Background: The life expectancies of people with intellectual disabilities are significantly increasing with many more people now living with their older family carers. There are more adults with intellectual disabilities living today with family carers in Northern Ireland (NI) compared to the rest of the UK, a pattern that will continue: not planning for the future is not an option anymore. Many of these older family carers are female and are lone carers. This brings additional burdens as both the person with intellectual disabilities and their carer(s) have to manage the effects of the ageing process together. However, there comes a time when family carers cannot continue to provide care for their relative with intellectual disabilities as a result of illness or death, therefore other arrangements are required. The absence of adequate future plans and support systems can lead to crises, social isolation and emotional trauma for all concerned, inappropriate placement and unexpected dilemmas for siblings or extended families.Future Planning training programmes: There are two international training programmes that work directly with family carers to support them to develop a future plan ('The Future is Now' & 'Safe & Secure'). Both these programmes focus on similar areas (i.e. exploring the barriers and enablers to developing a future plan, circles of support, housing options, financial security, making a future plan, etc.). However, these programmes are solely dependent on the family carer's attendance at the training programme and his/her proactive development of the different aspects of the future plan with minimal or no support from front-line staff who do not receive any information on the barriers and enablers to future planning. Therefore, those family carers not at the contemplation stage will not start to begin to plan for the future, and many carers may not complete a future plan given the number of individual, family and organisational barriers they may face in their journey. Aim of study: A recent study in N Ireland reported that many family carers would like to make future plans if front-line staff can support them sensitively and are able to provide them with the correct information, emotional support and signposts to the appropriate personnel (Taggart et al., 2012). This Knowledge Transfer grant allowed the research team to develop 1) a training manual with resources (including a CD) and 2) a two-day training programme both the training manual and the workshop together trained staff to act as facilitators thereby supporting family carers to explore the barriers and enablers and develop a future plan. The training manual was developed as a stand-alone resource and the two-day training programme was an additional support for staff to develop their knowledge, skills and confidence to approach family carers to support them to develop a future plan. The training manual and two-day training programme enabled staff to support a wider number of family carers to develop a future plan: thereby creating greater sustainability than the two earlier programmes. Methodology: The training manual and the two-day training programme were developed, and were piloted twice and amendments made. The two-day training programme was then delivered on fifteen occasions across N Ireland from March–Sept 2014: all participants who attended the workshops received the training manual. The titles of the six sessions of the training programme were: Exploring your own Future Plan; Circles of Support, Person Centred Planning and Emergency Planning; Signposting Housing and Support Options; Making Sound financial and Legal Decisions; Direct Payments and Supporting a Family Carer to Make a Future Plan. The two-day training programme was delivered by a member of the University and supported by input from members of the NI Housing Executive (NIHE), staff from the Centre of Independent Living NI (CILNI) and two solicitors who specialise in working with people assess as lacking capacity to make decisions. At least one family carer who had completed or was in the process of completing a future plan was present to speak with staff highlighting the barriers and enablers to developing a future plan over the course of the two-days. All staff were asked to complete a written evaluation sheet at the end of the workshop. Two focus groups were held with seventeen staff several months after they had received the training. Results: In total 215 staff attended the two-day training programme delivered fifteen times across N Ireland. The majority of participants reported that the training manual (incl. resources and CD) was very useful, had the appropriate information with references and websites for further information, and contained localised information regarding housing, care providers, finding a solicitor, direct payments and writing a future plan.. The resources, exercises and information leaflets were also reported to be helpful in explaining what a future plan was with the family carers and adults with intellectual disabilities. The majority of staff also reported that the two-day training programme increased their knowledge, confidence and skills in approaching families to explore the option of developing a future plan. The additional input from the three external speakers and the family carers were again highly evaluated by the staff. Some staff reported that raising the topic of future planning with family carers may raise 'unrealistic expectations' in terms of housing and may also increase family carers anxieties further. Staff reported a number of organisational barriers in terms of putting the training into practice; these related to 'workload', 'prioritisation' and 'whose responsibility it is to approach family carers to support them to develop a future plan'. Conclusion: Exploring housing options, financial security and future care have the potential to reassure family carers that an agreed plan, in other words security, has been developed and will be put into place when family carers can no longer provide care. Both the training manual and two-day training programme have the potential to alleviate the on-going anxiety and stress that many family carers experience in the decades they provide caring to their relative with intellectual disabilities. The majority of the staff reported that the training manual and the two-day training programme were very helpful in improving their knowledge and skills, and increasing their confidence to approach family carers about developing a future plan. However, organisational difficulties were reported by these staff to implement the training from the two-day programme. Despite the benefits reported of the manual and the training, of over 200 staff from the statutory and voluntary/charitable sector organisations across N Ireland, it appears that there are significant challenges for front-line staff to implement the training in terms of developing future plans with family carers.


Black-box medicine — the use of big data and sophisticated machine-learning techniques for health-care applications — could be the future of personalized medicine. Black-box medicine promises to make it easier to diagnose rare diseases and conditions, identify the most promising treatments, and allocate scarce resources among different patients. But to succeed, it must overcome two separate, but related, problems: patient privacy and algorithmic accountability. Privacy is a problem because researchers need access to huge amounts of patient health information to generate useful medical predictions. And accountability is a problem because black-box algorithms must be verified by outsiders to ensure they are accurate and unbiased, but this means giving outsiders access to this health information.This article examines the tension between the twin goals of privacy and accountability and develops a framework for balancing that tension. It proposes three pillars of an effective system of privacy-preserving accountability: substantive limitations on the collection, use, and disclosure of patient information; independent gatekeepers regulating information sharing between those developing and verifying black-box algorithms; and information-security requirements to prevent unintentional disclosures of patient information. It draws on a similar debate in the field of clinical trials, where disclosing information from past trials can lead to new treatments but also threatens patient privacy.


Biobanks are increasingly being created specifically for research purposes. Concomitantly, we are seeing significant and evolving shifts in research ethics in relation to biobanking. Three discrete shifts are identified in this article. The first extends the ethical focus beyond the protection of human subjects to the promotion of broader community benefits of research utilizing biobanked resources, and an expectation that these benefits will be shared. The second involves the evolution of the traditional consent paradigm for future research uses of biobanks resources that are not in contemplation at the time of donation. The third involves a move away from single project management to more dynamic governance accountability to research participants and the public. These shifts may take different local and institutional forms but share common recognizable elements.


The objective of this paper was to construct a social accounting matrix (SAM) and show how it can be used to determine the economy-wide and sectoral effects of external shocks and various policy options available using Oman as a model. We first constructed an aggregate SAM (macro SAM) based on the country's national accounts which provided the control totals for a multisectoral, multi-institutional SAM. Then, we used the SAM to derive the multiplier matrix coefficients and simulated the effects of four policy scenarios: 1) an increase in agricultural and manufacturing exports (diversification scenario), 2) an increase in oil export value, 3) a reduction in worker remittances, and 4) an income transfer to rural households (equity scenario). Results showed that the diversification scenario had the largest overall production multiplier, while the increase in oil export price scenario had the highest impact on government revenue, balance of trade and saving. The remittance control scenario had the highest impact on total household income but most of the income increase went to urban households. The equity scenario had the second largest increase on household income, mostly rural income, but the least effect on saving, and trade balance. The policy implications of these simulations are not clear-cut. In addressing development issues, policy makers would need to use a combination of policy instruments to achieve a specific objective.


The Fatimid Caliphate (297-567AH) enjoyed special military and political distinctions in the Islamic world. The reliance of the Fatimid caliphs on the organization of powerful land and naval forces led to the expansion of this caliphate and the achievement of political and military power in their struggle against the Abbasid caliphate. The present study seeks to evaluate the military organization and establishment of the Fatimid Caliphate in Egypt (567-358 AH). To this end, it aims to analyze and answer the following questions: First, how did the Fatimid Caliphate's army institution in Egypt contribute to the rise and fall of this government in the Muslim world during the fourth century AH to sixth century AH? Second, how did the structure of the Fatimid army form based on the need and pattern of Islamic governments? And third, which institutions were responsible for the administration of the enormous Fatimid army? The findings of this study indicate that the Fatimid army, with the backing of a coherent administrative structure and enjoying ethnic and racial diversity, became one of the most extensive military institutions within the governments of the Middle Ages. However, a relative weakness in maintaining a stable balance among different groups of soldiers made the state always vulnerable to garrison uprising.


The effects of a moving line of light on the luminance threshold of a stationary target in its path have been compared for continuous and interrupted movement with three luminances of the moving line (2.0 to 0.023 ft-L), four speeds (17° to 170°/sec), and four widths of interruption of movement about the target position (0.13° to 3.43°). For both the continuous and interrupted movement the target threshold generally varied (a) with the luminance of the line divided by its speed, and (b) with the temporal interval between the presentation of the target and the arrival of the moving line at the target position. At short temporal intervals the rise in threshold with increasing luminance of the line was much greater than at long intervals. Although there were no substantial changes in the slopes of the functions, the point of maximum threshold rise was a function of speed. Both inhibitory and facilitative effects were magnified with very small interruptions of movement but decreased with larger interruptions.


