Agenda setting is usually applied by one media such as newspaper, but in the multimedia era, there are many groups of media which have more than one kind of media. In general, each group have newspaper, television, radio, and online media. They also have accounts in social media. How do these groups of media arrange the agenda setting is the point of this research. This research used qualitative method on case study on Suara Merdeka Group of Media, the biggest group of media in Central Java, Indonesia. This research used agenda setting theory by Max Comb and shows that even though each media has its own agenda at the same time, those agenda can be synergised in the group. Keywords: agenda setting; convergence; media


The aim of this report is to offer new insights into the possibilities for website preservation. Server-side preservation complements large-scale web crawling solutions with an in-depth conservation approach for individual online productions. The method relies on the belief that digital preservation needs to start with website creators at the pre-ingest stage before the umbilical cord connecting the website to its server-side environment is cut off. Websites are complex ecosystems, most of which lie hidden under the surface of a webpage. A server-side preservation approach aims to include individual components of that ecosystem and dependencies between them in order to preserve a fully functioning and contextualised dynamic website. Since there are few publicly available examples of this strategy, the Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision has recently initiated research around the subject. This report is the result of a five-month internship exploring the topic. It provides advice for the institute on the server-side preservation of dynamic websites, highlights further steps to be taken and offers a reflection on the challenges that might be encountered along the way.


Ablation is a thermal protection process with several applications in engineering, mainly in the field of airspace industry. The use of conventional materials must be quite restricted, because they would suffer catastrophic flaws due to thermal degradation of their structures. However, the same materials can be quite suitable once being protected by well-known ablative materials. The process that involves the ablative phenomena is complex, could involve the whole or partial loss of material that is sacrificed for absorption of energy. The analysis of the ablative process in a blunt body with revolution geometry will be made on the stagnation point area that can be simplified as a one-dimensional plane plate problem. In this work the Generalized Integral Transform Technique (GITT) is employed for the solution of the non-linear system of coupled partial differential equations that model the phenomena. The solution of the problem is obtained by transforming the non-linear partial differential equation system to a system of coupled first order ordinary differential equations and then solving it by using well-established numerical routines. The results of interest such as the temperature field, the depth and the rate of removal of the ablative material are presented and compared with those ones available in the open literature.Copyright © 2003 by ASME


The aim was to investigate the consequences of nutritionally-mediated placental growth restriction on fetal organ growth, conformation, body composition and endocrine status during late gestation. Embryos recovered from superovulated adult ewes inseminated by a single sire were transferred in singleton to the uterus of peripubertal adolescent recipients. Post-transfer, adolescent dams were offered a high (H) or moderate (M) level of a complete diet to promote rapid or moderate maternal growth rates, respectively (n=7 per group). After day 100 of gestation the feed intake of the M dams was adjusted weekly to maintain body condition score. Liveweight gain during the first 100 days of gestation was 301+/-24 and 90+/-4.6 g/day for the H and M groups, respectively. Maternal plasma concentrations of insulin, IGF-I and urea were significantly higher and non-esterified fatty acid concentrations significantly lower in H compared with M dams prior to slaughter on day 128 of gestation. At this stage of gestation, total placentome weight was 50 per cent lower in H compared with M groups (P< 0.001) and was associated with a 37 per cent reduction in fetal weight (P< 0.01). All variables of fetal conformation and absolute fetal organ weights, with the exception of the adrenal glands, were lower (P< 0. 05) in the fetuses from H intake dams. However, relative fetal organ weights expressed as g/kg fetal body weight, with the exception of the gut, were not influenced by maternal dietary intake. Furthermore, fetal weight but not maternal nutritional group were predictive of individual organ weight for all organs dissected. Together these results imply that growth restriction in the fetuses derived from H intake dams was largely symmetrical. Fetal plasma concentrations of insulin, IGF-I and glucose were attenuated (P< 0.05) in fetuses from H compared with M groups. The lower fetal body weight in the former group was associated with a reduction in absolute but not relative crude protein (P< 0.01) and fat content (P< 0.05). Total fetal liver glycogen content but not concentration was (P< 0.05) reduced in H versus M groups. The lower mass of both the placenta and fetal liver was due to a reduction in cell number rather than an alteration in cell size. Thus, over-nourishing adolescent sheep is associated with a major restriction in placental growth which mediates a gradual slowing of fetal growth during the final third of pregnancy.


Alginate is a polysaccharide produced by brown seaweed and some bacteria which is highly demanded in biomedical researches. It can form a gel in presence of divalent cations which has many applications in cell based therapy. Alginate can be used as immobilization matrix for transplanted cells in vivo to protect the transplanted cells against host immune system. It can be modified by coupling with adhesive peptides such as RGD to improve adhesion property for cell entrapment, relevant for tissue engineering including nerve regeneration. Carbodiimide chemistry has been the most general chemical reaction applied to couple functional peptides to alginate. In this study, primary amines were coupled to alginate using both carbodiimide chemistry and a newly developed method of reductive amination and results were analyzed by 1H-NMR. The native stipe alginate was coupled with MeOTyr using carbodiimide chemistry and no detectable coupling was found. But, using reductive amination for coupling MeOTyr to 8% oxidized leaf alginate gave at least 6.5% coupling. Also, the influence of methanol concentration (1%, 10% and 13%) on coupling reaction was assessed and results declared that the coupling degree was not affected by these changes in methanol concentration. Coupling five different types of periodate oxidized alginates (stipe and leaf alginate, mannuronan, poly M and AlgE6/AlgE4 epimerized mannuronan) with MeOTyr model molecule, confirmed that MeOTyr was able to be coupled in highest degree (8.8%) with oxidized mannuronan amongst other types of oxidized alginates. No relationship of the degree of coupling with the content of guluronic acid in the alginate was found. Moreover, GRGDYP, GRGDSP (RGD peptides) and KHIFSDDSSE sequences (a neuropeptid) were coupled to 8% oxidized leaf alginate using reductive amination and gave 4.0%, 4.1% and 5.1% coupling respectively. The large batch of oxidized leaf alginate (46% G) coupled with GRGDSP by using reductive amination was produced for further studies relevant to NSCs encapsulation using this modified alginate. Since the leaf alginate modified in this study might be used for encapsulation of NSCs and endothelial cells in future study, as preliminary study, NSCs and endothelial cells were co-cultured on two different substrates and in two different media. To investigate their co-culture, fluorescence microscopy was used and the live/dead assay confirmed their viability during the co-culture.


In this work we propose a framework to give a global analysis of eGovernment and eGovernance in Switzerland. First we discuss the eGovernment strategies and the eGovernance policies of the Federal Government, of the Cantons and of the largest cities in Switzerland in order to identify the overall directions of the Swiss ePolicies. We then propose a mean of measuring the proximity of eGovernment and its different generic functions. In order to do so we analyzed different international studies and defined an indicator based on 21 elements of measures grouped in six dimensions of proximity. In this paper we present briefly the results of two surveys conducted in 2002 and 2003 on the official Websites of the French-speaking Swiss Cantons. To conclude this work we give some hints for the application of a methodology based on proximity measurement.


The urban forest of the Chicago Wilderness region, a 7-million-acre area covering portions of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin, will face direct and indirect impacts from a changing climate over the 21st century. This assessment evaluates the vulnerability of urban trees and natural and developed landscapes within the Chicago Wilderness region to a range of future climates. We synthesized and summarized information on the contemporary landscape, provided information on past climate trends, and illustrated a range of projected future climates. We used this information to inform models of habitat suitability for trees native to the area. Projected shifts in plant hardiness and heat zones were used to understand how nonnative species and cultivars may tolerate future conditions. We also assessed the adaptability of planted and naturally occurring trees to stressors that may not be accounted for in habitat suitability models such as drought, flooding, wind damage, and air pollution. The summary of the contemporary landscape identifies major stressors currently threatening the urban forest of the Chicago Wilderness region. Major current threats to the region?s urban forest include invasive species, pests and disease, land-use change, development, and fragmentation. Observed trends in climate over the historical record from 1901 through 2011 show a temperature increase of 1 ?F in the Chicago Wilderness region. Precipitation increased as well, especially during the summer. Mean annual temperature is projected to increase by 2.3 to 8.2 ?F by the end of the century, with temperature increases across all seasons. Projections for precipitation show an increase in winter and spring precipitation, and summer and fall precipitation projections vary by model. Species distribution modeling for native species suggests that suitable habitat may decrease for 11 primarily northern species and increase or become newly suitable for 40 species. An analysis of tree species vulnerability that combines model projections, shifts in hardiness and heat zones, and adaptive capacity showed that 15 percent of the trees currently present in the region have either moderate-high or high vulnerability to climate change, and many of those trees with low vulnerability are invasive species. We developed a process for self-assessment of urban forest vulnerability that was tested by urban forestry professionals from four municipalities, three park districts, and three forest preserve districts in the region. The professionals generally rated the impacts of climate change on the places they managed as moderately negative, mostly driven by the potential effects of extreme storms and heavy precipitation on trees in the area. The capacity of forests to adapt to climate change ranged widely based on economic, social, and organizational factors, as well as on the diversity of species and genotypes of trees in the area. These projected changes in climate and their associated impacts and vulnerabilities will have important implications for urban forest management, including the planting and maintenance of street and park trees, management of natural areas, and long-term planning. will have important implications for urban forest management, including the planting and maintenance of street and park trees, management of natural areas, and long-term planning.


