Carbon tetrachloride, chloroform, ethanolic and hexane extracts of the root and leaves of Solanum xanthocarpum were evaluated separately for antimicrobial and antipyretic activities. All the extracts were tested against certain Gram positive and Gram negative organisms by well diffusion method. In the methodology, antimicrobial activity was observed for extracts against all the tested organisms. Anti$inflammatory activity of ethanolic and chloroform extract are maximum as well as antioxidant activity is maximum for ethanolic extract studied by DPPH Method.


Although conceptually fairly simple, it is far from being straightforward to identify trade liberalization episodes empirically. Trade policy reform is typically a complex exercise, involving removal of, or reduction in quantitative or administrative import restrictions,' temporarily replaced by tariff surcharges, unification and subsequent reduction of tariffs, and introduction of direct incentives to exporters (Thomas and Nash 1991a). Despite the difficulty, unambiguous identification of liberalization episodes is important if we wish to study the economic performance of liberalizers vis-a-vis sustaining protection. In the economies where import restrictions abound, the net effect of a reform package on relative prices is likely to be uncertain ex ante as the level of protection of various industries may be unknown and may vary considerably from sector to sector. Furthermore, depending on changes in other variables over time, such as production costs, world prices, or domestic demand, import restrictions become more or less binding. Therefore, the government may have a great difficulty in matching the removal of non-tariff restrictions with the desired level of temporary tariff surcharges, or devaluation. Ex post the effect of the reform on relative prices may be as intended (that is, an increase in the price of exportables relative to both importables and nontradables), perverse, or it may have no effect at all, if other factors override the effects of changes in trade policy instruments. In the literature on trade liberalization and economic performance it is often disputed whether liberalization should be defined as a move to neutrality of relative prices, or as a move towards free trade with less government involvement than before. In the former case, introduction of export subsidies would qualify as liberalization, whereas according to the latter definition, the trade regime would be considered to have become less liberal. Another issue of disagreement is whether or not to include devaluation in the definition of trade liberalization. Devaluation often accompanies trade reforms to make import liberalization macro compatible, safeguard external reserves, and to provide improved incentives to the export sector. If devaluation is carried out without any changes in trade policy instruments, its effect on the average relative price ratio of importables to exportables, or the ratio of domestic price of importables to their world price is ambiguous. The effect depends on the type of trade policy instruments being used, such as value or quantity quotas. In Africa, foreign exchange rationing for balance of payments purposes is closely linked to import controls which provide protection for domestic industries. When devaluation is combined with a change in the mechanism of allocating scarce foreign exchange, such as introduction of an auction, the subsidy which imports of capital and intermediate goods often enjoy due to preferential access to foreign exchange, combined with an over-valued currency, will be removed, and imports of final goods will no longer be discriminated against through non-issuance of licenses. This clearly qualifies as a move towards free trade. A recent comparative study on trade liberalization, which was undertaken by the World Bank, and which covers 19 countries, does not employ a quantitative or objective measure for identifying episodes but uses instead a subjective liberalization index (Michaely et al. 1991). Although no unambiguous criteria common to all countries was used to determine when a liberalization episode began, or when an episode can be considered to have been completed, stopped or reversed, the study, nevertheless, claims to include all significant liberalization episodes of a minimum duration of two years, implemented by developing countries from World War II until 1984. The subjective criterion, which is an annual liberalization index, ranging from one (highest possible degree of trade intervention) to 20 (complete liberalization), was calculated for each country, based partly on various quantitative criteria, such as effective rate of protection, actual tariff rates, real exchange rate, degree of openness (sum of imports and exports over GDP), gap between foreign and domestic terms of trade, and so forth, and partly on judgment by the individual researcher in charge of a particular country study. It is obvious that the indices are not at all comparable across the sample. Country studies also lack consistency in the way in which various policy measures are assumed to impact on changes in the index. As pointed out in two reviews of the World Bank study (Collier 1993; Greenaway 1993), the use of a subjective index makes interpretation of empirical findings much more arbitrary than if a common quantitative criterion had been used. The country study on Chile, for example, based the subjective liberalization index on five indicators of trade controls: an import restriction index (assigned qualitatively on the basis of changes in QRs over time), the ratio of effective exchange rate to nominal exchange rate, the ratio of black market rate to official exchange rate, an export quota index, and the implicit tariff rate. An iterative process, including judgment when in doubt, was then used to derive the liberalization index based on these indicators. Although the authors of the study consider the implicit tariff as the ideal index of trade liberalization, they chose not to use it alone as information on its actual levels is available with significant coverage for a few years only. As will be shown below for Kenya, it is possible to derive the average implicit tariff as an index, without full information on its actual levels over time, by using average domestic and world price indices for importables. This is by no means an easy task, however, as the available price indices are prone to biases which are difficult to control and sometimes even to detect. The World Bank study completely excludes Sub-Saharan Africa. As there have been attempts to liberalize trade regimes in Africa in the 1970s and particularly in the 1980s, application of common quantitative criteria to the identification of liberalization episodes to all developing countries could have resulted in inclusion of a few of these episodes in the study. This would have been useful from the viewpoint of policy recommendations as more attention would certainly have been devoted to the negative effects of incredibility suffered by many of these reforms. By anticipating a reversal, the private sector not only inflicts additional welfare costs arising, for example, from excessive accumulation of stocks of importables but speculation may also deplete external reserves, endangering the entire process of liberalization. The main purpose of the rest of the paper is to derive the implicit tariff index for Kenya, and to assess its validity and reliability as an objective criterion for identifying trade liberalization episodes in African economies, including an assessment of the quality of the available price data.` To place the chosen index into context, Section 2 will provide a review of quantitative measures of trade policy. In Section 3 we will construct our base case implicit tariff index using the most relevant domestic price deflator and price index for the corresponding categories of imports. This index will then be compared to (i) a narrative of changes in trade policy in Kenya since the early-1970s, and to (ii) a measure of import compression developed by Narasimhan and Prichett (1993). A few snapshots of the actual levels of protection, both the nominal rate of protection ( implicit tariff) and the effective rate of protection are available for Kenya over time. The former assesses protection on the price of the good, while the latter measures the protection given to the value added, or the domestic factors of production. Section 4 will examine whether these snapshots concur with the changes in trade policy as indicated by the implicit tariff index, the narrative, or by the index of import compression. Section 5 contains an assessment of the quality of domestic price deflators that are available for constructing the implicit tariff index, while Section 6 examines the reliability of corresponding import price indices. Section 7 concludes.


This thesis presents an investigation of the structure of people's occupational perceptions. The questionnaires used In this study collected both descriptive information about people's perceptions of occupations and also pair comparison similarities data. The data were collected both in the United States of America and England from samples of subjects who differed in terms of age and sex. This provided, therefore, both cross-cultural and developmental dimensions to the study. A cognitive orientation to the study of vocational behaviour is developed and multidimensional scaling procedures are used to analyze the data. A prime concern of the thesis is to examine the appropriateness of this approach and these techniques to this subject area. The results of this study show that a considerable range of individuaI differences exist in occupational perceptions.0lder subjects have a more complex structure to their perceptions and showed greater consensus as to how they perceived occupations to relate to each other. Younger subjects exhibited a greater range of individual differences in occupational perceptions but had, on average, a simpler subjective occupational structure. The multidimensional scaling procedures used in this study were able to reveal how occupational perceptions were structured, to relate these occupational perceptions to occupational preferences and other evaluative data, and to show that the groupings and structure of occupational perceptions ore similar to the dimensions used in occupational classification schemes. ImpIications of these resultts to vocationaI guidance theory and practice are discussed. The resuIts reported here strongly support both the use of the cognitive approach adopted here and demonstrate the potential of multidimensional scaling techniques for further:research in the field of vocational psychology.


Simulation is used extensively in autonomous systems, particularly in robotic manipulation. By far, the most common approach is to train a controller in simulation, and then use it as an initial starting point for the real system. We demonstrate how to learn simultaneously from both simulation and interaction with the real environment. We propose an algorithm for balancing the large number of samples from the high throughput but less accurate simulation and the low-throughput, high-fidelity and costly samples from the real environment. We achieve that by maintaining a replay buffer for each environment the agent interacts with. We analyze such multi-environment interaction theoretically, and provide convergence properties, through a novel theoretical replay buffer analysis. We demonstrate the efficacy of our method on a sim-to-real environment.


To mitigate the spread of Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), many efforts have been made including the adoption of non-pharmaceutical measures such as hand hygiene, wearing of face mask, and social distancing. Sadly, the absence of symptoms in some SARS-CoV-2 carriers has impeded the success of these current interventions, and the number of COVID-19 cases continues to increase globally. Understanding the impact and pattern of transmission by presymptomatic and asymptomatic cases is crucial to the management of the disease. We aimed to review the transmission or spread of COVID-19, to provide insight into the impact of these silent spreaders, and inform public health policymaking. A systematic review of published articles was conducted. PubMed, Google Scholar, and Science Direct were searched for articles published in the English Language from January to July 2020. A total of 20 articles were found eligible for the review based on the predetermined inclusion and exclusion criteria. 17 articles, of which 13 were case reports, 1 serial interval report, 2 investigational reports, and 1 modeling study, provided evidence of asymptomatic and presymptomatic transmission. 3 articles reported on the quantitative contribution of asymptomatic and presymptomatic transmission. Evidence provided in the literature is not sufficient to elucidate the impact and relative contribution of asymptomatic and presymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 carriers on the spread of the disease. Strengthening of the current non-pharmaceutical measures or better still adoption of other innovative approaches is crucial to combating COVID-19 as far as presymptomatic and asymptomatic cases are concerned.