It is often argued that the labor market outcomes of several "problem groups" of German workers suffer disproportionately in an economic downturn. These groups are women, the unskilled, and young and old workers, respectively. Using monthly individual-level data for West Germany for the period 1983 to 1994, this paper explores both the demographic heterogeneity of German unemployment in the long term, and the cyclical sensitivity of the unemployment experience across demographic groups. The analysis moves beyond that of unemployment rates to a detailed investigation of transition rates from employment to unemployment and vice versa. While long-term differences across demographic groups are dominating the structure of both job loss and re-employment, estimation of a nonlinear regression model reveals additional aspects of cyclical sensitivity. In particular, young workers experience drastically more pronounced swings in their labor market performance than the average worker, whereas old workers seem basically isolated from the economic cycle. By contrast, in terms of its cyclical sensitivity, the labor market performance of women and of unskilled workers is not dramatically different from that of the average worker.


Global urbanization projections suggest that a great majority of human beings will be living in urban areas by the middle of this century. This trend imposes significant strains on urban infrastructure systems and adds additional challenges to achieving environmental, social and economic sustainability goals set by many city governments. Smart city products and services, backed by IoT systems, have been proposed as effective solutions to increase efficiency, reduce costs and improve services. However, as with any technology, IoT solutions for smart cities bring about great opportunities and, at the same time, threats to, among others, governance, security, privacy and community autonomy. As we accumulate experience with these smart city deployments, we must ask ourselves: What would we later regret not regulating now? What good opportunities might certain types of regulation hold back and how can this be mitigated? We offer our perspective on these questions and argue in favor of human-centered IoT systems that are owned, operated and managed much in the same way that other public urban infrastructure systems (e.g., wastewater) are.


Science skepticism is on the rise worldwide, and it has a pernicious influence on science and science-based public policy. This article explores two of the most controversial science-based public policy issues: whether genetically modified foods are inherently unsafe and whether vaccines cause autism spectrum disorder. After evaluating the scientific credibility and discursive power of these claims, this article analyzes how changes in public opinion can shift public policy away from anti-scientific practices. Legal scholarship can play a substantial role because, if accessibly-written, it has the potential to be timely, persuasive, and comprehensible by a broad audience. Other stakeholders also play a meaningful role. Finally, this article explores the possibility of what could happen if these movements are left unchecked. This article concludes that a coordinated effort by a variety of stakeholders, and especially relevant experts in the legal field, can roll back the tide of anti-science in the court of public opinion.


As part of the Cloud Computing stack, Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) offerings become more and more widespread. They allow users to deploy and run virtual machines in remote data centers (the Cloud), paying by use. However, performance specifications for virtual machines provided by providers are not coherent and sometimes not even sufficient to predict the actual performance of a deployment. To measure hardware performance, hardware benchmarks are available. For measuring the performance of virtual machines in IaaS offerings, these benchmarks are not sufficient, as they don't take into account the IaaS provisioning model where the host hardware is unknown and can change. We have designed a new performance measuring method for Infrastructure-as-a-Service offerings. The method takes into account the type of service running in a virtual machine. By using the method, the actual performance of the virtual machines running a specific IaaS service is measured. This measurement can be used to better compare prices between different providers, but also to evaluate the performance actually available on a certain IaaS platform. We have evaluated the method on several Cloud infrastructure offerings of the Amazon EC2 platform, Flexi scale platform and Rack space platform to validate its utility. We show that already on EC2, the performance indicators given by providers, namely Amazon's Elastic Compute Unit, are not sufficient to determine the actual performance of a virtual machine.


Don't drink and drive. It's a deceptively simple rule, but one that is all too often ignored. And while efforts to eliminate drunk driving have been around as long as automobiles, every movement to keep drunks from driving has hit some alarming bumps in the road. Barron H. Lerner narrates the two strong-and vocal-sides to this debate in the United States: those who argue vehemently against drunk driving, and those who believe the problem is exaggerated and overregulated. A public health professor and historian of medicine, Lerner asks why these opposing views exist, examining drunk driving in the context of American beliefs about alcoholism, driving, individualism, and civil liberties. Angry and bereaved activist leaders and advocacy groups like Mothers Against Drunk Driving campaign passionately for education and legislation, but even as people continue to be killed, many Americans remain unwilling to take stronger steps to address the problem. Lerner attributes this attitude to Americans' love of drinking and love of driving, an inadequate public transportation system, the strength of the alcohol lobby, and the enduring backlash against Prohibition. The stories of people killed and maimed by drunk drivers are heartrending, and the country's routine rejection of reasonable strategies for ending drunk driving is frustratingly inexplicable. This book is a fascinating study of the culture of drunk driving, grassroots and professional efforts to stop it, and a public that has consistently challenged and tested the limits of individual freedom. Why, despite decades and decades of warnings, do people still choose to drive while intoxicated? One for the Road provides crucial historical lessons for understanding the old epidemic of drunk driving and the new epidemic of distracted driving.


7,8-Dihydroxyflavone (7,8-DHF) acts as a TrkB receptor-specific agonist. It mimics the physiological actions of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and demonstrates remarkable therapeutic efficacy in animal models of various neurological diseases. Nonetheless, its in vivo pharmacokinetic profiles and metabolism remain unclear. Here we report that 7,8-DHF and its O-methylated metabolites distribute in mouse brain after oral administration. Both hydroxy groups can be mono-methylated, and the mono-methylated metabolites activate TrkB in vitro and in vivo. Blocking methylation, using COMT inhibitors, diminishes the agonistic effect of TrkB activation by 7,8-DHF or 4′-dimethylamino-7,8-DHF, supporting the contribution of the methylated metabolite to TrkB activation in mouse brain. Moreover, we have synthesized several methylated metabolite derivatives, and they also potently activate the TrkB receptor and reduce immobility in both forced swim test and tail suspension test, indicating that these methylated metabolites may possess antidepressant activity. Hence, our data demonstrate that 7,8-DHF is orally bioavailable and can penetrate the brain-blood barrier. The O-methylated metabolites are implicated in TrkB receptor activation in the brain.


Global access to information and communication technologies - or 'GAIT' - requires the progressive extension of sustainable access to new technologies and services and support for their effective use within developing countries and regions, beyond the margins of what is currently considered viable. New initiatives through public and private sector partnerships are needed that will secure universal access to information and communication technologies (ICTs) as tools for innovative forms of knowledge-based development. This was the consensus that emerged from a series of meetings and discussions initiated by IDRC during 1998 and 1999. Many government, private sector, and donor organisations participated together with NGOs and other stakeholders. The consultation process was intended to seek new forms of action to promote sustainable investment in ICTs and to promote universal access to the new technologies and services. Promoting universal access requires pushing the margin of feasibility for sustainable investment in ICTs and in the capabilities needed to use them. Stakeholders must be encouraged to focus where conditions are likely to sustain effective public or private demand for access to ICTs. To achieve this, governments, donor agencies, local stakeholders and NGOs need to be alert to every opportunity to draw upon global networks of experts and organisational resources to catalyse progress towards universal access. This document highlights the observations that emerged from the consultation process on how universal access can most effectively be promoted.


Almost eight years after the passage of Dodd-Frank, financial institutions remain large, complex, and interconnected. Academics and policymakers across the ideological spectrum largely agree that Dodd-Frank has imposed substantial compliance costs on systematically important financial institutions (SIFIs) without solving the problem that they are too big to fail. This Note argues that Dodd-Frank's compliance costs have actually served an important regulatory purpose. By analyzing the spinoffs and divestitures that have occurred at eleven SIFIs since Dodd-Frank went into effect in 2010, this Note documents the extent to which the Act's compliance costs have led SIFIs to shed business lines of their own accord. The data reveal that regulators can adjust Dodd-Frank's costs in response to the perceived riskiness of specific business units, and that SIFIs can respond to these adjustments by divesting the business lines that caused their compliance costs to increase—that is, SIFIs' riskiest lines of business. In this way, Dodd-Frank has had an effect analogous to that of a Pigouvian tax—what we call a "Pigouvian regulation." Furthermore, because Dodd-Frank grants regulators discretion to ramp up (or down) these compliance costs over time, it provides them with powerful tools to incentivize SIFIs to become less systemically important. We therefore conclude that Dodd-Frank's compliance costs are not a mere ancillary effect of the law, but rather support the Act's core purpose by empowering regulators to force SIFIs to divest themselves of their riskiest assets. In doing so, regulators can—and have—made financial institutions safer.


Wireless local area networks (WLAN) are one of the most widely used technologies in our daily lives. Instead of being limited to the range of wired equipment users can communicate freely. However since wireless networks are based on communication within radio channels WLANs are susceptible to malicious attempts to block the channel. One of the most frequently used attacks is a Denial of Service (DoS) attack known as a jamming attack. Jamming attacks interfere with the transmission channels by constantly sending useless packets in order to disturb the communication between legitimate nodes. In real wireless networks where users communicate constantly a jamming attack can cause serious problems. Because of this a study of jamming attacks and how to prevent them is necessary. In this thesis the jamming attacks were simulated in WLAN using OPNET Modeler in order to provide a better understanding of jamming attacks. This study will be helpful for future research and development of a practical effective way to avoid jamming attacks. The objectives of this thesis were to simulate client-server and ad-hoc networks and different jammers; launch jamming attacks in order to test how much influence different jammers have in WLAN communications; and to compare the performances of different ad-hoc routing protocols.


