Abstract. An improved tropospheric nitrogen dioxide ( NO2 ) retrieval algorithm from the Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment-2 (GOME-2) instrument based on air mass factor (AMF) calculations performed with more realistic model parameters is presented. The viewing angle dependency of surface albedo is taken into account by improving the GOME-2 Lambertian-equivalent reflectivity (LER) climatology with a directionally dependent LER (DLER) dataset over land and an ocean surface albedo parameterisation over water. A priori NO2 profiles with higher spatial and temporal resolutions are obtained from the IFS (CB05BASCOE) chemistry transport model based on recent emission inventories. A more realistic cloud treatment is provided by a clouds-as-layers (CAL) approach, which treats the clouds as uniform layers of water droplets, instead of the current clouds-as-reflecting-boundaries (CRB) model, which assumes that the clouds are Lambertian reflectors. On average, improvements in the AMF calculation affect the tropospheric NO2 columns by ±15  % in winter and ±5  % in summer over largely polluted regions. In addition, the impact of aerosols on our tropospheric NO2 retrieval is investigated by comparing the concurrent retrievals based on ground-based aerosol measurements (explicit aerosol correction) and the aerosol-induced cloud parameters (implicit aerosol correction). Compared with the implicit aerosol correction utilising the CRB cloud parameters, the use of the CAL approach reduces the AMF errors by more than 10 %. Finally, to evaluate the improved GOME-2 tropospheric NO2 columns, a validation is performed using ground-based multi-axis differential optical absorption spectroscopy (MAXDOAS) measurements at different BIRA-IASB stations. At the suburban Xianghe station, the improved tropospheric NO2 dataset shows better agreement with coincident ground-based measurements with a correlation coefficient of 0.94.


Across the United States postsecondary education (PSE) options for young adults with autism and intellectual disabilities (ID) are emerging as a result of parent-professional advocacy group actions and legislation such as the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008 (HEOA). In this article the University of Iowa Realizing Educational and Career Hopes (UI REACH) Program, a thriving, well-integrated two year certificate program is described. We discuss the UI REACH model—its mission, student-centered and program goals, and strategies employed to ensure quality, sustainability, and continuous improvement. The student population, curriculum, staffing needs, and day-to-day operating issues are described. The experiences and perceptions of 14 students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) suggest that the program facilitates a positive campus living-learning experience for these students. Challenges and recommendations for institutions of higher education considering developing, or in the early stages of developing, similar programs are presented.


The objective of this study was to evaluate associations between adverse outcomes in twin pregnancies and preterm prelabour rupture of membranes (PPROM). A chart review of 246 consecutive twin pregnancies with confirmed PPROM was conducted. Regression analysis (beta [natural log of the odds ratio] and odds ratio [OR]) was performed to identify independent predictors. Two hundred and forty-six twin pregnancies, 492 liveborns, and 20 neonatal deaths. Mean (SD) PPROM gestational age (GA): 31.3 (3.8) wk; delivery GA: 32.0 (3.3) wk. PPROM < 30 wk was associated with increased parity (OR: 2.66), and log (admission leukocyte count) (OR: 9.99). Shortened latency was associated with PPROM GA (beta = -0.17) and chorioamnionitis (beta = 0.95). Neonatal sepsis was predicted by lower delivery GA (OR: 2.04). Adverse perinatal outcomes were protected against by older GA at PPROM (OR 0.53) and shortened latency (OR 0.73). It was concluded that increased leukocytosis and parity implies an infectious aetiology in earlier PPROM. Increased risk for neonatal sepsis at earlier delivery GA is consistent with gestation-dependent fetal immunocompetence. Early PPROM and long latencies were associated with increased adverse perinatal outcomes.


Ferdinand Mount argues that society is shaped by a series of powerful revolutionary movements, the leaders of which, whether they be political ideologues, theologians, feudal lords or feminist writers, have done their utmost to render the family a subordinate instrument of their purpose but that, in spite of it all, the family endures. Mount maintains that many widely held contemporary beliefs about the family are based on a wilful misreading of the evidence: among the myths are that arranged marriages were the norm until this century; that child care is a modern innovation; that in earlier societies children were treated as expendable objects; that the nuclear family is not a 20th-century invention; and that romantic love never existed before the troubador poets glorified adultery. Divorce, he contends, is no great novelty either, he shows that in many times and places it has been almost as easy to obtain as it is today. Far from diminishing the general desire and respect for family life, Mount contends that the provision for divorce has been popularly regarded as an integral part of any sensible system of family law. This study should jolt the reader into a re-assessment of one of the most familiar and ancient institutions, and encourage greater consideration for policies today that support the family.


"The book you are about to read will arm you with the knowledge you need to defend your network from attackers-both the obvious and the not so obvious.... If you are new to network security, don't put this book back on the shelf! This is a great book for beginners and I wish I had access to it many years ago. If you've learned the basics of TCP/IP protocols and run an open source or commercial IDS, you may be asking 'What's next?' If so, this book is for you."i¾ i¾ i¾ i¾ i¾ i¾ i¾ i¾ i¾ -Ron Gula, founder and CTO, Tenable Network Security, from the Foreword"Richard Bejtlich has a good perspective on Internet security-one that is orderly and practical at the same time. He keeps readers grounded and addresses the fundamentals in an accessible way." i¾ i¾ i¾ i¾ i¾ i¾ i¾ i¾ i¾ -Marcus Ranum, TruSecure"This book is not about security or network monitoring: It's about both, and in reality these are two aspects of the same problem. You can easily find people who are security experts or network monitors, but this book explains how to master both topics." i¾ i¾ i¾ i¾ i¾ i¾ i¾ i¾ i¾ -Luca Deri, ntop.org"This book will enable security professionals of all skill sets to improve their understanding of what it takes to set up, maintain, and utilize a successful network intrusion detection strategy." i¾ i¾ i¾ i¾ i¾ i¾ i¾ i¾ i¾ -Kirby Kuehl, Cisco SystemsEvery network can be compromised. There are too many systems, offering too many services, running too many flawed applications. No amount of careful coding, patch management, or access control can keep out every attacker. If prevention eventually fails, how do you prepare for the intrusions that will eventually happen?Network security monitoring (NSM) equips security staff to deal with the inevitable consequences of too few resources and too many responsibilities. NSM collects the data needed to generate better assessment, detection, and response processes-resulting in decreased impact from unauthorized activities.In The Tao of Network Security Monitoring, Richard Bejtlich explores the products, people, and processes that implement the NSM model. By focusing on case studies and the application of open source tools, he helps you gain hands-on knowledge of how to better defend networks and how to mitigate damage from security incidents.Inside, you will find in-depth information on the following areas. The NSM operational framework and deployment considerations. How to use a variety of open-source tools-including Sguil, Argus, and Ethereal-to mine network traffic for full content, session, statistical, and alert data. Best practices for conducting emergency NSM in an incident response scenario, evaluating monitoring vendors, and deploying an NSM architecture. Developing and applying knowledge of weapons, tactics, telecommunications, system administration, scripting, and programming for NSM. The best tools for generating arbitrary packets, exploiting flaws, manipulating traffic, and conducting reconnaissance.Whether you are new to network intrusion detection and incident response, or a computer-security veteran, this book will enable you to quickly develop and apply the skills needed to detect, prevent, and respond to new and emerging threats.


CDroid is the next generation technology which will be used with clouds to get benefits from it. The twenty first century made us smart enough, it is now mandatory to save power consumption as much as for the sake of financial, environmental stability. It is equally important for national security and mankind. Today a huge number of populations in the world is worried about Smartphone batteries. They are huge consumer of energy when using several apps. Our system is to develop Cloud Computing with CDroid Operation System that is based on Fujitsu Server for Mobile Technology, which is completely used for saving energy, enhancing battery life and saving processor cycles more than ever of mobile phone, sharing data and faster access. The system shares both the memory of server and phone as well by using offloading mechanism. The mobile cloud computing concept helps several things to conserve power. The newest Fujitsu server provides world's fastest processing. We had described thoroughly the architecture of newly proposed system. This will be one more step towards the quickest changing cell phone technology. The hybrid cloud computing mobile technology for the next generation will be ready for our world within few years.


Turkish foreign policy faced a paradigmatic transformation in foreign policy as well as domestic politics with respect to mentality, identity, style and rhetoric under Justice and Development Party (JDP-Adalet ve Kalkinma Partisi-Ak Party) rule. This study also evaluates Turkey's Middle East policy within the framework of public diplomacy under JDP governments. The ruling party initiated its Middle Eastern policy by highlighting its Muslim identity. Islamic identity opened space for Turkey in its Middle East policy on one hand, while it built the cultural foundation of racing to the top with a Turkey-inspired Islamic model through the country story rhetoric of the public diplomacy in the Muslim world. This public diplomacy and soft power was the most authentic aspect of the AKP government in foreign policy and implemented successfully between 2003-2011 in general and the soft power momentum of Turkey took place particularly between 2005-2010. However, as of 2011, that is with the Arab Spring process, the relations particularly with Syria came to a point of conflict from the soft power peak and it ended up with the fall of soft power in the Turkish foreign policy.