Estimates of the ecological and economic value of ecosystems can provide important information for the prioritisation of conservation and restoration actions. Oyster reefs that were once common in temperate coastal waters have now been largely degraded or lost. Oyster reefs provide a suite of ecological services, including habitat and a food supply for a range of other species. In Australia, there is growing interest in oyster reef restoration, but there are knowledge gaps with regard to their structure and habitat value. Here, we describe the structure of eight remnant Sydney rock oyster (Saccostrea glomerata) reefs and estimate the density, biomass, productivity and composition of mobile macroinvertebrate and infaunal communities associated with them. The oyster reefs had a distinct assemblage of macroinvertebrates, with fivefold higher density of larger ($2 mm) macroinvertebrates, fivefold higher biomass and almost fivefold higher productivity, than that of adjacent bare sediments. The productivity of infaunal communities was twice as high under oyster reefs than in adjacent bare sediments. Therefore, S. glomerata reef restoration is likely to provide important habitat for macroinvertebrate communities and boost local secondary production.


In this paper, we propose an unequal error protection (UEP) scheme for multimedia transmission over wireless decode-and-forward (DF) relay networks. We prove that relay selection combining (R-SC) mode yields a better error rate performance than all-participate relays, i.e., distributed space-time codes (DSTC) and orthogonal transmission with maximum ratio combining (OT-MRC) at the destination. Hence, we apply the R-SC scheme for transmitting bit sequence with high priority while the cooperative spatial multiplexing scheme is employed for the bit-stream with low priority. With this strategy, we achieve the maximum spatial diversity gain for high priority data and a high spatial multiplexing gain for low priority data. Monte-Carlo simulations and analytical results are shown to validate the proposed UEP scheme.


Objective The goal of this study was to identify the periodicity of seven zooanthroponoses in humans, and set epidemic thresholds for future occurrences. Introduction The frequency of disease outbreaks varies as a result of complex biological processes. Analysis of these frequencies can reveal patterns that can serve as a basis for predictions. Methods A 40 year regression analysis of the following infectious diseases was performed using Arc-GIS10.1—anthrax, brucellosis, erysipeloid, leptospirosis, plague, tularemia and yersiniosis. Results The analyses covered many years and revealed the dynamics of epidemics for infections. Yearly periodicities of (3.1 + 2.8) - (3.8 + 2.2) - 5 - 4.6 - 2.2 - 5.1 - 2.1 - 2.6 were determined for theoretically calculated zooanthroponoses. These coincide with the recorded activity of (6 - 6 - 5 - 5 - 2 - 5 - 3 - 2) that correspond to (1977-1983-1989-1994-1999-2001-2006-2009-2011 (2017-2023-2028). These years had more cases of disease than other years. The predicted years (2017, 2023, 2028) are those of potential risk, when 0.7-0.9% of the total disease burden will consist of epidemiologically associated cases. Disease severity was correlated with natural factors including air temperature, humidity, number of annual heat days, geographical factors, type of landscape, number of carriers, and the contact intensity between disease carrier and transmitter. Partial control indicators (PCIs) were determined to characterize the epidemic situation. These are determined from the perennial average characteristic of the given area from which the mean square deviation is removed. The detection indicator is the normal size of a given disease, with minimal and maximal deviation of the range. It can be compared to the epidemic threshold and helps yield short- and long-term quantitative predictions with high reliability indicators (96.5% p <0.035). Conclusions A 3-5 year periodicity for zooanthroponoses was identified. Conditions contributing to the occurrence of these epidemics differ by region. In Shirak Marz, the PCIs for the different diseases are: brucellosis-47, anthrax-12, plague-8, tularemia-6, leptospirosis-175, erysipeloid-12, yersiniosis-18. These numbers represent years of positive points as a maximum threshold. The stability index was identified, for instance, for brucellosis S = 1.2, amplitude - 5.2, perennial average - 28.8, orientation month - January, seasonal morbidity ratio - 18-42 cases. Our predictions indicate that 2017 will be a peak year with 95% probability; intensive index: 16.8 (per 100,000 population), seasonal illness cases: 42 ± 3.5 between March and November. The application of numerical thresholds in predictive epidemiological surveillance provide clear triggers that make public health responses more targeted and rational.


In the present contribution, I discuss the claim, endorsed by a number of authors, that contributing to a collective harm is the ground for special responsibilities to the victims of that harm. Contributors should, between them, cover the costs of the harms they have inflicted, at least if those harms would otherwise be rights-violating. I raise some doubts about the generality of this principle before moving on to sketch a framework for thinking about liability for the costs of harms in general. This framework uses a contractualist framework to build an account of how to think about liability for costs on the basis of the presumably attractive thought that individual agents should have as much control over their liabilities as is compatible with others having like control. I then use that framework to suggest that liability on the basis of contribution should be restricted to cases in which the contributors could have avoided their contribution relatively costlessly, in which meeting the liability is not crippling for them, and in which such a liability
would not have chilling effects, either on them or on third parties. This account of the grounds for contributory liability also has the advantage of avoiding a number of awkward questions about what counts as a contribution by shifting the issue away from often unanswerable questions about the precise causal genesis of some harm or other. Instead, control over conduct, which plausibly has some relation to the harm, becomes crucial. On the basis of this account, I then investigate whether a number of uses of the contributory principle are entirely appropriate. I argue that contributory liability is not appropriate for cases of collective harms committed by coordinated groups in the way that, for example, Iris Marion Young and Thomas Pogge have suggested and that further investigation of how members of such groups may be liable will be needed.


Here, I examine the nature of ethical dialogue from the point of view of its foundations in the critique of the dominant, disinterested conception of ethics, relating this to my 20 year experience corresponding with students taking courses with Pathways to Philosophy, including a prisoner on Death Row, Texas, USA. Ethical dialogue, where we seek the best outcome by our collective lights, is contrasted with activity in the business arena, where traders are assumed to be acting from purely self-interested motives. The role of philosophy as an activity of seeking, in the words of the metaphysician F.H. Bradley, 'bad reasons for what we believe on instinct' is examined from the point of view of our practical interest in learning how to engage in ethical dialogue, as well as the need to defend the theory of ethical dialogue against rival views. From the standpoint of theory, the ethics of dialogue is the conclusion of a three-part dialectical argument involving the refutation of solipsism and the subsequent refutation of anti-solipsism. Looking at ethical dialogue from the standpoint of praxis, it appears that learning ethical dialogue is more like learning to dance than learning an intellectual game like chess. It can't be taught from a book. One learns ethical dialogue by engaging in ethical dialogue. One consequence of this radical conception of ethics is a new version of the problem of akrasia. You have the knowledge and the will, but fail ethically because of your practical inability to engage the other person in ethical dialogue.


This paper proposes a Confucian framework for 21 st century education by building upon an existing framework, the Partnership for 21 st Century Skills by P21. It is argued that a Confucian framework for the 21 st century education will benefit students and educators in four main ways. First, by emphasising the centrality of li (normative behaviours with corresponding values and attitudes) in education, the framework ensures that all aspects of a student's life, be it one's career or the learning of ICT and core subjects, are undergirded by the pursuit of he (harmony) and ren (loving others). Second, the framework highlights the need for students (and educators) to love and enjoy learning while working towards the betterment of all fellow human beings. Third, the framework underscores the important contributions of the family and community towards an individual's identity formation and life goals. Finally, the framework offers an integrated model where core academic subjects are interconnected with a shared goal to develop students to observe li beyond the classroom to the world they live in.


This article examines what both in-service and pre-service trainee teachers learn from their early experience of teaching in further education (FE) colleges in England. Despite differences between in-service and pre-service trainees, that early experience is often characterised by isolation and lack of control over practice for both groups. Though trainee teachers may develop as a result of this experience of working in FE, a discourse that emphasises their growing confidence obscures how these trainees may not be enhancing their professional practice, but rather learning to cope with difficult circumstances. This article draws on data gathered between 2005 and 2009 from two separate projects, one that focused on pre-service, the other on in-service teacher education in FE colleges. It problematises the effect of this early experience and applies the Marxist concept of alienation to analyse the development of trainee teachers in relation to coping rather than learning to teach. As a partial counterbalance to the paucity of the early experience of many trainee teachers, the article concludes by arguing that teacher education for the FE sector should be directed to increasing the autonomy of teachers and be constructed around a body of professional knowledge rather than the long list of statutory professional standards that shapes current provision.


The evolutionarily conserved Roundabout (Robo) family of axon guidance receptors control midline crossing of axons in response to the midline repellant ligand Slit in bilaterian animals including insects, nematodes, and vertebrates. Despite this strong evolutionary conservation, it is unclear whether the signaling mechanism(s) downstream of Robo receptors are similarly conserved. To directly compare midline repulsive signaling in Robo family members from different species, here we use a transgenic approach to express the Robo family receptor SAX-3 from the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans in neurons of the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster. We examine SAX-3's ability to repel Drosophila axons from the Slit-expressing midline in gain of function assays, and test SAX-3's ability to substitute for Drosophila Robo1 during fly embryonic development in genetic rescue experiments. We show that C. elegans SAX-3 is properly translated and localized to neuronal axons when expressed in the Drosophila embryonic CNS, and that SAX-3 can signal midline repulsion in Drosophila embryonic neurons, although not as efficiently as Drosophila Robo1. Using a series of Robo1/SAX-3 chimeras, we show that the SAX-3 cytoplasmic domain can signal midline repulsion to the same extent as Robo1 when combined with the Robo1 ectodomain. We show that SAX-3 is not subject to endosomal sorting by the negative regulator Commissureless (Comm) in Drosophila neurons in vivo, and that peri-membrane and ectodomain sequences are both required for Comm sorting of Drosophila Robo1.