Background: In order to monitor the health of new borns , high performance sensors are placed on the body to record information from different organs: nervous system (EEG signals), heartbeat and fetal movement (accelerometer signals). As the received data are non-stationary signals, Quadratic Time-frequency distributions (QTFDs) are often used to represent the energy, temporal and spectral characteristics of these signals. The suitable QTFD should conserve a high resolution and removes the cross-terms artifacts given by inner- and outer- terms. The inner-terms artifacts are observed in mono-component signals. Due to the Quadratic form of the QTFD, outer-terms are added to inner-terms if the signal contains more than one component. Recent QTFDs such as Wigner-Ville distribution, Spectrogram, B distribution, Modified B-Distribution, Choi-Williams, focus on the elimination of outer-terms whereas few works dealt with the inner-terms artifacts. Objectives: This work aims at designing a new kernel that takes into account the presence of both inner-terms and outer-terms artifacts. The proposed QTFD should remove these artifacts while maintaining a high resolution. Methods: A theoretical analysis of the localization of the inner-terms is given. Based on this analysis, we propose first a new kernel that removes the inner-terms for mono-component signal. Multicomponent signals are also considered, in which case we extend the proposed kernel in order to take into account the presence of the outer-terms. Results and conclusion: The resulting TFDs are compared with other methods using several examples of mono-component and multi-component signals. Some real data representing EEG signals and fetal movement are also used. The different simulations indicate that the proposed TFDs are more efficient to the existing ones, leading to potential significant improvement in newborn health outcomes. This work is supported by Qatar National Research Fund, NPRP project No 09-626-2-243


Motivated by recent work on deep neural network (DNN)-based image compression methods showing potential improvements in image quality, savings in storage, and bandwidth reduction, we propose to perform image understanding tasks such as classification and segmentation directly on the compressed representations produced by these compression methods. Since the encoders and decoders in DNN-based compression methods are neural networks with feature-maps as internal representations of the images, we directly integrate these with architectures for image understanding. This bypasses decoding of the compressed representation into RGB space and reduces computational cost. Our study shows that accuracies comparable to networks that operate on compressed RGB images can be achieved while reducing the computational complexity up to $2\times$. Furthermore, we show that synergies are obtained by jointly training compression networks with classification networks on the compressed representations, improving image quality, classification accuracy, and segmentation performance. We find that inference from compressed representations is particularly advantageous compared to inference from compressed RGB images for aggressive compression rates.


This review discusses the structure and operation of the fine mesh 'mucous' feeding filters of tunicates. The function of the endostyle in producing the feeding filter and the different ways in which the filter is deployed are also described. The fine structure of the filter includes new data, and the ultrastructural dimensions of the filter mesh and filament thickness are tabulated for the different tunicate groups. Histochemical data suggest that a peptide core is surrounded by a mucopolysaccharide sheath, and endostyle gland cell histochemistry and ultrastructure indicates protein synthesis. The construction of the filter by the endostyle was first considered in ascidians, and has been updated by observations on the simpler endostyle in salps, where there is evidence that secretions of gland cells pass to the bases of a fence of cilia, there to fuse and pass off the ciliary tips as fine filaments composing the filter net. Although all filters that have been examined when deployed have a rectangular mesh, reasons are given for supposing that when formed in the endostyle they have a square mesh in which both longitudinal and transverse filaments are of similar thickness and that the transverse filaments are stretched as the filter is deployed, so becoming thinner. Finally, some ecological consequences of the filter parameters in the different tunicate groups are considered.


As a final exam preparation tool, CCIE Routing and Switching Exam Quick Reference Sheets provides a concise review of all objectives on the new CCIE Routing and Switching v3.0 written exam (350-001). This digital Short Cut provides you with detailed, graphical-based information, highlighting only the key topics in cram-style format.With this document as your guide, you will review topics on networking theory, LAN switching, IP routing, QoS, WAN, IP multicast, security and wireless topics. These fact-filled Quick Reference Sheets allow you to get all-important information at a glance, helping you to focus your study on areas of weakness and to enhance memory retention of essential exam concepts.


Aim/Purpose: There is a huge array of educational technology tools that are now in use today. These tools have changed the way teachers teach and the way students learn. Among the many educational technology tools that are gaining popularity are the online collaboration tools. Online collaboration tools are web-based tools that allow individuals to do things together online like messaging, file sharing, and assessment. However, when new educational technology is integrated in the classroom, its effects must be determined as this is an essential component for evaluation. Having the tool is not enough, there has to be an evaluation of its quality to make it more effective. It is on this premise that the customized online collaboration tool of one university in the Philippines was assessed. The study specifically aimed to identify the perceived effectiveness of the customized online collaboration tool; and identify the effectiveness of using Usability Metrics for Effectiveness.

Background: Most studies provide evaluation of newly developed software using a set of quality standards such as functionality and usability. However, there is limited evidence where online collaboration tools are evaluated on their effectiveness using user's perception as well as assessing their usability using a set of effectiveness metrics.

Methodology: The study employed questionnaire-based (n=127) and metrics-based (n=81) approaches. Data gathered were analyzed using simple and relative frequencies, weighted mean, ANOVA, and Tukey HSD (Honestly Significant Difference).

Contribution: This study supplements the literature regarding the effectiveness of online collaboration tools that are used for teaching and learning particularly those that are custom-made for an institution. It provides additional information on other ways to evaluate the effectiveness of customized online collaboration tools. It likewise provides information on the difference between what the users report about the tool's effectiveness and what the metrics show.

Findings: The customized online collaboration tool was perceived to be very effective for collaboration, teaching and learning. But there is a significant difference on the students' perception based from their courses and year levels. The customized online collaboration tool's effectiveness as regards its application performance is poor because of design interface faults. However, the customized online collaboration tool has good completion rate.

Recommendations for Practitioners: Findings suggest that the customized online collaboration tool can be an alternative tool to open-source learning platforms which faculty members may use for teaching and learning as students find it very effective not only for collaboration but for teaching and learning as well. However, errors caused by interface design problems must be addressed to yield a higher application performance rating and higher completion rate.

Recommendation for Researchers: Further assessment on the tool's effectiveness using an empirical study is recommended to provide additional definitive evidence which may support the benefits of using online collaboration tools in the classroom.


A fascinating new insight into the Falklands Conflict, covering every aspect of its origins and the political and diplomatic response to the Argentinean action as well as illuminating accounts of the military action to retake the islands, at every level of command. In June 2002, exactly twenty years after the cessation of hostilities between Britain and Argentina, many of the key participants came together at a major international conference. This conference, held at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst and organized jointly by RMA Sandhurst and her sister institution Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, aimed to re-examine the events of spring 1982 from the perspective that only twenty intervening years can bring. The Conference mixed those who had participated in the events of spring and early summer 1982, diplomats, politicians, civil servants, soldiers, sailors and airmen, with historians, political scientists and journalists. These accounts and interpretations of the conflict shed new light on one of the most interesting and controversial episodes in recent British history.


Door access control systems based on face recognition are geared towards simplifying difficult face recognition problems in uncontrolled environments. Such systems are able to control illumination, offer neutral pose and improve the poor performance of many face recognition algorithms. Door access control systems control illumination and pose in order to overcome face recognition problems. While there have been significant improvements in the algorithms with increasing recognition accuracy, very little research has been conducted on implementing these in hardware devices. Most of the previous studies focused on implementing a simple principal component analysis in hardware with low recognition accuracy. In contrast, the use of a Gabor filter for feature extraction and the nearest neighbour method for classification were found to be better alternatives. Dramatic developments in field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) have allowed designers to select various resources and functions to implement many complex designs. The aim of this paper is to present the feasibility of implementing Gabor filter and nearest neighbour face recognition algorithms in an FPGA device for face recognition. Our simulation using Xilinx FPGA platforms verified the feasibility of such a system with minimum hardware requirements.


OBJECTIVE We describe a most unusual urological emergency: a firearm wound in which the blunt-nosed hand-gun bullet was lodged in the prostate. A bibliographic search of the literature revealed no similar case. METHODS The patient was admitted presenting a gunshot wound with the entrance hole on the right buttock. There was no exit wound. An X-ray revealed the bullet behind the pubic symphysis. We introduced a suprapubic catheter and then carried out a laparotomy making a discharge colostomy Urethrogram revealed a pathway of contrast to the rectum. Several days later, we reached the bladder with an urethrotome and introduced an 18 Fr catheter. Under radiological control we made an open approach to the retropubic space, palpated the bullet within the prostate and then removed it. DISCUSSION/CONCLUSIONS The velocity of a rifle or hand-gun bullet is the main determinant of the severity of this type of injury. As there was no exit wound, we knew that the entrance velocity was low, therefore tissue damage would probably be small. In these cases, a preparatory suprapubic cystostomy is essential to be able to carry out a urethral reconstruction later. Radiological control during the procedure proved extremely useful to precisely locate the bullet. Our conservative approach of simply leaving in place the catheter helped us later to avoid a difficult repair of a recto-urethral fistula.


