It is shown in this thesis that fluid dynamic forces on unsteadily moving bluff bodies depend on the history of motion as much as on the velocity and acceleration of motion. An empirical relationship between the motion of the body and the resulting force is obtained by analysing the effect of the history of motion on the fluid dynamic force at any instant. The fluid dynamic force, velocity and acceleration are obtained as functions of time, by oscillating test models in water while they are being towed at constant speed. The test models used are: 1. a two-dimensional circular cylinder, 2. a rectangular block with square frontal area and fineness ratio of 3:1, 3. a cruciform parachute canopy with arm ratio of 4:1, and 4. a ring-slot parachute canopy. The functions by which the history of flow affects the future forces, are evaluated by using the Convolution Integral. The results show that the effects due to history of both velocity and acceleration are by no means negligible, that is the velocity and the acceleration at a specific time prior to any instant is so domineering that the fluid dynamic force can approximately be expressed as being delayed by this period of time. This 'time-delay', or time lag (as opposed to phase-lag) in the part of the measured force is found to be independent of the frequency of excitation. In the light of this evidence, a prediction model is suggested for estimating unsteady fluid forces. The data required for the application of this prediction model are obtained experimentally. Chapter One of this thesis gives a brief explanation of the historical background of unsteady fluid dynamics. The effects of acceleration on the fluid dynamic force, in both ideal and real fluids, are discussed in Chapter Two. Explained in Chapter Three are the techniques used for building the force prediction model, and data acquisition. The experimental procedure is explained in Chapter Four. Chapter Five gives the empirical form of the prediction model, and some data that are used in association with this model. Dedicated to my Parents


The study's overall objective is to present how the development of the Swedish biofuels system impacts the achievement of the European Union's target of 10% of renewable fuels in transport by 2020 and the establishment of a vehicle fleet independent of fossil fuels by 2030 in the country. The methodological approach is based on a combination of forecasting and backcasting scenarios. This cross-analysis is used to relate one set of data with others in order to identify gaps between the potential energy use in the Swedish domestic transport sector with the country's desired targets. Our analysis shows three gaps related to i) infrastructure and management capabilities for local biofuel production, ii) policy instruments to trigger systemic changes to reduce dependence of imports, and iii) investment decisions. In order to bridge those gaps, policymakers have to decide on how to steer the system's development not only by combining different pathways between growth patterns of the Swedish biofuel system but also deciding either to apply supply or demand pressures onto the system as driving forces. Despite meeting the desired target of 10% of renewable fuels in transport by 2020, these choices have to be taken in a very short-run in order to shape the development of the Swedish biofuel system away of failing the target of establishing a vehicle fleet independent of fossil fuels by 2030.


Based on a numerical model that includes accurate electrical and thermal sub-models, the energy characteristics of double-drift silicon IMPATT diodes with a pulsed mode for 94 and 140 GHz are studied. The optimization of the internal structure of the diode with a traditional doping profile and a complex doping profile has been carried out. Semiconductor structures with a complex doping profile are analyzed to increase the power level and efficiency of the IMPATT diode with a maximum level of direct current density. The dependences of the power level, efficiency, and admittance characteristics were studied as functions of the supply current density for optimal and almost optimal structures. The analysis of the sensitivity of the output power to the accuracy of the technological parameters when changing the total length of the diode near the optimal value and when redistributing individual parts between high and low doping levels is carried out. Complex semiconductor structures can be recommended to increase runtime and reliability of high-power pulse diodes. Key-Words: Semiconductor microwave devices, modeling and simulation, structure optimization.


The different conditions of the premaxillary in primitive actinopterygians are individualized, or fused to adjacent bones. Their dental field can also be divided and fused to neighbouring bones, the premaxillaries may be separated across the midline, or, finally, they have disappeared. This separation and absence can result in a rostral notch observed in rhadinichthyids, and presumed in other groups such as the redfieldiiformes. It can be suggested that the plesiomorphous gnathostome dermal skeletal condition is micromeric, that the primitive actinopterygian larval snout condition derived from that condition was mesomeric, and that heterochronic changes during early actinopterygian evolution gave rise during development (1) of mesomeric adult primitive actinopterygians through neoteny, (2) of macromeric adult primitive actinopterygians through fusions of bones, (3) to the condition of actinopterygians lacking a premaxillary through its loss. The neopterygian condition may have arisen through paedomorphosis from either mesomeric primitive fossil actinopterygians, or directly by heterochrony from the larval primitive condition.


Abstract This paper examines the roles of indexicals in explicating speakers' intentions and constructing common ground (CG) in the context of a continuum with two extreme endpoints, the intracultural at one end, and the intercultural at the other, within the framework of the socio-cognitive approach proposed and developed by Kecskes (2008, 2010, 2014) and Kecskes and Zhang (2009). Thirteen participants from different linguistic and cultural backgrounds were recruited to represent varying degrees on the intra- and intercultural continuum. They were divided into three groups: American English speakers, speakers from Asian countries (Korea, China, and Vietnam), and a group of speakers (China, Vietnam, Brazil, and America), each of whom represents linguistically and culturally different countries. Eight extracts were drawn from the data of up to three hours of recordings, including discussions on one topic, and retrospective interviews retrieving the speakers' intentions for using deixis. The results reveal that the closer the interlocutors were towards the intercultural communicative context endpoint on the continuum, the more they employed four types of indexicals (person, location or spatial, temporal, and discourse deixis) as common ground construction strategies. Those strategies included the explicit manifestation of intentions, clarification, and confirmation of referent identification in actual situational context, elicitation of information, disambiguation and explanation of similar salient specifics in their home culture in an effort to sustain cooperative communication. This study enhances our understanding of different functions of indexicals in interactions on the intra- and intercultural continuum, which resulted from different levels of context interpretation and common ground.


The South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) is assisting the Florida Department of Environmental Regulation (FDER) in the establishment of a central repository for statewide hydrologic data. To handle an extensive well inventory a database development software package, DataFlex, was used. Fifty-eight fields are incorporated which describe well location, construction, ownership, aquifer information, and water quality. Computer hardware utilized included an IBM PC-XT with 640K of random access memory (RAM) and 10 megabyte fixed disk. The database concept has advantages over using spreadsheet, primarily due to the ability to index records and the efficient use of RAM. Data can then be transferred to another DataFlex environment. Data can also be output via the same telecommunications network in any format.


Spanning the Eurasian continent and thousands of years, the Silk Road was an incredible network of trade routes, but wares were far from the only goods exchanged on its expanses. People from many lands travelled the passages of the Silk Road and with them they brought their religion, culture, art, music, cuisine, technology and way of life. Silk from China was brought to Rome, glass from Baghdad found its way to Mongolia. Buddhism spread from India outward, the Koran travelled thousands of miles. And with each stop, a new variation was made on the object or idea that found itself in a new place. "Traveling the Silk Road" follows this transition and transmission of wares and culture from Xi'an, China, to Turfan, China, on to Samarkand in Uzbekistan, then Baghdad in Iraq and finally to Istanbul, Turkey and the sea routes around the continent. This truly epic journey is illustrated with amazing artwork, texts and artefacts found in archaeological sites all along the road.


Ontic structural realism (OSR) is at its core the view that structure is ontologically fundamental. Informed from its inception by the revolutions of 20th century science, it is claimed to provide the perspective on ontology most befitting of modern physics. But what precisely its core claim that 'structure is fundamental' amounts to is difficult to articulate, as is what its purported naturalistic credentials should ultimately be taken to be. It is also difficult to sustain OSR's core claim on the basis of our best current physics. What is clear, however, is that OSR has brought swathes of relevant material from the sciences to the table of contemporary metaphysics, and that metaphysicians ignore this rich seam of material to their own analytical loss.

This article aims to identify different positions within OSR and the connections between them, and examine the warrant provided by our best current physics for the claim that structure is ontologically fundamental. It will be argued that kind properties continue to pose a challenge to OSR – something that has perhaps been obscured by the fact that ontological priority has primarily been conceived of in terms of ontological dependence and not a relation of ontological determination (or 'grounding'). As such, it is argued, it seems difficult to maintain the fundamentality of structure on the basis of present physics. But another hope is to convey that OSR must incorporate both the fine details of contemporary physics and tools from a priori metaphysics in the course of its development, and as such that metaphysicians of all stripes have not only a stake in the standing of its claims but a role to play in the argument behind them.


In this contribution, Sweden´s favourable tax regime which awards a significantly reduced electricity tax rate to data centres is examined. The findings of the paper are applicable to other jurisdictions, such as Denmark and Finland, as they are subject to similar conditions. Data centres are, when subject to the tax regime, subject to less than 2% of the normal electricity tax tariff. Multinational tech-giants benefit heavily from it while many domestic companies (colocation centres) are excluded due to its technical design and attached administrative case law. Initial calculations indicate there is tax savings of more than SEK 500 million (circa Euro 50 million) on an annual basis. Therefore, the tax regime acts as an international tax competition tool through its fiscal state aid function while, at the same time, eroding the tax bases and business life of northern Sweden. It does not initially appear to infringe on EU state aid rules nor the principle of non-discrimination. This Illustrates that there is still some margin of freedom for individual Member States to compete through tax measures. Additionally, tax policy objectives of the tax regime are considered and analysed. In particular, the impact it has had on not only international tax competition but also the economy of local municipalities, local business life, and progressive climate goals. A critical commentary focusing on sustainability is applied throughout the paper.
Multinational enterprises, tech-companies, tax incentives, energy taxation, international tax competition.