What's a customer really worth? Can you find out, without endlesslycomplex modeling? And once you know, what should you do with thatknowledge? Managing Your Customers as Investments has the answers.You'll learn simple ways to get reliable customer value information--ina form you can use. You'll discover how to use it to measure marketingeffectiveness, generate improvements throughout the entire customerrelationship lifecycle, and improve decision-making. Everyone tells youto manage your business around customers. This book gives you the toolsto do it.


Photovoltaic industry has proved to be a growing and advantageous source of energy as it can be renewable, sustainable, reliable and clean. Significant improvements have been made in materials used and the production processes to reduce the costs, and to avoid possible issues induced by some hazardous materials. However, some health and environment challenges last, which must be overcome to make this technology a source of truly clean energy. This chapter provides an overview on the major environmental impacts of thin film technology associated with the use of toxic materials and the chemicals in the manufacturing processes. A summary of Environmental, Health and Safety issues associated with some thin film technologies like copper indium gallium diselenide (CIS/CIGS), cadmium telluride (CdTe) and amorphous silicon (a-Si) is done, in order to investigate potential infections induced by the environmental release of trace elements, usually coming from chemical vapor inhalation and eventually accidental spills during the manufacturing processes, on the health of humans and animals. Potential solutions will be provided to prevent some environmental issues.


A search is presented for a heavy resonance decaying into either a pair of Z bosons or a Z boson and a W boson (ZZ or WZ), with a Z boson decaying into a pair of neutrinos and the other boson decaying hadronically into two collimated quarks that are reconstructed as a highly energetic large-cone jet. The search is performed using the data collected with the CMS detector at the CERN LHC during 2016 in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, corresponding to a total integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb^(−1). No excess is observed in data with regard to background expectations. Results are interpreted in scenarios of physics beyond the standard model. Limits at 95% confidence level on production cross sections are set at 0.9 fb (63 fb) for spin-1 W′ bosons, included in the heavy vector triplet model, with mass 4.0 TeV (1.0 TeV), and at 0.5 fb (40 fb) for spin-2 bulk gravitons with mass 4.0 TeV (1.0 TeV). Lower limits are set on the masses of W′ bosons in the context of two versions of the heavy vector triplet model of 3.1TeV and 3.4 TeV, respectively.


Local food systems are different from industrial agriculture systems in their social interaction, economic size and stability, political support and assistance, and environmental impacts. Industrial agriculture has flourished, while the ability of widespread local food systems to survive for the long term has yet to be determined. Research of local food systems reveals that dedicated and involved communities, motivated and knowledgeable managers, and political and financial support are the most essential determinants of successful systems. This research explores three existing local food system models and examines the extent to which Orono, Maine could support these models. A suitability analysis of Orono was used to identify possible locations that could contribute to a new agricultural infrastructure. Prospective locations were identified that would be useful in the infrastructure of a local food system, and possible distribution locations were identified through GIS analysis. It is important for any local food system to properly plan and map out the system, since the connection between the community and local food systems is so strong.


ABSTRACT Omar El Akkad's American War (2017) presents a dark vision of what the United States might devolve into if climate change, haphazard adaptation, and the political polarisation of the country continue unchecked. Analysing the four overarching facets of trace—visibility, materiality, environment, and human interaction—on the level of the novel's narrative composition, the article argues that El Akkad offers more than just a cognitively estranged story about the making of a future American terrorist. Foregrounding the complex relationship between its central protagonist's personal losses and the bitter war she fights in a climate-changed environment, American War deliberately employs what El Akkad has called "weaponized empathy" to allow readers to understand on a visceral level what drives people's thoughts and actions once they have been robbed of the things and people they care for and embody the traces of what has been lost.


European Welfare Futures presents a clear and up-to-date analysis of developments in social policy in the main EU member states. It provides a systematic account of welfare retrenchment and assesses the competing explanations of this process. The authors provide convincing evidence for the view that an 'ever closer union' in social policy will require a much more difficult process than that which led to monetary union.The book makes a major contribution to understanding how welfare policy in Europe will develop over the next few years. It offers an original and wide-ranging account of the forces affecting the direction of policy, and stresses the role of social and political institutions in explaining why countries differ.European Welfare Futures will be essential reading for undergraduates, graduate students and scholars in social policy, sociology, political science, area studies and international relations courses. It will also be of great interest to policy-makers in the EU, especially in the areas of pensions, health, social care and unemployment.


Abstract. This paper is the second part in a series of two articles, which aims at presenting a data-driven modeling strategy for forecasting wildfire spread scenarios based on the assimilation of the observed fire front location and on the sequential correction of model parameters or model state. This model relies on an estimation of the local rate of fire spread (ROS) as a function of environmental conditions based on Rothermel's semi-empirical formulation, in order to propagate the fire front with an Eulerian front-tracking simulator. In Part I, a data assimilation (DA) system based on an ensemble Kalman filter (EnKF) was implemented to provide a spatially uniform correction of biomass fuel and wind parameters and thereby, produce an improved forecast of the wildfire behavior (addressing uncertainties in the input parameters of the ROS model only). In Part II, the objective of the EnKF algorithm is to sequentially update the two-dimensional coordinates of the markers along the discretized fire front, in order to provide a spatially distributed correction of the fire front location and thereby, a more reliable initial condition for further model time-integration (addressing all sources of uncertainties in the ROS model). The resulting prototype data-driven wildfire spread simulator is first evaluated in a series of verification tests using synthetically generated observations; tests include representative cases with spatially varying biomass properties and temporally varying wind conditions. In order to properly account for uncertainties during the EnKF update step and to accurately represent error correlations along the fireline, it is shown that members of the EnKF ensemble must be generated through variations in estimates of the fire's initial location as well as through variations in the parameters of the ROS model. The performance of the prototype simulator based on state estimation (SE) or parameter estimation (PE) is then evaluated by comparison with data taken from a reduced-scale controlled grassland fire experiment. Results indicate that data-driven simulations are capable of correcting inaccurate predictions of the fire front location and of subsequently providing an optimized forecast of the wildfire behavior at future lead times. The complementary benefits of both PE and SE approaches, in terms of analysis and forecast performance, are also emphasized. In particular, it is found that the size of the assimilation window must be specified adequately with the persistence of the model initial condition and/or with the temporal and spatial variability of the environmental conditions in order to track sudden changes in wildfire behavior. The present prototype data-driven forecast system is still at an early stage of development. In this regard, this preliminary investigation provides valuable information on how to combine observations with a fire spread model in an efficient way, as well as guidelines to design the future system evolution in order to meet the operational requirements of wildfire spread monitoring.


The Undergraduate Research in Natural and Clinical Science and Technology (URNCST) Journal Mentored Paper initiative is a unique undergraduate research education opportunity open to undergraduate and professional-undergraduate degree students internationally. Participants are invited to submit an abstract on a selected topic and be paired with a graduate student mentor with an interest and expertise in the research area. Over a three-month period, the mentor and mentee(s) work together to turn the unpolished abstract into a full-length manuscript of publishable quality. In this short editorial, we provide an overview of how our editorial team successfully conceptualized, developed, and established this initiative. Undergraduate students interested in submitting an abstract to the next URNCST Journal Mentored Paper round should visit: https://www.urncst.com/index.php/urncst/mentored_paper. Graduate students interested in serving as a mentor should visit https://www.urncst.com/index.php/urncst/about/#_Toc487899585 to apply to the URNCST Journal.


This paper argues that in view of the resource crunch confronting many developing countries and the fall in overseas development aid flows to them, new sources of development finance need to be found. We consider international taxes, fees and levies that could considerably augment aid flows to developing countries and some of which may have coincident beneficial effects. Estimates of the revenue yield from such taxes and levies are also presented. The paper proposes the establishment of a 'world development organisation' to coordinate such effort. A formula for voting within the organisation and another for disbursal of such aid are suggested. Copyright Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2004.


John Major's rapid rise to power has left people of all political persuasions asking, "Who is the Prime Minister?". This book provides the answer. It tells the story of Major's political career as it developed, in the words of the journalists who wrote about him all the time. All the articles - from both the national and the regional press - represent the original coverage of events as they happened, viewed both from Fleet Street and from Major's Cambridgeshire constituency. From Major's entry into Parliament in 1979 as MP for Huntingdon, through his first ministerial appointment, in the Department of Health in 1985, to his sudden elevation to the premiership in 1990, all the details are here: the facts and the figures, the campaigns and the policies, the modest successes and the blazing triumphs. Reports and features covering his early life, his political infancy as a Lambeth councillor and his initial attempts to win a parlimentary seat in the general election of 1974 are also included. Illustrated with 60 photographs spanning the full eleven and a half years of his parliamentary career, this book is enlivened by newspaper headlines and Press Association timed newsflashes. It provides an assessment of the man whose meteoric ascent through the House of Commons has made him the nation's youngest Prime Minister since Lord Rosebery.