1. Culicoides midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) are ubiquitous on farms in the United Kingdom (UK), but little research has explored their abundance, an important determinant of disease risk. Models to explain and predict variation in their abundance are needed for effective targeting of control methods against bluetongue virus (BTV) and other Culicoidesborne diseases. Although models have been attempted at the national scale (e.g. Scotland), no investigations have taken place at a finer spatial scale. 2. Midge abundances were estimated using light traps on 35 farms in Bala, north Wales. Culicoides catches were combined with remotely sensed ecological correlates, and on-farm host and environmental data, within a GLM model. Drivers of local-scale variation were determined at the 1-km resolution. 3. Local-scale variation in abundance exhibited an almost 500-fold difference (74-33 720) between farms in maximum Obsoletus Group catches. The Obsoletus Group model explained 81% of this variance and was dominated by normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI). This is consistent with previous studies suggesting strong impacts of forest cover and vegetation activity on distribution, as well as shaded breeding site requirements. 4. The variance explained was consistently high for the Pulicaris Group, C. pulicaris and C. punctatus (80%, 73% and 74%), the other probable BTV vector species in the United Kingdom. The abundance of all vector species increased with the number of sheep on farms, but this relationship was missing from any of the non-vector models. This is particularly interesting given that none of the species concerned are known to utilize sheep-associated larval development sites. Performance of the non-vector models was also high (65-87% variance explained), but species differed in their associations with satellite variables. 5. Synthesis and application. At a large spatial scale, there is significant variation in Culicoides Obsoletus Group abundance, which undermines attempts to record their nationwide distribution in larger-scale models. Satellite data can be used to explain a high proportion of this variation and, if shown to be generalizable, they may produce effective predictive models of disease vector abundance. We recommend undertaking a prior survey for farms with high Culicoides catches within the sampling area and checking stability in catch size between seasons and years. (Resume d'auteur)


This paper presents the methodology developed to create a system to evaluate academic electronic journals. This methodology was developed in two stages. In the first stage, a system to evaluate electronic journals was created. The criteria framework and the indicators for assessment for academic electronic journals were selected and defined. According to this framework, several questions were designed to measure each indicator and, as a result, an instrument to evaluate academic electronic journals was built. In the second stage, this instrument was validated by 16 editors of electronic journals of different countries and different areas of knowledge that were considered as judges to evaluate clarity, importance, relevance and coverage of each question, indicator and criteria. This instrument was distributed by e‑mail. The opinions given by the judges were processed and then used to help in the construction of a new instrument that is ready to be presented to the Mexican Council of Scientific Research in order to evaluate Mexican academic electronic journals.


This thesis examines the land acquisition process used during the creation of Cape Hatteras National Seashore (CHNS). It analyzes the role of both North Carolina's state government and the federal government in the creation of CHNS. It evaluates research regarding the landowners who refused to sell their land (thus forcing legal action), their arguments speaking to their opposition, and the National Park Service's mission to protect and preserve this land. The methodology used included examination of media and literature published during that time period, exploration of recorded interviews with residents, and investigation of the federal government's plans to create a national seashore. The thirty-one year journey to acquire land for CHNS was unnecessarily painful, frustrating to inhabitants of the Outer Banks, and far more expensive than it should have been. Yet, it served as a learning experience that shaped the National Park Services' performance post-CHNS.


The amateurism principle, by which student-athletes are ineligible for collegiate competition if they capitalize financially on their athletic skill or reputation, is a mainstay of college athletic competition. It has two general justifications. First, it underscores that those who compete on a university athletic team must be students at that university in more than name only. Second, it maintains college athletic competition as a "mark" separate from professional sports, thereby insulating fan interest, donor support, and revenue streams.The revenue-driven commercialization of intercollegiate athletics programs embodies an increasing disconnect between athletic department budgets and the money spent on bloated coach salaries and extravagant athletic facilities when contrasted with NCAA limits on benefits that may be provided directly to student-athletes as well as on how student-athletes independently might market themselves. The result is a cacophony of complaints that college athletics are not amateur athletics but, instead, are big business divorced from the campus ethos, at least at the major NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) schools and at least in the revenue sports of football and men's basketball. In turn, critics reject the idea that a full ride athletic scholarship, plus the educational and lifetime economic benefits of a university education, appropriately cabin the full economic scope of what men's basketball and football student-athletes are entitled to derive from their college careers and their athletic participation. As these critics see it, the genie is out of the bottle and the amateurism principle must give way.The debate roiling over the uncompensated use of student-athlete names and likenesses so far has been long on platitudes and on easy, less than fully considered, answers but short on data or on any close analysis of what the NCAA, conferences, and member universities currently do or might need to be able to do; exactly what benefits currently are provided to student-athletes; the value of football and men's basketball student-athletes independent of the universities for which they compete; and the practical and legal impediments to implementing some of the solutions proffered to provide additional funds to student-athletes either while they are still eligible to compete or after they have exhausted eligibility.Our purpose in the Article is to fill that void by providing a comprehensive examination of these issues that includes examination of the impact of the federal tax laws, the laws governing the creation and administration of trust accounts, and Title IX; as well as an econometric model of the value of football and men's basketball student-athletes. We also consider whether changes might be made in the treatment of student-athletes that would better match the 21st Century university and the modern contours of an FBS athletic program and yet still preserve the essential nature of the collegiate model. More particularly, we consider whether compensating student-athletes for the value of their names and likenesses could be accommodated in the collegiate model without producing a paradigm shift with impacts so substantial as to be its death knell.


Background The whale shark (Rhincodon typus) is an iconic species for Teluk Cenderawasih National Park (TCNP), West Papua and Papua. They appear regularly near lift-net fisheries (bagans) year round in some areas, especially near Kwatisore in West Papua, resulting in the development of limited tourism since 2009. The objective of our study was to document the characteristics (i.e., number, size, sex) of whale sharks that occur in TCNP. Approach We used photographs to identify whale sharks from natural patterns and other body markings that periodically appeared near operational bagans in southern Cenderawasih Bay. The photo ID technique was used to identify each individual based on the white body spot pattern. We also made subjective estimates of the relative sizes of each shark and determined whether they were male or female from the presence or absence of claspers. Results We obtained 8,530 photos of sharks from February 2010 through June 2015. From that database we tentatively identified 126 sharks, 83% of them male, 14% female and 3% undetermined. The estimated length of the sharks averaged 4.4 m (± 1.25 m, range = 2 m to 8 m). Around 40% of the individuals had scars, mostly around their mouths and fins. Most (59%) of the sharks were seen in one year, while only 3% were seen over more than one year during the five year study. Some exceptions were one shark that was seen 32 times over four years, and another that was seen 29 times over five years. Conclusions Juvenile male whale sharks appear to be transient and highly mobile in Cenderawasih Bay. Whether adult males or adult females occur here is not known, as they may not be attracted to the fishing bagans or do not otherwise approach the sea surface where they can be observed. Because of the increased tourism for whale sharks and the interactions of whale sharks with the fishing bagans, we recommend continued systematic observations of whale sharks and vigilant surveillance for understanding the dynamics of interactions among tourist activities, fishing operations, and whale sharks.


Assessments of carbon (C) fluxes in the Arctic require detailed data on both how and why these fluxes vary across the landscape. Such assessments are complicated because tundra vegetation has diverse structure and function at both local and regional scales. To investigate this diversity, the Arctic Flux Study has used the eddy covariance technique to generate ecosystem CO2‐exchange data along a transect in northern Alaska. We use an extant process‐based model of the soil–plant–atmosphere continuum to make independent predictions of gross photosynthesis and foliar respiration at 9 of the sites along the transect, using data on local canopy structure and meteorology. We make two key assumptions: (i) soil respiration is constant throughout the flux measurement period, so that the diurnal cycle in CO2 exchange is driven by canopy processes only (except at two sites where a soil respiration–temperature relationship was indicated in the data); and (ii) mosses and lichens play an insignificant role in ecosystem C exchange, even though in some locations their live biomass exceeds 300 g m−2. We found that even with these assumptions the model could explain much of the dynamics of net ecosystem production (NEP) at sites with widely differing vegetation structure and moss/lichen cover. Errors were mostly associated with the predictions of maximum NEP; the likely cause of such discrepancies was (i) a mismatch between vegetation sampled for characterizing the canopy structure and that contained within the footprint of the eddy covariance flux measurements, or (ii) an increase in daytime soil and root respiration. Thus the model results tended to falsify our first assumption but not our second. We also note evidence for an actual reduction in NEP caused by water stress on warm, dry days at some sites. The model–flux comparison also suggests that photosynthesis may be less sensitive to low temperatures than leaf‐level gas‐exchange measurements have indicated.


MItova, I., N. DINev and v . v assIleva, 2014. effects of mineral and organic fertilization on early potato production. Bulg. J. Agric. Sci., 20: 1182-1188 The objective of the study was to establish the influence of organic, mineral and organic-mineral fertilization on the growth, development, yield and some quality indicators for early potatoes. A field experiment in crop rotation with early po tatoes of the sort agata was staged on alluvial-meadow soil in 2011-2012. the scenario included a regime without fertilizer, a regime with mineral fertilizer, organic fertilizer (manure) and mixed organic and mineral fertilizer. The highest yield in the conducted experiment (32.42 t.ha -1 ) was obtained under the mixed fertilization regime. The plants under the regime with organic fertilizer showed lower biometric indicators as compared to those fertilized with mineral or organic-mineral fertilizers. As regards quality indicators, the biggest tubers (101.42 g/tuber) were obtained under the mixed fertilization regime with high content of total sugars - 5.1% and low content of nitrates - 49.79 mg.kg -1 .