Population dynamics of common intertidal bivalves (Cerastoderma edule, Macoma balthica, Mya arenaria, Mytilus edulis) are strongly related to seawater temperatures. In northwestern European estuaries, series of mild winters followed by low bivalve recruit densities lead to small adult stocks. In this study, we examine temperature‐induced effects on reproductive output (eggs m−2), onset of spawning (day of the year), and the juvenile instantaneous mortality rate (per day) of M. balthica. Data analysis was based on an extensive long‐term data set (1973–2001) originating from the western Wadden Sea. Our results strongly suggest that rising seawater temperatures affect recruitment by a decrease in reproductive output and by spring advancement of bivalve spawning. Apparently, global warming upsets the evolved reproductive strategy of this marine bivalve to tune its reproduction to the most optimal environmental conditions for the first vulnerable life stages, most importantly the match/mismatch of time of spawning with that of the phytoplankton bloom and the settlement of juvenile shrimps on the tidal flats. It is hypothesized that the observed density‐dependent mortality of juvenile bivalves may act via competition for food, a behavioral response of shrimp to low spat densities, or be the result of the response of age and size at metamorphosis of marine bivalves to resource variability. It is to be expected that prolonged periods of lowered bivalve recruitment and stocks will lead to a reformulation of estuarine food webs and possibly a reduction of the resilience of the system to additional disturbances, such as the depletion and disturbance by shellfish fisheries.


Food fortification programs to reduce iron deficiency anemia require bioavailable forms of iron that do not cause adverse organoleptic effects. Rodent studies show that nano-sized ferric phosphate (NP-FePO4) is as bioavailable as ferrous sulfate, but there is controversy over the mechanism of absorption. We undertook in vitro studies to examine this using a Caco-2 cell model and simulated gastrointestinal (GI) digestion. Supernatant iron concentrations increased inversely with pH, and iron uptake into Caco-2 cells was 2–3 fold higher when NP-FePO4 was digested at pH 1 compared to pH 2. The size and distribution of NP-FePO4 particles during GI digestion was examined using transmission electron microscopy. The d50 of the particle distribution was 413 nm. Using disc centrifugal sedimentation, a high degree of agglomeration in NP-FePO4 following simulated GI digestion was observed, with only 20% of the particles ≤1000 nm. In Caco-2 cells, divalent metal transporter-1 (DMT1) and endocytosis inhibitors demonstrated that NP-FePO4 was mainly absorbed via DMT1. Small particles may be absorbed by clathrin-mediated endocytosis and micropinocytosis. These findings should be considered when assessing the potential of iron nanoparticles for food fortification.


An identical phenomenon, positive bias temperature instability, happens when an nMOS transistor is under positive bias. Both effects degrade transistor speed, as well as in the lengthy term, the machine may fail because of timing violations. Digital multipliers are some of the most important arithmetic functional models. The general performance of those systems is dependent around the throughput from the multiplier. Meanwhile, the negative bias temperature instability effect happens whenever a pMOS transistor is under negative bias, growing the brink current from the pMOS transistor, and reducing multiplier speed. Therefore, you should design reliable high-performance multipliers. Within this paper, we advise a maturing-aware multiplier design having a novel adaptive hold logic circuit. The multiplier has the capacity to provide greater throughput with the variable latency and may adjust the AHL circuit to mitigate performance degradation that is a result of the maturing effect. Furthermore, the suggested architecture does apply to some column- or row-bypassing multiplier. The throughput of those programs is dependent on multipliers, and when the multipliers are extremely slow, the performance of entire circuits will disappear.


Janus kinase (JAK) is one of the main upstream activators of signal transducers and activators of transcription (STAT) that are constitutively activated in various malignancies and are associated with cell growth, survival, and carcinogenesis. Here, we investigated to role of JAKs in colorectal cancer in order to develop effective therapeutic targets for ruxolitinib, which is the first JAK1/2 inhibitor to be approved by FDA. After examining the basal expression levels of phospho-JAK1 and phospho-JAK2, we measured the effects of ruxolitinib on the phosphorylation of JAK1/2 using western blot analysis. Cell viability was determined using the trypan blue exclusion assay. The cell death mechanism was identified by the activation of caspase 3 using western blot and annexin V staining. The basal levels of phospho-JAK1 and phospho-JAK2 were cancer cell type dependent. Colorectal cancer cell lines that phosphorylate both JAK1 and JAK2 include DLD-1 and RKO. Ruxolitinib inactivates both JAK1 and JAK2 in DLD-1 cells but inactivates only JAK1 in RKO cells. Cell death was proportional to the inactivation of JAK1 but not JAK2. Ruxolitinib causes caspase-dependent cell death, which is prevented by treatment with z-VAD. The inhibition of JAK1 phosphorylation seemed sufficient to allow ruxolitinib-mediated apoptosis. JAK1 is a key molecule that is involved in colon cancer cell survival and the inhibition of JAK1 by ruxolitinib results in caspase-dependent apoptosis in colorectal cancer cells. The use of selective JAK1 inhibitors could be an attractive therapy against colorectal cancer, but further clinical investigations are needed to test this possibility. Citation Information: Mol Cancer Ther 2013;12(11 Suppl):C276. Citation Format: Ho Jung An, Eun Kyoung Choi, Jin-Sun Kim, Seung-Woo Hong, Jai-Hee Moon, Jae-Sik Shin, Seung-Hee Ha, Kyu-Pyo Kim, Yong Sang Hong, Jae-Lyun Lee, Eun Kyung Choi, Jung Shin Lee, Dong-Hoon Jin, Tae Won Kim. Ruxolitinib induces apoptotic cell death through the suppression of pJAK1 in human colon cancer cells. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference: Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics; 2013 Oct 19-23; Boston, MA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Mol Cancer Ther 2013;12(11 Suppl):Abstract nr C276.


We study the fundamental problems of identity testing (goodness of fit), and closeness testing (two sample test) of distributions over $k$ elements, under differential privacy. While the problems have a long history in statistics, finite sample bounds for these problems have only been established recently.
In this work, we derive upper and lower bounds on the sample complexity of both the problems under $(\varepsilon, \delta)$-differential privacy. We provide optimal sample complexity algorithms for identity testing problem for all parameter ranges, and the first results for closeness testing. Our closeness testing bounds are optimal in the sparse regime where the number of samples is at most $k$.
Our upper bounds are obtained by privatizing non-private estimators for these problems. The non-private estimators are chosen to have small sensitivity. We propose a general framework to establish lower bounds on the sample complexity of statistical tasks under differential privacy. We show a bound on differentially private algorithms in terms of a coupling between the two hypothesis classes we aim to test. By constructing carefully chosen priors over the hypothesis classes, and using Le Cam's two point theorem we provide a general mechanism for proving lower bounds. We believe that the framework can be used to obtain strong lower bounds for other statistical tasks under privacy.


In computer vision, video stitching is a very chal- lenging problem. In this paper, we proposed an efficient and effective wide-view video stitching method based on fast struc- ture deformation that is capable of simultaneously achieving quality stitching and computational efficiency. For a group of synchronized frames, firstly, an effective double-seam selection scheme is designed to search two distinct but structurally corre- sponding seams in the two original images. The seam location of the previous frame is further considered to preserve the inter- frame consistency. Secondly, along the double seams, 1-D feature detection and matching is performed to capture the structural relationship between the two adjacent views. Thirdly, after fea- ture matching, we propose an efficient algorithm to linearly propagate the deformation vectors to eliminate structure mis- alignment. At last, image intensity misalignment is corrected by rapid gradient fusion based on the successive over relaxation iteration (SORI) solver. A principled solution to the initializa- tion of the SORI significantly reduced the number of iterations required. We have compared favorably our method with seven state-of-the-art image and video stitching algorithms as well as traditional ones. Experimental results show that our method out- performs the existing ones compared in terms of overall stitching quality and computational efficiency.


During the OHE Annual Lecture of 2011, Professor Weinstein examined the key differences between attitudes in the UK and the US around the appropriate use of cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) and quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) within health care systems. Professor Weinstein explored US arguments against CEA, such as the relationship between health care expenditures and health outcomes across hospitals and geographic areas. He also discussed particularities of the UK system, highlighting that the guidelines for cost-per-QALY studies are very strict.


QUALITY PROBLEM
Unplanned hospital readmissions frequently occur and have profound implications for patients. This study explores chronically ill patients' experiences and perceptions of being discharged to home and then acutely readmitted to the hospital to identify the potential impact on future care transition interventions.

INITIAL ASSESSMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION
Twenty-three semistructured interviews were conducted with chronically ill patients who had an unplanned 30-day hospital readmission at a university teaching hospital in the Netherlands.

CHOICE OF SOLUTION
A constructive grounded theory approach was used for data analysis.