Practical tools are needed to identify and advance sustainable management practices to optimize economic return,
conserve soil, and minimize negative off-site environmental effects. The objective of this article is to review current research
in non-saline soils of the central U.S. to consider bulk soil electrical conductivity (ECa) as an assessment tool for: (1) tracking
N dynamics, (2) identifying management zones, (3) monitoring soil quality trends, and (4) designing and evaluating
field-scale experiments. The interpretation and utility of ECa are highly location and soil specific; soil properties contributing
to measured ECa must be clearly understood. In soils where ECa is driven by NO3-N, ECa has been used to track spatial and
temporal variations in crop-available N (manure, compost, commercial fertilizer, and cover crop treatments) and rapidly
assess N mineralization early in the growing season to calculate fertilizer rates for site-specific management (SSM). Selection
of appropriate ECa sensors (direct contact, electromagnetic induction, or time domain reflectometry) may improve sensitivity
to N fluctuations at specific soil depths. In a dryland cropping system where clay content dominates measured ECa, ECa-based
management zones delineated soil productivity characteristics and crop yields. These results provided a framework effective
for SSM, monitoring management-induced trends in soil quality, and appraising and statistically evaluating field-scale
experiments. Use of ECa may foster a large-scale systems approach to research that encourages farmer involvement.
Additional research is needed to investigate the interactive effects of soil, weather, and management on ECa as an assessment
tool, and the geographic extent to which specific applications of this technology can be applied.


Circular variables arise in a multitude of data-modelling contexts ranging from robotics to the social sciences, but they have been largely overlooked by the machine learning community. This paper partially redresses this imbalance by extending some standard probabilistic modelling tools to the circular domain. First we introduce a new multivariate distribution over circular variables, called the multivariate Generalised von Mises (mGvM) distribution. This distribution can be constructed by restricting and renormalising a general multivariate Gaussian distribution to the unit hyper-torus. Previously proposed multivariate circular distributions are shown to be special cases of this construction. Second, we introduce a new probabilistic model for circular regression inspired by Gaussian Processes, and a method for probabilistic Principal Component Analysis with circular hidden variables. These models can leverage standard modelling tools (e.g. kernel functions and automatic relevance determination). Third, we show that the posterior distribution in these models is a mGvM distribution which enables development of an efficient variational free-energy scheme for performing approximate inference and approximate maximum-likelihood learning.


Cratons are old, stable parts of the continental crust that have survived at least since Proterozoic time and have not undergone strong magmatism or tectonism since their stabilization. Traditionally, the growth of continental crust in the North China craton is considered to have been complete by Paleoproterozoic time, Phanerozoic events being largely restricted to surrounding orogenic belts. However, the eastern part of the North China craton contains large volumes of Mesozoic igneous rocks, with widespread metamorphic core complexes and pull-apart basins. Hf isotope compositions of magmatic zircon grains from igneous rocks in the Liaodong Peninsula indicate that widespread late Mesozoic granitoids formed by partial melting of ancient crust, but with significant input of a mantle component via magma mixing and crustal assimilation. This magmatism has resulted from removal and modification of lithospheric mantle, accompanied by asthenospheric upwelling. The Hf isotopic signatures thus record the addition of juvenile crust beneath the eastern part of the North China craton, which appears related to major extension and possibly slab rollback of the Pacific plate. Whatever the mechanism, it is apparent that since ca. 200 Ma, ancient lithosphere beneath the eastern North China craton has been progressively reactivated and replaced, resulting in "decratonization." Tertiary to Holocene volcanism in the area and major subsidence around the Gulf of Bohai suggest that the effects of the process are continuing. Similar processes probably operated in the geological past, leading to significant modification of continental crust and requiring reconsideration of mechanisms for continental breakup and dispersal and of continental growth rates.


Education 'in' and 'through' the arts has been identified as a powerful vehicle in assisting students to understand their world and providing students with a range of positive influences on approaches and attitudes to learning. Growing evidence indicates that educators should seriously consider the role the arts can play in their pedagogical practice, regardless of the age group of students or the learning discipline that they teach.

In this paper the authors outline how the arts take on a pivotal role in a unique pre-service teacher education program based in rural Victoria, Australia. After completing their undergraduate qualification, students embark on a twelve month graduate studies program, which enables them to teach all levels in primary and post-primary schools, specialising in at least one subject area in the later years of schooling. During their course of study in the program all students are required to undertake both visual and performing arts as a learning discipline. Due to the diversity of backgrounds and undergraduate degrees with which students enter the course, there are many who have reservations about the arts. The course provides a variety of learning and teaching approaches that challenge, and aim to break down, mythconceptions about the arts. In examining a range of evidence, such as evaluations of the course and the authors teaching practice, journal entries and work produced by students a picture is emerging that something transformative is occurring. Something potent that encourages the development of a respectful disposition that is both sensitive to the arts and provides the confidence and skill to incorporate meaningful arts learning as part of an educator's pedagogical repertoire.


I wish you could be here," the Oxford Professor of Medicine wrote to a friend in 1915, "in this orgy of neuroses and psychoses and gaits and paralyses. I cannot imagine what has got into the central nervous system of the men.' A War of Nerves is a history of military psychiatry in the twentieth century - an authoritative, accessible account drawing on a vast range of diaries, interviews, medical papers and official records. It reaches back to the moment when the technologies of modern warfare and the disciplines of mental medicine first confronted each other on the Western Front, and traces their uneasy relationship through the eras of 'shell-shock', combat fatigue and 'post-traumatic stress disorder'. At once absorbing historical narrative and intellectual detective story, it tells the full story of 'shell-shock'; explains the disastrous psychological aftermath of Vietnam; and shows how psychiatrists kept men fighting in Burma. But it also tries to answer recurring questions about the effects of war. Why do some men crack and others not? Are the limits of resistance determined by character, heredity, upbringing, ideology or simple biochemistry? It explores the ethical dilemmas of the military psychiatrist - the 'machine gun behind the front', as Freud called him. Finally, it looks at the modern culture of 'trauma' and compensation spawned by the Vietnam War. A War of Nerves offers the general reader an indispensable guide to an important and controversial subject.


High-speed light source is realized for decoy-state quantum key distribution
 (QKD) at telecom wavelength of 1.55 µm. By implementing two different
 electrical pulses together and triggering with 100 MHz pseudorandom number to drive
 the laser diode, the signal-state and the decoy-state pulses are prepared with
 identical pulse duration of 25 ps and similar spectral characteristics, avoiding the
 eavesdropper's attack by temporal and spectral analysis. The intensity fluctuation
 of the light source is quantified to satisfy the practical decoy-state QKD with
 random intensity error. The characteristics of the light source are analyzed with a
 high-speed single-photon detector.


This study explores the external environment within which Israeli environmental nongovernmental organizations (ENGOs) operate, with particular attention to their relationships with, and dependence on, philanthropic foundations. A growing body of literature has been devoted in recent years to the importance of foundation philanthropy in support of ENGOs. Much of this literature focused on outcomes, but did not pay much attention to the processes leading up to such outcomes. In particular, little is known about the selection mechanisms involved in establishing links between donors and grantees. In Israel, where the empirical work of this dissertation took place, the environmental movement has been growing in the past twenty years, and the number of ENGOs is on the rise. One of the reasons for this success is the inflow of money from foreign donors, especially Jewish American philanthropic foundations. Yet, a study of ENGOs' funding sources that focuses on the centrality of foundation funding is lacking. This study fills both the theoretical and empirical gaps by exploring the question of resource mobilization and donor dependence among Israeli ENGOs. In particular, it assess three issues: the level of dependence of Israeli ENGOs on foundation funding, the organizational characteristics that are associated with an ENGO's success in receiving foundation funding, and the barriers to establishing links with foundation donors. A mix method research design is used to address these questions. A quantitative analysis of cross-sectional survey data from a sample of Israeli ENGOs (n=100) is used to assess the association between organizational characteristics and foundation funding. Four key organizational characteristics were examined: demographics, organizational structure, strategies of operation, and ideational characteristics (i.e., environmental paradigms). In-depth qualitative interviews with ENGO representatives were used to understand the barriers to foundation funding faced by non-funded ENGOs. The analysis suggests significant association of foundation funding with ideational characteristics and strategies of operation, and only a partial significant association with organizational structures. Based on the findings, a typology of foundation-grantee relationships is proposed, creating a nuanced understanding of the non-funded ENGOS, which are often overlooked in existing studies of donor-grantee relationships. Results contribute to theoretical literature on foundation philanthropy, to the emerging literature on philanthropy in Israel, and the study of Israeli ENGOs. Degree Type Dissertation Degree Name Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Graduate Group Social Welfare First Advisor Femida Haandy This dissertation is available at ScholarlyCommons: http://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/514


MSW wastes depositing on a landfill in accordance with the national environment protection legislation means a (msw) waste conglomerate which generates greenhouse effect gas, especially CH4 on an active lifetime of the deposit, but, in the same time, after the waste depositing quit too. As a consequence it is absolutely necessary to estimate gas emission quantities, mainly CH4 annually. This thing can be done by quantitative waste degraded estimation, annually also. This paper describes the adequate technique to be used for the -m- parameters values establishing having in mind that -m- represents the number of months when a certain quantity of msw is degraded, annually, during the lifetime of the msw deposit (landfill). Nevertheless the establishing of the -m- values means, in fact, set up of the msw landfill NOMOGRAMA itself. The wastes agglomeration on a landfill can be expressed through a mathematical equation, whose analyze lead to the -m- values establishing. The waste (msw) will be degraded in time under the specific environmental factors of every region.


In the canonical regression discontinuity (RD) design for applicants who face an award or admissions cutoff, causal effects are nonparametrically identified for those near the cutoff. The impact of treatment on inframarginal applicants is also of interest, but identification of such effects requires stronger assumptions than are required for identification at the cutoff. This paper discusses RD identification away from the cutoff. Our identification strategy exploits the availability of dependent variable predictors other than the running variable. Conditional on these predictors, the running variable is assumed to be ignorable. This identification strategy is illustrated with data on applicants to Boston exam schools. Functional-form-based extrapolation generates unsatisfying results in this context, either noisy or not very robust. By contrast, identification based on RD-specific conditional independence assumptions produces reasonably precise and surprisingly robust estimates of the effects of exam school attendance on inframarginal applicants. These estimates suggest that the causal effects of exam school attendance for 9th grade applicants with running variable values well away from admissions cutoffs differ little from those for applicants with values that put them on the margin of acceptance. An extension to fuzzy designs is shown to identify causal effects for compliers away from the cutoff.