For many years prior to its demise, Lehman Brothers employed Ernst & Young (EY) as the firm's independent auditors to review its financial statements and express an opinion as to whether they fairly represented the company's financial position. EY was supposed to try to detect fraud, determine whether a matter should be publicly disclosed, and communicate certain issues to Lehman's Board audit committee. After Lehman filed for bankruptcy, it was discovered that the firm had employed questionable accounting with regard to an unorthodox financing transaction, Repo 105, which it used to make its results appear better than they were. EY was aware of Lehman's use of Repo 105, and its failure to disclose its use. EY also knew that Lehman included in its liquidity pool assets that were impaired. When questioned, EY insisted that it had done nothing wrong. However, Anton R. Valukas, the Lehman bankruptcy examiner, concluded that EY had not fulfilled its duties and that probable claims existed against EY for malpractice. In this case, participants will consider the role and effectiveness of independent auditors in ensuring complete and accurate financial statements and related public disclosure.


We propose and demonstrate wavelength conversion of spectrum-sliced broadband amplified spontaneous emission light sources based on hybrid four-wave mixing (HFWM) in highly nonlinear, dispersion- shifted fibers (HNL-DSFs). The theory of HFWM between coherent pumps and incoherent signal is analyzed. The degenerate HFWM is demonstrated experimentally in a 1-km-long HNL-DSF, where the coherent pump light is provided by a tunable cw laser source and the incoherent signal light is spectrum-sliced from a broadband amplified spontaneous emission light source. A conversion efficiency of about -20.4 dB and a bandwidth of about 38 nm are measured. The experimental result agrees well with the theoretical analysis.


UN1VERSITI Malaya s improved position shows that the strategic plan which was implemented two years ago under the
leadership of our Vice chancellor Datuk Rafiah Salim and the excellent support and teamwork of our staff is bearing fruit
Our focus in implementing the strategic plan is to ensure the international competitiveness of UM in recognition of the fact
that we are now living in a borderless global community.


After more than 20 years, the conflict of interest (COI) movement has failed to substantiate its central claim that interactions between physicians, researchers and the medical products industry cause physicians to make clinical decisions that are adverse to the best interests of their patients. The COI movement's instigators have produced no solid evidence of harm commensurate with their extravagant allegations. At the same time, they have diverted resources away from more worthwhile pursuits, such as basic and applied medical research, clinical care and medical education towards onerous compliance exercises and obtrusive laws. Perhaps worst of all, they have made it respectable to ignore the epistemological foundations of medical science, diverting attention away from the scientific merit of the information presented and focusing it instead on the identity and motives of those who present the information.


Vaccines are one of the most effective public health interventions, but factors influencing vaccine efficacy remain poorly understood. Natural killer (NK) cells contribute to adaptive immune responses following activation by IL-2 from memory T cells or crosslinking of CD16 by antigen-antibody complexes. Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), a highly prevalent herpes virus, drives expansion of a mature CD56dimCD57+NKG2C+ NK cell subset, skewing the NK cell repertoire towards contact-dependent activation at the expense of cytokine sensitivity. I hypothesised that HCMV seropositivity would be associated with diminished NK cell activation during recall responses to vaccine antigens.
To test this hypothesis, I first confirmed my ability to detect NK cell responses following restimulation with vaccine antigens and described differential activation by CD57-defined NK cell subsets: mature CD56dimCD57+ NK cells produced less IFN-γ than CD56bright or CD56dimCD57- NK cells, consistent with their reduced responsiveness to IL-2. Next, in a crosssectional study of 152 UK adults (36% HCMV+), I found that NK cell IFN-γ and degranulation responses to pertussis or H1N1 influenza vaccines were lower among HCMV+ individuals as compared to HCMV- individuals. The higher proportion of CD56dimCD57+NKG2C+ NK cells in HCMV+ individuals did not fully explain these impaired responses, as cells from all CD57/NKG2C-defined subsets responded less well. Finally, as I had detected lower expression of IL-18Rα on NK cells in HCMV+ individuals, I characterised pro-inflammatory cytokine interactions driving early NK cell activation and identified a central role for IL-18, due to its ability to synergise with IgG-CD16 crosslinking and common γ chain cytokines, including IL-2. This work demonstrates, for the first time, that HCMV serostatus influences heterogeneity in NK cell contributions to adaptive immunity and raises important questions regarding the impact of HCMV infection on vaccine efficacy. Furthermore, my work highlights that HCMV infection status is a major confounder of any study of human NK cell phenotype or function.


This paper proposes and characterises a new normative solution concept for Kydland and Prescott problems, allowing for a commitment device. A policy choice is dominated if either (a) an alternative exists that is superior to it in a timeconsistent subdomain of the constraint set, or (b) an alternative exists that Paretodominates it over time. Policies may be time-consistently undominated where timeconsistent optimality is not possible. We derive necessary and su cient conditions for this to be true, and show that these are equivalent to a straightforward but signi cant change to the rst-order conditions that apply under Ramsey policy. Time-consistently undominated policies are an order of magnitude simpler than Ramsey choice, whilst retaining normative appeal. This is illustrated across a range of examples.


How are public service organizations governed? How can their performance be measured, managed and improved? Public services play a central role in the well-being, sustainability and growth of communities, cities and nations. Managing to Improve Public Services shows how management can be harnessed to improve a range of public services (e.g. policing, health, local government) by examining them through different theoretical lenses (e.g. governance, innovation and change, performance metrics and management). It advances both theory and practice, beyond traditional public administration and 'new public management', by considering the interrelationships between governance and public management. The book is written by a group of leading social science and management specialists, who were awarded the prestigious ESRC/EPSRC Public Service Fellow awards as part of the Advanced Institute of Management Research initiative. It will be of interest to graduate students, academics and policy makers involved in public service management and performance measurement.


A seasonal variation in the numbers of faecal indicator
bacteria in the Derwent Estuary was not observed, although a decrease
in numbers along the Estuary associated with a decrease in human
population was noted. There were no consistent significant correlations
between the numbers of indicator bacteria and predacious microorganisms,
temperature, salinity, solar radiation or rainfall. The survival of
E. coli in estuarine water samples, however, exhibited a marked
seasonal variation. This variation was not correlated with changes in
salinity or microbial predators, but appeared to be associated with
changes in water temperature with greater survival during the colder,
winter months (April-July) than in the warmer, summer months (December-February).
There was no significant variation in E. cal: survival or
the growth of predators from sites subject to previous sewage pollution
to sites free from previous sewage pollution.
The introduction of faecal bacteria into estuarine water samples
produced a homeostatic response from a sequence of the indigenous microbial
predators. These organisms increased markedly in numbers, bringing about
a marked decrease and often complete destruction of the prey bacteria.
Following the exhaustion of food supply, the predacious microorganisms
gradually returned to their original level. In pure culture studies
involving individual predator and prey species, a similar pattern of
predator growth and prey destruction also occurred. Once prey numbers
had been reduced to a certain level, predator numbers also declined as
the food supply declined, until the predatory pressure was removed
from the prey population, resulting in the cryptic growth of the prey
species.
Bacterial decline following the inhibition of protozoan predators
indicated that bacterial predators also contributed to prey destruction, but in natural estuarine water samples were maintained at lower levels due to "grazing" by predacious protozoa. The periodic inhibition of
protozoan predators revealed that their major effect on the prey
population and on bacterial predators was exerted during the first 2
days of a 10 day decline period. The initial concentration of E. coli
prey present influenced the size of the predator population and the
sequence of microbial predators which developed.
The survival of faecal indicator bacteria in separate estuarine
water samples varied from one organism to another as follows:
Enterobacter aerogenes, Streptococcus faecium > E. coli, Salmonella
typhimurium > Klebsiella pneumoniae. When incubated together, prey
resistance and prey selection by microbial predators resulted in
different prey survival patterns: S. typhimurium > E. coli, E. coli >
K. pneumoniae and E. coli > S. faecium.
E. coli and S. typhimurium exhibited similar survival curves
and their presence resulted in the growth of comparable numbers of
predacious microorganisms at a range of incubation temperatures.
Bacterial decline was found to be dependent on the presence of both
bacterial and protozoan predators, the latter having a temperature
optimum of 15-20°C and the former becoming more important as the
incubation temperature increased.
The decline of E. coIi cells in estuarine water samples was
found to be significantly greater in the presence of both . naturally occurring
microbial predators and solar radiation than when each of
these factors was acting independently. The effect of solar radiation
on microbial. predators was negligible, while the resistance of bacteria
to light-induced decay varied from one organism to another as follows:
S. typhimurium, S. faecium, E. aerogenes, E. herbicola >E. coli >
K. - pneumoniae.


BACKGROUND
Symptoms of depression and anxiety are frequently encountered in the course of schizophrenia and are of considerable clinical importance. They may compromise social and vocational functioning, and they are associated with an increased risk of relapse and suicide. Various treatment approaches have been reported to be successful.