{1} Thank you. I have been visiting a lot of bookstores since Eating in the Dark came out last year, including a wonderful bookstore, I should mention, which is right here in Richmond called the Fountain Bookstore. People often ask me if I've changed my diet as a result of what I learned while researching the book. Mainly, have I stopped eating genetically engineered foods? I always answer that I'm an American, so of course I eat genetically engineered foods because we have no choice in the matter. GM foods are ubiquitous in the processed foods, and they're not labeled. But I noticed your organizers did a wonderful thing today – they decided to have a GM buffet and a non-GM food buffet. The organizers gave people here a choice that Americans never generally have, so my kudos.


A study of financial crises can improve our understanding of theories, and of the relative strengths and weaknesses of different institutional arrangements. This article discusses four examples. (1) During the crisis, risk converged towards a global risk factor that dominated secondary risk factors. (2) Value is a secondary risk factor because it is closely related to this global factor. (3) Momentum did not behave like a risk factor. (4) The dealer market in sub-prime debt may have worsened the crisis by failing to provide liquidity or price transparency. As it is currently structured, the market increases systemic risk.


In 1920 and 1921, after centuries of British rule, including 120 years when the entire island was governed as part of the United Kingdom, 26 of the 32 Irish counties gained independence. The other six counties remained in political union with Britain as Northern Ireland. However, while the United Kingdom's Parliament at Westminster continued to exercise sovereignty, power was devolved to a local parliament, established in 1920 at Stormont in Belfast. For the next 50 years, the devolved Stormont government operated with virtual autonomy from London on local matters. Power remained exclusively in the hands of the Unionist party; which drew its support from those favoring union with Britain. The minority nationalist community, on the other hand, represented the desire for Irish unity. They had no role in government and suffered systematic discrimination in many areas, including voting rights, housing, and employment. In 1969, campaigners for civil rights received a hostile, repressive response. Northern Ireland then entered into a sustained political and security crisis. Paramilitary activity by the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and loyalist extremist groups increased. In this deteriorating situation, the British government assumed direct responsibility for all aspects of the government of Northern Ireland. IRA and loyalist violence, however, continued with little respite until 1994. From the early 1980s, the British and Irish governments began to cooperate more closely in an effort to achieve a widely acceptable and durable political settlement in Northern Ireland. This effort involved the successive establishment of a number of structures for negotiation and a growing convergence on the fundamental principles that should underpin a final peace settlement. Initially, an Anglo-Irish Intergovernmental Council was set up to provide a formal framework within which to conduct relations. Later, under the terms of the 1985 Anglo-Irish Agreement, an Intergovernmental Conference was established, chaired jointly by a representative of each government, and served by a permanent Joint Secretariat. The agreement enabled the Irish government to put forward views and proposals on many aspects of Northern Ireland's affairs for the first time, prompting both governments to intensify their work toward a solution to the Northern Ireland problem. To that end, in December 1993 a joint declaration was issued that set out the basic principles of a peace process. Central to the declaration were the principles of self-determination and consent. The declaration stated that the British government had "no selfish strategic or economic interest in Northern Ireland" and reaffirmed that "they will uphold the democratic wish of a greater number of the people of Northern Ireland on the issue of whether they prefer to support the Union or a sovereign united Ireland." The British government further agreed "that it is for the people of Ireland alone, by agreement between the two parts respectively, to exercise their right of self-determination on the basis of consent, freely and concurrently given, North and South, to bring about a united Ireland, if that is their wish." Furthermore, the declaration recognized that "the democratic right of self-determination by the people of Ireland as a whole must be achieved and exercised with and subject to the agreement and conse nt of a majority of the people of Northern Ireland." In February 1995, "A New Framework for Agreement" was published, describing how to reach an accommodation without compromising the long-term aspirations of either community in Northern Ireland. The governments also committed themselves to comprehensive negotiations involving the Northern Ireland parties, the outcome of which would be submitted for democratic ratification through referenda in the North and South. The following year, the publication of the framework document was dominated by efforts to move to comprehensive political talks. …


This paper examines how employer- and worker-specific productivity shocks transmit to earnings and employment in an economy with search frictions and firm commitment. We develop an equilibrium search model with worker and firm shocks and characterize the optimal contract offered by competing firms to attract and retain workers. In equilibrium, risk-neutral firms provide only partial insurance against shocks to risk-averse workers and offer contingent contracts, where payments are backloaded in good times and frontloaded in bad times. We prove that there exists a unique spot target wage, which serves as an attraction point for smooth wage adjustments. The structural model is estimated on matched employer-employee data from Sweden. The estimates indicate that firms absorb persistent worker and firm shocks, with respective passthrough values of 27 and 11%, but price permanent worker differences, a large contributor (32%) to variations in wages. A large share of the earnings growth variance can be attributed to job mobility, which interacts with productivity shocks. We evaluate the effects of redistributive policies and find that almost 40% of government-provided insurance is undone by crowding out firm-provided insurance.


Since instruction level parallelism in basic blocks is often limited, compilers increase performance by creating superblocks that allow operations to be issued speculatively. This is difficult in general because each branch competes for the processor's limited resources. Previous work manages the performance trade-offs that exist between branches only indirectly. We show here that dependence and resource constraints can be used to gather explicit knowledge about scheduling trade-offs between branches. This paper's first contribution is a set of new, tighter lower bounds on the execution times of superblocks that specifically account for the dependence and resource conflicts between pairs of branches. This paper's second contribution is a novel superblock scheduling heuristic that finds high performance schedules by determining the operations that each branch needs to be scheduled early and selecting branches with compatible needs that favor beneficial branch trade-offs. Performance evaluations for superblocks from SPECint95 indicate that our bounds are very tight and that our scheduling heuristic outperforms well-known superblock scheduling algorithms.


Economics is not only a subject matter but also a specific methodological approach. Economic analysis in International Economic Law is therefore not confined to economic matters but can be extended to virtually all issues by drawing on the economic approach. It can be used both to explain the consequences of (International Economic) Law as well as the determinants of its creation. Taking economics as a methodology, modern economic analysis uses political economy approaches, including game theory and contract theory, to explain states' behaviour in economic relations. Here, it is closely related to political science approaches using rational choice methodology and ever more empirical studies. This enables decision-makers in treaty drafting to take a more differentiated and informed view (external view). Beyond this, economics is also highly relevant to the interpretation of the law (internal view). Traditional quantitative economic approaches have their place in the application of the law where the law commands it, eg in damage calculation in trade or investment law. Furthermore, in teleological interpretation or proportionality analysis, that is means-end rationality, empirical investigations have sometimes overthrown economic textbooks assumptions of causalities – or certainly have led to a more differentiated view on economic interrelationships. If available, they should substitute legal intuition or economic textbook wisdom on causal relationships. Clearly there are limits to economic analysis: foremost, economics cannot substitute for the hermeneutical methods of law. Furthermore, economic analysis cannot tell what goals should be achieved in an international legal order, but it can help to inform about the best legal tools to achieve given goals, eg sustainable development and possible trade-offs incurred. In short: economics can help lawyers to achieve a more fact-based law, without denying the counterfacticity and thus the normative force of law.


The many programs offered through Google's G Suite for Education have steadily found their footing across the varied fields of librarianship, including instruction. One such program that has potential in encouraging and developing information literacy skills in undergraduate students is Google Forms. From the observation of a Google Form activity used in four sections of a 100-level History course, utilizing Forms during one-shot instruction can create active learning experiences, be a valuable tool in aiding the continuation of a lesson after a completed one-shot, and can play an important role for the librarian when assessing if learning outcomes have been met. These experiences assist in creating a more robust learning environment for students and inform librarians of potential changes to improve their role as an instructor.


Abstract Bipolar argument graphs represent the structure of complex pro and contra arguments for one or more standpoints. In this article, ampliative and exclusionary principles of evaluating argument strength in bipolar acyclic argumentation graphs are laid out and compared to each other. Argument chains, linked arguments, link attackers and supporters, and convergent arguments are discussed. The strength of conductive arguments is also addressed but it is argued that more work on this type of argument is needed to properly distinguish argument strength from more general value-based components of such arguments. The overall conclusion of the article is that there is no justifiably unique solution to the problem of argument strength outside of a particular epistemological framework.


Abstract The objective of this analysis is to identify factors that Columbus, Ohio private property owners and managers consider when screening potential tenants with criminal records. This objective is achieved by examining qualitative data derived from an earlier experimental study. Findings indicate that private property owners and managers examine several factors regarding a criminal record such as type of offense, age of offense, number of offenses, and additional positive factors such as consistent work history or demonstration of rehabilitation. Differences also depend on whether the property is a single or multiple-family dwelling and whether the property is located in a disadvantaged neighborhood. From these findings, policy recommendations are presented.


