For the first time, to our knowledge, we report ray-tracing simulations of an advanced liquid-crystal gradientindex lens structure for application in switchable two-dimensional/three-dimensional (3D) autostereoscopic displays. We present ray-tracing simulations of the angular-dependent lens action. From the results we conclude that the lens action of the advanced optical design corresponds to the desired performance for small viewing angles. For oblique viewing angles of approximately 30° and higher, the lens action becomes significantly weaker compromising the 3D performance of an autostereoscopic display. The general approach and the advanced ray-optics analysis procedures presented form a useful tool in the search for improvements for high viewing angles and enable a better understanding of the liquid-crystal technology discussed.


Global climate change-essentially an adverse consequence of global warming, is principally caused by progressive build-up and extensive spread of greenhouse gases (GHGs) across countries, regions or continents because of earth's rotational movement. The potent sources of GHGs are fossil-fuels and biomass. With the increasing pace of globalization, industrialization and rapid change of life-style the demand and consumption of these feed-stocks to stimulate economic growth is steadily rising-both in the developing and developed economy. In the process, the emissions level is also rising phenomenally; and of late become quite alarming-more in the former than latter case, affecting thereby the environmental quality as also its security concerns globally. This paper highlights the major impacts of global warming and consequential climate change on the environmental quality and overall security aspects-including commercial, strategic and defense angles for the South-Asian region. The paper also discusses some relevant aspects linking the larger question of energy security with environmental security through the approach of sustainable energy development for envisioning a balanced economic development as well as growth perspective for South Asia. The significance of International cooperation in the mitigation and adaptation of climate change impacts with special reference to Asia- Pacific and South Asian region is also discussed at some length in the paper.


In recent years, international financial centres have become one of the most important elements of the international financial system. Increasing globalization of the world economy raises the role and influence of international financial centres (IFC) due to extending scope of activities of IFC that currently includes financial markets, international financial and lending relations, insurance, etc.Financial centres make a substantial contribution to the overall economic development and growth of the country. The establishment and development of financial centres is a quite complex and complicated process that combines various historical, geographic, social, economic and political factors.The establishment of international financial centres is related to financial liberalization processes as well as globalization of the financial market. According to the history of financial centres, a number of factors contribute to their establishment and development: geographic location, multicultural factors, liberal legislation, stimulating tax and customs policies, immigration legislation, competitive costs of financial services, etc. However, it is not always that financial centres are established in places with favourable economic, political and social factors. It requires both a combination and interaction of different factors, as well as political will and success.The aim of the paper is basing on the examination of the factors influencing establishment of IFC, to analyze the directions of the competitiveness enhancement of Riga International Financial Centre by identifying its potential niche.The following research methods have been used in the paper: generally accepted quantitative and qualitative methods of economic research, including comparative analysis and synthesis, graphic methods, expert methods, SWOT analysis.


David Buckley's unique approach to unravelling the Bowie enigma, via interviews with many of the singer's closest associates, biography and academic analysis, makes this unrivalled biography a classic for Bowie fans old and new. This revised edition of Strange Fascination comes at a time when Bowie is, once again, on a creative roll, and captures exclusive details about the tours, the making of the albums, the arguments, the split-ups, the music and , most importantly, the man himself. Also including exclusive photographic material, Strange Fascination is the most complete account of David Bowie and his impact on pop culture ever written.


Reliability of today's software systems hinges on developers writing test cases that exercise as much of a program as possible. Writing and running such tests is inevitably subject to a time budget. This paper addresses the question of how to maximize quality of testing, given such a fixed time budget. We define a program-path scoring metric along with a way to measure a software component's relevance, and then show how these can be combined to produce a test quality metric that is superior to the test coverage metrics in use today. The key features of our proposal are that (a) it steers testing toward code that is most in need of testing, such as frequently-used or recently-modified code, and (b) it prioritizes testing shorter program paths over longer ones. As a proof-of-concept, we augmented an automated testing tool with our test prioritization criterion and found that it explores up to 70 times more code paths in the same amount of time, with no additional human effort.


Wake flows are the preferred mode of flame stabilization in lean premixed combustion in gas turbine engines, low NOx burners, afterburners etc. These flows exhibit inherent unsteadiness and for their numerical modeling and simulations, large eddy simulation (LES) techniques with an appropriate combustion model and reaction mechanism afford a balance between computational complexity and predictive accuracy. Before using them in practical systems, these techniques must be validated against experimental measurements in a number of canonical cases. In this work, results from LES of non-reacting and reacting flows are compared to data from a number of experiments, corresponding to the following configurations: a triangular bluff body in a rectangular duct, a backward facing step, and a cylindrical sudden expansion with swirl. The artificial flame thickening approach is applied for modeling turbulence-combustion interactions at small scales. Algebraic and equationbased efficiency function models are implemented, along with an appropriate reduced chemistry mechanism. A novel dynamic formulation for the efficiency function based on the flame-wrinkling equation that explicitly incorporates the influence of strain and time-history effects is proposed, and a detailed combustion chemistry mechanism is also used. Results show that the approaches are effective in simulating turbulent premixed combustion.


The given article covers the general formulations of inverse kinematic problems for robot motion control systems. We have discussed the difficulties how to solve such problems using analytical and numerical methods. We have also analyzed the convergence of iterative algorithms with the regularization on the trajectory with the points outside of the gripper reachability. The example of an iterative calculation of joint trajectories for a 3-link robot using the recursive algorithm for the Jacobi matrix calculation has been presented.


The purpose of this article is to deepen our understanding of what we know about business model innovation in the agri-food sector, both from a theoretical as well as a practical perspective. The methodological approach used in the paper is built on interviews, focus groups and observations of agricultural entrepreneurs and agricultural advisors in the agriculture sector and a review of over 500 peer-reviewed research papers for the period 1990-2014. The findings of the study indicate that entrepreneurs within the agri-food sector ought to shift focus from only a producer perspective to also include an entrepreneurial perspective, e.g. to focus on business model innovation. Based on this knowledge the authors present implications for research and practice. The research field is young and broad, but developing, and in need of stronger theoretical foundations. This article is based on a combination of a systematic literature review of a new emerging field as well as empirical in-depth interviews, focus groups and observations.


Purpose The purpose of this study is to evaluate the relationship between the angle formed between the proximal most screw through the locking compression plate-proximal lateral tibia (LCP PLT) and the joint line, and to evaluate if this angle can be used intraoperatively as an assessment tool to determine normal alignment of the tibia in the coronal plane. Materials and Methods There are two parts to this study: in the first part, LCP PLT was applied to 30 cadaveric adult tibia. The angle between the joint line and the proximal most screw was measured and termed as the 'joint screw angle' (JSA). In the second part, 56 proximal tibial fractures treated with LCP PLT were retrospectively studied. Two angles were measured on the radiographs, the medial proximal tibial angle (MPTA) and the JSA. Their relationship was analyzed statistically. Results The average JSA was 1.16 degrees in the anatomical study. Statistical analysis of the clinical study showed that the normal MPTA had a direct correlation with an acceptable JSA. Conclusion We therefore conclude that the JSA can be used intraoperatively to assess the achievement of a normal coronal axis.


Background:Stark racial/ethnic disparities in health outcomes exist among those living with HIV in the United States. One of 3 primary goals of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy is to reduce HIV-related disparities and health inequities. Methods:Using data from HIV-infected women participating in the Women's Interagency HIV Study from April 2006 to March 2011, we measured virologic failure (HIV RNA >200 copies/mL) after suppression (HIV RNA < 80 copies/mL) on highly active antiretroviral therapy. We identified predictors of virologic failure using discrete time survival analysis and calculated racial/ethnic-specific population-attributable fractions (PAFs). Results:Of 887 eligible women, 408 (46%) experienced virologic failure during the study period. Hispanic and white women had significantly lower hazards of virologic failure than African American women [Hispanic hazard ratio, (HR) = 0.8, 95% confidence interval: (0.6 to 0.9); white HR = 0.7 (0.5 to 0.9)]. The PAF of virologic failure associated with low income was higher in Hispanic [adjusted hazard ratios (aHR) = 2.2 (0.7 to 6.5), PAF = 49%] and African American women [aHR = 1.8 (1.1 to 3.2), PAF = 38%] than among white women [aHR = 1.4 (0.6 to 3.4), PAF = 16%]. Lack of health insurance compared with public health insurance was associated with virologic failure only among Hispanic [aHR = 2.0 (0.9 to 4.6), PAF = 22%] and white women [aHR = 1.9 (0.7 to 5.1), PAF = 13%]. By contrast, depressive symptoms were associated with virologic failure only among African-American women [aHR = 1.6 (1.2 to 2.2), PAF = 17%]. Conclusions:In this population of treated HIV-infected women, virologic failure was common, and correlates of virologic failure varied by race/ethnicity. Strategies to reduce disparities in HIV treatment outcomes by race/ethnicity should address racial/ethnic-specific barriers including depression and low income to sustain virologic suppression.


