Lower back injuries are common in ballet dancers. Allegedly there is a higher incidence in males than in females due to their lifting requirements. This study analyzes the estimated forces generated at the L5/S1 joint in five professional and three pre-professional male dancers performing full press (FP) and arabesque (AR) ballet lifts. The estimated peak lumbar anterior shear force (PLASF) was identified using a 3D motion analysis system, and was found to occur at the beginning of each lift, approximately 0.01 seconds prior to the ballerina moving vertically into the lift. Data representing the male dancers' posture at the point of PLASF were input into a 3D Static Strength Prediction Program (3DSSPP, University of Michigan, Centre for Ergonomics, 2006) to calculate the PLASF and corresponding compression forces. The compression forces identified in this way were found to be greater than the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, Back Compression Design Limit (3400N). This suggests that administrative controls such as monitoring the number of lifts performed daily are required to reduce the risk of lower back injury in male dancers. Comparison of the two lifts found significantly (p < 0.05) higher compression forces in the FP versus the AR lift. This could be attributed to a significantly (p < 0.05) larger horizontal distance between the male dancer and the ballerina, or the eccentric loading of the male dancers' lower limb and trunk musculature in the preparation phase of the FP. Retrospective regression analysis indicated that peak trunk extension velocity and the horizontal distance between the male dancer and the ballerina were significant (p < 0.05) predictors of PLASF.


Because previous studies show that lipoproteins affect platelet aggregation, we studied the effect of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) on the binding of fibrinogen, which mediates platelet-platelet contact. Neither LDL nor HDL induced 125I-fibrinogen binding at concentrations up to 2 g protein/L. In contrast, platelets stimulated with 10 mumol/L ADP bound 63 734 +/- 2453 molecules of fibrinogen per platelet. A 5-minute preincubation with LDL (0.5 to 2 g/L protein) induced a dose-dependent increase to 91 307 +/- 2164 molecules of fibrinogen per platelet at 1.5 g/L, which is in the range found after optimal stimulation with alpha-thrombin. The increased fibrinogen binding in the presence of LDL resulted in faster aggregation with a 16% increase in single platelet disappearance and a faster optical aggregation at 5 mumol/L ADP and 1.5 g protein/L LDL. Inhibition of prostaglandin G2/H2-thromboxane A2 formation with indomethacin (30 mumol/L) did not change the stimulation by LDL. In contrast, modification of lysine residues of LDL, which is known to prevent specific binding to platelets, completely abolished the effect of LDL. Under the same conditions HDL did not change fibrinogen binding or aggregation. LDL also enhanced alpha-thrombin-induced [14C]serotonin secretion, but this property was not affected by lysine modification of LDL. These data indicate that LDL enhances platelet aggregation by stimulating the mechanisms that control exposure of fibrinogen binding sites on the glycoprotein IIB/IIIA complex via a mechanism that differs from the effect of LDL on secretion.


Component-based software engineering has recently emerged as a promising solution to the development of system-level software. Unfortunately, current approaches are limited to specific platforms and domains. This lack of generality is particularly problematic as it prevents knowledge sharing and generally increases development costs. In this paper we present OpenCom, a generic component-based platform that is specifically designed to support a wide range of system software, both in terms of deployment environments (e.g. PDAs, embedded devices, network processor-based routers) and target domains (e.g. embedded systems, middleware, OSs, programmable networking environments). We discuss the fundamentals of OpenCom's programming model, present a performance evaluation, and illustrate the advantages of our model based on several case studies.


With the development of the Internet, the remote banking services raise important questions concerning the role it will play compared to branch banking services. The objective of our research is to examine the effects of the Internet banking on visits to the branch and the use of Minitel banking. To tackle this issue, we will make use of the relative substitution theory and the media richness theory. The method consists in comparing the use of branch banking services and Minitel banking among users and non users of Internet banking. From a sample of banking customers, the consequences of the Internet on visits to the branch and the use of Minitel banking are characterised by first, a smaller share in the use of these banking channels in the satisfaction of the needs in banking services and second, the changing roles of these channels. Therefore, Internet banking cannot replace the existing banking channels. For the time being, it can only complete them.


The law increasingly requires private companies to disclose information for the benefit of consumers. The latest examples of such regulation are state and federal laws that require companies to notify individuals of data security incidents involving their personal information. These laws, proposed in the wake of highly publicized data spills, seek to punish the breached entity and to protect consumers by requiring the entity to notify its customers about the security breach. There are competing approaches, however, to how the law is to mandate release of information about data leaks. This Article finds that the current statutes' focus on reputational sanction is incomplete. An important function of breach notification is mitigation of harm after a data leak. This function requires a multiinstitutional coordinated response of the kind that is absent from current policy proposals. This Article advocates creation of a coordinated response architecture and develops the elements of such an approach. Central to this architecture is a coordinated response agent (CRA) that oversees steps for automatic consumer protection and heightens mitigation. This Article also proposes a bifurcated notice scheme that lets firms know that the CRA is watching and is scrutinizing their decision whether or not to disclose information about a breach to the affected individuals. Moreover, the CRA will set in motion automatic protective measures on behalf of the breached consumers. Finally, the CRA will regulate the content of notification messages to reflect the nature of the data breach.


The problem of estimating complex covariance matrices is considered. The objective is to obtain a well behaving estimator that circumvents the weaknesses of the standard sample covariance and regularized estimators. To this end, we use a variational technique that previously has been successfully applied in the real data case. As a side result, an important identity for complex Wishart distributions is also derived. Simulations indicate substantial improvements compared to both the sample covariance and the regularized estimator.


Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) support is currently widely accepted to provide reliable and valid formal and informal educational practices as proven to benefit students in onsite as well as distant educational settings. However, some results from case studies indicate that privacy problems could negatively affect CSCL implementation in educational settings. Privacy Enhancing Technologies research (PETs) and the development of multilaterally secure systems are still limited research topics within CSCL due to diverse reasons. Based on deep related literature analysis and previous research results conducted by the authors in building CSCL systems, three main categories were identified for such reasons that have an impact in PETs and multilateral security research: lack of awareness of such PETs' existence; lack of knowledge on ways to efficiently integrate them in CSCL systems and settings; and reluctance to consider their multilaterally secure implementation by CSCL participations due to conflict of interests (e.g. explicit students monitoring requirements, high integration costs, etc.). In this paper, these categories are addressed and the PETs potential is discussed for overcoming the associated emerging drawbacks focused on the distance education CSCL settings in particular. The result of our research is an integrated framework considering multilateral security requirements. Furthermore, proof of concept is provided; enhanced privacy in such settings is applied by demonstrating the fulfilment of selected improvements areas (i.e. mainly network, application anonymity, and process support for resolving potential multilateral security conflicts) in an existing collaborative distance education system.


The past two decades have given us a wealth of Chicana and Chicano literature, both because of the exemplary work of the Recovering the U.S. Hispanic Literary Heritage project in discovering and recovering older texts and because of the sheer boom in Chicana/o publications over the last fifteen years. Even the nonspecialist now recognizes the names of Chicana/o authors such as Sandra Cisneros, Benjamin Alire Saenz, Ana Castillo, Rolando Hinojosa, and Denise Chavez, to name only a few. Their work, as well as that of their contemporaries, complements the publications of the heralded Chicana/o movement, which included Corky Gonzalez's epic poem Yo Soy Joaquin (1967), Tomas Rivera's Y no se lo trago la tierra ... / And the Earth did not Devour Him ... (1971), Rudolfo Anaya's Bless Me, Ultima (1972), Oscar Zeta Acosta's Revolt of the Cockroach People (1973), and Estela Portillo Trambley's Rain of Scorpions and Other Writings (1975). The corpus of Chicana/o writing, in short, has grown exponentially. While many of the contemporary writers share the social and political concerns of the Movement writers, what I find particularly interesting is the strategic shift these writers have made from a resistance literature to what I identify as a contestatory literature. This essay examines the theoretical framework and historical conditions surrounding that shift and illustrates by example how a contestatory literature engages in social critique. After charting the historical and theoretical ground for the shift from resistance to contestation, I examine the role of the creation narrative in Ana Castillo's romance So Far from God (1993).(1) In establishing a framework for my definition of contestatory literature, I would like first to consider resistance literature. Taking her lead from the Palestinian writer and critic Ghassan Kanafani, Barbara Harlow has written the definitive text on resistance literature, a text which carefully examines the relationship between this literature and third world national liberation movements. "Resistance literature," states Harlow, "calls attention to itself, and to literature in general, as a political and politicized activity. The literature of resistance sees itself furthermore as immediately and directly involved in a struggle against ascendant or dominant forms of ideological and cultural production" (28-29). The writers from the various sites (e.g., Palestine, Lebanon, and South Africa) that she discusses, though not necessarily bearing arms, are so intimately tied into the armed struggle, that she is able to demonstrate powerfully the mutually reinforcing relationship between the cultural and paramilitary programs. Indeed, Harlow asserts, "The resistance writer, like the guerrilla of the armed liberation struggle, is actively engaged in an urgent historical confrontation. The questions raised by the resistance leaders are the questions faced by the writers as well" (100). Consequently, the alliance between the national liberation movements and the literature that Harlow discusses demarcates a sharp boundary for me between resistance literature and contestatory literature. For the term "resistance literature" is used most appropriately when discussing armed liberation movements that have direct links to territorial claims, where there is literally a battle for terrain and governance at stake. In addition while Harlow takes the necessary measures to define the terms of her argument, the term "resistance literature" has become nearly ubiquitous since the publication of her book eleven years ago. Critical omnipresence of a term, though not necessarily bad, typically drains it of its specificity. In short, I believe the term "resistance literature" has been bandied about so much that it has lost its critical impact and function. Before moving further ahead, I would like to reflect for a moment on the role of resistance literature in the United States, which Harlow has absented from her study,(2) though many scholars, Ramon Saldivar among them, have subsequently adopted her model to talk about Chicana and Chicano literature. …