This paper features collaboration among community members, linguists, and computer scientists with the goal of producing both traditional and wiki online dictionaries. It reports an ongoing project on building an online dictionary in Yami (http://yamibow.cs.pu.edu.tw), supported by the Council of Indigenous Peoples in Taiwan. There are three core members in the collaborative team, each pair of whom has produced a separate product. The collaboration between the linguist and the community language activist over a decade has produced a traditional dictionary, made using Toolbox and Lexique Pro. The interaction between the community members and the computer scientist has resulted in development of a wiki online dictionary using the concepts and techniques of Web 2.0 to provide a platform for Formosan language activists to initiate language documentation and archiving. The collaboration between the linguist and the computer scientist has resulted in research on ontology, using Protege to reconstruct indigenous knowledge. Each of the three separate products has extended applications for language revitalization and capacity building. The traditional dictionary in both print version and online version, published in July 2008, has provided resources for Yami teenagers preparing for Yami language proficiency test to enter better high schools and universities, although the impact of this dictionary is yet to be investigated. The participatory wiki online dictionary has interested several Formosan language activists to contribute to the system. The following four issues are to be resolved: (1) protection of the language resources, (2) steps of editing and annotation for the online resources, (3) identification of the user group, and (4) language sharing policy, as it is being developed into a full-fledged system for all indigenous language groups in Taiwan. Finally, the building of an ontology based on traditional domains has established the necessary foundation for better material development to teach indigenous languages and cultures. The methodology used to build Yami fish names will provide an example for the construction of other ontologies in Yami and other Formosan languages. This paper will be presented in Yami, Chinese and English, a reflection of the languages involved in building this online resource. The Yami language project will provide an inspiring case of language documentation and conservation to illustrate how online dictionaries have been produced in a collaborative team and how technology has been used in the process.


Knowledge sharing is common place online nowadays. Drawing from trust literature, we find trust mechanism behind knowledge sharing behavior may lead to useful implications. However, there exists a gap between theoretical and managerial perspective on the role of trust especially in online knowledge transfer. This study will try to study how technological and community factors influence trust formation and lead to knowledge sharing behaviors in online virtual communities. By exploring how extrinsic drivers affect trust elements, we combine practical technology and community design issues with theoretical trust foundations. Empirical research is under way to confirm our hypotheses.


Most of the world's crops depend on pollinators, so declines in both managed and wild bees raise concerns about food security. However, the degree to which insect pollination is actually limiting current crop production is poorly understood, as is the role of wild species (as opposed to managed honeybees) in pollinating crops, particularly in intensive production areas. We established a nationwide study to assess the extent of pollinator limitation in seven crops at 131 locations situated across major crop-producing areas of the USA. We found that five out of seven crops showed evidence of pollinator limitation. Wild bees and honeybees provided comparable amounts of pollination for most crops, even in agriculturally intensive regions. We estimated the nationwide annual production value of wild pollinators to the seven crops we studied at over $1.5 billion; the value of wild bee pollination of all pollinator-dependent crops would be much greater. Our findings show that pollinator declines could translate directly into decreased yields or production for most of the crops studied, and that wild species contribute substantially to pollination of most study crops in major crop-producing regions.


This Essay introduces the idea of judicial departmentalism and argues for its superiority to judicial supremacy. Judicial supremacy is the idea that the Constitution means for everybody what the Supreme Court says it means in deciding a case. Judicial departmentalism, by contrast, is the idea that the Constitution means for the judicial department what the Supreme Court says it means in deciding a case. Within the judicial department, the law of judgments, the law of remedies, and the law of precedent combine to enable resolutions by the judicial department to achieve certain kinds of settlements. Judicial departmentalism holds that these three bodies of law provide the exclusive ways in which constitutional adjudication gives rise directly to binding constitutional law. This Essay argues that our Justices should be judicial departmentalists rather than judicial supremacists.


Abstract. HCHO and CHOCHO are important trace gases in the atmosphere, serving as tracers of VOC oxidations. In the past decade, high concentrations of HCHO and CHOCHO have been observed for the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region in southern China. In this study, we performed box model simulations of HCHO and CHOCHO at a semi-rural site in the PRD, focusing on understanding their sources and sinks and factors influencing the CHOCHO to HCHO ratio (RGF). The model was constrained by the simultaneous measurements of trace gases and radicals. Isoprene oxidation by OH radicals is the major pathway forming HCHO, followed by degradations of alkenes, aromatics, and alkanes. The production of CHOCHO is dominated by isoprene and aromatic degradation; contributions from other NMHCs are of minor importance. Compared to the measurement results, the model predicts significant higher HCHO and CHOCHO concentrations. Sensitivity studies suggest that fresh emissions of precursor VOCs, uptake of HCHO and CHOCHO by aerosols, fast vertical transport, and uncertainties in the treatment of dry deposition all have the potential to contribute significantly to this discrepancy. Our study indicates that, in addition to chemical considerations (i.e., VOC composition, OH and NOx levels), atmospheric physical processes (e.g., transport, dilution, deposition) make it difficult to use the CHOCHO to HCHO ratio as an indicator for the origin of air mass composition.


Axial-flux permanent magnet (AFPM) machines have become an important subject of study because of the development of neodymium magnets over the past 20 years. Axial-flux machines have high power density and high torque. Axial-flux permanent magnet machines have many unique features. For being permanent magnet, they usually are more efficient, as field excitation losses are eliminated, reducing rotor losses significantly. Machine efficiency is thus greatly improved, and higher power density achieved. Axial-flux construction has less core material, so, high torque-to-weight ratio. The noise and vibration they produce are less than those of conventional machines. Their air gaps are planar and easily adjustable. The aim of this paper is to perform more accurate design calculation and analysis of an axial-flux permanent magnet synchronous generator, double-sided with external rotors and internal slotted stator. The evaluation is based on theoretical analysis by means of sizing equations and confirmed by finite-element analysis. Therefore, the AFPMSG topology considered in this paper is a three-phase double-rotor single-stator topology with 16 pole-pairs, 2kW rated power and 188 rpm rated speed. The performance of double-sided APMSG for slotted stator design is analyzed with finite element analysis (FEA). KeywordsAxial-Flux Permanent Magnet Synchronous Generator (AFPMSG), Double-Sided, Finite Element Analysis (FEA), Slotted Stator.


As recommended by 5th generation Public-Private Partnership (5G-PPP) and Next Generation Mobile Networks (NGMN), one of the most important 5G requirements is to minimize the delay within the network for delay-sensitive services. Main objective of this work is to exploit massive MIMO technology to reduce Hybrid Automatic Repeat Query (HARQ) retransmission delay. Massive MIMO indoor environment is created by a 3D ray-tracing tool to simulate the received power, phase, delay, and angle of arrival of each ray in the channel. Two sizes of rectangular antenna array are used to evaluate the performance of beamforming in enhancing the bit error rate. This reflects directly on the mean and maximum numbers of packet retransmission. The angle between user-equipments is considered to evaluate the effect of inter-user interference on HARQ. This work opens the door to develop smarter resource allocation algorithms in 5G for delay-sensitive services based on the location and the angle of arrival of the users.


Phase locking of two beams of a Q-switched single-longitudinal-mode Nd:YAG laser is investigated. Phase locking and phase conjugation of these beams are achieved by mutual reflection in a Brillouin cell containing nitrogen at 75 bars. Phase locking is measured interferometrically as a function of the energy, the energy ratio, the separation in the far field, the separation in the near field, and the separation of the beam waists along the propagation path. The change of the relative phase from pulse to pulse of the two output beams is reduced to less than ∊=λ/27 under optimized conditions (50% criterion). A strong influence of phase locking on the reflectivity of the Brillouin cell is observed.


Many alluvial plain river systems are under pressure from human impacts, including land-use changes, channel modifications, and hydrological alterations. Flow variation in alluvial plain rivers is influenced by groundwater―surface water exchange, changes of channel form, climatic variation, and water abstraction. Consequently, these rivers often have complex spatial and temporal flow patterns. The natural hydro-geomorphic complexity along intermittent alluvial plain rivers poses a challenge for: (i) developing relationships between recharge and river flows, (ii) predicting effects of water resource developments, and (iii) understanding hydrological effects on ecological systems. Hydrological models that can reconstruct historic flows and/or predict future flows are required for assessing potential hydrological impacts of changing water use, land use, or climate change. If strong flow―ecology relationships exist, these models can also be used to infer potential ecological effects related to the impact in question. In this paper we present a model that accounts for spatial and temporal flow variation in intermittent alluvial plain rivers, and we describe a suite of hydrological indices that can be used to examine flow―cology relationships. The model we developed, the Empirical Longitudinal Flow MODel (ELFMOD), reconstructs longitudinal and temporal flow patterns along river sections using measured flows at sites along the section and other predictor variables (e.g. groundwater levels, rainfall). Spatio-temporal flow matrices simulated by ELFMOD are used to generate a large range of hydrological indices that describe flow states and flow changes in space and time. Interpretation of these indices increases our understanding of complex flow regimes and hydrological controls of ecological processes and can aid river management.


1 With the majority of people now living in urban environments, urbanization is arguably the most intensive and irreversible ecosystem change on the planet. 2 Urbanization transforms floras through a series of filters that change: (i) habitat availability; (ii) the spatial arrangement of habitats; (iii) the pool of plant species; and (iv) evolutionary selection pressures on populations persisting in the urban environment. 3 Using a framework based on mechanisms of change leads to specific predictions of floristic change in urban environments. Explicitly linking drivers of floristic change to predicted outcomes in urban areas can facilitate sustainable management of urban vegetation as well as the conservation of biodiversity. 4 Synthesis. We outline how the use of our proposed framework, based on environmental filtering, can be used to predict responses of floras to urbanization. These floristic responses can be assessed using metrics of taxonomic composition, phylogenetic relatedness among species, plant trait distributions or plant community structure. We outline how this framework can be applied to studies that compare floras within cities or among cities to better understand the various floristic responses to urbanization.