In 1997, we observed high incidence of severe disease symptoms in a plantation of St. John's-wort (Hypericum perforatum L.) that has been cultivated as a medicinal plant in Hungary. Symptoms were characterized by brown, 2- to 15-mm-diameter, sunken lesions that girdled the stems and, when occurring near the base, killed the plants. Colletotrichum gloeosporioides (Penz.) Penz. & Sacc. in Penz. was consistently isolated from lesions. Acervuli containing conidia and dark setae emerged from the lesions. Perithecia of the teleomorph Glomerella cingulata (Stoneman) Spauld. & H. Schrenk also appeared on stems. Plants were inoculated with conidial suspension of the fungus (2 × 107/ml), then incubated in a moist chamber for 24 h, and subsequently transferred to the greenhouse. The first symptoms appeared on stems and leaves 7 days after inoculation. Chlorotic spots grew into circular and buff-colored lesions that coalesced and then desiccated. The fungus caused severe defoliation and plant death within 2 weeks. Koch's postulates was completed by consistently reisolating the pathogen from inoculated plants. This disease on St. John's-wort has not previously been reported in Hungary. However, an anthracnose disease caused by Glomerella cingulata (Stoneman) Spauld. & H. Schrenk var. migrans Wollenweber (Gloeosporium orbiculare Berk. & Mont.) was reported in Germany in 1949 (1). Reference: (1) H. W. Wollenweber and H. Hochapfel. Z. Parasitenkd. 14:181, 1949.


Accurate automated segmentation of remote sensing data could benefit applications from land cover mapping and agricultural monitoring to urban development surveyal and disaster damage assessment. While convolutional neural networks (CNNs) achieve state-of-the-art accuracy when segmenting natural images with huge labeled datasets, their successful translation to remote sensing tasks has been limited by low quantities of ground truth labels, especially fully segmented ones, in the remote sensing domain. In this work, we perform cropland segmentation using two types of labels commonly found in remote sensing datasets that can be considered sources of "weak supervision": (1) labels comprised of single geotagged points and (2) image-level labels. We demonstrate that (1) a U-Net trained on a single labeled pixel per image and (2) a U-Net image classifier transferred to segmentation can outperform pixel-level algorithms such as logistic regression, support vector machine, and random forest. While the high performance of neural networks is well-established for large datasets, our experiments indicate that U-Nets trained on weak labels outperform baseline methods with as few as 100 labels. Neural networks, therefore, can combine superior classification performance with efficient label usage, and allow pixel-level labels to be obtained from image labels.


Recently, diode-like In/CdTe/Pt detectors have been realized which look very promising thanks to their enhanced spectroscopic performance. Scope of this work is to investigate the electric field distribution inside these detectors and its temporal evolution by means of the Pockels effect. The implemented set-up allows us to map the electric field and thus to extract the field profiles between the contacts. The analysis shows that the field is mainly confined below the anode. After applying the bias, these detectors are not very stable at room temperature, and they present a pronounced degradation in spectroscopic performance. This degradation is correlated in this work to the evolution of the electric field which has been observed to dasiamovepsila towards the anode. We attribute this dasiapolarizationpsila behavior in CdTe detectors to the concomitance of two factors: the presence of deep levels in the bulk material, and the high hole barrier height of In on CdTe.


This paper accounts for the following puzzle: In Chinese long passives resumptive pronouns are allowed as long as the predicate under bei is modified by a post-verbal modifier. This follows from Huang's (1999) analysis that Chinese long passives involve null operator movement. Surprisingly, resumptive pronouns cannot be licensed if the predicate under bei is bare. I argue that this exception follows from a PF constraint: Resumptive pronouns cannot occur in a position which receives stress. Without a postverbal modifier of the predicate, the neutral stress automatically falls on the resumptive pronoun, which violates the PF constraint.


Purpose: The findings of a recent study at Heathrow are presented. The objective of the study was an operational quality issue with the baggage reclaim process and addressed the problem of unexpected downtime of baggage carousels during operational hours. For airlines and airports, the reclaim carousel is a key element in the process whereby passengers decide about the quality of their journey. Failure that leads to longer waiting times or even the relocation of baggage to another carousel results in passenger dissatisfaction and therefore needs to be avoided. The current regime of 'time-based' or 'preventative' maintenance can be classified as 'run-to-break' or 'reactive', causing frequent and costly downtime. A novel condition-based monitoring method to improve the reliability of the time-critical baggage reclaim process is described. Reclaim carousel maintenance quality was improved by the development of innovative condition-based maintenance systems designed to meet the requirements of twenty-first century airport systems and Industry 4.0 in cooperation with Siemens DF (digital factory) and their internet of things (IoT) platform Mindsphere. Methodology: A technical action research approach was undertaken at one of the biggest capital airport baggage handling systems in Europe. From June 2016 a condition monitoring pilot system on one operational carousel was established using engineering cycle theory. A solution was designed, installed, continually monitored and the results discussed with practitioners from the operation and maintenance (O&M) department. Root cause analysis was used to identify reasons for abrasive wear, followed by failure simulations during operation. Technical vibration data was collected so that an adequate condition monitoring system could be developed and optimised that improved the maintenance quality of reclaim carousels and reduced the costs associated with unexpected failure of the baggage handling system. Findings: Run-to-break maintenance is never conducive to quality maintenance and control and results in great uncertainty and unreliability. Meeting the objective of improving quality was difficult because the assets are hidden and baggage carousels are in constant use; however using wireless beacon technology it was possible to identify what problems might occur and when. Using the cloud-based IoT and Airport 4.0 also necessitated many sophisticated checks and measures, which are now in development. This study highlights the value of changing from the antiquated 'run to break' maintenance of hidden assets in airport baggage handling carousels to high-quality maintenance through the use of condition monitoring using wireless vibration sensors linked to a cloud-based IoT ecosystem. Originality/Value: With this solution in operation, maintenance quality has been approved and heavy damage can be avoided. The solution addresses problems caused by a variety of hidden equipment needing the highest possible maintenance quality. It can instantly secure the best quality of service for critical assets in an operation that cannot afford any unplanned downtime.


The report describes prospects and challenges for Chinese agriculture until 2030 under different scenarios, using the Chinagro welfare model. A scenario is defined as a coherent set of assumptions about exogenous driving forces (farm land, population, non-agricultural growth, world prices etc.), derived from the literature and own assessments. Under these assumptions, simulations with the Chinagro model analyze the price-based interaction between the supply behavior of farmers, the demand behavior of consumers and the determination of trade flows by merchants.

The outcomes from the "Baseline scenario" seem reassuring in that foreign imports remain moderate relative to Chinas size, though quite large as fraction of world trade. It would be possible to feed people as well as animals without excessive imports. There is even a potential for significant export flows of vegetables and fruits. Regarding concerns, the trends in per capita agricultural value added are problematic, because they stay in all regions behind per capita value added outside agriculture, albeit that they are rising steadily. This leads to growing disparity in per capita incomes within and across regions. The mounting environmental pressure from fertilizer losses and unused manure surpluses is another cause of concern. The second scenario, the Trade liberalization scenario, appears to hurt farm incomes more than it benefits them and to raise the gap with non-agriculture, also because food becomes cheaper in urban areas. Hence, it highlights the difficult choice between economic efficiency and poverty alleviation that agricultural policy makers often face. The "High income growth scenario" reinforces the national food self-sufficiency result of the baseline simulation. Even with meat demand higher than under the baseline, levels of imports remain manageable. The "High R&D scenario" shows that a considerable reduction in dependence on agricultural imports is possible. However, a substantial part of the gains will accrue to consumers rather than to farmers, due to price reductions. Finally, the "Enhanced irrigation scenario" shows outcomes similar to those of the high R&D scenario. Here also the agricultural trade balance improves and consumer welfare improves, but farmers have to cope with drops in prices, and those who do not benefit from land improvement, only experience losses through falling prices.

The present report is written at the onset of the CATSEI-project that will analyze policy packages with more specificity and detail after implementing the following model improvements. First, the impact of Chinas imports and exports on world markets will be represented explicitly. Second, the developments outside agriculture in rural areas will be accounted for endogenously, particularly to represent farm revenue from off-farm employment. Third, the trade and transportation margins between farm-gates and markets will be made dependent on the relative flexibility of the actors (farmers, processors, traders) along the chain. Finally, the various techniques to identify more efficient and more sustainable use of scarce water and nutrients and to address health risks will appear more explicitly.


Several previous contributions have proposed calculation methods that can be used to determine the steady state (and from it the blocking probabilities) of code-division multiple-access (CDMA) systems. This present work extends the classical Kaufman-Roberts formula such that it becomes applicable in CDMA systems in which elastic services with state-dependent instantaneous bit rate and average-bit-rate-dependent residency time are supported. Our model captures the effect of soft blocking, that is, an arriving session may be blocked in virtually all system states but with a state dependent probability. The core of this method is to approximate the original irreversible Markov chain with a reversible one and to give lower and upper bounds on the so-called partially blocking macro states of the state space. We employ this extended formula to establish lower and upper bounds on the steady state and the classwise blocking probabilities.


An ever-increasing requirement for data on mobile networks, driven by a myriad of applications from HD video on the move to autonomous vehicles and Industrial IOT, means a part of the new 5G network is to be deployed at mmWave frequencies, with a 26 GHz pioneer band defined for the UK between 24.25-27.5GHz. This near 10-fold increase in frequency over 4G networks opens several challenges, both in the design and implementation of the required subcomponents, network infrastructure and end user equipment, and in parallel in the test and measurement approaches used to drive these developments. In this presentation, we will introduce some of the main challenges in test and measurement of a device at these frequencies. We will then present the testing of a 26-28GHz pioneer band dual channel amplifier evaluation module using 5G NR test waveforms.