"A collection...provides access to human and material resources in the local and global community." Phyllis Van Orden, The Collection Program in Schools, p. 11. As school librarians and media specialists collaborate with classroom teachers and assist them in finding relevant materials for resource-based learning, the use of both material resources and human resources from the community can be invaluable. Accessing resources within the community can make learning more relevant to students and enable them to see a connection between the curriculum and the real world. Establishing community resource collections also results in stronger business and community partnerships with the school. There are three things to consider when adding community resources to the library collection: 1. Determine which community resources would be most beneficial to the students and teachers and which resources are also accessible. 2. Organize the community resources for easiest access by the school community. 3. Publicize and promote the community resources to ensure full use by those who would benefit most. Getting Started Determining which community resources are the most beneficial can be a daunting task, especially in a large metropolitan area. The authors of A Guide to Promising Practices in Educational Partnerships, published by the U.S. Department of Education, recommend first conducting a needs assessment to determine which community resources would be of the most benefit to the school population. Rather than going overboard in accessing as many community resources as humanly possible, experiences from programs described in this volume show that it is more effective to begin in small increments, identifying key areas in the school curriculum where resources would be readily available and most useful. A school librarian can easily accomplish this through assessment surveys with teachers, administrators, students, and parents and through knowledge of the school's curriculum and student needs. Since library resources exist to meet the needs of students, it makes sense to begin this process with the students' needs. Once the media specialist has used the surveys and other tools to create a list of the information needs of students and teachers, it is then possible to brainstorm resources beyond the walls of the school that could meet those needs. This another opportunity to ask for input from teachers, administrators, and parents. Examples of Community Resources: * Teleconferencing and e-mail can easily connect students to human resources in the community and expand the students' access to the world. More people may be willing to act as a resource to a student if they can do so from the office. Students could have e-mail mentors or interviews via chat. In telementoring, students are connected to experts or role models in various fields or areas to serve as resources. Mentors can be found in local communities or in global communities from web sites such as this one: www.telementor.org * Ask-An-Expert database is a database of human resources who are experts in various areas of the curriculum and have volunteered to answer student questions via e-mail or telephone. (Note: this is different from telementoring, since it is merely a reference type of service, not a long-term relationship.) * Local artists, actors, business leaders, researchers, professors, doctors, attorneys, veterinarians, community activists, reporters, athletes, and so on, can all serve as helpful resources for interviews, field trips, projects, etc. * Local sites and organizations (museums, theaters, hospitals, universities, corporations, factories, etc.) can also be cataloged as resources for field trips, projects, and information resources. * A unique suggestion from Van Orden is for the librarian to videotape a field trip to a local resource to share with students. …


Gelotophobia is defined as the fear of being laughed at. First empirical studies of the concept (Ruch & Proyer, in press, 2008) show that it is a valid new construct. Furthermore, it can be assessed reliably by means of a self-report instrument (GELPH ). Gelotophobes interpret the laughter and smiling of other persons not in a positive way but as a weapon used to put them down. They are persistently concerned about being laughed at by others and are convinced of being ridiculous. While gelotophobia was first observed in clinical case studies, it is now considered as an individual difference phenomenon within the range of normality. We investigated whether it can be located in a comprehensive model of personality, namely, the Five Factor Model (FFM). A study investigating N = 119 participants showed that gelotophobia is high among emotionally instable introverts. Furthermore, there were lower but significant negative correlations with friendliness, openness and social desirability. However, only emotional stability and extraversion entered a stepwise regression analysis. Overall, the results fit the predictions very well and led to a revised version of a putative model of origins and consequences of gelotophobia. The concept of gelotophobia is of relevance in Romania, too. Results from the first data collection (N = 200) with a Romanian version of the short form of the self-report measure (GELOPH ) showed that approx. 13% of the participants exceeded a cut-off score indicating at least a slight expression of the fear of being laughed at. The Romanian version showed good psychometric properties in terms of high reliability and—as in the German and English form—a unidimensional factor solution. Based on these first promising experiences with this new concept, further studies on the fear of being laughed at in Romania are encouraged.


What was the main principle behind the design strategies developed to prepare painted palm-leaf manuscripts in medieval South Asia? How did various Indic religious communities design their manuscripts? By bringing together surviving painted manuscripts of heterogeneous religious traditions as well as contemporaneous sculptural representations and textual sources relating to the ritual practices involving books, this study suggests that a book was conceived and designed as a temple in Indic context. Taking innovative design strategies of twelfth-century Buddhist manuscripts as a starting point, it also demonstrates how a larger, architectural approach can help us better understand the art of the book in India.


A new report, jointly authored by the Association of State Correctional Administrators (ASCA) and the Arthur Liman Program at Yale Law School, reflects a profound change in the national discussion about the use of what correctional officials call "restrictive housing" and what is popularly known as "solitary confinement." Aiming to Reducing Time-In-Cell? provides the only current, comprehensive data on the use of restricted housing, in which individuals are held in their cells for 22 hours or more each day, and for 15 continuous days or more at a time. The Report also documents efforts across the country to reduce the number of people in restricted housing and to reform the conditions in which isolated prisoners are held in order to improve safety for prisoners, staff, and communities at large.
The 2016 Report is based on survey responses from 48 jurisdictions (the Federal Bureau of Prisons, 45 states, the District of Columbia, and the Virgin Islands) that held about 96% of the nation's prisoners convicted of a felony. That number excludes people held in most of the country's jails (housing hundreds of thousands of people), in most of the country's juvenile facilities, and in military and immigration facilities.
Tallying the responses, the new 2016 Report found that 67,442 prisoners were held, in the fall of 2015, in prison cells for 22 hours or more for 15 continuous days or more. The percentages of prisoners in restricted housing in federal and state prisons ranged from under 1% to more than 28%. Across all the jurisdictions, the median percentage of the prison population held in restricted housing was 5.1%.
How long do prisoners remain in isolation? Forty-one jurisdictions provided information about the length of stay for a total of more than 54,000 people in restricted housing. Approximately 15,725 (29%) were in restricted housing for one to three months; at the other end of the spectrum, almost 6,000 people (11%) across 31 jurisdictions had been in restricted housing for three years or more.
The Report also chronicles efforts throughout the country and the world to reduce the use of restricted housing. In August of 2016, the American Correctional Association (ACA) approved new standards, calling for a variety of limits on the use of isolation, including a prohibition against placing prisoners in restricted housing on the basis of their gender identity alone. The standards also included provisions that pregnant women, prisoners under the age of 18, and prisoners with serious mental illness ought not be placed for extended periods of time in restricted housing. Further, in some jurisdictions, prison systems (sometimes prompted by legislation and litigation) have instituted rules to prevent vulnerable populations from being housed in restricted housing except under exceptional circumstances and for as short an amount of time as possible.
As the Report also details, several jurisdictions described making significant revisions to the criteria for entry, so as to limit the use of restricted housing, as well as undertaking more frequent reviews to identify individuals to return to general population, thereby reducing the number of people in restricted housing by significant percentages.
In short, while restricted housing once was seen as central to prisoner management, by 2016 many prison directors and organizations such as ASCA and the ACA have defined restricted housing as a practice to use only when absolutely necessary and for only as long as absolutely required.


Working memory, the ability to keep recently encountered information available for immediate processing, has been proposed to rely on two mechanisms that appear difficult to reconcile: selfsustained neural firing, or the opposite—activity-silent synaptic traces. Here we show that both phenomena can co-exist within a unified system in which neurons hold information in both activity and synapses. Rapid plasticity in flexibly-coding neurons allows features to be bound together into objects, with an important emergent property being the focus of attention. One memory item is held by persistent activity in an attended or "focused" state, and is thus remembered better than other items. Other, previously attended items can remain in memory but in the background, encoded in activity-silent synaptic traces. This dual functional architecture provides a unified common mechanism accounting for a diverse range of perplexing attention and memory effects that have been hitherto difficult to explain in a single theoretical framework.