This book analyzes the history of Mesopotamian imagery from the mid-second to mid-first millennium BCE. It demonstrates that in spite of rich textual evidence, which grants the Mesopotamian gods and goddesses an anthropomorphic form, there was a clear abstention in various media from visualizing the gods in such a form. True, divine human-shaped cultic images existed in Mesopotamian temples. But as a rule, non-anthropomorphic visual agents such as inanimate objects, animals or fantastic hybrids replaced these figures when they were portrayed outside of their sacred enclosures. This tendency reached its peak in first-millennium Babylonia and Assyria. The removal of the Mesopotamian human-shaped deity from pictorial renderings resembles the Biblical agenda not only in its avoidance of displaying a divine image but also in the implied dual perception of the divine: according to the Bible and the Assyro-Babylonian concept the divine was conceived as having a human form; yet in both cases anthropomorphism was also concealed or rejected, though to a different degree.
In the present book, this dual approach toward the divine image is considered as a reflection of two associated rather than contradictory religious worldviews. The plausible consolidation of the relevant Biblical accounts just before the Babylonian Exile or, more probably within the Exile - in both cases during a period of strong Assyrian and Babylonian hegemony - points to a direct correspondence between comparable religious phenomena.
It is suggested that far from their homeland and in the absence of a temple for their god, the Judahite deportees adopted and intensified the Mesopotamian avoidance of anthropomorphic pictorial portrayals of deities. While the Babylonian representations remained confined to temples, the exiles would have turned a cultic reality - i.e., the non-written Babylonian custom - into a written, articulated law that explicitly forbade the pictorial representation of God.


Growth hormone (GH) has long been known to stimulate lipolysis and insulin resistance; however, the molecular mechanisms underlying these effects are unknown. In the present study, we demonstrate that GH acutely induces lipolysis in cultured adipocytes. This effect is secondary to the reduced expression of a negative regulator of lipolysis, fat-specific protein 27 (FSP27; aka Cidec) at both the mRNA and protein levels. These effects are mimicked in vivo as transgenic overexpression of GH leads to a reduction of FSP27 expression. Mechanistically, we show GH modulation of FSP27 expression is mediated through activation of both MEK/ERK- and STAT5-dependent intracellular signaling. These two molecular pathways interact to differentially manipulate peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma activity (PPARγ) on the FSP27 promoter. Furthermore, overexpression of FSP27 is sufficient to fully suppress GH-induced lipolysis and insulin resistance in cultured adipocytes. Taken together, these data decipher a molecular mechanism by which GH acutely regulates lipolysis and insulin resistance in adipocytes.


Upper-level wind fields are obtained by tracking the motion of cloud features as seen in calibrated ground-based stereo cameras. By tracking many cloud features, it is possible to obtain horizontal wind speed and direction over a cone area throughout the troposphere. Preliminary measurements were made at the Mauna Loa Observatory, and resulting wind measurements are compared with winds from the Hilo, Hawaii radiosondes.


We examine spatial semantics, take notions such as location and change of location to be basic, and address the question of whether these notions are reflected in syntax and morphology. We state that there are indeed languages in which there is a direct grammatical correlate of location and path. Accordingly, we take the abstract structure of a spatial phrase in the verbal domain to be [V' Vo [PP DIRo [P' LOCo [N' No ]]]]. The goal of this paper is to present new evidence for such a structure based on locality considerations. A robust notion of locality (heads involved in a syntactic relation R must be hierarchically adjacent) provides the following predictions: vR(V,PDIR), vR(PDIR,PLOC), vR(PLOC,N), *R(V,PLOC), *R(PDIR,N), *R(V,N).


The May 25, 1987, Vatnafjoll earthquake occurred on the Mid-Atlantic plate boundary, at a junction between a transform (the South Iceland Seismic Zone) and a spreading segment (the Eastern Volcanic Zone). The South Iceland Seismic Zone has had the most destructive earthquakes in the history of Iceland with average intervals of 80–100 years and estimated maximum magnitudes around 7. The 1987 Vatnafjoll earthquake was the largest earthquake (mb = 5.8; MS = 5.8; Mw = 5.9) in south Iceland since the 1912 magnitude 7 earthquake and is the first event sufficiently large to allow a meaningful study of source process in this geologically interesting region. Foreshocks and aftershocks of the Vatnafjoll earthquake were located with relatively good accuracy. They define an elongated N-S epicentral area, 12 km long and 4 km wide with hypocentral depths mostly between 6 and 13 km. We determined centroid source parameters of the Vatnafjoll earthquake by inverting long-period teleseismic P and SH waves. The centroid source mechanism and foreshock and aftershock distribution indicate N-S right-lateral strike-slip faulting on a near-vertical plane. The rupture initiated near the base of the crust and propagated upward along an approximately 10-km-long fault but did not reach the surface. The centroid depth is well constrained and is between 5 and 8 km depth at the 95% confidence level. The seismic moment is 9.1×1024dyn cm. The source has relatively short duration of 3 s, which may indicate higher stress drop than global average of earthquakes of this size. The South Iceland Seismic Zone is a 70-km-long E-W striking transform zone between two overlapping rift zones, the Eastern and Western Volcanic Zones. It is characterized by "bookshelf" type of tectonics; that is, there is no surface faulting in the direction of the transform. Instead, N-S right-lateral strike-slip faults are distributed along and perpendicular to the transform zone. The Vatnafjoll earthquake has characteristics of earthquakes in the South Iceland Seismic Zone and is probably not related directly with magmatic activity in the Eastern Volcanic Zone. The transform zone thus extends farther into the rift zone than was previously recognized.


Evolution through natural selection offers the possibility of automatically generating functionally complex solutions to a wide range of problems. Methods such as Genetic Programming (GP) show the promise of this approach but tend to stagnate after relatively few generations. To research this issue, execution speed must be substantially improved. This thesis presents work to accelerate the execution of such methods. The work uses the Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) to target the evaluation of individuals since this is the most time-consuming part of the run. Two models have been emerging for this: dynamically compiling each new generation of individuals for the GPU or using a single GPU interpreter, to which successive groups of individuals can be sent. Using the latter model, a GPU interpreter is constructed to implement cyclic GP, an advanced form of GP that imposes several challenging implementation issues which are addressed. Accelerating the evaluation using the GPU is only part of the story. The next part of the work interleaves CPU and GPU computation to keep both chips as busy as possible with the tasks to which they are best suited and then to recruit multiple GPUs and CPU cores to further accelerate the run. Using the former model, a compiling system is constructed and this is used to investigate two methods to overcome the primary difficulty with the approach: long compilation times. That system implements Tweaking Mutation Behaviour Learning (TMBL), a form focused on long term fitness growth and overcoming the previously mentioned stagnation issues. Further work optimises two CPU tasks highlighted by profiling: tournament selection and individual copying. These techniques are highly effective and permit much shorter run-times. This clears the way for research into stimulating long term fitness growth and hence for tackling new, complex problems.


Using a data set of historical battles from 1600 to 1973, this paper analyzes the empirical determinants of tactical success in modern war. Based on a reduced form approach we consider key elements of military theory as production factors for combat success as an output of a military production function. The paper focuses on the relationship of material and non-material factors to battlefield success, and especially on the role of superior force strengths. Contrary to the emphasis on technology which can be found in the recent literature, our estimation results indicate that numerical superiority has retained its crucial role for battlefield performance throughout history. In general, human elements of warfare, like leadership, morale and surprise, have continued to be important determinants of battle outcome despite technological progress in weapons.


With advancements in PET technology, scanners with a very good time-of-flight (TOF) resolution became available. In addition, scanners with long axial extent are now commercialized. Although raw data sizes increase significantly with such scanners, good TOF resolution allows substantial data compression without any loss of spatial resolution: for example, the histo-projections with relatively coarse sampling in the TOF direction in the Siemens Biograph Vision and Vision Quadra PET/CT scanners. The patient motion during the scan is unavoidable. The pattern caused by breathing may result in a relatively large displacement of organs and the consequent blurring of clinically relevant features in regions affected by the motion. As was shown in our previous work, non-rigid motion correction can be performed in the quasi-image space of histo-projections. The TOF locality property can be used to locally perform motion correction; that is, the approximation of motion as locally rigid on a scale of TOF resolution. In this work, we investigate motion estimation in the TOF data space from histo-images by histogramming the data into a 3D array consistent (in geometry and size) with the reconstruction image. The histo-image estimated motion is then used in histo-projections motion correction. Initial results using an XCAT digital phantom showed that the presented methodology accommodates for changes in non-rigid body movements for a typical pattern of patient motion. The patient scan on newly developed Biograph Vision Quadra PET/CT scanner was used in validation of presented motion correction.


ABSTRACT Background: STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) education is attracting increasing public interest and policy attention and being promoted at different educational levels in Cambodia. Purpose: The study seeks to identify factors associated with Cambodian university freshmen's choice of STEM major and how significant associations differ by gender and university location. Sample: The study draws on primary data collected from a survey of 2,016 freshmen at 15 universities across Cambodia. Design and method: Binary logistic regression was applied to detect correlates of major choice (dichotomized into STEM major and non-STEM major). Results: Students who choose a STEM major are likely to be male, have clearly prioritized the major since high school, have high self-efficacy in the chosen major, want a career in STEM, enrol at a Phnom Penh-based university, excel at mathematics at high school, excel at science at high school, have no job while studying, and value the importance of science and technology to society. When moderated by gender and university location, only excellence in mathematics, excellence in science, and STEM career prospects remained significantly associated with STEM major choice. Conclusion: Student experience in learning mathematics and science subjects at high school and their exposure to career information and guidance are vital in widening participation in STEM disciplines at higher education level in Cambodia.