In The Ritual Process: Structure and Anti-Structure, Victor Turner examines rituals of the Ndembu in Zambia and develops his now-famous concept of "Communitas". He characterises it as an absolute inter-human relation beyond any form of structure. The Ritual Process has acquired the status of a small classic since these lectures were first published in 1969. Turner demonstrates how the analysis of ritual behaviour and symbolism may be used as a key to understanding social structure and processes. He extends Van Gennep's notion of the "liminal phase" of rites of passage to a more general level, and applies it to gain understanding of a wide range of social phenomena. Once thought to be the "vestigial" organs of social conservatism, rituals are now seen as arenas in which social change may emerge and be absorbed into social practice. As Roger Abrahams writes in his foreword to the revised edition: "Turner argued from specific field data. His special eloquence resided in his ability to lay open a sub-Saharan African system of belief and practice in terms that took the reader beyond the exotic features of the group among whom he carried out his fieldwork, translating his experience into the terms of contemporary Western perceptions. Reflecting Turner's range of intellectual interests, the book emerged as exceptional and eccentric in many ways: yet it achieved its place within the intellectual world because it so successfully synthesized continental theory with the practices of ethnographic reports."


Graphic designers are moving away from designing artefacts to designing tools, systems and experiences. Industry is now seeking editors, curators and visualisers of digital information. With this shift, new pedagogical challenges have emerged in order to ensure relevancy of current design curricula within a context of social, political, economic and cultural transformation.

This essay explores the dynamics of this relationship, using the example of two eras at the Royal College of Art, London, in which education was reimagined. The first (1948) involved Richard Guyatt's manifesto for a new kind of teaching in the changed post-war industrial environment, the second is ongoing and stems from a discussion about Guyatt and his contemporary relevancy that happened as part of the 50-year celebrations of graphic design at the RCA. In particular, it will ask whether Guyatt's basic tenet of 'Head, Heart, Hand' holds true for 2015 and beyond.

This is an edited version of a paper presented as one of three keynotes (with Tony Fry and John Thackara) for the conference 'Design Education: What do you see? What do you think about it? What do you make of it?'held at the University of Ljubljana and the Academy of Fine Arts and Design (Slovenia), 22 April 2015.


We employ a certainty-equivalence framework to analyze the cost and value of, and pay/performance incentives provided by, non-tradable options held by undiversified, risk-averse executives. We derive Executive Value' lines, the risk-adjusted analogues to Black-Scholes lines, and distinguish between executive value' and company cost.' We demonstrate that the divergence between the value and cost of options explains, or provides insight into, virtually every major issue regarding stock option practice including: executive views about Black-Scholes measures of options; tradeoffs between options, stock and cash; exercise price policies; connections between the pay-setting process and exercise price policies; institutional investor views regarding options and restricted stock; option repricings; early exercise policies and decisions; and the length of vesting periods. It also leads to reinterpretations of both cross-sectional facts and longitudinal trends in the level of executive compensation.


In laboratory experiments, we show that naupliar survival and egg production by the copepod Acartia tonsa was significantly lower when they were fed iron‐depleted algal cells than when they were fed a diet of Fe‐replete cells that had two orders of magnitude higher Fe levels. Naupliar survival after 1 week was reduced from 60% for copepods feeding on Fe‐replete diatoms (Thalassiosira oceanica) to 0% for those feeding on Fe‐depleted cells. The decline of egg production rate was greatest (83%) when T. oceanica was used as prey and smaller (20–30%) when the cryptophyte Rhodomonas salina and the prymnesiophyte Isochrysis galbana were used as food. The assimilation rates of Fe and C from Fe‐replete and Fe‐depleted algae were determined using radioisotopes. Egg production was hyperbolically dependent on the Fe assimilation rate (r2=0.71). The effect of Fe on copepod reproduction rates could not be explained by changes in ingestion rate and the rate of carbon assimilated, because there was no significant difference of ingestion rate and C assimilation between Fe‐replete and Fe‐depleted treatments. Iron might limit zooplankton productivity in high‐nutrient, low‐chlorophyll regions.


This paper investigates the role of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) protection and Environmental Policies (EPs) on clean (renewable) and dirty (fossil-based) technology diffusion from top-innovators. IPR protection and EPs are extensively debated policy tools, as IPR protection addresses knowledge market failure, while EPs respond to pressing local and global environmental externalities. A model of monopolistic competition inspired by the recent trade literature shows that the profits associated with exporting a blueprint are a function of the quality of the idea and of market and institutional characteristics of the receiving country. We test the empirical implications of our model using patent data in renewable and fossil efficient power technologies for 13 top innovating countries and 40 patenting authorities. We improve on previous contributions by accounting for unobserved heterogeneity and for the endogeneity of policy proxies through a Generalized Method of Moment estimator. We show that knowledge transfer through patent duplication increases with the level of IPR protection, but with slight diminishing marginal returns. The effect is stronger for clean technologies, which are arguably less mature and more sensitive to uncertainty. Commitment to EPs also increases the incentives for patent duplication. The magnitude of the effect is conditional on the nature of the technology and on the specific policy instrument.


Despite unprecedented wealth accumulation, coastal Mumbai suffers from a myriad of socioeconomic and ecological challenges as well as connected uncertainties. These include endemic flooding, shrinking of sensitive ecosystems, inequality, and marginalisation of natural resource-dependent communities, such as fishers. These are in addition to existing risks, including building collapse, fire hazards, infrastructure collapse, industrial accidents, and landslides. The spectre of climate change looms large and further complicates the situation. Urban governance mechanisms and strategies respond insufficiently to the growing threats the city faces. More needs to be done to manage and address these uncertainties through a strategic, adaptation-focused, and communicative urban governance framework that emphasises both reducing risk and strengthening social justice. Transforming Urban Governance to Manage Uncertainty and Climate Change in Mumbai, India


Project Summary
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Prof. Craig R. Johnson
The pattern of distribution of the long-spined sea urchin Centrostephanus rodgersii over
ca. 40 y in the Kent group, Bass St., suggests initial establishment in the mid 1960s with
subsequent expansion of populations to its current status as the dominant invertebrate on
shallow subtidal rocky reef. On the east coast of Tasmania, C. rodgersii is most abundant
in the vicinity of its location of initial discovery in 1978, but it occurs throughout the east
coast between Eddystone Pt in the north and Recherche Bay in the south. Barrens habitat,
supporting high densities of sea urchins but largely devoid of macroalgae, occurs
extensively in the Kent group and at several sites on the northern half of the Tasmanian
east coast, but declines with increasing latitude and does not occur south of the Tasman
Peninsula. At the southern extent of barrens habitat on the open coast, barrens are
incipient and occur as small patches in macroalgal beds. Evidence suggests that the
barrens habitat in the Kent group and on the open rocky coast of Tasmania is formed by
grazing of C. rodgersii and not by Heliociaris erythrogramma, another sea urchin that
occurs on these barrens. This is largely because there is a significant positive relationship
between C. rodgersii density and extent of barrens but not between H. erythrogramma
density and extent of barrens, and because H. erythrogramma is not know to form barrens
on exposed coast. These collective patterns suggest that the incursion of C. rodgersii into
Tasmanian waters was from the north, and that spread on the east coast of Tasmania
propagated from an 'epicentre' in the vicinity of St Helens in the northeast. We suggest
that the initial incursion was via larvae transported from NSW in the East Australian
Current, which has increasingly influenced the east coast of Tasmania over at least the
past 4-5 decades. The lack of any genetic differentiation among C. rodgersii populations
in NSW, the Kent group and the east coast of Tasmania is consistent with this view.
On the east coast of Tasmania, there is a clear negative relationship between the
abundance of C. rodgersii and the density of commercially fished abalone (Haliotis
rubra) and rock lobster (Jasus edwardsii). The density of abalone is significantly lower on barrens habitat than in adjacent macroalgal beds at the same depth and on the same
substratum type. We conclude that abalone and rock lobster are unlikely to occur in
commercial quantity on C. rodgersii barrens. Given these findings, the spatially patchy
distribution of existing extensive barrens, and particularly if existing incipient barrens
(consisting of small barrens patches scattered through seaweed beds) develop to become
extensive barrens, then a stronger focus on spatial management of fisheries on the east
coast of Tasmania may be warranted.
In Tasmanian waters, large continuous tracts of C. rodgersii barrens do not develop in
shallow water (2-10 m) as occurs in NSW, but largely occur within a depth range of ca.
10-20 m in the Kent group, and ca. 15-35 m on the east coast of Tasmania. Barrens
habitat is more prevalent on boulder substratum than other types of consolidated reef,
extending to cover >75% of the seafloor on this substratum at some sites, and averaging
ca. 33% cover on boulder substratum across all sites in Tasmania where incipient barrens
occur. Given these collective observations, and estimates that boulders comprise ca. 55%
of consolidated reef in depths ≤18 m and 34% of consolidated reef to ca. 40 m depth,
barrens habitat could potentially expand to account for ca. 50% of rocky reef on the east
coast of Tasmania, as currently occurs in the Kent group and NSW. This scenario would
have serious implications for abalone and rock lobster fisheries on this coast. However,
the capacity to predict future patterns of barrens habitat requires better understanding of
the mechanisms that initiate barrens formation and that determine the position and
dynamics of boundaries between barrens and macroalgal-dominated habitat. Given these
considerations, and evidence worldwide of the connection between fishing of sea urchin
predators and formation of sea urchin barrens, we suggest that management intervention
to limit the spread of C. rodgersii barrens in Tasmania is warranted.


Who knows what I want to do? Who knows what anyone wants to do? How can you be sure about something like that? Isn't it all a question of brain chemistry, signals going back and forth, electrical energy in the cortex? How do you know whether something is really what you want to do or just some kind of nerve impulse in the brain. Some minor little activity takes place somewhere in this unimportant place in one of the brain hemispheres and suddenly I want to go to Montana or I don't want to go to Montana. (White Noise, Don DeLillo)


There are a wide range of materials currently used for equine arena surfaces, all of which can be expected to have different physical and mechanical properties. There is currently little published research examining the characteristics of these surfaces, or describing methods which can be used to test them.