METHOD
The sample comprised 177 patients with DSM-III-R or DSM-IV schizophrenia or schizophreniform disorder who were participants in multinational clinical drug trials at our academic psychiatric unit over a 7-year period and who were assessed by means of the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). Analysis was performed on baseline PANSS scores. The depression/anxiety score was compared in the men and women, first-episode and multiple-episode patients, and those with predominantly positive and negative syndromes. Correlations were sought between depression/anxiety scores and age, total PANSS score, positive score, negative score, general psychopathology score, and treatment outcome. Multivariate analysis was applied to determine contributions of individual variables toward depression/anxiety and outcome scores.

RESULTS
Depression and anxiety symptoms were more severe in women (p = .007), first-episode patients (p = .02), and those with predominantly positive symptoms (p < .0001). Depression/anxiety scores were significantly correlated to age (r = -0.31, p < .0001), PANSS positive scores (r = 0.39, p < .0001), and treatment outcome (r = 0.25, p = .006). Multivariate analysis bore out these results, with the exception that first episode was not a significant predictor of depression and anxiety scores.

CONCLUSION
PANSS depressive/anxiety scores were generally low in our sample, perhaps because patients with schizoaffective disorder were excluded. The finding that these symptoms were more prominent in women and first-episode patients is in keeping with previous literature. The higher scores in first-episode patients are likely due to the higher positive symptom scores in these patients. The association between depressive/anxiety scores and positive symptoms but not with negative symptoms points to a specific relationship between affective symptoms and the positive symptom domain of schizophrenia. The presence of depressive and anxiety symptoms may predict a more favorable outcome to treatment, although this may only apply to the acute exacerbations of the illness.


In this thoroughly engaging book Deirdre McCloskey puts the "dismal science" under the microscope. She offers advice to young economists, offering models from the old; and she lambastes the middle-aged who have allowed economics to become, as she puts it with characteristic verve, "a boys' game in a sandbox." McCloskey deploys her wit and style to serious purpose: to bring economics back to science.Anyone can learn about the field of economics from "How to Be Human." She can learn how economics works as a discipline and as a piece of sociology, who the heroes are and the villains, how a career in economics relates to matters of ethics and epistemology. She can learn what it is like to be a new woman in a boys' subject, a subject that avoids at all costs the word "love."During the 1990s Deirdre McCloskey established herself as the main internal critic of the economic mainstream. Her quarterly columns in the "Eastern Economic Journal, " many of which are collected here, have become a handbook for reform. Trained in economics herself, she knows the normal science of the field from the inside: she has done it as a distinguished economic historian; and has watched it work from the faculties of Chicago (for twelve years) and Iowa (for nineteen), and now at the University of Illinois at Chicago.Her criticism from the inside is that the two methods on which economics has depended since the 1940s--existence-theorem mathematics and significance-testing statistics--are nonsense. They have, she claims, nothing to do with economic science, and have massively diverted economists from finding out how the economy works.McCloskey's book is written for anyone interested in economics, whether trained in it or not--anyone who cares about the economy but is not taken in by the boys' game.Deirdre McCloskey is University Professor of the Human Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago.


The Lambeth Commission on Communion's Windsor Report 2004, released in October 2004, analyzes the current situation of sustained controversy and makes numerous recommendations as to how the Anglican Communion can restructure itself in order to preserve "the highest degree of communion possible." Beyond its recommendations for dealing with the events that prompted the appointment of the Commission, the Windsor Report proposes strengthening the "Instruments of Unity" in a way that would, it is hoped, limit the amount of divisiveness in future controversies. However, these proposals pose significant theological and ecclesiological problems: they attempt to curtail the work of the Holy Spirit in leading the church into all truth, and they give too much weight to agreement in a church that has cherished and promoted diversity of theology and practice in all but the most important areas of the faith. On October 18, 2004, the Anglican Communion released the Windsor Report 2004, the report of the Lambeth Commission on Communion, formed by the Archbishop of Canterbury in response to the situation that has developed in the Anglican Communion in the wake of decisions in the Anglican Church of Canada and the Episcopal Church relative to homosexuality, and the decisions of a number of provinces to declare they are now or may soon be no longer in communion with the Diocese of New Westminster or the Episcopal Church. The Lambeth Commissions charge was specifically not to consider issues of human sexuality as such, but rather to focus on how Anglican churches might maintain "the highest degree of communion possible"1 in what is a serious and widespread situation of conflict. The Windsor Report has numerous recommendations. The headline grabbers are three invitations: 1) The Episcopal Church has been "invited" to make a statement of regret for the damage it has done to the Communion in consecrating Bishop Eugene Robinson. 2) The Diocese of New Westminster, the Anglican Church of Canada, and the Episcopal Church have been "invited" to make a similar statement of regret for authorizing same-sex blessings. 3) Various conservative elements have been "invited" to make statements of regret for the damage they have done to the Communion by escalating rhetoric and by uncanonical crossing of diocesan boundaries. In all three cases, there is also an "invitation" to enter into a moratorium on all such future acts.2 These "invitations" have teeth. The Report both declines to speculate, and also notes that in any situation of conflict among human groups or organizations, there are approximately four options, in escalating degrees of seriousness: mediation and arbitration; removal of invitation to attend important meetings as participants; invitations to attend these same meetings as observers only; and finally revocation of membership (para. 157). These are serious matters. They require a great deal of careful thought, diligent prayer, and sustained though difficult discussion and debate. More important than the headline grabbers, however, are some of the other more general recommendations that both indicate a particular view of the church and also propose how the church might go about embodying that view. That is what I will focus on: changes in ecclesiology and ecclesial practice that require very careful consideration not only to assess the benefits of such changes, but also to assess what they may cost. These have to do with fundamental perennial tensions in our understanding of church-tensions between unity and diversity, and between autonomy and communion. Along with these is always the question of who and what has what kind of authority. These are tensions that must be held for any ecclesiology to be sound theologically, and also for it actually to work in practice. The Windsor Report deals with these tensions and the underlying questions of authority by giving clear priority to unity over diversity, to community over autonomy, and to the centralization of authority at the international level, as well as to various bishops and colleges of bishops. …


Identifying drivers of ecosystem change in large marine ecosystems is central for their effective management and conservation. This is a sizable challenge, particularly in ecosystems transcending international borders, where monitoring and conservation of long‐range migratory species and their habitats are logistically and financially problematic. Here, using tools borrowed from epidemiology, we elucidated common drivers underlying species declines within a marine ecosystem, much in the way epidemiological analyses evaluate risk factors for negative health outcomes to better inform decisions. Thus, we identified ecological traits and dietary specializations associated with species declines in a community of marine predators that could be reflective of ecosystem change. To do so, we integrated count data from winter surveys collected in long‐term marine bird monitoring programs conducted throughout the Salish Sea—a transboundary large marine ecosystem in North America's Pacific Northwest. We found that decadal declines in winter counts were most prevalent among pursuit divers such as alcids (Alcidae) and grebes (Podicipedidae) that have specialized diets based on forage fish, and that wide‐ranging species without local breeding colonies were more prone to these declines. Although a combination of factors is most likely driving declines of diving forage fish specialists, we propose that changes in the availability of low‐trophic prey may be forcing wintering range shifts of diving birds in the Salish Sea. Such a synthesis of long‐term trends in a marine predator community not only provides unique insights into the types of species that are at risk of extirpation and why, but may also inform proactive conservation measures to counteract threats—information that is paramount for species‐specific and ecosystem‐wide conservation.


In Mukherji, Aditi; Villholth, K. G.; Sharma, Bharat R.; Wang, J. (Eds.) Groundwater governance in the Indo-Gangetic and Yellow River basins: realities and challenges. London, UK: CRC Press


Based on survey data for Switzerland, new empirical findings on direct democracy are presented. In the first part, we show that, on average, public employees receive lower financial compensation under more direct democratic institutions. However, top bureaucrats are more constrained in direct democracies and have to be compensated by higher wages for that loss of power. In the second part, we demonstrate that reported subjective well-being of the population is much higher in jurisdictions with stronger direct democratic rights. This is not only the case because people value political outcomes higher but they derive utility from the political process itself.


Summary A complete palmar antebrachiocarpal luxation due to rupture of the medial collateral ligament was diagnosed in a cat. Complete antebrachiocarpal luxation in dogs is generally associated with the disruption of multiple carpal ligaments. A comparative anatomical study of cadavers of five cats and five dogs revealed that, unlike in dogs, the medial collateral ligament in cats consists of only one branch, which extends from its dorsoproximal attachment on the radius obliquely to its palmarodistal attachment on the radial carpal bone. The oblique course of the ligament likely opposes palmar dislocation of the radial carpal bone rather than medial opening of the radiocarpal joint. In this present reported case, adequate joint stability was achieved by replacing the medial collateral ligament using two 1.5-mm cortical screws and a 3.5 (metric gauge) polypropylene figure-8 suture sling. Minimal signs of osteoarthrosis developed three months after surgery, but functional outcome at six months was very satisfactory.


The Dissolved Air Flotation (DAF) process is very effective in removing low density floc particles for drinking water treatment. It is especially well known in removing turbidity and algae by flotation process. The micro-bubbles in the DAF process pick up small flocs, thereby turbidity materials and floated algae are removed efficiently. When air is substituted by ozone in the DAF process, the removal rates of water quality parameters are highly enhanced including turbidity and algae. The turbidity removal rate is enhanced by 1.1% while the removal rate of THMFP is increased by 11.7%. Other parameters such as TOC, and microbial agents are also removed greatly by using ozone instead of air in DA F system.