In this paper, security issue in multiple input multiple output (MIMO) multicasting system has been analyzed in the presence of a group of eavesdroppers in cognitive radio networks (CRNs). Primary base station (PBS) and secondary base station (SBS) communicate with multiple primary and secondary receivers, respectively via a precoding relay having multiple antennas. At first, considering interference the secrecy multicast capacity at the primary receivers (PRs) and the secondary receivers (SRs) has been calculated and investigated the impact of interferences on it. Then, the zero-forcing (ZF) precoding technique at the relay has been employed which enhances the secrecy multicast capacity at the PRs and SRs by zeroing the impact of interference on each other. Secondly, the existing constructive interference energy of the communication medium employing selective precoding (SP) technique at the relay has been used to improve the secrecy multicast capacity of the PRs and SRs. Finally, phase alignment precoding (PAP) technique at the relay has been introduced which uses the destructive part of interference for further increase in the secrecy multicast capacity at the PRs and SRs. It is observed that among the three precoding techniques, the best performance is achieved by using the PAP at the relay in terms of secrecy multicast capacity and secure outage probability analysis. This is due to the fact that PAP technique at the relay not only uses the constructive interference part but also it rotates the destructive interference part in such a way that the resulting interference is always instantaneously constructive. So using these precoding relays interference power can be used to enhance system performance without increasing base station power.


ABSTRACT Entry inhibitors represent a potent class of antiretroviral drugs that target a host cell protein, CCR5, an HIV-1 entry coreceptor, and not viral protein. Lack of sensitivity can occur due to preexisting virus that uses the CXCR4 coreceptor, while true resistance occurs through viral adaptation to use a drug-bound CCR5 coreceptor. To understand this R5 resistance pathway, we analyzed >500 envelope protein sequences and phenotypes from viruses of 20 patients from the clinical trials MOTIVATE 1 and 2, in which treatment-experienced patients received maraviroc plus optimized background therapy. The resistant viral population was phylogenetically distinct and associated with a genetic bottleneck in each patient, consistent with de novo emergence of resistance. Recombination analysis showed that the C2-V3-C3 region tends to genotypically correspond to the recombinant's phenotype, indicating its primary importance in conferring resistance. Between patients, there was a notable lack of commonality in the specific sites conferring resistance, confirming the unusual nature of R5-tropic resistance. We used coevolutionary and positive-selection analyses to characterize the genotypic determinants of resistance and found that (i) there are complicated covariation networks, indicating frequent coevolutionary/compensatory changes in the context of protein structure; (ii) covarying sites under positive selection are enriched in resistant viruses; (iii) CD4 binding sites form part of a unique covariation network independent of the V3 loop; and (iv) the covariation network formed between the V3 loop and other regions of gp120 and gp41 intersects sites involved in glycosylation and protein secretion. These results demonstrate that while envelope sequence mutations are the key to conferring maraviroc resistance, the specific changes involved are context dependent and thus inherently unpredictable. IMPORTANCE The entry inhibitor drug maraviroc makes the cell coreceptor CCR5 unavailable for use by HIV-1 and is now used in combination antiretroviral therapy. Treatment failure with drug-resistant virus is particularly interesting because it tends to be rare, with lack of sensitivity usually associated with the presence of CXCR4-using virus (CXCR4 is the main alternative coreceptor HIV-1 uses, in addition to CD4). We analyzed envelope sequences from HIV-1, obtained from 20 patients who enrolled in maraviroc clinical trials and experienced treatment failure, without detection of CXCR4-using virus. Evolutionary analysis was employed to identify molecular changes that confer maraviroc resistance. We found that in these individuals, resistant viruses form a distinct population that evolved once and was successful as a result of drug pressure. Further evolutionary analysis placed the complex network of interdependent mutational changes into functional groups that help explain the impediments to the emergence of maraviroc-associated R5 drug resistance.


The author of this study claims that the United States Supreme Court is being strangled by the combined forces of skillful enemies and incompetent friends who are united in an inability to "grasp or tolerate constitutional law as an independent moral voice on American politics". He takes on these enemies and friends of the Court, attacking New Right ideas about constitutional interpretation as well as those liberals who have abandoned the classical constitutionalism which justifies Warren-era activism. Barber begins by reviewing the basic arguments of the New Right, paying particular attention to those of Robert Bork and Walter Berns. He then demonstrates that judicial activism, long scorned by the Court's bitterest critics, is part of a constitutional philosophy deeply rooted in "The Federalist Papers" - despite conservatives frequent claims to know the framer's "original intent". Barber seeks to demonstrate that New Right theorists such as Bork, and establishment liberals such as Ronald Dworkin are moral relativists who cannot escape conclusions ("might makes right", for example) that could destroy constitutionalism in America. He argues that the best hope for American freedom is to revive classical constitutionalism - and he explains how new movements in philosophy allow the Court's friends to do that, making the case for moral realism in constitutional interpretation.


"The Worcester Fragments" (hereafter WF) is the name given to 216 long lines on the last four of sixty-six trimmed and separate vellum sheets discovered by the antiquarian Thomas Phillipps, in the binding of an unspecified book at Worcester Cathedral in 1838.(1) The first sixty-three sheets of this MS., Worcester Cathedral F. 174, contain a version of AElfric's Grammar and Glossary (Butler, 93-323 ). The MS. as a whole represents the most extended work of Worcester's famous scribe with the "tremulous" hand, who may, according to Ker, have worked as late as the mid 13th century.(2) It may seem perverse to suggest that something with the word "fragments" in its title is in fact a cohesive whole.(3) In this case, however, the "fragments" of the established editorial title for this work may exaggerate somewhat the fragmentary nature of the MS.; the text as we have it seems more-or-less complete. The sheets are physically disconnected but all that is missing from them appears to be one or a few lines at the top of sheets and some words or parts of words on one side, where the sheets were trimmed to make them suitable for use in binding of "one of the old registers" (Wright, Vocabularies 1: col. 536, n. 1). Two significant problems result from the disconnected condition of the MS. sheets. The less serious one, to my mind, is a consequence of the fact that the sheets are disconnected, and concerns the relationship of the last sheet (f. 66) to the preceding three (ff. 63, 64, 65). Although his edition retains the traditional order, Douglas Moffat has suggested that f.66 might originally have followed f. 63, arguing that such a sequence of sheets gives better stylistic and structural coherence to the soul-and-body text which he edits ("Address" 123-40; Soul's Address 44-49). On the other hand, he also notes that such a rearrangement would violate the normal arrangement of folios by hair and flesh sides in the MS. In addition, on f. 66 alone the scribe uses the ampersand as well as his usual Tironian et (7). Placing f. 66 between any of the preceding folios would imply that the scribe adopted a new abbreviation for one folio only, then dropped it abruptly and regularly thereafter. This seems most unlikely. It remains possible, however, that there may have been one or more sheets between f. 65 and the present f. 66. More serious is the problem that results from the absence of some, perhaps as many as 4 or 5, lines trimmed from the top of the verso of f. 63. To an important degree, because these lines are missing it has become easy to believe that WF contains two distinct works: the so-called "Bede Fragment" on the lower half of f. 63r, a lament or complaint on the lack of great teachers and the national decline that has resulted from this lack, and a soul-and-body text, sometimes called "The Departing Soul's Address to the Body," on ff. 63v to 66, i.e. to the end of the MS. Except for Phillipps's more-or-less diplomatic text of 1838 and Halls partial edition (63r-64v) of 1920, no editions of the lament (63r) have included all or part of the soul-and-body text, nor have editions of the soul-and-body text included the lament. Hall, though he prints the lament and part of the soul-and-body text together, is careful to distinguish between them in his notes (2:223). This treatment of WF by editors is reflected and reinforced by its treatment in various authoritative lists and catalogues. The Index of the Middle English Verse and its Supplement, Ker's Catalogue of MSS. Containing Anglo-Saxon [#398], Angus Cameron's "List of Old English Texts" in A Plan for the Dictionary of Old English [B.3.4.13 & B.3.4.5], and Richard Osberg's 1981 catalogue of short alliterative ME poems, all treat WF as containing two distinct works (Brown and Robbins 695-96; Robbins and Cutler 308, 366; Ker, Catalogue 265-66; Frank and Cameron 106, 107; Osberg 322. See also Robbins, "Poems" 1436). Considering the brief description of the two "works" - a lament for lost learning, and a soul-and-body text - and given the absence of any transitional passage, such as may have been in the lines missing from 63v, perhaps this separation of WF into two texts seems plausible. …