The aims of this study were to investigate the mechanical and physical properties of a range of equine arena surfaces and to examine the effects of three surface preparation methods on surface performance. Pilot studies were carried out on a single arena surface to develop and verify measurement techniques for assessing three properties; hardness, traction, and penetration resistance. This suite of measurements plus, moisture content and particle size distribution were then carried out on a variety of different arenas nationwide. Arenas were categorized by status (elite Or standard), but the same testing procedure was used throughout. Further analyses were performed on the landing zone of a single competition arena surface before and after jumping a series of horses over a one metre high obstacle. The landing zone was prepared using three different maintenance techniques; harrowing, grading and rolling, and at two moisture contents.

There was a significant difference (P<0.05) between all the mechanical properties tested for the range of arenas measured which would be a result of the different surface materials used, the preparation and the maintenance procedures. Further significant differences (Pc0.05) were measured for traction, penetration resistance and moisture contents of the single arena surface following three preparation regimes.

This study demonstrates a series of simple measurement techniques which can be carried out to assess an equine arena surface. The results from this study show that both material and preparation can have a significant effect on the mechanical and physical properties of the equine area surface, and that different arenas in use for competitions have surfaces which portray a wide range of characteristics.


Objective This study aimed to assess the adherence and persistence to Calcium and vitamin D, and address the reasons of non-adherence. Methods All patients attending a secondary care rheumatology clinic in a teaching hospital serving a multiethnic population, in the period between April and June fulfill the inclusion criteria. Patients were asked verbally before distributing the question air about the duration and reason of prescribed Calcium and vitamin D, only patients who are receiving Calcium and Vitamin D for duration of one year or more for purpose of osteoporosis management (treatment and prophylaxis) and are welling to participate in the question are were given the consent formand included in the study. Key finding There was no statistically significant difference between calcium and vitamin D group in terms of adherence score (p = 0.175). About third of patients in both groups showed low adherence score; 31% (53/171), 38.2% (128/335) in calcium and vitamin D groups, respectively. Overall, there was significant difference in adherence score between age groups (p = 0.001). Low adherence score was mostly reported in young age group (18–39 years) for both medications but not related to level of education. Forget to take medication was the most reported reason of non adherence in both groups (29.5%, 89/302). Quarter of patients stated that multi-reasons contributed to their non adherence (24.8%, 75/302). Conclusion Low adherence was high among both Calcium and Vitamin D groups (around third of both groups), however; there were no significant differences in medications adherence between the two groups Keywords Adherence, osteoporosis, treatment and prophylaxis Introduction Osteoporosis has been defined by national and international organizations by either describing the outcomes or on the bases of Bone Mineral Density (BMD) or bone turnover markers (BTMs). The World Health Organization (WHO) 1994 defined Osteoporosis as "a disease characterized by low bone mass and micro-architectural deterioration of bone tissue, enhanced bone fragility and a consequent increase in fracture risk" (Kanis JA, et al., 1994, pp; 1137–41). On the bases of Bone Mineral Density (BMD), WHO 1994 defined Osteoporosis as BMD at hip or spine, that is less than or equal to 2.5 standard deviation below the young normal adult. While National Osteoporosis Foundation (NOF, 2010) defined the Osteoporosis as "a silent disease until it is complicated by fractures—fractures that can occur following minimal trauma. Usually causes no signs or symptoms except height loss and kyphosis until fracture occurs". Osteoporosis became a major worldwide concern, due its high prevalence that will increase in the coming years due to the significant increase in life expectancy. The prevalence of Osteoporosis will continue to rise with the predicted demographic expulsion. According to IOF fast fact sheet (2011), about 1 in 2 Asian and Caucasian women and 1 in 4 Asian and Caucasian men over age 50 will have an Osteoporosis-related fracture in their life that will decrease their quality of life. Osteoporosis causes more than 8.9 million fractures annually worldwide (WHO, 2004 a). In the UK Osteoporosis affects 2 million people and is responsible for more than 300,000 fragility fractures per year. About 70,000 people suffer from hip fractures annually with about 1,150 of them dying every year. UK has one of the highest rates of Osteoporosis related fractures in Europe (Paul Mitchell, 2010). In Canada, Osteoporosis is estimated to affect women with rate of 12.1% at lumbar spine, 7.9% at the femoral neck, with a combined prevalence of 15.8%, while affecting men in rate of 2.9 % at lumbar spine and 4.8% at the femoral neck with a combined prevalence of 6.6%. (A. Tenenhouse, et al, 2000). While in China, Osteoporosis prevalence was 16.1% (LI Ninghua, et al, 2002). 31 Concerning Qatar and Osteoporosis, Hammoudeh M, et al. (2005:319–327) state "Osteoporosis is common among menopausal Qatari women and should be considered as a matter of public concern." This was concluded through his cross-sectional study that examined 574 Qatari women between ages 20–69. The study aimed to determine the reference value for Qatari women and compare them with values from Western and other Arab countries. Finally, this study showed that BMD values of Qatari women are lower than Caucasians and Kuwaitis at the spine and the total femur in age group 60–69 years, but higher in values of total femur in the age group 40–59. Medical care and pharmacological treatment of Osteoporosis are currently available, including calcium (1200 mg daily intake) and vitamin D (800–1000 IU daily intake) as a mainstay of osteoporotic treatment along with an ant-osteoporotic medication such as Bisphosphonates, parathyroid hormone, the selective estrogen receptor modulator (raloxifene), calcitonin, denosumab and one anabolic agent (teriparatide) (Cranney A, et al., 2002). The importance of calcium and vitamin D supplementation in reduction of osteoporosis risk and osteoporosis related fracture risk is usually overlooked by patients and health care provider, so the standard care of osteoporosis should emphasis on optimal Calcium and Vitamin D supplementation. Many studies evaluate the relation between dietary or supplemental calcium intake in addition to vitamin D supplementation on the risk of osteoporosis and increased osteoporosis fracture, where in 2008–2009, heok hong, et al., evaluate in his study the BMD of adult Korean population after dividing them in to 4 quarters, to show that the q4 is high BMD than the other groups Q1 & Q2. (Q4 which had highest calcium intake). Additionally Wlodarek, 2012 and Higahuchi M, 2010 stated in their studies that, the higher the calcium intake the higher the BMD will increase. As well as Reid IR et al., 1995 & 1998 mentioned in his studies that calcium intake is linked with a00202–10% increment in BMD and 35–50% reduction in fracture risk The effectiveness of the medication not only depends on the efficacy of the medication but also on the compliance and persistence to prescribed medication. Adherence is essential to achieve the maximal benefit. Therefore in this study we are going to assess the adherence to Cal/Vit D and address the reasons of the non-adherence, in order to find ways to overcome these problems improve compliance and enhance the efficacy and improve the patient's quality of life


Abstract. Change detection analyze means that according to observations made in different times, the process of defining the change detection occurring in nature or in the state of any objects or the ability of defining the quantity of temporal effects by using multitemporal data sets. There are lots of change detection techniques met in literature. It is possible to group these techniques under two main topics as supervised and unsupervised change detection. In this study, the aim is to define the land cover changes occurring in specific area of Kayseri with unsupervised change detection techniques by using Landsat satellite images belonging to different years which are obtained by the technique of remote sensing. While that process is being made, image differencing method is going to be applied to the images by following the procedure of image enhancement. After that, the method of Principal Component Analysis is going to be applied to the difference image obtained. To determine the areas that have and don't have changes, the image is grouped as two parts by Fuzzy C-Means Clustering method. For achieving these processes, firstly the process of image to image registration is completed. As a result of this, the images are being referred to each other. After that, gray scale difference image obtained is partitioned into 3 × 3 nonoverlapping blocks. With the method of principal component analysis, eigenvector space is gained and from here, principal components are reached. Finally, feature vector space consisting principal component is partitioned into two clusters using Fuzzy C-Means Clustering and after that change detection process has been done.


Under risk neutrality and rational expectations, the future value of the option premium is an unbiased estimator of the future actual payoff of the option. In this paper, this unbiasedness hypothesis is tested for the Black-Scholes currency call option pricing model. Three currencies, against the US dollar, are considered: the British pound, the Swiss franc, and the Japanese yen. The data is monthly and starts from the late 1980s. A set of seven different strike prices are assumed for each currency. Unbiasedness is supported if the regression constants are statistically insignificant, and if the regression slopes are statistically insignificantly different from 1, and if there is no autocorrelation in the regression residuals. The results for the British pound are strongly supportive of this version of market option efficiency. For the other two currencies only long run cointegration relations are uncovered. The results, whether short run or long run, remain also strongly supportive when the theoretical constraints are imposed. In addition, the results are not materially different with alternative measures of currency volatility. It can be concluded that the Black-Scholes currency option pricing model is relevant not only theoretically but also empirically and practically.


Thirty-one patients receiving medical treatment for essential hypertension were randomly distributed into three groups: (1) relaxation therapy, (2) nonspecific therapy, and (3) medical treatment only. The nonspecific therapy group spent the same amount of time with the therapists as the relaxation group but was not given a specific therapy. Blood pressures were measured at a different time and in a different place from the behavioral treatments. The relaxation therapy group showed a significant reduction in blood pressure postreatment compared with the nonspecific therapy and medical treatment only groups, even when those patients whose medication was increased were excluded from the data analysis. At follow-up six months post-treatment, the relaxation group showed a slight decrement in treatment effects, while both the nonspecific therapy and medical treatment only groups showed continued improvement; thus, there was not a significant difference between groups.