Abstract. With low concentrations of tropospheric aerosol, the Southern Ocean offers a natural laboratory for studies of aerosol-cloud interactions. Aerosols over the Southern Ocean are produced from biogenic activity in the ocean, which generates sulfate aerosol via dimethylsulfide (DMS) oxidation, and from strong winds and waves that lead to bubble bursting and sea-spray emission. Here we evaluate the representation of Southern Ocean aerosols in the HadGEM3-GA7.1 chemistry-climate model. Compared with aerosol optical depth (AOD) observations from two satellite instruments (the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer, MODIS-Aqua c6.1 and the Multi-angle Imaging Spectroradiometer, MISR), the model simulates too-high AOD during winter and too-low AOD during summer. By switching off DMS emission in the model, we show that sea spray aerosol is the dominant contributor to AOD during winter. In turn, the simulated sea spray aerosol flux depends on near-surface wind speed. By examining MODIS AOD as a function of wind speed from the ERA-Interim reanalysis and comparing it with the model, we show that the sea spray aerosol source function in HadGEM3-GA7.1 overestimates the wind speed dependency. We test a recently-developed sea spray aerosol source function derived from measurements made on a Southern Ocean research voyage in 2018. In this source function the wind speed dependency of the sea spray aerosol flux is less than in the formulation currently implemented in HadGEM3-GA7.1. The new source function leads to good agreement between simulated and observed wintertime AOD over the Southern Ocean, however reveals partially compensating errors in DMS-derived AOD. While previous work has tested assumptions regarding the seawater climatology or sea-air flux of DMS, we test the sensitivity of simulated AOD, cloud condensation nuclei and cloud droplet number concentration to three atmospheric sulfate chemistry schemes. The first scheme adds DMS oxidation by halogens and the other two test a recently-developed sulfate chemistry scheme for the marine troposphere; one tests gas-phase chemistry only while the second adds extra aqueous-phase sulfate reactions. We show how simulated sulfur dioxide and sulfuric acid profiles over the Southern Ocean change as a result, and how the number concentration and particle size of the soluble Aitken, accumulation and coarse aerosol modes are affected. The new DMS chemistry scheme leads to a 20 % increase in the number concentration of cloud condensation nuclei and cloud droplets, which improves agreement with observations. Our results highlight the importance of atmospheric chemistry for simulating aerosols and clouds accurately over the Southern Ocean.


Reproductive synchrony among gregarious mammals has a strong adaptive value and may lead to cooperative behaviors aimed at maximizing offspring survival. Additionally, temporal clustering of estrus has important implications on individual mating tactics and ultimately affects the degree of polygamy in a population. Although several studies have examined the reproductive biology of wild boar ( Sus scrofa ), much remains to be understood about the patterns of timing and synchrony of reproduction in natural populations. We analyzed the spatiotemporal distribution of conception dates in an Italian wild boar population taking into account the effects of environmental and individual factors, in order to determine the main variables influencing the timing of reproduction and to detect the signs of a socially-driven reproductive synchrony. Specifically, for each litter belonging to 354 pregnant sows culled between 2006 and 2013 in a mountain area of Tuscany, we determined the conception date (CD) from an estimate of the mean fetal age and the culling date. We then investigated which factors drove the variation in CD, by implementing linear mixed models, Mantel tests and spatial autocorrelation analyses. The selected model showed significant effects of rainfall, temperatures, and previous and current productivity on CD, as well as a strong correlation of CDs among sows culled in close spatial and temporal proximity (i.e., in the same hunting ground and hunting season). Likewise, autocorrelation analyses and Mantel tests consistently indicated that closer sows had similar conception dates. Overall, our results confirm the effect of resource availability and climate on wild boar reproductive phenology, and suggest socially-driven reproductive patterns, in spite of a high turn-over in social groups due to hunting. Finally, possible advantages and evolutionary implications of reproductive synchrony in wild boar are discussed. Download the complete issue.


Thanks to the fierce competition and the globalization of markets as well as compa¬nies, supply chain management has emerged as one of the most urgent manage¬rial issues in business today. This thesis is devoted to one aspect of this vast problem area - the coordinated management/control of supply chain inventories. The objective is:

To develop methods and models for coordinated inventory control in divergent supply chains with stochastic demand, subject to different control structures and information availability.

Methodologically the research belongs to the field of operations research and sto¬chastic multi-echelon inventory theory, and is presented in the form of six scien¬tific articles preceded by a summa¬rizing introduction. One common feature of the six papers is that they all focus on models for inven¬tory control in generic supply chains con¬sisting of one central warehouse serving an arbitrary number of retailers experi¬encing stochastic demand. Otherwise, the different models display a diversity of dif¬ferent in¬formation and control struc¬tures.

Paper I presents a new efficient method for determining near optimal reorder points in highly de¬centralized supply chains with batch ordering. The suggested coordination procedure can be inter¬preted as a game or a negotiation process. It successively solves a number of single stage problems, using a derived penalty cost at the warehouse to achieve coordination. Paper II generalizes the model in Paper I to systems with com¬pletely non-identical retailers.

In Papers III, IV and V, the goal is to design new replenishment and allocation poli¬cies aimed at more efficient use of conventional inventory and demand information. Paper III presents a new ware¬house replenishment policy for central¬ized control in continuous review systems with batch ordering. An exact cost evaluation technique is de¬rived, and numerical results indicate that significant cost sav¬ings can be achieved by using the new policy. Paper IV investigates new, computationally tractable heuris¬tics for cen¬tralized control in periodic review systems. The high potential cost sav¬ings, par¬ticu¬larly in case of large differences in backorder costs and demand variabil¬ity across retailers, are illus¬trated in a numerical study. Paper V also deals with peri¬odic review systems, focusing on how to suc¬cessively allocate stock to the retailers over the ware¬house order cycle. The main result is the deriva¬tion of a new type of policy, asymp¬toti¬cally optimal when the number of retailers approaches infinity. Based on the asymptotic analysis, a number of heuristics for supply chains with finitely many retailers are presented and evaluated numerically. Both centralized and decentralized settings are considered.

Paper VI, finally, considers a situation with extended customer demand information, where each customer order entails a future delivery date. Exact and approximate methods for cost evaluation un¬der two different allocation strategies in a continuous review environment are presented. The large potential benefits of fully using this type of advance-order information are illustrated in a nu¬merical study.


Whether a trainee is studying air traffic control, piloting, maintenance engineering, or cabin crew, they must complete a set number of training 'hours' before being licensed or certified. The aviation industry is moving away from an hours-based to a competency-based training system. Within this approach, training is complete when a learner can demonstrate competent performance. Training based on competency is an increasingly popular approach in aviation. It allows for an alternate means of compliance with international regulations - which can result in shorter and more efficient training programs. However there are also challenges with a competency-based approach. The definition of competency-based education can be confusing, training can be reductionist and artificially simplistic, professional interpretation of written competencies can vary between individuals, and this approach can have a high administrative and regulatory burden. Competency-Based Education in Aviation: Exploring Alternate Training Pathways explores this approach to training in great detail, considering the four aviation professional groups of air traffic control, pilots, maintenance engineers, and cabin crew. Aviation training experts were interviewed and have contributed professional insights along with personal stories and anecdotes associated with competency-based approaches in their fields. Research-based and practical strategies for the effective creation, delivery, and assessment of competency-based education are described in detail.


Oral health is part of general health and well-being and contributes to the development of a healthy child. The most common oral disease affecting young children is dental caries (figure 1), which is largely preventable and is a public health priority. Oral health is one of Public Health England's (PHE) priorities linking to; getting the best start in life, childhood obesity, nutrition including breastfeeding, weaning and cross-cutting themes such as inequalities and social justice. Poor oral health in children impacts on the children themselves and on their family and society. Dental caries is the most common reason for 5–9 year olds in England to be admitted to hospital, where they have teeth out under general anaesthesia. Over 60 000 children aged 0–19 years were admitted to hospital to have teeth removed under general anaesthesia in 2015/2016.1

Figure 1
Dental caries in the deciduous dentition.

Children with dental caries suffer pain and infection and often have difficulties eating, sleeping and socialising.2 They have to take time off school to attend the dentist and hospital, and this is often their first introduction to dental care and can lead to fear and anxiety with lifetime consequences. Poor oral health may be a sentinel marker of wider health and social issues, and dental neglect may be part of a safeguarding issue.3 Dental care is a significant cost with the National Health Service (NHS) spending £3.4 billion on all age dental care and an estimated additional £2.3 billion in the private dental market.4

The National Dental Epidemiology Programme gives support for the ongoing gathering, analysing and disseminating of robust and reliable information of the oral health needs of local populations.5 Although the oral health of 5 year olds in England and across the UK is improving (figure 2), the most recent 5-year-old dental survey6 found that almost …


Derek Williamson's scientific career spanned the "Golden Age" of research into metabolic regulation, to which he made an important and sustained contribution. Derek joined Hans Krebs' laboratory at Sheffield University in 1946 and moved to Krebs' MRC Unit in Oxford in 1960. He elaborated an enzymic method for the determination of acetoacetate and 3-hydroxybutyrate [Williamson, Mellanby and Krebs, Biochem. J. (1962) 82, 90-96], which opened up the field of ketone body metabolism and its regulation and became a Citation Classic. Another Citation Classic followed [Williamson, Lund and Krebs, Biochem. J. (1967) 103, 514-527]. He moved with Krebs to the Metabolic Research Laboratory at the Radcliffe Infirmary in 1967, where he blossomed, formulating his ideas about the integrated regulation of metabolic pathways, particularly with regard to fatty acid oxidation, lipid synthesis and ketone body metabolism. His success was illustrated by more than 200 publications. Derek implanted and nurtured a sense of the excitement of scientific discovery in his colleagues and students, and he worked hard to provide a friendly, supportive and encouraging environment. Many lives have been enriched by the privilege of working with him.


Scientific advances in epidemiology and epigenetics emphasize the importance of prenatal and intergenerational environmental influences and epigenetic regulation in altering vulnerability for later health outcomes. These findings may have wide-ranging legal implications; however, to avoid misapplication, a thorough understanding of the scientific literature and legal precedent is warranted. A growing body of literature suggests that negative health outcomes associated with prenatal smoke exposure may result, in part, from aberrant epigenetic regulation of gene expression. Such findings emphasize the need to reduce rates of prenatal cigarette smoke exposure in order to promote health for both current and future generations. This Article provides a focused overview of research examining the interrelationships between maternal smoking during pregnancy, epigenetic regulation, and vulnerability for later health outcomes. Additionally, this Article discusses legal, ethical, and policy challenges related to reducing smoke exposure during pregnancy.