This project presents the evaluation results of three Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) technologies offered by system providers for improving operational efficiency and traffic safety at highway work zones. The first is an integration of variable message signs (VMS) and sensors that function to guide traffic approaching the work zone via dynamic late merge (DLM) operations. Observations of the day-to-day traffic patterns over the work zone under DLM control clearly indicate that such a control system has the potential to significantly increase the work zone throughput, reduce the queue length, and vehicle delay if all sensors and VMS are placed at proper locations. The second technology is a travel time prediction system that employs traffic data from sensors to project the travel time from a set of given origins to the target destination. The field test results from the highway segment along Eastbound Interstate-70 (EB I-70) from Maryland Route 32 (MD 32) to I-695 reveal that prediction of travel times under moderate and stable traffic conditions is likely to yield an acceptable level of reliability. However, much remains to be improved for achieving reliable prediction of travel times under congested and unstable traffic flows. The third target technology under evaluation is a license plate recognition (LPR) system that computes the travel time between an origin-destination (O-D) pair based on the entry and exit times of a matched license plate number. The performance of the LPR system on the I-95 testing site shows that the employed technology for LPR cannot yield a sufficient level of license recognition rate for reliable estimation of travel times unless the target highway segment is under congested traffic conditions and vehicles are moving under relatively slow speeds. Besides, the LPRS may not be a cost-effective system for use in local arterials with a large percentage of turning flows, which often causes the LPRS to have a low match rate.


To improve seismic resolution using vibroseis, vibrators must output the ground-force energy with minimum harmonic distortion. Four main sources within the vibrator system cause the ground force to suffer severe harmonic distortion: the nonlinear servo-valve flow-pressure character-istics, the servo-valve characteristics near null, the fluctuations in the hydraulic pressure, and the nonlinear contact-stiffness between the baseplate and the ground. Modeling was undertaken to investigate and quantify harmonic distortion from each source. As a result, three modifications have been made to reduce the harmonic distortion of the ground force:


The AGMEMOD Partnership seeks to capture the inherent heterogeneity of the agricultural systems existing by combining individual country models of 27 EU Member States and several accession countries into one single model while still maintaining analytical consistency. Although this approach facilitates the comparison of the impact of a policy across different Member States, it generates challenges in practical implementation, ranging from high communication and administration requirements to aggregation and consistency issues. This contribution provides insights into the different challenges posed to the scientists and discusses the key issues for maintenance and further development of such a complex system. Specific attention is paid to technical devices and tools as well as to the design of institutional settings for avoiding inconsistencies.


Israel is one of the most unique sociological experiments of immigration and assimilation in the modern world. Since its formation in 1948, Israel has depended on immigration of the Jewish Diaspora for nearly its entire population and continues to grant automatic citizenship to Jews hailing from all countries of the globe. The country has an official policy of assimilation and does not recognize ethnic differences among Jews. Such a situation has made Israel one of the most culturally pro-immigrant countries in the entire world. However, recent influxes of culturally diverse Jewish populations from the former USSR have emigrated to Israel and failed to assimilate to previously accepted cultural norms, thus threatening to challenge Israel's long held policy of assimilation. This paper seeks to analyze the history of Jewish immigration and assimilation. It also seeks to evaluate the cultural and economic factors that affect perceptions of immigrants by comparing attitudes towards recent immigration from the USSR among various segments of Israeli society, including the Ashkenazi Jews, Mizrahim Jews, and Arab Israelis.


While phrasal comparatives of inequality with the comparative marker que 'than' (Pedro es mas inteligente que yo 'Pedro is more intelligent than 1.sg.nom') have received a fair deal of attention in the study of Spanish (e.g., Bolinger 1950, Plann 1984, Saez del Alamo 1990, Gutierrez Ordonez 1994, Romero Cambron 1998, Brucart 2003 or Reglero 2007), dialectal variation has not figured prominently in the literature. Microvariation within Chilean Spanish provides evidence for the existence of both a reduced clause analysis and a PP analysis of the que-XP in the context above, as opposed to standard Spanish, where only the former analysis applies. This microvariation is the result of the availability of two distinct lexical entries for que (a pure complementizer vs. a preposition) or lack thereof. The PP analysis is argued to be consistent with the gradual change from de 'of' to que in the history of comparatives in Spanish (Romero Cambron 1998).


Achieving nearly zero carbon heating continues to be identified by UK government analysis as an important feature of any lowest cost pathway to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Heat currently accounts for 48% of UK energy consumption and approximately one third of UK's greenhouse gas emissions. Heat Networks are being promoted by UK investment policies as one means of supporting hybrid heat pump based solutions. To this effect the RISE (Renewable Integrated and Sustainable Electric) heating system project is investigating how an all-electric heating sourceshybrid configuration could play a key role in long-term decarbonisation of heat. For the purposes of this study, hybrid systems are defined as systems combining the technologies of an electric driven air source heat pump, electric powered thermal storage, a thermal vessel and micro-heat network as an integrated system. This hybrid strategy allows for the system to store up energy during periods of low electricity demand from the national grid, turning it into a dynamic supply of low cost heat which is utilized only when required. Currently a prototype of such a system is being tested in a modern house integrated with advanced controls and sensors. This paper presents the virtual performance analysis of the system and its design for a micro heat network with multiple dwelling units. The results show that the RISE system is controllable and can reduce carbon emissions whilst being competitive in running costs with a conventional gas boiler heating system. Keywords—Gas boilers, heat pumps, hybrid heating and thermal storage, renewable integrated& sustainable electric.


1 Faculdade de Medicina do ABC, Santo André, SP, Brazil. 2 Programa Municipal de DST/AIDS e Hepatites Virais de São Bernardo do Campo, SP, Brazil. 3 Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Estados Unidos. Conflicts of interest: none. Introduction: Patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) who use highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) can develop lipodystrophy syndrome, for which facial filling with polymethylmethacrylate is a treatment option. The objective is to analyze the procedure of facial filling and evaluate patients in relation to their perception, discomfort, revelation of the diagnosis to third parties, expectation concerning facial filling, and satisfaction with the treatment outcome and its impact on their lives. Methods: Sixty-three patients who underwent facial filling were evaluated. Procedures performed between January and July 2009 were assessed, the records of the patients were analyzed, and the outpatient lipodystrophy protocol of the STD/AIDS and Viral Hepatitis Municipal Program of São Bernardo do Campo was used. Results: All the 63 patients who agreed to participate in the research completed the study. Only 6 patients (9.5%) were from other municipalities, while 57 patients (90.5%) were residents of São Bernardo. Of the patients, 68.2% were men and 100% were Caucasian. The mean age of the patients was 49.7 years. Human immunodeficiency virus was diagnosed 11.5 years prior on average, with 10-year average use of HAART and 3.8-year average time of facial lipoatrophy. Most of the patients used stavudine and/or efavirenz. The patients themselves felt more uncomfortable with facial changes. Among the patients, 85.7% did not reveal the diagnosis to third parties. Conclusion: All of the patients were satisfied or very satisfied with the result obtained, which had a favorable impact on their lives. The filling surgical procedure had no adverse effects. ■ ABSTRACT


A total pressure apparatus has been developed to measure vapour-liquid equilibrium data on binary mixtures at atmospheric and sub-atmospheric pressures. The method gives isothermal data which can be obtained rapidly. Only measurements of total pressure are made as a direct function of composition of synthetic liquid phase composition, the vapour phase composition being deduced through the Gibbs-Duhem relationship. The need to analyse either of the phases is eliminated. As such the errors introduced by sampling and analysis are removed. The essential requirements are that the pure components be degassed completely since any deficiency in degassing would introduce errors into the measured pressures. A similarly essential requirement was that the central apparatus would have to be absolutely leak-tight as any leakage of air either in or out of the apparatus would introduce erroneous pressure readings. The apparatus was commissioned by measuring the saturated vapour pressures of both degassed water and ethanol as a function of temperature. The pressure-temperature data on degassed water measured were directly compared with data in the literature, with good agreement. Similarly the pressure-temperature data were measured for ethanol, methanol and cyclohexane and where possible a direct comparison made with the literature data. Good agreement between the pure component data of this work and those available in the literature demonstrates firstly that a satisfactory degassing procedure has been achieved and that secondly the measurements of pressure-temperature are consistent for any one component; since this is true for a number of components, the measurements of both temperature and pressure are both self-consistent and of sufficient accuracy, with an observed compatibility between the precision/accuracy of the separate means of measuring pressure and temperature. The liquid mixtures studied were of ethanol-water, methanol-water and ethanol-cyclohexane. The total pressure was measured as the composition inside the equilibrium cell was varied at a set temperature. This gave P-T-x data sets for each mixture at a range of temperatures. A standard fitting-package from the literature was used to reduce the raw data to yield y-values to complete the x-y-P-T data sets. A consistency test could not be applied to the P-T-x data set as no y-values were obtained during the experimental measurements. In general satisfactory agreement was found between the data of this work and those available in the literature. For some runs discrepancies were observed, and further work recommended to eliminate the problems identified.