EVALUATION
The core category identified was 'readiness for hospital discharge,' and the categories related to the core category are 'experiencing acute care settings' and 'outlook on the recovery period after hospital discharge.' Patients' readiness for hospital discharge was influenced by the organization of hospital care, patients' involvement in decision-making and preparation for discharge. The experienced difficulties during care transitions might have influenced patients' ability to cope with challenges of recovery and dependency on others.

LESSONS LEARNED
The results demonstrated the importance of assessing patients' readiness for hospital discharge. Health care professionals are recommended to recognize patients and guide them through transitions of care. In addition, employing specifically designated strategies that encourage patient-centered communication and shared decision-making can be vital in improving care transitions and reduce hospital readmissions. We suggest that health care professionals pay attention to the role and capacity of informal caregivers during care transitions and the recovery period after hospital discharge to prevent possible postdischarge problems.


The geometry of adjacent optical fiber sensors to transport the laser beam and Raman signal in Raman spectrometry is simulated and optimized. The theory of the adjacent optical fiber sensors is developed using various models and the interaction depth is calculated. The efficiency vs the interaxes distance, the diameters of the optical fibers, and the angle between the two optical fibers are also given.


In the first part of the talk I'll give an overview of the current understanding and recent progress on the influence of climate changes on tropical cyclones. I'll discuss both attribution of current trends, as well as projections for the end of the century. In the second part of the talk, I'll describe the hazard model developed at Columbia University to study tropical cyclones risk, namely CHAZ (Columbia Hazard Model) and discuss its main properties in the current climate. Then I'll discuss two applications of this model: first, analyzing the current risk of tropical cyclones to Mumbai; second, describing how CHAZ can be used to study the influence of climate change on tropical cyclones and our recent results on this topic. In particular, I'll discuss the uncertainties in tropical cyclone frequency projections based on CHAZ and compare with the current state-of-the-art knowledge on this topic.


High spawning flows from Hugh Keenleyside Dam (HKD) on the Columbia River results in dewatering of eggs in mountain whitefish (Prosopium williamsoni) populations, but the ultimate effect on adult abundance depends on the shape of the egg-to-adult recruitment curve. Our decision analysis assessed the benefits of alternative flow experiments while accounting for uncertainties in this relationship and in flows in the Columbia and Kootenay rivers. The value of experimenting depended on the true recruitment relationship, how we quantified experimental benefits, and experimental design. With current uncertainty, the optimal HKD spawning flow (out of 11 alternative flows) was 1699.2 m 3 ·s -1 . Spawning flows below 1699.2 m 3 ·s -1 did not improve egg survival because lower flows rendered high- quality spawning habitat unavailable and increased scour mortality. Two experimental designs, both with higher preci- sion monitoring, had a high probability of detecting the true recruitment curve at reasonable cost. Information from these experiments suggested an optimal spawning flow of 1699.2 m 3 ·s -1 if adult abundance were sensitive to egg mor- tality or 1982.4 m 3 ·s -1 if the population were insensitive.


Gas chromatography is one of the most important techniques used to characterize gas composition of geochemical samples. This work presents a new gas chromatography setting to characterize gaseous composition using three detectors: a Flame Ionization Detector (FID), a Thermal Conductivity Detector (TCD) and a Flame Photometric Detector (FPD). The new gas chromatography setting developed is able to quantify hydrocarbons gases (C1-C5) and non-hydrocarbons (H2S, CO, CO2, N2, O2 and H2) in only one injection and in the same analysis. This alternative gas chromatography is able to reduce time of analysis and save sample that can be used for other kind of analyses.


A magnetic field creates a characteristic length for electronic motion, the magnetic length, which at high fields becomes comparable with the typical layer thicknesses of MBE grown heterostructures. These layer thicknesses are thin enough to allow coupling of the wavefunctions between successive layers making tunneling possible. The effect of a magnetic field parallel to the layers and perpendicular to the tunneling direction for different structures, i.e. asymmetric double quantum wells, periodic and non-periodic superlattices is reviewed.


Motivating people to contribute knowledge has become an important research topic and a major challenge for organizations in the Knowledge Economy. In order to promote knowledge-sharing, managers need to understand the mechanism that drives individuals to contribute their valuable knowledge. Several theories have been applied to study the knowledge-sharing behavior, including social exchange, social capital, social cognitive, expectancy theories, and theory of reasoned action/theory of planned behavior (TRA/TPB). In this study, we use the social exchange theory as our base to develop a model that includes personal traits and task characteristics. We conduct a meta-analysis to see how different factors in the social exchange theory affect knowledge-sharing behavior and then use the trait activation theory to explore the moderating effect of personality trait and task characteristics. The theoretical model will be empirically tested using data collected from the members of a virtual community and employees of companies. We expect to find more insight into how the social exchange theory can be applied to explain the knowledge-sharing behavior in an organization.


ABSTRACT Events are a core concept of spatial information, but location-based social media (LBSM) provide information on reactions to events. Individuals have varied degrees of agency in initiating, reacting to or modifying the course of events, and reactions include observations of occurrence, expressions containing sentiment or emotions, or a call to action. Key characteristics of reactions include referent events and information about who reacted, when, where and how. Collective reactions are composed of multiple individual reactions sharing common referents. They can be characterized according to the following dimensions: spatial, temporal, social, thematic and interlinkage. We present a conceptual framework, which allows characterization and comparison of collective reactions. For a thematically well-defined class of event such as storms, we can explore differences and similarities in collective attribution of meaning across space and time. Other events may have very complex spatio-temporal signatures (e.g. political processes such as Brexit or elections), which can be decomposed into series of individual events (e.g. a temporal window around the result of a vote). The purpose of our framework is to explore ways in which collective reactions to events in LBSM can be described and underpin the development of methods for analysing and understanding collective reactions to events.


This papers places the problem of Chinese rural taxation in the context of government regulation and tries to present an integrated theoretical framework of rural development in China in the past two decades. Our theoretical framework can reconcile the stylized facts that the average level of rural taxation relative to rural net income after the 1990s did not increase very fast, but rural taxation became a very serious problem in this period. We found that this is in large part due to the increase of rural income disparity after 1990s and the uneven tax and fee distribution among different income groups. We argue that differentiated enforcement of the government regulations such as grain procurement and birth control play an important role in the rural taxation problem, and more generally, the problem of expanding local government size and rising rural income disparity. The empirical findings do support our hypothesis.


This paper analyses contractions in translated language, comparing the use of contracted forms by translators of fiction and biography into English with the contraction patterns of writers of similar texts in English. Significant differences are found between the English of literary translation and contemporary literary English writing, in terms of both variety of contracted forms encountered and frequency of occurrence of contractions. Qualitative analyses then focus on the functional description of some contracted and non-contracted forms, and also consider the contraction practices of different translators. The relationships between contractions and other linguistic features, explicitation in translation, translator style, discourse function and genre are touched upon, and avenues for further research of this nature are suggested.


the crime film has traditionally been defined through spatial concepts that point to social issues metaphorically, from the urban underworld of gangsters and private eyes to the hostile foreign territories traveled by spies. The macrogenre of the crime film itself can be tentatively explained as a narrative structure that expresses views about the conflicting relationship between personal initiative and the social organization of communal life by tracing the lives of the agents of crime: criminals, victims, and law enforcers. The gangster film, the suspense thriller, and the detective/cop film deploy these agents as protagonists of stories where we witness the passage from a social space, troubled by fantasies of power and disempowerment, to a space of adventure that serves as the escape from social oppression. In this process the self is asserted through violence.1 Since space is so intimately related to the form, content, and cultural significance of the genres of crime, analysis of it should open ways to understand the aesthetic, thematic, and ideological changes undergone by crime films.Within the detective/cop subgenre of contemporary Hollywood, the procedural and the detective film are still, despite their long tradition, the most relevant variations, and both have their roots in literary forms. The procedural appeared as an offspring of the mystery novel in which the classic private eye was replaced by a group of investigators (the police team), and methods that relied on logical analysis or tenacity were replaced by police routines. Based on the real activities of the police, the procedural is the only kind of detective fiction that was not born out of a purely literary tradition, a fact that set limits on the degree of fantasy that can be included in the novels and makes them realistic by nature (Dove 4, 47-55). The change from the earlier form of the private-eye narrative to the police procedural has been explained as a consequence of that need for realism: the marginal, limited perspective of private eyes made impossible the degree of verisimilitude that was provided by a group of investigators inserted in the social system of fighting crime. Abandoning the isolated heroism of the private eye in favor of the police allowed complex interrogations of social order and the institutions that support it (Messent 2, 89, 97). In attempts to explain the social role of the genre, definitions have tended to include the variable of space. For Gary J. Hausladen, the police procedural turns space into a narrative element that he calls its "sense of place," by which he means "all the physical and human characteristics of the place-the physical and human landscapes, the ways in which people interact, the formal and informal institutions that structure the society, including family, church, and political and economic institutions" (23). Space is thus not only a physical but also a social and institutional dimension, and the presence of the procedural's detectives in that space leads the texts to reflect on social issues, produce the impression of realism, and show that the complexity of the real world does not always allow mysteries to be solved.The detective not integrated into a group such as the police carries different cultural connotations. The already classical work by Thomas Schatz and the more recent one by Philippa Gates have defined the detective film by referring to the role of space in it, but they view detectives as characters who are isolated from their space and whose intervention succeeds in resolving or containing the conflicts when the investigation reaches its end. Still, Schatz argues that, as in the police procedural, those conflicts are intrinsic to the space of detective films, whose stories actually reflect the physical and ideological struggle for control of the space (Schatz 24-29; Gates, "Always a Partner in Crime" 28, Detecting Men 24-25). This function of space as a signal of the conflicts in detective narratives is also implicitly admitted by definitions that nevertheless view detectives as intimately related to their spaces. …