For an economy with dysfunctional intertemporal financial markets the financial sector is modelled as a competitive banking sector offering deposit contracts. In a setting related to Allen and Gale (JoF, 1998) properties of the optimal liquidity provision are analyzed for illiquid assets with ambiguous returns.In the context of our model, ambiguity -- i.e. incalculable risk -- leads to dynamically inconsistent investor behaviour. If the financial sector fails to recognize the presence of ambiguity, unanticipated fundamental crises may occur, which are incorrectly blamed on investors 'loosing their nerves' and 'panicing'.The basic mechanism of the Financial Crisis resembles the liquidation of illiquid assets during a banking panic. The combination of providing additional liquidity and supporting distressed financial institutions implements the regulatory policy suggested by the model.A credible commitment to such 'bail-out policy' does not create a moral hazard problem. Rather, it implements the second best efficient outcome by discouraging excessive caution. Reducing ambiguity by increasing stability, transparency and predictability -- as suggested by ordo-liberalism and the 'Freiburger Schule' -- enhances ex-ante welfare.


Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS) is widely used for the analysis of not only biological materials but also synthetic polymers. A mass spectrum obtained by MALDI-MS was found to have peaks at equal intervals on the m/z axis. The chemical structure of many types of biological compounds contain repeating units that have exactly the same elemental composition. If these repeated peaks could be identified based on the m/z interval value, such analyses could be optimized even further from the point of view of chemical structure. In this study, we describe a system for visualizing such data that has the capability of analyzing the repeated peaks on the m/z axis. The system, mzRepeat, was developed and evaluated by applying the mass spectrum of polyethylene glycol and mycolic acid, which was obtained using a JMS-S3000 Spiral-TOFMS system. Because mzRepeat can systematically show a mass spectrum that includes different numbers of repeating units, it has the potential for use in analyzing these types of molecules.


This research is conducted as a part of EU FP7 project entitled NEMSIC (hybrid nanoelectro-mechanical/integrated circuit systems for sensing and power management applications) with project partners, EPFL, TU Delft, IMEC-NL, CEA-LETI, SCIPROM, IMEC-BE, Honeywell Romania, and HiQSCREEN. Nano-electro-mechanical (NEM) sensors are getting an increased interest because of their compatibility with "In-IC" integration, low power consumption and high sensitivity to applied force, external damping or additional mass. Today, commercial biosensors are developed based on mass-detection and electro-mechanical principles. One of the recent commercial mass-detection biosensors is a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) biosensor which achieves the mass sensitivity of a few tens pico g/Hz. The newly developed in-plane resonant NEM (IP R-NEM) sensor in this thesis achieves the mass sensitivity less than zepto g/Hz that is over nine orders smaller than that of the commercial QCM sensor using a much smaller sensing area compared to the QCM sensor. This fact will make the IP-RNEM sensor a world-unique sensor that shows a very high sensitivity to a very small change in mass. The stated mass sensitivity is achieved by modelling the functionalization and detection processes of the suspended beam. For modelling the linker molecules in the functionalization process, a conformal coating layer in different configurations are added to the suspended beam and the sparse distribution of target molecules in the detection process is modeled by changing the density of the coating layer. I would like to clarify that the scaling rule of the mass responsivity is given by k4 regardless of the different functionalization configurations. I develop a completely new hybrid NEM-MOS simulation technology which combines three-dimensional finite element method (3D FEM) based NEM device-level simulation and circuit-level simulation for NEM-MOS hybrid circuits. The FEM device-level simulation module also includes new modelling of selfassembled monolayer for surface functionalization as well as adsorb ed molecules to be detected and facilitates quantitative evaluation of mass responsivity of designed NEM sensor devices. The basic part of the sensor, the NEM structure, includes a suspended beam and two side electrodes and that is fabricated at the Southampton Nanofabrication Centre (SNC). The fabrication at SNC includes a new sensor that uses a free-free beam that improves the quality factor up to five orders of magnitude at room temperature and atmosphere based on the numerical results. The IP R-NEM sensor consists of a suspended beam that is integrated with an in-plane MOSFET and is fabricated by CEA-LETI. The monolithically integrated NEM with the MOSFET on the same SOI layer for the sensor is a real breakthrough which makes it a potential low-cost candidate among the mass-detection based sensors. With respect to the conducted radio-frequency (RF) characterization for nano-wire devices in collaboration with the Tokyo Institute of Technology and NEM structures, the designing of an RF contact pad to reduce the effect of parasitic frequencies and doing the measurement at high vacuum to reduce the motional resistance and increase the quality factor are necessary for the characterization of devices with nano-scale dimensions. The integrated MOSFET in the IP RNEM sensor amplifies the output transmission signal from the resonating beam by its intrinsic gain. The fabricated sensors show a three orders of magnitude larger gain than that of the previously proposed resonant suspended gate FETs by biasing the MOSFET at the optimized voltage biases that are found based on the DC characterization of MOSFETs.


The objective of this study has been to describe and analyse existing forms of organisation in wood fuel plants regarding work tasks, organisational structure, work content, skill demands, crew recruitment, working hours and wage conditions. The study has been introductory, consisting of 2-3 hour visits to 12 plants. The production of refined wood fuels is carried out in rather small plants. The number of employees ranges from 6 to 15 persons in the factories producing between 20 and 100 thousand tons per year. Generally one shift crew consists of only two persons. The operator job requires multiskill capacity, dexterity and autonomous problem-solving. The job can be considered as qualified, responsible, autonomous, meaningful and variable. It was generally considered that it takes about a year to become a good operator. And even after that, one is still learning. Negative factors are shift work, partly poor physical working environment (dust and noise) and, occasionally, mental pressure and overtime. Modern organisation concepts are, to a large extent, applied in the wood fuel plants. The organisation is flat, lean and customer-oriented.


How was our world created? How did we come to be and what are we? These questions have been the focal point of the reading and non-academic research for many years now. In that regard, the author would like to share with you two of his ideas/ theories.


In many taxa, environmental changes that alter resource availability and energetics, such as climate change and land use change, are associated with changes in body size. We use wing length as a proxy for overall structural body size to examine a paradoxical trend of declining wing length within a Yellowhammer Emberiza citrinella population sampled over 21 years, in which it has been previously shown that longer wings are associated with higher survival rates. Higher temperatures during the previous winter (prior to the moult determining current wing length) explained 23% of wing length decrease within our population, but changes may also be correlated with non-climatic environmental variation such as changes in farming mechanisms linked to food availability. We found no evidence for within-individual wing length shrinkage with age, but our data suggested a progressive decline in the sizes of immature birds recruiting to the population. This trend was weaker, although not significantly so, among adults, suggesting that the decline in the sizes of recruits was offset by higher subsequent survival of larger birds post-recruitment. These data suggest that ecological processes can contribute more than selection to observed phenotypic trends and highlight the importance of long-term studies for providing longitudinal insights into population processes.


In Varsity Green, Mark Yost cuts through cliches and common misconceptions to take a hard-eyed look at the current state of college athletics. He takes readers behind the scenes of the conspicuous and high-revenue business of college sports in order to dissect the enormous television revenues, merchandising rights, bowl game payoffs, sneaker contracts, and endorsement deals that often pay state university coaches more than the college president, or even the governor. Money in college sports is nothing new. But readers will be amazed at the alarming depth and breadth of influence, both financial and otherwise, that college sports has within our culture. Readers will learn how academic institutions capitalize on the success of their athletic programs, and what role sports-based revenues play across campus, from the training room to the science lab. Yost pays particular attention to the climate that big-money athletics has created over the past decade, as both the NCAA's March Madness and the Bowl Championship Series have become multi-billion dollar businesses. This analysis goes well beyond campus, showing how the corrupting influences that drive college athletics today have affected every aspect of youth sports, and have seeped into our communities in ways that we would not otherwise suspect. This book is not only for the players, policymakers, and other insiders who are affected by the changing economics of college athletics; it is a must-read for any sports fan who engages with the NCAA and deserves to see the business behind the game.