The classical computational model for stereo vision incorporates a uniqueness inhibition constraint to enforce a one-to-one feature match, thereby sacrificing the ability to handle transparency. Critics of the model disregard the uniqueness constraint and argue that the smoothness constraint can provide the excitation support required for transparency computation. However, this modification fails in neighborhoods with sparse features. We propose a Bayesian approach to stereo vision with priors favoring cohesive over transparent surfaces. The disparity and its segmentation into a multi-layer "depth planes" representation are simultaneously computed. The smoothness constraint propagates support within each layer, providing mutual excitation for non-neighboring transparent or partially occluded regions. Test results for various random-dot and other stereograms are presented.


Abstract. A current obstacle to the observation system simulation experiments (OSSEs) used to quantify the potential performance of future atmospheric composition remote sensing systems is a computationally efficient method to define the scene-dependent vertical sensitivity of measurements as expressed by the retrieval averaging kernels (AKs). We present a method for the efficient prediction of AKs for multispectral retrievals of carbon monoxide (CO) and ozone (O3) based on actual retrievals from MOPITT (Measurements Of Pollution In The Troposphere) on the Earth Observing System (EOS)-Terra satellite and TES (Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer) and OMI (Ozone Monitoring Instrument) on EOS-Aura, respectively. This employs a multiple regression approach for deriving scene-dependent AKs using predictors based on state parameters such as the thermal contrast between the surface and lower atmospheric layers, trace gas volume mixing ratios (VMRs), solar zenith angle, water vapor amount, etc. We first compute the singular value decomposition (SVD) for individual cloud-free AKs and retain the first three ranked singular vectors in order to fit the most significant orthogonal components of the AK in the subsequent multiple regression on a training set of retrieval cases. The resulting fit coefficients are applied to the predictors from a different test set of test retrievals cased to reconstruct predicted AKs, which can then be evaluated against the true retrieval AKs from the test set. By comparing the VMR profile adjustment resulting from the use of the predicted vs. true AKs, we quantify the CO and O3 VMR profile errors associated with the use of the predicted AKs compared to the true AKs that might be obtained from a computationally expensive full retrieval calculation as part of an OSSE. Similarly, we estimate the errors in CO and O3 VMRs from using a single regional average AK to represent all retrievals, which has been a common approximation in chemical OSSEs performed to date. For both CO and O3 in the lower troposphere, we find a significant reduction in error when using the predicted AKs as compared to a single average AK. This study examined data from the continental United States (CONUS) for 2006, but the approach could be applied to other regions and times.


The aim of the article is to describe the strategies of the matrimonial behaviour and it's trends in contemporary Lithuania. The central research object is the partnership behaviour. The hypotheses were formulated following P. Bourdieu's theories on habitus and capitals. Qualitative analysis of 44 articles from two Lithuanian journals and one daily showed that registered marriage still is the basic family formation strategy in the country. Alternative models of family formation usually are practised in particular situations during the life course and are not internalized as habitus. The most conservative advocates of traditional family model are: (1) communities of villages and small towns, where social control of natural order is applied to a lesser degree only for older people and for people who choose an alternative family model after divorce; (2) the men from the middle and the higher social strata, who most often hold an attitude that registered marriage is indispensable and children have to grow in full families. Initiators and promoters of the new family models are: (1) young people, especially from the middle and the higher social strata who pursue careers outside Lithuania or travel abroad frequently; (2) youth who seek career in Lithuania; (3) women from the higher social strata whose matrimonial behaviour is dictated not so much by their own choice but rather by subconscious rationality, which arises from the intersection of demographic-social asymmetry in the society and internalized traditional value sets, as well as the remaining strict social control.


The aim of this study was to provide a comprehensive analysis of key biomechanical variables in race walking through the analysis of elite athletes in both competitive and laboratory settings. Video data from two 3CCD camcorders of athletes competing over 10 km (juniors only), 20 km, and 50 km were collected at three international competitions. For the 20 km and 50 km events, multiple recordings were made to identify if kinematic changes occurred. In addition, synchronised high-speed video, electromyography and ground reaction force data were collected of 20 elite race walkers in a laboratory setting and combined to calculate joint moments, power and work. The key discriminants with regard to better performances were long step lengths and high cadences, and the contribution made by flight distance to step length (approximately 13%) was particularly important, regardless of race distance or age category. Step length ratio was a better predictor of optimum step length than absolute values and a ratio of about 70% was found in the fastest athletes. Although reductions in step length and flight distance were a major cause of decreased speed over both 20 km and 50 km, many gait variables did not alter greatly, showing that these elite athletes were able to maintain their techniques despite fatigue. The foot position ahead of the body at initial contact (approximately 20% of stature) need not be detrimental to fast walking if the athlete has the strength to overcome the potentially negative effects; instead, it can be beneficial to increase this distance in achieving a greater step length and could be a key area for women in particular to develop. The hip muscles were the main source of energy generation, with both flexors and extensors doing more positive work than any other muscle group (22.4 ± 7.1 J and 42.3 ± 10.1 J respectively), although the ankle plantarflexors also generated considerable energy before toe-off (16.4 ± 3.8 J). A hip extensor moment that occurred during late swing and early stance helped maintain forward momentum as it reduced the braking peak force and duration of the negative anteroposterior force. The knee had little involvement in energy generation because of its predominant role as a rigid lever during stance, and absorbed considerable energy during swing (–46.4 ± 9.5 J). However, its abnormal movement that was dictated by the race walking rule also had an important role in maintaining contact with the ground and reducing vertical forces so that visible loss of contact was avoided. The study was the first to analyse in such depth the biomechanics of elite male and female race walkers across all competitive distances and its results could be used to develop a technical manual for this Olympic event and greatly impact on coaching practice.


This essay is an abbreviated version of an inaugural lecture, read on 24 October 2007 at the University of the Western Cape. It investigates the role of cosmological narratives that help people to understand where they come from, who they are, how they can cope with the demands of life and with evil, and where they are going to. It focuses on one such a narrative, namely the Christian story of God's work of creation, evolution, the emergence of human beings and human culture, the distortions resulting from human sin, God's providence, redemption, the formation of the church, its ministries and missions and the consummation of all things. These themes have traditionally been captured under the notion of 'God's economy'. This term is derived from the Greek word oikos which is understood in the Christian tradition as 'the whole household of God'. In contemporary ecumenical theology this term provides a clue as to how the moral of this story may be understood to address ecological degradation, economic injustices and ecumenical fellowship. The argument of the essay is that a retrieval of the underlying narrative structure of the story of God's work can help to avoid the ways in which one 'chapter' of the story tends to be subsumed under another.


The appearance of the collection They Die Strangers (1966) in English (2001) by the Yemeni writer Mohammed Abdul-Wali, published by the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Texas at Austin, was a promising start for the Yemeni literature to be known to foreign readers. However, the socio-cultural differences and colloquial words and expressions that challenge the translators hinder a complete faithful translation in many of the short stories by Abdul-Wali. The aim of this paper is to show how the cultural, linguistic and socio-linguistic misinterpretations in the translation of two representative short stories affect the progression of their themes hence fail to convey the level of oppression and frustration in the lives of the Yemeni people during the 1960s. The study is new in its orientation for it will be presented through detailed analysis taking the context of each story as a principal element.


The journey into the world of midwifery or nursing requires the student to attend to the intertwining of self-body-world in order to shift their knowledge of self-body-world into a client/patient-centered context. One of the teaching-learning strategies used to provide safe opportunities is the use of simulations and virtual practices. Rather than learning intimate acts of touching, or life and death decision-making in situations with actual clients/patients, students enter their learning world with rubber torsos, cloth babies, and cyber clinics. The "other" is a simulated other, not a human. How does the student shift from seeing this simulated other as object to a sense of other as subject? In our world of constant use of technology for communication and entertainment, do students shift in and out of a cyber world easily or are they more captured by the simulated experience than with the human world? Has the human world redefined itself where the intertwining of self-body-world blurs the sense of where human body ends and cyber or simulated world begins? What is the place of Bildung when engaged with a cyber other? As a result of educational challenges, including rising enrolments, limited clinical placement opportunities, and increasing risk management concerns, there has been a proliferation in the use of simulation as a teaching strategy (Fox, Damazo, 2013; Schmitt, Gilbert, Brandt, Weinstein, 2013). This has left us –the authors– wondering about the student experience of simulation. What do they learn? How do they learn? How can this learning be applied in practice?


Transparency is an evolving concept in international dispute resolution. This is becoming increasingly evident in the arbitral practice of investor-state disputes. This article takes cognizance of recent practice in this area. It reviews the recent changes in this context introduced by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law ("UNCITRAL") and the United Nations General Assembly in treaty based investor-state arbitration. While it acknowledges the significance of the changes introduced, it recognizes that transparency in dispute resolution was a practice initiated in other dispute resolution fora and is likely to undergo further changes as a consequence of the application of the mega regional investment agreements currently being negotiated.


