athens, Greece (April 13-16, 2019). The AGM site at the Divani Caravel Hotel was located only several blocks from the National Gallery and the National Garden and a 10-minute drive from the historic Acropolis Temple and Museum that overlook the city of Athens. On the evening before the AGM, a formal welcoming reception was held on the rooftop terrace of the venue hotel. This reception gave all attendees the chance to socialize, talk with new and old friends, and enjoy the stunning view of the Acropolis.


Machine learning, and specifically deep learning, has been hugely disruptive in many fields of computer science. The success of deep learning techniques in solving notoriously difficult classification and regression problems has resulted in their rapid adoption in solving real-world problems. The emergence of deep learning is widely attributed to a virtuous cycle whereby fundamental advancements in training deeper models were enabled by the availability of massive datasets and high-performance computer hardware. This text serves as a primer for computer architects in a new and rapidly evolving field. We review how machine learning has evolved since its inception in the 1960s and track the key developments leading up to the emergence of the powerful deep learning techniques that emerged in the last decade. Next we review representative workloads, including the most commonly used datasets and seminal networks across a variety of domains. In addition to discussing the workloads themselves, we also detail the most popular deep learning tools and show how aspiring practitioners can use the tools with the workloads to characterize and optimize DNNs. The remainder of the book is dedicated to the design and optimization of hardware and architectures for machine learning. As high-performance hardware was so instrumental in the success of machine learning becoming a practical solution, this chapter recounts a variety of optimizations proposed recently to further improve future designs. Finally, we present a review of recent research published in the area as well as a taxonomy to help readers understand how various contributions fall in context.


In the aftermath of gross human rights abuses, when, if at all, should we forego legal accountability? Human rights scholars debated this question in the 1980s and 1990s, in what was referred to as the "peace versus justice" debate. The "justice" side won the day in the human rights community, where the dominant position is that legal accountability is a necessary response to atrocity and cannot be limited by political considerations (a position I term "human rights absolutism"). However, this question has resurfaced in the twenty-first century, in intense debates with interlocutors outside the field of human rights. Faced with the development of international criminal justice, Alien Tort Statute litigation, and regional human rights court jurisprudence on the right to a remedy, courts, state officials and conservative scholars argue that legal accountability should be limited to avoid hampering states' control of their internal affairs and international relations (a position I term "sovereigntism"). Some scholars take a middle ground, and argue that legal responses to gross human rights abuses should be limited only to avoid harm to peace or democratic decision-making. However, the latter have not yet offered a persuasive justification for their position, nor a rationale for distinguishing peace and democratic decision-making from other values advanced by sovereigntists as limits to accountability.

This article offers a new middle ground between sovereigntism and human rights absolutism, under a position it terms "human rights realism." Drawing on American legal realism and grounded in human rights values, this approach mandates limiting legal accountability to avoid those consequences that threaten certain core human rights, and the article identifies armed conflict and economic inequality as relevant consequences. This approach overcomes both human rights absolutists' denial of the politics of accountability mechanisms, and sovereigntists' subordination of accountability to values other than human rights. Moreover, drawing on legal realist writing on the right-remedy relationship, this article offers a robust justification for accepting limitations to legal accountability across a wide range of mechanisms, and a principled framework for considering such limitations in light of evolving empirical evidence.

The argument is developed by revisiting the debate about universal civil jurisdiction, and expanding the analysis to international criminal law and regional court jurisprudence. The article shows that human rights realism offers not only a promising normative framework for integrating political considerations into human rights enforcement, but also that it sheds new light on recent developments such as African state threats of withdrawal from the International Criminal Court.


This paper presents the design and practical implementation of a simple active dual‐axis solar tracker (DAST) to track the sun's movement by using fewer components and low‐cost as well. A dual‐axis mechanism is developed in order to tilt the PV panel by two servo motors facing the highest intensity of sunlight captured by LDR sensors, which are placed in the four corners of PV panel. The DAST prototype was constructed practically and tested using a real‐time virtual instrument based on Excel to determine its efficiency. Moreover, a comparison based on experimental results between the energy produced by the proposed smart DAST and a fixed panel shows that the smart DAST produces 36.26% more energy compared to the fixed panel. The proposed active DAST can be easily implemented without possessing deep knowledge about solar tracking technologies and electronic engineering.