The strategy in making firms that are entering new foreign markets expand their businesses in terms of services, products, technology, human and other resources has been widely studied. However, a review of the literature suggests that a comprehensive model with existing theories to clearly guide the firms in adopting effective market entry decisions for construction firms is still lacking. Most previous studies have dealt with entry location (EL), entry timing (ET) and entry mode (EM) decisions in an isolated way by considering one dimension or a combination of dimensions in particular. Although there have been various studies relating to international market entry decisions, there is currently no model that attempts to integrate the common factors linked to ELETEM decisions for construction firms. The main aim of this study is to develop an integrated model by determining the mutually inclusive and significant factors (MISFs) that influence the ELETEM decisions. Questionnaires were administered to Malaysian construction firms with 62 managers participating in the survey. The findings on the proposed ELETEM decision model were then validated through interviews with 13 managers holding top managerial positions in the firms. It was found that majority of the firms have penetrated both ASEAN and non- ASEAN countries as late movers, using both equity (EQ) and non-equity (NEQ) modes in their international operations. Logistic regression predictive models for EL, ET and EM decisions were also established. The EL decision model predicts that firms need to acquire more knowledge related to the country factors in order to select suitable locations in both ASEAN and non-ASEAN regions. The ET decision predicts that firms need to acquire more knowledge related to firm, country, market and factors to be late movers. Finally, the EM decision model predicts that firms need to acquire more knowledge related to firm factors to adopt both EQ and NEQ modes. In addition, Rasch Model analysis was adopted to integrate all three entry decision constructs to determine the MISFs for the ELETEM decision model. The findings suggested that the MISFs amongst others were host and home government support, international risks, market potential, firm's tangible and intangible resources, such as financial capacity, strategic orientation, experience, reputation, business network and competency, and project requirements relating to time and contracts. The overall findings led to the emergence of a few critical issues relating to strategic, risk and resource management, and the sustainability of construction firms. Firms must increase efficiency in allocating their tangible and intangible resources, such as financial, experience, business network, and adopt suitable entry strategies in their global operations within any geographical proximity of the targeted potential markets. This study breaks out the silobased thinking by integrating all three domains of EL, ET and EM decisions. It provides a holistic approach to understanding how international construction firms make decisions that cut across all three domains as well as across country, market, firm and project factors and within the context of the well-established OLI+S paradigm. It is envisaged that the integrated ELETEM decision model provides more complete and coherent theoretical and empirical solutions for international market entry strategy to guide construction firms in avoiding poor decision-making, which can lead to failure in their new international ventures. The ELETEM decision model also offers valuable information to provide a comprehensive solution for construction firms already in international markets to make better entry decisions in their future ventures.


 Abstract— Data Security is an important parameter for the industries. It can be achieved by Encryption algorithms which are used to prevent unauthorized access of data. Cryptography is the science of keeping data transfer secure, so that eavesdroppers (or attackers) cannot decipher the transmitted message. In this paper the DES algorithm is optimized upto 4 round using Xilinx software and implemented on Spartan 3 Modelsim. The paper deals with various parameters such as variable key length, key generation mechanism, etc. used in order to provide optimized results.


Media coverage of drugs in sport is all too often a soap opera, one with a cast of world famous, super wealthy and glamorous characters.

Today's BBC news however provides some perspective on the issue, as well as hinting at a crisis in amateur sport in the UK.

This news will likely not have the impact it should however, simply because there is no famous sports star implicated, no Maria Sharapova, no Lance Armstrong. Unlike the current investigation into British Cycling, there is nothing for the media to really get their claws into. This story will likely go away very quickly.

And this highlights a serious failing in the way that we deal with doping in sport. Today's news is far more serious than any story about elite athletes and drugs. It indicates several things. First that doping is not confined to the ranks of the elite, and is widespread in grass roots sport. Second, unlike trends related to alcohol and nicotine use in the UK, the problem with sports drugs is increasingly evident among the young. Third, whilst remaining related to sports, the use of performance enhancing drugs is often not only about winning per se, but also related to issues ranging from pain management to self-esteem.

These three factors all hint at what could be serious cultural problems for sport and for society more generally.

The CEO of UK Anti Doping, Nicola Sapstead, indicates that there is a problem with funding, and "a woeful lack of education at the amateur level". The problem however is not so simple; education is a double edged sword in this context. This is demonstrated by data from a recent large-scale study conducted by Philip Hurst and colleagues at Canterbury Christ Church University. The study indicates that among athletes who had not previously considered using performance enhancing substances, receiving an educational intervention made 25% of them more likely to use these in the future.

Why would this be the case? Once again it's a function of the soap opera of sport. If the athletes who received positive tests were minor players, the also-rans, perhaps the message would be less powerful. But all too often they're not; the roll call of dopers in sport is not one associated with failure. Day on day we hear stories of World Champions testing positive, of Olympic medals being rescinded as new technologies allow old urine samples to be retested.

The problem is that the stories that make the news are about the winners, we rarely hear anything about the athlete who was eliminated in the first heat. The subtext is 'to win, you have to dope'.

The situation is complicated further by the 'legal doping' of therapeutic use exemptions (TUEs), which whilst being within the letter of the law, are increasingly seen by many as being significantly beyond the spirit, in some if not all cases.

In short, the education that junior athletes are receiving via the media is all too often not that performance enhancing drugs are unethical and sometimes dangerous, but that winners take drugs.

This is why today's news story is so important. It tells us that not all dopers are winners, that many dopers are perhaps relatively unfit – and as is implicated in the story, overweight – middle ranking amateur athletes, taking drugs not to win but to manage pain and self image. In sports terms, these people are not 'winners'.

This should be the big news story: it's not just winners, losers take drugs as well. Shifting the media spotlight away from an emphasis on drug use amongst winners and towards drug use among the also-rans might be a very powerful anti doping intervention in itself.

But the key message from today's news is this: whatever the content of the intervention itself, anti-doping education has to start in our schools and our homes at an early age. Waiting until an athlete has reached the ranks of the promising might mean that they have already been exposed to cultures in which doping is not only accepted, but is the norm.


Single crystals of pure aluminoborate PKU-1 (Al3B6O11(OH)5·nH2O) were obtained, and the structure was redetermined by X-ray diffraction. There are three independent Al atoms in the R3 structure model, and Al3 locates in a quite distorted octahedral environment, which was evidenced by (27)Al NMR results. This distortion of Al3O6 octahedra release the strong static stress of the main framework and leads to a symmetry lowering from the previously reported R3 to the presently reported R3. We applied a pretreatment to prepare Al(3+)/Cr(3+) aqueous solutions; as a consecquence, a very high Cr(3+)-to-Al(3+) substitution content (∼50 atom %) in PKU-1 can be achieved, which is far more than enough for catalytic purposes. Additionally, the preference for Cr(3+) substitution at the Al1 and Al2 sites was observed in the Rietveld refinements of the powder X-ray data of PKU-1:0.32Cr(3+). We also systematically investigated the thermal behaviors of PKU-1:xCr(3+) (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.50) by thermogravimetric-differential scanning calorimetry, in situ high-temperature XRD in vacuum, and postannealing experiments in furnace. The main framework of Cr(3+)-substituted PKU-1 could be partially retained at 1100 °C in vacuum. When 0.04 ≤ x ≤ 0.20, PKU-1:xCr(3+) transferred to the PKU-5:xCr(3+) (Al4B6O15:xCr(3+)) structure at ∼750 °C by a 5 h annealing in air. Further elevating the temperature led to a decomposition into the mullite phase, Al4B2O9:xCr(3+). For x > 0.20 in PKU-1:xCr(3+), the heat treatment led to a composite of Cr(3+)-substituted PKU-5 and Cr2O3, so the doping upper limit of Cr(3+) in PKU-5 structure is around 20 atom %.


Industrial processes are subject to changes that can adversely affect product quality. A change in the process that increases the variability of the output of the process causes the output to be less uniform and increases the probability that individual items will not meet specifications. Statistical control charts for monitoring process variance can be used to detect an increase in the variability of the output of a process so that the situation can be repaired and product uniformity restored. Control charts that increase the sampling rate when there is evidence the variance has changed gather information more quickly and detect changes in the variance more quickly (on average) than fixed sampling rate procedures. Several variable sampling rate procedures for detecting increases in the process variance will be developed and compared with fixed sampling rate methods. A control chart for the variance is usually used with a separate control chart for the mean so that changes in the average level of the process and the variability of the process can both be detected. A simple method for applying variable sampling rate techniques to dual monitoring of mean and variance will be developed. This control chart procedure increases the sampling rate when there is evidence the mean or variance has changed so that changes in either parameter that will negatively impact product quality will be detected quickly.


After the recent destructive L'Aquila 2009 and Emilia-Romagna 2012 earthquakes, a sudden M w 6.0  seismic event hit Central Italy on August 24, 2016. A low population density characterizes the area but,  due to its nighttime occurrence, about 300 victims were registered. This work presents the first preliminary  results of a macroseismic survey conducted by two teams of the University of Padova in the territories  that suffered major damages. Macroseismic intensities were assessed according to the European  Macroseismic Scale (EMS98) for 180 sites.


Multirobot systems have characteristics such as high formation re-configurability that allow them to perform dynamic tasks that require real time formation control. These tasks include gradient sensing, object manipulation, and advanced field exploration. In such instances, the Cluster Space Control approach is attractive as it is both intuitive and allows for full degree of freedom control. Cluster Space Control achieves this by redefining a collection of robots as a single geometric entity called a cluster. To implement, it requires knowing the inverse Jacobian of the robotic system for use in the main control loop. Historically, the inverse Jacobian has been computed by hand which is an arduous process. However, a set of frame propagation equations that generate both the inverse position kinematics and inverse Jacobian has recently been developed. These equations have been used to manually compile the inverse Jacobian Matrix. The objective of this thesis was to automate this overall process. To do this, a formal method for representing cluster space implementations using graph theory was developed. This new graphical representation was used to develop an algorithm that computes the new frame propagation equations. This algorithm was then implemented in Matlab and the algorithm and its associated functions were organized into a Matlab toolbox. A collection of several cluster definitions were developed to test the algorithm, and the results were verified by comparing to a derivation based technique. The result is the initial version of a Matlab Toolbox that successfully automates the computation of the inverse Jacobian Matrix for a cluster of robots.


OBJECTIVES
We aimed to ascertain the efficacy of an intervention in which laboratory test costs were provided to clinicians as a pocket-sized brochure, in reducing laboratory test costs over a 4-month period.