Known for its carefully guided lab activities, accurate art and photo program, and unique practice and review tools that encourage students to draw, label, apply clinical content, and think critically, Wood, Laboratory Manual for Anatomy & Physiology featuring Martini Art, Pig Version, Fifth Edition offers a comprehensive approach to the two-semester A&P laboratory course. The stunning, full-color illustrations are adapted from Martini/Nath/Bartholomew, Fundamentals of Anatomy & Physiology, Ninth Edition, making this lab manual a perfect companion to that textbook for instructors who want lab manual art to match textbook art. The use of the Martini art also makes this lab manual a strong companion to Martini/Ober/Nath, Visual Anatomy & Physiology. This manual can also be used with any other two-semester A&P textbook for those instructors who want students in the lab to see different art from what is in their textbook. This lab manual is available in three versions: Main, Cat, and Pig. The Cat and Pig versions are identical to the Main version but also include nine cat or pig dissection exercises at the back of the lab manual. The Fifth Edition features more visually effective art and abundant opportunities for student practice in the manual. This package contains: Laboratory Manual for Anatomy & Physiology featuring Martini Art, Pig Version, Fifth Edition


We present a multimodal on-surface and near-surface sensing technique for planar, curved and flexible surfaces. Our technique leverages temporal multiplexing of signals coming from a universal interdigitated electrode design, which is printed as a single conductive layer on a flexible substrate. It supports sensing of touch and proximity input, and moreover is capable of capturing several levels of pressure and flexing. We leverage recent developments in conductive inkjet printing as a way to prototype electrode patterns, and combine this with our hardware module for supporting the full range of sensing methods. As the technique is low-cost and easy to implement, it is particularly well-suited for prototyping touch- and hover-based user interfaces, including curved and deformable ones.


This study used an exploratory mixed-method sequential design to examine anger, impulsivity, and anxiety following sport-related concussions (SRC). Ten college athletes (M = 20.10 years, SD = 2.92) completed four measures 1–10 days postconcussion (Visit 1) and 11–20 days postconcussion (Visit 2). At return to play or 30 days postconcussion, the athletes completed a semistructured interview (follow-up) to assess their lived experiences of the emotional sequelae of concussions. All participants indicated experiencing some level of anxiety at Visit 1, with half the participants scoring above the measure's threshold for probable clinical diagnosis of anxiety. The results found a significant decrease in symptoms and anxiety at Visit 2. Inductive coding revealed frustration, irritability, impulsive behavior, and fear of the unknown as themes pertaining to athletes' experiences. The findings highlight the need for sports medicine and sport psychology professionals to provide athletes with information to normalize their emotional responses during recovery.


This study offers an Eastern alternative to the Western perspective that is fundamentally disjunctive in its approach to culture and communication. Inspired by Cartesian dualism and Hegelian dialectics, most Western theories subscribe to the concept of cultural divides that separate two different, often opposing, cultural premises, such as individualism-collectivism and high-low context communication. Based upon the holistic worldview and Taoist dualism of the East, this study proposes that intercultural communication scholars should pay more attention to the dynamic processes in which two seemingly opposite forces such as collectivism and individualism interact with each other to maintain homeostasis in society. This study does not intend to mitigate the importance of studying cultural differences or similarities, but aims to steer researchers away from regarding culture as a completely static or dummy variable, claiming that a certain culture is a high-context culture or an individualistic culture.


The remote sensing data obtained at field level can provide detailed information about the variability of biophysical parameters related to yield over large areas, and present potential for monitoring these parameters throughout the crop development cycle. This study aimed to map the spatial variability of the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and its components in two commercial cotton ( Gossipium hirsutum L.) fields, by using an active optical sensor at the ground level. Data were collected with the aid of an optical sensor installed in a self-propelled agricultural sprayer. A GPS receiver was connected to the sensor, in order to obtain the coordinates of the sampling points. The readings were performed in rows spaced 21.0 m apart by the sensor installed on a vehicle, during the spraying operation, and data analyzed by using the classical statistics and geostatistics. Spatial distribution maps of the variables were generated by kriging interpolation. It was observed a higher spatial variability of NDVI and spectral reflectance of vegetation in the region of near infrared (NIR) (880 nm) and visible infrared (590 nm) in the crop with higher physiological stress, due to the brown bug [ Scaptocoris castanea (Hem.: Cydnidae)] attack, when compared to the healthy one.


This study is a comparative life‐cycle assessment (LCA) of two competing digital video disc (DVD) rental networks: the e‐commerce option, where the customer orders the movies online, and the traditional business option, where the customer goes to the rental store to rent a movie. The analytical framework proposed is for a customer living in the city of Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. The primary energy and environmental performance for both networks are presented using a multicriterion LCA. The package selected by the traditional network is responsible for 67% of the difference in total energy consumption of the two alternatives. Results show that the e‐commerce alternative consumed 33% less energy and emitted 40% less CO2 than the traditional option. A set of sensitivity analyses test the influence of distance traveled, transportation mode, and reuse of DVD and DVD packaging on the final results. The mode of transportation used by the customer in the traditional business model also affects global emissions and energy consumption. The customer walking to the store is by far the best option in the traditional network; however, the e‐commerce option performed comparatively better despite all transportation modes tested. A novel economic indicator, ESAL, is used to compare different transportation modes based on the level of stress exerted on the pavement. The two networks are compared on the basis of cost accounting; consistent with its energy and environmental advantages, the e‐commerce network also exerts lesser economic impact, by $1.17, for the functional unit tested.


In this paper we report on a study of the implementation of handheld game consoles (HGCs) in 10 Year four/five classrooms to develop student automaticity of mathematical calculations. The automaticity of mathematical calculations was compared for those students using the HGC and those being taught using traditional teaching methods. Over a school term, students (n=236) who used the HGCs and Dr Kawashima's Brain Training showed significant improvement in both the speed and accuracy of their mathematical calculations. Data collected in interviews during the intervention period from students, staff and parents were analysed to provide further information on the implementation and efficacy of this approach. This exploration identified that the HGCs contributed to positive learning, motivational, and efficiency outcomes. These findings highlight opportunities for using commercially available digital games to achieve classroom objectives.


Jewellery has always been of central importance to all human societies, but medieval jewellery is relatively less well-known. This book draws on the important collection at the V&A to focus on the heart of the medieval period from 1050 to 1500. The jewellery worn in medieval Europe was important as an indicator of the wearer's social status and wealth, faith and superstition, allegiances and literacy. Royalty and the nobility wore gold, silver or precious gems, the costliest jewellery while humbler ranks wore base metals, copper or pewter, sometimes set with coloured glass, in imitation of gems. This richly illustrated book looks at the jewels themselves and contemporary portraits and sculpture to place the jewellery in its cultural context.


Besides an increase in the number of empirical applications, the widening landscape of tailored computer programs attests to the success of qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) as a social research method. Users now have the choice between three graphical user interface (GUI) and three command line interface (CLI) solutions. In addition to different functional foci, each program possesses several technical particularities, some of which the vast majority of end users remain unaware of. Since these particularities may influence results and in turn substantive conclusions, this review is a timely undertaking. More specifically, we compare the two most common GUIs fs/QCA and Tosmana as well as the CLI QCA. By reanalyzing data from a sociological study on rural grassroots associations in Norway, major differences and similarities with respect to truth table construction, minimization algorithms, and prime implicant chart management are illustrated.


Geochemical Analysis of Ancient Activities at Two Plazas in Cobá, Mexico Eric G. Coronel Department of Plant and Wildlife Sciences, BYU Master of Science Two plazas at Cobá, Mexico, may have been the place of market activity during the classic Maya period. The intense decomposition in the warm, moist soils of the Yucatan Peninsula precludes the identification of organic artifacts in archaeological contexts, but phosphorus and trace elements accumulation in soils may provide evidence of marketing activities. The spatial patterns of P and trace element concentrations were used to elucidate the types of ancient Maya activities that took place in those plazas. Phosphorus concentrations are highly correlated (p-value <0.01) with Fe, Mn, and Zn levels in both Plaza B and D. Although the soil geochemistry of Plaza B does not show a marketplace pattern in comparison with previous studies, the elemental concentrations and distributions within Plaza D join other lines of evidence to support the premise that marketplace activities took place at that location. Soil samples were analyzed using DTPA extraction, Mehlich II, Olsen, and Portable X-Ray Fluorescence (PXRF). Experiments were performed to study the suitability of PXRF for field studies. Aspects that were studied include granule size, soil moisture content, protective plastic films that could interfere with the X-Ray signal when placing the samples on top of the analyzer, and a comparison of certified soil standards to the PXRF elemental concentration readings. The results suggest that a field laboratory could be set up to air-dry and sieve soil samples to a minimum mesh size of #10 (> 2 mm).


Many tools developed for process modelling either
model client business processes or the software
development process itself. In both cases, benefits are to
be found by using the model to highlight real process
problems either of clients or developers. However, the
modelling of client business processes allows a further
opportunity for gain, where the intention is to build a
system to provide support for the process being modelled.
Although process models inform the requirements
process, by providing clarity and understanding at the
business modelling stage, the potential of such technology
is often lost in the subsequent development phases.
The premise of the work described here is to use
enactable state-based approaches, previously used
successfully in business process modelling and
simulation, to improve artefacts of requirements
engineering, by providing enactable versions of use case
descriptions. This allows for the kind of validation and
checking so useful to business models. In particular, such
models can be used to inform design, by providing
rigorous scrutiny of the (low-level) details of use case
behaviour.
The efficacy of this approach was gauged initially by
producing enactable equivalents of use case descriptions
using the existing process modelling language and tool
RolEnact. However, industrial application also found that
there was a mapping overhead and, hence, end users
were reluctant to devote their time to producing enactable
use cases without increased automation. This suggested a
pressing need for tool support. That is, a use-case
description tool which provided enaction capability, but
without need for any further description. A prototype use
case enaction tool is, therefore, introduced, along with a
discussion of development issues and possible future
directions.