The colored man and those white men who believe in liberty and justice--who do not think Christ's teachings a sham--must join hands and hearts ... without both united, there is no hope of success. Albion Tourgee, 1893. We believe it is the duty of the Americans of Negro descent, as a body, to maintain their race identity until this mission of the Negro people is accomplished, and the ideal of human brotherhood has become a practical possibility. W.E.B. Du Bois, 1897. At the founding meeting of the Niagara Movement in 1905, the organization adopted a statement of principles declaring that "any discrimination based simply on race or color is barbarous." It further described racism as an impediment to enlightened reason and humanitarian progress, an unfortunate relic of "unreasoning human savagery of which the world is and ought to be thoroughly ashamed." Calling for "the co-operation of all men of all races" in "persistent manly agitation" against racial discrimination, the Niagara-ites overtly invoked the abolitionist heritage of protest. (2) To honor this tradition, they pledged to hold a memorial meeting every Thanksgiving to honor the "Friends of Freedom" in whose radical steps they hoped to follow. Its first Thanksgiving memorial was dedicated to three men: William Lloyd Garrison, Frederick Douglass, and Albion Tourgee. (3) The Niagara Movement's selection of heroes was significant. An interracial trio of civil rights leaders--two of them white and one black--Garrison, Douglass and Tourgee had stood not only for a spirit of uncompromising agitation for full equality, but also for the principle that American citizenship should be "color blind." Garrison had argued that American citizenship "knows nothing of white or black men; it makes no invidious distinctions with regard to the color or condition," and he dismissed prejudices based on physical differences by saying "I would as soon deny the existence of my Creator as quarrel with the workmanship of his hands." (4) Douglass too repeatedly expressed his hope for a society of perfectly equal individuals, where race would not matter--a faith manifest in his marriage to Helen Pitts, a white feminist radical, in 1884. (5) But, it was Tourgee who brought the phrase "color-blind" citizenship into the legal and political discourse when he argued before the Supreme Court as the lead attorney for Homer Plessy in 1896 that "the Law ought to at least color-blind." Tourgee furthermore launched an interracial national civil rights organization in 1891 that declared as a founding principle that "justice is color-blind." (6) Considering its reverence for these forbearers, it may be regarded as strange--and a surprise to some historians to learn--that the Niagara Movement originally restricted its membership to black men only. What was the relationship between the ideal of "color-blind citizenship" and the Niagara Movement's decision to organize along the color-line? What conflicts existed between this principle in the abstract and the real world of interracial relationships, alliances, and organizing strategies? This paper examines the concept of color-blind citizenship in the years leading up to the founding of the Niagara movement in 1905. In particular, I probe the conflicts and contradictions of civic "colorblindness" as it influenced both the philosophies and organizational strategies of two civil rights leaders, Albion Tourgee and W.E.B. Du Bois. The attitude of Du Bois and his fellow Niagara-ites to the "colorblind" principle must be understood in light of the prior experience of Tourgee, whose interracial movement of the 1890s foundered partly because of the difficulties he encountered in putting the "color-blind" ideal in practice. The failure of his movement begged the question: could American citizenship be color-blind? In light of Tourgee's experience, Du Bois's famous reflections upon black civic identity, and his ambivalence toward American citizenship, can be understood as a response to a specific historical moment--as well as a philosophical position of trans-historical significance. …


The development of sustainable construction and building materials with reduced environmental footprint in both manufacturing and operational phases of the material lifecycle is attracting increased interest in the housing and construction industry worldwide. Recent innovations have led to the development of geopolymer foam concretes (GFCs), which combine the performance benefits and operational energy savings achievable through the use of lightweight foam concrete, with the cradle-to-gate emissions reductions obtained through the use of a geopolymer binder derived from fly ash.

Fly ash is a by–product of coal fired power stations, and has become a highly promising source material for geopolymer manufacture. Compared to clays, another type of usually used materials, fly ash is probably more technologically suitable as it requires less alkaline activator while providing good workability. However, fly ash particles are substantially heterogeneous in physical and chemical properties. The composition and mineralogy of fly ash have marked effects on the properties of geopolymers, such as setting behaviour. This will affect the pore structure of GFC. Unfortunately, there is very limited specification regarding feedstock utilisation in geopolymer manufacture at present. Understanding the effect of fly ash physics and chemistry on the manufacture of GFC is not only necessary for the development of commercially mature GFC technology but also important for the geopolymer technology as a whole section.