Book synopsis: Many more documents survive from the early Middle Ages than from the Roman Empire. Although ecclesiastical archives may account for the dramatic increase in the number of surviving documents, this new investigation reveals the scale and spread of documentary culture beyond the Church. The contributors explore the nature of the surviving documentation without preconceptions to show that we cannot infer changing documentary practices from patterns of survival. Throughout Late Antiquity and the early Middle Ages – from North Africa, Egypt, Italy, Francia and Spain to Anglo-Saxon England – people at all social levels, whether laity or clergy, landowners or tenants, farmers or royal functionaries, needed, used and kept documents. The story of documentary culture in the early medieval world emerges not as one of its capture by the Church, but rather of a response adopted by those who needed documents, as they reacted to a changing legal, social and institutional landscape.


Thermopsis turcica is a critically endangered endemic plant species in Turkey. The main agricultural trait of T. turcica is having a gynoecium of 2-4 free carpellate-ovaries. Vicia faba is different from T. turcica due to having unicarpellate ovary. In this study, reciprocal crosses between V. faba and T. turcica were made. In the crosses in which T. turcica was used as the paternal parent, globular hybrid embryos were obtained but they were not rescued since embryos were too small for culturing separately from the endosperms. In histological analysis, it was found that pollen tube reached the ovary at the first day of pollination and ovule fertilization occurred on the fourth day of pollination. The data from RT-PCR and sequencing give the first molecular data on the identification of the putative partial homologues of CLV, WUS and FAS were isolated from T. turcica. Due to the sequence similarity, demonstrated that these new isolated partial genes were most probably CLV, WUS, and FAS homologues in T. turcica. In addition, dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (NADP+)-like partial sequence which has a phosphate binding domain in T. turcica was isolated. For detailed expression of each ortholog gene, quantitave real-time polymerase chain reaction was implemented and expression patterns were shown. These results might be used for other related crops of economic importance in order to obtain cultivars having polycarpellary feature and are the first scientific report about the molecular basis of the multicarpellary in T. turcica.


This paper investigates the effect of urbanization on the three key statistics used to establish flood frequency curves when combining the index flood method with the method of L-moments for estimating distribution parameters, i.e. the median annual maximum peak flow (the index flood), and the high-order L-moment ratios L-CV and L-SKEW. An existing procedure employing catchment descriptors was used to estimate the three statistics at ungauged sites in the UK. As-rural estimates of the three statistics were obtained in 200 urban catchments and compared to the corresponding values obtained from observed data. The (log) differences of these estimates were related to catchment descriptors relevant to the urbanization process using linear regression. The results show that urbanization leads to a reduction in L-CV but an increase in L-SKEW. A jack-knife leave-one-out experiment showed that the adjustment factors developed were generally better at predicting the effect of urbanization on the flood frequency curve than the existing adjustment factor currently used in the UK.


The continuous detection and correction of unnatural process behaviours, owing to special causes of variations, is a basic task in manufacturing to keep any process stable and predictable, as well as to improve it continuously. In this paper, a contribution to increase quality process control from an innovative point of view is presented, which consists in designing Cellular Neural Networks (CNNs) to behave as associative memories for recognising unnatural behaviours. As an example, a test case is developed by considering abnormal cyclic behaviours given by sinusoidal signals. For this purpose, a CNN is synthesised for an associative memory, to recognise these unnatural situations. A robustness analysis of the synthesised network is then developed in the presence of input noise. The performances of the designed circuit have been illustrated in detail.


Cruise tourism is increasingly recognised as a successful and dynamic subsector of the global tourism industry, with the major cruise lines occupying ' the highest ranks of the tourism and leisure sector, as measured by shareholder capital and annual profits' (World Tourism Organization [WTO], 2010, xi). However, while initially characterised by its rapid speed of development, and noted for more than two decades of high growth levels, more recently some markets have experienced demonstrably slower rates of growth. For example, the North American market, acknowledged to be the largest in the world, has lately undergone decline in its share of the global cruise activity in terms of both passenger numbers and spend. While this may be due in part to the economic volatility of key source markets during the second half of the last decade (Cruise Lines International Association [CLIA], 2009), it is clear that operators have for some time been keen to reposition ships in order to offer new destinations to additional geographic markets. At the same time, while recognising that regional markets may be in different stages of their life cycles, the sector has been placing greater emphasis on competitive pricing, sales promotions and onboard revenue maximisation. Not only do these activities illustrate the keenly competitive nature of the cruise business but they also serve as key indicators of market maturity.


Pharmacists' roles in provision of family planning products is expanding in the United States (U.S.). This article details established as well as emerging roles for U.S. pharmacists in the provision of contraception. These include helping patients develop reproductive life plans; dispensing prescription contraceptive products and counseling patients; assisting and educating patients with non-prescription contraceptive products, including emergency contraception; participating in collaborative practice agreements; administering contraception products; and making referrals and developing partnerships. The provision of contraception in the U.S. is dynamic, and pharmacists should continue to be aware of changes that will impact them professionally. As approximately 45% of pregnancies in the U.S. are unintended, through these roles pharmacists can impact an important public health priority.
Conflict of Interest
We declare no conflicts of interest or financial interests that the authors or members of their immediate families have in any product or service discussed in the manuscript, including grants (pending or received), employment, gifts, stock holdings or options, honoraria, consultancies, expert testimony, patents and royalties

Type: Idea Paper


Hexacyanidometallates of CoIII and FeIII were combined with photoluminescent EuIII(3-pyridone) complexes resulting in a series of crystalline materials built of trimetallic cyanido-bridged chains, [Eu(3-pyridone)2(H2O)4][Co1−xFex(CN)6]·H2O (x = 0, 0.03, 0.06, 0.09, 0.12, 0.15, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1; compounds 1, 2, …, 9, 10). They are isostructural, revealing a Eu–Co/Fe zigzag coordination chain topology, with a statistical arrangement of Co and Fe sites occupying the same crystallographic position of the bridging [MIII(CN)6]3− moiety. Replacement of CoIII with slightly larger FeIII going from 1 to 10 leads to the gradual expansion of the unit cell caused mainly by the elongation of the lattice constant c related to the alignment of coordination chains. The unit cell parameters depend linearly on the Fe fraction, obeying Vegard's law; thus, 1–10 can be considered as molecular substitutional alloys based on the formation of a Co/Fe solid solution within the flexible coordination network. The variation of the Co/Fe ratio governs the optical properties, leading to tunable absorption and emission characteristics from red emissive, weakly coloured 1–2 to weaker emissive, red coloured 8–10. Fe-free compound 1 is colourless, while the addition of Fe in 2–10 induces an orange to red colour related to the absorption at ca. 420 nm of ligand-to-metal charge transfer (LMCT) origin. Upon UV light excitation, Fe-free compound 1 shows significant room temperature EuIII-centered red emission, enhanced by the energy transfer from [CoIII(CN)6]3− and 3-pyridone to EuIII centers. Red emission is detectable over the whole family of 1–10, also for the Co-free compound 10, indicating that the hexacyanidoferrate(III) ion can be applied as a molecular linker in the construction of lanthanide-based luminescent coordination frameworks. However, on increasing the Fe fraction, both the overall emission intensity and the emission quantum yield decrease exponentially accompanied by the gradual shortening of the emission lifetimes. This indicates that all the Eu–Co/Fe compounds absorb UV light similarly, but the Fe centers do not transfer the energy towards Eu(III) efficiently, which is related to the disturbing presence of LMCT and metal-centered ligand field excited states in the visible range.


The small settlement of Hopetoun in the Victoria's north-east – Mallee country – is oriented physically, economically and socially around Lake Laschelle. Large signs map the way for the tourist to its edge, where boat ramps and picnic sites await. And yet there is no water here and has been none for years. The presence of water in its absence is palpable. Over three years I followed water around the drought-ridden Mallee, a participant in a creative research project that sought to poetically recollect and assemble stories from this country as an experiment in place-making. Via collaborative practice between artists, with local community, and with the material environment of the Mallee itself, this still ongoing project brings poetic practice to bear on questions of political urgency – drought, climate change, community distress – usually the province of the techno and social sciences. In a land cultivated to take note of water's absence, the project began to assemble its presence. This paper discusses this project as a methodological experiment that raises unsettling questions about the ethics of place-making in a context of post-colonial environmental change.


The history of the English compound numerals from 21 to 99 remains vague. The three basic types in the order in which they appeared are: the Old English (OE) type such as one and twenty , the middle type such as twenty and one and the modern type such as twenty-one . An analysis of data collected from eight English Bibles, the Vulgate and the Hebrew Bible demonstrates that the changes were caused and accelerated by successive biblical translations and not just by the language history of the time. The middle type was introduced into biblical English from the Latin of the Vulgate, where it appeared through the faithful translation of the Hebrew middle type. The modern type in English Bibles originates in the Latin modern type in the Vulgate.