Using archival resources on the data assembled in making the first edition of the OED, as well relevant revisions introduced across later editions, this chapter examines the representation of gender across a period of conspicuous ideological, lexical, and semantic shift. Focussing on the 'Woman Question', a topic which, across the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, encompassed a range of key issues in gender terms (such as education, political representation, and equality), it explores the cross-currents of dominant ideologies, definition, editorial omissions, and acts of reading as they come to affect the making of the Dictionary. As for newly introduced forms such as the new woman or suffragette, the same terms can be strikingly polysemous, depending on one's point of view. Lexicographers, as Murray had stressed in his 'General Explanations', have, however, 'to draw the line somewhere'. The chapter explores the difficulty of that 'line', as well as the ways in which it can drawn (and redrawn) by different editors across the Dictionary's history.


Our planet has consistently delivered no surprises: the relentless motion of the world's tectonic plates during the past 3 millennia are identical to those of the past 3 million years. Hence the distribution and frequency of past earthquakes are a fairly reliable indicator of future earthquakes. Studies of historical earthquakes combined with modern seismological estimates of their rupture parameters point to a grim seismic future for our new urban planet. With the exception of rare mid-continent earthquakes, we can forecast where most of the world's future earthquakes will occur, yet history tells us that we will not relocate our cities to avoid seismic damage. Clearly we must make buildings that resist collapse when they are shaken. The last two centuries provide guidance on how to construct buildings guaranteed to collapse under even modest shaking. The culprit is often faulty construction rather than faulty design. We are about to initiate urban society's largest housing project – a global "era of construction". The dwellings for our doubled future population are on the drawing board today. We have the engineering know-how to design buildings that don't kill people: we have the seismological knowledge that future earthquakes are unavoidable, and we have an enormous building program ahead. Prudence suggests that these three concepts be merged, yet more than half of the super-cities most vulnerable to seismic shaking lie in the world's poorest countries.


Broadcasting antenna array null filling is a very challenging problem for antenna design optimization. This paper compares five antenna design optimization algorithms (Differential Evolution, Particle Swarm, Taguchi, Invasive Weed, Adaptive Invasive Weed) as solutions to the antenna array null filling problem. The algorithms compared are evolutionary algorithms which use mechanisms inspired by biological evolution, such as reproduction, mutation, recombination, and selection. The focus of the comparison is given to the algorithm with the best results, nevertheless, it becomes obvious that the algorithm which produces the best fitness (Invasive Weed Optimization) requires very substantial computational resources due to its random search nature. Keywords— antenna array, null filling, evolutionary optimization algorithms, Particle Swarm, PSO, Differential evolution, Invasive Weed Optimization, IWO.


Synergies among land institutions and institutional changes impact on land markets and in guaranteeing agro-based employment, capital injection, local economic development and infrastructural improvement. Increasingly, these institutions have come under pressure and there are concerns about their functional capacities and implications on land markets. This paper discusses institutional synergies and its impacts on customary land markets under large-scale land acquisitions for agro-investments in Ghana. From the study, it was identified that the government of Ghana has maintained a non-interfering stance in customary land markets so as to protect the sanctity and independence of customary land institutions. Also, land transactions were found characterised by lack of transparency, information sharing, participation and accountability. For an efficient and effective management of LSLAs in Ghana, there is the need for a functioning institutional collaboration and one-stop-shop approach to streamline the apparent complex processes of acquiring agricultural land. The roles of customary custodians such as chiefs and Tendaamba should be critically reviewed and re-aligned according to local customs to make the institutions more accountable, consultative and transparent, while curtailing their enormous powers in land administration.


Abstract Carbon accounting has become a valuable tool for expressing the fossil energy demand of products, organizational entities, or entire countries. About a decade ago, cities also began accounting their carbon emissions. The first major city to do so was London in 2009, stating a carbon footprint of 4.84 tCO2eq/(year*capita) for 2008. Nowadays, multiple rankings compare the carbon emissions of cities. For example, the Urban Land Magazine lists São Paulo as the city with the world's lowest carbon emissions (1.4 CO2eq/(year*capita)). Such listings typically present the depicted emission values as scientifically indisputable numbers. However, a closer look at the applied methodology frequently reveals a wide range of implicit, often undisclosed assumptions at the foundation of the calculations. This paper analyses the uncertainties of carbon accounting on the city scale, using the example of the Red Sea resort town of El Gouna. The estimated value of El Gouna's carbon footprint for the year 2014 is 14.3 tCO2eq/(year*capita). Third Scope emissions constitute the majority of El Gouna's carbon footprint. Varying their underlying assumptions only slightly can lead to alterations of the results of more than 50%, questioning the robustness of the findings. To increase the robustness and the comparability of carbon accounting across cities, this paper suggests emphasizing Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions, while limiting the role of Scope 3 emissions.


Differential surface tension is a common phenomenon in many chemical and biomedical
processes. Localised surface tension gradients due to differential surface loading in thin
films give rise to a moving shock front in the direction of higher surface tension. Existence
of a background flow enhances the shock wave giving rise to wave breaking and wave
separation mechanisms. The effect of a background flow field on Marangoni stress induced
shock fronts were investigated in this thesis. Furthermore, a numerical procedure to find
approximate solutions to the fully nonlinear flow problem that arises due to Marangoni
spreading is proposed.
A set of surface evolution equations that incorporates the effects of the background flow
field is studied in two major respects: (i) breaking the horizontal symmetry and (ii)
nonlinear accretion leading to shock front breaking or separation. The evolution of the
surface is evaluated by numerical simulations for a wide range of parameter values. The
investigation showed that there are two breaking mechanisms switched by the value of
Peclet number. Furthermore it showed that the life time of the shock front is determined
by the volumetric flow rate of the film. It is shown here that a weak Marangoni force
generates a pure capillary gravity wave that propagates faster than the surfactant front.
It is customary to use the lubrication approximations to simplify thin film problems. As a
result, the inertial terms in flow equations and nonlinear terms in surface stress balances
become excluded. To analyse the fully nonlinear flow, a finite element (FEM) analysis is
proposed. The simulations shows that the lubrication theory holds globally in predicting
the spreading rates but fails to do so locally until a quasi-steady state is reached. The
FEM model shows the formation of two counter-rotating vortices at the beginning which
diminish as time evolves. The FEM results are compared with the lubrication theory
simulations. FEM model shows rapid film thinning forming extremely thin films within a
short period of time. Though detailed transport mechanisms differ, both methods are in
close agreement in predicting the spreading rates.


In 1996, Darius Mehri traveled to Japan to work as a computer simulation engineer within the Toyota production system. Once there, he found a corporate experience far different from what he had expected. Notes from Toyota-land, based on a diary that Mehri kept during his three years at an upper-level Toyota group company, provides a unique insider's perspective on daily work life in Japan and charts his transformation from a wide-eyed engineer eager to be part of the "Japanese Miracle" to a social critic, troubled by Japanese corporate practices. Mehri documents the sophisticated "culture of rules" and organizational structure that combine to create a profound control over workers. The work group is cynically used to encourage employees to work harder and harder, he found, and his other discoveries confirmed his doubts about the working conditions under the Japanese Miracle. For example, he learned that male employees treated their female counterparts as short-term employees, cheap labor, and potential wives. Mehri also describes a surprisingly unhealthy work environment, a high rate of injuries due to inadequate training, fast line speeds, crowded factories, racism, and lack of team support. And in conversations with his colleagues, he uncovered a culture of intimidation, subservience, and vexed relationships with many aspects of their work and surroundings. As both an engaging memoir of cross-cultural misunderstanding and a primer on Japanese business and industrial practices, Notes from Toyota-land will be a revelation to everyone who believes that Japanese business practices are an ideal against which to measure success.


Background Although endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) is routinely performed under sedation, the difference in ESD performance according to sedation method is not well known. This study attempted to prospectively assess and compare the satisfaction of the endoscopists and patient stability during ESD between two sedation methods. Methods One hundred and fifty-four adult patients scheduled for ESD were sedated by either the IMIE (intermittent midazolam/propofol injection by endoscopist) or CPIA (continuous propofol infusion by anesthesiologist) method. The primary endpoint of this study was to compare the level of satisfaction of the endoscopists between the two groups. The secondary endpoints included level of satisfaction of the patients, patient's pain scores, events interfering with the procedure, incidence of unintended deep sedation, hemodynamic and respiratory events, and ESD outcomes and complications. Results Level of satisfaction of the endoscopists was significantly higher in the CPIA Group compared to the IMIE group (IMIE vs. CPIA; high satisfaction score; 63.2% vs. 87.2%, P=0.001). The incidence of unintended deep sedation was significantly higher in the IMIE Group compared to the CPIA Group (IMIE vs. CPIA; 17.1% vs. 5.1%, P=0.018) as well as the number of patients showing spontaneous movement or those requiring physical restraint (IMIE vs. CPIA; spontaneous movement; 60.5% vs. 42.3%, P=0.024, physical restraint; 27.6% vs. 10.3%, P=0.006, respectively). In contrast, level of satisfaction of the patients were found to be significantly higher in the IMIE Group (IMIE vs. CPIA; high satisfaction score; 85.5% vs. 67.9%, P=0.027). Pain scores of the patients, hemodynamic and respiratory events, and ESD outcomes and complications were not different between the two groups. Conclusion Continuous propofol and remifentanil infusion by an anesthesiologist during ESD can increase the satisfaction levels of the endoscopists by providing a more stable state of sedation. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01806753


Regional iron accumulation and α‐synuclein (α‐syn) spreading pathology within the central nervous system are common pathological findings in Parkinson's disease (PD). Whereas iron is known to bind to α‐syn, facilitating its aggregation and regulating α‐syn expression, it remains unclear if and how iron also modulates α‐syn spreading. To elucidate the influence of iron on the propagation of α‐syn pathology, we investigated α‐syn spreading after stereotactic injection of α‐syn preformed fibrils (PFFs) into the striatum of mouse brains after neonatal brain iron enrichment. C57Bl/6J mouse pups received oral gavage with 60, 120, or 240 mg/kg carbonyl iron or vehicle between postnatal days 10 and 17. At 12 weeks of age, intrastriatal injections of 5‐µg PFFs were performed to induce seeding of α‐syn aggregates. At 90 days post‐injection, PFFs‐injected mice displayed long‐term memory deficits, without affection of motor behavior. Interestingly, quantification of α‐syn phosphorylated at S129 showed reduced α‐syn pathology and attenuated spreading to connectome‐specific brain regions after brain iron enrichment. Furthermore, PFFs injection caused intrastriatal microglia accumulation, which was alleviated by iron in a dose‐dependent way. In primary cortical neurons in a microfluidic chamber model in vitro, iron application did not alter trans‐synaptic α‐syn propagation, possibly indicating an involvement of non‐neuronal cells in this process. Our study suggests that α‐syn PFFs may induce cognitive deficits in mice independent of iron. However, a redistribution of α‐syn aggregate pathology and reduction of striatal microglia accumulation in the mouse brain may be mediated via iron‐induced alterations of the brain connectome.