Five fly ash samples sourced from different power plants around Australia were used to manufacture geopolymer binders, enabling investigation of the relationship between the physical and chemical properties of fly ash and the mechanical properties of geopolymer products. The results showed that fly ashes from different sources exhibit substantially different physical properties. One important property is the inter-particle volume of fly ash, which largely determines the liquid requirement. The liquid requirement furthermore affects the porosity of hardened binders and their production costs. Another factor is the reaction extent of fly ash, which determines the quantity and composition of gel phases. A general trend obtained is that fly ash with higher network-modifying cations seems to possess higher reactivity.

Research by Rietveld quantitative XRD and XRF analysis found that the composition and chemistry of glassy phases play an equally important role as the quantity of these phases in affecting the reactivity of fly ash. In glassy phases, both FeO4 and AlO4 tend to randomly distribute and connect with SiO4 tetrahedra by sharing corners and this is due to the alkali/alkali earth cations, which act as charge compensators.

A reactivity index (RI) was proposed in this thesis to quantify the reactivity of fly ash under geopolymerization conditions. If pentacoordinated Fe cations are regarded as network modifiers, in addition to alkali and alkali earth cations, and by considering the contribution of specific surface area, it was found that the RI order of the studied five ashes matched well with their reactivity order. Alkaline dissolution analysis under different liquid/solid ratios supported the RI results. Additionally, dissolution analysis also showed that the crystals such as mullite and quartz were also partially dissolved, particularly in the 'impure' fly ashes, which had relatively higher concentration of network modifying cations.

The above stages of the works were very useful to understand and to obtain a strong geopolymer binder by selecting a reactive fly ash. However, GFC manufacture in the laboratory conditions showed that a fly ash suitable for making high strength solid geopolymers was not necessarily suitable for GFC manufacture. It appeared that fly ash physical properties played a more important role than fly ash chemistry in affecting the engineering performances of GFCs. Those fly ashes with lower particle density and irregular particle shape appeared best suited for the manufacture of foam geopolymers.

For a foamed paste derived from a specific fly ash, quick setting was a key property to achieve fine pore size and a homogeneous microstructure. The orthogonal array study conducted showed that slag addition was an effective method to control, and shorten the setting time of the foamed paste. The pore structure and porosity were also changed significantly and contributed to an increase in compressive strength.

Research of the characteristics of pore structure of a series of GFCs showed that the pore size distribution in GFC affected the compressive strength to a large extent, particularly for the large pores. Based on the statistical fitting and modelling, a new model was developed, called the 'large void model', which treated the porosity of critical size pores (>100 m) and total porosity separately. Two mathematical models relating the measured thermal conductivity with porosity and dry density were successfully developed. The mathematical models were proven to be able to predict the mechanical and thermal insulation properties precisely.


The chemical potential of continuously deformable chain molecules can be estimated by measuring the average Rosenbluth weight associated with the virtual insertion of a molecule. We show how to generalize the overlapping-distribution method of Bennett to histograms of Rosenbluth weights. In this way we arrive at a scheme to estimate chemical potentials of chain molecules that is a direct generalization of the Shing-Gubbins scheme for simple molecules. In particular, our overlapping-distribution method has the nice diagnostic feature that it can detect systematic sampling problems that may occur for long chains and high densities. We apply the method to the computation of the chemical potential of flexible chains of hard spheres and find that, for the systems studied, systematic sampling errors are less important than statistical errors.


Although exceptionalism is an important dimension of China's foreign policy, it has not been a subject of serious scholarly research. This article attempts to identify manifestations of exceptionalism in China's long history and explain why and how different types of exceptionalism have arisen in different historical periods. The analytical approach is both historical and theoretical. It explores how international structure has interacted with perceptions of history and culture to produce three distinctive yet related types of exceptionalism in imperial, Maoist, and contemporary China. While resting on an important factual basis, China's exceptionalism is constructed by mixing facts with myths through selective use of the country's vast historical and cultural experiences. The implications of contemporary China's exceptionalism — as characterized by the claims of great power reformism, benevolent pacifism, and harmonious inclusions — are drawn out by a comparison with American exceptionalism. While American exceptionalism has both offensive and defensive faces, Chinese exceptionalism is in general more defensive and even vague. While not determinative, exceptionalism can suggest policy dispositions, and by being an essential part of China's worldview, it can become an important source for policy ideas, offer the ingredients for the supposed construction of Chinese theories of international relations, and provide a lens through which to view emerging Chinese visions of international relations.