Friction is one of the key phenomena during the interaction of ice with offshore structures and ships, ice rafting and ridging processes, and the brittle compressive failure of ice. Therefore, knowledge of the ice friction laws and a better understanding of this phenomenon are needed for the design of safe and reliable offshore structures and successful operations in ice-infested waters. This thesis presents experimental studies on ice friction in the field and in the laboratory and can be divided into three parts:field study of ice friction and the effects of different parameters on the kinetic and static friction coefficients;investigation of geometrical stick-slip interaction between ice and stainless steel in small-scale laboratory tests;field investigation of the vertical ice forces exerted on isolated vertical piles frozen in a level sea due to changes in the water level.The first version of the experimental setup for the field tests to study ice friction was relatively simple and was used only in 2010. Significant modifications and improvements were made to the setup in 2011 that allowed us to better control the test conditions (i.e., velocity, normal load). The available range of sliding velocities (between 6 mm s-1 and 43 mm s-1) did not cover the whole range of our interest. Therefore, a new pulling mechanism was introduced in the tests in 2012 that allowed us to extend the sliding range up to 110 mm s-1.The field experiments were conducted with first year sea ice in the Barents Sea and in fjords at Spitsbergen during three springs (2010-2012). In September of 2012, the ice friction tests were performed with multiyear sea ice northeast of Greenland. Most of the tests were performed to investigate the friction between sea ice and sea ice, while the rest were to study the friction between sea ice and corroded steel. The aim of the study was to survey the most important factors that affect ice friction in field conditions and to determine whether the existing friction models correctly predict the dependences observed in the field tests. The effects of the sliding velocity (6 mm s-1to 105 mm s-1), air temperatures (-2°C to -20°C), normal load (300 N to 2000 N), presence of sea water in the interface, and ice grain orientation with respect to the sliding direction on the friction coefficient were investigated. The effect of the hold time on the static friction coefficient was also studied. The test campaigns showed that ice surface roughness is likely to be the most important parameter in determining the friction coefficient. Repeated sliding over the same track led to surface polishing and decreased the kinetic friction coefficient from 0.48 to 0.05. When sliding occurs between unsmoothed surfaces, the friction coefficient was found to be independent of the sliding velocity. As the contacting surfaces become smoother, the kinetic friction coefficient begins to depend on the velocity, as predicted by existing ice friction models. Some attempts were made to characterise ice surface irregularities and real contact area using two techniques: 1) the production of an ice surface cast and its further analysis using an optical microscope and 2) measurements of the pressure distribution and real contact area using tactile sensors. The static friction coefficient increases logarithmically with the hold time and changes from approximately 0.6 at 5 s to 1.26 at 960 s.The small-scale laboratory studies on the stick-slip interaction between ice and stainless steel were performed at the University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS). A specially designed device allowed us to study the effect of well controlled steel surface roughness on the interaction between ice and steel under various test conditions. The effects of the relative sliding rate (1.67 × 10-6 m s-1 to 0.83 × 10-3 m s-1), temperature (-5°C to -25°C) and applied constant pushing force were also investigated. Stick-slip interaction was always observed in the tests on samples with an arithmetic average roughness (Ra) between 2 μm and 15 μm. Both steady state sliding and stick-slip were observed in the tests on samples with the lowest (Ra = 2 μm) and the highest (Ra = 25.2 μm) roughness. The slip distance was found to be equal to the mean pitch profile (mean profile wavelength) for all velocities studied. The elasticity of the ice was found to be an important factor in the stick-slip interaction.The field studies of the vertical ice forces exerted on isolated vertical piles frozen in the ice were performed in Svea, Spitsbergen, in March of 2010. Four different piles made of steel and aluminium were used in the experiments. The piles were pushed through the ice using a hydraulic jack. The first peak load measured in the tests is associated with the onset of the ice-pile relative movement. Because we always observed failure at or very near the ice-pile interface, the first peak load can be treated as the strength of adhesion or the cohesive failure of ice in the vicinity of the interface. Elastic plate theory was used to estimate theoretically the vertical forces exerted on a pile.


The integration of flow systems with statistical design of experiments is emerging as a valuable strategy to develop new synthetic routes towards relevant building blocks, chemical probes, and drug compounds. Optimization by experimental design incorporates statistical algorithms, mathematical models and equations, predicting tools, feedback control, and validation to generate new optimal conditions. Continuous-flow chemistry is ideally suited for this scope, as the integration of in-line analysis is simple; experimental parameters such as temperature, pressure, and flow rate can be easily controlled and fine-regulated; and automation of reaction screening can be accomplished with software assistance. This review article aims to illustrate how the combination of flow synthesizers and design of experiments can be profitable to speed up the development and optimization of more efficient, safer, and reproducible protocols for modern synthetic methods and manufacturing processes.


In this paper, we classify the dynamic distributed load balancing algorithms for heterogenous distributed computer systems into three policies: queue adjustment policy (QAP), rate adjustment policy (RAP), and queue and rate adjustment policy (QRAP). We propose two efficient algorithms, referred to as rate-based load balancing via virtual routing (RLBVR) and queue-based load balancing via virtual routing (QLBVR), which belong to the above RAP and QRAP policies, respectively. We also consider algorithms estimated load information scheduling algorithm (ELISA) and perfect information algorithm, which were introduced in the literature, to implement QAP policy. Our focus is to analyze and understand the behaviors of these algorithms in terms of their load balancing abilities under varying load conditions (light, moderate, or high) and the minimization of the mean response time of jobs. We compare the above classes of algorithms by a number of rigorous simulation experiments to elicit their behaviors under some influencing parameters, such as load on the system and status exchange intervals. We also extend our experimental verification to large scale cluster systems such as a mesh architecture, which is widely used in real-life situations. From these experiments, recommendations are drawn to prescribe the suitability of the algorithms under various situations


Recombinant human granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (rHuGM-CSF) may reduce myelosuppression and, thus, allow dose escalation of certain chemotherapeutic agents. We conducted two sequential phase I trials of escalating doses of carboplatin and a fixed dose and schedule of rHuGM-CSF in ovarian cancer patients who had not previously had chemotherapy, i.e., chemotherapy-naive patients. In the first trial, patients were assigned to regimens of increasing dose levels of carboplatin (starting at 400 mg/m2) and fixed doses and schedules of cyclophosphamide (600 mg/m2) and rHuGM-CSF (10 micrograms/kg given subcutaneously once daily on days 2-11). Chemotherapy was given every 3 weeks (regimen A). In the subsequent trial, the design was the same except that cyclophosphamide was omitted (regimen B). Fifteen patients received regimen A, and seven patients received regimen B. In regimen A, all three patients treated at the first dose level tolerated five cycles at full doses. Hematologic toxicity was dose limiting at the 600-mg/m2 dose level. When 500 mg/m2 carboplatin was given, six of eight patients tolerated three or four cycles at full doses before requiring dose reductions or treatment delays. In regimen B, doses could not be escalated above the first dose level (600 mg/m2) because of severe hematological toxicity. Nonhematological toxicity was tolerable and managed with acetaminophen, antihistamines, and/or nonsteroidal, anti-inflammatory medication. Compliance was excellent. We conclude that (a) rHuGM-CSF can be given safely and reliably to chemotherapy-naive ovarian cancer patients receiving these treatment regimens, (b) early and severe thrombocytopenia was a major problem with or without cyclophosphamide with doses of carboplatin at or above 600 mg/m2, and (c) 500 mg/m2 carboplatin administered every 3 weeks is the highest dose in regimen A that can be given safely in the outpatient setting.


The sea pens Funiculina quadrangularis, Pennatula aculeata, Pennatula phosphorea, Pteroeides spinosum and Veretillum cynomorium are known to be characteristic species of the habitat 'pennatulacean communities on circalittoral and upper bathyal soft bottoms', described recently on the northern Atlantic Spanish shelf under the terms of the EU directives. Distribution, abundance and environmental data collected from 1995 to 2010 in the Northern Spanish Shelf Groundfish Surveys in the Cantabrian Sea and off Galicia (SPNGFS) were analysed. Although low densities of sea pens were commonly found over the years, some aggregations were shown. Multivariate analysis separated the aggregations of F. quadrangularis and of Pennatula spp. found on circalittoral soft bottoms. In addition, evidence of aggregations of F. quadrangularis on upper bathyal sites was also found. Depth and longitude, which were closely related to organic matter and sediment particle size, were key factors in determining the distribution and abundance of these aggregations. However, very little information on distribution and density of the species P. spinosum and V. cynomorium was obtained. Details of community composition of F. quadrangularis and Pennatula spp. were studied and compared with those of the OSPAR habitat "sea pen and burrowing megafauna communities" in other areas. The results improve our knowledge concerning sea pen communities in the southern Bay of Biscay and contribute to a global assessment of the status of these communities in the northeast Atlantic.