Future projections of precipitation at regional scales are vital to inform climate change adaptation activities. Therefore, is it important to quantify projected changes and associated uncertainty, and understand model processes responsible. This paper addresses these challenges for southern Africa and the adjacent Indian Ocean focusing on the local wet season. Precipitation projections for the end of the twenty-first century indicate a pronounced dipole pattern in the CMIP5 multimodel mean. The dipole indicates future wetting (drying) to the north (south) of the climatological axis of maximum rainfall, implying a northward shift of the ITCZ and south Indian Ocean convergence zone that is not consistent with a simple "wet get wetter" pattern. This pattern is most pronounced in early austral summer, suggesting a later and shorter wet season over much of southern Africa. Using a decomposition method we determine physical mechanisms underlying this dipole pattern of projected change, and the associated intermodel uncertainty. The projected dipole pattern is largely associated with the dynamical component of change indicative of shifts in the location of convection. Over the Indian Ocean, this apparent northward shift in the ITCZ may reflect the response to changes in the north–south SST gradient over the Indian Ocean, consistent with a "warmest get wetter" mechanism. Over land subtropical drying is relatively robust, particularly in the early wet season. This has contributions from dynamical shifts in the location of convection, which may be related to regional SST structures in the southern Indian Ocean, and the thermodynamic decline in relative humidity. Implications for understanding and potentially constraining uncertainty in projections are discussed.


The expansion of social media use has enabled massive and rapid spreadability of content, which is often referred to as virality. Earlier studies have examined various aspects of virality such as the attributes of stories that become viral. In this on-going study we aim to make a better sense of the role of interpersonal influences in the spreadability of viral social media content. In this, we are inspired by Tarde's views on interpersonal processes and the notion of imitation. Considering the recent mass migrations, and numerous viral stories that have related to the plight of refugees, we chose a group of Syrian refugees consisting of men and women as the participants for this study. In twelve in-depth qualitative interviews we learned about the participants' views on viral stories as well as the way in which their interpersonal influences may play a role in their interaction with viral stories. The findings show that the views on migrant-related viral stories varied among the participants, but a common view seemed to be somewhat of scepticism about the agenda behind the spread of these stories. As part of the study, we identified four key interpersonal influences including community conversation, formative consciousness, community boundaries, and retrospective experiences. A main conclusion in the study is that although back-end technical issues, content attributes, emotions and so on may play a role in virality, still human agency, connections and interpersonal ties play a major role in shaping the process that leads to content spreadability, hence virality.


The social commerce represents a new form of electronic commerce mediated by social networking sites. It provides companies with competitive tools for online promotion, and it also assists consumers to make better-informed purchasing decisions based on the sharing of experiences from other consumers. Trust is important in social commerce environment as it serves as a foundation for consumers to evaluate product information from companies as well as from other consumers. However, extant literature still lacks clear understanding of the nature of trust in social commerce. This study sets out to understand trust development in social commerce websites. Specifically, based on trust transference theory, we develop a research model to examine how consumer trust in social commerce impacts their trust in the company and their electronic word of mouth intention. In addition, we also examine how customers' prior transaction experience with a company could impact their social commerce trust development and serve as a mediator in the trust transfer process. The research model is empirically examined using a survey method consisting of 375 users of a social commerce website. This study contributes to the conceptual and empirical understanding of trust in social commerce. The academic and practical implications of this study are also discussed.


Some research on lawyers active in politics has found that the ties among them create networks in which a center or core of influential actors is surrounded by more peripheral participants. Other studies, however, found more segmented networks, sometimes lacking central players. This research examines the structure and determinants of political ties among forty-seven elite lawyers who served organizations prominent in fourteen national policy issues in 2004–05. The analysis finds a network structure that resembles a rough circle with Republicans on one side and Democrats on the other. Lawyers affiliated with organizations representing a broad constellation of interests are closer to the center of the network, while those working for specialized or narrow causes tend to be located in the periphery. Ties are more dense among conservatives than among liberals. Lawyers who work as organizational leaders or managers are more likely to be near the center than are litigators. Central actors contribute larger amounts to election campaigns. The organized bar, especially the American Bar Association, appears to provide links between liberals and conservatives in one segment of the network.


Abstract. Black carbon (BC) aerosol at high altitudes of the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau has potential effects on the regional climate and hydrological cycle. An intensive measurement campaign was conducted at Qinghai Lake (~ 3200 m above sea level) at the edge of the northeastern Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau during winter using a ground-based single particle soot photometer (SP2) and a photoacoustic extinctiometer (PAX). The average concentration of refractory BC (rBC) and number fraction of coated rBC were found to be 160 ± 190 ng m−3 and 59 % for the entire campaign, respectively. Significant enhancements of rBC loadings and number fraction of coated rBC were observed during a pollution episode, with an average value of 390 ng m−3 and 65 %, respectively. The mass size distribution of rBC particles showed log-normal distribution, with a peak diameter of ~ 187 nm regardless of the pollution level. Five-day backward trajectory analysis suggests that the air masses from north India contributed to the increased rBC loadings during the campaign. The potential source contribution function (PSCF) model combined with the fire counts map further proves that biomass burning from north India is an important potential source influencing the northeastern Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau during the pollution episode. The rBC mass absorption cross section (MACrBC) at λ = 532 nm was slightly larger in clean days (14.9 m2 g−1) than during the pollution episode (9.3 m2 g−1), likely due to the effects of brown carbon and the uncertainty of the MACrBC calculation. The MACrBC was positively correlated with number fraction of coated rBC during the pollution episode with an increasing rate of 0.18 (m2 g−1) %−1. The number fraction of coated rBC particles showed positive correlation with light absorption, suggesting that the increase of coated rBC particles will enhance the light absorption. Compared to rBC mass concentration, rBC mixing sate is more important in determining absorption during the pollution episode, estimated from the same percentage-wise increment of either rBC mass concentration or the number fraction of coated rBC. The estimated BC direct radiative forcing was +0.93 W m−2 for the pollution episode, which is 2 times larger than that in clean days. Our study provides insight into the potential climatic impacts of rBC aerosol transported to the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau from south Asian regions, and is also useful for future modeling studies.


The rise of Cuban sugar production from 1800 to world dominance in the 1920s is briefly portrayed, together with its collapse, recovery and subsequent stagnation between the 1930s and the Revolution of 1959. The renewed and further growth of the sugar economy from 1959–89 is considered in the context of the uniquely favourable terms of trade then developed with the USSR and COMECON. These provided expanding markets and financed the technical transformation of the cultivation, harvesting, transhipment and processing of the sugar cane. From 1993 to 2002, following the implosion of the USSR and the dissolution of COMECON, Cuba could produce little more than one half of the average annual sugar output of the 1980s. This collapse and the inability of the island's planners to reverse it are discussed with particularly emphasis on post-1997 efforts to stabilise production and lower costs to meet persistently unfavourable world market sugar prices. A critical appraisal of the drastic 'restructuring' programme announced in 2002 is illustrated by primary data collected in fieldwork in 1994, 1996 and 2002 and Cuba's dramatic post-1991 decline from dominance in the international sugar trade is stressed.


Climate change has already led to an increase in the frequency and intensity of storm events in many parts of the world. With further increases predicted, and growing evidence of the link between extreme precipitation and waterborne disease, it is important to elucidate the role of sediments in pathogen transmission. Intense rainfall can trigger discharges from combined sewer overflows, increase surface and subsurface faecal inputs and can re-suspend microorganisms already present in sediments. Previous research has shown that sediments can act as environmental reservoirs of numerous waterborne pathogens, including enteric viruses and antibiotic resistant bacteria. Sediments are therefore a growing public health concern and are an increasing focus of human health protection strategies. However, further research is needed in order to elucidate the behaviour of microorganisms within these matrices. Routine monitoring for pathogens within sediments has not to date been considered feasible in many parts of the world and although low-cost microbial tools to detect faecal pollution of human origin, such as those that detect phages infecting Bacteroides fragilis (GB-124), have shown promise in many situations, they have seldom been applied to sediment matrices. Sediments might offer a more sensitive and longer-term assessment of contamination sources and hazards to health, compared with analysis of overlying waters from the same location. This study therefore sought to determine an effective elution method to extract GB-124 phages from sediments and to use it in an intensive six month investigation of the River (Ouse) catchment in Southeast England. The results (ANOVA with post-hoc Tukey) revealed that a low-cost elution method, involving 10% beef extract, provided the most effective means of recovering GB-124 phage from a range of river sediments (66% recovery). GB124 phages were subsequently enumerated in sediment and overlying water collected from 25 sites across the study catchment, along with somatic coliphage (SC), faecal coliforms (FC), and intestinal enterococci (IE). Physicochemical data were also collected. Analyses revealed evidence of faecal contamination at all sites, and human contamination at 13 of the 25 sites. Whilst levels of microorganism in the water and sediment were significantly correlated: GB-124 (p= 0.015); SC (p= 0.000); FC (p= 0.018); and IE (p= 0.038), importantly GB-124, SC, FC and IE (p= 0.00) were detected at significantly higher levels (Mann-Whitney) in the sediment samples. Significant correlations (p= <0.01) were also observed between levels of FC, IE and SC and sediment temperature, but not between water temperature and any of the parameters in the water column. Interestingly, GB-124 phage showed no significant correlation with the non human-specific parameters (SC, FC, and IE) in the sediment matrices, which were found to co-correlate with one another (p= 0.00). The findings suggest that the application of low-cost monitoring approaches to analyse river sediments may not only provide a better assessment of dominant pollution sources than grab samples of overlying water (due to the higher levels and incidence of phages in sediments), but that they may also provide a better indication of potential risks to health from human enteric viruses. As such, the findings of this study add significantly to the body of extant knowledge relating to the behaviour of GB-124 phages in the environment and further support their use for microbial source tracking (MST) and as a potential component of quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) studies.