Doctors may also be criminals. Mercifully, this is a rare event but no health professional is infallible, mistakes happen and the challenge is to distinguish inadvertence from wilful disregard for the consequences. Healthcare professionals are uneasy about the readiness of the current law to attribute criminal responsibility accompanied by a failure to recognise the highly pressurised context in which sub-standard practice occurs. This article argues that the offence of gross negligence manslaughter is improperly defined and fails to target those doctors whom society should criminalise. Alternatives to gross negligence manslaughter to include culpable homicide adopted in Scotland and the major departure test favoured by New Zealand are considered before advocating a more radical approach—the sliding scale of negligence. Using existing tests in civil and administrative law, a more objective test of gross negligence is proposed, with culpability as a mandatory requirement for a doctor to be convicted of a crime. It is contended the law must move away from the stance a patient's death is required for medical negligence to become a crime, an outcome bias, to a conduct biased offence. There is no underlying reason why culpable gross negligence causing serious harm should not also be subject to criminal sanction. The recent sentencing guidelines demonstrate the law is sophisticated enough to distinguish reprehensible conduct from careless behaviour. It is now time for the legal test to also acknowledge all the circumstances of the alleged crime.


Background Mortality from acute bacterial meningitis (ABM) in sub-Saharan African adults and adolescents exceeds 50%. We tested if Goal Directed Therapy (GDT) was feasible for adults and adolescents with clinically suspected ABM in Malawi. Materials and methods Sequential patient cohorts of adults and adolescents with clinically suspected ABM were recruited in the emergency department of a teaching hospital in Malawi using a before/after design. Routine care was monitored in year one (P1). In year two (P2), nurses delivered protocolised GDT (rapid antibiotics, airway support, oxygenation, seizure control and fluid resuscitation) to a second cohort. The primary endpoint was composite mean number of clinical goals attained. Secondary endpoints were individual goals attained and death or disability from proven or probable ABM at day 40. Results 563 patients with suspected ABM were enrolled in the study; 273 were monitored in P1; 290 patients with suspected ABM received GDT in P2. 61% were male, median age 33 years and 90% were HIV co-infected. ABM was proven or probable in 132 (23%) patients. GDT attained more clinical goals compared to routine care: composite mean number of goals in P1 was 0·55 vs. 1·57 in P2 GDT (p<0·001); Death or disability by day 40 from proven or probable ABM occurred in 29/57 (51%) in P1 and 38/60 (63%) in P2 (p = 0·19). Conclusion Nurse-led GDT in a resource-constrained setting was associated with improved delivery of protocolised care. Outcome was unaffected. Trial registration www.isrctn.com ISRCTN96218197


Exclusive dealing contracts between manufacturers and retailers force new entrants to set up their own costly dealer networks to enter the market. We ask whether such contracts may act as an entry barrier, and provide an empirical analysis of the European car market. We first estimate a demand model with product and spatial differentiation, and quantify the role of a dense distribution network in explaining the car manufacturers' market shares. We then perform policy counterfactuals to assess the profit incentives and entry-deterring effects of exclusive dealing. We find that there are no individual incentives to maintain exclusive dealing, but there can be a collective incentive by the industry as a whole, even absent efficiencies. Furthermore, a ban on exclusive dealing would shift market shares from the larger European firms to the smaller entrants. More importantly, consumers would gain substantially, mainly because of the increased spatial availability and less so because of intensified price competition. Our findings suggest that the European Commission's recent decision to facilitate exclusive dealing in the car market may not have been warranted.


Abstract Conservation regulations aimed at restricting resource use are commonly used to manage and protect natural resources but their implementation depends on the compliance of resource users. The design of effective regulations should be informed by an understanding of the factors that affect compliance, considering contextual socio-economic information. Changes have been implemented in the national legislation protecting marine turtles in the Cape Verde archipelago, where historical and recent records indicate heavy human predation pressure on nesting and foraging marine turtles. We present an assessment of levels of illegal harvesting and consumption of marine turtle products on two of the islands, Boa Vista and Santiago, and an analysis of their potential drivers. Key stakeholders were interviewed to investigate the perceived impact of the main interventions employed in Cape Verde to reduce illegal harvesting, trade and consumption of marine turtles. Despite an apparent decrease in harvesting and consumption, our results suggest there has been a shift from subsistence harvesting to trade in Boa Vista. The existence of laws to protect marine turtles was perceived as a deterrent to harvesting, and awareness campaigns and a lack of availability were perceived as reasons for the decrease in consumption in Boa Vista and Santiago, respectively. Aiming to inform ongoing discussions, we recommend a multi-targeted approach focusing on both suppliers and consumers to magnify conservation effectiveness. Regular impact evaluation focusing on harvest and consumption is needed to improve the design of regulations and inform policy decision making.


The business environment in 1990s has been changed dramatically compared to the past
two to three decades. New management and marketing concepts have evolved in such
rapidity and being fine tuned in suiting to each corresponding industry. Information
technology have been much flourished and being widely applied in communication and
the related industry. This has shortened the barrier of distance and hence resulted the
competition became more tense in the 1990s business environment.
The industry of building material, being a supplier or trader will undoubtedly face tough
challenges despite the booming economic growth in recent years. Entry barrier to the
industry is low and the start-up cost might not intensive. This resulted a high numbers of
new rivals in the market every years. Profit is marginal as it is diluted by these runner-up
firms. The competition in the industry is intensive due to the end-run and guerrilla
offensives by the these firms. The whole market has thus become cost conscious.
Presented here, is a case study that looked into the problem of both sales and profit
decline due to the described industry scenario. There is a search of the modem marketing
management concepts to be adopted in a medium size distributor's daily business
operations. However, any transformational changes could not be actualized overnight. It
requires identification of problems, persistent planning and implementation of such
concepts to achieve a paradigm shift.


Background. Bright light and high-density negative air ion exposure are efficacious for winter and non-seasonal depression compared with a low-density negative ion placebo. Similarly, auditory stimuli improve mood in clinical populations. This study compared the short-term effects of bright light, an auditory stimulus, and high- and low-density negative ions on mood and alertness in mildly depressed and non-depressed adults. Method. One hundred and eighteen subjects, 69 women and 49 men (mean age±S.D., 19·4±1·7 years), participated once across the year. Subjects were randomly assigned to one of four conditions: bright light (10000 lux; n=29), auditory stimuli (60 dB; n=30), or high-density (4·5×1014 ions/s flow rate; n=29) or low-density (1·7×1011 ions/s; n=30; placebo control) negative ions. Exposure was for 30 min on three consecutive evenings between 1900 and 2100 hours. Mood and alertness assessments, using standardized scales, occurred before, and 15 and 30 min during exposure. The Beck Depression Inventory classified subjects as depressed ([ges ]10; n=35) or non-depressed (<10; n=83). Results. The three active stimuli, but not the low-density placebo, reduced depression, total mood disturbance (a global affect measure) and/or anger within 15–30 min. Neither testing season nor degree of depressive symptoms affected response to stimuli. Conclusions. The auditory stimulus, bright light and high-density ions all produced rapid mood changes – with small to medium effect sizes – in depressed and non-depressed subjects, compared with the low-density placebo, despite equivalent pre-study expectations. Thus, these stimuli improve mood acutely in a student sample, including a subset with depressive symptoms.


Almost all of the key molecules involved in the innate and adaptive immune response are glycoproteins. In the cellular immune system, specific glycoforms are involved in the folding, quality control, and assembly of peptide-loaded major histocompatibility complex (MHC) antigens and the T cell receptor complex. Although some glycopeptide antigens are presented by the MHC, the generation of peptide antigens from glycoproteins may require enzymatic removal of sugars before the protein can be cleaved. Oligosaccharides attached to glycoproteins in the junction between T cells and antigen-presenting cells help to orient binding faces, provide protease protection, and restrict nonspecific lateral protein-protein interactions. In the humoral immune system, all of the immunoglobulins and most of the complement components are glycosylated. Although a major function for sugars is to contribute to the stability of the proteins to which they are attached, specific glycoforms are involved in recognition events. For example, in rheumatoid arthritis, an autoimmune disease, agalactosylated glycoforms of aggregated immunoglobulin G may induce association with the mannose-binding lectin and contribute to the pathology.


In the present study the biological response to various nanotopographic features after gaseous plasma treatment were studied. The usefulness of nanostructured surfaces for implantable materials has already been acknowledged, while less is known on the combined effect of nanostructured plasma modified surfaces. In the present work the influence of oxygen plasma treatment on nanostructured titanium oxide (TiO2) surfaces was studied. Characterization of the TiO2 surface chemical composition and morphological features was analyzed after plasma modification by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and by scanning electron microscopy while surface wettability was studied with measuring the water contact angle. Cell adhesion and morphology was assessed from images taken with scanning electron microscopy, whereas cell viability was measured with a calorimetric assay. The obtained results showed that oxygen plasma treatment of TiO2 nanotube surfaces significantly influences the adhesion and morphology of osteoblast-like cells in comparison to untreated nanostructured surfaces. Marked changes in surface composition of plasma treated surfaces were observed, as plasma treatment removed hydrocarbon contamination and removed fluorine impurities, which were present due to the electrochemical anodization process. However no differences in wettability of untreated and plasma treated surfaces were noticed. Treatment with oxygen plasma stimulated osteoblast-like cell adhesion and spreading on the nanostructured surface, suggesting the possible use of oxygen plasma surface treatment to enhance osteoblast-like cell response.