This paper discusses issues for the design of a Dexter-based cooperative hypermedia architecture and a specific system, DeVise Hypermedia (DHM), developed from this architecture. The Dexter Hypertext Reference Model [Hala90] was used as basis for designing the architecture. The Dexter model provides a general and solid foundation for designing a general hypermedia architecture. It introduces central concepts and proposes a layering of the architecture. However, to handle cooperative work aspects, such as sharing material and cooperative authoring, we have to go beyond the Dexter model concepts. To deal with such aspects we have extended our implementation of the Dexter concepts with support for long-term transactions, locking and event notification as called for by Halasz [Hala88]. The result is a platform independent architecture for developing cooperative hypermedia systems. The architecture consists of a portable kernel that constitutes an object oriented framework for developing Dexter compliant hypermedia systems. It is a client/server architecture including an object oriented database (OODB) to store the objects implementing the Dexter Storage Layer. We use a general OODB being codeveloped to support long term transactions, flexible locking, and event notification. The transaction and locking mechanism support several modes of cooperation on shared hypermedia materials, and the notification mechanism supports the users in maintaining awareness of each othersÕ activity. The portable kernel was used to implement the DHM system on two quite different platforms: UNIX/X-windows and Apple Macintosh.


Marx's positions and analyses shifted with circumstances. He made three successive different interpretations of the revolution of 1848 and the Paris Commune, but that does not make his politics merely circumstantial. There are contradictions between texts and within texts, but some explanations are more robust, some determinations more fundamental, and some historical formulations more balanced than others. His texts must be read as part of a corpus and understood in historical context, particularly in relation to the working-class movement that gave unity to his life and thought, for it is in the texts and formulations that engage with the working-class movement that Marx is the most illuminating. Conversely, it is when he loses touch with the movement - either when he takes up an ultra-revolutionary position, as in 1849-50 or, in reaction to its failure, a detached objectivism as in 1851-52 - that his vision becomes skewed and distorted. The first of these mistakes was subjectivist - the belief that all was made possible by political will; the second was objectivist - the belief that human action could not change the immutable laws of history. These deviations occurred because of the disintegration of the social democratic movement with which Marx identified, particularly in Germany; but the subjectivist one, amazingly enough, prefigured the future, both the Paris Commune and 1917.


This Paper examines the relationship between performance of English public sector hospitals (NHS trusts) and the quality of their nursing staff. Performance ratings of NHS trusts published in 2001 and 2002 indicate a clear regional divide. This divide is not explained by lower medical need. The gap between wages in the private and public sector (the private sector premium) has a regional divide similar to that of the performance ratings. Utilising cross sectional variation in the private sector premium, we find that performance against several of the individual targets that are aggregated into the NHS performance ratings is negatively associated with the private sector premium.


Because standard cameras sample the scene at constant time intervals, they do not provide any information in the blind time between subsequent frames. However, for many high-speed robotic and vision applications, it is crucial to provide high-frequency measurement updates also during this blind time. This can be achieved using a novel vision sensor, called DAVIS, which combines a standard camera and an asynchronous event-based sensor in the same pixel array. The DAVIS encodes the visual content between two subsequent frames by an asynchronous stream of events that convey pixel-level brightness changes at microsecond resolution. We present the first algorithm to detect and track visual features using both the frames and the event data provided by the DAVIS. Features are first detected in the grayscale frames and then tracked asynchronously in the blind time between frames using the stream of events. To best take into account the hybrid characteristics of the DAVIS, features are built based on large, spatial contrast variations (i.e., visual edges), which are the source of most of the events generated by the sensor. An event-based algorithm is further presented to track the features using an iterative, geometric registration approach. The performance of the proposed method is evaluated on real data acquired by the DAVIS.


Through the case study of Gono Unnayan Prochesta (GUP), Voluntary Organization (VO) operating in rural southwestern Bangladesh, this thesis explores the role of non-formal education for empowerment and socio-economic development. The issues examined are the mobilization process and the grassroots organization of disadvantaged women, education for regenerative agriculture, functional literacy and women's health. The case study focuses mainly on two womens groups. During the field work part of the study, most men were away from the villages in pursuit of salaried jobs or carrying out their small trades. The study adopted the framework of analysis proposed by Moser (1993) about the productive, reproductive and community roles of women in the context of their practical and strategic needs. The data indicates that due to the extreme poverty situation in the study area, addressing practical needs is considered more urgent by the women who were interviewed. Furthermore, they indicated that the center-based functional literacy training is less effective than the home-based training related to health and agriculture issues. It also was observed that the gosthi (lineage) shanskriti (cultural) and para (neighborhood) identities are essential elements in mobilizing the women's groups in the villages. After 25 years of GUP's activities, grassroots women's organizations are yet to be self-sustaining in the villages of Rajoir. The women participants in this study understand the importance of learning how to sign their names for access to small loans, although they indicate that further functional literacy does not meet their immediate practical needs. They are aware of the value of literacy and formal education for their children. Even then, the immediate projects they finance with small credits and loans available to them are still distributed alone traditional gender roles; seed money for starting small businesses for their sons or dowry needs.


Utah 4-H and Fidelity Investments collaborated on a program for increasing the financial literacy of teens and children. The collaboration resulted in positive impacts for both Extension and Utah youths. Extension benefited through partnership with a corporation that provided content expertise, volunteers, and funding for a financial literacy program. Youths benefited from improved financial literacy. A Teens Reaching Youth (TRY) team approach was used for the training of 81 teens, who then taught 530 youths statewide. The curriculum addressed research-based financial concepts through activities and technologies that were interactive, appealing, and engaging. The program development and implementation processes may serve as models for other Extension programs, and the curriculum is free to download.


This paper analyses the effect of extending equitable property division divorce laws to unmarried cohabiting couples in Australia. Using a triple-difference fixed effects approach we show that existing couples are more likely to make relationship- specific investments after being exposed to laws enabling the equitable redistribution of property in the event of relationship breakdown. In affected couples we find that men increase their employment and women increase time spent on housework. Couples have more children and are more likely to become home owners. These results demonstrate the causal effect of property division laws on relationship-specific investments and inform the ongoing international debate about the appropriate legal treatment of unmarried cohabiting couples.


Certain federal, state, and local government employees do not pay into the Social Security system, but rather pay into alternative government pension plans. For purposes of the Social Security Act, where a worker pays into an alternative government pension plan, the worker's employment constitutes noncovered employment. Even if a worker's employment record reflects significant periods of noncovered employment, the worker may still qualify for Social Security coverage because she satisfies the minimum requirement of 10 years (40 quarters) of earnings in Social Security covered employment. However, an employment record which reflects both covered and noncovered employment presents a challenge to equitable application of the Social Security Act. To determine the benefits to which a worker is entitled, the Social Security Act first employs an averaging provision that considers 35 years of covered employment. Where an individual's employment record does not reflect 35 years of covered employment, the averaging provision compresses the worker's average earnings. Effectively, a life-time high-income worker who held both covered and noncovered employment appears to be a life-time low-income worker by operation of the averaging provision. The second step in determining a worker's Social Security benefits entails application of a progressive benefits formula to the workers average earnings. By operation of the averaging provision and the progressive benefit formula, a high-income worker who held both covered and non covered employment received a higher than statutorily intended replacement rate (the ratio of benefits to average earnings) prior to 1983. In an effort to downward-adjust Social Security benefits for worker who held both covered and noncovered employment, Congress enacted the Windfall Elimination Provision in 1983. This article presents and examines the Windfall Elimination Provision highlighting inherent problems in its design, which include structural and administrative issues that disproportionately impact low-income workers. The article also describes and examines public misperception and resentment of the Windfall Elimination Provision, and deficiencies in the Social Security Administration's communication efforts. The article also describes considerable legislative efforts since its enactment to modify, replace, or repeal the Windfall Elimination Provision, providing an explanation and analysis of each bill. Finally, the article presents an alternative approach to eliminating the 'windfall' benefits that accrue to noncovered workers. The alternative approach balances the fundamental tenants of the Social Security system – a progressive benefits structure and the earned right nature of benefits. As such, the proposed legislative amendment (included in the appendix of the article) ensures equitable benefits to noncovered workers.


During the early Mississippian Lohmann phase (A.D. 1050-1100), the American Bottom experienced a political and economic transformation. This transformation included the abrupt planned construction of central Cahokia, a large-scale influx of people to "downtown Cahokia," the abandonment of pre-Mississippian village settlements, the reorganization of farming in the Mississippi River floodplain, and the founding of the Richland farming complex in the Illinois uplands. New tree-ring-based records of climate change indicate that this rapid development occurred during one of the wettest 50-year periods during the last millennium. During the next 150 years, a series of persistent droughts occurred in the Cahokian area which may be related to the eventual abandonment of the American Bottom. By A.D. 1150, in the latter part of a severe 15-year drought, the Richland farming complex was mostly abandoned, eliminating an integral part of Cahokia$s agricultural base. At about the same time, a 20,000-log palisade was erected around Monks Mound and the Grand Plaza, indicating increased social unrest. During this time, people began exiting Cahokia and, by the end of the Stirling phase (A.D. 1200), Cahokia$s population had decreased by about 50 percent and by A.D. 1350, Cahokia and much of the central Mississippi valley had been abandoned.


We analyze the relationship between the introduction of a sovereign bond market (BM) and tax revenue mobilization behavior, using a large sample of 119 developing countries. Propensity Scores Matching estimations reveal that BM participation significantly fosters domestic tax revenue mobilization. Moreover, we find that this favorable effect is sensitive to BM countries' characteristics, namely the stance of monetary and fiscal policies, the exchange rate regime, the level of economic development, and the degree of financial openness and financial development. Finally, our results show that BM participation fosters internal taxes and reduces their instability, compared to international trade taxes. These findings highlight the strength of BM in promoting structural reforms in developing countries, through encouraging them to increase their tax effort and even by contributing to some extent to the fiscal transition process.