METHODS
This was a non-randomised intervention study in the Internal Medicine wards at Steve Biko Academic Hospital, Pretoria, in which the intervention was laboratory test costs provided to clinicians as a pocket-sized brochure. The intervention period was the winter months of May - August 2008 and the pre-intervention period was the same months of the preceding year. In the two 4-month periods (2007 and 2008), the number of days in hospital and the laboratory tests ordered were computed for each patient admitted. For the intervention and control groups, pre- and post-intervention cost and days in hospital were estimated.

RESULTS
The mean cost per patient admitted in the intervention group decreased from R2 864.09 to R2 097.47 - a 27% reduction. The mean cost per day in the intervention group as a whole also decreased, from R442.90 to R284.14 - a 36% reduction.

CONCLUSION
Displaying the charges for diagnostic tests on the laboratory request form may significantly reduce both the number and cost of tests ordered, and by doing so bring about considerable in-hospital cost savings.


Democracy does not implement itself; a society's commitment to govern itself democratically can be effectuated only through law. Yet as soon as law appears on the scene significant choices must be made concerning the legal structure of democratic institutions. The heart of the study of election law is thus the examination of the choices that our laws make in seeking to structure a workable system of democratic self-rule. In this essay, written for a symposium on Teaching Election Law, I describe how my Election Law course and materials focus on questions of choice in institutional design by emphasizing election law's connection to two fields with which it is inextricably allied: democratic theory and empirical political science. This enriched context reveals election law for what it truly is: the institution that bridges the gap between our aspirations for, and the frequently messy reality of, our political lives. It is the middle term in an equation that specifies whether and to what extent we realize perhaps the most significant dream of contemporary human beings: to live well under a just and lasting democracy.


The ISO/PAS 12006-3:2000 "Framework for object oriented information exchange" provides a metamodel
for structuring data relevant to the construction industry. The LexiCon, developed by STABU, is an
implementation of that model. The LexiCon consists of a set of concepts, grouped into categories according
to 12006-3. Each concept should be defined by a set of other concepts and is placed in a specialization
hierarchy with other concepts of the same category. Ultimately, a set of basic concepts exists, from which
all the other concepts are being derived, but which can only be described by a verbal definition.
The concepts in the LexiCon represent the language of the construction industry. The terms of this
language are extracted from numerous documents on several levels of formality, such as standards,
building codes, specification systems, product information systems, technical dictionaries and classification
systems. From these terms found in external documents concepts are then defined in the LexiCon with
formal definitions. Terms from external documents can be in any human language, thus the LexiCon will be
multi-lingual.
Putting the concepts in the LexiCon in a specialization hierarchy has been a process of trial and error, so
far. In principal, the number of possible hierarchies is endless, leading to also endless discussions. We are
now trying to use a more systematic approach, based on the idea that, when a concept is defined by a set of
other concepts, there will be a subset of these defining concepts that will dedicate where the described
concept will fit into a hierarchy. A consistent hierarchy will be obtained when the subsets of defining
concepts are subsets of defining concepts on a lower level of that hierarchy. It will then be possible to
reorder the hierarchy into another hierarchy, by using different sets and subsets of defining concepts.


Government and industry organizations have declared information privacy and security to be major obstacles in the development of consumer-related e-commerce. Risk perceptions regarding Internet privacy and security have been identified as issues for both new and experienced users of Internet technology. 'This paper explores risk perceptions among consumers of varying levels of Internet experience and how these perceptions relate to online shopping activity. Findings provide evidence of hypothesized relationships among consumers' levels of Internet experience, the use of alternate remote purchasing methods (such as telephone and mail-order shopping), the perceived risks of online shopping, and online purchasing activity. Implications for online commerce and consumer welfare are discussed. The Internet has grown considerably during the past decade, particularly with respect to its use as a tool for communication, entertainment, and marketplace exchange. This rapid growth has been accompanied, however, by concerns regarding the collection and dissemination of consumer information by marketers who participate in online retailing. These concerns pertain to the privacy and security of accumulated consumer data (Briones 1998; Culnan 1999) and the perceived risks that consumers may experience with respect to these issues (Ernst & Young 1999; Milne and Boza 1999; Milne 2000). Consumers' perceived risks associated with online retailing have received limited attention despite their implications for e-commerce. Although some early research suggests that risk perceptions may play a minor role in the adoption of online shopping (Jarvenpaa and Todd 1996-97), several recent industry and government-related studies (e.g., Culnan 1999; Federal Trade Commission (FTC) 1998b, 1998d, 2000) have deemed consumer risk perceptions to be a primary obstacle to the future growth of online commerce. Many involved in online retailing assume that time alone will dissolve consumer concerns regarding the privacy and security of online shopping, yet others argue that greater Internet experience and more widespread publicity of the potential risks of online shopping will lead to increased risk perceptions. To date, no known research has investigated whether higher levels of Internet experience are related to higher or lower levels of perceived risks and concerns regarding the privacy and security of online shopping. Thus, presented here are the results of a study that explores the relationships among Internet experience levels, risk perceptions, and online purchasing rates. This study begins with an examination of Internet users' concerns and perceived risk regarding online shopping. The next area to be examined is how general experience with the Internet and other more-established remote purchasing methods relates to risk perceptions and online purchase rates. Finally, implications for online retailers are discussed with consideration of policy issues surrounding privacy and security on the Internet. PRIVACY AND SECURITY OF ONLINE CONSUMER INFORMATION Statistics and data regarding the growth of the Internet [1] have been widely cited in the popular press. Recent accounts report that over half (52%) of American adults use the Internet, which is twice as many as in mid-1997 (Sefton 2000). Moreover, approximately half of current Internet users have purchased products or services online (Sefton 2000), with average per capita online expenditures exceeding $1,200 in 1999 (Ernst & Young 2000). Looking toward the near future, Ernst & Young (2000) reports that 79 percent of nonbuyers plan to purchase via the Internet during the next twelve months, resulting in online sales of $45 to $50 billion. The issues of privacy and security have been labeled by government and consumer organizations as two major concerns of e-commerce (Briones 1998; CLI 1999; CNN 2000; Consumer Reports Online 1998; FTC 1998a, 2000; Folkers 1998; Judge 1998; Machrone 1998; National Consumers League 1999). …


We compare predictions of large-scale cosmological hydrodynamical simulations for neutral hydrogen absorption signatures in the vicinity of 10 11 –10 12.5 M (cid:2) haloes with observational measurements. Two different hydrodynamical techniques and a variety of prescriptions for gas removal in high-density regions are examined. Star formation and wind feedback play only secondary roles in the H I absorption signatures outside the virial radius, but play important roles within. Accordingly, we identify three distinct gaseous regions around a halo: the virialized region, the mesogalactic medium outside the virial radius arising from the extended haloes of galaxies out to about two turnaround radii and the intergalactic medium beyond. Predictions for the amount of absorption from the mesogalactic and intergalactic media are robust across different methodologies, and the predictions agree with the amount of absorption observed around star-forming galaxies and quasi-stellar object host galaxies. Recovering the measured amount of absorption within the virialized region, however, requires either a higher dynamic range in the simulations, additional physics, or both.


Services provided over telecommunications networks typically have different resilience requirements and networks need to be able to support different levels of resilience in an efficient manner. This dissertation investigates the problem of supporting differentiated classes of resilience in multilayer networks, including the most stringent resilience class required by critical services. We incorporate an innovative technique of embedding a subnetwork, termed the spine, with comparatively higher availability values at the physical layer. The spine lays a foundation for differentiation between multiple classes of flows that can be leveraged to achieve both high resilience and differentiation. The aim of this research is mainly to explore, design, and evaluate the proposed spine concept model in multilayer networks. The dissertation has four major parts. First, we explore the spine concept through numerical analysis of simple topologies illustrating the potential benefits and the cost considerations of the spine. We develop heuristics algorithms to find suitable spines for a network based on the structural properties of the network topology. Second, an optimization problem is formulated to determine the spine. The problem encompasses estimates of link availability improvements, associated costs, and a total budget. Third, we propose a crosslayer mapping and spine-aware routing design problem with protection given mainly at the lower layer. The problem is designed to transfer lower layer differentiation capability to the upper layer network and flows. We provide two joint routing-mapping optimization formulations and evaluate their performance in a multilayer scenario. Fourth, the joint routing-mapping problem is redesigned with protection given in the upper network layer instead. This will create two isolated logical networks; one mapped to the spine and the other is mapped freely on the network. Flows are assigned a path or path-pair based on their class of resilience. This approach can provide more routing options yielding different availability levels. The joint routing-mapping design problems are formulated as Integer Linear Programming (ILP) models. The goal is to achieve a wider range of availability values across layers and high availability levels for mission-critical services without the need to use higher order protection configurations. The proposed models are evaluated with extensive numerical results using real network topologies.


Objective: The Spanish Society of Community Nutrition (SENC) designed in 1994 a food guide for the Spanish population, updated in 2001. This report presents a new updated edition based on the best scientifi c evidence available.
Methods: From a health in all policies approach, a group of experts in nutrition and public health associated with SENC was convened to review the evidence on diet-health, nutrition intake and food consumption in the Spanish population, as well as food preparation and consumption habits, determinants and impact of diet on environmental sustainability. Existing systematic reviews, updates, reports, meta-analysis and the latest quality studies have been considered. The collaborative group contributed to draft the document and design the graphic icon, then subject of a consultation process, discussion and qualitative evaluation, particularly relevant through the Advisory Group for the SENC-December 2016 Dietary Guidelines.
Results: The new recommendations and its graphical representation highlights as basic considerations the practice of physical activity, emotional balance, energy balance to maintain body weight at adequate levels, healthy cooking procedures and adequate water intake. The recommendations promote a balanced, varied and moderate diet that includes whole grains, fruits, vegetables, legumes, varying amounts of dairy and alternating consumption of fi sh, eggs and lean meats, along with the preferential use of extra virgin olive oil for cooking and seasoning. Reinforce the interest in a healthy, sympathetic, supportive, sustainable diet, based on seasonal and local products, axis for conviviality, devoting adequate time and encourage the use of nutrition labelling information.
Conclusions: The analysis of the evidence available and updated information on food consumption in Spain highlights the need to strengthen and implement the recommendations contained in this document to progressively achieve a greater adherence.