This collection of over 200 classroom-tested activities and reproducible worksheets for students in grades 7 through 12 covers vital concepts in human biology and health, including extensive coverage of AIDS. These high-interest lessons and worksheets get students actively involved in learning-even students who are poorly motivated, learning disabled, or who lack English proficiency. The lessons are written so you can easily accommodate your students' various learning styles whether it's visual, auditory, and tactile. Each lesson helps students make connections between new material and concepts they're already familiar with. The book features 11 units, covering all the body's systems-such as circulatory, digestive, and immune systems, and offers a detailed look at cells, bones, muscles, and more. Each unit provides enjoyable, hands-on activities that engage secondary students-from building a cell model and testing foods for carbohydrates to dissecting a frog and making an action cartoon of a macrophage battling a microorganism. For convenience, the lessons are printed in a big, spiral-bound format that folds flat for photocopying.


Cross-Border Transfers of Undertakings: A European Perspective discusses the issue of cross-border transfers of undertakings from a European perspective and offers new and different solutions to issues of conflicting laws. Globalization and market integration have shaped the economic climate in such a way as to give rise to a considerable increase in cross-border mergers, acquisitions and corporate restructurings. However, the primary European Union (EU) legislation in this area – the Acquired Rights Directive – brings about only partial and minimum harmonization, giving rise to differences in the employee protective regime across the EU Member States. This book, the first full analysis of the EU-level private international law implications of the subject, masterfully addresses the plethora of questions that arise and presents well-considered recommendations towards the introduction of a new and uniform conflict of laws path for transfers of undertakings throughout the EU. What's in this book: With a methodology that combines comparative, 'black letter', legal historical and empirical approaches, the author addresses such issues and topics as the following: determination of applicable law both upon and after transfers; jurisdictional issues; the main provisions of the Acquired Rights Directive and their content; the main differences existing among the relevant laws of the Member States; special characteristics of the maritime sector and seagoing workers; and cross-border implications of Brexit. This book critically evaluates the existing rules on international jurisdiction and the conflict of laws relating to cross-border transfers of undertakings, clearly exposing the regime's merits and demerits. How this will help you: This book provides a comprehensive study of existing rules on jurisdiction and applicable laws to a cross-border transfer of undertaking. This book helps counsel representing any actor involved in a cross-border merger, acquisition or business restructuring – transferor, transferee or affected employees – gain a clear understanding of their legal position both before and after the transfer. Thus, this book serves as a useful resource for policymakers, legislators and interested academics by helping them to solve issues of conflicting laws and international jurisdiction relating to transfers of undertakings.


The dynamics of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon are complex. A growing debate considers the extent to which deforestation is a result of the expansion of the Brazilian soy industry. Most recent analyses suggest that deforestation is driven by the expansion of cattle ranching, rather than soy. Soy seems to be replacing previously deforested land and/or land previously under pasture. In this study, we use municipality-level statistics on agricultural and deforested areas across the Legal Amazon from 2000 to 2006 to examine the spatial patterns and statistical relationships between deforestation and changes in pasture and soybean areas. Our results support previous studies that showed that deforestation is predominantly a result of pasture expansion. However, we also find support for the hypothesis that an increase of soy in Mato Grosso has displaced pasture further north, leading to deforestation elsewhere. Although not conclusive, our findings suggest that the debate surrounding the drivers of Amazon deforestation is not over, and that indirect causal links between soy and deforestation may exist that need further exploration. Future research should examine more closely how interlinkages between land area, prices, and policies influence the relationship between soy and deforestation, in order to make a conclusive case for 'displacement deforestation'.


This article provides a largely nontechnical discussion of the acquisition of membership values in fuzzy set analyses. First the basic properties of a membership are discussed. Then the three common strategies of membership assignment—direct subjective assignment, indirect subjective assignment, and transformation—are critically examined in turn. Examples are used to illustrate the techniques. The connection with existing psychometric and statistical methods is particularly emphasized, focusing on the notion of a membership value as a random variable as a means to assess uncertainty in assignment.


Veterans commonly report listening to music as a means of self-managing their mental health, yet no research has systematically explored how veterans use music for the purpose of regulating their emotions. In the current study, surveys were completed by 205 Australian veterans (mean age 59.57, SD 0.83), assessing their affective mental health (depression and stress) and related physical and behavioral problems (self-reported general health, alcohol abuse and negative social interactions). Veterans listened to music more in their everyday life than any other leisure activity reported. Music-listening for emotion-regulation purposes significantly contributed to the prediction of depression, perceived stress and negative social interactions, when gender and positive social interactions were controlled. Veterans with mental health problems listened to music for both emotional and cognitive reasons, and the most predictive emotion-regulation strategies used with music were diversion, discharge, and mental work. Music-listening did not however assist prediction of self-reported general health or alcohol abuse. The current findings demonstrate that veterans with higher levels of affective dysfunction listened to music to manage emotional and cognitive problems. Personal music-listening therefore offers substantial promise as a self-management tool to complement professional treatment of affective disorders in this vulnerable population.


In the light of evidence from about 200 studies showing gender symmetry in perpetration of partner assault, research can now focus on why gender symmetry is predominant and on the implications of symmetry for primary prevention and treatment of partner violence. Progress in such research is handicapped by a number of problems: (1) Insufficient empirical research and a surplus of discussion and theory, (2) Blinders imposed by commitment to a single causal factor theory—patriarchy and male dominance—in the face of overwhelming evidence that this is only one of a multitude of causes, (3) Research purporting to investigate gender differences but which obtains data on only one gender, (4) Denial of research grants to projects that do not assume most partner violence is by male perpetrators, (5) Failure to investigate primary prevention and treatment programs for female offenders, and (6) Suppression of evidence on female perpetration by both researchers and agencies.


We demonstrate an optical clock recovery circuit that extracts the line rate component on a per packet basis from short data packets at 40Gb/s. The circuit comprises a Fabry-Perot filter followed by a novel power limiting configuration, which in turn consists of a 5m highly nonlinear bismuth oxide fiber in cascade with an optical bandpass filter. Both experimental and simulation-based results are in close agreement and reveal that the proposed circuit acquires the timing information within only a small number of bits, yielding a packet clock for every respective data packet. Moreover, we investigate theoretically the scaling laws for the parameters of the circuit for operation beyond 40 Gb/s and present simulation results showing successful packet clock extraction for 160 Gb/s data packets. Finally, the circuit's potential for operation at 320 Gb/s is discussed, indicating that ultrafast packet clock recovery should be in principle feasible by exploiting the passive structure of the device and the fsec-scale nonlinear response of the optical fiber.


'Gaming History' explores how scholarly computer and video games could be developed to present original historical scholarship and meet the standards of the discipline. Instead of a monograph and the presentation of the history as lineal narrative, the work of the historian could be produced as a video game. Not historical fiction that sacrifices history for story and not a video game that sacrifices history for gameplay, but a video game that presents original research rivaling any great work of history, transforming readers, learners, and viewers into players interacting with history. The video game offers far greater potential for the creation and presentation of history than any other entertainment or interactive media. Although computer and video games may seem to be far removed from the historical narrative, both examine and form points of view about how cultures, economies, polities, and societies function. Ignoring the realities of budget and hiring a game design team, this article will imagine how historical research could be presented as a scholarly game. To explore these issues, the article analyzes key game mechanics and narrative structure in the popular history-based video games: the Assassin's Creed series, the Total War series, Rockstar Games' L.A. Noire and Red Dead Redemption, and Paradox Interactive's Crusader Kings II and Europa Universalis. It also examines Tracy Fullerton's experimental game Walden. In addition, it explores how the game design process could be applied to developing a scholarly game.


Angiogenesis, an essential but often pathological biological process, requires complex cellular coordination. This coordination is achieved through numerous extracellular signals. We investigated the role of the extracellular matrix (ECM) protein fibronectin in the support of angiogenesis and endothelial cell motility. The directed migration in response to increasing concentration of ECM proteins is termed haptotaxis. We created a preliminary, two-dimensional model of the haptotactic motility of endothelial cells using a step change in fibronectin density as a substrate. Bovine aortic endothelial cells (BAECs) exhibited directional motility towards the higher fibronectin concentration side. In addition, the physical and mechanical properties of BAECs varied in response to fibronectin concentration. Higher fibronectin concentrations led to decreased cell motility and increased adherence. Our studies also examined the properties of the actin cytoskeleton and the focal adhesion scaffold protein paxillin during this haptotactic migration. These studies and the two-dimensional model will serve as a baseline for future analysis of the haptotactic motility of angiogenic endothelial cells.


Abstract. Research on aging in different domains largely focuses on age-related decrements or intervention-related improvements, often in controlled laboratory conditions or with psychometric tests of maximum ability or traits. This special issue on monitoring and promoting old-age health stabilization in real life focuses on the short-term and long-term age-related stabilization and maintenance in diverse psychological areas, including well-being, self-esteem, subjective health, and social interactions. One central focus in all studies is the clear focus on behaviors in real-life contexts. The papers both review and present ways in which new technologies and research approaches can provide novel opportunities for monitoring and promoting the stabilization of various aspects of health and quality of life in the daily lives of healthy older adults.


Description Southwestern Oklahoma State University: The First 100 Years provides a broad panorama of the first century of the University. This volume pays tribute to the past accomplishments of administrators and faculty, many of whom have gone the way all of us will go. It records the accomplishments of students, campus organizations, and athletic teams. The chapters attempt to capture the mood of each decade as it was illustrated by the campus attitudes and events. Most of all, this centennial history is meant to celebrate the successes of the past century and to mark the beginning of a new century of exciting events in the history of Southwestern Oklahoma State University.