Leptin administration has been shown to increase renal, adrenal, and lumbar sympathetic nerve activity. However, this generalized sympathoexcitatory activity is not always followed by an increase in arterial pressure. The present study tested the hypothesis that leptin induces a release of nitric oxide (NO) that opposes the pressor effect of sympathoexcitation. The effect of intravenous administration of leptin (10, 100, and 1,000 microg/kg body wt) or vehicle on blood pressure (BP), heart rate (HR), and serum nitrite/nitrate concentrations of anesthetized Wistar rats was examined. At 90 min after injection, the three leptin doses tested increased serum NO concentrations 20.5, 33.1, and 89.5%, respectively (P < 0.001 vs. baseline). The effect of leptin on NO concentrations was significantly dose-dependent on linear trend testing (P = 0.0001). In contrast, leptin did not change serum nitrite/nitrate concentrations of fa/fa rats. Leptin administration to Wistar rats under NO synthesis inhibition (N(omega)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester [L-NAME]) produced a statistically significant increase (P < 0.05) in both systolic BP and mean arterial pressure as well as in HR (P < 0.01). Injection of leptin into rats with pharmacologically induced ganglionic blockade (chlorisondamine) was followed by a decrease in BP and HR to values significantly lower (P < 0.01) than those observed with chlorisondamine treatment alone. The leptin-induced hypotension observed in the setting of ganglionic blockade was blocked by L-NAME. These findings raise the possibility that the leptin-induced release of NO may contribute to the homeostasis of BP.


National surveys in 1996 and 2006 showed that a significant proportion of New Zealand adults have low levels of literacy and numeracy skills that make it difficult for them to function effectively in a world of increasing literacy demands. As with child literacy, some groups, including Pasifika, are disproportionately over-represented at the low end of the literacy and numeracy skill continuum. Over the past decade, government has responded with a series of policy and strategy initiatives, which have aimed to increase the volume and quality of provision available for adults with low literacy and numeracy skills. Workplace literacy and numeracy programs have been included in this response. This article reports on a multimethod evaluation study of 18 workplace literacy and numeracy courses throughout Aotearoa and in particular, looks at the involvement of 107 Pasifika participants in these courses who completed both preand post-course interviews. The evaluation showed that the courses have been very successful in recruiting high numbers of Pasifika workers. The course participants have improved their literacy and numeracy skills, have changed how they carry out their jobs and many have reported impact on their personal lives.


Preterm birth (PTB) is the leading cause of infant morbidity and mortality. Genitourinary infection is implicated in the initiation of spontaneous PTB; however, examination of the urinary microbiota in relation to preterm delivery using next-generation sequencing technologies is lacking. In a case-control study nested within the Conditions Affecting Neurocognitive Development and Learning in Early Childhood (CANDLE) study, we examined associations between the urinary microbiota and PTB. A total of 49 cases (delivery < 37 weeks gestation) and 48 controls (delivery ≥ 37 weeks gestation) balanced on health insurance type were included in the present analysis. Illumina sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene V4 region was performed on urine samples collected during the second trimester. We observed no difference in taxa richness, evenness, or community composition between cases and controls or for gestational age modeled as a continuous variable. Operational taxonomic units (OTUs) classified to Prevotella, Sutterella, L. iners, Blautia, Kocuria, Lachnospiraceae, and S.marcescens were enriched among cases (FDR corrected p≤ 0.05). A urinary microbiota clustering partition dominated by S. marcescens was also associated with PTB (OR = 3.97, 95% CI: 1.19–13.24). These data suggest a limited role for the urinary microbiota in PTB when measured during the second trimester by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The enrichment among cases in several organisms previously reported to be associated with genitourinary pathology requires confirmation in future studies to rule out the potential for false positive findings.


In his short story, Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote, Jorge Luis Borges achieved a re-creation of the Cervantes text without actually re-creating Cervantes's life. Instead, he decided that the best route was 'continuing to be Pierre Menard and coming to the Quixote through the experiences of Pierre Menard'. Following Borges, we know that the same words read differently from a different pen and that each reader is, as much as himself, a literary creator.

Penny McCarthy interprets La Biblioteca de Babel by transcribing sections from her own printed copy of the book alongside Borges' first draft. So exquisite is his insect-like handwriting, with its black crossings-out and peculiar typographical symbols, its repeating visual rhythms, that in some way his script ceases to be text and instead becomes its own image. Meaning is always an on-going process for Borges, concerned less with making than making over. This version of La Biblioteca de Babel is presented alive to its intentions and potential for appropriation. Meticulous copying intentionally erases the boundaries between McCarthy's version and the original Borges: we can't know for certain who wrote what.


As airline and hub competition becomes fiercer, airline-airport co-operation becomes a necessary option for both main carrier airlines and hub airports to face this competition together. The inter-dependency between airlines and airports in producing air-transport services is tight, i.e. their destinies are inter-twined. Their existence as viable economic entities depends upon market performance of each other. This leads to the assumption that the relation of airlines' airports serves as an example case for dyadic alignment. Although research has been carried out regarding many forms of co-operation, little is known about specifically alignment at the business process level. By alignment of their inter-dependent dyadic business processes competitive advantage can be obtained; both KLM and AAS have acknowledged this. The aim of this research is to determine Factors for Alignment for specific inter-dependent business processes at KLM and AAS. For research purposes the research question is formulated as follows: Which are the factors for alignment of dyadic business processes at KLM and AAS? Answers to this research question are to increase the understanding of the effect of different factors upon alignment. This research has a theoretical as well as a practical value. It develops a theoretical Delft Factors for Alignment (DFA) model. This enables subsequent development of analysis tools that quantitatively and qualitatively measure the performance of Factors for Alignment. For practical purposes, it identifies issues and maps differences and similarities present between KLM and AAS within their specific dyadic business processes. These dyadic processes are Environmental Capacity, Network Planning, Infrastructure Planning and Aircraft Stand Allocation. This research is based upon the assumption that alignment of the dyadic business processes of KLM and AAS is achieved by addressing the issues affecting alignment regarding various subjects within each business process, as indicated by employees of these firms. By making use of interviews and questionnaires within both firms it is found that the issues present within four dyadic business processes of these firms, at three different levels of decision making, can be modeled by the developed DFA model. The model identifies the most potential of Factors for Alignment of their dyadic business processes. It is proven that the DFA model is a diagnostic tool in finding the Factors for Alignment of dyadic business processes of KLM and AAS by creating a structured ordering of the issues by interviews and questionnaires. The research question, as formulated above, is answered by primary and secondary Factors for Alignment per business process. This also implies that the DFA model is effective for analysis of dyadic business processes. The research methodology has proven to be viable. This would encourage application for research of other dyadic business processes at KLM and AAS, which could also strengthen their competitive advantage.


The consciousness of a crisis of university inclines towards its reformation. In the thinking about its revival it is necessary to take into account the archetypical idea behind university, traditions to date, contemporary conditions and visions of the future. It is also getting indispensable to take into consideration such values that ought to steer the development of university in the framework of global civilization. The tasks of university are as follows: 1) to conduct research in striving for truth in the conditions of autonomy and freedom, as well as responsibility for the present day and the future of man; 2) to educate students, which introduces them in the world of science and life, as well as teaches them to be responsible; 3) to practice public science which is present in debates undertaking to solve vital social problems. The academic community and its elites should defend the conception of university against the dictate of their political and economic counterparts who attempt to impose the idea of an entrepreneurial university which produces a utilitarian knowledge and "human principles".


This exciting new book showcases the work of a very diverse selection of 52 artists from 28 countries, against a spectrum of the concerns that inform the role and function of art in the increasingly technological global society. The mediums used by these artists range from new variations on traditional intaglio and relief techniques, to extreme forms of digital techniques, including time-based forms such as
film and multi-media presentation. Printmaking continues to evolve as artists develop the traditional techniques and experiment with new techniques and materials. In recent years the boundaries between the once distinct fields of the visual arts have become blurred, and growing numbers of artists now incorporate printmaking techniques within their practice. This book provides a broad-ranging and challenging source of information on the most exciting cutting edge developments in international printmaking, which will be of value to students, professional artists and all those with an interest in the contemporary visual arts.