When looking at the Global economy and the quantification of the operative risk in the cost of capital, a necessary ingredient for a meaningful analysis is an assessment of the country`s integration into world capital markets. The international financial markets are progressively becoming one huge, integrated, global capital market, that is contributing to higher stock prices in developed as well as developing economies. If for example a market is segmented from the rest of the world, its exposure with a common world factor may have little or no ability to explain its expected return. Large companies visible enough to attract global investors, have a lower cost of capital and a greater equity value for two main reasons: first, because the risks of equity are shared among more investors with different portfolio exposures and hence a different "appetite†for bearing certain risks, equity market risk premiums should fall for all companies in countries with access to global markets. Second, when firms in countries with less-developed capital markets raise capital in the public markets of countries with highly developed markets, they get more than lower-cost capital; they also import at least aspects of the corporate governance systems that prevail in those markets. Besides reducing market risk premiums and improving corporate governance, globalization also affects the systematic risk, of individual companies. In global markets, the beta of a firm's equity depends on how the stock contributes to the volatility not of the home market portfolio, but of the world market portfolio. For companies with access to global capital markets whose profitability is tied more closely to the local than to the global economy, use of the traditional CAPM will overstate the cost of capital because risks that are not diversifiable within a national economy can be diversified by holding a global portfolio.


Head smut, caused by the fungal pathogen Sporisorium reilianum, has been reported with increasing frequency in the grain sorghum growing areas of Texas. To facilitate analysis of changes in pathogen virulence, four inoculation techniques were examined: soil and teliospore mixture, seed coating, media placement, and syringe injection. Of the four, syringe injection was determined to be the most effective. Inoculations of sorghum host differentials BTx643, BTx7078, BTx635, SC170-6-17 (TAM2571), SA281 (Early Hegari), and Tx414 showed 23 of 32 Texas isolates were race 4. Two isolates from College Station, TX, were classified as race 1, but no race 2 or 3 isolates were found. New, virulent races 5 and 6 were identified among isolates from south Texas. Using 16 amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) primer combinations, genetic diversity was assessed in DNA samples from 49 S. reilianum isolates, including 44 sorghum isolates from Texas, two from Uganda, and one from Mali; and two maize isolates from Mexico. Single-base extensions with EcoRI and MseI primers in the selective amplification increased the number of informative polymorphic bands. High genetic dissimilarity (50%) was observed between isolates originating from maize and those originating from sorghum. The resultant dendrogram, made using cluster analysis, grouped the Texas S. reilianum isolates into four small clusters with ≥82% similarity. Other than for two race 6 isolates from Weslaco, TX, no evidence for geographical or other restrictions on gene flow was evident.


Increasing urbanization of many regions of the world has resulted in the decline of suitable habitat for wild flora and fauna. Green roofs have been suggested as a potential avenue to provide patches of good-quality habitat in highly developed regions. In this study, we surveyed green roofs for bee diversity and abundance to determine their potential as quality habitats in an urban area for these important pollinators. By comparing various biodiversity measures between green roofs and ground-level sites, we show that green roofs provide habitat to many bee species. Implications for pollinator conservation and urban agricultural production are discussed.


Little is known about the genomic alterations underlying osteosarcoma. We performed a genomewide high‐resolution gene copy number analysis of 22 osteosarcoma samples using comparative genomic hybridization on a cDNA microarray that contained cDNA clones of about 13,000 genes. Nineteen of the 22 cases had amplifications that on average spanned more than 1 Mb and contained more than 10 genes. Numerous regions of gain and loss were identified, and their boundaries were defined at high resolution. Novel amplicons were found at 14q11, 17q25, and 22q11–q13. Earlier‐known large amplified regions were detected at 12q11–q15, 8q24, 6p12–p13, and 17p11–p13 in 8, 6, 5, and 4 of the 22 samples, respectively. Amplification of 12q was observed more frequently (36% of the cases) than previously reported. Previously known small amplicons at 1p34–p36, 1q21, 19q13, and 21q22 were seen in at least three cases. Our results implicate TOM1L2 and CYP27B1 as having roles as novel targets for the 17p and 12q amplicons, respectively. Details (www.helsinki.fi/cmg) of the amplified genes in each amplicon provide valuable raw data for further in silico studies. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


In this article, I present the three forms of proletarianization found in Bernard Stiegler's work: the proletarianization of the producer, the proletarianization of the consumer, and generalized proletarianization. In the lectures included in this special issue, Stiegler refers to the proletarianization of sensibility, which belongs to this last form of proletarianization. I attempt to contextualize this new work in relation to Stiegler's past work on political economy, as well as some of his political positions about capitalism as a social organization. I explain where the notion of proletarianization gets muddled, and I also compare his position on new forms of capitalism to the influential work of Andre Gorz. Following Stiegler, I call the underlying political project of deproletarianization that he has developed "protentional politics." I turn more specifically to the underdiscussed notion of "tertiary protention" and question its place in Stiegler's thought. Finally, I also explain why Stiegler's turn to the figure of the amateur, especially in the third lecture in this issue, is strategic in thinking of deproletarianizing practices.


Aims An antibiotic specific prescription for use in the Accident and Emergency Department (AED) has recently been introduced to encourage appropriate antimicrobial prescribing. This prescription is used between 9:00 h and 17:00 h. The aim of this audit is to assess the impact of the recently introduced antibiotic prescription proforma by evaluating compliance with the Trust's antibiotic guidelines. Methods A data collection form was used to determine if patients visiting AED between 15 and 28 November 2010 were prescribed an appropriate regimen of antibiotics. The Trust antibiotic guidelines were used as the audit standard. Prescriptions were included for analysis if an antibiotic was prescribed. Patient details recorded included: initials, age, clerking in time, antibiotic prescribed, route of administration, duration of therapy, clinical indication, and allergy status. Prescriptions were excluded if the name of antibiotic was missing from patient records, or if the indication being treated was not in the Trust guidelines. Patients not receiving an antibiotic were also excluded. Results 2092 patients visited AED between 15 and 28 November 2010 of which 287 were given a prescription for an antibiotic. eight prescriptions did not have the name of the antibiotic recorded, and 20 were for clinical indications not listed in Trust guidance so were excluded from the study. Therefore, 259 prescriptions were eligible for analysis purposes of which 27 (approx 10%) were deemed non-compliant with Trust policy. The majority of non-compliance occurred out-of-hours when the pre-printed prescription was not in use: 7/146 antibiotic prescriptions between 9:00 h and 17:00 h were non-compliant compared to 20/132 out-of-hours. Conclusions The recently introduced antibiotic specific prescription proforma helped prescribers in AED achieve 90% compliance with the Trust antimicrobial guidelines. The majority of prescriptions that were not compliant with guidelines had been prescribed out-of-hours, when the prescription was not in use. Nine prescriptions were for upper respiratory tract infections which are usually viral and antibiotics have not been shown to improve outcomes.1 This suggests that antibiotics are possibly being overused for this indication. In conclusion, AED prescribers should be made aware of the Trust prescribing guidance for antimicrobials and use of the pre-printed AED prescription should be encouraged out-of-hours as a prescribing tool to encourage the prudent prescribing of antibiotics.


Group Politics in UN Multilateralism provides a new perspective on diplomacy and negotiations at the United Nations. Very few states 'act individually' at the UN; instead they often work within groups such as the Africa Group, the European Union or the Arab League. States use groups to put forward principled positions in an attempt to influence a wider audience and thus legitimize desired outcomes. Yet the volume also shows that groups are not static: new groups emerge in multilateral negotiations on issues such as climate, security and human rights. At any given moment, UN multilateralism is shaped by long-standing group dynamics as well as shifting, ad-hoc groupings. These intergroup dynamics are key to understanding diplomatic practice at the UN.


From the framework of social representations, this study addresses gender and identity in a situated context of recursive vulnerability in the southeast of Mexico. The first section establishes the theoretical premises and presents the common sense relation between social representations and gender. This is followed by the second section where a discussion of the studies of identity and gender identity is elaborated, looking at the relation between perspectives focused on the individual and those oriented towards culture and the social. This gives way to the third section, a triangulated qualitative case study in three phases about gender identities in the port of Celestun in Yucatan that elaborates on two main analytical dimensions: vulnerability and emotional distress. The article closes with a brief concluding reflection. Overall, it addresses the systemic and polysemic richness of representations and gender identities in terms of both process and content at the same time as linking research to action in a community. In addition, from a perspective of interaction, it analyses discursive practices linked to hegemonic social representations of gender identities which given their perverse logic of subjective naturalization and consensus in the structure of social behaviour constitute one of the most resistant obstacles to the configuration of liberating systems that can orient subjects towards a logic of rights and well-being, further exacerbating vulnerabilities.