Background Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is the most common cancer in Caucasians. Trichoepithelioma (TE) is a benign neoplasm that strongly resembles BCC. Both are hair follicle (HF) tumours. HFs are hypoxic microenvironments, therefore we hypothesized that hypoxia-induced signalling pathways could be involved in BCC and TE as they are in other human malignancies. Hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF1) and mechanistic/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) are key players in these pathways. Objectives To determine whether HIF1/mTOR signalling is involved in BCC and TE. Methods We used immunohistochemical staining of formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded BCC (n = 45) and TE (n = 35) samples to assess activity of HIF1, mTORC1 and their most important target genes. The percentage positive tumour cells was assessed manually in a semi-quantitative manner and categorized (0%, <30%, 30–80% and >80%). Results Among 45 BCC and 35 TE examined, expression levels were respectively 81% and 57% (BNIP3), 73% and 75% (CAIX), 79% and 86% (GLUT1), 50% and 19% (HIF1α), 89% and 88% (pAKT), 55% and 61% (pS6), 15% and 25% (pMTOR), 44% and 63% (PHD2) and 44% and 49% (VEGF-A). CAIX, Glut1 and PHD2 expression levels were significantly higher in TE when only samples with at least 80% expression were included. Conclusions HIF and mTORC1 signalling seems active in both BCC and TE. There are no appreciable differences between the two with respect to pathway activity. At this moment immunohistochemical analyses of HIF, mTORC1 and their target genes does not provide a reliable diagnostic tool for the discrimination of BCC and TE.


1. Hypericum perforatum , St John's wort, is an invasive weed of natural and agro-ecosystems in south-eastern Australia. In previous work we used a long-term data set to determine which plant traits and environmental factors influence population growth and persistence in this species. These results were then used to parameterize an individual-based model of the population dynamics of H. perforatum , and this model was used to make predictions about what control strategies will be most effective for populations in open and shaded sites. 2. The model was constructed using multi-level, mixed-effects statistical models of growth, survival, fecundity and damage, incorporating intrinsic plant variables, environmental variables, herbivory and spatial and temporal stochasticity. 3. We found that populations in shaded and open sites had different dynamics and responses to control strategies. Shaded populations took longer to reach infestation densities and were less affected by herbivory and reductions in survival than open populations. Open populations increased faster in response to increases in rainfall, but this was not so for shaded populations. 4. We used sensitivity testing and management simulations to predict that the most successful control strategies will involve a reduction in vegetative size in both open and shaded sites. Reductions in flowering stem size and survival in shaded and open sites, respectively, are predicted to be the next most successful strategies. Dry conditions in the austral autumn/winter adversely affect populations in both open and shaded sites. 5. Synthesis and applications . These models have enabled us to rank management strategies based on quantitative analysis of their potential effects on population size. This is an important tool not only for ecologists concerned with control of invasive species but for conservation biologists trying to understand the factors limiting a rare or endangered species.


Myrica esculenta (Myricaceae) commonly known as box berry or kaphal is an important Indian medicinal plant. It is found in foothill tracks of Eastern Himalayas, Meghalaya, Nepal, China and Pakistan. Local tribes mainly use its fruits to prepare pickle and refreshing drinks. Traditionally, the bark has been used for the treatment of cough, asthma, fever, chronic bronchitis, diarrhoea, rheumatism and inflammation; roots have been used in bronchitis, asthma, cholera and flowers claimed to treat earache, diarrhoea, paralysis. Phytochemical studies of the different parts of plant revealed the presence of various bioactive phytoconstituents such as phenolic compounds, alkaloids, glycosides, triterpenoids and volatile oils. The plant is also reported to have innumerable significant pharmacological activities like analgesic, anxiolytic, antiallergic, antidiabetic, antimicrobial, antihypertensive, antiulcer, antioxidant and antiinflammatory evaluated by using various animal models. The objective of the present review article is to compile all the relevant published information regarding traditional uses, phytochemistry and therapeutic potential of M. esculenta. For this purpose various databases and books were examined. The review clearly demonstrates the importance of this plant in ethnomedicine and its immense potential in modern medicine.


Ball (2004a) in describing the up-take of sustainability reporting in the public sector suggests that it is 'seemingly patchy' whilst Tort et al. (2010) and Dickenson et al. (2005) described it as an emerging field in its infancy approached on an ad hoc basis. This study contributes to the debate by examining sustainability reporting within the public sector specifically focused on local government authorities in Australia.
Reporting by these authorities on sustainability is examined from a communication theory perspective. The study looks at the key factors in establishing sustainability reporting, the use of accountants in this process and the types of reporting frameworks that are being used. Finally, a broad reporting framework is developed specific to local government intended to act as a guide in the advancement of the sustainability reporting agenda in the sector.
A triangulated approach was adopted for this study utilizing mail survey and interview techniques. Subjects for the mail survey were chief financial officers (CFOs) of all local government authorities in Australia. One hundred and ninety usable responses were returned, providing a usable response rate of 35.51%. To supplement and enrich the data provided by the mail survey, twenty-two interviews across sixteen organizations were then conducted.
The results indicate that local government authorities in Australia are reporting on sustainability. Such reporting appears, though, to be inconsistent in focus and in location of the reported information. Further, significant differences were found in reporting levels between urban and rural local authorities. Key leadership support and stakeholder engagement were found to be the two key factors driving the establishment of sustainability reporting in local government in Australia. The results indicate that accountants play a role in the sustainability reporting process though in a limited capacity. Finally, a number of reporting frameworks are being utilized by local government authorities with the expected framework, the GRI guidelines, being utilized by few.
A number of areas for further research were highlighted including the potential effects of mandatory reporting requirements on local government sustainability reporting practices, the exploration of the significant occurrence of social reporting highlighted in this study and research that examines restraints on sustainability reporting. In doing so, such research will assist in the further development of a more coherent knowledge and understanding of sustainability reporting in the local government sector.


Driven by the emerging development of transparent and flexible electronics, colorless polyimide (CPI) has been attracting much attention in recent years. As a key component for next generation electronics, CPI film will be well focused both on research and commercialization. In this chapter, we would like to provide a review and outlook to the field for the reference of scientists, engineers, and entrepreneurs. Topics being addressed are formulation/design, synthesis of the resin, fabrication, and characterization of the CPI films, as well as trends of the film application for the next generation of electronics. Attention will also be given to the current stage of manufacturing of CPI monomers and resin, industrial production of CPI films, etc.


Attention is a commonly used mechanism in sequence processing, but it is of O(n^2) complexity which prevents its application to long sequences. The recently introduced neural Shuffle-Exchange network offers a computation-efficient alternative, enabling the modelling of long-range dependencies in O(n log n) time. The model, however, is quite complex, involving a sophisticated gating mechanism derived from the Gated Recurrent Unit. In this paper, we present a simple and lightweight variant of the Shuffle-Exchange network, which is based on a residual network employing GELU and Layer Normalization. The proposed architecture not only scales to longer sequences but also converges faster and provides better accuracy. It surpasses the Shuffle-Exchange network on the LAMBADA language modelling task and achieves state-of-the-art performance on the MusicNet dataset for music transcription while being efficient in the number of parameters. We show how to combine the improved Shuffle-Exchange network with convolutional layers, establishing it as a useful building block in long sequence processing applications.


The blood of two Australian marsupials, the eastern grey kangaroo (Macropus giganteus) and the Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii), has been reported to have greater oxygen-carrying capacity (i.e. haemoglobin content) when compared with that of placental mammals. We investigated whether alterations of blood rheological properties are associated with the increased oxygen-carrying capacity of these marsupials. Eastern grey kangaroos (n = 6) and Tasmanian devils (n = 4) were anaesthetised for blood sampling; human blood (n = 6) was also sampled for comparison. Laboratory measurements included blood and plasma viscosity, red blood cell (RBC) deformability, RBC aggregation and the intrinsic tendency of RBC to aggregate, RBC surface charge and haematological parameters. Scanning electron micrographs of RBC from each species provided morphological information. High-shear blood viscosity at native haematocrit was highest for the Tasmanian devil. When haematocrit was adjusted to 0.4 L L–1, lower-shear blood viscosity was highest for the eastern grey kangaroo. RBC deformability was greatly reduced for the Tasmanian devil. Eastern grey kangaroo blood had the highest RBC aggregation, whereas Tasmanian devil RBC did not aggregate. The surface charge of RBC for marsupials was ~15% lower than that of humans. The dependence of oxygen-delivery effectiveness on haemoglobin concentration (i.e. oxygen content) and blood viscosity was quantitated by calculating the haematocrit to blood viscosity ratio and was 15–25% lower for marsupials compared with humans. Our results suggest that environmental pressures since the marsupial–monotreme divergence have influenced the development of vastly different strategies to maintain a match between oxygen demand and delivery.


Abstract Over the last two decades, together with the increasing prices in the antique market and the proliferation of private 'hobby collectors', the number of fakes in circulation among antique shops, auctions and even institutions and museums has noticeably increased. So called 'bronzes' seem to be the favourite objects for both fakers and inexperienced collectors. In some cases the fakes are well made, so that often the professional can be fooled by them also. In this paper some examples of modern and ancient fake objects will be discussed.