Soil is the thin outer zone of the earth's crust that supports rooted plants and is the product of climate and living organisms acting on rock. Throughout the world, soils are contaminated to some extent by local, regional, and global pollution sources of both natural and human origin. Sources of soil contamination are identified and discussed. With the possible exception of agricultural applications of pesticides and fertilizers, most contaminant releases to soil are not easily quantified and, as a result, remain highly uncertain. In establishing a comprehensive framework for human exposure to soil contaminants, it is revealed that such exposure occurs through multiple transfer processes. The process for linking human exposure to soil contact is considered and it is found that the magnitude and persistence of exposure depend not only on the level of soil contamination but also on physical and chemical properties of soil, chemical properties of the contaminant, and the frequency and duration of human factors such as occupational and recreational activities or the consumption of home-grown food, which result in direct and indirect soil contact. All of these factors possess some degree of variance that leads to probability distributions for representing total exposure and risk.


This article elaborates on the significance of the 'family factor' in facilitating sport for development (SfD) opportunities by presenting findings related to a research project with an SfD project based in Delhi, India, which seeks to empower adolescent girls through sport. The findings add to the limited understanding of the role of the family in SfD opportunities; the paucity of studies which examine SfD initiatives in India and more recent studies of sport and physical culture in India. The girls of this study emerged from families who were largely supportive of the sporting opportunities and the empowerment promised through their SfD involvement. However, these families expressed concerns about issues of violence against girls and women in Delhi which impacted girls' opportunities to enact empowerment in public spaces and to access non-traditional gender roles. Furthermore, an additional understanding of the family emerged wherein the extended family of origin served as a foil to the empowered girls within this study. The findings offer more nuanced understanding of the effects of the family for SfD programming that seeks to empower girls.


Energy storage devices such as lithium-ion and nickel-metal hydrate batteries and ultracapacitors have been considered for utilization in plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) and HEVs to improve efficiency and performance and reduce gas mileage. In this paper, we analyze and model an advanced energy storage device, namely, zinc bromide, for vehicular applications. This system has high energy and power density, high efficiency, and long life. A series of tests has been conducted on the storage to create an electrical model of the system. The modeling results show that the open-circuit voltage of the battery is a direct function of the battery's state of charge (SOC). In addition, the battery internal resistance is also a function of SOC at constant temperature. A Kalman filtering technique is also designed to adjust the estimated SOC according to battery current.


In a given layer of surface runoff, particle transport distance declines with increasing settling velocity. Settling velocity itself is determined by the size, density and shape of the particles. For sediment composed of aggregates, settling velocity does not only vary due to texture, but also due to aggregation, aggregate size and stability. Therefore, aggregation can strongly affect the transport distance of the sediment and the substance specific redistribution of the eroded material, such as organic matter. Understanding the effect of aggregation, for example, on redistribution of eroded organic matter is therefore essential for understanding local, regional and global carbon cycles. To capture and establish the relationship between aggregation, settling velocity and aggregate specific organic matter content, a settling tube apparatus, based on a previous design, was constructed and applied to fractionate soils by water stable aggregate size classes. To illustrate the effect of aggregation on settling velocity, the results were compared with mineral grain sizes after ultrasound dispersion. Five settling velocity classes were distinguished based on the Equivalent Quartz Size (EQS) of particles ≥ 250 μm, 125 to 250 μm, 63 to 125 μm, 32 to 63 μm, and ≤ 32 μm. Fractionation of a silty loam by settling tube illustrates that aggregation strongly affects settling velocities and should be considered in erosion models, as opposed to the texture of mineral grains. An analysis of sediment organic matter in the five settling velocity classes also showed that settling velocity is a suitable parameter to physically connect the redistribution of eroded soil organic matter to overland flow transport processes.


South Africa is not alone in confusing the fact that advertising is not marketing, but should be very much the servant of marketing. Over the last few years, marketing has become increasingly complex as new channels become available, and the ability to segment and measure increases. No wonder that senior marketers are in huge demand, under great pressure to collate all the data at their fingertips, and under even greater pressure to deliver.


Background : Decentralization is one of the reforms the Uganda government adopted to improve public services delivery. However, human resource numbers and capacities in local governments remain below the required level and this coupled with severe resource constraints make it increasingly difficult to deal with enormous workload in public health units. The authors responded to these human resource demands and needs in health service delivery by introducing hospital medical audit on problem analysis and implementation of changes through continuing medical education to health care workers. The main objective of this study was to introduce hospital medical audit on problem analysis and implementation of changes in health units in order to reduce morbidity and mortality. Methods : A feasibility study was done to find out the effects of decentralization on the health service delivery and to assess the need for continuing medical education. Twelve problematic clinical areas were identified, modules developed, tested and eventually used to train selected health care workers on hospital medical audit to improve health service delivery. Results : A total of 270 health care workers and 400 paramedical students were trained on hospital medical audit by identifying causes of complications associated with common clinical procedures done in their health units and then provide solutions that can be implemented. On prevention of HIV/AIDS and malaria spread, three different levels at which the two could be prevented from spreading were identified and discussed. Infection control and continuing medical education committees were formed where they did not exist. Conclusion/Recommendation : Hospital medical audit on problem analysis and implementation of changes in health units is highly effective in stimulating and empowering health care workers and hospital administrators to analyze their own situations and provide implementable solutions to their health care problems. There is need to introduce hospital medical audit in all the districts in Uganda to improve health services delivery.


Purpose: Inadequate skills for procedures during residency can cause complications and needless interventions. Usually, there is lack of structured training for it. The aims were to improve and check for retention of procedural skill using structured training. Methods: Anesthesiology residents who had done less than 5 procedures underwent structured training followed by evaluation for retention of skill after intervening gap of two months. They were evaluated for 15 steps with each step given 1 point for step done and 0 for step not done. Overall score of 12/15 was considered as competent while score of less than 9/15 would imply need for improvement. Analysis of number of steps done by residents, number of attempts taken, duration taken, number of complications, number of procedures done in intervening period, number of times video, power point watched was done. Feedback from the residents was taken after every procedure. Results: 10 residents underwent training and came for retention testing. Number of attempts and duration of procedure reduced during retention phase for all. The skill improved during retention phase. Fewer residents felt they needed improvement. More residents were competent and confident, while fewer would need supervision and practice. Structured module was accepted and found good but wanted improvement of video with detailed labeling, more anatomy lecture and demonstrations. Conclusion: Structured training improved skill and can be effective for testing retention of skill.


In the last few years, Alaska's economy suffered as world oil prices plunged to very low levels, and the analysts predicting that Alaska output will continue to dwindle in the years to come. As a result of Alaska's dependence on oil economy, the state now faces a budget deficit. Modern economic development theories suggest searching for ways to manage northern frontiers. Investment in a knowledge –based economy seems to be new one of the appealing alternatives, and investing the human capacities is necessary. There is enough evidence from both central and peripheral regions that geographic proximity between the people and the organizations that creates knowledge is still at the core of region's ability to nurture a successful regional innovation system. As the Alaska economy recovers from the recent economic crisis, the focus is now shifting towards how the new sources of economic growth can be fostered in order to provide the jobs and prosperity for the coming decades. In the state of Alaska, there have been very few studies of the knowledge and creative economies. The key features of a knowledge economy include a greater reliance on intellectual capabilities than on physical inputs or natural resources, combined with efforts to integrate improvements in every stage of the production process. Patents are usually considered as a representation of the knowledge economy. We provide evidence drawn from patent data to document dynamics in knowledge production. Over thirty-five years (1976-2010) investigation of the spatial distribution of patents and typological characteristics of innovation activities in Alaska had done. The primary results show that Alaska has considerable patent activity, especially in wells industry sector, that there is strong clustering of innovation in Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Matanuska Boroughs and that there is a relationship between innovation and employment in the top 25 industry sectors in Alaska. Overall, between 1976 and 2010 AKRIS evolved from a small isolated system dominated by individual (lone-eagle) inventors focused on the innovation in old, lowtechnology sectors to a relatively diversified (although still over-reliant on the oil sector) intraand internationally connected system with a considerable presence of company-driven innovation, but yet a strong position of individual inventors, including those from smaller communities. Correlation analysis show that the most significant relationship was observed with population, overall inventor count, and employment in 25 top patent –producing sectors. Further studies need to apply more qualitative and quantitative analysis methods, such as network analysis, to create a full clear image of innovation production over a long-time frame. Including more socio-economic factors that impact innovation activities in Alaska and connecting the dynamics of innovation with other processes in Alaska and global economy would also be important. THE NEW NORTH: PATENTS AND KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY ANALYSIS IN ALASKA A Thesis Submitted In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements of the Degree Master of Arts Salma Zbeed University of Northern Iowa July 2017


AIMS
Prior research has been mainly concerned with the ability of patients with Korsakoff syndrome (KS) to project themselves into the past. Little is known about the patients' ability to project themselves into the future. We therefore compared past and future thinking in patients with KS.

METHODS
We invited patients with KS and control participants to retrieve past events and reconstruct future events. Participants were also invited to rate subjective characteristics (i.e. time travel, emotional feeling, and visual imagery) of the past and future events.

RESULTS
Patients with KS demonstrated low specificity, time travel, and emotional experience during past and future thinking. However, while lower emotional experience was observed in patients with KS than in the control participants during future thinking, no significant differences were observed between the two populations during past thinking. Regarding within-group comparisons, patients with KS demonstrated no significant differences between past and future thinking in terms of specificity, time travel, and visual imagery; however, they demonstrated higher emotional experience during past than during future thinking. Regarding control participants, they demonstrated no significant differences between past and future thinking in terms of specificity, time travel, emotional experience, and visual imagery.