Recently microRNAs (miRNAs) have been attractive targets with their key roles in biological regulation through post-transcription to control mRNA stability and protein translation. Though melatonin was known as an anti-angiogenic agent, the underlying mechanism of melatonin in PC-3 prostate cancer cells under hypoxia still remains unclear. Thus, in the current study, we elucidated the important roles of miRNAs in melatonin-induced anti-angiogenic activity in hypoxic PC-3 cells. miRNA array revealed that 33 miRNAs (>2 folds) including miRNA3195 and miRNA 374b were significantly upregulated and 16 miRNAs were downregulated in melatonin-treated PC-3 cells under hypoxia compared to untreated control. Melatonin significantly attenuated the expression of hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1 alpha, HIF-2 alpha and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) at mRNA level in hypoxic PC-3 cells. Consistently, melatonin enhanced the expression of miRNA3195 and miRNA 374b in hypoxic PC-3 cells by qRT-PCR analysis. Of note, overexpression of miRNA3195 and miRNA374b mimics attenuated the mRNA levels of angiogenesis related genes such as HIF-1alpha, HIF-2 alpha and VEGF in PC-3 cells under hypoxia. Furthermore, overexpression of miRNA3195 and miRNA374b suppressed typical angiogenic protein VEGF at the protein level and VEGF production induced by melatonin, while antisense oligonucleotides against miRNA 3195 or miRNA 374b did not affect VEGF production induced by melatonin. Also, overexpression of miR3195 or miR374b reduced HIF-1 alpha immunofluorescent expression in hypoxic PC-3 compared to untreated control. Overall, our findings suggest that upregulation of miRNA3195 and miRNA374b mediates anti-angiogenic property induced by melatonin in hypoxic PC-3 cells.


Experimental and numerical approaches were used in the current research to investigate the evolution of superficial defects that develop on slabs of High Silicon content during the first stand of hot rolling processes. Understanding the deformation mechanisms of the initial surface features is essential for the prevention of critical defect formation on final products.
Hot rolling experiments were carried out to determine the evolution of superficial cavities when the slabs are subjected to hot rolling. In addition, descaling experiments and hot ring compression tests were carried out to identify the friction coefficient present during the process. A model reproducing the hot rolling experiment was produced and a multilevel modelling approach was used to refine the mesh in the defects zone. The predictions are found in good agreement with the experiments.
The results obtained from hot rolling experiments indicated the buckling of the lateral sides of the cavity to be the main cause of oxide entrapment and consequent defect formation. This is because the oxide inclusions beneath flaps of metal are most likely to resurface during successive slab thickness reductions appearing as surface defects. Experiments demonstrated the importance of depth to width aspect ratio of the initial surface features on the severity of the final defect. With regards to friction, isothermal ring tests demonstrate that friction coefficient increases with temperature and decreases with the thickness of the oxide present on the surface of the slab.
The material models, the contact conditions and the modelling approaches developed are used to reproduce a full scale single rolling stand of a hot rolling process. The full-scale model was used to test the effect of different process parameters on the defects evolution and of different geometries on the deformation mechanisms.
The model developed revealed that the friction is the main process parameter affecting the defect evolution during rolling. Higher friction coefficients facilitate the closure of the defect, increasing the severity of the final features formed. The geometry of the initial indentation before rolling was identified to be the main parameter which determines its deformation mechanisms. In particular, spherical cavities are easily eliminated during rolling. Conversely, pyramidal and cubical features tend to deform in a more severe way. For a given initial geometry, the initial aspect ratio of the defect was confirmed to play an important role in the final severity. The major limitation of the model was the excessive simplicity of the contact conditions between roll and slab in the defect zone.
Nevertheless, the approaches used to produce the models can be extended to predict the deformation of different initial features presents on the surface of slab subjected to hot rolling processes and to reproduce the behaviour of defects for multistand rolling procedures.


This paper provides a overview of developments in wellbeing in the world since 1820 using seven indicators. To this end, a composite indicator is constructed using a latent variable model able to deal well with missing data and measurement error issues. Overall, this composite indicator gives an optimistic, if divergent picture of developments in wellbeing. Wellbeing increased substantially in most regions of the world since at least the early twentieth century. At the same time, the divergence of Western Europe and its offshoots with the rest of the world in the nineteenth century is stronger. Convergence in the past decades, however, is also more pronounced. In more recent decades, low-income countries have made more progress in the composite indicator than in per capita GDP. The composite indicator also shows a segmented relation with income, suggesting diminishing returns to income. Improvements in wellbeing indicators over time exogenous to GDP and country-specific characteristics were an important part of this.


Likely published in anticipation of a 1967 volume of primary documents relating to the Russian artist El Lissitzky, Lucia Moholy discusses the artist's biography, career, influences, major works, reception, and relation to the Bauhaus. Drawing on her involvement in the fields of publishing and printing, she also introduces his then little-known books and graphic art, as well as his conception of the "Proun." Although not stating it explicitly, much of her knowledge draws on having known Lissitzky personally in the 1920s and his writings from that period. The text stands as one of the earliest discussions of Lissitzky outside of the Russian language.


The number of users on social networking sites are increasing day by day. The advent of technology in social space is also opening the gates of user vulnerability. On social networking sites people can show love, affection, likes, and on the other hand people can be rude, disrespectful, and violent. There have been many incidents of cyberbullying and cyberaggression reported in the online space. The incidents cant be stopped but can be controlled if awareness and restrictions are placed before entering the online social space. As part of the thesis project, the dataset of Instagram posts has been requested and collected from University of Boulder, Colorado. The dataset has 2219 observation with metadata as id, likes, follows, followed by, shared media, cyberaggression vote score, and 195 comments per Instagramers ID. The target variable is the cyberbullying vote score which ranges from 0 (no/zero votes to bullying) to 5 (5 votes to cyberbullying). The research focuses on three aspects: text mining of foul words from the comments, implementation of text classification models, and comparison of the different classifiers on the basis of the performance measure.


Objectives: a descriptive study was carried out on term neonates with respiratory distress in the early neonatal period who was admitted to the neonatal care units in Basrah Maternity and Children Hospital to assess the causes, outcome, and neonatal, maternal, labor, and delivery characteristics. Patients and Methods: a total of (167) full term neonates, (103) males and (64) females, their ages range from less than one hour to 7 days who were admitted for respiratory distress (from the first of March to the end of August 2010) were recruited in the study from a total of (2858) cases admitted to the 1st and 2nd neonatal care units during the study period, (1348) of them had respiratory distress. Detailed maternal, perinatal, labor and delivery histories were taken and full clinical examination was performed. Results: the most common presenting signs were chest retractions and tachypnea. Eighty four (50.3%) of cases were delivered by caesarean section. It was found that (78.4%) of cases had a gestational age less than 39 weeks and (80%.8) were less than 24 hours of age. Both are statistically significant with p value <0.00l. One hundred forty six) (87.4%) had a normal body weight (2500 to 4000 gm). Ninety one (54.5%( of cases need hospitalization for 3 days or more. It was found that 39(23.4%) of the mothers were risky regarding their ages (<18 years and >35 years) and (27.5%) of the cases had no antenatal care, 95% of mothers were not employed and had less than 10 years of schooling. It was found that 75 (44.9%) cases were due to Transient tachypnea of the newborn and 50.7% of them were delivered by elective caesarean section followed by birth asphyxia in 22(13.2%) cases; (16) (72.75%) of them were delivered vaginally. Meconium Aspiration syndrome was found in (9.6%) of cases, early sepsis in (8.4%), and pneumonia in (7.8%). Congenital heart diseases was responsible for (7.8%) of cases, while anemia was found in (4.2%) of total cases, pneumothorax in (3%) and Respiratory Distress Syndrome in only (1.2%). The deaths were 15(9%) from 167 cases, the commonest causes were found to be due to birth asphyxia and early sepsis, 13 deaths (12.6%) occurred among males and more deaths among those who were less than 39 weeks gestation (9.16%). The total deaths due to Respiratory Distress in the study period were (35) from a total (174) and (150) from a total of (680) deaths in the 1st and 2nd neonatal care units respectively which constitute one fifth of the total deaths. Conclusions: A wise and correct decision of timing of caesarean section is needed with prevention and management of asphyxia and sepsis in addition to adequate measures and facilities of treatment for hospitalized neonates. (MJBU,


This paper addresses the relationship between defined benefit pension plans and corporate profits and examines the outlook for defined benefit plans in the wake of the bear market. Due to a soaring stock market during the extended bull market of 1982-2000, together with federal regulations and legislation that shifted funding requirements forward, pension contributions virtually disappeared as a corporate expense for much of the previous two decades. Our analysis suggests that in the absence of the stock market boom and the regulatory and legislative changes that reduced funding, the average firm's contribution to its pension plan would have been 50 percent higher during the 1982-2001 period - 9.9 percent of payroll instead of 6.6 percent of payroll. The downturn in contributions had a significant impact on corporate profits. Lower pension contributions, all else equal, will produce a dollar-for-dollar increase in before-tax profits. Our analysis implies that corporate profits were roughly 5 percent higher than they would have been otherwise. Higher profits produce a feedback effect as they lead to further capital gains and further reductions in contributions. Given the current bear market and an aging workforce, the feedback now goes in the opposite direction. Now that the stock market bubble has burst, our analysis suggests that contributions relative to wages would return to their pre-1982 levels of about 10 percent. This implies that - on a permanent basis - contributions would double from their current level of $40 billion to $80 billion. Assuming that investors view the increase as permanent, the feedback effect would lower the value of equities held by pension funds by $20 billion. In short, as the economy emerges from recession and the bear market draws to a close, firms and investors must be prepared to contend with a strong headwind from pension funding obligations that could slow the recovery.