The interaction between progesterone and human serum albumin has been investigated. This interaction was studied by UV-absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy. From spectral analysis progesterone showed a strong ability to quench the intrinsic fluorescence of HSA through a static quenching procedure. The binding constant (K) is estimated 6.56×10 2 M -1 at 293 K. FT-IR spectroscopy with Fourier self-deconvolution technique was used to determine HSA secondary structure and progesterone binding mechanisms. The observed spectral changes indicate the formation of H-bonding between progesterone and HSA molecules which can be related to the intensity decrease in the absorption band of α-helix relative to that of β-sheets.


The objective of this study was to estimate genetic parameters for lactation yields of milk (MY), fat (FY) and protein (PY) for cows milked either once(OAD) or twice-a-day (TAD) at different production levels (PL), calculated as average milk solids yield (FY + PY) for dairy cattle in New Zealand. Lactation records of 124,620 and 194,631 cows from 298 and 350 herds milked OAD and TAD, respectively were used. Heritiabilities (h2) were lower in low PL herds milked OAD compared to low PL herds milked TAD (0.11-0.18 vs. 0.22-0.37). Across PL, h2 for MY at medium and high PL were greater than 0.30 at both MF, while for FY and PY, those values were less than 0.30. Genetic correlations (rG) between MY and PY were greater (>0.70) compared to rG between FY and any of the other traits (<0.65). The lowest rG was observed between MY and FY at low PL (0.09±0.087). In conclusion, lower h2 at low PL from cows milked OAD reveal unequal genetic expression of milk traits genes compared to higher PL. Ignoring the heterogeneity of variance in the genetic evaluation could result in systematic inaccuracies and biases in the estimation of breeding values for cows milked OAD.


The nature of the forces driving the genomic GC content of both prokaryotes and eukaryotes is a matter of debate among evolutionists. At present several hypotheses have been proposed: the mutational bias, the biased gene conversion (BGC), the thermal stability and the metabolic rate. The thesis mainly focused on testing the role played by the metabolic rate in shaping the base composition of genomes of vertebrates, namely: teleosts and mammals. Interesting results were also obtained analyzing non-vertebrate genomes (tunicates).
Focusing on teleostean fish, the mass specific routine metabolic rate temperature-corrected using the Boltzmann's factor (MR) and base composition of genomes (GC%) were re-examined and related with their major habitat: polar, temperate, sub-tropical, tropical and deep-water. Fish of the polar habitat showed the highest MR and that of temperate fish was significantly higher than that of tropical one, showing the lowest average value. The GC% of polar and temperate fish both showed significantly higher values than that of tropical and sub-tropical fish. Plotting MR vs. GC%, a significant correlation was found. The deamination process, transforming the 5-methylcytosine (5mC) to thymine, and thus 5mCpG doublets into the derivative ones, i.e. TpG and CpA, is well known to affect the genomic GC content and to be temperature dependent. The 5mC level was reported to decrease from polar to tropical fish gnomes. The frequencies of CpG, TpG and CpA in five teleostean genomes living in different habitat excluded the temperature effect of 5mC on the genomic GC content in fish, further supporting a link between environmental metabolic adaptation and genome base composition.
Several observations reported that GC-rich genes preferably arbor short non-coding sequences. A comparative analysis of orthologous introns (assigned throughout gene orthology) among five sequenced teleostean genomes, was carried out. The preliminary results highlighted a link between GC content and intronic length, hence supporting the energetic cost on transcriptional activity hypothesis.
Human genes were assigned to three large functional categories according to the KOG database: information storage and processing, cellular processes and signaling, and metabolism. The GC3 level was significantly increasing from the former to the latter. This specific compositional pattern was found, as footprint, in all mammalian genomes analyzed, but not in frog and lizard ones. In the same comparative analysis among vertebrate genomes, it was found that human genes involved in the metabolic processes underwent to the highest GC3 increment.
Compositional analysis of tunicate genomes showed that C. savignyi is GC-richer than C. intestinalis. Interestingly, preliminary data showed a same trend for the oxygen consumption.
In conclusion, the data produced in the present thesis, analyzing available vertebrate and non-vertebrate genomes, all converged towards evidences supporting the metabolic rate as one of the key forces driving the base composition variability observed among living organisms. Natural (negative) selection may essentially explain the GC variability among organisms.


The blind's capacities to navigate in a particular place and to organize their daily activities are of vital importance for their health and well-being. Organizing any kind of simple daily activity can be especially difficult; it is not easy for the blind to distinguish the different items, such as packaged foods and drug containers just by touching with their hands. RFID, or radio frequency identification, is a technology that can provide a support for improving the organization and orientation during the daylight activities. RFID uses radio waves to deliver data from a tag, which stores information, to a reader, which can elaborate the information making decisions. This technology is very useful in many different contexts such as scanning passports, shipments and automatic highway toll collecting. As the RFID technology stands out for its inherent technical nature of any basic RFID system, it may involve additional improvements for numerous applications in the field of health care. In this paper, a RFID device designed as a support for the blind in searching some objects is presented; in particular, it has been develop for searching the medicines in a cabinet at home. The device is able to provide to the blind some pieces of information about the distance and simplify the search; besides identifying the medicines, the device is able to provide the user an acoustic signal in order to find easily the desired product as soon as possible. It is noteworthy the fact that it gives the blind some items of information about the distance of a defined object, that is how near or far it is. This application is obtained using the RSSI (Received Strength Signal Indicator) value, measuring the power of the received signal of the tag.


In 1965 Congress passed the Voting Rights Act (VRA), arguably the crown jewel of civil rights legislation; it was a dramatic effort to uproot processes denying African-Americans Fifteenth Amendment protections. In an exceptional expression of federal power, the VRA granted the national government a direct role in overseeing state and local elections. This oversight led to an immediate increase in African American voter participation. It also structured a long-term conflict over the authority to control electoral processes. Central in this conflict is the singling-out of some jurisdictions for section 5 "preclearance." These "covered" jurisdictions, targeted by an automatic formula, require approval from the Department of Justice (DOJ) or the District Court in D.C. before implementing any changes to their electoral systems. Originally established as a temporary measure, set to expire in 1970, section 5 has been renewed (and even expanded) by Congress four times — most recently in 2006 for an additional twenty-five years. This oversight of elections is seen by many as a federal intrusion on state authority that can only be justified by extreme circumstances. For most of the Act's history bailout was little used. With its lack of use, its importance has been overlooked. In Northwest Austin Municipal Utility District No. 1 (NAMUDNO) v. Holder (2009) — the most recent Supreme Court challenge to the constitutionality of the VRA — the Court dodged the constitutional question by expanding the types of jurisdictions eligible for bailout. The pace of jurisdictions terminating coverage has significantly increased since NAMUDNO. Of the total successful bailout actions since 1965, 30 percent occurred in the three years after the Supreme Court's 2009 decision. The largest number of jurisdictions bailing-out in one year occurred in the twelve month period from the end of 2011 to the beginning of 2012, and the total number of bailed-out jurisdictions is set to nearly double again in the second half of 2012. Because of bailout the number of jurisdictions subject to preclearance is rapidly shifting. Bailout permitted the Court to avoid constitutional questions in NAMUDNO, but bailout enables more; it provides a constitutional basis for the Court to uphold preclearance. Given its amplified use, constitutional evaluations of the VRA would be greatly augmented by assessing bailout. This paper argues the Court should uphold section 5 of the VRA because of the existence, and increased use, of the bailout process. In order to make this argument this paper will: (1) review contemporary debates regarding the constitutionality of preclearance; (2) explore the history of the VRA; (3) examine empirical evidence justifying preclearance; (4) explain Congress's power to regulate elections; and (5) examine legal doctrines related to preclearance. The importance of the bailout process will be explored in each section to illustrate preclearance as a constitutionally justified use of congressional power.


As we are surrounded by an increased number of mobile devices equipped with wireless links and multiple microphones, e.g., smartphones, tablets, laptops, and hearing aids, using them collaboratively for acoustic processing is a promising platform for emerging applications. These devices make up an acoustic sensor network comprised of nodes, i.e., distributed devices equipped with microphone arrays, communication unit, and processing unit. Algorithms for speaker separation and localization using such a network require a precise knowledge of the nodes' locations and orientations. To acquire this knowledge, a recently introduced approach proposed a combined direction of arrival and time difference of arrival (TDoA) target function for offline calibration with dedicated recordings. This letter proposes an extension of this approach to a novel online method with two new features: First, by employing an evolutionary algorithm on incremental measurements, it is online and fast enough for real-time application. Second, by using the sparse spike representation computed in a cochlear model for TDoA estimation, the amount of information shared between the nodes by transmission is reduced, while the accuracy is increased. The proposed approach is able to calibrate an acoustic senor network online during a meeting in a reverberant conference room.


Recent publications have shown that river runoff and wind mixing are two major environmental factors affecting productivity of fish populations in subtropical and tropical areas, as opposed to water temperature in colder waters. In the present paper, we compare the variability of seawater temperature, river runoff and wind mixing in three different seas: a subtropical sea (the Mediterranean) and two cold seas (the North Sea and the Baltic). Temperature variability decreased from colder to warmer areas. The highest temporal variability in the river runoff corresponded to rivers flowing into the Mediterranean, and the lowest corresponded to rivers flowing into the North Sea and the Baltic Sea. The variability in the wind mixing index (cube of the wind speed) depended on the area under consideration, and attained maximum values in the Cap Bear station (northwestern Mediterranean). The effect of these regional variability differences in environmental factors on fisheries production is briefly discussed.