Treating neutropenic fever with broad-spectrum antibiotics after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant is associated with an increase in graft-versus-host disease in mice and humans. Antibiotics for allogeneic transplant—A double-edged sword Patients undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation often receive antibiotics for infections, which can also unfortunately kill intestinal bacteria. These symbiotic bacteria in the gut generally do not cause disease and are thought to suppress inflammation. In a new study, Shono et al. examined the records of 857 transplant patients and found that certain antibiotics were linked with development of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), which can cause severe intestinal inflammation. Using a mouse model, the authors showed that these antibiotics may select for bacteria that consume intestinal mucus and lead to loss of this important layer of protection for the gut, thus exacerbating GVHD in the intestine. This study suggests that not all antibiotic regimens are appropriate for treating transplant patients. Intestinal bacteria may modulate the risk of infection and graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT). Allo-HSCT recipients often develop neutropenic fever, which is treated with antibiotics that may target anaerobic bacteria in the gut. We retrospectively examined 857 allo-HSCT recipients and found that treatment of neutropenic fever with imipenem-cilastatin and piperacillin-tazobactam antibiotics was associated with increased GVHD-related mortality at 5 years (21.5% for imipenem-cilastatin–treated patients versus 13.1% for untreated patients, P = 0.025; 19.8% for piperacillin-tazobactam–treated patients versus 11.9% for untreated patients, P = 0.007). However, two other antibiotics also used to treat neutropenic fever, aztreonam and cefepime, were not associated with GVHD-related mortality (P = 0.78 and P = 0.98, respectively). Analysis of stool specimens from allo-HSCT recipients showed that piperacillin-tazobactam administration was associated with perturbation of gut microbial composition. Studies in mice demonstrated aggravated GVHD mortality with imipenem-cilastatin or piperacillin-tazobactam compared to aztreonam (P < 0.01 and P < 0.05, respectively). We found pathological evidence for increased GVHD in the colon of imipenem-cilastatin–treated mice (P < 0.05), but no difference in the concentration of short-chain fatty acids or numbers of regulatory T cells. Notably, imipenem-cilastatin treatment of mice with GVHD led to loss of the protective mucus lining of the colon (P < 0.01) and the compromising of intestinal barrier function (P < 0.05). Sequencing of mouse stool specimens showed an increase in Akkermansia muciniphila (P < 0.001), a commensal bacterium with mucus-degrading capabilities, raising the possibility that mucus degradation may contribute to murine GVHD. We demonstrate an underappreciated risk for the treatment of allo-HSCT recipients with antibiotics that may exacerbate GVHD in the colon.


We report the direct fabrication of a microfluidic chip composed of two high-aspect ratio microfluidic channels with lengths of 3.5 cm and 8 mm in a glass substrate by femtosecond laser micromachining. The fabrication mainly consists of two steps: 1) writing microchannels and microchambers in a porous glass by scanning a tightly focused laser beam; 2) high-temperature annealing of the glass sample to collapse all the nanopores in the glass. Migration of derivatized amino acids is observed in the microfluidic channel by applying electric voltage across the long-migration microchannel.


Prognostic factors study of differentiated thyroid cancer The aim of this investigation was to evaluate the prognostic factors in patients with differentiated thyroid carcinoma treated and followed for a long period of time. Patients and Method: The following prognostic variables: gender, age at diagnosis, goiter characteristics, histology, differentiation grades, tumor anatomical extension, lymph node and distant initial metastasis and post treatment evolution were studied in a historical cohort of thyroid carcinoma. Surgical treatment was subtotal and total thyroidectomy plus lymphatic cervical selective neck dissection. Radioiodine was employed en 59.2% and thyroid hormone replacement was used indefi nitely. Kaplan Meyer analisis was employed to plot survival curves, log Rank test was used to establish the signifi cance of each variable and square chi to determine differences among groups. Cox model was used to identify prognostic variables. Results: A group of 477 patients with differentiated thyroid carcinoma treated at the Hospital San Juan de Dios, from 1948 to 1992, were studied. Median survival rate was 87% at the end of observation period. Univariate analysis showed signifi cant differences for age, tumor anatomical extension and histological grade on survival, for the entire serie. According to Cox model method, initial dis- tant metastasis, age > 40 years, anatomical extension, tumor size > 10 mm, were determinant for unfavorable prognosis for the papillary cancer; distant metastasis, anatomical extension and age at the time of diagnosis were determinant for unfavorable prognosis for the follicular cancer. Conclusion: Overall survival was 87%. Distant metastasis at the time of diagnosis: age older than 40 years, anatomical extension and the size of the tumor were determinant of survival prognosis.


The corrosion of reinforced concrete structures is a major issue in the UK and
worldwide, both structurally and from a maintenance management aspect. Damage
induced by the corrosion of the steel can dramatically reduce the designed service life
of the structure through loss of bond between the steel and concrete, or from localised
loss of section of the corroding rebars. Failure to manage the maintenance of
reinforced concrete may result in the premature replacement of the structure or in
extreme cases, structural failure. Avoiding such scenarios can be aided through
improved detection and monitoring of corrosion in concrete. In addition, combining
this with a condition management tool, capable of benchmarking, index testing and
prioritising areas of the concrete structure(s) for remedial action, would provide
robust facilities management techniques for structural assets. This paper suggests how
the results of a novel non-destructive corrosion detection technique, currently being
developed, could be incorporated into a condition-monitoring tool for the facilities
management of structures. The development of protocols based on laboratory and
field data enable the formation of a condition-monitoring tool forming part of a longterm
maintenance strategy for estate owners and managers.


The goal of microalgae for biofuels is not only to replace fossil fuel in quantity but also for the cost to be at parity with the existing fuel stock. Adopting this evolving technology would not only require a combination of technical and economic assessment, but also the confidence of key stakeholders. The main challenge is that there are multiple pathways and logistics related to the entire algal biofuel production chain, and each stage is subject to technical, economic, environmental and policy issues, making it difficult to determine the optimum option. Therefore there is a need for a holistic decision-making tool, which provides a clear choice of direction to all stakeholders. The study initially adopted a multi criteria decision-making approach called TOPSIS, using a case study of five alternatives of algal processes to produce either oil for transport or biogas for electricity generation via a wastewater treatment method. The TOPSIS technique is used to identify the most acceptable alternative that has the maximum distance from the negative ideal and the minimum distance from the positive ideal solution. The result shows the alternative 1 and 2 as the preferred ideal solution among the others. Because the method ranks alternatives according to attributes, it limits the technique to a more defined process and therefore it cannot provide an understanding of feedback effects such as policy, resource availability in a region, and possible scale-up issues affecting the process. These limitations make the TOPSIS a less powerful technique for assessing the overall microalgae supply chain. However it is feasible to adopt the TOPSIS approach and integrate it into a flexible Techno-Economic (TE) model to make a decision over defined processes.


The resistance of rock to tensile fracture may be measured by its fracture energy GI, which is found to range from 40 to 200 J/m2 in tests on nine types of sedimentary and crystalline rock. Differences in microstructure among the rocks tested are the principal cause of differences in the steady state value of GI, in the distance that a crack must advance before steady state fracturing is attained, and in the amplitude of the fluctuation of GI that accompanies crack advance. When nearly continuous surfaces of weakness are present, as in the Salem limestone, GI is low and attains steady state after only a small amount of crack advance. When a preexisting, interconnected network of microcracks is exploited by the fracture process, GI is large, and steady state is attained only after extended crack propagation. The sensitivity of GI to crack speed and the presence of water is low under the test conditions used in all the rocks examined. However, the magnitude of GI measured in a given type of rock is found to depend on the configuration of the test specimen and on components of stress near the crack tip that do not influence crack growth in linearly elastic materials. The conditions under which GI can be considered a material property are therefore restricted.


Environmental engineers are frequently faced with uncertainty in making design decisions because the true value of many process parameters is unknown. In this study, the design of countercurrent air stripping towers was modeled using fuzzy numbers, taking into account uncertainties in mass transfer and Henry's constant. It was found that, in addition to cost, the risk of failure is an important design consideration for stripping tower design. A significant over-design is both cost-effective and results in less risk of design failure. The air-to-water ratio that yielded the least risk of failure switched from low to high as the removal efficiency of the tower increased. An important result is that at lower removal efficiencies, tower design and operation is most sensitive to uncertainties in mass transfer and at higher removal efficiencies, tower design and operation is most sensitive to uncertainties in Henry's constant. The implication is that low air-to-water ratios are best when the regulatory target removal efficiency is low and/or when the uncertainty in the value of the contaminant's Henry's constant is larger than the uncertainty in the mass transfer coefficient value. Otherwise a high air-to-water ratio results in the least risk of process failure.


Purpose Neurotrophins, including nerve growth factor (NGF), are secreted by glia as a pro-form (proNGF) that is normally cleaved into the mature ligand. Increases of proNGF has been well documented in retinal neurodegenerative diseases. Since systemic overexpression of proNGF exhibits embryonic lethality, we aimed to establish a model that specifically and stably overexpresses a cleavage-resistant mutant of proNGF (proNGF123) plasmid in the retina using electroporation. Methods Male Sprague-Dawley rats were injected intravitreally with pGFP or pGFP-proNGF123 plasmids, then electroporated with various settings for optimization. Retinal cell death and ganglion cell count were assessed by TUNEL and immunostaining with anti-Brn3. Expression of proNGF, NGF, and their receptors was examined by western blot. Retinal vascular permeability was assessed by extravasation of bovine serum albumin–fluorescein. Development of acellular capillaries was assessed by periodic acid-Schiff and hematoxylin staining. Results Successful pGFP-proNGF123 gene delivery and expression of proNGF was demonstrated by western blot and extensive proNGF immunostaining in retina sections. Overexpression of proNGF reduced NGF expression while inducing the expression of neurotrophin receptors, including p75NTR and tyrosine receptor kinase A, but not sortilin. Overexpression of proNGF resulted in ~50% reduction in ganglion cell count and fivefold increase in TUNEL-positive cells in rat retina. In addition, overexpression of proNGF induced breakdown of the blood-retina barrier evident by twofold increase in extravasation of bovine serum albumin–fluorescein after 1 week and induced the development of acellular capillaries after 4 weeks. Conclusions Electroporation can successfully incorporate and express biologically active cleavage-resistant proNGF locally in rat retinas. Overexpression of cleavage-resistant proNGF can be a useful tool to investigate specific molecular mechanisms by which proNGF causes neurodegeneration and vascular injury in the retina.