Wikis have become an important source of information and a go-to destination on the Internet. The shared authorship and social editing represents an increasingly influential model for content creation and dissemination which will continue growing in prominence for education, training, news gathering and entertainment. Wiki authors undertake their participation based on their agreements regarding the ownership, attribution and integrity of the copyrighted material they contribute. To accomplish the goals of the wiki, both copyright law and contractual licenses are needed allow unlimited republication, editing (or creation of derivative works), and waiver of control (or integrity) over the resulting publication.At the same time, today's participants increasingly want to be recognized for their part in social networks and media activities. As part of the newly identified curatorial audience, today's media consumers participate by creating content, collecting media, commenting on works, and building community around their various interests. Commercial content producers have been driven to reinvent their production and distribution methodology to meet the participatory role of this curatorial audience. Wikis are highly susceptible to these forces and will inevitably evolve to incorporate other forms of social media. Wiki's traditional norms include a social networking of authorship which excluded not only control and integrity of works but also the sublimation of attribution for particular authors. While collaborative authorship is being embraced by the curatorial audience, the lack of attribution may be running counter to the developing social networking expectations. This article explores the legal structures and normative rules likely to develop in socially edited content for the Wikis of the future. In keeping with the public migration to attributed online content, this article suggests that collaborative authorship must adapt its normative expectations regarding attribution. Improved attribution will benefit the accuracy and reliability of all social media and new sources, a critical step if news and other content providers hope to regain public trust. For wikis, and particularly for those with academic content, sites should emphasize attribution, content resiliency and audience relevance. These parameters should be integrated into the reporting software. In this way, contributors who have made quantitatively and qualitatively significant submissions can be recognized by research sponsors and academic employers. The ability for academics and researchers to demonstrate their success in creating and disseminating knowledge would propel the continued expansion of social editing resources and public information they generate without harming the open and egalitarian values of wiki culture.


The increased milk yield in dairy cattle has made it increasingly difficult to balance accurately the feed ration. This results in energy and mineral deficiencies as well as various homeostasis disorders including calcium and magnesium balance disorders, which in turn lead to metabolic disorders. In our study, we chose to assess the therapeutic efficacy of two most popular products of this type i.e. Glucalvet (Vetoquinol Biowet) and Antiparen-N (Vetoquinol Biowet). The study was conducted on 33 HF cows dipslaying symptoms of postparturient paresis that occurred between 2 and 4 day postpartum. The cows were divided into two groups: group A and group B, which were administered Glucalvet and Antiparen-N, respectively. Blood samples were taken twice from the jugular vein of each animal – just before and 24 hours after drug administration. The samples were used to determine serum concentrations of Ca, Mg, P, Cl and glucose. The average body temperature in both groups was slightly below normal and statistically significantly increased 24 hours after the intravenous infusion. The same tendency was observed for the pulse rate. The magnesium levels in the first group improved significantly after drug administration but its level was still lower than the physiological range. In the second group of animals, a slight drop in the Mg level after the Antiparen-N administration. Levels of Ca and P increased in both group of animals after the treatment. The average chloride concentration was similar for both assays. The serum glucose concentration increased significantly in both groups of animals after drug administration. Summing up, the study presented in this paper indicates that Glucalvet and Antiparen-N prove to be useful in the treatment of post-parturient paresis conditioned by Ca and Mg deficiency.


Template Directed C-H Insertion Reactions for Stereocontrolled Synthesis of Heterocycles
Orobosa Marvis Erhunmwunse, PhD.
Non aromatic heterocycles and their analogues are abundant in a large variety of bioactive natural products and continue to play crucial roles in modern day chemotherapy. The bioactivities of these heterocycles are highly dependent on the stereochemistry of the substituents and therefore the development of elegant new methodologies for the selective construction of heterocycles remains attractive to the synthetic chemist.
Described in this thesis, is a tandem methodology for the stereocontrolled synthesis of highly functionalised oxygen heterocycles. The strategy adopted resulted in the successful synthesis of 2,3,4,5-tetrasubstituted tetrahydrofurans and 2,3,4,5,6-pentasubstituted oxepanes. The key step involves catalytic C-H insertion of diazocarbonyl acetal templates. Diazocarbonyl substrates representing the three classes of carbenoids were synthesised. In the foremost route that led to the first class, the diazoacetoacetates were obtained from the oxidation of the diazoketols prepared by an aldol type condensation between the aldehyde acetals and ethyldiazoacetate. Good yields of the diazoketols and the required diazoacetoacetates were isolated. Importantly, the sequence led to the development of a general and efficient one-pot protocol for the synthesis of diazoacetoacetate derivatives. The synthesis of the vinyldiazoketones was equally achieved from the aldehyde acetals in 3 steps involving diazotransfer onto the vinylketones prepared by oxidation of the allylalcohols which resulted from treating the aldehyde acetals with allylmagnesium bromide. Good yields of products were achieved in all 3 steps. The aldehyde acetals were synthesised following a Swern oxidation protocol from the corresponding alcohols prepared from the ester acetals which were synthesised by ketalisation of 2-substitutedpropan-1,3-diols with pyruvate esters. Initial efforts in screening for catalyst suitable for the decomposition of the diazoacetoacetates resulted in the novel synthesis of the Barceloneic lactone derivatives in respectable yields. Further efforts led to the preparation of the achiral rhodium (II) heptafluorobutyramide which proved successful for the decomposition of the vinyldiazoketones to give the bicyclic acetals in moderate yields. An asymmetric synthesis of the bicyclic acetals was also achieved. Finally, the reductive cleavage of the bicyclic acetals in a regio- and stereoselective fashion resulted in the highly functionalised tetrahydrofurans and oxepanes.


Potential defendants faced with the prospect of tort or tort-like damage actions can reduce their liability exposure in a number of ways. Prior scholarship has focused primarily on the possibility that they may respond to the threat of liability by augmenting the amount of care they take. Defendants (I limit myself to defendants for simplicity) will increase their expenditures on care, so the theory goes, when those expenditures yield sufficient liability-reducing dividends; more care decreases liability exposure by, simultaneously, making it less likely that the actors will be found to have behaved tortiously in the event of an accident and subsequent lawsuit and shrinking the probability and perhaps the severity of accidents. What prior scholarship has not focused on is that even contemplated behavioral changes - in the type rather than amount of care defendants take or the type rather than amount of harm they inflict - that do nothing to shift the probability or severity of accidents may in many circumstances limit expected liability by lowering the probability of claims or losses, or the expected amount of damages. In particular, potential litigation can induce potential defendants to favor more cognizable and demonstrable care, and less cognizable or demonstrable harm. Potential defendants should be expected to take advantage of myriad liability-minimizing substitution opportunities. This paper, to appear in the DePaul Law School's Clifford Symposium, explores these opportunities. The points it makes fit in the general category of applications of the theory of the second best. That theory, foundational to modern welfare economics, if a bit under appreciated within law-and-economics, suggests that in economic systems that suffer from inconsistent or otherwise non-optimal features, correction of some subset of such features may well backfire. Similarly, I am suggesting that interventions in torts that fail to take account of the substitution opportunities I describe may have problematic consequences. But where many applications of the theory of the second best look extremely broadly at multiple markets and market participants, as well as the relevant legal frameworks, mine remains more manageably situated within torts as inflected by litigation processes.


To record events, a vector A is taken of n measurements An. Each measurement An is converted into a binary vector Bn using a binning process. Measurements in vector Bn, are transformed using a kernel operation, to make a vector Cn. All vectors Cn are concatenated into a single vector D. A binary vector M is created with P bits set. A date and vector A are recorded against vector M in a database Z. Vector D is associated into a correlation matrix memory R against vector M. To recall events, the above steps are repeated up to concatenating all vectors Cn into single vector D. Vector D is then used to access a correlation matrix memory R to recall an association vector S, and vector S is applied directly or indirectly to database Z to recover the or each date associated with vector S. This may facilitate the monitoring of assets such as generators, gas turbines, motors, and larger assets such as trains, boats and planes, to ensure that they continue to operate reliably.


Relative A values of 131 W i and 116 W ii lines were measured in emission using a gas-driven shock tube as the spectroscopic source. Estimated accuracy of the relative data (3150–5600 A) for each ionization stage is 6–50%. The ratio of ionic-to-neutral line strengths was determined within 30%. Wavelengths of 40 tungsten lines (3400–5300 A) prominent in 1-eV plasmas, but not reported heretofore, were measured with typical reliability of ±0.2 A. Experimental W i line strengths are compared with data of Corliss and Bozman and trends of disagreement are examined.