In conventional libraries, reference services, reader's advisory services, and user education emerged quite some time after the establishment of collections and the provision of metadata about collections. The same paradigm is seen also in the development of digital library services. The growing use of Internet for information storage, retrieval and communication is perhaps the most significant development shaping library and information services. But, the inconsistent and dynamic development of digital libraries leaves librarians sometimes behind the mainstream of various electronic services providers and media developers. On the other hand the users want control of their information environment, making significant choices (the formats and access to information) using the web as the first choice and the library at the end. Keywords : digital library resources and services in Croatian libraries, e-reference services


Aim: To determine the disease causing gene defects in two patients with Meesmann's corneal dystrophy. Methods: Mutational analysis of domains 1A and 2B of the keratin 3 (K3) and keratin 12 (K12) genes from two patients with Meesmann's corneal dystrophy was performed by polymerase chain reaction amplification and direct sequencing. Results: Novel mutations of the K12 gene were identified in both patients. In one patient a heterozygous point mutation (429A→C = Arg135Ser) was found in the 1A domain of the K12 gene. This mutation was confirmed by restriction digestion. In the second patient a heterozygous 27 bp duplication was found inserted in the 2B domain at nucleotide position 1222 (1222ins27) of the K12 gene. This mutation was confirmed by gel electrophoresis. The mutations were not present in unaffected controls. Conclusion: Novel K12 mutations were linked to Meesmann's corneal dystrophy in two different patients. A missense mutation replacing a highly conserved arginine residue in the beginning of the helix initiation motif was found in one patient, and an insertion mutation, consisting of a duplication of 27 nucleotides, was found before the helix termination motif in the other.


In this paper the sensitivity of on-chip interconnects to Si CMOS process parameters in two different structures is reported; two coupled lines with and without shielding. Simulations are performed using HSpiceRF to emulate the state-of-the-art and the future technologies for the test structures. Some important parameters characterizing the coupled interconnects have been examined. Shielding effectiveness (SE) on crosstalk reduction is computed using HSpiceRF simulation results in order to compare the efficiency of shielding structures with different process parameters. Additionally we investigate the influence of the process parameter in deep sub-micron technologies on the transmission, reflection, near-end, and far-end crosstalk characteristics of the coupled interconnect with and without the presence of shielding lines.


Infrared spectra of several different black inks on paper were obtained by FT-IR photothermal beam deflection spectroscopy (PBDS). Even though the manuscript samples contained about 0.1–0.5 μg of ink solid, spectra of sufficient quality were obtained to enable us to tell which inks contain carbon and to permit some differentiation between similar black inks to be made. However, the identification of an unknown ink is not feasible at present. Spectra of the ink printed on two stamps, and of the black print of a dollar bill, were also recorded. IR/PBDS studies of manuscript and print are totally nondestructive, and may prove to be useful in the fields of forensics and art history.


This article contends that current critics of change-oriented litigation assume a particular model of the relationship between law and social change: law is argued to mirror popular mores, and judicial decisions are thought at most to suppress unusual or outlying laws. This model is incomplete, because judicial decisions may help to change how a social cause is defined and labeled. In presenting a supplementary model, I argue that judicial decisions reframe debates, privileging some arguments, marginalizing others, altering the coalitions on either side, and influencing the types of legal reform those coalitions are able to pursue. A series of state decisions on same-sex marriage had such a framing effect, advancing an equality-based frame, downplaying arguments about the immorality of homosexuality and the necessity of defending marriage, and creating opportunities for gay rights activists to build alliances with civil rights organizations. Similarly, Roe v. Wade deemphasized population control arguments and made it easier for the pro-choice movement to win the support of civil or minority rights leaders. By drawing on these historical examples, I claim that litigation may sometimes offer benefits not available through direct action protest: litigation may make it less strategically risky for cause lawyers to advance multiple, competing frames of an issue at the same time, and judicial decisions may provide a strategically low-cost way for social movements to publicize a new definition of a cause. By altering the definition of a cause in this way, a judicial decision may create an environment more favorable to change.


Interest rate volatility, as implied by swaptions prices, rose in all major economic areas between 2001 and early 2004. The increase was particularly sharp for US rates and was more sizeable for short-term rates and swaptions with short expiration. Since the spring of 2004, US dollar volatilities have declined to the values recorded for euro rates and their term structure has flattened. The rise and fall of US dollar implied volatility reflected changes both in expectations of realised volatility and in the compensation for volatility risk.


ABSTRACT This study aims to identify the main feature size and shape of the morphometrics and the genetic distance of local chickens in various districts of Batubara. This research used survey method with 2392 number of sample of chicken and data were analized with software SAS (Statistics Analytical System) which is used as a measure of genetic distance Mahalanobis genetic distance squared minimum, and Software MEGA6  for get Phenogram tree with UPGMA method ( Unweight Pair Group Method with Arithmetic ). The results based morphometric analysis showed differences in morphology on every chicken.  Based on the similarities and mix in between district and genetic distance from chicken. According to morphometric analysis, there is morphological different on every local chicken from 7 existed district in Batubar a that Sei Suka and Sei Balai ( 1.26 ), Air Putih and Talawi ( 3.79 ), Medang Deras and Tanjung Tiram ( 1.73 ) and Lima Puluh (2.13 ). Conclusions showed that primary identified that appears are the length of tibia, metatarsus width and length beak , and the genetic distance of 7 districts there is one distinct districts namely at Lima Puluh (2.13), while six other districts were similarities between the two districts . Keywords : Morfometriks , Genetic distance , Kampung Chicken, Batubara.


Acousmatic works tend to operate on two simultaneous planes: a more abstract, musical level of gesture, phrase, colour, texture, and motion; and a narrative level, which references realworld objects, actions, contexts and environments. Where instrumental music, broadly speaking, accesses this narrative level primarily through the use of metaphor, acousmatic music, while maintaining access to the more programmatic elements found in instrumental music, also has the capacity to enact experience much more directly, through the explicit use and application of real-world sound and motion. This ranges from the use of referential sound imagery, to a broader use of gesture and action enacted via acousmatic music's phenomenologically-grounded syntax. Most theoretical approaches to the acousmatic genre tend to focus more or less exclusively on the structural and formal elements of the sonic plane, with minimal reference to more overtly narrative aspects. In the attempt to rectify this imbalance, the field of narratology suggests itself as a likely candidate for expanding our theoretical toolkit. While narratology was initially focused more or less exclusively on literary narratives, over the past decade, the field of narratology has branched out from these roots to a range of new media and intermedia narratives, including key focuses on film, video games, and hypertext. While this has indeed significantly broadened the field, it could be argued that this expansion has simply added a visual bias to the previous textual bias. There is therefore much to be gained from a narratological approach to acousmatic music, in both directions. The narratological perspective calls attention to aspects of acousmatic composition and reception which have received too little theoretical attention; in exchange, acousmatic music offers an extremely relevant narratological case study, as the genre's strong narrative elements are for the most part entirely free of both the textual and visual elements upon which so much existing narrative theory is based. Acousmatic music can therefore serve to differentiate core aspects of narratology that hold true across diverse media from those elements which are significantly diminished in relevance once both text and vision are left behind. This paper will present some of the primary findings of my doctoral investigation of acousmatic narrative. This investigation draws heavily from the field of cognitive narratology, championed by David Herman, and Marie-Laure Ryan's work on narrative across media, while incorporating past and current perspectives on acousmatic narrative. Central issues include the cognitive structuring of narratives; the apparent – though possibly illusory – Proceedings of the Electroacoustic Music Studies NetworkConference Electroacoustic Music Beyond Performance, Berlin, June 2014


Mutations in the gene encoding Smad4 are common in patients with familial juvenile polyposis, which is associated with gastrointestinal (GI) cancer. Kim et al. used mice with conditional knockouts of Smad4 in T cells or epithelial cells to investigate the mechanism by which loss of Smad4 signaling contributes to GI cancer. Smad4 is a common Smad (co-Smad) that participates in mediating signaling from the transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) family of ligands. Kim et al. found that knockout of Smad4 only in T cells, not epithelial cells, contributed to an increased incidence of cancer in the mutant mice. The T cell-conditional Smad4 knockout mice exhibited GI pathology that resembled that in familial juvenile polyposis, with extensive B cell infiltration and high concentrations of circulating immunoglobulin A (IgA). The mice with conditional knockout of Smad4 in T cells also showed increased circulation of several cytokines, including the interleukins IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, and IL-13. IL-5 and IL-6 are both important for B cell proliferation and differentiation. In vitro, the Smad4-deficient T cells secreted higher concentrations of IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, and IL-13 and showed a disproportionately high number of TH2-type cells. Even mice heterozygous for Smad4 in T cells showed B cell hyperplasia, especially in the duodenum, and epithelial cell hyperplasia in the stomach. Thus, it appears that T cell Smad4 signaling is essential for the maintenance of the GI microenvironment and that loss of the TGF-β regulatory pathway alters the T cell phenotype and the cytokine environment, leading to epithelial cell cancer. B.-G. Kim, C. Li, W. Qiao, M. Mamura, B. Kasperczak, M. Anver, L. Wolfraim, S. Hong, E. Mushinski, M. Potter, S.-J. Kim, X.-Y. Fu, C. Deng, J. J. Letterio, Smad4 signalling in T cells is required for suppression of gastrointestinal cancer. Nature 441, 1015-1019 (2006). [PubMed]