The following note is that a review of existing literature pertaining to servant leadership and faculty development. Specifically, this work discussed delivering servant leadership to online faculty through the utilization of a faculty development program. The idea for this literature review stemmed from the author asking how an online academic administrator could utilize the practice of servant leadership in order to improve the overall online academic experience. The intent of the review involved discovering, through a review of the literature, a way of opening up a dialogue that can possibly drive future research studies regarding the practice of servant leadership to improve of the overall online academic teaching experience. In this work, the author conducted a literature review that identified strengths in both faculty development as well as practicing servant leadership within the online education modality. The literature identified the issue of faculty isolation as challenge for academic administrators and offered up faculty development as a possible solution to overcoming it. The findings of the work showed a benefit to bringing servant leadership practices into faculty development programs in order to improve the overall online teaching environment. The work generates future empirical research ideas regarding building community, the use of servant leadership, and faculty development programs.


Whether chromosomes maintain their nuclear positions during interphase and from one cell cycle to the next has been controversially discussed. To address this question, we performed long-term live-cell studies using a HeLa cell line with GFP-tagged chromatin. Positional changes of the intensity gravity centers of fluorescently labeled chromosome territories (CTs) on the order of several μm were observed in early G1, suggesting a role of CT mobility in establishing interphase nuclear architecture. Thereafter, the positions were highly constrained within a range of ∼1 μm until the end of G2. To analyze possible changes of chromosome arrangements from one cell cycle to the next, nuclei were photobleached in G2 maintaining a contiguous zone of unbleached chromatin at one nuclear pole. This zone was stably preserved until the onset of prophase, whereas the contiguity of unbleached chromosome segments was lost to a variable extent, when the metaphase plate was formed. Accordingly, chromatin patterns observed in daughter nuclei differed significantly from the mother cell nucleus. We conclude that CT arrangements were stably maintained from mid G1 to late G2/early prophase, whereas major changes of CT neighborhoods occurred from one cell cycle to the next. The variability of CT neighborhoods during clonal growth was further confirmed by chromosome painting experiments.


Active galactic nuclei (AGN) are believed to be powered by accretion of gas onto a central supermassive black hole (SMBH). In particular, a certain fraction of AGN show unusual, dramatic outflows of ionized plasma – relativistic jets – which are extended from the compact central engine region up to millions of light years from the host galaxies. The jets are observationally characterized by superluminal propagation speeds and a highly collimated structure. Recent
theoretical studies suggest physical models to explain the origin and evolution of the jets. In spite of the recent progress, however, the extremely small spatial scale of the base of the jet (a few to hundreds of Schwarzschild radii Rs) poses almost unsurmountable difficulties to observe
the regions directly. This thesis presents my work attempting to understand the physics and test observation-
ally the existing theoretical models of the central regions based on high spatial resolution observations of selected nearest radio galaxies Messier 87 (M 87, Virgo A, NGC 4486, 3C 274) and 3C 84 (NGC 1275). For this, I employ the technique of very-long-baseline interferometry (VLBI), which allows to resolve the vicinity of the central engine at an ultra-high angular resolution of 50 micro-arcseconds at the high observing radio frequency of 86 GHz (providing
a spatial resolution of only 7Rs for M 87). In Chapter 1, I present a brief review of the historical and astrophysical backgrounds of AGN and their relativistic jets. Basics of radio astronomical observations and theoretical/practical
aspects of VLBI are given in Chapter 2. The main results and conclusions from our studies of M 87 and 3C 84 based on the Global Millimeter VLBI Array (GMVA) observations at 86 GHz
are presented in Chapters 3 and 4, respectively. GMVA bservations of M 87 performed between 2004 and 2015 reveal the fine-scale structure of the innermost jet at the highest resolution and sensitivity to date. The following main results are presented in the thesis based on the high-resolution high-fidelity images and other VLBI data of M 87: (i) the substantially low brightness temperature of the compact VLBI core region (whose size is only ∼ 10Rs at 86 GHz), suggesting a magnetic energy dominated jet launching region, (ii) the wide diameter of the jet base (∼ (4 − 6)Rs) inferred from the collimation profile of the edge-brightened jet and the slow propagation speed of the inner jet (apparent speed ≲ 1.0 c), indicating that the bright edges of the outflow may originate from the inner accretion disk, (iii) the rapidly increasing brightness temperature of the VLBI core at low observing frequencies (by an order of magnitude from 230 GHz down to 1.6 GHz), which could
be a signature of internal microscopic particle accelerations, and (iv) the presence of a faint central lane between the bright edges of the jet, which may correspond to an ultra-relativistic "spine" of the outflow with a different physical origin. The GMVA observations of 3C 84 in May 2015 resolve the complicated inner jet structure at a spatial resolution of 250Rs at 86 GHz (at the highest image dynamic range of ∼ 3400 at this frequency to date). Other intensive multi-frequency VLBI observations during 2015 also
reveal highly time-variable flux density in the VLBI core region. In this thesis, I particularly focus on the spectral and linear polarization properties and present the following results: (1) a significant detection of linearly polarized features in the VLBI core region at 86 and 43 GHz, whose morphology appears to be highly time-variable on monthly timescales (at 43 GHz), (2) a significant detection of large Faraday rotations in the core region (typical values of rotation measure∼ 10(5−6) rad/m2 ) and the rotation measure sign change in time, (3) comparisons of the Faraday depolarization models and the observed linear polarization spectrum, which suggests the boundary layer of the jet threaded by ordered magnetic fields as the external Faraday screen, and (4) an estimate of the magnetic field strength and the electron number density in the jet by a joint analysis of the observed Faraday rotation and the synchrotron self-absorption in the core region.
These findings provide a lot of valuable information about the inner structure of M 87 and 3C 84 which was not available before, and these observational data will be served as a paramount morphological description of the total intensity and polarized emission of these sources for theoreticians to tune their models. I summarize our main conclusions and suggest future work in Chapter 5.


Using data from the Current Population Surveys, we examine the impact of Hawaii's mandatory employer-sponsored insurance on health insurance coverage and employment structure in Hawaii. We find empirical evidence of three phenomena. First, private employer-sponsored insurance coverage for full-time workers (more than 20 hours per week) is more prevalent in Hawaii, other things held constant, than in other states and the U.S. as a whole. Second, there is avoidance of the employer-mandate in Hawaii by skirting the 20 hour rule, which changes the both the distribution of employment and the distribution of employment-based insurance coverage by hours worked. Third, Hawaii workers who match with part-time jobs without employer-sponsored health insurance obtain publicly provided health insurance or military coverage with higher probability than their counterparts elsewhere in the U.S. These results suggest that employer mandates induce both higher rates of coverage and labor market sorting.


ABSTRACTParticulate species were measured in April–May 2003 at two sites, one in the megacity of Seoul and the other in the Deokjeok Island to the west of Seoul, to examine the effects of long-range transport under the influence of prevailing westerlies. The effects of Asian dust were observed in April, and a severe smog episode occurred in late May. During May, all air pollutants showed negative correlations with wind speed at Seoul, particularly for NO2 and CO, a large proportion of which result from vehicle emissions. SO42– continued to increase in association with an inflow of air pollutants from China with heavy use of coal, with fluctuations depending on wind speed. The smog episode in late May occurred as emissions from Siberian forest fires were superimposed on pollutant inflows from China that had persisted since early May and local emissions accumulated under stagnant conditions. During the episode, Siberian forest fires increased K+ while local emissions primarily from vehicles increased NO3–, OC, and EC. The effects of an inflow of air pollutants from the outside were significant at Deokjeok, with small local emissions, resulting in substantial increases in Ca2+ during the Asian dust event and SO42– during the smog episode, compared to those at Seoul. Because both sites were strongly influenced by the effects of long-range transport in May, PM2.5 along with SO42– and K+ exhibited a strong correlation between Seoul and Deokjeok.


This thesis is interested in the communicative function of literary dialect. It argues that approaches to the study of literary dialect which focus on linguistic form at the expense of literary function have helped to create a false dichotomy: literary dialect is seen either as the writer's serious attempt at re-creating the nuances of speech, or else is merely the use of established literary conventions which have no bearing on actual linguistic usage. Taking John Galt's The Entail (1823) and The Provost (1822) together with `West Country Exclusives' by Christian Johnstone (1834-5) as case studies, the thesis aims to develop, apply and assess a series of analytical procedures which can effectively describe the selection and distribution of literary dialect in these texts and can explain the range of functions dialect serves: its role in creating the impression of verisimilitude and the development of characterisation, together with its wider thematic and stylistic functions. The sociolinguistic approach to the study of literary dialect adopted here incorporates methods already established within linguistic research. For example, the dialectology of West-Mid Scots provides a model of the Ayrshire dialect represented in the above texts. In addition, primary sources from the period, together with modern linguistic studies of the historical relationship between Scots and Standard English, help to create a picture of sociolinguistic behaviour in early 19th century Scotland, the period in which the above texts are both written and set. Furthermore, sociolinguistics provides both a descriptive model for selecting and classifying linguistic variables and counting their occurrence as well as an established theoretical framework for interpreting linguistic variation. However, traditional sociolinguistic techniques need to be adapted to suit an analysis of the whole dialect component in a literary text. In this respect the thesis develops a system of `metavariables' which can account for different categories of Scotticism. Analysis of the selection and distribution of literary dialect in The Entail and The Provost is facilitated by the use of the Oxford Concordance Program, a general purpose software package for creating wordlists and concordances.