Climbing plants, including lianas, represent a fascinating component of the ecology of tropical forests. This book focuses on the climbing plants of West African forests. Based on original research, it presents information on the flora (including a checklist), diversity (with overviews at several levels of integration), ecology (distribution, characteristics in relation to environment, their role in forest ecosystems) and ethnobotany. Forestry aspects, such as their impact on tree growth and development, and the effects of forestry interventions on climbers are also covered


This essay argues that through the narrative techniques of point of view and embedding, Beauvoir carefully constructed her narrative and those of her male and female characters in Tous les hommes sont mortels, her third novel, published in 1946, in order to explain why males dominate society and to encourage women to fight against the current patriarchal social order. Many critics view Fosca as the principal character, and his 400-page embedded recapitulation of his past as the predominant text, but shifting the focus from Fosca to Régine, who constitutes the only focalizer of present events in the embedding text, clarifies many details previously judged as faults. This study advances that the awkwardness of the characters and of the linking of the narrative strands needs to be reinterpreted in relation to thematic repetitions and contradictions, the narrator's reliability, the use of time, psychoanalytic theory, the author's life at the time of writing, cultural history, and theories concerning énonciation. The interplay of these elements indicates the ways in which narrative is wielded as a weapon which ultimately promotes female independence in the struggle between the sexes. This article is available in Studies in 20th Century Literature: http://newprairiepress.org/sttcl/vol20/iss2/11 Subverting the Dominant Order: Narrative as Weapon in Simone de Beauvoir's Tous les hommes soft morsels


Pairwise and random addition processes are ordinarily indistinguishable in hydrogenation reactions. The distinction becomes important only when the fate of spin correlation matters, such as in parahydrogen-induced polarization (PHIP). Supported metal catalysts were not expected to yield PHIP signals given the rapid diffusion of H atoms on the catalyst surface and in view of the sequential stepwise nature of the H atom addition in the Horiuti-Polanyi mechanism. Thus, it seems surprising that supported metal hydrogenation catalysts can yield detectable PHIP NMR signals. Even more remarkably, supported Pt and Ir nanoparticles are shown herein to catalyze pairwise replacement on propene and 3,3,3-trifluoropropene. By simply flowing a mixture of parahydrogen and alkene over the catalyst, the scalar symmetrization order of the former is incorporated into the latter without a change in molecular structure, producing intense PHIP NMR signals on the alkene. An important indicator of the mechanism of the pairwise replacement is its stereoselectivity, which is revealed with the aid of density matrix spectral simulations. PHIP by pairwise replacement has the potential to significantly diversify the substrates that can be hyperpolarized by PHIP for biomedical utilization.


In this paper we present a thermodynamically consistent phenomenological model for an assumed transversely isotropic ferroelectric crystal. Such materials become spontaneously polarized within a certain range of temperature. On the macro scale a remanent polarization and remanent strains, due to the reorientation of the polarization vectors, are observed, if an electric field above the so‐called coercive field is applied. The goal of this work is to construct a thermodynamically consistent formulation of the electro‐mechanically coupled ceramic on a meso scale, that takes into account the orientation of the assumed transversely isotropic unit cell, see [4]. The anisotropic behavior is governed by isotropic tensor functions, which are formulated in terms of a finite set of invariants, see [3]. Considering a simple model problem we discuss the linearization of discrete weak forms, resulting from the electromechanical boundary value problem. (© 2005 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)


Compressing data is an option naturally selected when faced with problems of high costs or restricted space. Written by a renowned expert in the field, this book offers readers a succinct, reader-friendly foundation to the chief approaches, methods and techniques currently employed in the field of data compression.

Part I presents the basic approaches to data compression and describes a few popular techniques and methods commonly used to compress data. The reader discovers essential concepts, such as variable-length and prefix codes, statistical distributions and run-length encoding. Part II then concentrates on advanced techniques, such as arithmetic coding, orthogonal transforms, subband transforms and the Burrows-Wheeler transform.

Features:

Clear overview of the principles underlying this field

Outlines the essentials of the various approaches to compressing data

Contains many learning aids such as: chapter introductions and summaries, chapter-end exercises, comprehensive glossary, etc.

Provides several examples of important compression algorithms

Offers a supplementary author-maintained website, with errata and auxiliary material www.davidsalomon.name/DCugAdvertis/DCug.html

An ideal introductory volume to David Salomons fourth edition of Data Compression: The Complete Reference

Complete and clear, this book is the perfect resource for undergraduates in computer science and requires a minimum of mathematics. It is also ideal for readers with a basic knowledge of computer science wanting to learn about data compression.

David Salomon is a professor emeritus of Computer Science at California State University, Northridge. He has authored numerous articles and books, including Coding for Data and Computer Communications, Guide to Data Compression Methods, Data Privacy and Security, Computer Graphics and Geometric Modeling, Foundations of Computer Security, Transformations and Projections in Computer Graphics, and Variable-length Codes for Data Compression.


In this paper, we examine the performance of several modulation formats in more than four dimensions for coherent optical communications systems. We compare two high-dimensional modulation design methodologies based on spherical cutting of lattices and block coding of a 'base constellation' of binary phase shift keying (BPSK) on each dimension. The performances of modulation formats generated with these methodologies is analyzed in the asymptotic signal-to-noise ratio regime and for an additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) channel. We then study the application of both types of high-dimensional modulation formats to standard single-mode fiber (SSMF) transmission systems. For modulation with spectral efficiencies comparable to dual-polarization (DP-) BPSK, polarization-switched quaternary phase shift keying (PS-QPSK) and DP-QPSK, we demonstrate SNR gains of up to 3 dB, 0.9 dB and 1 dB respectively, at a BER of 10(-3).


In contrast to conventional model selection criteria, the Focused Information Criterion (FIC) allows for purpose-specific choice of models. This accommodates the idea that one kind of model might be highly appropriate for inferences on a particular parameter, but not for another. Ever since its development, the FIC has been increasingly applied in the realm of statistics, but this concept appears to be virtually unknown in the economic literature. Using a classical example and data for 35 U.S. industry sectors (1960-2005), this paper provides for an illustration of the FIC and a demonstration of its usefulness in empirical applications.


Cell membranes surround all living cells and are comprised of a complex matrix of phospholipids and proteins. The proteins embedded in or bound to the exterior of the membrane are responsible for a wide range of processes, for example cell signalling, and transport of material in and out of the cell. Understanding how transmembrane proteins behave within the lipid membrane system will allow for a better understanding of molecular mechanisms of diseases as well as the development more targeted therapeutics. However, due to the complex nature of the cell membrane environment, it is difficult to selectively study single protein species within the whole cell system. This has driven the development of model membrane systems, which allow for the sub-division of these complex systems into simpler forms and allow for the study of individual membrane proteins. Solid supported lipid bilayers have been widely used as model systems, however they have multiple limitations, the most important being the influence of the underlying substrate on the bilayer. This can impede lipid fluidity and is particularly detrimental to mobility of reconstituted proteins as substrate-protein interactions can impede motion and even cause protein to denature.

This thesis attempts to address this by developing substrates for studying membrane proteins in a biomimetic environment where such interactions are minimized. The initial substrates, designed for optical measurements, comprise of a microcavity array substrate formed in Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). A method for spanning bilayers over these PDMS microcavity arrays was developed and lipid diffusion dynamics over the cavities was assessed using Fluorescence Lifetime Correlation Spectroscopy (FLCS). Importantly, diffusion coefficients for lipids over these cavities are 2 to 3 times faster than on flat PDMS, and are more akin to diffusion rates normally observed in liposomes, indicating that the bilayer is minimally influenced by the underlying substrate.
In the second part of this thesis an analogous substrate and bilayer deposition method was developed using gold substrates with the objective of using electrochemical methods to address the bilayer or trigger events within the cavity.

Firstly lipid bilayers are spanned in a similar manner as developed for PDMS and the bilayer modified gold was characterised by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Incorporation of ion transporting molecules into the supported bilayers is also investigated by EIS. Finally a novel means of inducing electrically controlled release of reagent from inside the gold cavities to a lipid bilayer suspended across the cavity was developed using a ferrocene/cyclodextrin complex. To demonstrate this Streptavidin was released to a biotinylated lipid bilayer and its interaction with the bilayer was monitored using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy.


The performance of microphone arrays outdoors is influenced by the environmental conditions. Numerical simulations indicate that, while horizontal arrays are hardly affected, direction-of-arrival (DOA) estimation with vertical arrays becomes biased in presence of ground reflections and sound speed gradients. Turbulence leads to a huge variability in the estimates by reducing the ground effect. Ground effect can be exploited by combining classical source localization with an appropriate propagation model (ground effect inversion). Not only does this allow the source elevation and range to be determined with a single vertical array but also it allows separation of sources which can no longer be distinguished by far field localization methods. Furthermore, simulations provide detail of the achievable spatial resolution depending on frequency range, array size and localization algorithm and show a clear advantage of broadband processing. Outdoor measurements with one or two sources confirm the results of the numerical simulations.


The following report aims to examine the current tendencies in the field of Open Access (OA) publishing. Ever since its inception in the 1990s, Open Access has been a topic of interest in regards to its potential to be viable alternative to more traditional publishing models for scientific information and communication. This report examines OA within the context of both international practices (with a focus on European experience in the Open Access field), as well as looking at the current tendencies regarding this publishing model in Bulgaria.