To benefit from mature database technology RDF stores are built on top of relational databases and SPARQL queries are mapped into SQL. Using a shared-nothing computer cluster is a way to achieve scalability by carrying out query processing on top of large RDF datasets in a distributed fashion. Aiming to this the current paper elaborates on the impact of relational schema design when queries are mapped into Apache Spark SQL. A single triple table, a set of tables resulting from partitioning by predicate, a single wide table covering all properties, and a set of tables based on the application model specification called domain-dependent-schema, are the considered designs. For each of the mentioned approaches, the rows of the corresponding tables are stored in the distributed file system HDFS using the columnar-store Parquet. Experiments using standard benchmarks demonstrate that the single wide property table approach, despite its simplicity, is superior to other approaches. Further experiments demonstrate that this single table approach continues to be attractive even when repartitioning by key (RDF subject) is applied before executing queries.


In recent years, in both academic and popular circles, the free exercise of religion has grown more controversial. Discussions have become dominated by a set of high-profile cases involving issues of sexual morality — abortion, contraceptives, and (especially) gay rights. Hobby Lobby, for example, involved corporations who refused to provide employees with insurance coverage for contraceptives which were seen as abortifacients. Elane Photography involved a Christian photographer who refused to take photos for a lesbian couple's wedding on grounds of religious conscience. Hobby Lobby, Elane Photography, and similar cases have become the face of religious liberty to the general public, and it is not clear what will happen to religious liberty because of this association. One thing is certainly clear: These developments have caused many to reconsider the wisdom of the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) and its state-law analogues (state RFRAs).Yet the discussion has often lacked a sense of perspective. Hobby Lobby and Elane Photography are important cases. But most RFRA and state RFRA cases have nothing to do with discrimination or sexual morality or the culture wars. This piece points out the ways in which RFRA and state RFRAs are continuing to do valuable work for religious minorities — work that no longer seems to get much attention from anyone. Twenty-five years ago, free exercise was associated strongly with the difficult position of religious minorities in an overwhelmingly Christian America. Things are more complicated now, but that aspect of the story remains a true and vital part of it.


This volume provides a state-of-the-art overview of the literature on the economic analysis of tort law. In sixteen chapters, the specialist authors guide the reader through the often vast literature in each domain providing a balanced and comprehensive summary. Particular attention is paid to the evolution of the field, further refinements to economic models and relevant conclusions and lessons for the policymaker.


Summary
This manual brings together state-of-the-art methods for the study of root-nodule bacteria, both in the free-living state and in symbiosis with legumes.

In each chapter, the manual introduces a topic and provides guidance on how study of the symbiosis might best be tackled.

Detailed descriptions of the protocols that need to be followed, potential problems and pitfalls are provided. Topics covered include acquiring, recognising, growing and storing rhizobia, experimenting with strains in the laboratory, glasshouse and field, and applying contemporary molecular and genetic methodologies to assist in the study of rhizobia.


We present observations of the Trumpler 14/Carina I region carried out using the Stratospheric Terahertz Observatory 2. The Trumpler 14/Carina I region is in the western part of the Carina Nebula Complex (CNC), which is one of the most extreme star-forming regions in the Milky Way. We observed Trumpler 14/Carina I in the 158 μm transition of [C ii] with a spatial resolution of 48″ and a velocity resolution of 0.17 km s−1. The observations cover a 0.°25 by 0.°28 area with central position l = 297.°34, b = −0.°60. The kinematics show that bright [C ii] structures are spatially and spectrally correlated with the surfaces of CO clouds, tracing the photodissociation region (PDR) and ionization front of each molecular cloud. Along seven lines of sight (LOSs) that traverse Tr 14 into the dark ridge to the southwest, we find that the [C ii] luminosity from the H ii region is 3.7 times that from the PDR. In the same LOS, we find in the PDRs an average ratio of 1 : 4.1 : 5.6 for the mass in atomic gas : dark CO gas : molecular gas traced by CO. Comparing multiple gas tracers, including H i 21 cm, [C ii], CO, and radio recombination lines, we find that the H ii regions of the CNC are well described as H ii regions with one side freely expanding toward us, consistent with the Champagne model of ionized gas evolution. The dispersal of the GMC in this region is dominated by EUV photoevaporation; the dispersal timescale is 20–30 Myr.


Weblogs (blogs) have become a potential tool to assist in the delivery of instruction for writing. The purpose of this study was to introduce blogging into a community college ESL writing class (2005 spring semester) and to examine the significance of its use for the process writing approach. The study also sought to examine ESL students' perceptions as well as those of the teacher regarding the implementation of blogs in the ESL writing class. Students in the class used blogs for four specific aspects of the writing process approach, peer responding (feedback), editing, revising, and publishing their writing assignments. Action research was used to collect data from five participants selected for in-depth study. Data analysis was performed using qualitative research and case study methods to provide thick descriptions and to identify emerging themes. Credibility of the findings was established by using triangulation of data, member checks, a debriefing group, and cross checking for confirmation or repudiation of conclusions. Results seemed congruent with previous research on technology and second language writing. Blogging proved to be an effective tool for the writing process approach as evidenced by the numerous benefits for its use that outweighed the drawbacks. Prior knowledge of technology was found to help the students adapt to blogging. Blogging facilitated the students' critical thinking skills; affected the quality of students' writing; provided examples of feedback and entries for the students to read, model, and from which to learn; facilitated meaningful learning for students; gave students a purpose for writing; and motivated students' writing and interaction by publishing for an authentic audience. The most significant finding was that blogging seemed to solve some critical issues related to the students' trust and confidence in peer editing and revising. At the same time, data also showed that the quantity and multiplevoiced feedback caused some confusion for students in deciding what and how to edit and revise their writing. Overall, the majority of the students had positive reactions and experiences throughout the semester. Department Curriculum and Instruction


1. Administration of alpha-naphthylisothiocyanate (ANIT) to rats produced dose-dependent increases in plasma bile acid and bilirubin concentrations. Similar increases in plasma bile acid and bilirubin concentrations were evident in bile duct ligated rats, indicating that the severity of cholestasis is almost identical in both models. 2. Plasma alkaline phosphodiesterase I was increased by only 50-80% while alkaline phosphatase was increased more than threefold after ANIT administration. This is in contrast to an earlier study [S. R. Simpson, K. Rahman & D. Billington (1984) Clinical Science 67, 647-652] where, after bile duct ligation, serum alkaline phosphodiesterase I was elevated sixfold before any increase in alkaline phosphatase activity became apparent. Thus, plasma alkaline phosphodiesterase I does not offer as sensitive a marker of intrahepatic cholestasis (induced by ANIT) as it does of extrahepatic cholestasis (induced by bile duct ligation). 3. Hepatic alkaline phosphodiesterase I was unaffected by ANIT pretreatment while hepatic alkaline phosphatase was increased up to seven times. It is suggested that raised plasma alkaline phosphodiesterase I is due to regurgitation of the biliary enzyme rather than overspill of the enzyme from liver into blood. 4. Gel filtration showed that 24 h and 96 h after ANIT administration, rat serum contained a high molecular weight form of alkaline phosphodiesterase I, suggesting a different isoenzyme profile.


Due to increasing demand for potable and irrigation water, water suppliers have to use alternative resources. They either have to regenerate wastewater or deal with contaminated surface water. This book brings together the experiences of various experts in preparing of innovative materials that are selective for arsenic and chromium removal, and inventing some innovative processes to extract these elements from water. The book should be of high interest to engineers and decision-makers responsible for production and delivery of safe water. The book is divided into three parts. The first one shows the effect of arsenic and chromium ions on living organisms. The second one presents the studies on preparation of innovative materials with improved affinity towards arsenic as well as chromium. The third part shows the innovative methods for removal of these toxic elements, with special attention paid to chromatographic, membrane, and hybrid systems. The book is the first ever scientific work addressed to two most harmful elements appearing in water and provides a comprehensive review of materials and methods useful for making the water safe. The book discusses in detail the various fabrication techniques for sorbents and membranes that are now commercially available or appear in the development stage and will be commercialized in the next decades. Some of the technologies described in the third part will be implemented at the industrial scale in the future as well


This paper expands on, and provides a qualified defence of, Arthur Fine's selective interactions solution to the measurement problem. Fine's approach must be understood against the background of the insolubility proof of the quantum measurement. I first defend the proof as an appropriate formal representation of the quantum measurement problem. Then I clarify the nature of selective interactions, and more generally selections, and I go on to offer three arguments in their favour. First, selections provide the only known solution to the measurement problem that does not relinquish any of the explicit premises of the insolubility proofs. Second, unlike some no-collapse interpretations of quantum mechanics selections suffer no difficulties with non-ideal measurements. Third, unlike most collapse-interpretations selections can be independently motivated by an appeal to quantum propensities.