In keeping with an emerging literature on the role of business education in the development of entrepreneurially-intentioned biotechnologists, this paper describes the actions and experiences of an entrepreneurship program that began in the late 1990's. Along the way it illustrates how a business-centric approach can shift the budding entrepreneur's perspective from a product to a market orientation when considering an innovation's commercialization. While the developmental timeline and specific stages of the adoption process for biotechnology-based products vary from traditional consumer or industrial products, there many similarities, foremost is the notion that to be successful the market must perceive significant advantage to the new offering. Lastly, this paper provides thoughts on potentially profitable areas for program expansion and new foci, especially regarding the globalization of biotechnology innovation and international opportunities.


To demonstrate the efficiency of the wooded riparian soil in removing the exceeding nitrogen from the river water, a pilot-scale experimental system (0,8 ha) was planned and built on an area previously used to grow arable crops. It was constructed to allow the precise management of the system hydrology, because the water is electrically pumped from the adjacent Zero River into the irrigation ditches (ridges). The particular structure, characterized by ridges and furrows, facilitates sub-surface water flow through the woodland area and the creation of a suspended artificial aquifer seldom in contact with the groundwater. A grid of 36 piezometers was used to collect water samples. The results indicated that the nitrates retention capacity increased strongly from about 40 to 85% from the first to the third year. Ammonia nitrogen showed the highest annual variability, with the outputs in some cases exceeding the inputs. Organic nitrogen outputs were always higher than the inputs, but with a progressive reduction from the first to the third year. Overall, total nitrogen retention increased from 26% in the first year, to 62% in the third year. A monitoring campaign conducted after 8 year confirmed the long term efficiency of the site in nitrate removal with an increase also in organic nitrogen reduction.


The financial crisis has exposed the limitations of French bankruptcy law. The fundamental criticism is that, when designing French bankruptcy law, French law makers have never tried to use the lessons learned from Law and Economics. French law ignores the fact that shareholders' interests can conflict with those of failing companies. Furthermore, French law refuses to recognize that shareholders' interests may sometimes be no longer aligned with those if the company and that, instead, certain creditors have taken over as residual owners. Despite the finance 'boom', French law, in common with other European legal systems, has been entrenched in dogmatic concepts derived from a bygone era. It is still difficult to distinguish the shareholder's fate from that of the company, even in an insolvency situation. Various reforms in bankruptcy law have thus led to an automatic wealth transfer from creditors to shareholders, which is unjustified given that shareholders and creditors are both, after all, in many cases, merely financial investors. The current situation reveals some deficiencies within French bankruptcy law, which is ultimately more 'pro-shareholder' than 'pro-debtor.' The law in its current state brings about a destruction in enterprise value as a result of: longer negotiations between shareholders and creditors, unsound compromises leading to an insufficient reduction in the level of debt in companies emerging from bankruptcy proceedings, forum shopping, and many hold out / free rider issues etc. which cannot be resolved. The evolution of French corporate finance capital markets should lead French law makers to question the attractiveness of French bankruptcy law. Greater attention to the order of priority between creditors and shareholders in France would allow the emergence of a Debtor in Possession (DIP) financing market, the development of the high yield bond market and the use of hybrid bonds.


Abstract. The mountain environments of mid-latitude Europe and Arctic Russia contain widespread evidence of Late-Quaternary glaciers that have been attributed to the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). This glacial-geological record has yet to be used to quantitatively reconstruct the LGM climate of these regions. Here we describe a simple glacier-climate model that can be used to derive regional temperature and precipitation information from a known glacier distribution. The model was tested against the present day distribution of glaciers in Europe. The model is capable of adequately predicting the spatial distribution, snowline and equilibrium line altitude climate of glaciers in the Alps, Scandinavia, Caucasus and Pyrenees Mountains. This verification demonstrated that the model can be used to investigate former climates such as the LGM. Reconstructions of LGM climates from proxy evidence are an important method of assessing retrospective general circulation model (GCM) simulations. LGM palaeoclimate reconstructions from glacial-geological evidence would be of particular benefit to investigations in Europe and Russia, where to date only fossil pollen data have been used to assess continental-scale GCM simulations.


In this paper we present results obtained in the context of Quality of Service (QoS) control for soft real-time applications. The discussion addresses the issue of dynamically adjusting the bandwidth for a set of periodic tasks, when a reservation-based (RB) CPU scheduling policy is used. RB techniques are particularly suitable for this kind of applications since they allow an accurate mathematical modelling of the dynamic evolution of the QoS experienced by tasks. Based on this model, a control policy guaranteeing specified QoS levels for different tasks is illustrated, along with necessary and sufficient conditions for its existence. Moreover, the problem of steering a task QoS back into its nominal level is tackled, in response to deviations due to temporary overload conditions. Simulation results are reported, for the purpose of validating the approach.


We introduce "asynchronized concurrency (ASCY)," a paradigm consisting of four complementary programming patterns. ASCY calls for the design of concurrent search data structures (CSDSs) to resemble that of their sequential counterparts. We argue that ASCY leads to implementations which are portably scalable: they scale across different types of hardware platforms, including single and multi-socket ones, for various classes of workloads, such as read-only and read-write, and according to different performance metrics, including throughput, latency, and energy. We substantiate our thesis through the most exhaustive evaluation of CSDSs to date, involving 6 platforms, 22 state-of-the-art CSDS algorithms, 10 re-engineered state-of-the-art CSDS algorithms following the ASCY patterns, and 2 new CSDS algorithms designed with ASCY in mind. We observe up to 30% improvements in throughput in the re-engineered algorithms, while our new algorithms out-perform the state-of-the-art alternatives.


Botswana has vast proven deposits of steam coal, which, for a long time, the government has wanted to develop but without much success. The main objectives of this study are: to forecast possible coal exports from Botswana and the land routes for these exports; to determine the competitiveness of Botswana's coal in world steam coal trade; to make recommendations on the appropriate policy for the exploitation of this coal. To accomplish these objectives, we construct a model of the global steam coal trade and apply this model to forecast the likely optimal size of mine, timing of capacity, and choice of export port for the years 2005 and 2010 from a 2000 base forecast year. The results of our regional analysis suggest that Botswana's coal exports are competitive in Asia and Western Europe. These results are shown to be least sensitive to changes in rail transportation costs and marginal supply costs but more sensitive to changes in capital costs for mine development.


This chapter describes three emerging issues with multiply resistant gram-negative bacilli, each of which has worldwide importance. First, community-onset infections with CTX-M-15-producing Escherichia coli threaten to permanently alter empiric antibiotic choices for urinary tract infection (UTI). Second, Klebsiella pneumoniae producing the K. pneumoniae carbapenemase (KPC) are now spreading from their epicenter in New York City to multiple parts of the globe and are complicating management of infections in hospitals and nursing homes. Finally, global dissemination of carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii underscores the epidemic potential of successful bacterial lineages. The antibiotic resistance phenotype of the ST131-positive E. coli is that the organisms are typically resistant to ceftriaxone, cefotaxime, fluoroquinolones, trimethoprim, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, penicillin/beta-lactamase inhibitor combinations, and tetracyclines. Resistance to aminoglycosides is variable. The clone confers multidrug resistance by the presence of multiple antibiotic resistance genes. As can be expected by the resistance profile of ST131 E. coli, treatment options are limited. The isolates are often susceptible to nitrofurantoin, pivmecillinam, and fosfomycin. Interspecies spread of the KPC gene has been documented in a single patient with K. pneumoniae, E. coli, and Serratia marcescens. The most important mechanism of antibiotic resistance in A. baumannii is production of beta-lactamases. A. baumannii and K. pneumoniae isolates with resistance to polymyxins and sometimes all antibiotic options have now been detected. If these strains were to spread widely, it is likely that significant mortality would be observed.


Glass eel catches and FAO (Food and Agricultural Organization) landings of the European freshwater eel (Anguilla anguilla) show a decrease over the past 20 years. The long-term trends in the time series mask an interannual fluctuation, which becomes apparent on the application of a high-pass filter and autocorrelation analysis. Both the FAO landings and the glass eel catches show interannual fluctuations with a repeat period of 6–8 years, similar to the period of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). Most glass eel catch monitoring stations are in phase. The glass eel catches show a significant negative correlation with the NAO lagged by 0–2 years, consistent with the hypothesis that the positive NAO phase has an adverse impact on the larval survival in and migration from the Sargasso Sea spawning location, one year prior to the arrival of the glass eels in Europe and North Africa. The FAO landings can be divided into two groups of different phase that have an approximate correspondence to the NAO dipole in winter rainfall in Europe and North Africa. One group (P) comprises Denmark, Ireland, Morocco, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Tunisia, and the United Kingdom, and the other group (N) comprises France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Spain, and Turkey. At least for the interannual fluctuations, the success of the glass eel fishery (and eel recruitment) may be coupled with the number of migrating silver eels from the N group of countries and uncoupled with the P group of countries.


Variations of bilateral aid flows are difficult to explain on the basis of official development objectives or recipient need. At the example of US aid to Pakistan, this paper suggests alternative political economic explanations, notably the relevance of ethnic lobbying and the relevance of US business interests. Time series regressions for the period from 1980 to 2002 and logistic regressions based on votes for the Pressler and the Brown Amendment confirm the significance of these political economic determinants. While in case of the Pressler Amendment, the direct influence of population groups of Indian and Pakistani origins seems to have played a predominant role, the role of ethnic business lobbies appears to have dominated in the context of the Brown Amendment. Time series analysis also provides some evidence for the impact of US business interests based on FDI and exports, but these effects appear to be comparatively small.