Peptides derived from a random-peptide phage display screen with purified Gβ1γ2 subunits as the target promote the dissociation of G protein heterotrimers in vitro and activate G protein signaling in intact cells. In vitro, one of these peptides (SIRKALNILGYPDYD; SIRK) promotes subunit dissociation by binding directly to Gβγ subunits and accelerating the dissociation of GαGDP without catalyzing nucleotide exchange. The experiments described here were designed to test whether the mechanism of SIRK action in vitro is in fact the mechanism of action in intact cells. We created a mutant of Gβ1 subunits (β1W332A) that does not bind SIRK in vitro. Transfection of Gβ1W332A mutant into Chinese hamster ovary cells blocked peptide-mediated activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), but it did not affect receptor-mediated Gβγ subunit-dependent ERK activation, indicating that Gβγ subunits are in fact the direct target in cells responsible for ERK activation. To determine whether free Gα subunits were released from G protein heterotrimers upon peptide treatment, cells were transfected with Ric-8A, a guanine nucleotide exchange factor for free GαGDP, but not heterotrimeric G proteins. Ric-8A-transfected cells displayed enhanced myristoyl-SIRKALNILGYPDYD (mSIRK)-dependent inositol phosphate (IP) release and ERK activation. Ric-8A also enhanced ERK activation by the Gi-linked G protein coupled receptor agonist lysophosphatidic acid. Inhibitors of Gβγ subunit function blocked Ric-8-enhanced activation of ERK and IP release. These results suggest that one potential function of Ric-8 in cells is to enhance G protein Gβγ subunit signaling. Overall, these experiments provide further support for the hypothesis that mSIRK promotes G protein subunit dissociation to release free βγ subunits in intact cells.


A series of CT imaging experiments was performed to test the hypothesis that when the tympanic bulla is filled with fluid there would be a false impression of bulla wall thickening. CT images were obtained before and after introduction of water in the tympanic bulla of a fresh canine cadaver. Images were acquired using different mA settings, slice thicknesses, reconstruction algorithms, and displayed at different window widths. The wall of the fluid filled bulla appeared thicker than that of the air filled bulla. This artifact was also demonstrated on a phantom composed of a thin (0.5 mm) and a thick (5 mm) piece of aluminum imaged in air and water. The effect was more apparent when images were acquired as thick slices (>5 mm), reconstructed with a soft tissue algorithm, or displayed with a narrow window (<250 CT numbers). The radiologist must be aware of this artifact when interpreting CT images of the tympanic bullae.


Cardiovascular diseases belong to the most common causes of death. Telehealth applications can help to improve therapy and support behavior change. It was the objective of the present work to construct and evaluate within a trial (25 patients) an automated feedback system for a telehealth application to support behavior change. We used a rule-based approach and constructed 26 rules in 9 categories. Rule design and implementation followed the principles of the Austrian Medical Product Law, resulting in an automated rule-based feedback system. Evaluations show high user satisfaction with 80% of all users perceiving the system as useful.


Recent research has noted an increase in body image dissatisfaction among adolescents and adults. One group that seems to be particularly at risk for body image dissatisfaction is female athletes. However, few studies have examined what factors might influence body image dissatisfaction in female athletes. The present study surveyed 146 female high school athletes to determine which factors influence their body image. We found that body image related to several physical and psychological health variables, including physical ailments, negative health habits, stress, fatigue, anger, tension, depression, confusion, negative affect, and use of ineffective coping styles. Finally, several parental health habits related to female body image including maternal smoking and maternal and paternal nutrition habits. In sum, coaches and parents need to emphasize healthy habits, as well as effective coping strategies when dealing with female athletes. In addition, parents must realize the impact they have on their daugh...


Functional aspects of infant-directed speech (IDS) in face-to-face interaction play a central role in infant development (Venuti et al. 2012b) and are important in shaping infant responsiveness (Goldstein et al. 2003), yet have rarely been examined and there is little consensus on specific infant outcomes. Infant siblings of children with autism are at increased risk of developing this disorder characterised by socio-communicative impairments and present particular challenges for parents in interaction. Using a prospective video analysis design, we had two objectives: to investigate maternal functional speech styles in interaction with these infant siblings, and to analyse the relationship between maternal functional style and infants' cognitive, language and socio-communicative development. We found significantly lower rates of maternal responsive-contingent utterances to the infant siblings and significant associations between maternal IDS and infant test scores only for the typical dyads.


Abstract Natural gas and oil processing, among many other applications in the chemical industry, depends on accurate predictions of the thermodynamic and transport properties for their accurate and reliable design. Especially in the energy sector, in which the flow rates of process streams are large and equipment is big, improper design can be costly, both in terms of investment and operating costs. Equations of state (EOS) enable the evaluation of thermodynamic properties over a wide range of temperature and pressures and are routinely used for chemical process design. Many EOS exist but relatively few have become widely used, most notably the Peng-Robinson EOS in the oil and gas industry. However, the Peng-Robinson EOS and most other cubic EOS are unsuitable for predicting the phase behavior of mixtures that contain polar compounds. Such mixtures occur even in industries normally associated with the processing of non-polar substances (e.g., hydrocarbons). For example, natural gas may be contaminated by small amounts of water, carbon dioxide, and hydrogen sulfide, often removed using amines and glycols. Modern models such as the SAFT (statistical associating fluid theory), and its variants, and the CPA (cubic plus association) EOS are suitable alternatives but require solving the association equations before computing any thermodynamic property. The Mattedi-Tavares-Castier (MTC) EOS is an entirely explicit model that avoids this drawback but is capable of predictions of accuracy similar to that of the SAFT and CPA EOS. In this paper, we show results of calculations of phase equilibrium and calorimetric properties with the MTC EOS for systems of interest to gas processing industries.


Reactive oxygen species (ROS) have been linked to cancer and aging. These molecules, including superoxide and hydroxyl radicals and hydrogen peroxide, arise from both intracellular and extracellular sources. Their effects on DNA are broad, causing mutations through DNA breaks, defects in recombination, and gross chromosomal rearrangements (GCRs). Antioxidative enzymes are often engaged to maintain a normal cellular redox state. Huang and Kolodner have further found that if endogenous ROS increases, specific DNA repair and cell division cycle checkpoint mechanisms are engaged to prevent the deleterious effects of oxygen radicals. In the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the peroxidase TSA1 protects genomic stability, and its absence increases mutation rates. In strains that lack the tsa1 gene, endogenous ROS levels increase. The authors surveyed cell growth and survival and rate and type of DNA damage, such as GCRs, in yeast lacking both tsa1 and a gene involved in either DNA repair or cell cycle control. The analysis identified specific genes in both networks that are required to promote cell survival in the face of increased endogenous ROS. Thus, increased oxidative stress can lead to specific types of DNA damage that, if not repaired by the engagement of multiple pathways, can result in genome instability and changes associated with cancer or aging phenotypes. M.-E. Huang, R. D. Kolodner, A biological network in Saccharomyces cerevisiae prevents the deleterious effects of endogenous oxidative DNA damage. Mol. Cell 17, 709-720 (2005). [PubMed]


OBJECTIVE
To assess the contraceptive effectiveness of condoms versus oral contraceptive pills and estimate the reproductive consequences of a major shift from pill to condom use.

METHODS
Secondary analysis was performed on nationally representative cross-sectional surveys of women in 16 developing countries.

FINDINGS
In the 16 countries, the median per cent of married couples currently using condoms was 2%, compared with 13% for the pill. Condom users reported a higher 12-month failure and higher method-related discontinuation rates than pill users (9% and 44% vs 6% and 30%, respectively). Condom users were more likely to report subsequent abortion following failure (21% vs 14%), and also more likely to switch rapidly to another method (76% vs 58%). The reproductive consequences, in terms of abortion and unwanted births, of a hypothetical reversal of the relative prevalence of condom and pill were estimated to be minor. The main reason for this unexpected result is that the majority of abortions and unwanted births arise from non-use of any contraceptive method.

CONCLUSION
A massive shift from the more effective oral contraceptive pills to the less effective condom would not jeopardize policy goals of reducing abortions and unwanted births. However, such a shift would potentially have an added benefit of preventing human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections, especially in countries with generalized HIV epidemics.


ABSTRACT
Current modeling studies have underestimated secondary organic aerosol (SOA) levels in China to a larger degree than over Europe and the United States. In this study, we investigated the SOA formation pathways in urban Beijing for the period of November 7–8, 2014, using an observation-constrained box model in which the multigenerational oxidation processes of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and intermediate VOCs (IVOCs) and the chemical aging of semi-volatile primary organic aerosols (POAs) were taken into account. The results demonstrated that the SOA formation rate was 30.3 µg m–3 day–1 in Beijing during the 2-day study period. The contributions of VOCs, IVOCs, and POAs to the SOA levels were 14%, 82%, and 4%, respectively. IVOC contributions were on a scale similar to the magnitude of underestimation in a previous study. The uncertainty analysis showed that SOA levels during the study period were 55.4–102.4 µg m–3 (the 25th and 75th percentiles of the sensitivity simulations). The contribution of IVOCs to the SOA formation was dominant compared with that of VOCs and POAs. A more precise IVOC oxidation mechanism can thus improve the performance of the SOA model in China.


Expert reviews are frequently used as a questionnaire evaluation method but have received little empirical attention. Questions from two surveys are evaluated by six expert reviewers using a standardized evaluation form. Each of the questions has validation data available from records. Large inconsistencies in ratings across the six experts are found. Despite the lack of reliability, the average expert ratings successfully identify questions that had higher item nonresponse rates and higher levels of inaccurate reporting. This article provides empirical evidence that experts are able to discern questions that manifest data quality problems, even if individual experts vary in what they rate as being problematic. Compared to a publicly available computerized question evaluation tool, ratings by the human experts positively predict questions with data quality problems, whereas the computerized tool varies in success in identifying these questions. These results indicate that expert reviews have value in identifying question problems that result in lower survey data quality.