CONCLUSION
Our findings demonstrate a diminished ability to construct specific future scenarios as well as a diminished subjective experience during future thinking in KS.


Planning motion for humanoid robots requires obeying simultaneous constraints on balance, collision-avoidance, and end-effector pose, among others. Several algorithms are able to generate configurations that satisfy these constraints given a good initial guess, i.e. a configuration which is already close to satisfying the constraints. However, when selecting goals for a planner a close initial guess is rarely available. Methods that attempt to satisfy all constraints through direct projection from a distant initial guess often fail due to opposing gradients for the various constraints, joint-limits, or singularities. We approach the problem of generating a constrained goal by searching for a configuration in the intersection of all constraint manifolds in configuration space (C-space). Starting with an initial guess, our algorithm, Constellation, builds a graph in C-space whose nodes are configurations that satisfy one or more constraints and whose cycles determine where the algorithm explores next. We compare the performance of our approach to direct projection and a previously-proposed cyclic projection method on reaching tasks for a humanoid robot with 33 DOF. We find that Constellation performs the best in terms of the number of solved queries across a wide range of problem difficulty. However, this success comes at higher computational cost.


Abstract We consider estimation and inference in fractionally integrated time series models driven by shocks which can display conditional and unconditional heteroscedasticity of unknown form. Although the standard conditional sum-of-squares (CSS) estimator remains consistent and asymptotically normal in such cases, unconditional heteroscedasticity inflates its variance matrix by a scalar quantity, , thereby inducing a loss in efficiency relative to the unconditionally homoscedastic case, λ = 1. We propose an adaptive version of the CSS estimator, based on nonparametric kernel-based estimation of the unconditional volatility process. We show that adaptive estimation eliminates the factor λ from the variance matrix, thereby delivering the same asymptotic efficiency as that attained by the standard CSS estimator in the unconditionally homoscedastic case and, hence, asymptotic efficiency under Gaussianity. Importantly, the asymptotic analysis is based on a novel proof strategy, which does not require consistent estimation (in the sup norm) of the volatility process. Consequently, we are able to work under a weaker set of assumptions than those employed in the extant literature. The asymptotic variance matrices of both the standard and adaptive CSS (ACSS) estimators depend on any weak parametric autocorrelation present in the fractional model and any conditional heteroscedasticity in the shocks. Consequently, asymptotically pivotal inference can be achieved through the development of confidence regions or hypothesis tests using either heteroscedasticity-robust standard errors and/or a wild bootstrap. Monte Carlo simulations and empirical applications illustrate the practical usefulness of the methods proposed.


Patients with a diagnosis of cancer may choose to use complementary and alternative medicine, such as naturopathy, to support conventional medical therapies (e.g., surgery, chemotherapy).1 The complementary and alternative medicine treatment plan is usually prescribed by a naturopathic doctor and carried out in a complementary care centre (CCC). As part of an ongoing collaboration with a provincial death investigation service, ISMP Canada received a report about the death of an individual who had received, by intravenous (IV) administration at a CCC, a tissueand wound-healing formulation containing selenium at a much higher concentration than intended. This bulletin highlights some contributing factors identified in the incident analysis, and provides recommendations to prevent similar incidents in the future.


To analyse the distribution characteristics, potential sources and health risks of PAHs in the surface soil of the Guan River Estuary Industrial Area, 30 samples along the Guan River were collected. Sixteen types of PAHs were detected by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The results showed that the total content of the 16 PAHs (Σ16PAHs) ranged from 1212.8–12264.5 ng/g, and the arithmetic mean and median were 3504.8 ng/g and 2396.5 ng/g, respectively. The concentrations of 7 carcinogenic PAHs (Σ7carPAHs) ranged from 546.1–5742.3 ng/g, accounting for 34–54% of the Σ16PAHs. The pollution of the PAHs was intermediate compared with that of other industrial areas in China. Fluoranthene, pyrene and benzo[a] pyrene (BaP) are the main monomer PAHs. There was a weak positive correlation between the total organic carbon and the PAHs, and a negative correlation between the PAHs and the pH was found. The characteristic ratio and principal component analysis (PCA) show that the PAHs mainly come from combustion sources, especially the combustion process of coal and coke from industrial areas. The TEQBaP (toxic equivalency quantity relative to BaP) concentrations of 7 types of carcinogenic PAHs accounted for 99% of the Σ16TEQBaP. According to the Canadian soil environmental quality standard, 87% of the sampling site's PAH pollution values exceeded the safety value, suggesting that there is a potential ecological risk in the Guan River Estuary industrial


We have developed a knowledge based approach for arterial stiffness estimation. The proposed new approach reliably estimates arterial stiffness based on the analysis of age and heart rate normalized reflected wave arrival time. The proposed new approach reduces cost, space, technical expertise, specialized equipment, complexity, and increases the usability compared to recently researched noninvasive arterial stiffness estimators. The proposed method consists of two main stages: pulse feature extraction and linear regression analysis. The new approach extracts the pulse features and establishes a linear prediction equation. On evaluating proposed methodology with pulse wave velocity (PWV) based arterial stiffness estimators, the proposed methodology offered the error rate of 8.36% for men and 9.52% for women, respectively. With such low error rates and increased benefits, the proposed approach could be usefully applied as low cost and effective solution for ubiquitous and home healthcare environments.


The aim of this article is to describe the drug career of 71 severely opioid-dependent women who had a history of selling sex and were enrolled in methadone maintenance treatment. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, from medical records and reports from social agencies and correctional institutions. The sequential pattern could be described in the following order: initiation of the first drug of abuse, opioid onset, initiation of selling sex, first non-methadone treatment episode, first sentence and, finally, methadone maintenance treatment. There were significant age differences and correlations between most of the events. The main correlation (r= 0.70) was the one between debut of opioid use and selling sex, which was confirmed in a stepwise multiple regression analysis. In addition, a history of running away from home advanced the age at which the women started selling sex for those with an onset of opioid use at an older age than the mean of 18.4 years.


The late 19th century saw a great rise in private foreign language learning and increasing provision of Modern foreign language teaching in schools. Evidence is presented to document the uptake of innovations in Thomas Prendergast's (1807–1886) "Mastery System" by both individual language learners and educationalists. Although it has previously been suggested that Prendergast's method failed to have much impact, this study clearly demonstrates the major influence he had on approaches to language learning and teaching in Britain and around the world both with his contemporaries and long after his death. This detailed case study illuminates the landscape of modern language pedagogy in Victorian Britain.


Genetically modified (GM) varieties of crops, notably soybean, maize, rape (canola) and cotton, were first grown commercially in 1996. In 2010 they occupied 148 million ha in 29 countries, mostly in the Americas and Asia but with an obvious absence in Europe where their introduction has been controversial due to concerns about environmental impairment and adverse impacts on human health. This paper reviews the published literature on the agronomic and environmental impact of GM crops in the last 15 years. Overall, the impact of GM crops has largely been agronomically and environmentally positive in both developed and developing world contexts. The often claimed negative impacts of GM crops have yet to materialize on large scales in the field. Agronomically, there have been yield increases per unit area, mainly due to reduced losses as a result of improved pest (i.e. insect) and weed control; in the case of conventional crops grown near GM varieties with insect resistance there have been benefits due to the so-called 'halo' effect. Environmentally, the decrease in insecticide use has benefited non-target and beneficial organisms while surface and groundwater contamination is less significant; human-health problems related to pesticide use have also declined. Equally important is the reduced carbon footprint as energy inputs are reduced. Of particular note, however, is the recognition that the success or longevity of GM crops is reliant on the speed with which resistance develops in target weeds and insects. However, resistance to GM-based plant resistance is already being detected in some pest populations and this suggests that scientists and farmers cannot be complacent. Current GM approaches are relatively transitory as a means of combating pests, as are conventional pesticides, and good management will determine how long this strategy proves positive. However, GM is a comparatively new science and the possibilities are considerable.


Orchids employing sexual deceit attract males of their pollinator species through specific volatile signals that mimic female-released sex pheromones. One of these signals proved to be 2-ethyl-5-propylcyclohexan-1,3-dione (chiloglottone1), a new natural product that was shown to be most important in the relations between orchids of the genus Chiloglottis, native to Australia, and corresponding pollinator species. Systematic investigations on the mass spectrometric fragmentation pattern of 2,5-dialkylcyclohexan-1,3-diones identified key ions providing information about the structures of the substituents at positions 2 and 5. Results enabled us to identify 2-ethyl-5-pentylcyclohexan-1,3-dione (chiloglottone2) and 2-butyl-5-methylcyclohexan-1,3-dione (chiloglottone3) as new natural products that play a decisive role in the pollination syndrome of some Chiloglottis species. During field bioassays, pure synthetic samples of chiloglottone1–3 or mixtures thereof proved to be attractive to the corresponding orchid pollinators. Because of their likely biogenesis from ubiquitous fatty acid precursors, 2,5-dialkylcyclohexan-1,3-diones may represent a hitherto overlooked, widespread class of natural products.