The continuous use of Cu-based fungicides in viticulture has caused Cu accumulation in soils, which represents a major environmental and toxicological concern. The purpose of this study was to verify whether the organic management would be more resilient to temperature and moisture stresses in comparison to conventional practices. Two organic and two conventional vineyard soils, contrasting in pH, were exposed for six months to temperature stress (29 °C), moisture stress (10% water holding capacity—WHC), and combined stresses (29 °C—10% WHC). Main soil properties, Cu speciation, bioavailability, and leaching were monitored before and after 6 months' incubation. Results confirm that the increase of temperature caused a decrease in both total organic carbon (TOC) and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) (up to 19% and 49%, respectively), a decrease in available ammonium, and an increase in nitrate. Moisture stress tends to mitigate some of these changes. Despite that, changes of Cu bioavailability and leaching were limited and rarely significant. Moreover, no regular trends between conventional and organic management could be observed. Changes in soil pH and total N (TN) appeared as the most influencing properties to regulate Cu behavior in vineyard soils. Calcareous soils were more resistant to environmental stresses compared to acid soils, regardless of the type of management (conventional or organic).


We derive upper bounds on the generalization error of a learning algorithm in terms of the mutual information between its input and output. The bounds provide an information-theoretic understanding of generalization in learning problems, and give theoretical guidelines for striking the right balance between data fit and generalization by controlling the input-output mutual information. We propose a number of methods for this purpose, among which are algorithms that regularize the ERM algorithm with relative entropy or with random noise. Our work extends and leads to nontrivial improvements on the recent results of Russo and Zou.


Malaysia has been stuck at middle-income level since the 1990s. Hence, the government has been aggressively undertaking productivity improvement by enhancing its technological and knowledge capabilities in order to transform the community into a knowledge-based society. However, more than 40% of its population still lives in rural areas and lack basic infrastructure (such as fixed telephone lines or Internet connection). This has led to a wider information gap between the rural and urban communities. The setting up of telecentres is seen as a means by which to bridge this gap, as it will provide public access to ICT services and facilities, particularly in remote areas where such services and facilities are lacking. Malaysia has systematically planned a framework to narrow down the gap; it attempts to offer the best ICT infrastructure to its people, thereby allowing them to adopt ICT as a tool to improve their social-economic status. Although investments and efforts have been in place, however, some of these projects have yet to prove successful, and many projects are still in a developmental stage. In addition, there are few empirical studies on the critical issues surrounding the formation of ICT projects in Malaysia, and we are in dire need of research to fill this gap. This paper provides a discussion of the relevant documents, and a literature analysis, regarding the catalysts and barriers towards the development of ICT projects.


Has the openness movement won the battle to transform itself into a mainstream phenomenon in higher education? If the answer is yes, does this mean that the disputes with other educational technological solutions, in particular restricted, have definitively ended? Or rather is it only the beginning of a long confrontation to take center stage in a digital ecosystem that is increasingly more nuanced, where the number of actors keeps growing and the limits on what is open is ever more diffuse? In this new book, Martin Weller attempts to find answers to these questions. To do so, he introduces a group of quite varied subjects on evolution and the current state of higher education. As such, his contribution turns into an authentic reference manual for everyone who has an interest in the digitization of education. http://dx.doi.org/10.5944/openpraxis.7.2.208


The current study aimed to remediate membrane fouling by latex effluent by altering membrane surface charge or ionic strength of the effluent. Hydrophilic polysulfone and Ultrafilic flat membranes, with molecular weight cutoff (MWCO) of 60,000 and 100,000, respectively, and hydrophobic polyvinylidene difluoride membrane (PVDF; MWCO 100,000) were used under a constant flow rate and in cross-flow mode for ultrafiltration of latex effluent. The effect of linear alkyl benzene sulfonate (LAS) on the ionic strength of the effluent and the zeta potential of latex particles was investigated. LAS was also used to improve the anti-fouling properties of the membrane surface. The ionic strength of latex effluent was increased by raising its pH from 7 to 12, resulting in an increase of the zeta potential negativity of the latex particles from −26.61 to −42.66 mV. LAS was found to be an ineffective pretreatment for limiting the fouling propensity of latex effluent using hydrophilic membranes even at high concentration and long treatment times. It was concluded that LAS-treated membrane surface is much more favorable than pH changed feed pretreatment. The total mass of fouling decreased by 44.00 and 29.60%, when PVDF membrane surface was treated with LAS at a concentration of 1 × 10−4 g/L, and latex effluent at pH 11 was used, respectively.


Ancient pottery repair has become a topic of growing interest to scholars of Greek and Roman pottery. This particular area of study is part of a larger one devoted to the diverse types of pottery reuse in classical antiquity. Quantification of ancient repairs remains a fundamental problem, however, and periods of intensified use of repaired pottery have been difficult to identify. In this article, we offer an overview of the practice of mending broken pottery in the Milesian apoikia of Olbia Pontica in the northern Black Sea area. Considering in particular the repairs on tableware from the habitation quarter of the Lower City in Olbia (sector NGS, which has recently been extensively published), this article presents a diachronic analysis of repair practices in Olbia during the period from the sixth to the first century B.C.E. A comparison of the number of pottery repairs in Greek settlements in the Black Sea region with the number in Greek poleis of the Mediterranean clearly demonstrates that pottery was more extensively repaired in the Black Sea area than in the Mediterranean. Moreover, the fluctuations in the number of repairs in Olbia suggest that the practice of mending pottery can be related to periods of crisis, especially in the Late Hellenistic period, when the city was under pressure and underwent dramatic changes.


Farm Animal Genetic Resources (FAnGR) are threatened by breed homogenisation. Rare breeds may carry important genes that allow breeders to respond to global production challenges including climate change and emerging disease risk. Yet, exploration of approaches to improve cost-effectiveness of investments in farm animal genetic diversity has been limited. We employ multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) to investigate how rare breed incentive schemes can be rationalised. A performance matrix was used to score assess 19 UK cattle native breeds at risk, in terms of diversity, marketability and endangerment criteria, and an expert workshop was used to assign weights for prioritisation. The workshop participants suggested that criteria pertaining to diversity, marketability and endangerment should be weighted 30%, 20% and 50% respectively. A principal component analysis (PCA) on the criteria suggested that fewer criteria could be used to characterise breed status but that each criteria node contributed effectively in explaining variation in breed scores. Breed scores from the MCDA model were used in a hypothetical exercise to rationalise monetary investments across the case study breeds. TModelling the allocation of thea hypothetical breed improvement fund (BIF) revealed that the greatest variation in the allocation of incentives occurred when marketability was weighted highest, while least variation occurred when endangerment received the highest weight. We suggest MCDA can support more targeted investments in diversity by considering the multiple factors that may be driving extinction risk in addition to the cultural and diversity attributes that compliment conservation.


OBJECTIVE
For the evaluation of neck injury the relative distance was observed between a marker placed on the forehead and a marker placed on the shoulder and also by change of the angle. To compare the severity of head injury a value of maximum head acceleration was used, HIC and a 3 ms criterion. All criteria were related to the activity of musculus sternocleidomastoideus and musculus trapezius in a situation of expected or unexpected impact.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
The situation was recorded using a Qualisys system, head acceleration of probands in three axes was recorded using the accelerometer, activity of neck muscles was monitored by a mobile EMG.

RESULTS
Maximum head acceleration was 12.1 g for non-visual and 8.2 g for visual. HIC36 was 5.7 non visual and 4.0 for visual. 3-ms criterion was 11.5 g for non-visual and 7.8 g for visual. The average time of muscle activation of the observed group without visual perception is 0.027 s after hitting an obstacle, with visual perception 0.127 s before the crash.

CONCLUSIONS
Kinematic values indicate more favourable parameters for neck injuries for visual. Head injury criteria show an average decrease of about 30% for visual. We can conclude that the visual perception means a significant increase in pre-activation of the observed muscle group of almost 400% and lower activation in both following phases of approximately 40%.


In this paper, we evaluate clock signals generated in ring oscillators and self-timed rings and the way their jitter can be transformed into random numbers. We show that counting the periods of the jittery clock signal produces random numbers of significantly better quality than the methods in which the jittery signal is simply sampled (the case in almost all current methods). Moreover, we use the counter values to characterize and continuously monitor the source of randomness. However, instead of using the widely used statistical variance, we propose to use Allan variance to do so. There are two main advantages: Allan variance is insensitive to low frequency noises such as flicker noise that are known to be autocorrelated and significantly less circuitry is required for its computation than that used to compute commonly used variance. We also show that it is essential to use a differential principle of randomness extraction from the jitter based on the use of two identical oscillators to avoid autocorrelations originating from external and internal global jitter sources and that this fact is valid for both kinds of rings. Last but not least, we propose a method of statistical testing based on high order Markov model to show the reduced dependencies when the proposed randomness extraction is applied.