Academic) In the western United States, elevated selenium (Se) levels in soil have resulted in documented cases of ruminant fatalities. This is due to the ingestion of Se-hyperaccumulating vegetation growing on previously reclaimed phosphate mine soils.
  A field-scale analysis was first conducted to examine Se bioavailability to plants. Soil and plant samples were collected from transects from five study locations in Soda Springs, Idaho. Soils were analyzed for Se speciation and geochemical phases using a sequential extraction procedure (SEP). Additionally, speciation, SEP results, and Se bioavailability in the hyperaccumulator, western aster (Symphyotrichum ascendens (Lindl.)), were related using simple linear regression. Soil speciation and the validity of this SEP were then evaluated using synchrotron-sourced X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) spectroscopy for both whole and a sequence of extracted soils. Lastly, competitive adsorption of Se with two dissolved organic carbon (DOC) species, citric and salicylic acid, was examined on an amorphous iron oxide mineral surface. A strong relationship was identified for western aster Se and the first two combined SEP fractions, water-soluble and PO4-extractable Se (R = 0.85; P = <0.0001). Results also indicated a strong relationship between selenate and water-soluble Se (R = 0.83; P = 0.0002). This suggests that water extracts could be useful Se bioavailability assessment tools in highly contaminated systems. XAFS analyses indicated that elemental and organic Se were the most predominant phases overall in whole soils. The dominant oxidized species present was selenite sorbed onto iron oxides and calcite. Critical SEP evaluations using XAFS also indicate that oxidized Se species were underestimated by the SEP and elemental Se was overestimated. In extracted soils, XAFS results indicated partial recovery of carbonate, iron oxide and organic Se occurred. Therefore, it is suggested that researchers exert caution when employing SEPs. Additionally, sorption analyses demonstrated the highly competitive behavior of citric acid with both selenite (pH 5-8) and selenate (pH 5-6). Little competition was observed in the presence of salicylic acid for both Se species. Competition and subsequent desorption of both sorbed species in the presence of citric acid suggest a possible mechanism for Se solubilization and bioavailability in seleniferous environments. An Investigation into Selenium Geochemistry in Phosphate Mine Soils


Sovereign ratings have frequently failed to predict crises. However, the literature has focused on explaining rating levels rather than the timing of rating announcements. We fill this gap by explicitly differentiating between a decision to assess a country and the actual rating decision. Thereby, we account for rational inattention of rating agencies that exists due to costs of reassessment. Exploiting information of rating announcements, we show that (i) the proposed differentiation significantly improves estimation; (ii) rating agencies consider many nonfundamental factors in their reassessment decision; (iii) markets only react to ratings providing new information; (iv) developed countries get preferential treatment.


All political societies have peculiarities, and nothing special is to be concluded from the Anglophone focus of the present article. The theme here is that there was a schism between the first and second British empires, not in itself an original thought, as the paper makes clear. The first empire, as conceived by many historians, was an Atlantic empire governed by the British monarch and the Westminster legislature in the United Kingdom, and by the British monarch through his local representative, the colonial governor and the colonial assemblies. It appeared as a kind of confederation to many contemporaries, including Franklin and Washington, until as late as the mid-1770s. In each of the communities, the common law governed according to the customs of the people, subject to amendment by the appropriate legislature. The latter might be at London, Massachusetts or Philadelphia. For reasons outlined in the article, this system broke down when Westminster asserted ultimate sovereignty and the validity to override colonial assemblies and tax the colonies without their consent. The colonies objected and broke with Britain. In Britain itself and in the remaining colonies, Westminster's assertion represented a new, stronger view of sovereignty, one in which law no longer even notionally refl ected the slowly changing customs, habits and expectations of the governed. Instead, sovereignty represented the will of the sovereign. The legitimacy or validity of laws no longer referred to their content, or their conformity with a 'balanced' constitution. Instead, the legitimacy rested in the pedigree of a law. To its practical question, 'is this a valid law?' the British imperial world was ready for the Benthamite answer. The latter was to remain culturally dominant for many decades, and still dominates the dry fields of legal positivism and conservative social science. Bentham asked 'is a law the sign of the volition of the sovereign?' Elsewhere, Bentham asserted that the content of the law bore no relation to its validity. This article examines this change from the earlier Whig thought which informed the American Revolution and what became of it.


In this lecture several aspects of the new casting processes and of the linkage of casting with hot rolling into a combined in-line process is treated. A very important point is productivity. In a process with stationary mold the casting rate is limited by two phenomena, namely rate of shell growth and friction between strand and mold. Model computations show that the maximum casting rate for secure casting is in the range of 5 to 10 m min -1 . In the new strip casting processes with traveling molds in which the friction problem does not arise the productivity may be constrained by the general geometry of the casting machine. With the twin-roll process there is the problem that the roll diameters become unpractically large for high speed casting. There is no productivity problem with the single-belt process, but there are other difficulties. Results are given on the control of thickness uniformity of the strand. If hot rolling is linked directly to the casting the rolling speed must be slower than in the conventional process. Another challenge is hot rolling down to strip of 1 mm thickness or below. Theoretical data are presented for temperature loss and for scale growth in non-conventional hot rolling. The models were used to compute the developments of temperature and of scale thickness in the integrated single-belt casting/hot rolling lines.


Electricity sector decarbonisation is widely seen as a fundamental step in the global fight against climate change. The need to secure this transition is compounded by the prospective use of electrification to deliver economy-wide carbon reductions, especially in harder to address sectors like heat and transport. No agreement has yet been reached on the best decarbonisation approach. Empirical evidence is required to guide a transition that not only succeeds in delivering a 'truly' low carbon electricity source, but also prevents wider environmental issues being exacerbated. This research portfolio examines the low carbon transition of electricity systems in a UK context. The energy and environmental implications in response to different decarbonisation approaches were evaluated using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and related methods. Potential UK low carbon electricity systems were investigated via three socio-technical energy scenarios, known as the Transition Pathways. Key factors were identified, which may impact the future environmental performance of UK electricity, such as supply chain dynamics, policy shifts, and new entrant technologies, were investigated to assess their consequences on decarbonisation targets. This research exemplifies the guiding principles of LCA as a valuable proactive tool in shaping superior future decarbonisation and wider environmental policies. A key finding of this thesis was the importance of whole life cycle accounting of power sector GHG emissions, including upstream impacts which are often overlooked by governmental bodies. Hence, current decarbonisation policies may lead to a shift in practices and the adoption of production routes with unintended negative effects upstream. In this work, the upstream gas emissions for future supplies increase significantly (rising 2.7 to 3.4 times current mix per MJ supplied) and are foreseen to be highly influential on the future electricity systems analysed. Increased influx of biomethane leads to a substantial reduction in direct fossil emissions (up to 10.6 million tonnes of CO2eq), and is found to be critical in offsetting rising upstream emissions. The roll-out of carbon capture and storage was also found to be instrumental in the success of the pathways. The electricity system transitions assessed achieved differing, yet significant, levels of decarbonisation (between 75-85% reductions on 1990 levels on a lifecycle basis). Nevertheless, these were often achieved at the expense of wider environmental impacts, suggesting trade-offs were unavoidable. The civic-led energy transition resulted in the greatest associated environmental benefits, realising the greatest reduction in 13 of 18 environmental categories assessed, compared to the 2008 levels. It was also the only pathway to decouple electricity supply from fossil fuel use. Reliance on metal resources was seen to steadily increase in response to a developing renewable energy sector, rising 23-75% from the 2008 baseline system. The presented results, models and data are transparently presented for others in the field to build upon, and scrutinise their implications for wider decarbonisation strategies within and outside of the electricity sector.


Introduction: Organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) and social capital constitute Organizational behavior, which have immense effect on performance and productivity. This study was conducted to analyze the relationship between social capital and (OCB) among employees at teaching hospitals in Hormozgan University of Medical Scinces. Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed in 2011. Standardized questionnaires of Podsakoff and Nahapeit were used to gather data on OCB and social capital, respectively. The validity of questionnaires was approved and its reliability was measured by calculating Cronbach's alpha which was shown to be 0.72, 0.84, respectively. Sampling was done through classified random sampling method. Data analysis was performed using SPSS 19 software and to analyze the relationship between above mentioned variables ANOVA and Pearson tests were used. Results: The mean value of organizational citizenship behavior and social capital were found to be 3.1p0.53 and 2.7p0.58, respectively. A statistically significant relationship between OCB and social capital was observed. In addition, There was significant relationship between demographic variables such as education, organizational position, shift work and gender with social capital and OCB (P<0.01). Conclusion: Considering the importance of organizational citizenship behavior for Institutions, to improve efficiency it is suggested that administrators of hospitals and health care institutes adopt policies to enhance these two issues among staff.


In Ghana, abortion mortality constitutes 11% of maternal mortality. Empirical studies on possible disparities in abortion experience and access to safe abortion services are however lacking. Based on a retrospective survey of 1,370 women aged 15-49 years in two districts in Ghana, this paper examines disparities in women's experiences of abortion and access to safe abortion care. Disparities in rates of abortion experience and access to safe abortion care were assessed using absolute (the difference in rates between groups), relative (the ratio of rates between selected and reference groups), and mean measures. Results suggest that 24% of women had at least one abortion in the five years preceding the survey. However, large gradients of socio-spatial disparities in abortion experience exist. The majority of abortions were also potentially unsafe: 53% of abortions occurred outside of any healthcare facility. Women themselves and medical doctors, respectively, performed 57% and 4% of all abortions. The majority of women also felt they could not get safe abortion even if they wanted one. Together, these results highlight the need for concerted multi-sectorial strategies, including legislative reform and provision of family planning services, to help transition from unsafe to safe abortions.